Random Movie Thoughts Thread

[Red Herring]

I'll listen to Sorcerer's Apprentice, and I picture anyone other than Mickey Mouse, and it literally works with any character.

I had to memorize the original 1797 poem The Sorcerer's Apprentice by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, that the Fantasia scene is based on, in 9th grade. So whenever I see Mickey in that robe I think of the poem and the mental images that conjures up rather than the squeeky-voiced rodent.

 

[The Cat]

I had to memorize the original 1797 poem The Sorcerer's Apprentice by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, that the Fantasia scene is based on, in 9th grade. So whenever I see Mickey in that robe I think of the poem and the mental images that conjures up rather than the squeeky-voiced rodent.

I'll have to try that.

 

[Red Herring]

I'll have to try that.

The Sorcerer's Apprentice by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, 1797​

translation by Edwin Zeydel, 1955

That old sorcerer has vanished
And for once has gone away!
Spirits called by him, now banished,
My commands shall soon obey.
Every step and saying
That he used, I know,
And with sprites obeying
My arts I will show.
Flow, flow onward
Stretches many
Spare not any
Water rushing,
Ever streaming fully downward
Toward the pool in current gushing.
Come, old broomstick, you are needed,
Take these rags and wrap them round you!
Long my orders you have heeded,
By my wishes now I've bound you.
Have two legs and stand,
And a head for you.
Run, and in your hand
Hold a bucket too.
Flow, flow onward
Stretches many,
Spare not any
Water rushing,
Ever streaming fully downward
Toward the pool in current gushing.
See him, toward the shore he's racing
There, he's at the stream already,
Back like lightning he is chasing,
Pouring water fast and steady.
Once again he hastens!
How the water spills,
How the water basins
Brimming full he fills!
Stop now, hear me!
Ample measure
Of your treasure
We have gotten!
Ah, I see it, dear me, dear me.
Master's word I have forgotten!
Ah, the word with which the master
Makes the broom a broom once more!
Ah, he runs and fetches faster!
Be a broomstick as before!
Ever new the torrents
That by him are fed,
Ah, a hundred currents
Pour upon my head!
No, no longer
Can I please him,
I will seize him!
That is spiteful!
My misgivings grow the stronger.
What a mien, his eyes how frightful!
Brood of hell, you're not a mortal!
Shall the entire house go under?
Over threshold over portal
Streams of water rush and thunder.
Broom accurst and mean,
Who will have his will,
Stick that you have been,
Once again stand still!
Can I never, Broom, appease you?
I will seize you,
Hold and whack you,
And your ancient wood
I'll sever,
With a whetted axe I'll crack you.
He returns, more water dragging!
Now I'll throw myself upon you!
Soon, O goblin, you'll be sagging.
Crash! The sharp axe has undone you.
What a good blow, truly!
There, he's split, I see.
Hope now rises newly,
And my breathing's free.

Woe betide me!
Both halves scurry
In a hurry,
Rise like towers
There beside me.
Help me, help, eternal powers!

Off they run, till wet and wetter
Hall and steps immersed are Iying.
What a flood that naught can fetter!
Lord and master, hear me crying! -
Ah, he comes excited.
Sir, my need is sore.
Spirits that I've cited
My commands ignore.

"To the lonely
Corner, broom!
Hear your doom.
As a spirit
When he wills, your master only
Calls you, then 'tis time to hear it."

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

I'll have to try that.

You can also try thinking of Nick Cage. That's my suggestion.

 

[The Cat]

You can also try thinking of Nick Cage. That's my suggestion.

View attachment 29315

That movie was such a Dresden Files rip off.

 

[Totenkindly]

The Marvels Runtime Reportedly Revealed, and Would Break a 10 Year Record for the MCU

A new rumor has seemingly revealed that The Marvels will set a new record for an MCU movie when it comes to its runtime.

movieweb.com

Ummm... well, normally 93 minutes for anything not a comedy usually means they had to chop so much footage that they couldn't get a 1:40 or 1:45 hour film of usable material. It's hard to believe the MCU (where EVERYTHING runs long, including their shows, where episodes really need to be shorter) has a film with three heroes, a villain, and Nick Fury coming in at only an hour and a half. I typically only see that length on B-horror flicks or films that are really bad.

Not that this is a shocker of any sort. The buzz has been bad a long time on this film.

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

That movie was such a Dresden Files rip off.

The worst thing about it to me sounds like this:

Before dying, Merlin gives Balthazar a dragon figurine that will identify the Prime Merlinean, Merlin's descendant and the only one able to defeat Morgana

That must have been a placeholder they forget to rename, right?

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

You have heard of Casablanca?

I think it was part of the spirit of the time that we all have to make certain sacrifices for things that are bigger than our own personal interests.
I can also think of a bunch of noirs where the (anti)hero does not "get the girl".

