BABYLON Movie Review (the one where Joseph watched it) **SPOILER ALERT**

Gay homosexuals Nick and Joseph spoil Babylon - a 2022 American epic period comedy-drama film written and directed by Damien Chazelle.
Premise: A tale of outsized ambition and outrageous excess, it traces the rise and fall of multiple characters during an era of unbridled decadence and depravity in early Hollywood.
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Cast:
Brad Pitt as Jack Conrad
Margot Robbie as Nellie LaRoy
Diego Calva as Manny Torres,
Jovan Adepo as Sidney Palmer
Li Jun Li as Lady Fay Zhu
Jean Smart as Elinor St. John
Tobey Maguire as James McKay
Lukas Haas as George Munn
Max Minghella as Irving Thalberg
Samara Weavin
Olivia Wilde
Spike Jonze
Katherine Waterston as Ruth Arzner
Flea as Bob Levine[11]
Jeff Garlin as Don Wallach
P. J. Byrne
Rory Scovel as The Count
Eric Roberts
Ethan Suplee
Damon Gupton
Phoebe Tonkin
Chloe Fineman
Cinematography by Linus Sandgren
Edited by Tom Cross
Music by Justin Hurwitz
Keywords: ending explained, reaction video, trailer, Paramount Pictures, Singin' In the Rain, Whiplash, First Man, La La Land

[@TechnicJunglist]

“We didn’t need dialogue. We had faces!”-Norma Desmond

[@sweeney60]

Ironic thing is that line is spoken by Gloria Swanson who herself started in silent films and was a master at spoken dialogue.

[@indigoblues93]

Babylon is chaotic asf. But fascinating at the same time. It overwhelmed me.

[@jackjules7552]

"Babylon is so bad that it actually shut down movie theatres and sent them into bankruptcy. I know it closed my neighborhood cineplex in New York City the day after I saw it.

[@jeremiahr7861]

Yeah. No. That didn’t happen.

[@blockbustermentality3786]

Agree with you both. I enjoyed it. The bodily function you forgot about was the man getting pissed on at that party in the beginning 😂

[@mschell8022]

Nick's facts about the historical Hollywood figures + ideas made this an absolute delight to listen to

[@smithpatricemary]

Finally I watched it, I missed it at the cinema, was on a short time, and I turned around and it was gone 😮. Wow!! It was so hectic ( but in a good way). I was explaining to my husband the silent movie stars of old who they were loosely based on ( I am a book worm and love that 1920's-30's era in movies, architecture, style, popculture/fashion). I want to watch it again 🎉 I also noted that at the beginning party scene, that a big sized actor ( fatty arbuckle?), was with a woman and she died and they snuck her out, so thought that may have been based on the actual Fatty Arbuckle "situation/alleged crime" at the time? Hectic and chaotic yes, but so enjoyable, glad I watched it, as Joseph suggested, in a relaxed atmosphere at home, being that I missed it at the cinema! I loved your review!! 😊❤

[@jodirook71]

"WHO WANTS TO WATCH ME FIGHT A F-ING SNAKE!!!! "....cant wait to see that

[@nocontextwhatever]

The ad on this video was a trailer for Babylon 🙃 Thanks for adding your review, Joseph! 👍✌️

[@akadabombdotcom1113]

I loved this movie and on Joseph's note of 1 central character moving the plot I felt like Manny was the true main character that pulled the strings because in truth its his journey that we follow from start to finish about how he "gets things done"

[@elijahstark3663]

I feel the movie should've given more time for the black guys character if felt like a big chunk of his arc was missing which made his appearance in the movie not feel full, especially when his blackface scene was tremendous. Margot character if felt like they would just skim past the emotional weight of how tragic her character is and jump right to the coke scenes she was magnetic in the role but that hurt it for her. Diego character I felt they needed another line of dialoguw of why does he want to be apart of something bigger and literally putting himself in these situations. Brad's character felt actually fully developed and th 2nd half for him was th 1st time I ever felt sad for Brad. Tobey scene was not needed. The elephant poo wasn't needed the scene was fine with them trying to get the elephant up the hill. That being said I enjoyed the film. I think Damien just needs like a co director to help trim the fat of his movies and help proofread this stuff. I feel they tried to put 3 different solo movies into one big film, brads character should've just been a movie by itself same as the jazz player, and then Diego with Margot.

