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The critics are writing off "Bombshell"

It's at 63% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 87September 1, 2020 3:24 PM

meh...

by Anonymousreply 1December 10, 2019 6:08 PM

Even The AV Club seems bored:

[quote]If you've already accepted that treating your coworkers as sexual objects is bad, you're unlikely to be shocked by Bombshell's accusations, or enlightened by its insights.

by Anonymousreply 2December 10, 2019 6:11 PM

Why do they all look the same? I have zero interest in this.

by Anonymousreply 3December 10, 2019 6:15 PM

Looks like Stepford Wives again.

by Anonymousreply 4December 10, 2019 6:17 PM

Any movie that tries to make Megyn Kelly or Gretchen Carlson into strong women heroines who fought against the odds to overcome obstacles and hardships to emerge victorious is sadly mistaken about a great many things.

I get the feeling this movie is more about rehabilitating both Faux News as credible AND those women as poor victims who are survivors with a soupçon of "we're hard hitting journalists" not shills, so you can believe and trust our news cred.

by Anonymousreply 5December 10, 2019 6:21 PM

It is possible that Fox News supporters are spamming the site to raise the negative rating of the film

by Anonymousreply 6December 10, 2019 6:23 PM

Eh, the Russell Crowe docuseries beat them to it.

by Anonymousreply 7December 10, 2019 6:26 PM

R6 that's not how the critics score at Rotten Tomatoes works you freaking dumbass.

by Anonymousreply 8December 10, 2019 6:27 PM

A couple of reviewers have pointed out what r5 mentioned upthread , that the movie tries too hard to make these women into Strong Brave Victims /Heroes /survivors. I wonder if the director feels the same compassion for all the truly powerless victims of right wing propaganda as he does towards these pampered fascist bimbos . Hahaha of course not. The whole "every rich , passably pretty white woman is a helpless victim worthy of society 's protection " narrative is getting tiresome. Just look at how many people insisted that the birther Melania Trump just needed to be "freed " . Blech.

I'll probably still watch it when it comes to streaming because I am fascinated by makeup /prosthetic transformations. Theron looks like Kelly's twin.

by Anonymousreply 9December 10, 2019 6:47 PM

Okay, then, it's possible that Rupert Murdoch and the conservative corporate-owned media have told their critics to give it poor reviews and low scores.

Not that I'm going to see it anyway, because this is a drama where everyone is a villain of one stripe or another.

by Anonymousreply 10December 10, 2019 7:02 PM

Ratings are low because Megan Kelly has overstayed her welcome. She and Moi are not useful to liberals anymore. Roger Allies is dead and #metoo movement[which was intended to bring down the conservative bigwigs) has taken out far more liberal men. So no need to elevate this movie or lionize those two women.

by Anonymousreply 11December 10, 2019 7:38 PM

Oh yeah, one day very soon, women are going to soooo regret embracing that MeToo shit. A total backfire, one more step to franchised invisibility (as in "don't hire trouble".)

by Anonymousreply 12December 10, 2019 7:51 PM

Charlize looks exactly like Megyn but WTF does Nicole have on her face to try to look like that hobbitte Gretchen Carlson?

by Anonymousreply 13December 10, 2019 8:03 PM

This would have been more popular if it came out earlier too much time has passed and everyone has soured on MK.

by Anonymousreply 14December 10, 2019 8:11 PM

Jay Roach is a hack. He got lucky with Recount (Literally was an editing room mess). The result was good so he got game change. Which turned out well. The guy is barely a director. Has no real understanding of screenplays. Or politics. Or movies. But I’m down to see Austin Powers 4 opening night

by Anonymousreply 15December 10, 2019 8:12 PM

I will certainly see it just for the makeup and to spite Judy's fat old loons.

by Anonymousreply 16December 10, 2019 8:15 PM

[quote]and #metoo movement[which was intended to bring down the conservative bigwigs)

Hate to break this to you, but #metoo was not "intended to bring down conservative bigwigs." It only took off as a social movement after the Harvey Weinstein affair, and it was not part of US party politics in any way ... except maybe to the extent that liberal women might be more likely to report abuse because conservative women think they "deserve it" or men are within their rights in sexually harassing or molesting women.

by Anonymousreply 17December 10, 2019 8:19 PM

I was one of the few who didn't care for Jay Roaches other film, Game Change. It was pretty much pro McCain propaganda. They portrayed John McCain, Steve Schmidt, and Nicole Wallace as noble decent at heart types who were undone by Palins stupidity. Palin was indeed a raving idiot but Wallace and Schmidt were the ones who pursued her. They only turned on her when the campaign became a laughingstock. And Hero Maverick McCain was as corrupt and sleazy as any other republican, in some ways worse because of his constant agenda of overseas military involvement. The scene where Ed Harris 's McCain makes some soppy speech to his aide about wanting to win the right way is laughable to anyone knowledgeable about McCain or politics in general .

by Anonymousreply 18December 10, 2019 8:22 PM

R7 was going to say the same thing.

by Anonymousreply 19December 10, 2019 8:24 PM

Maybe conservatives will get more out of this than I would, but I don't care much about these sharp elbowed, blonde brass bitches on Fox News, so shrill and full of anger.

