Sound of freedom

21-07-2023 7:39am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120878327#Comment_120878327

I mean when Christian Christiensen is throwing shade at your "christian" beliefs, you've gone too far

Agent Coulson · 04-08-2023 5:30pm

So one of the financial backers of the movie has been arrested....wait for it and you guessed it Child Kidnapping.

https://www.newsweek.com/sound-freedom-funder-fabian-marta-arrest-child-kidnapping-1817498

silverharp · 04-08-2023 6:08pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120940176#Comment_120940176

lol he was one of 7,000 crowdfunders, Im sure there is a murderer or 2 as well......

Agent Coulson · 04-08-2023 6:34pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120940291#Comment_120940291

Glad you find find child kidnapping funny Q.

santana75 · 04-08-2023 7:17pm

Its gonna be showing in Omniplex from the 1st of September

silverharp · 05-08-2023 9:50am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120940401#Comment_120940401

of course nobody does that which you know, I find fake news about it funny, surely you can see you presented it like he was one of a small group which of course would be highly ironic. One of a group of 7000 is probably less that the amount of perverts involved in an actual Hollywood flick

05-08-2023 10:03am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120942112#Comment_120942112

Pfft decrying fake news in a thread about a QAnon film

silverharp · 06-08-2023 6:06am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120942153#Comment_120942153

Decrying? I find it hilarious

flasher0030 · 09-08-2023 9:43am

Has anybody here watched this film yet. If so, what's the verdict?

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/sound_of_freedom 99% rating on Rotten Tomatoes under audience scoring. Must be doing something right.

Only available on CAM on streaming sites.

Sudden Valley · 09-08-2023 11:52am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120955734#Comment_120955734

I havent seen it but would surprised that 99% of any audience would love any film. even Oppenheimer- that sounds like vote brigading. But i think Caviezel is a good actor so will watch it, but not in CAM.

pixelburp · 09-08-2023 2:31pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120955734#Comment_120955734

Audience scores are a hard one to judge because there has been a concerted astro-turf campaign to boost the film's reputation; be it on social media or that "buy a ticket for someone" QR code that has been boosting the box-office numbers.

By all accounts, sober reviews I've seen that I'd trust say that, at best, it's mediocre if you ignore the Q-Anon backdrop behind it all. Doesn't seem much more than a warmed-up DTV Action Flick. Honestly the trailer looked all a bit too Helen Lovejoy with its energy.

BruteStock · 09-08-2023 4:25pm

It appears the film is proving to be this era's Milgram experiment. In this case the media holds so much authority that it can turn people hostile against a movie based on a true story.

Its detractors will even salivate over a TV show that glamourizes the Islamic faith by a company who detests the religion of christianity. If you hate one religion you hate them all. But good luck explaining that to people who love to have their perceptions reconfirmed over and over, through the media..Like a religion.

Tom Ballad with his two adopted kids he rescued from child traffickers. ..

~Rebel~ · 09-08-2023 5:11pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120957322#Comment_120957322

Ah they really didn't help themselves - preaching at the end of the movie you've just seen to go buy more tickets to that movie to 'help the cause' (with a handy QR code link on screen to buy tickets), instead of, like, maybe linking to a children's charity to actually help... it all feels very very cynical and manipulative. They've actively invited this culture war aspect, it's basically the only reason the film has any awareness.

Just as a movie, the trailer was pretty awful, but out of curiosity i'll give it a watch at some stage.

Sudden Valley · 09-08-2023 5:25pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120957322#Comment_120957322

In fairness anything Qanon related will put off a lot people. I had alot of time for Caviezel when he was being given a hard time in hollywood for holding such strict religious beliefs but I would find it hard to buy a movie ticket and support an actor who is spreading such harmful ideas like Qanon.

I have no idea what you are talking about in your second paragraph, is that some reference to a previous post? Also I dont think there is any point in hating any religions- life its too short.

At the end of the day it is just a movie. You can support the movie or the organisation behind it, or both, its a free country. The cause being nobel does not mean you have to support the movie.

pixelburp · 09-08-2023 6:35pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120957507#Comment_120957507

This remains an aspect that doesn't sit right with me: promoting more ticket purchases through QR codes, as opposed to a children's charity, just suggests that it's a grift. All the talk about it being a Very Important Subject rings hollow when the film is juicing the box office, rather than pushing activism for the topic itself.

The QR code is actually a great idea to have on screen at the end of a film with a real-life connection of importance, but a shortcut to more ticket sales makes the box office look a bit suss.

BruteStock · 09-08-2023 6:49pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120957542#Comment_120957542

Qanon is a term coined by left-wing media and used only by left-wing media. 99% who went to see the this movie won't have the have a clue what Qanon means , or care. Its not something that exists outside of leftist echo chambers. Adrenochrome which pre-dates the Qanon tag by decades is something he briefly claims to have seen evidence of. The world is a very sick place and there should be no doubt he saw some very sick stuff while making this film. Try find evidence him attempting to expose Hillary as a consumer of child blood or whatever. You won't find any.

