TV/Movies Megathread

[Admiral Yi]

Hmmm.  I thought someone had mentioned the Canadian actor servitude law before, but the requirement to use locals to qualify for subsidies would explain the the phenomenon as well, i.e. Christopher Plummer and Donald Sutherland showing up in a hundred films each year.

[Capetan Mihali]

I went to American Hustle on a whim last night.  Left after an hour.  It pretty much sucked, and since I've read about the history of ABSCAM before, I didn't see a lot of engaging plot twists coming my way.  WTF is up with the inconsistent oscillation between an English accent and an American one in the leading lady?  Also the inconsistency between characters' New Yawk accents was distracting, though that may be a personal thing.  The leading man seemed to take too many cues from Tony Soprano, especially since he looks a bit like a slimmer, more alive James Gandolfini.

[The Larch]

Speaking of movies..

Iron Man 2. Just about unwatchable. Mickey Rourke looked so greasy. Blah.

Rating:

Not even Scarlett Johansson in tight leather can redeem it?

[Ideologue]

I went to American Hustle on a whim last night.  Left after an hour.  It pretty much sucked, and since I've read about the history of ABSCAM before, I didn't see a lot of engaging plot twists coming my way.  WTF is up with the inconsistent oscillation between an English accent and an American one in the leading lady?  Also the inconsistency between characters' New Yawk accents was distracting, though that may be a personal thing.  The leading man seemed to take too many cues from Tony Soprano, especially since he looks a bit like a slimmer, more alive James Gandolfini.

I think you must've disliked it even more than I did.  The critical success of this movie is a little dumbfounding, other than the performances (although clearly they're not above reproach, reproachful as you are ).  Did Silver Linings Playbook also kind of suck, or what?  How about The Fighter?  Because I know Three Kings and I Heart Huckabees were rad.

P.S.: given your pharmaceutical interests, I think you'd dig the shit out of The Wolf of Wall Street.

[Eddie Teach]

Did Silver Linings Playbook also kind of suck, or what? 

For a drama with a plotline cribbed from a typical romcom, it wasn't bad.

[Malthus]

Just as an aside - do you guys often walk out of movies that suck? Somehow, I've never actually done that - even if a movie sucks, I tend to stay to the end anyway.

[Capetan Mihali]

I've never seen any of the other ones.

Scorcese's always worth watching, even when he's off, so I'll check it out if I feel like driving 20 minutes to a multiplex.  Otherwise, the next one I'm looking forward at the local 3-screen mixed-indie/Hollywood theater is "Inside Llewyn Davis."

One thing about the pharma side of "Wolf," though.  I've obviously caught the drift that the main character is a big fan of Sopors, Lemmon 714s, and the other glorious permutations of methaqualone.  And we're all obviously hoping that the young people watching this film will be so into it that there is a Quaalude revival in the illicit labs of our nation.  But: isn't the movie set in the late 80s/early 90s?  FDA made Quaalude a Schedule I drug in 1984, thus unprescribable (and already rarely prescribed by the earlier 80s).  "Real" bootlegs made in Latin America did persist through the 80s, but more and more frequently "Quaaludes" were just massive doses of Valium or other downers.  So I'm kind of curious as to how the guy was so heavily into them so late in their lifespan.  If the movie were set in the late 70s/early 80s, it would make a lot more sense.

It's one of the interesting side tales of the War on Drugs, and maybe one of the few unambiguous successes.  After getting domestic Quaaludes banned, the DEA managed to obtain the cooperation of East Germany and Hungary in ending the shipment of massive amounts of methaqualone to Mexico and Colombia.  In 1979, it was the most-commonly abused drug after marijuana, ahead of coke.  Within 15 years, it was a total nostalgia item and virtually unavailable on the street.

EDIT:  However, I did make friends with a Venezuelan guy from Miami at one of my temp job training sessions, and he told me how he took Quaaludes with a friend before Hurricane Andrew hit, fell asleep, and woke up to find the entire town destroyed.  So that's 1992.

[Capetan Mihali]

Just as an aside - do you guys often walk out of movies that suck? Somehow, I've never actually done that - even if a movie sucks, I tend to stay to the end anyway.

Not really.  Usually I'm with someone, and I've never suggested it to a date or friend.  But I sat through all of "Rachel Getting Married" by myself, which was truly painful, and then remembered afterward I can always just split if it's killing me.  It feels very liberating, I find.

Last night, I was only borderline interested in seeing it anyways, and was alone at the movies on a Saturday night (), so not terribly into the whole experience.

[Ideologue]

Well, you made me feel better anyway.  Three of the last four movies I saw I went to alone, including on New Year's Eve.   Of course, it's best that I keep to myself on New Year's, as you all know.

I've never walked out of a film at the theater, that I recall.  I did leave Paranormal Activity for about ten minutes to throw up.  Did you know that thousands upon thousands of movies were made before handheld cameras were invented?  It's almost as if it's unnecessary.

Re: 'ludes in TWoWS, they explain the logistics and principles of methaqualone abuse a lot better than they do those of Belfort's stock manipulation.  At one point--the film's best scene, actually, and no doubt the one you have heard or will soon hear about--they acquire a jar full of old super-ludes that had been sitting on a shelf somewhere for years, and hilarity ensues.

[celedhring]

Just as an aside - do you guys often walk out of movies that suck? Somehow, I've never actually done that - even if a movie sucks, I tend to stay to the end anyway.

Same here, but I'm usually able to find enjoyment in even the worst movies. And in today's age with internet reviews, it's pretty easy to avoid the complete stinkers.

[celedhring]

Watched La Grande Belleza the other day. It's a pretty strange movie, doesn't have a narrative plot as we just follow an aging decadent writer through the sleazy Roman night. The scenes themselves are eerie, intense and breathtaking, and they manage to convey the ennui of somebody that suddenly discovers that's wasted his life, living just the present until there's nothing to look for. Easily the best film I have seen in the past 12 months, but certainly won't advise it to people that don't like non-narrative films.

[Queequeg]

Just as an aside - do you guys often walk out of movies that suck? Somehow, I've never actually done that - even if a movie sucks, I tend to stay to the end anyway.

Same here, but I'm usually able to find enjoyment in even the worst movies. And in today's age with internet reviews, it's pretty easy to avoid the complete stinkers.

Little Miss Sunshine, I walked out during the dance sequence. 

[Duque de Bragança]

Just as an aside - do you guys often walk out of movies that suck? Somehow, I've never actually done that - even if a movie sucks, I tend to stay to the end anyway.

It's a particular cause of suckiness, but I started to walk out of movies more and more after being exposed to Citizen Kane in German for a few minutes (Rosenknop, Rosenknop), since I was expecting the original language version as scheduled. It's even more likely when I am in a hurry, tired and/or could do something else. Happened again on Saturday.

[Kleves]

I've never walked out of a movie; I don't tend to go to movies I think I might hate. That said, I probably would have walked out of The Amazing Spider-Man had I been alone.

[The Larch]

I seriously considered walking out of the first Wolverine movie, but stayed because I was with several friends. After the movie we started talking about how much it sucked and apparently several others also considered walking out but didn't because of being in a group.

Besides that I only remember that my parents had to take me out from a couple of movies when I was a little kid, Dark Crystal because it scared me a lot and I started crying and Fantasia because it bored me out of my mind and I wouldn't stand still.