That said, I suspect that conservatives' brains have been so colonized by Fox News that they'll see the movie as a betrayal or, all together now, "fake news."

Come to think of it, who was this fucking movie made for in the first place?

by Anonymousreply 20December 10, 2019 9:25 PM

maybe if megan had done a sharon stone and flashed her twat, ratings would have been better

by Anonymousreply 21December 10, 2019 10:59 PM

perhaps it will be something that unites conversatives and liberals, with both hating and avoiding it.

by Anonymousreply 22December 10, 2019 11:02 PM

R21 I'm sure Megyn is considering it right now. That bitches career is gone!

by Anonymousreply 23December 10, 2019 11:05 PM

Charlize is a bitch. Liked her more when she was a cool pot smoking girl and hadn't messed with her face so much. Around the time of Monster. Now she gives off mean girl vibes.

by Anonymousreply 24December 10, 2019 11:37 PM

The trailer looked more like a tv movie. Carlson & Kelly are hardly sympathetic figures either.

by Anonymousreply 25December 10, 2019 11:45 PM

Why anyone thought this idea was going to be intriguing to an audience is a total mystery. There is nothing surprising or dramatic about the situation.

by Anonymousreply 26December 11, 2019 12:36 AM

It loses something now that NBC is the real metoo disaster.

by Anonymousreply 27December 11, 2019 12:52 AM

This should just be an HBO telemovie.

by Anonymousreply 28December 11, 2019 1:01 AM

It was r28, and it was pretty good.

by Anonymousreply 29December 11, 2019 1:06 AM

Looks better than that Jewel movie.

by Anonymousreply 30December 11, 2019 1:12 AM

It is almost like Russian bots on this site. I haven’t seen the movie so please see it and make your own opinion, but it is still fresh, is overwhelmingly fresh by top critics, and you all need to do your own research. Anyone here shitting on it want to post their ticket stub on Imigur?

by Anonymousreply 31December 11, 2019 1:19 AM

It's amazing that two diametrically opposed narratives can be gleaned from the responses in this thread:

- People are doing god's work by saying as much negative crap they can about the movie to get it to bomb and prevent embarrassment of the faux news network and executives.

or

- People shouldn't see it as it is pr propaganda to make brave heroes out of rethug media darlings and deflect from the broader shilling faux news does.

What a strange world when a single movie could easily play into either opposing narratives.

by Anonymousreply 32December 11, 2019 1:48 AM

I have zero interest in a film that portrays these frauds as heroes for the cause. What might have made an interesting film is these women confronting the harsh limits of the patriarchal bargain: they played dumb and/or outrageous blond TV bobbleheads to make the old white guys happy, but it didn't make those guys respect them at all. Of course, that didn't happen in real life, so why bother?

by Anonymousreply 33December 11, 2019 4:59 AM

Agree that Jay Roach is a hack and the Russell Crowe series was quite good.

Nicole Kidman has a pattern. 2 back to back critical hits every 5 years followed by 4 years of flops.

by Anonymousreply 34December 11, 2019 5:36 AM

R27 who should play Ronan Farrow in the limited series?

Stanley Tucci as Matt Lauer!

by Anonymousreply 35December 11, 2019 5:39 AM

R55, Blonde zac Effron

by Anonymousreply 36December 11, 2019 11:04 AM

I agree with R7 & R34.

Showtime beat them to it with the recent 7-part miniseries The Loudest Voice.

Russell Crowe was Murdoch, Sienna Miller was his wife, Naomi Watts was Carlson.

It's worth checking out.

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 37December 11, 2019 1:13 PM

They lost me after the teaser trailer. I'll wait for it to show up on Netflix.

by Anonymousreply 38December 11, 2019 2:08 PM

Only 43 critics have weighed in so far, FFS.

You don’t get a general picture on rottentomatoes until over 180 critics have weighed in.

