ysbreker

Movie/TV recommendations

Recommended Posts

I didn't listen, but I heard on the radio a couple of weeks ago Roxy music doing a 1920 style cover of 'love is the drug' ' for this film (great gatsby) and it sounded like it could be on the bioshock infinite soundtrack

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Eva reference / lifted concept? Also, notice helmets full of juice, reliance on memories, monsters in the ocean, etc. 

 

This is pretty much exactly what I was thinking, but mostly because I'm still secretly longing for the long-awaited live-action big-budget Evangelion film.

 

...Starring Robin Williams as Vice Commander Fuyutsuki.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I watched Maniac this weekend, and I sort of regret it. It's a brutal, violent movie that's technically impressive and has a lot of fantastic qualities. I usually don't mind violence and gore, but I think the thing that gets me is when it's well-produced and given much love and attention, but still leaves me wondering what it was all for. Maniac has some great visuals and fantastic music, which draws me in and makes me want to see more. However, there are multiple, long, drawn-out murder scenes in which the victims are innocent (as opposed to movie bad guys who had it coming) and there's a lot of highly detailed killing and mutilation. In the end, it didn't really feel like there was much of a point other than «look a these sick deaths!» and that makes me uncomfortable.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I watched Maniac this weekend, and I sort of regret it. It's a brutal, violent movie that's technically impressive and has a lot of fantastic qualities. I usually don't mind violence and gore, but I think the thing that gets me is when it's well-produced and given much love and attention, but still leaves me wondering what it was all for. Maniac has some great visuals and fantastic music, which draws me in and makes me want to see more. However, there are multiple, long, drawn-out murder scenes in which the victims are innocent (as opposed to movie bad guys who had it coming) and there's a lot of highly detailed killing and mutilation. In the end, it didn't really feel like there was much of a point other than «look a these sick deaths!» and that makes me uncomfortable.

 

Have you seen the original Maniac? I haven't seen the new Maniac, but I know when I saw the new Evil Dead, once I'd got over the initial shock of the gore I pretty much just thought about it in terms of genre tradition/gender roles/fear of drugs/all the other things that film is commenting on, I think because I'd become used to thinking about Evil Dead films in that way. I wonder if Maniac would be the same. That said, the entire point of Maniac seems to be to make the viewer uncomfortable, so if its any good it would be just as effecting on that emotional level anyway.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Haven't seen the remake, but I imagine it's just as much an exploitation film as the original. So yeah, you are correct, there isn't much point other than "Look at these sick deaths!" I'm not super interested in modern exploitation films because the internet has kind of rendered their original purpose moot. But in 1980 when the original Maniac came out, there was a scarcity to sick deaths in cinema and it was actually risky because those kinds of films were still seen as the scourge of society by many. The purpose of exploitation was simply "here's something you can't see anywhere else!" whether it was sex or graphic violence or black people kicking whitey's ass or kung-fu or just a shit-ton of worms. The films can be fascinating because of the history of it, or because of the unique talent they often attracted, but they're rarely about anything substantial beyond serving the salacious interests of the audience.

The original Maniac kind of sort of tries to be about getting in the head of a serial killer, but it's clear it's priorities are visceral and not psychological. The remake sort of sounded like an interesting experiment due to it's extensive first-person camera work, but that's also the sort of thing that makes the already gross subject matter even more tasteless. I remember during Siskel and Ebert's crusade against slasher movies they claimed (mostly incorrectly, IMO) that the films would use first-person shots from the killer's perspective so the audience would identify with them. It was actually a holdover from the giallo films most early slasher movies ripped off, mostly used to hide the identity of the killer. But I do wonder if, in 2013, the kind of extensive use of first-person camerawork the remake supposedly had isn't just there for shock and to make the film more queasy and uncomfortable. Unless that sort of technique is tied to some kind of larger meaning, I don't really find much value in it.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Also, like most of the nation, I saw Iron Man 3 and it's pretty sweet. It's more a Shane Black movie than a superhero movie, but I'm more a Shane Black fan than a superhero fan. Funny funny movie.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Eu9HPDX.jpg

 

So, «They Live» was pretty cool. That is to say, it has some really great parts, like the weird, slow opening third and the terrible «uh-oh» garbage truck scene followed by the incredible«put on the glasses!» fight scene. I watched «Escape from New York» before this, and thought it was okay. The part that stuck with me the most was the «Everyone's coming to New York» musical song, and Lee van Cleef's awesome face.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

 I didn't enjoy Iron Man 3 or Star Trek 2 very much, sadly. Both far too bloated, Dark Knight (and Batman Returns) has a lot to answer for.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I just watched Iron Man 3 last night. I enjoyed it for what it was, but I don't think it's one of the movies I'll remember long into the future. Not like Hot Fuzz, that is the one movie I will always watch just once more.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Finally saw Cabin in the Woods. Absolutely loved it. My wife absolutely hated it. I love how it is both a love letter and a giant middle finger to the horror movie genre.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

So I don't normally care about these kinds of shows at all, but have y'all seen this? Kitchen Nightmares had an episode where Gordon Fucking Ramsey walked out on the restaurant because the owners were too crazy to reason with. The entire thing is on Youtube and it is a glorious trainwreck.
 