At the end of the day its a movie about a serious issue and the attempts to belittle and undermine it reflect the absolute worst aspects of the culture wars.

Tell me how · 09-08-2023 6:52pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120957784#Comment_120957784

Wrong.

https://twitter.com/AmerIndependent/status/1357390308045119493

Link

Hangdogroad · 09-08-2023 6:57pm

Another Q-Anon loon.

https://www.vice.com/en/article/bvmjzq/matthew-taylor-coleman-santa-barbara-qanon

Hangdogroad · 09-08-2023 7:01pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120957784#Comment_120957784

Did this Ballard character or anyone else linked to his organisation ever speak out against self confessed sex trafficker Andrew Tate?

Sudden Valley · 09-08-2023 7:03pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120957784#Comment_120957784

So you believe in the adenochrome conspiracy or just accept that Cavazile does? That theory is as bonkers as any Qanon conspiracy theory.

The movie is about a serious issue but as i said you can give money directly to that charity without giving money to an actor who believes in dangerous conspiracy theories.

pjohnson · 09-08-2023 7:06pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120957737#Comment_120957737

Of course its a grift.

This time they had enough braincells to try and thinly disguise it.

BruteStock · 09-08-2023 7:25pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120957845#Comment_120957845

Do you believe harvesting child organs for the black market is a conspiracy theory?

Sudden Valley · 09-08-2023 7:28pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120957947#Comment_120957947

According to wiki the theory is a cabal of Satanists rapes and murders children, using the adrenochrome they "harvest" from their victims' blood as a drug[23][24] or as an elixir of youth.[25] Cavaziel even mentions fighting back against Satanists when talking about the theory.

I believe that to be bonkers and dont believe there is a secret organisation of Satanists.

BruteStock · 09-08-2023 7:35pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120957963#Comment_120957963

Yes it is bonkers and it has nothing to do with the movie. So you need to ask yourself why there's such an effort to associate a movie based on a true story to bonkers conspiracy theory. What is achieved from belittling a topic so sensitive?

nachouser · 09-08-2023 7:36pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120957947#Comment_120957947

Child organs? Do you mean a baby grand?

Sudden Valley · 09-08-2023 7:45pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120957990#Comment_120957990

Just like the Flash was damaged by Ezra Millers antics then Sound of Freedom is going to damaged by the association with Cavaziel. Who it stars!

The controversy regarding Cavaziel has made the movie successful much like interest in controversies surrounding Barbie only added to its box office.

~Rebel~ · 09-08-2023 7:48pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120958020#Comment_120958020

If they didn't want to actively court this controversy, they wouldn't wheel Caviezel - a well known nutbar - out at every occasion to talk about it, and have him pleading to camera for people to buy more tickets 'for the greater good'. If they actually wanted to remove Qanon from the conversation, he'd have obviously been sidelined from the marketing, much like how Miller was from anything Flash related.

pixelburp · 09-08-2023 7:53pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120958020#Comment_120958020

We don't even know that though: the QR stunt makes "genuine" box office hard to guage and outside of narrow internet circles I haven't seen any kind of buzz, chatter or discussion of the film - beyond "yeah it's that indie film with a really sketchy background and grifty method to juice the numbers". What I've seen has been negative, and mostly around the conspiratorial angles.

There are obviously people going to the movie, but I'd debate just how large an audience it's getting given we can't be sure of the numbers in the first place.

Just even down to basic impulses: do you wanna see the fun bubblegum movie about Oppenheimer, the epic historical biopic about Barbie or ... the child sex thriller your crazy uncle won't stop talking about?

Sudden Valley · 09-08-2023 8:05pm

I dont want to see it, or at least pay for it because of Cavaziel. It has made $165m off a $15m budget so far and its success is not based on that it is most innovative thriller out there but its association with the Christian organisation that is the subject of the movie. But the hate that it got from some media certainly helped publicise it.

tesla_newbie · 09-08-2023 8:42pm

Will be amusing to observe every media worthy here condemn it ( should it be released) , they all desperately try to signal they both love and hate the approved things

Hangdogroad · 09-08-2023 9:11pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120957990#Comment_120957990

You didn't answer my question about Andrew Tate, but then Qanon is more interested in makey up sex traffickers than real ones.

~Rebel~ · 09-08-2023 9:12pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120958050#Comment_120958050

Did spot the Red Letter Media lads in the US describe it as "that movie with sold out screenings, but empty theaters".

Tony EH · 17-08-2023 8:30am

Hmmmm...

