ysbreker

Movie/TV recommendations

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Yeah, it's wonderful... he meets a penguin expert and the only two questions he asks are about gay penguins, and insane penguins. I love Werner Herzog so much.

The whole of Grizzly Man seems to be on Youtube too, which I also recommend. Herzog presents it so hilariously, it's some kind of mixture of dark comedy and horror.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFyaiqDXD2U

There is also the video of Herzog being shot by a sniper, which is another favourite: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylXqc8TQ15w

"It was not a significant bullet"

Legend.

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Yeah, Herzog is boss. Cave of Forgotten Dreams was wonderful in 3D. I could listen to him talk about a milk carton for two hours.

The term Murray Smith uses to describe what we feel for antipathic main characters is actually "fascination", our desire to get a glimpse into a world so different from ours.

He also stipulates that we are more likely to forgive characters that we have subjective access to, i.e. we see Tony punish members of his gang that disrespect him, or merely to show strength, but we also see go to therapy, have trouble with his family and so on.

The article itself has many weak spots (the biggest of which is asking "why do we like Tony Soprano?" instead of "do we like Tony Soprano?"), but it's a really interesting subject nonetheless.

Bonus feature: Reread this post in Werner Herzogs voice to make it sound profound.

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Wait, Murray Smith? Where is this writer based? That's the name of the head of Calgary's Cinematheque, who also teaches at the University here and may be my boss come February if the proposed theatre takeover happens (which I desperately hope it does). Do I know and sometimes drink with this author?

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He also stipulates that we are more likely to forgive characters that we have subjective access to, i.e. we see Tony punish members of his gang that disrespect him, or merely to show strength, but we also see go to therapy, have trouble with his family and so on.

Bit of a tangent but I'm interested to hear you explain the idea of "subjective access". The example you gave would have actually made me use the term objective to describe our view of Tony. By that I mean that we essentially see everything about him, from an impersonal perspective, rather than just seeing his victims' point of view, for example. However, the things that we are learning about Tony from the examples you gave are part of the subjective view of Tony - things about what he might be thinking or feeling or explaining his motivations - so is that what you meant by subjective access?

Alternatively, am I reading far too much in an incidental word choice?

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So, questions. Maybe I've turned cynical lately, or maybe it's because I'm 9 episodes into season three of The Wire and everything is shit by comparison, but:

- Does anyone like How I Met Your Mother? I really try to enjoy it, but the main character is a prat. No, look; I don't mind prats. Ignatius J. Reilly is a prat doughnut, but I think A Confederacy of Dunces is the funniest novel I've ever read (this in addition to it being heavy on the literary stuffing). But Ted is a delusional fool on the quest to find "true love" (whatever his definition of that is), but it's prompted by his best friends getting engaged. He has the emotional maturity of an alcoholic teenager, and the show seems oblivious. The whole thing isn't very funny either, but maybe that's just me: I really can't get over puppy-eyed Ted. I don't mind flawed, broken characters; hell, that's how I like them. Vanilla's boring. But at least the show has to be aware of it.

Does no-one else have this problem? Or is this something addressed later on? Because I made it through most of season one before becoming very exasperated with it.

- Parks and Recreation: this didn't impress me too much when I saw it, but in its defense I was on a plane and very tired, and maybe I was a bit harsh by saying it was essentially a rip-off of The Office. (Mind you, that pissed me off more than is normal for a sane person, since it ripped off the American version, and not the British one. I don't want to sound like a pretentious, elitist dick here, but I think the American version did very little better than the BBC one. Why rip off something inferior?)

Anyway, what do you guys think of it? I've been catching odd episodes on late night TV in between bouts of solving assignments, and it's really quite bipolar, in the same way Doctor Who is: sometimes I like it, other times I think it's poor.

- Community: everyone loves it but me. Maybe I'm prejudiced towards stuff that tries to appeal to geeks, but I can never make it past 10 minutes into a single episode. My friends all say it gets better after the first episode, but I simply can't get into it. I'm going to take Idle Thumbs's word on this: continue the thing, or should I just look for laughs elsewhere?

- The Big Bang Theory: the single most popular show in Jordan. This thing can die in a fire. I say this without shame. Unlike the other shows, there is nothing redeeming about this. Fuck The Big Bang Theory and its tired,

. I actually find this kind of offensive, and as far as I know I'm very difficult to offend. I normally wouldn't hate something as woefully stupid as a TV show, but I sometimes think the world would be a better place without The Big Bang Theory.

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I love How I Met Your Mother, and I not only disagree with your assessment of Ted, I also relate to him, too. I find it kind of funny that we both find the The Big Bang Theory offensive. Personally I find it offensive because it's yet another show where "real men" are supposed to want to be womanizers. (See Two and a Half Men.)

