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Post by Tim on Dec 4, 2023 23:46:18 GMT
Sometimes the masses can be right, for instance Dire Straits. Mostly, not. Hmm, that's an opinion I don't share . . . I'll get my coat 
Sorry Martin . . . I just can't help myself can I!
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Post by rfan8312 on Dec 5, 2023 3:54:45 GMT
Not sure if this applies to anyone else but I find my self being too critical of films when in my normal day to day self.
In that case I cant even pick a film on Netflix/Hulu. None of them look perfect enough to commit the time to.
But during a flu though, nearly every film looks good and I just pick one and watch it/often enjoy it.
I'm just saying this because I wonder how the human mind reacts to this new extreme abundance of content that we are saturated in and if it creates a tendency in this way or that way.
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Post by MartinT on Dec 5, 2023 5:34:06 GMT
I just abandon things I try that look rubbish in the first 20 mins. No point wasting time on them. I am much more careful about seeing things in the cinema, it's got to be very promising or a guaranteed great before I'll go see it.
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Post by Tim on Dec 5, 2023 13:06:04 GMT
I just abandon things I try that look rubbish in the first 20 mins. No point wasting time on them. I am much more careful about seeing things in the cinema, it's got to be very promising or a guaranteed great before I'll go see it. I lost count of how many films I walked out of after 15 minutes when I had my Cineworld Unlimited pass MartinT, but I gave that up in 2019. In the last couple of years I've only been to the 'big cinema' a handful of times, so few it's easy to remember the films . . . Bond, Dune, Oppenheimer, The Creator, The Killer and Napoleon. Two of those I didn't really enjoy and Napoleon is absolute trash IMO. So in 2 years I've only seen 3 films at a large multiplex that were for me worth the effort of paying money to see. I'm fortunate having access to a very good art house and I probably see about 60-65% of the films they show, often blind like Fallen Leaves yesterday - but I know enough about independent cinema now to trust the directors/screenwriters I like to come up with the goods, which they do. I've seen countless independent/foreign language films over the same period and only wanted to leave twice and those were films I'd decided I didn't want to see anyway. I only did because they were short handed and asked for help.
I think for me and the fact I don't have a TV (8 years now), my exposure to mainstream entertainment of any kind is extremely minimal, especially as I no longer have Prime or Netflix. The transition from mainstream did take some time, it's almost like I've been re-chipped and re learned how to appreciate and enjoy something, but now that I have, it's even harder for me to go back the other way. I've always enjoyed cinema since the days of my first big screen outing, which was 2001 a Space Odyssey and I can still remember my brother taking me. But cinema has changed and I've grown older, so no doubt my tastes have changed, but having said that a classic film is a classic film. I saw Psycho for the first time in a cinema last month and wow, what an experience that was and I've seen it multiple times on television. But seeing it in a dark room with a big screen and audience, really changes that experience. I can't imagine what it must have been like in 1960!
I guess what I'm saying is there is so much more out there beyond Hollywood. I've always enjoyed cinema but now I've extended my horizons I enjoy it so much more - hugely actually, I get excited by films again. And you don't actually need an art house cinema, it helps of course, but pretty much everything I see at the cinema is available on BFI Player or MUBI a month or two later. |
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Post by rfan8312 on Dec 5, 2023 14:36:32 GMT
I havent walked out of many films but somehow I walked out of The Incredibles 2.
Which is odd because I adored the original 'The Incredibles' 10/10. I plan to try it again one day but it is strange that I have not heard a peep anywhere ever from anyone about The Incredibles 2.
