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Movies Sci-Fi Television

In Netflix's New Sci-Fi Movie 'Spaceman', an Introverted Astronaut Confronts Isolation (polygon.com) 42

Posted by EditorDavid from the commencing-countdown dept.
Netflix's new sci-fi drama Spaceman centers on Czech astronaut Jakub Procházk, described by Polygon as "painfully introverted, emotionally repressed, and above all, quiet... so muted and compressed, he seems like a trauma victim." The film, adapted from the 2017 novel Spaceman of Bohemia written by Czech author Jaroslav KalfaÅ(TM), is a solemn drama in the mold of Andrei Tarkovsky's Solaris, or to some degree, Christopher Nolan's Interstellar. The story revolves around Jakub's disintegrating frame of mind after eight months alone in space as he investigates a glowing cosmic phenomenon that's become visible from Earth. Meanwhile, his wife Lenka (Carey Mulligan), heavily pregnant and going through her own breakdown back home, decides to leave Jakub, and his handlers (Isabella Rossellini among them) work to keep him from finding out. And then the giant spider appears, and Jakub worries that he's losing his mind.
CNN says Sandler's deal with Netflix "means pretty much doing whatever he wants, which, in the case of Spaceman, means traveling to the furthest reaches of space as the near-solitary star of a pretentious, message-heavy drama."

You can watch a trailer here. The movie enjoys a "limited theatrical release" this weekend, and will stream on Netflix starting March 1.
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In Netflix's New Sci-Fi Movie 'Spaceman', an Introverted Astronaut Confronts Isolation More

In Netflix's New Sci-Fi Movie 'Spaceman', an Introverted Astronaut Confronts Isolation

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  • Overflowing effervesence (Score:5, Interesting)

    by quonset ( 4839537 ) on Sunday February 25, 2024 @01:57PM (#64267474)

    After reading the comments for the trailer [youtube.com], all I can think is those people are being paid. 85% are saying Sandler is underrated in dramatic roles or how he shines in dramatic roles. Same words, different arrangement.

    While yes, it is possible all these people truly like his dramatic roles, it's suspicious to see that many comments without any negative ones. I only noticed one comment which said his delivery was wooden, which I agree with. Other than, and one clearly genereated by a bot account, you'd think Cary Grant had come back from the grave with the way people were commenting.

    From what I saw, eh. It looks forced, especially with an overweight astronaut.

    • Seems more like a poor attempt to make something grand in the image of Enemy Mine, which is a phenomenal movie. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0... [imdb.com]

    • #ad. This slashdot story and others like it are paid for by marketing budgets.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by bjwest ( 14070 )

      After reading the comments for the trailer [youtube.com], all I can think is those people are being paid. 85% are saying Sandler is underrated in dramatic roles or how he shines in dramatic roles. Same words, different arrangement.

      Those would be "AI" comments. Cost probably a few cents per 1000, or 10,000.

    • There are plenty of negative comments about Adam Sandler's dramatic acting - you may not hear as much about it because the criticism is not harsh enough to attract the pageviews and the clicks, and clearly not as loud as the gen-y fanbase.

      It is possible for Adam Sandler to be an underrated dramatic actor.
      It is possible for Adam Sandler to be a far better dramatic actor than a comedic actor, despite his popularity being obviously driven by the latter.
      It is possible that several of his movies, dramatic or oth

  • Twice a decade he feels the need to put out a film to remind us "hey I can actually act everyone"

    • Re:It's the Sandler 5 year mark (Score:4, Insightful)

      by Powercntrl ( 458442 ) on Sunday February 25, 2024 @02:50PM (#64267600) Homepage

      Twice a decade he feels the need to put out a film to remind us "hey I can actually act everyone"

      Adam Sandler in a serious role is like when Justin Bieber actually releases a somewhat catchy song. It still would be better if someone with actual talent had done it.

    • Twice a decade he feels the need to put out a film to remind us "hey I can actually act everyone"

      Can someone point me at one of his films where that statement holds any water at all? Say what you will about silly men, but Sandler never seems to leave the "I can barely adult" cutesy shit behind long enough to bother with acting. He strikes me as somebody that could make his friend group laugh back in third grade by acting mentally incapacitated, and somehow managed to turn that into a career. More power to ya, but him taking dramatic roles always comes across extremely unnatural, to downright hackneyed.

      • Two best examples usually given are "Punch Drunk Love" and "Uncut Gems"

        • Two best examples usually given are "Punch Drunk Love" and "Uncut Gems"

          Are they good movies, or just examples of him attempting to act?

          Not that I'm fussy. I've watched the Twilight movies seven times for crying out loud. I just usually draw the line at "Sandler as lead" after his first few movies playing a mentally challenged fellow.

          • Punch Drunk Love is pretty good as it's a Paul Thomas Anderson movie (Boogie Nights, There Will Be Blood, The Master) so if you've seen his previous films it's worth checking out. Also stars Phillip Seymour Hoffman which always helps matters.

