The thing is... the U.S. military is not βstuck inβ any βmode of thinking.β This was a βbattle simulationβ btw, not a βwar simulationβ. Intriguing video nonetheless, itβd be quite something to read that critique.
I'm watching "The Long Goodbye" with Elliot Gould as Phillip Marlowe from the 1970s. Robert Altman. An entirely different approach than earlier takes on Marlowe, e.g. Humphrey Bogart in "The Big Sleep." It's a great movie. I've always liked Gould and I find the way he plays Marlowe moving.
I couldn't find any evidence, so I don't think there's any connection, but my favorite book is "Heart of Darkness," another story of a man named Marlow (no "e" this time) as an honorable man in a world of moral chaos.
ArguingWAristotleTiffApril 18, 2018 at 15:54#1727310 likes
I am watching a special on "Comfort Care" in regards to dear Barbara Bush and it brings up how we get to choose when to go, who we want around and when we are ready. In the back of my mind I always wonder if the patient was just given the right to die with dignity by a compassionate Doctor who knows that a drop too much of this pain med will take life that is on the edge of ceasing and let it rest.
Helping someone leave life on their own terms, with no quality of life, should be something that is available to Doctors to legally help assist. Maybe Mrs. Bush is going to start a trend...
Wonder what got you banned after posting this; but, yeah basically, the fact that they need not be killed in the process of their removal is appealing, along with the elegance of getting them trapped.
I'm in the middle of "For a Few Dollars More." It's really a good movie. Well made, funny, exciting, moving. I've always liked Clint Eastwood. I remember when it came out. Late 60s if I remember correctly.
Recently got through a re-watch of Twin Peaks (seasons 1 and 2), and just now re-watched Fire Walk With Me. Jesus Christ that is a fucked up film. Looking into the most cost-effective mode to re-watch season 3 (i.e. The Return). Also fucked up, but deeper, weirder and more confusing...
Anyone watch that German show Dark on Netflix? Finished that recently. Mixed feelings, but very well done. Definitely a fairly philosophical show, as far as mainstream TV goes. Mostly just dealing with the conundrum of free will.
I rewatched Bela Tarr's 7 hour masterpiece, Satantango, in one sitting. First saw it several years ago over the course of four days. Definitely recommend viewing it in one go.
JerseyFlightSeptember 11, 2020 at 21:37#4514050 likes
I recently watched Perfume again. What an excellent film. It's on Amazon prime right now. It has some of the greatest movie sets ever constructed, because of this it doesn't feel like a movie, one just falls into the story. Highly recommend it!
Watched RBG last night. Looks like she had fortunate and fulfilling life, with a wonderful marriage and family, and a shining career. Truly inspiring, and shows that one person can make a difference.
No, Mr Bond, I expect you to die at a ripe old age.
:death: :flower:
In honor of Sir Sean Connery 1930-2020 passing away this morning, I'm spending Spook Night watching 5 (out of my top 10 favorite) Sean Connery films in chronological order:
β’ From Russia With Love, 1963
β’ The Man Who Would Be King, 1975
β’ Robin and Marian, 1976
β’ Outland, 1981
β’ Name of the Rose, 1986
Since I quite possibly watched more new movies this year than all of my previous years combined, I figured I should offer the top movies I watched (for the first time) this year. No order:
Aguirre, the Wrath of God - Werner Herzog (1972)
The Spirit of the Beehive - Victor Erice (1973)
Once Upon A Time in the West - Sergio Leone (1968)
L'Eclisse - Michelangelo Antonioni (1962)
The Passion of Joan of Arc - Carl Theodor Dreyer (1928)
Watching and listening.
Old Movie Stars Dance to Uptown Funk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1F0lBnsnkE
Nerd Fest UK:
My inspiration came from What's the Mashup? (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmnSm...) but I didn't manage 100! The idea was to do the same for movies from the Golden Age β meaning no title later than 1953 (although there is one at the end.) Oh, and none of these clips was sped up or slowed down.
Turn on subtitles to find out the film names.
ArguingWAristotleTiffJuly 25, 2021 at 15:34#5716640 likes
Anticipating Denis Villeneuve's Dune film (Part 1) later this year ([s]12/23/2020[/s] 10/22/2021 in the US) β perhaps setting myself up for disappointment, but still [ ... ]
In the summer '77 I was probably the only 13 y.o. in the northern hemisphere, at least, who wasn't WOW'd by Star Wars and grew to dislike it, even hate it, for being a flashy noisy live-action cartoon which insulted my already well-honed scifi nerdy intelligence, as I saw it a few more times that summer with cousins & friends. A few years later in high school after I'd come across the space opera novel Dune and had read it (maybe twice immediately), my grade school antipathy for Star Wars was confirmed β it'd seemed back in '77 that Star Wars was only a corny mashup of 1930s' era Buck Rogers, Flash Gordon, Wizard of Oz & bad samurai flicks ... but, in fact, I found that George Lucas had filmed a highly derivative, dumbed-down, "adaptation" of the 1965 Frank Herbert novel.
Now, four-plus decades later, another attempt at adapting Dune to the big screen will be released next month in the US and I've linked a review of today's screening at the Venice Film Festival which gets it right that almost all cinematic (& video games) depictions of so-called "space opera" (swashbuckling blaster fights & frenetic planet-hopping at the speed of plot) since the 1970s owe very much visually and plot-wise to that weird, dark, epic meditation on *imperialism, religious fanaticism, transhumanism, ecology & resource-scarcity as the main driver of wars* ... So given I'm a Denis Villeneuve fanboy (I forgive him for the gorgeous failure of Blade Runner 2049), I'm really looking forward to seeing Dune in a (mostly empty) theatre soon. :nerd:
180 ProofSeptember 09, 2021 at 23:19#5915000 likes
Reply to Maw I watched the trailer this morning. I'm still waiting (without holding my breath) for a proper thematic sequel to the 1999 movie, and not just another bankably shallow sfx spectacle.
Btw, so Blade Runner 2049 was your jam, huh? Another sequel which, IMO, doesn't add to and extend the 1982 film thematically. Like Aliens, etc.
Reply to 180 Proof It tackled the themes from the original from different perspectives and angles, not necessarily as successfully as Blade Runner did (and I prefer the original anyway), but thoughtful and stimulating all the same, IMO. As you said, gorgeous movie, and great acting (apart from Leto), and Ana de Armas could strangle me and I'd thank her for it.
180 ProofSeptember 09, 2021 at 23:47#5915130 likes
Ana de Armas could strangle me and I'd thank her for it.
Hell yes!
Literary science fiction offers so much conceptual grist for the speculative mill but Hollyweird (usually) makes obscene bank on dumbing down its adaptations that no matter how visually stimulating, even sublime, I find more often than not that the films are, and especially their sequels, DOA (or mere cliched retreads). In the words of that late great Hollyweird Studio CEO & visionary:
[quote=Dr. Elden Tyrell]Commerce is our goal, here. More human than human.[/quote]
Re: sell to the lowest common denominator.
I watched the new Dune movie last night on HBO. I generally liked the casting, and the visual and soundtrack aesthetic was gorgeous and seamless. Despite that richness it somehow felt thin or lacking passion.
Despite that richness it somehow felt thin or lacking passion.
We've gone from Lynch's extravagant Baroque style to Villeneuve's minimalist Brutalism. The characters resemble and are coterminous with the sand, buildings and worms. Maybe they just haven't eaten enough spice yet.
Reply to Maw No, life has gotten in the way lately. Glad it's done well enough for the studio to greenlight "Part Two". Reviews by critics, and mostly friends, have really been encouraging. I'm hoping to go to a matinee next week at the local IMAX.
"Our moment permits interest in one question onlyΒ β Will we of Deadwood be more than targets for assfucking?Β To not grab ankle is to declare yourself interested. What's your posture, Bullock?" :fire:
ChangelingNovember 15, 2021 at 06:11#6206360 likes
βItβs going to be such an incredible sort of comical thing, like, in 50 yearsβ time, you know: βThey broke up because Yoko sat on an amp.ββ~Macca, 1969
ChangelingNovember 29, 2021 at 16:44#6255320 likes
You take the blue pillβthe story ends, and you can put the Matrix behind you. You take the red pillβyou stay in Wonderland, and get to watch an unlimited amount of crappy prequels, sequels and remakes.
Watching 2001: A Space Odyssey on New Year's Eve is a four decades plus tradition of mine, which in recent years I've supplimented with critical interpretations (much more than mere reviews) of the film or book or both (mostly) on YouTube, such as this one:
Took a glance at Breitbart, as I occasionally do, and noticed a story about the new West Side Story remake by Spielberg. They all...
They refer to it as Woke Side Story. If casting Latin roles to actual Latin actors (instead of white people with dark makeup) is woke then I guess it's woke. Anyway, I liked it tremendously.
It's certainly imperfect, I had some mostly minor issues with it, but I thought Lana generally nailed the message she was going for, and it was a very touching movie, rare for most action/sci-fi films.
[i]Until
the philosophy,
which holds one race superior,
and another
inferior,
is finally
and permanently
discredited
and abandoned,
well everywhere is war!
Dis yah war.[/i]
For us to keep expanding at this rate the entire foodchain has to expand equally according to rato and up until now it seems that 'we' are to stupid to collectively understand, appreciate and acknowledge the importance of that fact.
