"Megalopolis" | Movie Review + Life Lessons | Life Lessons in Film

I will not let time have dominion over my thoughts I will not let time have dominion over my thoughts I will not let time I will not let time have dominion over my thoughts not let time I will not let time have dominion over my thoughts my thoughts I will not let time have dominion over my thoughts the tail the elephant can you see it it's in in a shot welcome back to life lessons and film hello today we will be making sense of life through meal lopis uh so we're not in our usual uniforms you may have noticed you may have picked up on that cuz we just you know it's cold and uh after this movie wore us out we just couldn't really be bothered yeah and it's not really the usual kind of thing that we do cuz really this is just going to be our initial thoughts like we just wanted to capture it raw what do you think should we just do the whole thing at this point like we can do the characters real quick kind of a quick I can't we're not really feeling like doing our usual kind of Characters themes uh analysis uh burning questions because it's just overall Everything feels like it fell short and so we don't really feel that drive to cover everything in that way yeah we're low heartened analysis of why are we not able to do a normal review this is why I think it still allowed us to have some interesting conversations about what does it mean for movie to not hit a home run with its execution and when you lose immersion when it feels stilted and and stunted and broken up and and not a consistent coherent story that inspires and that you get lost and that you fall in love with what is it that it was missing um okay so initial thoughts I know you you you you you did you were it was it was hard for you it was a slog I really was upset when I look at this movie there are a lot of metaphors there are a lot of references to socioeconomic issues political issues of the day could have been so incredible and it makes me sad that it wasn't I was feeling underwhelmed cuz I was actually quite excited for it new Copa movie and the trailer it just seemed like a really interesting concept that was really going to talk about a lot of things that other movies that are from big studios just are too afraid to be too challenging they want to be safe go now from Visionary writer and director Francis Ford Copa comes an event nothing nothing can prepare you for Imagine today's society as a branch of civilization about to reach a dead end is this way we're living the only one that's available to us this movie really seemed like it wasn't necessarily afraid of delving deeper into those issues and philosophies and big questions there was a lot of juice in there but it did feel very convoluted there's so many movies that people have talked about that people have disliked and then we watched it and we're like why do people hate it and so we thought that this would be similar yeah I trust the opinions of other people in the field I trust the opinion of what other directors think of a director's work because it's always the people that are actually the peers that I find their opinions hold most weight and not people that have never themselves attempted this stuff so when I hear critics bashing a movie or something I take it with a grain of salt and then it also makes me more Curious so I think I was feeling disappointed when oh maybe they had a bit of a point here that's very disappointing especially from a direct that I really like Adam Driver the Pains of despised love the laws delay the insolence of office and the spurns that patient Merit of the Unworthy takes when he himself might in his quiet as make with a bear Bodkin where's my vodka we love Adam Driver yeah you you said when we were watching the first bit like he was kind of wasted here and maybe he was yeah I said that I think that it was a very bold movie so it gets a lot of points for that because especially this is the reason I wanted to watch watch it and that it was too bad that it was taken out of theaters so soon because compared to most movies that are played in theaters right now which are just rehashes or remakes or sequels this movie looked original and I like originality it's worth a lot to me overall after finishing it I think there was some really cool stuff some really good ideas some Innovative storytelling and and film techniques some funny moments no you're doing it you're doing it just doing a solo some memorable lines and and good quotes Ralph Waldo Emerson said the end of the human race will be that will eventually die of civilization but trend is not Destiny time show me the [Music] future together we'll discover New Paths which lead to the unknown World ahead of us how are we going to live as a species in the future it's such a hard thing to imagine because right now most people feel like this is it we've reached it we can't get any better there's no future civilization cuz even a lot of sci-fi type movies that try to imagine you know humans in the future a lot of times they end up just kind of doing a similar situation to how people are living now but with like better technology and stuff so to really imagine a Utopia that's a very hard thing to do it was a big mouthful to try and eat and it was just maybe choked a bit on the on the burger it was too many patties maybe but the thing that really dragged down the most for me was the main actress Natalie Emanuel or something uh her name was I think I see everyone in their neighborhood creating together learning together and they're celebrating there it created shelter what about those standing in your way who like