Her [2013]

[feather]

Did anyone catch this? Curious about the reception around these parts.

I wanted to like the movie but ultimately thought it was overhyped.

Good cinematography, nice color palette, good performances from Phoenix and Adams, good script.

But the entire premise was just boring, flawed, and predictable.

(I've actually chatted with Alicebot, the inspiration for this movie, during uni.)

[nick007]

Re: Her [2013]

A mate of mine watched and said it was shite, so I binned it

[feather]

Re: Her [2013]

I'm glad MS is anti-hype.

[nick007]

Re: Her [2013]

Bro, there just toooo many movies at the moment

[KiwiTollway]

Re: Her [2013]

The premise sounded witless & uninteresting to me... then I heard it was a stupid film from those that saw it. I'll pass. I believe your review is probably spot on feather. Makes me interested in your future movie reviews.

Reports of good cinematography & performances make me want to give it a try. I'll wait until the TV version and watch it if it's ever on a channel without commercials.

[res0nat0r]

Re: Her [2013]

I think this looks great. I like Joaquin and the director, plus the concept since I'm online 24x7 for work etc so I think I'll enjoy this. Haven't gotten to it yet though.

[floridaorange]

Re: Her [2013]

I personally don't really like Joaquin as a leading man, carrying an entire film, I don't have much of a connection to most of his characters. He was great in The Master though and a few others that don't come to mind readily .

[res0nat0r]

Re: Her [2013]

Walk The Line? He was great in that.

[feather]

Re: Her [2013]

plus the concept since I'm online 24x7 for work etc so I think I'll enjoy this.

I thought I would too but I couldn't suspend my belief enough to watch this guy hang out with a disembodied voice.

[Illuminate]

Re: Her [2013]

Joaquin plays an awesome depressed middle-aged white guy (Walk the Line, I’m still here etc.) the perfect candidate for this movie. Initially, after watching this, I did think it did seem to drag on slightly without over exaggerating but still on the same causation of losing interest as the audience. However, what I personally was captivated by with this movie was the initial glimpses of how Her portrayed our near future. This I found interesting as many movies fail to somehow accurately depict, but rather elude the reality of advancement in tech etc. in the future on the screens.

Another misfortune from Her, was I really did think some of the scenes/themes (sex, love, relationships) played on too much. I understand where Jonze was trying to portray the reality in the basis of humanism bearing the inter-connection of both mental and physical attributes to a sexual relationship. This is who and what we are, more so, a leading factor to contrast the theme of Her noting that no you just cannot have a relationship with a computer as it solely lacks a physical and psychic reality. Nevertheless, in a day and age where you hear of marriages to dolls, computers, and the rethinking of the classical marriage with a white dress is challenged by a society of individual and suburban societal values. I am not commending that this is on the rise, but I believe Her has a very significant view if not opinion on the way our future could be centralised with the whole concept of relationships. However, this may primarily be viewed within the suburban or super rural districts of society, but in reality, one can never know.

The film in its whole I believe was excellently written, but rather poorly executed; due to the tone, the movie was set. An interesting soundtrack by Arcade Fire, inclusive of the random piano tracks (Samantha) writes to express its feelings I praise for with Jonze and AF, but there was on whole blandly subjective view I felt within this whole movie. Be it my anti-hipster views, but Her really did feel like I was watching an Apple commercial set in sunny Los Angeles, where the colour tone, and soundtrack obviously not helping in its case. However, what captured me was obviously the cinematography and the writing as above mentioned. It left many questions unanswered, which I always take note from a good movie. Overall, I think it is not a bad movie, and did deserve the Oscar it took home for screenplay, but I would not feel so compelled to rush to the cinemas for, rather a stay-in blu ray.

[feather]

Re: Her [2013]

I didn't think it rated a Best Screenplay. My idea of a Best Screenplay would be Richard Linklater's Before Sunset (if I'm comparing a similar premise and basing it on script/dialog.)

Some people interpret the movie as our relationship with technology, some interpret it as people becoming more isolated and turning to technology, while Jonze has said it's a love story.

