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Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Norman Chad: Albert Pujols on pace for historic flop

Stu Ungar laughs ~ (tweak mission break) ~ laughs some more ~ (extended tweak mission) ~.....................

A year ago, Albert Pujols was a postmodern Stan Musial. Today, he is a living, breathing “John Carter.”

(“John Carter” cost $250 million or so to make and was a bust at the box office. Pujols cost $250 million or so to land and has been a bust at the ballpark.)

Pujols thought he was going to Disneyland. Instead, he’s wound up in Dante’s Inferno.

In the off-season, Pujols, 32, left St. Louis for Southern California. He became the second basebal l player ever to s ign a $200 million-plus contract — remarkably, Alex Rodriguez has done it twice — and Pujols might become the first player to return the money with a note that says, “Oops — can’t hit no more.”

Repoz Posted: May 15, 2012 at 06:02 AM | 763 comment(s) Login to Bookmark
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   401. BWV 1129 Posted: May 16, 2012 at 06:44 PM (#4133321)
I need to get home &, for once, eat at a reasonable hour, but IIRC this sums it up fairly well.

I may not be following this, or that article isn't very clear. Kirby did work for hire for a number of years at Marvel (that seems indisputable). At some point in the 1980s or 1990s, he signed a contract governing ... we don't know what. Years and years later, Disney bought Marvel, and Kirby's heirs sued for ... something. A share of the sale? And they did not win ... presumably due to the contract he had signed? And because of this, people shouldn't see the movie? Would this all be okay if Marvel just wrote Kirby's heirs a check? For how much?
   402. DA Baracus is gritty and hits with RISP Posted: May 16, 2012 at 06:44 PM (#4133323)
#391 is a pretty good Let Me Tell You Why I Don't Care Rant, but not as good as that Slate link.

Captain America was awful. The ending was ########.

Avengers was fun and good. Most people who saw it don't give a crap about the comic books. Same for Batman, Spiderman, Superman, X-Men... you know, every comic book movie. The average movie goer knows about the characters, probably had some comic books growing up but not a lot and in the case of Batman and X-Men probably watched the animated series but they don't care that much about the characters. And so what? They don't make these movies to wow the fanboys (unless it's a Zach Snyder movie), they make them to wow the general public.
   403. gef the talking mongoose Posted: May 16, 2012 at 06:56 PM (#4133329)

I may not be following this, or that article isn't very clear. Kirby did work for hire for a number of years at Marvel (that seems indisputable). At some point in the 1980s or 1990s, he signed a contract governing ... we don't know what. Years and years later, Disney bought Marvel, and Kirby's heirs sued for ... something. A share of the sale? And they did not win ... presumably due to the contract he had signed? And because of this, people shouldn't see the movie? Would this all be okay if Marvel just wrote Kirby's heirs a check? For how much?


The earlier-mentioned Steve Bissette summed it up last year a lot better than I can (or at least a lot quicker ... as noted, to cop from Eric Burdon, I've gotta get out of this place). His screed is actually addressed to comics fandom (who, as DA Baracaus very correctly noted, are certainly not the target audience for this or any other big-studio comics-based movie), but he addresses the legal concepts & any number of other issues.

   404. Los Angeles El Hombre of Anaheim Posted: May 16, 2012 at 06:57 PM (#4133330)
Years and years later, Disney bought Marvel, and Kirby's heirs sued for ... something. A share of the sale? And they did not win ... presumably due to the contract he had signed? And because of this, people shouldn't see the movie? Would this all be okay if Marvel just wrote Kirby's heirs a check? For how much?
It's more important to be angry.

#391 is a pretty good Let Me Tell You Why I Don't Care Rant
Nobody cares more than the guy who writes big long justifications for why they really don't care about something. If you really didn't care, you wouldn't bother justifying it.

...why don't you go give some cash to Dick Cheney while you're at it? Maybe he'll do something to entertain you, so that would be totally cool.
Is there any group of people won't won't question either my patriotism or my humanity at a drop of a hat?
   405. gef the talking mongoose Posted: May 16, 2012 at 06:59 PM (#4133332)
Is there any group of people won't won't question either my patriotism or my humanity at a drop of a hat?


