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Forum namePass The Popcorn
Topic subjectDa 5 Bloods (Lee 2020)
Topic URLhttp://board.okayplayer.com/okp.php?az=show_topic&forum=6&topic_id=738748
738748, Da 5 Bloods (Lee 2020)
Posted by navajo joe, Mon May-18-20 09:07 AM
Full Trailer for Spike's first Netflix joint

https://youtu.be/D5RDTPfsLAI

I love how overstuffed and unconventional the trailer is

I also LOVE seeing Delroy Lindo in a major film role. He's one of my favorite actors of all time

Films about black soldiers in Vietnam are criminally rare and I really hope this turns out great.

I'm on record as HATING Black KKKlansman despite some really great elements so I'm hoping Spike can nail this
738812, Huge Spike Lee fan... totally hated Black KKKlansman
Posted by thegodcam, Mon May-25-20 11:13 AM
crossing my fingers
738815, Good point about the lack of Vietnam stories feat. Black soldiers
Posted by obsidianchrysalis, Mon May-25-20 08:48 PM
Like there's Dead Presidents and what else?

Anyway, this looks alright. Something more in line with Get Off the Bus than his films that are very direct like Do the Right Thing or even Black KKKlansman. I actually liked Get Off the Bus alot so this movie may be my speed.
738820, The Walking Dead is the only one I remember watching
Posted by Frank Mackey, Tue May-26-20 05:59 PM
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114888/
738816, Looks really good
Posted by ProgressiveSound, Tue May-26-20 04:48 AM
738834, Love Spike. I just wish he would stop with the "da" shit in his titles
Posted by Airbreed, Thu May-28-20 01:25 PM
Spike is a genius. Love his films and the space he uses to create his stories. But some the titles he uses feels dated. He did it with "Da" Sweet Blood of Jesus" and now with "Da" 5 Bloods, Kind of like the old guy at the club still dressing like he's 18 years old.

Still, i'm looking forward to seeing this. I'm glad its going to Netflix since I just copped a new OLED. Perfect timing for viewing another masterpiece.
738835, thank you
Posted by rdhull, Thu May-28-20 05:29 PM
738837, RE: Love Spike. I just wish he would stop with the "da" shit in his titles
Posted by obsidianchrysalis, Thu May-28-20 07:52 PM
>... Kind of like the old guy at the club still dressing
>like he's 18 years old.


I agree with all of what you said, but it's funny to me that he literally does still dress like he's 18. At least his color palatte. But Spike's a legend, I say, let him cook.
738838, RE: Love Spike. I just wish he would stop with the "da" shit in his titles
Posted by rdhull, Thu May-28-20 10:30 PM
>>... Kind of like the old guy at the club still dressing
>>like he's 18 years old.
>
>
>I agree with all of what you said, but it's funny to me that
>he literally does still dress like he's 18. At least his color
>palatte. But Spike's a legend, I say, let him cook.

Haha reminds me of when he said something criticizing Tim Burton for looking like a crazy homeless person etc when he was called on something.
739514, its his trademark. He understands branding and you don't
Posted by Damali, Wed Sep-23-20 02:52 PM
you know its a spike lee joint when you see it tho don't you?



d
738859, I don't like a lot of Spike's work, but actually interested in this
Posted by CherNic, Mon Jun-01-20 09:42 AM
738869, *Searches IMDB for Written By. Please Please Please let it be...."
Posted by Buddy_Gilapagos, Thu Jun-04-20 10:37 AM
not written by Spike Lee"

Yes!!!!!!!!!

Spike Lee's Filmography of films not written by him is his best work:

Malcolm X
25th Hour
Clockers
Inside Man
Get on the Bus....

His worst works seem to be predominately written by him (EXCEPT for Do the Right Thing which is improv heavy)

Sweet Blood of Jesus
She Hate Me
Red Hook Summer


**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

"what's a leader if he isn't reluctant"
738870, that's some revisionist bullshit... he also wrote the following:
Posted by thegodcam, Thu Jun-04-20 01:13 PM
School daze
Mo better blues
Jungle fever
Crooklyn
He got game
Bamboozled

which are all dope
738871, Spike is probably my favorite filmmaker, and those are all good films,
Posted by Buddy_Gilapagos, Thu Jun-04-20 06:19 PM
but they are almost all second tier Spike Lee films. I stand by my statements that the ones I named (and Do the Right Thing) are Spike's best films.


