Ad Astra (Brad Pitt SF)

bnt · 14-09-2019 3:59pm

This is officially out next Friday, though we can go and see it from Wednesday. Initial reviews look pretty positive, particularly regarding Brad. From the Guardian 5* review:

Brad Pitt is an intergalactic Captain Willard, taking a fraught mission up-river in James Gray’s Ad Astra, an outer-space Apocalypse Now which played to rapt crowds at the Venice film festival. In place of steaming jungles, this gives us existential chills. Instead of Viet Cong soldiers, it provides man-eating baboons and pirates riding dune-buggies. It’s an extraordinary picture, steely and unbending and assembled with an unmistakable air of wild-eyed zealotry. Ad Astra, be warned, is going all the way - and it double-dares us to buckle up for the trip.

AMKC · 18-09-2019 9:43pm

So went and seen this this evening. All I will say is wow what a masterpiece. Find the biggest best loudest screen you can and go enjoy this for the work of art that it is. Best sci-fi film in years. Only one thing I can think was wrong with it was its not long enough. I could have easily sat through another hour of it I loved it that much and the time flew by watching it too.

10 out of 10 for me.

pixelburp · 18-09-2019 9:55pm

My local cinema (Santry) has a gigantic screen, complete with "Atmos" surround sound, but Ad Astra isn't getting it; no no. Instead it'll continue to show ... ... Downton Abby.

:rolleyes:

Now I don't watch it, and have nothing against the show myself, but that division of screens just doesn't compute (even if I'm guessing punters are streaming in for "big screen" Abby thrills). What a waste of a cinematic canvas.

Will just have to sit closer to the screen I guess lol.

AMKC · 18-09-2019 10:02pm

pixelburp wrote: »

My local cinema (Santry) has a gigantic screen, complete with "Atmos" surround sound, but Ad Astra isn't getting it; no no. Instead it'll continue to show ... ... Downton Abby.

:rolleyes:

Now I don't watch it, and have nothing against the show myself, but that division of screens just doesn't compute (even if I'm guessing punters are streaming in for "big screen" Abby thrills). What a waste of a cinematic canvas.

Will just have to sit closer to the screen I guess lol.

Well you could go and complain about it and get as many people as you can to go with you. The Point Odeon screen 1 is good but if I were you I would try go watch it at screen 17 Cineworld. Wish I had.

ixoy · 18-09-2019 10:21pm

I was disappointed with this. It looks and sounds gorgeous but it's also pretentious - it's trying to make some profound points at times but it's heavy-handed with far too many monologues. Pitt does it well but the material itself seems all a bit shallow.

Other elements bugged me too. The director making claims that it's highly realistic, for example, but then:

showing Earth-like gravity on the planets took me right out of the feel of an alien world he was trying to go for

.

The script really isn't as clever as it thinks it is, which is ultimately a shame. I'd echo then that if you are going to see it, do see it on a big screen because the visuals and score are the best thing about it.

johnny_ultimate · 18-09-2019 10:23pm

Can we officially classify 'middle aged man dealing with family crisis / trauma through epic space adventure' as a subgenre now? Because between this, Interstellar and First Man we've got a lot of that going down these last few years. Thankfully this is probably the best film out of the three, or at least refreshingly different enough to stand apart.

Love the different visions of space travel we're presented with here. From an epic but just about credible man-made construct that opens the film, to the grimly believable hyper-commodified representation of space tourism* (you'd absolutely be charged for a blanket

), to the beautiful, angular, sandy desolation of Mars... just an all round great piece of sci-fi (many) world building. Hoyte van Hoytema is one of the best cinematographers in the business, and thankfully I think Gray as a director is in far less of a rush than Nolan always is so you get more moments to savour the awesome sights before we move on. It's not a particularly slow film, but it does take the time it needs. The score hits the right tone too - absent the bombast you get in most films of this ilk, and instead sort of glides along unusually while keeping with the rhythms of the film.

