hanshotfirst1138

Pitt has worked with some pretty esoteric directors and he's lended his considerable clout to people like McQueen and Malick to get their films made with his celebrity, I respect that.

inri222

He also helped Andrew Dominik by producing & starring in Killing Them Softly & The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.

Solid Snake

Hell. They had to keep the title for the latter cuz it was in Pitt's contract.

I like the original title to KTS more though.

hanshotfirst1138

Coogan's Trade, you mean?

Groucho

My biggest problem with this movie was Chiwetel Ejiofor. Normally he's a great actor, but his performance was so muted in this film. Everything felt like it was just a minor inconvenience, like he accidentally got in a slow queue at the market or something.

Crocker Jarmen

I know what you mean, I found myself surprisingly unaffected by the movie.

I found it difficult to feel for the main character because he was so bland and passive. The same criticism was made against The Pianist, and was defended by pointing out that was the story, about an ordinary man with no control over the terrible things happening around him and having to stay quiet and hidden in order to survive. That is understandable, but unfortunately, it doesn't make for a very interesting movie.

Another huge problem is not being given any clue as to how much time has passed. Did he stay with Sherlock Holmes for a week, a month or a year before being sold to the lunatic? The filmmakers needed to have come up with some way to let us see and feel the passage of time. I've read some people defend this issue by pointing out Solomon himself was unable to judge the passage of time. Again, this is fair, but it doesn't make for a very interesting movie.

There was a lot about it I admire the hell out of, the photography, the pacing of individual scenes, the performances. However, I wish the director would have given in and used some more "Hollywood conventions". I know he's an artist and all, but the reason some things are conventions is because they work.

I may watch this again some time, but right now, I feel like 12 Years A Slave is like a great story, but one told by a low voiced, distracted, mush mouth who is unable to convey just how intense and amazing what he's telling you is.

Also, Brad Pitt can go fuck himself. Out of all the parts in the movie, he just happens to get the part of the good white savior? Thank God they kept him Canadian, since people up here completely lose their shit every time an American movie fails to acknowledge Canada's involvement (see Argo).

Solid Snake

Wait. I saw Argo when it came out but didn't they make a big deal that the canadian embassy or whatever was helping out those people?

Crocker Jarmen

Apprantly, that wasn't enough for some people. During last years Oscar season, I don't know how many segments on CBC radio and newspaper articles I had to suffer complaining about how the movie "downplayed" Canada's involvement, as well as lambasting Affleck for not thanking Canada when he won the DGA or something similar. By and large, Canadians are very insecure and require constant validation from the US media.

Defiant1

In real life, Victor Garber's character (Ken Taylor) did all the heavy lifting to get the Americans out, not Ben Affleck's character (Tony Mendez).

bootsy

This is such bullshit. GTFOH. The movie is great, you make it more difficult with all the bullshit you are coming up with. What happened to people just enjoying a movie without turning it into some Nathaniel Hawthorne thesis essay shit.

Crocker Jarmen

Woah! Relax, I never said The Pianist wasn't a great movie, I only pointed out some people accused it of having the same problem that bogged down 12 Years A Slave. I found The Pianist very enjoyable.

Groucho

Yeah, 12 Years a Slave is definitely a "turn off your brain and enjoy the ride" movie.

inri222

bootsy

Yeah I definitely said it was turn your brain off kind of movie for sure. Way to turn my point into something I never said to make yourself look smarter than you aren't.

johnnysd

Finally saw this and was not really impressed at all. Obviously slavery is by nature a very impactful subject, but I thought it was handled with a very blunt, generic and predictable brush. I did not really feel anything for Fassbender's character and thought the Patsie subplot was poorly handled. Surprised this won best picture, it felt like a TV movie with cinema production values.

bootsy

Give me a break. It was handled through the words of Solomon Northrup and handled very well and the movie deserved Best Picture.

JTH182

Without that 7 month bump we never would have seen you get Groucho'd.

bootsy

Without that 7 month bump we never would have seen you whining and worried about me getting Groucho'd.

johnnysd

Well we can disagree. I think it is one of the less deserving best pictures I have seen but it was about an "important issue". Seriously the only thing that elevated it was a somewhat realistic if cliched portrayal of one of the darkest times in US history that is never portrayed in a movie. But the movie itself was lifeless and dull and very stereotyped.

JTH182

Whining? You do realize Groucho is rarely completely serious on here, and he was just fucking with you, right?

bootsy

Well I don't know who Groucho is and I'm not on here to determine whether someone is serious or not. I responded to what he wrote and without some indicator there is no way of knowing if someone on a message board is joking.

inri222

I held off watching this for a long time because I thought it was going to be typical Oscar bait (ala Spielberg) and being a fan of Steve McQueen's first two films I thought I would be disappointed. I finally saw it today and I am glad that I was wrong. A very powerful film that pulls no punches. Steve McQueen is 3 for 3.

4.5/5

Mabuse

I finally saw this. I've seen McQueen's prior two films and I like them more. I didn't dislike this film, but it is probably his weakest. Firstly, I think of him as a great director with a very personal style, yet in this film he is heavily channeling Malick's Thin Red Line. I don't even know why he had Hans Zimmer write a new score when it all sounds exactly like The Thin Red Line. Furthermore, the photography had much in common with that film as well as other Malick films.

On the plus side I personally feel that capturing historical truth is something that cinema is NOT very good at, but I'd put this film up as an example of about the best that can be done. Present the facts in a way that allows for a beginning, middle, and end and leave the audience with enough questions that they go and seek the truth themselves.