it the way it is I found her struggling to keep up with the other actors and that felt like it drag down the movie I was unhappy with a casting director and I thought about different people that could have been better for the role and wondered why that didn't happen so go back to the club bear it all and stalk the kind of people that you enjoy fine I will the movie Meander I felt like it was really trying to cram in so many things there's certain movies like The Matrix that are so beautifully metaphorical and entertaining and creative and immersive you're just in it the whole time I was really wanting to get immersed in this movie but it was me forcing myself like it felt like I really was like no give it time desperately like oh that was pretty cool and like oh I'm liking this right now this is good okay keep keep it like this this scene is really good I'm going to enjoy this and I want to try and savor it because I don't know if it's going to last certain movies you don't have to worry about savoring the moment because you know the whole thing is going to take you for a beautiful ride and it's just going to be exhilarating all the way through that's the vibe that I got I think that you were definitely fighting for it more than I was fighting for it I gave up very soon after very soon probably 10 minutes in then I said I I can't so then I was just kind of like are we watching this because it's Francis for Copa and yes that is why but at first you didn't say that you just like well no I just like to give things a chance I'm like why don't you come on you're like other movies we've watched other movies The Traveling Pants I was ready ter like within one minute like what's going on there were a lot of minor roles that I didn't think really did Justice to what the movie was trying to do versus like Awakenings we talked about how the minor characters in Awakening everyone someone who showed up who appeared on screen for one second was just topnotch and I'm thinking with this kind of movie that's the kind of expectation I'm hoping that it was going to be like and then on top of that some of the scenes I said like they kind of remind me of like those Hallmark movies where you just don't really effect a lot maybe they doing on purpose maybe not I I think it could have been partly a stylist there are certain scenes especially where the acting was such that it almost seemed like he was trying to do like um homage to old classic epic Roman movies like benur [Music] and Cleopatra all these old big epic movies because there was you know referencing old Rome I do wonder if some of that was you know in reference to that cuz I think certain directors really like paying homage to classic movies that they grew up watching cuz I I know there were there's not only a reference to Star Wars it's like you're a little tall for a sixth grader holy Jesus Christ aren't you a big big for a sixth grader a little short for a stormtrooper huh oh the uniform cop and LC for friends so like there's definitely a reference there it seemed like you very much referenced fight club with dialogue similar to the Brad Pit monologue yet there's always time to convince them to use money they don't have to buy things they don't need to imitate people they don't like advertising has is chasing cars and clothes working jobs we hate so we can buy [ __ ] we don't need I think he was playing around with a lot of creative editing techniques and trippy sequences and interesting ways of visual storytelling but I think it might have just have been a bit too much I think it came together more in the second half I think uh the characters got more development the interactions were more interesting between the characters there were some good parts that were really focusing on like discussion on dystopia and where the species is going Utopias offer no readymade Solutions well they're not meant to offer Solutions they're meant to ask the questions yes but Utopias turn into dystopias so we should just accept this endless conflict that we live in now I wish the movie had focus more on that again going back to the Matrix there was a lot of different influences that went into that movie this one just seemed like it really wanted to have a beautiful blend of different influences and things that could be layered on top of each other but it just didn't seem to there'd be some scenes that seemed so cheap or or rushed to get done and then there were other scenes and transitions that were so cool creative it's a unique movie there there's some interesting Stu in there interesting film style and editing directing but it was definitely let down for me for me too I definitely know that it was a major let down more for him just because of your interest in Francis paropa it's not just about the little bits that you like it's holistically what did the movie do you like the movie and for me I was hoping I would love it I just don't even like it and I'm sad because his wife passed away and it was dedicated to her and you know I I wanted like kind of like a legacy kind of thing you know what I mean like the last little thing where it's like you wrap it up you know what I mean it was a Miss unfortunately you swung for it and it was a miss or was a foul ball kind of made contact but not in the right direction he tried I want to be the kind of person who tries he tried we can give him that and he really tried and it was challenging but not really necessarily in a good way all the time felt like half the movie was filmed by one person half the film was you know by someone else and like then they again put it together and it was different from one scene