TV/Movies Megathread

[Admiral Yi]

Are blood sucking vampires dicks?
Then the Lost Boys

Yeah, my roomie mentioned slasher movies, which also seems to fit.

[Barrister]

Celery, got a totally random question for you.  Any college movies where the townies are the BAD guys?

Specifically college movies?

There's movies like "Deliverance", or maybe Texas Chainsaw Massacre, where the city folk run into the crazy hillbillies.    But not really "college/high school".  But I think there is definitely a "scary hillbilly" sub-genre, though not limited to college-aged protagonists.

I saw Lost Boys mentioned.  That's more "people move to a new town", not really a townie/city split.  Our protagonists make friends in their new town who help fight the vampires.  You could consider The Karate Kid the same way - new kid in town, makes both friends and enemies.

There's always the ur-college movie.  Animal House.  Townies are the black guys at the black bar (where Otis Day and the Knights are playing), or the supermarket cashier plus her father.  Although our protagonists run away from the black bar it's not clear the black guys did anything past "may we dance with your dates", and while the dad (in a pretty minor role) didn't like the fraternity boys, one of them did molest his young daughter (it was the 70s, times were different).  Really it's always a fascinating movie because while our protagonists are portrayed as the good guys, when you think about it they really weren't.

The Social Network?  Never seen it, but the main (college-aged) characters are the bad guys, so presumably every else is more "good"?

That's the best I can do. 

[Syt]

So watched two movies this week, accidentally making it a fairly fitting double feature:

D&D: Honor Among Thieves
Star Trek: Section 31

Both are action films with an often lighter tone in which a group of misfits with different abilities have to learn to work together to defeat the BIG BAD, and both are based on established properties.

Now, I will say that I didn't hate either movie, but one was far more enjoyable than the other - spoiler: it's D&D:HaT.

To keep it short - D&D seemed to be made by people who (generally) liked the property (D&D, Faerûn), and with a cast that seemed to have fun. It was cheesy, yes, but it dove head first into the world, with fairly limited spoken exposition, but it also had heart, gave its main characters arcs to overcome their self doubt and generally was a rollercoaster ride. Don't think too much, enjoy it while it lasts.

Section 31 made very limited use of the setting, had limited character arcs, and while I generally enjoyed the characters didn't send them on much of a journey (except Garrett, but also only in the end). Actually, I think you could rewrite it with minimal effort to fit into Farscape or Star Wars or possibly even Stargate. I get that they wanted to make it more palatable to non-Trek fans, but I doubt it would turn new fans to the franchise, while not being "Trek" enough for many existing fans. I don't think all Trek must be the same forever and always, but while it was a decent 95 minutes if you're into this kind of action flick, I know which of the two I would pick for a re-watch right away.

(Though I found S31 entertaining enough, still.)

[HVC]

Against my better judgement I watched section 31 too. Mainly because I was bored and insomnia it wasn't good, but wasn't bad enough to turn off. I agree it didn't feel trek-y. Actually, it reminded me a lot of solo. Being tied to another franchise made it worse because it feels off to the rest of the universe. Both films would have been better as stand offs. 

*edit* Also, Neil, if you're feeling trek blues don't watch this movie

[Syt]

I will say for S31 that the actors at least were fine, mostly, it wasn't their fault the film isn't better.

[HVC]

Yeah, the actors themselves weren't at fault for the most part, they did what they could with what they had.

[HVC]

And IGN actually gave a bad rating. Didn't know they gave bad ratings

[Syt]

Trek Culture summarized it well - you can tell this was meant to be a series that got condensed. Probably excising character moments, less clunky exposition, and generally more room to breathe for the story.

[garbon]

Emilia Pérez

Well that was a thing...

[celedhring]

Emilia Pérez

Well that was a thing...

I like the movie because I always love full-throttle wacky "no way they are going for this" stuff - but it baffles me it's the Oscar frontrunner 

[garbon]

Emilia Pérez

Well that was a thing...

I like the movie because I always love full-throttle wacky "no way they are going for this" stuff - but it baffles me it's the Oscar frontrunner 

Fits a niche/anti-Trumpian?

As an everyday viewer it was a mess. Dull plot that seems to avoid any interesting topics it could have looked at (e.g. her relationship to her family post transition), bizarre character motivations (what was Zoe Saldana's character doing?), and terrible music ("from penis to vaginaaa" /I was actually startled at the fundraiser scene as had been some time since they had assaulted us with music).

[Barrister]

Wound up going with the whole family to see Sonic 3.

I'm really not familiar with the whole SCU - Sonic Cinematic Universe - but I did see Sonic 1 once upon a time.  Actually we did watch Sonic 1 afterwards with supper, which at least helped inform a couple of the jokes.

But really - very little made sense in this movie.  All of the characters decisions seemed motivated purely to move the plot forward, not that it would make sense for that character (even given the limited character traits anyone had in this video-game-derived movie).

Jim Carrey - I read somewhere he likes making these movies, despite being otherwise retired, because his kids liked them?  So fair enough.  But really - it seems like he's still trying to do the broad over-acting / physical comedy stuff from the 90s despite being 30 years later.  I didn't find it engaging.



The one thing I found "interesting" - we were in some kind of special theatre, where the two side walls would also have scenes projected on them.  So for whatever scene you were looking at, you could see what was happening to the sides as well.

It reminded me as a kid, of going to Expo 86 in Vancouver.  They had some theatre that displayed a movie in 360 degrees.  The screen surrounded you on all sides.

The thing was - all the "action" happened in one direction.  At Expo it was a short-ish film http://reelingback.com/articles/surrounding_an_audience

so you just stood, but everyone faced towards the action.  I can actually remember turning around to look at the other angles - but it was all just background scenery.