We've spoken quite frequently about the messages that the media sends to women, about what a women is supposed to like, and how they're supposed to behave... but we haven't talked about the messages we men are sent. We get them, too.

A lot of popular shows portray "sensitive" men as failures, as the very thing that turns a potential female partner off. "Real" women want a "real" man, which is apparently someone who's completely slimy, full of themselves, who is only using them for sex, and with a plan to throw them away.

How I Met Your Mother, on the other hand, has a lead male character who's actually looking for - shock! - a wife. Yes, that's right. A wife! And who wants to be father? A father! Hello! How uncool is that? How pathetic and lame is he?! What a loser!!!

Not only that, but the series portrays the happiest people in the world to be those who have found a solid, loving, trusting relationship. It also portrays womanizers as pathetic creeps worthy of derision and mocking... (How very un-Charlie Sheen.)

For all of the above reasons, I love this show, and find it to be a breath of fresh air.

Yes, Ted is chasing a romantic ideal, but dammit, some of us still believe in romantic love. And given that Marshall and Lily's relationship is what he's aiming for, it doesn't seem too out of reach...

PS - Ted's not chasing a partner simply because his friends are getting married (although that's not much of a criticism if he was), you've apparently just caught a random episode.

I'm sure the sweet idealistic, escapism of shows like this must grate against the brutal realism of The Wire, though...

Edited by ThunderPeel2001

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Here's my take.

How I met your mother: Genius. Ted is a shallow bore, but Barney and Marshall more than make up for that. Now that I've been watching it for a few years, I feel right at home, they feel like 'family', though that may sound a little Forever Alone. The point is that even though there little philosophy to it, the jokes and writing is actually pretty smart.

In stark contrast to: The Big Bang Theory. I don't hate the show, but I don't care for it either. Now here's a show with inane writing. Though Sheldon can be pretty funny, the rest of the cast is meh at best. I think the pandering is particularly off-putting.

Community: I had a hard time getting into this, not really buying into it for the first season. But somewhere along the way I did start to care for it, even though it's not HIMYM or Arrested Development (the serie Harmon did previously).

So there you have it! You're not crazy, or alternatively, all of Jordan is!

Edited by Rodi

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I'll just add that I think How I Met Your Mother certainly has its flaws, though... It's not The Wire or anything, it's just an enjoyable sitcom with its heart in the right place.

Modern Family is worth a peek, if you haven't seen it. But you may also find the fact that it's a sitcom a horrible clash against The Wire. (Maybe skip other TV until you've finished the season?)

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Sorry to interject, but who in their right mind would even think to compare The Wire to How I Met Your Mother? That's not apples and oranges, that's anvils and orangutans.

I have to sidetrack this (interesting) conversation to report that I just watched Zardoz, by far the most baffling movie I've seen since The Man Who Fell To Earth, but way better, more fun and entertaining. It stars Sean Connery who looks like this:

zardoz.jpg

And features a floating rock head god called Zardoz which looks like this:

zardoz-b.jpg

Its main soundtrack consists of Beethoven's 7th. This movie begs to be seen and defies description.

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Sorry to interject, but who in their right mind would even think to compare The Wire to How I Met Your Mother? That's not apples and oranges, that's anvils and orangutans.

I watch The Wire whenever I have an hour to spare, and How I Met Your Mother when I'm essentially dead with a half hour of consciousness left in me. The two inevitably got compared in my head. Then again, I compare everything with everything. It's probably a mistake, but I can't help it.

I have to sidetrack this (interesting) conversation to report that I just watched Zardoz, by far the most baffling movie I've seen since The Man Who Fell To Earth, but way better, more fun and entertaining. It stars Sean Connery who looks like this

This sounds great for my end-of-exams celebrations in two weeks. Thanks.

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TP describes pretty much how I feel about HIMYM, though the show has kind of lost its drive and spark in the later seasons. I still enjoy watching it.

But you really must watch Community. It's true what they say about the first season, but once the writers and actors lock into the characters properly, the show elevates above and beyond. Not only is it hilarious, some of the episodes are profound in redefining what half-hour sitcom storytelling can do. It's hands down my favourite TV show right now, and it's quickly becoming one of my absolute favourite TV shows period.

...#sixseasonsandamovie

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I haven't seen How I Met Your Mother, but my roommate has gone through four seasons in less than a week, after discovering it's on Netflix streaming. The show is not really something in which I have any interest.

Having not seen it, I can't compare it to Big Bang Theory, which I have seen. BIG BANG THEORY IS AWFUL. I hate laugh tracks. Hate them. They force me to laugh at things I would otherwise find not funny.

Sometimes I, too, worry I am becoming cynical. But I'm okay with it, if it means I don't have to deal with laugh tracks.

