Interesting. Hamlet (no matter how bad the production) wasn't really something they would have tackled in the earlier seasons. But apparently things have changed. When I caught a few episodes, it was from the early Comedy Central seasons, not the current SciFi Channel offerings.
Yes, sk, how about UNFORGIVEN? Apart from its other qualities, it has one of the best screenplays ever written for a western. On the surface is the story of William Munny, but underneath is a fascinating moral/political sub-text. I'd be happy to give you and/or Jim my interpretation of it, if either of you are interested.
Jim, it's interesting how many of these humorous sites have a go at Shakespeare. I clicked the "Episodes" button and homed right in on "Hamlet" - and got a good laugh. But notice how respectful of The Bard the guy remains.
OIC. Sounds like a laff riot. Near where I live the proprietors of a struggling cinema conceived the idea of showing a bunch of cheap Italian Hercules movies. The catch was that they showed them silent and voiced-over hilarious scripts they had written themselves. They made a mint out of it.
While I liked The Highlander (the first one), Lambert deserves an even stronger showing on the bottom 20, as Fortress wasn't included on this list. Now there is some MST3K fodder!
Well, you can take Lake Placid off your list. Some of the dialog was entertaining, and there were a couple (at the most) suspenseful moments, but the movie was far too uneven and poorly paced to maintain interest. But I think the biggest problem was that the crocodile [a] wasn't exceptional in any way, and [b] never really *hunted* our heros. You never have a sense that the croc is on the offensive; it's just a dumb animal. It was a mindless movie that should have been more mindless. Like if the croc was mutated by toxic waste, or at least off the charts in terms of size and smarts. On the bright side, I liked the sheriff.
Mystery Science Theater 3000. I don't know if it made it outside the US. Used to be on Comedy Central. The premise is this guy is trapped on a spaceship with a couple sarcastic robots, and is forced to watch science fiction and fantasy B-movies. You just see their silhouettes near the bottom of the B-movie (like they are sitting in front of you in a darkened theater). During the movie, they make all kinds of snide comments, provide their own dialog and reactions to what is going on in the movie, etc. Sounds like a filmgoer's hell, syndicated, but it was quite funny at times. We've been cableless for quite awhile, so I'm not sure if it's still on, even in reruns. Anyway, Fortress was definitely bad enough to be funny, and is therefore decent MST3K fodder.
Yes, I know. I've piled up debts like that all over TL. As I said to sk somewhere, I'm going to have to round them all up and really do something about them if I want to be taken seriously around here. So, to get to the point...I won't promise to see RLR.
Thanks for the reading recommendation, but, frankly, it's unlikely I'll take it up - even if I do happen to spot the book. I just have too many other reading priorites, and I'm a genre addict, the genre being sf. I rarely read any non-fiction other than popular science or philosophy - both of which are related to sf (or, rather, vice-versa). A shameful admission, perhaps, but there it is.
Wow! Thanks. You could have told me to mind my own beeswax.
It's strange what we consider to be escapist, isn't it. A movie in which a mega-computer and its robotic minions threaten humankind with extinction. Another movie in which a mega-comuter uses human wetware for its own ends and keeps us in a false 'reality'. And a movie in which one of modern man's greatest fears, invasion of Earth by hostile aliens, is realised. I guess the escapism is that we defeat these threats - but think how scary that is.
I would want to distinguish between fun, unrealistic violence, a la THE CROW, and nasty, realistic, morality-eroding violence, a la RD. But maybe that's a passe attitude now.
I can see how THE LAST WAVE qualifies as 'sacred drama', but FANNY AND ALEXANDER? But you place these movies under 'surreal'. My favorite surreal movie is Terry Gilliam's BRAZIL.
Some of us have had our fathers around for decades and still don't really know them - if that's any comfort.
Ah, yes, I enjoyed REAL GENIUS - one of the few college life wish-fulfilment fantasies for intelligent students.
And you missed AMERICAN BEAUTY - but that's okay, I haven't seen it yet.
