What are we watching now?

[TSJMajesty]

I think I’ve fast forwarded through every sex scene in everything I’ve watched in the last year or two.

Same. I watched..., well, started to watch something (don't even remember what it was) that began with a sex scene. I just looked for something else. Getting tired of it.

Anyway, so I'm currently watching The Octopus Murders and FFS, is NOTHING wrt the government the way I remember it? The fucking corruption, and lengths people will go for power.... Oh, but I imagine many of them feel they're doing the "right thing" in the name of national security.

Reminds me of a famous quote: And all this bullshit in DC, it's just a power-mad town.- Geoff Tate.
So fucking true.

Right now, someone is saying, "This story will rewrite American history in the last 50 years." Fuck me.

 

[TSJMajesty]

Maybe I already missed the discussion of it, but started Loudermilk last week and really enjoying it. Its got a lot of bumps in the road, but the parts that are good are really good.

Yeah I watched a bunch of Loudermilk. I like it. Seems to examine the human condition through the lens of a former RS music critic (yeah, right), whose life has stalled, yet he seems to have the answers to everyone else's life problems as a group leader for a self-help program.

 

[State of Epicicity]

My wife and I are just starting the Twin Peaks TV show from the early 90s. I love many David Lynch films, but we tried to watch this so long ago and I had to give up because so much of the acting is sooo bad, like rejected from community theater bad. But we're giving it a try again, with a more Mystery Science Theater take on it, pausing often to roast the acting and some terrible writing. Watching it this way, it's total fun!

 

[TSJMajesty]

My wife and I are just starting the Twin Peaks TV show from the early 90s. I love many David Lynch films, but we tried to watch this so long ago and I had to give up because so much of the acting is sooo bad, like rejected from community theater bad. But we're giving it a try again, with a more Mystery Science Theater take on it, pausing often to roast the acting and some terrible writing. Watching it this way, it's total fun!

Hmmm, maybe I need to take that approach, but I'm so critical of bad acting & writing, I think I'd need to add some mind-numbing substances to dull-down my inner critic!

 

[State of Epicicity]

Hmmm, maybe I need to take that approach, but I'm so critical of bad acting & writing, I think I'd need to add some mind-numbing substances to dull-down my inner critic!

No, just amp up your inner critic and pause often to joke about what you're watching! My wife and I have been laughing about Twin Peaks all day today. To get your sarcastic chops up, you have to watch something so bad it's good, like Miami Connection, then you'll know what to do.

This doesn't work with every bad movie, but definitely for enough of them.

By the way, if you want something with great acting and writing, we recently saw Across 110th Street, from 1972. It's one of the most brutal films I've ever seen, and great in every single way. It absolutely was carrying the torch of the Naked City TV show from the early 60s, which to me has some of the most consistently great acting and writing.

 

[State of Epicicity]

Hmmm, maybe I need to take that approach, but I'm so critical of bad acting & writing, I think I'd need to add some mind-numbing substances to dull-down my inner critic!

Also, what are some good examples of good acting and writing that you've found? I'm curious where you're coming from, because maybe I can suggest some good stuff.

 

[Stratzrus]

Also, what are some good examples of good acting and writing that you've found?

Joker.

 

[TSJMajesty]

Also, what are some good examples of good acting and writing that you've found? I'm curious where you're coming from, because maybe I can suggest some good stuff.

Hmm, I'm horrible at remembering stuff like that. But as I'm watching something, I can spot it. (what appeals to me, that is.)

Actually, one does come to mind- Paccino and DeNiro's scene in the restaurant in Heat. Not much better than that.

And I generally like Anthony Hopkins' acting, and Fracture hit me as a really awesome storyline, although I can't remember for certain, but there was probably a few minor things that may have not worked, upon watching it again. But still, that's the kind of shit I like to watch in general.

And thanks for the offer, as I do get many movie ideas for things to watch from what others recommend. Even here!

Oh, and as an example of one I recently watched in which the beginning was absolutely fucking hilarious, but then the rest of it just went to shit, was Idiocracy. I fucking laughed so hard, but then practically fell asleep as it went on! Good thing I was also practicing at the time.

 

[State of Epicicity]

Joker.

I love Joaquin Phoenix. I think he's the most interesting and hard working famous actor right now.

If you like him, I think The Yards is a masterpiece overall and We Own The Night is incredible. Those are both James Gray films. But thinking of James Gray in general, I also think Little Odessa, is a masterpiece.

 

[State of Epicicity]

Hmm, I'm horrible at remembering stuff like that. But as I'm watching something, I can spot it. (what appeals to me, that is.)

Actually, one does come to mind- Paccino and DeNiro's scene in the restaurant in Heat. Not much better than that.

And I generally like Anthony Hopkins' acting, and Fracture hit me as a really awesome storyline, although I can't remember for certain, but there was probably a few minor things that may have not worked, upon watching it again. But still, that's the kind of shit I like to watch in general.

And thanks for the offer, as I do get many movie ideas for things to watch from what others recommend. Even here!

