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Post by bazookagoof on Mar 26, 2020 1:43:02 GMT
Perhaps his perspective is more on the people(dialogue, scenery, etc.) than on the sound. Odd, as you said, but he must feel the sound fits the imagine he's trying to convey. I was listening to an audio commentary of his on another film "Ink" (that was also splendid!) and he stated how important sound was in a film. He even went into detail on how certain sounds were created specifically for the film- which perplexed me as the movie was also only in stereo.
Not to say he doesn't know what he's doing; quite the opposite. He has a knack for being able to make a blend of sounds work in his movie that normally would be unheard of. In "The Frame", there is a sequence where one character is running away from the police and the movie's orchestral score is playing. However, he ducks into a dance club and the audience can hear both the dramatic music and the dance beats, and he manages to make it work without the two competing for attention.
I say this because I've seen other filmmakers attempt this with dismal results. In one film, the filmmakers played rock music with lyrics while actors were reciting dialogue at the same time. The problem with this is that you have two streams of words coming at you, and the information overload makes you lose track of both. Not that the lyrics are essential to the movie, but you're losing vital information to follow the plot due to incompetence on the part of the film editor.
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Post by Bean on Mar 26, 2020 7:55:11 GMT
It does sound like a great premise for a film, and obviously ticked all your boxes, but that trailer is horrendous! I couldn't even look at it for all the flashing images!
As we have a lot more time on our hands these days, we've all been watching a film together most evenings. We're introducing the kids to some of our favourite old ones (including Predator which I haven't watched for years!) but also looking at some newer ones. Everyone's being a bit more relaxed about what we watch now we know we can watch a few a week - if we can only watch one, sometimes it can take us a long time to all agree on one! That said, there is still some debate in the picking, but I'd probably miss it if it didn't happen! Part of it is them liking the sounds of films that I've checked out on imdb and really aren't appropriate for them - if they push me, I just start reading out all the descriptions of the sexual scenes and they soon move on haha!
I'll let you know if we find any treasures!
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Post by 3piggles on Mar 27, 2020 3:29:00 GMT
I can skip all the sex, too. There was a time, when sex was implied, not in our faces, that it was a good part of the story. Now, it's as if they can't even do a Jurassic Park without a sex scene, as if that would enhance the movie.
That is interesting, Baz. As I said, he hears what he wants to hear, when listening to the sound mix.
I can imagine it would be sensory overload to have music with lyrics playing over actors reciting their lines. It surprises me anyone would do that, and think it would work. Granted, I date back to the episode of Combat, when the camera was first used from the soldiers' personal perspectives, being shot, falling, rolling down the hill, etc. It was an extremely interesting episode, well done. After that, using the camera as if it were on a person like a body cam, as been used many times.
We've been watching a British police drama we loved, called Foyle's War. It's incredibly well done, set during WWII, with great lines, great acting, and a lot of great scenery. We've seen all the episodes before, at least twice, but by starting over from episode 1, we're finding we don't remember everything, and certainly don't remember enough to spoil the ending.
I love Predator. It was violent, but so well done. Sadly, it was so well done, the sequel fell rather flat.
Two of my favorite movies were on the other day, Godzilla 2014, and Battleship. Not exactly academy award winners, but I really love them both. Both take would could be totally hokey situations, and make them into something worth the time to watch.
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Post by Bean on Mar 27, 2020 6:41:35 GMT
I was looking at the new Godzilla - I think I'll put that on the list (as of last night, we're all putting an equal number of film names into a hat and taking turns to choose).
What also made me laugh is on the 'most popular' lists on places like netflix, there are so many post-apocalyptic films relating to viruses or aliens almost wiping out humanity! I wonder if people are watching them to try to get some tips, or if they just want to reassure themselves that it could be far worse?!
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Post by 3piggles on Mar 27, 2020 20:42:33 GMT
I remember watching Contagion. It was well done, but it was more about the typical government conspiracy, than about dealing with a real contagion. Also, we don't really have men in black going around to people's homes and kidnapping them, never to be seen again. It might be good to see a real contagion film that's about fighting a real contagion, and not about government conspiracies and cover ups. I never could get into that whole infections causing us to mutate into monsters, zombies, or whatever. I suppose it's better than what we've got, mutations into TP hoarders and social distancing ignorers. That sounds like a good way to choose, unless one person's choice always seems to get picked
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Post by Bean on Mar 28, 2020 8:39:51 GMT
We'll go through them all before we put more in, so everyone will get a turn!
