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Post by hi224 on Dec 29, 2018 1:07:58 GMT
good movie, but can't call it a great movie as it has the same issue as Old man and the Gun, namely the law enforcement subplot feels undercooked and could've been excised as well. I preferred following the main subplot, now that said, the movie is actually very emotionally resounding and actually illicit-ed plenty of harrowing moments as I hoped as well.
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Post by joekiddlouischama on Dec 29, 2018 8:02:23 GMT
good movie, but can't call it a great movie as it has the same issue as Old man and the Gun, namely the law enforcement subplot feels undercooked and could've been excised as well. I preferred following the main subplot, now that said, the movie is actually very emotionally resounding and actually illicit-ed plenty of harrowing moments as I hoped as well. In The Mule, I believe that you need the pursuit of law enforcement in order to create greater tension and suspense. Otherwise, there would have been no pressure—nothing to produce hostility, uncertainty, and existential jeopardy. That angle also fosters the memorable interactions between the Eastwood and Cooper characters. But where The Mule departs from most Hollywood crime/drug dramas is that it does not turn law enforcement's pursuit into an empty spectacle, with a climactic scene featuring dozens of helicopters and cop cars and officers. Ironically, Eastwood's The Gauntlet (1977), his sixth film as a director, has received criticism over the years on just that charge. However, Eastwood used spectacle in The Gauntlet ironically and to make a thematic point about the nature of excessive police violence. I believe that The Old Man and the Gun needed the pursuit of law enforcement as well; otherwise, the Redford character could not have received an ironic thrill from his robberies. But the pursuit in that film does not create much tension, perhaps by design—as I indicated in another post, The Old Man and the Gun strikes me as the year's most lyrical movie. Yet The Mule is both quite lyrical and quite tense, which elevates it in my opinion: I consider The Old Man and the Gun (which I saw twice) "good/very good" and The Mule "great." |
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Post by joekiddlouischama on Dec 29, 2018 8:09:48 GMT
By the way, I would love to see both Eastwood and Redford receive Best Actor Academy Award nominations for these roles ...
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Post by hi224 on Dec 29, 2018 8:20:38 GMT
good movie, but can't call it a great movie as it has the same issue as Old man and the Gun, namely the law enforcement subplot feels undercooked and could've been excised as well. I preferred following the main subplot, now that said, the movie is actually very emotionally resounding and actually illicit-ed plenty of harrowing moments as I hoped as well. In The Mule, I believe that you need the pursuit of law enforcement in order to create greater tension and suspense. Otherwise, there would have been no pressure—nothing to produce hostility, uncertainty, and existential jeopardy. That angle also fosters the memorable interactions between the Eastwood and Cooper characters. But where The Mule departs from most Hollywood crime/drug dramas is that it does not turn law enforcement's pursuit into an empty spectacle, with a climactic scene featuring dozens of helicopters and cop cars and officers. Ironically, Eastwood's The Gauntlet (1977), his sixth film as a director, has received criticism over the years on just that charge. However, Eastwood used spectacle in The Gauntlet ironically and to make a thematic point about the nature of excessive police violence. I believe that The Old Man and the Gun needed the pursuit of law enforcement as well; otherwise, the Redford character could not have received an ironic thrill from his robberies. But the pursuit in that film does not create much tension, perhaps by design—as I indicated in another post, The Old Man and the Gun strikes me as the year's most lyrical movie. Yet The Mule is both quite lyrical and quite tense, which elevates it in my opinion: I consider The Old Man and the Gun (which I saw twice) "good/very good" and The Mule "great." I see what you mean and to reiterate what was said to my friend as well this movie felt like what gun wanted to be. |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 3, 2019 21:40:36 GMT
Its a hit! 70 million and counting!
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Post by Deleted on Jan 3, 2019 22:39:44 GMT
I really dug the Mule . Glad its doing well at the box office too. Clint Eastwood is a living legend and was very good in his role in this. A mixture of intense scenes , heart warming scenes and some really funny scenes too .
8.5/10
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Post by Vits on Mar 1, 2019 19:12:05 GMT
If you don't wanna watch Clint Eastwood movies due to the grey palette he's used for a long time, I inform you that he doesn't use it in THE MULE (he hired a different cinematographer), in which he plays EARL STONE, a man who transports drug for a cartel. The movie opens with an on-screen text that says it's 2005, only to almost immediately show a banner for a convention with the year on it. If that wasn't redundant enough, there's another text that says "2017, 12 years later." Also, the dialogue that MARY (EARL's ex-wife) says during their daughter's wedding is very awkward exposition. All of this made me fear that I was going to watch an amateurish movie, something that we shouldn't expect from someone who's directed almost 40 movies. In the end, it's a generic but still competent and at times entertaining production. It would've had better pacing without the subplot of the DEA agents that are after EARL. I also have my doubts about the screentime dedicated to GUSTAVO (the cartel lieutenant) killing LATON (the cartel boss) in order to take over things, seemingly setting him up as the main villain who will play a big role in the climax. He doesn't play any role; he just disappears from the screen. EARL was a bad father, but he gets a redemption, even though he may not have earned it. During the scene of his arrest and trial, I was expecting at least one of his relatives to say "I was wrong to forgive you. I was right before about you being a bad person." Nope. They say they'll visit him in prison as often as they can. Now that I think about it, there's a lot of ego displayed. There are 2 scenes where EARL has a threeway with younger women, and a lot of people fall under his charms during conversations. There are even moments where he says something offensive and he never gets his ass kicked. I know, I know, this sounds like GRAN TORINO (one of the best movies I've ever seen). However, in that movie, he wasn't playing a character that was meant to be likeable. Here, a black family nicely explain to him that it's not OK to say "negro" anymore, even though A) he was a stranger, B) he hadn't been very nice to them before saying that word and C) he didn't come off as an old man who's too senile to realize what he's saying nor who has been living under a rock and just needs to be taught about the modern world. There's a point where a group of women refer to themselves as "dykes on bikes." They don't seem bothered when EARL calls them "dykes" (in real life, most minorities get angry at others for saying slurs even if they use them) nor that he mistook them for men. Again, something similar happened in GRAN TORINO, but there was a point. The Hmong characters sarcastically insulting themselves showed their awareness of stereotypes and their confidence that they were above that. 5/10 ------------------------------------- You can read comments of other movies in my blog. |
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