A Star is Born (2018 - Bradley Cooper & Lady Gaga) (1 Viewer)

[Jake Lipson]

So this happened last night in Las Vegas:



https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/n...-appearance-at-lady-gaga-s-vegas-show-1179622

 

[Colin Jacobson]

So this happened last night in Las Vegas:



https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/n...-appearance-at-lady-gaga-s-vegas-show-1179622

I went to the first 3 shows of Gaga's Vegas residency, and there was all sorts of buzz that Cooper would show up.

He didn't, of course, but it seemed inevitable he'd be there eventually!

 

[Robert Crawford]

I went to the first 3 shows of Gaga's Vegas residency, and there was all sorts of buzz that Cooper would show up.

He didn't, of course, but it seemed inevitable he'd be there eventually!

If the academy doesn't allow them to sing on the Awards show, people are going to be very pissed off.

 

[Tino]

If the academy doesn't allow them to sing on the Awards show, people are going to be very pissed off.

They’ll definitely perform no matter what the Academy decides. It’s some of the other best song nominees that are in jeopardy.

 

[Robert Crawford]

They’ll definitely perform no matter what the Academy decides. It’s some of the other best song nominees that are in jeopardy.

It's all BS if you ask me. Cut out some other stuff, but not the songs.

 

[Tino]

It's all BS if you ask me. Cut out some other stuff, but not the songs.

Agree 100%.

 

[Jeff Adkins]

So this happened last night in Las Vegas:



https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/n...-appearance-at-lady-gaga-s-vegas-show-1179622

Wow! The chemistry between the two of them is off the charts.

 

[SamT]

Just watched this and disliked it very much. It's the exact kind of movie I try to avoid. It's the antithesis of Bohemian Rhapsody. It's the example of what I think Bohemian Rhapsody tried to avoid. For example, in BR it is suggested and shown indirectly several times that Freddie Mercury is addicted but as far as I remember they did not once show him sniff anything. But here Alcoholism is the main theme of the movie and they dwell on it way too much.

So, watching A Star Is Born, I was not elevated, I did not enjoyed it and I certainly didn't feel happy at the end.

 

[Colin Jacobson]

Just watched this and disliked it very much. It's the exact kind of movie I try to avoid. It's the antithesis of Bohemian Rhapsody. It's the example of what I think Bohemian Rhapsody tried to avoid. For example, in BR it is suggested and shown indirectly several times that Freddie Mercury is addicted but as far as I remember they did not once show him sniff anything. But here Alcoholism is the main theme of the movie and they dwell on it way too much.

So, watching A Star Is Born, I was not elevated, I did not enjoyed it and I certainly didn't feel happy at the end.

Psst: not every movie is supposed to be happy and uplifting.

A "happy, uplifting" version of "Star Is Born" would miss the point.

Seems strange to praise a movie that completely sanitizes its subject - and creates a lot of fiction in place of real events - while you criticize one that tries to paint an honest picture of addiction and its damage...

 

[Jake Lipson]

A "happy, uplifting" version of "Star Is Born" would miss the point.

I'd go even farther and say that a happy, uplifting version of A Star is Born wouldn't be A Star is Born at all. My mother was also very upset at the end of the film because

Spoiler

she wanted a happily ever after for Jackson and Ally, and hated Jackson's suicide. I tried to make her understand that that simply wasn't the story they were telling, but she was still mad. When I asked what the point of changing the ending would be, she said that the point would be so that the audience is happy at the end, and that there's a lot of reason to make happy films. I'm not sure why you go into a film about addiction expecting to be happy at the end of it. There are reasons to make happy, positive films -- Paddington 2 and Mary Poppins Returns come to mind last year -- but A Star is Born is not trying to do that. And it never has tried to do that, since it always ends with the death by suicide of the former star following the rise of the young talent he helped discover. That's the arc for every single version of it, and it will be the arc in another 30 years when the next generation inevitably gets theirs. It's just the DNA of A Star is Born.

I was very moved at the end of it. The journey that Ally goes on is significant, and even with what she goes through, she's much better off at the end of it for the experience with Jackson than she is at the beginning. It was real and genuine and emotional, which is why the movie so great.

