A better film about...

[Joel Mayward]

Hugo is a better version of The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet.

[Peter T Chattaway]

Joel Mayward wrote:
: Hugo is a better version of The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet.

You can't say that until you've seen *both* of them in 3D.

[Joel Mayward]

Joel Mayward wrote:
: Hugo is a better version of The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet.

You can't say that until you've seen *both* of them in 3D.

That's fair. I watched Spivet last night via streaming, and was pretty disappointed, thought I wondered during some sequences if it would have been more immersive and captivating had I see it in 3D in a theater, the way I imagine it was intended. But I have seen both *without* 3D, and Hugo is the far better film.

[Evan C]

I expect a lot of disagreement over this, but...

in that both are horror films built around a gimmick involving home technology which "captures" the film from the protagonist's perspective, Unfriended is a better version of The Visit.

[Attica]

Yeah.  You have my disagreement.  Unfriended is alright and intruiging in that they were able to make a fairly entertaining film considering what they were working with.  But it has nothing on the Visit.

[Evan C]

For horror films which have a sixth sense protagonist who gets snow bound in a desolate mansion, and also have a pivotal scene which takes place in a bathroom with green walls, The Shining is a better version of Crimson Peak.

 

For films with moody, Gothic set design, dark lighting schemes, and LOTS of gushing vibrant red liquid, Burton's Sweeney Todd is a better version of Crimson Peak.

Edited October 16, 2015 by Evan C

[kenmorefield]

Made in Dagenham is a better version of Suffragette. 

[kenmorefield]

Primary Colors is a better version of Our Brand is Crisis. 

[Evan C]

I thought both were really good, but Ida is a better version of Stations of the Cross.

[Darrel Manson]

Carol  is a better version of Blue is the Warmest Color.

[Joel Mayward]

The Grey is a better version of The Revenant.

[Tyler]

6 hours ago, Joel Mayward said:

The Grey is a better version of The Revenant.

I was just going to say that. I'd rather watch The Way Back again, too.

Edited January 9, 2016 by Tyler

[Evan C]

For schmaltzy Oscar bait biopics in which Eddie Redmayne is vastly outperformed by his female co-star, The Theory of Everything is a better version of The Danish Girl.

 

And I can't stand The Theory of Everything.

[John Drew]

Touching the Void is a better survival story than The Revenant, and I liked The Revenant.

[Joel Mayward]

Midnight Special is a better version of Knowing.

[Evan C]

Frozen is a better version of The Huntsman: Winter's War.

Edited May 11, 2016 by Evan C

[Joel Mayward]

Sing Street is a better version of We Are the Best!. And I loved We Are the Best!

[Attica]

Sing Street is a great film.  I actually came to post about it, but it doesn't seem to have it's own thread.  That needs remedied.

[Tyler]

Boogie Nights is a better version of The Nice Guys

[Mr. Arkadin]

13 hours ago, Tyler said:

Boogie Nights is a better version of The Nice Guys

Yes. Much.

[Evan C]

I was thinking Inherent Vice is a better version of The Nice Guys, but the sentence works just as well with Boogie Nights.

[Joel Mayward]

Wreck-It Ralph is a better version of Finding Dory.

[Evan C]

This primarily refers to Margot at the Wedding and The Squid and the Whale, but...

every Noah Baumbach movie is a better version of Manchester by the Sea.

(I expect push-back on that.)

Edited December 12, 2016 by Evan C

[Joel Mayward]

11 hours ago, Evan C said:

This primarily refers to Margot at the Wedding and The Squid and the Whale, but...

every Noah Baumbach movie is a better version of Manchester by the Sea.

(I expect push-back on that.)

Lonergan's own You Can Count on Me might be a better version of Manchester, but I don't see the parallel with Baumbach's entire filmography at all. How would Mistress America, Frances Ha, or While We're Young even compare, either formally or in terms of themes or narrative? How about this year's De Palma? Even with the films you cited--I've only seen The Squid and the Whale--I can't seem to make the connection, apart from familial dramas which are both humorous and deal with grief.

[Evan C]

I saw Manchester as a story about flawed characters who suffer a lot of hardships due to misfortune, but their own flaws exacerbate those hardships. While most Baumbach films aren't nearly as grief-centered as Manchester, he excels at flawed yet sympathetic protagonists who make their lives even harder than they need to be, and that applies to most of his filmography, which is why I was thinking of Baumbach through most of Manchester.