So, as well as one of the financial backers being arrested for kidnapping, an executive producer has plead guilty to medicare fraud in 2020.

https://www.insider.com/sound-of-freedom-tim-ballard-qanon-medicare-fraud-2023-7

In other news, Ballard has "stepped away" from OUR and has joined "The Nazarene Fund", an organisation founded by Glenn Beck from Fox News.

:/

silverharp · 17-08-2023 9:54am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120989291#Comment_120989291

you have to love the US media

https://twitter.com/lporiginalg/status/1688929433359704064

https://twitter.com/teacherinRI/status/1689267756485525506

pixelburp · 17-08-2023 10:14am

1000 years from now, digital archaeologists are gonna trawl through this era's social media shít and wonder: WTF was with all those crappily drawn pictures? I am ever so sick of memes authored and presented as Big Brain Gotchas.

silverharp · 17-08-2023 10:19am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120989755#Comment_120989755

thats your takeaway point?

pixelburp · 17-08-2023 10:25am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120989783#Comment_120989783

Does it bother you if it is? Crappy MS Paint memes are annoying, and the stupidest, most antagonistic way to present a retort. You chose to shoot down Tony's point with a stupid meme; at least own that aspect.

silverharp · 17-08-2023 10:49am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120989802#Comment_120989802

its how I saw it, so might as well credit the tweet, whether you like the "art" of it is subjective but clearly the more interesting point is the desperation to smear the movie with fake reporting , though its fun watching the news bubbles over there and that people can be hypnotized in various ways

pixelburp · 17-08-2023 11:12am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120989909#Comment_120989909

The most interesting aspect of the film has been its ... questionable background between the hyper-christian or plain conspiratorial q-anon angles of the production & lead star; or just the obvious grifting and astroturfing with the box-office "success" based on QA codes & empty theatres. And when it mades a point to pull a Maude Flanders, I'm not surprised the media has latched onto stories of hypocrisy or irony.

You can debate into the night why Tom Cruise's scientology gets a pass, when it has that religion is itself a cult & abusive clique, but clearly this film invites questions. Cries of propaganda or smearing are just muddying the waters and trying to shutdown cynical takes as somehow polemical, emotive or ideological. This entire film's production is suss as F.

johnny_ultimate · 17-08-2023 11:14am

The director of the film has recently done a few interviews and op-eds with the Hollywood trades, largely to express frustration at how the film has been caught in the culture war crosshairs. He has been very complimentary of Caviezel's commitment to the role during production, but also expressed his frustration at how the actor's overt courting of the QAnon set during the promotional tour has 'hurt' the film.

https://variety.com/2023/film/features/sound-of-freedom-director-controversy-calls-qanon-untrue-1235694549/

As I said earlier in the thread, I think there are likely plenty of people involved in this film who approached it with genuine intentions - I have no reason to doubt the director's word here, even if I disagree with his worldview (his past films have also veered towards a conservative religious point of view). I do think there are very genuine concerns to be raised about Ballard, his (former) organisation, the veracity of their accounts and indeed the productiveness or usefulness of their methods in combating child trafficking (many child trafficking experts have expressed frustration at their vigilante-style approach). Whether their work should be promoted in the form of an action film being sold as a serious look at a sensitive topic is a worthy discussion to have. But hard to have those conversations in good faith when the film has been so dragged through the conspiratorial, far-right dirt by Caviezel and other US cultural warriors/zealots.

Also: interesting nugget that the director expressed doubt about the 'pay it forward' approach adopted by the distributor. He doesn't know exact figures, but believes it has accounted for 'less than 10%' of the film's US takings.

pixelburp · 17-08-2023 11:19am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120990021#Comment_120990021

Also: interesting nugget that the director expressed doubt about the 'pay it forward' approach adopted by the distributor. He doesn't know exact figures, but believes it has accounted for 'less than 10%' of the film's US takings.

Given the anecdotal comments of sold-out but empty screenings, I'm sceptical about that spitball percentage. ~$150 million domestic is serious cheddar, so you'd think there'd be similar confirmed comments of heaving theatres - or at least better than stark empty.

johnny_ultimate · 17-08-2023 11:26am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120990038#Comment_120990038

I actually wouldn't have any doubt the film has been a success - alongside the anecdotal reports of 'ghost' screenings, there are also anecdotal reports of busy screenings (the author of The Guardian report on the film noted his screening in NYC was packed). There's no doubt a big audience for red-state friendly, 'faith-based' films in the US. And there's good reason to believe this has also crossed over to a more general audience just looking for a serious-minded action film.

I think if this had just been normal box office numbers it would be a hit by any metric. The problem is the absolute secrecy around the 'pay it forward' side of things makes it seems like the distributor is hiding something, backed up by said reports of empty theatres. So while I have no doubt it has been a success, it's hard to tell how big a success it has been due to that suspect scheme. More importantly, I don't think anyone has made anything resembling a convincing argument that buying a bunch of strangers movie tickets is in any way going to turn the tide on child trafficking as opposed to simply juicing box office figures.