            Uncut Gems was also pretty good, sorta heist drama dark comedy. Directed by the Safdie Brothers who are up and coming directors (this was the film that got them major attention)

            Both of these are also well made films with talented directors which certainly helps in com

            • Punch Drunk Love is pretty good as it's a Paul Thomas Anderson movie (Boogie Nights, There Will Be Blood, The Master) so if you've seen his previous films it's worth checking out. Also stars Phillip Seymour Hoffman which always helps matters.

              Uncut Gems was also pretty good, sorta heist drama dark comedy. Directed by the Safdie Brothers who are up and coming directors (this was the film that got them major attention)

              Both of these are also well made films with talented directors which certainly helps in comparison to Sandler's usual fare so that likely explains why many consider his performances good as well (any PTA movie is gonna have good performances).

              Thanks. These may be worth checking out. I also notice Sandler is more tolerable with better actors around him, so Hoffman being there in Punch Drunk Love would probably be a bonus start at any rate.

  • 8 months? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Fons_de_spons ( 1311177 ) on Sunday February 25, 2024 @02:08PM (#64267504)
    Only extraverts think that you can go mad after 8 months of isolation. For an introvert it probably gets slightly annoying after month 4.

    • Re:8 months? (Score:4, Insightful)

      by Firethorn ( 177587 ) on Sunday February 25, 2024 @02:36PM (#64267560) Homepage Journal

      He has regular contact with mission control. For me that would be enough.
      That said, I recognize that not having anybody else available in case of emergency is freaking dangerous. Back in the day, they'd man lighthouses with at least 3 people not because it took 3 to keep the lighthouse running, but because there had been incidents when they tried with only 1-2 people.

      • He has regular contact with mission control. For me that would be enough.

        MC: You good, bro?
        Me: I'm good. Talk to you tomorrow.

    • When I was in a Phd program for applied math and writing and researching my dissertation, I'd say I only talked to my parents and my advisor. This was a period of four years. Yes, I enjoyed it; and, yes, this is how I would describe my ideal lifestyle. (So, I'm agreeing with you.)

      This, however, is likely just a feature of Sandler's character in order to push a plot line. I doubt this is meant to be similar to a study of what introverts are actually like.

      • I guess that subject is too boring for a movie. I think introverts are severely underrepresented there. Oh well... time for coffee.

    • Only extraverts think that you can go mad after 8 months of isolation. For an introvert it probably gets slightly annoying after month 4.

      Right now eight months sounds just about right. I could get a lot of shit done if people would leave me be for eight months.

  • Is that the personâ(TM)s only name or did you think youâ(TM)d introduced the full name earlier in the summary? If so, which Sandler is it? Adam?

    • If you want to know more, click on the original article link. In which case you get a big picture of Adam's face as well as his full name in the first sentence.

  • Every time he opens his mouth, all I hear is the principal in Billy Madison telling the audience that they are stupider for having listened to Sandler's character speak.

  • Old Man Shakes Fist at the World (Score:3)

    by Jack9 ( 11421 ) on Sunday February 25, 2024 @02:43PM (#64267580)

    I can't identify, specifically, when it shifted. Modern media has transitioned to a new norm of focusing on unhappiness, to make up for originality. I'm not talking about a run of the mill tragedy at some point, within a larger world like The Professional, Regarding Henry or Steel Magnolias.

    Think about the structural similarities between Downsizing and Dream Scenario. Happiness seems to be a small silver lining at best or a punchline at worst, in much of the media now. It's getting hard to find interesting media that isn't in this format. Foreign films and the The Hallmark Channel clones are popular, largely because they never go this direction.

    I liked Punch Drunk love and Funny People. Adam Sandler has been in some good shows.

    Spaceman looks terrible. I won't watch this trauma porn.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by RobinH ( 124750 )
      Even amongst "happy" movies like whatever Marvel is putting out now, the messages are just awful. Pretty much every instalment is just them introducing a new character we've never heard of, and then some other character has to tell them that they "just need to believe in themselves" and them *boom* they get superpowers through the power of belief. Like, yes, you need to believe in yourself but then you need to do a whole bunch of work to improve yourself, usually with a lesson in there where you try and f

  • Pretty sure I already sat through a Tom Hanks film where he gets stuck on an island with a volleyball and has to perform some impromptu dental work on himself with an ice skate blade. This sounds like that, but in spaaaaace.

    • Oh, and I nearly forgot... But with Adam Sandler instead of Tom Hanks (because Netflix probably couldn't afford Hanks), which also makes it way worse.

  • Sounds like Moon to me. The 2009 film stars Sam Rockwell and has a similar story line at least as far as I can tell from the article.

  • The trailer makes it seem like an absolutely miserable experience, and then I noticed it's adam sandler which only confirmed that suspicion.

  • Why don't all these "isolation" type movies ever have VR helmet? Want trees? 9 months in Skyrim VR? - pfft. Easy. And that's without mods.
  • The BBC had a long running series on this same topic called "Red Dwarf"

    • The BBC had a long running series on this same topic called "Red Dwarf"

      I have a sneaking suspicion that Red Dwarf is infinitely more entertaining than anything involving Sandler could ever be.

  • ..would be 'introverted astronaut returns from five years isolation and confronts surveillance capitalism, intrusive advertising and overcrowding'.

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