Everything Everywhere All at Once (A24, 2022 science-fiction action dramedy)

I definitely enjoyed the film. It's certainly unique. Yes, the plot couldn't hold up to even mild scrutiny, but neither could that of the film ("The Adam Project") that I saw directly before it.

 

Agreed. Most films I've watched recently (at home) makes me wanna reach for my smartphone, not this one. Could it have been edited shorter, sure but I had no problem with the length or pacing.

 

I've seen it three times in the theater, and each time the plot made more sense and became more moving.

 

I thought enough of the film to think about integrating a mention of it into my freshmen group advising session. I want my new students to consider the notion that every small decision places us on a slightly different path, and the cumulative effect of lots of small decisions makes us a movie star, a karate expert, or a laundromat owner being audited.

 

Got this movie on Blu-ray from a Redbox last night - our internet has been down for several days (AT&T of course) and it will take them 5 days to send someone to repair it so it’s been a Redbox week lol.
It’s an amazing film. I have never seen anything quite like it.
Was it a masterpiece of cinema?
Probably not. However, I do admire the effort and creativity that went into making this film as well as some of the acting - Michelle Yeoh was great. Everybody that has a appreciation for challenging movies should see this.

 

I watched it and enjoyed it for the most part, but I don't think I really understood it all. I'm not bothered about seeing it again

 

Unfortunately, the hype I'd heard around this film created perhaps too high expectations in my mind. Beforehand, it looked very imaginative, possibly a more profound take on the "multiverse" stuff currently in comic book movie vogue, and reviews that said the film was "handling of themes such as existentialism, nihilism, and Asian-American identity." Sounds fantastic, and love Michelle Yeoh.

Yikes, stunned by all that praise, after seeing it. Imaginative? Absolutely, but to a fault. The film made no sense, it was just a dazzling parade of crazy ideas strung together, where something that happens is then forgotten one minute later - or even less. Perhaps that was a point of the film, some kind of statement about the nature of reality and our experience of life. I looked for something meaningful the film was trying to say about family, or at least how the choices we make affect our future. But nah. There was an idea in there about how her life could have been different if she had stayed in China and not left with her husband, but any meaning and poignancy there is scuttled by this idea that there are infinite universes where any possible life seemed to have been lived. The science in the science fiction was non-existent, just a high concept with an intent to dazzle and overwhelm the audience.

I'll add that I love David Lynch, so I'm quite used to enjoying films that "don't make sense", but Lynch's best work has an inscrutable mystery and an enigmatic ambiguity that allows the viewer to get sucked in and lost in, at the same time it seems to resonate on a deep psychological level. I also generally like challenging and experimental films. But if there was anything going on under the surface here, the film was too busy throwing hot dogs and marital aids at the audience to make its point for me. It's an incredible achievement putting so many fantastical ideas on screen, and a great effort by the filmmakers and crew in that regard. But in the end, it all signified nothing for me. It seemed to be written by people who have little understanding of character and how to endear characters to an audience. And plot-wise, completely amateur, though this is hidden by changing everything in the film every few minutes. No one can explain an IRS auditor working at her usual desk all day, but then heading over to a laundromat that night to personally shut it down and start repossessing everything - that was jarringly unrealistic. Any kind of aspect of the struggling immigrant small business angle also got broadsided by that whole weird idea that Yeoh's character was writing off karaoke machines and the like. Just bizarre but not in any enlightening way, a real mess IMO. I'm glad for those who loved it, but baffled by the momentum of superlatives and praise.

 

It's an incredibly dense film, with layers upon layers. I've seen it three times and I get more out of it each time.

 

Forgot to mention this in my earlier post - the bonus content on the Blu-ray was very good - the insights into the making of the film were very worthwhile and enhanced my appreciation for the film.

 

'Everything Everywhere All at Once' Grosses $100 Million Globally - Variety

 

We watched it On Demand a few weeks ago. It's a wildly inventive movie. At times, it's exhausting. Toward the end, although I enjoyed the creativity and characters, I was getting fatigued. Then, the ultimate theme was revealed and it made it all worthwhile.

 

A24 brought the movie back into theaters, accompanied by an introduction from the directors, and followed by a Blu-ray disc extra, silly bloopers. It's nothing vital, but it was nice to see it in a theater with a bunch of people who were enthusiastic fans of the film.

The film had more power this time than ever before. I'm pretty sure this was my 4th viewing and my wife's 5th. Unlike what some have claimed, the plot does stand up to close examination, and makes sense (of a sort.)

This time, the subtle emotions conveyed in Michelle Yeoh's face, and the speech by "Wong Kar-wai" Waymond had so much more impact.

 

Just saw this tonight. Wow. What a tiresome movie. Should have been about 45 minutes shorter. A convoluted mess

 

It's a film about characters who exist in multiple universes simultaneously, and can draw upon the knowledge and skills of versions of themselves who made different decisions or were impacted by events that happened in a different manner.

It's complicated by necessity. You may not believe me, but the film has a clear narrative, and tremendous emotional impact once you grasp what the filmmakers are saying.

I've seen it several times, and it is more powerful each time I do so.

 

Lol. Well, I don't. I saw it once and that was FAR more than enough to judge it accordingly.

For me it was a visual exercise, at best.

Glad you liked it though!

 

I understood it. Glad you liked it. I didn't. Won't be watching it again for sure. Once was enough. After watching this and the new Batman movie back to back there's something to be said about having a good editor as both these movies could have have been cut down quite a bit and probably improved in the process.

 

This is meant sincerely and kindly, and driven by curiosity - what are the filmmakers saying?

 

The triumph of love over nihilism.

 

I hadn't heard of this until I saw Jamie Lee Curtis promoting it on the Graham Norton Show last Friday. A quick check on Rotten Tomatoes and it has a 95% rating. I'm usually in agreement with the consensus of cinema critics so gave it ago. Saw it last night and enjoyed it very much. Some great combat scenes, moving moments and it's hilarious in parts.

 

Cracked $70 million dollars domestic. Very, very close to the $100m mark worldwide, may get pushed over the edge when Oscar season comes around.

DOMESTIC (70.1%)
$70,008,593
INTERNATIONAL (29.9%)
$29,818,881
WORLDWIDE
$99,827,474

 

Just saw this, brilliant film. Thinking this is the Trout Mask Replica of movies.

 

I’ve tried twice to watch this. The first time was just after it came out & I made it about a quarter of the way through. The second time was recently after the Oscar nominations & I thought I’d give it a second chance because obviously I was missing something. This time I made it a little more than halfway. I’ll just chalk this one up to there’s lots of people that enjoy it but I don’t. Time to move on.

 

Very interesting article in today's Washington Post:
Meet the Asian woman nominated before Michelle Yeoh for best actress Oscar

By the way, I was also interested to read that Chinese are excited about Yeoh's nomination. But, she's Malaysian. I guess her parents are ethnically Chinese.

 

one of the very times you and i disagree.

i thought it was absolutely terrible, a tremendous waste of time.

and showtime has it on just about every hour of every day.....

 

I got to watch it again on Showtime the other night this time with my two girls and it was better than the time I watched it alone on disc. That time I gave up when they get to the basement scene with security where Jobu first turns up (the daughter).

Still a bit too silly (dildos, butt plugs, frankfurter hands etc) but at least the theme of mother/ daughter reaching a form of peace and the hero understanding her husband did make sense finally to me.

My favorite scene is the two rocks talking to each other in front of vast nothingness.

Still is it the Best Picture of 2022? Will it stand the test of time if it wins? Is it a movie that you can watch often or once a year?