Janelle Monáe: Dirty Computer (2018) Reviews

• Art in a nutshell

  cris_blacksmith2018-10-12

  The greatest artistic musical visual proyect ever made. She creates a whole story set full of aesthetics that include her fantastic music. A world designed by a true artist. Completed with her own personal mystical ways to enhence her political views as well as social changes and empowered movements. An inmersive vision comparable in quiality to Bowie's or Prince's. Brilliant!

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• Superficial bubble gum pop music

  DoubleORoos2019-02-03

  I think miss Janelle Monáe is missing out on things. She is far more capable then this utterly crappie bs. Very disappointed here. Now it's just another Prince imitation and so on. Never the less, we do need more people like her. I still wish she would have taken the risk to be soul like original, more powerful, far more powerful.

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• Music Vids Masquerading as a Movie

  Buzwardo2019-05-16

  Don't have enough 49 minute music videos in your life? Have I got a series of moving pictures for you! Titled "Janelle Monáe: Dirty Computer" for tenuous reasons soon to be explained, the film is a series of richly wardrobed, tightly choreographed, Autotuned music videos constructed using high production values, so long as you don't number a plot among the values required to produce a movie. Said plot, such as it is, revolves around the notion that humans that fail to adhere to racist, sexist, homophobic norms are cast as a "dirty computer" in some future totalitarian society, one that needs to be floated in on a levitating gurney to some sort of reprogramming clean room where prop brain wave helmets and inhaled special effects fog elbow those nasty notions aside, causing the human to reboot with the ethos of a country club Republican, albeit one garbed in white spandex with Egyptian affectations as this is an almost music video, after all. Those music videos, though not my genre, are pretty darn good. As noted production values like staging, lighting, costumes, choreography, et al were top notch. Cleary a lot of time and attention were paid to them. I indeed, I wish the vids had been presented as some sort of montage rather than a full up flick as the vapid plot detracted from the excellent music videos. I give the vids an 8, the plot a 2, which averages out to a 5. If you want to see a series of well executed pop music videos this is your moving picture. If coherent story lines and actual plots are required for you to enjoy a film you likely ought to pass this one by,

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• A concept music video movie

  bettycjung2018-05-17

  5/17/18. What an interesting way to watch music videos, with interconnected storylines from one LP/CD! Monáe sure has raised the bar in presenting music visually. Worth catching.

• Dirty Computer enhances Monáe's artistry in conveying a political statement.

  TheMovieDiorama2018-05-02

  A first for me, can't say I've ever seen something like this before. A short narrative that connects each individual song from Monáe's eponymous album into essentially one long music video. It depicts the story of an android named Jane attempting to deviate from the totalitarian regime that supports homophobia, forcibly wiping her previous memories of same-sex relationships. A rather creative and contemporary project that allows Monáe to convey her message through multiple senses. The vibrancy of the dystopian pastel colours is a feast for the eyes, while her songs accentuate meaningful lyrics which act as a statement against society. Bringing in fellow actress Thompson to star in the film enhances the additional star quality and conviction of the primary story. The production design was certainly adequate and suited the authentic futuristic vibe that Monáe excels at. Extremely reminiscent to Fritz Lang's dystopian masterpiece 'Metropolis'. Whilst I appreciate her artistic integrity, the film isn't actually necessary and rarely builds on the character's backstory. The music videos for each individual song acts as a memory, these are stringed along in a linear structure where we view each memory before they are wiped from Jane's mind, thus repressing her emotions. "PYNK" is sexually illustrious whereas "I Like It" showcases contemporary subtlety, so there is a wide range of themes throughout her songs. Connecting these songs together just felt uninspired and offered little incentive in watching the film as it lacks the additional layer of depth that is missing from the individual music videos. I admire Monáe as an artist and appreciate the effort into this "Emotion Picture", it just feels slightly uninspired and lacks memorability. Did I enjoy it? Of course, but you could simply just watch the videos separately to save time.

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