He makes Patrick Bateman look like Mr. Rogers
October 3, 2018 10:00 AM Subscribe
The official trailer for Vice, the Dick Cheney biopic starring Christian Bale and directed by Adam McKay (The Big Short), has dropped.
(w/ Amy Adams as Lynne Cheney, Sam Rockwell as George W. Bush, and Steve Carell as Donald Rumsfeld.)
(w/ Amy Adams as Lynne Cheney, Sam Rockwell as George W. Bush, and Steve Carell as Donald Rumsfeld.)
Also The Big Short indicates that McKay can probably pull it off, so there’s that.
posted by Artw at 10:07 AM on October 3, 2018 [13 favorites]
posted by Artw at 10:07 AM on October 3, 2018 [13 favorites]
I have no interest in this movie but holy SHIT that makeup. Legitimately had no idea that was Christian Bale.
posted by selfnoise at 10:07 AM on October 3, 2018 [17 favorites]
posted by selfnoise at 10:07 AM on October 3, 2018 [17 favorites]
Why
posted by Melismata at 10:18 AM on October 3, 2018 [18 favorites]
posted by Melismata at 10:18 AM on October 3, 2018 [18 favorites]
Also, the best line from Will Ferrell's You're Welcome America: "Dick Cheney; some say the most powerful President — I mean Vice President — in US history. A guy so charismatic he could shoot a man in the face with a shotgun — and have that guy apologize to him."
posted by Melismata at 10:21 AM on October 3, 2018 [16 favorites]
posted by Melismata at 10:21 AM on October 3, 2018 [16 favorites]
Steve Carell as Donald Rumsfeld
Now there's a phrase I never thought I'd see.
posted by Splunge at 10:30 AM on October 3, 2018 [14 favorites]
Now there's a phrase I never thought I'd see.
posted by Splunge at 10:30 AM on October 3, 2018 [14 favorites]
I really, really want to see how they address the whole "using executive privilege to avoid turning over Enron documents" thing. I still strongly believe that the "weapons of mass destruction" thing was trumped up to distract the public from this issue, and that Cheney got away with murder.
There are a handful of people I hold responsible for getting us into the place we're in today - but Cheney is very, very high on that list.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 10:34 AM on October 3, 2018 [41 favorites]
There are a handful of people I hold responsible for getting us into the place we're in today - but Cheney is very, very high on that list.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 10:34 AM on October 3, 2018 [41 favorites]
Why indeed. This really only serves to remind me that we lost our country a long time ago.
posted by humboldt32 at 10:35 AM on October 3, 2018 [11 favorites]
posted by humboldt32 at 10:35 AM on October 3, 2018 [11 favorites]
Too soon.
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 10:37 AM on October 3, 2018 [15 favorites]
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 10:37 AM on October 3, 2018 [15 favorites]
Or too late, depending on how it goes.
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 10:37 AM on October 3, 2018 [16 favorites]
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 10:37 AM on October 3, 2018 [16 favorites]
The scene where he climbs the Washington Monument with Condoleeza Rice in his mangy paw, you'd hardly believe it was Christian Bale.
posted by Quindar Beep at 10:51 AM on October 3, 2018 [28 favorites]
posted by Quindar Beep at 10:51 AM on October 3, 2018 [28 favorites]
Christian Bale as Richard Dreyfuss as Dick Cheney in W.
posted by schoolgirl report at 10:51 AM on October 3, 2018 [13 favorites]
posted by schoolgirl report at 10:51 AM on October 3, 2018 [13 favorites]
I don't get the "too soon" sentiment. At All. It's been nearly a decade and we're already treating GWB as a friendly uncle thanks to his naive art and his funeral snacks. Memory is fleeting. Reminders are necessary.
If this is too soon, how much longer should it be? All the President's Men was a movie 4 years after the Watergate break-in. Was that too soon? No Vietnam movies allowed until at least 1985, right?
posted by thecjm at 10:52 AM on October 3, 2018 [49 favorites]
If this is too soon, how much longer should it be? All the President's Men was a movie 4 years after the Watergate break-in. Was that too soon? No Vietnam movies allowed until at least 1985, right?
posted by thecjm at 10:52 AM on October 3, 2018 [49 favorites]
Seriously, even with the post title and "starring Christian Bale" in the post, I could not recognize him. He looks like a mid 50s Chevy Chase, or yeah, on preview, Richard Dreyfuss.