If you've seen The Lost City of Z, this is operating in broadly the same tonal register - this incredible adventure set against serious, moody contemplation on human folly. While this can often be a bleak, sombre film in that respect, it ultimately lands on a

strange note of thoughtful secular optimism

. It can drift into overly ponderous territory at times, but I mostly appreciated its self-seriousness: it knows exactly what it is.

This is a much more accomplished performance from Pitt than we saw in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood... a few weeks ago. His work there is great, but kinda feels like his brash comfort zone at the same time. This is a much more reserved performance and demands more as a result. He pulls it off. I appreciate how the movie keeps at a distance from him - I mean, it's hard to be totally on board with

the dude who straight up murders three innocent astronauts

- that I for one felt befit the film's overall sense of internalised melancholy. Everyone else is more or less here for a cameo.

Stray thoughts: loved the lunar rover chase, thought that was going to be silly but works great on the big screen. The film gets very on-the-nose

during the 'let me go' sequence in Neptune's orbit

, and while it's briefly a bit eye-rolly I'd absolutely take it over the embarrassing faff of Interstellar's final act any day of the week. It's always good to see a film with such forward momentum - everything kicks into gear nearly immediately - that still feels like it has the time to slow down and contemplate about the bigger picture from time to time. A very fine film.

*extra points for product placement that is not remotely flattering for any of the companies involved

Slydice · 18-09-2019 10:29pm

I've said it before, I'll say it again.. Moon Base!

:)

Just back, saw it in 2D IMAX. It was good but mostly for the setting. The story felt a bit by-the-numbers.
The universe it built was cool. It all felt like it made sense.
I liked that Ruth Negga

was a Martian.. like I particularly liked the idea.. or the way she looked or played it or something.. maybe it's just Ruth Negga

AMKC wrote: »

try go watch it at screen 17 Cineworld. Wish I had.

I did! That scene with the Earth coming in from the right-side of the screen! YUHS!

Shelga · 19-09-2019 12:40am

Saw it tonight. 3/5 from me. You'd probably like it more if you're a sci-fi buff. I like the occasional sci-fi movie (loved Sunshine), but between this and High Life earlier in the year, it's overall just not my genre, and that's fine.

I loved the visuals and the tone/atmosphere, but so much of it was just so incredibly far-fetched. Spoilers ahoy!

Why did it have to be Roy in particular who sent the message to his father? Ok yes they were using him for their own means as they knew Clifford had likely gone insane after killing the crew, but still

Him sneaking aboard a spacecraft by swimming underneath Martian waters was stupid.

Why were there rage-filled, 28 Days Later stylee monkeys in space, who were never mentioned again??

Little things bugged me, like when they showed a photo of young Clifford, it was in black and white as though it was taken in 1955, but if this is set say 50 years in the future, there's no way his picture would have been anything other than digital and in colour when he was 25.

When the dad said something like "I never gave you and your mother a second thought after I left, I didn't care" the dialogue was just so unsubtle and clunky, I thought for sure it was going to show Roy was tripping/hallucinating or something, especially as he'd just mentioned the effects of changed gravity (or something) in that region

I don't know, these kinds of films just don't resonate with me emotionally a fraction as much as they do for other people.

Brad Pitt still insanely hot at 55 though :pac:

*edit* Oh may I also commend the director for keeping the length to almost exactly 2 hours. So easy and common for movies like this to be 2 hours 30 minutes long, for no reason. Actually maybe he can give Quentin Tarantino some editing tips.

Drumpot · 19-09-2019 10:54pm

Yeh I think 6 or 7 out of 10 is fair.

It was an enjoyable slow moving movie that reminded me a bit of moon.

I loved Pitts

inner monologue

, loved his commentary on how his dad would feel about commercialized moon and there was some wonderful world building and scenes on the surface of planets.

But if really lacked something. Anytime I thought it was getting going it fell flat. Ironically I thought the moon

chase

was so offputting as it didn’t really make any sense and was a bit stupid to be fair.I mean Pitt is being sent to

give the message to his dad to supposedly save the world from obliteration and they put their entire fate with a few grunts who get easily picked off by space pirates

. Seriously? A movie like this actually didn’t need any

fight scenes

. Don’t get me wrong I like good space drama but in the way Nolan gets stick for not doing human relationships well this director made a bit of a mess of that scene for me. I actually liked the scene but just not in this movie.

