What are we watching/recommend ?

[Deranged Rhino]

New Futurama! 

 

[Crap Throwing Clavin]

22 minutes ago, Deranged Rhino said:

New Futurama! 

 

 

Eh, little known fact there, Greggy:

 

The ancient Greek (probably Mycenaean, actually) myth of the cyclops almost certainly was started to explain elephant skulls, which have a single large hole in the front of the skull.

 

(Off-topic fact that Leela just reminded me of).

 

[Jabba The Hutt]

2 hours ago, Deranged Rhino said:

New Futurama! 

 

Can't wait!! Should've never been cancelled...1 million times better than The Simpsons.

[Deranged Rhino]

Oooffff. If Cannes didn't like it... 

https://variety.com/2023/film/news/indiana-jones-5-cannes-standing-ovation-harrison-ford-1235615678/

 

‘Indiana Jones 5’ Gets Lukewarm Five-Minute Cannes Ovation as Harrison Ford Says an Emotional Goodbye

 

142 minute run time (!!!) - holy cow. 

 

And this is just brutal: "The film’s elaborate action scenes and witty one-liners delivered by Phoebe Waller-Bridge mostly received a muted response inside the theater. During parts of the 142-minute film, audience members could be heard whispering out of boredom in French."

 

If the rumors are true, Kathleen Kennedy needs this movie to make at least 300 million (domestic) to keep her job. This kind of reception won't help her cause.

Edited May 18, 2023 by Deranged Rhino

[Jabba The Hutt]

22 minutes ago, Deranged Rhino said:

Oooffff. If Cannes didn't like it... 

https://variety.com/2023/film/news/indiana-jones-5-cannes-standing-ovation-harrison-ford-1235615678/

 

‘Indiana Jones 5’ Gets Lukewarm Five-Minute Cannes Ovation as Harrison Ford Says an Emotional Goodbye

 

142 minute run time (!!!) - holy cow. 

 

And this is just brutal: "The film’s elaborate action scenes and witty one-liners delivered by Phoebe Waller-Bridge mostly received a muted response inside the theater. During parts of the 142-minute film, audience members could be heard whispering out of boredom in French."

 

If the rumors are true, Kathleen Kennedy needs this movie to make at least 300 million (domestic) to keep her job. This kind of reception won't help her cause.

They ruined Harrison Ford's grand finale?

[Ann]

38 minutes ago, Deranged Rhino said:

Oooffff. If Cannes didn't like it... 

https://variety.com/2023/film/news/indiana-jones-5-cannes-standing-ovation-harrison-ford-1235615678/

 

‘Indiana Jones 5’ Gets Lukewarm Five-Minute Cannes Ovation as Harrison Ford Says an Emotional Goodbye

 

142 minute run time (!!!) - holy cow. 

 

And this is just brutal: "The film’s elaborate action scenes and witty one-liners delivered by Phoebe Waller-Bridge mostly received a muted response inside the theater. During parts of the 142-minute film, audience members could be heard whispering out of boredom in French."

 

If the rumors are true, Kathleen Kennedy needs this movie to make at least 300 million (domestic) to keep her job. This kind of reception won't help her cause.

Well, considering those early audience scores, it isn't a surprise. 

[Deranged Rhino]

2 hours ago, Ann said:

Well, considering those early audience scores, it isn't a surprise. 

 

Annnnnd, here's Variety's review. This should be Lucas Film's kindest review considering how much Variety usually bends over backwards for Kennedy... 

https://variety.com/2023/film/reviews/indiana-jones-and-the-dial-of-destiny-review-harrison-ford-1235617471/

 

‘Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny’ Review: Harrison Ford Plays the Aging Indy in a Sequel That Serves Up Nostalgic Hokum Minus the Thrill

James Mangold's action epic is made in the style of Steven Spielberg, but the exhilaration is gone.

