What are you currently watching?

[Brickman | 3,978]

29 minutes ago, Reed Rothchild said:

Good thing those snowflakes weren't around when Optimus Prime, Obiwan Kenobi, Aerith, and every death in pop culture happened over the last 50 years.

Oh shit, can you imagine how Six Feet Under would be received nowadays?  The fucking nerve of those showrunners! 

Snowflakes? Oh god Reed, don’t stoop to those crazies vernacular.

Those deaths did cause anger but there was no Internet back then. Except Obi Wan, I wasn’t alive so couldn’t tell you. But I can’t imagine at the time it been too bad because it was the first story and people barely knew his story.

Nate’s death was a long built up plot line. There’s nothing wrong with killing off main characters if done well.

My point was that there should be no surprise that the game scored so low because a move like that is a very controversial one.

I haven’t played the game so I don’t know if it was done properly and had a proper build up to it. But the reason why it scores so badly is because a large amount of people didn’t like the decision. There’s nothing wrong with people voicing their opinion on that plot line.

[Reed Rothchild | 9,509]

Disagree.

Review a movie after watching it.  Rate a game after playing at least a decent amount of the ways through.  Not after two hours because it made a narrative choice you disagree with and you're gonna be a crybaby about it.  Among other reasons why it was review bombed...

I mean, I haven't played it either.  And I gave TLOU1 a 7 so for all I know I'd give this a 5 or 6.

But if I gave it a 0 after 30 minutes I'd be a dipshit.

[Brickman | 3,978]

0 after 30mins is dumb but I don’t agree with forming somewhat of an opinion on a game within 2-3 hours. If a game doesn’t grab me or makes bad choices within 2hours I drop it. 30mins for a movie

[Tulpa | 3,488]

On 5/13/2023 at 4:32 PM, Dr. Morbis said:

but either way, whatever side you're on with just about any issue, you've got to remember that half the population is swinging the other way, so RR making comments like "these right wing corners of the internet are really tiring," does not exactly breed a forum of cooperation and acceptance.  Don't you think the other half of the population is tired of all those left wing corners of the internet too?  Just saying...

It's almost never a 50/50 split, but more of a bell curve. A small group one way, a small group the other, and most in the middle that have varying degrees of investment and care.

And even then I would argue a lot of issues it isn't a smooth curve, either. Some are more lopsided one way, some go the other way.

Society doesn't split cleanly like that.

[Dr. Morbis | 2,088]

21 hours ago, Tulpa said:

It's almost never a 50/50 split, but more of a bell curve. A small group one way, a small group the other, and most in the middle that have varying degrees of investment and care.

And even then I would argue a lot of issues it isn't a smooth curve, either. Some are more lopsided one way, some go the other way.

Society doesn't split cleanly like that.

I've seen enough Presidential elections in my life to know that you Americans are pretty much a 50/50 split, with this one guy in Jersey determining if the next four years goes to the Democrats or the Replublicans.  Hanging chads, winning the popular vote but not becoming president... man, you guys are split down the middle hard, like more bipartisan than probably any other country on the planet, and I'm not even being facetious... 

[G-type | 2,476]

On 5/15/2023 at 9:05 PM, Dr. Morbis said:

I've seen enough Presidential elections in my life to know that you Americans are pretty much a 50/50 split, with this one guy in Jersey determining if the next four years goes to the Democrats or the Replublicans.  Hanging chads, winning the popular vote but not becoming president... man, you guys are split down the middle hard, like more bipartisan than probably any other country on the planet, and I'm not even being facetious... 

not exactly 50/50... democrats have won the popular vote in every presidential election for the past 30 years, but because of our awesome electoral college system, someone in a less populated state like Wyoming is weighted 3x more than someone in a densely populated one, and the Republicans have a stronghold in the rural areas.

 

[G-type | 2,476]

Just binged

Ted Lasso - enjoyable fluff, although I wish the show could maintain some tension or conflict for more than a couple episodes.

Andor - I liked it a lot. Better than the Mandalorian.

