Saturday Evening Movie Thread 10-23-2021 [TheJamesMadison]

Andrei Tarkovsky on Both Sides of the Iron Curtain

Like most tyrannical regimes, the Soviet Union spent a lot of money on art. Artists tend to fall into two camps when it comes to working under a patronage system through the government. The first are party hacks who gleefully celebrate the system they're in. The other are those on the edges, struggling to get projects funded and completed, and never quite fitting in. An example of the first within the Soviet system would be Sergei Bondarchuk, who filmed the Soviet version of Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace, a seven-hour film in four parts. An example of the latter is Andrei Tarkovsky.

Intensely religious in a tyrannically secular system, Tarkovsky began his film career with Ivan's Childhood in the brief period known as the Cultural Thaw under Khrushchev. His second film, Andrei Rublev, was in production for a month before the Thaw ended, and the resulting three-hour film about a painter who never paints didn't get any kind of release in the Soviet Union for four years until 1973, essentially being smuggled out of the country to play at the Cannes Film Festival in 1969. He was forced to remove anything explicitly religious or Christian in the rest of the films he made under Soviet rule (Solaris, Mirror, and Stalker) before leaving the country forever during the production of Nostalghia.

He was dying of cancer he most likely contracted while filming Stalker in the toxic wasteland of Tallinn, Estonia when he made his final film in Sweden, the Ingmar Bergman inspired The Sacrifice. His son, Andriosha, was quite literally held hostage by the Soviet authorities because Tarkovsky defected (Andriosha was released to his parents in the West). He died in 1986, only a few years before the fall of the Iron Curtain, never able to return to his fatherland.

He was a man of great faith who was also intimately tied to his identity as a Russian. The country's history and his own personal history there meant so much to him that he infused his seven films with the ideas, exploring them in distinctly cinematic ways.

Faith

Some of the great films about faith were made by contemplative men, and Tarkovsky was contemplative. Influenced by Aristotle's Classical Unities, he endeavored to create works in particular that were arranged around the idea of unity of action (Stalker, he said, was where he got closest to unity of place and unity of time). Every moment of every film is meant to feed into the central ideas he's playing with, and the most prominent and consistent idea in his work was faith in the material world.

He's like a mirror image of Ingmar Bergman in this way regarding their journeys of similar ideas. Where Bergman eventually came to a certain agnostic point of view when it came to his screaming to Heaven and hearing only silence in return, Tarkovsky found the silence of God to be as important to his concept of how to live a life of faith as anything else. Living under a secular tyranny, he wasn't only faced with the idea of God being silent, but his faith being incredibly lonely, unable to share it with others in a church setting. The silence is really what defined his faith.

There are five films in his seven film body of work that deal with this idea pretty explicitly. Andrei Rublev, Solaris, Stalker, Nostalghia, and The Sacrifice are all concerned with characters trying to make sense of the material world around them through the prism of a God who stays silent. It's not exactly subtle in the others, but it's most apparent in Stalker, the story of an unnamed man who leads two others into The Zone, the site of a meteor crash that the government has sealed off from the outside world where supposedly exists The Room, a place where wishes come true. Stalker, the main character, wears a white rag around his neck that resembles a Roman collar of a priest. The two men with him are in a search for greater meaning. The place is supposedly filled with dangers, and yet we never see them. It's all done through implication and storytelling, culminating in a hallway that Stalker calls The Meat Grinder, a hallway that, he says, has killed men on this journey before. No one is ever harmed on the journey, and yet there's this constant sense of dread that something is going to happen.

Silence

Stalker is the story of a priest leading his flock through the metaphysical as a physical experience. He can't provide the physical proof of his belief because there is none. The Zone betrays any kind of physical reality from one journey to the next, changing its layout, according to Stalker, and all he can take from it is his stories. He's trying to show his congregation how to live life in a way that he knows will bring peace and happiness, but he can't prove it.

The others of Tarkovsky's work that follow along these lines do similar things. Andrei Rublev ends with an extended sequence around the forging of a church tower bell with a young man bragging that he knows the secret of bellmaking and falling to his knees and crying at the end because he knows that he knows nothing of the secret, and yet the bell was a success. What is the origin of that success? Solaris is about a giant, living planet that humanity struggles to find ways to communicate with. Nostalghia is about a Russian in Italy who decides that the local madman's predictions of apocalypse are true and can only be averted by his walking across an empty pool with a lit candle. The Sacrifice is about a lecturer who dreams of the end of the world where he promises to rid himself of everything to save the world. He wakes up to find everything fine, and he proceeds to follow through on his promise by burning down his own house.

There's a unity of ideas at play in the bulk of Tarkovsky's work, and they are earnestly about the need for greater meaning in a material world. The films in this vein that he made in the Soviet Union were either historical (Andrei Rublev) or science fiction (Solaris and Stalker) because they gave him the greater latitude to deal with religious concepts from a legal perspective under Soviet law. When he left the Soviet Union near the beginning of the production of Nostalghia he suddenly had more freedom, and he used it.

The Fatherland

Five of his seven movies are primarily concerned with the religious questions, but three of the seven are primarily concerned with the question of what it means to be Russian. Yes, I can do math. I'll get to it in a second.

It seems like most Russians are very cognizant of the fact that they are Russians, a not terribly unusual outlook on life from any country's point of view. What makes Russia different is its history. It's a long, bloody, and storied history of Czars, serfs, religion, communism, revolutions, invasions, and war. There's a character to it so large and hard to understand that I don't find it all that surprising that those who take the idea seriously on a personal level struggle with the concept. There's a lot to consider, and much of it is contradictory and unpleasant.

Tarkovsky struggled with these ideas, and it's most apparent in his semi-autobiographical Mirror, a fractured narrative about his mother around the period of the Second World War. The personal struggles in the midst of the national struggle mix with his mother making every effort to survive while at her father's home in the country and at her job in a printing press in the city. There's a scene near the middle with Tarkovsky's childlike avatar (also named Andrei) reads a historical letter to a mysterious woman from Alexander Pushkin to Pyotr Chaadayev written in the 1830s that includes the line, "I'm far from thrilled with everything I see around me. As a writer, I'm annoyed. As a man of discernment, I'm insulted. Yet I wouldn't trade my fatherland for anything in the world."

Andrei Rublev, Tarkovsky's greatest and largest work, has really three main purposes that all intertwine. The first is the question of faith, the second is the question of the artist's place in the world, and the third is Russia. It's a largely fictionalized telling of the life of the famous icon painter where Rublev witnesses the awfulness of life in his fatherland in particular through the rivalry of two princes, twin brothers, that descends the entire countryside in rape and war, especially when the jealous, out of power brother recruits the Tatars onto his side. The pillaging of the city of Vladimir is one of the most impressive production accomplishments of the Soviet era (rivaling the Battle of Borodino and the burning of Moscow in War and Peace), and it has everything to do with dramatizing the ideas that Tarkovsky would later highlight with that letter in Mirror.

His third film along these lines is his first film overall, Ivan's Childhood. His shortest film, it's about a young boy in World War II out for revenge against the Germans who killed his family (something that Elem Klimov would build off of in his 1985 film Come and See) who does reconnaissance for the Russian army. He has dreams of actually fighting though, despite the fact he's only about thirteen years old. The fight against Naziism is an important aspect in the minds of many Russians, especially since it was often used as a metaphor in storytelling through the Soviet era for issues Russians were seeing at home. He ultimately dies off screen, having run away from the military school he gets sent to in order to join the partisans and fight.

Being Russian seems complicated.

Ideas

Tarkovsky had ideas that he wanted to explore. He was derisive of commercial filmmaking, seeing cinema as purely an medium for personal expression (though he had warm things to say of James Cameron's The Terminator before his death, saying "The brutality and low acting skills are unfortunate, but as a vision of the future and the relation between man and his destiny, the film is pushing the frontier of cinema as an art.").

His films are not the kind of thing you pop in on a Friday night with a bowl of popcorn. They are movies to consider as you might a great painting. Is there entertainment to be had in an experience like this? It's a question several people have put to me, and I don't think I have a good answer. I can say that I definitely do enjoy watching these films, that I've seen all of them (except The Sacrifice) multiple times, and that I think they're great experiences. I can also say that I'll probably never try to get my children to watch them even when they're older, nor that I will ever try to get my wife to sit through one.

They're very particular experiences. For those open to slow, contemplative works, they can be incredibly rewarding. For those who see movies as just something to throw in on a Friday night, they're going to be challenging to get through to say the least. It's a taste thing, really.

That being said, with only seven films I think Andrei Tarkovsky cemented his place as one of history's greatest filmmakers. They're all worthy, and I outright love six of them (there's a subplot in Ivan's Childhood that takes up half an hour that I don't think fits that well). In terms of IMDb ratings, I found it interesting that six of them have ratings of 8.1. The sole exception is The Sacrifice which has a rating of...8.0.

A Note
I was Christian Toto's guest on his podcast, Right on Hollywood, this Wednesday talking about John Carpenter. Do listen in! I said stupid things that you will be able to mock me for!

Movies of Today

Opening in Theaters:

Dune

The French Dispatch

Movies I Saw This Fortnight:

The Last Duel (Rating 3.5/4) Full Review "It's a complex portrait of a brutal time filled with very good performances from everyone especially Jodie Comer as Marguerite and Ridley Scott's wonderful visual sense of grandeur." [Theater]

The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly (Rating 2/4) Full Review "There's definitely entertainment to be had, but it's all mired in the middle of a story that never comes close to gelling, especially in its second half." [Personal Collection]

Hangman's House (Rating 3.5/4) Full Review Every character is there supporting the central story of justice being visited upon those who have escaped it. Every action is in support of it. And, more importantly, the characters and their motivations feel real, avoiding sensations of contrivance. It's a very good movie, a real hidden gem." [Library]

Riley the Cop (Rating 3/4) Full Review "It's really quite amusing. It may not be Keaton levels of hilarity, but Riley the Cop is a solidly amusing and often quite funny little film from Ford outside of his wheelhouse. Winningly performed, especially by MacDonald in the titular role, there's a fair amount of joy to be had from it." [Library]

Risen (Rating 2.5/4) Full Review "I ended up mixed on the film overall after the really compelling first half that I kind of loved. There's an interesting story in the first half and a far less interesting journey in the second. Well produced with a strong sense of making the most of real world locations and fairly well acted, Risen could have been more interesting than it ends up being." [Library]

A Fistful of Dollars (Rating 3/4) Full Review "I enjoy the film, for sure. It's fun, tense, and exciting, and that's almost entirely driven by Leone's craftsmanship with the camera and in the editing bay (special shout out to Roberto Cinquini, the actual editor, of course), carrying a somewhat incomplete script well past the finish line." [Personal Collection]

For a Few Dollars More (Rating 3.5/4) Full Review "Combined with the more appropriately built story to match, For A Few Dollars More represents Leone really growing as a filmmaker, finding the groove of the kinds of stories he wanted to make and how he wanted to make them. It's an entertaining romp through the Old West as seen by an Italian in Spain, and it's a good old fashioned time at the movies." [Personal Collection]

Once Upon a Time in the West (Rating 3.5/4) Full Review "I don't think Once Upon a Time in the West quite rises to greatness, a key emotional beat doesn't work and Leone's style occasionally gets in the way of things, but it's a consistently entertaining and intelligent work by a filmmaker who suddenly discovered the art of telling a story rather than just having great individual moments strung together. Leone really grew here as a filmmaker." [Personal Collection]

Contact

Email any suggestions or questions to thejamesmadison.aos at symbol gmail dot com.
I've also archived all the old posts here, by request. I'll add new posts a week after they originally post at the HQ.

Posted by: Open Blogger at 07:47 PM

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 Sponge!

Posted by: Bete at October 23, 2021 06:53 PM (Ojki1)

2 Like most tyrannical regimes, the Soviet Union spent a lot of money on art.
---
Cowboy poetry FTW!

Posted by: Harry Reid at October 23, 2021 06:54 PM (Ojki1)

3 Alec Baldwin's mini house for his mini brain.

Can we move on now?

Posted by: Martini Farmer at October 23, 2021 06:56 PM (BFigT)

4 Going with the heavy stuff.

Posted by: runner at October 23, 2021 06:56 PM (V13WU)

5 4 Going with the heavy stuff.
Posted by: runner at October 23, 2021 06:56 PM (V13WU)

========

Last time was Bond.

Gotta mix it up, else I get stale.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, in the 30s with John Ford at October 23, 2021 06:57 PM (LvTSG)

6
Andrei Tarkovsky is the Alec Baldwin of Ingmar Bergmans.

Discuss.

Posted by: naturalfake at October 23, 2021 06:57 PM (5NkmN)

7 Just watched an Irish vampire movie "The Boys from County Hell" - slow start but gets funny / gory

Posted by: vmom - link to Red's fundraiser at October 23, 2021 06:58 PM (YZG/i)

8 Stalker is brilliant. Well done review. The video game is fantastic too.

Review Buckaroo Banzai (the greatest film of all time #2 is Time Bandits)

Posted by: Thesokorus at October 23, 2021 06:58 PM (1ais2)

9 hiya

Posted by: JT at October 23, 2021 06:58 PM (arJlL)

10 Tarkovsky, John Carpenter and Sergio Leone! Admirable!

Posted by: Pat at October 23, 2021 06:59 PM (gYEd7)

11
I heard Hitler directed Das Boot.

Posted by: S'oothsay'er at October 23, 2021 06:59 PM (kK/B7)

12
2/4 for The Good, Bad, and the Ugly??

Posted by: S'oothsay'er at October 23, 2021 07:02 PM (kK/B7)

13 Crossing the Movie/Chess Thread beams, I saw the Thomas Crown Affair when it was in the theaters. Of course, I was only a babe in arms.

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at October 23, 2021 07:02 PM (bPH26)

14 12
2/4 for The Good, Bad, and the Ugly??

Posted by: S'oothsay'er at October 23, 2021 07:02 PM (kK/B7)

======

Fight me?

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, in the 30s with John Ford at October 23, 2021 07:02 PM (LvTSG)

15 I have heard good things on the new Dune. The FNT guys were over the moon about it.

I am just not sure I really like the Dune story, when it comes down to it.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at October 23, 2021 07:02 PM (csEWM)

16 Never seen or heard of any of these, that's not bad, just never heard of them.
I have looked up and seen a bunch of movies brought up on the Movie Thread.

Posted by: Skip at October 23, 2021 07:02 PM (2JoB8)

17 Soviet Fun Fact: Russians also used live ammo and genuine firearms on the set.

Posted by: Alec at October 23, 2021 07:03 PM (5l6FZ)

18 14 12
2/4 for The Good, Bad, and the Ugly??

Posted by: S'oothsay'er at October 23, 2021 07:02 PM (kK/B7)

======

Fight me?
Posted by: TheJamesMadison, in the 30s with John Ford at October 23, 2021 07:02 PM (LvTSG)

TJM Hot Takes!

Posted by: Aetius451AD at October 23, 2021 07:03 PM (csEWM)

19 WHos review is duel at 3.5 ? yours ?

Posted by: runner at October 23, 2021 07:04 PM (V13WU)

20 Mirror was one of the strangest movies I have ever seen. No plot to speak of (aside from your explanation). The Soviet director I am most familiar with is Sergei Eisenstein, whose movies I got acquainted with in my Russian history classes in college. I have Alexander Nevsky and Ivan the Terrible Part I on DVD (along with Tarkovsky's Mirror).

Posted by: Cow Demon - Free Australia! at October 23, 2021 07:04 PM (CdZ4i)

21 Last time was Bond.

Gotta mix it up, else I get stale.
Posted by: TheJamesMadison, in the 30s with John Ford at October 23, 2021 06:57 PM (LvTSG)

missed that...dammit. can we revisit ?

