xroo-73772
Joined Aug 2016
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xroo-73772's rating
The only real battle here is the one against fatigue. There is no prize for winning it. There should be, because having watched "One Battle After Another" sober and without breaks and distractions? That's an actual achievement.
It's not a comedy. The only thing funny is Sean Penn's hammy portrayal of his character as the most stereotypical, stiff, creepy evil white man he could probably imagine. Laughably bad. Remarkable. Leonardo DiCaprio plays another stereotype: a confused 1970s hippie.
"One Battle After Another" is based on a book about boomers. It's been translated into the world of millennials. That doesn't really work. Eras are not interchangeable at will. The author of the novel is Thomas Pynchon, who is associated with the stale postmodernist movement, so you shouldn't expect drama, thrills, logic or a worthwhile story. The weakest part is again Penn's character, the driving force in this movie, whose motivations are mostly unclear, never believable, ridiculous.
The "nerve-shredding score" is distracting and annoying, like some primitive experimental free jazz from the early 60s. The political views are - as to be expected - immature and naive. What are the terrorists even fighting for, what are they expecting to achieve? The boomer revolutionaries couldn't know any better. These heavily armed millennials fighting against (insert buzzwords)? Well, they only exist in this movie, so Paul Thomas Anderson is the one to blame. For a very long time the sole interesting thing about OBAA is the question: What is this movie about? Where is the story? In the end that doesn't matter. The story behind all the noise is just insane / ridiculous / experimental free jazzy.
It's not a comedy. The only thing funny is Sean Penn's hammy portrayal of his character as the most stereotypical, stiff, creepy evil white man he could probably imagine. Laughably bad. Remarkable. Leonardo DiCaprio plays another stereotype: a confused 1970s hippie.
"One Battle After Another" is based on a book about boomers. It's been translated into the world of millennials. That doesn't really work. Eras are not interchangeable at will. The author of the novel is Thomas Pynchon, who is associated with the stale postmodernist movement, so you shouldn't expect drama, thrills, logic or a worthwhile story. The weakest part is again Penn's character, the driving force in this movie, whose motivations are mostly unclear, never believable, ridiculous.
The "nerve-shredding score" is distracting and annoying, like some primitive experimental free jazz from the early 60s. The political views are - as to be expected - immature and naive. What are the terrorists even fighting for, what are they expecting to achieve? The boomer revolutionaries couldn't know any better. These heavily armed millennials fighting against (insert buzzwords)? Well, they only exist in this movie, so Paul Thomas Anderson is the one to blame. For a very long time the sole interesting thing about OBAA is the question: What is this movie about? Where is the story? In the end that doesn't matter. The story behind all the noise is just insane / ridiculous / experimental free jazzy.
After seeing both movies for the first time, the differences couldn't be more obvious. Freaky Friday is a classic Disney movie. It's extremely well made, good-natured, inventive and funny. The 2025 version has none of that. It's badly constructed, chaotic, a bit mean spirited and - even though it tries very hard to entertain - completely unfunny.
The main conflict: The daughters of Anna Coleman (Lindsay Lohan) and Eric Reyes (Manny Jacinto) genuinely hate each other. And while Anna and Eric always pretend that their kids are the most important thing in their lives, they just don't care. Only six months after their first encounter they are in a hurry to get married and to move (with the kids) from California to London.
Who has to walk in who's shoes to solve this conflict? Doesn't matter. This time, four women get trapped in another woman's body, but the whole thing is just a gimmick. That's most obvious in the case of Tess Coleman (Jamie Lee Curtis), who isn't even part of the conflict. Her inclusion is just a pretext to make gross remarks about her body. There isn't a good reason for this to happen to any of the four, it's all a bad joke. How much supernatural help do you need to realize that you shouldn't ignore essential interests of your kid?
All four switchies behave quite stupidly. A few ideas from Freaky Friday get reused, "quoted", many random things happen. It's a meaningless spectacle, without heart, soul and laughter.
O Disney, what have they done to you?
The main conflict: The daughters of Anna Coleman (Lindsay Lohan) and Eric Reyes (Manny Jacinto) genuinely hate each other. And while Anna and Eric always pretend that their kids are the most important thing in their lives, they just don't care. Only six months after their first encounter they are in a hurry to get married and to move (with the kids) from California to London.
Who has to walk in who's shoes to solve this conflict? Doesn't matter. This time, four women get trapped in another woman's body, but the whole thing is just a gimmick. That's most obvious in the case of Tess Coleman (Jamie Lee Curtis), who isn't even part of the conflict. Her inclusion is just a pretext to make gross remarks about her body. There isn't a good reason for this to happen to any of the four, it's all a bad joke. How much supernatural help do you need to realize that you shouldn't ignore essential interests of your kid?
All four switchies behave quite stupidly. A few ideas from Freaky Friday get reused, "quoted", many random things happen. It's a meaningless spectacle, without heart, soul and laughter.
O Disney, what have they done to you?