to the next forensic examination of the photos of sexual acts revealed that they were doctored and not [Music] authentic yeah like that scene with Vesta those actors just look it looks so overdone and very it looked like stock footage of people being surpris watching TV what can we do is this Society is this way we're living the only one that's available to us and when we ask these questions when there's a dialogue about them that basically is a Utopia it seems to be one of the themes in the movie is like getting the conversation started is one of the most important parts and that's Utopia in and of itself is just having the ability to have these questions come up and one of the big questions is like how do we build a better future and he's kind of first you have to start small get a bit of land and you develop the technology and show people people that it's possible to live without debt the constant war and inequality more more people see that it's possible and then they get on board maybe that's what he wanted to do with this movie is that what's going on the cheese is it the cheese or the hot chocolate maybe the hot chocolate maybe he was just wanting to get the conversation started he's looking around no one else is doing it I'm going to do it I'm going to get the conversation started about seriously as a species let's have the conversation where are we going next how do we get past all the threats of nuclear annihilation and devastating the planet and all this stuff how do we get past we have to get past it or we die we have to start having that conversation least he put that conversation in the movie now the movie is getting talked about a lot so in that way he he succeeded that's a a beautiful goal to have but a movie is more than just the goal or the vision you want it to be a work of art that people will pay attention to it so that they are then invested in really internalizing the vision it was just not tight in a lot of ways I felt like you know Dustin Hoffman's character was barely in it he kind of plays like the the sleazy not even politician I guess or maybe he backstabs everybody I think there were characters similar to him like in the Gladiator movie but I felt like the whole political Intrigue aspect of gladiator was so much tighter they weren't trying to SPO feed you which is great well in some ways maybe it felt like they were it's a weird mix of like really spoon feeding and not and that's and that's the trick that's with movies that I feel like fall short and the execution isn't there a lot of the more mainstream movies fall into this too is they under explain what they need to explain more and they overe explain what they don't need to explain it's like no no I get it I get it move on you're wasting time I already you know I picked it up the first time thanks you don't need to do it again and then there other things it's like wait maybe a little exp little Exposition here would have been nice just so that I know what's going on here there was some fine writing in it but it was unfulfilled when does an Empire die does it collapse in one terrible moment no no but there comes a time when its people no longer believe in it then does an Empire begin to die there are some great themes in there you know the natural degradation and cycle of Empires when the corrupt the powerful just get too lost in their decadence and they just completely forget to maintain and to be just rulers and they they just let everything fall apart and then you know you get populists taking advantage but they're not necessarily good people either like you just see how everything falls apart so like there's good themes that we could talk about but it's like you kind of feel like because they weren't fulfilled like they weren't complete the cake was left Half Baked yeah my heart isn't in it really because of how incomplete the movie felt yeah kind of like if if the Matrix is like oh imagine if the whole coming out of the reality that you were used to and then realizing there's other ways to live or there's a whole new reality that you were kind of in a prison before but then they just left it there like they didn't really explore it they didn't really like show how that affects different people and how other people want to go back in there cuz they don't like having their mind expanded to a point where it can't go back to the way it used to be if they never really explored that much further you'd be like okay yeah I mean it's always a cool concept right Plato's Cave type deal but you did nothing with it so why did you do it in the first place basically that's what it kind of feels like with this movie like you brought up a lot of great profound themes but you didn't really do much with them you rounded third and then you tripped before you got the home base and it's a lot of baseball metaphors but uh was watching a bit of the World Series uh go Dodgers did I like it I think I thought it was okay I guess it got points for originality and ambition and setting High lofty goals cuz it's refreshing simply in that so many movies they're so scared to try anything and it's very disappointing so points for creativity and and shooting for the moon did not reach the moon at all didn't get out of the stratosphere but it really tried to reach lofty goals and I appreciate all the motivations there I guess personally this was still less of a waste of time for me than like any of the the other churned out cookie cutter type movies a lot of the stuff I'll remember with hand reaching for the moon and stuff I think that was a lot of creativity on set and a lot of collaborating and and artistic trying