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Post by julesd68 on Dec 5, 2023 14:59:28 GMT
Not sure if this applies to anyone else but I find my self being too critical of films when in my normal day to day self. In that case I cant even pick a film on Netflix/Hulu. None of them look perfect enough to commit the time to. But during a flu though, nearly every film looks good and I just pick one and watch it/often enjoy it. I'm just saying this because I wonder how the human mind reacts to this new extreme abundance of content that we are saturated in and if it creates a tendency in this way or that way. I'm with you on this one - the number of times I have scanned through Netflix or Amazon and then decided not to watch anything ... Says a lot about the quality of content and also something about state of mind, but I don't know what. |
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Post by MartinT on Dec 5, 2023 15:02:10 GMT
I think for me and the fact I don't have a TV (8 years now), my exposure to mainstream entertainment of any kind is extremely minimal, especially as I no longer have Prime or Netflix. I think this is where we diverge the most. I do absolutely love an epic in the cinema (relatively recent greats have been Cloud Atlas, 1917, Blade Runner 2049, Dune) where the big screen, big sound and sheer spectacle make them a must for the cinema only. However, and this you might find hard to accept: I love the TV drama format which gives the storyline room to expand and develop at a rate impossible for a 2 hour feature film. Series that cannot be described as mainstream like Dark, The Leftovers, Travelers, The OA, Missions, The Americans are a different form of, and equally valid, entertainment. Even a mainstream drama like Game of Thrones was, in my opinion, superb. They make having a decent TV and streaming subscriptions worthwhile. I'm a fan of both. |
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Post by Tim on Dec 5, 2023 19:33:14 GMT
I'm just saying this because I wonder how the human mind reacts to this new extreme abundance of content that we are saturated in and if it creates a tendency in this way or that way. Ah, the old paradox of choice . . . definitely a factor for me. Too much choice can be overwhelming to the point you give up. Part of the reason I gave up on Prime and Netflix, not just the fact that for my taste most of it I'd classify as junk, but there's also too much to try and wade through. I'm much happier now with less choice and for me, higher quality choices - that's highly subjective though. The Paradox of ChoiceHowever, and this you might find hard to accept: I love the TV drama format . . . Not hard to accept at all Martin, I don't like TV drama, but that doesn't mean I can't accept others liking it, even if it baffles me. My strong dislike of long-form TV is definitely outside the norm - everyone I know loves it, especially people with busy lives and maybe only an hour spare in the evenings to relax, before nodding off in a chair. A 3 hour film isn't going to work there, whereas 55 minutes of whatever drama is flavour of the month is. So I do realise I'm very much the odd one out here . . . who knew eh?  I do think once you fully step away from that, there isn't much crossover though, certainly for me there isn't. I have tried countless times to get into what everyone raves about as I'd love to join in, but they do absolutely nothing for me, quite the opposite actually, I find TV drama irritating.
One of the Coen Brothers, Joel I think, was talking about his dislike for long-form TV. He said you get a beginning, a middle, a middle, a middle, a middle, a middle, a middle, . . . . . until you are so exhausted you don't actually care about the end. Which isn't actually an end, as there's another series in the pipeline. I agree with that thinking 100%, but that kind of viewpoint is most definitely a minority one. |
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Post by Slinger on Dec 5, 2023 19:44:54 GMT
...One of the Coen Brothers, Joel I think, was talking about his dislike for long-form TV. He said you get a beginning, a middle, a middle, a middle, a middle, a middle, a middle, . . . . . until you are so exhausted you don't actually care about the end. Which isn't actually an end, as there's another series in the pipeline. I wonder if that was before or after Joel and Ethan became EPs on their "Fargo," franchise, which has run for five seasons so far (and counting) with 10, 10, 10, 11, and 10 episodes each. It's comprised of five different stories with five different (excellent) casts, admittedly, so maybe it was just about the money? |
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Post by Tim on Dec 5, 2023 19:56:34 GMT
...One of the Coen Brothers, Joel I think, was talking about his dislike for long-form TV. He said you get a beginning, a middle, a middle, a middle, a middle, a middle, a middle, . . . . . until you are so exhausted you don't actually care about the end. Which isn't actually an end, as there's another series in the pipeline. I wonder if that was before or after Joel and Ethan became EPs on their "Fargo," franchise, which has run for five seasons so far (and counting) with 10, 10, 10, 11, and 10 episodes each. It's comprised of five different stories with five different (excellent) casts, admittedly, so maybe it was just about the money? Well you don't need to love your job, but everyone needs to pay the bills I guess. I very much doubt they would take it home and relax with it though. Not sure I'd call it their franchise when it was created and written by someone else mind you. Being an EP is a little different to me. I used to hate my job, but I still did it  |
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Post by MartinT on Dec 5, 2023 22:07:20 GMT
Some series go on for way too long, losing inventiveness and dulling their original reason for existence.
Others burn all too brightly and then end leaving you wanting more, much much more. A good example is Travelers.
