Movies (recently seen)

[Locke]

Yeah, I saw Faces of Death. Managed the shock factor at the time. I haven't seen much in the way of overt snuff since then though; it never held a lot of appeal.

Hey, why'd you leave CO for Kentucky?

[Ryan_DuBois]

We used to have a "Faces of Death" movie at my place when I was like six or seven. Can't remember if my dad or my older brother bought it, but since my parents never really made any attempt to restrict what I watched, I ended up seeing a lot of it. Some of it was definitely disturbing (in particular, I can remember a guy who had elephantiasis in the worst place you can get it -- he was bouncing all over the place), but I'd always get over it and go back for more.

With all the far-out internet stuff I've seen, I'm not sure if I could find a movie that "disturbs" me anymore... I don't really hunt down those kinds of films or anything unless I hear about them, though, so it might be out there.

Were the "Cube" movies pretty good, Locke? I think I might have to rent those in a couple days.

[End Master]

Couldn't hurt to mention it if anyone's seen some good examples of the above.

Yeah Old Boy is good.

An example of psychological or existential horror, well off the top of my head Gozu is pretty damn strange even as Takashi Miike movies go. Not really gory, but probably pretty disturbing to most people.

It's about this Yakuza hitman stuck in this really weird town searching for his boss and it only gets weirder from there.

You've probably seen John Carpenter's The Thing. I thought the horror in that relied more on the psychological and the isolation, rather than any of the gore or monster effects.

I'd also say In the Mouth of Madness is pretty good in capturing a similar kind of setting of isolation and the horror in that one doesn't rely on blood either. Also by John Carpenter.

Yeah the Faces of Death series was one of the big shock things before the internet, turned out most of the death scenes were fake though. Still remember when the ROTC teacher showed us "The Worst of Faces of Death" (compilation of the last 5 movies) in class.

EDIT:Yeah go ahead and see Cube, it's good. I actually liked the sequel and prequel too.

[ChubbyTeletubby]

End: Nah, dude. You didn't see the Faces of Death that I saw, evidently.

These were dead people. For real.

Wasn't my cup of tea. Most of it. Some of it was funny. None of it was fake.

Trust me, brah. Or was it? Ah fuck, now you got me wondering. Going off gut instinct though, I don't think it was fake.

Anyway, seeing people crushed like ants can be somewhat amusing. Before your morality kicks in.

Stupid morality.

Locke: I'm back in Kentucky because everyone in Colorado went to jail.

Seriously. I'm back and forth between the two states like every two years on the dot since 2004.

It's fun. Refreshing. Can't imagine staying in one spot for more than two years. Scenery change is good. Thanks for noticing. No homo.

No? Yes?

Yes homo?

NO!!!!

No homo.

no homo...

[End Master]

Seriously some of the Faces of Death was fake and mixed in with real news footage. So yeah, you'd get a very real gruesome body of someone who just got hit by a truck, but then you'd also get some fake shit like the guy getting executed in the electric chair.

They came out a long time ago and admitted that half of it was fake.

[ChubbyTeletubby]

Sounds right.

I think the bottom line is that shit is fucked up and sometimes we here in America are a bit spoiled.

Cause shit is fucked up.

For real.


And movies. They're even more fucked up. Have you SEEN Jersey Girl?

It's bad.

God help us.

[End Master]

Finally saw Tron: Legacy, I imagine this was another movie I was supposed to see in 3D, well I didn't and I still liked it. In fact I liked it better than The Matrix.

Next on the list for the theaters- Battle: Los Angeles

Not expecting too much except big explosions and mass destruction. Sort of holding out the minor hope that the humans lose just to change up the predictability though.

[Locke]

I saw that one in 3d - pretty, but not like Avatar. I don't think you missed a whole lot. A lot of mainstream movies are pretty. I can't remember the last one with substance, though; I'm thinking The Matrix, but a lot of that is probably the minor cultural implications and the novelty when I saw it. There must have been at least one since then, anyway. Maybe I'm just jaded. (insert pop culture rant here)

I'm not completely sure what it would take for a movie to have "substance." I think the best kind of experience changes the way I look at life (usually a good thing), or at least some aspect of it, but at this point (in my life and with the current entertainment zeitgeist), that's asking a lot from the box office.

A complex plot with a few twists for intrigue (at its best, there's a sort of stomach drop - when they break through the wall in Dark City, if you've seen it, or the scene near the end in Frequency) goes a long way, I guess. Inception had potential, and there was a minor moment in the last scene. Actually, plot and eye candy and all the other aspects aside, I think it's about those moments, for me (like music, or poetry - life, if you get right down to it), when there's some kind of heavy, ineffable feeling as everything comes together.

The Matrix was probably the last time I got that in a theater (the movie Ink, more recently, but nothing on the big screen), and I don't know that I'd get it now, were I watching it for the first time, even if the effects were still novel and the "how do I know this is real" thing hadn't been done to death (Existenz framed that question a little better, dated as it probably is now. Actually, so did Inception).