Oh, and as an example of one I recently watched in which the beginning was absolutely fucking hilarious, but then the rest of it just went to shit, was Idiocracy. I fucking laughed so hard, but then practically fell asleep as it went on! Good thing I was also practicing at the time.

Michael Mann, who directed Heat, made another film with Al Pacino after that called The Insider. It's one of my favorite films, and to me it's Al Pacino at his best, and by leaps and bounds the best performance Russell Crowe has given. The writing, directing, and acting are absolutely mind-blowing across the board. I can't recommend it highly enough.

If you love Robert De Niro, you ought to see The Deer Hunter. Everyone in that film is great, but De Niro, John Savage, and Christopher Walken are just examples of the very best of acting in that.

You also might find The Town interesting maybe. It's heavily inspired by Heat, and the directing is fantastic, which is surprising to me because I think Ben Affleck is a mediocre actor. But Jeremy Renner is incredible in that film.

 

[TSJMajesty]

Michael Mann, who directed Heat, made another film with Al Pacino after that called The Insider. It's one of my favorite films, and to me it's Al Pacino at his best, and by leaps and bounds the best performance Russell Crowe has given. The writing, directing, and acting are absolutely mind-blowing across the board. I can't recommend it highly enough.

If you love Robert De Niro, you ought to see The Deer Hunter. Everyone in that film is great, but De Niro, John Savage, and Christopher Walken are just examples of the very best of acting in that.

You also might find The Town interesting maybe. It's heavily inspired by Heat, and the directing is fantastic, which is surprising to me because I think Ben Affleck is a mediocre actor. But Jeremy Renner is incredible in that film.

Cool, I dig Walken and Russell Crowe, so I'll check 'em out!
And I think Affleck did a fine job in Good Will Hunting, one of the best movies ever.

 

[Stratzrus]

Michael Mann, who directed Heat, made another film with Al Pacino after that called The Insider.

My former Administrative Assistant is a major film buff. If I ask him about any film, he's seen it.

He's currently writing a book about Michael Mann. It should be fascinating once published.

 

[State of Epicicity]

My former Administrative Assistant is a major film buff. If I ask him about any film, he's seen it.

He's currently writing a book about Michael Mann. It should be fascinating once published.

Oh that's cool. He's an interesting character. My wife has two books about him now, so this one might have to be a third!

 

[laxu]

Hmmm, maybe I need to take that approach, but I'm so critical of bad acting & writing, I think I'd need to add some mind-numbing substances to dull-down my inner critic!

I think bad acting is more rare than bad writing. With bad writing, you can make a world famous cast churn out something awful or at best completely mediocre.

Bad acting you can file under "Does it cross the so-bad-it's-good barrier" where it's just something you can make fun of. I have seen The Room quite a few times and always had fun with it when it combines both bad acting and writing all into one ball of crazy.

Also in other news...me and my gf started watching Seinfeld while we were in Japan. Except we set the audio to be dubbed in Japanese. It works really well and the Japanese voice actors are pretty spot on for their roles. I joked that when I was sick I sounded like Japanese Kramer.

Tonight I think I'll watch Renfield. I love me some Nic Cage!

 

[Spaced Out Ace]

Watching Preacher, which is based on a graphic novel. Just started, but it's pretty decent thus far.

 

[State of Epicicity]

I think bad acting is more rare than bad writing.

That's an interesting conclusion; I'll have to sit with that one. I think the problem is that dramatic arts are an art form, but the industries behind them treat them like a factory job. You hire groups of writers, give them stupid parameters, and churn it out on a schedule. My focus when I watch a film or show is primarily directing and acting. To me the mark of a good director is when all the actors in a piece are good, especially when a known shitty actor becomes strangely okay; to me that's the hand of the director. And so much of this stuff is zeitgeist. I can never reconcile that the dude who directed Apocalpyse Now and The Rain People also directed Life Without Zoe and Keanu Reeves' performance in Bram Stoker's Dracula. It's like Fracis Ford Coppola has been two different people in his career, a visionary artist at first, then an arrogant fuck who doesn't give a shit about what he's doing, more concerned with his winery interests or whatever.

I see bad acting all the fucking time. It never stops. In a great film you can still see it, where the actor is just sitting there, no reaction. My wife and I just tried to watch Man of Steel after the original Superman movies, and the guy playing Superman just had nothing going on. It was like mild interest was the most emotion he could muster in anything. I stopped watching superhero movies years ago, and this reminded me why. And that kind of acting, the people allergic to using facial muscles style, is so prevalent. I compare Meryl Streep, who has about 1,000 different things registering on her face in any given scene in any given movie, to these people who think acting consists primarily of hitting the gym 8 hours a day and remembering your lines. It's like the pinnacle of acting went from Marlon Brando to Arnold Schwarzenegger. But even Schwarzenegger has more character than the current actors.

There are some exceptions in my mind, like Joaquin Phoenix, as I mentioned, and Jake Gyllenhaal. Both of these guys are workers. You can see they're investing tremendous effort into creating a character, creating an inner emotional and cognitive structure, a whole world. It's palpable.