Posted by: runner at October 23, 2021 07:04 PM (V13WU)

22 Always say for as great TGTBATU is is gets down graded for that middle side track battle

Posted by: Skip at October 23, 2021 07:05 PM (2JoB8)

23 Tarkovsky's father was no dummy either....

Posted by: runner at October 23, 2021 07:05 PM (V13WU)

24 By the way, I HIGHLY recommend Dune. Watch it on the biggest screen you can find.

THE SPICE MUST FLOW!!!

(I have some quibbles that I am keeping on mute - don't want to ruin it for anyone and I am holding out hope they will be addressed in a sequel which I am practically begging to be made.)

Posted by: Cow Demon - Free Australia! at October 23, 2021 07:06 PM (CdZ4i)

25 >
I am just not sure I really like the Dune story, when it comes down to it.
Posted by: Aetius451AD at October 23, 2021 07:02 PM (csEWM)

You should hear me tell it.

And also, I've watched the new movie 3 times so far. It's spectacular!

Posted by: Muad'dib at October 23, 2021 07:06 PM (QHqf9)

26 I am just not sure I really like the Dune story, when it comes down to it.
Posted by: Aetius451AD
-----

[wonders if there are any sandworm hooks at the Mome]

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at October 23, 2021 07:06 PM (830x5)

27 In Soviet America, actors shoot production crew.

Posted by: Dr. Bone at October 23, 2021 07:06 PM (5l6FZ)

28 In Russia, movie shoot you!

Posted by: Alekoff Baldwinoff at October 23, 2021 07:06 PM (Tnijr)

29 17 Soviet Fun Fact: Russians also used live ammo and genuine firearms on the set.
Posted by: Alec at October 23, 2021 07:03 PM (5l6FZ)

Come And See. No, seriously, Come And See, the movie! Live ammo used just as you said.

Posted by: Cow Demon - Free Australia! at October 23, 2021 07:06 PM (CdZ4i)

30 Gotta mix it up, else I get stale.
Posted by: TheJamesMadison, in the 30s with John Ford at October 23, 2021 06:57 PM (LvTSG)

Probably James Wan's motivation for Malignant.

In his case...that didn't turn out so well. Though who knows, maybe in 20 years we'll look back on it like Bid Trouble in Little China as a film audiences at the time just weren't ready for.

But I doubt it.

Posted by: Bete at October 23, 2021 07:07 PM (Ojki1)

31 I liked the original 3:10 to Yuma, I also prefer not bending my CPU pins when I separate a processor from a fan.

31 years I have been doing this and I have never achieved that act of idiocy before.

I must be getting ready for high elected office.

Posted by: sven at October 23, 2021 07:07 PM (Lzpvj)

32 Audoences stillaren't ready for Buckaroo Banzai

Posted by: Thesokorus at October 23, 2021 07:08 PM (1ais2)

33 This was Willowed and is about the movies so . . .

Apparently, some of the guards at Nuremberg were former Lithuanian Waffen SS.

-
I've mentioned a couple of times the Netflix documentary Final Account in which former Nazis and accessories are interviewed as they are rapidly approaching the rainbow bridge. Many excuses are made. One former SS guy says he was with the good part of the SS, not the bad part of the SS. None says, "I did it and I'm sorry." One guy is completely unrepentant although he allows that Hitler may have gone a bit too far in some instances.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks Now With Pumpkin Spice! at October 23, 2021 07:08 PM (d9FiS)

34 Hey everybody! Hey Movie Thread! Hey now-famous-on-Toto's-podcast TJM!! :-)

Good/Bad/Ugly only rating two stars of four??!! SACRILEGE!! Besides it's such a great cinematic experience, the plot barely matters. :-)

And re Tarkovsky, he sounds to me sort of like Terrence Malick, who as I understand it has turned off as many film fans as he's attracted with his particular (and religious-oriented) style of filmmaking.

Posted by: qdpsteve at October 23, 2021 07:08 PM (L2ZTs)

35 But, let's get to the important part, were any sandworms injured in the making of the movie?

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at October 23, 2021 07:08 PM (830x5)

36 Much of Mirror is really about his family, his remembrances of his mom, dad. Dreamlike. I need to rewatch, but it is so much work to watch it !

Posted by: runner at October 23, 2021 07:09 PM (V13WU)

37 >
35 But, let's get to the important part, were any sandworms injured in the making of the movie?
Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at October 23, 2021 07:08 PM (830x5)

None in part 1.

Posted by: Muad'dib at October 23, 2021 07:09 PM (QHqf9)

38 So, uh, what's happenin' everybody?

Posted by: Alec Bal-- Alex O'Haire, yeah, that's me, Alex O'Haire at October 23, 2021 07:09 PM (L2ZTs)

39 I am just not sure I really like the Dune story, when it comes down to it.
Posted by: Aetius451AD at October 23, 2021 07:02 PM

You should hear me tell it.

And also, I've watched the new movie 3 times so far. It's spectacular!
Posted by: Muad'dib at October 23, 2021 07:06 PM

I am very seriously considering the second viewing, something I RARELY do with movies at the theater. (The last time I did was Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith, but only because after the midnight showing, I went later in the day with a larger group of friends that passed on the midnight showing but still wanted to see it.)

I enjoyed Dune and they NEED to green light the second and third movies already.

Posted by: Cow Demon - Free Australia! at October 23, 2021 07:09 PM (CdZ4i)

40 You should hear me tell it.
And also, I've watched the new movie 3 times so far. It's spectacular!
Posted by: Muad'dib at October 23, 2021 07:06 PM (QHqf9)
Spoilers:
Here is my problem with the Dune universe.

-the high concept of a galactic empire reliant on this drug to enable space travel is interesting.

-the whole central mythos of the continuing books where the idea is that Leto (who I will get more to in a minute) is trying to ensure that humanity is so widespread that it can never really be wiped out. This is also fascinating.

-where it falls down is the characters. (cont, because I am going to hit the page break limit.)

Posted by: Aetius451AD at October 23, 2021 07:09 PM (csEWM)

41 TJM, are any of these on YouTube or other free streaming sites? Also, did you watch them subtitled? I'm assuming there are no English dubs...

Posted by: Taqiyyologist, Rickrolled by Jesus at October 23, 2021 07:10 PM (OssQ4)

42 And I liked Rublev (I mentioned it before). Mirror and Rublev are the only two I ...experienced.

Posted by: runner at October 23, 2021 07:10 PM (V13WU)

43 None in part 1.
Posted by: Muad'dib at October 23, 2021 07:09 PM (QHqf9)

Although sandworm injury/harm is implied. The crysknife HAD to come from someplace.

Posted by: Cow Demon - Free Australia! at October 23, 2021 07:10 PM (CdZ4i)

44 The Russians have been making pretty good SciFi lately.

Posted by: G'rump928(c) at October 23, 2021 07:11 PM (yQpMk)

45 Given it's October again, I assume we can count on TJM's next Movie Thread being on classic horror, hopefully including Vincent Price? :-)

I've decided I want to try and read the original novels of Frankenstein and Dracula. It's surprising to me that Dracula only came out about 1898, the story has been so legendary for so long. It must have been a true sensation when it first came out.

Also TJM, we were talkin' Fatty Arbuckle and his 1921 scandal a few days ago. Do you have a fave film of his from the silent days?

Posted by: Alec Bal-- Alex O'Haire, yeah, that's me, Alex O'Haire at October 23, 2021 07:11 PM (L2ZTs)

46 Did they keep the new Dune under 4 1/2 hours long?

Posted by: Skip at October 23, 2021 07:11 PM (2JoB8)

47 Off shoot-happy sock!

Posted by: qdpsteve at October 23, 2021 07:12 PM (L2ZTs)

48 Although sandworm injury/harm is implied. The crysknife HAD to come from someplace.
Posted by: Cow Demon - Free Australia! at October 23, 2021 07:10 PM (CdZ4i)

Maybe it is from the baby worm they use to make the Water of Life.

Posted by: G'rump928(c) at October 23, 2021 07:12 PM (yQpMk)

49
Right now, the Koreans are king of Entertainment.

So I hear.

Posted by: S'oothsay'er at October 23, 2021 07:12 PM (kK/B7)

50 Excellent essay, TJM!

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Live! from the Dungeon of Discord at October 23, 2021 07:12 PM (Dc2NZ)

51 Russians are making very good WWII movies lately

Posted by: Skip at October 23, 2021 07:12 PM (2JoB8)

52 >46 Did they keep the new Dune under 4 1/2 hours long?
Posted by: Skip at October 23, 2021 07:11 PM (2JoB

2 hours 36 minutes for this first movie, which covers about half of the first book.

Posted by: Muad'dib at October 23, 2021 07:12 PM (QHqf9)

53
Always got KRULL mixed up with Dune when I was a kid.

Posted by: S'oothsay'er at October 23, 2021 07:12 PM (kK/B7)

54 Every Halloween we watch Something Wicked This Way Comes.

Posted by: G'rump928(c) at October 23, 2021 07:12 PM (yQpMk)

55 I am just not sure I really like the Dune story, when it comes down to it.
Posted by: Aetius451AD at October 23, 2021 07:02 PM (csEWM)

Gary (Nerdrotic) said the movie was good. But he admits he cannot get into the book.

Posted by: Cow Demon - Free Australia! at October 23, 2021 07:13 PM (CdZ4i)

56 I'd bet that Ivermectin would bring those sandworms to the surface.

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at October 23, 2021 07:13 PM (L47aO)

57 Inwantna crysknife

Posted by: vmom - link to Red's fundraiser at October 23, 2021 07:13 PM (YZG/i)

58 Agreed on all the Leone stuff. I have to check this Russian guy's work. Is any of it available online?

I studied a fair bit of Russian history in high school and college. It is not surprising being Russian is a big deal. The one thing that linked those people was the Motherland. Crap, the serfs were often the biggest supporters of the Tsars.

Posted by: Quint at October 23, 2021 07:14 PM (X1Wj0)

59 Now with Rublev you get a sense or Russia, where it came from. Paganism, divinity, poverty and religious ecstasy. And paganism.

Posted by: runner at October 23, 2021 07:14 PM (V13WU)

60 46 Did they keep the new Dune under 4 1/2 hours long?
Posted by: Skip at October 23, 2021 07:11 PM (2JoB

They only cover about half the story.

Pre Rona the idea was it'd be a 2 parter, but post it is hard to say what'll happen as it was damn expensive and the split theater/HBO Max numbers may leave it abandoned.

Posted by: Bete at October 23, 2021 07:14 PM (Ojki1)

61 24 By the way, I HIGHLY recommend Dune. Watch it on the biggest screen you can find.

THE SPICE MUST FLOW!!!

(I have some quibbles that I am keeping on mute - don't want to ruin it for anyone and I am holding out hope they will be addressed in a sequel which I am practically begging to be made.)
Posted by: Cow Demon - Free Australia! at October 23, 2021 07:06 PM (CdZ4i)
---

I can't wait to see it on a retina-frying IMAX screen! Maybe tomorrow.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Live! from the Dungeon of Discord at October 23, 2021 07:14 PM (Dc2NZ)

62 >
57 Inwantna crysknife
Posted by: vmom - link to Red's fundraiser at October 23, 2021 07:13 PM (YZG/i)

You're too Stabby.

Posted by: Muad'dib at October 23, 2021 07:14 PM (QHqf9)

63 Hi , Eris !

Posted by: runner at October 23, 2021 07:14 PM (V13WU)

64 cont.
-Paul. Character insert- sort of. He always seemed... flaccid to me. Kind of bland. Did not really seem to possess much personality.
-Duke Leto. Pretty much to serve as the motive force of the beginning and to die so he would be the motive force. Sort of mentor.

-Jessica. Stuck a thumb in the eye of the Bene Gesserit by having a son, but after having Alia, she kind of just drops out of the story (this is a common problem with the series.)

-Alia. Weird. Damien woman child, creepy person.

-Duncan. One of the better characters and then he gets capped and dies. Then things get really weird.

-Leto. Yeah. I get that he had a plan. He executed the plan. Giant sandworm guy is... strange.

-Villains? The Harkonnens seem like cardboard cutouts and the Bene Gesserit just seem like shrill harpies.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at October 23, 2021 07:15 PM (csEWM)

65 Right now, the Koreans are king of Entertainment.

So I hear.
Posted by: S'oothsay'er
-----

I find the Korean model at the Chess Thread entertaining.

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at October 23, 2021 07:15 PM (L47aO)

66 Eris, how is your Mom?

Posted by: Muad'dib at October 23, 2021 07:15 PM (QHqf9)

67 I think The Good the Bad and the Ugly is a better film than you give it rating for but I understand. It drags in the middle, especially the Civil War scenes (I know why he did them and what he was trying to say but it didn't work and was historically bizarre).

I have never watched a Tarkovsky film but I have heard good things about Solaris.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at October 23, 2021 07:16 PM (KZzsI)

68 Skip, I think they are doing what Hollywood is doing - remakes of classics, dumbed down but with super digital special effects.

Posted by: runner at October 23, 2021 07:16 PM (V13WU)

69 No question the Civil War scene(s) in GBU are the flabbiest thing there. They feel tacked on to me. Leone was just trying to be 'relevant' by cramming in an anti-war message.

Posted by: qdpsteve at October 23, 2021 07:16 PM (L2ZTs)

70 Well, it's no Lone Wolf McQuade.

Posted by: Duke Lowell at October 23, 2021 07:17 PM (kTF2Z)

71 The Russians have been making pretty good SciFi lately.
Posted by: G'rump928(c)

Everything else, too. I've been watching Russian music videos lately, and they're very entertaining. You get the sense, even in the pop music category, that they really do love their country, their people, and their culture. Imagine if all popular music in the U.S. was infused with the national pride you currently only see in so-called "Country" music. That's Russian music today. Very refreshing to see. Also lots.of traditional love stories, instead of constant ghey. Also refreshing.

Posted by: Taqiyyologist, Rickrolled by Jesus at October 23, 2021 07:17 PM (OssQ4)

72 Pre Rona the idea was it'd be a 2 parter, but post it is hard to say what'll happen as it was damn expensive and the split theater/HBO Max numbers may leave it abandoned.
Posted by: Bete at October 23, 2021 07:14 PM (Ojki1)

Although it has made $100 million + overseas. (Dune was BIG in France and Russia.) I don't know the exact as of now numbers, but it might be in the black right now.

The plan is that IF it does well in theaters, they will make this a trilogy, taking things up to the second Dune novel.

Posted by: Cow Demon - Free Australia! at October 23, 2021 07:17 PM (CdZ4i)

73 Fine, y'all convinced me. I will watch Dune. But it better be an improvement on the last one !

Posted by: runner at October 23, 2021 07:17 PM (V13WU)

74 Dolley wants to play a board game. Sorry. Don't hurt each other too badly. I'm not cleaning up blood in the Barrel again.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison's Phone, read some movie thoughts at October 23, 2021 07:17 PM (LvTSG)

75 66 Eris, how is your Mom?
Posted by: Muad'dib at October 23, 2021 07:15 PM (QHqf9)
---

She's okay-ish. Doesn't know why she should be in the hospital and wants me to bust her out. Let's wait and hear what the doc sez, okay Mom?

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Live! from the Dungeon of Discord at October 23, 2021 07:18 PM (Dc2NZ)

76
Also TJM, we were talkin' Fatty Arbuckle and his 1921 scandal a few days ago. Do you have a fave film of his from the silent days?

