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Post by Kapitan on Jul 24, 2023 13:20:17 GMT
Well, I suppose there is one Barbie "brainwashing" agenda, though I don't think it's much of a secret: "buy more Barbie stuff." But let me guess, the person on Facebook was more of the "they're trying to turn our kids into communist, white-man hating gays" kind of conspiracist... It's also "anti Christian" and "pro gay" somehow. Of course it is. Why not add Nazi and "groomer" (I tell you, if I never hear that word again, it'll be too soon) and, oh, I don't know, Satanist? I mean, really spice up the complaints!
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Post by kds on Jul 24, 2023 13:27:23 GMT
It's also "anti Christian" and "pro gay" somehow. Of course it is. Why not add Nazi and "groomer" (I tell you, if I never hear that word again, it'll be too soon) and, oh, I don't know, Satanist? I mean, really spice up the complaints! I'm just amazed how lost in the sauce some of these folks are to be so offended by, what looks to be, just a silly summertime movie.
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Post by Kapitan on Jul 24, 2023 13:34:17 GMT
Of course it is. Why not add Nazi and "groomer" (I tell you, if I never hear that word again, it'll be too soon) and, oh, I don't know, Satanist? I mean, really spice up the complaints! I'm just amazed how lost in the sauce some of these folks are to be so offended by, what looks to be, just a silly summertime movie. Even as far as the specific complaints you mentioned of "anti Christian" and "pro gay," well ... in some ways, both of those things are probably at least arguably true. But that still has nothing to do with you ("you" being the complainer). Barbie is a toy based on an absurdly sexy woman who somehow has it all. She wasn't invented to demonstrate model Catholic or Protestant womanhood as understood by those 500- or 2000-year-old traditions! And, as a part of pop culture, well, pop culture supports gay people now. Welcome to the 21st century! If the idea is to watch a movie featuring a pious, almost Amish- or nun-like Christian woman who promotes traditional religious values, well, perhaps Barbie wasn't ever going to be quite your thing. It's not some secret Hollywood cabal waging undercover war on the majority of the country; it's a minority of the country who feels offended or oppressed because the nation-at-large no longer shares their sensibilities. You've got to know when you're the fringe. And it's fine: live however you want. But if you're offended that the world doesn't agree with you, perhaps a rearrangement of expectations is in order.
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Post by kds on Jul 24, 2023 13:39:56 GMT
I'm just amazed how lost in the sauce some of these folks are to be so offended by, what looks to be, just a silly summertime movie. Even as far as the specific complaints you mentioned of "anti Christian" and "pro gay," well ... in some ways, both of those things are probably at least arguably true. But that still has nothing to do with you ("you" being the complainer). Barbie is a toy based on an absurdly sexy woman who somehow has it all. She wasn't invented to demonstrate model Catholic or Protestant womanhood as understood by those 500- or 2000-year-old traditions! And, as a part of pop culture, well, pop culture supports gay people now. Welcome to the 21st century! If the idea is to watch a movie featuring a pious, almost Amish- or nun-like Christian woman who promotes traditional religious values, well, perhaps Barbie wasn't ever going to be quite your thing. It's not some secret Hollywood cabal waging undercover war on the majority of the country; it's a minority of the country who feels offended or oppressed because the nation-at-large no longer shares their sensibilities. You've got to know when you're the fringe. And it's fine: live however you want. But if you're offended that the world doesn't agree with you, perhaps a rearrangement of expectations is in order. Another thing that I saw mentioned was "using the Lord's name in vain." I think you can chalk that up for just about any TV show or movie with a PG rating or above made in the last 40-50 years. And, we're just now getting "offended" at this?
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Post by kds on Jul 26, 2023 14:35:39 GMT
In addition to some of the whacky things I've heard about Barbie (for the record, my wife saw it last night with her sister and cousin and confirmed it's just a silly movie), I've also heard some conspiracy theories about the movie The Sound of Freedom.
I didn't dig too deeply (for fear of my own brain checking itself out), but there are some allegations of theaters turning off the AC during showings to try to get patrons to leave the theater because the movie supposedly shows some big "truth" that the "Far Left run Hollywood doesn't want people to see."
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Post by carllove on Jul 30, 2023 23:48:22 GMT
My husband and I saw Oppenheimer in IMAX today and it was fantastic! It’s the best movie I’ve seen since COVID and only the second movie I’ve seen in a Theater since COVID (The other movie was Elvis - which was very good). It was definitely worth seeing in IMAX. The sound in our theater was fantastic and felt like at times our seats were moving. It wasn’t at all what I expected, as very little time was spent on explosions, but faces filled the screen so that you could experience the emotions of the characters. Some of the best acting I have seen in a movie. Incredible story. I never left my seat, despite the three hour run time and a large soft drink. My daughter saw it earlier in the week and she said it was “good”. I think it was great!
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Post by The Cincinnati Kid on Jul 31, 2023 1:47:00 GMT
My husband and I saw Oppenheimer in IMAX today and it was fantastic! It’s the best movie I’ve seen since COVID and only the second movie I’ve seen in a Theater since COVID (The other movie was Elvis - which was very good). It was definitely worth seeing in IMAX. The sound in our theater was fantastic and felt like at times our seats were moving. It wasn’t at all what I expected, as very little time was spent on explosions, but faces filled the screen so that you could experience the emotions of the characters. Some of the best acting I have seen in a movie. Incredible story. I never left my seat, despite the three hour run time and a large soft drink. My daughter saw it earlier in the week and she said it was “good”. I think it was great! Curious if you've ever seen Peaky Blinders? It starred Cillian Murphy and we loved it. I'm looking forward to seeing Oppenheimer at some point.