I would also add that a to sneak onto a spaceship that’s going to save the world by getting in a hatch door, swimming under a lake and just walking to the ship with no security measures was equally a bit silly.

A friend who came with me to the movie called it right, without Pitt as the lead the movie would prob of fallen on its ass. He’s an absorbing actor in this. I actually watched a lot of the movie as if his life was a metaphor for depression.

closed off from those he loved, not much concern for his own welfare (heart rate never goes high even in dangerous situations), he’s lonely and his life does appear to be very sad/joyless

.

I also felt

Sutherland

and

negga

were kind of wasted roles. They could of been any random actor and what they had to work with wouldn’t of made much a difference.

Overall I enjoyed it but like I said, it felt like a really missed opportunity to be a classic.

sweetie · 20-09-2019 3:34pm

This is the Mubi (go) app film of the week. Free showing in Vue, Liffey valley.

brevity · 20-09-2019 4:12pm

Anyone in cork trying to book this in the maxx screens in Mahon?

It’s only in screen 7 as far as I can make out...

liamtech · 20-09-2019 10:05pm

I was curious to see what people would think of this - I am a sci fi buff myself, and while nothing will ever hold a torch to 2001: a space odyssey (i read the book, then watch the film then read the book, and so on - addicted - masterpiece) - i did expect this would be decent

It wasnt...

Spoilers Below

Average to below average for me - kinda reminded me of Sunshine - in that it started off decent -

few highs (effects, commercial flights to the moon - and a sense of wonder and expectation - something out there causing surges - perhaps ET's etc) - the plot then fell flat on its face and resorted to unbelievable action sequences - silly scenes (space baboons :eek: )

And then finished with a very low level of writing and imagination -

the station is causing surges - Tommy Lee is not playing with a full deck - and we are alone in the universe apparently - which makes Brad Pitt optimistic (the smell of Intelligent Design Theology was rather pungent at this point)

Nah - very dissapointed

4/10 - a Bare pass

Im sure it will do good in the Box Office but for someone who likes proper Hard Sci Fi - PASS on this

EDIT - i suppose Hard Sci Fi doesnt sell these days so - should have expected this

I mentioned 2001 btw, not because i ever expected it to be of that level - but i did think this would be a proper Hard Sci Fi film that would leave me thinking - that perhaps it would be like the Expanse in that respect -

2001 a space odyssey is the 1960s Brazil team with Pele

The Expanse is Spain circa 2008-2012

This is Doncaster Rovers - on a bad day

Very Interested to see and hear what others have to say

Respectful as always

Slydice · 20-09-2019 11:51pm

liamtech wrote: »

Im sure it will do good in the Box Office

I don't think so.

Budget of 80-100million:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ad_Astra_(film)

Only predicted to make 19million opening weekend:
https://www.boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=4547&p=.htm

No cinemascore yet but looking like bad word-of-mouth from
56% Audience Score on RT: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/ad_astra

Probably lump another 20-80 million on the budget for advertising and this film may end up lucky to break-even.

RickBlaine · 21-09-2019 12:45am

I loved the acting, visuals, world building, and the clear destination of its plot.

Things I didn't like were the extreme abundance of narration (show don't tell), and while the two brief action sequences are independently thrilling, they feel completely unnecessary. As mentioned above, there is one extremely on the nose moment that took me right out of the moment.

Its relatively slow pace may not be for everyone.

liamtech · 21-09-2019 1:53pm

Slydice wrote: »

I don't think so.

Budget of 80-100million:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ad_Astra_(film)

Only predicted to make 19million opening weekend:
https://www.boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=4547&p=.htm

No cinemascore yet but looking like bad word-of-mouth from
56% Audience Score on RT: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/ad_astra

Probably lump another 20-80 million on the budget for advertising and this film may end up lucky to break-even.

