What Goes Up
What Goes Up
| 29 May 2009 (USA)
What Goes Up Trailers

Set in the mid-80s, when a reporter is sent to cover the Challenger Space Shuttle launch only to become mixed up in the lives of some local students.

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Reviews
gafferman84

I worked on the movie also. Local crew was treated like crap, it's true. We busted our butts for this movie. But Tmoefoto is wrong to blame the director for being ungrateful. That guy thanked me a hundred times for my work. He'd come and have beers with the other gaffers on the truck after the shoot and you know he had other things to do. I still kept a note he wrote us to all to thank us for our dedication and to apologize that the money dudes were such crooks. Never had a director be so honest. And the producers were crooks. We had checks bounce on us. We were paid less than we were promised. We were asked to cut corners that decreased our safety and security. I will never, ever work for the producer Jack Nasser again that's for sure. But I've got nothing but sympathy for the talent, incl the director, who I think somehow made an amazingly good movie even though production was a nightmare. And from what I hear, post production was even worse. All in all, it's one of the few movies maybe the only I've worked on that I'm actually really proud of. Thought it was full of passion and really f-ing funny.

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AbelParish

I was really struck by this film. I won't rehash the plot as that has been done on numerous posts. But I would like to address the bafflingly low rating. I admit, under normal circumstances, I'd give the film an 8 because it does suffer from inconsistencies, but thought I should do my part to up the number. I'd hate for people who might completely groove with the film's strange rhythms to be dissuaded. Thanks to the guy who put up all those great quotes from the few critics who dug the movie. It's simply a movie that not everyone's going to love -- but some definitely will. Some say this film tried too hard. I really disagree. It concentrates on the human emotions between the characters and it does this very well, with humor and without straying into melodrama. Does it crowd in a whole bunch of other details like teen pregnancy and the Challenger shuttle and even shoplifting? You bet. But it deliberately lets those topics exist on their own. They are well trodden topics which we've all seen before and the movie lets them resonate without a whole lot of effort - so it is kind of the opposite of trying too hard. The film sets a mood, it doesn't tell a sweeping story. It fools you into thinking it's ripping off Juno - but it's so different and far better. I think if your a fan of Godard who liked to break up the calcified traditions of storytelling, you will dig What Goes Up.

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GoTurtleGo

'What Goes Up' written and directed by first timers Jonathan Glatzer and Robert Lawson, is not a perfect film but it is by no means a terrible film either. At current the film has received 145 votes and has a score of 4.8, well that's just ridiculous and in the review below I hope to explain why.The Film starts off with much promise, Steve Coogan's acting is superb and the rest of the cast do a very good job too. For the first hour this is a very good film, it's deep, engrossing, and imaginative as it sets up for what seems to be a powerful and emotive story with an interesting array if characters and some brilliant cinematography. I found myself truly captivated, the integration of the Challenger disaster was done very tactfully and we frequently get some wonderful shots from Space that I really liked. However, about an hour in it starts to lose pace followed by a slight loss of direction as the main character, Campbell Babbitt, undergoes a sudden change that really doesn't suit and is poorly developed. The film then goes the same way as Campbell becoming a bit annoying and awkward at times. By the end I found myself feeling a little disappointed as it had thrown almost all the potential it had shown early on, settling of a generic and uninspired end.All in all 'What Goes Up' is OK, great in parts whilst boring and unoriginal in others, yet, for all its faults I liked it. It may not be perfect but come on people, even 'Little Nicky' has a 5/10 and trust me this is much, much better than 'Little Nicky'. The first hour and brilliant cinematography ensure that 'What Goes Up' is not a 4.8, it's a film defiantly worth watching and one I would happily recommend.6/10

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jools_69

I thought it was the British who did Social Realism, but this film shows that Hollywood 'gets' it too. Steve Coogan is sturdy and the other actors also very believable.I can see why some people just wont 'get' this film at all, why some will wish to be offended by the side story of Challenger, nothing I can say will help you see the parallel yet opposite story that runs through the piece.I don't often go for this genre of American drama (sorry, but I generally prefer European drama), but I do like Steve Coogan so thought I would give this film a go. Within 10 minutes I was hooked and embroiled into this little world that is so different and at times uncomfortable.I gave an 8, it would have been 9 but I was a bit confused by the newspaper cuttings Campbell Babbitt took from the pin board in Sam's flat, they were important to the story but flashed past too quickly for me to understand the relevance. I look forward to seeing it again to clear this up.

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