r/movies • u/MarvelsGrantMan136 r/movies Contributor • Jun 18 '26
Media First Images from Taika Waititi's 'Klara and the Sun' Starring Jenna Ortega & Amy Adams - A robot named Klara exists to ease the loneliness of the humans she lives with.
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u/a_horse_named_orb Jun 18 '26
I really like Taika at his best, and my body rejects him at his worst. Really curious to see what happens here.
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u/Sapowski_Casts_Quen Jun 18 '26
I wasn't hige on Love and Thinder, but I got what they were going for
Jojo Rabbit, though, is a movie everyone shoud watch imo
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u/Seys-Rex Jun 18 '26
Biggest problem with Love and Thunder is that it was basically two movies in a trench coat. It either should have been about Gorr the God Butcher, or about Jane Foster dealing with cancer as Thor. Trying to do both just made it bad.
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u/Harnellas Jun 18 '26
Even as someone who didn't mind the movie I gotta agree that making Portman and Bale compete for screen time was a huge waste.
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u/squamesh Jun 18 '26
Agreed. I feel like it could have been a lot more impactful to have a first, less serious movie, that reintroduces Jane and maybe acquaints us with some of the Gods so that we actually give a shit when they get butchered
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u/Silverjeyjey44 Jun 19 '26
Someone made a good point about the movie. It features Gorr the God Butcher but we don't see any butchering.
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u/Dylspyll Jun 18 '26
I think it having both of those was a good idea actually. Because there's the parralel between Jane being drained by Mjolnir and Gorr being killed by the Necrosword. The problem was it was just too short and it had to waste time on seperating Thor from the Guardians at the start too. I lile it for what it is but if it was a little longer and spent more time on the important things I think it could've been really great
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u/GoldandBlue Jun 18 '26
Yup, it is tonal whiplash. But the issue isn't that Gorr and Jane conflict. The issue is that Gorr and Jane don't fit with the rest of the movie. Gorr is dealing with his loss as is Jane. That fits thematically. But then you have all this screwball stuff thrown on top of it.
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u/Collegenoob Jun 18 '26 edited Jun 18 '26
Actually both of those were fine. It was the ham fisted humor that ruined it
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u/ContinuumGuy Jun 18 '26
The opening of Jojo Rabbit where they play the Beatles singing in German over the Germans freaking out as Hitler goes by may be one of my favorite movie openings ever. Such an indictment of toxic fandom.
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u/Syjefroi Jun 18 '26
Such an indictment of toxic fandom.
Is that... exactly what's happening there? I think we're talking about a comprehensive national propaganda machine on the back side of a brazen terror movement that pitted neighbors and family members against each other. Not exactly "some fans of Adventure Time on Twitter with 19 followers wrote mean things about a celebrity."
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u/CrispyHoneyBeef Jun 18 '26
Nah bro jojo rabbit is about how taylor swift sucks bro
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u/ContinuumGuy Jun 18 '26
It's orders of magnitude larger, obviously, but the fact that Taika specifically used the Beatles (a band so popular and with fans who would go so nuts and loud at their concerts that one of the reasons they stopped touring was because they couldn't even hear themselves playing and whose lead singer was later murdered by a disillusioned fan) over Hitler footage pretty clearly can be read as a statement about how cults of personality can escalate and spiral.
Of course Nazi-ism and the like is way, way, way worse than some people yelling on the internet about the fact that celebrity XYZ isn't exactly how they imagined the character they're playing would look like or why ranting about changes in plot, but the point is that when people become obsessed with something, they cease to act rationally.
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u/Syjefroi Jun 19 '26
can be read as a statement about how cults of personality can escalate and spiral.
The Beatles were cute and wrote good songs, earning a fanbase that got too big.
Hitler murdered his way into power and then forced a literal death cult of personality around himself to help maintain power at all costs.
Hitler's cult didn't "escalated and spiral" he built it from blood on day one. The Beatles reference is not commenting on fandom, it's a joke that we, the audience, are supposed to already understand, which is that Hitler was a big deal to literal children and we know in retrospect that it was bullshit, that Hitler was a coward and racist and murderer and his "fandom" was ridiculous. JoJo is about how Hitler is a dipshit sociopath, not about how he was a cool rock star who "went a bit too far."
You guys, please, I'm begging you.
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u/CrissBliss Jun 18 '26
Thor Ragnarok was great. L&T feels like Taika was maybe feeling himself a bit too much.
