Stereogum Home

 

February 6, 2007

Across The Universe

With a title like that, this movie has gotta about The Beatles. And it kinda sorta is. In descending order: It uses Beatles tunes. And it's set in the '60s. And the main characters are called "Jude" and "Lucy." And ... it stars Marilyn Manson's girlfriend. That's a sliding scale to shittyness. (via Whitney)

Posted at 4:56 PM in
Tags:




21 Comments

I fucking hate Evan Rachel Wood. I also happen to hate pretension, so this movie probably won't be for me, despite my love of The Beatles.

Posted by: Katina at 02/06/07 5:45 PM  | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

whatever, looks really trippy and its part animation which is always a plus. I could watch nostalgic 60s movies til the end of my days......

Posted by: Caleb at 02/06/07 6:15 PM  | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

looks freaking awesome to me

Posted by: wes at 02/06/07 6:24 PM  | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

you forgot to mention directed by bono, and they shut down like five blocks of the lower east side when they filmed the new york segment, thats when on clinton street and rivington street buildings got painted all "funky", that was more than a year ago if my memory serves me right

Posted by: a at 02/06/07 6:34 PM  | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

looks freaking awesome to me

Posted by: wes at 02/06/07 6:49 PM  | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

based on the description on imdb, i thought this was going to be amazing. the trailer doesn't do it for me as much, but it should still be pretty good as long as it's not like a typical piece of shit musical where characters randomly break into song-and-dance routines in mid-scene.

Posted by: bryan at 02/06/07 6:50 PM  | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

This almost gave me a heart attack.

I Am Sam II?

Posted by: Spencer at 02/06/07 6:53 PM  | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

based on the description on imdb, i thought this was going to be amazing. the trailer doesn't do it for me as much, but it should still be pretty good as long as it's not like a typical piece of shit musical where characters randomly break into song-and-dance routines in mid-scene.

Posted by: bryan at 02/06/07 6:55 PM  | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

how the hell can anyone say this looks good? I haven't read any of this hype that we're all talking about, so maybe i'm untainted that way.
But jesus christ. That's the most laughably bad trailer i've seen in ages.

"I'm sorry i'm not the man with the megaphone but this is what i do!!!"

Hipsters need to learn to deal with the fact that they missed the 60s and that no movie with feel-good appeal is going to change that.

Posted by: Elliot at 02/06/07 8:32 PM  | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

Wait a sec, Elliot. Did you catch the sixties? Jeezis, if this is true, wow. Depressing. You are no less than 36 years old. If your brain was at all formed during that time, then you're 50. What the hell are you doing catching up on K-Fed gossip and Tapes n Tapes releases on Stereogum? This movie will probably be a string of feces, evenly segmented at 24 fecal parts a second by a fledgling filmmaker, but why do you have to bag on young people who have a fascination with another time?

Wait a sec. Is this Cameron Crowe? Are you trying to stir up bad press so that nobody compares it to your ass cheeks movies? Ahhh...you almost got me, you ol so n so.

Posted by: j.s. at 02/06/07 9:05 PM  | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

Holy shit, this looks so fucking terrible. terrible. terrible. terrible. and I don't even object to the premise, in fact, I've always really liked the idea of musicals set to the Beatles music...but this is just about the worst way I could imagine someone doing this sort of concept. Pretty colours, but my god I can't believe how they managed to make every scene they show as cringeworthy as I could possibly imagine. Why do they have to do this shit to us?

Posted by: Sean at 02/07/07 4:27 AM  | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

Twyla Tharp : Bob Dylan :: Julie Taymor : The Beatles.

Posted by: BPM at 02/07/07 7:41 AM  | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

Julie Taymor is directing, not Bono.

Posted by: erin at 02/07/07 10:52 AM  | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

looks like an American version of that terrible movie "The Dreamers". But I'd still see it. It's got cute boys in it.

