Dustin: 4.5 of 5 stars Nick: 4.5 of 5 stars Average: 4.5 of 5 stars (Tweety canary)
Dustin:
Her is a semi-sci-fi film set in a minority-devoid near-future Los
Angeles. It’s about a man’s romantic relationship with his operating
system. It stars Joaquin Phoenix as Kip from Napoleon Dynamite and Scarlett Johansson playing against type as a female without a smoking hot body.
What did you think of Her, Nick?
Nick: She was fantastic! Oh, wait. We’re talking about the movie?
Jonze created a fascinating world (as he always does) that had me in a trance even with the loud, drunk girl sitting next to me who got kicked out with 15 minutes left in the movie.
Dustin: You were probably right not to follow your date out of the theater at that point.
The near-future in this film was really well done. I wondered what city it was at first. I thought it might be L.A., but I recognized some buildings as Shanghai. But due to the lack of people of color and the hipster clothing, I figured it might be Canada. It was later revealed to be L.A. It is glossy and spreads out beyond the current L.A. It is not dystopian, and it still feels familiar.
Nick: All the futuristic elements were subtle from the clothes to the video games. They were all video games that I would love to play, and I don’t play many video games.
Dustin: One disturbing element of the future though, that seemed entirely plausible just walking around today, is how people are disconnected from each other. They still have social lives, but there are no deep connections. Joaquin Phoenix works as a writer for Beautiful Handwritten Letters, a company that writes personal letters for people. In this world, you can believe someone would fall in love with his computer.
Nick: I believe that falling in love with an O.S. could happen in our world.
I didn’t even notice the lack of diversity in this film until I read something later. Do you think they were trying to make a statement?
Dustin: You know, I really can’t figure that one out. One of the reasons I asked myself early in the movie where this was set was because there are so few minorities (I’m not sure that is still a politically correct term). There were a couple Asians, and I think he passed a black man at one point, but the city looked about 95 percent white. Once they eventually confirmed this was L.A., I’m sure there was a reason for it, given how well thought-out the setting was and how subtly they handled it. I just don’t know what the reason might be for this artistic decision.
Nick: Jonze is a thoughtful filmmaker, but I think it might be already so complicated and such a personally told story from one man’s view that its hard for me to believe that he was making a creative choice, but I would love to find out the reasoning.
Dustin: This movie certainly got a few neurons sparking in my monkey brain. I thought about what it means to be human. Could a mind without a body be considered human? If Joaquin Phoenix tossed his O.S. (Samantha) into the ocean, would it be akin to murder?
Nick: I also don’t think its murder because Samantha is communicating with thousands of people at once. So if the one phone is tossed away, that’s not murder, but maybe if the creator of the O.S.s turns them all off then maybe?... Right?
Dustin: I don’t think so. Eventually I answered my own question and thought, Of course it’s not murder--Samantha’s not human. It’s artificial intelligence, and she is following her programming. The only true emotions are Joaquin Phoenix’s. He’s projecting human characteristics onto a machine, which humans are very good at doing.
Nick: Which is a hilarious point because Spike Jonze made an IKEA ad with the same idea.
What did you think of Her, Nick?
Nick: She was fantastic! Oh, wait. We’re talking about the movie?
Jonze created a fascinating world (as he always does) that had me in a trance even with the loud, drunk girl sitting next to me who got kicked out with 15 minutes left in the movie.
Dustin: You were probably right not to follow your date out of the theater at that point.
The near-future in this film was really well done. I wondered what city it was at first. I thought it might be L.A., but I recognized some buildings as Shanghai. But due to the lack of people of color and the hipster clothing, I figured it might be Canada. It was later revealed to be L.A. It is glossy and spreads out beyond the current L.A. It is not dystopian, and it still feels familiar.
Nick: All the futuristic elements were subtle from the clothes to the video games. They were all video games that I would love to play, and I don’t play many video games.
Dustin: One disturbing element of the future though, that seemed entirely plausible just walking around today, is how people are disconnected from each other. They still have social lives, but there are no deep connections. Joaquin Phoenix works as a writer for Beautiful Handwritten Letters, a company that writes personal letters for people. In this world, you can believe someone would fall in love with his computer.