Dick Cheney is a big reason why global situations are as dire they are right now. I'm okay with a film that reminds us he was the architect of many an international dumpster fire, never mind contributor to conditions that paved the way for the horror show that is the current US presidency.
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 10:58 AM on October 3, 2018 [16 favorites]
Dick Cheney is a big reason why global situations are as dire they are right now. I'm okay with a film that reminds us he was the architect of many an international dumpster fire, never mind contributor to conditions that paved the way for the horror show that is the current US presidency.
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 10:58 AM on October 3, 2018 [16 favorites]
Sam Rockwell already did a great GWB when he played Zaphod Beeblebrox (the casting in that movie was unimpeachable (heh)), and I loved the Big Short, so I'm definitely going to see this one.
posted by lefty lucky cat at 11:00 AM on October 3, 2018 [12 favorites]
posted by lefty lucky cat at 11:00 AM on October 3, 2018 [12 favorites]
Rockwell's Bush is a little too folksy.
Bale and Adams though... I like the idea that the Cheneys are actually the characters from American Hustle, onto their next job.
posted by tofu_crouton at 11:02 AM on October 3, 2018 [4 favorites]
Bale and Adams though... I like the idea that the Cheneys are actually the characters from American Hustle, onto their next job.
posted by tofu_crouton at 11:02 AM on October 3, 2018 [4 favorites]
Splunge: "Steve Carell as Donald Rumsfeld
Now there's a phrase I never thought I'd see.
It's a known known playing a known unknown.
posted by chavenet at 11:02 AM on October 3, 2018 [53 favorites]
Now there's a phrase I never thought I'd see.
It's a known known playing a known unknown.
posted by chavenet at 11:02 AM on October 3, 2018 [53 favorites]
Seriously, Rockwell was placed on this earth to play W.
Magrathea!
posted by Huffy Puffy at 11:02 AM on October 3, 2018 [8 favorites]
Magrathea!
posted by Huffy Puffy at 11:02 AM on October 3, 2018 [8 favorites]
I was perplexed by the idea of Sam Rockwell as shrub before I watched the trailer but damn...he is channeling some serious GWB there...
posted by supermedusa at 11:11 AM on October 3, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by supermedusa at 11:11 AM on October 3, 2018 [2 favorites]
I hope they find a way to incorporate Bale's Batman voice into the story.
Scooter Libby: "Mr. Cheney, I swear to God that I didn't leak that info on Valerie Plame!"
Cheney: "SWEAR TO ME!"
posted by Saxon Kane at 11:13 AM on October 3, 2018 [24 favorites]
Scooter Libby: "Mr. Cheney, I swear to God that I didn't leak that info on Valerie Plame!"
Cheney: "SWEAR TO ME!"
posted by Saxon Kane at 11:13 AM on October 3, 2018 [24 favorites]
This looks interesting. I also didn't recognize Bateman upon first glance. This makes me think of Oliver Stone's W, starring Josh Brolin. If I recall it wasn't particularly well liked but I feel like that had more to do with Oliver Stone and less to do with Brolin, which I enjoyed in that role.
One connection that I am seeing is the way that both Brolin and Rockwell (brief as it was) are both seen chewing/eating/masticating. That seems to be the main way to portray George W, literally chewing the scenery.
posted by Fizz at 11:22 AM on October 3, 2018
One connection that I am seeing is the way that both Brolin and Rockwell (brief as it was) are both seen chewing/eating/masticating. That seems to be the main way to portray George W, literally chewing the scenery.
posted by Fizz at 11:22 AM on October 3, 2018
I liked "W"!
Christian Bale as Richard Dreyfuss as Dick Cheney in W.
And Sam Rockwell as Christian Bale as George W. Bush.
posted by rhizome at 11:29 AM on October 3, 2018 [1 favorite]
Christian Bale as Richard Dreyfuss as Dick Cheney in W.
And Sam Rockwell as Christian Bale as George W. Bush.
posted by rhizome at 11:29 AM on October 3, 2018 [1 favorite]
He looks like a mid 50s Chevy Chase
Per the recent thread, I think that that's just what you want to, ah, shoot for.
posted by Halloween Jack at 11:35 AM on October 3, 2018 [3 favorites]
Per the recent thread, I think that that's just what you want to, ah, shoot for.
posted by Halloween Jack at 11:35 AM on October 3, 2018 [3 favorites]
I checked out the cast list and, to me, by far the weirdest element, even more than Bale, Rockwell, or Carell, is Tyler Perry as Colin Powell.
posted by Copronymus at 11:37 AM on October 3, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by Copronymus at 11:37 AM on October 3, 2018 [5 favorites]
I've grown a bit weary of depictions of George W Bush as some kind of well-meaning, loveable buffoon. He's on the phone right now trying to pressure Senators into getting Kavanaugh onto the Supreme Court, and he's a war criminal.
