MolarAm🔵
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Post by MolarAm🔵 on Apr 10, 2024 5:07:53 GMT
The book it's based on was basically written out of a literary sweatshop. So it wouldn't surprise me that all memory of its adaptation disappears, immediately after the credits roll.
(In reference to I Am Number Four, hi new page)
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MolarAm🔵
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Post by MolarAm🔵 on Apr 10, 2024 5:11:53 GMT
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Post by paulyboy81 on Apr 10, 2024 9:48:21 GMT
Fascinating, cheers for this. Excellent read for anyone else interested. Doesn't surprise me in the slightest mind you. It's so obviously written to a spec, as I assume a lot of post Harry Potter youth fiction is, albeit *hopefully* without the questionable ethics of the above, although I wouldn't hold my breath on that either. But yeah, film itself is mostly crap, but like I said the last half hour is much better than it has any right to be really. |
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Post by Trowel 🏴 on Apr 10, 2024 11:47:04 GMT
Pinball: the man who saved the game (Prime) - 7/10
I'd never heard of this, but it's a really nice rom-com telling the true story of the man who helped make pinball legal in New York. There's a 4th wall approach to the narration throughout with mixed success, but the actors are clearly having fun with the characters, none more so than Bryan Batt (Mad Men's Salvatore) who camps the hell out of an otherwise minor role. Special mention for the craziest moustache I've ever seen in a movie. A lovely 90 minute palette cleanser.
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Post by simple on Apr 10, 2024 11:53:19 GMT
Frey is such an odd guy. You could easily see a Sorkin type movie or Apple series coming out and dramatising/glamourising his grift one day. EDIT: that article is a hell of a read, well recommended. |
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Post by gamingdave on Apr 10, 2024 12:01:44 GMT
Pinball: the man who saved the game (Prime) - 7/10 I'd never heard of this, but it's a really nice rom-com telling the true story of the man who helped make pinball legal in New York. There's a 4th wall approach to the narration throughout with mixed success, but the actors are clearly having fun with the characters, none more so than Bryan Batt (Mad Men's Salvatore) who camps the hell out of an otherwise minor role. Special mention for the craziest moustache I've ever seen in a movie. A lovely 90 minute palette cleanser. Just watched the trailer, and as someone who loves pinball, this looks like a perfect one to save for a lazy Sunday afternoon |
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mrpon
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Post by mrpon on Apr 10, 2024 15:06:48 GMT
Anatomy Of A Fall (Free on Prime) Lead actress was amazing. Flip flopped between French (with subtitles) and English and showed her acting chops from sympathetic right through to spitting rage! Snoop* was great  8/10 * a dog  |
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Binky
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Post by Binky on Apr 10, 2024 17:47:39 GMT
For those watching it on Prime did you have the same situation as I did where the subtitles were only offered FULLY with [CC]?
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Post by Dougs on Apr 10, 2024 18:03:26 GMT
Hate that, quite common it seems
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jono62
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Post by jono62 on Apr 10, 2024 18:15:02 GMT
Hate that, quite common it seems 🎵🎵Suspenseful music. I agree. |
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Post by Whizzo on Apr 10, 2024 19:00:22 GMT
Hate that, quite common it seems Disney+ has a similar issue, I tried watching a French show on there and it was putting up stuff that was clearly for people who have no hearing not that their French was a bit ropey/non-existent. [MUSIC PLAYING] I know I can fucking hear it!
Less annoying but still a bit annoying is Netflix's fascination at translating signs, that are completely unimportant, in Korean dramas. I didn't need to see SUPERMARKET pop up every time the camera went anywhere near the shop in the bottom of the apartment block in "Sweet Home" for example.
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britesparc
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Post by britesparc on Apr 10, 2024 19:25:30 GMT
Since I had kids, and I've watched films when they're asleep, I've just gotten into the habit of watching films with subtitles on anyway, so it doesn't bother me.
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Post by damagedinc on Apr 10, 2024 19:54:14 GMT
Hate that, quite common it seems 🎵🎵Suspenseful music. I agree. Yup add me to the list. Maybe because I am approaching 40/kids bla bla bla but I really struggle with the bad sound mixing of modern TV and films. The dialogue is often too quiet and then BIG LOUD NOISES for anything else. Also alot of mumbling. So I love me some subtitles but I don't need to know about the "foreboding music" |
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Tomo
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Post by Tomo on Apr 10, 2024 22:41:35 GMT
Close - Mubi - 8/10
Heart-wrenching film about a tragedy involving two 13 year old bezzie mates. Amazing performances from the kid actors conveying all range of emotions beyond their years. Pretty tough watch at times.
