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Movie/TV recommendations

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Bakshi's LotR > Jackson's LotR

At least it had personality.

As a fan of Jackson's previous work, I immediately saw his personality in it, but I know what you mean.

Also saw Cyrus, found it very frustrating and misbalanced(?), despite good performances.

Dinner For Schmucks was surprisingly good. Carrell, Rudd and Galiafinakis continue to surprise me with how they can tweak their personas consistently to provide fresh performances.

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Saw Four Lions today! Though not butt-smackingly hilarious, it was surprisingly moving. A nice, quaint, unique film that I'm glad I saw.

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Just watched Johnnie To's "Exiled." He's like an alternate dimension John Woo who stuck with HK gangster stuff instead of deciding he wanted to go off and make hollywood crap. OMG so much macho posturing with guns and badass trenchcoats. Awesome.

XstjK4RBMCs

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Weird, a friend at work, just showed me the spoon scene from Election, the other movie from Johnnie To. Since I've been in Singapore, I've watched quite a bit of asiangangster movies, and so far, my recent favorites are ... and they are way better than their trailer suggest.

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Edited by vimes

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This isn't a movie/tv recommendation, per se, but it's something my friends across the border (the more pleasant one) might appreciate -

Netflix launches in Canada today: streaming only service for C$7.99 per month

FUCK YES!!!!! About damn time!

EDIT: What the hell? 360 compatibility "later this fall," but it works on PS3 and Wii right now? Do I need a disc for the Wii, or a platinum account for PS3? If the answer to both of those things is "yes," I'm still screwed for now.

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Weird, a friend at work, just showed me the spoon scene from Election, the other movie from Johnnie To. Since I've been in Singapore, I've watched quite a bit of asiangangster movies, and so far, my recent favorites are ... and they are way better than their trailer suggest.

Wow you weren't kidding about bad trailers. Especially with that second one.

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FUCK YES!!!!! About damn time!

EDIT: What the hell? 360 compatibility "later this fall," but it works on PS3 and Wii right now? Do I need a disc for the Wii, or a platinum account for PS3? If the answer to both of those things is "yes," I'm still screwed for now.

A disc for the Wii, yes. Why does that make you screwed, again?

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The answer to both would have to be "yes." Since writing that, I successfully got it up and running on my PS3. Finally. Damn, that was so infuriating always hearing about it from Americans. Now I too can stream episodes of Mad Men while sitting on the couch with my girlfriend! $8 a month? Deal!

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The answer to both would have to be "yes." Since writing that, I successfully got it up and running on my PS3. Finally. Damn, that was so infuriating always hearing about it from Americans. Now I too can stream episodes of Mad Men while sitting on the couch with my girlfriend! $8 a month? Deal!

We don't even get Mad Men, bro. You can finally feel a sense of Canadian superiority.

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Shit, that was my test. I streamed the opening credits of an episode of Mad Men Season 2. What's stopping you from getting a show made in your own country?

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Shit, that was my test. I streamed the opening credits of an episode of Mad Men Season 2. What's stopping you from getting a show made in your own country?

I don't know... it doesn't affect me much, as I've been caught up since the beginning of season 2. I do get to indulge in the joys of Canadian people saying "sore-ee" (rather than "sar-ee") while watching various episode of Stargate, however. :fart:

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Just got back from World's Greatest Dad (the latest movie from Bobcat Goldthwait -- yes, that's right, this guy from Police Academy). Here's my review... (yes, a proper obnoxious review, sorry -- I felt like writing something, and I didn't want to do a full on blog post. I hope someone enjoys it!).

----

World's Greatest Dad is a very unique movie. It's premise is more shocking than your typical "shock" comedy, but unlike one of them it doesn't play just for the shocks. This film has quite a heart and a message, despite how many people it might upset. I'll leave the specifics of the premise for those who want to see this film to discover for themselves, but, as you might guess, it's on the dark side... You almost feel dirty for laughing at some of the things you find yourself giggling at, but you'll also feel sad and moved when the film wants you to.

