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Messages - BojackHorsefella

#16
Chit Chat / Re: The Movies Thread
August 14, 2023, 08:39:19 PM
Still haven't seen Oppenheimer, but saw Barbie with the wife. Good movie, deserves all the praise it's getting and glad Gerwig is getting the recognition she deserves as an excellent director.

Also rented The Black Demon due to Meg 2 reviews being awful, so figured I'd get a cheaper Megalodon fix on Prime. I drank 3 16 oz cans of a 10% abv beer, and under those conditions the movie was very fun. Also, I'm pretty certain Josh Lucas was drunk during filming based on his performance. So yeah, if you watch this one, don't watch it sober.
#17
Chit Chat / Re: The Life Thread
June 01, 2023, 02:50:59 PM
Quote from: rollntider on May 30, 2023, 06:51:02 PM
BTW guys I got married again this year. been hectic last few weeks.


Nice, congrats! Happy to hear things are on the up and up. Hopefully those last few weeks were the good kind of hectic and not the bad kind
#18
Chit Chat / Re: The Life Thread
May 25, 2023, 02:21:16 PM
Anyone heard from Crewe lately?
#19
Chit Chat / Re: The TV thread
February 24, 2023, 10:06:02 PM
I do like Last Of Us, but having played the game (not the sequel though, never got around to it), the sometimes 1:1 adaptation of a scene and dialogue kinda makes me feel like I'm a little punished for having already played the game, story wise; but Bella Ramsay and Pedro Pascal are killing it in their roles.

I do feel weird they took the time to devote an entire episode to a side character from the game, only because I feel like - risk of some spoilers here if you're not caught up to episode 5 -
Spoiler
they made it to Wyoming and then the university really fast after that. If you're going to pad it out, pad it out. Give us more Ellie and Joel moments not from  the game or give us more of Melanie Lynskeys characters backstory and I dunno, maybe keep her alive to some capacity?
That's extremely nitpicky though, ultimately I've been enjoying it.
#20
Pro Football / Re: 2023 pro football thread
February 24, 2023, 10:00:46 PM
I've watched a little of like, 3 games or so, a full half of the Seattle Sea Dragons week one game. I'm into it, it's not appointment viewing but the games do seem pretty fun, and I like the kickoff and PAT systems.

Wild to see Bruce Gradkowski working as St Louis' OC. There are some real names among these coaching staffs.
#21
Chit Chat / Re: The Movies Thread
April 01, 2022, 03:28:14 PM
I'm just gonna call out a bunch of movies I've watched somewhat recently and try to keep the blurbs small. Lets do this. Lets get some Oscar noms (and snubs) too. All of these are 2021 films, except for the first one, which obviously came out this year.  Lets start with that -

The Batman - not terrible! Praise about it being "better than the Dark Knight" is mostly just recency bias. I saw it in theaters, I liked it, didn't hate it, but it does feel very "I've seen this all before." It is neat seeing the mixture of Burton elements, Nolan elements and what Reeves and RPat bring to it (Zoe Kravitz is fine as Catwoman, but in terms of the character it's nothing we haven't seen before. Colin Farrell's Penguin feels new, although he also feels like he's in a completely different movie). If you like Batman, it's a fine addition, but not genre-redefining as some superhero movies have been. But it's also not Morbius.


Nightmare Alley [best picture nominee] -  Not sure if it still is given it's April now, but this was free on Hulu and HBO Max for most of March I believe (maybe February)? It wasn't well received in theaters with the remnants of the pandemic and a marketing campaign that focused mainly on the first act, despite a settings and story change that occurs after. Set your expectations aside, this movie is a mastercraft in both set design and intent. I think people wanted a bigger story given the carnival elements, but the story it tells is much more personal and well constructed, and I think really accomplishes it's aims well. The hidden intentions and sneaky grifts would make this a great double feature with another film I'm going to bring up later - Red Rocket.


Licorice Pizza - Don't think this is available to stream for free anywhere, just rent. Good movie! Saw this one in theaters with kiddo while he visited back in December, I like it. A good PTA film, it's not his BEST work but still enjoyed it overall, and loved the 70s setting. Sort of a younger "Once Upon A Time in Hollywood." Worth a watch, didn't think it would get best picture. Mostly a hangout movie.


Drive My Car - nominated for Best Picture, winner for Best Foreign Film, and currently still available to watch on HBO Max. 3 hours long, many subtitles as it has spoken Japanese, Russian, and other languages (including Korean sign language). A rumination on life, main character Yusuke Kafuku is grieving his lost wife, when he receives an opportunity to direct a performance of Uncle Vanya. Kafuku's real life and the "imagined" life of Uncle Vanya swirl together, and his relationship with the young lady hired to drive him around in his car for the length of time he's directing the play leads to new possibilities for Kafuku. That makes it sound like a romance movie, it is not. Powerful, and my #1 movie of 2021.



