ysbreker

Movie/TV recommendations

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Little hints of dubstep stuff similar to the Syndicate music in there, but yeah it looks interesting. I'm basically in love with Joseph Gordon-Levitt at the moment so I'll almost certainly watch it. Which reminds me, I forget if it was mentioned in this thread already, but 50/50 is a great film with him in. A very funny look at life with cancer and so on.

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Thunder and I very much enjoyed The Cabin In The Woods. I recommend you try to learn as little about it as possible and go watch it.

Edited by Ben X

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Periods in which I'm trying to learn as little about something as possible are the worst. Being on Twitter, it has become an exercise in frustration, irritation and inevitable disappointment and anger.

But I'll still try to not have anyone spoil it for me.

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Periods in which I'm trying to learn as little about something as possible are the worst. Being on Twitter, it has become an exercise in frustration, irritation and inevitable disappointment and anger.

But I'll still try to not have anyone spoil it for me.

Do your best! It's still a good movie, even if some things get spoiled, it's just even better if you don't know what's going on :tup:

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Thunder and I very much enjoyed The Cabin In The Woods. I recommend you try to learn as little about it as possible and go watch it.

Also agree.

I think the movie would work even if you were spoiled (it's definitely not built on suspense), but being surprised makes it even better.

It's nice to have a

meta

movie in which the

metaness

feels like it's being used to make a point rather than just being a thing.

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So I was wondering if someone could help me remember any great, great screenwriters? Coen Brothers, Charlie Kaufman, Martin McDonagh. I'm sure there's more. Edgar Wright collaborating with Simon Pegg usually results in great screenplays, though Simon Pegg working alone hasn't been as memorable.

I'm sure this list could be improved.

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So I was wondering if someone could help me remember any great, great screenwriters? Coen Brothers, Charlie Kaufman, Martin McDonagh. I'm sure there's more. Edgar Wright collaborating with Simon Pegg usually results in great screenplays, though Simon Pegg working alone hasn't been as memorable.

I'm sure this list could be improved.

Paddy Cheyefsky

Billy Wilder (pretty much always as a collaborator)

Woody Allen

Francis Ford Coppola

P.T. Anderson

Ernest Lehman

Clifford Odets (his greatest work, Sweet Smell of Success, is credited to him along with Ernest Lehman and the film's director Alexander Mackendrick, but it's a matter of record that Odets is essentially responsible for the screenplay)

Martin Scorsese (always as a collaborator)

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Nice, thanks for reminding me that Sweet Smell of Success is a thing that exists. The soundtrack is so good, best jazz soundtrack I've ever heard.

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Nice, thanks for reminding me that Sweet Smell of Success is a thing that exists. The soundtrack is so good, best jazz soundtrack I've ever heard.

If you dig jazz soundtracks:

the inimitable Jimmy Smith does a phenomenal job for Any Number Can Win (an Alain Delon heist caper thing)

And there's also Ascenseur pour l'échafaud with

doing the soundtrack.

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Nice, thanks for reminding me that Sweet Smell of Success is a thing that exists. The soundtrack is so good, best jazz soundtrack I've ever heard.

The soundtrack is cool in that half of it is the actual in-world jazz by the Chico Hamilton Quintet, and half of it is the amazing original score by Elmer Bernstein.

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Edgar Wright collaborating with Simon Pegg usually results in great screenplays, though Simon Pegg working alone hasn't been as memorable.

I'm hoping Pegg improves his solo act with this one:

GAe5c1t8iuc

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Right. Was thinking more of, stuff he does at all without his creative partners, Edgar Wright and Nick Frost.

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I saw The Ides of March a second time just now after seeing it in cinemas last year. Favorite movie of 2011, and it's still superb.

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The new HBO series GIRLS just started. First episode is pretty darn promising. The lead actress, Lena Dunham, also writes and directs the series. All of the leads are pretty strong. Looking forward to seeing more.

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So I was wondering if someone could help me remember any great, great screenwriters?

I don't want to sound monomaniacal but, Joseph L. Mankiewicz. Very crafty and brilliant in terms of story content, story strucutre AND dialogs, but he directed his own screenplay and he was a genius at that too; so maybe it's cheating (I'm not sure it's easy to appreciate a screenplay in the hands of a bad director)

I was going to add Frank Pierson (Cool Hand Luke, A Dog Day Afternoon, Presumed Innocent) but I haven't seen enough of his stuff; and RottenTomatoes tells me it's not all that good apparently.

Otherwise, like Chris, Woody Allen. It's easy to mostly remember him for his acting and comedy writing but Radio Days, Crimes and Misdemeanors, Manhattan Murder Mystery, September, Mighty Aphordite are also built on great, great screenplays; and their breadth of tone is stunning.

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Veep is on in 3 days. :tup:

This is giving me methadone for my Thick of it addiction.

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American Horror Story is actually pretty good. Really really sinister. Had to stop watching it, because we live in a mega old house.

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The embargo I had to sign has ended, so I'm now free to post my impressions of The Avengers (aka Avengers Assemble). I was incredibly lucky to get tickets to a press screening last week, and so got to see it ahead of just about everyone.

I really enjoyed it! :tup:

It reminded me of the feeling that I got when I first watched X-Men at the cinema (back when all previous comic-book movies had been terrible, and X-Men was the first decent one to come along). Obviously X-Men isn't the greatest example any more, but at the time it was something that stood out, and I got that same feeling: A new super-hero group that I want to see more of.

Also, The Avengers make The X-Men look like a bunch of pussies by comparison.

Recommended :tup:

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Alright. Thanks everyone for the answers to the screenwriter question.

I just saw Johnny English Reborn. Man, someone needs to give Rowan Atkinson a good script and maybe a competent director, because this was poor. It's a very lazy, cliched and uninspired film. The characters in particular are unfocused and with no clear personality. Avoid this.

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Watching The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes thanks to Remo's pimpin' of Billy Wilder and I swear that Holmes just said he's looking for six anarchist circus midgets. I am going to enjoy this movie.

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