SubJeff on 28/4/2020 at 11:37
Yeah, it was far better than I'd been lead to believe.
Tony_Tarantula on 28/4/2020 at 17:02
This was pretty good. As someone who works for a multi-national organization where we make an extra effort to ensure that our teams always bring a diverse set of individuals, I can see why this is making the rounds in our organization. We're the industry leader in my line of technology work and our focus on diversity is a huge part of why we continually deliver better results than our competitors who aren't as committed to inclusion.
[video=youtube;lPtPG2lAmm4]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPtPG2lAmm4[/video]
Harvester on 1/5/2020 at 21:52
I watched the 4-part Netflix miniseries Unorthodox, which is about a young woman's life in the Hassidic Jewish community of Williamsburg, New York and her leaving that life and going to Berlin with nothing but the clothes on her back and a little money. It was fairly interesting drama for sure, with some moments of mild tension. Nice to get a look at such a closed community and their rituals. It's based on the memoires of a woman who left that community herself. So you'd think it was pretty realistic. Then again, I just read an interview with another woman who left the Hassidic community (and now gives tours of Jewish Williamsburg), and while she has plenty of criticism on the community, she still thinks the show puts the community in too harsh a light, that it's not that bad and the people are not as unfeeling as many of them are portrayed here. She also said that no way those people are as clueless about computers and the internet as in the show, but on the flipside a woman like the main character would have far more trouble fitting in and making contact with a new group of friends than she did in the show. Given the closed nature of the community, she wouldn't have much of a clue about how secular urban young people interact.
I wouldn't know about how realistic this show is, I mean on movies and shows about orthodox Christianity my opinion is actually worth a damn because I have a fairly extensive knowledge on the subject, and I can get pretty annoyed by people talking out of their ass about it (either unfairly negative or defensively positive or just plain getting the facts wrong). But of this community I know next to nothing. The show was worth watching though.
rachel on 2/5/2020 at 16:36
[video=youtube_share;BYuSHi-9fhc]https://youtu.be/BYuSHi-9fhc[/video]
Sulphur on 5/5/2020 at 06:19
So... Westworld fails to stick the landing again. The thing that annoys me more than I can truly articulate is that there is nothing, in principle, wrong with its conclusions. They're not original conclusions, but they don't have to be as long as they're telling a great story. The problem is that the execution falls apart every single time no matter how slickly presented everything is. The characterisation and plot has a great high-level outline, but when you zoom in on the details, 60% of it toggles between hokey and clichéd. The more's the pity, given the talent of the cast and the crew, and the general production values (flimsy autotaxi/bus things notwithstanding).
A lot of it also just feels like chess pieces being moved around until the endgame, which is both appropriate and ironic given the core theme of season 3. It also doesn't deviate from Devs' worldview, which was expected, but ironically enough it goes into a more complex yet truthful view of free will than Devs did while simultaneously still shortchanging itself. If I were to randomly spitball on how best to solve the problems, I think Jonathan and Lisa maybe should get Chris Nolan on board for his skills in the meticulous execution department. It probably won't be any less hokey, but the end result would read better.
demagogue on 5/5/2020 at 07:03
I watched The Lighthouse last night, made by Robert Eggers, the guy that also wrote and directed The Witch. It's set in 1890s Maine. Two lighthouse keepers, one older and one younger, basically go crazy cooped up in there for a month.
It's really atmospheric. There's not much plot; just the gradual deterioration of their mental states, and a shifting back and forth between the two characters through every emotion two men could have for each other. Like the Witch, it weaves in historical realism with supernaturalism. It's thick with atmosphere and the cinematography is top notch, as is the art and sound direction. It's shot like a late-1920s movie. The dialog really shines, and Willem Defoe is larger than life as the salty seaman. It's pretty sedated at some points, but at other points it starts to come unhinged, but in a good way.
I was watching some interviews and other videos with people trying to figure out what genre it's in. It's a historical weird tale. We wouldn't call it horror today, but it's the kind of thing that in the 18th and 19th century would have passed for that, like Edger Allen Poe and the tradition of Victorian ghost stories and weird tales. I like it, for the reasons I like reading 19th Century literature; it's more naturalistic. It paints a vivid picture without being so graphic. It has a weird sensibility, I wouldn't say modern, but it's understanding that it's also speaking to our times.