I'm pretty sure you're human. For all I know you're patriotic (I'm certainly not).
   406. gef the talking mongoose Posted: May 16, 2012 at 07:00 PM (#4133334)
Nobody cares more than the guy who writes big long justifications for why they really don't care about something. If you really didn't care, you wouldn't bother justifying it.


I can write a long post on why I don't care about, say, classical music, too. And believe you me, I care infinitely less about (or for) classical music than I do the worst superhero comic movie ever, ever made.
   407. Manny Coon Posted: May 16, 2012 at 07:04 PM (#4133337)
Also, Paprika is more mindbending than Inception, has a better story than Inception, looks better than Inception and came out like 6 years earlier. But it does not have Leonardo DiCaprio. Not sure I would call it an all time great, but it is a favorite of mine.


I just now found out Satoshi Kon died almost two years ago. Cancer is such ########.
I liked Paprika a lot, although I didn't like the ending much. Inception did nothing for me, seemed a like a self-important popcorn movie, none of the characters were developed enough to care about.
   408. Los Angeles El Hombre of Anaheim Posted: May 16, 2012 at 07:10 PM (#4133343)
I can write a long post on why I don't care about, say, classical music, too. And believe you me, I care infinitely less about (or for) classical music than I do the worst superhero comic movie ever, ever made.
So you just like the sound of your own voice.
   409. BWV 1129 Posted: May 16, 2012 at 07:17 PM (#4133350)
I skimmed the Bissette piece; it was very difficult to read. I'm still not sure what the requested response of Marvel is. I assume that he and others also call for boycotting studios that use creative accounting that gets challenged in court by participants?
   410. Lassus Posted: May 16, 2012 at 07:41 PM (#4133365)
I agree that Marvel behaved pretty abominably towards Kirby in regards to credit for their actual existence. I would like to see them pony up far more than they have both in terms of respect and dollars. The former more important to me, the latter more important to his heirs, I am sure.

I am not sure what the proper response to this is, but a personal boycott of The Avengers is not it. The world is an easier place to make noise these days than it used to be. Making a very loud noise for a very long time about how important Kirby was vs. how unimportant Marvel seemed to think he was sounds a lot better plan for the average concerned Joe.


Also, Paprika is more mindbending than Inception, has a better story than Inception, looks better than Inception and came out like 6 years earlier. But it does not have Leonardo DiCaprio.

I have tried, but outside of AKIRA, I just haven't been able to get excited about anime at all. Ever. By this point I feel like it's a character flaw, but there it is.
   411. YR Misses Reggie Bars Posted: May 16, 2012 at 09:09 PM (#4133474)
I think Eyes Wide Shut might be my favorite Kubrick movie - that's probably overstating it, but it is up there with 2001 and Dr. Strangelove (probably actually my favorite) for me. I think it is an unheralded masterpiece.


I've felt more strongly in favor of this movie as the years have passed, probably concurrently with the degree to which I actively miss Kubrick's presence as an artist. The Blu-Ray transfer is absolutely sumptuous and every set just seems bursting with rich texture and detail.

Those links you posted to relevant reviews of "Eyes Wide Shut" were both well worth a read, I'd recommend anyone interested in the film to give them a read.

Regarding "A.I." I continue to feel as if that movie fell a mere 15 minutes short of true greatness. End the film just a bit earlier, with David at the bottom of the ocean hoping for rescue and redemption as his batteries slowly drained, and I think you have a much more powerful and interesting resolution to the story. That crap at the end with the robo-aliens and bringing his mother back was just too obnoxiously manipulative for my tastes.
   412. BWV 1129 Posted: May 16, 2012 at 09:22 PM (#4133489)
I have long maintained, and continue to maintain, that the idea behind the ending of AI is very interesting, but that Spielberg got the tone wrong (and confused everybody by letting the robots be designed to look just like aliens). The idea of the toy creating a toy of the person that used him as a toy is very nice, and works very well. At one point SK was planning on having it end with the image of the mother disappearing right before David's eyes; that would have worked a lot better than the ending as-is.