I just watch 'Mulholland Drive' for the first (not sure why it took so long to get around to), and wow. One of the best movies I've ever seen. A film about film.
Watching βThe Patientβ on Hulu. Interesting premiseβ first few episodes seemed promising, but Iβm quickly losing interest. Iβm currently on the episode 8.
I just watch 'Mulholland Drive' for the first (not sure why it took so long to get around to), and wow. One of the best movies I've ever seen. A film about film.
One of the best films of the 21st century, although it's more about Hollywood than "film"
ChangelingDecember 01, 2022 at 04:10#7596520 likes
Reply to Maw you are more about Hollywood than film!
"Hollywood" of course is a synecdoche or metonym for the mainstream film industry (in America). The cowboy is in Mulholland Drive not because there are cowboys hanging around in Hollywood, the place, but because of the iconic status of the cowboy in the history of film.
Anyway I agree, it's one of my favourite films too.
[quote=Martin Luther King, Jr (1960)]I think it is one of the tragedies of our nation, one of the shameful tragedies, that 11 oβclock on Sunday morning is one of the most segregated hours, if not the most segregated hours in Christian America.[/quote]
I was born the day after four little girls were killed in a church bombed by the KKK in Birmingham, Alabama. This happened on Sunday morning, 15 September 1963, only three weeks after the "I Have a Dream" March on Washington DC. The video below is of an interview with Malcolm X held on 11 October 1963.
I miss riding down B'way in Manhattan and BSing in a taxi like Brutha Cornel with an everyday philosopher who's driving a hack on her third shift... :death: :flower:
Reply to 180 Proof I saw this some time ago - it's astonishing. Courage... Ardono... truth as a way of life... small 't' truth... you can't fully grasp the way the world is... philosophy needs to go to school with the musicians... Curtis Mayfield and Beethoven... - To paraphrase Marlene Dietrich on Orson Welles, after listening to this, I feel like a plant which has just been watered.
?180 Proof I saw this some time ago - it's astonishing. Courage... Adorno... truth as a way of life... small 't' truth... you can't fully grasp the way the world is... philosophy needs to go to school with the musicians... Curtis Mayfield and Beethoven... - To paraphrase Marlene Dietrich on Orson Welles, after listening to this, I feel like a plant which has just been watered.
Yeeeeesssss! :clap:
I was paid the high compliment that this post of mine had reminded @green flag of this video interview. :cool:
Any one watch βExtrapolationsβ on AppleTV? It took me three times to finish the first episode. Tons of good actors, and itβs about climate change β but man, so far it suuuucccckkkkks.
Anyone see the CNN decades series? They did the 60s through 2000s back in 2014-2018. They just wrapped up β2010s.β I like these seriesβ kind of fun. Good editing and production. About to watch some of these
Just saw Oppenheimer. Nolan is representative of the timesβ the βauteurβ of plebs.
The entire thing has a cold, engineered quality. Itβs also confusingly written and edited, has non-stop overbearing βmusicβ (no melody and themes, just continuously jarring notes), and no soul.
The actors try their best, but itβs 3 hours of bells and whistles that tries desperately to be a βmasterpiece,β when in reality itβs just an empty, boring, and enervating piece of shit.
Reply to Mikie Interesting. I haven't seen a Nolan film I've much likened to be honest - I find them contrived, dreary and portentous. But I thought it was just me. Friends have seen 'Oppy' and really liked it.
[quote=George Harrison, 1979 Rolling Stone Interview] If I were to die, I'd rather people find a good finished master of my songs than a crummy old demo on a cassette.[/quote]
Hardly dare intrude on such exalted company. I've been vegging out with my new Britbox subscription on Prime. All the old BBC murder series - several of which I haven't even seen once. What a treat!
My wife and I started Equilizer 3 on Netflix tonight, but left it temporarily after the first 15 minutes since its beginning is too gruesome. I'll go back to it tomorrow.
right now, nothing; I'm sitting here; the entertainment computer and large screen are in the warmer room, over there. At lunchtime, I watched a Nature of Things episode about the butt and its hole. Interesting, but just not the same without David Suzuki.
Reply to jgill
I met him once, way back in the early 80's, when they were doing a show on forensic pathology. He was utterly preoccupied with his new glare-free glasses and showed little interest in anything else. Did not make a great impression on the lab staff. But I liked the program and I like his books.
Reply to Mikie I missed this - but you should also check out Cunk on Christmas.
One of the funniest Christmas-related watches i've had in years.
That said, I am extremely disappointed by your clearly factually incorrect opinion on Nolan. That may be why I neglected to give you this Alpha Recommendation :shade:
The actors try their best, but itβs 3 hours of bells and whistles that tries desperately to be a βmasterpiece,β when in reality itβs just an empty, boring, and enervating piece of shit.
I remember liking Memento, but that was 20 years ago. Never saw Insomnia. The Batmans were OK. Didnβt care for Dunkirkβ another bloated, engineered, noisy crapper. Inception was cool at times, but also a little overcooked.
Nolan has unfortunately become a try-hard. He makes movies that try to be what he thinks audiences consider masterpieces. What you end up with is something that has elements of gravitas and profundity but really is just a chore to watch.
Reply to Mikie Ok, that's a bit different from your previous take LOL.
Hmm, yeah Memento is good, but it was essentially nicked, and improved by a French film called Irreversible by Gaspar Noe.
I think Nolan's films are great - they're Hollywood, but Hollywood for less-stupid people haha. To be honest, though, the only one of his films that i think is an objectively 'good' film in the sense of coherence, style, dimension, dynamics, acting, cinematography etc.. is Interstellar. The rest have their moments of stupidity (excepting Batman.. It's already ridiculous).
I've been watching the British detective series Midsomer Murders. It really is bland, predictable pap with atrocious Mickey Mousing incidental music. Perhaps this is why it is so popular with pensioners all around the world.
βI was talking about time. Itβs so hard for me to believe in it. Some things go. Pass on. Some things just stay. I used to think it was my rememory. You know. Some things you forget. Other things you never do. But itβs not. Places, places are still there. If a house burns down, itβs gone, but the place β the picture of it β stays, and not just in my rememory, but out there, in the world. What I remember is a picture floating around out there outside my head. I mean, even if I donβt think it, even if I die, the picture of what I did, or knew, or saw is still out there. Right in the place where it happened.β
Weirdly compelling watch, for what it is - pre-teen mythical drama.
Deleted userFebruary 07, 2024 at 00:53#8786810 likes
I just watched Gerald's Game. I mean come on, another movie with ped*philia scenes? Does anyone disbelieve at this point that Stephen King has a few TB on his hardrive? It is like when Tarantino writes pointless scenes where actresses put their feet in someone's mouth and casts himself into the role, but more terrible.
Just tried to get through TΓ‘r, the Cate Blanchett vehicle. Lasted an hour. I found it dull, theatrical and self-aware. Blanchett's mannered performance feels like a recital and the character fails to come alive. A torrent of clever dialogue hemorrhaging from the mouths of characters, especially Cate's, has an enervating effect. It all feels deeply contrived. I hear the second half is better. I might brave it later on.
Wycliffe, Dalziel and Pascoe, Silent Witness....
I'm revisiting the old BBC series I used to watch on PBS. Don't like most of them as much as I did then - except Poirot: I never tire of Poirot.
Alternatively, The West Wing on DVD. Very tiring!
Saw the rest of TΓ‘r, and it picked up in the second half. It turns out to be something of a gothic/psychological thriller and feels a little like a languorous and formalist Kubrick movie. Not even sure how much of TΓ‘r's story really happens and how much is in the character's mind. But it's still boring...
Deleted userFebruary 25, 2024 at 21:42#8835930 likes
Looking forward to watching the Lex Fridman hosted debate between Benny Morris and Norm Finkelstein next week. Unfortunately heβs added some doofus YouTuber who doesnβt know shit from shinola on the podcast as well.
Just watched Season 2 of Succession. I was largely indifferent to Season 1, so revisited this show late. Two is much better. It's a fairly unpleasant watch (the people in it are all dreadful) and Logan Roy, the gruff paterfamilias, is not especially well written but is very well performed. As presented, for me it's hard to accept Logan as a business genius or a key 20th century innovator in media and news distribution. The fact he is a billionaire, a Murdoch analogue, we just have to accept. To me he seems more like a low-calorie King Lear, but Cox is strong enough to avoid it feeling cartoony.
A beautiful dramatic show plotted in Francoist Spain. The story is about the sweet melancholy of the members of a rich family who suffer from the anxiety of a twisted past. There are other good actors and characters around who interpret the average problems of that specific era. The passional love of two lesbians and the frustration of a woman for not being respected in her job just for gender issues, etc. The scenario is Toledo. (1958)
I just watched Color Out of Space from 2019. I loved it. My kind of film. Some people say itβs best to be stoned while watching it, but I say thereβs no need, since the film itself is in a sense totally wasted.
Gave Annihilation (2018) (sci-fi) another spin.
Had forgotten how creepy the screaming bear-thing is.
Also reminds me a bit of Solaris (2002).
I suppose, in a way, it renders something we would likely think of as alive, a lifeform of sorts, whether we (can) recognize it as intelligent or not.
Defying our/human understanding, hard to relate to in an anthropocentric sense, alien.
Relatings-to is by the human characters and their interactions.
People sentimentalise kangas, but really they are vicious thugs and can grow taller than a human male. Recently I watched a mob of kangas in the bush. I was reminded of this clip from David Attenborough.
