TV/Movies Megathread

[Ideologue]

That's her. She's not not skinny

Quick Ide hacked Shelf's account.

Tilda Swinton's pretty hot.

I suppose if you are the fence about that whole homosexual/heterosexual thing.

Tilda Swinton has a vagina.

[Razgovory]

That's her. She's not not skinny

Quick Ide hacked Shelf's account.

Tilda Swinton's pretty hot.

I suppose if you are the fence about that whole homosexual/heterosexual thing.

Tilda Swinton has a vagina.

Yes, but she looks like a boy, so it's good for those on the fence.

[Eddie Teach]

A very pretty boy. Like David Bowie.

[Kleves]

Prisoners. Kinda goofy, but I really liked the atmosphere, and it was nice and bleak.

[Queequeg]

Tilda Swinton has a vagina.

I don't think one should have to argue that an actress whose fame began playing Orlando might be androgynous. 

[Duque de Bragança]

Apparently the Criterion release of Things to Come is substantially better than the Harryhausen set, having been done from a restored 35mm print rather than the 16mm print the other company had access to.  Also has a commentary track that's about the movie, rather than Ray Harryhausen opining on colorization, and a production design featurette.  Ooh.  Also gives me leave to hate on the classism inherent in the Criterion business model, which I think it's reasonable to believe H.G. Wells would hate.

The British release is interesting as well and sharper despite the lower bitrate. Less extras but different, like another commentary and a long, alternative cut.
http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/dvdreviews25/things_to_come.htm
One to own as well for the fans, provided they're region free.

[Ideologue]

Yep.  Unfortunately, no region free players here.  Cosmopolis?  SORRY HERB.

Plus it's like $17 anyway (depends on how collapsed the UK is at any given moment).

I don't think one should have to argue that an actress whose fame began playing Orlando might be androgynous. 

Point is, I don't have to justify wanting to fuck a thin woman.

[Duque de Bragança]

A true cinephile is region-free. 

[Ideologue]

I think spending twenty bucks on the prestige release of an eighty year old movie is already cinephilic enough.

At some point I do plan on getting a region-free player, though.  Probably whenever I muster the money/desire to replace my five year old BD player and its hideous load times.

[Ideologue]

[Teknolust (2002)] is about the scientist Rosetta Stone (Swinton) who injects her DNA into three Self Replicating Automatons (S.R.A.s) [also Swinton]. These cyborg clones must habitually venture into the real world in order to obtain a supply of Y chromosome in the form of semen to keep them alive.

Fascinating.

[Kleves]

Anatomy of a Murder. A classic from a time when men were men (and deathly afraid of saying "panties"), classy women wore girdles, and lawyers were subject to no rules inside or out of the courtroom (Jimmy Stewart suborns perjury from his client; the questioning of I think literally every witness during the trial would result in a mistrial in a modern court). Jimmy Stewart is good, Lee Remick is stunning, the  morality is nicely ambiguous, and it generally flows well despite its almost 3 hour runtime.

[Ideologue]

That one's on my list, K.

The Battle of Algiers (1966).  An unconventional film, the hero does not appear until almost an entire hour has elapsed.  Until then, I found its disinterested, documentary depiction of evil a challenge to my sensibilities.  Fortunately, Col. Mathieu appears, and a proper narrative is established between our protagonist and previously-introduced antagonist, FLN supervillain Ali La Pointe.

Going strictly by the film, a moral inventory of the French:

-the French feed little children
-the French guard against their own worst instincts, as shown when a French policeman bodily shields a little boy from an angry mob after an FLN bombing
-when they target civilians intentionally, the French do so with a degree of discrimination (bombing the last known address of a captured terrorist) and do so only in reprisal; additionally it should be noted this was a cop acting privately, rather than according to official policy
-the French pay respect to their enemies, and eulogize them after they commit suicide
-the French permit captured FLN principals to make statements directly to the press
-the French apologize after they've tortured somebody
-the French, as shown when that guy surfs on a piece of sheet metal torn off of a shop they've busted up, or as shown by the folks smiling and laughing in the dance halls, have senses of humor and rich inner lives
-the French don't like to cause property damage
-the French make an honest effort not to kill children, though they will
-the French use bombers instead of baskets, because bombers put you on notice, whereas sometimes baskets just contain sandwiches, leading to a climate of fear rather than resigned fatalism
-the French have better haircuts
-the French are sensitive to gender issues within the Muslim community, which is why people who wear masks are not presumed terrorists and shot on sight
-conversely, the French flirt politely with Westernized Algerian women, because they are cosmopolitan
-the French do not simply nuke Algiers and build a new, efficient, underground city in its place
-although they cause untold human suffering by permitting Algeria to go "free," they had good intentions
-the French are occasionally racist, but probably not as much as you might expect

Likewise, a moral inventory of the FLN:

-the FLN has no discernible grievance except "being Arab" and "being Muslim," whereas the French are "French"
-the FLN are secessionists
-the FLN murders civilians, including other Algerians, if they refuse to join the FLN
-the FLN uses women and children as human shields
-the FLN insidiously employs subterfuge, dressing up their agents in Western garb, a tactic that will make Westernized Algerian women targets of French police inquiry, possibly turning them against civilization, rationality and sexual liberation and into horrible FLN supporters
-the FLN believe in "Islamic principles," making them the Tea Party of their time
-the FLN thinks it's great if a swarm of children push an old, mentally ill man down a flight of stairs because he may or may not be drunk
-the FLN are dour bores who only talk about independence
-the FLN use the pretense of surrender as a ruse
-the FLN employs child soldiers
-female FLN supporters are annoyingly high-pitched
-this one might be wrong, because the context is minimal, but I'm pretty sure one of the early scenes of involves a child marriage that the French will not sanction but FLN is more than happy to

Moral superiority: France.

We almost end on a bright note, with Col. Mathieu putting on his sunglasses, lighting a cigarette, and walking away from an explosion.  However, the film goes on for another ten minutes and engages history.  This was unpleasant but I suppose it was unavoidable.

B+

P.S. great music.

[The Brain]

The edits bring it down a bit.

[Ideologue]

The edits bring it down a bit.

Pour plus de clarte.

[Ideologue]

Besides, if I didn't you'd complain because I misspelled "Algerian."