Josh and Benny Safdie's UNCUT GEMS starring Adam Sandler as a jewelry dealer with a gambling habit

It just occurred to me that the Weeknd is of Ethiopian descent. Build a theory around that.

when howie tells julia to "go fuck the weeknd," he too is spiritually "fucking the weeknd" when he bilks his ancestral people out of their natural resources.

the gem is functionally real, Howard and KG believe in it, there's that awesome montage right before KG breaks the glass, plus the opening and the beginning, there is something to the spiritual significance of a gem that unites black and jewish people

Absolutely loved this! I'm so glad that I caught it at the cinema too - it was awesome to get completely caught up in the tension of it all on the big screen with big sound. I really want to see it again.

Maybe expectations and watching it quietly at home by myself made an impact, but my second viewing was far from anxiety-laden? If anything, I appreciated how well-paced the school play sequence was, for example.

lol what an icon

Julia Fox started an Insta gram AMA yesterday, answered 2 entire questions, then returned today answering a 3rd question with the explanation, "my sincerest apologies but i completely lost interest in the AMA." pic.twitter.com/gfOe3lkrTn

— Davis. (@realdaveimboden) January 14, 2020

perfect

there is something to the spiritual significance of a gem that unites black and jewish people

Historically Jews and African-Americans have been accused of failing to assimilate into mainstream (Protestant) American culture, even as they are scorned for materialism and vulgarity (one of those ways of keeping up the barriers). Throughout the movie I saw examples of jewelry, clothing, and décor that seriously offended my taste, but I don't doubt they reflect the subcultures' time, place, and values.

Then at the auction house every employee speaks with a posh accent and the colo(u)red gemstone specialist doesn't agree with Howard's valuation of the opal. Wotta wet blanket.

https://www.gq.com/story/uncut-gems-furniture

bloody great piece that, thanks!

It's a kyber crystal. The championship rings are trophies of dead Jedi. The jeweled furby is an inversion of Ewok veneration of C3PO.

There was so much unpleasant yelling and overtalking but that's part of what creates the tension, and then in the quieter moments I'd be thinking "where's the tension?" Good Time was similar but flat-out great, this one I'm pretty ambivalent. Last third was extremely good and pretty much saved it for me. I probably admire this movie more than liked it: the idea of building a movie around KG and his 2012 playoff performance, using Sandler and a newcomer in lead roles

It wasn’t built around that basketballer or game btw, they just picked the game once they’d auditioned various basketballers

yeah, it can't have been that hard to retrofit the scenario around the game they chose. gambling is wacked out enough to where you could easily find a bunch of interesting parlays

and hardcore gamblers like that don't require it to be the playoffs. they're the dudes who will bet on like the 27th game of the season with crazy lightning bets

I appreciated the post-game interview where KG is asked about his playing and he says something "I just had to been my concentration on the rock"

The integration of the in-game footage was stunning imo

jesus christ autocorrect did a thing

he says something like "I just had to keep my concentration on the rock"

for a little while I thought the entire parlay was going well but KG needs another rebound or point to win the final part of the parlay and he gets the final rebound and Howard goes nuts and the game ends, and then teh scorekeeper officially amends it to a "team rebound", thus screwing Howard, and Arno's crew kills him, then goes to kill the scorekeeper.

KG really deserves a lot of credit for his performance. He did such a good job. I don't think Kobe or whoever would've had that same kind of manic intensity.

Also, the 2012 Celtics were sick af. Pierce and Rondo totally could carry their own movie franchises.

Yea he did an incredible job xpost

These are interviews of greatness.

https://www.vulture.com/2020/01/uncut-gems-cast-mitchell-stewart-wenig.html

I choose to believe those are the actual Safdie brothers

amazing

omg

saw this today, liked it. the ending was excellent. one of the great basketball films

man i didn't realize keith richard williams was another non-actor. he looks like a character actor you would've seen in a hundred movies, and he's so good

I forgot about the threat he made after Garnett's bodyguards roughed up him. something like how he can't wait to draw his chalk outline or dig his grave or something.

guess he made good on that one!

New short from the Safdies starring Sandler and Benny

https://vimeo.com/382811408

Literal or no, Goldman vs. Silverman might be the most Jewish title ever.

so good

NYer piece said that truck at the end was just parked there with those lights flashing on it, Benny just spontaneously climbed in

curly gray-haired brothers get a vulture interview

https://www.vulture.com/2020/01/uncut-gems-cast-mitchell-stewart-wenig.html

These are interviews of greatness.

https://www.vulture.com/2020/01/uncut-gems-cast-mitchell-stewart-wenig.html

― Ned Raggett, Thursday, January 16, 2020 10:29 AM (two hours ago)

deserves to be posted twice imo

fair, and now I posted it a third time technically

Goldman V Silverman is good! Benny Safdie is mega charismatic.

I’d like to start very generally: How did you get involved with the movie?
Well, maybe you could ask me questions.

Sure, yeah. Did you audition for this?
I auditioned for the movie, but I was in a prior movie working with the Safdies before.

Cool. Tell me about the audition.
The audition was with, I think, Jennifer, a young lady.

Okay. And do you remember what you read, or what the experience was like?
No, I don’t remember.

“So when Amos came on set, we were talking, he asked if Sandler was there yet, and I said he’d be there soon. He said, ‘We were gonna work together a long time ago. Whatever happened to that golf movie?’”

Wonderful conversation on the Jewishness of Uncut Gems

https://jewishcurrents.org/an-unserious-man/

V good

Here’s a tease of one of the songs from Stuart (and to some@extent Mitch) Wenig’s UNCUT GEMS full 10 track album made for the film... spoiler: it’s amazing. R. Stevie Moore-esque pic.twitter.com/hpbfE9AR0g

— SAFDIE (@JOSH_BENNY) January 17, 2020

untouched by man

heard a clip of that same song in a podcast and was o_O that Stuart just cranked out a disc of music "they could use in the movie"

amazing side talent on these guys

i felt a pang all the times he questioned why they didn't want to use it in the movie :(

Very good. I don't understand people who "couldn't take the intensity" though. Sandler is excellent, but I can't get *that* invested in ambulatory garbage.

I think their last one was its equal? Except maybe not quite cuz Benny didn't have to act.

didn't realize Francesa was not gonna play himself; perfect casting tho

I really wish I'd have taken a moment to see this with an audience.

I saw it with a miniscule matinee audience ($10 cheap)

Opening title music was very early '90s cable

I like Good Time, but it's pretty much a bunch of crazy scenarios strung together with little rhyme or reason. Uncut Gems has several actual characters with legible motivations.

Yeah, I'm also in the camp of this one being a major step up.

Opening title music was very early '90s cable