The first forty minutes or so of the movie, however, are legitimately fantastic, and possibly the best thing Spielberg has ever done, and possibly the best forty minutes of cinema we've had this century (at least until The Tree of Life).
   413. vortex of dissipation Posted: May 16, 2012 at 09:49 PM (#4133551)
One way of judging movies is the effect they have on you years after seeing them. I know a lot of people denigrate A.I., but the Flesh Fair scene is one of the most memorable, most disturbing, scenes I've ever seen in a movie...
   414. gef the talking mongoose Posted: May 16, 2012 at 10:46 PM (#4133619)
So you just like the sound of your own voice.


Welcome to the wonderful world of internet message boards.

(Also, anyone who can't go on at some length about something he doesn't really care about must never have taken any sort of literature classes requiring essays, themes, papers or what have you. How lucky you are.)
   415. gef the talking mongoose Posted: May 16, 2012 at 10:47 PM (#4133621)
Inception did nothing for me, seemed a like a self-important popcorn movie, none of the characters were developed enough to care about.


So it's not just me. That's a relief, sort of.
   416. gef the talking mongoose Posted: May 16, 2012 at 10:57 PM (#4133625)
Favorite sf films? Completely off the top of my head, & in no order other than roughly chronological ...

The Day the Earth Stood Still
Them!
Invaders from Mars
Invasion of the Body Snatchers
Village of the Damned
Five Million Years to Earth
Silent Running
The Thing
(remake)
Blade Runner
Event Horizon
Mothman Prophecies.


(OK, that's 11, but I can't bear to omit any of those. Furthermore, you can't make me.)

Again, that's completely off the top of my head. I could easily come up with 5 other '50s films (Village of the Damned came out in '60, so obviously it was made in '59, at the latest) I adore -- The Monolith Monsters, original The Thing & Earth vs. the Flying Saucers come immediately to mind -- & could easily do the same with films from the '70s-on, like Close Encounters, the Invasion from the Body Snatchers remake, Man Facing Southeast, Cronenberg's Scanners & The Fly, etc. Hell, probably 10 from the last decade alone, though I'd have to consult my Netflix rental history to come up with several of the likely suspects. (Children of Men is an obvious example.)
   417. YR Misses Reggie Bars Posted: May 16, 2012 at 11:04 PM (#4133630)
Cronenberg's Scanners & The Fly


I'd take Videodrome over both of 'em in a heartbeat. Mmmmm Deborah Harry.
   418. zachtoma Posted: May 17, 2012 at 02:59 AM (#4133685)


So it's not just me. That's a relief, sort of.


I forget who joked that Inception should have been called "Men Without Personalities". Loathed that movie, just like every other Christopher Nolan movie I've ever seen.
   419. gef the talking mongoose Posted: May 17, 2012 at 07:12 AM (#4133704)
*sigh* Realized after going to bed last night that I'd omitted It Came from Outer Space & Road Warrior. I should be shot.
   420. gef the talking mongoose Posted: May 17, 2012 at 07:17 AM (#4133706)
I'd take Videodrome over both of 'em in a heartbeat. Mmmmm Deborah Harry
.

I really need to watch that, having caught only a portion of a network TV broadcast (which seems sort of unlikely, but I know very well that we didn't have cable in my first off-campus apartment back then) circa 1979.

Which IMDb telle me is impossible, because it didn't come till '83. I blame Cronenberg. And Phil Dick, just because false memories & space-time distortions are right up his alley, & there's no doubting that mutliple readings of his novels over more than 3 decades have warped my mind.

At any rate, yeah. I need to see it even more now, especially since I've seen everything else Cronenberg did through, at least, Crash on VHS or DVD. Or so memory tells me.
   421. Cowboy Popup Posted: May 17, 2012 at 07:55 AM (#4133711)
I just now found out Satoshi Kon died almost two years ago. Cancer is such ########.

I think I watched Paprika right after he died, so when I tried to research his stuff, I found out. It is always painful to find an artist you really like and then find he died before you even discovered him.

I have tried, but outside of AKIRA, I just haven't been able to get excited about anime at all. Ever. By this point I feel like it's a character flaw, but there it is.

Anime isn't for everyone. There's a translation issue with a lot of it and sometimes you really just have to grin and bear some of it (like with Trigun for example). But it is a deep source of sci-fi, although most of the best of it is TV Shows. Along with AKIRA, and the others I mentioned, there is Cowboy Bebop, Memories, Neon Genesis Evangelion and a host of hit or miss stuff like Darker Than Black or Here and Now, Then and There. I think the biggest problem with anime is that 98% of it is ####### unwatchable, melodramatic trash. Sifting through it to find something worthwhile is exhausting. If you ever give it another go, the most accessible works are Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo, which also happen to be two of the best anime (or just TV in general) series ever made.