Robin Williams plays the single father of a difficult teenage son, and before sirens go off in your head, let me just say that he is absolutely pitch-perfect. There's none of his OTT schtik that people have tired of so much. Here is just a really great, solid performance. In fact it's possibly the best I've ever seen him do, which is just as well considering how many subtle layers his character has to convey. He plays a man with a lot of broken hopes and dreams, who just doesn't seem to be able to catch the break he wants. If this character sounds like familiar (and boring) territory, let me re-assure you that, in Bob Goldthwait's hands, it's most definitely not. Aside from the shocks, there's actually quite a bit of depth, and Williams's character feels very real.

I also was very pleased, even as a young single male with no kids, to discover a film where the lead character is a parent. Not only that, but a middle-aged parent, in an everyday life. On top of this, the film wonderfully makes no apologies for this fact, nor attempts to pander to a what it thinks a "younger" audience might want to see.

The older lead character with a difficult teenage character might make you think of Cyrus, but this is actually very different. For a start, unlike that film, Williams's character is very much the focal point throughout the whole story, with other characters dipping an in and out of his (lonely) life. As I've said, I found this utterly refreshing, but it's not the only reason I found the film so refreshing...

Beyond the shocking premise lies real warmth, and I came out of the theater feeling like my priorities had been somewhat straightened out. Yes, there's some horrible things in this film, yes, it makes you laugh at some really dark stuff, but in the end, the things that are genuinely important are what the film focuses on. The sad moments are sad, the shocking moments, shocking. There were little to no cheap laughs. The overall message almost felt like a slap in the face; "Yep, life is fucked up. Yes, the average person is fucked up. But so what, there's more important things than the superficial ones we tend to focus on. Things that really matter."

In order to convey this message, I wonder if Goldthwait felt he had to take the story so far, in order to cleanse the audience's palate to make way for the main course. Either way, it was this ultimately positive message that I think the film succeeded at most, and why I found it so refreshing.

The film does have its flaws, though. For example, I was concerned during the film's first jokey "shock" moment, that the cinematography and direction was going to undercut the unique writing (thankfully they didn't in the end), and some of the minor parts had some wooden acting (although, again, not enough to damage the film). I also felt that Williams's character's failings as a father were never really acknowledged, but then again, maybe they were just so blatantly apparent that to state them would have been too much.

Goldthwait also seems to feel the need to mention race quite a lot, and for no discernible reason. Not sure why this was, but thankfully characters, and not caricatures, come to the forefront by the end of the film.

In all, I heartily enjoyed this film and recommend it you, my fellow Thumb. It may not be a five star film, there's probably too many rough edges for that, but it's certainly something different, provocative, and, I think, worth your time.

If I've whet your appetite, here's the trailer (the film is better than the trailer makes it look):

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Edited by ThunderPeel2001

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Just got back from World's Greatest Dad...

Nice write-up, Peely! Glad you enjoyed it. I saw this film a couple of months ago, and the UK release was pushed back at least twice. It's one of my favourites this year, because it feels different and fresh. The streak of dark - and at times grotesquely vulgar - humour you mention gives the film a very shocking kick, but the fact that it is very well incorporated into the characters (Daryl Sabara, wow, what an amazing, horrific creation) and situation doesn't make it seem cheap or juvenile.

Plus the themes and satire (the latter of which you didn't mention) were very well teased out of the plot - which was always going forward, with the momentum of a twisted farce. The way it approaches school life, personal ambition, and how society can make icons out of anyone, is particularly good.

And Robin Williams. He's one of my favourite actors, but he's in that flawed-genius mould because he appears in some atrocious films. In this he's very playful with his previous roles - ie he plays a high school teacher, whose poetry class fails to inspire anyone. Good stuff!

Damn, now that everyone's talking about it, I want to see it again.

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I've been thinking about what you mean about satire, and I then looked up Roger Ebert's review and he mentioned it, too. I'm not sure what to make of that. I don't think the film had that many satirical elements, I think it just showed the world the way it is.

In Ebert's review, he guesses that the film's intention was to satirize the over-eulogizing of dead people, but I disagree with that (in fact, I think he kind of missed the point). There's moments of that, sure, but they wouldn't have happened at all if the writing hadn't been discovered. It was this that really touched them and made them re-evaluate the person they didn't know/intensely disliked. It wasn't death in itself. Of course death does bring out vulnerability in people, and so they were more interested in what his "suicide note" had to say, but that's not a criticism of people (unless the film is suggesting we should become emotionless robots when a teenager commits suicide -- I think not).

