Movies / TV Shows - I Have Watched / Plan To Watch

[Thorny]

Dunkirk was amazing. It was a completely visceral experience. This is a movie made with it's initial medium in mind: the largest format theatre you can find.

[drnkirishone]

so..... imax is the way to watch it?

[Thorny]

so..... imax is the way to watch it?

That's what I saw it in. The film is shot in 70mm so it really makes a difference.

[qwksndmonster]

That's what I saw it in. The film is shot in 70mm so it really makes a difference.

If you do not live near an imax theater you basically have to watch it in letterbox thanks to the weird aspect ratio they shot it in. Thanks, Chris Nolan!

[Drunkard]

That's what I saw it in. The film is shot in 70mm so it really makes a difference.

 

Why the hell are they still using old style film to begin with?

[qwksndmonster]

Why the hell are they still using old style film to begin with?

Short answer: because Chris Nolan is a film douche.

[Drunkard]

Short answer: because Chris Nolan is a film douche.

 

Makes sense. I guess he's the hipster of film directors. Does he require all the artists who submit songs for the movie soundtrack to put them on vinyl as well? Does he wear the old style MC Hammer type director pants too?

[SwampD]

Short answer: because Chris Nolan is a film douche.

Yep. And Beethoven really should have only written chamber music, because so many 1800 towns across Europe didn't have enough musicians for an orchestra. What an orchestra douche.

[qwksndmonster]

Yep. And Beethoven really should have only written chamber music, because so many 1800 towns across Europe didn't have enough musicians for an orchestra. What an orchestra douche.

I'm not saying being a film douche is entirely a bad thing.

 

Vince Gilligan and Rian Johnson are both film douches, but they've also both worked in digital and don't try to "fight" digital as if it isn't the new norm of filmmaking.

 

I think film is cool, but the way Chris Nolan goes about trying to fight a non-existent war is ridiculous.

Edited July 24, 2017 by qwksndmonster

[Drunkard]

Yep. And Beethoven really should have only written chamber music, because so many 1800 towns across Europe didn't have enough musicians for an orchestra. What an orchestra douche.

 

We should bring back Presidential portraits too. Why snap a picture in seconds when you can waste hours/days/weeks having the President stand still while they capture his the essence with a brush. It's not like the leader of the free world has anything better to do.

[MattPie]

Dunkirk was outstanding. Tense from start to finish and I loved that they kept it lean at under 2 hours. You never get a good look at the Germans but they're always either attacking or on their way. It felt a bit like a No Country for Old Men version of a war movie, but with an uplifting ending.

 

Dude, SPOLIERS! LOL.

 

Hot on the heels of my CD ripping tear I went on over the past few weeks, I've started doing the same for Bluray/DVDs. My PS3 is broken so I haven't actually had a convenient way to watch any of them in quite awhile. Only player I have is my wife's laptop with an HDMI cable, USB BD-ROM drive, and some balancing on furniture near the TV. What really kicked it off was Plex, server software to stream video to various devices (PS3, Chromecast, app, web, FireTV, etc.). Installed it on my wife's laptop to try it out and it's pretty slick. Requires some massaging of file names to aid it matching the movie file, but after that it's just a matter of doing some MakeMKV work to get them all copied on. I've gone further and took an older laptop (10 years or so) and turned that into a server for this so it can just hide in a corner of the room and stream movies whenever I want. I copied Das Boot, Great Escape, Forbidden Planet, and Lawrence of Arabia in last night along with MrsPie's stuff (making her happy gives me more rope to work on my own stuff. :))

Edited July 24, 2017 by MattPie

[Thorny]

I totally get what you are saying qwk, but I wouldn't say he's fighting a non existent war as much as trying his best to get that particular film viewed in the most optimal way possible. It was stunning in 70mm. It was a visually immersive cinematic experience.

 

It's undoubtedly crappy for those not near a premium format theatre, but with so much film being consumed on a tiny laptop or handheld screen these days, in sub-optimal quality after streaming/downloading, it's nice to see the immersive theatre going experience still being championed.

 

Dunkirk is a movie that begs to be seen in large format.

 

If I'm going to shell out $15 bucks to see a movie in the theatre (at least once a week), it's nice to know I'm maximizing my viewing experience by doing so, and that it's actually worthwhile.

Edited July 24, 2017 by Thorny

[qwksndmonster]

I don't have any problems with 70mm in and of itself. I haven't seen a film in 70mm yet, but I'm not impressed with either of the two big films meant to champion it so far (h8ful ate and dnkrk).

 

What I do take issue with is Chris Nolan going on about how Netflix is bad and digital is bad and how big films don't suffer at all from being made in film.

 

Netflix has gotten a lot of lately for picking up indie movies out of festivals and streaming them right away. They did this with Okja and I Don't Want to Live in this World Anymore (neither of which I have watched, because if they aren't in theaters there's no pressure for watch them sooner rather than later). That sucks for people like me who go to indie theaters regularly, but on the flip side the films are available to more people than ever before.

 

Amazon picks up indie films, gives them a theatrical release, AND THEN streams them. Chris Nolan and I would agree that this is a much better way to do it. But where we differ is that CN just kinda trashes netflix completely instead of seeing it as a multi-faceted issue.

 

If you are a young person that has become interested in film, how else would you go about watching all the classic movies without streaming? How would you get into making films without starting in digital?

 

And that's where Nolan really rubs me the wrong way. He doesn't care that the way people enter the film industry is fundamentally different than the way he did. And Dunkirk being in 70mm doesn't excite me. When the way he shot it makes for a less cinematic experience in the vast majority of theaters, then it's clear to me that Chris Nolan only cares about Chris Nolan.