BTW, I think Prometheus is the first Sci-Fi movie that I am genuinely excited for in at least a couple of years, maybe since Wall-E. I enjoyed Avatar, but didn't really get excited for it the way I am getting amped for Prometheus.
   422. Matt Clement of Alexandria Posted: May 17, 2012 at 08:17 AM (#4133713)
I forget who joked that Inception should have been called "Men Without Personalities". Loathed that movie, just like every other Christopher Nolan movie I've ever seen.
I just wish Christopher Nolan's films were praised commensurately to their quality. Inception and Memento and Dark Knight are all stylishly shot, feature good central performances, ideas interesting enough to keep you engaged, and tell well-structured stories. Nolan appears to believe, sadly, that he has Important Things to say about culture and men and reality, which gives these films an air of self-importance, and his fans buy into Nolan as a Sayer of Important Things. It's too bad, because he makes good movies. Given the other writers and directors that Hollywood writes blank checks for, I think it's great that every summer we get a big Christopher Nolan film. But he's no kind of philosopher or cultural critic.

I also really liked The Prestige, which I thought had more clearly delineated characters and a better sense of fun than many of Nolan's other films.
   423. Lassus Posted: May 17, 2012 at 09:05 AM (#4133736)
But it is a deep source of sci-fi, although most of the best of it is TV Shows. Along with AKIRA, and the others I mentioned, there is Cowboy Bebop, Memories, Neon Genesis Evangelion and a host of hit or miss stuff like Darker Than Black or Here and Now, Then and There.

As a member of the House of Nerd, I'm certainly even aware of most of these, and have heard from multiple sources of their awesomeness. I think mostly the problem you mention next about the popular dreck being so difficult to wade through that is a big part of it.

Also, however, there is a personal distaste for cartoons of any sort. The endless INCREDIBLES - BEST SUPERHERO FILM EVER OF ALL TIME is bewildering to me. Part of it is the utterly boring FAMILY FAMILY OH FAMILY message, but a big part is me just not being interested in cartoons. Which, of course, is also bizarre as I'm a comic-book guy. -shrug- I think I just may not like it and have to accept that. Thanks for the suggestions for further good ones, though, we'll see.


Nolan appears to believe, sadly, that he has Important Things to say about culture and men and reality, which gives these films an air of self-importance, and his fans buy into Nolan as a Sayer of Important Things.

I agree with basically all of this but I guess would have the need to annoyingly say that Nolan does indeed have some important things to say, and some of them he says very well. It's just not nearly as much as probably he or his most ardent supporters think.
   424. Matt Clement of Alexandria Posted: May 17, 2012 at 09:15 AM (#4133742)
I agree with basically all of this but I guess would have the need to annoyingly say that Nolan does indeed have some important things to say, and some of them he says very well.
No, this is entirely fair. I think that Nolan's films are most interesting as commentaries on film itself. The Prestige on film as flim-flam, Inception on the power of constructed realities, Memento on the creation of characters ex nihilo at the beginning of a film. Those are pretty interesting. Nothing groundbreaking, perhaps, and you can be bothered by the metaness of it all, but I liked them well enough on that level. (One of the reasons I find the Batman movies to be Nolan's weakest is that he seems to be trying to comment on society, and it gets terribly muddled, dour, and not a little fascist.)
   425. Lassus Posted: May 17, 2012 at 09:25 AM (#4133746)
Yes, what you describe is the most prevalent and therefore (to me) the most noticeably out of place in the Batman films. As usual, I blame Frank Miller.

However, I will also say that the Whedon/Nolan fanboy internet flamewars after The Dark Knight Rises are absolutely going to be worth the price of admission; Nolan deserves a lot of credit for quite a bit of upcoming entertainment there.
   426. gef the talking mongoose Posted: May 17, 2012 at 09:28 AM (#4133747)
he endless INCREDIBLES - BEST SUPERHERO FILM EVER OF ALL TIME is bewildering to me. Part of it is the utterly boring FAMILY FAMILY OH FAMILY message, but a big part is me just not being interested in cartoons. Which, of course, is also bizarre as I'm a comic-book guy.


