Bolegium

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Everything posted by Bolegium

  1. Movie/TV recommendations

    Code 46 is the first movie I thought of, it has a hazy/dream-like quality to it at least. Or you could just listen to the soundtrack, which is ambient 'post-rock' bliss: I feel like something directed by Jim Jarmusch would be fitting too, maybe Coffee and Cigarettes, or Broken Flowers? Departures (2008) might also be in/appropriate (depending on how severe your illness is). Stuff from Studio Ghibli is probably another obvious rec. I really liked Monsters (2010) as well. Mostly dialogue, and another blissful soundtrack.
  2. Movie/TV recommendations

    I've started making my way through Villeneuve's filmography. So far the order has been pretty haphazard, 'Enemy' was the first of his I watched, then 'Sicario', and just last night I saw 'Prisoners'. My immediate reaction after finishing Enemy was pretty negative. The movie deals in a lot of metaphor, but other scenes seem completely straightforward. In the end though it feels like the only way to make sense of the film is to accept that ALL of it is metaphor. I don't know if that even helps with understanding the movie better, or if it's a valid conclusion to make at all. I definitely was unprepared for how intellectual the film is, and would be interested in a re-watch (I watched it with my mum when I was visiting and had time to kill - turns out this wasn't the mystery/detective film we assumed it would be). It also doesn't help that the most coherent interpretation of the film that I've come up with is that its 'message' is just your standard misogyny. Also the movie feels needlessly slow for it's relatively short 90 mins. Watching Sicario helped me understand what Villeneuve might be going for. The world is a nihilistic wasteland, and ALL the characters are slaves to institutional systems of control/ideological beliefs. None of the characters act to create, or even try to imagine alternative realities. The 'message' of the film doesn't seem to be that "one side is better than the other", instead it's about how the the horrors of the world are sustained and self-fulfilled by the false dichotomy of "both sides", who fundamentally share the same beliefs about how the world functions, and their inability to take alternative courses of action. I hadn't really organised those thoughts until after watching Prisoners, and most of what I thought about Sicario can be applied to Prisoners (or vice-versa). Even Enemy seems like it would make more sense seeing it from this perspective, as a character study of a person trapped by their own beliefs (or the shared beliefs of a population) instead of being about a guy who is actually trapped by some external bullshit. You could argue that making films depicting the realities of close-minded characters/societies, without presenting or acknowledging the possibility of alternatives, is itself close-minded. It's like if Snowpiercer didn't have Namgoong Minsoo and Yona as characters who could see beyond the system they were trapped in. Someone brought up in a different forum that Sicario could have been a great season 2 of True Detective as well. In any case I could be completely off the mark. Regardless of what the intended messages of the films may be, they're interesting to think about and open to interpretation (even if they're about people who are closed off to other possibilities). They're also fantastically well-acted and well-made, at least with Roger Deakins shooting and Johann Johannsson scoring. I found out that Denis Villeneuve and Roger Deakins are attached to the Blade Runner sequel, and that pairing sounds perfect, even if a Duncan Jones-directed Blade Runner would be even more perfect.
  3. Movie/TV recommendations