Same thing with whatever this was for Sonic 3.  Yes you could look to the sides.  Yes you might see a charcter's arm extend off to the side, or whatever.  But all the main parts were on the main screen, and the side walls added nothing to the experience.

[celedhring]

Wound up going with the whole family to see Sonic 3.
The one thing I found "interesting" - we were in some kind of special theatre, where the two side walls would also have scenes projected on them.  So for whatever scene you were looking at, you could see what was happening to the sides as well.

It reminded me as a kid, of going to Expo 86 in Vancouver.  They had some theatre that displayed a movie in 360 degrees.  The screen surrounded you on all sides.

The thing was - all the "action" happened in one direction.  At Expo it was a short-ish film http://reelingback.com/articles/surrounding_an_audience

so you just stood, but everyone faced towards the action.  I can actually remember turning around to look at the other angles - but it was all just background scenery.

Same thing with whatever this was for Sonic 3.  Yes you could look to the sides.  Yes you might see a charcter's arm extend off to the side, or whatever.  But all the main parts were on the main screen, and the side walls added nothing to the experience.

Yeah, one of the screens at the local multiplex has this gimmick too - although I have yet to see a movie in it.

It probably makes very little sense to actually use those two side screens too much for a regular movie, because it will be mostly released in regular theaters.

[Barrister]

Yeah, one of the screens at the local multiplex has this gimmick too - although I have yet to see a movie in it.

It probably makes very little sense to actually use those two side screens too much for a regular movie, because it will be mostly released in regular theaters.

The movie industry has been trying this gimmick game for a long time - but is always trapped.  Probably not so much because of "regular theatres" but because movies are going to be released for tv/streaming and need to be viewable at home.

So while you can add IMAX, 3-D, "smell-o-vision" all you want by necessity it can't be essential to the experience.

[Syt]

Having finished It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (new season starts filming this winter, apparently?), I've started Veep. Two episodes into season 2. It's decent, though it's neither Yes, Minister nor The Office exactly.

Ep. 2 in S.2, at the pork roast has a guy talking about pig rearing: "They can't raise pigs without excrement, ma'am. It just can't be done. They defecate, and they defecate with speed and volume."

And I thought a) what a pleasant voice this random guy has and b) also sounds a bit familiar.

Turns out it's Wes Johnson who you may remember as one of the regular voice actors on Elder Scrolls, including Sheogorath/Lucien Lechance/Gray Fox/Jauffre/Arena Announcer and dozens other NPCs (including the guards) in Oblivion, Emperor Titus Meade/Sheogorath/Hemaeus Mora in Skyrim, etc.

Wes Johnson is in a bad way: https://www.pcgamer.com/games/the-elder-scrolls/beloved-bethesda-rpg-voice-actor-wes-johnson-is-in-critical-condition-after-being-found-unconscious-and-barely-alive-and-his-family-is-asking-for-help-from-fans/

Beloved Bethesda RPG voice actor Wes Johnson is in critical condition after being found 'unconscious and barely alive,' and his family is asking for help from fans

Oblivion's guards, Lucien Lachance, Sheogorath, and more were all brought to life by Wes Johnson.

The family of prolific videogame voice actor Wes Johnson has shared a GoFundMe to raise money for his hospital bills following a life-threatening medical emergency. Johnson is most famous in the gaming world for his work in Bethesda's Elder Scrolls series.

"On Wednesday, Jan. 22nd, Wes volunteered to host a benefit event for the National Alzheimer's Foundation in Atlanta," the GoFundMe explains. "When he didn't show up at the event, his wife Kim tried desperately to get in touch with him. It took hotel security to enter his room and discover him unconscious and barely alive. EMT crews struggled to find a pulse. Right now, Wes continues to battle for his life in an intensive care unit."

Elder Scrolls YouTubers the LaFave Bros, who have worked with Johnson in the past, shared a video asking fans to contribute to the campaign, noting that it has been posted to Johnson's Instagram account. The campaign has already surpassed its initial $50,000 goal at the time of writing, but as the LaFave Bros note in a pinned comment under the video, it's unclear what the full cost of Johnson's treatment and recovery will come out to.

Johnson has had an eclectic career encompassing radio broadcasting, sports announcing (Washington Capitals fans know him for his calls to "unleash the fury" as the arena PA announcer), and TV roles on shows like Veep and The Wire. But gamers know him best for his iconic performances in Bethesda's RPGs, with Johnson showing up in every game from the studio since Morrowind in 2002. He's demonstrated a great dramatic range, delivering a sinister snarl as villains like Lucien Lachance and Mr. Burke, but his capacity for off the wall bombast is what I most hold dear.

Johnson's manic Scottish brogue as Sheogorath in The Shivering Isles and Skyrim is of particular note, but he also took on the mammoth task of voicing every single male Imperial character in The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion⁠—the Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages list 182 individual Imperial men in the game, but that doesn't include unnamed enemies or the game's thoroughly memefied guardsmen. Johnson's explosive delivery of "Stop, You violated the law! Pay the court a fine or serve your sentence. Your stolen goods are now forfeit," has transcended Oblivion and even videogames as a whole at this point, becoming a cheeky shorthand for overenthusiastic enforcement of the rules on the order of Judge Dredd's own "I am the Law."

Johnson's specific diagnosis hasn't been shared. "Wes has always been the friend who would give you his last dollar, as well as the shirt off his back," say the GoFundMe organizers. "Wes volunteers for so many causes and is always the first person to jump at helping anyone who asks, and even helping those who don't ask.

"It's your turn to show him your gratitude and love. Please make a donation to help his family get through this period and cover his medical expenses as well as cover the time he will be unable to work."