Yes you might well be right - tbh i am more curious by audience reaction to the plot- for me 'Glorious Special Effects, Amazing Acting and Action sequences, take a back seat to Plot and Writing

The former, especially acting and FX were spendid - but the plot was shockingly poor, IMHO

I would say acting and FX is the only reason that this film might do ok - and its the sole reason that i gave it 4/10 - if it were an unknown cast, as many Sci Fi Blockbusters sometimes use, then this would be far lower in my mind

Slydice · 21-09-2019 5:42pm

B- Cinemascore:
https://www.cinemascore.com/

Current front page only lists B- for:
Ad Astra
Hustlers (so far 55m https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?page=main&id=hustlers.htm)
The Kitchen (so far 15m https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?page=main&id=thekitchen2019.htm)

They had budgets around half that of Ad Astra.

Looks like Ad Astra will be relying on the draw of Brad Pitt to make back it's money.

AMKC · 21-09-2019 6:14pm

Can't believe the people here disappointed with it. I thought it looked and sounded stunning and the acting is excellent too. Sure there is one or two bits that it maybe could have done without. I agree they could have left his thoughts out of it but that is all that only slightly annoyed me and maybe the end could have been done different. I am thinking of going to see it again for a second maybe even a third time as it looks amazing on the big screen as I said already. I doubt it will look that good on a T.V screen.

tylercheribini · 21-09-2019 6:16pm

The ending was Bond movie-preposterous.

otnomart · 21-09-2019 6:54pm

Just seen it.
Thought Pitt was very good, most other characters were redundant though.
For me: better then Gravity but still not a patch on Moon , which remains my own favourite.

tylercheribini · 21-09-2019 7:40pm

The action bits felt tacked on and out of place, film ultimately fell between two stools, was good but not great.

santana75 · 21-09-2019 11:49pm

I loved it but it most definitely is not for everyone. It takes its time and is in absolutley no rush whatsoever. If youre the type of movie goer who needs constant dislogue and action and youre unconfortable with scenes of stillness and silence then this is not a movie for you. Its very much in the vein of 2001 atmosphere wise. The story is more straight forward in this though and if i was to compare the narrative to any film it'd be Apocalypse now. A fine film though and one that will haunt my thoughts for a time to come.

Drumpot · 22-09-2019 12:22am

otnomart wrote: »

Just seen it.
Thought Pitt was very good, most other characters were redundant though.
For me: better then Gravity but still not a patch on Moon , which remains my own favourite.

Absolutely loved moon but never took to Gravity. I think it’s because I watched a superb documentary just before it on an Irish rock climber who died climbing a mountain. Made the drama in gravity look wooden.

marklazarcovic · 22-09-2019 5:43am

A terrible terrible movie,save your money

woodchuck · 23-09-2019 10:16am

I just assumed everyone here was being overly negative, as it got good reviews in the Irish Times and on Entertainment.ie. However, I was very disappointed. I love good drama or Sci-Fi, but it missed the mark on both accounts.

It started off well enough. I liked the opening sequence and the

commercialisation of the Moon

was interesting. But it went downhill from there.

They seemed to just throw in a few action sequences purely for the sake of

getting rid of a few characters

, rather than the action actually contribute anything to the story (

killer space monkeys ffs

).

I can see why they wanted Brad Pitt to be alone when he confronted his father, but it was orchestrated in a ridiculous manner. “I have no hostile intentions” – 1 minute later, the entire crew has died accidently. Whoopsie :rolleyes: It would’ve made more sense to use the surges to the advantage of the storyline to kill some more characters off, rather than having them die in random and stupid ways (again… killer space monkeys…).

And they never even attempted to explain the cause of the surges! Just something about it happening by accident during the mutiny and his Dad couldn’t figure out how to stop it. They could’ve come up with something much more interesting there if they had only tried a little bit.

Was it visually impressive? Yes, at times.
Was the acting good? Yes, despite underusing Ruth Negga.
Does any of that make up for the poor storyline? No.

I’d say don’t waste your time, but there’s not much else on the in the cinema atm. If you don’t mind wasting the money, go judge for yourselves. But set the bar low..

