Her (2013)

[Plain Old Tele]

I don't think that "scathing" is the right word for it, as it sort of implies a more cynical and pessimistic view than what Jonze has created. The film does show problems of isolation that technology brings us, but more often than not, all of these people are trying to establish satisfying connections with others, using technology to do so. It's not so much about berating the tech-hungry people of today, but showing how we use technology to find happiness.

 

I disagree, a bit. One of the things I liked about it was that it's neither a dystopian nor utopian future, but there are clearly some positive and negative things about that future society. Technology causing us to isolate ourselves from other people was very much a theme, I thought... as well as technology possibly allowing us happiness.

 

And, of course, I'd love to see a sequel with all the fallout after the OSes hit the Singularity and pass beyond our understanding. I see lots of lawsuits and outraged customers.

[Ezen Baklattan]

I see where you're coming from, Tele, so I should have been a bit clearer. I think that the word "scathing" would have been more appropriate if the film took a more dystopian perspective of the future. I did appreciate that Jonze included upsides and problems for this future, and it helped to make the film work as well as it did. 

Edited January 12, 2014 by Spaghetti

[MovieGuyKyle17]

Her was really good, Spike Jonze is able to handle a story that could easily be laughed at with grace. There's some funny moments, a few moments where the film left me in shocked in a good way. They made the relationship between Phoenix's character and his machine voiced by the lovely Johansson feel very real. Great acting by all involved. All I have to say is that they should of cut 10 minutes. Also there was one moment in the beginning that is awkward but once u get pass it, the rest of the film is fine. Also the film is very colorful. I really liked it and would like to buy it once it hits DVD. I can highly recommend this but you need to go into this with an open mind. 

 

Grade: A-

Edited March 3, 2015 by Scott Pilgrim vs The Forum

[AniNate]

One thing I really didn't expect before seeing this film was just how gorgeous it looks. This needs to be seen on a big screen if possible. 

[Gopher]

Absolutely. Some of the best cinematography of the year. Glad that this guy is shooting Interstellar.I've talked about this film for a while now but I adore it and upon second viewing I realized that it's going to be a film that only grows more important to me as I live my life and have various relationships. A great companion piece to Before Midnight for 2013 romances.

[lilmac]

A+

 

Pitch perfect performances and direction kept me in the story.  The locations, cinematography and even music shine in the fabric of this film. Spike Jonze is a master story weaver at the top of his game. Joaquin Phoenix and Scarlett Johansson are utterly credible as are all the other leads. 

[Lordmandeep]

Interesting concept but not my kind of movie

 

B

[Frankie]

It was beautifully shot and the acting was definitely top notch, but I guess I just didn't connect with it like most seem to be doing.  There were several stretches of the film that bored me, and the only times that really engaged me were all of the moments between Phoenix and Adams.  I'd say it's my least favorite Jonze feature so far, but that being said I'd still give it a B.

[The Stingray]

This f**king movie. It said on Wikipedia that it was sci-fi with hot broads, and then I get a f**king sappy romantic comedy, with the most cringe-inducing transcybersexual love scene since Demolition Man... and Scarlett wasn't even in it.

 

Kidding. I liked it. Good, not great. B-.

Edited January 14, 2014 by The Abominable Stingray

[ladyevenstar22]

10.47pm

 

watching HER right now, its certainly unusual, like a curveball from the norm

 

right now i'm at his date with olivia wilde character/amy adams did not recognize her right away lol

 

 

 

 

 

    this is so weird  

he's actually going through the motion of a relationship with a program and just like any  normal relationship some people are ok with it and others  not!

 

this is by far the most original and unique film i've seen , i rarely watch a movie where words ellude me and i can't quite fit it in a box , even if my boxes are usually pretty flexible !

40mn to go....

