"Sinners" begins streaming on HBO MAX today!

Yuck. I love horror but hate musicals.

Let me know if the songs detract from the film.

If you love it I may check it out-

It's not a musical. It's accompanied by a soundtrack and there are blues musicians in it, playing songs. I saw it twice, great movie, and I don't usually go for bucket-of-blood or vampire movies.

The songs do not detract but add.

The Asian guy in the movie is super hot.

Thanks for the heads up! I've been wanting to see this.

Let us know what you think, OP. I’m someone who loved it, saw it twice (and will likely see it a third time with captions because there is dialogue I missed both times) and I’ve downloaded the soundtrack.

michael b. jordan is so hot.

is he really gay, and is this really him nude on a gay beach?

Comparison.

It's a pile of shit.

Didn't care for it as much as I wanted. Pretty wrapping paper but the gift is fucking trite. A great idea weighed down by dumb horror movie tropes. It's like...the first hour is SO good, and the last hour is SO disappointing. HOWEVER, the ending is well done.

R6 No, Micheal B Jordan likes white women.

[quote] Micheal B Jordan likes white women

Micheal B Jordan likes white **men

Fixed it for you.

R11 You can "Fix it" all you want, ain't gonna make it true.

Hi Michael at R12!

Is it only streaming the 4th of July weekend, or for the entire month?

I liked it. I thought it was good. I didn't find it trite at all.it was a fable, a fantasy.

C'mon really? No tension what so ever. Can anyone actually make a scary movie anymore?

[quote] HOWEVER, the ending is well done.

Which ending? There were many.

R15 Gotcha. I just think a vampire movie that checks evey box on the list of vampire tropes is cliche. The first hour and half of this movie is great, but the climax is such a predictable let down.

R16 I was referring to one in the 90s.

Sinners is a good movie. The way it traces the roots of the blues, gospel and Irish folk -- and how they all contributed to the formation of rock and, later, hip-hop -- is really well done. The film is just as much a music history lesson as it is a vampire horror film. The third act doesn't quite live up to the first two by turning into a typical battle royale. But it is entertaining. The scene in the credits with Buddy Guy was a good end to the film.

One thing I liked is it stuck close to vampire lore -- avoiding the sun, stake through the heart, needing to be invited inside, etc. -- instead of picking and choosing elements to fit the narrative's needs.

The cinematography is excellent and the use of color in the set design is beautiful. Sumptuous, really.

Thanks R18 for actually seeing what you were watching. This was so much more than just another vampire movie.

Sinners will win Best Picture this year. There’s no stopping it. A black genre film amidst Trump 2.0. Mark my words.

It's a well-done movie. I think it will easily get in as one of the 10 BP nominees but winning it is another story. So many hurdles. It might win the best director though.

Looooong forgotten by Oscar time.

R23- Not necessarily

I'm sorry but I think it's overrated. It's just an average popcorn film.

Speaking of vampire tropes, I get a kick out of the subtle one Coogler indulges in during the 1st end credits scene.

The guitar case opens like a coffin, even accompanied by a snippet of spooky music.

Thanks R25 for actually seeing what you were watching. This ended up being just another vampire movie.

The best part of this film was when they showed how music can pierce the veil of time from the past & present. I enjoyed that scene, very much.

Other than that? The film sucked balls.

I don’t understand the hype around this. It is genuinely a bad film.

[quote] I'm sorry but I think it's overrated. It's just an average popcorn film.

R25 said the same thing to Demi Moore.

R18 that's a good synopsis.

[quote]It's not a musical.

Yes, it is! Every actor has their own musical number. I didn’t even know the actors were singers until the credits. It says Miles Carton is on loan from RCA Records, Kristin Wiig is on loan from Arista Records, etc. Even the hillbilly is from some record company.

I loved it, best movie I’ve seen in a while. Agree it was much more than a horror movie. Oscar contender, definitely the sound and music.

I finally watched the movie.

LOVED it!

The music was the best part. Anyone who is a fan of good music, needs to watch this movie.

Also, the cinematography was so beautiful. It's exactly what I would imagine the Old South to look like. The scenes of the sky and the vast cotton fields were stunning.

The characters were so rich and interesting. The new young actor, Miles Capon, was excellent. I hope to see more of him.

Yes, it was a horror film. But it was better than the usual dreck put out by studios.