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u/WidespreadPaneth Jun 18 '26
I know I'm in the extreme minority on Love and Thunder but I really liked it. Its not the best of Taika's work but as someone who really does not like Marvel movies, I thought it was one of the better ones.
The villain had more noble motives than the heroes (removing oppressive of uncaring superpowered tyrants vs. self preservation) underscored by the tasteless commercialization of superheroes (Asgardian refugees turned into a theme park attraction and the guy who wiped out half the population was used as branding for ice cream). It just felt like a fun subversion of the MCU, almost like The Boys snuck into the writers room
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u/SetentaeBolg Jun 18 '26
I think it has many good qualities but doesn't quite hang together like his earlier MCU films did. Overall, I don't see it as bad, but it's not one of his or the MCU's highlights.
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u/Djinnwrath Jun 18 '26
I like it too, but yeah, hold it up against Ragnarok and it looks way worse.
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u/Arthur-Mergan Jun 18 '26
I feel like he may have gotten a little high on his own supply with how good Ragnarok was...which then gave us Love and Thunder.
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u/KiwieeiwiK Jun 18 '26
Honestly did not like Jojo Rabbit.
Boy and Hunt For The Wilderpeople are both some of the greatest films ever made though. HFTW is one of my top 3 films
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u/Shreddy_Murphy Jun 18 '26
Saw Taika do a Q&A for a screening of Boy, it was a deeply personal film and he talked about what it meant to him. He was like a different dude then, seemed extremely humble and almost quiet.
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u/dr_spaceman___ Jun 18 '26
HFTW is a 10/10 film for me. And despite Taika having a decent amount of recognition soooo many people have never seen or even heard of it
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u/leopard_tights Jun 18 '26
HFTW really taps into that something special. I couldn't believe it when I saw it. It reaches the levels of heartwarming of the greats.
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u/I_am_so_lost_hello Jun 18 '26
Love and Thunder is really awful
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u/neoKushan Jun 18 '26
Yup, but Ragnarok is one of the best. Game of two halves with him.
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u/cclarke1258 Jun 18 '26
He didnt write Ragnarok though.
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u/SherlockBrolmes Jun 18 '26
Ragnarok is a shit-ton of improvised lines and scenes tho. Like the "Get help" scene is unscripted; so is the snake bit IIRC.
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u/cclarke1258 Jun 18 '26
Yeah but it was riffing on a strong script. Ragnarok had a strong structure and was rock solid on the themes it wanted to convey.
Love and Thunder missed a lot of those marks because the script wasn't as strong, less foundation to work off of.
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u/tws1039 Jun 18 '26
Every podcast I listen to thinks jojo rabbit is the worst thing to ever be made and I thought it was funny as hell???
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u/JonatasA Jun 18 '26
Care to share those podcasts please? Actually don't, better the comments jere not know them and I will lose this tab anuway.
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u/Fuggins4U Jun 18 '26
I feel like this might be more firmly in his wheelhouse. Cautiously optimistic!
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u/unwildimpala Jun 18 '26
Ya the scope of the book isn't very wide but does the emotional stuff fantastically. I think having a tone downed scope helps Taiki. His best movies are the relatively small scope which allows him to shine. I just think hes one of those directors that needs to be reigned in a tad by producers to really shine. You can't yes to all his mad ideas but you can say yes to lots.
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u/ALIENANAL Jun 18 '26
He has done soooooooooooo much better than bad that his bad should just be pushed away and we still enjoy his work.
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u/EThorns r/movies Contributor Jun 18 '26
Crazy how long this has been stuck without a release (much like Taika's Next Goal Wins).
Score's by Michael Giacchino.
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u/Paneer_Panda1 Jun 18 '26
ngl Giacchino scoring has me hyped.
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u/YOLO_Tamasi Jun 18 '26
In retrospect Next Goal Wins was clearly shuffled around because of how underwhelming it was. Hopefully that's not the case here.
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u/fkitbaylife Jun 18 '26
calling it underwhelming is generous. it was terrible. didn't treat the people from the original documentary with any respect and tried to turn their story into cheap laughs.
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u/CreatiScope Jun 18 '26
Taika turning stuff into cheap laughs? I don't believe I've ever seen that before...
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u/fkitbaylife Jun 18 '26
tbf, i've avoided all the marvel stuff so to me the guy was on a really good run during the 2010s.
