MOON Post-Release Thread - Page 2

Yeah, when I hear the criticism towards the ending, I thought something had changed too.

But I don't think that's the case.

That's interesting... I think I misinterpreted. I think I'm remembering Trudie Styler (who was a produced and talked at the premiere) mentioning that the film was in part about the exploitation of workers by massive corporations, and I took that as a sort-of answer to my question about whether or not Sam knew he was cloned (my hand was raised but I never got called on).

Thank you for clearing that up!

Were all the messages from his wife culled from the original Sam's 3 year stint?

That was the impression I got as well.

Just got back and yeah, the Sam clone is testifying against the corporation. Sounds like this'd make a good double feature with Sleep Dealer.

I have Mansell's score in my head. I've been tapping it out on any surface I can find since I got out of the movie. It's beautiful. The whole damn movie is beautiful. I have friends who know Sam Rockwell only as the guy from Charlies' Angel (or Galaxy Quest) and kind of write him off as just that, but here is an actor in total command of his craft. I'm still in awe that this is Jones' first movie; he too commands a toolkit of immeasurable size and depth.

Absolutely wonderful.

Yeah I'd really like to get a copy of that score.

But yeah there's this odd immigration remark at the end. If there was one criticism of the film. I would strip out that voice over.

That and the two scenes where you see Sam in the escape ship. The first time you see that, the screen is shaking so badly I couldn't tell what was going on. I thought it was a film problem. The second time you see him inside in the ship, you can see him clearly.

I enjoyed this comment that I found over at the AV club:

Yeah, don't get me wrong. The messages at the end aren't a deal breaker at all. But yeah, there's mentioning in many different languages about the ensuing scandal that comes from Clone Sam testifying.

Interview with Duncan Jones about the technical aspects of his film:

http://www.studiodaily.com/main/tech...ies/10992.html

Most unexpected use of nunchakus as production design in the history of Cinema. They're on the shelf over the bed/couch he rests on when sick. I like to imagine him training with them during his second year on the moon, saying "I'm a peaceful warrior" over and over.

Brilliant film.

I saw this and Food, Inc yesterday and they made for a strong double feature; two movies about corporate social responsibility.

Moon was a lot of fun and very well done. I like that there really isn't a "twist" and the movie doesn't keep you at arms length only to try to surprise you later. It's pretty upfront about it's information, but it still manages to surprise you as it goes along.

Rockwell is terrific and the "newer" Sam really has a clear character arc. I assume that he's the first clone to find out he's a clone right off the bat. So that, coupled with "Sam's" personality (being angry, breaking up with his wife because he was angry) makes for a really intriguing struggle for the character to end up where he does.

Love that GERTY wasn't "evil" (but still uses homages to 2001 to throw us off). When the robot started entering password to "give" Sam information, I was worried that the movie was going to try and go in another direction, as if "helping" Sam was also his undoing, but I'm glad that wasn't the case.

I guess there have really only been five clones, right? At first, when he looks at the archives and watches all those other versions, I got the impression that those were a half dozen among thousands. But his daughter is only fifteen and she was three when the original Sam was born. So that means there could only have been four clones total. Right?

Not necessarily, the only way to get an accurate count of how many clones have been used is to count how many drawers are open out of the thousands that are in storage. It's possible that some clones have died due to accidents and others from their three-year life span.

Not only that, Sam Bell is Tennessee Titans fan.

Well, assuming that the original Sam had a three year old daughter who is now 15, there really isn't any other option, is there? It's just all about the math. And all the other "Sam's" served a three year contract because they all were "sent back to Earth."

Saw it again tonight and I think it's better the second time through. The ending is still a mistake, in my opinion, but everything else is so tight.

Now I remember though why I think the original Sam doesn't know. Sam #1 tells Sam #2, in relation to his plan to kill a new clone and leave it in the crash, that he knows Sam #2 couldn't kill anyone because he himself couldn't kill anyone. If these two Sams aren't killers, shouldn't that imply that the original Sam would have serious issues with allowing an essentially limitless supply of clones to die for him?

The end dialogue didn't ruin it for me. Definitely wasn't necessary and most people didn't even pick up on it.

Sam Rockwell Is Holy Shit!

P.S. Also, nice trailer for 'It Might Get Loud'.

Finally caught this a couple of days ago and really, really loved it.
I thought they could have milked GERTY's true nature and intentions a little bit more, but other than that I thought it was a truly great film.

And such a technical accomplishment on such a small budget, especially the scenes where both Sams were clearly on screen at the same time...that was some truly seamless effects work there. The model work was astonishing.

