Uncut Gems - upcoming Safdie Bros film with Adam Sandler (!)

Snake Plisken

Loved Sandler's acceptance speech for Best Male lead at the Independant Spirit Awards

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihalG3Rw_QA

siblers

Really enjoyed it, Sandler is suberb and it moves really fast but apart from the last 15 minutes or so, I didn't find it that intense.

The way people were talking about it, I was expecting it to be a lot more unsettling/intense

el Fenomeno

Snake Plisken wrote: »

Loved Sandler's acceptance speech for Best Male lead at the Independant Spirit Awards

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihalG3Rw_QA

Loved him shouting out his fellow nominees who will forever be know as the guys who lost to ****ing Adam Sandler :pac:

Osmosis Jones

Describing movies like Billy Madison and The Waterboy as high concept arthouse pieces is a great bit.

Homelander

Amazing film, so relentless and horribly stressful to watch, the film does an incredible job of making you feel like you're somehow an unwitting part of everything that's playing out on screen. Sandler really at his best here. Major thumbs up!

Homelander

Interesting to see so many people outside Europe wondering what the end credits song is.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAHeAjqnE0Q

Aidric

Homelander wrote: »

so relentless and horribly stressful to watch, the film does an incredible job of making you feel like you're somehow an unwitting part of everything that's playing out on screen.

That was my take also. It is a very immersive experience bordering on the overwhelming at times so kudos to the directors and Sandler for creating that tension.

I'm still not sure where I fall in terms of rating the movie. At heart it is a pretty simple story amplified by the way the directors choose to tell it in a loud and manic fashion.

Not many movies create that effect authentically however, so on balance I think this is a very strong movie that won't suit everybody but deserves to be watched.

ricero

Fantastic piece of cinema.

My heart was racing by the end of it.

Not one for me really. Was really excited based on the reviews and hype.

Osmosis Jones

Homelander wrote: »

Amazing film, so relentless and horribly stressful to watch, the film does an incredible job of making you feel like you're somehow an unwitting part of everything that's playing out on screen. Sandler really at his best here. Major thumbs up!

One technique that massively contributes to these feelings is how close up a lot of the shots are, I just skimmed through the trailer there and even that's riddled with dialogue scenes with extreme closeups.

pixelburp

The scene with the broken door was the zenith for me, just a crystalised, distilled moment of the overall levels of stress and anxiety threaded throughout the film. The buzzing wouldn't stop, and I felt like screaming at the screen to fix the effing door.

Aidric

pixelburp wrote: »

The scene with the broken door was the zenith for me, just a crystalised, distilled moment of the overall levels of stress and anxiety threaded throughout the film. The buzzing wouldn't stop, and I felt like screaming at the screen to fix the effing door.

A Saturday morning after a damaging Friday night session but you've forgot to turn off the recurring alarm on your phone. That's what it reminded me of.

buried

Nice Moog sponsored little doc on the soundtrack

Sleeper12

Watched it last night. I'm torn. Think it is a good movie but Adams shouting throughout the movie definitely took away from the enjoyment. It made it uncomfortable for me to watch

The White Wolf

Pretty complete capture of a degenerate, if well meaning, gambler. Well done to Sandler.

Watched this tonight..didn’t know what to expect but really liked it...the tension and anxiety from start to finish...great flick

puppieperson1

Watched it last night and felt exhausted afterwards not sure if i liked it or not sleazy and dark and frantic genuinely wouldn't recommend for an enjoyable night viewing.

NIMAN

So many of the recent comments above kind of sum it up for me.

I enjoyed it, but not as much as many viewers. Again maybe the hype built it up a bit, but a 6/10 for me.

I found it kinda tiring to watch, if that makes sense? It was chaotic, noisy, shouty, annoying at times, too many people talking at the same time, etc etc. You all know what I mean if you've seen it.

But I guess this is what the directors were going for. To try to show us how messed up this life was. I get it that we are watching a man whose life is chaotic and dangerous etc and going off the rails. That they achieved but its not a very easy watch.

Thisonedone

Homelander wrote: »

Amazing film, so relentless and horribly stressful to watch, the film does an incredible job of making you feel like you're somehow an unwitting part of everything that's playing out on screen.!