In lieu of him and the others in his administration experiencing any consequences for their actions, I'm more interested in seeing some alternate future fiction where the whole gang is tried for crimes against humanity and sentenced to life on Monster Island.
posted by Aya Hirano on the Astral Plane at 11:38 AM on October 3, 2018 [51 favorites]
In lieu of him and the others in his administration experiencing any consequences for their actions, I'm more interested in seeing some alternate future fiction where the whole gang is tried for crimes against humanity and sentenced to life on Monster Island.
posted by Aya Hirano on the Astral Plane at 11:38 AM on October 3, 2018 [51 favorites]
Seriously, Rockwell was placed on this earth to play W.
Magrathea!
Yeah I was going to say that Rockwell pretty much already played GWB; he was just called Zaphod Beeblebrox at the time.
posted by elsietheeel at 11:43 AM on October 3, 2018 [1 favorite]
Magrathea!
Yeah I was going to say that Rockwell pretty much already played GWB; he was just called Zaphod Beeblebrox at the time.
posted by elsietheeel at 11:43 AM on October 3, 2018 [1 favorite]
W is the Adam Levine of presidents: seems nice and fun to hang out with, but always works to make the world worse.
posted by rhizome at 11:47 AM on October 3, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by rhizome at 11:47 AM on October 3, 2018 [2 favorites]
by far the weirdest element, even more than Bale, Rockwell, or Carell, is Tyler Perry as Colin Powell
He was fine as Admiral Barnett in Star Trek. I think this will be similar.
posted by Pater Aletheias at 11:54 AM on October 3, 2018 [1 favorite]
He was fine as Admiral Barnett in Star Trek. I think this will be similar.
posted by Pater Aletheias at 11:54 AM on October 3, 2018 [1 favorite]
I kind of like how Jesse Plemons is listed in the cast without a named role; "someone who's just an unsettling mixture of amiable and terrifying" is assumed.
posted by Halloween Jack at 11:57 AM on October 3, 2018 [23 favorites]
posted by Halloween Jack at 11:57 AM on October 3, 2018 [23 favorites]
No matter how accurate and "true story behind the scenes" this film pretends to be, there is no way it can portray the extent and depth of corruption and evil of Bush/Cheney. I don't trust Hollywood to not whitewash everything.
posted by ambulocetus at 12:14 PM on October 3, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by ambulocetus at 12:14 PM on October 3, 2018 [2 favorites]
Hand to God, I thought that an overweight Jeff Daniels as Cheney for the first ten seconds or so of the trailer.
posted by magstheaxe at 12:16 PM on October 3, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by magstheaxe at 12:16 PM on October 3, 2018 [2 favorites]
If it's anything like the "The Big Short", I'm going to see it when it opens and I'm going to love it. Then I'll return home, think about it a little more, hug my knees to my chest and rock back and forth.
posted by klarck at 12:18 PM on October 3, 2018 [11 favorites]
posted by klarck at 12:18 PM on October 3, 2018 [11 favorites]
Maybe somebody can remind me how many countries Cheney doesn't dare visit for fear of being detained and brought up on charges.
posted by Flexagon at 12:21 PM on October 3, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by Flexagon at 12:21 PM on October 3, 2018 [6 favorites]
I don't get the "too soon" sentiment. ... Reminders are necessary.
Not for me they aren't. Just reading this thread has noticeably raised my unceasing-rage quotient. Regardless of how good this movie turns out to be, for reasons of sheer self-preservation I doubt I'll ever be able to watch it.
posted by Greg_Ace at 12:33 PM on October 3, 2018 [7 favorites]
Not for me they aren't. Just reading this thread has noticeably raised my unceasing-rage quotient. Regardless of how good this movie turns out to be, for reasons of sheer self-preservation I doubt I'll ever be able to watch it.
posted by Greg_Ace at 12:33 PM on October 3, 2018 [7 favorites]
Willem Dafoe as Christian Bale as Richard Dreyfuss as Dick Cheney with Dennis Quaid as Sam Rockwell as Josh Brolin as W.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 12:38 PM on October 3, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 12:38 PM on October 3, 2018 [2 favorites]
Sam Rockwell already did a great GWB when he played Zaphod Beeblebrox
In interviews, he said he based the character on a Bill Clinton/GWB/Elvis hybrid.