I will happily give my report if it's ever not rented out. But you still owe me a viewing of Deep Blue Sea. :)
Run Lola Run was interesting. After I finished it, I thought "good but not great, but I expect I'll like it better tomorrow." Tomorrow came and I felt the same way, so I wasn't going to add it to a list. But as the day wore on, I kept having images of it flash through my mind. Now days later, I'm still having flashbacks, and I'm coming to like it even more. Definitely worth watching.
Idoru is very good, and kind of a prerequisite for All Tomorrow's Parties if you're going to be reading that. I've heard good things about Only Begotten Daughter and the rest of Morrow's work.
If you've seen Full Metal Jacket and enjoyed it, you owe it to yourself to pick up a copy of Gustav Halford's THE SHORT-TIMERS, the novel on which the movie was based.
It's a quick, but devastating, read... and mighty hard to find in print these days (I borrowed my copy from my ex and regret not "forgetting to return it," although I'm usually more honorable than that ;)
I've not read MARCHING..., but there's another alternate history novel, BRING THE JUBILEE by Ward Moore, the title of which, unless I'm badly mistaken, is taken from the same song.
Being geek, H.A.R.L.I.E worked for me as a computer story-- but also as a philosophical work on what it means to be truly human. Alternate-universe and time travel work for me... otherwise, Marching Through Georgia would never have made it to the list.
People who like alternate history really ought to look into Stirling's Domination of the Draka universe (recently bundled up into a compiled work called The Domination). Very nice, sharp work. I used to say I didn't like war novels, and then I read Stirling.
Interesting. Hamlet (no matter how bad the production) wasn't really something they would have tackled in the earlier seasons. But apparently things have changed. When I caught a few episodes, it was from the early Comedy Central seasons, not the current SciFi Channel offerings.
Yes, sk, how about UNFORGIVEN? Apart from its other qualities, it has one of the best screenplays ever written for a western. On the surface is the story of William Munny, but underneath is a fascinating moral/political sub-text. I'd be happy to give you and/or Jim my interpretation of it, if either of you are interested.
Jim, it's interesting how many of these humorous sites have a go at Shakespeare. I clicked the "Episodes" button and homed right in on "Hamlet" - and got a good laugh. But notice how respectful of The Bard the guy remains.
OIC. Sounds like a laff riot. Near where I live the proprietors of a struggling cinema conceived the idea of showing a bunch of cheap Italian Hercules movies. The catch was that they showed them silent and voiced-over hilarious scripts they had written themselves. They made a mint out of it.
While I liked The Highlander (the first one), Lambert deserves an even stronger showing on the bottom 20, as Fortress wasn't included on this list. Now there is some MST3K fodder!
Well, you can take Lake Placid off your list. Some of the dialog was entertaining, and there were a couple (at the most) suspenseful moments, but the movie was far too uneven and poorly paced to maintain interest. But I think the biggest problem was that the crocodile [a] wasn't exceptional in any way, and [b] never really *hunted* our heros. You never have a sense that the croc is on the offensive; it's just a dumb animal. It was a mindless movie that should have been more mindless. Like if the croc was mutated by toxic waste, or at least off the charts in terms of size and smarts. On the bright side, I liked the sheriff.
Mystery Science Theater 3000. I don't know if it made it outside the US. Used to be on Comedy Central. The premise is this guy is trapped on a spaceship with a couple sarcastic robots, and is forced to watch science fiction and fantasy B-movies. You just see their silhouettes near the bottom of the B-movie (like they are sitting in front of you in a darkened theater). During the movie, they make all kinds of snide comments, provide their own dialog and reactions to what is going on in the movie, etc. Sounds like a filmgoer's hell, syndicated, but it was quite funny at times. We've been cableless for quite awhile, so I'm not sure if it's still on, even in reruns. Anyway, Fortress was definitely bad enough to be funny, and is therefore decent MST3K fodder.
Hmm...MST3000...?...MysteryScenicTours...Microsoft SucksTotally...MakeSomeToast...? Derrr...
What a crock! How disappointing. But thanks for the report. And I'll try to see DBS asap.
I assure you, I wasn't suggesting otherwise.