[Deranged Rhino]

Ugh. From the review above... : 

Quote

"...the film cuts to 1969, where Indy is now a relic: an old man living in a cruddy New York apartment, waking up to his hippie neighbors blasting “Magical Mystery Tour,” pouring a shot of whiskey into his instant coffee as he glances over his divorce papers."

 

So you mean we spent all of the horrible Crystal Skull sequel getting Indy and Marian back together, literally the only redeeming storyline of that flick, only to have them divorce off screen in this one? 

 

Good grief. 

[Crap Throwing Clavin]

3 hours ago, Deranged Rhino said:

witty one-liners delivered by Phoebe Waller-Bridge

 

Somebody's kids were being held hostage when they wrote that.

 

9 minutes ago, Deranged Rhino said:

Ugh. From the review above... : 

 

So you mean we spent all of the horrible Crystal Skull sequel getting Indy and Marian back together, literally the only redeeming storyline of that flick, only to have them divorce off screen in this one? 

 

Good grief. 

 

It's reimagined for modern audiences!

 

💩

[Crap Throwing Clavin]

5 hours ago, Deranged Rhino said:

Oooffff. If Cannes didn't like it... 

https://variety.com/2023/film/news/indiana-jones-5-cannes-standing-ovation-harrison-ford-1235615678/

 

‘Indiana Jones 5’ Gets Lukewarm Five-Minute Cannes Ovation as Harrison Ford Says an Emotional Goodbye

 

142 minute run time (!!!) - holy cow. 

 

And this is just brutal: "The film’s elaborate action scenes and witty one-liners delivered by Phoebe Waller-Bridge mostly received a muted response inside the theater. During parts of the 142-minute film, audience members could be heard whispering out of boredom in French."

 

If the rumors are true, Kathleen Kennedy needs this movie to make at least 300 million (domestic) to keep her job. This kind of reception won't help her cause.

 

 

Quote

Did I mention that the reason the Antikythera is so valuable is that it can create fissures in time that will theoretically allow one to time travel? 

 

Oh, &#%$ you, movie. 

[Deranged Rhino]

Yeesh, this is IGN’s review which is usually pretty pro-any-studio-release:

https://www.ign.com/articles/indiana-jones-and-the-dial-of-destiny-review
 

The headline alone is brutal. 

[LB3]

I went in with low expectations but really enjoyed the Netflix show Beef. Steven Yeun was great.

[Jabba The Hutt]

Barry, what a great show! Love Bill Hader, and he and Stephen Root are amazing together in this.

[Ann]

Hubby wants to watch this:
 

 

[Crap Throwing Clavin]

12 hours ago, Deranged Rhino said:

Yeesh, this is IGN’s review which is usually pretty pro-any-studio-release:

https://www.ign.com/articles/indiana-jones-and-the-dial-of-destiny-review
 

The headline alone is brutal. 

 

Quote

The action in Dial of Destiny is dull by comparison, whizzing by too quickly to land, and with physics too cartoony to leave a lasting impact.

 

A huge issue with modern movies.  CGI action lacks the visceral excitement of practical effects.

 

The article mentions in the next line a CGI Indy running on top of a train.  Can you imagine how utterly dull it would be to see a CGI Indy dragged under a truck in Raiders?

[Deranged Rhino]

49 minutes ago, Crap Throwing Clavin said:

 

 

A huge issue with modern movies.  CGI action lacks the visceral excitement of practical effects.

 

The article mentions in the next line a CGI Indy running on top of a train.  Can you imagine how utterly dull it would be to see a CGI Indy dragged under a truck in Raiders?

 

100% agree. 

 

The difference in reactions when audiences see a practical stunt today versus CGI is worth the cost imo.  Audiences today (especially those under 35) have grown up watching mainly CGI fests. And while some of the CGI work today is fantastic - almost every time audiences can see the seams. But when they see a practical effect, even one that's not as great as Indy going under the truck, it makes a big impact on the audience because it's so much more exciting. 

[devnull]

On 5/20/2023 at 2:57 PM, Deranged Rhino said:

 

100% agree. 

