It was.

Mazille wrote:It was.

Hmm. Was it treated the same way, in that the storytellers were putting faith in a good light? Putting belief in god on the same plane as science?

Honestly, I'm hazy on the details, since it's been ages since I read the book, but the whole idea of (not necesserarily religious) faith features prominently throughout.

The_Piper wrote:

PensivePenny wrote:Scot, did you see MM in True Detective? I was spellbound! His performance made the show.

Yeah he was great in that.

Spinozasgalt wrote:

scott1328 wrote:I avoid movies with McConaughey, and if I do end up watching one, it is with low expectations.

I liked Contact mostly. Didn't like McConaughey in it, though.

I cringed whenever he showed up in Contact. Here I am enjoying some faux-sciento Jodie Foster and then this fucking surfer theologian shows up. Get the fuck out of my watchy movie.

Just the plain existence of that character in the movie sucked, regardless of the actor.
Unfortunately we have to put up with that whole thread (faith) to see what's otherwise a great movie. I'm going to read the book...someday. Maybe that aspect wasn't part of the original story?

Yes it was.

Yes, it was annoying in the book as well. Though the reverence for "faith" was not so pronounced in the book.

PensivePenny wrote:Scot, did you see MM in True Detective? I was spellbound! His performance made the show.

No.

I may not like MM as an actor, but he is pretty.

scott1328 wrote:

The_Piper wrote:

PensivePenny wrote:Scot, did you see MM in True Detective? I was spellbound! His performance made the show.

Yeah he was great in that.

Spinozasgalt wrote:

scott1328 wrote:I avoid movies with McConaughey, and if I do end up watching one, it is with low expectations.

I liked Contact mostly. Didn't like McConaughey in it, though.

I cringed whenever he showed up in Contact. Here I am enjoying some faux-sciento Jodie Foster and then this fucking surfer theologian shows up. Get the fuck out of my watchy movie.

Just the plain existence of that character in the movie sucked, regardless of the actor.
Unfortunately we have to put up with that whole thread (faith) to see what's otherwise a great movie. I'm going to read the book...someday. Maybe that aspect wasn't part of the original story?

Yes it was.

Yes, it was annoying in the book as well. Though the reverence for "faith" was not so pronounced in the book.

It's surprising coming from Carl Sagan, who apparently had little reverence for faith, at least in his TV life. It makes sense to include the faithful in the story, but not make it like "See, you have to take it on faith that Ellie went to Vega, therefore," whatever.
This would belong in the rewatchable movies thread because it's on my roster for viewing every year or so. The first time I saw it I was disappointed about not seeing the aliens and didn't like it.

I don't mind watching a movie for the beef. All this talk about hating superhero movies. Thor? Seriously?

The_Piper wrote:

scott1328 wrote:

The_Piper wrote:

PensivePenny wrote:Scot, did you see MM in True Detective? I was spellbound! His performance made the show.

Yeah he was great in that.

Spinozasgalt wrote:
I cringed whenever he showed up in Contact. Here I am enjoying some faux-sciento Jodie Foster and then this fucking surfer theologian shows up. Get the fuck out of my watchy movie.

Just the plain existence of that character in the movie sucked, regardless of the actor.
Unfortunately we have to put up with that whole thread (faith) to see what's otherwise a great movie. I'm going to read the book...someday. Maybe that aspect wasn't part of the original story?

Yes it was.

Yes, it was annoying in the book as well. Though the reverence for "faith" was not so pronounced in the book.

It's surprising coming from Carl Sagan, who apparently had little reverence for faith, at least in his TV life. It makes sense to include the faithful in the story, but not make it like "See, you have to take it on faith that Ellie went to Vega, therefore," whatever.
This would belong in the rewatchable movies thread because it's on my roster for viewing every year or so. The first time I saw it I was disappointed about not seeing the aliens and didn't like it.

You should read the book. It's better.

And Ellie didn't visit the aliens alone. She went with six others. And the evidence they brought back was more than just hours and hours of non-existant footage (they brought back sand)

Also, based on a hint from the Aliens, she began searching for signals in the expansion of some well known irrational numbers. (And finds one).

scott1328 wrote:

The_Piper wrote:

scott1328 wrote:

The_Piper wrote:
Yeah he was great in that.Just the plain existence of that character in the movie sucked, regardless of the actor.
Unfortunately we have to put up with that whole thread (faith) to see what's otherwise a great movie. I'm going to read the book...someday. Maybe that aspect wasn't part of the original story?

Yes it was.

Yes, it was annoying in the book as well. Though the reverence for "faith" was not so pronounced in the book.

It's surprising coming from Carl Sagan, who apparently had little reverence for faith, at least in his TV life. It makes sense to include the faithful in the story, but not make it like "See, you have to take it on faith that Ellie went to Vega, therefore," whatever.
This would belong in the rewatchable movies thread because it's on my roster for viewing every year or so. The first time I saw it I was disappointed about not seeing the aliens and didn't like it.