I agree it’s horribly stressful to watch but really don’t think that’s a good thing, not how I wanted to spend my spare time anyway, I have enough stress at work. I made to half way through this movie before I had to stop it and go get a couple of headache tablets.

fatbhoy

I made it halfway then deleted it. Awful film; it was very annoying.

the whole year inn

fatbhoy wrote: »

I made it halfway then deleted it. Awful film; it was very annoying.

Why not just have finished it?

Treppen

I thought it was alright and kept me watching.

Only alright though.

fatbhoy

the whole year inn wrote: »

Why not just have finished it?

Ah it was wrecking my head from about 15 minutes. So frantic, shouty, and AS was so annoying to me. I just thought that my time was more valuable to me than finishing it.

fatbhoy

Although I liked the maker's previous film, Good Time. But this was just a head-wreck for me.

pixelburp

Obviously ones mileage will vary, but Uncut Gems was clearly precision made to get under the viewers skin and give them a borderline panic attack. Fair enough if it's not for you, but wrecking your head was the intention!

baldbear

Just watched this film and I liked it. I could feel the characters stress levels. Good to see Sandler acting.

rob316

That's was ****ing brilliant. The ending I couldn't believe but it was building. Sandler really showing he can be a good drama actor but it was tailor made for the role of Ratner.

mark_jmc

I really enjoyed it but couldn’t watch it all the way through in one go- felt like I was getting brain damaged watching it!

MisterAnarchy

Only got around to watching this now.

I was expecting a good film but I thought it was a bit of a mess.
Stressful seems to be a word alot of people used to describe it, I found it irritating.

I couldn't take Sandler seriously, his voice was too high pitched and he mumbled his words, he just wasn't convincing in the role.

The sound mix was dreadful, hard to hear the dialogue, with annoying background music overpowering scenes.
People constantly shouting at each other, too much noise.

Garnett actually played his role very well, as did some of the other characters.

pixelburp

When my stress levels are good and my blood pressure is at a healthy point, I will absolutely watch this again, without pause, for the sheer cinematic pummeling this insane piece of film created. The very definition of an acquired taste, and will probably forever divide opinion by dint of its naked hostility baked into every scene, but I "loved" it.

That scene with the door. I still think on it lol.

MisterAnarchy

pixelburp wrote: »

When my stress levels are good and my blood pressure is at a healthy point, I will absolutely watch this again, without pause, for the sheer cinematic pummeling this insane piece of film created. The very definition of an acquired taste, and will probably forever divide opinion by dint of its naked hostility baked into every scene, but I "loved" it.

That scene with the door. I still think on it lol.

By stress do you mean suspense or just the stress that the character produces by his constantly imbecelic behaviour and decisions.
As in the viewer is tearing their hair out with stress at what a buffoon Sandlers character is ?

The last 15 minutes of the film is suspenseful but the rest I didnt find any way suspenseful.

pixelburp

MisterAnarchy wrote: »

By stress do you mean suspense or just the stress that the character produces by his constantly imbecelic behaviour and decisions.
As in the viewer is tearing their hair out with stress at what a buffoon Sandlers character is ?

The last 15 minutes of the film is suspenseful but the rest I didnt find any way suspenseful.

I didn't see Sandler's character as especially imbecilic TBH: no more than any other flawed characters actions would be in a tale of addiction. Howard was very clearly a man utterly possessed by gambling on everything in his life, and watching him try to keep all those overlapping plates spinning was as tragic as it was foolish. Or gripping. Sure, his decisions were ostensibly stupid, but then ... that's addiction? It wouldn't make for tragic stories if the actions weren't inherently flawed or foolish to the rest of us.

El Duda

MisterAnarchy wrote: »

Only got around to watching this now.

I was expecting a good film but I thought it was a bit of a mess.
Stressful seems to be a word alot of people used to describe it, I found it irritating.

I couldn't take Sandler seriously, his voice was too high pitched and he mumbled his words, he just wasn't convincing in the role.

The sound mix was dreadful, hard to hear the dialogue, with annoying background music overpowering scenes.
People constantly shouting at each other, too much noise.