No matter how accurate and "true story behind the scenes" this film pretends to be.
Directors/screenwriters don't write the movie poster copy nor make the trailers, they always caveat movies 'based on real life events' with cinematic license to keep with pacing and narrative, "I'm trying to tell a story" none of them say, "I'm trying to present factual account of the events." I'm not sure why we are still having these discussions about movies based on real people and events, its as silly as complaining the superhero movie deviated from comic book.
posted by MiltonRandKalman at 12:42 PM on October 3, 2018 [2 favorites]
In interviews, he said he based the character on a Bill Clinton/GWB/Elvis hybrid.
No matter how accurate and "true story behind the scenes" this film pretends to be.
Directors/screenwriters don't write the movie poster copy nor make the trailers, they always caveat movies 'based on real life events' with cinematic license to keep with pacing and narrative, "I'm trying to tell a story" none of them say, "I'm trying to present factual account of the events." I'm not sure why we are still having these discussions about movies based on real people and events, its as silly as complaining the superhero movie deviated from comic book.
posted by MiltonRandKalman at 12:42 PM on October 3, 2018 [2 favorites]
Steve Carell as Donald Rumsfeld
The 69-Year-Old War Criminal.
posted by octobersurprise at 12:44 PM on October 3, 2018 [10 favorites]
The 69-Year-Old War Criminal.
posted by octobersurprise at 12:44 PM on October 3, 2018 [10 favorites]
People are going into college this year that were born the year Bush Jr. was "elected", so while I too am horrified that this is happening this soon, people younger than us are squinting politely at kindly Uncle Dubya, so... yeah.
posted by Automocar at 12:45 PM on October 3, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by Automocar at 12:45 PM on October 3, 2018 [6 favorites]
I guess the trailer has this “Look at this outrageous larger than life wacko character” vibe to it. I’m not ready to be entertained by this war criminal who still walks free.
A 90 minute romp through the life of Pinochet or Saddam Hussein? Sure! But Cheney? Fuck that guy.
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 1:36 PM on October 3, 2018 [3 favorites]
A 90 minute romp through the life of Pinochet or Saddam Hussein? Sure! But Cheney? Fuck that guy.
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 1:36 PM on October 3, 2018 [3 favorites]
Well, they probably wanted to capitalize on the nostalgia people must be feeling right around now for a competently evil Republican government. I mean, remember when they started a war and nobody said "did they do that... on purpose?" Those were really the days.
posted by Kadin2048 at 1:47 PM on October 3, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by Kadin2048 at 1:47 PM on October 3, 2018 [5 favorites]
I don't get the "too soon" sentiment.
I just don’t want them to make the fuckers cute. Not while they’re still doing harm.
posted by Artw at 2:03 PM on October 3, 2018 [6 favorites]
I just don’t want them to make the fuckers cute. Not while they’re still doing harm.
posted by Artw at 2:03 PM on October 3, 2018 [6 favorites]
Pater Aletheias: "by far the weirdest element, even more than Bale, Rockwell, or Carell, is Tyler Perry as Colin Powell
He was fine as Admiral Barnett in Star Trek. I think this will be similar."
He was great in Gone Girl too.
posted by octothorpe at 2:09 PM on October 3, 2018 [1 favorite]
He was fine as Admiral Barnett in Star Trek. I think this will be similar."
He was great in Gone Girl too.
posted by octothorpe at 2:09 PM on October 3, 2018 [1 favorite]
All the proceeds should go to the families of all the soldiers who died because of that fetid pile of shit.
posted by tommasz at 2:14 PM on October 3, 2018 [9 favorites]
posted by tommasz at 2:14 PM on October 3, 2018 [9 favorites]
Legitimately had no idea that was Christian Bale.