As I've said in the Oscars thread, I'm not interested in Bohemian Rhapsody. However, if Freddie Mercury struggled with addiction, then it would seem to me to be an essential part of his story which the movie should address head-on and not skirt. I appreciate that A Star is Born took the issue on head-on. It wouldn't have been anywhere near as good if it didn't.

 

[Tino]

. However, if Freddie Mercury struggled with addiction, then it would seem to me to be an essential part of his story which the movie should address head-on and not skirt

That’s not what Bohemian Rhapsody is about. And they do address his drug problem.

 

[Jake Lipson]

That’s not what Bohemian Rhapsody is about. And they do address his drug problem.

Good to know. I don't profess or expect to be an authority on that movie since I have no interest in it, but thanks for the correction.

 

[SamT]

I thought it was a musical and about music. If I wanted to watch a depressing movie about addiction, I watch a movie about addiction. Especially that with Bohemian Rhapsody since it's about real life they had to hit certain marks. With "A Star is Born", they could have done anything they wanted.

I don't see that BR sanitizes its subject, it's about his music and they are saying that addiction and the other things do not define Freddie Mercury.

This movie just did not work for me. I highly doubt it that I will watch this movie again. It's not just the depressing mood of the movie, I didn't buy many things that happened, their relationship and other stuff...

 

[Tino]

I don't profess or expect to be an authority on that movie since I have no interest in it,

Really? First time I’ve heard that.

 

[Tino]

I enjoyed Bohemian Rhapsody more but A Star Is Born is the better film I thought.

To me they’re very close. I love them both.

 

[SamT]

And of course I have not seen any of the previous "A Star is Born" movies.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

And of course I have not seen any of the previous "A Star is Born" movies.

Yes, that was clear from your expectation that you were in for a feel-good movie.

 

[Jake Lipson]

With "A Star is Born", they could have done anything they wanted.

No they couldn't have. A Star is Born has just as much of a template in the three previous versions of it as a film based on true events does. It has to be A Star is Born. They were doing their version of it in modern times, but there are certain parts of it that are essential. A Star is Born always follows the same path, as the experienced, fading star battles addiction while being eclipsed professionally by the rising young star he helped discover. That's what makes it A Star is Born. Cooper would have been foolish to change the DNA of it. Whether you'd seen them or not doesn't change the fact that there is an expected path for a remake of this story to follow.

Obviously, you went into the film with a certain set of expectations and it did not meet them. But the film wasn't trying to be what you expected it to be. So the question is, why did you think it was what it wasn't? You can fairly criticize the marketing of the film for making you think it was something else (although I hadn't seen any of the previous versions before either, and I still knew based on the marketing what it was going to address.) And of course you're completely entitled to feel about the film however you do. But it seems unfair to judge the film for being about something you didn't want to see just because you didn't know what it was.

For example, Vice is not something I want to see. I know I'm exhausted by current political events, and I don't want to see a film about Dick Cheney, which is why I'm not going to go see it. But hypothetically, if I did go see it, I wouldn't then complain about the fact that it's about Dick Cheney. That's just what it is, in the same way that A Star is Born is a drama about addiction.

So, how would you judge it against other films about alcoholism and addiction?

 

[SamT]

No I did not know "A Star is Born" is a drama about addiction. Not joking, I was expecting to be enchanted! That's how good I am at avoiding spoilers and to know as little as possible before seeing movies.

To be honest it's not the subject matter ultimately. We are movie fans here and we love every kind of good movies. I love watching movies and cry like a baby. This just didn't do it for me. Watched it with dry eyes.

Spoiler

One of the things I did not buy was their romance and thought Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga had zero romantic chemistry

 

[Jake Lipson]

That's how good I am at avoiding spoilers and to know as little as possible before seeing movies.

I wouldn't really call the fact that it's about addiction a spoiler. That's baseline information about what the movie is introduced at the very beginning of the film. I don't think the marketing attempted to hide it.

There's a difference between knowing the type of movie you're getting yourself into and a plot spoiler.

I'm also not sure why your saying that they didn't have romantic chemistry qualifies as a spoiler either. I don't agree with that statement at all. But everyone knows it's a romance between their two characters. That's just what it is.