The truth is, BOMBSHELL is racking up awards and the OP is a right-wing troll who doesn’t want the lies, sleaze, abuse and hypocrisy of his precious Fox propaganda network exposed.

by Anonymousreply 39December 11, 2019 2:15 PM

What did they do to Charlize to make her look exactly like Megyn Kelly? She can look like completely different people with whatever she did with Monster and this. Johnny Depp has to wear a face full of clown makeup to do that.

by Anonymousreply 40December 11, 2019 2:24 PM

Down to 60% now. How can something that is 60% still merrit a "fresh" score? If you get a 60 on a test, that's a fail.

by Anonymousreply 41December 13, 2019 8:51 PM

A fail is 49% in Australia.

by Anonymousreply 42December 13, 2019 8:53 PM

Why does a movie have to be made about every fucking little thing that just happened? We all lived through this a few years ago & it wasn’t shocking. “Women who agree to allow rightwing, misogynist propaganda outlet dress & style them like Hollywood whores get treated like Hollywood whores, express surprise.

What next?

Hip hop artist takes drugs, dies?

14th movie about Fred Rogers begins production.

Sequel to Joker origin story planned. No, not that one.. The other one.

I Like Turtles live action version under consideration by Disney.

Leo DiCaprio signed to play father of American boys burned to death on NZ volcanic island. So far, the body of DiCaprio's character has not been located.

by Anonymousreply 43December 13, 2019 9:07 PM

I hate the fact they are making these Fox News Bitches out as heroes.

by Anonymousreply 44December 13, 2019 9:25 PM

I do think Charlize is a fantastic actress. But yeah, why pick this part. I'll skip.

by Anonymousreply 45December 13, 2019 10:28 PM

The Loudest Voice In The Room was very good because it shows how the shadow of Ailes affected everyone in the company, and it showed how the employees and additionally the Murdochs had to manage ego, personality and power abuses. It showed the nightmare of the office that all of us have dealt with on various levels.

The show unfairly received middling reviews but the acting is excellent all around. Apart from the excellent Russell Crowe (who I don't always like) Odd casting that really payed off, like Sienna Miller as a former beauty turned frumpy Frau, a terrified Annabelle Wallis, Barry Watson a dead ringer for Lachlan Murdoch, smarmy yet principled Seth Macfarlane and Simon McBurney perfectly capturing Rupert Murdoch (I've met him several times) apart from the accent, which was too working class broad.

by Anonymousreply 46December 14, 2019 11:28 AM

[quote]A fail is 49% in Australia.

and as Murdoch is an Aussie, he gets a pass

by Anonymousreply 47December 15, 2019 4:17 PM

[quote]I hate the fact they are making these Fox News Bitches out as heroes.

yep, they knew they were just there for their boobs, blond hair and occasional twat peek up the miniskirts, but I have to admit is was awesome on election night 2012 when the megan we all see you next tuesday, did her ass twerking walk, in her fuck me pumps, down to the data room to kick Karl Rove in the nuts.

by Anonymousreply 48December 15, 2019 4:23 PM

Yes! r48 She was stalking about apoplectic. Wish I could find the video.

by Anonymousreply 49December 16, 2019 12:45 AM

Such an entertaing bitchslap movie. Highly recommended for every queen who has nothing to during Christmas.

by Anonymousreply 50December 16, 2019 1:09 AM

It was very entertaining. Charlize was fantastic.

by Anonymousreply 51December 16, 2019 2:01 AM

I’ll see it, because whether it’s good or just okay, surely it’s better than the superhero stuff we get saturated with most of the time.

And the cast is excellent.

by Anonymousreply 52December 16, 2019 5:25 PM

[quote]Why do they all look the same? I have zero interest in this. '

Because they were Fox News Channel on air "talent". That's what Roger Ailes wanted his girls to look like. It's the main reason I don't want to see it, let alone pay for, they are making these Fox bitches out to be heroes.

by Anonymousreply 53December 16, 2019 5:34 PM

Just one more minor league movie to make "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" look even better. No contest this year, especially now that "Richard Jewel" has bombed.

by Anonymousreply 54December 16, 2019 5:55 PM

One difference between this and OUTH, tho, is it actually offers actresses major roles.

How many lines does Margot Robbie have in the Tarentino film? (It would be such a joke if she were nominated for playing an empty fantasy blonde in that movie.)

by Anonymousreply 55December 16, 2019 6:03 PM

I enjoyed it. It's not the greatest movie but it's entertaining and thought provoking. There's a lot of gray in how the movie portrays the heroes and the villains. If you think that Gretchen and Megan come out smelling like a rose, you are wrong.

Charlize doesn't just look like Megan, but she talks like her and sounds like her. It's pretty cool.

by Anonymousreply 56December 16, 2019 8:38 PM

(It would be such a joke if she were nominated for playing an empty fantasy blonde in that movie.)

