*** A Star Is Born ***

30,505 Views | 216 Replies | Last: 1 mo ago by bam02
Aggie_Boomin 21
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AG
Didn't meet my high expectations unfortunately, felt it was just alright
bigcat22
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AG
TCTTS said:

At this point, I honestly don't see how this doesn't win Best Picture. I just got out and that was flat out amazing. Somehow even better than the buzz, and this has been one of the most buzzed about movies in years. Absolutely electric. Cooper is going to win everything. That dude is in rarified air right now. I seriously may have to see it again in theaters, and I'm definitely downloading the soundtrack ASAP.

Just... wow. I'm stunned at how good that was.


A little off topic, but it's kinda sad to me that for all of Cooper's greatness, a lot of America still see him as the dude from the Hangover
TCTTS
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AG
I think we're smack dab in the middle of all that changing this weekend...

Noblemen06
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AG
Agreed 100%; although I completely lost track of this one starring Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga because they were so damn good in their roles.

It was so good, it affected me for the rest of the day (after catching a 11am showing). I couldn't shake the story or the emotions it evoked out of my mind...like how you couldn't get a horror movie out of your head for a few days when you were a kid. I seriously can't think of a movie that's done that to me in my adult life (and I'm not trying to be dramatic here). They just nailed this one. Bravo!
TCTTS
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AG
Same. I cannot stop thinking about this movie. I just can't get over how authentic it felt, how great the performances were, and how phenomenal the music was. Despite the reviews, I was not at all prepared for an instant classic, but that's exactly what we got. For me at least, a large part of that admittedly has to do with the fact that I had never seen any of the three previous iterations, so the story and the arc were completely fresh to me. Still, just the sheer audacity of it all, and what Cooper managed to pull off, seems to be resonating in a big way with just about everyone.

And while The Ringer article I linked to above absolutely nails the overall moment this movie is having, one that will only conitinue to balloon, I do disagree with one thing. The Best Picture race is over. Every contendor save for Vice and The Mule has already been screened and digested by critics, and NOTHING is touching this. I'm not saying it'll still be my favorite at the end of the year, or that we're not getting other phenomenal movies over the next three months, but this has a whiff of that Titanic factor. Not in terms of box office, but certainly in terms of awards and simply registering in the pop culture zeitgeist. You can already start to feel it. It just has that "it" factor, and with Black Panther no doubt being nominated as well, I think we're in for the highest rated Oscars telecast in years. That, and again, it's not going to break records or anything, but it is one of those rare movies/situations where I could see it actually having a bigger take in its second weekend than it its first. It's going to catch on like a fire.
MooreTrucker
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AG
Junkhead said:

FWIW, I didn't get an Eddie Vedder vibe at all from Cooper.
From walton's Easter egg article:

Quote:

As for the shaggy-haired look and rock-star swagger, Cooper spent several daysshadowing Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder in Seattle.
Southlake
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SPOILER ALERT: I've read articles stating that this movie is about female empowerment, however, I felt it was much more focused as a love story which is tragically altered by heavy substance abuse and mental anguish with drastic results.
TCTTS
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AG
I would spoiler tag your post. In 100% agreement, but I'm sure there are plenty like me who haven't seen any of the previous versions, and have/had no idea how... prominent... that aspect is.
PDEMDHC
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AG
GF and I saw it. We had very different reactions. I absolutely loved it and was moved to tears a little. She cried for a very long time based on the ending as it hit too close to home when she was at a very young age.

I never knew that specific thing about her past, and she didn't know about the movie plot, but it led to a conversation where we got to know each other better... and I'm better for having that talk with her.

I don't know of many movies that can do that.

Well done.
TXAGFAN
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AG
TCTTS said:

I would spoiler tag your post. In 100% agreement, but I'm sure there are plenty like me who haven't seen any of the previous versions, and have/had no idea how... prominent... that aspect is.
If you're in a movie thread on opening weekend well you may get some spoilers.
TCTTS
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AG
Yeah, yeah, yeah. We've been through this a thousand times. But people like to read initial reactions without the fear of spoilers, so we usually use spoiler tags for at least opening weekend. It's pretty simple.
Boo Weekley
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Does this one stay out of politics/preachiness? It looks really really good and think both wife and I would like it.
TCTTS
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AG
Not a single political/preachy thing about it. What gives you the impression that it might be?
G Martin 87
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AG
Boo Weekley said:

Does this one stay out of politics/preachiness? It looks really really good and think both wife and I would like it.
Completely apolitical.
walton91
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The reason this is so good is because it was a passion project for Cooper, and it shows. It just feels authentic all the way through despite being the 3rd or 4th telling of this story. Is it one of the best movies of all time? I don't know, but it obviously came from an honest place. It's just good storytelling. I love seeing movies like this.
Tanya 93
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TCTTS said:

Not a single political/preachy thing about it. What gives you the impression that it might be?


This is where it begins to derail into politics. He asked a question. No it isn't political is the simple answer and asking why he thinks it might be leads down the path to preaching about Hollywood is liberal and indoctrinating.
And then the whole movie discussion gets lost.

