Bombshell (Jay Roach, 2019)

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Roger Ryan
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Re: Bombshell (Jay Roach, 2019)

#26 Post by Roger Ryan » Thu Aug 22, 2019 8:35 am

PfR73 wrote:
Wed Aug 21, 2019 2:17 pm
Margot Robbie gets in the elevator on Floor B and pushes the button for Floor 2. Charlize Theron and some other randos get in.
Nicole Kidman gets in on Floor L, sees the button for Floor 2 is already pushed.
But then in the next shot, before the doors close, the sign has switched from L to 2; they're already on Floor 2 before the elevator has moved again.

I mean, what, are we-to believe this is some sort of magic elevator or something?
The only real mistake is that the signage changes from "L" to "2" for that one shot of Kidman. "B" represents "basement"; "L" is for "lobby"; the elevator is heading up from the basement to Floor 2. What I find strange is that they show Fox News having offices in a basement; is that how things are really laid out at the News Corp. Building?

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mfunk9786
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Re: Bombshell (Jay Roach, 2019)

#27 Post by mfunk9786 » Thu Aug 22, 2019 10:55 am

Yes, the studio is streetside, two floors. Still sort of mindblowing to me that Fox News broadcasts from the middle of Manhattan at street level behind glass, sans significant protest, on a daily basis.

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PfR73
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Re: Bombshell (Jay Roach, 2019)

#28 Post by PfR73 » Thu Aug 22, 2019 11:32 am

Roger Ryan wrote:
Thu Aug 22, 2019 8:35 am
PfR73 wrote:
Wed Aug 21, 2019 2:17 pm
Margot Robbie gets in the elevator on Floor B and pushes the button for Floor 2. Charlize Theron and some other randos get in.
Nicole Kidman gets in on Floor L, sees the button for Floor 2 is already pushed.
But then in the next shot, before the doors close, the sign has switched from L to 2; they're already on Floor 2 before the elevator has moved again.

I mean, what, are we-to believe this is some sort of magic elevator or something?
The only real mistake is that the signage changes from "L" to "2" for that one shot of Kidman.
Image

Nasir007
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Re: Bombshell (Jay Roach, 2019)

#29 Post by Nasir007 » Thu Aug 22, 2019 5:52 pm

It will be fixed in post.

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DarkImbecile
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Re: Bombshell (Jay Roach, 2019)

#30 Post by DarkImbecile » Tue Oct 15, 2019 6:40 pm


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mfunk9786
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Re: Fair and Balanced (Jay Roach, 2019)

#31 Post by mfunk9786 » Tue Oct 15, 2019 6:54 pm

mfunk9786 wrote:
Mon Jan 28, 2019 10:35 pm
Gotta say, aside from the general body type and the wardrobe, I don't see the resemblance [between Megyn Kelly and Charlize Theron in this film] at all
Still standing by it, more emboldened than ever.

Also, the movie looks like shit

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Mr Sheldrake
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Re: Bombshell (Jay Roach, 2019)

#32 Post by Mr Sheldrake » Mon Feb 03, 2020 11:49 am

The jaunty tone of the movie established in the opening sequence often works against the serious subject matter. Presumably this was done to assure the audience they weren’t going to see a dusty docudrama and maybe that they wouldn’t suffer any undue pain.

But that last part isn’t quite true. John Lithgow’s performance as the odious Roger Ailes is terrifyingly human. His scenes with Margot Robbie (a composite) reveal the harrowing method powerful men use to lure their female employees into compliance. Robbie is presented as a wide-eyed, evangelical innocent, a true believer in the Fox News creed, so there is indeed pain.

This movie would make an interesting double bill with The Stepford Wives, either version.

Nasir007
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Re: Bombshell (Jay Roach, 2019)

#33 Post by Nasir007 » Thu Mar 12, 2020 4:19 pm

This movie kinda-sorta plays like a feature-length SNL skit. I think it is the maybe due to the non-stop parade of make-up heavy impersonations, the presence of Kate McKinnon and the sit-com like direction. I don't see why this needed to be theatrical at all. But for the 3 big stars, it would have been right at home on HBO. Might have reached a bigger audience.

For what it is the movie is good. It is certainly entertaining and has a brisk tone. But it kinda has the tone of an amusing satire even though it is not a satire, it is a movie about a devastating real-life story. I think the satirical tone comes from a single thing - Fox News.

And herein lies a central "feature" of this film - I dunno if I'd call it a flaw but it is a defining characteristic of this film. This film, though on paper is non-partisan, is certainly peeking at the people and events portrayed though a liberal Hollywood prism. The movie "others" all of these women and characters. The movie cannot essentially comprehend conservative people and cannot portray them as human beings so that is what gives the movie its spoof like tone. Because the makers essentially see Fox News as inherently ridiculous. They find it so impossible that the only way they can portray it is as they have been taught by SNL - which is basically a comedic sendup.

So you have two competing films here. Basically a Fox spoof. And a serious devastating story about sexual abuse and #metoo. I think the marriage is a strange one. I actually think the movie would have been more serious and had more bite if the film-makers had explored this issue in a place they could comprehend and portray seriously - maybe NBC or some other liberal network.