 

The difference in reactions when audiences see a practical stunt today versus CGI is worth the cost imo.  Audiences today (especially those under 35) have grown up watching mainly CGI fests. And while some of the CGI work today is fantastic - almost every time audiences can see the seams. But when they see a practical effect, even one that's not as great as Indy going under the truck, it makes a big impact on the audience because it's so much more exciting. 

 

Compare and contrast current war movies, with their scripted unblemished battle scenes with the Valkyrie scene from Apocalypse Now

 

Real helicopters

 

In the air

 

The Mayday call was authentic.  One of the helicopter pilots did briefly lose control

 

A real Huey is blown up (talk about only having one shot)

 

A real PBR is transported by Huey, which was very dangerous.  It should have been transported by a Chinook, however the Pentagon refused to co-operate with the production so the studio had to basically bribe Ferdinand Marcos to use Phillipino equipment.

 

The explosions on the ground were controlled detonations

 

The Napalm was a controlled detonation of a shit ton of gasoline.

 

And it all looks so much better than anything with green screens and ping pong suits

[Deranged Rhino]

3 hours ago, devnull said:

 

Compare and contrast current war movies, with their scripted unblemished battle scenes with the Valkyrie scene from Apocalypse Now

 

Real helicopters

 

In the air

 

The Mayday call was authentic.  One of the helicopter pilots did briefly lose control

 

A real Huey is blown up (talk about only having one shot)

 

A real PBR is transported by Huey, which was very dangerous.  It should have been transported by a Chinook, however the Pentagon refused to co-operate with the production so the studio had to basically bribe Ferdinand Marcos to use Phillipino equipment.

 

The explosions on the ground were controlled detonations

 

The Napalm was a controlled detonation of a shit ton of gasoline.

 

And it all looks so much better than anything with green screens and ping pong suits

 

Absolutely. Nailed it.

 

I get where some of it comes from. Take car wrecks for example. Any movie or show made pre-2008 likely used real cars and drivers for their wrecks/chase scenes. Think of the opening of Beverly Hills Cop or Blues Brothers and all the cars they totaled making those films. Hilarious, looked great, but I imagine it was time consuming. Then around 2012, almost every show and film switched to digital cars for wrecks/chases whenever possible because the CG had gotten cheap enough to justify it. The productions who have the budgets (or the skill) can make those crashes look real and feel pretty great with the CG. Something about cars makes the uncanny valley less (unless it's the Fast and Furious franchise).  

 

But the productions working with no budget or skill end up looking like a bad N64 game. 

 

I worked with the effects crew for a show with a lot of car crashes (as a grunt) and saw how they staged the wrecks or explosions. It was a FUN job (how could it not be?) but it would take three or four days to do one sequence that would only take up 15 seconds of screen time in the end (if we were lucky). In the world of TV with such an unyielding schedule (can't deliver late when you're airing new episodes every week), the shift to doing that kind of stuff digitally makes total sense especially when its nearly indistinguishable from doing it practically. 

 

... But in a feature? When you do have the time and (usually) the budget to do it practically and make it look amazing? Come on. Give the people what they want.

 

If they don't start going back to using more practical effects, all the people who know how to do those stunts (from the stuntmen to the choreographers to the engineers to the gunsmiths) are going to age out/retire and the craft will go extinct. Then CGI will be the only realistic (and insurable) option.

 

That would be a tragedy.

Edited May 22, 2023 by Deranged Rhino

[Deranged Rhino]

Speaking of... Critical Drinker's review of Fast X

 

(Haven't watched - but I'm assuming light spoilers ahead) 

 

[Crap Throwing Clavin]

42 minutes ago, Deranged Rhino said:

Speaking of... Critical Drinker's review of Fast X

 

(Haven't watched - but I'm assuming light spoilers ahead) 

 

 

Everything - literally - I've ever seen, or know, about the FF franchise comes from CinemaSins.

 

3:54: does a 5-ton wrecking ball just bounce off Dom's car? 

Edited May 22, 2023 by Crap Throwing Clavin