"The Game". A 1997 seldom-known, underrated gem starring Michael Douglas.
Only 50 minutes in, but I have to say I like it a lot. And I quit drinking so that's not just my "everything is great because it exists, therefore is intrinsically fascinating" mindset talking either.
Part surreal, to the point its almost supernatural or mystical, without being any of the two whatsoever. Lot of people in power pulling strings and creating scenarios that are virtually impossible, yet nothing is left unexplained. Psychological thriller, I guess. Not directly heavy on the philosophy but many subtle and indirect touches on philosophy of mind, will not disappoint someone watching it solely for the philosophical value, I'd wager.
The Game". A 1997 seldom-known, underrated gem starring Michael Douglas.
A great movie. One of Fincherβs lesser known. Just re-watched it a year ago or so.
Funny the movies you choose to re-watch. As you get older, itβs as if youβve never seen themβ especially if you only viewed one time. Itβs interesting how movies I once thought were the greatest thing since sliced bread (Shawshank Redemption, Thin Red Line) now becomes merely OK, while others I thought were good (The Insider, Jackie Brown) are now excellent. Guess it happens to everyone. An obvious observation, but whateverβ¦
Gonna be watchind Dune 2 soon enough. But I am waiting for a time when the theater is very empty, so I can go by myself with a huge bowl of popcorn without looking like a loser.
Pottery Throwdown, Best in Miniature, Baking Show - both British and Canadian - and Race Against the Tide. We like contests of skill. I also watch construction, repair shop and home renovation programs. No recent Escape to the Chateau episodes, unfortunately.
Watched the Revenant (2015), An Officer and a Gentleman (1983), the Godfather (1972) and Anywhere But Here (1999)β in two days while under the weather.
All good. Godfather the best. The worst probably the Revenant β although Tom Hardy deserved an Oscar.
Every time I watch the movie I discover a new detail. What an excellent movie. And John Cazale was a fabulous actor! What a shame the cancer took him away so soon...
Reply to Jamal This is a great intro to historiography. I especially like that he's using a narrative we USians are familiar with, but is not controversial in the political landscape to demonstrate his point.
I thought it was great. I bought a popcorn so big I didn't finish it in spite of the length of the movie, and had a great time.
I think the new Dunes are the first to really capture my experience of the first novel. The focus on the emotive aspects through the creation of mood worked for me in 1, and it worked for me in 2 as well.
I liked it too. I just can't get into the main cast. Thimotee and Zendaya for main characters in a movie like this is just...
I will probably watch the miniseries eventually
Reply to Benkei, haven't read the books; I'm told they're good. We've started watching the original Chinese TV version, "Three-Body". Like how it tickles the imagination, though my wife thinks it's a bit on the fantastical side. :nerd:
I liked it too. I just can't get into the main cast. Thimotee and Zendaya for main characters in a movie like this is just...
Is there an actor or actress you would have preferred?
I'm not sure what I mean by "the first to capture the mood", but I did have a deeper emotional connection to the new film than the old miniseries, tho of course that's predicated upon being familiar with the books, the miniseries, and then coming upon this movie.
I really liked it a lot. The fist one more than the 2nd, but that's only cuz I had a few nitpicks on 2 -- overall it ought be watched together, like Kill Bill 1&2.
If you mean the Sci-Fi Channel miniseries I like it a lot. It's what inspired me to read Dune in the first place because I liked the miniseries so much.
Is there an actor or actress you would have preferred?
It is just that Timothee, despite pushing 30, looks very young and boyish, his skull is very neotenic. That some rugged old fundamentalist from a sand planet would have a kid with pristine skin and silky hair as his saviour comes off as a bit goofy, even if it makes sense within the plot. A young mature-looking guy would come off better. Off face alone, I would say Felix Mallard fits the look.
Aaaand, I just don't like Zendaya.
There is also the fact that in the new movies, Paul only spent one year (if that) with the Fremen in the desert. While in the books it was closer to 3 years.
Reply to Deleted user I'll push against the notion that Paul only spent so many years, tho maybe you could find a bit in the movie that proves it :) -- the movie felt more "thematic" and so didn't give details like that to my first watching. I just mean i didn't notice and liked how Stilgar was convinced because of the prophecy -- it wasn't the appearance as much as the neotenic boyish-man who refused the prophecy still fullfilled everything. Stilgar didn't care about the looks. He only cared about the truth-conditions of the prophecy, and even this nonbeliever met the conditions.
World Championship snooker from the BBC, my one enthusiasm in the world of sport (although traditionally it was classed as a game). Probably the best TV experience there is.
I found a very interesting video of an interview with Kazantzakis. He speaks in French, but fortunately the video has subtitles in both Greek and Spanish. K talks about when he wrote a biography of Francis of Assisi. By that time, K was very sick, but he was inspired by that friar who faced and overcame the sickness once. I think this testimony is heart-warming and worth seeing.
I didn't know K was also a translator! He said to the interviewer that he accepted translation jobs under the Nazi occupation to get food supplies for the people! What a magnificent soul!
Boston Legal, for the fourth time, I think. Still relevant. Bonus: the DVD's come in those old-fashioned bifold cases that let the disc go and accept it back in again, without falling apart in your hand.
Just watched "Patterson" with Adam Driver. A sweet, understated, lovely little movie. I can't remember when I've watched another I enjoyed more. I haven't seen Driver in anything else, but he was wonderful in this.
Hey, Clarky. After having a good marathon of only Japanese films this weekend, I would like to recommend you to watch 'Warm Water Under A Red Bridge'. It is the weirdest Japanese film I have ever seen. It is intellectually funny, and the dialogues are awesome. Another remarkable fact is that it was the last film directed by Shohei Imamura.
I remember you told me that you had a special channel called 'Criterion' which includes Japanese films. I hope that channel has this film. I personally believe you will like it.
We watched Dark Matter (2024).
It's an adventure into many-worlds quantum mechanics, though cross-world interaction can take place; has creative observer effects, superposition, all that.
"You are made by the choices you make" could be a sub-title, except all choices are made, including some that make you an enemy of yourself (make that enemies (plural) of yourselves).
Has dark tones to it, visually well-made, better entertainment than "The Apprentice", but your mileage may vary.
Nothing glorious about war, absurdity of human crap, ... Bits and pieces captured by the photojournalists who are the main characters. Ranges from tranquil town, through city unrest, executions, mad racists, to :fire: destruction, affecting our reporters. Don't know about the general storyline (maybe with more details), but some snippets/sounds are realistic enough.
The Eel is another good film by Shohei Imamura. Since I know Clarky (@T Clark) is another fan of Japanese films, I recommend you watch it whenever you can. Cheers.
Clarky (@T Clark) is another fan of Japanese films
I wouldn't call myself a fan in particular. I got a subscription to The Criterion Channel and there are a lot of them there. They really love Godzilla and all the various Japanese sequals. My favorite movie so far has been "Tampopo," and I have enjoyed the Zatoichi series. I tend to get lost with the slice of life comedies and dramas.
Yes, I knew you were not a fan in particular, but I will consider you my partner when it comes to Japanese films, and I vow to recommend you some of them frequently. :smile:
To those who have seen Tarkovsky's Solaris: what do you make of the surprisingly long (even for Tarkovsky, I think) bit where the ex-pilot Burton is in a car going through a big city, along motorways, overpasses and tunnels?
Normally I like the slow stuff in Tarkovsky, but this seems awkward and perplexing. The sounds, which I think are meant to be futuristic, do not even seem to match the familiar urban scene.
It ends with an abrupt cut to the wildflower meadow at Kelvin's house (which looks exactly like a Russian dacha), so it looks like a juxtaposition between inhuman modernity and bucolic serenity, but it still seems odd. My guess is that in fact, Tarkovsky made do with footage that did not turn out as well as he'd imagined.
Hello Clarky and welcome to another Saturday of film recommendations. I bring a beautiful film from Iran. Although I am aware that Iranian films are spectacular, I am not very familiar with them.Β
I watched Taste of Cherry (??? ?????..., Taβm-e g?l?s...) by Abbas Kiarostami. The film won the Palme d'Or at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival.Β
Plot: Badii drives around Teheran looking for someone who can help him to do a job for him: assisting him to commit suicide. While the driveway, he met different people who had philosophical conversations with.
Just watched "Patterson" with Adam Driver. A sweet, understated, lovely little movie. I can't remember when I've watched another I enjoyed more. I haven't seen Driver in anything else, but he was wonderful in this.
To those who have seen Tarkovsky's Solaris: what do you make of the surprisingly long (even for Tarkovsky, I think) bit where the ex-pilot Burton is in a car going through a big city, along motorways, overpasses and tunnels?
Normally I like the slow stuff in Tarkovsky, but this seems awkward and perplexing. The sounds, which I think are meant to be futuristic, do not even seem to match the familiar urban scene.
It ends with an abrupt cut to the wildflower meadow at Kelvin's house (which looks exactly like a Russian dacha), so it looks like a juxtaposition between inhuman modernity and bucolic serenity, but it still seems odd. My guess is that in fact, Tarkovsky made do with footage that did not turn out as well as he'd imagined.
I thought so too when I watched it. Tarkovsky does have such inexplicable longueurs here and there.