[Thorny]

I don't have any problems with 70mm in and of itself. I haven't seen a film in 70mm yet, but I'm not impressed with either of the two big films meant to champion it so far (h8ful ate and dnkrk).

What I do take issue with is Chris Nolan going on about how Netflix is bad and digital is bad and how big films don't suffer at all from being made in film.

Netflix has gotten a lot of ###### lately for picking up indie movies out of festivals and streaming them right away. They did this with Okja and I Don't Want to Live in this World Anymore (neither of which I have watched, because if they aren't in theaters there's no pressure for watch them sooner rather than later). That sucks for people like me who go to indie theaters regularly, but on the flip side the films are available to more people than ever before.

Amazon picks up indie films, gives them a theatrical release, AND THEN streams them. Chris Nolan and I would agree that this is a much better way to do it. But where we differ is that CN just kinda trashes netflix completely instead of seeing it as a multi-faceted issue.

If you are a young person that has become interested in film, how else would you go about watching all the classic movies without streaming? How would you get into making films without starting in digital?

And that's where Nolan really rubs me the wrong way. He doesn't care that the way people enter the film industry is fundamentally different than the way he did. And Dunkirk being in 70mm doesn't excite me. When the way he shot it makes for a less cinematic experience in the vast majority of theaters, then it's clear to me that Chris Nolan only cares about Chris Nolan.

Order the Criterion Collection DVDs ;)

 

Can't say I agree with all of it, but, very well thought out post, qwk.

[qwksndmonster]

Can you tell that I've been hearing a lot about Chris Nolan lately? :p

 

I'm fascinated by the difference between film and digital. I think it's so cool that deciding what format to shoot in is an artistic choice for some filmmakers, rather than just doing whatever's available.

 

David Fincher has been doing incredible things with digital ever since Zodiac came out.

 

Breaking Bad was shot on film, but Better Call Saul is shot digitally (partially because it's a show of memories, partially because the amount of color correction they do in BCS is immense). They even use digital effects to make certain scenes appear more film-y.

 

The 2012 documentary Side by Side is a really neat look at film vs digital. And Keanu is the host.

Edited July 24, 2017 by qwksndmonster

[Thorny]

Can you tell that I've been hearing a lot about Chris Nolan lately? :p

I'm fascinated by the difference between film and digital. I think it's so cool that deciding what format to shoot in is an artistic choice for some filmmakers, rather than just doing whatever's available.

David Fincher has been doing incredible things with digital ever since Zodiac came out.

Breaking Bad was shot on film, but Better Call Saul is shot digitally (partially because it's a show of memories, partially because the amount of color correction they do in BCS is immense). They even use digital effects to make certain scenes appear more film-y.

The 2012 documentary Side by Side is a really neat look at film vs digital. And Keanu is the host.

You had me at Keanu.

[qwksndmonster]

Like, how is Emma Stone so perfect though?

[josie]

Like, how is Emma Stone so perfect though?

I always have to look up who she is because I can never remember. 

 

Then I look at her imdb page, realize she's been in nothing I want to see, and then remember she's the one that played a supposedly hawaiian/japanese woman in that Aloha movie. She was good in Zombieland, but I never can place her because she's dark haired in that one. 

 

 

To be fair, I can't remember who 90% of the hollywood starlets are right now. 

[qwksndmonster]

I always have to look up who she is because I can never remember.

 

Then I look at her imdb page, realize she's been in nothing I want to see, and then remember she's the one that played a supposedly hawaiian/japanese woman in that Aloha movie. She was good in Zombieland, but I never can place her because she's dark haired in that one.

 

 

To be fair, I can't remember who 90% of the hollywood starlets are right now.

Oh god that Aloha movie is terrible.

 

In her next movie (Battle of the Sexes) she's playing Billie Jean King opposite Steve Carell as Bobby Riggs. I'm excited for that.

 

(Also La La Land is amazing)

[WildCard]

[biodork]

So conflicted about this and The Dark Tower... both trailers look amazing, and both books are incredible, but Hollywood has a reputation for botching Stephen King adaptations... I sincerely hope these two reverse the trend!

[WildCard]

So conflicted about this and The Dark Tower... both trailers look amazing, and both books are incredible, but Hollywood has a reputation for botching Stephen King adaptations... I sincerely hope these two reverse the trend!

I started the Dark Tower, but just couldn't get into it. Still want to see how Franco and Hulu did with the '11-22-63' adaptation. At least that one was a series 

 

On an unrelated note, never finished Dune either. Got about 1/2 way through the first book

[qwksndmonster]

So conflicted about this and The Dark Tower... both trailers look amazing, and both books are incredible, but Hollywood has a reputation for botching Stephen King adaptations... I sincerely hope these two reverse the trend!

I'm really intrigued by the new IT movies. There's going to be two, one when they're kids and one when they're adults. Instead of being split between the 50s and 80s it's going to be the 80s and today.

[biodork]

I started the Dark Tower, but just couldn't get into it. Still want to see how Franco and Hulu did with the '11-22-63' adaptation. At least that one was a series 

 

On an unrelated note, never finished Dune either. Got about 1/2 way through the first book

You couldn't get into the Dark Tower?  Must just not be your bag, because the first book (The Gunslinger) is a pretty quick read, and The second (The Drawing of the Three) was great.

I'm really intrigued by the new IT movies. There's going to be two, one when they're kids and one when they're adults. Instead of being split between the 50s and 80s it's going to be the 80s and today.

That might not be so bad... they'll still have to cut quite a bit, but at least if they break it into two movies, there might be a chance!  Have you read the book, qwk?

[qwksndmonster]

Am reading it now, actually. I kinda took a break in the middle to read Salem's lot.