[movie] Guillermo del Toro's The Shape of Water

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[movie] Guillermo del Toro's The Shape of Water

Post by hepcat »

I'm a huge del Toro fanboy...so I'm ashamed to say I wasn't even aware this was coming. The trailer should be online soon, but I saw it during the upcoming film previews attached to War for the Planet of the Apes.

It looks to be a tale of friendship between a lonely, mute woman and something that looks like the Creature from the Black Lagoon. Captured by some shady folks, the creature is kept hidden away, but the heroine of the film encounters him while working on the cleaning staff in another part of the facility.

It bears the hallmark timeless look of a del Toro film, appearing to be set in a cross between the current period and what appears to be the fifties or something,

While he has had some misses, I still consider del Toro one of the best genre filmmakers around. Mostly because he brings a sincerity to his films that most Hollywood blockbusters are missing, He's like a giant kid doing what he loves most...and it shows.
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Re: [movie] Guillermo del Toro's The Shape of Water

Post by Paingod »

Also known as "Hellboy: Abe's Origin"

Trailer

For reference: Abe in Hellboy.

Still - looks good, and I love most of what del Toro does.
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Re: [movie] Guillermo del Toro's The Shape of Water

Post by hepcat »

I briefly thought of Abe when I saw the trailer, but I didn't think del Toro would do that, or that licensing would prevent him from doing so. However, now I'm not so sure. They do bear a striking resemblance.
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Re: [movie] Guillermo del Toro's The Shape of Water

Post by hepcat »

Early reviews are strong. It's being called Guillermo's best work since Pan's Labyrinth. Definitely a day one for me.
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Re: [movie] Guillermo del Toro's The Shape of Water

Post by rshetts2 »

I definitely liked what I saw in the trailer. It looks like is going to live up to the reviews.
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Re: [movie] Guillermo del Toro's The Shape of Water

Post by Kelric »

Abe also loved eggs...

Edit - The actor is the same in both movies.
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Re: [movie] Guillermo del Toro's The Shape of Water

Post by Punisher »

i wonder if this will tie into the Hellboy reboot...
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Re: [movie] Guillermo del Toro's The Shape of Water

Post by Paingod »

A Red Band trailer has come, and delivers a few F Bombs and a little more plot than I think I needed before sitting down in a theater.
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Re: [movie] Guillermo del Toro's The Shape of Water

Post by hepcat »

Coincidentally, I happened to catch a movie called Submarine a few weeks ago and Sally Hawkins (the star of The Shape of Water) was in it. Man, she is absolutely adorable. :wub:
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Re: [movie] Guillermo del Toro's The Shape of Water

Post by Zaxxon »

This thread makes me want to go re-watch Pan's Labyrinth. What a classic.
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Re: [movie] Guillermo del Toro's The Shape of Water

Post by hepcat »

Finally got around to seeing this in a theater this afternoon. It was slightly darker than I expected from the trailers, but it works. It has the heart of a fairy tale but the soul of the real world.

The imagery was pure del Toro. Every shot almost a painting.

Richard Jenkins was just great, as always. Hawkins, Spencer and all the rest were also quite good.

The only thing that didn’t work as well for me was Shannon’s character. He was a little too Snidely Whiplash at times. He could have used some more backstory to explain his behavior.

The movie also touched upon the larger picture of racism and homophobia in that time and place. Something I wasn’t expecting. Jenkins character was especially poignant in his role as a gay man unable to connect with anyone but Hawkins’ character without losing everything.

The love aspect was kind of offputting at times, but at the end it all came together. Highly recommend it to anyone who loves old cinema, stories about outcasts and just plain old good film making.
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Re: [movie] Guillermo del Toro's The Shape of Water

Post by Kraken »

I loved it less than the reviews made me want to. I was completely wrapped up until
Spoiler:
Sally Hawkins and the creature consummated their relationship in the flooded bathroom.
After that it took a more conventional turn. I'll still give it 7 tentacles, though. This is one of the rare movies that I want to see again. I'm partial to fantasies that aren't Tolkien-derived.

