What have you watched recently: Electric Boogaloo

briany

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

^ I agree with you to a degree but unfortunately I think it's been proven that the message does need to be hammered home over and over.

There's a documentary called "Lolita - Slave to Entertainment" (worth watching if Blackfish made you interested in this issue) which focuses on "Lolita" an Orca taken from Puget Sound in the 70's, in that original Orca hunt that they show at the start of Blackfish. She was sold to Miami Seaquarium for practically nothing. She's been there ever since in a tank that has been deemed illegal and despite a 30 year protest to have her released she's still there, still drawing the crowds in, still earning the place millions of dollars.

In the issue of animal captivity the main problem is that there is a demand for these places still. As long as people keep handing over their money to watch these shows the animals will be kept in captivity. The only way to wake people up to this is to keep hammering home the same point over and over. The world went nuts over Free Willy over 20 years ago, Keiko actually got released back into the wild and lived a few years at least with freedom, but then everyone just forgot about the issue and here we are still looking at the same problem.

I will say though that there are a slew of documentaries that cover the same issue and none of them say anything new. Maybe someone should make one that hammers home the point that it's the general public that persist in going to these places that are the problem. Maybe take a few of them and lock them in a bathtub sized room for a few years.... maybe not.

I think that attempting to 'hammer home' a point can be counter productive when people feel like they're being preached to. We generally don't like feeling like we're being told how to feel, even with the best of intentions. I know I no longer flinch when I see, to give the classic example, the charity ad with the African baby's fly covered face and I don't think it's because I'm cold hearted. Those types of ads have been around for so long that many of us have been thoroughly desensitized to them. People only have in their hearts and heads so much room to take on what of the world's suffering they can and oftentimes that goes to whatever cause is in fashion or things closer to their own locale, naturally enough and in the case of the former, it changes as the fashion changes.

Films like Blackfish and The Cove are good at telling us the injustices and indignities committed towards these animals but to be really effective in their aims, they need to have some sticking point as to why we should care about them more than all the animals locked up in the zoo, all the animals being raised in captivity and slain down in the abattoir, all the animals we keep as pets etc. We're looking the other way from a lot of what could be argued as animal cruelty or an unpleasant byproduct of the society we live in. Much of it is a product of demand, like you say, whether it be for cheap food, or cheap entertainment.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

briany wrote: »

I think that attempting to 'hammer home' a point can be counter productive when people feel like they're being preached to. We generally don't like feeling like we're being told how to feel, even with the best of intentions. I know I no longer flinch when I see, to give the classic example, the charity ad with the African baby's fly covered face and I don't think it's because I'm cold hearted. Those types of ads have been around for so long that many of us have been thoroughly desensitized to them. People only have in their hearts and heads so much room to take on what of the world's suffering they can and oftentimes that goes to whatever cause is in fashion or things closer to their own locale, naturally enough and in the case of the former, it changes as the fashion changes.

Films like Blackfish and The Cove are good at telling us the injustices and indignities committed towards these animals but to be really effective in their aims, they need to have some sticking point as to why we should care about them more than all the animals locked up in the zoo, all the animals being raised in captivity and slain down in the abattoir, all the animals we keep as pets etc. We're looking the other way from a lot of what could be argued as animal cruelty or an unpleasant byproduct of the society we live in. Much of it is a product of demand, like you say, whether it be for cheap food, or cheap entertainment.

I suppose it depends on how educated you are on the issues at hand as to whether you feel like you're being preached at or not. I mentioned it in the Blackfish thread that I studied Zoology at college and I've taken an active interest in animal captivity for a long time. Like the poor starving Africa adverts I feel I've become a bit desensitized to it. I wasn't upset by what I saw in Blackfish because I already knew it all. I was surprised at the lengths Sea World have gone to to cover things up and their disregard for human life, but not at how the animals were treated.

What upsets me about this film, and ones like it is the shock and outrage that people who watch it feel. Like I pointed out in the other thread why hasn't any of this occurred to you before? Where did you think these animals came from in the first place and other such things. From people's reactions it clearly shows that they're completely blind to the issue. If they know about it and just can't bring themselves to care, fine. However it really seems that a good 90% of the people who have seen this one in particular had no idea about it before seeing it. Which to me implies that a lot more preaching needs to be done.

briany

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

I suppose it depends on how educated you are on the issues at hand as to whether you feel like you're being preached at or not. I mentioned it in the Blackfish thread that I studied Zoology at college and I've taken an active interest in animal captivity for a long time. Like the poor starving Africa adverts I feel I've become a bit desensitized to it. I wasn't upset by what I saw in Blackfish because I already knew it all. I was surprised at the lengths Sea World have gone to to cover things up and their disregard for human life, but not at how the animals were treated.

