this post was submitted on 23 Jul 2023

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Make sure not to underestimate the brilliance of 'Everything Everywhere All at Once' as it proves to be an exceptional movie! (i.imgur.com)

submitted 1 year ago by zuxron@lemm.ee to c/moviesandtv@lemmy.film

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You've got to see Everything Everywhere All at Once - it's an awesome movie! I used to avoid it, thinking it was just another sci-fi film that got popular in theaters, but boy, was I mistaken. The story is really well-crafted, the visuals are stunning, the acting is top-notch, and it even tugs at your heartstrings unexpectedly. I watched it last night and was blown away. Seriously, don't make the same mistake I did. Go ahead and give it a watch. I'd easily rate it 8.5/10, heck, maybe even a 9!

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[–] mannycalavera@feddit.uk 5 points 1 year ago (2 children)

It was fun and creative and done on a (relative) shoestring budget. But I'm honestly shocked at the high praise and awards. For me, it was a solid 7 or 8 / 10. From the way people have been speaking about it they made it sound like it was a 10 / 10 perfect movie.

[–] HobbitFoot@thelemmy.club 1 points 1 year ago

It is a movie of its time whose themes resonate with a lot of people.

It is also well acted, filled with challenging parts for a lot of the actors.

[–] Redacted@lemmy.world 0 points 1 year ago

Same, what's stranger is the volume of downvotes people receive from criticising it either here or previously at the other place.

The concepts were pretty standard multiverse stuff but they kept trying to shoehorn some kind of overly ambitious meaning into it. I found the juxtaposition between "literally anything can happen" and "family love crosses dimensions" particularly difficult to swallow.

Decent special effects on a tight budget though.

[–] lolzy_mcroflmao@lemmy.world 4 points 1 year ago (2 children)

And it was only made on a roughly $20M budget! Truly my favourite film of last year, so I'm glad it blew your expectations away!

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[–] pineapplelover@lemm.ee 3 points 1 year ago

I'm a weird guy, I'm more of a light hearted fun show/movie enjoyer. This is probably why I don't like Breaking Bad or this movie that much. I do recognize that both of these works are very well done and deserve the praise they deserve but they don't particularly suit my tastes. It just feels too heavy for me to enjoy.

[–] milo_bytes@pawb.social 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I loved this movie to pieces but I have a complicated-but-ultimately-loving relationship with my mom so maybe that's the piece that's missing for all the people who don't quite understand the appeal. It felt very universal though?

Definitely one of my faves.

[–] ShustOne@lemmy.one 1 points 1 year ago

Yes! Absolutely loved this movie and felt like it was showing me and my parents.

[–] PrimalHero@kbin.social 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

The weird humor ruined the move for me. Especially those hotdog hands so disgusting.

[–] rephlekt2718@kbin.social 0 points 1 year ago

Lol I loved the hell out of this movie, but this is valid. The hot dog shit was so funny but so weird. I think the daniels just got a weird sense of humor

[–] TigrisMorte@kbin.social 2 points 1 year ago

It was a stupid generic relationship drama with sci fi and fantasy elements thrown in haphazardly to disguise how utterly boring and mundane it was. The Actors, Artists, and Crew all did a great job, but the actual story was the same drivel every other relationship drama is.

[–] mundane@feddit.nu 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I don't understand the praise this movie gets. Sure there are some fun gags, but overall it was just a mess that could not keep me interested.

I do like movie creators that step outside the Hollywood mold, that is how we get great movies. But this wasn't great, it was just weird for the sake of being weird.

[–] Cryst@lemmy.ca 1 points 1 year ago

Yah. I didn't understand this movie and didn't think it was good.

[–] mb_@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

I agree, this movie was quite brilliant and refreshing.

[–] youthinkyouknowme@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I said to myself wtf multiple times during the movie and the end was the biggest 'wtf did I just watch?'

I loved it

[–] TheYang@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I concur with the first part.

There was just nothing enjoyable about it for me.

[–] youthinkyouknowme@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 1 year ago

The weirdness is what compelled me. Being more experimental was fun and unexpected in a lot of moments. Story wise it wasn't so groundbreaking, but I enjoyed it in general as well.

[–] bleppy@lemmy.ca 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I felt the same way, that this was another overhyped Hollywood circle jerk, but it was pretty good. At a surface level the story isn't anything amazing. The action sequences were good but nothing revolutionary. For me it was the acting and the core of the story, which to me was about relationships, making the best of your choices, and kindness to others and yourself. For some reason the kindness part really hit me. How they represented it was cheesy as hell, but that didn't stop me from taking that to heart.

[–] AttackBunny@lemmy.world -1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I’m mostly in agreement but the end ruined it for me. I’m sorry, people with that much trauma just don’t react that way. There was “change” for a short period of time (positivity) but that doesn't undo the past.

It’s hard to say what I’m trying to without spoilers.

[–] bleppy@lemmy.ca 1 points 1 year ago

True, but at that point I suspended my disbelief. Hollywood movie needs Hollywood ending.