[@ThatsJustMyBabyDaddy]

Agreed.

[@2godless]

I was bored honey. Just bored.

[@youareprobablycorrect3898]

Its a great movie. If your brain can connect the stories you will be amazed with this movie. My brain is chaotic as well and that maybe the reason I understand it well. 🤣 This movie is really artistic, the score is more than awesome and the colors are magnificent. I will put this movie in my A-list.

[@hey-zel]

This is one of the films I’ve been waiting for ever since it was announced. I was most excited to see Tobey in this but listening to the entire plot now I’m excited to see it based on the transition to silent films having sound. Also the sets and costumes on the trailer look so stunning.

[@djstarsign]

I went into this movie completely cold. I didn’t even know it was directed by Damien Chazelle. So when Tobey Maguire appears on screen, it was a huge surprise. I loved the film for the ride it took me on, even though I have my critiques. I’m gonna rewatch because there’s so much to absorb that even at 3 hours, it zooms by and you’re still processing everything before your presented with another bonkers scene.

[@Plantlady70]

The soundtrack is also terrific.

[@hey-zel]

@@Plantlady70 it is!!! Finally got to watch it and it was something I appreciated while watching it

[@hey-zel]

@@djstarsign yes I agree. It didn’t feel like 3 hours to me but apparently to my brother it felt like it dragged. He didn’t like it as much but I adored it so much. I have my critiques as well but I’m glad I watched this at a theater

[@victormagliacane]

The very heavy guy with the girl pissing on him, is a reference to the fatty Arbuckle scandal !

[@peeweedox]

Thanks for the thorough review, I always love watching you two!

[@tinaburgess7166]

I rarely feel this way, but this movie needed another hour to flesh out the characters more. You are making an epic, put in an intermission in and make it an Epic.

[@rebeccar4312]

Please do a video of your response to Golden Globe nominations

[@sundaygirlsez]

You go Nick, making that Weimar reference....I saw the trailer I immediately thought of 'Metropolis' by Otto Dix. Not one other reviewer made that correlation. I love you guys. :)

[@veganpeace7890]

The trailer confused me a bit. I couldn't get a sense of what the movie really was about. You guys explained it so well. Believe it or not, I've always had a crush on Lukas Hass, so what a nice surprise that he's in this!!!

[@djstarsign]

He’s great in this, although he looks so much older than the last time I saw him as a skinny young man. I loved seeing him in the film.

[@lockekappa500]

@@djstarsign Yeah he's unrecognizable. In a good way though.

[@RS-on5zg]

Saw it last night, and it's a lot of movie. I appreciated the perspective on early Hollywood (both the industry/machine and the stars) and the references to more current films, such as Pulp Fiction. The first 45 minutes were uncomfortable: lots of noise and visuals but not much script. Then it focusses on Pitt's and Robbi's characters and you see the story unfold. Very good film.

[@LHBartley]

Great review, as always! Does anybody else feel like Kieran Culkin would’ve been better in the Tobey Maguire role? And that other lady Does look just like Margot Robbie, I always agree with Joseph about people looking the same. 🙋‍♀️🙋‍♀️ And while we’re here, I think the reason these reviews are so fantastic fun and effective, at least for me, is because Joseph using the actors’ names is really cool, particularly when the name of the character is somewhat irrelevant. It makes it so much easier to follow the plot and know what’s going on. Y’all are the best!❤️🧡💛💚💙💜

[@susanburgess820]

I totally agree with you.