What upsets me about this film, and ones like it is the shock and outrage that people who watch it feel. Like I pointed out in the other thread why hasn't any of this occurred to you before? Where did you think these animals came from in the first place and other such things. From people's reactions it clearly shows that they're completely blind to the issue. If they know about it and just can't bring themselves to care, fine. However it really seems that a good 90% of the people who have seen this one in particular had no idea about it before seeing it. Which to me implies that a lot more preaching needs to be done.

When I talk about being preached to, I'm talking about the tone of the way the material is presented to us. It gets mawkish after a point if they keep on trying to tell us what amazing creatures these are and why what's being done to them is so horrible. As for the disregard for human life, I don't think it's at all surprising the depths that a corporate entity will sink to when there's money to be made, unfortunately, and that includes the abuse and expenditure of the lives of man and beast. From Seaworld to the meat industry, from Foxconn to the African diamond mines, it goes on all over. Profit's a hell of a thing. Maybe the shock comes from the shattered illusion that it's supposed to be an organisation that operates in the first world and positions itself as 'family friendly'.

I think there's a certain amount of wilful ignorance going on with regards to the plight of these animals. I don't think it's that people can really think these animals were magicked out of thin air or that they particularly like being cooped up in an enclosure, especially when great pains are taken to tell us how intelligent and 'like us' they are. It's just not something we think about that much until we have reason to. Films like this just bring the issue to the forefront of our mind and articulates it. We feel outraged or saddened for a short time and it away it goes again to the back of our minds. We see another documentary that talks about the same thing and we feel the same again, maybe a little bit less, and again and again until one half of the people didn't really care in the first place and the other half have been desensitized to the message. It's a fine line that must be walked in keeping the message vital.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

What really shocked me about Sea World was when they came out and blamed Dawn Brancheau for her own death. It's one thing being morally questionable, that's downright amoral.

I think willful ignorance is right. I've seen a lot of "I'll never go to Sea World again" type comments and I can't help wonder why these things didn't occur to people while they were at Sea World? It's one thing not thinking about it when you never come into contact with it but while you're sitting there watching it happen how do you not think about it?

Tony EH

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

My main problem with Blackfish was that it felt like a documentary about how awful SeaWorld was. Like that was their main point, don't go to SeaWorld. Tilikum was almost a secondary thought.

Agreed Tickles, the focus was a bit too narrow on it alright.

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

watched a bittersweet life again tonight, excellent movie

just so damn... stylish

siblers

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar wrote: »

watched a bittersweet life again tonight, excellent movie

just so damn... stylish

Probably my favourite film out South Korea, absolutley adore it.

Porco Rosso- Very enjoyable, great story and setting, great charachters and really charming and funny. Thank god for Film 4's Studio Ghilbi season, probably wouldn't have seen this otherwise.

Pain And Gain- Film is awesome, best I've seen of Mark Wahlberg since The Departed, really like how it was shot and really interesting story as well. Film is absolutley bokers though, which is no bad thing.

johnny_ultimate

So I turned on Hajime Sato’s Goke, Body Snatcher from Hell for some reason last night (probably because it was short and I was tired). Bizarre, unhinged 1960s B-Movie. It has one of the most OTT opening in the history of cinema (Dead or Alive has nothing on it). Before the titles even appear, there has been a bomb threat, a hijacking, a UFO appearance and a plane crash - all set in dusky, surreal skies (they inspired Kill Bill).

On one hand, what follows is cheesy monster movie fare about about an extraterrestrial blob that makes people vampires by taking over their bodies through a vagina-like tear in their foreheads (yes, that's right). There's all the dodgy effects and melodrama one would expect. On the other, it's an impassioned anti-war film and go-for-broke critique of a corrupt, xenophobic Japanese society. An absolutely mental cocktail of sheer what the ****ery, it all culminates in an extremely cynical, grim ending. Whatever about the film's quality, it is most certainly a one of a kind proposition.

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar wrote: »

watched a bittersweet life again tonight, excellent movie

just so damn... stylish

Everytime I see your name in this thread, it is inevitably one of three or four films mentioned :pac:

Duggy747

This Is The End

Considering I don't like Seth Rogen and his ilk with their "weed is hilarious" \ bromance \ dick jokes comedies I'm not surprised I didn't like this. If you like that gang then you'll probably enjoy it, if not then you'll probably be hard pressed to enjoy it throughout. Danny McBride had the the best bits but not enough to save the movie for me and I couldn't wait for it to end.

