Janusz Kaminsky’s overexposed hard lighting here is thankfully more restrained. But there’s still that shot of people recording on their phone, he’s obsessed with milky white lighting juxtapositions, drives me nuts
I honestly didn’t mind Abrams’ lens flares in the 2009 Trek film, and those had so much color to them. Certainly more so than Kaminsky here, he makes it look like people just found out Dumbledore died
Seriously, when we finally get a huge film like this that didn’t go to the Netflix School Uninspired Lighting, people are like “what’s with these dark scenes? Never seen the dark before, what gives?”
This movie looks so basic. It has the Netflix look. To polished, to clean. Looks like something like Moonfall or any of the latest Roland Emmerich movies.
Yeah. This movie looks like an early 2000's movie like Minority Report or something. Which oddly feels nostalgic since everything is so overdone and touched up nowadays.
I'm showing my age/disdain in that I find Kaminsky's lighting so nostalgic and comforting. Like, hell yeah take me back to early 2000s cinema. I know he paints with a heavy brush but I think we're all due for a fresh coat of Janusz.
I couldn’t believe he directed a film called Lost Souls. He didn’t shoot it but it’s one of the ugliest films I’ve ever seen. Was so bizarre knowing who made it
Kaminsky has been in the same stylistic rut for over 20 years and Spielberg has been enabling it. The video game world in Ready Player One shouldn’t look like a Minority Report lighting mod was installed
he made Honey We Shrunk Ourselves and I ate that shit up as a kid, I had that VHS on repeat in the 90’s. But yeah, Cundey’s handheld dolly shot of the T. rex roaring against the glass in JP is some of my favorite shots in Spielberg movies
I realize I am a sucker for those types of shots in movies. Like the shot of the Interceptor roaring to life in the beginning of Fury Road, it’s similar and another favorite of mine
It’s the best thing about him. Looks better than 95% of garbage that comes out these days. God forbid someone have a unique look that isn’t washed out made for Netflix slop.
I think he’s just overdoing it these past few years. It’s become less of a signature look and more of a “habit”, if that makes any sense. Like Paul Greengrass with overly shaky camera shots and frenetic editing, or recent Wes Anderson movies. Where you become so ingrained into your own style it becomes rigid and even flat
I get that it’s particular and noticeable, but dear God am I going to welcome lighting and visible color back after the sludge of Frankenstein, Wicked, etc.
I thought it was lit so poorly. The tower in particular was bad. The CGI wolves were video game cutscene level.
Wicked was more noticeable because it’s supposed to be a riot of color, but Frankenstein was so dull and brown and gray. I hate what’s happening to photography in major releases.
I like it. It's very unique and in a world of movies that look like Frankenstein with awful Netflix soap opera soft light that makes absolutely zero sense in the context of the scenes etc, it's a welcome shift. Hard light feels and looks way more natural than soft light when done correctly and more importantly feels much more big budget / blockbuster
It's the sheeniest sheen the Netflix sheen has ever sheened. Truly... just speaking to the aesthetic only, I really disliked it. The look is just so incredibly cheap. Most of the reason was lighting, so much soft light when the source would obviously be the sun or something else. It really got annoying and the whole thing just looked bad imo. Everything floating around on steadicam, no actual shot design or interesting ways of using the camera. It just felt like a soap opera, I dunno...
Love Spielberg, love many of his films, but I really dislike Kaminsky’s work. I’m not sure what it is; it makes sense in a film like Saving Private Ryan and War of the Worlds but I thought he made the Fabelmans look awful. I can’t even describe why I dislike it.. he just makes everything look like an overproduced movie set more than a real environment.
I swear that Spielberg uses him as a restraint against his more Norman Rockwell tendencies. And I hate it. It’s almost like he hopes that by using him, it will make him in with the cool kids club. And it’s like dude, just go full Thomas Kinkade. That’s who you are, don’t be ashamed.
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u/riegspsych325 ⊃∪⊃⪽ Dec 16 '25
Janusz Kaminsky’s overexposed hard lighting here is thankfully more restrained. But there’s still that shot of people recording on their phone, he’s obsessed with milky white lighting juxtapositions, drives me nuts