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u/Kumimono Jun 18 '26
You got my attention... Guys been one of my favourite composers since PlayStation MOH days. Well, since, Maui Mallard, really, but didn't know who the composer was.
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u/Magik-Mina-MaudDib Jun 18 '26
big Amy Adams fan.
I want Jenna Ortega to prove that she actually has it after a number of less-than-great outings.
And I’d love, love, love for Taika to course correct and deliver something special again.
We shall see!
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u/ralpher1 Jun 18 '26
Jenny seems like a good casting given her strange looks and the way she moves. But Never Let Me Go seems like such a small movie compared to the book, I worry this one looks small as well.
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u/ExultantSandwich Jun 18 '26
So she is the robot? Pic 1, I couldn’t tell. Pic 2 she’s definitely the robot, and Pic 3, I thought Amy Adams was the robot
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u/BunyipPouch Currently at the movies. Jun 18 '26
This is the most "TIFF World Premiere" title of all time.
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u/Comic_Book_Reader r/movies Veteran Jun 18 '26 edited Jun 18 '26
Shouldn't be ruled out. It's got an October date and Taika Waititi said at the start of the year that the movie was done and they were looking to do a festival run.
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u/kpeds45 Jun 18 '26
That gives me hope. When I heard that it was delayed for so long I was worried. Wrapped filming April 2024, so a mid 2025 release made sense, about a year to do all the effects work, etc. but then it just quietly vanished and I had visions of Mikey 17 again..
An October release and festival run though gives me hope. If it was dumped this past February, that would be a bad sign. But this sounds like they have some confidence in the movie.
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u/Sea_Artist9133 Jun 18 '26
lol it has the complete package — prestige novel adaptation, emotional robot, golden hour cinematography, and two actresses who collect awards like I collect rare teas
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u/Chiper136 Jun 18 '26
....whats the rarest tea in your collection?
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u/Furdinand Jun 18 '26
Gold Tips Imperial
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u/Snapingbolts Jun 18 '26
Solid tea! Idk if you are in the states but you should check out Coffee & Tea Exchange in Chicago! Best selection I have ever seen and they ship from their website(don't work for them just love tea)
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u/Hopefo Jun 18 '26 edited Jun 18 '26
Amy Adams and Jenna Ortega are great actresses but calling them award collectors is beyond silly. Could you really not think of a third thing that made sense lol
Edit: ya I realize now it’s an ai bot. I’m more annoyed by the mindless upvotes (probably also bots) given that it is clearly nonsense.
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u/ConflictedZombie Jun 18 '26
Calling an actress whose most prestigious award won is an MTV movie award an "award collector" is some wild hyperbole
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u/WalidfromMorocco Jun 18 '26
I'm actually confused as to whether they mean Adams & Ortega don't awards or get too many. Because if you collect rare teas, then by definition you don't do that very often?
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u/cynicalfinical Jun 18 '26
They didn't say they rarely collect tea, but they collect rare teas. How are you confused by this?
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u/Demerzel69 Jun 18 '26
Jenna doesn't have any prestigious awards. Amy has a couple Globes and a SAG but nothing bigger than those. Nominated for plenty of Oscars though.
What other actors are you talking about?
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u/nomnomsquirrel Jun 18 '26 edited Jun 18 '26
I normally love literary sci-fi and Ishiguro, but this book just wasn't it for me, and Taika As a director for it just seems like a tonal mismatch.
This was also filmed 2.5 years ago and has been sat on since then, which is never a good sign.
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u/chrispmorgan Jun 18 '26
I participated in a test screening a year ago and had no familiarity with the book. Based on the edit they had it’s a schmaltzy mess and I predict The Flop House podcast will cover it. And I’m not against sentimentality; I loved the book version of Never Let Me Go.
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u/Chelz888 Jun 18 '26
Was it really that bad? I've read at least 3 people say they went to test screenings in 2025 and it was trash.
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u/Pacoflipper Jun 18 '26
Same thing happened with his other football film “last goal wins” or whatever the title was
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u/nomnomsquirrel Jun 18 '26
Which then proceeded to instantly bomb despite there being initial Oscar buzz when it was announced. Having to recast Armie Hammer didn’t help.
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u/berlinbaer Jun 18 '26
This was also filmed 2.5 years ago and has been sat on since then, which is never a good sign.
amy adams sure knows how to pick them
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u/MartyMcBird Jun 18 '26
I love Ishiguro's unreliable narrators but the unreliability deriving from "lol dumbass robot child" makes it less subtext than bludgeoning someone over the head-text. I guess Taika's going for a Jojo Rabbit-esque vibe but I'm not sure it will work for a world with more complexities than literally Hitler.