Back on Bale's homeworld of Bene Tleilax, they specialize in that kind of thing.
posted by Avelwood at 2:15 PM on October 3, 2018 [21 favorites]
Back on Bale's homeworld of Bene Tleilax, they specialize in that kind of thing.
posted by Avelwood at 2:15 PM on October 3, 2018 [21 favorites]
People are going into college this year that were born the year Bush Jr. was "elected", so while I too am horrified that this is happening this soon, people younger than us are squinting politely at kindly Uncle Dubya, so... yeah.
At Burning Man people often put up cute (or intended to be cute) signs in the porta potties telling folks not to put "flushable" wipes in there because they gum up the hoses that are used to service the potties. A few years ago, I noticed that someone put up a sign that said, in effect, "Ronald Reagan hated flusable wipes; he would be appalled if you put them in the potty" with a picture of his smiling face looking all grandfatherly. Having lived through Reagan, he's always been a monster to me, so I was puzzled as to why I should care what he would think about flushable wipes. But it dawned on me then that there are young adults these days -- probably "hip", lefty young adults -- who honestly don't know anything about Reagan other than that he looked grandfatherly and that a lot of older people feel nostalgic about him and that he therefore must have been a good guy.
posted by treepour at 2:27 PM on October 3, 2018 [5 favorites]
At Burning Man people often put up cute (or intended to be cute) signs in the porta potties telling folks not to put "flushable" wipes in there because they gum up the hoses that are used to service the potties. A few years ago, I noticed that someone put up a sign that said, in effect, "Ronald Reagan hated flusable wipes; he would be appalled if you put them in the potty" with a picture of his smiling face looking all grandfatherly. Having lived through Reagan, he's always been a monster to me, so I was puzzled as to why I should care what he would think about flushable wipes. But it dawned on me then that there are young adults these days -- probably "hip", lefty young adults -- who honestly don't know anything about Reagan other than that he looked grandfatherly and that a lot of older people feel nostalgic about him and that he therefore must have been a good guy.
posted by treepour at 2:27 PM on October 3, 2018 [5 favorites]
So after publicly declaring (repeatedly) that he would never abuse his body to go 'Method' for acting again, I see Christian Bale is back on his bullshit.
This has Oscar Bait written all over it.
posted by Faintdreams at 2:37 PM on October 3, 2018 [2 favorites]
This has Oscar Bait written all over it.
posted by Faintdreams at 2:37 PM on October 3, 2018 [2 favorites]
There’s a Thatcher film my (American) wife wanted to watch because it’s Meryl Streep. I was Fuck and No to that. She watched it with her mum and apparently it’s okay * but I was a big Nope on that.
* apparently. I would find any amount of humanization and rehabilitations too much.
posted by Artw at 2:43 PM on October 3, 2018 [4 favorites]
* apparently. I would find any amount of humanization and rehabilitations too much.
posted by Artw at 2:43 PM on October 3, 2018 [4 favorites]
He looks like a mid 50s Chevy Chase...
Wow. Yes.
posted by rokusan at 3:32 PM on October 3, 2018 [1 favorite]
Wow. Yes.
posted by rokusan at 3:32 PM on October 3, 2018 [1 favorite]
This has Oscar Bait written all over it.
Steve Carell is fucking determined, I tell you.
posted by rokusan at 3:33 PM on October 3, 2018 [2 favorites]
Steve Carell is fucking determined, I tell you.
posted by rokusan at 3:33 PM on October 3, 2018 [2 favorites]
I have nothing really to contribute to this discussion other than that I misread the link as a "Dick pic" and thought that was amusing.
posted by kdar at 3:40 PM on October 3, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by kdar at 3:40 PM on October 3, 2018 [2 favorites]
I don't know how political director of THE IRON LADY Phillida Lloyd is, but I do know that Adam McKay is like a half-stop down from being a bomb-throwing pinko and also I've read the script for VICE and if you're worried about any of these characters being humanized or rehabilitated, trust me on this: you have nothing to be concerned about.
posted by incessant at 3:41 PM on October 3, 2018 [23 favorites]
posted by incessant at 3:41 PM on October 3, 2018 [23 favorites]
Tyler Perry is a much better actor than he is a director.
(From a business sense, I have nothing but respect for him as an independent filmmaker.)
posted by vibrotronica at 3:43 PM on October 3, 2018
(From a business sense, I have nothing but respect for him as an independent filmmaker.)
posted by vibrotronica at 3:43 PM on October 3, 2018
I checked out the cast list and, to me, by far the weirdest element, even more than Bale, Rockwell, or Carell, is Tyler Perry as Colin Powell.