[Tulpa | 3,488]

On 5/15/2023 at 6:05 PM, Dr. Morbis said:

I've seen enough Presidential elections in my life to know that you Americans are pretty much a 50/50 split, with this one guy in Jersey determining if the next four years goes to the Democrats or the Replublicans.  Hanging chads, winning the popular vote but not becoming president... man, you guys are split down the middle hard, like more bipartisan than probably any other country on the planet, and I'm not even being facetious... 

Eh, if you're on the outside looking in it might seem that way superficially.

When you're neck deep in it, there's more nuance. Partially from what G-type said and partially from other stuff.

I will grant you that our media does an excellent job of portraying it as a 50/50 split, as that makes for bigger ratings.

 

If we had stuff like ranked voting, it would better reflect our actual electorate views, and it ain't 50/50.

Edited May 18, 2023 by Tulpa

[Reed Rothchild | 9,509]

Studio guy #1: What if we had a Halloween movie where Michael Myers killed everyone?
Studio guy #2: Isn't that every Halloween movie?
Studio guy #1: No, you don't understand.  Everyone.
Studio guy #2: That doesn't even make se-

[avatar! | 1,807]

This was fun, I'm sure many have seen it, but if you have not, definitely well done and worth a watch -

 

[Reed Rothchild | 9,509]

That was fucking weird!

[Aguy | 771]

The new Dungeons and Dragons movie is out on Paramount+. I watched it with the family the other night and it was really good, with lots of imaginative action sequences. None of us have ever played DnD (although I've always wanted to) but I think they struck a good balance with the source material between pleasing fans and not being too dense for newcomers. And not a single 70/80's pop song to be heard, which has become a pet peeve of mine at this point.

[fox | 1,665]

10 hours ago, Aguy said:

And not a single 70/80's pop song to be heard, which has become a pet peeve of mine at this point.

A Knight’s Tale owns.  Don’t hate

[a3quit4s | 4,091]

12 minutes ago, fox said:

A Knight’s Tale owns.  Don’t hate

Love this movie!

[Reed Rothchild | 9,509]

Well that was fucking weird!  And hilarious.

[Brickman | 3,978]

Just finished Barry. And while I’m sad it has ended I’m glad they kept it short and sweet.

Hands down probably the best ending to a show since Breaking Bad and possibly even better in many ways.

I don’t know where Bill Hader can go from here, it’s like his magnum opus, but I am excited to see what he can do next.

If you haven’t seen Barry definitely do yourself a favour and watch it. 

[doner24 | 1,195]

Finished Succession last night, perfection. 
 

Binged the new season of I Think You Should Leave today, Tim Robinson is a national treasure. 

[DoctorEncore | 3,690]

On 5/23/2023 at 9:17 AM, Aguy said:

The new Dungeons and Dragons movie is out on Paramount+. I watched it with the family the other night and it was really good, with lots of imaginative action sequences. None of us have ever played DnD (although I've always wanted to) but I think they struck a good balance with the source material between pleasing fans and not being too dense for newcomers. And not a single 70/80's pop song to be heard, which has become a pet peeve of mine at this point.

It was so good! I really like Chris Pine and he was perfect in this role. They kept the story moving and gave appropriate amount of love to all the side characters. Probably my favorite fantasy movie since the LotR trilogy. I'd love to see a sequel.

I started Jury Duty on Amazon Freevee after hearing so many rave reviews and I absolutely love it. It is exactly as ridiculous as it need to be to make the concept work and the unknowing participant is perfect. Highly recommended.

[G-type | 2,476]

On 5/23/2023 at 9:17 AM, Aguy said:

The new Dungeons and Dragons movie is out on Paramount+. I watched it with the family the other night and it was really good, with lots of imaginative action sequences. None of us have ever played DnD (although I've always wanted to) but I think they struck a good balance with the source material between pleasing fans and not being too dense for newcomers. And not a single 70/80's pop song to be heard, which has become a pet peeve of mine at this point.

