tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7294499213897153104.post5266458930760109901..comments2024-03-27T09:00:32.195-05:00Comments on The Signal Watch: Noir Watch: Nightmare Alley (2021)The Leaguehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04836241071795980225noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7294499213897153104.post-78410060096819231212022-02-16T15:05:15.343-06:002022-02-16T15:05:15.343-06:00I don't disagree that's what he's up t...I don't disagree that's what he's up to. I just think he's about 65% as good as his reputation warrants and I wish he'd push himself a bit harder to feel like a grown up storyteller using the visuals. The Leaguehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04836241071795980225noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7294499213897153104.post-54280637832744973592022-02-16T14:17:59.185-06:002022-02-16T14:17:59.185-06:00I still think Del Toro is a gifted storyteller and...I still think Del Toro is a gifted storyteller and is using his talent to make movies he would've wanted to see as a kid. Which is not a terrible way to spend your brief time on this Earth. Just kinda lost me on this one. Stuarthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16334865373173505274noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7294499213897153104.post-3028579065705392012022-02-16T11:01:53.978-06:002022-02-16T11:01:53.978-06:00I think there's a ton there that was handled g...I think there's a ton there that was handled gracefully and said within subtext getting at all sorts of things, but as always with noir, YMMV if that clicks with the viewer. I haven't read the novel, but Kim Morgan was pretty vocal about how much the book tracks alcoholism for characters, so it didn't shock me she leaned into it in her screenplay. Drinking was not as heavily emphasized in the 1947 version- ie: it was not a main driver for Stanton. I think in trying to differentiate the two version, del Toro took it too far and really hit the audience in the face with both the evils of booze (for our men), and the geek thing, which really is part of the booze thing. Unfortunately, it's so clunky and prominent it dulls everything else and makes more interesting things handled more deftly recede. This is the kind of stuff where I can't get onboard with del Toro as World's Best Director. I don't get why they leaned so hard into what wound up feeling like middle school sketch moralizing when I think you can get Stanton to fall without lifting a glass, and it makes for a more compelling fall if its just him fudging up.The Leaguehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04836241071795980225noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7294499213897153104.post-1683977195134547572022-02-16T08:36:34.631-06:002022-02-16T08:36:34.631-06:00Yeah, I came in blind to this one and the ending w...Yeah, I came in blind to this one and the ending was so clumsily telegraphed, it made the whole thing feel like a Twilight Zone episode padded to feature-length. I also didn't buy him picking up the drink, or that he didn't know he was being conned, other than those things needed to happen for the plot to move forward. I did enjoy the texture of it, just being in that world, but felt short-changed on story and character. Almost like they made the movie as an excuse to build those sets and costumes. Stuarthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16334865373173505274noreply@blogger.com