Reply to T Clark Checking with IMDB, I didn't even realize how many Jarmusch films I have seen! Some I barely remember, but I do remember that all of them were enjoyable.
Stranger Than Paradise (1984)
Down by Law (1986)
Night on Earth (1991)
Dead Man (1995)
Coffee and Cigarettes (2003)
Broken Flowers (2005)
Only Lovers Left Alive (2013)
Stranger Than Paradise (1984)
Down by Law (1986)
Night on Earth (1991)
Dead Man (1995)
Coffee and Cigarettes (2003)
Broken Flowers (2005)
Only Lovers Left Alive (2013)
I subscribe to the Criterion Channel. That's an artsy-fartsy streaming service in the US. It has a lot of these available.
I haven't watched movies much for the last 15 or 20 years, either in person or at home. I just lost interest and found most of them unsatisfying. I subscribed to Criterion back in January and it has changed my habits. I still don't watch a lot, but there are so many movies and so little crap I've been able to find interesting choices. About $11/month is a reasonable price. I would drop Netflix if it were my choice, but my wife likes it. With Amazon, I like free shipping.
Reply to SophistiCat Indeed. Imamura's films are quite impressive, and they tend to break away from traditional Japanese filming. Even their characters are very remarkable and when I watch them I say: 'yes, it is clear that I am watching an Imamura film'.
Making friends with an eel in jail. Only a Japanese man could ever think about that. :sweat:
Stranger Than Paradise (1984)
Down by Law (1986)
Night on Earth (1991)
Dead Man (1995)
Coffee and Cigarettes (2003)
Broken Flowers (2005)
Only Lovers Left Alive (2013)
Good movie, but I donβt see how it was both the best picture winner and top grossing film of 1979.
Because it took me so long to watch it, I probably canβt appreciate how original it was. Itβs been done so many times since then, itβs not as compelling. Kind of like how I felt about Animal House β not that funny.
Deleted userAugust 14, 2024 at 17:13#9253890 likes
"Ghost Dog" is the other Jarmusch movie I've watched besides "Paterson." I didn't love it, although I at least liked it enough to watch the whole thing. If I don't like a movie much, I generally give it half and hour and then stop watching.
Hello Clarky, I bring another film this Saturday. This time, I would like to recommend you a 'terror' film. It is from Argentina but subtitles will always be available, obviously. It is called When Evil Lurks in English.
The film's plot takes place in a rural part of Argentina, and there is sorrow because one of the residents is 'witched'. It is interesting how the director tells the story using references to Satanic themes. I wasn't very aware of this world until I saw the film yesterday. I think it is OK to watch it. However, I must warn you that some scenes are uncomfortable for our eyes...
Reply to javi2541997
Thanks for the recommendation, although I donβt do very well with horror movies. I tend to sit hunched over with my hands covering my eyes.
I recently watched Paul Thomas Anderson's "Licorice Pizza" and liked it very much. This is my summer of nice movies. It's about the friendship between a 15 year old boy and a 25 year old women in the early 1970s in Los Angeles. They call this a romantic comedy, which I guess makes sense, except it's only the boy who thinks it's a romance. What's important is the relationship between the two main characters. The boy is a child actor with maybe a bit of ADHD and the woman is somewhat aimless - living at home and working at a dead-end job. The growth of their friendship is funny and moving. We see what they each see in the other and it makes them better people.
And since I'm already here, I've been thinking about my favorite movies about food.
"Babette's Feast" - The story of a famous Parisian chef who moves to Denmark in the 1800s to be a housekeeper for a bunch of dour Calvinists. Wonderful, moving, mouthwatering.
"Mostly Martha" - German with subtitles. The story of an inflexible chef whose sister dies and leaves her with her nine-year-old niece to take care of. It becomes a romantic comedy when an earthy Italian sous chef comes to work at the restaurant. The kitchen scenes are believable and amusing. The characters are appealing and their friendships are natural and believable.
"Tampopo" - Japanese with subtitles. A widow owns a run-down ramen shop. A group of her customers take it on themselves to teach her how to cook ramen correctly and fix up her shop. Funny with cowboy and gangster movie overtones.
Does "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" count?
"Big Night" - Persnickety chef Stanley Tucci and his brother Tony Shalhoub struggle to run a small, traditional Italian restaurant across the street from a popular spaghetti palace. Tucci can't understand when people complain it takes 45 minutes for them to serve the risotto after it is ordered.
"The Trip" - Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon travelling through northern England eating at fancy restaurants and doing Michael Caine impressions.
... Like you can read the play versions of the stuff I posted, but the Dahl book cannot substitute for e.g. the brilliance of Gene Wilder. And 99.9% of visual entertainment is trash.
Yes, there was just the right combination of mystery, joy, wonder, and menace in Wilder. Depp didn't have a hope. It's like trying to repaint the Mona Lisa. He didn't even look right. He ended up somewhere between Edward Scissor's Hands and the Addams family.
I haven't watched movies or TV much in about 15 years. I've just found them unsatisfying. I find myself quitting in the middle when someone does something that nobody would ever do or the plot goes somewhere ridiculous. I'm old enough to say, and sometimes believe, they made movies better when I was young. And yes, I remember when candy bars were a nickel.
That being said, there are a lot of wonderful movies and television shows out there. We get to watch everything, anything, that has been made in the past 100+ years. I subscribed to the Criterion Channel a few months ago. That's a streaming service that plays artsy fartsy movies. I've been watching more lately and enjoying it.
Each to his own. I can enjoy movies but they kind of overstimulate me and leave me feeling flat afterwards. And I also feel that I've watched enough to get the major narratives. I generally don't feel I'm being edified if you know what I mean. However, I could also be missing out just due to my brain not being able to digest them properly or something. Who knows...
I could also be missing out just due to my brain not being able to digest them properly or something.
As I noted, I felt like that for a while. I just haven't been able to care. That seems to be changing now and I'm enjoying it. At least you've got football and Benny Hill to watch.
Benny Hill. I remember him. He did a lot of very fast running around. It was funny. Most people can't run that way. Watching football, nah. I would probably play it though if I had any friends or physical flexibility.
Just seen About Dry Grasses, the latest by the Turkish master Nuri Bilge Ceylan. Long, slow, and depressing, just the way I like it :D Kidding about depressing, sort of.
I had seen two earlier films of Ceylan - Distant and Climates. There is much similarity between them, but I found Dry Grasses to be the most challenging. I still need to process it. There are different streams running through the film, and they sometimes undermine one another. The film ends with some rather uncharacteristic run of a philosophical inner monologue set to a mournful classical score - not unusual in a film with pretensions to artiness... except that this self-narration by the main character doesn't sit comfortably with what we see of him over the preceding three hours. But neither is it entirely phony nor ironic. As ever, Ceylan's portrayal of the protagonist, with whom he seems to partially identify (in all three films the main character is an amateur photographer, like Ceylan himself), is nuanced and unsparing, helped by a top-notch performance by the actor who plays him, as well as the rest of the cast. But here he is also revealed to be an unreliable narrator, as emphasized in one bizarre scene that briefly breaks through the fourth wall. There is plenty of beauty in the film, not least its cinematography, but here even beauty can be in tension with its canvas.
javi2541997October 16, 2024 at 05:15#9400890 likes
"The pawns, man, in the game, they get capped quick. They be out the game early."
D'Angelo Barksdale.
βYou come at the king, you best not miss.β - Omar Little.
"Weβre building something, here, detective, weβre building it from scratch. All the pieces matter" - Lester Freamon
The second season of Hellbound is on Netflix. It's South Korean dark fantasy with grotesque manifestations of Christian beliefs with a side order of Chinese cultural revolution. It's a little hard to get into, and fairly difficult to watch, especially the first couple of episodes of season 1. But it's fairly philosophical.
I found this analysis of German "guilt pride" fascinating. Moeller applies his concept of profilicity β which I've had my doubts about (probably because I'm stuck in the age of authenticity) β to good effect, I think.
I had a health scare the other day, so the OG bought Winnie the Pooh. I'll probably watch it with him - sometime. Halloween is coming up, so it's time to put on Nightmare Before Christmas, a perennial favourite.
Lunchtime, we've been watching Portrait Painter of the Year on You Tube. Evenings, Madame Secretary - again.
I've been having strong nostalgia for my favourite movie: Turtle Diary.
javi2541997October 25, 2024 at 04:32#9420650 likes
Clarky, it has been a while since the last time I shared with you a film recommendation. Today is Friday, so it is film fest in my home.Β I would like to suggest you watch "Burnt by the Sun" by Nikita Mikhalkov. It is a post-Soviet era film. I watched it in September, but I want to watch it again becauseβin this long pieceβ there are a lot of beautiful details that I might have lost the first time.
I am aware that it received well critical reception back in the 1990s, and maybe you already watched it... but I thought it was a good idea to let you know!
javi2541997November 30, 2024 at 08:10#9508720 likes
Deleted.
Alkis PiskasNovember 30, 2024 at 12:51#9508860 likes
On his tombstone one can read: "I hope for nothing, I fear nothing, I am free"
My favorite quote of his.
javi2541997December 21, 2024 at 15:25#9549820 likes
I was in great need of watching a black-and-white film. I think 1940s films were spectacular, so I decided to watch 'Brief Encounter.' -- What a sweet and funny performance! Celia Johnson, as one of the main characters, was amazing in her role.