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Post by kds on Jul 31, 2023 12:18:40 GMT
Not surprisingly, the release of the new Ghostbusters movie was pushed from December 20 to March 29, 2024.
Even without the ongoing strike, I think Dec 20 was a very optimistic release date considering filming just wrapped not that long ago.
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Post by Kapitan on Jul 31, 2023 12:27:47 GMT
My husband and I saw Oppenheimer in IMAX today and it was fantastic! It’s the best movie I’ve seen since COVID and only the second movie I’ve seen in a Theater since COVID (The other movie was Elvis - which was very good). It was definitely worth seeing in IMAX. The sound in our theater was fantastic and felt like at times our seats were moving. It wasn’t at all what I expected, as very little time was spent on explosions, but faces filled the screen so that you could experience the emotions of the characters. Some of the best acting I have seen in a movie. Incredible story. I never left my seat, despite the three hour run time and a large soft drink. My daughter saw it earlier in the week and she said it was “good”. I think it was great! Curious if you've ever seen Peaky Blinders? It starred Cillian Murphy and we loved it. I'm looking forward to seeing Oppenheimer at some point. I really liked Peaky Blinders, too. A friend had recommended it to me a few years ago, and honestly I wasn't that excited. I think my days of gangster movies/series are mostly behind me. But I ended up engrossed. I thought it was very well done, very good.
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Post by kds on Aug 10, 2023 16:28:15 GMT
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Post by Kapitan on Aug 10, 2023 16:57:44 GMT
Interesting. I do think there is something to that: studios are leery of movies unless they're going to go on to international blockbuster levels of success, and action movies (because dialogue is less important) are great for that: explosions need to translation! Then, in a classic "it takes money to make money" mentality, they pour their resources into those massive blockbusters. That idea might even be similar to how the music industry was working from the 70s through the demise of the major labels.
Beyond the budget idea, I also think the lack of comedies' ability to translate into international markets is probably an issue. Comedy is often very culturally specific. An American comedy may not even do well in France, much less China.
However, I can't help but wonder whether increasing sensitivity hinders comedy. No studio wants to be on the receiving end of a P.R. nightmare over perceived sexism, racism, ableism, ageism, or some other -ism in their comedy, and with movies often taking years to make, it's impossible to know how those rapidly changing sensitivies might be so far out. (Regardless of my personal positions on that, I'm not saying it as an old guy's "you can't say anything anymore!" kind of rant. I mean it just from a purely practical standpoint.)
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Post by kds on Aug 10, 2023 17:20:03 GMT
I absolutely think increasing sensitivity has hindered big release comedies.
But, I think that could have actually worked to the genre's advantage if writers and studios were willing to take a chance on the style of comedies we saw in the 80s and early 90. Take John Candy movies for example. For the most part, those are inoffensive comedies that the whole family can enjoy, but in the mid 1990s, things got more cynical and that style of comedy effectively ended.
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Post by Kapitan on Aug 10, 2023 17:35:40 GMT
Take John Candy movies for example. For the most part, those are inoffensive comedies that the whole family can enjoy, but in the mid 1990s, things got more cynical and that style of comedy effectively ended. Speaking of, yesterday I listened to Steve Martin and Martin Short on the Dana Carvey/David Spade podcast, and they were discussing both their work together and their shared love of John Candy. (Martin was in "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles" with him, and Short was on SCTV with him.) What I first thought was that I wanted to rewatch "The Three Amigos" for the first time in...30 years? 35? Maybe since I saw it in the theater as a new release. Alas, it wasn't on Netflix or Hulu. (I didn't check Prime.) However, I did notice "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles" on one of the two, I forget which. I was thinking I need to watch that one again sooner than later.
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Post by kds on Aug 10, 2023 18:02:15 GMT
Take John Candy movies for example. For the most part, those are inoffensive comedies that the whole family can enjoy, but in the mid 1990s, things got more cynical and that style of comedy effectively ended. Speaking of, yesterday I listened to Steve Martin and Martin Short on the Dana Carvey/David Spade podcast, and they were discussing both their work together and their shared love of John Candy. (Martin was in "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles" with him, and Short was on SCTV with him.) What I first thought was that I wanted to rewatch "The Three Amigos" for the first time in...30 years? 35? Maybe since I saw it in the theater as a new release. Alas, it wasn't on Netflix or Hulu. (I didn't check Prime.) However, I did notice "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles" on one of the two, I forget which. I was thinking I need to watch that one again sooner than later. Funny thing about Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, it would actually be a PG rated family comedy if not for Steve Martin's tirade when he's attempting to rent a car. I think he dropped 17 F bombs in that scene.
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Post by Kapitan on Aug 14, 2023 18:31:45 GMT
Over the weekend I found out that a novel I'd recently read--"Olive Kitteridge," by Elizabeth Strout--was actually made into a 2014 HBO miniseries starring Frances McDormand, Bill Murray, and a young Rachel Brosnahan (later the star of "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel"), among others. Not only was it released, its creators and actors received no shortage of award nominations and victories.
That said ... I was disappointed after watching all four episodes this weekend.
It was well made, and I think I'd have been a bigger fan had I not read the book. (Sound familiar? Like, with every book-to-movie for which you've read the book first?) The miniseries was much more traditional in its narrative structure, whereas the book was a series of sometimes barely related short stories that jumped around chronologically as well as between characters. The plot was also streamlined for easy viewing, I thought, and in my opinion, it took away some of the characters' complexities. Worst of all, as good as McDormand was, she did not capture the essence of the namesake protagonist very well. At least I didn't think she did.
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