Arbuckle was mentor to a bunch of the best comedians in the 20s but... his stuff is really lame for the most part. Its super low brow simple comedy because he always believed his viewers were retards. Seriously, he deliberately dumbed down his comedy so the dumbest person could understand and enjoy it because he believed that's who watched movies.

Its hard for me to respect him because of that attitude, although he was really good at what he did.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at October 23, 2021 07:19 PM (KZzsI)

77 The plan is that IF it does well in theaters, they will make this a trilogy, taking things up to the second Dune novel.

The first two books are kind of one book, really.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at October 23, 2021 07:19 PM (KZzsI)

78 74 Dolley wants to play a board game. Sorry. Don't hurt each other too badly. I'm not cleaning up blood in the Barrel again.
Posted by: TheJamesMadison's Phone, read some movie thoughts at October 23, 2021 07:17 PM (LvTSG)

Which means NO debates on who was the best Bond.

Posted by: Cow Demon - Free Australia! at October 23, 2021 07:20 PM (CdZ4i)

79 And re Tarkovsky, he sounds to me sort of like Terrence Malick, who as I understand it has turned off as many film fans as he's attracted with his particular (and religious-oriented) style of filmmaking.
Posted by: qdpsteve at October 23, 2021 07:08 PM (L2ZTs)

kIf you want to check out Malick, watch "Days of Heaven" first.

It's his best movie IMO and the first one where he matures into his technique. Yet, he has yet to let the technique instead of the story guide his movies.

If you like "Days of Heaven" then venture out into the other stuff. If you don't, it doesn't get better from there.

Posted by: naturalfake at October 23, 2021 07:20 PM (5NkmN)

80 Speaking of documentaries . . .

HBO apparently has a new documentary out, "Four Hours at the Capitol," which, according to The Atlantic's Sophie Gilbert, is "a vivid, terrifying picture of violent insurrection."

https://bit.ly/3jwhUKd

It was like Bastogne but without the laughs.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks Now With Pumpkin Spice! at October 23, 2021 07:20 PM (d9FiS)

81 Critics are like assholes. Its not because everyone has one, its because what they produce is so disagreeable.

Posted by: Harry at October 23, 2021 07:20 PM (EcD5Y)

82 You're too Stabby.
Posted by: Muad'dib

*throws crysknife slowly to penetrate shield*

Posted by: vmom - link to Red's fundraiser at October 23, 2021 07:21 PM (YZG/i)

83 Off I go, y'all, but before I go, I will remind you of the truth that YOU MUST GRASP:

He Who Controls The Spice Controls The Universe.

Posted by: Cow Demon - Free Australia! at October 23, 2021 07:21 PM (CdZ4i)

84 I studied a fair bit of Russian history in high school and college. It is not surprising being Russian is a big deal. The one thing that linked those people was the Motherland. Crap, the serfs were often the biggest supporters of the Tsars.
Posted by: Quint
--------

I recently read 'Russka: The Novel of Russia' - Rutherfurd. A novel, of course, but very well researched, as are his other books.

The breadth and depth of Russian history is near overwhelming.

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at October 23, 2021 07:21 PM (WZ5i4)

85 >
She's okay-ish. Doesn't know why she should be in the hospital and wants me to bust her out. Let's wait and hear what the doc sez, okay Mom?
Posted by: All Hail Eris, Live! from the Dungeon of Discord at October 23, 2021 07:18 PM (Dc2NZ)

It's encouraging that she wants to be busted out, yes?

Posted by: Muad'dib at October 23, 2021 07:21 PM (QHqf9)

86
It's amazing what made people laugh in the olden days.
You could see it in the old comic strips they kept publishing -- like Beetle Bailey.

Nothing was funny about Beetle Bailey.

Posted by: S'oothsay'er at October 23, 2021 07:22 PM (kK/B7)

87 I can't read a Rutherford book but I know they are great and well-researched. Just too dense and long and thick. I gave up gigantic tomes for lent.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at October 23, 2021 07:22 PM (KZzsI)

88 Hope your mom gets well.soon, Eris

Posted by: vmom - link to Red's fundraiser at October 23, 2021 07:24 PM (YZG/i)

89 It's amazing what made people laugh in the olden days.
You could see it in the old comic strips they kept publishing -- like Beetle Bailey.

Nothing was funny about Beetle Bailey.
Posted by: S'oothsay'er at October 23, 2021 07:22 PM (kK/B7)

Sarge is mad at Beetle. Again.

I cannot be too down on it. When I was a small kid, I would sit with Pappaw and we would read the comics together.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at October 23, 2021 07:24 PM (csEWM)

90 Nothing was funny about Beetle Bailey.
Posted by: S'oothsay'er
-----

That's what all of you Sad Sack fans say.

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at October 23, 2021 07:24 PM (WZ5i4)

91 87 Just too dense and long and thick. I gave up gigantic tomes for lent.
Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at October 23, 2021 07:22 PM (KZzsI)

That's what she said.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at October 23, 2021 07:25 PM (csEWM)

92 I like Beetle but its really white bread. And they can't do most of the good stuff any more where Sarge stomps Beetle into paste or General Hardtack chases after his secretary.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at October 23, 2021 07:25 PM (KZzsI)

93 I can't read a Rutherford book but I know they are great and well-researched. Just too dense and long and thick. I gave up gigantic tomes for lent.
Posted by: Christopher R Taylor
------

I've read three. London, Sarum, and Russka. Probably accounts for my poor eyesight.

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at October 23, 2021 07:26 PM (WZ5i4)

94 We always skipped over the.. Apartment 3G(?) one and the other dramatic one that I cannot remember the name of. It was a lady's name?

Posted by: Aetius451AD at October 23, 2021 07:26 PM (csEWM)

95 Russia has very strong Viking/Norse roots - first kings were blood relatives of Swedish and Norwegian kings. Even their names are Norse - Vladimir - Valdemaar, Olga-Helga, Yaroslav - Jarisleifsson.

Posted by: runner at October 23, 2021 07:26 PM (V13WU)

96 Watching Poltergeist. Holds up pretty well so far.

Posted by: Just a side note at October 23, 2021 07:26 PM (2DOZq)

97 I don't know the exact as of now numbers, but it might be in the black right now.
Posted by: Cow Demon - Free Australia! at October 23, 2021 07:17 PM (CdZ4i)

It's budget is supposedly around $165 mill. Throw in marketing and that theaters get a cut of the box office take and I wouldn't imagine it being in the black yet. I'm not saying it can't be, but it isn't likely to be there yet.

And then there is the joys of Hollywood accounting, where is was what, 1 to 2 decades before Return of the Jedi was said to have turned a profit and for the stars who had a financial stake in it on the backend to see any money come from that.

Posted by: Bete at October 23, 2021 07:26 PM (Ojki1)

98
Blondie?

Posted by: S'oothsay'er at October 23, 2021 07:27 PM (kK/B7)

99
Dagwood's bitch?

Posted by: S'oothsay'er at October 23, 2021 07:27 PM (kK/B7)

100 Beetle Bailey is stupid and predictable but I read it.

Posted by: Brother Northernlurker just another guy at October 23, 2021 07:27 PM (cSyAR)

101
HBO apparently has a new documentary out, "Four Hours at the Capitol," which, according to The Atlantic's Sophie Gilbert, is "a vivid, terrifying picture of violent insurrection."

https://bit.ly/3jwhUKd

It was like Bastogne but without the laughs.
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks Now With Pumpkin Spice!

It should play on a double bill with Fauci.

Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr. at October 23, 2021 07:27 PM (63Dwl)

102 Now Blondie was a comedic strip. This was one with an older woman. White hair?

Posted by: Aetius451AD at October 23, 2021 07:28 PM (csEWM)

103 one and the other dramatic one that I cannot remember the name of. It was a lady's name?

Mary Worth, probably. The soap opera ones were lame, although Apartment 3g was well drawn, very pretty ladies.

The best of old newspaper comics was the adventure stuff like Mark Trail and so on. And Prince Valiant. But until Calvin & Hobbs and The Far Side came out, the pickings were pretty lean.

I did like For Better or Worse and Foxtrot though, those were usually fun.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at October 23, 2021 07:28 PM (KZzsI)

104 I enjoyed seeing Aquaman clean shaven in Dune. Jason Momoa is almost always bearded.

What was funny was he fought like Baba Voss.

Posted by: G'rump928(c) at October 23, 2021 07:28 PM (yQpMk)

105 Russia made a movie called Viking some years back. Draws on all that.

Posted by: runner at October 23, 2021 07:28 PM (V13WU)

106 100 Beetle Bailey is stupid and predictable but I read it.
Posted by: Brother Northernlurker just another guy at October 23, 2021 07:27 PM (cSyAR)

This too, is the story of Friends.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at October 23, 2021 07:28 PM (csEWM)

107
Cathy?

Posted by: S'oothsay'er at October 23, 2021 07:28 PM (kK/B7)

108 recently read 'Russka: The Novel of Russia' - Rutherfurd. A novel, of course, but very well researched, as are his other books.

The breadth and depth of Russian history is near overwhelming.

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at October 23, 2021 07:21 PM (WZ5i4)

The Peter the Great novel from way back was a good one, even as a novel. I think they made it into a movie. I haven't heard of Russka, but will check it out. I kind of miss Russian history.

Posted by: Quint at October 23, 2021 07:28 PM (X1Wj0)

109 Arbuckle was mentor to a bunch of the best comedians in the 20s but... his stuff is really lame for the most part. Its super low brow simple comedy because he always believed his viewers were retards. Seriously, he deliberately dumbed down his comedy so the dumbest person could understand and enjoy it because he believed that's who watched movies.
---

Yet you can make bank on this, so who is really misunderstanding how this works?

Posted by: Adam Sandler at October 23, 2021 07:29 PM (Ojki1)

110 Yay, movie thread!

"PULL!"

Posted by: Alec Baldwin at October 23, 2021 07:29 PM (CTJwJ)

111 107
Cathy?
Posted by: S'oothsay'er at October 23, 2021 07:28 PM (kK/B7)

Cathy and Garfield were both in my opinion on the same level. Barely funny. Toss ziggy in at that level too.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at October 23, 2021 07:30 PM (csEWM)

112 The Wizard of Id was good.

Posted by: Mr Aspirin Factory at October 23, 2021 07:30 PM (VnZdJ)

113 For a Few Dollars More is my favorite of the Leone westerns mainly because Indio is batshit crazy. There's all kinds of weird things going on with that dude.

I would rate G,B, and U somewhat higher than two stars because whatever its other flaws Eli Wallach is great.

Posted by: the guy that moves pianos (meh, it's a living) at October 23, 2021 07:30 PM (3DZIZ)

114 Mary Worth is the one, CRT.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at October 23, 2021 07:30 PM (csEWM)

115 next year is the 125th anniversary of the publication of dracula, I've been watching much of the hammer oevre on tmc, I was reminded because one of the last dracula 1972, was the 75th anniversary,

Posted by: alien covenant was much worse at October 23, 2021 07:30 PM (hMlTh)

116 Solaris is one of my favorite movies. It was 'sneaky' great. I had to watch it twice to 'get' it. The first time I was appreciating the building dread and effects that were pretty good considering this was 70s era Soviet Union. Something odd was happening and then? The movie ended and I was 'Wut'? I liked it but couldn't figure out why. Watch it again. Lots of talking, it's Russian. So I paid a bit more attention to the subtitles this time. Lots of context is what I missed. Hard to explain, for me anyway. I finally purchased it on DVD and watch it now and then. Still one of my favorite movies.

Posted by: Puddleglum at October 23, 2021 07:30 PM (QFVV9)

117 Anyone see new Bond movie ?

Posted by: runner at October 23, 2021 07:30 PM (V13WU)

118 Makes me wonder a documentary but recreated ?

Posted by: Skip at October 23, 2021 07:31 PM (2JoB8)

119 113 For a Few Dollars More is my favorite of the Leone westerns mainly because Indio is batshit crazy. There's all kinds of weird things going on with that dude.

I would rate G,B, and U somewhat higher than two stars because whatever its other flaws Eli Wallach is great.
Posted by: the guy that moves pianos (meh, it's a living) at October 23, 2021 07:30 PM (3DZIZ)

To be honest, I do like Magnificent Seven better than the Dollars trilogy.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at October 23, 2021 07:31 PM (csEWM)

120 Box Office Mojo doesn't have the production costs but Dune has made $147,200,000 so far globally. Shang Chi pulled in $416,154,607 so it probably made decent money for Disney since it was around $150 million to make. Far below their old billion plus numbers, but decent in this market.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at October 23, 2021 07:31 PM (KZzsI)

121
They kill Bond at the end.

Posted by: S'oothsay'er at October 23, 2021 07:31 PM (kK/B7)

122
Oops, spoiler.

Posted by: S'oothsay'er at October 23, 2021 07:31 PM (kK/B7)

123 Dondi: The Movie

Posted by: G'rump928(c) at October 23, 2021 07:32 PM (yQpMk)

124 S'oothsay'er , why did you need to do that ?

Posted by: runner at October 23, 2021 07:32 PM (V13WU)

125 Cathy and Garfield were both in my opinion on the same level. Barely funny. Toss ziggy in at that level too.

Yeah they were skip overs. Just not funny at all, although the guy that did the Garfield without Garfield edits did point out how it could have been better.

Garfield is one of the ultimate examples of what Bill Watterson used to complain about in newspaper comics: the art. Super simple line drawings, no backgrounds, barely any movement or variation in the characters. Absolutely minimal and dull.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at October 23, 2021 07:33 PM (KZzsI)

126 Very underrated movie is Siberian Education.

Posted by: Just a side note at October 23, 2021 07:33 PM (2DOZq)

127 Watched Shangchi last week. It was an ok kungfu film

Posted by: vmom - link to Red's fundraiser at October 23, 2021 07:34 PM (YZG/i)

128 120 Box Office Mojo doesn't have the production costs but Dune has made $147,200,000 so far globally. Shang Chi pulled in $416,154,607 so it probably made decent money for Disney since it was around $150 million to make. Far below their old billion plus numbers, but decent in this market.
Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at October 23, 2021 07:31 PM (KZzsI)

Shag Cho almost certainly made money at the box office but it probably was a disappointment in the toy aisle, and as Spaceballs pointed out, merchandising is where the real money is made on these types of films.

Posted by: Bete at October 23, 2021 07:34 PM (Ojki1)

129 Yet you can make bank on this, so who is really misunderstanding how this works?

In the early 20s movies were still so novel and exciting that you could get away with just about anything and people would line up and get a ticket. By the later 20s when guys like Keaton and Lloyd were doing films, audiences wanted more than just WOW LOOK AT THE MOVING PICTURES!

But yeah overall you don't get anywhere by overestimating the intelligence of film audiences.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at October 23, 2021 07:34 PM (KZzsI)

130 Eris miniature or the Priestess of Eris
https://tinyurl.com/2j67sjxf

Posted by: Skip at October 23, 2021 07:34 PM (2JoB8)

131 Russian history is extremely violent. They used to make up new ways to be violent. But to me it always had a meaning or scope of history, it lead to something for mostly ill. Now if you go deep into Latin American history, it is pretty much "this guy is in charge, he gets whacked, now this guy is in charge"

Posted by: Quint at October 23, 2021 07:35 PM (X1Wj0)

132 It's encouraging that she wants to be busted out, yes?
Posted by: Muad'dib at October 23, 2021 07:21 PM (QHqf9)
--

The food is okay, but the wine list is NON-EXISTENT!

But yeah, I felt better after I visited her.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Live! from the Dungeon of Discord at October 23, 2021 07:35 PM (Dc2NZ)

133 The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
Once Upon a Time in the West

Your wrong about them. WRONG!!!! (points accusingly).

