Co-sign.joe said:I know it's directed by Kanye, but I am unsure as to what he really did. My strongest endorsement would be of the cinematography, which is the responsibility of the DP. The set design was also dope.
I didn't feel the songs fit with the images, the writing was sparse and bad, and the acting was terrible.
I'd give it a 6.5/10, if only because the ambition. As far as the execution, I was a bit let down.
the special effects were very sub-par, i kind of wish they would've found a way to do it without it looking ridiculous. that was my only complaint with the LITW scene though. i got chills when it cut to the title card. that song just fits well to film.joe said:Lost in the world was the best fit. I thought the short "Hell of a life" actually fit as well. LITW kind of had me conflicted when they showed her flying. Corny to me.
haha, I thought some of it was ok. There seemed to be a purpose, where as in The Room it's spastic. I think the dialogue would've been greatly helped if there was a decent delivery to them. This wouldn't make it great, but it would make it more bearable.joe said:Honestly that dialogue would not be out of place in "The Room."
Yeah, the effects take me out of it as well. I was getting slightly annoyed too over the last few days about how Kanye's vision was being compared, at least in a sense, to the work of Kubrick and Fellini. I think it's a little over the top.joe said:I think Kanye kind of gets confused when it comes to aesthetics in film. Kubrick and Malick films may look like they are just freestyling and pointing the camera at any pretty thing, but every shot has a purpose. "Runaway" just shot a bunch of pretty stuff,and none of it really fit.
I don't know why the visual effects were so bad either. They certainly had the money to make it look better. There is nothing that will a ruin a film for me faster than bad SFX.
I don't think anyone said that he was making anything Kubrick or Fellini-esque...I thought it was cool he name dropped them as influences though. I think Runaway is entirely Kanye, really...for better or for worse. Maybe if he studied a little more film he could direct something better, there were some promising things about the film.mmonty86 said:Yeah, the effects take me out of it as well. I was getting slightly annoyed too over the last few days about how Kanye's vision was being compared, at least in a sense, to the work of Kubrick and Fellini. I think it's a little over the top.
Someone compared him to Paul Thomas Anderson?!?joe said:Yeah I read Fellini and PT Anderson comparisons...................
Maybe Paul W.S Anderson, and that's even a reach.
You crazy for this one, 'Ye!
I'd agree.Nick said:One thing I really liked that he kept mentioning was colors and contrasting and all that shit. It's certainly an underrated aspect of film.
Fuck yes. I love PDL and its use of color.joe said:"Punch Drunk Love" is a textbook example of great color usage. Anotioni(sp) is probably the master(if only his movies weren't so damn boring.)
I agree with you...everything seemed very random and not connected...maybe he should've just made a series of music videos for each songDIAZ said:Personally, I admire kanye's attempt to make a film that represents the songs on his album (what they represent, I still don't know) but it seemed all very clustered and contrived. I understand that it's really just a music video and a way to promote his album, which is fine, yet I'm not quite sure what the meaning of some of the shots were. That crane shot with the ballerinas was beautiful but it didn't help me understand the meaning behind the rest of the scene or movie. Visually, it was quite a surprise and honestly I wasn't expecting to be wow'd by the acting so it really didn't bother me. From a music video standpoint, it was awesome. But from a narrative point of view, not so much. I actually would've liked to see Spike Jonze involved with this because Flashing Lights was phenominal. Not just because of those titties but because it did a perfect job at conveying the message behind the song and at the same time leaving me wanting to see more.