    I just watched Girlhood. It was sooo good that I got off my lazy arse to actually visit the forum for once and make a post about it. I should also probably get around to watching Sciamma's other films. Since i'm here I might as well make a shout out to 'Magic Mike XXL' (yep it's actually really good and basically a self-aware 'fuck you' to the first film), and 'A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night' too (sorry Patrick R, haha). Also i'll have the chance to see 'Dope' and 'The Lobster' in a cinema soon, and hopefully 'Victoria' gets screenings in Sydney, cos it sounds amazing. Another movie that's also amazing: Girlhood.
  4. Finally finished the game, but haven't listened to the spoilerblast yet. I really liked the pacing of my playthrough, even if the ending was a matter of me running out of ideas for search terms, and dealing with diminishing returns. I also never felt that I was discovering information "too early". Most of the "twists" came from realising only later on how things discovered earlier actually connected to each other, and from second guessing my own theories. I kind of admire how ambiguous and unsatisfying/unresolved the story feels in the end. Instead of a story where everything is so vague that no explanation seems plausible, it's vague in a finely crafted way that makes different explanations feel equally possible. This might be a glass half empty-half full situation where there is no actual difference beyond perception, but in this instance I'm inclined to see it as the latter.
  5. This episode felt like something that should have happened way earlier in the series. Did they really need to spend more than half the entire series to set up the characters and investigation (which finally seems to be progressing)? A lot of stuff from the first four episodes feels even more redundant than it already did, given how little has changed in regards to the investigation. The acting has been consistently great, which makes bearable some of the unconvincing dialogue and weird scenarios. Though regarding the scene with Ani that Croods mentions above, the other guys seem aroused and interested by Ani's comments rather than flustered, besides maybe the counsellor. That scene still feels weird because it comes across as self concious and meta, like Pizzolatto is trying to make a statement, rather than writing genuine character beats. I don't know if I trust the show to be able to deliver on "big picture messages" without saying some very problematic things in the process (accidentally or not), so i'm apprehensive every time it seems like it is. Having said that, I think I've finally learned to stop worrying and go with the flow with Paul's character. Even with all the shouting, the show is still ambiguous about how and why Paul is so messed up, and that ambiguity is working for me. P.S. Sean (and everyone else) should watch 'In Bruges' if you have any doubts about Colin Farrell as an actor.
  6. "Apoplectic" (spoken first by Ray) stood out to as me as being noticeably literary, rather than naturalisticaly oral, which I also felt was beginning to emerge in Frank's line prior: "there's a certain stridency here". Past the initial surprise, I saw it as the show doubling down on pulpy noir style dialogue (and possibly as evidence of how writer-driven this season is). I really liked this episode, mostly because it finally seems to be one that is directed well, with purpose and interest. The music/sound design in the scene with Ray and his dad talking about his past was really subtle and unsettling. Ray's dad describing how "before the riots and O.J." police could do their jobs without interference was also pretty fucked up. It felt like there were more flashes of humour in this episode as well. Still iffy on Paul's story thread, there was some nice banter between him an Ani, but he was mostly separated from the rest of the main characters. Looks like he will be tangled back in with the rest of them if the teases of bumping into Frank, and being observed by the other police dude are anything to go by. Also I dunno how the show is going to develop the "closeted gay" aspect without being cliched or doing something really distasteful. And yes, that intro was great. Was quite happy with how economically they resolved last week's cliffhanger. PS. that scene with the movie director was very strange on a meta level. I don't know anything about any behind the scenes beef between Pizzolatto and Fuknaga, but that was the first thing that came to mind.
  7. Listening to the podcast now, I just realised that Ani's vaping feels like another subtle facet of her apparently hypocritical nature (i'm assuming she uses an e-cig because she believes it's 'healthier' than traditional cigarettes). The interactions she had last week with with 'Steve', and later her sister, were a great set up. The lingering on porn this week was perfectly balanced ambiguity. Looking forward to the next episode, which is a nice improvement over what the first episode left me feeling. Some other thoughts: I liked the non-linear construction of the morgue scenes cutting to flashbacks, even if a lot of the dialogue itself felt inelegantly expository. This may end up being more pointless armchair theorising, but I read a comment post or article somewhere (I think it was Vanity Fair) highlighting the links between season 2 and Oedipal myth. Antigone was an obvious reference from the first episode, but now there's stuff with Paul and his mother, Ray and "his" son, Frank Semyon and his father. At the very least this series seems interested in exploring fucked up parent/child relationships more than the first series touched on, and the story of Oedipus might be worth keeping in mind.
  8. Movie/TV recommendations

    Nope, it sounds great, gonna watch! Mad Max tangent: I really liked the undercranking (i.e. sped-up motion) in the film. In a lot of other movies, speed ramping feels like pointless and boring "Zack Snyder presents: Cool slow-mo punching!". In Fury Road it seemed like more time was spent in fast motion rather than slowed down (or even normal speed), and really fine-tuned to have actual rhythm rather than just being an on/off switch between fast/slow. I thought it was really effective at conveying kinetic energy, and looking 'fake' didn't bother me at all. I liked the speed ramping in Green Wing too, so maybe I have a higher tolerance for it than others.
  9. anime