Garnett actually played his role very well, as did some of the other characters.

So, stressful then?

MisterAnarchy

pixelburp wrote: »

I didn't see Sandler's character as especially imbecilic TBH: no more than any other flawed characters actions would be in a tale of addiction. Howard was very clearly a man utterly possessed by gambling on everything in his life, and watching him try to keep all those overlapping plates spinning was as tragic as it was foolish. Or gripping. Sure, his decisions were ostensibly stupid, but then ... that's addiction? It wouldn't make for tragic stories if the actions weren't inherently flawed or foolish to the rest of us.

Did he have a gambling addiction or did desperate times call for desperate measures ?
Was it alluded to earlier in the film that he had a gambling problem ?
With all the shouting and roaring and poor sound mix I could have missed that.

So, stressful then?

I've had a read of a few reviews that described it as the most stressful film of the year and they label as such because its an edge of your seat thriller, with high tension.

https://www.gqmiddleeast.com/culture/uncut-gems-and-the-most-stressful-films-of-modern-times#:~:text=Like%20watching%20one%20of%20those,in%20most%20right%2Dminded%20people.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwnKK9qv9Eg

I honestly found it a chore to watch and apart from the last 10 minutes I didnt find it suspenseful.
It just felt like a cacophony of noise, that never really stopped being a cacophony of noise, and it is so only to be artsy rather than to tell a good story.
My wife thought it was one of the worst films she had seen in years and her hunch that half the cast werent even actors was right.

We watched Sicario 2 last week, now thats a film I'd call high tension and stressful.

Fysh

For me it was stressful in that it puts you right into Howard's life, with all the noise and plate-spinning and rushing around that entails. He's a man clearly obsessed, willing to risk all sorts of things on unlikely gambles - and part of his strategy is to constantly maintain a performance of someone who is in control and knows what he's doing.

The use of constant noise and competing demands on the viewer's attention is the sort of thing that would normally vex me hugely, but in this film it struck me as a very considered and intentional choice, and I appreciated the result. For me, I don't think the film would have been as effective a recounting of the same story if those elements of the presentation had been more restrained.

pixelburp

MisterAnarchy wrote: »

Did he have a gambling addiction or did desperate times call for desperate measures ?
Was it alluded to earlier in the film that he had a gambling problem ?
With all the shouting and roaring and poor sound mix I could have missed that.

I dunno if you mean was there someone explicitly saying it, in which case no: but all of Howard's actions both hinted towards, and showed, a clear pattern of gambling addiction. Aside from the actual and constant sports bets he kept losing and finding himself owing for (IIRC setting in motion the finale and that final, tragic winning bet), he was using the preious stone as collateral for a bunch of side-deals.

The guy was a hustler, and lived a life of constant, chaotic wheeling and dealing; his gambling wasn't just the literal form in terms of all those sports bets, but an addiction for gambling with people, circumstances, deals, and so on.

Obviously not going to persuade you otherwise that this was a good movie, and of course you're entitled to your opinion, but thematically the noise and chaos was precisely the point here. A visceral, physical manifestation of the kind of swirling chaos Howard's life is. It used the medium to externalise all that madness, where other lesser movies might have had therapy sessions or convenient characters observing Howard's illness. Instead, this was pure Character as Action.

rob316

Fysh wrote: »

For me it was stressful in that it puts you right into Howard's life, with all the noise and plate-spinning and rushing around that entails. He's a man clearly obsessed, willing to risk all sorts of things on unlikely gambles - and part of his strategy is to constantly maintain a performance of someone who is in control and knows what he's doing.

The use of constant noise and competing demands on the viewer's attention is the sort of thing that would normally vex me hugely, but in this film it struck me as a very considered and intentional choice, and I appreciated the result. For me, I don't think the film would have been as effective a recounting of the same story if those elements of the presentation had been more restrained.

Exactly, this is the life he lives.

Hdjsjsjsj

An absolutely brilliant film in my opinion

rob316

Someone mentioned all the close ups ad to the tension, I agree. I was watching green grass blood Sunday the other day and it's shot documentary style with close ups and you get that same tension.