You should read the book. It's better.

And Ellie didn't visit the aliens alone. She went with six others. And the evidence they brought back was more than just hours and hours of non-existant footage (they brought back sand)

Also, based on a hint from the Aliens, she began searching for signals in the expansion of some well known irrational numbers. (And finds one).

I guess I should read it sooner than later. Please don't tell me any more!

PensivePenny wrote:I don't mind watching a movie for the beef. All this talk about hating superhero movies. Thor? Seriously?

Is that a movie? If so, it's on my list of avoidance due to swords and/or super heroes. Light sabers are ok, plus I liked The Gladiator, after being forced to watch it.
Plus ninjas with swords can be tolerable, but no karate/kung fu movies made in any other language besides English and pitifully voiced over. Karate Kid was ok, but it's grandfathered in. I never could bring myself to watch all of the sequels. Though the one where they threw the bansai tree off the cliff was unintentionally funny.

Chris Hemsworth (Thor)
There's a mute button if you don't like the acting, directing or dialog.

The_Piper wrote:

PensivePenny wrote:I don't mind watching a movie for the beef. All this talk about hating superhero movies. Thor? Seriously?

Is that a movie? If so, it's on my list of avoidance due to swords and/or super heroes. Light sabers are ok, plus I liked The Gladiator, after being forced to watch it.
Plus ninjas with swords can be tolerable, but no karate/kung fu movies made in any other language besides English and pitifully voiced over. Karate Kid was ok, but it's grandfathered in. I never could bring myself to watch all of the sequels. Though the one where they threw the bansai tree off the cliff was unintentionally funny.

Karate Kid...Jesus. Seriously, watch Jackie Chan's The Legend of Drunken Master. It's the gateway drug to kung fu movies. I'm almost 100% sure you'll like it, it's so much fun.

Mike_L wrote:

I'm With Stupid wrote:I've tried to give superhero movies a chance, but I can't take it any more. The Dark Knight is a masterpiece of the genre, but other than that, they're somewhere between boring and ridiculous. Add to that the fact that we're at least 5 years past peak-superhero.

Agreed.
As someone who enjoys visual effects artistry, I initially found them watchable on that level. Now I just see a tedious sameness in all of them... big action sequences interspersed with a bit of perfunctory dialogue. Actors routinely give way to CG stand-ins, which are well modeled (having been made from scans of the thespians) but look fake because of the physics-defying movement.

I think Marvel films have been deliberately designed to be as indistinct as possible. Tony Zhou did a good video about the music in Marvel films.

SafeAsMilk wrote:

The_Piper wrote:

PensivePenny wrote:I don't mind watching a movie for the beef. All this talk about hating superhero movies. Thor? Seriously?

Is that a movie? If so, it's on my list of avoidance due to swords and/or super heroes. Light sabers are ok, plus I liked The Gladiator, after being forced to watch it.
Plus ninjas with swords can be tolerable, but no karate/kung fu movies made in any other language besides English and pitifully voiced over. Karate Kid was ok, but it's grandfathered in. I never could bring myself to watch all of the sequels. Though the one where they threw the bansai tree off the cliff was unintentionally funny.

Karate Kid...Jesus. Seriously, watch Jackie Chan's The Legend of Drunken Master. It's the gateway drug to kung fu movies. I'm almost 100% sure you'll like it, it's so much fun.

That's pretty confident. I've seen a couple of obscure Jackie Chan movies in the past and thought it was boring. I can't get into Bruce Lee movies either. No Daniel-San? That one has some unintentional humor also. Remember when they pushed him down the hill on his bike?
I found that movie on YT, so perhaps I'll watch some of it.

SafeAsMilk wrote:

The_Piper wrote:

PensivePenny wrote:I don't mind watching a movie for the beef. All this talk about hating superhero movies. Thor? Seriously?

Is that a movie? If so, it's on my list of avoidance due to swords and/or super heroes. Light sabers are ok, plus I liked The Gladiator, after being forced to watch it.
Plus ninjas with swords can be tolerable, but no karate/kung fu movies made in any other language besides English and pitifully voiced over. Karate Kid was ok, but it's grandfathered in. I never could bring myself to watch all of the sequels. Though the one where they threw the bansai tree off the cliff was unintentionally funny.

Karate Kid...Jesus. Seriously, watch Jackie Chan's The Legend of Drunken Master. It's the gateway drug to kung fu movies. I'm almost 100% sure you'll like it, it's so much fun.

Chan is amazing if only for his physical talents. There are few who can approach Buster Keaton's probably never-matched abilities, but Chan does. I'd bet few here have seen any Keaton movies or even shorts, black and white, and silent, unwatchable!!!! If movies make this list for those reasons, you don't know much about movies.