Although last night my son got a free pick as it was his birthday. He chose Venom, which I wasn't expecting to like, but actually really enjoyed.
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Post by 3piggles on Mar 28, 2020 19:08:28 GMT
Cool! Was it snaky? You know how I feel about them!
Did you and daughter make the cake?
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Post by bazookagoof on Mar 28, 2020 19:32:38 GMT
I can imagine it would be sensory overload to have music with lyrics playing over actors reciting their lines. It surprises me anyone would do that, and think it would work. I love Predator. It was violent, but so well done. Sadly, it was so well done, the sequel fell rather flat. To be strictly fair, the people involved on that particular movie were independent amateurs, and made mistakes every step of the way in every aspect of filmmaking. It was a horror movie done in the style of "I Know What You Did Last Summer", and it was so inept, it falls into the category of Unintentional Comedy. For example, the masked killer is shown to be over six feet tall and over 250 pounds, but when the identity is revealed, it's a girl barely above five feet who weighs about 130, if that. Even more ridiculous is that she's accounted for during one of the murders, so it doesn't make sense that she's the killer.
There are other idiotic errors, such as constant reflections of the camera crew in people's sunglasses, and one actor quit halfway through and was replaced without re-shooting her scenes! (I assume this is what happened, as there's no other logical explanation.)
I also love the first Predator movie. It also has an interesting distinction in its script; a good story has what they call a "reversal", when the main characters realize they have a different goal to accomplish than what they anticipated- in Predator's case, it has TWO reversals, making for a more intriguing plot. (the first reversal is attempting to escape their unknown assailant instead of rescuing hostages, and the second is Arnold's decision to stand and fight instead of running.)
I haven't seen Venom, but generally any movie with Tom Hardy in it is a relatively safe bet. (not always, but usually.)
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Post by Bean on Mar 29, 2020 7:55:15 GMT
I didn't know the lead actor, but have just looked him up and I haven't seen most of his films (Dunkirk is on my 'to watch' list). I also see he's British which is funny as another US film we watched the other night had two British actors in the lead roles! I know it's all acting, so why not act the accent too, but because I've seen so many bad accents that ruin the flow of the film (there's something about an emotional scene that seems to make many actors forget to carry on putting on the accent!), I always have a little wonder why this happens so much!
I didn't feel it was snaky, 3piggles. It was more like black mercury moving like rapidly growing vines when it wasn't possessing someone. But I wouldn't declare it safe for you to watch since I didn't have that in mind when I was watching so could be completely wrong!
We watched Stand By Me last night. I haven't seen it since I was a teenager and still really enjoyed it. Amazing acting from the kids. I said to our kids that we don't *have* to watch a film every night, but they're enjoying the new routine!
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Post by 3piggles on Mar 29, 2020 22:25:57 GMT
Baz, just watched a TV show that has a song with lyrics playing over the actors dialog. Thought of you immediately! It was really annoying!
I'll skip Venom, just in case.
I didn't know about reversals, but recognized them when they happened. It was pretty flawless, so I applaud them for that.
Trying to get around to watching Black Panther. With my ADHD, I have trouble keeping my attention going for these long movies. I preferred the old movies that were 60-90 minutes long. They managed to get everything important in that amount of time.
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Post by bazookagoof on Mar 29, 2020 23:54:15 GMT
Trying to get around to watching Black Panther. With my ADHD, I have trouble keeping my attention going for these long movies. I preferred the old movies that were 60-90 minutes long. They managed to get everything important in that amount of time. I recall someone commenting on a lengthy movie (I believe it was Beloved, starring Oprah) and saying, "Long does not equal important."
I usually prefer a movie to be about 90 minutes, if it's good, then 2 hours is acceptable. I don't mind longer, but it has to be SPELLBINDING in that case.
Otherwise, I get restless. I've seen Lawrence of Arabia three times, and I won't watch it anymore- my attitude towards it has always been the same- I am mesmerized by the first three hours, but during the final 45 minutes all I can concentrate on is how much my butt aches.
I loved Schindler's List enough to see it in the theaters twice, and it's over three hours.
However, for some reason I think comedies should always clock in at around 90 minutes or less. I sat through Mystery Men, which is a full 2 hours, and thought it outstayed its welcome by 30 minutes. I saw a few movies by that producer Judd Apatow and it seems his comedies run too long for my taste. (Superbad is another 2 hour chore that should have been about 85 minutes.)