Nick: I believe that falling in love with an O.S. could happen in our world.
I didn’t even notice the lack of diversity in this film until I read something later. Do you think they were trying to make a statement?
Dustin: You know, I really can’t figure that one out. One of the reasons I asked myself early in the movie where this was set was because there are so few minorities (I’m not sure that is still a politically correct term). There were a couple Asians, and I think he passed a black man at one point, but the city looked about 95 percent white. Once they eventually confirmed this was L.A., I’m sure there was a reason for it, given how well thought-out the setting was and how subtly they handled it. I just don’t know what the reason might be for this artistic decision.
Nick: Jonze is a thoughtful filmmaker, but I think it might be already so complicated and such a personally told story from one man’s view that its hard for me to believe that he was making a creative choice, but I would love to find out the reasoning.
Dustin: This movie certainly got a few neurons sparking in my monkey brain. I thought about what it means to be human. Could a mind without a body be considered human? If Joaquin Phoenix tossed his O.S. (Samantha) into the ocean, would it be akin to murder?
Nick: I also don’t think its murder because Samantha is communicating with thousands of people at once. So if the one phone is tossed away, that’s not murder, but maybe if the creator of the O.S.s turns them all off then maybe?... Right?
Dustin: I don’t think so. Eventually I answered my own question and thought, Of course it’s not murder--Samantha’s not human. It’s artificial intelligence, and she is following her programming. The only true emotions are Joaquin Phoenix’s. He’s projecting human characteristics onto a machine, which humans are very good at doing.
Nick: Which is a hilarious point because Spike Jonze made an IKEA ad with the same idea.
Nick: …same creator with a similar idea, but with a larger scope.
Dustin: This is my first time seeing this ad. That sort of answers my question knowing now where he’s coming from.
Nick: I believe it’s all programming based to be emotional. Like you said, it’s a very disconnected world, and the company who makes the O.S.s knows this and is feeding off the loneliness of the current world. Look for it in the future! Even the video games are either wholly interactive or are based on characters doing mundane everyday actions (like what a stay-at-home mother does all day).
Dustin: Did you feel like this film was some sort of commentary?
Nick: Of course. A social commentary. It’s quite incredible. If the film wasn’t overly cutesy and felt a little long (could be caused by the drunk girl next to me), then I would have thought this film was perfect. The movie is thought-provoking and it’s highly entertaining with a lot of laughs. It’s a rare combination.
Dustin: It’s been nominated for best picture. Up against 12 Years a Slave, The Wolf of Wall Street, American Hustle. What do you think its chances are?
Nick: How many films were nominated? Eight? Nine? Ten?
Dustin: Nine.
Nick: Then I’d say 1/9 chance. Which is basically saying it doesn’t have one. It’s between 12 Years A Slave and American Hustle. No other film has a shot.
Dustin: Should we go on the talk about Oscar pics?
Nick: Sure.
Dustin: Are there any surprises on the list for you?
Nick: Since I’m always pretty deep into film news nothing is really surprising, but the one shock would be The Croods for Best Animated Picture with Monsters University left off the list.
Dustin: This is my first time seeing this ad. That sort of answers my question knowing now where he’s coming from.
Nick: I believe it’s all programming based to be emotional. Like you said, it’s a very disconnected world, and the company who makes the O.S.s knows this and is feeding off the loneliness of the current world. Look for it in the future! Even the video games are either wholly interactive or are based on characters doing mundane everyday actions (like what a stay-at-home mother does all day).
Dustin: Did you feel like this film was some sort of commentary?
Nick: Of course. A social commentary. It’s quite incredible. If the film wasn’t overly cutesy and felt a little long (could be caused by the drunk girl next to me), then I would have thought this film was perfect. The movie is thought-provoking and it’s highly entertaining with a lot of laughs. It’s a rare combination.
Dustin: It’s been nominated for best picture. Up against 12 Years a Slave, The Wolf of Wall Street, American Hustle. What do you think its chances are?