**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

"what's a leader if he isn't reluctant"
738914, almost all of those films thegodcam listed are considered his classics
Posted by Reeq, Fri Jun-12-20 02:22 PM
by the general public. his most culturally ingrained work.

how are you defining second tier?
738916, I have to agree with Buddy
Posted by obsidianchrysalis, Fri Jun-12-20 07:23 PM
I've seen those movies and those movies have really bold socialpolitical themes and all have Spike's signature style, even more than the movies he didn't write. But they just don't hold up well in a technical sense.

Even Do the Right Thing, which was so impressive for its time, doesn't hold up all that well to me.

I like Spike but his style is too heavy handed and suffocating for my tastes. I prefer his movies that he doesn't write because the style is more subtle but still has his signature edge and perspective.

I don't think that makes Spike a bad filmmaker. He's a legend, if only for getting his movies made in Hollywood, especially in the 80's and 90's where he and his collaboratives made up all of Black Hollywood of that time.

He's just a bit too close to his source material when he writes his movies and so his work comes off heavy handed and limited in scope. Tarantino is cut from the same cloth. His movies have a very distinct and clear style. But my favorite movie of his, Jackie Brown, was a story he didn't create from scratch.

Maybe Spike gets spread too thin during pre-production and can't dedicate enough time to honing his voice during production? Maybe he gets defensive about his writing and doesn't become open to other points of view?

The reason for the difference is worth studying tho.
738911, Just finished it and I’m wondering peoples tnoughts
Posted by RobOne4, Fri Jun-12-20 02:09 PM
I think there is a good movie in here somewhere. As is I didn’t enjoy it.
738912, yeah i wanted to like this.
Posted by Reeq, Fri Jun-12-20 02:15 PM
it was a chore to get through.

he should thank the cast...particularly the older group...for carrying it as much as they could.
738919, I was on my phone for the last 30 minutes (spoilers)
Posted by RobOne4, Fri Jun-12-20 11:43 PM
by the time they got to the gold I was done with the movie. Then we have the face off with the locals. I didnt care anymore. Good performances. But this was a mess of a movie. Spike really went out of his way to fire off rounds at Donald Trump. Also the way he shoe horned in facts about unknown black heroes took me out of it right away. First what 15 minutes he hit us with 2 or 3 of them? I mean i get it important forgotten black heroes. But the way it was done felt so unnatural and didnt flow.
738920, i found it pretty messy
Posted by Mynoriti, Sat Jun-13-20 02:39 AM
and unnecessarily long.

some individual moments and performances i really enjoyed but as a whole... meh.

"good movie in there somewhere" is a good way to describe it.
739575, I really enjoyed it.
Posted by Frank Longo, Wed Oct-07-20 12:50 AM
It's mostly great, although it probably tries to bite off more than it can chew. Then again, if you're a big Spike fan (as I am), this is kind of par for the course. Spike is going swing for the motherfucking fences, and a lot of his swings are going to connect better than most filmmakers working today can dream to do. Yes, he's going to miss sometimes. Yes, he may try to do too much in a movie, making stretches-- or whole movies-- muddled. But few filmmakers today have the power to deliver the way Spike does when he connects.

There were things I didn't like here, sure...the thing that stands out the most is the way the Big Scene In The Middle is projected from a mile away by how awkwardly a character is walking-- and the way his walk is shot, tbh. Not sure whether Spike *wanted* us to brace for what was about to happen or what, but I thought the power of that moment was botched. Other moments later were far more effective.

That said, the characters are beautifully developed and/or mythologized. Lindo obviously hits a grand slam here, as he always does every time he's on the screen. And Spike's injection of some complicated politics gives this film real weight in a way most movies don't really care to even try. Even if bits of it are corny-- and even if the images of actual real-life murders give me some pause in their inclusion here-- I don't care. The shit that works WORKS.

