ysbreker

Movie/TV recommendations

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Some days ago I saw The Hunger Games and was both entertained and mildly annoyed by it. As alluded to by others before, some scenes weren't well embedded or contextualized, at least for people (like me) who didn't know the base material. In some shots they blatantly aimed for gravitas and emotion without properly introducing the relationships of the people involved. The whole movie felt like they had to cut half of it due to its length but didn't want to cut complete story threads (probably because they get picked up in part II) so they just cut parts of each of them. Still, I enjoyed it, and especially the first half till the actual Games begin.

(And to add something positive to this thread...)

A great movie that doesn't seem to have gotten a mention here (strangely...maybe my search is broken, excuse any redundancy) is The Station Agent. It's a (mostly) calm, warm movie from 2003 about the developing friendship of three seemingly very different characters who all have their baggage to carry. While the movies tone is rather positive it also contains, loss, discrimination, prejudice, alienation. It's in no way moralizing, it's rather – just there – people are like that. The cast is great (Peter Dinklage, Patricia Clarkson, Bobby Cannavale) and the characters and relationships and how they develop are all quite believable.

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I just got back from watching The Raid: Redemption. The only bad thing I can say about that movie is that the fact that they had to tack on that fucking subtitle for America is stupid. Everything else about this movie is brilliant, and is probably one of the best action movies in years.

Also, when the final kill happened, somebody in the theater played the Achievement Unlocked sound on their phone at the most perfect moment. Several people in the theater, myself included, applauded. The rest just looked confused.

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Also, when the final kill happened, somebody in the theater played the Achievement Unlocked sound on their phone at the most perfect moment. Several people in the theater, myself included, applauded. The rest just looked confused.

This kind of thing is why Americans get subtitles added to their film titles.

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This kind of thing is why Americans get subtitles added to their film titles.

At any other moment, I would have been pissed. But it was so perfectly timed that I couldn't help but laugh. The guy knew what he was doing, I'll give him that.

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Getting a bit nostalgic here. There are 5468 posts in this thread now. I started this thread almost 6 years ago and it's still going!

I was thinking of compiling all the movies & shows mentioned in the thread into one big post. but that would require quite a bit of work. Maybe when I feel crazy I will still do this to celebrate the 5500'th post or it's 6th anniversary on the 27th of July. :grin::erm:

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For all you Dutchies out here, the new Dick Maas flick Quiz is really good!

It's typical Maas fare with the movie wildly veering off into the world of cheese and bad acting several times, but there are moments of real brilliance too in the way it draws inspiration from The Dark Knight and pulls off a few really amazing scenes. One of the Netherlands' best actors, Pierre Bokma, performs the hell out of his role. I'm seeing this again as soon as I can.

quiz-02.jpg

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I recently saw The Hunger Games, having never read any of the books (which I hear are somewhat poorly written, even for YA lit) but to my great surprise I found myself absolutely loving it.

The film is not really about the gladiatorial combat at all (which doesn't start until something like halfway into the movie) but about negotiating mass media's power in constructing and constraining identity in a postmodern (authoritarian) state and especially the the role that heteronormativity and patriarchy play in maintaining the power of the state--which I'm sure sounds ridiculously academic, but I think the ideas are presented in a way that's very real and directly relevant to the intended audience of teenage girls.

In particular (mild spoilers)

the artifice of the central "romance" between Katniss and Peeta

struck me as, even if it's that way in the novel, incredibly ballsy for a mainstream blockbuster film, to not only avoid one of the foundational elements of the heteronormative narrative but also to directly target its role in maintaining the state's power. I mean, jesus, the ending (much bigger spoilers):

Katniss and Peeta manage a genuine and successful act of political rebellion in view of everyone in the country, but--of course--they are immediately pressured into allowing the media & state to recontextualize their act into the heteronormative lie and so absorb and defuse the threat their successful rebellion represented--at least temporarily, since I assume the sequels build toward society-wide, violent rebellion.

(It also seems to me that, at least for those of us who aren't teenage girls, the film may well work better than the novel, for similar reasons. In the film the audience is positioned as the audience of the Games themselves, complicit in the violence and other manipulations as entertainment for our voyeurism. We know that Katniss is largely performing for an audience, but--unlike in the novel, which I understand is in 1st person--most of the time we have no idea what she's thinking. Even if we can intuit her general feelings, the existence of that barrier feels important to me. As Peeta says,

we don't own her

, or any of the other kids for that matter, since we get no better idea of what they're thinking either.)

Also, Jennifer Lawrence is amazing and everything about the Capital is gorgeous(ly disgusting).

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In particular (mild spoilers)

the artifice of the central "romance" between Katniss and Peeta

struck me as, even if it's that way in the novel, incredibly ballsy for a mainstream blockbuster film, to not only avoid one of the foundational elements of the heteronormative narrative but also to directly target its role in maintaining the state's power. I mean, jesus, the ending (much bigger spoilers):

Katniss and Peeta manage a genuine and successful act of political rebellion in view of everyone in the country, but--of course--they are immediately pressured into allowing the media & state to recontextualize their act into the heteronormative lie and so absorb and defuse the threat their successful rebellion represented--at least temporarily, since I assume the sequels build toward society-wide, violent rebellion.

Actually, it's moreso in the books. The relationship seems to be allowed to stand at the end of the film, in the books they get home and

she informs him that it was all for the cameras, thus shattering him

. In fact, the first half of the second book revolves around

the two of them trying to keep up appearances on a victory tour despite not really having talked to each other for months before it began

. It was one of the things I liked most about the books, and I'm glad that they (mostly) kept to it in the film.

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I assumed it was that way in the novel; I'm just impressed they managed to keep it in.

I also took the scene at the end of the film where

Katniss tells Peeta she wants to forget everything that happened

as implying exactly what you say happens in the novel.

(I also know some readers felt that it didn't come across that it was fake in the film, but my 11-year-old sister (!) understood what was going on.)

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Yeah, the theatre I was in was definitely going "oooooooh!" really loudly every time romance was implied. I was wondering how much of it would come across to someone who hadn't read it as a result, actually. Glad to hear you got it and liked it.

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Can I just say that this season finale of shameless was once again a great piece of television.

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A great movie that doesn't seem to have gotten a mention here (strangely...maybe my search is broken, excuse any redundancy) is The Station Agent. It's a (mostly) calm, warm movie from 2003 about the developing friendship of three seemingly very different characters who all have their baggage to carry. While the movies tone is rather positive it also contains, loss, discrimination, prejudice, alienation. It's in no way moralizing, it's rather – just there – people are like that. The cast is great (Peter Dinklage, Patricia Clarkson, Bobby Cannavale) and the characters and relationships and how they develop are all quite believable.

I agree with all of this. This is a great film.

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If you like Aaron Sorkin's writing then you'll be interested in this upcoming series on HBO

wC8ovJYAU3U

Edited by BigJKO

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New Adventure time was good, but it was also only 15 minutes long so I'm now sad. I wish I watched more hour long adult television.

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Everything about Rango is incredible.

Yes, it is. I believe I have expounded upon the virtues of Rango in this very topic.

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If you like Aaron Sorkin's writing then you'll be interested in this upcoming series on HBO

wC8ovJYAU3U

I'll give a new Sorking a try any day. :tup:

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