Wow. We differ on quite a few subjects (read: you're wrong on several things I'm right about), but on this we're in perfect accord. Animation just doesn't do much for me, to the point that I've never felt any interest in seeing The Incredibles. I didn't realize till after I'd logged off last night that I'd completely forgotten about it & its sequel (there was one ... right? or maybe I'm thinking of Toy Story, which for similar reasons I'm also not interested in watching) when trying to think of superhero heroes not based on actual comics, which subject I'm not even remotely interested in, according to the all-knowing & all-wise Los Angeles Genius of Geniusville.

One exception (not superhero-based, but certainly a very fine sf movie) -- The Iron Giant.
   427. gef the talking mongoose Posted: May 17, 2012 at 09:30 AM (#4133750)
As usual, I blame Frank Miller.


This is pretty much my all-purpose default position on everything, of course.

My stupid fantasy team is pitching lights-out but went 3-for-30 last night to prolong a horrendous offensive slide? Frank Miller must die.
   428. BDC Posted: May 17, 2012 at 09:31 AM (#4133755)
The Prestige on film as flim-flam, Inception on the power of constructed realities, Memento on the creation of characters ex nihilo at the beginning of a film

That's an interesting connection: all three are like houses of cards (done with smoke and mirrors?) and you are fascinated as you watch to see whether they'll stand up or collapse. They have their flaws: The Prestige is too long and has too many false endings, the various layers of Memento are too similar and have too much military action, and Memento is too aggressively inscrutable. But Nolan does have an aesthetic theory at work, and he's done a lot to make postmodernism safe for summer movies :)

   429. Kurt Posted: May 17, 2012 at 09:33 AM (#4133756)
426 - The Incredibles has not had a sequel (yet), and I assume you mean the Iron Giant (which was very good, and done by the same guy who did the Incredibles)?
   430. BDC Posted: May 17, 2012 at 09:35 AM (#4133758)
As to Eyes Wide Shut, after reading zachtoma's links (thanks!), I can see where Kubrick intended the picture to be something like Bertolucci's Conformist, the study of a bloke who gets sucked into a rich world of evil and learns about the evil in himself - and as in The Conformist, to do it with opulent design, slow pace, meditative narration. I admire The Conformist, but it too can be slow going, and I just found Eyes Wide Shut no going at all. Tastes vary ...
   431. gef the talking mongoose Posted: May 17, 2012 at 09:53 AM (#4133773)
I assume you mean the Iron Giant (which was very good, and done by the same guy who did the Incredibles)?


Yes. Went back & corrected that before I saw your post, as it happens. Given my high regard for it, probably I should consider The Incredibles after all; either I'd forgotten the connection or it never registered to begin with.


   432. formerly dp Posted: May 17, 2012 at 09:57 AM (#4133776)
I agree with basically all of this but I guess would have the need to annoyingly say that Nolan does indeed have some important things to say, and some of them he says very well. It's just not nearly as much as probably he or his most ardent supporters think.

Though I enjoyed Inception immensely, it didn't really add much to any sort of serious conversation about dreaming and the unconscious. The Matrix, which Nolan fans like to compare it to, pushed a set of bubbling questions about the relationship between the real and the virtual to the forefront of pop culture. The Wachowskis had Reeves reading Simulacra and Simulations in advance of even seeing the script. This isn't to say the film is without problems*, but it asked timely questions in a provocative and productive way; I don't think the same can be said for Inception.

*Baudrillard was reportedly asked to appear in the film, and a version one of his books is used as a prop. His response to the film? The Matrix is surely the kind of film about the matrix that the matrix would have been able to produce.

===

According to the wife, I have already seen BSG The Razor, and we were both thoroughly entertained. Don't know how I forgot about that. Something else to rewatch, I guess.
   433. gef the talking mongoose Posted: May 17, 2012 at 10:10 AM (#4133787)
Of course, Iron Giant gets lots of extra points from me for doing such a nice job of evoking much of the spirit of the '50s sf flicks I love. See also: non-animated films like Strange Invaders & such loving parodies as Lost Skeleton of Cadavra, The Lost Skeleton Returns Again [if Blamire's Trail of the Screaming Forehead doesn't come out here soon, I'm going to throw some sort of conniption], Alien Trespass, The Naked Monster, It Came from Somewhere Else, It Came from Another World, Monster of Phantom Lake, ettc.