739579, I absoltely loved the first 20 minutes or so
Posted by Mynoriti, Wed Oct-07-20 02:41 AM
by the time it was over it felt like chore.

for Better or worse, he's always doing too much. i've always admired and been frustrated by him for it.

no arguments on Lindo. he's the best thing about this movie. This shit was a hot mess tho. I wish i liked it as much as you did because i really wanted to, so I'm jealous


739581, tbh I didn’t mean to write that as a reply, lol
Posted by Frank Longo, Wed Oct-07-20 10:15 AM
I just meant to write it as my review down below. Oh well, lol.

Yeah, I get people’s frustrations, and there’ve def been Spike movies where my frustrations outweighed my enjoyment. This one just leaned on the right side of the scale for me.
738926, Pretty good. Liked it a lot.
Posted by TheRealBillyOcean, Mon Jun-15-20 11:07 AM
Enjoyed it a lot more than I did "The Irishman".
738944, i think i've outgrown Sipke Lee
Posted by thegodcam, Wed Jun-17-20 09:43 AM
mind u, i liked the She's gotta have it Netflix series... but the majority of his flicks in the last few yrs, i just didnt care for.... dude literally changed my life.... but im done waiting anxiously for his next creative output...

it's been real
738981, his version of Treasure Of The Sierra Madre
Posted by rdhull, Tue Jun-23-20 09:35 AM
and he didn't disappoint
738989, Man what I mess, and I mainly blame Spike
Posted by Buddy_Gilapagos, Wed Jun-24-20 01:26 PM
That is, most of the things I disliked about this movie seem squarely Director's choices.

My father-in-law (RIP) use to blast his music all the time, no matter if the TV was on, convos were happening, whatever. It seems to be a trait of older men like Spike, Oliver Stone and Martin Scorcese.

For the love of mike Spike, edit your work more. Could have easily shaved 20 minutes off and probably would have been better served if 40 minutes were gone. Why did the scene of them actually finding the goal take so long?

I am not that familiar with Norman Lewis but the way they did that dude visually. Spolier: let me just come out and say it, having the dude up there with no arms and legs was just a bad call by Spike. My least favorite visual in film in years.

The decision to have those old actors to play there younger selves was just a terrible decision. Why do these older directors (thinking Scorcese and the Irishman) not want to give work to younger actors?!?! You telling me it made sense for Isiah Whitlock Jr. to play a younger version of himself rather than Roy Woods Jr.?

I think Spike had a good script and a good story, and he spiked it up and turned it into a melodramatic tyler perry stage play.

When it opened with these old black men getting together in the hotel lobby I was hyped because I saw my dad everytime he would see his boys.

A few other good moments. Lindo is a beast, but mostly not great.

**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

"what's a leader if he isn't reluctant"
739152, RE: Man what I mess, and I mainly blame Spike
Posted by mista k5, Fri Jul-31-20 01:17 PM
>The decision to have those old actors to play there younger
>selves was just a terrible decision. Why do these older
>directors (thinking Scorcese and the Irishman) not want to
>give work to younger actors?!?! You telling me it made sense
>for Isiah Whitlock Jr. to play a younger version of himself
>rather than Roy Woods Jr.?
>

seemed like no effort to make them look believably young either. how old are they supposed to be in present time? they looked at least 40 in the flashbacks, more like 50. flashbacks were what 50+ years ago?

im telling myself that all the flashbacks were actually dreams of paul. he only has the reference of norman from back then so he stayed the same age but the rest of them are basically the present age in his dreams. sure that makes enough sense lol
739154, honestly I thought it was a budget issue.
Posted by Nopayne, Sat Aug-01-20 01:05 AM
Which I'm okay with in principle since constraints usually make things interesting but yeah in this case it was just distracting.
739162, i assumed that was just a conscious gimmick
Posted by Mynoriti, Sun Aug-02-20 11:56 PM
the first flashback i thought it was an interesting choice, then it just became distracting
739519, RE: Man what I mess, and I mainly blame Spike
Posted by dgonsh, Fri Sep-25-20 10:41 AM
>seemed like no effort to make them look believably young either. how old are they supposed to be in present time? they looked at least 40 in the flashbacks, more like 50. flashbacks were what 50+ years ago?

