551 Reply by Dorkman

(255 replies, posted in Off Topic)

Get an '82 edition of Gunslinger if you can. It was better before he Lucased it. Also, stop at four and just imagine the rest. That will also be better.

I finally finished Casual Vacancy (don't bother) and still working on the Percy Jacksons (currently 70% through the fourth).

I also read the book about the Raiders adaptation. Great book, heard a lot of the stories but a lot I hadn't heard in such detail. It also got into the relationships of the people involved and how it affected their lives more than the usual Q&A type stuff would. Definitely recommended, especially if you haven't heard the story. Though if you haven't seen the movie you're gonna be going even crazier to try to find a way to do so.

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552 Reply by Dorkman

(14 replies, posted in Off Topic)

Doctor Submarine wrote:

Russell Crowe is the best performer by a long shot

You are high and you should feel high.

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553 Reply by Dorkman

(168 replies, posted in Off Topic)

avatar wrote:

What might be interesting is the selective use of HFR within a movie to help differentiate another world e.g. inside Tron's "Grid", or entering The Matrix, or with a level 4 Inception dream, or as a human is reincarnated as a Na'vi. So the real world is bog-standard 2D 24fps, and then it goes into 3D HFR as the protagonist plugs himself into... enters the portal... re-awakens, etc.

You're talking about Showscan, Doug Trumbull's pitch for HFR before it was cool (and before digital made it feasible). Apparently at this year's SIGGRAPH he showed some work in development where you shoot everything in super-HFR (like 120fps), and then draw out of that what you want, so you can use that to interpolate out regular 24fps, jump to 48 or 60, and -- what's really intriguing -- have things moving at 24fps and 60 fps (for example) in the same shot.

I might actually be totally cool with the technique if it were used to enhance the story -- like the examples you made -- I just have a big problem with the idea of making it the standard process used to shoot the entirety of every movie from now on. It's potentially appropriate for MATRIX in the way it isn't for HOBBIT, in the same way a techno score is more appropriate for one than the other.

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554 Reply by Dorkman

(168 replies, posted in Off Topic)

Dave wrote:

My expectation is that for anyone under the age of 30, or who's grown up with games, HFR is likely to be a good experience.

I like barbecue sauce a lot, but I don't want it on my fucking cereal. Let games be games and films be films.

Dave wrote:

It does mean that sets and costuming are going to require more focus, and that CG elements will need to be that much more visually rich. It's been noted that some of the sets feel like sets etc.

Which is why I'm hopeful HFR will quickly be dismissed as not worth the significant extra cost.

Dave wrote:

To extrapolate - could this bode well for film making in the US (low cost near-enough is unlikely to be good enough)?

I don't understand the question. If films become more expensive to produce in the U.S. they will stop being produced in the U.S. It's already been happening for a while.

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555 Reply by Dorkman

(18 replies, posted in Off Topic)

fcw wrote:
Dorkman wrote:

Remember that the DIF definition of perfect movie is a movie that has a payoff for every setup and vice-versa. It's not just "I enjoyed it as much as I expected to."

I thought it went further than that: I thought perfect also meant that no obvious part of the story's territory was left unexplored, so you're not left thinking: "it was good as far as it went, but they could have taken the idea of Chekov's Macguffin Factory sooo much further..."

Yes, you're right. I consider this part of the definition too.

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556 Reply by Dorkman

(14 replies, posted in Off Topic)

Hooper's style of directing struck me as overblown and melodramatic in KING'S SPEECH, but LES MIS is supposed to be a sweeping melodrama, so it felt much more appropriate.

The every word sung style also took me a little getting used to, but it was fine. The real showstopper, to me, was "Dreamed a Dream." Anne Hathaway burned that mother down. Unfortunately, that means the movie peaked about 25 minutes into its three hours. I also liked "On My Own." Some great performances all around but I agree -- Crowe isn't a great singer, Eddie Redmayne is a great singer but kinda weird looking, and SBC and HBC felt like they were coming from some other movie (SWEENEY TODD, for example).

I actually think -- having not seen the stage version -- I would probably like it better. The movie is fine, I can't find too much to complain about I guess (except for the focus -- was it a conscious choice to focus on peoples' ears half the movie?), but I've kind of... seen it, you know? Epic historical filmmaking, it's been done. With a ton of money and a ton of time, it can be done. Whereas I think the appeal of the stage show is that all of this epicness is being achieved right in front of you, in real time, with clever and inventive stagecraft. I can imagine why, as a theatrical experience, Les Mis would be a must-see attraction. As a movie, it's good and all, but it didn't blow my socks off.

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557 Reply by Dorkman

(168 replies, posted in Off Topic)

The complaints about Azog are interesting. I personally thought he was very well done.

Dave wrote:

The experience is not jarring if you're used to gaming; in FPS games you frequently play at around 60FPS.

I hate the idea of movies looking (even more) like video games, so this isn't a point in HFR's favor with me.

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558 Reply by Dorkman

(18 replies, posted in Off Topic)

johnpavlich wrote:

At the end of the day, I was surprised at just how much damn fun I had watching the movie and I really appreciate how sincere and honest it is about what kind of movie it aspired to be.

Argh, that's not what it means.

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559 Reply by Dorkman

(60 replies, posted in Off Topic)

avatar wrote:

And what was unique about Avengers? What was the key ingredient that it had that the other tentpoles didn't have? Dorkman.

And may that be a lesson to us all.

DJANGO UNCHAINED has jumped onto my list, so the tally now is:

1. Cloud Atlas
2. Dredd
3. Cabin in the Woods
4. Rock of Ages
5. Ted
6. Dark Knight Rises
7. Django Unchained
8. Avengers
9. Wreck-It Ralph
10. Total Recall

Sorry Spider-Man. If Andrew Garfield is sad about this I am more than ready to comfort him.

