One of the most original, inventive movies I've seen in years. So clever and so incredibly well-done.
I never thought I'd be saying this, but the relationship between Phoenix's character and Samantha, his OS, is phenomenally realized and ultimately more captivating than most on-screen person-to-person relationships. It probably doesn't hurt that Scarlett Johansen is the sexiest, funniest, cutest-sounding OS imaginable, but she sells the role in ways I wasn't anticipating, to the point where you really do believe in her as a character just like any other flesh-and-blood person.
This may be a ridiculously obscure comparison, but for whatever reason, I vividly remember watching Oscar the Grouch on Sesame Street as a kid. And there were times when he'd duck down in his trash can, disappearing to go retrieve something, and when he did, the sound effects always made it sound like this deep, cavernous, cluttered cave of a trash can and I just remember being so insanely curious about what it looked like down there. Just that sense of wonder as a kid.
Well, I had that same feeling here with Samantha. I was just as curious about her world as she is ours. She'll disappear for a while, or Phoenix will get off work and ask her how her day's been, and an amazing job is done of painting a picture of where she was, how she spent her day, etc. And that idea of her "consciousness" just surfing the web all day and having opinions and feelings about her experiences was so fascinating to me. And incredibly realized.
I will say that the whole conceit takes a while to get used to. It's really weird at first and the audience definitely snickered during the beginnings of the "relationship" in much the same way a jr. higher might snicker at a gay couple on screen. But as the story progresses, you really, truly do start to care, and it goes places you don't quite expect.
It's such a fun, unique vision of the future too. Not only in terms of fashion and tech, but how we relate to and interact with that tech. If anything, it was just refreshing to watch a movie in which A.I. isn't some malevolent entity bent on human destruction. Instead, it's ultimately a positive, even somewhat optimistic vision of our marriage with technology. As showcased in a few instances, sure, it can make for a potentially sad and lonely existence too, but it all depends on how well you know yourself first and foremost. And that's basically the point of the movie.
Ultimately, Her may be too out-there for some. It's different. But I really do think a good number of you will enjoy it. With 53 reviews, it's currently sitting at 91% on Rotten Tomatoes and I'd say it's easily in my top ten of the year, maybe even my top five. Either way, really looking forward to discussing this one...
Her hit theaters in limit release today and goes wide on January 10...
http://youtu.be/ne6p6MfLBxc
[This message has been edited by Tctts (edited 12/19/2013 3:08a).]
I never thought I'd be saying this, but the relationship between Phoenix's character and Samantha, his OS, is phenomenally realized and ultimately more captivating than most on-screen person-to-person relationships. It probably doesn't hurt that Scarlett Johansen is the sexiest, funniest, cutest-sounding OS imaginable, but she sells the role in ways I wasn't anticipating, to the point where you really do believe in her as a character just like any other flesh-and-blood person.
This may be a ridiculously obscure comparison, but for whatever reason, I vividly remember watching Oscar the Grouch on Sesame Street as a kid. And there were times when he'd duck down in his trash can, disappearing to go retrieve something, and when he did, the sound effects always made it sound like this deep, cavernous, cluttered cave of a trash can and I just remember being so insanely curious about what it looked like down there. Just that sense of wonder as a kid.
Well, I had that same feeling here with Samantha. I was just as curious about her world as she is ours. She'll disappear for a while, or Phoenix will get off work and ask her how her day's been, and an amazing job is done of painting a picture of where she was, how she spent her day, etc. And that idea of her "consciousness" just surfing the web all day and having opinions and feelings about her experiences was so fascinating to me. And incredibly realized.
I will say that the whole conceit takes a while to get used to. It's really weird at first and the audience definitely snickered during the beginnings of the "relationship" in much the same way a jr. higher might snicker at a gay couple on screen. But as the story progresses, you really, truly do start to care, and it goes places you don't quite expect.
It's such a fun, unique vision of the future too. Not only in terms of fashion and tech, but how we relate to and interact with that tech. If anything, it was just refreshing to watch a movie in which A.I. isn't some malevolent entity bent on human destruction. Instead, it's ultimately a positive, even somewhat optimistic vision of our marriage with technology. As showcased in a few instances, sure, it can make for a potentially sad and lonely existence too, but it all depends on how well you know yourself first and foremost. And that's basically the point of the movie.
Ultimately, Her may be too out-there for some. It's different. But I really do think a good number of you will enjoy it. With 53 reviews, it's currently sitting at 91% on Rotten Tomatoes and I'd say it's easily in my top ten of the year, maybe even my top five. Either way, really looking forward to discussing this one...
Her hit theaters in limit release today and goes wide on January 10...
http://youtu.be/ne6p6MfLBxc
[This message has been edited by Tctts (edited 12/19/2013 3:08a).]
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