76

(1,649 replies, posted in Off Topic)

Voyage Trekkers

Trey wrote:

Good point.  *waves hands mysteriously*    Done!

Good grief. If I were to do that kind of thing, it would involve clicking and typing, and possibly more clicking.

One more reason why they call you 'The Amazing'.

78

(359 replies, posted in Off Topic)

Sam F wrote:
Branco wrote:

Just got back from seeing this a second time in IMAX.  God, it looked awful.  I think they just mastered this in 2K, transferred to 70mm, and then shot it across a 6-story screen.

That's weird, they shot with IMAX cameras. Kinda defeats the purpose.

They only shot about 30 minutes of the finished movie natively in IMAX, as I understand it. So, at best, three-quarters of the movie will be from non-IMAX footage anyway. I don't know how this interacts with the 3D conversion either, but I imagine the worst-case scenario is that you can have the IMAX projection making the flaws in everything look more obvious, while nothing is allowed to look its best because everything was scribbled on in post.

Should the name of this corrections thread be 'corrected'?

80

(26 replies, posted in Off Topic)

TechNoir wrote:
BigDamnArtist wrote:
TechNoir wrote:

Eurovision - A Quick summary:

Each year European countries have a music competition where artists from each country write average radio pop music specifically for entering into said competition. The artists themselves rarely write their own music for our local competition, sometimes one songwriter can be behind alot of the contributions. Each country through public vote then selects which one of these songs best panders to the lowest common denominator, and thus should compete against the other countries similarly selected contributions.

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hJ1y5rYSNgg/UT00-rayXaI/AAAAAAAAAmk/9U0ZXmpDnbk/s1600/jack-sparrow.jpg

So this is like some sort of international cooperative attempt to punk the entire human population right? There's no way this is like an actual thing that people care about.

I believe the competition was initially created to help relations between European countries, working as a way for different people and cultures to come together for something we have in common.

...Bland music, as it turns out...

Although apparently Turkey stormed off in a huff this year because the Finnish song ended with two women kissing. So I guess it can also be the source of diplomatic flouncing, thus reinforcing the impression that most countries behave like eight-year-olds when they get the chance.

81

(991 replies, posted in Off Topic)

I believe the technical term for what happens at the end of this week's finale is WHAM!

82

(359 replies, posted in Off Topic)

Trey wrote:

http://www.pinkfive.com/images/i.chzbgr.jpg

Wait, I know this one... is it that Captain Kirk's hair is parted on the wrong side?

83

(359 replies, posted in Off Topic)

drewjmore wrote:

Post-converted 3D? What is this, 2009?

We may have the technology to shoot natively in 3D, but researchers are still working on the surprisingly complex problem of shining a light into two lenses at the same time to create JJ flares with convincing depth.

Maybe by the next generation, we'll have something.

84

(14 replies, posted in Off Topic)

Dave wrote:

Oh lawks, you called Zarban a celebrity.

It's going to take months to deflate him.

Oddly enough, 'zarban' is old Latvian slang for 'balloon made from condoms approved for official use by the Politburo'.

85

(359 replies, posted in Off Topic)

Faldor wrote:
fcw wrote:

SPOILER Show

Unless, of course, they decide that the next movie should be a remake of [spoiler]Turnabout Intruder, with Khan and Kirk swapping katras via Bones's accidental blood magic
. I can almost hear the overacting from here.

If that were the case

SPOILER Show
wouldn't Kahn get put in the tribble...?

Ooh, then

SPOILER Show
tribbles could become the ultimate weapon against Klingons
, and
SPOILER Show
The Trouble with Tribbles
could be remade as an all-out war movie,
SPOILER Show
Gremlins In Space
if you will.

And considering that

SPOILER Show
Khan's blood brings the dead back to life
, maybe we're looking at possibilities like
SPOILER Show
The Purring Dead
or
SPOILER Show
World War TribbleZ
.

86

(359 replies, posted in Off Topic)

And, of course, in the finest Star Trek tradition, I'm sure the

SPOILER Show
magic rejuvenation serum that Bones makes from Khan's blood to bring Kirk back to life
will be forgotten about in subsequent movies, even though it would be an outstanding component of any doctor's medical bag.

Unless, of course, they decide that the next movie should be a remake of

SPOILER Show
Turnabout Intruder, with Khan and Kirk swapping katras via Bones's accidental blood magic
. I can almost hear the overacting from here.

87

(359 replies, posted in Off Topic)

Saw the 3D version today with my wife. I thought it was a worthy successor to the previous one, although she thinks the '09 film still has the edge. We both gave it 8 out of 10, and will both probably go back and see it again (probably in IMAX this time, why not?). The 3D version was fine, not annoying, but I can only imagine that the conversion team have a special place in Hell for directors who like lens flares.

We saw it at a lunchtime screening in our local cinema, so there were perhaps fewer than 20 people in the audience. (Whereas, if we'd gone into London to see it, we'd have been sitting at the edge of the cinema,  because all the big screens there are mostly sold out already.)