[–] Toadvark@mander.xyz 1 points 1 year ago

I found it extraordinary- I'm unsure if another movie has made me feel the whole gamut of emotion like this one did, and each heartstring was tugged differently. Skillful stuff.

[–] electrogamerman@lemmy.world 0 points 1 year ago

I watched it on a long flight and started crying at the end of the movie. Glad the plane lights were off and everyone was sleeping.

[–] raktheundead@fedia.io 0 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Contrarily to the general opinion, I found this a turgid and unpleasant experience to watch; there was a single moment in the film that amused me in passing, but they ended up taking that joke and beating the dead horse so hard you could use it as a dynamo.

[–] TheYang@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago (2 children)

interesting that this opinion is so hated.

I agree with you, and would like to hear why people seem to consider this opinion invalid.

[–] blivet@kbin.social -1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

One reason might be that they couldn’t even be bothered to say what the moment they enjoyed was.

[–] raktheundead@fedia.io 0 points 1 year ago

I don't know how to do spoilers on Kbin and frankly, most of that movie is a walking spoiler alert. Without giving too much away, it had to do with an oblique reference to another movie.

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[–] CineMaddie@lemmy.film -1 points 1 year ago

Bro ate a thesauruses huh 🤔

[–] whenever8186@feddit.uk 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

It was okay. I don't mean this as a 'review', but I saw it a couple of months ago and I don't really remember what the point of it was. The most interesting thing to me was the dude that played the husband was Short Round from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Some of the humour was pretty cringe to be honest. I'm also a massive Michelle Yeoh fan, so that's how I was coerced into watching it in the first place.

[–] Piers@beehaw.org 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

I don’t really remember what the point of it was.

Sometimes we can feel uncomfortable and unsatisfied with our lives, stop appreciating the things we otherwise would and feel there's something externally wrong that we just can't seem to fix when actually the problem is about our relationship with ourselves and fixing that allows us to joyfully rengage with our lives.

In the case of the main character (and one of the creators) this is due to the struggle they feel between the model they have of how they ought to be and the reality of who they are because of their undiagnosed ADHD. Through the experiences in the film they gain a better understanding and acceptance of themselves which enables them to move forward with healthier relationships with themselves and others and greater fullfillnent in and appreciation of the life they are already living.

Also kung-fu and interdimensional travel and jokes about anal penetration.

the dude that played the husband was Short Round from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.

And my goodness he was great in this, hopefully it's the start of lots of great new projects showcasing his acting!

Edit: there are other "points" of the movie but this is arguably the main one and the next most important one is really heavy...

[–] CloverSi@lemmy.comfysnug.space 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Interesting, my main takeaways aren't quite the same as yours! I can see what you describe too, but I would have summarized it very differently. I didn't see Evelyn's character growth and internal acceptance as a primary part of the film so much as a necessary story step in becoming the philosophical foil of Joy. I'm guessing Joy's arc is what you mean by the other really heavy point.

One thing I've noticed with this movie is that people experience it in very different ways, it resonates with a lot of people but there's a lot of variation in what exactly they get from it and how they interpret its message. It's really impressive how they were able to make it as universally enjoyable as they did, bringing together so many different themes coherently.

[–] Piers@beehaw.org 0 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

There's certainly lots of things going on in the film and since they aren't expressed in a heavy handed way there's lots of space left for people to find meaning for themselves there.

I would say that the journey of the central protagonist(s) is always a primary part of any good film though.

While it is a significant element I'm not sure that Joy's arc itself is really a core part of "what the movie is about" so much as how that impacts other characters. We only experience that narrative through how Evelyn experiences what happens with Joy.

To my mind that is much more about an exploration of feeling like you are losing someone you care about and about the experience of trying to support someone you care about through an self-destructive crisis.

Though I do think that Joy's story is interesting in its own right, the fact that it is framed from another characters frame of reference indicates to me that the primary takeaway is intended to be about having a relationship with someone going through what Joy is going through rather than Joy's journey itself. (IE it serves as a way for us both to experience what Evelyn is going through first hand and to see how others who care about her might be experiencing it.)

That said, it's also the case that largely Joy is wrestling with the same issues as Evelyn but from a different perspective and so that contrast is valuable in highlighting what is going on and also gives people who are more easily able to relate to Joy than Evelyn (perhaps because their own life more resembles one than the other) a way into the same sorts of themes.

[–] CloverSi@lemmy.comfysnug.space 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Great analysis! Once again I see it differently but it's always cool to hear other perspectives.

I would agree that the protagonist's journey is often a primary part of a good film, but it's far from always the primary part of a good film. To me Evelyn and her arc filled a role closer to Nick(?) in The Great Gatsby, or Will Turner in Pirates of the Caribbean, or whats-his-face (the main guy, not Fred Rogers) from A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood. They're the focal point of the story and are what drive it forward, but even though they have the most screentime the most interesting thing about them is their interaction with a 'side' character as a foil. While everything you describe regarding Evelyn and trying to support someone you care about are undoubtedly significant parts of the movie, they're not what make the movie stand out to me, and not what I would use to describe the 'point' of it.