Tony EH · 17-08-2023 12:40pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120989679#Comment_120989679

The article, if you bothered to read it, was about Andrew McCubbins.

Funny though. You talk about "propaganda" and think posting a tweet from some random guy is somehow the bulwark against that. 🤣

silverharp · 17-08-2023 1:06pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120990471#Comment_120990471

once I saw that that randomer donation to a movie was pumped up to be something it wasnt , that ended my interest in it, you fell for it. A pro tip, a story that looks to good and appeals to all your biases, is probably bullsh1t.

Tony EH · 17-08-2023 1:13pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120990657#Comment_120990657

Didn't fall for anything sonny.

The fact of the matter is Marta gave money to the production and was a kidnapper himself, which is the salient point. The executive producer Andrew McCubbins, which was the thrust of my post, pleaded guilty to medicare fraud.

But you fire away with white knighting for your little movie. Go ahead, pull the stomach out of yourself. It won't be getting a penny from me either way. 😉

And as for you talking about "biases"...that's fucking rich.

johnny_ultimate · 17-08-2023 1:18pm

Mod note: Keep it civil, please.

Silverharp, you're clearly not engaging in good faith - if you can't discuss the film without trolling we will issue a thread ban.

pixelburp · 18-08-2023 9:48am

As the topic has circled around the Bible Belt Demographic and the healthy cottage sub-industry in Hollywood that produces films for Conservative America, I was looking at boxoffice mojo's dailies and spotted this, right at the bottom. Not exactly Sound of Freedom money mind you, being a "documentary".

https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl1050313473/?ref_=bo_da_table_22

When governments use Covid emergency act edicts to restrict the gathering and worship of the Church, three pastors facing the risk of imprisonment take a courageous stand.

Watched the trailer and Yikes. This approximate umbrella of films do tend towards a distinct political and social perspective that's often ... at odds with even basic recognition of central authority.

Hotblack Desiato · 24-08-2023 12:45pm

At odds with any semblance of reality more like 😁

Its detractors will even salivate over a TV show that glamourizes the Islamic faith by a company who detests the religion of christianity.

@BruteStock Are we supposed to know what you're talking about here?

SheepsClothing · 01-09-2023 10:26pm

So I went to see this yesterday, and it turned out to be quite the experience.

The film itself is a bit of a damp squib, and while it looks like it had a production budget and some care put into it, unfortunately there are many baffling filmmaking and story choices taken that are much more in line with a B movie. Overall I'd describe it as Taken, but 40 minutes too long, with very little action and with a lead actor with zero charisma. To give some credit out, I thought the child actors do a good job in some fairly harrowing scenes.

Now to the cinema experience, all was going fine, when 40 minutes into the film a fire alarm started going and the screen shut off. At this time I was laughing to myself thinking about the American conspiracy lunatics that were complaining about their cinemas being deliberately too hot and how much of a field day they'd have with this.

Of course being Ireland, nobody moved at the sound of the alarm and about 2 minutes later the manager came in along with another member of staff and explained that it was a false alarm that had shut down all screenings and they'd get the movie going again in 5 minutes. Before they had a chance to finish explaining, a woman up the front stands up and screams "THIS IS HAPPENING EVERYWHERE, THEY'RE TRYING TO HIDE IT, YIS SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF YOURSELVES!", the implication here seemingly being, that the staff of Movies@TheSquare were trying to stop people from seeing the pedo movie they'd read about online. I think some people were a bit stunned by this as there was a brief silence for 30 seconds, before out of nowhere I hear voice a few rows behind me and turned around to see a woman stood up giving a sermon about how all of us in the cinema needed to repent and accept Jesus into our lives. Now most people were fairly dumbfounded at this point, but a group of women in front started muttering in agreement "fair play to her, fair play to her!" and then proceeded to break into song, singing lyrics about how great Jesus is, with your one down the back who had been preaching joining in with them!

It was around this point that I couldn't take anymore and dipped out to the bathroom out of second hand embarrassment. I got back in time for the restart, but to be frank I could have gone home at about that point as I slowly learned over the remainder of the runtime, that the first 40 minutes is by far the best of what this movie has to offer.

Anyway, it just goes to show you the power of cinema in bringing like minded people together. You wouldn't get that kind of 3D experience streaming at home.

pixelburp · 02-09-2023 7:42am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121058511#Comment_121058511

Out of curiosity, what age would you have reckoned these people were? And I presume they had Irish accents?

Suppose Dublin is diverse enough that this whole narrative of "the movie the MSM don't want you to see!" is always gonna pop up.

Sound of freedom

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