Case in point: I believe the bulk of the Marx Brothers movies were usually between 70-85 minutes! (They had a few running longer, but never more than 2 hours)
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Post by Bean on Mar 30, 2020 10:24:36 GMT
If a film's really well done and engaging, you don't think much about how long it is (unless you need the loo?). So the ones you notice are always when they've just dragged it out longer than is necessary!
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Post by 3piggles on Mar 30, 2020 20:10:54 GMT
Last comedy I watched was Sean of the Dead, and that held my interest, as comedies do, with fits and starts and comic errors. It was an hour and 39 minutes(I just googled it), which is about my max. I do remember thinking, had it run much longer, it would have lost me. Hubby has been watching The Mandalorian, usually starting it while I'm soaking in the tub, so I tend to get the last bit of the second episode he's watched that night. It's good. Well done. Just formulaic. I've watched Killjoys for several years. Hit or miss, depending on what streaming situation we have. It's about bounty hunters roaming the galaxy for bounty, stopping on different planets, fighting different people, sometimes getting locals to help them, etc. Safe as Stargate, which we loved, then Stargate Atlantis, which we liked, and now The Mandalorian. Yes, baby Yoda is cute, but beyond that, it's about a group of people traveling the galaxies for a reason, encountering good and bad people everywhere they go, and in the end, accomplishing their objective, while leaving the place a bit better for their having been there. What I found interesting what that hubby never considered what was actually happening in all these different shows. When I boiled them all down to the formula for him, he was amazed! We watched the Miss Fisher movie last night. Have to be a Miss Fisher fan. A lot of old Zorro movies, Lawrence of Arabia, Lara Croft, etc., but fun. Good to see the old cast members again I remember Lawrence of Arabia being extremely long. I saw it when it first came out, so I was 11 at the time. It was not a movie to expect an 11 year old to sit through, though my parents often did that. I had little idea what was happening, or that it was a true story. I watched it again, years later, when I did know, and found it much better, but still way too long. As you said, Baz, longer is not necessarily better. If anything, it's as if the director can't figure out how to accomplish the objective without saying every word. Needed a better writer. So much could have been conveyed through dialogue, and leave the action scenes to speak for themselves. I remember Dr. Zhivago being really long, but I knew what that was about, was older, and enjoyed it. I did take a few bathroom breaks to alleviate the boredom between action sequences. Why can't directors keep the action going, at least enough to keep us on the edge for the next bit of action. Instead, there's always a lull of a certain amount of time, and I use that to go to the ladies room and get a bit of exercise. I don't miss anything important, which means it could have been done differently. I'm not a film maker, and don't have your experience, Baz, but I am a writer. If I can't find a way to say whatever I'm trying to say, more concisely, I need to rethink my approach to the subject. Newspapers have set blocks of space to fill, so if given 15", I can't just ramble on for 30". I wonder how differently some directors would approach the subject, if they were told the finished product couldn't exceed 90 minutes?
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Post by bazookagoof on Mar 31, 2020 1:08:27 GMT
Hubby has been watching The Mandalorian, usually starting it while I'm soaking in the tub, so I tend to get the last bit of the second episode he's watched that night. It's good. Well done. Just formulaic. I've watched Killjoys for several years. Hit or miss, depending on what streaming situation we have. It's about bounty hunters roaming the galaxy for bounty, stopping on different planets, fighting different people, sometimes getting locals to help them, etc. Safe as Stargate, which we loved, then Stargate Atlantis, which we liked, and now The Mandalorian. Yes, baby Yoda is cute, but beyond that, it's about a group of people traveling the galaxies for a reason, encountering good and bad people everywhere they go, and in the end, accomplishing their objective, while leaving the place a bit better for their having been there. I remember Dr. Zhivago being really long, but I knew what that was about, was older, and enjoyed it. I did take a few bathroom breaks to alleviate the boredom between action sequences. Why can't directors keep the action going, at least enough to keep us on the edge for the next bit of action. Instead, there's always a lull of a certain amount of time, and I use that to go to the ladies room and get a bit of exercise. I don't miss anything important, which means it could have been done differently. I'm not a film maker, and don't have your experience, Baz, but I am a writer. If I can't find a way to say whatever I'm trying to say, more concisely, I need to rethink my approach to the subject. Newspapers have set blocks of space to fill, so if given 15", I can't just ramble on for 30". I wonder how differently some directors would approach the subject, if they were told the finished product couldn't exceed 90 minutes? I've been able to catch the first three episodes of The Mandalorian. I'm enjoying it, but I can't see any more until this trumpvirus dies down- I was watching it at a friend's house.