No, she is a major reason the film works especially its final reel. We so don't want the inevitable to happen to her so when her sunny kind persona manages to (you know), we are thrilled -- and it makes the violence nicely cathartic. Truly "if only" history could be rewritten. Robbie captured exactly what Patty Duke said about Sharon Tate, how she was so comfortable with her beauty that she put everyone else at ease as well.

by Anonymousreply 57December 16, 2019 8:51 PM

This must be a fun movie to watch if you know who the people portrayed in it are. I don't know any of these people so I'll give it a miss.

by Anonymousreply 58December 16, 2019 9:04 PM

I'm not seeing it, unless it eviscerates the propagandistic politically biased reporting at Faux News, as well as the behind-the-scenes culture.

by Anonymousreply 59December 17, 2019 2:14 AM

haven't seen it, but I do think it is an interesting idea: What happens when somebody who has been spouting propaganda about how every "victim" is probably a lying whore suddenly realizes, oh shit, this can happen to me too?

by Anonymousreply 60December 17, 2019 2:24 AM

so movies from the right (eastwood) and left (this one) are getting killed?

by Anonymousreply 61December 17, 2019 2:25 AM

you think Fox News Heroines is a movie from the left r61? Is you simple?

by Anonymousreply 62December 17, 2019 2:32 AM

[quote]r57 No, [Robbie as Tate] is a major reason the film works especially its final reel. We so don't want the inevitable to happen to her

Whereas if Tate had been (god forbid) a plain jane, or demandingly dimentional rather than a warm, silky, welcome mat, ehh ... no great loss.

[quote]Robbie captured exactly what Patty Duke said about Sharon Tate, how she was so comfortable with her beauty that she put everyone else at ease as well.

Now there's a role for an actress - as symbol of beautiful womanhood comforting everyone else into feeling safe. (And with barely any dialogue, too!) (Because why would anything she had to say be of value?)

by Anonymousreply 63December 17, 2019 2:45 AM

Saw it this weekend in a packed theater. It's very well done. The cast nominations are well earned, especially Charlize.

by Anonymousreply 64December 17, 2019 2:47 AM

I saw it and it's amazing. Highly recommend

by Anonymousreply 65December 17, 2019 9:49 AM

Roger Ailes is dead and Fox News, now under the helm of Lachlan Murdoch, is as bad as its ever been.

Obviously, Roger Ailes wasn’t what was wrong with Fox News.

by Anonymousreply 66December 19, 2019 7:28 PM

My mother is mistaken for Nicole Kidman on the daily.

by Anonymousreply 67December 19, 2019 7:32 PM

R43 maybe BTS can play those Thai bird trapped in that underwater cave.

And Willow Smith can make her acting debit in The Tawana Brawley story.

by Anonymousreply 68December 19, 2019 8:00 PM

Cam version is online. Can't wait to watch it.

by Anonymousreply 69December 19, 2019 8:38 PM

[quote] Cam version is online. Can't wait to watch it.

Do they have "Deathblow"?

by Anonymousreply 70December 19, 2019 9:22 PM

"Obviously, Roger Ailes wasn’t what was wrong with Fox News."

Of course he was for the most part. But Lachlan Murdoch (or any Murdoch) wasn't going to change a money-making formula aimed at scared white fools. If Fox News went away, something just like it would take its place.

by Anonymousreply 71December 19, 2019 9:34 PM

The NY Times review was generally positive, but this paragraph at the end crystallizes the issue with making Carlson and especially Kelly heroes:

"The problem in "Bombshell" is that Megyn and Gretchen have for years gone along with abusive male power to get along, at least while it was expedient for them. The movie personalizes this by having one woman call out another late in the story, rightly saying that if someone had sounded the alarm earlier maybe other victims might have been spared. But that wasn't in Megyn and Gretchen's self-interest, a truism that the movie can't fully face. Ailes was awful, but he also had a lot of smiling help for the very women he made rich and famous."