I have read on the Internet that it is a classic British romantic drama film, and I guess most of you have already watched itβmaybe more than one time! I address @T Clark just in case he wants to experience a bit of nostalgia; by the way, it is he and I who are sharing films here.
I watched the David Cronenberg film βThe Broodβ last night, to get in the Christmas mood. Excellent and horrible.
I also watched βIndiana Jones and the Last Crusadeβ. When it came out Iβd probably decided I was too grown-up and edgy to watch it (I was 17), so Iβd never seen it. My assessment: dumb and partly enjoyable.
Another in a line of movies that my son makes me watch to make me a more sophistimakated person - "The Long Day Closes." About a British boy in the 1950s and his daily life with his family, at school, and especially at the movies. What an odd little movie, but in the end I liked it. Nothing really happens. It's mostly a string of set pieces. Very slow and downbeat, but the people are appealing. What really makes it work is the music - I'm tempted to call it a musical, but that's not right. Every scene has a song, either a recording of Nat King Cole or Doris Day, an instrumental, or movie characters singing at a party.
Just watched "Here." No, not the one with Tom Hanks. A nice, gentle Belgian movie full of appealing people doing appealing things in appealing places. And making soup. Like all good continental European movies, nothing happens. Strongly recommended. If you watch it, please come back and explain the green light to me.
"Years and Years" (2019) A British limited series that explores what might have arisen during and after Trump's first term. Excellent cast and intriguing story. Alternate history. HBO.
javi2541997February 01, 2025 at 13:49#9647800 likes
Back to my hobby of watching black and white films.
I was busy the past weekends, but I was free this Saturday. I chose 'How Green Was My Valley' this time. The reviews I read on the Internet were quite good, so it encouraged me to watch the film.
The plot, actors, and dialogues were outstanding. I now understand why this film was the one that won Oscars and not 'Citizen Kane.'
I would recommend you watch it, but I guess most of you have already watched it since it is one of the top British films of all time.
javi2541997February 11, 2025 at 06:06#9672800 likes
I have been watching Coronation Street for the last couple of days. It inspired me to write the small play that I posted in The Shoutbox.
I think I always watched soap operas without realising they were soap operas. Since the plot is not very deep and the characters simply represent ordinary families facing platitudes, I mostly hooked on to this famous British TV show because the accents of the actors are unique. I thought it was recorded in London, but it turned out to be in Manchester, which means that they are Mancs as the English say.
Who knows if the ITV franchisee will like to hire me as a screenwriter in the future?
Although the context of this speech is managerial, systems thinking is applicable to almost anything. In this speech, Russell Ackoff, in my opinion, does a wonderful job of presenting the idea of systems thinking. Even if one is already familiar with systems thinking, it's still a good listen. Imbibe...
I was watching Asian films again, and I discovered a very good one: Majestic, aesthetic, and enigmatic. It gave me an inexplicable sensation of melancholy.
It is a 2000 Chinese film called Suzhou River.
It popped up on my screen randomly. One special section of Filmin (the platform I use to watch TV) is dedicated to commemorating films that turn 25 years old in 2025, so they were filmed in 2000. Suzhou River was one of them, and I applaud how randomness can lead us to art sometimes.
If you ever watch it, I would like to hear your thoughts on whether you think Meimei and Moudan are the same girl.
This video had a profound formative influence on me when i first saw it as a young preteen on PBS. It changed my perspective, and i have never thought about things in quite the same way since.
Slow Horses Season One - intermittently engaging British espionage series. I was expecting more. This one was a somewhat pedestrian account of an extreme right group in Britain who kidnap a Pakistani stand up comic. Gary Oldman is ok but his lines sound contrived to make him seem more interesting than he is.
I remember having deep conversations about The Troubles with you, lads.
I am currently watching 'Say Nothing' on Disney+. A very well-dramatised version of the Irish and NI issue. The actors are very good, and wow, the scenes are so realistic that it feels like it is happening nowadays.
I thought you would be interested in watching it. :up:
In fact, if one has to say the absolutely best movie about urban insurgency is The Battle of Algiers (1966). Really a truly amazing war movie about urban insurgency and terrorism. You would be also interested to compare the French action in Algiers and Algeria to the British actions in Northern Ireland. You see, the French did lose Algeria, the British didn't lose North Ireland. And notice the similarities and the differences in the counter-insurgency methods.
javi2541997August 24, 2025 at 05:18#10090870 likes
@T Clark -- It's been a while since I recommended you a film. :cool:
I watched two amazing and unique Russian films this month. I am aware that Russian film directors are great and original, but I chose these two because of the difference in time span between them and the iconography used.
Come and See (IdΓ i SmotrΓ): a 1985 Soviet epic tragedy film directed by Elem Klimov. Klimov had to fight eight years of censorship from the Soviet authorities before he was allowed to produce the film in its entirety... The starring were two talented kids called Aleksei Kravchenko and Olga Mironova. The flim mixes surrealism with a bit of existentialism that we used to watch and read in Russian arts.
The other film is more recent but also interesting and worthy to watch. It is called Petrov's Flu.
Just before the start of the new year, Petrov's family gets sick with the flu. Then he meets a trickster named Igor who can mix the world of the living and the dead. The Petrov family begin to suffer surrealistic hallucinations and the line between reality and hallucination begins to disappear.
Iβve heard of βCome and See.β It sounds brutal and disturbing. Descriptions Iβve read make it sound like a book I read back in college - βThe Painted Bird,β by Jerzy Kosinsky. After 50 years, I still remember how harrowing and difficult to read it was. Difficult not because of the language, but because how hard it was to face the storyKozinski told.
The other film sounds a bit more up my alley. Thanks for the recommendations.
javi2541997August 31, 2025 at 04:48#10107830 likes
This film shocked me in an indescribable way. What scared me the most is that it is based on a real-life story: the murders of Danish serial killerΒ Dagmar Overbye.
The film is set on a black-and-white screen and in 1919 Denmark. The main protagonist did a very nice job, convincing. There are scenes which are "hard to swallow", and it might not be for all kinds of audiences.
Reply to 180 Proof, maybe there's a lesson to learn from the Horst Wessel story. It's different, yet has parallels. (Is the Trump administration getting into compiling snitch lists of those who didn't adequately mourn Kirk...?)
180 ProofSeptember 16, 2025 at 18:50#10134120 likes
Reply to jorndoe :up: Yes, Horst Wessel is comparable. I think the US DoJ is collecting a database of "persons of interest" expressing "far-left" opinions. Public and private sectors employees are being fired everyday lately for even the slightest and apt criticisms of that pos Charlie Kirk. The actual victim of assassination turns out to be, in addition to a far-right advocate of 'free speech' (of hate, conspiracies, disinformation), free speech itself (i.e. First Amendnent of the US Constitution).
Comments (409)
I couldn't find any evidence, so I don't think there's any connection, but my favorite book is "Heart of Darkness," another story of a man named Marlow (no "e" this time) as an honorable man in a world of moral chaos.
The conservative tax experiment that failed.
Helping someone leave life on their own terms, with no quality of life, should be something that is available to Doctors to legally help assist. Maybe Mrs. Bush is going to start a trend...
How much time needs to pass to heal such wounds?
Can trust ever be restored?
This is amazing.
Tempting for you to see the little cutties in abject helplessness?
Or do you find the less than lethal quality ever so noble?
For me it's both I think.
Wonder what got you banned after posting this; but, yeah basically, the fact that they need not be killed in the process of their removal is appealing, along with the elegance of getting them trapped.
Gonna watch it now, since you mentioned it and it's quite interesting. Thanks https://yts.me/index8
Really good Westernized and stylized derivative of the Russian masterpiece called Solaris.
:heart: :cheer:
I have been searching for it for some time but cannot find a copy of it anywhere.
:strong: :clap:
Why's that? I haven't seen it
Itβs touching but for me not as haunting as similar films Iβve seen. It actually felt a bit formulaic.
Nope.
... as they might explode.
Just posting this here because if I post it on the discussion I wanted it would sound rude.
:rofl: :rofl:
:death: :flower:
In honor of Sir Sean Connery 1930-2020 passing away this morning, I'm spending Spook Night watching 5 (out of my top 10 favorite) Sean Connery films in chronological order:
β’ From Russia With Love, 1963
β’ The Man Who Would Be King, 1975
β’ Robin and Marian, 1976
β’ Outland, 1981
β’ Name of the Rose, 1986
"Shaken, not stirred," of course.
The smell of hot, wet mesquite trees is intoxicating.
Old Movie Stars Dance to Uptown Funk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1F0lBnsnkE
Nerd Fest UK:
:flower:
In the summer '77 I was probably the only 13 y.o. in the northern hemisphere, at least, who wasn't WOW'd by Star Wars and grew to dislike it, even hate it, for being a flashy noisy live-action cartoon which insulted my already well-honed scifi nerdy intelligence, as I saw it a few more times that summer with cousins & friends. A few years later in high school after I'd come across the space opera novel Dune and had read it (maybe twice immediately), my grade school antipathy for Star Wars was confirmed β it'd seemed back in '77 that Star Wars was only a corny mashup of 1930s' era Buck Rogers, Flash Gordon, Wizard of Oz & bad samurai flicks ... but, in fact, I found that George Lucas had filmed a highly derivative, dumbed-down, "adaptation" of the 1965 Frank Herbert novel.