[@frederiquem6725]

Oh my god yes! Everybody looks the same in this movie, I agreee!!!

[@slc2466]

Spoiler Alert: At the end of the film a newspaper dated 1938 mentions the passing of Nellie at 34. This suggests she may have lived a few more years after her last appearance in the film, which I think takes place circa 1932. Let's see a Nellie sequel for those last 5 or 6 years!

[@damonx6109]

That was William Randolph Hearst that Margot vomited on.

[@jeannajanowick1887]

I like the poetic justice/ fish jelly hoodie

[@heymistercarter.]

So the best way to describe this movie seems to be the hybrid of The Artist and La La Land, in the vein/storytelling style of Magnolia or Boogie Nights. At least that's what it sounds like to me.

[@djstarsign]

Really great synopsis. I definitely got the Scorsese vibe from it and since Boogie Nights is essentially a Scorsese homage, it fits. One other filmmaking duo I’d add to the list is the Coen Brothers, especially during the first half of the film. And during the “Tobey Maguire sequence” it felt almost Lynchian at times (there’s even a character who looks like The Elephant Man).

[@nancykerrigan]

I just can't with the ending of this video! 😆 might check out this movie.

[@rickyvvvvv]

It seemed that Jack Conrad was a lothario with his series of wives, but I felt it was suggested several times that he was secretly gay. There was this line of dialog where he almost came on to Manny while he was drunk in his bed. Before that scene, he ran up the stairs to his house sounding like Spongebob. I got that on second viewing. The sound he made struck me as very familiar, and he sounded very much like Spongebob. I probably don't have to say what we all know about Spongebob. Brad Pitt speaking in Italian, was probably a nod to his character in Inglorious Basterds. It's a cover for his character. Chazelle infused this movie with a lot of intertextual stuff like this. Also, it was never clear if his wives divorced him because of other women. In the restroom urinal scene, there was a split second where he checks out the other guy's junk. In the stuffy rich people party, someone did not get that "him" meant his friend George, and not some other "him." (I have to see it again to get what that actually meant or tried to convey about Conrad.) There were all these kind of very subtle signals. Before he killed himself, there seemed to be a secret about him that Lady Fay Zhu knew. At his funeral, the gossip columnist looked to Irving Thalberg, who was known to be comfortable with gay actors. There were all these shots that conveyed the unspoken side of gay life in old Hollywood. Jack Conrad was a tragic alcoholic closeted gay man who could only express the best about himself when he was on camera. That was why he was unusually struck by Jan, the party waitress, being totally honest with him. He desperately needed honesty from people because he needed it from himself. That actually was the first scene where I got a sense that Jack Conrad was gay, when he reacted not quite like a straight guy when confronted by a woman's advances. It was the same way when Nellie La Roy kissed him. He was quite awkward.

[@sludgepls]

Nobody thinks spongebob is gay ricky

[@margagomezcomedy]

Just saw it today and couldnt wait to play your review.

[@ManofMoviesPod]

Man, I adored this film. I was afraid after the divisive reviews but I am definitely on side of critics who loved the film.

[@Narusasu98]

This movie was fascinating, I really loved it, especially the film montage at the end, a true celebration of the movie industry.

[@puspavelai8353]

Love how Joseph thinks this movie should be approached. The personalities here seem fragile to the Hollywood 'machine bulldozer'- or transition period. But, again your review helps a lot in relating to 'something' here :)

[@biguy617]

I thought the best part of the movie was seeing Tobey go full Bully-Maguire in the movie as a representation of the Devil. He was awesome in the movie.

[@jeremiahr7861]

lol. You guys didn’t mention the woman pissing on the fat guy in the party scene at the beginning. If you thought of bodily fluids in this film that was what I thought of.

[@LMason-qd7sq]

I agree with Nick, but this is one of those few films that struck a chord deep with me. Don't know how to explain it, but it was enough. I also love Margot Robbie and would watch pretty much anything she's in. I would've been interested in a little more fleshing out of the leads and their plots; as someone mentioned, I also would've appreciated a longer movie.