Posted by: Puddleglum at October 23, 2021 07:36 PM (QFVV9)

134 130 Eris miniature or the Priestess of Eris
https://tinyurl.com/2j67sjxf
Posted by: Skip at October 23, 2021 07:34 PM (2JoB

---

I posed for that!

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Live! from the Dungeon of Discord at October 23, 2021 07:36 PM (Dc2NZ)

135 as Spaceballs pointed out, merchandising is where the real money is made on these types of films.

Absolutely, that's where the real money is. Same with just plain comics. The comics barely make any money these days even with the best selling stuff, but the merchandising, with Superman tee shirts and Batman sheets and so on, that's where they make money.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at October 23, 2021 07:37 PM (KZzsI)

136 Garfield was a terrible president. Like all Republicans, obsessed with Lasagna. Also, a terrible Spider-Man, who is really more of a man than a spider when you think about it. So giving the Spider- top billing instead of the -Man is misleading. Makes the comic frustrating. For me anyway.

Posted by: Joe Biden at October 23, 2021 07:37 PM (QU5/8)

137 G,B and U is my least favorite of the triology.

Posted by: Just a side note at October 23, 2021 07:37 PM (2DOZq)

138 90 Nothing was funny about Beetle Bailey.
Posted by: S'oothsay'er
-----

That's what all of you Sad Sack fans say.
Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at October 23, 2021 07:24 PM (WZ5i4)
--

My dad still had some Sad Sack comics left over from WWII, plus some that would make Tex Avery blush. Wonder what happened to them?

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Live! from the Dungeon of Discord at October 23, 2021 07:38 PM (Dc2NZ)

139 Remember the Garfield car suction cup things?

Posted by: Aetius451AD at October 23, 2021 07:38 PM (csEWM)

140 Kind of curious if anyone has checked out Foundation (yes Asimov's Foundation) on Apple TV. I imagine it's actually a series and not a movie. But is it good or is it a garbage bastardized woke fest

Posted by: Buzzion at October 23, 2021 07:38 PM (MOUN0)

141 Joe Kidd should be ranked higher for Eastwood movies.

Posted by: Just a side note at October 23, 2021 07:38 PM (2DOZq)

142 I've watched a few Sherlock Holmes movies starring Peter Cushing as Holmes.
A little spookier than other versions but good.

Posted by: Brother Northernlurker just another guy at October 23, 2021 07:38 PM (cSyAR)

143 I imagine it's actually a series and not a movie. But is it good or is it a garbage bastardized woke fest

I have heard nothing at all good about it from anyone, on any side of any aisle.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at October 23, 2021 07:39 PM (KZzsI)

144 I watched "The Thin Red Line" (199

last night.
It was alright. The internal monologues got really... ponderous.

Posted by: Dr. Varno at October 23, 2021 07:39 PM (vuisn)

145 Joe Kidd should be ranked higher for Eastwood movies.

Written by Elmore Leonard, so yeah, great story, fun movie. Great casting too.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at October 23, 2021 07:40 PM (KZzsI)

146 140 Kind of curious if anyone has checked out Foundation (yes Asimov's Foundation) on Apple TV.

##

Watched the first 2 eps. It's so effing slow

Posted by: vmom - link to Red's fundraiser at October 23, 2021 07:40 PM (YZG/i)

147 I'm convinced Rex Morgan MD and Mary Worth are still being printed because the CIA is encrypting messages in the bland dialog.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Live! from the Dungeon of Discord at October 23, 2021 07:40 PM (Dc2NZ)

148 I watched "The Thin Red Line" (199 last night.
It was alright. The internal monologues got really... ponderous.
Posted by: Dr. Varno at October 23, 2021 07:39 PM (vuisn)

Anathema! Anathema! Anathema!

Posted by: G'rump928(c) at October 23, 2021 07:40 PM (yQpMk)

149 Watched the first 2 eps. It's so effing slow
Posted by: vmom - link to Red's fundraiser at October 23, 2021 07:40 PM (YZG/i)

Asimov was always dry as the Sahara to me, honestly.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at October 23, 2021 07:41 PM (csEWM)

150 The old Sherlock Holmes films were usually good in terms of Holmes, they got very fine actors to play him. But they did a terrible job with Watson, and that was always hard to watch for me.

Hint: Watson runs himself down in the books but he's not an idiot. He's quite intelligent and very capable.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at October 23, 2021 07:41 PM (KZzsI)

151 "Four Hours at the Capitol," which, according to The Atlantic's Sophie Gilbert, is "a vivid, terrifying picture of violent insurrection."

-
Alternate title: Full Plaid Jacket

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks Now With Pumpkin Spice! at October 23, 2021 07:41 PM (d9FiS)

152 WHO KNOWS WHAT EVIL LURKS IN THE PROPS OF MEN? THE SHADOW DOESN'T!

/I would have made that joke first, but Razorfist beat me to it.

Posted by: BourbonChicken at October 23, 2021 07:42 PM (ybIRR)

153
If you're in the mood for spooky horror stuff, episodes of Boris Karloff's series, The Veil, are on Youtube.

Posted by: S'oothsay'er at October 23, 2021 07:42 PM (kK/B7)

154 Naturalfake and Christopher, thanks!
Didn't know that about Arbuckle's flicks.

Posted by: qdpsteve at October 23, 2021 07:43 PM (L2ZTs)

155 21-14 Tide at the turn.

Posted by: G'rump928(c) at October 23, 2021 07:43 PM (yQpMk)

156 Boris Karloff will always be the Grinch.

Posted by: Mr Aspirin Factory at October 23, 2021 07:44 PM (VnZdJ)

157 Joe Kidd was a great film.

i guess Eastwood's best Russian movie was Firefox. It was basically a movie about a guy sitting in a cockpit.

Posted by: Quint at October 23, 2021 07:45 PM (X1Wj0)

158 "PULL!"
Posted by: Alec Baldwin

Horrible.

But I laughed.

Posted by: April -- dash my lace wigs! at October 23, 2021 07:45 PM (OX9vb)

159 i guess Eastwood's best Russian movie was Firefox. It was basically a movie about a guy sitting in a cockpit.
Posted by: Quint at October 23, 2021 07:45 PM (X1Wj0)

I think that movie turns 40 next year.

Posted by: Mr Aspirin Factory at October 23, 2021 07:46 PM (VnZdJ)

160 I love Spaghetti Westerns as much as anyone but you can spot the Italians in them without a score card, most are goofy different.

Posted by: Skip at October 23, 2021 07:47 PM (2JoB8)

161 i guess Eastwood's best Russian movie was Firefox. It was basically a movie about a guy sitting in a cockpit.
Posted by: Quint at October 23, 2021 07:45 PM (X1Wj0)

Honestly, I remember falling asleep as a kid because the plane was not in much of the movie. It was all about them in drab hallways and soviet bureaucracy.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at October 23, 2021 07:47 PM (csEWM)

162 150 The old Sherlock Holmes films were usually good in terms of Holmes, they got very fine actors to play him. But they did a terrible job with Watson, and that was always hard to watch for me.

Agreed.

Posted by: Brother Northernlurker just another guy at October 23, 2021 07:48 PM (cSyAR)

163 MrAspirinFactory, I wonder if Boris Karloff ever met Karla Bonoff? :-)

Posted by: qdpsteve at October 23, 2021 07:48 PM (L2ZTs)

164 One thing I liked about Spaghetti Westerns is that the people looked like they belonged in that setting. Too many American westerns, they got the costuming and sets and so on right, but they had super period specific hairstyles and makeup. So you can go "that one is from the 60s, that one the 40s". Its like someone got new meshes and textures for "modern" faces to stick on the proper western bodies in a game.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at October 23, 2021 07:49 PM (KZzsI)

165 The first are party hacks who gleefully celebrate the system they're in.

A bit harsh - there were some excellent Soviet filmmakers who worked within the system. Hardly "party hacks".

At the pinnacle was Leonid Gaidai, who made comedies, several of which were the most popular films in the Soviet Union, and whose films generally satirized Soviet society.

Posted by: The ARC of History! at October 23, 2021 07:49 PM (I2/tG)

166 From my FiL estate was a few Stars and Stripes newspaper from towards the end of the war, no idea where they went.

Posted by: Skip at October 23, 2021 07:50 PM (2JoB8)

167 i guess Eastwood's best Russian movie was Firefox. It was basically a movie about a guy sitting in a cockpit.
Posted by: Quint at October 23, 2021 07:45 PM (X1Wj0)

I think that movie turns 40 next year.

Posted by: Mr Aspirin Factory at October 23, 2021 07:46 PM (VnZdJ)

thank God that hasn't happened to us!

Posted by: Quint at October 23, 2021 07:50 PM (X1Wj0)

168 I liked Hardwicke(sp?)'s turn as watson in Brett's Holmes run. Favorite line:

'You won't shoot me- I am a NOBLE!'

'I was a soldier in India, sir. I've killed far nobler creatures than you.'

Posted by: Aetius451AD at October 23, 2021 07:50 PM (csEWM)

169 I watched Stalker a while ago. I would've been completely lost had I not previously read Roadside Picnic. Even then, I still couldn't figure out what the hell point Tarkovsky was trying to make in any given scene.

Posted by: PabloD, make commies fly again! at October 23, 2021 07:50 PM (8akfU)

170 Boris Karloff will always be the Grinch.
Posted by: Mr Aspirin Factory at October 23, 2021 07:44 PM (VnZdJ)

-----------

Ahem

Posted by: Thurl Ravencroft at October 23, 2021 07:51 PM (kTF2Z)

171 164 One thing I liked about Spaghetti Westerns is that the people looked like they belonged in that setting. Too many American westerns, they got the costuming and sets and so on right, but they had super period specific hairstyles and makeup. So you can go "that one is from the 60s, that one the 40s". Its like someone got new meshes and textures for "modern" faces to stick on the proper western bodies in a game.
Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at October 23, 2021 07:49 PM (KZzsI)

I always liked how dirty spaghetti western people looked

Posted by: Brother Northernlurker just another guy at October 23, 2021 07:52 PM (cSyAR)

172
That's why Bonanza sucks. No one was ever dirty or sweaty, and the Cartwrights were always clean-shaven.

Posted by: S'oothsay'er at October 23, 2021 07:52 PM (kK/B7)

173 I like Joe Kidd a lot. I kinda wish Clint would have held onto the Mauser 96 for the rest of the movie.

The Hammer version of Hound of the Baskervilles with Cushing as Holmes is fun. Andre Morrell plays a fairly competent Watson.

Posted by: the guy that moves pianos (meh, it's a living) at October 23, 2021 07:53 PM (3DZIZ)

174 Siberian Education was made by an Italian guy so I guess it's a Spaghetti Eastern.

Posted by: Just a side note at October 23, 2021 07:53 PM (2DOZq)

175 172
That's why Bonanza sucks. No one was ever dirty or sweaty, and the Cartwrights were always clean-shaven.
Posted by: S'oothsay'er at October 23, 2021 07:52 PM (kK/B7)

I remember an episode of Rifleman when the Sheriff went bad, got tied up in his past or something. Conners has to bring him in. Visually, they did the grease on the cheeks that they seemed to do for not clean shaven and he looked a little less slicked back.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at October 23, 2021 07:54 PM (csEWM)

176 Sooth, as I recall, I Dream Of Jeannie sort of had the same problem. Larry Hagman was always in a perfectly pressed suit.

Posted by: qdpsteve at October 23, 2021 07:54 PM (L2ZTs)

177 If you have clear skies, check out the moonrise. It's huge.

Posted by: lowandslow at October 23, 2021 07:55 PM (4thlk)

178 I have four more Clint Eastwood westerns to watch btw:

- Pale Rider
- Hang 'Em High
- Joe Kidd (which I'm glad you all are talking about as I know next to nothing about it)
- Two Mules For Sister Sara (where he had to play second fiddle to Shirley MacLaine I believe)

Posted by: qdpsteve at October 23, 2021 07:56 PM (L2ZTs)

179 My favorite thing about Firfox is the guy the got to play the Soviet premier was a ringer for Chernynko.

Posted by: the guy that moves pianos (meh, it's a living) at October 23, 2021 07:56 PM (3DZIZ)

180 163 MrAspirinFactory, I wonder if Boris Karloff ever met Karla Bonoff? :-)
Posted by: qdpsteve at October 23, 2021 07:48 PM (L2ZTs)

she would know if he's ever near...

Posted by: browndog Official Mascot of Team Gizzard at October 23, 2021 07:56 PM (BgMrQ)

181 the funny thing about Il Bruto... i wonder how many have thought about where it was set. As in what state were they supposed to be in.

without looking it up, my guess is they were in New Mexico territory. There was some fighting out there, ala Glorietta Pass. OF course it was shot in Spain as they all were.

Posted by: Quint at October 23, 2021 07:56 PM (X1Wj0)

182 1) Thanks, TJM. Andrei Rublev is genius. 2) Would love to hear your thoughts on The Island, very popular recent Russian film. 3) Just saw Dune in a theatre. Appreciate this thread and will listen to your podcast when I can.

Posted by: LadyS at October 23, 2021 07:56 PM (piO4R)

183
All those TV western serials never mussed up the lead actors.

You never saw "stubble" on the men, no matter how long they were out on the trail or stuck in some cave.

Posted by: S'oothsay'er at October 23, 2021 07:56 PM (kK/B7)

184 I'm watching a food show on YouTube following a guy who travels the world eating ridiculous amounts of food.
He looks like he has AIDS.

Posted by: Brother Northernlurker just another guy at October 23, 2021 07:57 PM (cSyAR)

185 Lot to be said for Shirley Maclaine in the nun outfit.

Yeah, I know--I'm going to hell.

Posted by: the guy that moves pianos (meh, it's a living) at October 23, 2021 07:57 PM (3DZIZ)

186 browndog, I like your hash. "Big Mr. Q!" :-)

Posted by: qdpsteve at October 23, 2021 07:58 PM (L2ZTs)

187 pianos, hubba hubba!!
Then there's Mary Tyler Moore in "Change Of Habit," in the Sexy Nuns genre of films.

Posted by: qdpsteve at October 23, 2021 07:58 PM (L2ZTs)

188 Pale Rider
- Hang 'Em High
- Joe Kidd (which I'm glad you all are talking about as I know next to nothing about it)
- Two Mules For Sister Sara (where he had to play second fiddle to Shirley MacLaine I believe)

Posted by: qdpsteve at October 23, 2021 07:56 PM (L2ZTs)

every one of those is good. And in one, you have The Skipper from Gilligan's Island.

Posted by: Quint at October 23, 2021 07:59 PM (X1Wj0)

189 Growing up I always had a distinction in my mind between TV cowboys, who wore colorful clothes and were always clean-shaven, and book cowboys, who felt more real to me. I dunno.

Posted by: Long-time Commenter, First-time Reader at October 23, 2021 07:59 PM (Bg96i)

190 186 browndog, I like your hash. "Big Mr. Q!" :-)
Posted by: qdpsteve at October 23, 2021 07:58 PM (L2ZTs)

I.AM.Q.

Patriots take heart!

42

Posted by: browndog Official Mascot of Team Gizzard at October 23, 2021 07:59 PM (BgMrQ)

191 187 pianos, hubba hubba!!
Then there's Mary Tyler Moore in "Change Of Habit," in the Sexy Nuns genre of films.
Posted by: qdpsteve at October 23, 2021 07:58 PM (L2ZTs)

Hudson Hawk

Posted by: Aetius451AD at October 23, 2021 07:59 PM (csEWM)

192 For everyone bitching and moaning about flying cars...

https://jetsonaero.com/

Stupid expensive... but on the nose. I do see possibilities here.