Tyler Perry's Boom! A Madea Joint Chief of Staff
posted by ActingTheGoat at 3:50 PM on October 3, 2018 [9 favorites]
Tyler Perry's Boom! A Madea Joint Chief of Staff
posted by ActingTheGoat at 3:50 PM on October 3, 2018 [9 favorites]
Yeah, like I say, The Big Short gives a lot of hope for this.
(If you’ve not watched it then it is very heavily recommended.)
posted by Artw at 3:53 PM on October 3, 2018 [2 favorites]
(If you’ve not watched it then it is very heavily recommended.)
posted by Artw at 3:53 PM on October 3, 2018 [2 favorites]
Does it end with a title card of VOTE like Bob Roberts did?
Though really, there's enough space for ALL OF THESE FUCKERS SHOULD BE IN PRISON.
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 4:11 PM on October 3, 2018 [2 favorites]
Though really, there's enough space for ALL OF THESE FUCKERS SHOULD BE IN PRISON.
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 4:11 PM on October 3, 2018 [2 favorites]
I had no idea Colin Powell was into cross dressing, huh.
Also - yeah holy shit, Bale, wow. That's impressive.
posted by symbioid at 4:12 PM on October 3, 2018
Also - yeah holy shit, Bale, wow. That's impressive.
posted by symbioid at 4:12 PM on October 3, 2018
who honestly don't know anything about Reagan other than that he looked grandfatherly and that a lot of older people feel nostalgic about him and that he therefore must have been a good guy.
In the W era I remember people citing Nixon as an example of Republican moderation and sanity because he "created" the EPA and pulled out of Vietnam.
posted by Freelance Demiurge at 4:13 PM on October 3, 2018 [4 favorites]
In the W era I remember people citing Nixon as an example of Republican moderation and sanity because he "created" the EPA and pulled out of Vietnam.
posted by Freelance Demiurge at 4:13 PM on October 3, 2018 [4 favorites]
In the W era I remember people citing Nixon as an example of Republican moderation and sanity because he "created" the EPA and pulled out of Vietnam.
For a lot of people, the asshole who is in charge now is by definition worse than the asshole who was in charge back then, simply because he's in charge now.
posted by AdamCSnider at 4:27 PM on October 3, 2018 [1 favorite]
For a lot of people, the asshole who is in charge now is by definition worse than the asshole who was in charge back then, simply because he's in charge now.
posted by AdamCSnider at 4:27 PM on October 3, 2018 [1 favorite]
Assholes in the rear view mirror may appear smaller than they were.
posted by Artw at 4:36 PM on October 3, 2018 [35 favorites]
posted by Artw at 4:36 PM on October 3, 2018 [35 favorites]
Bob Roberts is still so damn appropriate, though of course no modern audience gets the Dylan references. Dope-smoking morons.
posted by rokusan at 4:49 PM on October 3, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by rokusan at 4:49 PM on October 3, 2018 [4 favorites]
Cheney got away with mass murder.
FTFY
This has Oscar Bait written all over it.
Putty nose wins! Just ask Steve.
posted by mwhybark at 5:07 PM on October 3, 2018 [1 favorite]
FTFY
This has Oscar Bait written all over it.
Putty nose wins! Just ask Steve.
posted by mwhybark at 5:07 PM on October 3, 2018 [1 favorite]
The best part about this for me is it's being released on Christmas. The Big Short was the best Christmas gift I got since ColecoVision.
And, yeah, fuck W. I thought his disgrace was the end of oligarchic tax-break conservatism in this country. I clearly did not understand American Exceptionalism.
posted by bunbury at 6:17 PM on October 3, 2018 [2 favorites]
And, yeah, fuck W. I thought his disgrace was the end of oligarchic tax-break conservatism in this country. I clearly did not understand American Exceptionalism.
posted by bunbury at 6:17 PM on October 3, 2018 [2 favorites]
The Big Short is a movie that is all at once serious about its subject matter but also does a humorous job at conveying the topic, because the topic at hand is so ridiculous. It is through this detachment that the world looked at a complicated system that nearly wiped it out, and The Big Short does a great job of showing that “too big to fail” system and the ridiculousness of it all, while also being pissed off and depressed about the outcome. I’m waiting excitedly to see this movie and to witness the portrayal of the subject matter. It’s interesting to me how W is portrayed in the scenes in the trailer. He’s not exactly folksy, he comes off like an idiot, and Cheney seems hyper-serious. The tonal difference is sort of glaring to me, but I know it’s out of context because it’s a trailer, and I want to see how they handle the whole of the movie. With The Big Short you could enjoy the movie to a point until you got to the end and were pissed off at everyone.