[@rashidapittman8513]

I didn’t la la land either finally an alley lol.

[@jujutaylor2186]

I've been looking forward to this film 🎥 I can't wait to see it!

[@sdseals2076]

I love your Fish Jelly Shirt.

[@gamerdrops]

Overall felt like ... Crappier version of Boogie Nights + Wolf of Wall Street + Once Upon A Time In Hollywood ... But I'm still happy that someone is paying $90M for directors to swing for the fences

[@jeromesullivan4015]

Thanks Guys..The Critics have been all over with this one..I’ll wait until I can watch it at home…funfact: Tobey has a producer credit…if it bombs….

[@ThatsJustMyBabyDaddy]

Just watched it and thought it was excellent. Not sure why it got such mixed reviews.

[@visionarywonders9426]

Watching for me I want to say was like can we comment on the acting for a moment those actors acted their asses off. There was a no bitchassness quality to the film. Even the extras acted like professionals. The acting was so good it's like when they yell cut. You think they stopped acting and real life begins then you have to remember this whole thing is scripted. The shut the fuck up scene with the dude sweating in the box when he screamed that he would shit in their mouths I'm telling you can't tell their acting! You're just silent or laughing or nervous because there is that one scene where she shows her ass in front of the elites and storms out and comes back and barfs I'm going to stop there because if you haven't seen it get off your ass and go watch it! The snake scene was the best by far it was so kickass you just gotta see it! When Brad Pitt blows his brains out they hit the wall in time with the bang! This horrible ass gossip columnist like breaks his heart. With a front page story calling him washed up. He's been through so many divorces he can't handle another woman walking out on him even though it seemed he'd finally found a stable wife. Maybe she bored him a little he was kinda jealous of her status in Hollywood. She performed on the stage vs the film. Anyway there was too much shit going on for me to write an 850 page comment spoiling the shit for y'all go watch it!

[@elebea868]

I loved this movie. I don’t even like 3 hours movie but this movie was worth my time. But I love filmmaking so it’s my type of thing

[@shawnpolluch3510]

To me when people call avatar or top gun a spectacle to get people in theaters, I disagree. Those movies are boring, safe, and predictable. But Babylon is an event. I tell my friends to turn your house into a theater however you can. Lights down, phones away, volume cranked! I also make sure to explain it’s not a movie that focuses and a main charcuterie arc. The main character arc is the Hollywood machine. Absolutely love this homage to music and film.

[@Jjohnathon]

Do you guys ever fall asleep or doze off during these longer films?

[@redditfanboy781]

This was a greag review. I am looking forward to seeing this one.

[@TheFreeBlackWomensLibrary]

I am one of those uptight weirdos that gets easily grossed out by visuals and jokes about body excretions, I don’t know why it makes me so queasy….I honestly wish that weren’t the case. 🥴🥴 either way based on your review and the cast, I want to see this movie and will cover my eyes at the gross parts lol 🫣😂

[@slc2466]

I covered eyes when I knew it was coming- I think it's juvenile and stupid, as in "Look at how shocking we are!" Yawn, not really, just yucky.

[@djstarsign]

I hated that elephant part and I thought the first party scene was so over the top, it was borderline excessive so the movie kind of started off on the wrong foot for me. By the end of the film, I was so ready to rewatch it all over again!

[@kiroolioneaver8532]

As someone more amused than bothered by all the "grossness" in the film, I do agree that perhaps the reviewers' tolerance for the amount of "smut" is not necessarily indicative of the average general public's tolerance. I'm not against showing this stuff in film as long as there's a purpose and not just there for what seems like shock value. I think recent films like "Dunkirk" (with the total omission of blood and gore) and "King Richard" (which has no explicit scenes of racism or racial slurs aside from the news about the Rodney King beating in the background) prove that implying things with subtext rather than overtly showing them can work as, or if not more, effectively than just going for shock porn lol

[@slc2466]

@@kiroolioneaver8532 Excellent points, and you bring up one reason I love classic movies so much (due to the Production Code, filmmakers had to imply all over the place in sometimes highly creative fashion, instead of graphically showing everything).