Like you said, Joy and Evelyn wrestling with similar issues creates a great dynamic, where each offer different perspectives and challenges to the other. Where it sounds like you found Joy and her role in the movie to be more of a support in the main story of Evelyn's journey, to me Evelyn's side of things was more the lens through which to view the central story of the everything bagel. I see Evelyn's progression as being metaphor for how depression and nihilism creep in. Every part of her journey is another way you keep trying to fight it off, either internally or as help from loved ones, but things keep escalating no matter what you do until you end up at the bagel. The everything bagel's appearance and the Joy/Jobu reveal is the realization of what's been happening. From there it's less about the characters and more just the fundamental fight between the parts of us that can see a way of existing in the world and the parts of us that can't, whether those parts come from within or from loved ones.

To be clear I'm not trying to imply what you wrote is wrong in any way; I just thought it was interesting how, if I was asked to describe the movie's point, I would have given an answer more about the overall story and bagel-adjacent stuff than Evelyn's character arc. Our own experiences with the subject matter of the movie no doubt color our interpretations of what parts seem more 'important' than others. We can both be right :)

[–] IchNichtenLichten@server1.duluth.lol 0 points 1 year ago (6 children)

It's a very polarizing movie for some reason. I really enjoyed it, so much that I've rewatched it a few times.

What I can't understand it that some people absolutely fucking loathe the movie, just visceral hatred, and I've never seen a good explanation as to why this is.

[–] PsychedSy@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Honestly, I loved the movie but certain hotdog related scenes were horrondous.

[–] IchNichtenLichten@server1.duluth.lol 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I didn't get that, why were they horrendous?

[–] PsychedSy@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

They just made me super uncomfortable in a body-horror way.

[–] IchNichtenLichten@server1.duluth.lol 1 points 1 year ago

Ah, got it, thanks!

[–] raktheundead@fedia.io 0 points 1 year ago

First of all, it suffers from what TV Tropes would call the Eight Deadly Words: "I don't care what happens to these people". I won't fault the acting; I feel the actors did the best they could with the writing they had. It's just that I thought the writing was extremely uncompelling and there was nothing about the characters which made me want to learn more about them or their troubles.

Secondly, I don't like the structure of the film. It's a melodrama, a type of story that I do not enjoy by default, with some plot points that are so heavily telegraphed that it sucked the energy out of the film. The multiverse structure that the film relies on was uncompelling to me. The action scenes lacked any sort of visceral impact to bring them back down to Earth; they were so obsessed with flashiness that there was nothing for me to connect with.

And thirdly, while I can enjoy absurdist humour, this film felt like it thought it was cleverer than it was throughout. I've heard a description elsewhere of this film as "nicecore Rick & Morty" and while that's awfully reductive, it still gets to the root of some of the problems I had with the film.

[–] snooggums@kbin.social -1 points 1 year ago

A few of the relationship moments felt a bit jarring to the background and some people just bounced really hard off of that contrast. It wasn't what they were expecting, and that can be very polarizing.

I enjoyed it, but wish some of the relationship moments were a but less hamfisted. Like the evil doughnut black hole thing was a clever idea, but it would have been more fun for me if it was revealed to be a doughnut in a less direct way. Someone I know hated that part enough to say "it was just a blatant relationship movie with a sci fi veneer' which is accurate.

Not sure I would watch it again even though I liked it as there doesn't seem to be more depth to discover on a rewatch.

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[–] theinspectorst@kbin.social 0 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

I mean, this is one of my favourite movies in years and this would have been a great post to make 15 months ago when it came out. But since then it's had great weird of mouth from audiences, a fantastic critical response, and won a tonne of awards including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress at the Oscars.

Nobody is underestimating the brilliance of this film at this stage.

[–] gon@lemmy.world 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

YUP!! I was on the same boat, but it's 100% worth the hype. It's an absolutely incredible movie!!!

[–] yesdogishere@kbin.social -2 points 1 year ago

nah i watched about 50% of it and it was pretty lame - especially after the stupid forced jokes about butt anal sex. just stupid.

[–] CarlsIII@kbin.social 0 points 1 year ago

I haven’t seen another movie quite like it. I really enjoyed it.

[–] really@lemmy.world 0 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Didn’t it win an Oscar as well?

[–] ultimate_question@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Ya this post is a prime example of why "awards shows mean nothing" is a dumb take -- EEAAO was an incredible movie with loads of great cast interviews, high profile reviews, analysis of themes etc that came out as a result of the oscar campaign and Best Picture win and yet OP somehow missed out on it for like a year and a half

[–] zuxron@lemm.ee 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Oh, I believe it did win an Oscar! But you know what? Awards don't always tell the whole story. There are plenty of fantastic movies that didn't receive awards, and on the flip side, some not-so-great films have somehow managed to snag lots of awards. So, it's best not to put too much emphasis on awards alone! Enjoying a movie is what really matters in the end.

[–] Timwi@kbin.social 0 points 1 year ago

High-profile awards like the Oscars are not given for excellence. They are just an advertisement for a movie that the producers can buy. It says nothing about the movie other than that it was made by a big and rich studio.

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