   434. Yeaarrgghhhh Posted: May 17, 2012 at 10:47 AM (#4133830)
I'm sure I've said this in previous incarnations of this conversation, but I think AI is a brilliant failure. There's a lot of great stuff in the movie, and I really admire what SK and SS were trying to accomplish, but ultimately the movie doesn't quite work for me. There Will Be Blood is similar IMO (although a little more successful). I liked TWBB, and thought the acting and cinematography were amazing, but it falls just short of being great.

I didn't particularly like the Incredibles, which is odd because I love comic books, superheroes, and Pixar movies. But the "it's ok to be special!" message seemed really forced.
   435. Yeaarrgghhhh Posted: May 17, 2012 at 10:49 AM (#4133831)
Has anyone mentioned Pitch Black? I guess that's as much horror as scifi, but it's really well done.
   436. formerly dp Posted: May 17, 2012 at 10:54 AM (#4133836)
Has anyone mentioned Pitch Black? I guess that's as much horror as scifi, but it's really well done.

Fun film. I'm OK with it as sci fi. Another film I liked that along the lines of sci fi/survival horror fusion was Event Horizon, but I might be all alone on that one.
   437. Randy Jones Posted: May 17, 2012 at 10:57 AM (#4133837)
Event Horizon was awesome.
   438. Cowboy Popup Posted: May 17, 2012 at 10:59 AM (#4133840)
426 - The Incredibles has not had a sequel (yet), and I assume you mean the Iron Giant (which was very good, and done by the same guy who did the Incredibles)?

Everything Brad Bird touches turns to gold, including Mission Impossible apparently, which I didn't think was possible.

Another film I liked that along the lines of sci fi/survival horror fusion was Event Horizon, but I might be all alone on that one.

I also enjoyed Event Horizon. A surprising number of people hate that movie, I'm not sure why.

And just to be clear, I'm the only one who thinks Spider Man 2 is far and away the best super hero movie to date (I have not seen Avengers yet), right?
   439. gef the talking mongoose Posted: May 17, 2012 at 11:03 AM (#4133841)
Another film I liked that along the lines of sci fi/survival horror fusion was Event Horizon, but I might be all alone on that one.


It's in my Top 11 list from last night, actually.
   440. formerly dp Posted: May 17, 2012 at 11:16 AM (#4133855)
It's in my Top 11 list from last night, actually.

Totally missed it. Duh.
   441. gef the talking mongoose Posted: May 17, 2012 at 11:19 AM (#4133856)
Was wondering if you had me on ignore or something. Not that you could necessarily be blamed if that were the case, I suppose.
   442. Lassus Posted: May 17, 2012 at 11:44 AM (#4133877)
I also enjoyed Event Horizon. A surprising number of people hate that movie, I'm not sure why.

I'll take this one, as it directly refers back to my post on Sunshine. Event Horizon had everything in it I hate about sci-fi. The I'M FIGHTING MY MIND storyline, a mysterious undefinable consciousness/villain, religious overtones, and finally horror/splatter/torture porn. It was no Black Hole, neither was it Prince of Darkness. It is just a horror movie in a sci-fi setting and for me that just means it was an incredible bore and a waste of good settings and concepts to watch people get vivisected.

I don't consider Pitch Black in this group as it had serious and hard sci-fi behind its terror and violence.


And just to be clear, I'm the only one who thinks Spider Man 2 is far and away the best super hero movie to date (I have not seen Avengers yet), right?

I'd say yes.
   443. formerly dp Posted: May 17, 2012 at 11:51 AM (#4133886)
I'll take this one, as it directly refers back to my post on Sunshine. Event Horizon had everything in it I hate about sci-fi. The I'M FIGHTING MY MIND storyline, a mysterious undefinable consciousness/villain, religious overtones, and finally horror/splatter/torture porn. It was no Black Hole, neither was it Prince of Darkness. It is just a horror movie in a sci-fi setting and for me that just means it was an incredible bore and a waste of good settings and concepts to watch people get vivisected.

