Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Ad Astra (2019)

This is topic Ad Astra (2019) in forum Film Handlers' Movie Reviews at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Marcel Birgelen (Member # 6801) on 09-18-2019, 04:25 PM:

This movie feels like it wants to be something between 2001, Interstellar and Space-Apocalypse Now.

The visual effects in this movie are top notch, nothing in it looks or feels fake, the primary problem I have resides with the narrative itself.

In the end, the story, which is really far too familiar and feeble for the setting they've put it in, wears down to a thin thread, which eventually breaks at the end. It's a lot form over function, trying to become the next space epic, but forgetting that a good story would get you there sooner than some hipster cinematography.

Regarding the presentation side of things: The sound was clearly way too soft, it lacked almost any form of bass, just like the LFE channel was entirely missing. Also, there were noticeable wrinkles at the right side of the screen. Nice to see the Earth come into shot, with a wrinkled texture on its surface. It looked like the screen surface wasn't really damaged, so a simple re-stretching would probably have done the job to remove most if not all of the problem.

Posted by Geoff Jones (Member # 3668) on 09-18-2019, 05:33 PM:

Thanks Marcel. I've been worried that it would turn out the way you describe. The fact that Harkins and Alamo programmed Rambo & Downton Abby in their premium houses instead of Ad Astra tells me they don't expect it to be a big crowd-pleaser.

I'm still curious to see it.

PS: Warning people about a bad presentation isn't all that effective unless you mention the location. [Wink]

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 09-18-2019, 07:09 PM:

This movie wins the award for worst title of the year.... or at least, worst marketing (since there seems to be zero buzz considering it's a Brad Pitt movie).

Posted by Marcel Birgelen (Member # 6801) on 09-19-2019, 04:15 AM:

quote: Geoff Jones
I'm still curious to see it.

If you're a science fiction fan (rhetorical question in your case, sorry), you should certainly still give it a try. I didn't hate the movie, but there's a lot of wasted potential in there. Which is just kind of sad.

quote: Geoff Jones
PS: Warning people about a bad presentation isn't all that effective unless you mention the location.

Yeah, I know, but I don't really like public shaming, especially if it doesn't concern a multi-billion dollar enterprise. The risk that any one on this forum will visit the same theater is close to zero, but if you think you're at risk, drop me a PM and I'll gladly tell you. [Wink]

quote: Mike Blakesley
This movie wins the award for worst title of the year.... or at least, worst marketing (since there seems to be zero buzz considering it's a Brad Pitt movie).

I think the official release was postponed at least twice. Most scenes were filmed back in 2017, so this movie has been stuck in production for quite a while, often not a good sign. Apparently, the Disney takeover of 20th Century Fox didn't really improve the situation. It looks like Disney somehow has given up on it, since they're putting in close to zero marketing efforts. Still somewhat strange, because it wasn't a cheap movie to make, but maybe they expect to be throwing good money after bad.

Posted by Mike Croaro (Member # 3123) on 09-19-2019, 06:17 PM:

"This movie wins the award for worst title of the year...."

Better than some goofy or stereotypical name (which would by typical of Disney). I actually like the name...it intrigues me.

Ad Astra is latin for "To the Stars" according to Google.

Mike

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 10-01-2019, 10:36 PM:

They'd have probably done better if they'd just used "To The Stars."

Also the onesheets were boring. Just a large head-shot of Brad Pitt in what is apparently a spacesuit, but on the poster looks sort of like a hoodie.

One yardstick I use to tell if a movie's marketing is effective, is by the number of people who ask me "What's that movie about?" If a lot of people ask that question, it means they either haven't seen any marketing, OR the marketing is so vague that they didn't get the message.

With this movie, I got quite a few of those questions.

Posted by Frank Angel (Member # 248) on 12-03-2019, 09:48 PM:

Here's something I don't understand. IMDB says among the sound formats include DTS:X, Dolby Atmos, 7.1, Auro and IMAX 12 channel. BUT...it also says SDDS. Is there an SDDS audio format in digital, because also in IMDB, it doesn't make any reference to a film release. SDDS without film?

Posted by Marcel Birgelen (Member # 6801) on 12-03-2019, 10:02 PM:

There is no DCI implementation of SDDS at the time of writing of this post and I doubt there ever will be one.

IMDB information isn't always accurate, but maybe that single 35mm print that was struck somewhere did feature SDDS?