Being able to miss parts of a movie and not be lost reminds me of film school- we watched a Japanese movie by Yasijiro Ozu titled Good Morning. It was over 90 minutes, but it felt like four hours. However, I fell asleep for about 45 minutes and when I woke up, I picked right back up and realized I hadn't missed anything. My film school teacher probably would have had a conniption if he's heard me say that, but every scene must move a story forward, and in my opinion, that feature film should have been a short.
Speaking of writing, I know I may have mentioned this before, but when we wrote The Uninvited, our script was not longer than 80 pages, and the rough cut ran about 119 minutes! However, in looking at it, we realized that some information was duplicated in some scenes, so it was prudent to cut those scenes out to move the story along faster. Sometimes you don't spot it until the movie is shot!
You mentioning directors being told they couldn't exceed 90 minutes also reminded me of a movie from 1992 titled Until The End of the World. I think the run time is 2 hours and 40 minutes, and it should have been a mini-series, as the original cut was something like 20 hours long! I don't know why they cut it so short, but the US release is terrible.
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Post by 3piggles on Mar 31, 2020 19:40:18 GMT
My image of directors is of people with some sort of a plan, some sort of a script, some actors, and scenery/location. I remember an absolutely horrible film starring Frank Bonner(Herb Tarlek of WKRP in Cincinnati), and some actress who was definitely there for Ts and As. There as another couple, or maybe two, who weren't really noticeable, so right off, I knew they were going to get killed by the monster. Totally set up that way. The dialogue was terrible and stilted. It was basically about a group of friends who go on a picnic or something, and get stalked and killed by a monster. As is the formula for such movies, everyone gets killed except the chosen couple, always one male, one female. If there's a bad guy, he gets killed first. If there's a bad guy turned good guy, he gets killed last, etc. Watching it, all I could think was the director probably had no budget at all, as it was all shot on location. The only good thing I could say about it was the editing was pretty good. It only fell short in a few places, where it was obvious something had been removed. The scene jumped from one thing to another because of the editing. My senior class project in high school was making a movie. It sucked. We shot a whole lot of film of us doing stupid things in a cemetery, such as riding around in a shopping cart. I don't know if we thought we'd make a Beatle's type of video/movie, or what, but it was just a bunch of random scenes spliced together. The senior class the year before did a really good one, amateurish, but decent. Our's was amateurish and not decent, lol I learned a lot about making a movie, especially that those in charge didn't respond well to being told we were on the wrong track. I hope you get to finish The Mandalorian, when the virus crisis is over Jack Reacher is on again. I started it last time it was on, and didn't get to finish it. It's interesting in that there are multiple plots. The defense attorney is trying to keep the killer from getting executed/while her 'never lost a capital case' DA father is trying to get the killer executed. Reacher is working on something else all together, that seems to be related to the choice of people the killer killed. I'm giving it more attention this time. I think about your description of Jack Reacher in the book, and wonder how the movie might have gone, had someone like Dolph Lundgren played Jack Reacher. In this movie, he's more cerebral than action, at least so far.
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Post by bazookagoof on Apr 1, 2020 0:50:51 GMT
My image of directors is of people with some sort of a plan, some sort of a script, some actors, and scenery/location. I remember an absolutely horrible film starring Frank Bonner(Herb Tarlek of WKRP in Cincinnati), and some actress who was definitely there for Ts and As. There as another couple, or maybe two, who weren't really noticeable, so right off, I knew they were going to get killed by the monster. Totally set up that way. The dialogue was terrible and stilted. It was basically about a group of friends who go on a picnic or something, and get stalked and killed by a monster. As is the formula for such movies, everyone gets killed except the chosen couple, always one male, one female. If there's a bad guy, he gets killed first. If there's a bad guy turned good guy, he gets killed last, etc. Watching it, all I could think was the director probably had no budget at all, as it was all shot on location. The only good thing I could say about it was the editing was pretty good. It only fell short in a few places, where it was obvious something had been removed. The scene jumped from one thing to another because of the editing. My senior class project in high school was making a movie. It sucked. We shot a whole lot of film of us doing stupid things in a cemetery, such as riding around in a shopping cart. I don't know if we thought we'd make a Beatle's type of video/movie, or what, but it was just a bunch of random scenes spliced together. The senior class the year before did a really good one, amateurish, but decent. Our's was amateurish and not decent, lol I learned a lot about making a movie, especially that those in charge didn't respond well to being told we were on the wrong track. I hope you get to finish The Mandalorian, when the virus crisis is over Jack Reacher is on again. I started it last time it was on, and didn't get to finish it. It's interesting in that there are multiple plots. The defense attorney is trying to keep the killer from getting executed/while her 'never lost a capital case' DA father is trying to get the killer executed. Reacher is working on something else all together, that seems to be related to the choice of people the killer killed. I'm giving it more attention this time. I think about your description of Jack Reacher in the book, and wonder how the movie might have gone, had someone like Dolph Lundgren played Jack Reacher. In this movie, he's more cerebral than action, at least so far. If a director knows his or her stuff, they should fit it what you envision them to be. Some are more for hire, and don't put in a lot of effort, seeing it as a job, nothing else- but others see it as art, and treat it with respect.
