What an interesting movie. I dont see anyone talking about this movie which surprises me as it seems like a perfect cult movie that Redditors would be all over.
The animation was really bizarre and made the whole film feel like a mild acid trip. Although impressive it did feel at times like they'd just put a filter over the actors and the shots weren't as polished, but overall it worked for me.
Robert Downey Jr was so good in this, I almost forgot how great he was not just as Tony Stark, hoping he gets some more interesting roles now that he's done with The Avengers.
Keanu Reeves was also his reliable self, his character was fairly tragic and I think this might he the first movie I've seen him cry in which was slightly weird.
Overall I really enjoyed the film, would rate it a solid 3.5/5 and would recommend it if anyone hasn't given it a go.
The richard linklater adaptation of a scanner darkly with keanu and a surprisingly high number of popular actors for such a small obscure movie, is the most underrated keanu reeves movie. Keanu reeves plays a depressed narc who is starting to lose his mind from his drug addiction to substance d, a new drug on the market that is destroying american society. its an interesting take on the war on drugs and drug addiction, it shows how neither the government or gangs are really good in an interesting way as well as how addicts are complex, while victims to their addictions they act selfish and sociopathic. overall its a great movie not enough people have seen and its easily keanu reeves most underrated movie, change my view.
Anyone else like this film?
I started reading Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep last week. I wasn't fully satisfied by the book, gave it 4/5 but the flow of ideas from PKD captured me so much that I decided to put Neuromancer on hold and got a copy of A Scanner Darkly. Oh gosh! What a book. 5/5. One of my favorite books ever.
Now I want to know what next book should I read, whether it be from PKD or someone else and what books do you guys recommend. I've heard that Ubik, Flow my tears, VALIS are incredible, but would like to know what you guys think, or any suggestions you have for some other author's book similar to this.
I hadn't come across any other post for what to read after A Scanner Darkly, so, decided to make this one.
I’m not really talking about a movie using good animation like Avatar, or something with “pretty” cinematography, or movies with a strange plot.
Idk. Like a scanner darkly is so strange and no other movie has animation like that, the spirit is black white and red with super high contrast, adventures of tintin is photorealistic cartoon characters... there’s just nothing else (to my knowledge) like them aesthetically.
Lately, I have been getting into these films that are really weird, surreal and unique like the aforementioned titles. I find them really fascinating because they are all so unique and they are all unlike anything I've ever seen. I know there's a lot of threads about mind-fuck films and I was wondering if you guys could give me some suggestions on what to watch next ?
Does anyone know the translation and/or the meaning of the sections of German it seems like it would be vital to the story.
Obviously, it's way too hard to find a movie with a similar style to A Scanner Darkly, because the only movie that comes close is ITSV.
Either:
- A character study of somebody with a slowly deteriorating mental state
Or:
- A Sci-Fi film with the whole 'Big Brother's watching' thing going on.
If that suggestion is too hard, some good Keanu Reeves films (excluding John Wick and The Matrix) would also be greatly appreciated.
Richard Linklater’s sharply animated film just came on Amazon Prime in the UK and I watched it the other night. I think it’s so me of the best writing of the year it came out (2006) and the acting is great even though it’s animated. Robert Downey Jr gives a fantastic performance and Keanu Reeves does Keanu Reeves very well. Very abstract and confusing at points but it all wraps up in a neat little bow at the end. It has some on the nose comments on addiction but that never drags the film down. If you like drug fuelled adventures then the film is most certainly for you but either way it is a very enjoyable and underrated film. Would definitely recommend it to anyone here that hasn’t seen it and if you have seen I would love to hear your thoughts
-CJ
I've just read this book by Philip K. Dick (and also have seen the Linklater adaptation) and I think it's a pretty great book. I wanted to discuss if someone else thought that the things that are portrayed in the film are a bit of the director's interpretation. I initially thought that the scramble suit helped Fred to take the form of Bob Arctor, and that the scramble suit was also the reason that Connie looked lke Donna (even in the tapes), because it was Donna just using a scramble suit... I think these things are not that explained in the book (which is perfect).
But I wanted to be sure if some of you thought about the use of the scramble suit in the film (those who haven seen it) was portrayed as the book intented to (like something that you took out away from work).
Struggling to find movies these days, the brain goes soft and limp in my old age of 24... In the title I've listed examples that give you a rough idea.
Fairly open minded as long as it can tick a few basic boxes.
- Futuristic technology
- dystopic feel
Let me know in the comments, will report back with what I check out :D
Maybe I missed something. What was Barris's motivation to screw over Arctor on several occasions in the story (the bounced check, the forged tape, etc.)?
It seems like he came to the police under his own free will, not necessarily to save himself. Why would he do that?
In A Scanner Darkly (2006), we come to find out that Bob Arctor has been unwillingly turned into a drug addict in order to covertly infiltrate a wellness and rehabilitation business to uncover their ties to the drug which has come to afflict 20% of Bob's society, Substance D. By the time the audience is introduced to Bob, he is living with fellow addicts James Barris and Ernie Luckman, Barris apparently being the first target which Bob was to report on. What confuses me is how Barris and Ernie became Bob's roommates in the first place? As we see flashbacks of Bob's former life when he had a wife and daughters that were living in the house we now see all 3 roommates in. Is the explanation simply that addicts tend to need places to crash? Were both hemispheres of Bob's brain still functional when he came up with the idea for them to move in with him? How would paranoid schizophrenics like Barris and Ernie react to a new 'friend' asking them to move in out of the blue for seemingly no rent or anything? Do Barris and Ernie even exist or are they fragmented identities of Bob's that have developed?
I have been looking for a tutorial on this effect for years. I've tried variations on many things but nothing gives the desired look. I have experimented using the pen tool to black line trace. Tried posterize, poster edges, find edges, glowing edges, photocopy, stamp and stuff I can't remember. The closest I have come is a GTA technique but the subtle color variations of the skin aren't smooth, they have a slight jagged appearance.
Has anyone found a suitable method?
Was rereading ASD and noticed something. In the scene where Barris gets a phone call and impersonates Arctor to the lock smith, he makes Arctor sounds like a junkie who isn’t going to pay his check. Arctor/Fred later comes to the conclusion that he just improvised the whole thing and didn’t have any malicious intent, necessarily.
But, on the phone, one of the first things Barris said is “I just can’t get it all together right now to make that little 20 dollar check good...”
How would he have known the check was for 20$ if he was ‘improvising’?
Is this obvious or am I missing something
It's been a long time since I've read a novel that I really liked. I usually read non-fiction or comics. I'm a very slow reader, so I tend to stay away from large books (over 250 pages) because it takes me so long, by the time I'm done I've forgotten everything that happened. I'd like to get back into reading more, and I'm hoping some suggestions could help.
Tom Robbins is my favorite author, and Still Life is my favorite book. I love his voice, and even though a lot of his female protagonists are very similar, his character structure is very unique and I just enjoy him so much.
I love the complexity of Scanner.... it's kind of sci-fi meets cop book meets addiction.... It's so all over the place but doesn't feel that way.
