5 ms·

The author's criticism of Up is weird to me. I watched Up when it was released. Can't say I remember it too much. But, I don't think it's fair to criticize a mo

by rcme 3y ago

The author's criticism of Up is weird to me. I watched Up when it was released. Can't say I remember it too much. But, I don't think it's fair to criticize a movie by saying that a movie is bad if you remove the best scene. One of my favorite books is The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood. 99% of the book is the musings and activities of an old lady, which are not interesting to say the least. It's not until the last page that the whole story is tied together. If you removed the last page, it wouldn't be a great book.

soneca 3y ago
I don’t think it’s the same thing. The initial scene is a masterpiece but if you remove it, it would still be possible to understand the movie. And the tone and message of the first scene is very different from the rest. I compare (negatively) to “Saving Private Ryan” which also has a masterpiece of a first scene, that also can be removed without much loss to the main plot. The difference is that on SPR the first scene set the tone and message of the movie perfectly. And if you remove it, the rest of the movie is pretty great too. You can’t say those two things about “Up”.
- gwd 3y ago
  > I compare (negatively) to “Saving Private Ryan” I think the word you want here is "contrast"; i.e., "Contrast this to Saving Private Ryan, which..."
  - soneca 3y ago
    It might be. Thanks for pointing out
  - aidenn0 3y ago
    Pretty sure the usage of compare is correct here. Compare can point out but similarities and differences.
    - gwd 3y ago
      You're right that in plain English, "compare" is a perfectly adequate word in this context. However, the person I replied to wasn't quite satisfied with it: they felt the need to add "(negatively)". I was trying to give them a more idiomatic word / phrasing that would add the extra rhetorical emphasis they were looking for.
      - soneca 3y ago
        As the person that you replied, I confirm your perception. And I liked your suggestion (to be point I decided to explicitly thank you, rather than a simple upvote). If I were to write the same comment now, I would definitely use “contrast that to…”
      - aidenn0 3y ago
        Oh, I read the (negatively) as meaning that the way in which it was similar to Saving Private Ryan was a bad thing, not a good thing.
        soneca 3y ago
        I meant Up is similar to Saving Private Ryan in its structure (a long and great first scene, which is actually a positive trait of both). But, the Up is worse than SPR.
- rcme 3y ago
  Embarrassingly, I haven’t seen Saving Private Ryan. But I think there are different types of media. Some are slow burners. Others are action packed.
vxNsr 3y ago
I think many people would have trouble sitting through that book, definitely most kids… which is the point he’s making, Up is not a good kids movie.
hsjqllzlfkf 3y ago
> 99% of the book is the musings and activities of an old lady, which are not interesting to say the least. It's not until the last page that the whole story is tied together. If you removed the last page, it wouldn't be a great book I've read books/watched movies like that. They are certainly memorable, but one problem they have is they're not very re-watchable. For lack of better example I'll mention Shawshank redemption. It's a great movie nonetheless, but the reveal scene is so great that the rest of the movie by comparison feels like a slog you have to put up with to get to the big reveal. Because of that I might've watched it only 3 times in my entire life.
magarnicle 3y ago
You can understand the plot without the first sequence, but remove it and you lose more than just 10 minutes of run time. Even changing a single shot can alter how an audience engages with a movie farther into its runtime. One example I remember is from Jaws. Spielberg explained that changing the editing of an earlier scare (when they explore the abandoned boat) made the audience much less shocked at the first reveal of the shark later on. The change was literally the timing of a couple of shots; less than a second at most. The first 10 minutes of Up colours the entire rest of the film.

by rcme 3y ago

soneca 3y ago

I don’t think it’s the same thing. The initial scene is a masterpiece but if you remove it, it would still be possible to understand the movie. And the tone and message of the first scene is very different from the rest. I compare (negatively) to “Saving Private Ryan” which also has a masterpiece of a first scene, that also can be removed without much loss to the main plot. The difference is that on SPR the first scene set the tone and message of the movie perfectly. And if you remove it, the rest of the movie is pretty great too. You can’t say those two things about “Up”.

gwd 3y ago
> I compare (negatively) to “Saving Private Ryan” I think the word you want here is "contrast"; i.e., "Contrast this to Saving Private Ryan, which..."
- soneca 3y ago
  It might be. Thanks for pointing out
- aidenn0 3y ago
  Pretty sure the usage of compare is correct here. Compare can point out but similarities and differences.
  - gwd 3y ago
    You're right that in plain English, "compare" is a perfectly adequate word in this context. However, the person I replied to wasn't quite satisfied with it: they felt the need to add "(negatively)". I was trying to give them a more idiomatic word / phrasing that would add the extra rhetorical emphasis they were looking for.
    - soneca 3y ago
      As the person that you replied, I confirm your perception. And I liked your suggestion (to be point I decided to explicitly thank you, rather than a simple upvote). If I were to write the same comment now, I would definitely use “contrast that to…”
    - aidenn0 3y ago
      Oh, I read the (negatively) as meaning that the way in which it was similar to Saving Private Ryan was a bad thing, not a good thing.
      - soneca 3y ago
        I meant Up is similar to Saving Private Ryan in its structure (a long and great first scene, which is actually a positive trait of both). But, the Up is worse than SPR.
rcme 3y ago
Embarrassingly, I haven’t seen Saving Private Ryan. But I think there are different types of media. Some are slow burners. Others are action packed.

vxNsr 3y ago

I think many people would have trouble sitting through that book, definitely most kids… which is the point he’s making, Up is not a good kids movie.

hsjqllzlfkf 3y ago

> 99% of the book is the musings and activities of an old lady, which are not interesting to say the least. It's not until the last page that the whole story is tied together. If you removed the last page, it wouldn't be a great book I've read books/watched movies like that. They are certainly memorable, but one problem they have is they're not very re-watchable. For lack of better example I'll mention Shawshank redemption. It's a great movie nonetheless, but the reveal scene is so great that the rest of the movie by comparison feels like a slog you have to put up with to get to the big reveal. Because of that I might've watched it only 3 times in my entire life.

magarnicle 3y ago

You can understand the plot without the first sequence, but remove it and you lose more than just 10 minutes of run time. Even changing a single shot can alter how an audience engages with a movie farther into its runtime. One example I remember is from Jaws. Spielberg explained that changing the editing of an earlier scare (when they explore the abandoned boat) made the audience much less shocked at the first reveal of the shark later on. The change was literally the timing of a couple of shots; less than a second at most. The first 10 minutes of Up colours the entire rest of the film.