    So what you're saying is that you've never seen it cos it's terrible right? msg recieved loud and clear. (i dunno, i guess i feel like you're more likely to outright call something crap than be wishy washy about it if you dont like it? not specifically anime)
  10. anime

    I'm slowly making my way through Steins;Gate, it's not really holding my interest at the moment and I don't understand why it's so highly praised, I think i'm around 5 episodes in, it's been a fortnight since I last watched any. Not to put anyone on the spot, but a Twig stamp of approval might push me into finishing it if you've seen it? ^ω^ (((sorry to Zeus and everyone else saying how great the show is, I need the opinion of someone who hates anime) sorry Twig) ...I don't know what i'm even saying). Gormongous just made me realise I don't think I ever finished watching The Sky Crawlers. Unless it was so slow and boring that I've actually forgotten ALL of the movie. I think every time I started watching the movie I ended up stopping and doing something else which is a shame.
  11. Movie/TV recommendations

    The Sydney Film Festival was on earlier this month, and having only ever attended once for Upstream Color back in 2013, this time I ended up seeing 8 films (and going more hungry than usual for that week). Especially noteworthy: Mother (dir. Bong Joon-ho 2009). The version screened was a director's "remaster" where the film had been desaturated to black and white in consultation with the cinematographer, Hong Kyung-pyo. This movie became an instant all-time favourite when I first saw it a few months ago, but I was kind of expecting the remaster to be a gimmicky novelty at worst. Wow was I wrong. I think the movie was even more affecting this time around, seeing/hearing it on a big cinema screen and sound system probably helped too, but the monochrome conversion itself was a bit of genius. Speaking of, I don't get why some people are so anti black and white films, or rather I do get it but think their reasons are shit. "I paid $15 to see a band perform, but they don't have a keytar player, gimme refund" is basically what their reasons boil down to. Same deal with aspect ratios "There is an empty area on the stage! Fill it up or this band is a waste of life". I also read that Mad Max: Fury Road would have a black and white version with no dialogue (possibly no sound effects either - just score) for home release, and that really sounds great to me. The Look of Silence (dir. Joshua Oppenheimer 2014). This is a follow up to the documentary "The Act of Killing" about the Indonesian mass killings in the 1960s, but following a few of the survivors and their descendants, instead of following the perpetrators like The Act of Killing did. I went in expecting a more conventional, simpler doco compared to how unconventional the first one was. Again I was wrong. The Look of Silence is even more harrowing, and just fucking soul crushing. There was a bit of catharsis at the end of The Act of Killing, maybe a hint of acknowledgement if not remorse. The Look of Silence does not let the audience have that, the survivors don't get that, 50 years have passed and the wounds are only getting deeper. If there is anything to feel good about, it's that because of these documentaries, more people have at least become aware of this period of history and its ongoing effects, and Indonesians are slowly being able to tell their stories. Song of the Sea (dir. Tomm Moore 2014). I'm so glad I have friends who aren't obsessed like I am with seeing extremely depressing films, otherwise I would have forgotten this was going to be screened. Funny thing is, to them it was a terribly sad movie (and I guess it was to some degree), but compared to the stuff on my schedule (Haemoo, Sworn Virgin, the films mentioned above) it was such a relief. Such a lovely movie, and Bruno Coulais' music is beautiful. More recently I saw Partisan (dir. Ariel Kleiman 2015), which I really really liked. If I hadn't heard that 'Oneohtrix Point Never' scored the film, It probably would have passed me by completely. It's a really great debut for a first time director, and the (award-winning) cinematography is marvellous. I also watched Spy, which I liked too (noticing that all the songs in the film were sung by women was fun and a nice touch), and loved When Marnie Was There, despite its problems. I'll be seeing Inside Out by myself next, after failing to convince the family to come. They would rather wait until it airs with an hour worth of ads on free-to-air tv, or watch a "free" streaming version. My inner Lewis Black getting a nice workout. Also, late to the party and everything, Ex Machina and Fury Road are sooooo good. Hoping to see Furious Furiosa for a third time soon. Ex Machina Spoilers:
  12. The Dancing Thumb (aka: music recommendations)

