The Art of Self Defense (Jesse Eisenberg, Alessandro Nivola)

[Hoke Moseley]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Td0o...ature=youtu.be

A dark comedy set in the world of karate. The film centers on Casey (Jesse Eisenberg), who is attacked at random on the street and enlists in a local dojo led by a charismatic and mysterious Sensei (Alessandro Nivola), in an effort to learn how to defend himself. What he uncovers is a sinister world of fraternity, violence and hypermasculinity and a woman (Imogen Poots) fighting for her place in it. Casey undertakes a journey, both frightening and darkly funny, that will place him squarely in the sights of his enigmatic new mentor.

Looks good to me!

[kylor]

It looks "meh" to me, based on the trailer. Perhaps a better edited trailer could sway me more. I'm still intrigued though, I love me some Kung Fu/Karate movies (Office Space, anyone?)

[LegacyCosts]

Jesse Eisenberg has never made a movie better by being in it. Go away Jesse Eisenberg thanks

[Pounder]

Originally Posted by LegacyCosts

Jesse Eisenberg has never made a movie better by being in it. Go away Jesse Eisenberg thanks

Lol

[puddy77]

https://youtu.be/7Bms6Hba-3A

[1blufan]

I'm getting a Chuck Palahniuk vibe

[77Pat]

Saw this last night, enjoyed it. Would give it 3.5-4 out of 5

[xbs2034]

Saw it last night at a Q+A screening with the two lead actors, that was cool and the movie itself was very fun. Worth checking out if you enjoy deadpan comedy, and while some of the darkness in the second half

[Show spoiler]namely the main character’s dog being brutally murdered and him killing an undercover cop

was off putting, it wrapped up strongly IMO.

[Mad Dad]

Really liked this. Another one of those "not for everyone" type dark comedies. See it while you can. Opening night, I was one of 7 people in the theater, so it will probably be gone next week (locally, at least).
Saw Stuber the night before, enjoyed both movies although two totally different types of comedy. After so many bad movies lately, my faith is somewhat restored that there is actual entertainment to be had. I'm expecting "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" to continue the trend.....

[Foggy]

Really want to see this, but there seems to be no interest in releasing this overseas. The very muted box office response is likely working against it’s favour.

[CrazyBlu-RayFan]

A very bleak dark comedy. This movie, while somewhat slow, does have great payoffs and a very good story to tell. The characters are very engaging, the satire/messages are very uncomfortable and a very harsh reflection of the bad side of masculinity and other aspects connected to it (but the absurdity of the situation makes it very funny), and it isn't afraid to get very disturbing/brutal when necessary (both in actual violence and in its themes). The acting was fantastic, with everyone delivering a great performance. The direction also looked good with many great looking shots and visual storytelling. Plus the writing was very intelligent and clever. It's a fantastic movie and will probably go on my top 12 of the year. It takes a little bit to get really moving but once it does it is a very engaging and intelligent rush of enjoyment and harsh reality. See this movie when you can, as long as you can handle how dark the movie gets.

4.5/5.0

[Kevinicus]

Didn't really care for this. It kind of dragged for the most part, and I really just wanted someone to drop a bomb on everyone in this movie. It's like it thought it was trying to tell some clever commentary about male masculinity (which would be stupid on it's own), but what it really did was just fill it's movie to the point of absurdity with a bunch of unrealistic *******s. There were a few humorous moments sprinkled in (particularly a good one at the end), but for the most part it was just drab and depressing...not to mention extremely predictable. There weren't really any surprises here. The story beats could be seen a mile away, from the opening scene all the way through the end.

Disappointed with this one.

[filmbuffTX]

I enjoyed this, but I didn’t think it was great. I liked Eisenberg and his character's evolution throughout the movie. He plays this somewhat wimpy loner type who decides to take up karate so he can learn to defend himself. His character is probably relatable to lot of people. It's a dark comedy and has some similar themes to Fight Club and Kick-Ass. "Masculinity" is one of the themes. It has some "thriller" aspects to it too and you're not sure where the movie is going to go. I definitely want to see it again soon and might rate it higher on the second viewing. Imogen Poots is one of the co-stars and is also pretty good.

[Zivouhr]

There was another martial arts teacher/dojo movie with a similar theme that I have on DVD that I got for $3 years ago. Can't remember the name of it, but it was a comedy that wasn't really my style of comedy.

On topic, this looks mildly interesting. Might check it out eventually.

[SleazyForWeasley]

Tonally, this is all over the map. Would have liked it to be a bit more focused. 3 out of 5 for me.

[CelluloidPal]

Originally Posted by Zivouhr

There was another martial arts teacher/dojo movie with a similar theme that I have on DVD that I got for $3 years ago. Can't remember the name of it, but it was a comedy that wasn't really my style of comedy.

On topic, this looks mildly interesting. Might check it out eventually.

Was it called The Foot Fist Way?

[Zivouhr]

Originally Posted by CelluloidPal

Was it called The Foot Fist Way?

That's it, thanks! It was interesting, but I thought it would be a lot funnier in a Napoleon Dynamite way, but that dry, goofy humor is an acquired taste too.

The Foot Fist Way - Trailer - YouTube

[MifuneFan]

This movie, what can I say. It takes a pretty boilerplate premise, and turns it into something crazy. It actually starts out normal enough, but then goes down this rabbit hole of testosterone, and comes out the other end a completely different movie. I'm not sure if the movie knows what it wants to be really. It's part satire, part dark comedy, and part social commentary, but it just doesn't have a strong focus in any particular direction. A small part of me wishes it didn't take itself so seriously, and just aimed for more of a comedy.

I thought Eisenberg was ideal for the role, having honed the whole awkward / introverted character to perfection at this point. The movie had a really unsettling atmosphere to it. I liken it the same kind of eerie undertones that Kubrick captured in Eyes Wide Shut, where we saw Tom Cruise's character discover a shocking hidden world under the facade of something normal.

It's definitely the kind of movie where the less you know going in, the better. Some scenes are a bit too drawn out, and sometimes Eisenberg's character can be a bit irritating, but overall this was a pretty unique movie, and I enjoyed it well enough.


3/5

[Zivouhr]

Helpful review, thanks.

[Frank TJ Mackey]

Enjoyed this a lot. The three main characters were all strong. It was funny. Surprised just how dark and violent it got, though. 3.5 out of 5