TV/Movies Megathread

[Darth Wagtaros]

Started watching Iron Sky. Not sure if it is supposed to be a comedy, some sort of satire, or what. I don't think the producers knew either.

[Grey Fox]

man, was that a fucking disappointment.

[Darth Wagtaros]

Yeah, I turned it off. Avoid Iron Sky.

[Scipio]

Rewatching Spielberg's Tintin.

I love this movie.  I can't believe people were so down on it.

[Ideologue]

El Cid, the other Heston epic I grew up on, is meanwhile only available on Region B (or, perhaps, for exorbitant price, on Region A secondhand).  That's pretty lame.

Amazon has the DVD in stock. 

I only buy DVDs on the super-cheap (e.g., my $3 copies of Unforgiven and Heat).

Though with this new TV, my claims of being a snob about such things may be harder to justify, since it's noticeably worse than my old one, especially in what is either wear and tear or serious design defects where the backlight shines through, making some patches a dark gray when the screen is black.  Guess you get what you pay for. :sadblush:

[Duque de Bragança]

Watching Iron Sky in Germany was fun, specially in Frankfurt  but yeah, it could have been better by being crazier.
I love the Laibach cover of Die Wach am Rhein in the movie, more like a 2.0 version actually.

[Kleves]

Product placement is nothing new in movies, but one Chinese firm -- electronics manufacturer TCL -- is reportedly going all out with for Iron Man 3.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, TCL has "announced that its televisions, cloud technology and mobile phones will be conspicuously employed by Tony Stark, Robert Downey Jr.'s billionaire superhero, in Disney-Marvel's upcoming Iron Man 3, which is set for release on May 3 in North America, China and other select territories."

TCL also recently acquired the right to rename the Hollywood landmark Grauman's Chinese Theatre to the TCL Chinese Theatre.

Iron Man 3 is a Chinese co-production Disney-Marvel and the Chinese outlet DMG.

[derspiess]

Rewatching Spielberg's Tintin.

I love this movie.  I can't believe people were so down on it.

Even my wife was a bit disappointed in it, and she's a raging Tintin fan.  She wouldn't admit it at first, though, she never does.  Of course, any time she hears the dog referred to as "Snowie" she goes into a violent rage.

[Ideologue]

Funny, shouldn't it be Stark Industries' televisions, cloud technology and mobile phones that are conspicuously employed by Tony Stark?

Iron Man 3 is a Chinese co-production Disney-Marvel and the Chinese outlet DMG.

You know, I don't actually have much problem with product placement in movies.  Done well, it lowers the cost of making movies by displaying objects that the characters would in fact have purchased, in a non-obtrusive; e.g., is there anyone who really noticed in The Matrix Reloaded that every car on the freeway other than the trucks was a GM vehicle?  And all things being equal I'd rather see a Pepsi than a red white and blue can with no logo, because the latter is far more distracting.

So, by all means, TCL, pay Disney to depict your crap.  Even though that could be a big artistic misstep, it wouldn't necessarily have to be.

But these co-production deals are a lot more worrying.  Besides my protectionist bent and the fact that movies are about the last Goddamned thing we make in this country, we've already seen one movie cut to pieces over PRChinese objections.  Their direct involvement only makes the prospect of censorship more likely.

[Barrister]

You know, I don't actually have much problem with product placement in movies.  Done well, it lowers the cost of making movies by displaying objects that the characters would in fact have purchased, in a non-obtrusive; e.g., is there anyone who really noticed in The Matrix Reloaded that every car on the freeway other than the trucks was a GM vehicle?  And all things being equal I'd rather see a Pepsi than a red white and blue can with no logo, because the latter is far more distracting.

I dunno though - it's one of those things that once you notice it, you can't help but keep noticing it.  I had that problem in Transformers - okay sure the Bumblebee Camaro is a GM product placement, but then you realize that every other vehicle in the whole movie are also GM vehicles.

For a company that does a ton of product placements, Apple does not a bad job at it keeping it fairly unobtrusive.  I mean there are far more tv and movie characters using Mac Books and iMacs than their market share might otherwise warrant, but they don't make too big a deal about it.

[Grey Fox]

I notice, Ide, I notice. It doesn't bother me but I'm the kind of person who notices that.


Co-Production with Chinese companies happens because China is the last place where movies are actually making money. It seems a good way to avoid censorship

[Ideologue]

I'm pretty sure movies make money in the United States.  They've taken a hit, but the industry is, I believe, still substantially profitable.

[Grey Fox]

I'm pretty sure movies make money in the United States.  They've taken a hit, but the industry is, I believe, still substantially profitable.

We could look at numbers but we can't trust those but there's still lines at the movies in China. Is there any on your closest 25$ a movie megaplex?

[Ideologue]

It doesn't cost $25 to see a movie in America.

[CountDeMoney]

I'm pretty sure movies make money in the United States.  They've taken a hit, but the industry is, I believe, still substantially profitable.

They're not making money off you, buying counterfeit DVDs of movies off the corner, recorded by a brother with a camcorder.