 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6LY7TJ16pg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQDtoHpAWhg

 
 
 
But it doesn't end there. The owners decided to flip out and attack "haters" through their Facebook page. They now claim that their page was hacked in a hilarious attempt at damage control.
 


h8tgEGU.png
 

 


Also, it turns out the lady is actually a convicted felon, and the current theory is that the restaurant might actually be a front for a money laundering scheme.
 

UnitNumberFive: also I guess Amy herself is a convicted felon.
[TT] Kylie Byron: That's the suggestion, yes
[TT] Kylie Byron: though I guess I could look up her public records for confirmation
UnitNumberFive: she opened up a line of credit under someone else's SSN.
[TT] Kylie Byron: because it should all be there
[TT] Kylie Byron: yeah
[TT] Kylie Byron: I just have access to her records ;)
[TT] Kylie Byron: Amanda Bouzaglo
[TT] Kylie Byron: Formerly amanda bossingham, of denver Co
[TT] Kylie Byron: Also Amanda Kirkham
[TT] Kylie Byron: goodness
[TT] Kylie Byron: she has civil records miles long
UnitNumberFive: :0
[TT] Kylie Byron: Apparently she even committed fraud w/ her lawyer regarding legal fees?
UnitNumberFive: what the what
[TT] Kylie Byron: Pending: 18:1344 BANK FRAUD (1-2)
18:1014 False Statements to a Bank (3-4)
18:1028(a)(7) Theft Identity (5-6)
42:408(a)(7)(B) Misuse of Social Security Number (7-8)
Offense Level (opening): 4
UnitNumberFive: jeeeeesus
[TT] Kylie Byron: Plus at least three or four civil suits
[TT] Kylie Byron: And one apparently against a previous restaurant/baking operation.
[TT] Kylie Byron: with which she was involved.
UnitNumberFive: waddafuq
[TT] Kylie Byron: "Pony Expresso & Dessert Bar"

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I actually just finished watching that on YouTube about an hour ago. I'm still blown away by that entire episode.

I felt so bad for the servers there.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Just keep in mind that this is reality television, so there is absolutely no guarantee that anything was not completely scripted and performed by actors. Also, if it's real, those people need help, and not in the snarky way, but actual therapy.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I watched that whole thing aghast. I was going to post something snarky after the first ten minutes about whether all the episodes are this nightmarish, but I soon got the answer: no, they aren't. It's just not possible.

 

Just keep in mind that this is reality television, so there is absolutely no guarantee that anything was not completely scripted and performed by actors. Also, if it's real, those people need help, and not in the snarky way, but actual therapy.

 

Amy's Baking Company is a real business run by real people. If they were willing to take a payout to let actors ruin their names and their future like that, I hope it was beaucoup bucks.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Oh yeah, I know it's a real business, and they're terrible and on Yelp or whatever. It's just that the main goal of the producers is to make you feel these people are completely crazy, and there is pretty much nothing preventing them from just making stuff up or cutting together or staging ridiculous events. When the experience of these episodes are the sum of so many «did that just happen?!» moments it's easy to forget or start ignoring that all/most/some/none of them may never actually have happened.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

That's why I'm not normally a fan of these kinds of things. I've seen that one Charlie Brooker episode, etc etc;* but even if you treat each shot as though it were in a vacuum literally everything they say is completely nuts. Check out this news interview from 2010.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=nexQhKIx39Q

 

Also, I feel awful for that one waitress. Are restaurant owners even allowed to pocket tips like that?

 

 

*and I generally dislike the kind of shows that exploit people's problems for entertainment

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Oh yeah, I know it's a real business, and they're terrible and on Yelp or whatever. It's just that the main goal of the producers is to make you feel these people are completely crazy, and there is pretty much nothing preventing them from just making stuff up or cutting together or staging ridiculous events. When the experience of these episodes are the sum of so many «did that just happen?!» moments it's easy to forget or start ignoring that all/most/some/none of them may never actually have happened.

 

I agree. I think many people from various 'reality' shows have come out and talked about how they were approached by producers between shots and were basically coached or encouraged to act a certain way or say certain things. I really think it is not much different than shows with actors, they just pay the people a lot less and still generally guide how they want the show to go. I mean, it's hard not to notice their furtive glances towards the camera as they go through these ridiculous scenes that most 'real' people rarely experience.

 

Whenever I've watched 'reality' tv and there is some kind of intimate scene (like in the Bachelor or something) I can't help but picture those people surrounded by a full camera crew and a big fuzzy microphone hanging just off camera. I imagine even if these people weren't being coached that they automatically act differently because of this. I think the closest approximation of people acting real on reality tv would be something like Big Brother because at least there isn't a camera crew present.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

What's making this one interesting, though, is that by all accounts these two act like this all the time, unprovoked. The 1 star "these folks are batshit insane" reviews started all the way back in 2010, with the owners' trademark responses to criticism being right there from the start.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Did you know: «Hannibal» has Anthony Hopkins, Giancarlo Giannini and a great soundtrack.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

As I was walking towards my home, a young man riding a neon green bike shouted to me, "Tron Legacy, check that shit!"

So, if you want recommendations from strangers on bicycles... go watch Tron Legacy.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now