Most of all though, it has a kind of dark humor. Both characters, but Defoe's in particular, can get into some dark territory, but in a pretty funny way. It has quite a bit of symbolist imagery in it to, another throwback to an old tradition. Well I really liked it. You have to understand what the author is going for, and I think it helps to be versed in some of the old literary traditions that it's harking back to. And it's undeniably weird and surreal. If you're looking for a movie made to entertain, it's going to look like a miss.
Edit: One thing though. I watched The Lighthouse over two sessions, the first half and then later in the day the second half. I think that's a good way to watch it, as it's long and it doesn't so much progress as immerse over the duration. You should either be up for the whole experience going in or do what I did.
Thirith on 5/5/2020 at 07:09
I watched The Lighthouse shortly after getting back from a holiday which included two long, strenuous flights back. I was completely frazzled and kept nodding off. Strangely, with that film it didn't even matter that much - it is so dreamlike, and nightmarish, that at some point I could no longer quite separate what was going on in the film and what I was dreaming. I don't think I actually missed much of the film itself (I tend not to *really* fall asleep during movies), but in the end it didn't matter: the film made its way into my brain quite effectively.
rachel on 5/5/2020 at 08:38
I missed The Lighthouse in theaters, I'm looking forward to watching it at some point. Sounds like a great flick.
Last weekend I watched 24 hour party people. I went in blind after only a quick glance at the trailer, and for some reason I expected a British comedy with more silliness than anything... Turned out to be no only very entertaining but also deeper than expected (without being too much) and also very touching at times. I had heard of Joy Division and New Order but I had no idea they were the same band, and I didn't know about Ian Curtis's tragic death. And it balances this with extremely funny moments and a mockumentary-style coating. And of course the music is top notch...
I loved how much love it clearly had for all its colourful, larger-than-life characters, with special mention to Sean Harris as Ian Curtis and Andy Serkis as Martin.
I ended up having a lot of fun but also at times being very moved, and I like when a movie surprises me like this.
Gryzemuis on 5/5/2020 at 14:15
24 Hour Party People is great. You didn't mention the name, but it's about the record-label called Factory. I've spend hundreds and hundreds of hours listening to its music when I was young (18-22). Not only JD/NO, but also Durutti Column (Vini Reilly has a cameo in 24h party people), Section 25, Royal Family & The Poor.
Good to hear that you enjoyed the movie, even when you were not really familiar with the music.
I watched Westworld, season 1. I've seen 8 out of 10 episodes of season 2. I like it. There were two episodes in S02 that seemed just filler (samurai and the ghostnation episodes). But S02 is better than expected. Lots of players in the story, lots of questions. I'm certainly gonna watch S03.
Harvester on 11/5/2020 at 20:56
I like arthouse movies as much as the next guy and I watch them from time to time, but after workdays I want something to chill out with. Also, I find arthouse movies so much of a gamble, some of them I find surprising and wonderful and others don't connect with me at all, and it's always such a gamble if I'll come away from such a movie uplifted/touched or bored to death. After working for 8 hours I'm often a little tired, in the evening I just want something I know beforehand I'll enjoy. I leave the more artistic movies for the weekend and off days.
I'm not much of a series binger, I guess I'll always be a movie person. I've decided to subscribe to Disney Plus and re-watch the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies in order of release. The MCU movies are fun to relax with after a day of work. I'm already past the halfway point. Tonight I've seen Doctor Strange.
I've said it when I saw it in the theater when it came out, and I maintain it now: for me, this is the pinnacle of special effects. I haven't seen anything before or after it that impressed me more effects-wise. And it's a pretty decent movie to boot.
Another opinion of mine is that Captain America: Civil War is a better Avengers movie than Age of Ultron.
After the MCU movies I think I'll do the same with Star Wars (still haven't seen Rise of Skywalker). Maybe I'll watch the Mandalorian too, it only has one season, not that much of a time sink. Definitely not Clone Wars, just as I'm not going to watch Agents of Shield, Jessica Jones or the other Marvel shows.