OSCAR SNUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUBS (mostly foreign films, I am transitioning back to my movie snob self)

The Worst Person in the World - coming from Joachim Trier out of Oslo, Norway, Worst Person in the World tells the story of Julie, as she oscillates between a relationship with the older Aksel and new crush Eivind. The movie's about how people grow and change while society arounds them also grows and changes, and touches upon elements of human nature, cancel culture, and various other aspects of everyday life. Subtitled, highly worth it. Had the opportunity to catch this in a theater and it did not disappoint. Keep an eye out for it streaming.


The Lost Daughter - free on Netflix! I have this in my Oscar snubs, maybe not a snub (but deserved to be there more than Don't Look Up). Based on a novel and a directorial debut by Maggie Gylenhaal, The Lost Daughter tells the story of Olivia Colman's character while she's on a vacation. She meets a young mother, and the two lives collide in strange and unpredictable ways. The source material is highly regarded and it deals with some uncomfortable matters that you don't often see on screen. The nature of motherhood, sisterhood, I was really enraptured with this one (that being said, my wife liked it less, for what that's worth). No subtitles this time!


Bad Luck Banging Or Looney Porn - Currently streaming for free on Hulu (although highly edited), a Romanian film by director Radu Jude, it concerns a married teacher who films a sex tape with her husband, which finds its way into the public purview. Now, the parents of her students want the school to fire her, and a parent-teacher meeting has been scheduled for all to attend.

The film is in four chapters, with the fourth chapter dedicated to the ending, and the second chapter dedicated not to the story, but to a series of images and videos accompanied by scathing critiques in text. Most of these pertain to the Romanian government and Romanian history, but it's not hard to see a US version of this movie existing, as the themes of hypocrisy and the sort of "ouroboros" of society clash throughout. On Hulu, although edited (the sex scene in the film is 100% unsimulated, adding to the authenticity of the content within the rest of the film. The Hulu version censors the sex act, with basically a powerpoint presentation that's tongue-in-cheek and still delivers the message (one such slide simply says "You can show a man killing another man but can't show a blowjob." Shit like that). Also subtitled, in Romanian.



A Hero - Free on Amazon Prime video, A Hero is an Iranian film from Asghar Farhadi. I haven't seen Farhadi's other movies, but have heard great things about A Separation. Again, subtitled, A Hero follows Rahim Soltani, a prisoner in debtor's prison who gets released for a special occasion. While on release, Rahim's girlfriend presents him with a bag of gold coins she found, which he can use to pay his debt. Rahim refuses, and instead returns the bag of coins to its owner, making him an instant celebrity. Intrigue soon follows.

To say more would be to spoil it, again, but I've seen this referred to as the "milkshake duck" movie. Per Wiki -  Milkshake Duck is a person who gains popularity on social media for some positive or charming trait but is later revealed to have a distasteful history or offensive behavior. The meme is a reference to a Twitter post on 12 June 2016 by Ben Ward, an Australian cartoonist using the online handle "pixelatedboat".[6] His Twitter joke describes a fictional Internet viral phenomenon of a "lovely duck that drinks milkshakes" and is then immediately discovered to be racist.

This movie doesn't go the racism route, but there are some secrets to be revealed.



Red Rocket - last but not least, absolutely one of my favorite movies of the year for sheer entertainment but which also has something to say. An A24 film, director Shawn Baker is probably best known for his film The Florida Project, about a motel in Florida occupied but society's outsiders, and Tangerine, about a trans-sex worker taking revenge on an assailant (I've seen the former, not the latter, although kiddo tells me it's very good).

Saw this one in theaters with kiddo as well, it stars Simon Rex, famed MTV VJ and star of the earliest Scary Movie films, as Mikey - a former porn star returned to his ex-wife and mother-in-law's house in Texas. Initially, it seems like he might be changing his ways and ready to accept his role as a husband and provider, but after meeting the young girl working the counter at the Doughnut Hole, things start to change.

Red Rocket, much like Nightmare Alley (and, to a certain extent, A Hero) is about America's love of grifters. The 2016 presidential campaign plays like a specter in the background, its own metaphor for the way Mikey says whatever he needs to say to entice those around him to follow along while his ulterior motives play out. Surprisingly entertaining despite Mikey being a massive piece of shit, part of the fun of Baker's films is they play without judgement. The movie doesn't tell you how to feel about Mikey, it lets you make your own conclusions, it's just shining light on a forgotten spot in America (Baker loves bringing light to sex worker issues). Anyways, this one isn't streaming for free anywhere yet, but it's 100% worth the rental. Very funny movie as well.






That's all I got!
#22
Chit Chat / Re: The TV thread
April 01, 2022, 02:58:08 PM
I haven't had AMC since I switched to Hulu Live, so when I say that Severance, on Apple TV+, is the best show on TV, know that I'm actively excluding Better Call Saul   ;D

But yeah, if you have Apple TV+, Severance. It stars Adam Scott as a man grieving his wife, who elects to join a corporation (Lumon) that "severs" part of their work force - a process that involves planting a chip in the employee that allows them to swtich from their "Outtie" to their "Innie" upon entering the severed floor of the workplace.