My last Mandalorian episode was where he meets up with Gina Carano and they fight off that scout walker in the swamps. Good stuff.
After reading several Jack Reacher novels, I don't want to watch another movie with Tom Cruise as Reacher- he's simply wrong for the part. I thought he was acceptable earlier, but that was before I had read any of the books. I have changed my mind since then.
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Post by 3piggles on Apr 1, 2020 21:05:16 GMT
Since the only Jack Reacher movies star Tom Cruise, I'm glad I haven't read the books. I'm a Clive Cussler fan. To my knowledge, Sahara is the only one of his books made into a movie, and the characters were believable. He wrote several different series, and casting some of the characters from other series might be more difficult. I think it helps to avoid the scenes that really concentrate on a character, and skip to the action scenes of which there are plenty.
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Post by Bean on Apr 5, 2020 7:25:16 GMT
3piggles, was the Godzilla you said you really liked the older one with Matthew Broderick, or the more recent one? We just watched the recent one. It was okay, but I was a bit confused by the extra species - some parasite that drained loads of nuclear power and came back to life, so that then Godzilla had to do the same as he was the only thing that could kill them?! I'm not good with keeping up with fantasy stuff. We also watched Avengers Assemble and everyone was very patient with my questions 'Who's he?' Is he a goody or a baddy?' 'Are they on the same team?'! It was an entertaining film though.
We're getting through quite a lot of films with our almost daily film nights. Last night we watched The Aeronauts, a film loosely based on several hot air balloon flights in the late 1800s that were ground breaking in terms of discovering how weather systems work (the idea that we might be able to predict it was previously laughed at), in particular one that took them to 36,000ft. I think the film's been slated by some for it's historical accuracy, but the makers claim it wasn't ever trying to be a documentary. It was a fun watch, and also interesting to learn about the risks people took to seek knowledge that we take for granted now.
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Post by 3piggles on Apr 5, 2020 21:48:53 GMT
The latest Godzilla, I think it's Godzilla 2014, with the MUTOS, is the one I like. I like it because it's the first movie where Godzilla was taken seriously. He comes to the aid of the humans, when one of these super monsters is threatening us. Until that movie, the authorities always tried to kill Godzilla. Yes, he destroys a lot of property, but he's heavy footed, and tailed, and the bag monsters don't always fight in places where nothing will get destroyed. In the latest Godzilla movie, a man who understands that Godzilla is a great savior, not a threat, finally convinces the military to let Godzilla do what he needs to do to stop the MUTOS. In the ending scenes, Godzilla is exhausted, and possibly dead, and the humans are checking on him, watching over him, not fearing him. When he finally gets up and walks out to sea, the humans cheer. They understand what he did for them, finally. Yes, it's still a monster movie, but since I started watching them back when Raymond Burr was in the movie, and Godzilla was a man in a Godzilla suit, with a very obvious zipper up the back. He was always misunderstood, until now. That Aeronaut sounds good I know hot air balloons were used by both sides in our civil war, and were the only way supplies could be delivered to some places, plus it gave both sides a chance to see the lay of the land, and plan their moves. We're watching a lot of shows we watched before, but really liked, so are rewatching them. We still have Black Panther on the DVR to watch, and might get to that on the next rainy day. Nice day today, and yesterday. Rain overnight tonight, but it's supposed to move out tomorrow. I'm hoping to get out to walk. I've done over 10K steps today. Too bad neither of my rescue apps record walking around in the house. They're GPS driven, so I have to actually leave the house for them to work.
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Post by Bean on Apr 6, 2020 9:45:35 GMT
I think I just got confused with Godzilla as I thought the parasites were Godzilla's babies at first - I'm not good with alien species! (It probably did make it totally clear, but my mind wanders sometimes!) I do agree it treated Godzilla more kindly that other versions though. As you say, I'd like to see anyone that size, and with a tail too, move around a built up area without damaging anything!
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