Secondly, for the above to be true, it would mean that Williams was actually a really a bad writer, and that it was only death that made his writings palatable, or seemingly good. I don't believe that's the case, either. Several times he is complemented on his writings by "non sycophantic" characters, and he genuinely does touch those who read his "son's" works. He's probably not the greatest writer in the world, but he certainly found something that could touch vulnerable people, or sound profound when filtered through the mind of a suicidal 15 year old.

If you're talking the film satirizing idolatry, then yes, I think I agree with that, but it really doesn't say all much about it. Several characters convince themselves that they liked him before he died, but again, I think that's a normal reaction to the manipulation that occurred after his death. It's a selfish reaction, sure, but it's also a coping mechanism they've created because they've started to identify with the dead character and seeing him in a different way. They don't want to remember themselves being mean or thinking bad thoughts about someone, or judging them so harshly or incorrectly. Yes, it's shallow, but that, in itself, doesn't say much about idolising someone.

The only characters to become really OTT in their idolatry are teenage girls, and well, that's just because that's who they are at that age. No adult is seen wearing t-shirts or listening to Bruce Hornsby. The "Oprah Winfrey" character is touched by the story, not by the guilt of someone's death, or because she idolizes the dead kid. In fact, it's the passage that she reads out that seems to flick a switch in Williams's head, and starts the motions that lead to his full disclosure a few scenes later.

The teenagers in the film are just expressing their love for something in the way that teenagers do, and their reaction at finding out the truth at the end of the film isn't because they aren't spellbound any more, it's because Williams has manipulated them for his own selfish ends, sold them a great big lie, and made them care about someone that didn't really exist.

So yes, I think the film has something to say about "fame" and idolatry, but it only shows it how it is: Superficial, easily manipulated, and only really existing in the mind of the fan. I just don't know if that counts as satire... hmm.

Now if you're talking about the desire for "success", then yes, that's precisely what this film is all about. Williams finally gets all the success he's ever wanted, but at the cost of, essentially, his soul. People love him for the wrong reasons, and he's only achieved something by lying and manipulating people.

Ultimately I think the film was humanist in its message. Every character was flawed in their own way, and that includes the "heroes" and the "villains" (whoever you think that may be). Nobody comes away clean. This point is kind of hammered home a little too hard when

we learn about his neighbour's OCD -- she must have a flaw, too --

but it only illustrates the overall message of the film: Fame and success are things in themselves, not necessarily bad things, but certainly superficial, unimportant and not worth pursuing for the sake of them. We've all got issues, nobody is perfect, but if we can push aside the superficial then we can learn to see who people really are, and then focus on what's truly important.

At least, that's what I took away from it. An interesting discussion, for sure :tup:

Edited by ThunderPeel2001

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All that and we've not even discussed his girlfriend(!):

A reflection of the above theme is in their entire relationship. She's very hot for a pudgy school teacher like Williams, and she's also very sexual. So Williams is getting something superficial from the relationship... but she's also very shallow. She doesn't take into account his feelings, she's not there for him when his son dies, and she only thinks of herself. She's not there for him in ways that really matter. On the superficial level he's very happy, but on a deeper level he's left wanting. Although it was her choice to leave him at the end, it was the best thing for his character and matched his new outlook: Focussing and appreciating on what's important, namely the contents of peoples' character.

Edited by ThunderPeel2001

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Neato. We'll probably learn that the creepy cult who pretends to be a religion is actually a creepy cult pretending to be a religion. :grin:

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Neato. We'll probably learn that the creepy cult who pretends to be a religion is actually a creepy cult pretending to be a religion. :grin:

:tup::tup:

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An amazing fan-made opening sequence for AMC's forth-coming The Walking Dead TV series:

-TWCXE0hsbQ

Really looking forward to this--just a few weeks to wait now. :tup:

I've also just stumbled upon a trailer for the Coens' latest epic, True Grit. Looks like it could be another fantastic Western from them, albeit more "classic" this time.

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