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Post by Bill in the rain on Apr 11, 2024 1:18:01 GMT
🎵🎵Suspenseful music. I agree. Yup add me to the list. Maybe because I am approaching 40/kids bla bla bla but I really struggle with the bad sound mixing of modern TV and films. The dialogue is often too quiet and then BIG LOUD NOISES for anything else. Also alot of mumbling. So I love me some subtitles but I don't need to know about the "foreboding music" Same. Some audio systems have the ability to try and even out the dialogue with the loud bits. Unfortunately it seems to have a different name in every device/app. Dynamic Range Compression / DRC or something like that. How well it works also depends a lot on the implementation, but it can be better than nothing. |
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Post by harrypalmer on Apr 11, 2024 8:00:17 GMT
Return to Seoul (Mubi) - 3.5/5
A young woman raised in France returns to the place of her birth (Seoul!) and reluctantly searches for her biological parents. An odd film with an incredibly engaging central performance. She's quite messed up, confident but vulnerable and you're never sure what she's going to do or why. A bit like a down-beat Lost in Translation.
Your Highness (dvd) - 2.5/5
The nadir of stoner gross out yuck fests. I find Danny McBride incredibly charming and this is no different. It's puerile and wrong on many levels, but it hits just about enough times to make it worthwhile. There are some laugh out loud moments, and some head shakingly bad ones. Justin Theroux has all the best scenes as the villain acting out a teenage rape fantasy.
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MolarAm🔵
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Post by MolarAm🔵 on Apr 11, 2024 8:16:25 GMT
Your Highness was one of the most painful cinema experiences I've ever had. There's just nothing worse than a shit comedy, because it's failed at its only purpose.
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Post by harrypalmer on Apr 11, 2024 8:30:01 GMT
haha - there is definitely a time where I would have absolutely detested it, but over time I've grown quite fond of this kind of thing - rampant, unchecked silliness. I think a pretty sizeable uptick in the amount of weed I smoke might have something to do with it.
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MolarAm🔵
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Post by MolarAm🔵 on Apr 11, 2024 8:47:41 GMT
Honestly, they probably were high to the point where "how about we do modern swears in ye olde English" seemed like a great idea to base an entire movie on.
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MolarAm🔵
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Post by MolarAm🔵 on Apr 11, 2024 8:49:14 GMT
(which is pretty high)
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MolarAm🔵
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Post by MolarAm🔵 on Apr 11, 2024 8:52:42 GMT
For the record, I'm not against stoner movies. I really liked Pineapple Express! (especially the Top Gun bit)
But Your Highness did not land in the slightest for me.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 11, 2024 8:58:25 GMT
Even as a stoner film is absolutely shit, I hate that film and I like Danny McBride and that brand of comedy. It was just not funny.
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Post by harrypalmer on Apr 11, 2024 9:08:58 GMT
I've seen McBride talk about what a huge misstep it was to make an r rated film for 13 yr old boys and how embarrassing it was to shoot it in Ireland with an entirely British crew who (rightly) looked at them like they were complete dick heads.
I think the main reason I don't hate it are that it did make me laugh uproariously several times, usually at just how ridiculously stupid and puerile it was. I respect ridiculousness in films, as it's dying out. It would not get made now, which is probably a good thing overall.
I couldnt get through This is the End though, that rubbed me up the wrong way. Loved Pineapple Express, which I actually think was the turning point for me on these sorts of films where previously I would have avoided them like the plague.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 11, 2024 9:19:40 GMT
Heh, I loved This is the End. Ridiculous and actually funny.
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Post by harrypalmer on Apr 11, 2024 9:29:46 GMT
True, I should try again, it was a while ago during my dour phase.
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Reviewer
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Post by Reviewer on Apr 11, 2024 9:50:30 GMT
On subtitles it’s not an age thing, it’s how they’re recorded and mixed these days for setups that most people don’t have. There are a few exceptions where they do it deliberately (Nolan) but the rest is just poor audio engineering.