Now, four-plus decades later, another attempt at adapting Dune to the big screen will be released next month in the US and I've linked a review of today's screening at the Venice Film Festival which gets it right that almost all cinematic (& video games) depictions of so-called "space opera" (swashbuckling blaster fights & frenetic planet-hopping at the speed of plot) since the 1970s owe very much visually and plot-wise to that weird, dark, epic meditation on *imperialism, religious fanaticism, transhumanism, ecology & resource-scarcity as the main driver of wars* ... So given I'm a Denis Villeneuve fanboy (I forgive him for the gorgeous failure of Blade Runner 2049), I'm really looking forward to seeing Dune in a (mostly empty) theatre soon. :nerd:
https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20210903-four-stars-for-dune
Just because...
:brow: :down:
........
:love:
Btw, so Blade Runner 2049 was your jam, huh? Another sequel which, IMO, doesn't add to and extend the 1982 film thematically. Like Aliens, etc.
Hell yes!
Literary science fiction offers so much conceptual grist for the speculative mill but Hollyweird (usually) makes obscene bank on dumbing down its adaptations that no matter how visually stimulating, even sublime, I find more often than not that the films are, and especially their sequels, DOA (or mere cliched retreads). In the words of that late great Hollyweird Studio CEO & visionary:
[quote=Dr. Elden Tyrell]Commerce is our goal, here. More human than human.[/quote]
Re: sell to the lowest common denominator.
SABATON - Great War (Official Lyric Video)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mt4B5Z8uLA
Watching this:
Interview With PΓ€r SundstrΓΆm from Sabaton I THE GREAT WAR Special
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVnMgtC5N34
"Winter is coming!"
I thought that was going to be about a Game of Thrones sequel.
Beautiful.
We've gone from Lynch's extravagant Baroque style to Villeneuve's minimalist Brutalism. The characters resemble and are coterminous with the sand, buildings and worms. Maybe they just haven't eaten enough spice yet.
It crossed my mind that that may have had something to do with the feeling.
Quoting Nils Loc
Very much appreciated the consistency of the aesthetic.
@180 Proof did you see Dune yet?
"Our moment permits interest in one question onlyΒ β Will we of Deadwood be more than targets for assfucking?Β To not grab ankle is to declare yourself interested. What's your posture, Bullock?" :fire:
Uh, my rocket science is a little rusty.
George's son
Ringo's son
producer of the Let It Be remix (2020), music supervisor for the documentary and son of The Beatles' late producer George Martin
engineer (& producer) of rejected "fly-on-the-wall" Get Back album, 1969
co-producer of Get Back documentary
and a Hobbit!
Also, an interview with the writer & editor of the companion book to the documentary
βItβs going to be such an incredible sort of comical thing, like, in 50 yearsβ time, you know: βThey broke up because Yoko sat on an amp.ββ~Macca, 1969
I enjoyed Get Back (the 8 hour version) much more than George Harrison did.
No doubt, we all did. :smirk:
A review.
:rofl:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dw8p-YVImMI
@Agent Smith agree?
Agree!
You take the blue pillβthe story ends, and you can put the Matrix behind you. You take the red pillβyou stay in Wonderland, and get to watch an unlimited amount of crappy prequels, sequels and remakes.
H A P P Y 2022 :mask:
update 11.14.22
Quoting praxis
Wrong
Seriously?
They refer to it as Woke Side Story. If casting Latin roles to actual Latin actors (instead of white people with dark makeup) is woke then I guess it's woke. Anyway, I liked it tremendously.
It's certainly imperfect, I had some mostly minor issues with it, but I thought Lana generally nailed the message she was going for, and it was a very touching movie, rare for most action/sci-fi films.
"I've Got A Feeling" (3:38) live
3 Savile Row rooftop, London UK, 30Jan1969
writers Lennon-McCartney
performers John, Paul, George, Ringo & Billy :fire:
:fire:
If we can imagine it, maybe ...?
(pre-CGI s/fx maestro!)
1968
1968
1968
1977
1982
@praxis agree?
Agreed. :100:
re: "sterility apocalypse" (anti-natalist wet dream)
@schopenhauer1
1) What I should watch.
2) What I want to watch.
3) What I end up watching.
:snicker:
1) 2) 3)
:up:
For us to keep expanding at this rate the entire foodchain has to expand equally according to rato and up until now it seems that 'we' are to stupid to collectively understand, appreciate and acknowledge the importance of that fact.
And has anyone seen this yet?
One of the best films of the 21st century, although it's more about Hollywood than "film"
Anyway I agree, it's one of my favourite films too.
https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/greatest-films-all-time
I've watched all but four
[quote=Stanley Kubrick]However vast the darkness, we must supply our own light.[/quote]
:fire: :eyes:
https://thephilosophyforum.com/discussion/comment/756269
I was born the day after four little girls were killed in a church bombed by the KKK in Birmingham, Alabama. This happened on Sunday morning, 15 September 1963, only three weeks after the "I Have a Dream" March on Washington DC. The video below is of an interview with Malcolm X held on 11 October 1963.
Slavoj Ε½iΕΎek, 11Jan23
@Jamal can YouTube lives not be embedded?
Perhaps ...
We're all in the same boat mon ami.
"It's moving but it's not sentimental."
(2008)
https://thephilosophyforum.com/discussion/comment/791990
Yeeeeesssss! :clap:
I was paid the high compliment that this post of mine had reminded @green flag of this video interview. :cool:
Addendum to this post ...
https://thephilosophyforum.com/discussion/comment/714352
Great movie. Especially the ending.
The entire thing has a cold, engineered quality. Itβs also confusingly written and edited, has non-stop overbearing βmusicβ (no melody and themes, just continuously jarring notes), and no soul.
The actors try their best, but itβs 3 hours of bells and whistles that tries desperately to be a βmasterpiece,β when in reality itβs just an empty, boring, and enervating piece of shit.
Last time Iβm convinced to go to one of these.
I haven't seen it yet, but I really enjoyed the WGN production of the series Manhattan several years ago.
@javi2541997
@Quixodian
Heroic death, yes :flower:
For me, this man will always be the representation of a legend.
He received more respect in Europe/USA than in Japan. :death:
Consider turning on captions.
1Nov23
[quote=George Harrison, 1979 Rolling Stone Interview] If I were to die, I'd rather people find a good finished master of my songs than a crummy old demo on a cassette.[/quote]
https://thephilosophyforum.com/discussion/comment/850584
2Nov23
Quoting Vera Mont
The John Nettles Midsomer Murders were a delight. :smile:
Best picture winner last year. I have to say: meh.
I agree. I gave up and turned to something else. Too much like a video game.
Barbie, on the other hand . . . . :smile:
Yes, he would have added an environmentalist's perspective to the subject. :cool:
(He and I were at U of C the same time).
I met him once, way back in the early 80's, when they were doing a show on forensic pathology. He was utterly preoccupied with his new glare-free glasses and showed little interest in anything else. Did not make a great impression on the lab staff. But I liked the program and I like his books.
One of the funniest Christmas-related watches i've had in years.
That said, I am extremely disappointed by your clearly factually incorrect opinion on Nolan. That may be why I neglected to give you this Alpha Recommendation :shade:
All I can do is quote myself:
Quoting Mikie
Well said, if I donβt say so myself.
But I conclude that given his hit rate (prior to Oppy) is 100%, I simply must dismiss this as trollish games :D
I remember liking Memento, but that was 20 years ago. Never saw Insomnia. The Batmans were OK. Didnβt care for Dunkirkβ another bloated, engineered, noisy crapper. Inception was cool at times, but also a little overcooked.
Nolan has unfortunately become a try-hard. He makes movies that try to be what he thinks audiences consider masterpieces. What you end up with is something that has elements of gravitas and profundity but really is just a chore to watch.
Hmm, yeah Memento is good, but it was essentially nicked, and improved by a French film called Irreversible by Gaspar Noe.
I think Nolan's films are great - they're Hollywood, but Hollywood for less-stupid people haha. To be honest, though, the only one of his films that i think is an objectively 'good' film in the sense of coherence, style, dimension, dynamics, acting, cinematography etc.. is Interstellar. The rest have their moments of stupidity (excepting Batman.. It's already ridiculous).
Itβs the one I havenβt seen.
Democracy on Trial
Frontline documentary
aired 30Jan24
~William Faulkner, Requiem for a Nun
βI was talking about time. Itβs so hard for me to believe in it. Some things go. Pass on. Some things just stay. I used to think it was my rememory. You know. Some things you forget. Other things you never do. But itβs not. Places, places are still there. If a house burns down, itβs gone, but the place β the picture of it β stays, and not just in my rememory, but out there, in the world. What I remember is a picture floating around out there outside my head. I mean, even if I donβt think it, even if I die, the picture of what I did, or knew, or saw is still out there. Right in the place where it happened.β
~Toni Morrison,Β Beloved
Weirdly compelling watch, for what it is - pre-teen mythical drama.
Iβd give it a B.
I'm revisiting the old BBC series I used to watch on PBS. Don't like most of them as much as I did then - except Poirot: I never tire of Poirot.
Alternatively, The West Wing on DVD. Very tiring!
Gross.
Had forgotten how creepy the screaming bear-thing is.
Also reminds me a bit of Solaris (2002).
I suppose, in a way, it renders something we would likely think of as alive, a lifeform of sorts, whether we (can) recognize it as intelligent or not.
Defying our/human understanding, hard to relate to in an anthropocentric sense, alien.