Oh, and as far as the ending goes, I'm fine with it. They set it up in the movie to the extent that I could see it coming, and it could be regarded as

  Show
a distorted echo of the Prime universe
, although I imagine it could torque the nuts of some fans.

88

(36 replies, posted in Off Topic)

You had me, and possibly my money, at Kim Basinger

89

(36 replies, posted in Off Topic)

Well, that'll never work. Everybody knows that drinkers buy beer based on flavour and value for money, and aren't interested in bouncy ladies at all.

90

(36 replies, posted in Off Topic)

But if you're an audience member who knows who Ben Kingsley is, you'll know that his name on a movie poster today is as much a guarantee of movie quality as Michael Caine's name was back in the 1980s, Oscar or no Oscar.

Moreover, Ford's near-Oscar was almost thirty years ago, with no further Academy recognition since. It might as well say "nearly award-winning star of 1985's blockbuster 'Witness', Harrison Ford" for all the value that adds, at least for me.

Piling all that variously dated Academy recognition up in the trailer actually puts me off a bit, because it's like the trailer makers are grasping at straws by boasting about their actors' resumés to convince me of their movie's worth, rather than using the movie itself to do that.

91

(36 replies, posted in Off Topic)

I still think it's a weird sales pitch: spaceships, 'splosions and serious actors, together at last!

Arguably, the BBC did the same thing with the relaunch of 'Doctor Who' when they cast Christopher Eccleston as the Doctor, and had Russell T Davies as head writer. In Hollywood terms, that was like casting Kevin Spacey and having Aaron Sorkin in charge. But although that helped to sell the idea that the show was being taken seriously as a drama to snooty reviewers and jaded forty-somethings, I'll wager it meant nothing at all to the vast majority of the target audience.

Likewise, I suspect that this movie's ideal demographic isn't that interested in serious actors seriously acting up the joint, even though the movie will probably be better for it.

92

(36 replies, posted in Off Topic)

So, am I the only one who thinks it's a bit weird to list every featured cast member as 'Academy Award Something Something' except the actor playing the lead character? He must feel great about that.

Also, who thought it was a good idea to remind the audience that Harrison Ford once didn't win an Oscar? Are we now in an age when having the name 'Harrison Ford' in your movie's cast isn't enough, and it has to be augmented with 'Academy Award Nominee' so that we realize that he's some respectable actor-type person?

Are these post-Fordian times?

Found yesterday on the Facebooks:

https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/262590_656755714353885_821032519_n.jpg

94

(469 replies, posted in Episodes)

Joe wrote:

"Hash Tag Bruce Willies's Penis Is Movies"

ITYM "Bruce Willis's Willy Is Movies".

95

(469 replies, posted in Episodes)

Invid wrote:
switch wrote:

did you guys have to take down the itunes podcast feed?  I can't access it anymore... sad

Part of the deal is Teague has to add a new intro with the new name to all the existing episodes. This may have something to do with it.

Blimey. Does he have to loop every mention of 'Down in Front' or 'DiF' to something else as well?

And does he have to do a global search-and-replace across the forums, once they're migrated to their new home?  And after that, will this post just look weird?

Basically, I suppose I'm asking just how Orwellian the re-writing of DiF history has to be?

Double-plus ungood, I reckon.

96

(469 replies, posted in Episodes)

Snowflake wrote:

...I like the sentiment of naming the show after one of the phrases that grew out of it, as Rob mentioned, you've got built in history, ownership and color. On the other hand, going a bit more generic will probably gain you more of an audience right out of the gate. So it's a pickle.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to It's a pickle! Our movie this week is 2012 - II: The Wrath of Sharkzilla...

97

(469 replies, posted in Episodes)

The following is a ridiculous suggestion, which I therefore feel compelled to make: given that you guys sometimes have rows about films, how about "The Row Row". Sounds like Scooby Doo saying "The Now Show" (which is already a thing, but that's not important right now).

More/less ridiculous suggestions:

Flicksonomy
Hollywood Hubbub
Cutting Remarks
Four on the Floor
The Cutting Room
Outside Insight

98

(211 replies, posted in Off Topic)

Dave wrote:

Careful, he's covered in spiking glue. I assume that's code for something unmentionable.

It just means we have to slap him with a respirator.

99

(211 replies, posted in Off Topic)

Now that I've asked a question that was blatantly contra-indicated by a previous answer, I feel justified in saying "tut, tut."

CrowTeeRobot wrote:

If I get this wrong, I hope you can all find it in your hearts to forgive me, but... 

Is it mousse?

Owen Ward wrote:

17. Does it start with the letter "M"?
It does not.

Pity I couldn't have said it fast enough to enable a retraction, mind you.

100

(211 replies, posted in Off Topic)

Dave wrote:

Is it hair gel?

Blast, that's what I was about to ask. Honest, guv.