gpknopp

In the first half this movie moved forward with an easy earnestness that assured me that it had something to say. But through the first hour it continued to be formulaic and dull, relying on costume and superlative cinematography.

I'm a paddler, so I'm given to romantic interpretations of water sports, but I found myself asking, "Who cares?" Why was this boring movie made? Why did it get so widely distributed?

I can't answer these questions, I can only speculate. I think this is part of an agenda, a Hollywood push, to inspire white Americans to consider that they can do great things, if they work together. This is a good thing. We are not Americants. So, thanks to Clooney for directing a superbly formulaic and dull film that can inspire.

So me, single hot dad in Hawaii, watched this with my daughter, who thankfully has had some arts education and recognized it as the weak drivel that it is. I mean, gags are as fun as gags are as funny, I suppose, so there's some of that, but there's a little much too material directed at feline fetishists, and I say this as one, or not, anyway, the idea of visual gags being incredibly funny or surprising in an animated universe seems to assume that the viewer is infantile. To me, the movie was like a really long and entertaining youtube video, or the first time you play some story line oriented game. You kind of know what gag is coming next...

Yes, I think the smarmy and gratuitous appeal to cat fetishists is annoying. Then again, cats are cool and can do things like jump 12 times their height, or something. They are also fantastically good at sleeping, as I am.

Watching this with my daughter yesterday was a father-daughter bonding experience because we both were making fun of this stupid movie. It is what it is.

It is an irrelevant art form, at this point, and so it attracts less talent.

The core problem is that the story has no story to tell, so it tries to engage the viewer in an identity crisis. Sign of the times.

Visually, this show is impressive, with tight video production and editing, but what really shines is the sound production. I listened with some good headphones, as I do with lots of shows, and the show has amazing sound, in terms of soundtrack, use of ambient and spatial sound, excellent recording levels, and nearly stands on its own as entertainment.

The story line is tight, and seems, like Ted Lasso, to be centered on empathy and compassion. The brutality is muted, and many scenes are setups for memorable crackups. It's very nearly family friendly, with ribald English humor, of course. Chistopher Walken is doing some awesome work (Walkenaissance?), and the character acting is, for the most part, very engaging.