Movies

[laughter]

May 1, 2021 21:51:02 GMT -5 stardustpilgrim said:

I'm a sucker for time travel films, I've probably seen over 20, every time travel film I've ever learned about. I saw trailers for a certain film a long time ago, knew it would be good, but forgot about. Tonight I was browsing the cable guide, noticed a time travel film. The film of which I'd seen trailers didn't even cross my mind. I watched Tenet, it's the best time travel film I've ever seen, it's quite extraordinary. It comes on again at 11:00, I'm going to watch it again.
I watched the credits, and there it was Tenet, directed by Christopher Nolan, it was the film I'd seen a trailer for probably 10-12 months ago. Seeing the name Christopher Nolan explained why it is so good.

Highly recommended. You have to watch it very carefully or you'll get lost...

Yes, best time travel flick I've seen since the original Terminator. I'm not even gonna' try to follow all the plot details through, I'm sure I could watch it five times and still miss some.

Nolan was criticized for perhaps having plagiarized/cannibalized from Momento. While I can see the technicality they're complaining about, it seems to me that the creative twists on the genre are quite significant. Nolan's craftsmanship and creativity have reached a peak here: he pulls some really great performances from the actors. Pattinson finally lives up to his potential, Brannaugh's villany is textbook - right on the edge of being funny, and Washington's wry, cool, emotionally balanced action hero is deftly delivered.

I did have one geek-out question/objection though. It would be a spoiler so I'll PM you and maybe we can bicker about it's significance.

[Deleted]

May 1, 2021 21:41:24 GMT -5 stardustpilgrim said:

May 1, 2021 15:21:01 GMT -5 @robertc said:

I've seen it, many years ago. The screenwriter (Bruce Joel Rubin) taught meditation for a while and showed up an a "self inquiry" retreat in North Carolina to give a talk about 10 years ago.

Self-Knowledge Symposium connected?

I don't think so. It was called the "Self Inquiry Group" and it was connected to TAT. I think a certain admin here may have talked at their retreat too. Maybe he met Rubin, or maybe it was a different year.

[Deleted]

I would not watch this if you haven't seen Moneyball. It contains a big spoiler from the end of the story. It's a good movie worth watching.

But if you've already seen it, I'm posting because the scene gives me chills. The way they use sound and music here to point to the stillness is really cool.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJOU8rlKMBA

[stardustpilgrim]

May 4, 2021 16:29:40 GMT -5 @robertc said:

I would not watch this if you haven't seen Moneyball. It contains a big spoiler from the end of the story. It's a good movie worth watching.

But if you've already seen it, I'm posting because the scene gives me chills. The way they use sound and music here to point to the stillness is really cool.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJOU8rlKMBA

Oh I really liked Moneyball, and it's one of those films I watch part of when I happen to catch it on. I didn't know until recently it was produced by Brad Pitt's production company, he picked the project himself.

[stardustpilgrim]

May 4, 2021 16:29:40 GMT -5 @robertc said:

I would not watch this if you haven't seen Moneyball. It contains a big spoiler from the end of the story. It's a good movie worth watching.

But if you've already seen it, I'm posting because the scene gives me chills. The way they use sound and music here to point to the stillness is really cool.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJOU8rlKMBA

Oooo, the clip is a couple of seconds short, it ends with a nice gesture...left out...

[lolly]

May 4, 2021 16:29:40 GMT -5 @robertc said:

I would not watch this if you haven't seen Moneyball. It contains a big spoiler from the end of the story. It's a good movie worth watching.

But if you've already seen it, I'm posting because the scene gives me chills. The way they use sound and music here to point to the stillness is really cool.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJOU8rlKMBA

Liked it

[inavalan]

May 1, 2021 21:51:02 GMT -5 stardustpilgrim said:

I'm a sucker for time travel films, I've probably seen over 20, every time travel film I've ever learned about. I saw trailers for a certain film a long time ago, knew it would be good, but forgot about. Tonight I was browsing the cable guide, noticed a time travel film. The film of which I'd seen trailers didn't even cross my mind. I watched Tenet, it's the best time travel film I've ever seen, it's quite extraordinary. It comes on again at 11:00, I'm going to watch it again.
I watched the credits, and there it was Tenet, directed by Christopher Nolan, it was the film I'd seen a trailer for probably 10-12 months ago. Seeing the name Christopher Nolan explained why it is so good.


Highly recommended. You have to watch it very carefully or you'll get lost...

I was disappointed: too many special effects, and the time inversion manifestations were a little all over the place.