American Werewolf in London

Rick Baker's special effects still look great at that pinnacle transformation scene in an otherwise very medicore film that just ends. The main character is a sleazy, annoying piece of shìt who you can't really empathise with.

Poltergeist

Hadn't seen this in a hell of a long time and I eventually got the GF to watch it since she's terrified of anything ghouls and ghosts related. Horror movies are what partners are for so you can see them freak out. :pac:

This aged a lot better than I expected though a few corny bits stood out,

The paranormal investigator pulling his face apart in the mirror looked very dated

though it did disgust the GF so it still had it's impact :P

I still found it thoroughly enjoyable and had forgotten about some it of it's iconic scenes like the dolly zoom effect on the hallway as the mother ran down it to make it seem really long and that creepy clown doll.

I promised her that I'd buy the doll as a present and surprise her with it by stuffing him in the closet or have him sitting at the edge of the bed one morning....................she promised that she'd stab me. :pac:

Who wouldn't want a lovely clown like this staring at them while they slept?

ButtersSuki

mikemac1 wrote: »

Rush

Thought it was excellent, thumbs up

Certainly a film best watched in the cinema to get the surround sound and the best experience. You may not get this with the DVD at home, well maybe you will.

I used to be big into F1 but not since Jordan were around. I had a vague recollection of how the 1976 season went but didn't remember

the confusion of the last few laps in Fuji, some finish!

Hans Zimmer with another cracking soundtrack, particulary this one which was used in the trailer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2awZx487ETw

If you liked Rush, try Steve McQueen's "LeMans" for sound. On a decent surround sound system with a bit of "oomph" it's just stunning.

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

Everytime I see your name in this thread, it is inevitably one of three or four films mentioned :pac:

i'm not so much a fan of cinema as much as I hate almost everything and really really like a few things

--edit

actually that sentence doesn't quite make sense in the way I intended but i think the point shall be gotten


---edit
fixed it.. I think

ButtersSuki

Recorded from TCM over 2 years ago (and only got to watch it last night!) with George C. Scott, Jack Lemmon, a pre-Sopranos James Gandolfini, Edward James Olmos and Armin Muller-Stahl amongst others in a stellar cast......and bizarrely, Tony Danza (!).

An updated version of the 50s classic, it has its moments but it's unfair to compare them, esp. given it's a made for TV version. Lemmon (in particular) and Scott dominate as you'd expect given their roles (you'll know what I mean if you watch it), but Edward James Olmos plays cool, calm and collected* as effectively as you'd expect despite being deliberately wound up by another juror. You can clearly see Tony Soprano in Gandolfini's performance and I always find it somewhat amusing to see him in a minor role.

Directed by William Friedkin (which I didn't know until the credits rolled) and bizarrely thinking about it at the time, had a similar feel to Jade in places!

Has a real made for tv feel about it, but for what it is - I'd give it a 7/10.



*was recently watching the extras on the US DVD of Breaking Bad Season 4 (all 13 hours of them.......) and there's an interview with Giancarlo Esposito who says he based his portrayal of Gus Fring on EJO's Miami Vice Castillo character.

Daemos

Currently watching SyFy's latest installment in their ever-increasing catalogue of batsh1t-crazy films: Arachnoquake

The synopsis reads, and I quote: "An earthquake releases a swarm of fire-breathing giant spiders upon the city of New Orleans"

And surprisingly, I'm really enjoying it. I only had it on because there was nothing else to watch, and only kept watching because I noticed an actor in it who I enjoyed in something else. It's actually quite good. I mean it is absolutely cr4p, no doubt about it, but it's good fun and doesn't take itself too seriously

Mizu_Ger

The Great Train Robbery (1978): Came across it on Netflix. I haven't seen this for a long time and had forgotten how much of it was filmed in Ireland and how impressive Sean Connery's stunt work is! Otherwise it's a fun film with likeable characters and nice period settings. Worth a watch.

Gamayun

El secreto de sus ojos/The secret in Their Eyes (2009)

Argentinian crime drama/thriller, 2010 best foreign language film Oscar winner, and very good it is too. There was a couple of fairly trite/melodramatic moments but overall very well done.

The Night of the Hunter (1955)

Charles Laughton's only (credited) film as Director and a fine job he made of it. The film looks fantastic, the sets are great and there are some very memorable shots. Some of the acting is definitely of its time, and I can see how some modern viewers might dislike this film, but I enjoyed the style in which it was made.