G Martin 87
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AG
Agree with Tanya. No reason to invite further comments.
G Martin 87
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AG
And agree with TCTTS here. Please use spoiler tags this weekend. It only takes a few seconds and it's always appreciated by those who haven't seen the movie.
TCTTS
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AG
Apologies. I wasn't thinking along those lines. I was more curious if the previous versions had a political angle for some reason.
Pignorant
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AG
I can't wrap my head around how she went from a waitress to Taylor Swift level in about 30 minutes of screen time.
TCTTS
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AG
Fun fact: Clint Eastwood was originally set to direct this a few years back, with Cooper still starring, but opposite BEYONCE, not Gaga. Eastwood eventually moved on, as did Beyonce, but Cooper took over directing duties, went after Gaga, and the rest is history.
Spaceship
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AG
Pignorant said:

I can't wrap my head around how she went from a waitress to Taylor Swift level in about 30 minutes of screen time.

This was my main complaint about the movie and gave it a contrived feel. Gaga and Cooper had excellent performances and the acting was great, but the story tried to cover too much too quickly.
agdaddy04
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AG
TCTTS said:

Fun fact: Clint Eastwood was originally set to direct this a few years back, with Cooper still starring, but opposite BEYONCE, not Gaga. Eastwood eventually moved on, as did Beyonce, but Cooper took over directing duties, went after Gaga, and the rest is history.

All of that sounds we were lucky he moved on.
Southlake
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More fun facts:

Cooper took accent lessons from a voice coach to sound like Elliott

That was Cooper's dog, named after Cooper's Dad

Cooper and Chappell are best friends. Chappell's daughter was the little girl.

Allie was humming, "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" as an homage to a Judy Garland

This was actually the 4th version of, A Star is Born.

Even tho Cooper spent time learning to play guitar, they still had to montage his playing. Being a long time guitar
Player, even I could tell he wasn't very skilled (like me!)

Bathtub scene was also an homage - this time to the 1976 version.

When Cooper was 12, he memorized Dice Clays first album and was a huge fan


The more I think about this movie, the more I really liked it. Moving my grade up to an A-

Sure would be cool to read what Fast Fred thought about it...



Joan Wilder
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AG
I thought the acting, directing and singing were all outstanding. Really loved the chemistry between them on and off stage through the first half of the movie, especially the concert scenes. Cooper was really outstanding.

The manager-induced transformation though just rang so false. Why would an A&R guy who sees what Ally's style/singing style is want to change all of that and why wouldn't Ally at least put up a nominal resistance to it? She gains a following for her soulful voice and songwriting...it seemed out of character for HER to just go along with that transformation.

Willem and Shangela were hysterical at the drag club. It drove me crazy trying to figure out who her best friend was - it was Philip Hamilton/John Laurens from Hamilton
Nagler
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AG
Enjoyed it. Liked the music a lot.

My only knock was I couldn't tell what kind of time frame they were working on. I saw the dog got bigger but otherwise I wasn't sure if it had been a few weeks or months or what?

Also thought she went real big relay fast but once again I didn't have a good feel for how long it had been.
Cloud
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Both me and the wife loved it. A+
AggieGirl35
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AG
I saw this today. It was beautiful and heartbreaking. Cooper and Gaga were fantastic. Gaga's talent is just unreal and Cooper was so soulful and tortured, I found myself completely engrossed in the film, which felt way shorter than its 2+ hour run time. All the awards for me. I saw it around noon and I'm still thinking about it. The soundtrack is amazing.
Boo Weekley
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TCTTS said:

Not a single political/preachy thing about it. What gives you the impression that it might be?


Good to hear. Nothing from the trailer gave me that impression, just checking. A brief review I read the other day made it sound like it touched on some sensitive issues and I didn't know really how to take that.
Boo Weekley
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Tanya 93 said:

TCTTS said:

Not a single political/preachy thing about it. What gives you the impression that it might be?


This is where it begins to derail into politics. He asked a question. No it isn't political is the simple answer and asking why he thinks it might be leads down the path to preaching about Hollywood is liberal and indoctrinating.
And then the whole movie discussion gets lost.




Ha just saw this. You were wrong. You of all people complaining about thread derails lol.
duck79
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AG
Wife and I just got back from seeing it and we both felt that this movie changed how we viewed Lady Gaga. We both thought the movie was very well done and grabbed you.

The scenes with the dog outside the garage and the brother driving off were powerful
evan_aggie
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AG
We saw this today, and while it had plenty of great moments, would have preferred not see such a downer. Went on 30 minutes too long.

Just meh for us.
G Martin 87
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AG
"Shallow" is going to get all the best song Oscar buzz, but the best song is really "Look What I Found". Very soulful and well-crafted.
walton91
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Quote:

The manager-induced transformation though just rang so false. Why would an A&R guy who sees what Ally's style/singing style is want to change all of that and why wouldn't Ally at least put up a nominal resistance to it? She gains a following for her soulful voice and songwriting...it seemed out of character for HER to just go along with that transformation.

This happens all the time. Nashville signs tons of talented singer songwriters who they then try to make into the next Taylor Swift. "We love your talent, but if you want to be big this is how its done. We want you to use songs from our songwriters, they have so many hits to their credit, and we want you to work with our producer, he knows the type of sound we are looking for..."
SkiMo
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AG
Saw this yesterday around lunch, thought about it all the rest of the day, woke up in the middle of the night thinking about it, and obviously thinking about it now.

This movie got to me. For a quite a few reasons both relatable and non-relatable.

Bradley Cooper just slayed it across the board. And I wasn't surprised at all by Lady Gaga's performance. It's frustrating to me that people still see her as a basic pop star without ever having done any researching on her. She is a brilliant and talented artist in many ways and humble to boot. I hope this movie gets her a whole new set of followers and appreciaters because she deserves it.

The story, the music, and the acting ripped me apart emotionally, and I was literally exhausted afterwards. For the rest of the day. And I wanna watch it again. To me it was that amazing.
 
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