It's possible there have been a lot of moments in recent movies for some people, I guess (a few come to mind, particularly just in day-to-day living, where everything somehow comes together for a few seconds, and I get that distinct, gut-level feeling of awe, but no one else around me notices). Maybe that's the whole Zen thing: you have to be aware, and involved, and receptive to get it (maybe Zen masters see every instant as perfect poetry or something).

I know I at least have to be emotionally involved in whatever it is. It's easy with music, because sometimes the artist's soul is right there, and other media add so many layers that all have to mesh perfectly or become noise that distracts from the experience. In movies, a lot of times, it's feeling for the characters (and that's one of the core issues, because it's been a very long time since I really got absorbed in the theater and cared about what happened to anyone). There was a certain existential moment in The Cube I talked about a page or two ago, and I'd never have gotten it, but the focus in that movie is so strongly on the characters (the setting and premise are as basic as it gets) that I was emotionally absorbed/vested in them at that point.

Sometimes pure art and technical panache are enough to elicit emotion and absorption. Music is probably the best example, but going with the movie theme, the Animatrix had several beautiful scenes that manufactured it successfully. Avatar didn't have a particular moment for me, but that's what worked so well for it: the 3d and sheer vibrancy (and the novelty factor) made such good eye candy that when Jake (I think that was his name) got his Avatar and started moving around, you could feel the rush; it just felt good to be alive (that's so what life should be like, not this dull and interminable sameness).

That's just the vehicle, though; whether you feel for the characters or the beauty of the art/visuals or music makes the connection, the moment still has to happen. This is getting closer to the "substance" question, I think, because that's what Hollywood and the politicians and everyone else in pop culture seems to be getting hung up on. They've made the same kind of granola bar for thirty years, and they've been beating their heads against the wall, completely outdoing themselves in a certain artistic sense, designing better wrappers to sell more product. And there's a shelf full of really flashy packaging, so you buy the one that looks the most appetizing, take it home and tear it open (you're salivating at this point, because the wrapper is just that good), but when the taste hits you while you're trying to get it down, you realize it's the same damned granola!

I actually saw this on Futurama back in the day. They'd got to the point where television ratings were determined by how much eye contact a program elicited with the screen. The top-rated show was called "Hypnotoad," and it was just that: a toad that stared nonstop at the camera while literally nothing else was going on, keeping everyone's eyes right there (I guess I can't help ranting about pop culture). I'd really like to get at "substance" more, but it's late and my mind is stuck on "emotional honesty" (the words themselves; I'm a zombie and I literally can't get past them).

This is mostly just thinking out loud, so apologies if you don't like reading long pointless ramblings and for some reason forced yourself through it anyway. It started out as a forum post, though, and I guess there's no harm in hitting reply.

[End Master]

Watched the 1st season of The Walking Dead. Not as good as the comic, but they're doing an okay with it so far.

[ChubbyTeletubby]

Sometimes pure art and technical panache are enough to elicit emotion and absorption. Music is probably the best example, but going with the movie theme, the Animatrix had several beautiful scenes that manufactured it successfully. Avatar didn't have a particular moment for me, but that's what worked so well for it: the 3d and sheer vibrancy (and the novelty factor) made such good eye candy that when Jake (I think that was his name) got his Avatar and started moving around, you could feel the rush; it just felt good to be alive (that's so what life should be like, not this dull and interminable sameness).

Brilliant observation! I had that same rush when Jake first gets his Avatar. I'm sorry but the eye candy in Avatar just totally drew me in like no other movie has except maybe....of course....the Matrix.

Nothing will probably ever beat the first Matrix for me, however. It was just so new! And I had no idea what the movie was about going into it!

[JJJ-thebanisher]

Brilliant observation! I had that same rush when Jake first gets his Avatar. I'm sorry but the eye candy in Avatar just totally drew me in like no other movie has except maybe....of course....the Matrix.

Nothing will probably ever beat the first Matrix for me, however. It was just so new! And I had no idea what the movie was about going into it!

Same. 1999 was so good though: The Matrix and Fight Club.

[End Master]

Saw Battlefield LA.

About what I expected, started off all right, but got a little too hollywoodesque towards the end. Fortunately it didn't get too ridiculous like say uploading a virus into the mothership to destroy the whole alien invasion fleet and showed that humans were still far from winning the fight. Overall it felt more like a war movie with scifi elements rather than a straight up scifi movie or even a disaster movie.

I also have been watching season 1 of Spartacus: Blood and Sand. I'm liking it so far. They definitely over do it with the 300 slow mo effect during the fight scenes, but overall it's an entertaining series and I've always been drawn to settings during the Roman or ancient era.

[ChubbyTeletubby]

I want to see that other Roman flick that just came out. I think it's called the Eagle?

Battlefield : LA ldidn't really pique my interest. The whole alien invasion thing has been done to death. I saw an interview with the main character (forget his name) and he said he spent a month training with the marines and he insisted they tried to keep it 'realistic'.

[End Master]

For all of you who liked Grindhouse and Machete, they're doing it again and making an actual movie of Hobo with a Shotgun.

With Rutger Hauer playing the hobo, I don't see how this can't possibly be one of the greatest movies ever.

Here's the trailer.

http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi3655703833/

[donteatpoop]

That sounds pretty awesome.