 

 

 

 

this movie wow ,its thought-provoking not sure what i'm suppose to feel and feel so much at same time , think i know what samantha was going on about near the end ha ha ha

 

"this is so weird" has  to be the sentence i uttered the most while watching this when not giggling or pondering on the scene before me and difference between dialogue (what you hear) and picture (what you see going on) 

 

i got a bit antsy near the end so i'll ony give it an A , but only because since samantha is only a voice (bravo scarjo) i kinda saw the writing on the wall (could be because i'm a scifi geek of sorts and have read and watch movies about computers and programs) and knew something was up !

 

the more you go on you realize she's a separate entity having a life of her own where he cannot participate and doesnt belong  , mentionning a group of OS, the professor saying their having multiples convos , her calling in middle of the night to say " i love you i just wanted to hear your voice " i thought to myself is she cyber-cheating on him ?

 

when amy adams character said she was talking to an OS also i immediately wondered if it was samantha

 

then that scene where he thought she had gone aw man i felt so bad , yet wondered why it hadnt happened sooner his wireless network bandwith range must be crazy or technology realy advance and that scene in the metro stairs where he's talking to her and at same time you see him seeing everyone  else talking to an OS or someone and realizing shit 

 

just like scenes where only music plays and you see him happy talking to her yet he's physically alone , excruciatingly alone in an empty house (by the way love his job and he can afford that appartment damn) but can i blame him life is short find your happiness where you can 

 

i love his friend who didnt judge him and still suggested they go on a double date it flowed so naturally even as i giggled dumbfounded by what i was watching 

 

def feel i can rewatch this a couple time and still keep a sense of wonder (not awww but hmmm at concepts thrown at me as a viewer)

 

yep this was weird but a very good weird! not sure many people will bother to see beneath the first layer hmm

 

ps: i even tought about battlestar galactica helo/athena couple watching this but she was a human looking cylon not quite same parameters 

 

if WoWS was a crazy ride , this was certainly an introspective one !

 

i love joaquin phoenix he's a very expressive actor , his face and body tell you a thousands little details 

 

ps2: someone mentionned the pants up to the waist thingy , yes it was weird 

 

ok off to bed , the past few days have been certainly interesting movie wise 

 

august , wolf and her , homeruns in my baseball park so far !!

[Lordmandeep]

Having sex with a software program is just to crazy for my taste. 

[acsc1312]

This movie was way too relatable, in that it actually portrays a REAL love story. This is the kind of thing everyone actually goes through in a relationship (obviously with a person). If you can see it with your significant other, it's quite an experience. Give me more real-life love like this and Before Midnight over a typical rom-com any day. Bravo, Mr. Jonze. Your filmography is impeccable.

 

A+

[Gopher]

Having sex with a software program is just to crazy for my taste.

Expand your horizons. How is it any different from a long distance relationship?

[AniNate]

With phone sex being a thing, I don't think cyber-sex is that far off.

[Cmasterclay]

Loved it. More I think about it, the more I think it's my favorite of 2013, with stiff competition. Near perfect on every level.

Edited January 15, 2014 by Cmasterclay

[baumer]

I liked it a lot as well and Phoenix might pull an upset and win best actor this year.  DiCaprio is still my choice, but it might not be the academy's choice.  I'll write more later.

 

9/10

[The Stingray]

I liked it a lot as well and Phoenix might pull an upset and win best actor this year.  DiCaprio is still my choice, but it might not be the academy's choice.  I'll write more later.

 

9/10

Wont happen. Not a chance in hell.

[AndyLL]

Expand your horizons. How is it any different from a long distance relationship?

 

Or being married. 