things out and testing and that was great that's the whole thing with the movies like you can have all the creativity all the talent creative control because he's funding it himself doesn't mean it'll come together at the end I feel sad for the criticism but at the end of the day this is what it is right when you're an artist you put your work out there and I think that's the courage you go into things when you're an artist and you accept that sometimes to produce something that isn't amazing or that could have been amazing and it's like such a letdown because we could see it could have been you want a root for those few people that are fighting to maintain independent movies and true creativity that isn't bound to fourth quarter earnings and you know short-term profits and and that kind of thing and so you hope that the movies that are more independent can really keep doing special things and Inspire those that want to get away from the big studios describe the movie in a word probably disappointing the best movies you would change nothing of and and these kinds of movies there's unfortunately you're just left thinking I wish they done that and couldn't they have left that out why did they that's a weird decision you know there was just a lot of stuff that was not tight when it needed to be and so it takes you out of the movie you want to be able to be in the movie and just be completely forget that you were transported somewhere else that you you know you forget that you're in your living room or forget that you're in a movie theater with a bunch of strangers you know and and this movie kept taking me out of that I'm reminded of everything everywhere all at once yeah do you remember that H see that movie was daring there's a whole scene where they become rocks in the one dimension the one world and so there's a lot of existential questions on like Consciousness and reality and what is consciousness made of so they were able to attack those things but it was entertaining it was creative it was funny it also had beautiful themes that were satisfying at the end that were resolved when it came to family at the end it was a dysfunctional family and they realized how they need kind of heal and come together again and then they can save the world as it were right with this one yeah you know he's philosophizing almost to himself about Consciousness where does that come from it comes from a burst out of the soul and it's poetic sure and there's some like nice writing about like how every art form you know is related but it like you could describe it in different ways and there's some nice interesting tantalizing you know to to eat to to to munch on you know in terms of like some ways of looking at art how painters stop time how architectur Frozen music how dancers combine time and space musicians rhythma it poet sing it but like some badly made chocolate The Taste goes away after the first bite take 554 it's got us talking that's that's something you got to give the movie this movie has exhausted me I will be talking about this all night I'm probably not going to sleep that's an achievement there are some movies that are not worth with an extra breath but I was just thinking it's kind of like an assignment at school that you worked so much on and you just couldn't get it right you just couldn't like figure out how to get it to an A++ plus you know it would be so nice if we put a lot of work into things and you get that kind of satisfying output don't always with creative stuff you can spend years agonizing starting over from scratch over and over again [Music] there was some stuff in there that was interesting but Fresco yeah I wonder if there was some influence from people like jacqu Fresco in terms of his designs for future cities and a much more egalitarian peaceful existence for the species to live in and then what was his name eisenstein guy that wrote sacred economics you know the whole thing about getting rid of debt debt and interest is a big part of what causes so much Division and suffering and destruction you know that's something he says in the speech like debt need to get rid of debt that's a big one tear down debt tear down the world of readymade slums that those families that run the world shove you into I think that's where it might have caused some controversy because the system right now loves de runs on debt so again that's what he's talking about getting the conversation started if we can have a big movie playing in theaters talking about erasing debt that's pretty uh controversial and pretty huge if the movie was beautifully executed the movie could have been a great platform for conversation the song can have very deep lyrics but if it's so boring and like unlistenable it's like painful listen to it doesn't serve anything it also has to be a beautiful work of art in itself in terms of cohesiveness Storytelling consistency you know needs to flow unfortunately that's where uh you know you got to have it all come together I think is it ever a flop if you tried your best no it's not a flop when you try your best it's only a flop if you never tried it all yeah I wanted this to be done I'm tired the movie exhausted me that was some stuff that we had to say about megalopolis but what did you guys think you agree was it uh just a let down will it be re-appreciate reappraised let us know either way in the comments down below share your thoughts on our thoughts till next time thanks for watching peace I discovered the principle of megalan trying to save her life she said she had good news she had good news her secret and then all was lost to me forever this is my heart