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How I Met Your Mother is pretty bad most of the time (and a laugh track doesn't help at all), but sometimes it does something hilarious that makes me laugh. It's been a while, though, almost like that one good writer got fed up and left.

Community is fantastic, though the latest season has been the weakest so far. Usually it gets better the further they move away from the regular, expected stuff and do crazy paintball episodes.

I tried watching Big Bang Theory, but I didn't make it past the first episode; it seemed to hinge too much on unfunny nerd stereotypes.

I want to mention Psych, since it's a show I think is pretty good, though always feel slightly ashamed to mention. Like Monk, it's the most inoffensive television the USA manages to produce, but when the actors and writing line up just so, it's the best thing.

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Community is fantastic, though the latest season has been the weakest so far. Usually it gets better the further they move away from the regular, expected stuff and do crazy paintball episodes.

es.

I want to mention Psych, since it's a show I think is pretty good, though always feel slightly ashamed to mention. Like Monk, it's the most inoffensive television the USA manages to produce, but when the actors and writing line up just so, it's the best thing.

I kept trying to get into Community, because everyone around me who I usually agree with on cinema/tv was completely into it, but I didn't manage it until the first dual paintball episode. Since then, I'm all for it.

As for Psych, I have yet to watch a Psych episode I don't like. My favorites probably being the Cary Elwes ones.

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Yes, Psych! I've kinda given up on recommending it, because it seems it's either not someones "thing" or they know about it already.

Don't watch it if you can't stand serialized crime series with a 'twist', but that makes a great framework for putting two hilarious and likeable characters in crazy situations and have them riff on it. The show is also great for deep, deep 80s/90s references, as well as guest actors from that era.

(It helps that Shawn and Gus are carbon copies of me and my best friend when we hang out together.)

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Great discussion guys... :violin:

Just kidding, I saw the Twin Peaks episode of Psych and it was pretty amusing. I think I'd probably like that show if I watched it.

Aside from Modern Family (which everyone has ignored despite the fact that it's excellent -- excellent I tell you!), I watched the first few episodes of The Good Wife from my super-comfy-seat™ on the plane back from LA, and utterly LOVED it.

I need to dig that up somehow and enjoy it.

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Psych is one of the cleverest and funniest television shows I have ever seen. I love it. It's by far currently the show I look forward to most when it's airing.

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Yeah, I second any recommendation for Modern Family. Obviously you have to view it as what it is, which is a relaxed sitcom, but within that genre it is great. I could not tell you the plot of any specific episode, but I have never come away from one disappointed, which pretty much makes it the perfect "quality without substance" TV show.

I've been up and down with Community recently, and have been considering dropping it once the current season ends. However, I just watched the most recent episode, a Christmas/Glee-themed episode. It was brilliant. My faith in the show is restored, for now at least.

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I have to sidetrack this (interesting) conversation to report that I just watched Zardoz, by far the most baffling movie I've seen since The Man Who Fell To Earth, but way better, more fun and entertaining. It stars Sean Connery who looks like this:

.

Those are two of my favorite movies, not in terms of watchability but of notable lead roles, interesting ideas, and complete wtf moments.

Two movies I would love to see try to get a do over but sensible, but not boring sensible directors because both those movies I believe have something there to be awesome.

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I found The Man Who Fell To Earth rather painful to watch. It didn't register with me at all. I had to wash it down with Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence which also featured Bowie, and had Tom Conti and Beat Takeshi as a nice bonus.

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I was just going to post about a pretty sweet deal, but it looks like it just got slightly less sweeter.

The entire Battlestar Galactica on Bluray for £55GBP / $85USD:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Battlestar-Galactica-Complete-Blu-ray-Region/dp/B0027UY8B8

It's gone up, as of today, to £66GBP / $104USD, though.

And Stanley Kubrick on Bluray was £21GBP / $33 USD:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Stanley-Kubrick-Visionary-Filmmaker-Collection/dp/B004MW57KA/

Except as of today it's gone up to £40GBP.

Balls. I can't believe that. Sorry folks, this has become the post that simply points out "great deals you recently missed" :tdown: I had good intentions.

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IMO that Kubrick collection is still a pretty damn good deal and I ordered it straight away. My dad just got a Bluray player so that's probably his Christmas present. Cheers!

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Kind of late to Big Bang Theory chat, but I wanted to show you this video: a scene from the show, with the laugh track removed, and the laugh track pauses also removed to make it less Lynchian (here it is with the awkward silences if you're into that sort of thing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfFd_wOQsGQ )

zS5a7RBB4vk

I think this comment sums it up best:

"Suddenly, the show becomes a drama depicting the everyday life of a man struggling with high functioning autism."

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