Posted by: Martini Farmer at October 23, 2021 08:00 PM (BFigT)

193 Quint, thanks.
I've noticed Clint never made a bad western. Plus I was very surprised how much I enjoyed High Plains Drifter.

My sister, who's not the biggest film buff, watched it with me. She told me just a few weeks ago, the shot of the entire town painted red, and the welcome sign changed to read "hell," stuck in her mind.

Posted by: qdpsteve at October 23, 2021 08:00 PM (L2ZTs)

194 189 Growing up I always had a distinction in my mind between TV cowboys, who wore colorful clothes and were always clean-shaven, and book cowboys, who felt more real to me. I dunno.
Posted by: Long-time Commenter, First-time Reader at October 23, 2021 07:59 PM (Bg96i)

Granted. I guess. The one that splintered me was probably High Plains Drifter.

What the hell, Clint?! Was my first thought.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at October 23, 2021 08:01 PM (csEWM)

195 Aetius, I assume that featured a Ninja Nun?

Posted by: qdpsteve at October 23, 2021 08:01 PM (L2ZTs)

196 I watched Stalker a while ago. I would've been completely lost had I not previously read Roadside Picnic. Even then, I still couldn't figure out what the hell point Tarkovsky was trying to make in any given scene.
Posted by: PabloD, make commies fly again! at October 23, 2021 07:50 PM (8akfU)

"Roadside Picnic" is such a great novelette. Truly deserving of a great movie.

And "Stalker"...well..."Stalker" is what you get when all your special effects footage has gotten burned up and you're stuck with all buildup and no climax or action, and have run out of money so you have to edit together what you have.

"Stalker" has far less of a conclusion than the "Blair Witch Project".

Posted by: naturalfake at October 23, 2021 08:01 PM (5NkmN)

197 LOL:

Michael Malice
@michaelmalice
�
Oct 22
Between his wife and his murdering Im pretty sure Alec Baldwin just got into MS-13

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Live! from the Dungeon of Discord at October 23, 2021 08:02 PM (Dc2NZ)

198 195 Aetius, I assume that featured a Ninja Nun?
Posted by: qdpsteve at October 23, 2021 08:01 PM (L2ZTs)

Andi McDowell

Posted by: Aetius451AD at October 23, 2021 08:02 PM (csEWM)

199
As we all predicted...

looks like Baldwin and his team have their "patsy" or "scapegoat."

Fake News says "court documents show" an "assistant director" "yelled" "cold gun!" "right before" Baldwin picked up the gun. Indicating a harmless prop weapon, and giving the actor no reason to doubt it was a cold gun versus a hot gun on the set.

Posted by: S'oothsay'er at October 23, 2021 08:03 PM (kK/B7)

200 All Hail Eris, MS-13 is afraid of Alec.

Posted by: qdpsteve at October 23, 2021 08:03 PM (L2ZTs)

201 Deborah Kerr in Mr Allison.

Posted by: the guy that moves pianos (meh, it's a living) at October 23, 2021 08:03 PM (3DZIZ)

202 My hunch is, Alec Baldwin just became the evil version of Chuck Norris.

Posted by: qdpsteve at October 23, 2021 08:03 PM (L2ZTs)

203 Fake News says "court documents show" an "assistant director" "yelled" "cold gun!" "right before" Baldwin picked up the gun. Indicating a harmless prop weapon, and giving the actor no reason to doubt it was a cold gun versus a hot gun on the set.

Posted by: S'oothsay'er at October 23, 2021 08:03 PM (kK/B7)

Oh, well I guess his conscience is clear then.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at October 23, 2021 08:04 PM (csEWM)

204 We need more Dune comments tonight. It was soooo good.

Posted by: Draki at October 23, 2021 08:04 PM (JxiZo)

205 Speaking of westerns, I mentioned this on a morning thread. Who was Alec Baldwin making this movie for? Did he really think there was a big market for an Alec Baldwin western?

Posted by: lowandslow at October 23, 2021 08:04 PM (4thlk)

206 >>>The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly (Rating 2/4)

I agree, if you watched that "restored" version that clocked in at almost 3 hours. Tuco watching a pot of chicken boil deserved to be cut.

However, the traditional cut, lasting a bit over 2 hours is a much better film and deserves at least a 3/4, if not a 3.5. I do deduct points for the at times overbearing anti-war propaganda.

Posted by: Anon Y. Mous at October 23, 2021 08:04 PM (hVqGz)

207 looks like Baldwin and his team have their "patsy" or "scapegoat."

Fake News says "court documents show" an "assistant director" "yelled" "cold gun!" "right before" Baldwin picked up the gun. Indicating a harmless prop weapon, and giving the actor no reason to doubt it was a cold gun versus a hot gun on the set.

Posted by: S'oothsay'er at October 23, 2021 08:03 PM (kK/B7)

Good thing then only the producers will be liable in the civil suit for millions for hiring such an incompetent person...

Posted by: Bete at October 23, 2021 08:05 PM (Ojki1)

208 And also, I've watched the new movie 3 times so far. It's spectacular!
Posted by: Muad'dib at October 23, 2021 07:06 PM (QHqf9)

Definitely expected this. I'm only at 1

Posted by: Draki at October 23, 2021 08:05 PM (JxiZo)

209 Russia is a relentless, unending horror show that feeds on turnips and human souls and is drowned in vodka.

Posted by: Sharkman at October 23, 2021 08:06 PM (IboSJ)

210 Back in the 80s I met an old guy in a little dive bar that one of my friends liked to go to that was actually in the Lithuanian Waffen SS. He was pleased beyond words that I knew anything about his story. Dunno about the officers but the 18-20 year olds got drafted\volunteered because Lithuania got stomped on by the Soviets a year or so before the Nazis invaded Russia so they were fighting cause they didn't like the Soviets. When considering the average German of the WW2 period it's always helpful to keep in mind a) not liking the Jews was pretty much a general European thing until after WW2 b) WE know exactly what the Nazis did and what they wanted to do but they didn't tell the general German public. Now, if you were a big enough wheel, you knew, and you were guilty.

Posted by: Azjaeger at October 23, 2021 08:06 PM (3/XaG)

211 lowandslow, I'd bet Alec thought he could cash in doing a quickie low-budget western and selling it to Netflix.

Posted by: qdpsteve at October 23, 2021 08:06 PM (L2ZTs)

212 Growing up I always had a distinction in my mind between TV cowboys, who wore colorful clothes and were always clean-shaven, and book cowboys, who felt more real to me. I dunno.

Posted by: Long-time Commenter, First-time Reader at October 23, 2021 07:59 PM (Bg96i)

Westerns used to be the tableau. The Western was so part of our psyche, a director could use it for anything to tell any story. They had many westerns that were cold war allegories for example. And the 70s dystopian anti-hero thing is pretty obvious, and they made some great ones. Two Mules for Sister Sarah, and The Duchess and Dirtwater Fox were some good ones. The latter movie stared the recently belated actor George Segal.

Posted by: Quint at October 23, 2021 08:06 PM (X1Wj0)

213 208 And also, I've watched the new movie 3 times so far. It's spectacular!
Posted by: Muad'dib at October 23, 2021 07:06 PM (QHqf9)

Definitely expected this. I'm only at 1
Posted by: Draki at October 23, 2021 08:05 PM (JxiZo)

Regular screen or Imax...

Posted by: browndog Official Mascot of Team Gizzard at October 23, 2021 08:06 PM (BgMrQ)

214 Court documents...Somebody is lying.

Posted by: runner at October 23, 2021 08:06 PM (V13WU)

215 Granted. I guess. The one that splintered me was probably High Plains Drifter.

What the hell, Clint?! Was my first thought.
Posted by: Aetius451AD at October 23, 2021 08:01 PM (csEWM)

Clint's first ghost movie. Pale Rider might be his second .

Posted by: Just a side note at October 23, 2021 08:06 PM (2DOZq)

216 "Misremembering".

Posted by: runner at October 23, 2021 08:06 PM (V13WU)

217 Assistant Director: Here ya go, Duke, this is a cold gun. Say, why are you checking it? I said it's unloaded!

Posted by: Duke Lowell at October 23, 2021 08:07 PM (kTF2Z)

218 205 Speaking of westerns, I mentioned this on a morning thread. Who was Alec Baldwin making this movie for? Did he really think there was a big market for an Alec Baldwin western?
Posted by: lowandslow at October 23, 2021 08:04 PM (4thlk)

What the hell is Alec Baldwin's niche for this to be out of it? He was the best Jack Ryan (about 100lbs ago.) Aside from that and his annoying political 'comedy' and Coffee is for Closers, what does he have?

Posted by: Aetius451AD at October 23, 2021 08:07 PM (csEWM)

219 For everyone bitching and moaning about flying cars...

-
I see you get a big 20 minutes flying time.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks Now With Pumpkin Spice! at October 23, 2021 08:07 PM (d9FiS)

220 The thing is, it's very easy to criticize the choices that a film-maker makes, or fails to make. All it takes is an armchair.

It's much more difficult to choose, or fail to choose, when you're on the set. There are a thousand things waiting for you to choose, and there are a thousand wrong choices you can make. And you're the one who has to make the single choice that will either work, or cause the entire edifice to collapse.

I'm not saying critics are wrong--far from it, critics have an extraordinary value in keeping the paths straight. But the critics aren't in the trenches.

I make terrible amateur YouTube animations. (Working on one now.) I'm responsible for everything that appears in every frame of that video. It can be fun, but it isn't easy.

And it's fine when Beavis and Butt-Head say "This sucks" and change the channel. But while they make me laugh, they've never produced anything. Even Stimpy made a cartoon.

Okay, I've had way too much to drink and have gone off topic. Uh...buy my t-shirts?

Posted by: BeckoningChasm at October 23, 2021 08:07 PM (OU+8W)

221 Liked the new Dune, but doubt I'll watch it again til pt 2 is ready.

Today I rewatched the first half of the 2000 scifi version. The new version is clearly much higher budget and makes different choices for what to include for roughly same run time.

For now the 80s version is still my favorite. Might be because I've seen it so much. With the exception of Duncan Idaho, all the 80s actors seem much better fit in their roles.

Posted by: InspiredHistoryMike at October 23, 2021 08:08 PM (C/fpg)

222 The impression I have is that Pale Rider is a semi-remake of High Plains Drifter.

Posted by: qdpsteve at October 23, 2021 08:08 PM (L2ZTs)

223 When considering the average German of the WW2 period it's always helpful to keep in mind a) not liking the Jews was pretty much a general European thing until after WW2
Posted by: Azjaeger at October 23, 2021 08:06 PM (3/XaG)

That didn't go away, Europe just had to hide it a bit.

They aren't hiding it much these days.

Posted by: Bete at October 23, 2021 08:08 PM (Ojki1)

224 Clint's first ghost movie. Pale Rider might be his second .
Posted by: Just a side note at October 23, 2021 08:06 PM (2DOZq)

Pale Rider was a better moie. HPD just felt... angry and mean. It was as though it was actively hostile to the people who loved westerns.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at October 23, 2021 08:08 PM (csEWM)

225 How are there court documents? The Baldwin shooting only happened a couple of days ago.

Posted by: Duke Lowell at October 23, 2021 08:09 PM (kTF2Z)

226
Funny how no video of the killing, but Baldwin's PR team on the set got those pics of a fake distraught Baldwin on the internet damn quick.

Posted by: S'oothsay'er at October 23, 2021 08:09 PM (kK/B7)

227 Just finished watching "Pig" with Nic Cage.

What the movie lacks in energy and typical Cage-like berzerkerisms, it certainly makes up for in beautiful cinematography, incomprehensible story line and ambiguous character motivations.

Two thumbs up for Pig!

Now I think I will watch Scorsese's "Silence".

Posted by: Sharkman at October 23, 2021 08:09 PM (IboSJ)

228 Regular screen or Imax...
Posted by: browndog Official Mascot of Team Gizzard at October 23, 2021 08:06 PM (BgMrQ)

Regular, wife didn't want me in theaters..... it'd be awesome in IMAX, like when I watched BR2049

Posted by: Draki at October 23, 2021 08:09 PM (JxiZo)

229 Following the discussion I like that one of my favorite movies had a partial theme of a Russian guy who loved American westerns , specifically the Duke.

Running Scared

Posted by: Just a side note at October 23, 2021 08:09 PM (2DOZq)

230 Or movie if you prefer the non-french.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at October 23, 2021 08:10 PM (csEWM)

231 For now the 80s version is still my favorite. Might be because I've seen it so much. With the exception of Duncan Idaho, all the 80s actors seem much better fit in their roles.
Posted by: InspiredHistoryMike at October 23, 2021 08:08 PM (C/fpg)

Well with Duncan, he's either getting half his head blown off, or he's stealing babies candy...

Posted by: browndog Official Mascot of Team Gizzard at October 23, 2021 08:10 PM (BgMrQ)

232 222 The impression I have is that Pale Rider is a semi-remake of High Plains Drifter.

Posted by: qdpsteve at October 23, 2021 08:08 PM (L2ZTs)

++++

With a less rapey Clint.

Posted by: Anon Y. Mous at October 23, 2021 08:10 PM (hVqGz)

233 Good evening. Most excellent thread, as usual, TJM.

With the pleasantries out of the way, I finally looked at the resident Biden video linked in the sidebar, and holy smokes!

Yet, Anderson "Perfect Coiffure" Cooper just goes right on about his pontificating, as if that kind of behavior is completely normal.

Posted by: blake - semi lurker in marginal standing (2SdPm) at October 23, 2021 08:10 PM (2SdPm)

234
I liked Pig.

Posted by: S'oothsay'er at October 23, 2021 08:10 PM (kK/B7)

235 High Plains Drifter + Shane = Pale Rider

Posted by: the guy that moves pianos (meh, it's a living) at October 23, 2021 08:10 PM (3DZIZ)

236 Ostrov (The Island) staring the late Pyotr Mamonov is an excellent Russian film; will watch the film about Rublev- he "wrote" (painted) one of my favorite icons of the The Trinity aka The Hospitality of Abraham

Posted by: The Butcher at October 23, 2021 08:11 PM (JsenR)

237 >>>The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly (Rating 2/4)

I agree, if you watched that "restored" version that clocked in at almost 3 hours. Tuco watching a pot of chicken boil deserved to be cut.

However, the traditional cut, lasting a bit over 2 hours is a much better film and deserves at least a 3/4, if not a 3.5. I do deduct points for the at times overbearing anti-war propaganda.

Posted by: Anon Y. Mous at October 23, 2021 08:04 PM (hVqGz)

I always loved that movie but as kid I thought it was too long. It wasn't until Ebert explained it and changed his own review that I realized how great it was. Two other movies Ebert did a bang up job reviewing were Pulp Fiction and Sideways.

And to be clear I know who Ebert was. He was uber left and a legit jagoff.But he did review some classic movies very well.

Posted by: Quint at October 23, 2021 08:11 PM (X1Wj0)

238 One thing to bear in mind about HPD is that it was one of the first flicks Clint ever directed. IMHO he was still finding his way as a director.

I didn't see it as angry and mean, although in fairness now that I look back, it did contain a lot of the trendy early 1970s cynicism that was so popular then in mainstream movies. The original movie M*A*S*H and later flicks such as Network seem to have been the pinnacle of that attitude.