I wouldn't really call Casablanca a noir, though. This is a movie about a cynical, former idealist who decides that there are things he wants to sacrifice for after all. Noir protagonists usually don't have a character arc like that. I think noir is more of a post-war genre, while this film was made contemporaneously with the war.

 

[Red Herring]

I wouldn't really call Casablanca a noir, though. This is a movie about a cynical, former idealist who decides that there are things he wants to sacrifice for after all. Noir protagonists usually don't have a character arc like that. I think noir is more of a post-war genre, while this film was made contemporaneously with the war.

I said "I can also think of a bunch of Noirs" not "I can also think of a bunch of other noirs". English might not be my native language but I don't think this implies that I'd consider Casablanca a noir.
Thanks for mansplaining a genre I've been enjoying and reading about for over twenty years.

 

[The Cat]

I wouldn't really call Casablanca a noir, though. This is a movie about a cynical, former idealist who decides that there are things he wants to sacrifice for after all. Noir protagonists usually don't have a character arc like that. I think noir is more of a post-war genre, while this film was made contemporaneously with the war.

I would call it a romantic noir. The noir comes from the real life aspects of it. Some really great noir type stories have protagonists who dispite their best efforts to front to the contrary are still rank sentimentalists and romantics. Also some of the best Noir comes from before WWII because WWI and prohibition a good 20 years before WWII But yeah dude, criminals in real life can be sentimental and romantic, its not a stretch to make an antihero one.

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

I said "I can also think of a bunch of Noirs" not "I can also think of a bunch of other noirs". English might not be my native language but I don't think this implies that I'd consider Casablanca a noir.
Thanks for mansplaining a genre I've been enjoying and reading about for over twenty years.

I really did interpret that post as saying that Casablanca was a noir. I can see how someone else would consider it one; it even has one of the stars of the genre.

I enjoy just sharing something that's in my head, and seeing if anyone else cares about it (usually the answer is no). I like trying to piece together why Casablanca isn't a noir, because I already know that it isn't. I haven't read extensive texts or taken courses on this subject but the subject excited me a little. I started to have this idea forming in my head about why noir was a postwar genre, inspired by a podcast I listened to. I couldn't begin to articulate it here and have it come out right.

In my excitement, I caused harm, and I apologize for that. I enjoy your presence here, so hopefully I'm doing this right.

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

I would call it a romantic noir. The noir comes from the real life aspects of it. Some really great noir type stories have protagonists who dispite their best efforts to front to the contrary are still rank sentimentalists and romantics. Also some of the best Noir comes from before WWII because WWI and prohibition a good 20 years before WWII But yeah dude, criminals in real life can be sentimental and romantic, its not a stretch to make an antihero one.

But the movies I see as noir, even if they are sentimentalists, the protagonists are much more static. They don't make a big change to start doing something like Rick does. They'll be sympathetic towards people on the way, but they maintain the cynical distance.

Of course you can see in the beginning that RIck was always a sentimentalist underneath it all, despite his protestations, because he's rigging casino games to help refugees escape.

 

[Red Herring]

I really did interpret that post as saying that Casablanca was a noir. I can see how someone else would consider it one; it even has one of the stars of the genre.

I enjoy just sharing something that's in my head, and seeing if anyone else cares about it (usually the answer is no). I like trying to piece together why Casablanca isn't a noir, because I already know that it isn't. I haven't read extensive texts or taken courses on this subject but the subject excited me a little. I started to have this idea forming in my head about why noir was a postwar genre, inspired by a podcast I listened to. I couldn't begin to articulate it here and have it come out right.

In my excitement, I caused harm, and I apologize for that. I enjoy your presence here, so hopefully I'm doing this right.

Don't worry. No drama.
You, the Cat and VG are the three people I interact with the most on here.

I just felt talked down to a bit and have reached an age where I have finally learned to openly say so.
As a typical INTP jane-of-all-trades there are a few topics I care about and have dug into over the years but there isn't a single one I would feel comfortable to call myself knowledgeable about (as a matter of principle). However, when one of them gets explained to me like I'm 8 l can get touchy. My (actually 8-year-old) daughter is even more sensitive. She'll totally flip when explained something she already knows (or thinks she knows).

As for the definition of noir and what classics qualify, Ivd be happy to discuss that as soon as I've bought the kids to bed.

 

[The Cat]

But the movies I see as noir, even if they are sentimentalists, the protagonists are much more static. They don't make a big change to start doing something like Rick does. They'll be sympathetic towards people on the way, but they maintain the cynical distance.

Of course you can see in the beginning that RIck was always a sentimalists underneath it all, despite his protestations, because he's rigging casino games to help refugees escape.

This I think is the most movie magic thing that drives actual people insane. Static is madness for creatures who's only consistency is the necessity to constantly change. regarding the cynical distance i find this like all things lives in the perspective of the witness.

