A better film about...

[Joel Mayward]

4 hours ago, Evan C said:

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.

I definitely see that theme in Baumbach's films, but I didn't see Manchester as much about suffering hardships as about navigating grief, if those experiences can somehow be distinguished. The grieving process for Lee's character--or lack of process, as he seems resolutely stuck in a Kubler-Ross moratorium--doesn't seem like a parallel to, say, Frances or Greenberg or Brooke, because of the nature of the suffering. Self-inflicted suffering due to lack of vocational understanding or middle-class ennui is very different from grieving the loss of family member through unexpected death (though the divorce in The Squid and the Whale comes close, as it's the prolonged death of a marriage). It seems strange, even unfitting, to compare the depth of suffering, but I find the hardships of Frances to be dissimilar from the hardships of Lee, despite both films being about (as you said) characters whose flaws exacerbate their painful circumstances. But I now see where you're going with your statement.

[Evan C]

15 hours ago, Joel Mayward said:

I definitely see that theme in Baumbach's films, but I didn't see Manchester as much about suffering hardships as about navigating grief, if those experiences can somehow be distinguished. The grieving process for Lee's character--or lack of process, as he seems resolutely stuck in a Kubler-Ross moratorium--doesn't seem like a parallel to, say, Frances or Greenberg or Brooke, because of the nature of the suffering. Self-inflicted suffering due to lack of vocational understanding or middle-class ennui is very different from grieving the loss of family member through unexpected death (though the divorce in The Squid and the Whale comes close, as it's the prolonged death of a marriage). It seems strange, even unfitting, to compare the depth of suffering, but I find the hardships of Frances to be dissimilar from the hardships of Lee, despite both films being about (as you said) characters whose flaws exacerbate their painful circumstances. But I now see where you're going with your statement.

That distinction is fair, and I realize that the degree of hardships is not comparable between Manchester and most of Baumbach, which is why I cited those two specifically.

[Darrel Manson]

Secret of the Kells is a better version of Moana.

[Darrel Manson]

Arrival is a better version of The Day the Earth Stood Still (and I liked the original Day)

[kenmorefield]

Siddharth is a better version of Lion, which is itself a way better version of Finding Dory.

[kenmorefield]

Guns of Navarone is a better version of Rogue One.

[NBooth]

17 minutes ago, kenmorefield said:

Guns of Navarone is a better version of Rogue One.

Yes.

[John Drew]

3 hours ago, NBooth said:

Yes.

 

But....

Rogue One is a better version of Force 10 from Navarone. 

Edited December 30, 2016 by John Drew

[Joel Mayward]

On 12/25/2016 at 1:56 PM, kenmorefield said:

Siddharth is a better version of Lion, which is itself a way better version of Finding Dory.

Haven't seen Siddharth yet, but I actually think Finding Dory is a better version of Lion.

[Evan C]

In that both are films about healing after World Wars and personal betrayals, and both involve music as a crucial plot point, Phoenix is a better version of Frantz.

[John Drew]

The Little Hours is a better version of The Beguiled (well, a least for me a better time at the movies).

edit: Just realized this is the second Sofia Coppola film I've bagged on in this thread.

Edited July 22, 2017 by John Drew

[Joel Mayward]

The first half of 2017 edition of "A Better Film About..."

For films about grief and the afterlife, Personal Shopper is a better version of A Ghost Story, which are both much better than The Discovery.

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets is a better sci-fi CGI spectacle than Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.

[Buckeye Jones]

Highlander is a better version of The Age of Adaline.

[Buckeye Jones]

On 12/13/2013 at 9:50 AM, Mr. Arkadin said:

Fritz Lang's Die Nibelungen is a much better version of Jackson's Lord of the Rings/The Hobbit.

 

Also better than Jackson's Tolkien flicks: Milius' Conan the Barbarian.

 

That giphy is from Conan the DESTROYER.  

There came at ya.

[Mr. Arkadin]

True enough, but sometimes you just gotta go with the better GIF.

[Evan C]

Ocean's 11 is a better version of Logan Lucky.

[Joel Mayward]

2 hours ago, Evan C said:

Ocean's 11 is a better version of Logan Lucky.

I'm writing my review of Logan Lucky now, and the "Oceans 7-11" joke made me actually roll my eyes. (I think I liked LL more than you did, but still.)

[kenmorefield]

The Boss Baby is a better version of mother!

[Rushmore]

2 hours ago, kenmorefield said:

The Boss Baby is a better version of mother!

Not having seen Boss Baby, I find this very hard to believe.

[Anders]

8 minutes ago, Rushmore said:

Not having seen Boss Baby, I find this very hard to believe.

I haven't seen either, but the summaries of Boss Baby I've heard makes it sound both insane and morally objectionable to me in its portrayal of family. I'm tempted to watch it.

[Evan C]

On 11/1/2017 at 8:54 AM, kenmorefield said:

The Boss Baby is a better version of mother!

Now I feel as if I have to watch The Boss Baby, which I had so far been successful in not doing.

[Peter T Chattaway]

Gifted is a better version of Captain Fantastic.

Both films feature a guy trying to raise a precociously smart child (or children) after the mother has committed suicide, and both films feature the guy struggling to retain custody of the child(ren) when the mother's parent(s) get involved. But Captain Fantastic is steeped in anti-religious bigotry and Gifted, most definitely, is not.

[kenmorefield]

Thelma is a better version of Requiem (which is a better version of The Exorcism of Emily Rose). 

It's also a better version of God's Not Dead, though I'm not sure that is an endorsement.

[Evan C]

For films about examining traditional notions of heroism and suggesting there is victory in loss and retreat, Dunkirk is a better version of The Last Jedi.

[Darrel Manson]

Films about the same fairly short period of time and events: Dunkirk is better than Darkest Hour. (Although I think they would make a great double feature--Dunkirk playing first

Edited December 24, 2017 by Darrel Manson