The show starts off with clear metaphors and themes regarding work/life balance, but is also so much more. The cinematography and use of colors; religious allegories (many which go above my head, thanks for decoding Reddit!), and just the overall cast (Adam Scott, Patricia Arquette, Christopher Walken, John Turturro, and many more) are incredible in their performances, especially Scott switching between his innie and outtie over the course of the season.

To say much more would be to risk giving way too much away, as the show's mysteries are central to the intrigue, although it never feels like a show that you're just waiting on reveals, thanks to the character and world development.

Many episodes are directed by Ben Stiller, who was involved in the creation of the show, but isn't it's main writer. Stiller previously received accolades for his Showtime limited series Escape from Danamorra, which I did not see, but from what I understand his strengths in that show are apparent here, mainly with regards to visual composition and episode pacing. Sometimes Severance packs a LOT into its hour runtime, but it never feels like a slog through exposition. Even sequences of characters walking through long, winding, blinding white maze-like hallways somehow pop despite the minimal action.

Anyways, that's my big pitch. You have Apple TV+? Check out Severance. Do it. Do it now. That and Ted Lasso are about the only shows I'd truly recommend on the service so far. Avoid Invasion.
#23
Chit Chat / Re: The Life Thread
March 08, 2022, 01:10:44 PM
So uh, things are a little unhinged lately, eh? How's everybody doing?
#24
Chit Chat / Re: The Life Thread
December 25, 2021, 07:02:56 PM
Merry Christmas, everybody. Hope you're all warm, cozy and happy.
#25
Baseball / Re: 2021 playoffs
October 07, 2021, 12:58:11 PM
Quote from: Crewe on October 06, 2021, 11:05:02 AM
Anyone have access to the MLB statcast commentary? Im not even sure if its offered every game or not.

Oh and the Yankees lost  :D

Yeah "I" caught two bad breaks this year.

My wife got to feel the crushing disappointment of rooting for the Mariners. I wanted to potentially see a playoff game, she wanted to go to the stadium one more time because the crab fries stand was closed both games she attended this year. I told her the Ms would fail, which of course they did. I truly believe she became a Mariners fan that day.

Meanwhile I don't even know what to say about the Yankees at this point. Maybe it's just not possible to have the kind of dynasty they used to (I'd point to Houston, but, well....)
#26
Chit Chat / Re: The Movies Thread
September 09, 2021, 08:43:17 PM
Quote from: TheNorm on September 09, 2021, 11:44:12 AM
https://youtu.be/JIThBMSABTo

This...looks a whole lot better than I thought it could be.
Hopefully makes up for the hot mess the last two movies were.

I can't wait.

I think I'm the only person on the planet who considers Revolutions his favorite of the 3, and I don't even mind Reloaded.

I like the direction the trailer seems to be going in, especially if it's a bit less ensemble and the focus is on Neo and Trinity (it's a bit Toy Story 4, yeah?).

Given the absence of Laurence Fishburne, I'm also curious if they're following from The Matrix Online MMO. Supposedly, the Wachowskis wanted the Matrix to be a multi-media thing (thus the Animatrix), and why some games like Matrix Online and Enter the Matrix are considered canon to the story.

What's interesting about that, is in the MMO, part of the story was Morpheus trying to recover Neo's body from the machines because he believed Neo's memories were embedded in the Matrix and he could be resurrected. Later in the game, Morpehus died, which would explain his absence here and could potentially explain the plot (what if they recovered Neo's body but had to build their OWN matrix to "perform" the resurrection? Lot of directions to go here)

Anyways, count me in. Red pill secure.
#27
Chit Chat / Re: The Movies Thread
August 23, 2021, 12:45:00 AM
Quote from: Crewe on August 22, 2021, 09:48:06 PM
Arsenic and Old Lace
Cary Grant Priscilla Lane
As a kid when Id hear Cary Grant Id just roll my eyes, just another one of mom n dads old actor faves from those stupid black n white films.
Luckily, I began to appreciate said films a little later.


Same boat! I actually watched Rear Window and Run Silent, Run Deep on separate plane flights and that broke me out of the mindset. Problem now is, those movies can only be watched at home, and my wife hasn't reached that mindset yet with black and white movies.
#28
Pro Football / Re: 2021 Pro Football Thread
August 17, 2021, 08:16:31 PM
https://twitter.com/NBCLA/status/1427498520513327131



Well that's one way to phrase it, NBCLA.
#29
Chit Chat / Re: The Life Thread
August 17, 2021, 05:42:52 PM
Life update: am married.





#30
Chit Chat / Re: Your Unpopular Opinion
July 11, 2021, 01:44:01 PM
Quote from: Crewe on July 10, 2021, 10:25:01 PM
Pretzel bread sucks

...there's been some real unpopular opinions here, but this is the one that makes you a monster.  ;D