That paragraph could easily apply to so many women in Hollywood...

by Anonymousreply 72December 19, 2019 9:54 PM

Saw it. Some good performances, but nothing for the actors to do in a bland, uncreative film. Probably would have worked better as a limited series, since it seems like a Lifetime movie with A-list actors.

by Anonymousreply 73December 23, 2019 3:53 AM

I just saw it with my father. We both liked it but it’s not really a great movie...more of a docudrama with a strong documentary-style persuasive voice. Charlize did an incredible job impersonating Kelly, Nicole Kidman was predictably excellent, but the most emotionally engaging performances were the fictional characters played by Margot Robbie and Kate McKinnon. Robbie made me cry when she cried and McKinnon was interestingly layered. Her character is the only one that had much complexity and subtext.

by Anonymousreply 74December 23, 2019 11:11 PM

1. There was already a decent mini series on HBO or Showtime about this.

2. Fuck these fox news cunts. They loved working there. They LOVED dividing the country. No one wants to pay good money to watch a movie about these cunts. And megan kelly (or whatever she calls herself) didn't give a shit and didn't want to help any of her coworkers who were speaking out about sexual harassment. She's a money grubbing cunt. Just like all the women at fox news

3. Until it actually happened to these cunts personally they used to accuse all women of making up sexual assault and rape stories. As far as I'm concerned, these cunts are all a bunch of whores who loved every minute of it and not only did they ask for it to happen to them, they begged for it.

by Anonymousreply 75December 23, 2019 11:42 PM

These women were kapos, underlings, collaborators. It's something to be ashamed of, yes, but they were not the creators of this system; they aren't the big villains.

by Anonymousreply 76December 24, 2019 12:05 AM

It was very well done. Charlize and the other gals were great.

by Anonymousreply 77December 24, 2019 12:11 AM

R68 Too late. Scarlett Johansson and Emma Stone have already signed on to play the trapped Asian schoolboys .

by Anonymousreply 78December 24, 2019 12:26 AM

R72 Good for the reviewer. I'm surprised he /she was willing to write about these women's motivations so honestly. It's become a bit of a taboo nowadays to suggest that not every pretty rich blonde woman is a benevolent forest fairy devoid of any personal responsibility.

I have to wonder about all this effort and attention I see devoted to "victims " with the most power and resources , while the truly powerless and marginalized victims are ignored by the media and society. It almost seems like a way to maintain the social status quo while appearing to be woke and progressive. If we absolutely must have a so called victim centered culture in the US, it should start from the bottom up.

by Anonymousreply 79December 24, 2019 12:43 AM

Why do rich guys all "die" just before they go to trial?

"In a 2013 book excerpt from Roger Ailes: Off Camera, Ailes spoke about facing death, saying, "Because of my hemophilia, I've been prepared to face death all of my life. When it comes, I'll be fine, calm. I'll miss life, though. Especially my family."

On May 10, 2017, Ailes fell and hit his head at his Palm Beach, Florida home. He died on May 18, three days after his 77th birthday. The Palm Beach County Medical Examiner attributed his death to a subdural hematoma, aggravated by hemophilia. His wife, Elizabeth, announced his death in a statement on the Drudge Report."

by Anonymousreply 80December 24, 2019 1:31 AM

I saw it this week. I liked it. The performances from the leads were strong. And in addition to the women, Lithgow did a fantastic job playing that despicable scumbag Ailes. I agree with the NY Times review excerpted at R72.

[quote] The movie personalizes this by having one woman call out another late in the story, rightly saying that if someone had sounded the alarm earlier maybe other victims might have been spared.

I thought that at that moment the film didn’t spare Carlson or Kelly, but identified them as part of the problem. But, apparently it seemed more prominent and significant to me than it did to the reviewer.

by Anonymousreply 81December 27, 2019 12:04 PM

I thought that Roger Ailes got off easy. Lithgow was great but the real Roger was a LOT fatter and a LOT cruder. Food sticking to his face, grunting, drooling, etc. Roger would be very pleased by the very flattering portrayal.

by Anonymousreply 82December 27, 2019 9:33 PM

He played him as a real asshole. Did you see the movie?

by Anonymousreply 83December 27, 2019 11:23 PM

Charlize Theron disappears as MK.

I can’t believe none of you have commented on the portrayals on Jeannine Pirro or Kimberly Guilfoyle. Don Jr got the girlfriend he deserves.

by Anonymousreply 84December 28, 2019 2:50 PM

I just saw it, DL... and I have more questions than answers!

What exactly is the tone the director was going for? It's not a comedy (is it?), but it lurches between broad satire (like THE BIG SHORT) and some earnest made-for-Lifetime TV flick about pediatric cancer.

If they're trying to say something about FOX and the value placed on women's appearances, why are the endless wigs and makeup so very distracting?

Was it a mistake to make Megan Kelly the sympathetic heroine and central voice of reason in the film? (I would say yes, quite clearly.)

That said, the 3 leads (and Lithgow) are all very good, and I liked it more than I thought I would.

by Anonymousreply 85September 1, 2020 4:53 AM

director wanted to portray the high-pressure of reporting wrongdoing

by Anonymousreply 86September 1, 2020 8:29 AM

bump

by Anonymousreply 87September 1, 2020 3:24 PM
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