2. Tabloid culture - While we certainly have our own tabloid culture in the states, it's never been anywhere near what started in the UK. And I don't think the history of it or Rupert Murdoch & Larry Lamb is something most people here even know about (obvi we know Murdoch, but I had never heard of Lamb before reading the description for this film). I think this is why my husband actually enjoyed this movie (even more than I did!) - because it's something he didn't know about. He's very specific in what he'll watch when it comes to films (and it's mostly comedies, animation, sci-fi, and action - dramas are a hard no unless they are war dramas). So when I say I "dragged" him, I mean because I *thought* he would hate it and he also *thought* he would hate it, but I didn't actually have to "drag" him because if I say "hey, this is something I want to do", he goes "okay" because I don't ask for a lot so it must be important to me. Anyway, I'm on a sidetrack, but my point is that he actually really enjoyed this because it's actually a very interesting story and relevant story, and a part of history that he didn't know. And Danny Boyle definitely inserts his hyper-stylized, kinetic energy to kick a kind of boring story into a high energy thriller so it held our interest. I, myself, am guilty of participating in tabloid culture. Although, I used to read more actual magazines like People, US, and Star over, like, The National Enquirer, but that's only slightly better. It's interesting to see how it all slowly, but also quickly, changed into online clickbait and then "rage" bait. I think there is definitely a way to balance actual news stories, with more fun celebrity gossip, and lighter stories, but we're kind of past the point of no return. However, the ending of this film kind of ruins....everything? I think for some reason Boyle thought the audience wouldn't make the connection of "how it all started" to the present day disastrous influencer/content creator/political degradation of our culture. So, he put together this insane and completely unnecessary montage to end the film. I almost want to remove a whole star because of it!
3. The AI of it all - So, a big story that developed as this was premiered at festivals, is that Danny Boyle decided that using AI in his films was A-OKAY! First of all, it's downright insane to use AI in a film that is trying to teach us a lesson about a societal downfall. Like, does he not see the connection? How AI is being used to sexually harass women, spread actual "fake news", and make humans actively dumber?? When questioned about it - he admits to two scenes (I'm pretty sure there is more...), one of which involves a scene featuring Margaret Thatcher - a scene that could have easily been cut because it's weird and no context is provided. And the other is to add animals (specifically mice) to the film, and he excused it as protecting animals from being harmed and described it as the next step in visual effects. And sure, I can actually understand that, but I would rather have a human design an effect of a mouse running across the screen than AI do it. Period. I get that films are under "tight" budgets, but those budgets often run in the millions, so I'm sorry, but you can afford to pay a human. It just sets such a dangerous precedent and I hope he listens to all of the negative feedback and refuses to use it on his next project.