Relatings-to is by the human characters and their interactions.
Also, the new Dune II didn't disappoint.
People sentimentalise kangas, but really they are vicious thugs and can grow taller than a human male. Recently I watched a mob of kangas in the bush. I was reminded of this clip from David Attenborough.
Screw crocs, mammal power :strong:
Very nice.
Only 50 minutes in, but I have to say I like it a lot. And I quit drinking so that's not just my "everything is great because it exists, therefore is intrinsically fascinating" mindset talking either.
Part surreal, to the point its almost supernatural or mystical, without being any of the two whatsoever. Lot of people in power pulling strings and creating scenarios that are virtually impossible, yet nothing is left unexplained. Psychological thriller, I guess. Not directly heavy on the philosophy but many subtle and indirect touches on philosophy of mind, will not disappoint someone watching it solely for the philosophical value, I'd wager.
Iβve seen that. It was a long time ago but I know I liked it. MD is always an engaging presence.
Itβs is the kind of uselessly interesting viewing that works for me right now, while I am in bed with a transient but bothersome illness.
A great movie. One of Fincherβs lesser known. Just re-watched it a year ago or so.
Funny the movies you choose to re-watch. As you get older, itβs as if youβve never seen themβ especially if you only viewed one time. Itβs interesting how movies I once thought were the greatest thing since sliced bread (Shawshank Redemption, Thin Red Line) now becomes merely OK, while others I thought were good (The Insider, Jackie Brown) are now excellent. Guess it happens to everyone. An obvious observation, but whateverβ¦
https://thephilosophyforum.com/discussion/comment/892509
All good. Godfather the best. The worst probably the Revenant β although Tom Hardy deserved an Oscar.
Every time I watch the movie I discover a new detail. What an excellent movie. And John Cazale was a fabulous actor! What a shame the cancer took him away so soon...
βWe donβt pay mooks.β
:D
I thought it was great. I bought a popcorn so big I didn't finish it in spite of the length of the movie, and had a great time.
I think the new Dunes are the first to really capture my experience of the first novel. The focus on the emotive aspects through the creation of mood worked for me in 1, and it worked for me in 2 as well.
I liked it too. I just can't get into the main cast. Thimotee and Zendaya for main characters in a movie like this is just...
I will probably watch the miniseries eventually
I was blown away with one concept in the books that had me recommending it to everyone I knew. Hasn't been introduced in the first season yet though.
Is there an actor or actress you would have preferred?
I'm not sure what I mean by "the first to capture the mood", but I did have a deeper emotional connection to the new film than the old miniseries, tho of course that's predicated upon being familiar with the books, the miniseries, and then coming upon this movie.
I really liked it a lot. The fist one more than the 2nd, but that's only cuz I had a few nitpicks on 2 -- overall it ought be watched together, like Kill Bill 1&2.
Quoting Deleted user
If you mean the Sci-Fi Channel miniseries I like it a lot. It's what inspired me to read Dune in the first place because I liked the miniseries so much.
It's a solid bit of storytelling.
It is just that Timothee, despite pushing 30, looks very young and boyish, his skull is very neotenic. That some rugged old fundamentalist from a sand planet would have a kid with pristine skin and silky hair as his saviour comes off as a bit goofy, even if it makes sense within the plot. A young mature-looking guy would come off better. Off face alone, I would say Felix Mallard fits the look.
Aaaand, I just don't like Zendaya.
There is also the fact that in the new movies, Paul only spent one year (if that) with the Fremen in the desert. While in the books it was closer to 3 years.
Austin Butler however was excellent casting.
I got it from this article https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/movies/a46972485/dune-part-2-movie-differences-book/
Quoting javi2541997
[quote=Don Corleone]Some day, and that day may never come, I will call upon you to do a service for me.[/quote]
(... what I try to imitate (poorly) when someone asks me a favor)
Just have to watch the sequel though after the original. :)
Daniel Dennett, d. 2024
Jonathan Miller, d. 2019
I found a very interesting video of an interview with Kazantzakis. He speaks in French, but fortunately the video has subtitles in both Greek and Spanish. K talks about when he wrote a biography of Francis of Assisi. By that time, K was very sick, but he was inspired by that friar who faced and overcame the sickness once. I think this testimony is heart-warming and worth seeing.
I didn't know K was also a translator! He said to the interviewer that he accepted translation jobs under the Nazi occupation to get food supplies for the people! What a magnificent soul!
Hey, Clarky. After having a good marathon of only Japanese films this weekend, I would like to recommend you to watch 'Warm Water Under A Red Bridge'. It is the weirdest Japanese film I have ever seen. It is intellectually funny, and the dialogues are awesome. Another remarkable fact is that it was the last film directed by Shohei Imamura.
I remember you told me that you had a special channel called 'Criterion' which includes Japanese films. I hope that channel has this film. I personally believe you will like it.
I'll check to see if it is available. Thanks.
This watch should be recommended for everyone in STEM. It helps bring so many concepts together.
It's an adventure into many-worlds quantum mechanics, though cross-world interaction can take place; has creative observer effects, superposition, all that.
"You are made by the choices you make" could be a sub-title, except all choices are made, including some that make you an enemy of yourself (make that enemies (plural) of yourselves).
Has dark tones to it, visually well-made, better entertainment than "The Apprentice", but your mileage may vary.
Nothing glorious about war, absurdity of human crap, ... Bits and pieces captured by the photojournalists who are the main characters. Ranges from tranquil town, through city unrest, executions, mad racists, to :fire: destruction, affecting our reporters. Don't know about the general storyline (maybe with more details), but some snippets/sounds are realistic enough.
Short 1m:37s music score
I wouldn't call myself a fan in particular. I got a subscription to The Criterion Channel and there are a lot of them there. They really love Godzilla and all the various Japanese sequals. My favorite movie so far has been "Tampopo," and I have enjoyed the Zatoichi series. I tend to get lost with the slice of life comedies and dramas.
Yes, I knew you were not a fan in particular, but I will consider you my partner when it comes to Japanese films, and I vow to recommend you some of them frequently. :smile:
Normally I like the slow stuff in Tarkovsky, but this seems awkward and perplexing. The sounds, which I think are meant to be futuristic, do not even seem to match the familiar urban scene.
It ends with an abrupt cut to the wildflower meadow at Kelvin's house (which looks exactly like a Russian dacha), so it looks like a juxtaposition between inhuman modernity and bucolic serenity, but it still seems odd. My guess is that in fact, Tarkovsky made do with footage that did not turn out as well as he'd imagined.
Your recommendations are always welcome.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0096251/
Technically I just finished it, but it was interesting enough to share.
NSFW whatsoever tho
Hello Clarky and welcome to another Saturday of film recommendations. I bring a beautiful film from Iran. Although I am aware that Iranian films are spectacular, I am not very familiar with them.Β
I watched Taste of Cherry (??? ?????..., Taβm-e g?l?s...) by Abbas Kiarostami. The film won the Palme d'Or at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival.Β
Plot: Badii drives around Teheran looking for someone who can help him to do a job for him: assisting him to commit suicide. While the driveway, he met different people who had philosophical conversations with.
As usual, your recommendations are appreciated.
:up: One of my favorite Jarmusch movies.
I have seen his Narayama and nothing else, I think. That one was very impressive.
I thought so too when I watched it. Tarkovsky does have such inexplicable longueurs here and there.
I don't usually pay attention to who directs what. Can you recommend some others by Jarmusch.
Stranger Than Paradise (1984)
Down by Law (1986)
Night on Earth (1991)
Dead Man (1995)
Coffee and Cigarettes (2003)
Broken Flowers (2005)
Only Lovers Left Alive (2013)
I subscribe to the Criterion Channel. That's an artsy-fartsy streaming service in the US. It has a lot of these available.
I would say Jarmusch is one of the more accessible artsy-fartsy auteurs.
I haven't watched movies much for the last 15 or 20 years, either in person or at home. I just lost interest and found most of them unsatisfying. I subscribed to Criterion back in January and it has changed my habits. I still don't watch a lot, but there are so many movies and so little crap I've been able to find interesting choices. About $11/month is a reasonable price. I would drop Netflix if it were my choice, but my wife likes it. With Amazon, I like free shipping.
Making friends with an eel in jail. Only a Japanese man could ever think about that. :sweat:
I like Ghost Dog (1999) as well.
Good movie, but I donβt see how it was both the best picture winner and top grossing film of 1979.
Because it took me so long to watch it, I probably canβt appreciate how original it was. Itβs been done so many times since then, itβs not as compelling. Kind of like how I felt about Animal House β not that funny.
"Ghost Dog" is the other Jarmusch movie I've watched besides "Paterson." I didn't love it, although I at least liked it enough to watch the whole thing. If I don't like a movie much, I generally give it half and hour and then stop watching.
Hello Clarky, I bring another film this Saturday. This time, I would like to recommend you a 'terror' film. It is from Argentina but subtitles will always be available, obviously. It is called When Evil Lurks in English.
The film's plot takes place in a rural part of Argentina, and there is sorrow because one of the residents is 'witched'. It is interesting how the director tells the story using references to Satanic themes. I wasn't very aware of this world until I saw the film yesterday. I think it is OK to watch it. However, I must warn you that some scenes are uncomfortable for our eyes...
Thanks for the recommendation, although I donβt do very well with horror movies. I tend to sit hunched over with my hands covering my eyes.