Listen to older stuff and there’s no issue at all.
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Post by technoish on Apr 11, 2024 10:04:58 GMT
Yeah, I never have the problem with my home cinema set up... TV speakers are awful.
My old sonos beam had a good voice boost.
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Post by gamingdave on Apr 11, 2024 11:34:19 GMT
I've got a (relatively) high-end system, it's not an IMAX but I would wager only really dedicated home cinema enthusiasts have noticeably better sound in their living rooms. It's by no means all, but a fair increasingly modern stuff is fine if played at reference level, but dialogue is far too low if playing at more moderate (not to mention late night neighbour friendly) volumes.
Seems far too many people mastering content are doing so in editing suites dialed all the way up and not considering most people won't consume it at anywhere near those volume levels, or with more than two speakers.
The same can be said for the picture in a lot of cases. People are mastering for HDR displays more capable than those in peoples homes making night time scenes almost impossible to see even on a top end TV. Those on non-HDR displays with high brightness are left with a terrible experience.
On the flip side, stick on a nicely mastered BR (or even DVD) from something made 10 or more years ago and you normally get a lovely picture with perfectly legible audio.
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Post by Bill in the rain on Apr 11, 2024 13:47:49 GMT
On subtitles it’s not an age thing, it’s how they’re recorded and mixed these days for setups that most people don’t have. There are a few exceptions where they do it deliberately (Nolan) but the rest is just poor audio engineering. Listen to older stuff and there’s no issue at all. Not sure about that, as I remember my parents complaining all the time when I was a kid about the dialogue being too low in movies. Though that was back in the days of VHS and probably pretty basic tv audio.
Stereo downmixing from 5.1/7.1 sources probably doesn't help.
I'm also often watching older discs, and they seem to have the same issue.
I suspect if I was listening at high volume with a full 7.1 surround system and I could tweak the center speakers then I could get them to sound pretty clear, but if you're in a Tokyo apartment after the kids have gone to bed then you don't want a subwoofer shaking the floor, and you're probably listening at low volumes.
------
Talking of high volumes, I just got back from watching Dune 2 in IMAX. Similar to part 1, the music and explosions were so loud that my seat was actually shaking! And I definitely didn't pay extra for the 4DX version.
I actually missed some of the dialogue because some parts were so bloody loud. Or maybe it's just me getting old.
Both parts of Dune are weird in that they're less than the sum of their parts, and I'm not really sure why. The production design and sfx are epic and stunning. The acting is all good. The music and audio design is great (if too loud!). Pretty much all the parts are 10/10 and yet I find it all coming together as about a 7.5/10. Maybe just a bit better than Part 1.
I think the problem is the way the overall story arcs are introduced and followed through. Though I'm not sure if the issue is due to the movie, or the familiarity of the original story. Maybe both. But then the LotR movies are similarly epic with a similarly familiar story, and I'd rate those way higher.
Almost every individual scene is great and some of them are epic, but the way they're fitted together is oddly unsatisfying. They mostly avoid foreshadowing stuff, but that means they keep introducing stuff just before it becomes relevant, which kinda diminishes its emotional impact. If they were doing Chekov's gun they'd fail to show it until the moment it was drawn and fired. I feel like someone could go through and re-edit the movies and make something amazing, just by reordering some of the scenes so that I actually care about stuff. As it is, it's just epic stuff happens for 3 hours and then we go home.
Needs more spooky kid-sisters / 10
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britesparc
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Post by britesparc on Apr 11, 2024 13:58:46 GMT
Yeah, I don't think the subtitles thing is me getting old and getting deafer, nor is it that modern films are mixed "wrong". I think in my case it's just that four or five years of always having the TV volume turned quite far down and needing subtitles has conditioned me to watch this way. I guess I feel a bit self-conscious if it's a film that only I want to watch, usually when everyone else is asleep. Sometimes I put my headphones on.
When I was making promos on the reg, for the BBC and ITV, most of the sound techs I went to for the audio dub would have a bog standard TV in their dubbing suites, and they'd play everything through the telly speakers as a final check to make sure it sounded okay without the huge, expensive equipment. And this was for, like, an Almost Naked Animals* promo, so I'd hope that Hollywood films are doing something similar.
*Genuinely a real show that was on CITV. Actually quite good.
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