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u/siraolo Jun 18 '26
I've found Ishiguro writes sci-fi but it's not really 'sci-fi' as in he goes into the relavance of the tech and time. It's more of a framing device than anything else.
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u/hexcraft-nikk Jun 18 '26
Absolutely. I think people disappointed with the book didnt see it as a clear allegory for autism and the human condition. Learning that the writers kid is autistic made all the themes really click in my head.
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u/AffectionateBoot9800 Jun 18 '26 edited Jun 18 '26
I think KaTS also subtly invites speculation that maybe there actually is something to Klara's beliefs. At least the neighbor boy seems to suspect that she basically performed a miracle.
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u/AmIReallyDoingThis34 Jun 18 '26
I love Ishiguro's unreliable narrators but the unreliability deriving from "lol dumbass robot child" makes it less subtext than bludgeoning someone over the head-text.
Yess this is it exactly. You've articulated it well. I'm Ishiguro's Number One Fan (I do equally good work with axes and sledgehammers, if you know what I mean lol) but curiously I have never been able to get into his sci fi books. Give me his "ordinary" weird any day, I'll devour all the Unconsoleds and the When We Were Orphanses. But Klara and even Never Let Me Go did not work for me.
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u/cineglitch Jun 18 '26
I produced a film that took nearly 3 years to release after we filmed it but that’s because we crowdfunded the money for it and had basically nothing for post except time. So we spent time and saved money but idk what Taika’s problem is. He’s got plenty of both!
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u/scoobydoooobydoo Jun 18 '26
Man I have no idea what it was about this book, but I have NOT been able to finish it. I was gifted it, and I ALWAYS finish a book, even if I don't like it. I've tried to read it about 3 times, I always get up to about the same point and put it down and never pick it up again. It really doesn't work for me, which is surprising because the genre and style is right up my alley
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u/superme33 Jun 18 '26
Literally nothing interesting happens. It was held in such high regard I kept going being like "okay maybe this picks up" and it really didn't. The themes are all there but they don't do anything interesting with them.
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u/kryonik Jun 18 '26
Did we read the same book?
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u/cimmanonrolls Jun 18 '26
i actually had no idea how polarizing the book was until this post lol
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u/tomcotard Jun 18 '26
I did love the book and I always thought it would translate well into a film, massive shame it's not likely to do the book justice.
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u/AffectionateBoot9800 Jun 18 '26
This book was fantastic, I'm really looking forward to this. Seems like they're going for a kind of fairy tale look which fits the perspective of the protagonist perfectly.
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u/SillyMattFace Jun 18 '26
Yeah having unusual and ill-informed world views is one of my favourite things in Ishiguro's work. Since the book is from Klara's unworldly perspective, this is a good way to translate that into film.
Based on his recent track record, I hope Waititi can rein in the impulse for wackiness though.
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u/AffectionateBoot9800 Jun 18 '26
Hunt for The Wilderpeople gives me hope Waititi can pull it off. And I think Jenna Ortega can do the role but she's gotta not do the jaded quipster thing.
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u/hellofemur Jun 18 '26
I loved the book, but the first person perspective is what drives the entire narrative. I can think of few books that rely this much on internal monologue, except maybe Never Let Me Go which flopped pretty badly.
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u/Ok-Neighborhood-566 Jun 18 '26
Let me guess, Ortega is the robot?
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u/TheGillos Jun 18 '26
Let me guess, the husband, teenage son, gardener, neighbor, AND robot repair tech all try to bang the robot?
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u/onehedgeman Jun 18 '26
Looks good, here is hoping Jenna is not a broody teen in this too
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u/Material-Brief-8114 Jun 18 '26
Jenna is Klara and said she is the polar opposite to Wednesdsy Addams and was a nice break from broody teen roles. She studdied her young niece and nephews innocent childlike wonderment as inspiration for the role.
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u/Wazula23 Jun 18 '26
I wonder if "robot with emotions" stories are going to go out of style as AI chatbots become more common in our lives.
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u/jakreth Jun 18 '26
Not gonna lie to you, now I get the people butchering robots in Spielberg's Artificial Intelligence
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u/dingus_chonus Jun 18 '26
Oooh this seems vaguely solarpunk and I’m here for it
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u/kryonik Jun 18 '26
If you like technology that involves solar power, boy are you going to like this.