Partially disagree about Shannon, though. While his character did have the Snidley Whiplash aspect, he was sufficiently motivated by his superior, who was in turn motivated by his adversaries. Shannon was a cog who relished his job, and he played the role well.
Spoiler:
And the scenes regarding his fingers almost made me toss my popcorn. :P
So is it really del Toro's magnum opus? I have to see Pan's Labyrinth again before I weigh in on that. They're both great films.
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Re: [movie] Guillermo del Toro's The Shape of Water

Post by hepcat »

I still think Pan’s Labyrinth is the better film. Guillermo just has a better way with stories involving children.

I also think way more than the ending was conventional. The story he was telling is old. Edward Scissorhands did the same thing decades ago. As have quite a few other films. It was the execution that elevated it. You have to be blatantly sincere in order to make this kind of film work. And del Toro is nothing if not sincere when it comes to making movies.
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Re: [movie] Guillermo del Toro's The Shape of Water

Post by Archinerd »

We got a chance to see this yesterday since it's back in theaters now... and came back a bit disappointed I'd say. It's a good movie, obviously well crafted and well acted (especially Jenkins). It's hard to say what exactly didn't work for me with it though but the best I've been able to come up with is this; GDT style focuses on the things I'm less interested in (including gross out violence), the characters motivations are a bit heavy handed at times and the homages to other films was distracting. For instance, it took me half of the movie for me to just to stop comparing it to Amelie. Still, I'm glad I saw it and it's better than most movies out there. Recommended with reservations.

And one minor quibble. The theater building does not work architecturally. At the beginning of the movie the camera does one of those "pan through the floor" to the room below, and the floor joists are way undersized for the span. Also, her apartment is not located in the correct spot over the theater below - I would think it would be located at the wall nearer to the screen.
Minor issues for sure but I can't turn my brain off on that stuff.
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Re: [movie] Guillermo del Toro's The Shape of Water

Post by YellowKing »

Archinerd wrote:And one minor quibble. The theater building does not work architecturally.
I'm not sure some of that wasn't intentional. The movie is supposed to be a fairy tale and, assuming from the narration at the beginning and end, what we're watching is a story being recounted by Richard Jenkins' character. I viewed the hyper-stylized look of the film as the nostalgic recollections of the narrator and not necessarily reality.
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Re: [movie] Guillermo del Toro's The Shape of Water

Post by Archinerd »

YellowKing wrote: Mon Mar 12, 2018 12:49 pm
Archinerd wrote:And one minor quibble. The theater building does not work architecturally.
I viewed the hyper-stylized look of the film as the nostalgic recollections of the narrator and not necessarily reality.
A fair point.
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Re: [movie] Guillermo del Toro's The Shape of Water

Post by Fitzy »

We saw it when it came out. I think my wife enjoyed it more than I did.

However, seeing it called Grinding Nemo on Twitter was awesome :lol:
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Re: [movie] Guillermo del Toro's The Shape of Water

Post by Daehawk »

Not my type movie these days. When I was younger I would have been all over this movie like a lonely emotional girl on a pre lubed fishman. But I am VERY happy it got Oscar attention. They have a terrible habit of ignoring anything sci-fi and fantasy even if the writing is far superior to anything else out there.
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Re: [movie] Guillermo del Toro's The Shape of Water

Post by Isgrimnur »

Wife and I saw it last night. She was not impressed. I thought it was a decent, artsy film.

My nitpick is the number of stars on Chief Deputy Art Mullen's General Hoyt's shoulders. Five-start generals are kind of a big deal.
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Re: [movie] Guillermo del Toro's The Shape of Water

Post by hepcat »

Well, as long as neither of you were on it like a lonely emotional girl on a pre lubed fishman, I think we can consider it a successful date night.
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