And damn Rockwell was fucking great!!! That scene where he found out that Tess was dead...man I could feel his pain, and it was all in the eyes.

And the score was haunting and brilliant.

I really hope this gets some nods come awards time.

The original Sam wouldn't know that there was a built in year cap with the clones; unless it's known at the time that clones have a built-in lifespan. That being said, I think that's a good idea given the story as given.

Caught this with a theater full of senior citizens this morning (not really relevant....just thought it was interesting). My first impression isn't that the clones have a built in three-year life span, but that three years of exposure to the materials they're collecting causes death by radiations poisoning. That would explain why the corporation is using clones, and it also accounts for the hair loss and teeth falling out. Plus, I like the idea that Sam2 isn't going to fall apart after three years on earth and will indeed get to live the remainder of his life traveling the globe.

Of course, that would mean the original Sam couldn't possibly have been there for three years.....

Goddamnit! These are the kinds of movies I want to see. Every time I read the main page and glaze over when I read news about video game movies or the fuckin' A-Team or GI Joe or whatever techy doggerel James Cameron is cooking up I thank the almighty John Ford that there are people making movies like this. This was excellent all around. The thing that was great about Rockwell's performance was that not only did he play a character at two different ages he played the same character with different aspects of his personality intensified. Sam 1 was more nurturing and nigh gentle whereas Sam 2 was very alpha male and angry which is a great commentary on the notion of clones as exact copies. It is very sci-fi to add some volatility to the process. I also love the idea of being confronted by yourself and finding out that you're kind of a jag-off. I eagerly await anything Duncan Jones does for the foreseeable future.

That's not really new when it comes to the idea of 'confronting yourself'. But what was great about this film is that it develops from that into realizing that at heart, you're a decent guy. From Duncan Jones' own mouth, no less!

Who said anything about it being new?

Hmm... I misread. Sorry about that.

Oh no problem. That's a good point you brought up that Jones made. I hadn't really carried that notion to point. But that also raises the question was the situation resolved because the clones were decent guys or was it simply an act of self preservation? This isn't necessarily what I think but I think the question is there.

Man, what a great looking film. Huge props to Duncan and his production design and FX crew. I went in without having watched a trailer or anything (as recommended by a couple of folks), and knowing only what I'd gleaned from Justin's summary on a podcast. I was really, really pleased with the film. I'll definitely be telling anyone who's a sci-fi fan at all that they need to see this STAT.

Mansell's score, great as usual. Listening to "The Fountain" as I type this. An aside: There's a 9 minute suite of score from The Wrestler (featuring Slash) up on iTunes for purchase for $1. Well worth the buck.

Oh, and I concur with the incineration theory of spent clones. That's what I made of the white flash that ended all the surveillance tapes. POOF. That nozzle below the pod might have even been for the removal of ash/waste?

There's actually a shot of Gerty hooking up a vacuum to that nozzle and sucking out all the ashes at the end of one of the surveillance videos. It's right after Sam goes to check the 'return' vehicle after watching all of them.

Oh, dang, thanks. I must not have been focused on that.

There was a small amount of ash residue under the nozzle too.

Count me among those who loved the movie, but thought the final line hit the wrong note.

This movie is very good, though I wouldn't quite go to great. I have a couple issues. The first being the girl he hallucinates twice at the beginning. In a puzzle movie like this, that needs some sort of pay off. Why does he see her specifically? Seeing his wife, or even seeing himself, would make sense, but not some random hot chick. It also presents itself as part of the mystery, but is ultimately just forgotten.

Also, regarding the mystery. I managed to stay pretty much well ahead of the movie in regards to the twists and turns. Knew they were clones, knew it was a corporate greed parable, knew Sam1 was dying from three years of clone-ness, and knew there was no wife waiting back home for either Sam. The only thing I didn't see coming was Gerty's allegiance. Well, that and I spent a lot of time wondering who the hell the hallucinatory girl was.

However, still really good. I loved Rockwell and I loved Kevin Spacey's voice. The look of the film was beautiful, and 5 million is stunning. The aesthetic achievements were impeccable, and the whole thing felt like a particularly strong scifi short story from someone like Philip K Dick or something. I love seeing movies like this get made.

See, I think the clones were exact copies, of Sam from 3 years ago. 3 years on the Moon actually did chill him the fuck out and make him a better person, like he and his wife were hoping it would. That's awesome storytelling.

I guess I'm not being very original when I say that this movie is phenomenal, but it is. I really loved it. There may be a lot of bad blockbusters out this year, but with films like Moon, Brothers Bloom, and The Hurt Locker, and so many more, I'd say this has been a really good year for film so far.

Bad blockbusters are expected, but I agree.