"Babette's Feast" - The story of a famous Parisian chef who moves to Denmark in the 1800s to be a housekeeper for a bunch of dour Calvinists. Wonderful, moving, mouthwatering.
"Mostly Martha" - German with subtitles. The story of an inflexible chef whose sister dies and leaves her with her nine-year-old niece to take care of. It becomes a romantic comedy when an earthy Italian sous chef comes to work at the restaurant. The kitchen scenes are believable and amusing. The characters are appealing and their friendships are natural and believable.
"Tampopo" - Japanese with subtitles. A widow owns a run-down ramen shop. A group of her customers take it on themselves to teach her how to cook ramen correctly and fix up her shop. Funny with cowboy and gangster movie overtones.
Does "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" count?
"Big Night" - Persnickety chef Stanley Tucci and his brother Tony Shalhoub struggle to run a small, traditional Italian restaurant across the street from a popular spaghetti palace. Tucci can't understand when people complain it takes 45 minutes for them to serve the risotto after it is ordered.
"The Trip" - Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon travelling through northern England eating at fancy restaurants and doing Michael Caine impressions.
Original 70s version only. Probably the only thing worth watching mentioned on this entire thread.
Of course. Both Wilder and Depp were creepy, but Wilder was good creepy and Depp was creepy creepy.
Yes, there was just the right combination of mystery, joy, wonder, and menace in Wilder. Depp didn't have a hope. It's like trying to repaint the Mona Lisa. He didn't even look right. He ended up somewhere between Edward Scissor's Hands and the Addams family.
I haven't watched movies or TV much in about 15 years. I've just found them unsatisfying. I find myself quitting in the middle when someone does something that nobody would ever do or the plot goes somewhere ridiculous. I'm old enough to say, and sometimes believe, they made movies better when I was young. And yes, I remember when candy bars were a nickel.
That being said, there are a lot of wonderful movies and television shows out there. We get to watch everything, anything, that has been made in the past 100+ years. I subscribed to the Criterion Channel a few months ago. That's a streaming service that plays artsy fartsy movies. I've been watching more lately and enjoying it.
Each to his own. I can enjoy movies but they kind of overstimulate me and leave me feeling flat afterwards. And I also feel that I've watched enough to get the major narratives. I generally don't feel I'm being edified if you know what I mean. However, I could also be missing out just due to my brain not being able to digest them properly or something. Who knows...
As I noted, I felt like that for a while. I just haven't been able to care. That seems to be changing now and I'm enjoying it. At least you've got football and Benny Hill to watch.
Benny Hill. I remember him. He did a lot of very fast running around. It was funny. Most people can't run that way. Watching football, nah. I would probably play it though if I had any friends or physical flexibility.
I had seen two earlier films of Ceylan - Distant and Climates. There is much similarity between them, but I found Dry Grasses to be the most challenging. I still need to process it. There are different streams running through the film, and they sometimes undermine one another. The film ends with some rather uncharacteristic run of a philosophical inner monologue set to a mournful classical score - not unusual in a film with pretensions to artiness... except that this self-narration by the main character doesn't sit comfortably with what we see of him over the preceding three hours. But neither is it entirely phony nor ironic. As ever, Ceylan's portrayal of the protagonist, with whom he seems to partially identify (in all three films the main character is an amateur photographer, like Ceylan himself), is nuanced and unsparing, helped by a top-notch performance by the actor who plays him, as well as the rest of the cast. But here he is also revealed to be an unreliable narrator, as emphasized in one bizarre scene that briefly breaks through the fourth wall. There is plenty of beauty in the film, not least its cinematography, but here even beauty can be in tension with its canvas.
D'Angelo Barksdale.
βYou come at the king, you best not miss.β - Omar Little.
"Weβre building something, here, detective, weβre building it from scratch. All the pieces matter" - Lester Freamon
Lunchtime, we've been watching Portrait Painter of the Year on You Tube. Evenings, Madame Secretary - again.
I've been having strong nostalgia for my favourite movie: Turtle Diary.
Clarky, it has been a while since the last time I shared with you a film recommendation. Today is Friday, so it is film fest in my home.Β I would like to suggest you watch "Burnt by the Sun" by Nikita Mikhalkov. It is a post-Soviet era film. I watched it in September, but I want to watch it again becauseβin this long pieceβ there are a lot of beautiful details that I might have lost the first time.
I am aware that it received well critical reception back in the 1990s, and maybe you already watched it... but I thought it was a good idea to let you know!
Iβll look and see if itβs available on my streaming services. Thanks.
My favorite quote of his.
I have read on the Internet that it is a classic British romantic drama film, and I guess most of you have already watched itβmaybe more than one time! I address @T Clark just in case he wants to experience a bit of nostalgia; by the way, it is he and I who are sharing films here.
Thanks for the heads up.
Classic!
I watched the David Cronenberg film βThe Broodβ last night, to get in the Christmas mood. Excellent and horrible.
I also watched βIndiana Jones and the Last Crusadeβ. When it came out Iβd probably decided I was too grown-up and edgy to watch it (I was 17), so Iβd never seen it. My assessment: dumb and partly enjoyable.
Thanks for Billy, George! :up:
"You're in the group!" :cool:
"In your ruins I find shelter."
~Samuel Beckett, from letter to Emil Cioran
The movie "Tuesday" is the most unusual depiction of Death I've ever seen.
I was busy the past weekends, but I was free this Saturday. I chose 'How Green Was My Valley' this time. The reviews I read on the Internet were quite good, so it encouraged me to watch the film.
The plot, actors, and dialogues were outstanding. I now understand why this film was the one that won Oscars and not 'Citizen Kane.'
I would recommend you watch it, but I guess most of you have already watched it since it is one of the top British films of all time.
I think I always watched soap operas without realising they were soap operas. Since the plot is not very deep and the characters simply represent ordinary families facing platitudes, I mostly hooked on to this famous British TV show because the accents of the actors are unique. I thought it was recorded in London, but it turned out to be in Manchester, which means that they are Mancs as the English say.
Who knows if the ITV franchisee will like to hire me as a screenwriter in the future?
Systems Thinking Speech by Dr. Russell Ackoff
I was watching Asian films again, and I discovered a very good one: Majestic, aesthetic, and enigmatic. It gave me an inexplicable sensation of melancholy.
It is a 2000 Chinese film called Suzhou River.
It popped up on my screen randomly. One special section of Filmin (the platform I use to watch TV) is dedicated to commemorating films that turn 25 years old in 2025, so they were filmed in 2000. Suzhou River was one of them, and I applaud how randomness can lead us to art sometimes.
If you ever watch it, I would like to hear your thoughts on whether you think Meimei and Moudan are the same girl.
It's an algorithm, Javi. Nothing more.
Sorry to interrupt.
Carry on.
Hello Javi. I put Suzhou River on my Criterion Channel watchlist.
Excellent! Glad to know that Criterion Channel has it on its watchlist. :up:
Be Careful What You Wish for... :naughty:
Nah. Acoustic space!
Peter Russell - The Global Brain
Mike White is great.
I remember having deep conversations about The Troubles with you, lads.
I am currently watching 'Say Nothing' on Disney+. A very well-dramatised version of the Irish and NI issue. The actors are very good, and wow, the scenes are so realistic that it feels like it is happening nowadays.
I thought you would be interested in watching it. :up:
In fact, if one has to say the absolutely best movie about urban insurgency is The Battle of Algiers (1966). Really a truly amazing war movie about urban insurgency and terrorism. You would be also interested to compare the French action in Algiers and Algeria to the British actions in Northern Ireland. You see, the French did lose Algeria, the British didn't lose North Ireland. And notice the similarities and the differences in the counter-insurgency methods.
Here's the trailer of this great war movie:
Thanks for letting me know!
I watched two amazing and unique Russian films this month. I am aware that Russian film directors are great and original, but I chose these two because of the difference in time span between them and the iconography used.
Come and See (IdΓ i SmotrΓ): a 1985 Soviet epic tragedy film directed by Elem Klimov. Klimov had to fight eight years of censorship from the Soviet authorities before he was allowed to produce the film in its entirety... The starring were two talented kids called Aleksei Kravchenko and Olga Mironova. The flim mixes surrealism with a bit of existentialism that we used to watch and read in Russian arts.
The other film is more recent but also interesting and worthy to watch. It is called Petrov's Flu.
Just before the start of the new year, Petrov's family gets sick with the flu. Then he meets a trickster named Igor who can mix the world of the living and the dead. The Petrov family begin to suffer surrealistic hallucinations and the line between reality and hallucination begins to disappear.
Iβve heard of βCome and See.β It sounds brutal and disturbing. Descriptions Iβve read make it sound like a book I read back in college - βThe Painted Bird,β by Jerzy Kosinsky. After 50 years, I still remember how harrowing and difficult to read it was. Difficult not because of the language, but because how hard it was to face the storyKozinski told.
The other film sounds a bit more up my alley. Thanks for the recommendations.
The film is set on a black-and-white screen and in 1919 Denmark. The main protagonist did a very nice job, convincing. There are scenes which are "hard to swallow", and it might not be for all kinds of audiences.
Anyway, it is a great film.
Similar theme as The Day After (1983) released 42 years earlier, different angle, well, angles, literally.
Danger hasn't dissipated since then (Piper (2022), Andersen (2025)).