posted by gucci mane at 6:44 PM on October 3, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by gucci mane at 6:44 PM on October 3, 2018 [1 favorite]
Steve Carell as Donald Rumsfeld
I have enjoyed this last week’s ubiquitous video of Jules Winnfield smacking down Brett Kavanaugh so I reckon it is mid-January before social media sees a mashup titled Donald Rumsfeld Loves Lamp.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 6:51 PM on October 3, 2018 [1 favorite]
I have enjoyed this last week’s ubiquitous video of Jules Winnfield smacking down Brett Kavanaugh so I reckon it is mid-January before social media sees a mashup titled Donald Rumsfeld Loves Lamp.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 6:51 PM on October 3, 2018 [1 favorite]
the trailer pointedly noting Cheney is a “normal” Republican (long resume in GOP politics, former chief of staff, etc) feels like a good sign this might be a savvy movie that doesn’t portray these people as sui generis idiots or evil geniuses.
Though reality’s writers having Trump remind us Manafort worked for Reagan felt really damn on the nose. Desperately need some competent editors to take charge.
posted by cricketcello at 7:44 PM on October 3, 2018
Though reality’s writers having Trump remind us Manafort worked for Reagan felt really damn on the nose. Desperately need some competent editors to take charge.
posted by cricketcello at 7:44 PM on October 3, 2018
This came up at my writing group tonight and my friend was all, I don't like Christian Bale, but wow, his beady little eyes and then she said something like.... "Wow, he looks just like Dick Cheney, the one guy I dreamed of shooting." And then proceeded to tell us all about the time she dreamed that she and Val Kilmer were shooting Cheney.
posted by jenfullmoon at 10:30 PM on October 3, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by jenfullmoon at 10:30 PM on October 3, 2018 [2 favorites]
The new DCEU design for the Penguin looks great!
posted by Faint of Butt at 4:51 AM on October 4, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by Faint of Butt at 4:51 AM on October 4, 2018 [4 favorites]
Yes, from that trailer, I feel like they are trying to make Cheney seem "cool" and that is a pretty fucked up if entirely likely result of the way narrative movies work these days. It's pretty disappointing and I wish they had spent their talents on a different story.
Fog of War is the only decent war-criminal film and that's because (a) it is a documentary and (b) Errol Morris is brilliant at getting people to be themselves.
posted by dame at 12:05 PM on October 4, 2018 [1 favorite]
Fog of War is the only decent war-criminal film and that's because (a) it is a documentary and (b) Errol Morris is brilliant at getting people to be themselves.
posted by dame at 12:05 PM on October 4, 2018 [1 favorite]
I seriously doubt it makes him “cool.” It’s only interesting in that evil people are interesting and a good reminder that it was fucked up long before our current situation.
I am impressed how Bale gets his slow growly pauses, his measured-yet-angry breathing, his utter humorlessness.
posted by fungible at 4:43 PM on October 4, 2018
I am impressed how Bale gets his slow growly pauses, his measured-yet-angry breathing, his utter humorlessness.
posted by fungible at 4:43 PM on October 4, 2018
This looks like it could be good as long as it doesn't make George W. look like Cheney's hapless dupe. I hate that portrayal of W. It makes his presidency's numerous crimes and failures the fault of his conniving subordinates, excusing the man at the top, the way that Reagan was excused for Iran-Contra. That treatment makes him an "acceptable" Republican by comparison to Trump and the Tea Party caucus, even though he did equal evil as they do now, if not more, and his disastrous presidency laid the groundwork for the horrors of today.
All that said, Christian Bale nails Cheney in the trailer. I hope he performs as well in the rest of the movie.
posted by Rustic Etruscan at 8:45 AM on October 5, 2018 [3 favorites]
All that said, Christian Bale nails Cheney in the trailer. I hope he performs as well in the rest of the movie.
posted by Rustic Etruscan at 8:45 AM on October 5, 2018 [3 favorites]
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That said, maybe it will help counteract the horrible trend where people rehabilitate these fucks because they are (mostly) a different set of criminals than the current ones.
posted by Artw at 10:06 AM on October 3, 2018 [48 favorites]