Judgement Day

"Quatermass and the Pit" (1958) 6 part BBC tv series. On YouTube via my Wii - broadcast quality!
I came across this last night while searching for something totally unrelated and seeing that the complete series was available on YouTube was drawn in.

A mysterious cylinder is unearthed on a London building site. Initially thought to be an unexploded bomb from WW.II. it turns out to have been buried for at least five million years.....

If you like Sci Fi then this is a for you. Low budget as you would expect from the BBC but absolutely outstanding and has withstood the test of time well. The outstanding soundtrack is quite chilling and the movie is all about what you don't see.
I realised it was something special but it was only after checking out Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quatermass_and_the_Pit that I realised just what an important piece of film-making this was. Now to buy the DVD. 10/10

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7JY9xtpCxY

If you're going to watch on YouTube be sure to watch the videos uploaded by pioneeronetv as he has all 6 complete episodes - unlike some fool who has stuck up some episodes but leaves out the last 10 minutes of the final one. :rolleyes:

Fysh

Judgement Day wrote: »

If you're going to watch on YouTube be sure to watch the videos uploaded by pioneeronetv as he has all 6 complete episodes - unlike some fool who has stuck up some episodes but leaves out the last 10 minutes of the final one. :rolleyes:

Funny you should mention that particular youtube account - Pioneer One is a great sci-fi series (made available for free by the creators) and well worth your time. Which reminds me, I must buy a copy of the DVD.

siblers

Amadeus- Film is amazing, for a film that is about 30 years old it looks incredible. The period is amazingly recreated, the two lead performances are superb as well. Especially Murray Abraham, one of the most engrossing performances I've ever seen. Only criticisim is the use of American accents, it can be kinda jarring when you hear them set against 18th century Vienna.

bellinter

Saw Rush last night.

Really enjoyed it. Wasnt familiar with the story at all so everything was a surprise to me. The 2 leads were both excellent and there was a really great contrast between the 2 characters, both completely different personalities yet equally interesting.

Some of the racing scenes were brilliantly done. Some moments were a bit overly dramatic and soppy maybe but I suppose this is par for the course with these type of films. Anyway, overall a really good watch.

old hippy

siblers wrote: »

Amadeus- Film is amazing, for a film that is about 30 years old it looks incredible. The period is amazingly recreated, the two lead performances are superb as well. Especially Murray Abraham, one of the most engrossing performances I've ever seen. Only criticisim is the use of American accents, it can be kinda jarring when you hear them set against 18th century Vienna.

If you like sumptuous period drama, I recommend Dangerous Liasions (Stephen Frear), The Duellists (Ridley Scott) and (which I've yet to see myself but I'm told it's magnificent) Barry Lydon (Stanley Kubrick)

ButtersSuki

siblers wrote: »

Amadeus- Film is amazing, for a film that is about 30 years old it looks incredible. The period is amazingly recreated, the two lead performances are superb as well. Especially Murray Abraham, one of the most engrossing performances I've ever seen. Only criticisim is the use of American accents, it can be kinda jarring when you hear them set against 18th century Vienna.

I love Amadeus...but I also love Ferris Bueller's Day Off. So, when the school principal (Jeffrey Jones) l from FBDO turns up in Amadeus, it always makes me smile in a very weird way. He just looks so out of place in it! And yes. I know Amadeus is older than FBDO, but I was 12 when I saw FBDO, I'd say I was late teens at the earliest before my first viewing of Amadeus.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

The History Boys

I mostly enjoyed this. I thought it raised the interesting point about teaching kids things in a way they'll take it all in and enjoy it for their own knowledge compared to teaching them things specifically to get them into whatever college it is they want to go to, or indeed just to pass exams. Not sure if that was what they were going for but that's what I got.
I wasn't sure about the teacher touching up the boys and it just sort of being glossed over the way it was? Maybe that's just given the current climate of Jimmy Saville and all that...
Anyway, it's worth a watch, almost like an English "Dead Poets Society" in some ways. I think most of the cast were lifted from the original stage play and it shows in their interactions and the overall group chemistry.

siblers

ButtersSuki wrote: »

I love Amadeus...but I also love Ferris Bueller's Day Off. So, when the school principal (Jeffrey Jones) l from FBDO turns up in Amadeus, it always makes me smile in a very weird way. He just looks so out of place in it! And yes. I know Amadeus is older than FBDO, but I was 12 when I saw FBDO, I'd say I was late teens at the earliest before my first viewing of Amadeus.

I thought he was great as the emperor, found him really funny in it.