Nick: How many films were nominated? Eight? Nine? Ten?
Dustin: Nine.
Nick: Then I’d say 1/9 chance. Which is basically saying it doesn’t have one. It’s between 12 Years A Slave and American Hustle. No other film has a shot.
Dustin: Should we go on the talk about Oscar pics?
Nick: Sure.
Dustin: Are there any surprises on the list for you?
Nick: Since I’m always pretty deep into film news nothing is really surprising, but the one shock would be The Croods for Best Animated Picture with Monsters University left off the list.
Dustin: I’m surprised Captain Phillips was nominated. I thought it was great and I recommended it, but I didn’t really see it as an “Oscar” movie.
Nick: I know you didn't. Do you remember after we saw it I said I didn’t really want to see the movie because it felt like Oscar bait to me, and lo and behold it was exactly that!
Dustin: I remember you saying that. I thought you could’ve been right. Maybe they were fishing for an Oscar nomination, but I didn’t think the Academy would bite.
There are a couple movies I’m surprised aren’t on the list. One was Mud, which might have been my favorite from last year. The other is Fruitvale Station, which I thought was good. It wasn’t one of my favorites, but it was definitely what I thought of as “Oscar bait.”
Nick: The reason the Oscars and other awards shows mean nothing to me is that the people of the committee who are voting are not forced to see any film. So it’s possible they will never hear about the film. The film company will make “For Your Consideration” releases, which costs them money to send out to the voters, so that they know they had a chance to see the movie. This happened to Moon by Duncan Jones, for which Sam Rockwell should have gotten a nomination, but the company wouldn’t spend money on the screeners.
Joaquin Phoenix always immerses himself in his roles, and I’m probably biased in saying he deserved a nomination, but I also think all the women in Her (Scarlett Johanssen, Amy Adams, Rooney Mara) deserved a nom as well, but Adams got hers for American Hustle, and the Academy HAS to recognize Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts in that one film that hardly anyone I know has heard about.
Dustin: True dat. I’m don’t even know if Meryl Streep was in anything this year, but I’m sure she’s been nominated, and I haven’t even looked at the best actress nominees.
Nick: August: Osage County (both Streep and Roberts) is hardly well-regarded, which the Academy never seems to honor actors who are in lesser films unless they are an American Sweetheart (...honorable mention Sandra Bullock).
Nick: I know you didn't. Do you remember after we saw it I said I didn’t really want to see the movie because it felt like Oscar bait to me, and lo and behold it was exactly that!
Dustin: I remember you saying that. I thought you could’ve been right. Maybe they were fishing for an Oscar nomination, but I didn’t think the Academy would bite.
There are a couple movies I’m surprised aren’t on the list. One was Mud, which might have been my favorite from last year. The other is Fruitvale Station, which I thought was good. It wasn’t one of my favorites, but it was definitely what I thought of as “Oscar bait.”
Nick: The reason the Oscars and other awards shows mean nothing to me is that the people of the committee who are voting are not forced to see any film. So it’s possible they will never hear about the film. The film company will make “For Your Consideration” releases, which costs them money to send out to the voters, so that they know they had a chance to see the movie. This happened to Moon by Duncan Jones, for which Sam Rockwell should have gotten a nomination, but the company wouldn’t spend money on the screeners.
Joaquin Phoenix always immerses himself in his roles, and I’m probably biased in saying he deserved a nomination, but I also think all the women in Her (Scarlett Johanssen, Amy Adams, Rooney Mara) deserved a nom as well, but Adams got hers for American Hustle, and the Academy HAS to recognize Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts in that one film that hardly anyone I know has heard about.
Dustin: True dat. I’m don’t even know if Meryl Streep was in anything this year, but I’m sure she’s been nominated, and I haven’t even looked at the best actress nominees.
Nick: August: Osage County (both Streep and Roberts) is hardly well-regarded, which the Academy never seems to honor actors who are in lesser films unless they are an American Sweetheart (...honorable mention Sandra Bullock).
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