Posted by: another erin at 02/07/07 11:30 AM  | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

This would be better off as a crappy Broadway show, than a crappy movie.

I'm movin' out.

Posted by: Kurt C. at 02/07/07 11:33 AM  | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

Not only can I not believe what I've just seen, but I also cannot believe that anyone in their right mind would think a movie based around the concept of horrible modern covers of Beatles tunes would EVER be ANY good.

I mean seriously, I missed the 60s, but they made movies then, too. Why not go to the source?

Jesus, I just can't believe how bad this looks. Yes, taste is subjective. I guess.

Posted by: jed2 at 02/07/07 11:45 AM  | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

the dreamers is a great movie. wtf?

Posted by: bryan at 02/07/07 12:08 PM  | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

the trailer starts off very moulin rouge. :(

Posted by: phishy at 02/07/07 2:05 PM  | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

Yeah, that dreamers comment was totally off base. Exactly what part of that trailer was similar to Bertolucci's amazing film? The only parallel I could see is that they both involve youth, the rest is a huge stretch. I'm a huge Beatles fan, but there's something that just struck me as off throughout the preview. I have no problem with films set in the 60's when they're done well... but that happens very rarely. Most often people either have a bone to pick with the era (I shot andy warhol), or portray it so sensationalized that it's laughable (Across the Universe). Like someone else said, there's plenty of movies from the actual era... best to learn some of the history from the source.


for example, stop what you're doing and go rent PERFORMANCE, shot in 1968 and not released until 1970, parts of the film were burned before release, but the remaining film is one of the best you'll ever see... mick jagger as a psychedelic gangster set to a surreal drug trip? Yes.

Posted by: Devin at 02/07/07 4:31 PM  | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

Mamma mia, Kurt C.! That's exactly the thought here at our house.

Oh, and, we will rock you.

Posted by: yesvirginia at 02/07/07 6:59 PM  | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

This movie looks great. Why is everyone judging it and Evan Wood so harshly. She turned down Mean girls because it was a piece of crap. As well as Posidone. She turns down millions of dollars to do quality work. She is amazingly talented. And full of integrity. I hear she sings most of the songs live in the movie. WHILE DANCING usually. Which is refreshing compared to the Simpsons and Spears and duffs who take us for studio enhanced vocal retard rides. I'm glad someone still cares enough about art to focus on quality work. I'm a big Evan Rachel Wood fan.

Posted by: Flacker at 03/28/07 8:17 PM  | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

Leave a comment


Staff

  • Founder/Editor-In-Chief: Scott Lapatine
  • Executive Editor: Amrit Singh
  • Senior Writer: Brandon Stosuy

Info

Contact

Get Flash to see our mp3 player. Here are our mp3s: Cold Cave - Life Magazine (»)
Pants Yell! - Cold Hands (»)
Bill Quick - Take Me Away (»)
Fool's Gold - Surprise Hotel (Wallpaper's Mariah Mashup) (»)
Air - Sing Sang Sung (Black Moth Super Rainbow Remix) (»)
Avi Buffalo - What's In It For (»)
Vampire Weekend - Horchata (»)
Small Black - Kings Of Animals (»)
Max Tundra - Which Song (Passion Pit Remix) (»)
Cold Cave - Theme From Tomorrowland (»)
Tegan And Sara - Hell (»)
Jeff The Brotherhood - Bone Jam (»)
Mount Eerie - Wind's Dark Poem (»)
Tigercity - Fake Gold (»)
Yeasayer - Ambling Alp (»)
Drink Up Buttercup - Even Think (Andrew W.K. Remix) (»)
Florence And The Machine - You've Got The Love (The xx Remix) (»)
Cold Cave - The Laurels of Erotomania (»)
Jookabox - Phantom Don't Go (»)
Jookabox - You Cried Me (»)

Progress Report logo
Commercial Appeal logo
Premature Evaluation logo
Band to Watch logo
Quit Your Day Job logo
The Outsiders logo
The 'Gum Drop logo