Old Hippy- I'll have a look out for them, definitly in the mood for some period dramas now.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

siblers wrote: »

Old Hippy- I'll have a look out for them, definitly in the mood for some period dramas now.

A Royal Affair is a good one, if you haven't seen it.

McGrath5

Watched The House I Live In last night, fantastic documentary about the so called war on drugs. Mainly told from the perspective of America, well and truly worth a watch.

DazMarz

Thelma & Louise

Ridley Scott directs this wonderful tale of two friends who intend to go for a weekend of fishing and fun in the mountains of Arkansas, but end up on the run from the law across Oklahoma, New Mexico and Arizona.

Louise (Susan Sarandon) is the older, slightly more jaded, more streetwise of the two eponymous characters, while Thelma (Geena Davis) is the cloistered, younger, more naive one who is totally under her husband's domineering thumb (hubbie being played superbly by Christopher McDonald).

All is going well so far on the trip, until a local lout attempts to rape Thelma. After he viciously says he should have gone ahead and raped Thelma and tells Louise to "suck my cock", Louise impulsively shoots and kills him. Thus begins the cross-country trek to evade the law.

Supporting characters are wonderful. Sympathetic cop Hal (Harvey Keitel), provocative and doe-eyed cowboy J.D. (Brad Pitt in the role that would make him a superstar), Louise's headstrong but sweet boyfriend Jimmy (Michael Madsen) and the FBI man brought in to stop them (Stephen Tobolowski).

There are many wonderful set-pieces and moments in this film, wherein the characters find inner-strength and coping skills to improvise as the situation warrants. They fear that their story of justifiable homicide will not be believed and thus keep on running.

The greatest moment in the film for me is the blackly comic scene where the two heroines are pulled over by an unsuspecting, young New Mexico State Trooper. They force him at gunpoint into the boot of his patrol car (having stolen his gun, belt and shot up his radio). You'd think that was the end of that scenario, but no. Hours (possibly days) later, the luckless trooper is still stuck in his car. A Rastafarian cyclist encounters the car and hears the trooper's cries for help. Instead of helping, the Rasta-man blows marijuana smoke through an air hole Thelma shot in the boot, just to stick two fingers up at "the man".

The ending is heart-wrenching and the music (a sublime score from Hans Zimmer) just makes it.

Derided as a chick-flick, often parodied (most notably in the episode of The Simpsons, "Marge On The Lam"), and still as engaging as ever even after 22 years. Well worth a look.

johnny_ultimate

Drinking Buddies - another mumblecore director graduates to the relative big time in Joe Swanberg's relationship drama. If you've been anticipating the film set in the world of craft beer (aka if you're a hipster ) this is a good start. A relationship drama/comedy focused on two couples, both seemingly destined to break up and pair off with the others. Nothing major happens - a misjudged, awkward kiss is the film's most dramatic incident - but nothing happens well: subtle direction and acting ensuring sexual tension and underlying lusts are implied through glances and seemingly innocent interactions. Everything is boiling underneath the surface, and things don't exactly go as formula would traditionally dictate, opting for something a tad more ambiguous.

Worth watching primarily to finally see Olivia Wilde give the sort of charismatic performance Hollywood has consistently denied her. Equally impressive work from Jake Johnson and Anna Kendrick, the latter of whom further proves she deserves better roles. One of the supporting roles is played by Ti West of House of the Devil fame, which is the kind of geeky detail that is always fun to discover. Nothing remarkable, but a very watchable, well crafted little film.

On that note also rewatched House of the Devil last weekend, and it remains one of my favourite recent horror films. A mini-masterclass in slow-building tension and unease. When **** does hit the fan, it does so with visceral force, and the retro aesthetics are pitch perfect. Genuinely creepy, effective stuff.

bellinter

What Maisie Knew

This was a difficult enough watch at times. A young girl in the middle of a custody battle between her bickering, incredibly selfish parents. Its told completely from her point of view so all our information comes from what she is told and from conversations she overhears.

Julianne Moore is brilliant as always and the rest of the case are good too, particularly the actress playing Maisie herself, who at times looks completely at ease with being shipped around from parent to parent, step parent to step parent, but at other times completely aware of just how badly she is being treated.

7/10

mewe

The Kids Are All Right Only seen this for the first time tonight. Thought it was excellent. Superb acting all round,particularly Annette Bening and the girl who played the daughter Joni.

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

all about lily chou-chou

I usually feel pretty drained after watching this. I had planned to watch rainbow song afterwards, to round the night off but chou-chou punched me in the balls harder than it usually does. Maybe it was the 1080p.