Posted by: qdpsteve at October 23, 2021 08:11 PM (L2ZTs)

239 Well with Duncan, he's either getting half his head blown off, or he's stealing babies candy...
Posted by: browndog Official Mascot of Team Gizzard at October 23, 2021 08:10 PM (BgMrQ)

Richard Jordan. Also played Dirk Pitt in Raise the Titanic. Liked that guy.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at October 23, 2021 08:11 PM (csEWM)

240 "I'd bet Alec thought he could cash in doing a quickie low-budget western and selling it to Netflix."
Posted by: qdpsteve

That's something else that's always puzzled me, do people even watch those low budget "original" movies on Netflix or Amazon?

Posted by: lowandslow at October 23, 2021 08:12 PM (4thlk)

241 Anon, yup. That did shock me about HPD, that a 'hero' could also be pretty much a rapist to the lead lady. Good grief.

Posted by: qdpsteve at October 23, 2021 08:12 PM (L2ZTs)

242
How are there court documents? The Baldwin shooting only happened a couple of days ago.
Posted by: Duke Lowell

That's CNN's exact phrasing. I thought it was odd, too, because it sounds like it would be from a Police Report. But maybe the police report has already been filed with the local court per procedure? I dunno.

Posted by: S'oothsay'er at October 23, 2021 08:12 PM (kK/B7)

243 Bete Leftists have always been antisemitic but I think the new immigrants are worse.

Posted by: Skip at October 23, 2021 08:13 PM (2JoB8)

244 lowandslow, apparently so. There's always a ton of them available online. The key is to keep production costs super-low so it's a lot easier and quicker to hit paydirt.

Posted by: qdpsteve at October 23, 2021 08:13 PM (L2ZTs)

245 Liked the new Dune, but doubt I'll watch it again til pt 2 is ready.

Today I rewatched the first half of the 2000 scifi version. The new version is clearly much higher budget and makes different choices for what to include for roughly same run time.

For now the 80s version is still my favorite. Might be because I've seen it so much. With the exception of Duncan Idaho, all the 80s actors seem much better fit in their roles.
Posted by: InspiredHistoryMike at October 23, 2021 08:08 PM (C/fpg)

I might be a miniseries guy. I love the actor for Paul in that one. I think Timothee is great too, but are you saying that Paul from the 80s movie fit?

A fun way to look at the 3 versions is how it shows the mindsets of those periods as well. Cultures projected onto the stories.

Think the new one is bit too dark with the lighting. I'd like to see more.

Posted by: Draki at October 23, 2021 08:13 PM (JxiZo)

246 235 High Plains Drifter + Shane = Pale Rider
Posted by: the guy that moves pianos (meh, it's a living) at October 23, 2021 08:10 PM (3DZIZ)

Shane and HPD is almost an obscene pairing. Completely different feels to the movie.

Although one might argue that Shane is a partial deconstruction of the Noble Gunfighter trope. I loved that movie- except for the parts with the kid.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at October 23, 2021 08:13 PM (csEWM)

247 Best part of Pig, apart from "Fuck Seattle!", were the foodie chefs and their description of the "taste journey" for the dish being served.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Live! from the Dungeon of Discord at October 23, 2021 08:13 PM (Dc2NZ)

248 Posted by: qdpsteve at October 23, 2021 08:11 PM (L2ZTs)

It was definitely rapey.

Posted by: Just a side note at October 23, 2021 08:13 PM (2DOZq)

249 Days of Heaven is an incredible Malick film no one should miss. Haunting use of Carnival of the Animals, well-known piece by Saint-Saens, in soundtrack. Concur with mentioned comparison to Malick films.

Posted by: LadyS at October 23, 2021 08:13 PM (piO4R)

250 I guarantee that if all went well, Alec's "Rust" would not have been sold as just another low-budget actioner on Netflix. It would have been marketed as "Alec Baldwin's rough and ready saga of the west!!"

Posted by: qdpsteve at October 23, 2021 08:14 PM (L2ZTs)

251 That didn't go away, Europe just had to hide it a bit.

They aren't hiding it much these days.

Nazism wasn't that crazy off the normal European mindset, and fascism is darned close to modern bureaucratic corporatism of today if not the exact same thing tweaked.
Until it became obvious that Germany was going to get curbstomped, they did quite well at recruiting men from various European countries to fight the Soviets in the Waffen SS.

Posted by: Azjaeger at October 23, 2021 08:14 PM (3/XaG)

252 Still part that gets me is Alec shot a photographer and a writer, and there wasn't a reason on the planet he should have pointed and fired at them. He pulled the trigger, he aimed it.

Posted by: Skip at October 23, 2021 08:15 PM (2JoB8)

253 Also, who wants to bet that in Alec's "Rust" there was a crazy conservative schoolmarm-like character, based on Sarah Palin??

Posted by: qdpsteve at October 23, 2021 08:15 PM (L2ZTs)

254 High Plains Drifter + Shane = Pale Rider

Posted by: the guy that moves pianos (meh, it's a living) at October 23, 2021 08:10 PM (3DZIZ)

the first two are better films. It is funny because I know Pale Rider way more. I had a French language VHS of the film I watched a lot to try to learn the language. I already knew the English parts lol. Yeah, now we don't have to choose. Hell, with streaming,maybe we do.

The famous line from Pale Rider, "They killed my dog, and my Grandpa".

Posted by: Quint at October 23, 2021 08:16 PM (X1Wj0)

255 Everytime I have ever picked up a gun, I have always personally inspected it to confirm it's load and chamber status.

Posted by: Draki at October 23, 2021 08:16 PM (JxiZo)

256 236.Yes. Glad someone else here loves The Island (Ostrov)

Posted by: LadyS at October 23, 2021 08:17 PM (piO4R)

257 Somebody here linked to a 3 hour version of the '84 Dune, the other night.

I watched it today, and short of the over the top acting by the bad guys, I actually liked it.

The '84 version has grown on me...kinda like Steampunk

Posted by: browndog Official Mascot of Team Gizzard at October 23, 2021 08:18 PM (BgMrQ)

258 There's nothing like a good piece of hickory.

Posted by: Duke Lowell at October 23, 2021 08:18 PM (kTF2Z)

259
Best part of Pig, apart from "Fuck Seattle!", were the foodie chefs and their description of the "taste journey" for the dish being served.
Posted by: All Hail Eris

There's an anime series called Toriko that's about a guy and his pals who go around beating up animals to cook the perfect gourmet meals. They're always describing ingredients and how they add to flavor. It's weird, so you'd probably like it.

Posted by: S'oothsay'er at October 23, 2021 08:18 PM (kK/B7)

260 Probably James Wan's motivation for Malignant.

In his case...that didn't turn out so well. Though who knows, maybe in 20 years we'll look back on it like Bid Trouble in Little China as a film audiences at the time just weren't ready for.

But I doubt it.

Posted by: Bete

Critical Drinker thought Malignant was fun and maybe a bit of a sleeper.

Posted by: Sharkman at October 23, 2021 08:18 PM (IboSJ)

261 On those court documents, it looks like the Police and prosecutor in that town are releasing everything as they get it. I think the court documents are warrant applications and witness statements. You don't see that very often.

Posted by: lowandslow at October 23, 2021 08:18 PM (4thlk)

262 "I'm far from thrilled with everything I see around me. As a writer, I'm annoyed. As a man of discernment, I'm insulted. Yet I wouldn't trade my fatherland for anything in the world."

Yep.

Posted by: Java Joe at October 23, 2021 08:19 PM (2p/1y)

263 Dune, the other night.

I watched it today, and short of the over the top acting by the bad guys, I actually liked it.

The '84 version has grown on me...kinda like Steampunk
Posted by: browndog Official Mascot of Team Gizzard at October 23, 2021 08:18 PM (BgMrQ)

I thought it was really good until they apparently ran out of money and brought in a High School video club to do the special effects at the very end.

Posted by: Just a side note at October 23, 2021 08:20 PM (2DOZq)

264 I think I just got used to MacLachlan, best thing about the 80s version, pretty much every major character, (and many minor ones) has at least one great repeatable line.

Posted by: InspiredHistoryMike at October 23, 2021 08:20 PM (C/fpg)

265 There's nothing like a good piece of hickory.

Posted by: Duke Lowell at October 23, 2021 08:18 PM (kTF2Z)

I knew that was coming.

Posted by: Quint at October 23, 2021 08:20 PM (X1Wj0)

266 Everytime I have ever picked up a gun, I have always personally inspected it to confirm it's load and chamber status.
Posted by: Draki at October 23, 2021 08:16 PM (JxiZo)

and there you have it. Alec Baldwin is an irresponsible jerk who relies on others to clean up his messes. that is aside from the fact that there is a lot of murkiness about what happened, why he was pointing a gun at a director and what his sobriety status was

Posted by: runner at October 23, 2021 08:20 PM (V13WU)

267
Soviet Fun Fact: Russians also used live ammo and genuine firearms on the set.
Posted by: Alec

Quite right! Soviet cinema stacked up the bodies of cinematographers and directors like cordwood during filming.

Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars (TM) at October 23, 2021 08:20 PM (pNxlR)

268 I've never read Dune or watched the movies. Downloaded the TV miniseries off YouTube since everyone was talking about it, didn't make it past Part 1. Boring. I guess I just ain't into the Dune frenzy.

Posted by: lowandslow at October 23, 2021 08:21 PM (4thlk)

269 I thought it was really good until they apparently ran out of money and brought in a High School video club to do the special effects at the very end.
Posted by: Just a side note at October 23, 2021 08:20 PM (2DOZq)

Yeah, that too...

Posted by: browndog Official Mascot of Team Gizzard at October 23, 2021 08:21 PM (BgMrQ)

270 It's weird, so you'd probably like it.
---

Funny, because true.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Live! from the Dungeon of Discord at October 23, 2021 08:21 PM (Dc2NZ)

271 Favorite lesser known Eastwood movie is Honkytonk Man. He directed that one as well. The kid in the movie is his real life kid.

Posted by: Anon Y. Mous at October 23, 2021 08:22 PM (hVqGz)

272 Somebody here linked to a 3 hour version of the '84 Dune, the other night.

I watched it today, and short of the over the top acting by the bad guys, I actually liked it.

The '84 version has grown on me...kinda like Steampunk
Posted by: browndog Official Mascot of Team Gizzard at October 23, 2021 08:18 PM (BgMrQ)

Yeah completeness is important because there is so much going on.

The new release I felt covered the essentials but there might be some upset with how little the harknonnen or emperor is shown.

Posted by: Draki at October 23, 2021 08:22 PM (JxiZo)

273 Just a side note and browndog, so "CHUD" level effects eh?

I remember being really turned off by SFX in films in the early 1980s. Seemed like no one really wanted to take the time to do them right. (They could be great, it's just that no one wanted to spend the money.)

Posted by: qdpsteve at October 23, 2021 08:22 PM (L2ZTs)

274 268 I've never read Dune or watched the movies. Downloaded the TV miniseries off YouTube since everyone was talking about it, didn't make it past Part 1. Boring. I guess I just ain't into the Dune frenzy.
Posted by: lowandslow at October 23, 2021 08:21 PM (4thlk)

Give the book a chance...

The TV mini series was meh.

Posted by: browndog Official Mascot of Team Gizzard at October 23, 2021 08:23 PM (BgMrQ)

275
There's an anime series called Toriko that's about a guy and his pals who go around beating up animals to cook the perfect gourmet meals.

Wait -- are they beating up the animals in order to make them do the cooking or to become the ingredients?

Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars (TM) at October 23, 2021 08:23 PM (pNxlR)

276
I just remembered that Clint Eastwood and Jim Rockford went up in Space when they're old as dirt...and that was over 20 years ago.

Clint has been "old" for the last 30 years, and he's still alive. Just like the Rolling Stones.

Posted by: S'oothsay'er at October 23, 2021 08:24 PM (kK/B7)

277 a little while back I watched The Bible: In the Beginning...Huston's movie, and really liked it ! give it watch if you haven'e seen it yet

Posted by: runner at October 23, 2021 08:24 PM (V13WU)

278 I used to want my favorite SF novels made into films, but no more.

I'm currently rereading the brilliant "Downbelow Station", which cries for a movie/series, but they would just fuck it up.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Live! from the Dungeon of Discord at October 23, 2021 08:24 PM (Dc2NZ)

279 Quite right! Soviet cinema stacked up the bodies of cinematographers and directors like cordwood during filming.
Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars (TM) at October 23, 2021 08:20 PM (pNxlR)

But this is actually one of the arguments we have always made. I guarantee you that all the guys handling guns in soviet cinema had either spent time in WWII or the Army. You do not get more careless with guns the more you handle them, you gain better insight into their destructive power. You are MORE likely to be careful where you point the bang end (even if checked unloaded.)

Of course, the flaw in this argument is Policemen. At least some of them.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at October 23, 2021 08:24 PM (csEWM)

280 >>>HBO apparently has a new documentary out, "Four Hours at the Capitol," which, according to The Atlantic's Sophie Gilbert, is "a vivid, terrifying picture of violent insurrection."

>I've had erections that last longer than that.

Posted by: Dr. Bone at October 23, 2021 08:24 PM (5l6FZ)

281 Good example of the level of SFX movie and TV viewers got in the early 1980s:

https://youtu.be/LatorN4P9aA

:-P

Posted by: qdpsteve at October 23, 2021 08:24 PM (L2ZTs)

282 Favorite lesser known Eastwood movie is Honkytonk Man. He directed that one as well. The kid in the movie is his real life kid.
Posted by: Anon

The coward white kid walking with Clint's neighbor girl in Gran Torino also his kid. Clint has enough kids to almost field a football team. He is a horndog.

Posted by: Just a side note at October 23, 2021 08:25 PM (2DOZq)

283 Give the book a chance...

The TV mini series was meh.
Posted by: browndog Official Mascot of Team Gizzard at October 23, 2021 08:23 PM (BgMrQ)

Heresy! You should sentenced to life on Salusa Secundus

Posted by: Draki at October 23, 2021 08:25 PM (JxiZo)

284
Wait -- are they beating up the animals in order to make them do the cooking or to become the ingredients?
Posted by: Krebs v Carnot

Ingredients. They fight the rare, exotic, strong creatures.
Anime is fucked up shit.

Posted by: S'oothsay'er at October 23, 2021 08:25 PM (kK/B7)

285 as we often talk about Westerns, I will change up an mention Dr. Zhigavo as a great film. Sure it is not legit Russian as the diary describes. I truly want to see this guy's films.

Posted by: Quint at October 23, 2021 08:25 PM (X1Wj0)

286 276
I just remembered that Clint Eastwood and Jim Rockford went up in Space when they're old as dirt...and that was over 20 years ago.

Clint has been "old" for the last 30 years, and he's still alive. Just like the Rolling Stones.
Posted by: S'oothsay'er at October 23, 2021 08:24 PM (kK/B7)

I got a chubby watching the romance between Tommy Lee Jones and Marcia Gay Hardin.

God that was a bad bit of plot line...barf!

Posted by: browndog Official Mascot of Team Gizzard at October 23, 2021 08:26 PM (BgMrQ)

287 Dune: The book is great.

The '84 film, I'll have to watch it again. I was 'meh' about it but I haven't watched it in years.

The 2000 SyFy mini-series I liked a lot.

I had the Dune game for the PC years ago. It was Command & Conquer on Arrakis.

Posted by: Puddleglum at October 23, 2021 08:26 PM (QFVV9)

288 Russia made a movie called Viking some years back. Draws on all that.

Posted by: runner

It was a terrible movie.

Posted by: Sharkman at October 23, 2021 08:26 PM (IboSJ)

289 Clint has been "old" for the last 30 years, and he's still alive. Just like the Rolling Stones.
Posted by: S'oothsay'er at October 23, 2021 08:24 PM (kK/B7)

This was a triumph!