Technocentral · 24-09-2019 11:28am

Myself and mates saw it in Imax Cineworld, a fantastic visual feast, only way to see it imo.

pixelburp · 25-09-2019 12:20am

To take an astronomical point of view, which seems appropriate: the Sun one day will turn to a white dwarf and consume our small, vulnerable system - and while that may be billions of years in the future, I will make a bet that whatever form humanity takes then, lazy authors will still write those tedious, wailing screeds about sons and their fathers. That tortured, barely repressed projection of the author over their apparently demonic dad.

I think this might have skirted very close to that phenomenon known from TV as the "hate watch"; I'm not even sure I can coalesce my feelings about this into something coherent, as much like the film itself, my opinion feels like chaos. Now, to be positive here, there were things to like: the FX and vistas of the great empty abyss were beautiful, and the action set-pieces - particularly the opening one on the antenna array - were effective, but contained within was a story so all over the place, it was a tough to endure from one scene to the next. The tone and approach vacillated violently between an indulgent ponderousness that would make a 1st year philosophy student blush, and outright, unbridled cheesy schlock. All of which bookended by tedious voiceover from Brad Pitt fretting about how awful his dad was (the most literal example of "show, don't tell").

Such an odd, manic film. I don't normally post video reviews, but I really think Kermode got it right. It wasn't terrible, but it was all over the place in terms of quality.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82DNMo54rYY

tylercheribini · 25-09-2019 9:20am

pixelburp wrote: »

To take an astronomical point of view, which seems appropriate: the Sun one day will turn to a white dwarf and consume our small, vulnerable system - and while that may be billions of years in the future, I will make a bet that whatever form humanity takes then, lazy authors will still write those tedious, wailing screeds about sons and their fathers. That tortured, barely repressed projection of the author over their apparently demonic dad.

I think this might have skirted very close to that phenomenon known from TV as the "hate watch"; I'm not even sure I can coalesce my feelings about this into something coherent, as much like the film itself, my opinion feels like chaos. Now, to be positive here, there were things to like: the FX and vistas of the great empty abyss were beautiful, and the action set-pieces - particularly the opening one on the antenna array - were effective, but contained within was a story so all over the place, it was a tough to endure from one scene to the next. The tone and approach vacillated violently between an indulgent ponderousness that would make a 1st year philosophy student blush, and outright, unbridled cheesy schlock. All of which bookended by tedious voiceover from Brad Pitt fretting about how awful his dad was (the most literal example of "show, don't tell").

Such an odd, manic film. I don't normally post video reviews, but I really think Kermode got it right. It wasn't terrible, but it was all over the place in terms of quality.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82DNMo54rYY

Yea for once I was in 100% agreement with the good doctor, can't remember such a tonally inconsistent film.

Mad_maxx · 25-09-2019 10:17pm

ixoy wrote: »

I was disappointed with this. It looks and sounds gorgeous but it's also pretentious - it's trying to make some profound points at times but it's heavy-handed with far too many monologues. Pitt does it well but the material itself seems all a bit shallow.

Other elements bugged me too. The director making claims that it's highly realistic, for example, but then:
showing Earth-like gravity on the planets took me right out of the feel of an alien world he was trying to go for
.

The script really isn't as clever as it thinks it is, which is ultimately a shame. I'd echo then that if you are going to see it, do see it on a big screen because the visuals and score are the best thing about it.

Is it similar to Arrival with any Adams, don't think I've ever hated a movie like that one

Thelonious Monk · 26-09-2019 10:40am

Saw it in Screen 1 in that cinema at the point, massive screen. Looks amazing, the final 3rd kind of bored me. I loved the moon buggies and the soundtrack.
The couple of security plot holes annoyed me, up there with Interstellar where he just decides to rob a spaceship after talking to his old daughter.
But yeah overall enjoyable, glad I went.

ct5amr2ig1nfhp · 26-09-2019 10:43am

Does love still transcend dimensions and time though? :cool:

tylercheribini wrote: »

The ending was Bond movie-preposterous.

Ad Astra (Brad Pitt SF)

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