You're perfectly entitled to be wrong on this, of course, and we can leave it at that :> But I'll just add that without Event Horizon I don't think there's a Dead Space, and those are fantastic games.
   444. cercle Posted: May 17, 2012 at 11:51 AM (#4133887)
Anime isn't for everyone. There's a translation issue with a lot of it and sometimes you really just have to grin and bear some of it


Hell, just getting through the opening theme song is often a challenge.

One thing I always do when I start a new series, is to watch with the subtitles on and the english dub. They are frequently not the same translation. Normally, I would prefer not to listen to the dubbed version, but it is often the better (or seemingly better) version.

I think the stuff you mentioned are the best starting points, though I'd say that for some people Evangelion doesn't get interesting until about episode 8. I love it. I have pets named after characters from it. It's one thing I've found when loaning it out to friends, though.
   445. gef the talking mongoose Posted: May 17, 2012 at 11:59 AM (#4133897)
But I'll just add that without Event Horizon I don't think there's a Dead Space, and those are fantastic games.


I despise the very concept of gaming, of course, but the couple(?) of comics miniseries I've read based on that were really, really good.
   446. Lassus Posted: May 17, 2012 at 12:00 PM (#4133899)
But I'll just add that without Event Horizon I don't think there's a Dead Space, and those are fantastic games.

Yes, shitty sci-fi spawning inconsequential media is a real trump card. -insert triple snap-
   447. Greg (U)K Posted: May 17, 2012 at 12:06 PM (#4133904)
I despise the very concept of gaming, of course, but the couple(?) of comics miniseries I've read based on that were really, really good

Is this just the concept of video games? Or does this extend to things like Strat-O-Matic and Diplomacy.
   448. gef the talking mongoose Posted: May 17, 2012 at 12:06 PM (#4133905)
shitty sci-fi


Aaaaaaand Lassus goes back to being dead wrong again.

What is it the kids say? SMDH, I think.

   449. gef the talking mongoose Posted: May 17, 2012 at 12:07 PM (#4133906)
Is this just the concept of video games? Or does this extend to things like Strat-O-Matic and Diplomacy.


Video/computer/RPG/Magic/Yu-Gi-Oh/etc.-type crap.

I.e. basically anything that not only doesn't interest me (with which I am by definition obsessive, I'm told, as counter-intuitive as that might seem) but whose very appeal baffles the hell out of me.

When it comes to such forms of gaming, I'm apparently the equivalent of an aspie. Oh, well.
   450. Manny Coon Posted: May 17, 2012 at 12:10 PM (#4133910)

Also, Paprika is more mindbending than Inception, has a better story than Inception, looks better than Inception and came out like 6 years earlier. But it does not have Leonardo DiCaprio.

I have tried, but outside of AKIRA, I just haven't been able to get excited about anime at all. Ever. By this point I feel like it's a character flaw, but there it is.


Kon was a pretty atypical anime director, I don't like too much other anime either, a lot of it leans fairly heavily on formula and genre conventions. His stuff seemed more unique, he's about the only director (from anywhere, not just Japan) I can think of that was able to make animation directed toward adults that could consistently find an audience in American art house theatres.
   451. Weekly Journalist_ Posted: May 17, 2012 at 12:11 PM (#4133912)
Trains, Planes and Automobiles definitely goes on my perfect movie list.
   452. Crispix Attacks 2: Swag Airlines Posted: May 17, 2012 at 12:14 PM (#4133914)
His stuff seemed more unique, he's about the only director (from anywhere, not just Japan) I can think of that was able to make animation directed toward adults that could consistently find an audience in American art house theatres.

Sylvain Chomet has the makings of a great career so far with "The Triplets of Belleville" and "The Illusionist".

Then there's the wacko stop-motion works of Jan Svankmajer and the Quay Brothers.
   453. formerly dp Posted: May 17, 2012 at 12:15 PM (#4133917)
Yes, shitty sci-fi spawning inconsequential media is a real trump card. -insert triple snap-

What was that, Ebert?
   454. Lassus Posted: May 17, 2012 at 12:15 PM (#4133918)
Well, I meant inconsequential to ME. I think I'm the only member of my generation to never even once have used one of these.