[@kiroolioneaver8532]

@@slc2466 John Seabrook makes this same point in his book about modern pop music: back in the day (due mostly to the taboo of sex and drugs) artists (like The Beatles "Hold Your Hand") had to be much more subtle (which took a lot more skill) while today you have songs like "WAP" (by Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion) that are very explicit and kind of feel cheap by comparison lol There's even a song in "Babylon" that is explicit but does it in a way where there is still plausible deniability that it could be about something else

[@yourvision4986]

We luv you guys. However you did mean 3.5 & 4 stars 🌟 out of 10. Right?

[@PoleiceCidcorn]

Oh my oh my the worst film I've ever seen in my life. Just walked out of it tonight..couldn't take anymore

[@catalystcoversations5644]

3hrs though

[@butterfIyy1]

I loved this film, i can see it becoming a cult classic. It was just crazy and fun, not that vulgar lol

[@heartlknj]

Imo for any given American Epic (or maybe even American film in general) is about the American dream. Manuel’s story in particular I think is supposed to represent that, he’s a Mexican immigrant who rises to the top of his chosen field (which happens to be the biggest distributor of American soft power) by assimilating by any means necessary (pretending to be Spanish, making Sidney darken his face). His ending with his wife and child while also participating in the American dream of nuclear family, he’s also clearly reconciled with his immigrant identity. Needless to say I really liked his character and storyline!

[@heartlknj]

About Fay’s first appearance vs her being fired from the studio just goes to show the switch back to conservatism from pre Hays code Hollywood. It makes her character a set device but it’s one way hit you over the head with it if you don’t get it from Nellie being forced to reform her image.

[@linedpaper5374]

as far as joseph's slow blinks go, i think 23:50 takes home the prize. aided by great timing of the subsequent cut. also while it's not new, it'd be good timing to do la la land so we can understand why nick dislikes it so much. having not seen it, i wanna hear the shade.

[@susanburgess820]

Not another star studded 3 hour movie....I just cant...I have adhd and ocd....plus, I have the book Hollywood Babylon somewhere in my books, and it actually felt more easier to digest. Yes it's a book, my first love is reading, but for the love of God, why oh why are these movies getting longer and longer?

[@simplyrowen]

Did you guys ever watch EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE? I would have loved to hear your take.

[@DashPari]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/ZmncfIZ4rNyJf68

[@stellabrown909]

I really liked this movie….job well done. I highly recommend it with a drink in your hands…the storyline was will told…

[@realSimoneCherie]

Idk… I felt like the movie will only be enthralling to you if you are already nostalgic about the time period or fascinated by Hollywood and the film industry moreover… but I feel like wonderful storytelling will MAKE you interested in a scene even if you weren’t before. It felt quite aggrandized and more into calling itself provocative, than it was truly provocative. Provocative should mean something is daring but not that something is blunt/on the nose and without any substance…

[@petegriffin4376]

I loved this movie

[@catalystcoversations5644]

Why is this film so long, I like Margo Robbie, but she is giving me one note lately, maybe it's the material/writing in the films she chooses. BTW love you guys thorough reviews plus spoilers.

[@rmn3186]

Sounds like Day of the Locust & They Shoot Horses Don't They? mixed with the shlock book, "Hollywood Babylon" & had a baby....I mean a film. I love films about filmmaking so will watch, but will not have great expectations. Thanks so much, guys, for reviewing this movie.