 

[laxu]

That's an interesting conclusion; I'll have to sit with that one. I think the problem is that dramatic arts are an art form, but the industries behind them treat them like a factory job. You hire groups of writers, give them stupid parameters, and churn it out on a schedule. My focus when I watch a film or show is primarily directing and acting. To me the mark of a good director is when all the actors in a piece are good, especially when a known shitty actor becomes strangely okay; to me that's the hand of the director. And so much of this stuff is zeitgeist. I can never reconcile that the dude who directed Apocalpyse Now and The Rain People also directed Life Without Zoe and Keanu Reeves' performance in Bram Stoker's Dracula. It's like Fracis Ford Coppola has been two different people in his career, a visionary artist at first, then an arrogant fuck who doesn't give a shit about what he's doing, more concerned with his winery interests or whatever.

I see bad acting all the fucking time. It never stops. In a great film you can still see it, where the actor is just sitting there, no reaction. My wife and I just tried to watch Man of Steel after the original Superman movies, and the guy playing Superman just had nothing going on. It was like mild interest was the most emotion he could muster in anything. I stopped watching superhero movies years ago, and this reminded me why. And that kind of acting, the people allergic to using facial muscles style, is so prevalent. I compare Meryl Streep, who has about 1,000 different things registering on her face in any given scene in any given movie, to these people who think acting consists primarily of hitting the gym 8 hours a day and remembering your lines. It's like the pinnacle of acting went from Marlon Brando to Arnold Schwarzenegger. But even Schwarzenegger has more character than the current actors.

There are some exceptions in my mind, like Joaquin Phoenix, as I mentioned, and Jake Gyllenhaal. Both of these guys are workers. You can see they're investing tremendous effort into creating a character, creating an inner emotional and cognitive structure, a whole world. It's palpable.

The only cases I can name from the top of my head of bad actors are Ruby Rose and Cara Delevigne. Then there's kind of both sides of the fence, like is The Rock a decent actor in the roles he takes or is he bad?

For a modern classic, Drive is a fantastic movie where there's barely any dialogue but so many meaningful looks that fill it in. Also one of the best soundtracks!

I'd say Man of Steel, Justice League etc are a case of bad writing and directing. Zack Snyder is just...not very good. Henry Cavill was great in The Witcher series, except that series was totally ruined by the showrunners who didn't understand the source material. I've been reading the books lately and just keep thinking "Why didn't you just try to translate it to screen exactly as written? It's all right there!"

Altered Carbon is another show ruined by its showrunners and writers thinking they can do better than the original author by shoehorning in unnecessary drama when the books are already written like action movies. While Richard K. Morgan can't seemingly write women except as "characters the main character will eventually have sex with", the rest is fleshed out to the point that there is no need for film writers to mangle it.

Speaking of Jake Gyllenhaal, I watched Guy Ritchie's The Covenant on the plane to Japan and really liked it. He's a bit more of a side character in it but does a good job. I loved him in Nightcrawler too.

The Weird Al movie was also funny as hell. Daniel Radcliffe seems like he's just having a ton of fun picking quirky roles.

 

[State of Epicicity]

The only cases I can name from the top of my head of bad actors are Ruby Rose and Cara Delevigne. Then there's kind of both sides of the fence, like is The Rock a decent actor in the roles he takes or is he bad?

For a modern classic, Drive is a fantastic movie where there's barely any dialogue but so many meaningful looks that fill it in. Also one of the best soundtracks!

I'd say Man of Steel, Justice League etc are a case of bad writing and directing. Zack Snyder is just...not very good. Henry Cavill was great in The Witcher series, except that series was totally ruined by the showrunners who didn't understand the source material. I've been reading the books lately and just keep thinking "Why didn't you just try to translate it to screen exactly as written? It's all right there!"

Altered Carbon is another show ruined by its showrunners and writers thinking they can do better than the original author by shoehorning in unnecessary drama when the books are already written like action movies. While Richard K. Morgan can't seemingly write women except as "characters the main character will eventually have sex with", the rest is fleshed out to the point that there is no need for film writers to mangle it.

Speaking of Jake Gyllenhaal, I watched Guy Ritchie's The Covenant on the plane to Japan and really liked it. He's a bit more of a side character in it but does a good job. I loved him in Nightcrawler too.

The Weird Al movie was also funny as hell. Daniel Radcliffe seems like he's just having a ton of fun picking quirky roles.

I'll agree with you on Nightcrawler. Jake Gyllenhaal is incredible in that, and the director was 100% Michael Mann inspired. I haven't seen the other stuff you mentioned.

 

[la szum]

Yeah I watched a bunch of Loudermilk. I like it. Seems to examine the human condition through the lens of a former RS music critic (yeah, right), whose life has stalled, yet he seems to have the answers to everyone else's life problems as a group leader for a self-help program.

Sounds like something I would like and can relate to.

 

[unix-guy]

Tonight I think I'll watch Renfield. I love me some Nic Cage!

It was very funny!