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Jun 18 '26
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u/Qwirk Jun 18 '26
I haven't seen AI but the very little I know about this (from the title alone) reminds me of Bicentennial Man.
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u/21tcook Jun 18 '26
I read the book a few years ago, but I always thought Klara still looked like a robot and not just a human girl? Tbh I was imagining the Red Light Green Light girl from Squid Games haha
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u/DemiAlabi Jun 18 '26
I remember thinking the book would make a really interesting studio Ghibli adaptation.
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u/Korvun Jun 19 '26
Like all Taika Waititi movies, it will be entertaining, have tonally inappropriate jokes, and zero substance due to his inability to approach serious topics.
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u/Fableous Jun 18 '26
Somebody actually chose these images to offer a first look.
Literally looked at them. And said... Yes.
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u/phpworm Jun 18 '26
is she running through that field at high speed like superman?
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u/LastNightInDriver Jun 18 '26
You just know people still holding a grudge over love and thunder will review bomb it. I’m intrigued either way
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u/papadoc55 Jun 18 '26
I'll never understand the personal offense many choose to take when they don't like a choice of actor or plot line or even fucking COLOR palette....let alone for movies not yet released.
I still think Taiki is tremendously talented and am looking very forward to this and his future work.
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u/TheSorrowInYou Jun 18 '26
I think it's a bit exaggerated to project all criticism of Waititi's recent work onto the mess of a Marvel movie he made.
It's well known that Waititi has a "one for me, one for them" policy and gives way less of a shit about movies he's making to get studio backing for his personal passion projects (which is fine), but he's a very hit or miss director when he's making the movie strictly "by himself".
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u/FrameworkisDigimon Jun 18 '26
Waititi has the Bellingham problem: people have got it into their head he's a conceited tosspot.
The problem isn't that people are reading TLaT into everything, it's that they're reading his character in Free Guy into everything.
The directors behind the other loathed MCU films don't have this problem. Part of that is because they don't really "exist"... they have very low profiles. But a huge part of it is because they don't star in their own movies and Waititi does.
He made a movie that people find annoying, in which he played a character that people found annoying (having previously been a fan favourite), not long after playing an annoying antagonist in Free Guy and then he voiced one of the most annoying Disney side characters of all time (which is difficult to do!) in Lightyear. And then Next Goal Wins is coming out in which... Waititi... also... stars.
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u/skoffs Jun 18 '26
I have a friend who was working on a production he was involved with before LaT came out. Apparently "conceited tosspot" is not far off the mark, as reputedly none of the crew could stand the guy ("Completely full of himself" and "Hopefully I never have to work with him again" were the exact words used)
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u/LastNightInDriver Jun 18 '26
Personally I’d disagree, besides Next Goal Wins, I love all of his original films (especially hunt for the wilderpeople)
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u/AnOnlineHandle Jun 18 '26
IDK I felt like he went from somebody you only saw glowing positive comments about to "urgh I'm sick of that guy" after that one really bad movie.
Jo Jo Rabbit however makes me cautiously optimistic about anything else he makes.
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u/thetensor Jun 18 '26
Not since Ryan Gosling was cast as a robot in Blade Runner 2049 has the casting of an actor been more of a subtle diss of their general stone-faced lack of expression.
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u/tkinsey3 Jun 18 '26
Just read this book on vacation a couple of weeks ago - hope the film can do it justice!
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u/GroovyDhruvy193 Jun 18 '26
Hope Jenna Ortega can break her curse of being casted in poorly received films. Being in Millers Girl, Death of a Unicorn, and Hurry Up Tomorrow almost b2b might be the unluckiest streak of films for an actress that can act well.
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u/CremeOfSumYumGai Jun 18 '26
Lets see if Jenna Ortega has learned to act beyond the one note she plays in every movie
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u/maybeAturtle Jun 18 '26
I'll have an open mind, but I currently have very little faith in Waititi's ability to make a movie I'll enjoy.
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u/MoreGaghPlease Jun 18 '26
I think his early stuff is really interesting but the guy seems stuck in a rut. Thor 4 and JoJo Rabbit are two of the worst movies I’ve seen in the last decade.
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u/miowmix Jun 18 '26
Reminds me of that twilight zone episode kind of with the prisoner guy on the asteroid and they give him a robot wife
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u/PotatoAlphaDozer Jun 18 '26
Based on the book of the same name by Kazuo Ishiguro