i thought it was obvious that it was a choice that they didn't attempt to de-age them at all. they were just flashing back, but as their older current ages. like a memory you would have but while looking in the mirror. clearly Boseman is his younger self...cause he died in battle.
maybe I'm wrong...
739523, you're right. it was a deliberate choice by Spike.
Posted by Damali, Fri Sep-25-20 02:47 PM
739525, an eerie layer now since Chadwick will never reach their ages
Posted by Mynoriti, Sat Sep-26-20 02:12 PM
:(
739566, It was deliberate. *swipe*
Posted by Airbreed, Tue Oct-06-20 09:09 AM
https://www.moviemaker.com/why-spike-lee-didnt-de-age-his-da-5-bloods-stars/#:~:text=The%20new%20Spike%20Lee%20film,57)%2C%20Isiah%20Whitlock%20Jr.

Speaking at an online Q&A Wednesday, the director said his Da 5 Bloods stars were able to convey the passage of time through acting alone. He said he also rejected the idea of using different actors to play the men in their youth.

“The guys we have are great actors,” he said. “And I think their performance would have been hindered by having some people play younger versions of them. And I’ve never really seen a film where that works.”

He added that when Netflix expressed interest in releasing the film, he didn’t want to muddy the deal by dramatically increasing its budget through CGI.

“Netflix was the… last place who said yes. We made this film for a price. If an additional $100 million had been added to the budget, the film would not have been made,” Lee said.

Though Lee didn’t mention Netflix’s The Irishman, that Martin Scorsese film famously spent millions of dollars de-aging its leads.

Lee said he didn’t want to use makeup or prosthetics either, for practical reasons. The film was shot on location in Vietnam.

“We were shooting in the jungle, a hundred degrees. Prosthetics, makeup — that stuff with melted and run off the actor’s face,” Lee said.

Ultimately, he said, he trusted the audience to see that the flashbacks occur from the perspective of the characters today.

“I believe in the intelligence of the audience. And I knew that it might be a little jarring the first time they see it. But I knew they would just go for the ride and understand this is their memory,” he said.

The Q&A also included Lindo, who plays Paul, a veteran with PTSD, and Jonathan Majors, who plays Paul’s son, David.

No one seems to be complaining about the decision no to de-age the four surviving 5 Bloods: Lindo especially has received excellent reviews for his performance as Paul, who ages from a young soldier in the war to a modern-day Trump supporter coping with PTSD.

You can listen to our Low Key podcast about Da 5 Bloods on Apple or Spotify or right here:

739574, It was absolutely deliberate, and I thought it was a great choice.
Posted by Frank Longo, Wed Oct-07-20 12:42 AM
739055, wanted to like it
Posted by grey, Mon Jul-13-20 07:06 PM
...
739515, I feel dumb for letting y'all keep me from watching it for this long.
Posted by Damali, Wed Sep-23-20 03:04 PM
I read this post back then and avoided the film...when i should have paid more attention to WHO was saying it was bad...folks w/consistently trash opinions about most things so i should have ignored them.

I watched it in the past week and I loved it. I watched it again w/my son.

First and foremost, give Delroy Lindo ALL the props for this shit...he was electric every time he was on screen...brilliant, sorrowful, mesmerizing, terrifying but yet and still you feel for him and the pain/guilt he's carried for an entire life ...it made me wonder if other Black vietnam vets felt seen and heard through this film..

i like the license he took as a director to include Norm as a memory instead of an actual flashback..that way you solve for having to provide younger versions of the other 4

the scene of them finding out MLK was murdered was interesting because it never occured to me before how that must have felt for the Black GIs at that time..not being at home then...

personally, i like Spike's filmmaking style...its his own...its Black AF...its off-kilter...i appreciate the madcap chaos he creates that is still believeable and compelling...and tragic, cuz they almost all ended up dying in vietnam anyway

were there some corny elements? yes. we didn't need the long lost daughter thing...but i personally enjoy imperfections in any piece of art. And Spike is an artist, period.

Bonus moments: "Sheeeeeiiiiiiittttttt" and "why don't you put the gold on craigslist!" LOL

d