    Saw Daedelus on saturday, incredible live performer. The video below gives you some idea how involved he is, and how much fun he has performing, then extend that to an hour and make it even more hectic and you'll come close to picturing what he did in Sydney. He's also super sweet and humble, and I completely forgot he did the OST for Nidhogg even though that totally increased my hype for the game! Also, since Stuart is falling behind on posting RTJ videos:
  13. Just finished the episode, and will listen to the podcast later (hopefully the soundcloud upload gets sorted out soon). Quick thoughts: Antigone looks set to be an interesting character, for reasons Sarah mentioned above. Did not care for most of the dialogue this episode, characters became interesting and believable when they were actually doing something (trying not to compare it to season 1 too much, but the dialogue really worked for me back then). The cinematography (I presume for the entire second series) is done by Nigel Bluck (who happens to be another antipodean, along with first season DoP Adam Arkapaw). Didn't really captivate me, but that might be down to poor direction. I'll see how it goes when a different director is at the helm, but it's not looking promising. Bringing up season 1 again, there was really masterful and interesting cinematography straight out of the gate in the first episode, obviously continuing throughout that season. Great comments in this forum! Really like the interpretation put forth by d L c, and that Dan Howser bit gave me an internal chuckle when I saw it.
  14. Hello! The Twin Peaks and Mad Men podcasts have been great, and i'm really looking forward to the True Detective podcasts. Regarding the uniquely notable consistency of the first series of TD: besides having a singular writer (Nic Pizzolatto) and director (Cary Fukunaga) as has already been mentioned, the entire season was also shot by a single cinematographer (Adam Arkapaw). He's worked on some great stuff, notably 'Animal Kingdom', 'Snowtown', 'Top of the Lake', and the upcoming 'Macbeth'. His involvement was also one of the main reasons I became interested in watching TD in the first place, as at the time I had no idea who Cary and Nic were. You've already gone over this a bit, but I too find the consistency in creative vision one of the major highlights of the first series. It forces every single minute detail into importance and to be considered with the larger context of the entire show, whereas in shows without such a singular vision, it's easy to overlook these details as periphery, or outright dismiss things when they don't work (e.g. much of the back half of Twin Peaks season 2). When things don't work or seem incongruent in True Detective, It's still fascinating and worthwhile to contemplate when you know there is a strong intentional choice driving these segments and their connections with the rest of the series. Given what little I know about the production of the second series, I don't expect it to match the singular vision achieved in the first. Hopefully it will still be interesting and worthwhile to watch/discuss, as I don't think being directed/written/shot by a consistent group of people is a requirement for the show to be great. In particular I'm interested in episode three of season two, which (according to Wikipedia) will be directed by Janus Metz Pedersen, who is an acclaimed documentary filmmaker. Regarding the single take shot, FILMCRITHULK wrote a great article discussing its use in True Detective and the art of long shots in general, here: http://birthmoviesdeath.com/2014/02/13/film-crit-hulk-smash-hulk-vs.-tracking-shots It's a great read as usual, though I don't expect it to change anyone's opinion on the matter (namely Chris "it felt like a dead-end" Remo) Cary Fukunaga himself also wrote about that scene for The Guardian: http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2014/mar/17/true-detective-cary-fukunaga-tracking-shot The article also gives some idea how much directorial control he had over the entire first season.
  15. Wow great news! I hadn't realised that season 2 was imminent either, so thanks for the reminder. Tangent: now that all the Idle Thumbs have abandoned making games and whatnot, and are full time TV-show podcasters (/joking), I'd love to have a thumbs-crewed podcast following AMC's "Halt and Catch Fire" (which I also did not realise that the second season had already commenced), and maybe even a "Rick and Morty" podcast? Also: forget everything else I just wrote, WHERE IS THE FARSCAPE REWATCH PODCAST????
  16. Movie/TV recommendations