But overall the performances are nice. It's just that the comedy sketch tone doesn't really allow anything to land with a serious impact. If I wanted to be really uncharitable, I would say this movie is a few heartbeats away from being a "sex comedy". That is really not a compliment.

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aox
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Re: Bombshell (Jay Roach, 2019)

#34 Post by aox » Fri Mar 13, 2020 11:27 am

I caught this last night, and I liked it more than I should have or thought I would. I enjoyed its structure and approach to what is at the end of the day an office procedural. The problems some others above have pointed out are fair points. This is a fantastic portrayal of patriarchy and men abusing their power. It's hard to believe this still goes on today, and this movie shows it more brazingly than Mad Men even did. No woman, in fact no person, deserves to be placed in these situations. None of this is healthy.

The reason I didn't absolutely love it was because of personal politics. Keeping in mind what I said above, I just couldn't get over my prejudices of how awful and destructive these women have been in American (even global) society with their powerful voices on Fox News spitting out thousands of lies, falsehoods, and half truths. As a result, I felt a lot of guilt going back and forth between, "I can't feel sorry for these women" to "no person deserves this treatment".

Sidenote: in my personal life, I have had a few opportunities to go to work for Fox News, but I refuse out of personal politics, morals, and ethics. But mostly, I also know that like porn, it's a deep blackhole in your career and it will follow you until the day you die. The scene where Ailes is making Margot up her skirt to her underwear, I kept asking where her Christian morals were and why she didn't storm out of the office. In the end, she wants fame and glory...power. Morals and lust for power seem to dance on a very thin line for many ambitious people.

This movie has brought me as close as I ever want to get to victim shaming, and I feel filthy about it.

IMO, Charlize Theron knocks it out of the park as Megyn Kelly.

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whaleallright
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Re: Bombshell (Jay Roach, 2019)

#35 Post by whaleallright » Mon Mar 16, 2020 10:09 am

Megyn Kelly and the other anchors at Fox are horrible people, who made the choice to punch down over and over and over again, making careers of victimizing some of the most marginalized people in America, whipping the channel's viewers into a bigoted froth, sharing misinformation and lies daily. They by no means deserved the abuse they got from Ailes et al, but it is impossible for me to work up practically any sympathy for them, especially now that they are monetizing their experiences on Fox News for new audiences that they hope to keep unaware of the extent of their participation in fascist propaganda.

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hearthesilence
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Re: Bombshell (Jay Roach, 2019)

#36 Post by hearthesilence » Mon Mar 16, 2020 10:19 am

whaleallright wrote:
Mon Mar 16, 2020 10:09 am
Megyn Kelly and the other anchors at Fox are horrible people, who made the choice to punch down over and over and over again, making careers of victimizing some of the most marginalized people in America, whipping the channel's viewers into a bigoted froth, sharing misinformation and lies daily. They by no means deserved the abuse they got from Ailes et al, but it is impossible for me to work up practically any sympathy for them, especially now that they are monetizing their experiences on Fox News for new audiences that they hope to keep unaware of the extent of their participation in fascist propaganda.
OTM.

Nasir007
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Re: Bombshell (Jay Roach, 2019)

#37 Post by Nasir007 » Mon Mar 16, 2020 11:50 am

A fantastic and unifying sentiment - sexual abuse is fine as long as it happens to women on the other team.

Everything is partisan now. Even sexual abuse. #MeToo is also now a culture flame war.

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domino harvey
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Re: Bombshell (Jay Roach, 2019)

#38 Post by domino harvey » Mon Mar 16, 2020 11:57 am

Nasir007 wrote:
Mon Mar 16, 2020 11:50 am
A fantastic and unifying sentiment - sexual abuse is fine as long as it happens to women on the other team.

Everything is partisan now. Even sexual abuse.
Agreed. Really disappointing detour from those posters. Their line of reasoning is different from “Well, but what was she wearing?” how?

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knives
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Re: Bombshell (Jay Roach, 2019)

#39 Post by knives » Mon Mar 16, 2020 12:42 pm

Yeah, if anything using unsympathetic people to make a strong anti-harassment point makes sense as a proof that abuse is never a good thing. Dang it, now I;m invested in this film.

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therewillbeblus
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Re: Bombshell (Jay Roach, 2019)

#40 Post by therewillbeblus » Mon Mar 16, 2020 12:48 pm

Count me in too, aox's post indicates that this is exactly the kind of forced audience-subjective inner conflict morality play I get off on. Wasn't at all interested until now.

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aox
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Re: Bombshell (Jay Roach, 2019)

#41 Post by aox » Mon Mar 16, 2020 2:53 pm

I apologize if I offended anyone. I tried to provide what I thought was adequate context to an admittedly very ugly thought. I probably should have just said that this is one of the most challenging films (both intellectually, morally, and politically) I have seen in a long while and left it at that.

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knives
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Re: Bombshell (Jay Roach, 2019)

#42 Post by knives » Mon Mar 16, 2020 2:54 pm

I think your post was a good one, but some follow ups weren't to that standard.