This guy does great, highly recommended videos, all of them, this is his take on Chan.

@IWS and @crank...
Very interesting vids! Enjoyed them both.

VazScep wrote:I won't watch those torture porn films (Hostel), nor Human Centipede.

My mother is friends with the parents of one of the leads from Hostel. As it was his first big role they made sure to go and see the premiere. Knowing his mother and how prim and proper a lady she is and hearing about her reaction not just to the film but to watching what happens to her child on screen was funny enough to get me to watch the movie.

The_Piper wrote:

SafeAsMilk wrote:

The_Piper wrote:

PensivePenny wrote:I don't mind watching a movie for the beef. All this talk about hating superhero movies. Thor? Seriously?

Is that a movie? If so, it's on my list of avoidance due to swords and/or super heroes. Light sabers are ok, plus I liked The Gladiator, after being forced to watch it.
Plus ninjas with swords can be tolerable, but no karate/kung fu movies made in any other language besides English and pitifully voiced over. Karate Kid was ok, but it's grandfathered in. I never could bring myself to watch all of the sequels. Though the one where they threw the bansai tree off the cliff was unintentionally funny.

Karate Kid...Jesus. Seriously, watch Jackie Chan's The Legend of Drunken Master. It's the gateway drug to kung fu movies. I'm almost 100% sure you'll like it, it's so much fun.

That's pretty confident. I've seen a couple of obscure Jackie Chan movies in the past and thought it was boring. I can't get into Bruce Lee movies either. No Daniel-San? That one has some unintentional humor also. Remember when they pushed him down the hill on his bike?
I found that movie on YT, so perhaps I'll watch some of it.

I can see why you'd find most kung fu movies boring -- a good chunk of a bunch of Chan's older movies are boring. It's all about when the crazy shit happens, like fighting bad guys with bikes and ladders and shit and jumping off of buildings, for real, over and over again until he gets it right. LoDM is one of the most watchable ones plot-wise, so that's why I think it's a good starting point. Project A might be a good one as well if you can get to the point where all the fighting starts, there's just some insane gymnastics and dumb physical comedy that's genuinely funny.

Karate Kid, on the other hand, is pure crap through and through. Boring-ass generic characters AND shit fight scenes. If what passes for humor in those is enjoyable to you, then you should love Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung movies

I'm calling shenanigans on the Marvel vid. He should've been more specific in his question. Marvel is a suite of interconnected franchises, not a single franchise like Potter, Bond, or Star Wars. Had he asked The Avengers specifically it would've been easier.

SafeAsMilk wrote:

The_Piper wrote:

SafeAsMilk wrote:

The_Piper wrote:
Is that a movie? If so, it's on my list of avoidance due to swords and/or super heroes. Light sabers are ok, plus I liked The Gladiator, after being forced to watch it.
Plus ninjas with swords can be tolerable, but no karate/kung fu movies made in any other language besides English and pitifully voiced over. Karate Kid was ok, but it's grandfathered in. I never could bring myself to watch all of the sequels. Though the one where they threw the bansai tree off the cliff was unintentionally funny.

Karate Kid...Jesus. Seriously, watch Jackie Chan's The Legend of Drunken Master. It's the gateway drug to kung fu movies. I'm almost 100% sure you'll like it, it's so much fun.

That's pretty confident. I've seen a couple of obscure Jackie Chan movies in the past and thought it was boring. I can't get into Bruce Lee movies either. No Daniel-San? That one has some unintentional humor also. Remember when they pushed him down the hill on his bike?
I found that movie on YT, so perhaps I'll watch some of it.

I can see why you'd find most kung fu movies boring -- a good chunk of a bunch of Chan's older movies are boring. It's all about when the crazy shit happens, like fighting bad guys with bikes and ladders and shit and jumping off of buildings, for real, over and over again until he gets it right. LoDM is one of the most watchable ones plot-wise, so that's why I think it's a good starting point. Project A might be a good one as well if you can get to the point where all the fighting starts, there's just some insane gymnastics and dumb physical comedy that's genuinely funny.

Karate Kid, on the other hand, is pure crap through and through. Boring-ass generic characters AND shit fight scenes. If what passes for humor in those is enjoyable to you, then you should love Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung movies

No, I said it was the unintentional humor. Pushing Daniel-san down the hill on his bike was one of the last straws before Mr Miagi beat them all up.
Also I said it was grandfathered in. That movie came out when I was like 9, it was so cool to me then. I fully recognize the cheesy aspects of it (the whole thing), and I can't remember the last time I watched it. It was probably on VHS tape. It probably doesn't count as a karate movie in the context that I was talking about. I don't picture myself liking a voiced-over kung fu movie at this point. I'll try the drunken master one because you gave me such good turkey-cooking advice.