    So today I checked online to see if tickets to the Sydney premiere (tomorrow night) of It Follows were available (they appeared to be). After a 40 minute walk to the cinema i'm told they were sold out. Their website could do a better job of displaying ticket availability from the outset, rather than making you confirm a purchase before actually showing whether it's sold out or not. I'm looking forward to seeing it eventually, and listening to that Disasterpeace OST! Moving on to tonight, I found out there's a free screening of Paprika at a nearby-ish bar around half an hour after doors opened (but luckily an hour before the screening started). It's been a few years since i've seen the movie, and I go with a friend who hasn't watched it and has only skimmed over the synopsis tonight. It's just as great as I remember it being, and i'm surprised at all the little details i'm picking up, and how exciting and disturbing and lovely it still is, even after multiple viewings. I love Parpika, in case that wasn't obvious enough. It seems like there have been/will be monthly free screenings of anime movies at that bar. I missed out on Tekkon Kinkreet and Spriggan which were the last two sessions. The location is Knox Street Bar in Sydney, and the screenings are on the evening of every second Tuesday of the month.
  17. The Dancing Thumb (aka: music recommendations)

    Another new dälek track
  18. The End of Mad Men: Welcome

    I started watching Mad Men a few weeks ago, binged up to season 4 episode 10 so far. Looking forward to the podcast and hoping I can catch up in time for the finale!
  19. Other podcasts

    Pretty much the same as you. I will say that generally speaking, I find video game-related jokes more enjoyable in the context of (for e.g. Carlo Ritchie's) regular comedy shows, where they feel like an in-joke that me and a small percentage of the audience will understand, whereas in a video game-themed show I'm probably part of the minority who won't get most of the jokes because I don't have any experience with Pokemon, or Zelda, or Street Fighter etc. All that means is that jokes can be a lot more hit or miss given how diverse people's video game experiences are, which is probably definitely more of a positive thing than a negative. And like, Idle Thumbs is the best, how can any show about video games compete with the Thumbs around? Having said that, Justice Points sounds like it's rad and also the best, I will start listening!
  20. Thanks for the side discussion about Mulholland Drive. Story Time: the first time I watched it was with a crappy low res pirated version, alone, in the middle of the night, on my 16th birthday. Not a deliberate decision on my part, just a weird coincidence of circumstances after reading that it was a weird and interesting movie. It was my first Lynch film too. So after finishing the movie I couldn't fall asleep because I became terrified of the dark again, despite having overcome that years ago, and just terrified and unsettled in general. That feeling pervaded my normal waking life, lingering for at least a week or more, and to quote Sean - crept so deep inside me that I've never gotten rid of it. Tying this back to video games, reading that Mulholland Drive was a major influence for Jon Blow when creating Braid makes a lot a sense. Like Hotline Miami, the ending subverts everything you've done throughout the game in a really unsettling and memorable way. Thanks also for tales from Notorious Weedlord n0Sc0p3R xXxEAGlEKIllAxXx
  21. Other podcasts

    Screw dignity, meeting a stranger who games videos AND who listens to Idle Thumbs would bring me to negative dignity levels as I attempt to refrain from emitting fart noises and making the most obvious and cringe-worthy belated references to horse bag baboo wizards.
  22. The Dancing Thumb (aka: music recommendations)

    Some more great electronica, got a bit of a Com Truise sound going on Albums available here: http://midwestcollective.bandcamp.com/album/odyssey http://midwestcollective.bandcamp.com/album/before-the-night
  23. Other podcasts

    Oh cool! Got my ticket too. I've been to Giant Dwarf a few times and they have all been good (and hilarious) experiences. I'll say hi if I see you there, and if me doing so isn't too creepy.
  24. Other podcasts

    Carlo Ritchie is a Sydney, Australia based stand-up/improv comic, he's also one of the hosts of a live weekly gaming radio show/podcast called Big Head Mode. I don't know anything about their podcast and haven't listened to any episodes, but I'm a fan of Carlo's comedy work. They are organising a "live video game talk show" for March 25th called Bonus Stage. I've never been to any gaming-themed events and am planning to attend this one. One of the guests is Rae Johnston, her presence and Carlo's are helping reduce the automatic (and probably unfair) pessimism I feel about popular gaming events. So if you're in Sydney, or your name is Merus, or both, check out this Bonus Stage event and Big Head Mode.