My coldest movie take: any bad movie, no matter how narratively ridiculous or rife with camera shots that are there just for the vibes, is NOT a waste of time if you get some enjoyment out of it. One example that stands out in my mind is Jupiter Ascending, which to me viewed like the cinematic version of a fever-dream fanfiction written by a pre-teen, and honestly, that's why I enjoyed the hell out of it.
Really love everything about this post and hope you enjoy your break!
Please don’t enter me into the book draw because I already have a copy—PTA is my favorite director and that could probably be my cold take BUT I have something even colder so I couldn’t resist—we don’t make blockbusters like we did 20+ years ago. Original IP, 90 minutes (!!!), charismatic yet not cookie cutter casts, practical effects, I could go on.
My coldest take that never seems to gain traction is that 'The Grey' starring Liam Neeson is a heavily underappreciated film and has a much deeper message and narrative hidden below the surface.
Excellent thoughts as usual, Sophie. I have to enter your contest because I've pined for that book since it came out, I have a son whose middle name is Anderson bc of PT, and I too have recently come to appreciate declaring my cold takes.
My coldest take is probably Superman's films should be happy films, but that went through an era of hot-ish, so I'll deploy: The best part of the Matrix movies is purely the Kung-Fu-esque fight scenes.
My coldest take: don’t let anyone judge you for liking sex and the city movies. True the first ones probably better than the ladder but in any case sometimes girls just want to love fashion and have fun, end of story! 😉 and you’re right sometimes the simplest answers are the best have a blast at the weddings✨
The cold take I harp on the most probably is: performers in older movies have more interesting faces than modern performers in modern movies, who all kinda look the same.
Enjoy your break, Sophie! I was at a wedding probably similar to what you described, as it was in Sibiu, Romania (a great city btw) with an amazing combination of traditional dancing and live electro-violin accompaniment to all sorts of pop music. Twelve hours straight (4pm to 4am) with an incredible amount of food. It was great for us to get out of our heads for a spell.
As for a cold movie take, I find myself flummoxed. But you know, Daniel Day-Lewis sure can act.
Is this a cold take? Mine is the slightly old-fashioned belief that in fact, there *are* too many guns in films, and that many films either glamourise or minimise American gun violence.
I remember when it was considered revolutionary for Eastwood to make Unforgiven, taking on the notion that maybe gun violence has *some* emotional/mental/spiritual repercussions...
Ice cold, left in the back of the fridge too long take: Citizen Kane is an incredible film and Orson Welles is a genius (even if he didn’t actually write the whole screenplay and was an asshole)
My coldest take: moviemaking and swordfighting are identical in one respect. Namely, most filmmakers, no matter how talented, need two lifetimes to really get GOOD.
My coldest take is that if you think "they" should stop making x y or z movies, be they franchise films or trend-driven formulae (like buddy cop movies in the 90s or MCU films in the 10s) or whatever, an actor you don't like or a director you think is bad, you should simply refuse to watch the movies or talk about them.
Instead, counterproductively, people go to see them to "prove to themselves" how bad they are / write a snarky IMDb / X / Letterboxd review, as well as to keep on top of "modern cinema" and the Discourse, as if the corporations that make those movies care whether your $20 movie ticket was paid out of spite or paid out of fandom.
$20 is $20. If the movie makes money, they're gonna keep making them.
This has been my take for 20 fucking years, it should be ice by now.
My coldest movie take: any bad movie, no matter how narratively ridiculous or rife with camera shots that are there just for the vibes, is NOT a waste of time if you get some enjoyment out of it. One example that stands out in my mind is Jupiter Ascending, which to me viewed like the cinematic version of a fever-dream fanfiction written by a pre-teen, and honestly, that's why I enjoyed the hell out of it.
My coldest take is that Alfred Hitchcock was really good at picking his lead actors. Lol even just writing that gave me a shiver.
Really love everything about this post and hope you enjoy your break!
Please don’t enter me into the book draw because I already have a copy—PTA is my favorite director and that could probably be my cold take BUT I have something even colder so I couldn’t resist—we don’t make blockbusters like we did 20+ years ago. Original IP, 90 minutes (!!!), charismatic yet not cookie cutter casts, practical effects, I could go on.
My coldest take that never seems to gain traction is that 'The Grey' starring Liam Neeson is a heavily underappreciated film and has a much deeper message and narrative hidden below the surface.
Excellent thoughts as usual, Sophie. I have to enter your contest because I've pined for that book since it came out, I have a son whose middle name is Anderson bc of PT, and I too have recently come to appreciate declaring my cold takes.
My coldest take is probably Superman's films should be happy films, but that went through an era of hot-ish, so I'll deploy: The best part of the Matrix movies is purely the Kung-Fu-esque fight scenes.
"Sometimes people just like pretty music."
Yes, but the next thing you know, we'll be getting LOTR muzak playing in elevators.
My coldest take: Memento is memorable only for its script structure.
My coldest take: don’t let anyone judge you for liking sex and the city movies. True the first ones probably better than the ladder but in any case sometimes girls just want to love fashion and have fun, end of story! 😉 and you’re right sometimes the simplest answers are the best have a blast at the weddings✨
Hahaha I love this question.
The cold take I harp on the most probably is: performers in older movies have more interesting faces than modern performers in modern movies, who all kinda look the same.
Enjoy your break, Sophie! I was at a wedding probably similar to what you described, as it was in Sibiu, Romania (a great city btw) with an amazing combination of traditional dancing and live electro-violin accompaniment to all sorts of pop music. Twelve hours straight (4pm to 4am) with an incredible amount of food. It was great for us to get out of our heads for a spell.
As for a cold movie take, I find myself flummoxed. But you know, Daniel Day-Lewis sure can act.
Is this a cold take? Mine is the slightly old-fashioned belief that in fact, there *are* too many guns in films, and that many films either glamourise or minimise American gun violence.
I remember when it was considered revolutionary for Eastwood to make Unforgiven, taking on the notion that maybe gun violence has *some* emotional/mental/spiritual repercussions...
This is a great one!
My coldest take: The more a film hugs its small-town quirks with honesty, the farther it travels. Authentic beats universal.
My coldest movie take is that horror is the most creative genre and often gets unfairly dismissed.
Paddington 2 IS a great movie!!!
Ice cold, left in the back of the fridge too long take: Citizen Kane is an incredible film and Orson Welles is a genius (even if he didn’t actually write the whole screenplay and was an asshole)
My coldest take: moviemaking and swordfighting are identical in one respect. Namely, most filmmakers, no matter how talented, need two lifetimes to really get GOOD.
My coldest take is that if you think "they" should stop making x y or z movies, be they franchise films or trend-driven formulae (like buddy cop movies in the 90s or MCU films in the 10s) or whatever, an actor you don't like or a director you think is bad, you should simply refuse to watch the movies or talk about them.
Instead, counterproductively, people go to see them to "prove to themselves" how bad they are / write a snarky IMDb / X / Letterboxd review, as well as to keep on top of "modern cinema" and the Discourse, as if the corporations that make those movies care whether your $20 movie ticket was paid out of spite or paid out of fandom.
$20 is $20. If the movie makes money, they're gonna keep making them.
This has been my take for 20 fucking years, it should be ice by now.