Some are just the right length, tell their story and end leaving you thinking about it for a long time. Like Dark.
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Post by rfan8312 on Dec 6, 2023 7:10:10 GMT
Not sure if this applies to anyone else but I find my self being too critical of films when in my normal day to day self. In that case I cant even pick a film on Netflix/Hulu. None of them look perfect enough to commit the time to. But during a flu though, nearly every film looks good and I just pick one and watch it/often enjoy it. I'm just saying this because I wonder how the human mind reacts to this new extreme abundance of content that we are saturated in and if it creates a tendency in this way or that way. I'm with you on this one - the number of times I have scanned through Netflix or Amazon and then decided not to watch anything ... Says a lot about the quality of content and also something about state of mind, but I don't know what. Fair enough, Jules. I've had this suspicion for a while now that any of us can become desensitized to something that excited us once until we suddenly recieve access to too much of it. If a person likes nice shoes I think if they are gifted a closet full of shoes somehow it might cheapen the thrill or dilute it. Same with a woman and jewelry (unless I'm just dead floating ass up in a river wrong about this one lol). I often think of audiences having first seen that film 'Alien'. It must have been a visceral and mindblowing and disturbing thing to witness. Nowadays, 12 films per year of that same genre with more convincing looking effects could be released on Netflix (or cinema)and if I could even be bothered to start one, as I wade through dozens of sci-fi options, I'd probably be hard pressed to even notice the film as its playing. Im just saying when I first saw certain films that really grabbed me I was a peasant in terms of having options and now I'm Lord Fauntleroy with a stable of streaming services all competing for my attention and I wave away 99% of options if they displease or bore me. I feel too spoiled by the quantity of options to even stop and appreciate one of them. Edit: ahhh btw Tim mentioned 'the paradox of choice' leading to feeling overwhelmed by the amount of choices. I do believe that is either all of it or at least a part of it. |
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Post by MartinT on Dec 6, 2023 8:18:37 GMT
The Paradox of Choice can be overcome by a) understanding that 80% of Netflix/Prime drama is conveyor-belt shit and b) highly filtering the selections down to just a few that seem promising.
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Post by Tim on Dec 6, 2023 9:30:54 GMT
I often think of audiences having first seen that film 'Alien'. It must have been a visceral and mindblowing and disturbing thing to witness. Well I can you tell it was visceral, mind-blowing and much, much more . . . not disturbing for me though, I absolutely loved every second of Alien and I still do. I watch it every couple of years.
The Paradox of Choice can be overcome by a) understanding that 80% of Netflix/Prime drama is conveyor-belt shit and b) highly filtering the selections down to just a few that seem promising. I prefer to take a much simpler route and just ignore the lot  |
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Post by MartinT on Dec 6, 2023 9:37:04 GMT
Absolutely - I still remember the cinema audience reaction (and my own) to that Alien scene. Memorable!
The sound I most remember from that film is the clanking of the chains in the dingy loading areas.
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Post by Tim on Dec 6, 2023 9:41:41 GMT
I'm seeing this later today and really looking forward to it. It was one of the LFF showings I missed out on
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Post by rfan8312 on Dec 6, 2023 12:57:39 GMT
Guys just a quick harken back to the Alien comments. When Kane is first being questioned after waking from his face hugger coma. Does that music/sound design in the background sound familiar?
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Post by Slinger on Dec 6, 2023 13:47:12 GMT
Absolutely - I still remember the cinema audience reaction (and my own) to that Alien scene. Memorable! The sound I most remember from that film is the clanking of the chains in the dingy loading areas. It was a real heart-stopper first time around... |
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Post by julesd68 on Dec 6, 2023 14:34:51 GMT
Sometimes the masses can be right, for instance Dire Straits. Mostly, not. Hmm, that's an opinion I don't share . . . I'll get my coat
Sorry Martin . . . I just can't help myself can I!
Don't worry Tim, you are not alone ... |
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Post by julesd68 on Dec 6, 2023 18:26:42 GMT
I ordered a Blu-ray copy for myself, Jules. My DVD copy appears to be on permanent loan to my sister-in-law (it was she who first recommended the books to us) in Ireland. My set arrived today Paul, might make a start on it tonight! |
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