The only somewhat memorable conversation was this:

INT. SHIPPING CONTAINER – LATER
Neil is awake. He looks over at the Protagonist, who is
examining a LESION on his right arm...
NEIL
You in pain?
PROTAGONIST
Must’ve got nicked in Tallinn.
(rolls down sleeve)
I’ve been thinking... we’re their
ancestors. If they destroy us,
won’t that destroy them?
NEIL
Bringing us to the grandfather
paradox.
PROTAGONIST
The what?
NEIL
The classic thought experiment – if
you went back in time and killed
your own grandfather, how could you
have been born to commit the act?
PROTAGONIST
What’s the answer?
NEIL
There is no answer, it’s a paradox.
But in the future, those in power
clearly believe that you can kick
Grandpa down the stairs, gouge his
eyes and slit his throat without
consequence.
PROTAGONIST
Could they be right?
NEIL
It doesn’t matter. They believe it,
so they’re willing to destroy us.
Can I go back to sleep?
PROTAGONIST
No. I thought of something else.
NEIL
Great.
PROTAGONIST
This reversing the flow of time...
doesn’t us being here now mean it
never happens? That we stop them?
NEIL
Optimistically, I’d say that’s
right.
PROTAGONIST
Pessimistically?
NEIL
In a parallel-worlds theory, we
can’t know the relationship between
consciousness and multiple
realities. Does your head hurt yet?
PROTAGONIST
Yes.
NEIL
Try sleep.

[lolly]

News of the world with Tom Hanks is a heartwarming story - well worth a look.

[laughter]

I recommend Better Days if you're a fan of high-production, well acted, expertly directed drama long on plot, pathos and character development.

It is a moralistic tale, and the villains and villainy are rather cardboard-cut-out, but with a twist at the end of a laser-like insight into human nature. It's certainly a Chinese-state-media backed/approved production - complete with that moral message, in this case, on the topic of bullying and a PSA at the end about the measures the party has taken to "solve the problem" - (as if a problem like that actually has any sort of solution).

There is some violence, and it's hard to watch, not because of any unpleasant or unnecessary gore, but because of the realism of the portrayal.

But it also offers a fascinating glimpse into the high-pressure, high-stakes Chinese scholastic examination process. I seem to recall from my casual knowledge of the history that this is a continuous underpinning of the Chinese state bureaucracy that predates long before the current regime, stretching back many centuries and spanning multiple past Imperial dynasties. The treatment of that seems to me at once one of reverent respect for the institution coupled with a sort of poignant melancholy at the human cost of it.

There is also a reflection of the current state of collective Chinese national self-respect, with a recognition of the underlying Confucian values of hard work and civic and filial responsibility (without acknowledging the Confucian source - at least, one that I could discern/recall), as well as a surprisingly Hollywood-esque-subversive sort of self-examination of current cultural inequities. This is expressed quite vividly in some of the cinematography, which has a uniquely Chinese signature on it I can recognize from all of the Gong Li movies I watched in the '90's, and which has even matured from then.

[lolly]

The Art of Self Defense is a strange story about, well, it has quite a bit going on really, but on the surface it's about a guy who gets mugged and joins a Karate Dojo out of fear of being vulnerable. It's an unusual genre of comedy, I guess, but it also winds a bizarre tale which gets pretty twisted toward the end.

[lolly]

Netflix series 'The End of the F***ing World' is a dark story that becomes progressively more delightful as it goes on. It sure kept me watching.

[zendancer]

Jul 12, 2021 8:57:59 GMT -5 lolly said:

Netflix series 'The End of the F***ing World' is a dark story that becomes progressively more delightful as it goes on. It sure kept me watching.

That sounds interesting. What's the topic of the series?

[lolly]

Jul 12, 2021 10:33:01 GMT -5 zendancer said:

Jul 12, 2021 8:57:59 GMT -5 lolly said:

Netflix series 'The End of the F***ing World' is a dark story that becomes progressively more delightful as it goes on. It sure kept me watching.

That sounds interesting. What's the topic of the series?

It's about a twisted teenager who has fantasies of murdering his misfit girlfriend. They run away together and have a huge misadventure, but the subtext is about falling in love, obsession, resentment, regret, forgiveness and overcoming the obstacles of getting to know each other

[ouroboros]

Another series called - Utopia (the original British version) is maybe one for the 'conspiracy theory' advocates, and it's about a shadowy elite pursuing a certain agenda that I can't reveal without too much spoilers. It's a good watch, disturbing but with a touch of humour.

As an aside, it’s been said there are only two organisms on the face of the planet who destroy their environment to the extent it can no longer sustain their own existence, leading to their demise. The first is a virus, and the second … humankind ....

[zazeniac]

Hachi-- A Dog's Tale. Good movie about love and devotion.