And horror film or not, it is still a hundred times better than the same old shit that the big studios keep producing.

The ending was funny with the machine gun scene. I didn't realize there were machine guns in the 1930s.

Oh, and Hailee Steinfeld was really gorgeous in this movie, as were the other actresses. I think the casting for this movie was pitch perfect. They all did a superb job.

For me, this will end up being a classic favorite.

They stole the ending from Gladiator.

Whoops, his name is Miles Caton, not Miles Capon.

Born in 2005. He's only 20!

I forgot to add at R33 that the scene with Preacher Boy singing at the juke joint, was absolutely MAGICAL.

The transitions between the 1930s blues song and dance, to the traditional African singing and dancing, to the modern day dancing and singing, was just beautiful and so well done.

I felt like I was watching a dream, which is what I suppose Ryan Coogler was going for. That scene alone should win him Best Director Oscar at the 2026 Academy Awards.

Bastard child of 'The Color Purple' and 'From Dusk to Dawn'. If you like your vampires doing a number cut from Riverdance, you'll love it.

I love this comment from the video linked at R36.

It summed up perfectly, what I was thinking:

[quote] @12345663484

[quote] No film has ever captured the pure ecstasy and generational power of music the way they do here. The feeling of dancing with your people, completely detached from the world around you, existing in a singular, beautiful moment.

[quote] When that electric guitar came in, I felt it run from the top of my head, down my spine, and through my whole body. I wanted to live in this moment forever.

[quote] There's so many ways this could've been weird or awkward in a way that totally takes you out of the film, but no, instead it became one of the single greatest moments I've ever seen on the big screen.

I really dug the movie but what was -- to me -- the most powerful element of it doesn't seem to make it into the general conversation: the total takedown of Christianity by positioning it as an instrument of colonialism and oppression. I think THAT's what makes the movie more than its genre elements. It's fucking BALLSY to do that in a mainstream movie.

I didn’t like the time travel aspect of the movie. Just stick to one jandra.

I agree with the poster who said the first half was very good and then it goes downhill. There are a lot of ideas that Coogler tries to shove into the film but too many aren't fully digested. Many critics called the film messy but liked it anyway.

I like Jordan and Coogler. This movie was great to watch until it just became a vampire movie. Yawn. I also didn't like how woke it was. Asians with southern accents in the 30"s in Mississippi- who are we trying to impress with that shit? I liked the music but it is not a musical. Some you need to learn what makes a real musical. I also didn't like the need to call the spirts of your ancestors back unless they are going to be a part of the film later on. I would have liked the film if it had more magic, less vampires, and a depth of it's own. When you watch the film after a point every scene is set up for you to react. And the ending with the Klan seemed a little too kitchen sink for me. But the girl from "True Grit" was excellent. I also like the attractiveness of Jordan. It's not too Rock Hudson, and he doesn't use it when all else fails like Elizabeth Taylor. he is a handsome man and we move on. But I hope that Coogler and Jordan become the John Ford and John Wayne of their day.

[quote]Yawn. I also didn't like how woke it was. Asians with southern accents in the 30"s in Mississippi- who are we trying to impress with that shit?

How is it woke when that was just reality? Learn your Mississippi history, dumbass.

Asian with thick Mississippi accents.

I really liked the movie. I watched it last weekend, and it has really stayed with me. I think it's time for a second viewing.

[quote] I didn’t like the time travel aspect of the movie. Just stick to one jandra.

I really hope you're not an Academy voter.

You're the reason that great movies like "Sinners" always lose at the Academy Awards.

You have no understanding of the deeper layers of storytelling.

There was no "time travel" in this movie.

It was a visual illustration of how music transcends time, and how ancient cultures affect modern day culture.

African songs and dance influenced slave culture, music, and dance, which influenced "The Blues," and Jazz, and gospel, which then influenced rock-n-roll, and rap, and yes... even twerking. You can 100% see the connection between ancient African dances, and twerking.

This was NOT time travel.

Moron.

I liked it, but it felt like two movies stitched together, and I would have liked to have seen the themes of each one fleshed out better in their own separate films.

1. A horror movie about Blues Man vs the Devil/vampires. I wanted to learn more about the background of the Irish vampire and see him better developed as the villain.

2. A crime drama about black men in the 1930s Chicago mob scene. I can't think of any other movies about that era with black protagonists.