Posted by: Clint, in a small voice at October 23, 2021 08:26 PM (csEWM)

290 Quint, yup. Back when a director could make something *4 hours long* and people would agree to sit through all of it in one fell swoop.

Posted by: qdpsteve at October 23, 2021 08:26 PM (L2ZTs)

291 I had the Dune game for the PC years ago. It was Command & Conquer on Arrakis.
Posted by: Puddleglum at October 23, 2021 08:26 PM (QFVV9)

I had it on the Genesis. It was a forerunner to C&C. Damn.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at October 23, 2021 08:27 PM (csEWM)

292 It was a terrible movie.
Posted by: Sharkman at October 23, 2021 08:26 PM (IboSJ)

really ? I remember not hating it...

Posted by: runner at October 23, 2021 08:27 PM (V13WU)

293 I always liked Mad Magazine's send-ups of comic strips, like Bat Boy and Rubin, Prince Violent and a whole host of others. Funny stuff.

Posted by: Sharkman at October 23, 2021 08:27 PM (IboSJ)

294 290 Quint, yup. Back when a director could make something *4 hours long* and people would agree to sit through all of it in one fell swoop.
Posted by: qdpsteve at October 23, 2021 08:26 PM (L2ZTs)

Intermissions were a thing back then. Last one I can think of in a semi-modern movie was... Gettysburg?

Posted by: Aetius451AD at October 23, 2021 08:28 PM (csEWM)

295 Space Cowboys was a very good movie IMHO.

Posted by: Just a side note at October 23, 2021 08:28 PM (2DOZq)

296 Dune is a YA sword-and-sorcery romance. Examples: Paul is 16. His mom is a hot red-head. His dad dies. He has secret magical powers. The local witches fear him, but also give him grudging respect Need any more cliches?

Posted by: normal at October 23, 2021 08:28 PM (obo9H)

297 Heresy! You should sentenced to life on Salusa Secundus
Posted by: Draki at October 23, 2021 08:25 PM (JxiZo)

Heh...

Normally I like serialization (Smiley's People, Tinker Tailor, Jane Eyre), but this one left me cold....ymmv.

Posted by: browndog Official Mascot of Team Gizzard at October 23, 2021 08:28 PM (BgMrQ)

298 295 Space Cowboys was a very good movie IMHO.
Posted by: Just a side note at October 23, 2021 08:28 PM (2DOZq)

James Garner might as well not have been in it.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at October 23, 2021 08:29 PM (csEWM)

299 Careful with the Dune books, once you get a wiff of the Spice you might go full sandworm

Posted by: Leto II at October 23, 2021 08:29 PM (JxiZo)

300 Aetius, true.
Still, today, if someone came out with something that long, even with an intermission?

Sure, if it's a Marvel film, that audience would go for it, because they'll eat up anything IMHO. But everyone else would laugh the filmmakers right out of the industry. "Ever hear of a miniseries genius?"

Posted by: qdpsteve at October 23, 2021 08:29 PM (L2ZTs)

301 Intermissions were a thing back then. Last one I can think of in a semi-modern movie was... Gettysburg?
Posted by: Aetius451AD at October 23, 2021 08:28 PM (csEWM)

Hateful Eight had one in the roadshow edition.

Posted by: Bete at October 23, 2021 08:29 PM (Ojki1)

302 Also, shame on TJM for leaving out Tarkovski's "The Killers". I mean, I know it was a student film project, but still.

Posted by: normal at October 23, 2021 08:29 PM (obo9H)

303 Intermissions were a thing back then. Last one I can think of in a semi-modern movie was... Gettysburg?

Posted by: Aetius451AD at October 23, 2021 08:28 PM (csEWM)

heh, I would have thrown that in if you left the ending blank. I saw that one on opening day in the theater.

Posted by: Quint at October 23, 2021 08:29 PM (X1Wj0)

304 296 Dune is a YA sword-and-sorcery romance. Examples: Paul is 16. His mom is a hot red-head. His dad dies. He has secret magical powers. The local witches fear him, but also give him grudging respect Need any more cliches?
Posted by: normal at October 23, 2021 08:28 PM (obo9H)

Well, it was well before all of the YA shit.

And Hot Redhead is in it's 'favor'.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at October 23, 2021 08:29 PM (csEWM)

305 Frank Herbert was a newspaperman in Salem Oregon in the time my dad was reporter in Salem but they worked for opposing papers.

Just a mention

Posted by: Kindltot at October 23, 2021 08:30 PM (KbLYZ)

306 How are there court documents? The Baldwin shooting only happened a couple of days ago.
Posted by: Duke Lowell

Might possibly be affidavits in support of search warrant applications.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks Now With Pumpkin Spice! at October 23, 2021 08:30 PM (d9FiS)

307 The first Dune book was great. The following books tailed off for me after that. You needed a flow chart to figure out who was who.

Posted by: Puddleglum at October 23, 2021 08:30 PM (QFVV9)

308 The pumpkin spice must flow.

Posted by: Dr. Varno at October 23, 2021 08:31 PM (vuisn)

309 Space Cowboys was a very good movie IMHO.
Posted by: Just a side note at October 23, 2021 08:28 PM (2DOZq)

James Garner might as well not have been in it.
Posted by: Aetius451AD at October 23, 2021 08:29 PM (csEWM)

He was Scotty. Eastwood was Kirk. Tommy Lee was Spock and Sutherland was McCoy.

Posted by: Just a side note at October 23, 2021 08:31 PM (2DOZq)

310 Dune is a YA sword-and-sorcery romance. Examples: Paul is 16. His mom is a hot red-head. His dad dies. He has secret magical powers. The local witches fear him, but also give him grudging respect Need any more cliches?
Posted by: normal at October 23, 2021 08:28 PM (obo9H)

Big yuge phallics, something that'll scare the ladies

Posted by: Leto II at October 23, 2021 08:31 PM (JxiZo)

311 normal, that annoys me greatly, when heroes have (or are given) magical powers.

If they're magic, why have any drama? Just let them blink or twinkle or wave their magic wand to solve all their freakin' problems.

As I understand it, Harry Potter tried to get around it by setting up tons of hurdles for any of the young ones to use their magic, or saying 'they haven't learned it yet.' Still, I find the "magical powers" trope beyond irritating and stupid.

Posted by: qdpsteve at October 23, 2021 08:32 PM (L2ZTs)

312 Sure, if it's a Marvel film, that audience would go for it, because they'll eat up anything IMHO. But everyone else would laugh the filmmakers right out of the industry. "Ever hear of a miniseries genius?"
Posted by: qdpsteve at October 23, 2021 08:29 PM (L2ZTs)

Ok, fair point. Did you ever see Fellowship of the Ring in theaters? I saw it opening week with a buddy. That opening scene on the big screen with the theater sound system was concussive. It was amazing. I would have gladly sit and watched the second movie if it had been available right after. Same with the third (until they got to the parts I did not like.)

Posted by: Aetius451AD at October 23, 2021 08:32 PM (csEWM)

313 307 The first Dune book was great. The following books tailed off for me after that. You needed a flow chart to figure out who was who.
Posted by: Puddleglum at October 23, 2021 08:30 PM (QFVV9)

Kinda like the Don Juan series by Casteneda. First one was fun, the rest just got fuckin weird.

Posted by: browndog Official Mascot of Team Gizzard at October 23, 2021 08:32 PM (BgMrQ)

314 149 Watched the first 2 eps. It's so effing slow
Posted by: vmom - link to Red's fundraiser at October 23, 2021 07:40 PM (YZG/i)

Asimov was always dry as the Sahara to me, honestly.
Posted by: Aetius451AD at October 23, 2021 07:41 PM (csEWM)

Never really read him actually. I think I may have read like two of his kids books or at least tried to. But I'm guessing I've been exposed to his stories through other sci-fi since he's one of those "this episode was adapted from this story" kind of guys. And then there are the three laws of robotics. So he's one of those kind of interesting figures to me.

Posted by: Buzzion at October 23, 2021 08:33 PM (MOUN0)

315 Hateful Eight had one in the roadshow edition.
Posted by: Bete at October 23, 2021 08:29 PM (Ojki1)

Anyone ever think about how much money Tarantino saved by having like one set?

Posted by: Draki at October 23, 2021 08:33 PM (JxiZo)

316 I think I was surprised that they used that genre. Usually it is more current stuff, Russian history which always starts with Peter, and and odd times Ivan iv, Revolution of 1917, WWII or something based on literature from Russian Golden Age of literature. They are growing out of it. Many are spending time in hollywood directing, filming and picking up a thing or two.

Posted by: runner at October 23, 2021 08:33 PM (V13WU)

317 Quite right! Soviet cinema stacked up the bodies of cinematographers and directors like cordwood during filming.
Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars (TM) at October 23, 2021 08:20 PM (pNxlR)

When the man with the camera gets killed, the following him picks up the camera and shoots.

Posted by: G'rump928(c) at October 23, 2021 08:33 PM (yQpMk)

318
Donald Sutherland was in Space Cowboys, too?

Anyway, here's a sample of Toriko. All they do is talk about delicious food. It will make you hungry and confused. The Japs are weird.

https://youtu.be/xzd31MWvlQg

Posted by: S'oothsay'er at October 23, 2021 08:33 PM (kK/B7)

319 Nothing wrong with Hot Redheads, but they're a cliche in shitty romance.

Posted by: normal at October 23, 2021 08:33 PM (obo9H)

320 Aetius, hmmm fair points.
Although from what I can tell, Peter Jackson is super-talented. He's what I would say is the exception that proves the rule.

Which reminds me: in a cinema-off between Peter Jackson and Christopher Nolan, who would win?

Posted by: qdpsteve at October 23, 2021 08:34 PM (L2ZTs)

321 I liked the Dune 2000 version, so bought the DVD, yet never re-watched it til today.
Still need to see the 2nd half. The thing is all of the best parts will always be in the 2nd half.
I'm surprised that I actually like all 3 versions. There's so much material to work with, that no matter what, something is going to be left out.

Posted by: InspiredHistoryMike at October 23, 2021 08:34 PM (C/fpg)

322 I think the point of the Wyrding Way in Dune was that Herbert was trying to come up with a revolution in small arms that would rival the advent of firearms- and could not quite flesh it out. If you watch the '84 version, you just wonder why they do not shoot them with regular guns.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at October 23, 2021 08:34 PM (csEWM)

323 Aetius, true.
Still, today, if someone came out with something that long, even with an intermission?

Sure, if it's a Marvel film, that audience would go for it, because they'll eat up anything IMHO. But everyone else would laugh the filmmakers right out of the industry. "Ever hear of a miniseries genius?"
Posted by: qdpsteve at October 23, 2021 08:29 PM (L2ZTs)

Part of the intermission was an necessary one as film reels can only be so long, and it gave time to switch them. Given many/most films today are shown off digital files this reason for the intermission has been made antiquated.

Posted by: Bete at October 23, 2021 08:35 PM (Ojki1)

324
I haven't heard the name Marcia Gay Hardin in decades.

Posted by: S'oothsay'er at October 23, 2021 08:35 PM (kK/B7)

325 If you watch the '84 version, you just wonder why they do not shoot them with regular guns.
Posted by: Aetius451AD at October 23, 2021 08:34 PM (csEWM)

Steampunk sets...

Posted by: browndog Official Mascot of Team Gizzard at October 23, 2021 08:35 PM (BgMrQ)

326 Which reminds me: in a cinema-off between Peter Jackson and Christopher Nolan, who would win?
Posted by: qdpsteve at October 23, 2021 08:34 PM (L2ZTs)

Jackson did King Kong and Nolan did Tenet.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at October 23, 2021 08:35 PM (csEWM)

327 And, yes I've read Dune at least 6 times. It might be great, but it's not good (for those of you who've read Jonathan Wild).

Posted by: normal at October 23, 2021 08:35 PM (obo9H)

328 Dune sounds to me like it's about as labyrinth of a story as the Ring series?

(That was another 1980s scifi flick btw, Labyrinth, and I think it featured David Bowie.)

Posted by: qdpsteve at October 23, 2021 08:35 PM (L2ZTs)

329 Bete, true.
Aetius, so you liked Tenet? I read wildly mixed reviews of it.

Posted by: qdpsteve at October 23, 2021 08:36 PM (L2ZTs)

330 A state supported artist is an incompetent whore. -RAH
I'm looking at YOU NEA!
Oh, and willowed from earlier thread re. thrift.
A carpenter I worked with said he once helped a farmer build a barn and they used nails that the farmer had straightened and saved for years. He also said the farmer was so cheap that he would not buy a hammer and beat the nails in with a rock. He was not being humorous.

Posted by: waepnedmann at October 23, 2021 08:37 PM (4NI4C)

331 There's an old, or early, Burt Reynolds film in which a photographer is filmed being bitten in the gut by a shark. iirc

Posted by: Braenyard at October 23, 2021 08:37 PM (qrcf4)

332 Aetius, so you liked Tenet? I read wildly mixed reviews of it.
Posted by: qdpsteve at October 23, 2021 08:36 PM (L2ZTs)

No. That was my point. Perhaps I should say Jackson did the Hobbit Trilogy to be more clear.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at October 23, 2021 08:37 PM (csEWM)

333 324
I haven't heard the name Marcia Gay Hardin in decades.
Posted by: S'oothsay'er at October 23, 2021 08:35 PM (kK/B7)

Space Cowboys killed her big screen career. She ended up doing Law and Order guest spots.

Posted by: browndog Official Mascot of Team Gizzard at October 23, 2021 08:37 PM (BgMrQ)

334 No question the Civil War scene(s) in GBU are the flabbiest thing there. They feel tacked on to me. Leone was just trying to be 'relevant' by cramming in an anti-war message.
Posted by: qdpsteve at October 23, 2021 07:16 PM (L2ZTs)

I wonder if he didn't throw that in to appease the Spanish. The whole "we are guarding a pointless bridge because they want it" was very typical of the Spanish Civil war and their militias. However, giving a basis and background for the whole treasure hunt was a good thing, it would have been boring if it had been just some bandits since they already had done bandits. Though Tuco would have had to have been the main baddy of the three.

Posted by: Kindltot at October 23, 2021 08:38 PM (KbLYZ)

335 Aetius, ah thanks. :-)
I think Nolan is talented but also horrible at taking any constructive criticism of his movies at all. Or at least he seems horrible about it.

Posted by: qdpsteve at October 23, 2021 08:38 PM (L2ZTs)

336 Marcia Gay Hardin looks like Jo Beth Williams to me.

Posted by: Just a side note at October 23, 2021 08:38 PM (2DOZq)

337 I haven't heard the name Marcia Gay Hardin in decades.
Posted by: S'oothsay'er at October 23, 2021 08:35 PM (kK/B7)

Space Cowboys killed her big screen career. She ended up doing Law and Order guest spots.
Posted by: browndog Official Mascot of Team Gizzard at October 23, 2021 08:37 PM (BgMrQ)

Well, she was a bad part of the movie.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at October 23, 2021 08:38 PM (csEWM)

338 An intermission in a Marvel film would be great. Then we could have a break between the gay part and the really gay part. Maybe they can use a hero-learns-to-use-his-amazing-new-powers montage as a bridge between the two.

Posted by: bear with asymmetrical balls at October 23, 2021 08:39 PM (QU5/8)

339 336 Marcia Gay Hardin looks like Jo Beth Williams to me.
Posted by: Just a side note at October 23, 2021 08:38 PM (2DOZq)

I can see that...