For example: This picture alone. The story you tell vs the story I tell and the Story Herring would tell...All would be different, but all would still be noir. perpsective is half the battle.

Another example from a different time period noir story:

or this other one.

Noir is just another aesthetic of storytelling. Storytelling + time = folklore. folkore+time + trancendence = mythology.
​

 

[Totenkindly]

My 4K steelbox for "Across the Spiderverse" came this morning.

I started watching it again (I saw it in theaters) and the whole intro is better than anything MCU has put out since Endgame -- pathos, emotion, scripting, creative animation and visuals/color -- just pretty amazing. Like, just the first FIFTEEN minutes.

And now that I know the ending, I could really recognize how the whole intro is setting up the last 5-10 minutes of the film. God, who would have thought? Writing a film that is actually internally cohesive, after Endgame? WTF, this can't involve a Marvel property with people who can actually write a structured story, can it? Geeez.

 

[The Cat]

My 4K steelbox for "Across the Spiderverse" came this morning.

I started watching it again (I saw it in theaters) and the whole intro is better than anything MCU has put out since Endgame -- pathos, emotion, scripting, creative animation and visuals/color -- just pretty amazing. Like, just the first FIFTEEN minutes.

And now that I know the ending, I could really recognize how the whole intro is setting up the last 5-10 minutes of the film. God, who would have thought? Writing a film that is actually internally cohesive, after Endgame? WTF, this can't involve a Marvel property with people who can actually write a structured story, can it? Geeez.

People can write films that are internally cohesive. Ive started watching ai generated content to see what its like with no Wizard of Oz smoke and curtains, and I'll be honest a LOT of recent tv shows and movies make a lot more sense when you factor in that ai not people are being used to write a lot of this stuff.

 

[Totenkindly]

People can write films that are internally cohesive. Ive started watching ai generated content to see what its like with no Wizard of Oz smoke and curtains, and I'll be honest a LOT of recent tv shows and movies make a lot more sense when you factor in that ai not people are being used to write a lot of this stuff.

Well, they have writers rooms, and I've seen interviews with the writer rooms (like for She-Hulk), so I can't blame AI across the board for the shit they've been peddling. The showrunner even tried to justify really lousy plot twists or their approach, which didn't seem to mesh with the show that actually got released. It seemed more (1) they had an intention but (2) their skill level / competence wasn't anywhere up to the task, and (3) they were entirely oblivious that they bombed their intentions.

 

[The Cat]

Well, they have writers rooms, and I've seen interviews with the writer rooms (like for She-Hulk), so I can't blame AI across the board for the shit they've been peddling. The showrunner even tried to justify really lousy plot twists or their approach, which didn't seem to mesh with the show that actually got released. It seemed more (1) they had an intention but (2) their skill level / competence wasn't anywhere up to the task, and (3) they were entirely oblivious that they bombed their intentions.

I find it hard to believe that the "writers" for some shows arent just using chat gpt and trying to pass it off as things theyve written.
Or I reckon there's always that possibility that some writers are so immersed in social media that the algorithm is writing through them like they're little podlings. I just...I refuse to believe some of these things are the result of genuine human effort. Even if there's meatbags technically punching the keys or wielding the pen.

 

[Totenkindly]

Yeah, the whole scene with Gwen talking to her dad at the end uses the trans colors (pastel pink and blue + white/cream).
Yeah, that also lines up with her outfit, in general.
Don't ask me what that mean.

This movie rocks regardless. Still deeply moved, even on second pass.

I find it hard to believe that the "writers" for some shows arent just using chat gpt and trying to pass it off as things theyve written.
Or I reckon there's always that possibility that some writers are so immersed in social media that the algorithm is writing through them like they're little podlings. I just...I refuse to believe some of these things are the result of genuine human effort. Even if there's meatbags technically punching the keys or wielding the pen.

I guess you have more faith in humanity than I do.

I feel like THEY think they know what they're doing, but they're actually just pretty terrible plotters/writers.
I mean, bad writing existed long before ChatGPT did.

 

[The Cat]

Yeah, the whole scene with Gwen talking to her dad at the end uses the trans colors (pastel pink and blue + white/cream).
Yeah, that also lines up with her outfit, in general.
Don't ask me what that mean.

This movie rocks regardless. Still deeply moved, even on second pass.



I guess you have more faith in humanity than I do.

I feel like THEY think they know what they're doing, but they're actually just pretty terrible plotters/writers.
I mean, bad writing existed long before ChatGPT did.

It sure did. I agree with you. I just like sometimes yelling at clouds sometimes. Makes me feel human. I do like to fantasize that humans will start living up to their creative potential, I just like to think we've made more progress with them as a project than perhaps we have. At least in the current iteration. Perhaps this is the dark age before the next creative renaissance? Idk, but a muse can dream can't she?