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domino harvey
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Re: Bombshell (Jay Roach, 2019)

#43 Post by domino harvey » Mon Mar 16, 2020 2:59 pm

Yep, you’re good aox

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Re: Bombshell (Jay Roach, 2019)

#44 Post by therewillbeblus » Mon Mar 16, 2020 3:10 pm

aox wrote:
Mon Mar 16, 2020 2:53 pm
I apologize if I offended anyone. I tried to provide what I thought was adequate context to an admittedly very ugly thought. I probably should have just said that this is one of the most challenging films (both intellectually, morally, and politically) I have seen in a long while and left it at that.
Your post showed the kind of honest self-reflection of our own contextual biases and thoughts processes I think is essential to consuming certain films and people who have not taken the uncomfortable route that you did have actually been offensive, including on this forum this year, so seriously thank you. We all have them and the ability to engage in recognition with self-conscious humility as a step in analysis is essential and very heartening to read.

Nasir007
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Re: Bombshell (Jay Roach, 2019)

#45 Post by Nasir007 » Mon Mar 16, 2020 5:33 pm

Forgiveness is a beautiful thing. Let us hope everyone can benefit from it and it is not selectively available only.
The disagreement in this thread is of the appropriate kind - people were able to disagree without resorting to ad hominem attacks.
We should extend the same courtesy to conservative women and deem them worthy of compassion too as this film proposes.

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MichaelB
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Bombshell (Jay Roach, 2019)

#46 Post by MichaelB » Wed Mar 18, 2020 4:31 am

There was quite an interesting example of this tendency when British MP Nadine Dorries, who is not exactly the most popular or respected politician in the country (not least for gobsmackingly stupid tweets like this, which show not the faintest glimmer of understanding of the devastating impact of Brexit on British musicians) became the first MP to test positive for coronavirus.

Naturally, people had a field day with this on social media, with umpteen jokes about the coronavirus catching Nadine Dorries or how it was a cunning PR strategy on the coronavirus’s part... until Dorries revealed that she was far less concerned about herself than about her 84-year-old mother. And when her mother also tested positive, the levity pretty much ceased.

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whaleallright
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Re: Bombshell (Jay Roach, 2019)

#47 Post by whaleallright » Sun Mar 22, 2020 5:43 pm

Nasir007 wrote:
Mon Mar 16, 2020 11:50 am
A fantastic and unifying sentiment - sexual abuse is fine as long as it happens to women on the other team.

Everything is partisan now. Even sexual abuse. #MeToo is also now a culture flame war.

What (and I say the following advisedly) the fuck is wrong with you that this is what you interpreted from my post? (I assume that you're responding to the posts above.)

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hearthesilence
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Re: Bombshell (Jay Roach, 2019)

#48 Post by hearthesilence » Sun Mar 22, 2020 5:58 pm

whaleallright wrote:
Sun Mar 22, 2020 5:43 pm
Nasir007 wrote:
Mon Mar 16, 2020 11:50 am
A fantastic and unifying sentiment - sexual abuse is fine as long as it happens to women on the other team.

Everything is partisan now. Even sexual abuse. #MeToo is also now a culture flame war.

What (and I say the following advisedly) the fuck is wrong with you that this is what you interpreted from my post? (I assume that you're responding to the posts above.)
"They by no means deserved the abuse they got from Ailes et al" couldn't be more clearer. I guess not working up the sympathy for them is supposed to be the equivalent of applauding the abuse?

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domino harvey
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Re: Bombshell (Jay Roach, 2019)

#49 Post by domino harvey » Sun Mar 22, 2020 6:19 pm

You both felt the need to make sure others knew you did not feel much sympathy for a victim of sexual harassment because of their political beliefs and choice of workplace. We can read your words (which continue beyond where your most recent quote stops), they appear on this very page

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whaleallright
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Re: Bombshell (Jay Roach, 2019)

#50 Post by whaleallright » Sun Mar 22, 2020 6:25 pm

I'm not supposed to antagonize you because you're a moderator (even though you routinely and opportunistically propose the most uncharitable interpretations of other posters' remarks), but there is a vast difference between finding it difficult to extend the same amount of sympathy to different victims and being "fine" with sexual abuse —or arguing that the victims "deserved it"— as the posters above allege. You are, I would hope, smarter than to believe (though not to make) this false equivalency.

"Political beliefs and choice of workplace" is an odd way to say that Kelly, especially, made a fortune for years guiding her audience of millions to loathsome views of immigrants, African-Americans, the poor, and other abused populations. She and her colleagues at Fox News were among the primary shapers of the constituency that eventually elected Donald Trump. And I highly doubt she even believed half the things she said on air. In fact, I'm not sure we should be talking about "belief" with these people at all. As with many right-wing media personalities, it's a grift—and many, like Kelly, have already moved on to the next one.

[Edited after subsequent posts for typos. Even when I'm mad, I'm finicky about spelling.]
Last edited by whaleallright on Sun Mar 22, 2020 6:50 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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