Are you going to add RUN SILENT... to your list, or are you holding out for a sweatier sub?
Jim, I was more intrigued by the Bottom 20 list. Did you notice that there are three Christopher Lambert movies there, including BEOWULF?
Yes, I know. I've piled up debts like that all over TL. As I said to sk somewhere, I'm going to have to round them all up and really do something about them if I want to be taken seriously around here. So, to get to the point...I won't promise to see RLR.
I know,these are mostly blues artists and Ritchie really doesn't fit,but I couldn't resist to an old hard rock passion
this is a very good list but I don't think Ritchie Blackmore fits in
Thanks for the reading recommendation, but, frankly, it's unlikely I'll take it up - even if I do happen to spot the book. I just have too many other reading priorites, and I'm a genre addict, the genre being sf. I rarely read any non-fiction other than popular science or philosophy - both of which are related to sf (or, rather, vice-versa). A shameful admission, perhaps, but there it is.
Wow! Thanks. You could have told me to mind my own beeswax.
It's strange what we consider to be escapist, isn't it. A movie in which a mega-computer and its robotic minions threaten humankind with extinction. Another movie in which a mega-comuter uses human wetware for its own ends and keeps us in a false 'reality'. And a movie in which one of modern man's greatest fears, invasion of Earth by hostile aliens, is realised. I guess the escapism is that we defeat these threats - but think how scary that is.
I would want to distinguish between fun, unrealistic violence, a la THE CROW, and nasty, realistic, morality-eroding violence, a la RD. But maybe that's a passe attitude now.
I can see how THE LAST WAVE qualifies as 'sacred drama', but FANNY AND ALEXANDER? But you place these movies under 'surreal'. My favorite surreal movie is Terry Gilliam's BRAZIL.
Some of us have had our fathers around for decades and still don't really know them - if that's any comfort.
Ah, yes, I enjoyed REAL GENIUS - one of the few college life wish-fulfilment fantasies for intelligent students.
And you missed AMERICAN BEAUTY - but that's okay, I haven't seen it yet.
Jim, when you get to see LAKE PLACID will you advise me as to whether it belongs on this list?
Don't worry too much about having failed to hate THE FACULTY, I suffered the same failure. But, to get to the point...'fraid I've not seen RLR:-)
I will happily give my report if it's ever not rented out. But you still owe me a viewing of Deep Blue Sea. :)
Run Lola Run was interesting. After I finished it, I thought "good but not great, but I expect I'll like it better tomorrow." Tomorrow came and I felt the same way, so I wasn't going to add it to a list. But as the day wore on, I kept having images of it flash through my mind. Now days later, I'm still having flashbacks, and I'm coming to like it even more. Definitely worth watching.
seres maderfakeru
Idoru is very good, and kind of a prerequisite for All Tomorrow's Parties if you're going to be reading that. I've heard good things about Only Begotten Daughter and the rest of Morrow's work.
If you've seen Full Metal Jacket and enjoyed it, you owe it to yourself to pick up a copy of Gustav Halford's THE SHORT-TIMERS, the novel on which the movie was based.
It's a quick, but devastating, read... and mighty hard to find in print these days (I borrowed my copy from my ex and regret not "forgetting to return it," although I'm usually more honorable than that ;)
I've not read MARCHING..., but there's another alternate history novel, BRING THE JUBILEE by Ward Moore, the title of which, unless I'm badly mistaken, is taken from the same song.
Your wish is my command ;)
Hmm...you could ask everyone about their specially significant movies and see which ones get the most mentions...conduct a sort of totem poll.
:-) seriously though, this list doesn't mean a whole lot to anyone else, unless you care to explain the significances.
Being geek, H.A.R.L.I.E worked for me as a computer story-- but also as a philosophical work on what it means to be truly human. Alternate-universe and time travel work for me... otherwise, Marching Through Georgia would never have made it to the list.
People who like alternate history really ought to look into Stirling's Domination of the Draka universe (recently bundled up into a compiled work called The Domination). Very nice, sharp work. I used to say I didn't like war novels, and then I read Stirling.