Posted by: browndog Official Mascot of Team Gizzard at October 23, 2021 08:39 PM (BgMrQ)

340 Are those atomics in your pocket or are you just glad to see me?

Posted by: Dr. Bone at October 23, 2021 08:39 PM (5l6FZ)

341 335 Aetius, ah thanks. :-)
I think Nolan is talented but also horrible at taking any constructive criticism of his movies at all. Or at least he seems horrible about it.
Posted by: qdpsteve at October 23, 2021 08:38 PM (L2ZTs)

Better than Lucas or any of a dozen I could name.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at October 23, 2021 08:39 PM (csEWM)

342 333 324
I haven't heard the name Marcia Gay Hardin
----------

She's plump

Posted by: Braenyard at October 23, 2021 08:39 PM (qrcf4)

343 Kindltot, hmmm, thanks.

Posted by: qdpsteve at October 23, 2021 08:39 PM (L2ZTs)

344 Anyway, here's a sample of Toriko. All they do is talk about delicious food. It will make you hungry and confused. The Japs are weird.

https://youtu.be/xzd31MWvlQg
Posted by: S'oothsay'er at October 23, 2021 08:33 PM (kK/B7)
---

I think I'm having an epileptic seizure! The animation is at once crappy and hyperactive.

"Mmm! The inside have a dance of flashy sweetness!"

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Live! from the Dungeon of Discord at October 23, 2021 08:40 PM (Dc2NZ)

345 Aetius, so you liked Tenet? I read wildly mixed reviews of it.
Posted by: qdpsteve at October 23, 2021 08:36 PM (L2ZTs)

I recommend watching it. I loved it. The last scene is the only one I didn't like. The airplane scene is amazing. I do think the criticisms for Nolan are him rushing the last scene or over reaching, but still solid cinema.

Posted by: Draki at October 23, 2021 08:40 PM (JxiZo)

346 As far as magic goes, I thought Prachett did a good job playing with the concept in his Discworld novels. And I enjoyed all the stupid and obviously contrived nonsense in Glen Cooks' Garret P.I. stuff.

Posted by: normal at October 23, 2021 08:40 PM (obo9H)

347 I haven't heard the name Marcia Gay Hardin
----------
She's plump
Posted by: Braenyard at October 23, 2021 08:39 PM (qrcf4)

Will she raised me rabbits in Montana???

Posted by: Vasili Borodin at October 23, 2021 08:40 PM (BgMrQ)

348 Draki, thanks!
I remember hearing that it's hard to figure out exactly what the plot of Tenet actually is.

Posted by: qdpsteve at October 23, 2021 08:41 PM (L2ZTs)

349 WE know exactly what the Nazis did and what they wanted to do but they didn't tell the general German public. Now, if you were a big enough wheel, you knew, and you were guilty.

Posted by: Azjaeger

Every German citizen over the age of ten knew exactly what was going on. This picture, of a soldier shooting a woman holding a baby in the back of the head, was sent by a soldier home to his girlfriend with "Eastern Aktion!" written on the back:

https://tinyurl.com/Murderous-Huns

The common belief amongst the German civilians was that the Allies were bombing Germany in retaliation for what everyone knew was being done to the Jews.

Posted by: Sharkman at October 23, 2021 08:41 PM (IboSJ)

350 I haven't heard the name Marcia Gay Hardin in decades.
Posted by: S'oothsay'er at October 23, 2021 08:35 PM (kK/B7)

---

She was good as the mom in "Whip It" with that gal who was cute but decided to become a guy.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Live! from the Dungeon of Discord at October 23, 2021 08:41 PM (Dc2NZ)

351 The weapons thing is a major plot hole in Dune. Everybody fights with knives because the personal shields will stop projectile weapons and react violently with beam weapons--small nuke violently--so they are a no no, too. But on Arrakis you can't use shields because they piss off the sandworms, so there is no reason not to use rifles and lazers and such on the natives.

Posted by: the guy that moves pianos (meh, it's a living) at October 23, 2021 08:42 PM (3DZIZ)

352
What the hell is Alec Baldwin's niche for this to be out of it? He was the best Jack Ryan (about 100lbs ago.) Aside from that and his annoying political 'comedy' and Coffee is for Closers, what does he have?
Posted by: Aetius451AD

He played a criminal who made off with Fred Ward's badge and gun and then proceeded to raise all sorts of hell imitating an officer in "Miami Blues" (1990). Jennifer Jason Leigh made him a truly nasty vinegar pie after she decided that she'd had enough of his bullshit.

Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars (TM) at October 23, 2021 08:42 PM (pNxlR)

353 Donald Sutherland in Space Cowboys was the horndog who memorized the eye chart because he was nearly blind, so he could pass and go up to space.

I think the point of the Wyrding Way in Dune was that Herbert was trying to come up with a revolution in small arms that would rival the advent of firearms- and could not quite flesh it out. If you watch the '84 version, you just wonder why they do not shoot them with regular guns.

The Weirding Way in the movie was Lynch not able to figure out how to portray martial arts and hyper perception in a movie, so he put in the retarded voice gun thing in.

The Bene Gesserit were insanely well trained martial artists who were able to read psychology and intent from the tiniest clues in movement and tone, and instantly respond.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at October 23, 2021 08:43 PM (KZzsI)

354 Every German citizen over the age of ten knew exactly what was going on. ...

Posted by: Sharkman at October 23, 2021 08:41 PM (IboSJ)
-------------

We know what's going on here too.

Posted by: Braenyard at October 23, 2021 08:43 PM (qrcf4)

355 Draki, thanks!
I remember hearing that it's hard to figure out exactly what the plot of Tenet actually is.
Posted by: qdpsteve at October 23, 2021 08:41 PM (L2ZTs)

Oh, you're not supposed to figure it out till like half way in. It's the way it's written. It'll infuriate some, but I get it. Prolly rubs some people wrong that you never know the protagonist's name either. Nolan was pushing himself and I think it's a great work. Watch it after DUNE!

Posted by: Draki at October 23, 2021 08:44 PM (JxiZo)

356 Preacher, I have these writs from Sacramento that say I own that land! Those tin panners have to clear out!

Right turn, Clyde.

Posted by: Duke Lowell at October 23, 2021 08:44 PM (kTF2Z)

357 352
What the hell is Alec Baldwin's niche for this to be out of it? He was the best Jack Ryan (about 100lbs ago.) Aside from that and his annoying political 'comedy' and Coffee is for Closers, what does he have?
Posted by: Aetius451AD

He played a criminal who made off with Fred Ward's badge and gun and then proceeded to raise all sorts of hell imitating an officer in "Miami Blues" (1990). Jennifer Jason Leigh made him a truly nasty vinegar pie after she decided that she'd had enough of his bullshit.
Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars (TM) at October 23, 2021 08:42 PM

He played that asshole cop in The Departed nicely.

You do what comes naturally!

Posted by: Vasili Borodin at October 23, 2021 08:44 PM (BgMrQ)

358 I could see a CSI: Hooterville. Jethro is socially awkward but brilliant investigator. Ellie May is the tough but hot investigator.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks Now With Pumpkin Spice! at October 23, 2021 08:44 PM (d9FiS)

359 Sharkman, the impression I have is that Germans during WW2 were willfully ignorant, at least partially because their nation was finally at least getting some grudging respect from the rest of Europe, east and west, and doing some real damage to everyone else.

Posted by: qdpsteve at October 23, 2021 08:44 PM (L2ZTs)

360 /off Ramius sidekick

Posted by: browndog Official Mascot of Team Gizzard at October 23, 2021 08:45 PM (BgMrQ)

361 But on Arrakis you can't use shields because they piss off the sandworms, so there is no reason not to use rifles and lazers and such on the natives.

As long as they stayed behind the shield wall, the only civilized and really livable place on the planet (where the capitol was) was safe to use the shields on. But the fremen took advantage of the shield thing early on and the imperial troops were not ready to adapt before they were overwhelmed.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at October 23, 2021 08:45 PM (KZzsI)

362 Draki, hmmm. Again, thanks.

Posted by: qdpsteve at October 23, 2021 08:45 PM (L2ZTs)

363 Delores Hart... Actress who was in two Elvis movies and the movie Where the Boys Are. Left hollyweird to become a Benedictine nun. Is now the mother superior of that same cloister. She is the only nun who is a voting member of the Academy of Motion Pictures.

Posted by: Madamemayhem (uppity wench) at October 23, 2021 08:46 PM (Vxu+H)

364 To get back to Tarkovski, "Stalker" was a 3-hour rendition of the final two chapter of Boris & Arkady Strugatski's "Roadside Picnic" (QV! Seriously, QV!) Everything everyone reads into it who hasn't read Roadside Picnic is overwrought. Tarkovski was just trying to whittle down his original 14-hour rendition of the last two pages, and got stuck in editing.

Posted by: normal at October 23, 2021 08:46 PM (obo9H)

365

nOOd

Posted by: S'oothsay'er at October 23, 2021 08:46 PM (kK/B7)

366 Call me crazy, but I like Any Which Way You Can.

Posted by: Duke Lowell at October 23, 2021 08:47 PM (kTF2Z)

367 I could see a CSI: Hooterville. Jethro is socially awkward but brilliant investigator. Ellie May is the tough but hot investigator. Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks Now With Pumpkin Spice! at October 23, 2021 08:44 PM (d9FiS)

Sam Drucker runs the lab in the back of the general store.

Posted by: Caesar North of the Rubicon at October 23, 2021 08:47 PM (BMmaB)

368 Posted by: qdpsteve at October 23, 2021 08:45 PM (L2ZTs)

You're welcome

Posted by: Draki at October 23, 2021 08:47 PM (JxiZo)

369 I think the point of the Wyrding Way in Dune was that Herbert was trying to come up with a revolution in small arms that would rival the advent of firearms- and could not quite flesh it out. If you watch the '84 version, you just wonder why they do not shoot them with regular guns.
Posted by: Aetius451AD at October 23, 2021 08:34 PM (csEWM)

Kinetic armor, "the slow blade pierces the shield" and all that. High velocity is blocked so slow blade is needed, and the voice weapons go around that somehow because technology.

Posted by: Kindltot at October 23, 2021 08:47 PM (KbLYZ)

370 he was badass in Glengarry Glen Ross. Then again,many were baddass in their roles in that film.Jack Lemon was on another level.

Posted by: Quint at October 23, 2021 08:47 PM (X1Wj0)

371 Assistant Director: Here ya go, Duke, this is a cold gun. Say, why are you checking it? I said it's unloaded!

Posted by: Duke Lowell

It's a fucking gun. You check it before doing anything with it. It's amazing how lost this is on half the country.

I really got to wondering this morning that after the Director called for another take of the scene, Baldwin just cavalierly pointed the gun in that direction and said: "How anput I just shoot you?"

I wonder how many times in the past 40 years of doing movies involving guns, has Baldwin fucked around on set with one like this. This can't be the first time. What a Dipshit.

Posted by: Sharkman at October 23, 2021 08:48 PM (IboSJ)

372 He did a poor imitation of a man in The Getaway

Posted by: Braenyard at October 23, 2021 08:48 PM (qrcf4)

373 There's only a few times I've lost my cool around kids but I used the Bat-voice and gotten instant compliance. This is what Frank Herbert was talking about, guys.

Posted by: BourbonChicken at October 23, 2021 08:48 PM (ybIRR)

374 But on Arrakis you can't use shields because they piss off the sandworms, so there is no reason not to use rifles and lazers and such on the natives.

As long as they stayed behind the shield wall, the only civilized and really livable place on the planet (where the capitol was) was safe to use the shields on. But the fremen took advantage of the shield thing early on and the imperial troops were not ready to adapt before they were overwhelmed.
Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at October 23, 2021 08:45 PM (KZzsI)

With how the stories have been told, I never had a hard time keeping with the style of combat, but everyone is different.

Posted by: Draki at October 23, 2021 08:48 PM (JxiZo)

375 There's only a few times I've lost my cool around kids but I used the Bat-voice and gotten instant compliance. This is what Frank Herbert was talking about, guys.
Posted by: BourbonChicken at October 23, 2021 08:48 PM (ybIRR)

ha +1

Posted by: Draki at October 23, 2021 08:49 PM (JxiZo)

376 @Aetius, Alec Baldwin was very good as the GE corporate executive in 30 Rock. He talked like one of them.

Posted by: Caesar North of the Rubicon at October 23, 2021 08:50 PM (BMmaB)

377 Lynch just thought a kung fu movie on the sand dunes would look stupid.

Posted by: the guy that moves pianos (meh, it's a living) at October 23, 2021 08:52 PM (3DZIZ)

378 There is a voice that you can get with proper projection and shape of your mouth that is super powerful and even stunning. Its good to learn in positions of authority and used only rarely. I used to be able to pull it out on command but I don't think I can do it any more.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at October 23, 2021 08:54 PM (KZzsI)

379 really ? I remember not hating it...

Posted by: runner

I thought the acting and dialogue was so atrocious I just wanted everyone to hurry up and die.

Posted by: Sharkman at October 23, 2021 08:55 PM (IboSJ)

380 And Hot Redhead is in it's 'favor'.

Posted by: Aetius451AD

Rebecca Ferguson in the new one. Center of the Sun hot.

Posted by: Sharkman at October 23, 2021 08:57 PM (IboSJ)

381 As I've said here before, using the cast and set design of the 84 Dune combined with the storytelling and writing of the Sci Fi miniseries would give you the ultimate version. The extended 4 hour dune has all the scenes explaining everything, so it was stupid to cut them, but back then the idea of a 2-parter was almost unthinkable.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at October 23, 2021 08:58 PM (KZzsI)

382 When the man with the camera gets killed, the following him picks up the camera and shoots.

Posted by: G'rump928(c)

Heh.

Posted by: Sharkman at October 23, 2021 08:59 PM (IboSJ)

383 We know what's going on here too.

Posted by: Braenyard

To our eternal shame.

Posted by: Sharkman at October 23, 2021 09:02 PM (IboSJ)

384 Sharkman at October 23, 2021 08:41 PM (IboSJ)

The new American left is a hybrid of National Socialism and Soviet Socialism - neither practiced Marxism because that would have meant giving the working man power of which neither philosophy was interested in.

No, national socialist (Germany and Italian Fascists) believed in the elites vs inferiors, i.e. the Jews and Hungary Gypsies, etc. as inferior races to be persecuted - and the new American Democratic party officials embrace these same beliefs, as witnessed by their dislike of the so-called "Trump unvaccinated" or anyone else who might be a Trump supporter.

But the American Democrat left also requires strict Party loyalty from all peoples, one unbound from an inferior nationalistic instinct, very much like the Soviets did with their required allegiance to the Soviet Party. Thus the purge of US military of officers not on board with the politics of Democrat rule...corresponding very much to Stalin's purge (killing) of the Soviet Military generals prior to WWII due to their "disloyalty to Soviet people." - ie the party.

Posted by: Boswell at October 23, 2021 09:10 PM (5iUNf)

385 I loved Risen and was so so on Once Upon a Time In the West. coincidentally, I saw both this week too

Posted by: LASue at October 23, 2021 11:03 PM (Ed8Zd)

386 Good evening late night morons.... Just finished dune after getting home from meeting all the wonderful folks at the tx mo meet. Mixed feelings on it (dune, not the meet). Just always had they feeling that the 84 version did this scene or that scene better while this version is better out together..... Good night y'all

Posted by: Redchief at October 24, 2021 01:57 AM (bVGsy)

387 Dune:

I must have read "Dune" a dozen times over my life, and consider it one of the best sci-fi novels of all time.
That being said, I can highly recommend to film adaptation.

Most movie adaptations of books stink (big surprise, right?)

If I can give the LOTR trilogy a 93 out of 100 for faithfulness to the material, I'll give "Dune" an 89.

Best movie of the year.

Posted by: TANSTAAFL at October 24, 2021 07:08 AM (fBtlL)

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