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560 Reply by Dorkman

(35 replies, posted in Episodes)

AshDigital wrote:

Firefly and Prometheus exist in the same universe.

Assuming you accept ALIEN and PROMETHEUS exist in the same universe.

Which I don't. mad

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561 Reply by Dorkman

(13 replies, posted in Off Topic)

bullet3 wrote:

Samuel Jackson is in many ways the main villain, but he's a cripple who poses no threat

It's made clear that he's not. He just does that to make the white folks feel superior.

I can certainly agree that it has major story structure issues. But you I don't see how you can even begin to level that charge at DJANGO and not BASTERDS.

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562 Reply by Dorkman

(13 replies, posted in Off Topic)

I am of the opinion that INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS was lame. But DJANGO UNCHAINED was great.

bullet3 wrote:

Here, he plays it safe and has every southern white character be a horrible irreedemable asshole who Django will later murder. Granted, probably largely accurate historically, but it's still disappointing to see Tarantino making a movie entirely about getting the audience to cheer for the wholesale murder  of white people immediately after he's made a movie critiquing that exact thing.

That's because DJANGO UNCHAINED is a blaxploitation movie. Tarantino reimagined SWEET SWEETBACK'S BAADASSSSS SONG as an epic spaghetti western.

By the way, I didn't think IB humanized the Nazis or made them sympathetic at all. On the contrary, I thought their moments of "civilized" behavior underscored the monstrosity of their beliefs just as with the genteel Southerners in DJANGO, and wanted you rooting for their violent comeuppance just as much.

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563 Reply by Dorkman

(18 replies, posted in Off Topic)

Remember that the DIF definition of perfect movie is a movie that has a payoff for every setup and vice-versa. It's not just "I enjoyed it as much as I expected to."

I'd say WRECK-IT RALPH, and before that, DREDD.

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564 Reply by Dorkman

(35 replies, posted in Episodes)

I'm getting more Killer Klown.

http://i.imgur.com/zbGon.jpg

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565 Reply by Dorkman

(64 replies, posted in Episodes)

Marty J wrote:

It must have been written with LV-426 in mind

It absolutely was. It was meant to be the straightforward origin of how and why the ship discovered in ALIEN crashed. Ridley developed it in such a way that he kept the major plot beats but removed the context that made sense of them.

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566 Reply by Dorkman

(64 replies, posted in Episodes)

I probably would have been driven to kill and eat a hobo had we lost this ep. Good it won't come to that.

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567 Reply by Dorkman

(216 replies, posted in Episodes)

There were a few good points in there (Captain America being a bad shot), but mostly it's just complaining about stuff just because they didn't like it for some reason. "Superhero pissing contest"? Uh, yeah, welcome to the story of a bunch of powerful people having to work together. "Fury lies about location of baseball cards"? Yeah, that was...on purpose. Like, it's not a mistake or plot hole and I don't really see what's "wrong" with that.

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568 Reply by Dorkman

(11 replies, posted in Off Topic)

When intrepid young reporter Tintin buys a model boat, he must... uh... yeah, I can't do this one actually

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569 Reply by Dorkman

(30 replies, posted in Episodes)

Hang on, why are we talking about this? Did we mention CPK in the ep?

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570 Reply by Dorkman

(11 replies, posted in Off Topic)

iJim wrote:

When [the Allied Forces learn of Hitler's plans to watch a movie], [a team of Nazi scalpers in occupied France] must [kill him] or else [catastrophe].

See? That's the movie he should have made.

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571 Reply by Dorkman

(30 replies, posted in Episodes)

I actually like CPK too. I just saw a chance to make a funny.

Chicken Tequila Fettuccine mmmmmmm

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572 Reply by Dorkman

(168 replies, posted in Off Topic)

Fair point. But those songs were usually more of an accompaniment to the scene -- Eowyn sang at Theodred's funeral, Pippin provided ironic counterpoint to a hopeless battle -- rather than being the only reason the scene exists.

Granted, there were only two songs and they followed on each other fairly rapidly. I think that just gave me the feeling that oh Christ, there's gonna be singing all over this bitch. And then there wasn't but that feeling was still there.

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573 Reply by Dorkman

(168 replies, posted in Off Topic)

Eddie wrote:

I think I'm gonna start work on "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Edit" as soon as I can, if Mike J Nichols doesn't get there first.

I was gonna wait for the trilogy to finish and try cutting it into one film.

fireproof78 wrote:

I loved that theme running through the film. I know some find it irritating, but it worked well for me in a similar fashion to the Fellowship theme in the LOTR trilogy.

I liked the theme and likewise found it reminiscent of the Fellowship theme. But the Fellowship theme wasn't introduced in a musical number that stopped the movie dead.

Avatar hit on most of the problems I had watching the flick. I've only seen 24fps 2D and the movie isn't worth another three hours of my life, unless it gets a Best Picture nomination in which case, if it's in the AMC Best Picture Showcase in HFR 3D, I may go ahead and watch it.

But I just want to say, for the record, that 48fps is not new and I do not need to see HOBBIT HFR to know what it looks like. Hello? PAL video? Effectively 50fps? HOBBIT HFR will look like a better-lit Father Ted with more CG. The future of cinema? No thank you.

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574 Reply by Dorkman

(11 replies, posted in Off Topic)

Bilbo Baggins leaves his comfortable life in the Shire to face trolls, goblins, giant wolves and orcs on an epic journey to retrieve the Dwarves' gold from a fearsome dragon.

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575 Reply by Dorkman

(304 replies, posted in Episodes)

http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lvq2enRpBq1qc67tzo1_500.gif

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