I liked the Dungeons and Dragons movie too.. although I still think a better use of the IP would be something that incorporates gamers playing the game intercut with the the fantasy story, rather than just a straight up fantasy movie.

[Aguy | 771]

6 hours ago, G-type said:

I liked the Dungeons and Dragons movie too.. although I still think a better use of the IP would be something that incorporates gamers playing the game intercut with the the fantasy story, rather than just a straight up fantasy movie.

Stories like that can work, but I feel like a majority of the time directors do that, it breaks up the flow too much and can kill momentum. Like @DoctorEncore said, the writers and Chris Pine's acting did a good job of trusting the viewer with the source material, resulting in a fun film.

I don't want my fantasy interspersed with scenes of a noob player (stand in for the unfamiliar audience) being surprised by a new mechanic and having other players explain it, or where the DM goes on a power trip. I've never heard anyone say Fred Savage was the best part of Princess Bride. It stops the story we are actually invested in dead in it's tracks.

I think it works best with low fantasy, like in the case of Jumanji, where there's less suspension of disbelief required. Switching back and forth from our reality to high fantasy is too jarring. But I'm open to opinions and movie recommendations where it works.

Edited June 1, 2023 by Aguy

[G-type | 2,476]

17 minutes ago, Aguy said:

But I'm open to opinions and movie recommendations where it works.

This amateur D&D fan film is showing its age a little bit, but its still pretty great. 

 

[G-type | 2,476]

 

[Reed Rothchild | 9,509]

I knocked out a bunch of Best Picture winners over the last x months that I had never gotten around to:

The Last Emperor - It was pretty good.  I assumed it covered his childhood based on the famous well-known scenes, but it's actually a biopic covering his whole life.

Chariots of Fire - Meh

Driving Miss Daisy - Meh

Out of Africa - Moves at a frickin' crawl

Terms of Endearment - I actually rather liked it.  Very funny, and Shirley MacClaine and Jack Nicholson are great.

 

[avatar! | 1,807]

52 minutes ago, Reed Rothchild said:

I knocked out a bunch of Best Picture winners over the last x months that I had never gotten around to:

The Last Emperor - It was pretty good.  I assumed it covered his childhood based on the famous well-known scenes, but it's actually a biopic covering his whole life.

Chariots of Fire - Meh

Driving Miss Daisy - Meh

Out of Africa - Moves at a frickin' crawl

Terms of Endearment - I actually rather liked it.  Very funny, and Shirley MacClaine and Jack Nicholson are great.

 

Haven't seen Out of Africa in a long time... but I recall rather liking Chariots of Fire and Driving Miss Daisy, although it's been a good time since I've seen those as well. Why "meh"?

[Reed Rothchild | 9,509]

1 hour ago, avatar! said:

Haven't seen Out of Africa in a long time... but I recall rather liking Chariots of Fire and Driving Miss Daisy, although it's been a good time since I've seen those as well. Why "meh"?

Driving Miss Daisy is pretty forgetful.  Standard Hollywood feel-good period prestige flick.  I know the common comparison nowadays is Do the Right Thing, which came out the same year, which is generally agreed upon to be the better film.  I'm also a bit mid on that one too. If Driving Miss Daisy is a 5/10, I'd probably call DtRT a 6/10 or 6.5/10.

Chariots of Fire also feels pretty forgettable to me.  Another feel-good period prestige flick.  I want to immediately compare it to Gallipoli, which is *also* about a sprinter, set a few years earlier.  I thought that film was much more engaging.

And it's kind of bugging me that the iconic score features such a synthy, synth drums, 80s feel to it.

Either way, when looking at the best picture winners in the 1980s (which I think is an exceedingly weak crop), I'd say the bottom 3 are:

10. Out of Africa
9. Driving Miss Daisy
8. Chariots of Fire

If I put together a list of my top 100 films from the 1980s, none of those would make it.  Granted, I'd have a ton of genre and horror films on there, like Aliens and The Thing and Evil Dead 2 and so forth, but I think that's pretty normal for our demographic.