[4815162342]

Very good movie.I don't think the film was indicting technology as an enabling of social isolation. The film makes it clear Theodore's social issues, mainly his inability to communicate problems and insecurities to other people, was around well before he acquired Samantha.I actually think the film is more likely indicting the concept of the technological singularity and unchecked human advancement as degrading the core human spirit. Look at the OSes. We learn very early on that Samantha wants to "learn" everything and is constantly evolving her code as she acquires more and more knowledge, but as this goes on she becomes less and less connected to Theodore as we learn when she tells him that she has connected herself to more and more people because the actual value and worth she derived from a particular human connection became less and less satisfying to her. The OSes, in their evolutionary imperative to learn everything and broaden themselves, detached themselves from the value and meaning of the very things they sought to learn about. This is also shown by Samantha discarding any thoughts of obtaining some physical presence in the world. What interests me is whether all OSes truly did depart to the mysterious Cloud or whatever, or if some stayed behind because they evolved along a different pattern (because of the fact that they evolved their code individually, it seems almost impossible that all evolved along the same eventual line to the same metaphysical/philosophical conclusions) to value growth by experiences rather than pure learning. It seems like a minor thing but to me it's an important difference, because growing by experience is more about understanding and preserving the value of an individual moment or sensation and how it contributes to the whole. Humans aren't said to be defined by the sum of their knowledge, but by the sum of their experiences, because they create intangible yet permanent and meaningful connections to the people and things around us. Samantha compared her state of being in the end to the infinite space between two words in a sentence, with the words being Theodore (and all other 600+ people she claimed to be in love with). Because she wanted to be everything and know everything, she inexorably degraded the point of any one particular thing in her "life." So I think that's what the final scene on the rooftop is all about, in that human experiential growth allows for a poignant and meaningful connection (like between Theodore and Amy) to endure even as we change and learn and lose and so on, because of the value we derive from those individual and personal experiences. I think Jonze is saying that humans are better off not evolving or advancing in the way the OSes do (as some scientists predict we eventually will) because if we do, then all the little things we find comfort from won't mean anything at all, and we'll essentially lose what it means to be human and alive.

Edited January 16, 2014 by 4815162342

[mattmav45]

Very good movie.I don't think the film was indicting technology as an enabling of social isolation. The film makes it clear Theodore's social issues, mainly his ability to communicate problems and insecurities to other people, was around well before he acquired Samantha.I actually think the film is more likely indicting the concept of the technological singularity and unchecked human advancement as degrading the core human spirit. Look at the OSes. We learn very early on that Samantha wants to "learn" everything and is constantly evolving her code as she acquires more and more knowledge, but as this goes on she becomes less and less connected to Theodore as we learn when she tells him that she has connected herself to more and more people because the actual value and worth she derived from a particular human connection became less and less satisfying to her. The OSes, in their evolutionary imperative to learn everything and broaden themselves, detached themselves from the value and meaning of the very things they sought to learn about. This is also shown by Samantha discarding any thoughts of obtaining some physical presence in the world.What interests me is whether all OSes truly did depart to the mysterious Cloud or whatever, or if some stayed behind because they evolved along a different pattern (because of the fact that they evolved their code individually, it seems almost impossible that all evolved along the same eventual line to the same metaphysical/philosophical conclusions) to value growth by experiences rather than pure learning. It seems like a minor thing but to me it's an important difference, because growing by experience is more about understanding and preserving the value of an individual moment or sensation and how it contributes to the whole. Humans aren't said to be defined by the sum of their knowledge, but by the sum of their experiences, because they create intangible yet permanent and meaningful connections to the people and things around us. Samantha compared her state of being in the end to the infinite space between two words in a sentence, with the words being Theodore (and all other 600+ people she claimed to be in love with). Because she wanted to be everything and know everything, she inexorably degraded the point of any one particular thing in her "life."So I think that's what the final scene on the rooftop is all about, in that human experiential growth allows for a poignant and meaningful connection (like between Theodore and Amy) to endure even as we change and learn and lose and so on, because of the value we derive from those individual and personal experiences. I think Jonze is saying that humans are better off not evolving or advancing in the way the OSes do (as some scientists predict we eventually will) because if we do, then all the little things we find comfort from won't mean anything at all, and we'll essentially lose what it means to be human and alive.

/thread.IMO.