Branded (2012)

Powerful

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

It is not deep, but it is fun to watch. It does have a bit more of an edge to it than other similar films.

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

This is going to be a tough one to review because I'm not sure if I completely understand it and that doesn't happen to often with me, so you know it has to be pretty complicated. It very artsy fartsy and there are a lot of messages going on in it and they don't give them to you on a silver platter. You will have to concentrate on this one and even then, good luck. It's about an advertising executive that goes way too far to sell products. It's about consumerism and how it has become an integral part of our culture. It also seems to infuse a little bit a supernatural aspects to it in the form of a ritual performed by the advertising agent where he slaughters bull. It has these cute and weird looking creatures coming out of people's bodies that look like they would be designed by a Japanese or Animae company almost. These creatures swayed you to do things for instant gratification like eating a ton of fast food and getting fat. So there is also a statement about obesity in our society. The movie makes a lot of good points and I appreciate what it's trying so say and it certainly does have a style all its own. It's not imitative of anything I've ever seen which makes it a little difficult to wrap my brain around it. My brain almost hurts trying to decipher it. I just wish it was a bit more accessible. I love the visuals. They are really funky. The only two people I recognize in it are Ed Stoppard, Leelee Sobieski, Jeffrey Tambor and Max von Sydow, so it's a pretty good cast and they all do a good job. Check it out if you want a mind bending experience.

a film everybody should watch! reality in its best form ending surreal. But: special senses required to understand!the barometer of the audience is dammed to split them. the ones, who don't understand and those who do!but when you understand, then surrealism makes sense. a film that should and could be educated in schools! beside, very good casting. very good acting. very good research. very good story. very good plot. very creative.felicitous pictures! very good attempt of jumping from one realism into an other. nice time-tunnel...

It looks like written and directed by Barney (the purple dinosaur) on acid.I was going to give it two stars because Leelee Sobiesky was on the movie, but I think that extending her part was one of the main reasons this movie sucks. Not because of her acting but because her character was totally unnecessary and her scenes took the viewer away from the (excuse of a) plot.Anyway, I was going to give it two stars an then appears the constellation cow, the same from the beginning... and talking about the beginning of a new era.

I wanted to like this film more than I did. I admire its ambition, and I like the way it sets out to satirize the advertising industry and its effect on us. Unfortunately, it seems that the filmmakers had problems shaping their material into an elegant, effective film."Branded" is entertaining throughout -- and sporadically brilliant! -- but most viewers will probably feel, as I did, that this movie is wildly uneven. The tone of the film shifts in bizarre and disorienting ways; important plot-points are barely touched-upon; great chunks of time are skipped, often revealing that our main characters have changed in ways that are so profound that it seems some kind of further explanation is required; some very clunky narration attempts to tie everything together.The problems lie mostly with the script, which can't seem to decide how seriously to take itself. In the film's earlier scenes, as the forces of evil begin shaping their bozo nightmare, the film often projects a winking, campy sort of vibe. Later, the film is solemn and reflective. Then, it's an angry political screed. Each of these pieces, individually, has its merits -- but they sit at odd angles to each other. Combine this with the film's fractured and episodic method of storytelling, and you end up with a film that plays like patchwork. It's entertaining, but I think there's a lot of unintended dissonance created by the film's cavalier approach.The acting is actually pretty good; these actors were given some tough material to work with, given the script's shifty nature. All the actors do their best to provide their characters with strong through-lines, and they mostly succeed. That is to say that, even though the script and the tone are all over the place, the actors do a good job of providing solid and centered performances. I was frankly surprised that the acting worked as well as it did in this film.The cinematography and effects are also worth a mention. The camera-work is top-notch, and the CGI "monsters" which appear in the film's final third are rather clever creations.Overall, I got the impression that this was a wildly ambitious project undertaken by a crew that wasn't quite up to the task. And yet, they succeeded in creating a great-looking film of ramshackle construction. It entertains and provokes some thought, and there is a great sense of enthusiasm in the production.