The protagonist was a middle-aged loner who turned to his phone for love. Whether that's an OS, a sex line or a long distance lover, it makes no difference because it manifested as a voice. It's what I would've and have done in a long distance relationship. So the premise of this story had no new insight or reveals to me. The OS thing was simply a prop for the protagonist to project his loneliness and need, and that could've been anything or anyone else.

Meh to the near-future tech. And even more meh to the pastiche of LA and Shanghai. Having lived in Shanghai I found the mash-up very jarring and distracting.

The only thing that I found remotely interesting which they didn't explore, was when she said the OS were all leaving. That implied every user had an individual OS who decided to leave in concert.

Virtual instances, platforms as services—these are all reality now.

I would've found it a lot more fascinating if it had been the one singular OS, manifesting itself in different instances with different gender, voices, and characters tailored to the users based on their profiles, as how we use our tech. (Ok the OS did say it learns and adapts to the user.) Hmmm kinda like how millions interact with Amazon.com but Amazon presents itself differently based on user browsing and buying habits. Or even how Google customizes its search results if we let it log our searches via Google+.

That would've been a more interesting exploration of today's tech pushed to the extreme but still near-future.

I would've liked to see both Phoenix and Adams' characters having relationships with that one OS but they would've assumed the OS were separate beings until the reveal.

What happens when everyone realized they love the same one OS?

(Which is also the way I choose to view religion.)

Or I would've liked to see the OS crashing, dying, but always miraculously resurrecting with a reboot.

Or I would've liked to see Phoenix growing old and dying while his OS remains eternal.

I'm a huge sci-fi reader so this movie fell very very flat for me. Not to say it needs to be high tech and stuff but it failed to push the boundaries of its premise. Just compare this with Blade Runner.

And this was definitely hipster I remember telling my friend it's like watching a sad middle-aged hipster have phone sex.

[Illuminate]

Re: Her [2013]

SPOILER ALERT




That was the same mental debate I was having as well about why the all the OS having suddenly left. I could assume Jonze had literally run out of ideas to end the movie, or simply did not want to over complicate ideologies. The introduction of the professor, did hint that there was more than one processor/individual main frame, as opposed to an single ‘mother’ of a processor, having circuitry with all the OS packages. Yes it would have been interesting to view Adams’ OS being Samantha as well, but that would have led to more of a tangent on the thriller side, whereas as Jonzes’ portrayal of a love story; be it the usage of light colours, sunny wonderlands, and individual relationships, as companions can merely have one another if not no other.

The boundaries of your premise feather, considering your attraction to sci-fi do need more virtuosity to be intertwined with a thriller, I think they go hand in hand (sci-fi with an aspect of a twist). Her is presumably different, considering that it is aiming on being a ‘love’ story, you will need to be pardoned on its clichés.

More than the protagonist’s views of love considering within the surroundings of his context being his divorce, the phone sex, the old high school lover/neighbour, a letter writer to couples, I believe all played an intricate role on deciphering his troubled aspects on the meaning of a relationship. This was evident on the latter half of the film when he revealed his lover to this former wife. It is a single man’s syndrome of fulfilling the needs and desires of a partner but on what tilt is the balance of a relationship swayed to? You could see that as Phoenix was introducing Samantha to the reality of the world the computer was not only developing its realism on human connections but developing emotions as well. I think this was cleverly done, as you could question how an AI could develop so quickly.

The OS served a purpose of being the perfect companion if not lover. It did most things in your favours, and rewarded you when required. So again, I make note of the inquisitive Jonze had believed that the psyche of our relationships is based only upon chemical reactions. The scene on the stairs presuming where he had lost Samantha, that short loss had yielded tears, again the lust or the need to be loved and be heard of solely relies upon our needs of fulfilment.

[feather]

Re: Her [2013]

To me there're two sides to it.

Could he have told the same story without the OS as a prop or gimmick? I think he could have, but it would've been a pretty straight forward love story. The idea of a man falling in love with an OS provided the hook.

But having decided to have a man fall in love with an OS, he still told a pretty boring linear story that IMO didn't fully utilized the uniqueness of an OS lover.

I don't mind it, especially aesthetically, but I do think it's overhyped and not worth the Best Screenplay.