TV/Movies Megathread

[CountDeMoney]

Well, hello there.

[garbon]

[Jacob]

Yeah, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby changed a lot around when they invented the character and the setting back in the 60s, and subsequent creators really took it in weird directions (there is an alien Thor, for example, who looks like an orange horse; he's actually pretty rad).

The most fundamental change, of course, is Loki as Thor's adoptive brother instead of Odin's blood brother.  This used to bug me, but I've come to realize that this is kind of a stroke of genius, since the comic wasn't called Odin.  The redefined relationships work beautifully in the movie Thor.  If you only watch one of the other Marvel movies leading up to Avengers, watch that one.

In the end, the reason I wasn't offended was that I divorced him almost entirely from the mythological Thor . The guy in the film is a super hero and any resemblance to "real life" Thor were purely coincidental. On those terms, I liked the character.

Speaking of Chinese movies (Hong Kongese in this case), I think you'd get a kick out of Wong Kar-wai's 2054.  The plot's weird and one part takes place in a fictionalized version of that year as imagined by the main character, a writer.  Much of the rest takes place in a hotel room by that number.  There's romance and longing and Asian ladies and such.  I liked it.  Haven't seen the rest of Wong's stuff, but one of these days I'll get around to it.

I think the only Wong Kar-wai film I've seen is In the Mood for Love; I enjoyed it quite a bit. I remember the title of the film now, it was Snowfall in Taipei; it had a bit of the same wistfulness of In the Mood for Love, but it was less deliberately artistic in the sets, lighting and costumes.

[Jacob]

I think you mean 2046. I saw that and from what I remember I kinda liked it. Especially:

Zhang Ziyi if I'm not mistaken.

[Neil]

Wait a minute...  Are you offended by unorthodox presentations of mythological Thor, Jake?

[garbon]

No wonder I don't remember 2046. When I saw it in theaters, I was still a teen!

[Queequeg]

Not Wong Kar-Wai's best, IMO.  That'd probably Chungking Express.

[Berkut]

Just got caught up on Homeland. What a great show.

Some rather astoundingly huge plot holes though.

[Neil]

My wife has me watching the first season on DVD.  I'm enjoying Mandy Patinkin and Damien Lewis.

[Jacob]

Wait a minute...  Are you offended by unorthodox presentations of mythological Thor, Jake?

Apparently not

I'm interested in viking age things, including mythology. When it comes to pop-cultural interpretations, I have a heavy preference for the Scandinavian ones and consider them "more real".

A younger Jacob may have taken the Marvel Thor as a launching point for an Ideologue-esque rant on the subject of cultural appropriation and misrepresentation in the realm of Scandinavian mythology. I'm a bit older now.

Honestly, in the realm of aesthetics - and that's what presentations of mythological Thor is, whatever their orthodoxy - very little offends me. I know my preferences, and that's that.

[katmai]

I think you mean 2046. I saw that and from what I remember I kinda liked it. Especially:

Zhang Ziyi if I'm not mistaken.

You are not.....this time.

[Neil]

Wait a minute...  Are you offended by unorthodox presentations of mythological Thor, Jake?

Apparently not

I'm interested in viking age things, including mythology. When it comes to pop-cultural interpretations, I have a heavy preference for the Scandinavian ones and consider them "more real".

A younger Jacob may have taken the Marvel Thor as a launching point for an Ideologue-esque rant on the subject of cultural appropriation and misrepresentation in the realm of Scandinavian mythology. I'm a bit older now.

Honestly, in the realm of aesthetics - and that's what presentations of mythological Thor is, whatever their orthodoxy - very little offends me. I know my preferences, and that's that.

OK.  You were very close to a blistering assault on your person, your intellect and your worthiness as a person.  Also, it didn't make much sense to me for someone who sees himself as extremely cosmopolitan and modern to get worked up about how the gods of his distant ancestors are portrayed.

[DGuller]

WTF, that was a shocking season finale on Dexter.  Completely nonsensical, but shocking nonetheless.  I'm guessing this serial killer story is not going to have a happy ending.

[CountDeMoney]

OK.  You were very close to a blistering assault on your person, your intellect and your worthiness as a person.  Also, it didn't make much sense to me for someone who sees himself as extremely cosmopolitan and modern to get worked up about how the gods of his distant ancestors are portrayed.

You can take the European out of Europe, but you can't take Europe out of the European.  Or something.  Anyway, you know what I mean.

[Neil]

OK.  You were very close to a blistering assault on your person, your intellect and your worthiness as a person.  Also, it didn't make much sense to me for someone who sees himself as extremely cosmopolitan and modern to get worked up about how the gods of his distant ancestors are portrayed.

You can take the European out of Europe, but you can't take Europe out of the European.  Or something.  Anyway, you know what I mean.

I deleted a line in that post about how him getting excited about how Thor was portrayed would be like you getting excited about a potato.  LOLIRISH.

But yeah, I see your point.  Some Scandis are super Scandi-proud.  Like that Swedish guy you took those night classes with.