[@williamerazo3921]

So a crash 1920/30s film industry

[@TroubleToby3040]

Love your channel (relatively new subscriber). Have never disagreed with you more. This film is offensive... Not for its sex, nudity, general vulgarity (I don't care about those things), but for its vapid, noisy, style-over-substance EMPTINESS. This film is THREE F'ING HOURS of NOTHING. Oh wait... INCREDIBLY LOUD NOTHING! Trash. Love your channel. Keep it up. 👍👍👍

[@brandeeb3971]

love you both sm!

[@kumaridesilva3992]

I think there was so little dialogue in the first 30, 40 minutes of the movie it was like it was a silent film (which I thought was a pretty arty effect )- but so much to see, but seeing the elephant shit in the first few minutes of the movie did seem kind of needlessly gross. . .The gossip columnist lady makes a great statement, but it feels a little anachronistic that she would even imagine people watching old films in a 100 years. Who would even know that in the 1930s?

[@danc1180]

They forgot to mention 'piggy' whose character is based on kink.

[@jacobstaten2366]

The wild wild West wasn't even the wild wild West. I'm of the mind that most movies could be shortened by anywhere from 10-60 minutes. Sometimes it could just be cutting scenes or shots short by a few seconds, others could eliminate entire scenes or sub plots.

[@gamerdrops]

Saw today. Admired it for its effort and craftsmanship, and it had a few great set pieces, but overall fell short for me

[@gamerdrops]

Also the forced blackface scene felt very out of place in what otherwise felt very cartoony... Tonally this felt all over the place

[@leblancgeorges1479]

Apparently elephants pooping doesn't bring good Box Office.

[@jasonsandoval680]

There was that scene early at the party, where that big guy has a woman giving him a golden shower with his mouth open. I laughed at that. Lots of really good scenes, but as a whole movie, it’s missing a little something. I’d still recommend it

[@gamerdrops]

Agree that Pussy song sequence was super cringe ... Reminds me of people who cheer when a comedian mentions marijuana ... Ugh

[@elasticharmony]

At last someone who doesnt like LaLaLand, hurray. Bad ending that's it, director running out of creative ideas reuses a truck load of cliches, they needed a different director to end it and rewrite the full ending. They should have gone full circle,

[@qwertiepie]

I fell asleep and didnt return

[@StellarGamingDev]

Is the movie Sissy worth reviewing or have you reviewed it yet?

[@davidkitanov2160]

Guys I think your first review is unlisted I'm not able to find it on your channel 😟

[@fishjellyfilmreviews]

Good catch…I just published it.

[@johnmiller5679]

Nothing against the black actor, he did a good job but the whole character was kind of shoehorned into the movie. It’s as if they finished the movie and Simeon’s said hey we need a black character or the Acedemy.Awards will want nothing to do with us.

[@d1mples91]

I feel like this movie was a bit too much, and all over the place

[@claytonkelley4921]

Loved loved loved this film!! ❤

[@gcndc]

I did not like the score, I found it very obnoxious and annoying.

[@bmck-8400]

Looks like a terrific movie

[@ahmedzone1233]

This movie looks great

[@esoteric76]

Calling her opening number basic. Dead. The first half of the movie was intoxicating, the second half lost me. Jean Smart needed more screen time. Margot Robbie was pretty stellar. Great review!

[@catalystcoversations5644]

Agreed Jean Smart is the silent gem in this film, I was a bit underwhelmed with the movie overall, the point of the story/storyline could have been told with more edits...loved the history part of the film with transition from silent to talkies. BTW I feel the Manny character acting was amazing in a so so film, in my opinion.

[@smkh2890]

Like Baz Luhrmann on crack.

[@theresaluke6686]

Thanks!

[@fishjellyfilmreviews]

Thank you!

[@raaid22]

It seems like your enjoyability of this film is somewhat based on how often you get the references.

[@socaljet]

"iT wASnT vULgEr"...................................lol

[@PetePuebla]

Wow, this seems exciting! Kidding! This movie seems bland the way you guys describe it.

[@carlao7157]

I thought it was too much. Trying too hard 5.5-6/10 It basically kept my attention but it was too pretentious for me