Both of these could have been great movies on their own.

[quote] 1. A horror movie about Blues Man vs the Devil/vampires. I wanted to learn more about the background of the Irish vampire and see him better developed as the villain.

[quote] 2. A crime drama about black men in the 1930s Chicago mob scene. I can't think of any other movies about that era with black protagonists.

Email Ryan Coogler!

These are excellent ideas, and I'll bet he would love to make these movies.

Your first suggestion could actually be a prequel to "Sinners."

SPOILER IN THIS POST

liked it, but stuck on why, toward the end of the film when the vampires were asking for entry into the club, did all the still human people in the club engage in so much conversation with them? Why didn't they just slam the door shut and refuse to negotiate with them as Annie had suggested they do earlier in the film?

Did I miss something ?

[quote] One thing I liked is it stuck close to vampire lore -- avoiding the sun, stake through the heart, needing to be invited inside, etc. -- instead of picking and choosing elements to fit the narrative's needs.

There actually is no such thing as consistent vampire lore. It alters depending on which tradition you look at from which region of the world (it even varies within Europe, and even within individual European countries).

As I always tell my students when i regularly teach the novel, Bram Stoker picked and chose from various vampiric folk traditions when he wrote Dracula, but that's no more definitive according to "vampire lore" than any other fictional rendition of vampires.

R49: Plot convenience. The vampires couldn't enter the club without being invited. The chit-chat was to build tension for the inevitable ending when the vampires are allowed inside.

R50: Yes, vampire lore is really inconsistent. But the parts of it that "Sinners" used really enhanced the film.

SPOILERSSSSSSSSSSS

[quote]why, toward the end of the film when the vampires were asking for entry into the club, did all the still human people in the club engage in so much conversation with them?

The vamps negotiated with them, saying they would let them go if they gave them Sammie. Then the vamps reminded them that they know everything their dead counterpart knew including that Grace's daughter was at home alone and they would go and kill her and everyone in town if they didn't let them in.

That's when Grace invited them in to force everyone to fight.

The twist is: none of it mattered. Even if they let everyone in town die and stayed locked up until dawn, the KKK members would have came and killed them all.

The only "good" choice was the one Grace ended up making for them; forcing a physical confrontation, which ended up saving Sammie, (temporarily one of the brothers) and everyone else in town including her daughter.

I thought it was a great movie

What a waste of time and film.

HBO usually premieres a movie or special on Saturday nights but not tonight.

Shouldn't you be at your Klan meeting, R54?

I watched it last weekend. I thought it was going to be great based on some people saying it was Oscar worthy. It's a bad movie. Stupid, even.

They got the vampires all wrong. They didn’t even turn to dust when staked. They all bled?! WTF?

I commented at r26 about how, during the 1st end credits scene, the only survivor of "Sinners" (Sammie will soon die of old age and Stack and Marry are undead) - the guitar- is released from its guitar case as though the case is a coffin.

It's a brief, amusing, sly scene and it's accompanied by a couple of melodramatic chords of music.

The more I think about it (that's another pleasures of "Sinners" for me- it stays with me to ponder it) I think Coogler deliberately wanted the vampire portion of "Sinners" to have the atmosphere and corniness of a B movie vampire flick, complete with all the standard cheesy tropes.

That serves to make the deeper themes of racism, US slave capitalism, Irish colonization all the more obvious.

^I meant to write the British colonization of Ireland in my last sentence ^.

[quote]the guitar- is released from its guitar case as though the case is a coffin.

How do you expect a guitar case to work otherwise?

[quote]The vamps negotiated with them, saying they would let them go if they gave them Sammie. Then the vamps reminded them that they know everything their dead counterpart knew including that Grace's daughter was at home alone and they would go and kill her and everyone in town if they didn't let them in.

Thanks for the clarification r52,

Good question, r61.

What I mean is that the opening of a coffin lid to reveal a vampire is in countless vampire movies. I would know. I’ve watched them since I was kid and enjoyed them, sometimes the cheaply budgeted more that the “prestige” ones.

I think it was deliberate on Coogler’s part to mimic that when the guitar case opens.

As I stated, that little scene is even accompanied by a couple of melodramatic chords of music.

If that’s not your take on it, there’s nothing wrong with that.

It’s mine and just another little pleasure I take from “Sinners”.