Wow, what a great flick. This debuted at Sundance right, which means Rockwell has an outside shot at a Best Actor nom? They should re-release this later in the year to make sure everyone gets a chance to see it.

One thing I caught, when Sam1 is watching the message from his wife, there's obviously an edit in the playback that he catches but then forgets about when she says she loves and misses him. Great job by all involved.

Really great movie.

I'm not sure how anyone missed Sam getting on his hands and knees near the pod (looking for the secret door in the floor), getting ash on his hand and specifically looking at it.

And this was after Gerty put in the code for him to watch the previous Sam(s) breaking down and getting zapped.

Also, the Sam that begins the film has to be, at least, the 3rd iteration.

I don't have much more to add but I love that Gerty ended up being like an anti-Hal, being the ultimate helper in the end. There's something refreshing about that. Like someone else said his crying emoticon was actually touching.

I wonder if Gerty was actually sympathetic about Sam's situation considering they're both basically man-made products / technology who've been put into a crappy situation.

Wasn't that just a function of GERTY's programming though? It was programmed to make sure Sam was safe, happy and able to work. If it was programmed to make sure Sam never knew he was a clone and to protect the "mission" at all costs I'm sure it would have gone all Hal on him (and made the movie much, much lamer).

I forgot to mention how funny this movie was; Rockwell carries this thing with his charisma - I can't wait to see what Favreau got out of him for IM2.

According to Duncan Jones' twitter the film just passed a million bucks yesterday, and opened on 200 more screens. I think this is going to be a decent sleeper hit and stay out for a while. At least I hope so... it deserves the success like no other film out there now.

Fixed.

I agree with all of the praise noted so far. Sam Rockwell's performances were amazing, and the score was riveting.

One of the nice little touches I really admired was the fact that Chesney Hawke's "The One and Only" kept playing when Sam's alarm went off. The first thing I liked about it was how it tied into the plot. The second thing I liked about it is the song (which was also predominately featured in Doc Hollywood) is just awesome in general. I never would have expected to have heard it in a dark sci-fi film though.

delete

Gerty appeared to go through some sort of transformation however. When Sam first tried talking about the clone Gerty seemed to try to ignore or divert the issue. Gerty is complicit in the initial deception, kind of changing from a Hal-like "must complete the mission at all cost" bot to a trusty companion by the end.

Loved the movie. Did anyone get the impression from the tapes of Sam's wife that the ACTUAL Sam Bell was in the room as they were being filmed? Or am I crazy?

A little crazy? Hahahaha. The only scene where there was any hint of Sam being in the room is when he talks to his daughter.

I'm pretty sure all of the tapes of Sam's wife are the ones the original Sam watched during his 3 years stay. They're just re-using the same footage for the clones. Even cutting stuff out at times...

I loved this film, shot to my top of the year for me. Rockwell was some sort of mad genius, and the script's pretty flawless. This was one of those movies that made me angry afterwards because I didn't write it. $5 million and it looks so much better than TRANSFORMERS. One of the best of the year, easily.

I don't think the original Sam Bell ever stayed there. I get the idea he's some sort of exec with the company who's DNA was best suited for the 3 year turn before the radiation poisoning takes its toll. Otherwise the original Sam would have never survived.

I've kind of gone back and forth on this, since seeing the film yesterday.

Seems like radiation poisoning is killing the clones - an inherent danger from handling the material that is being mined? It's documented that symptoms of radiation poisoning include loss of hair, loss of teeth, bloody vomit. If radiation poisoning is the cause of the clones' symptoms, I would suspect that the danger would have been known by the corporation beforehand. And thus, the corporation might have prepared the clone work-force from the get go. So real Sam Bell never worked there? If real Sam never worked there, however, then all the transmissioons from his wife would have been fabricated.

Perhaps real Sam Bell worked a short term shift on the Moon? That could have produced real video transmissions that would be reused later with the clones. And maybe real Sam Bell needed to work there, for at least a little while. His work experience would be part of the memory implants for the clones, so when they woke up, they knew all details of how the mining operation worked.

If you believe that the clones die because they have a shelf-life? Then in that scenario, real sam Bell could have served a three year shift on the Moon. And in that case, they simply re-use the actual taped messages from his wife.

Interesting take on the reason for the 3-year stint.

If the 3-year life span was a result of radiation and the real Sam was never there, what does that say about the maturation that 'Sam' goes through in the 3 years? Does it cheapen Sam's mellowing out at all?

I think it's an interesting aspect of the film to discuss. I think focusing on it too much kinda distracts from the emotional aspect of the film, but from a science fiction angle it's fun stuff.