(I'm also mostly teasing. I felt the tremors from the end of Mass Effect as much as anyone not playing.)
   455. Greg Pope thinks the Cubs are reeking havoc Posted: May 17, 2012 at 12:20 PM (#4133922)
It was no Black Hole

Holy crap did I not get the end of that movie...

Of course, I was 8 at the time and haven't seen that since, but it seemed like a pretty straightforward adventure movie up until the end. Then it was like someone took acid and wrote the last 2 minutes.
   456. Slivers of Maranville (SdeB) Posted: May 17, 2012 at 12:21 PM (#4133924)
I'll just add that without Event Horizon I don't think there's a Dead Space, and those are fantastic games.


I couldn't finish that (DS1). 1) It was so scary that I could only stomach 30 minutes to an hour at a time (I scare easily, so don't take this as universally applicable) and 2) I got to the point where you encounter the giant revolving drive thingy and couldn't figure out a way past it. That section just seemed too difficult and took too long to redo over and over.
   457. gef the talking mongoose Posted: May 17, 2012 at 12:22 PM (#4133925)
I think I'm the only member of my generation to never even once have used one of these.


Which generation would that be? I gather you're younger than me, but if not, there are at least 2 of us.
   458. Greg (U)K Posted: May 17, 2012 at 12:23 PM (#4133926)
I.e. basically anything that not only doesn't interest me (with which I am by definition obsessive, I'm told, as counter-intuitive as that might seem) but whose very appeal baffles the hell out of me.

When it comes to such forms of gaming, I'm apparently the equivalent of an aspie. Oh, well.

I have a friend who sounds similar. He just can't get into any kind of game (cards, video game, board game). I'd say sports as well, but I think that has more to do with his...athleticism, shall we say.

I'm not much of a "gamer" myself. I don't really have the mental faculties to keep up with most modern video games. I almost exclusively play games where I control everything in the universe and can move at my own pace. So, a strat-league where I GM every team and act as commissioner. Or playing Civ where I control every nation on Earth. To each their own I suppose...Everyone has certain elements of human behaviour that make absolutely no sense to them. Mine probably include: anger, competitiveness, cell phones, and ketchup.
   459. gef the talking mongoose Posted: May 17, 2012 at 12:27 PM (#4133931)
I have a friend who sounds similar. He just can't get into any kind of game (cards, video game, board game). I'd say sports as well, but I think that has more to do with his...athleticism, shall we say.


He seems even more hopeless than me. I liked the usual card & board games well into my 20s, & it wasn't too terribly long ago that I enjoyed playing hoops & softball.
   460. formerly dp Posted: May 17, 2012 at 12:28 PM (#4133932)
I couldn't finish that (DS1). 1) It was so scary that I could only stomach 30 minutes to an hour at a time (I scare easily, so don't take this as universally applicable) and 2) I got to the point where you encounter the giant revolving drive thingy and couldn't figure out a way past it. That section just seemed too difficult and took too long to redo over and over.

On #1: the game is scary as hell. Like play during the middle of the afternoon with the shades open scary.

On #2: I'm not ashamed to admit I fall back on walkthroughs when I get stuck. Just don't have time to lose an hour trying to figure out some impossibly obtuse puzzle.

==

Well, I meant inconsequential to ME. I think I'm the only member of my generation to never even once have used one of these.

Not even once? You're missing out on so much good stuff. If you haven't read Tom Bissell on video games, you should give him a try-- he's refreshing b/c he's the first to admit there's a lot of meaningless/forgettable/regrettable crap out there, but also a lot of creative uses of the medium. I enjoy the Nolan Batman films, but they're nothing next to the Arkham Asylum/Arkham City games, in terms of immersing you in the world and character.
   461. gef the talking mongoose Posted: May 17, 2012 at 12:40 PM (#4133939)
Sf from recent years that I haven't previously mentioned &/or commented on other's mentions of but that my Netflix ratings tell me I loved (some of these are, I'm sure, not really particularly good, but then taste is by definition not only utterly subjective but also idiosyncratic as hell, is it not?) --

Night Skies
Dreamland
Alien Raiders
The Man from Earth
Cashback
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Carriers
Blindness
(borderline sf at best, perhaps)
Visioneers
Daybreak
Automatons
The Divide
   462. baudib Posted: May 17, 2012 at 12:41 PM (#4133941)
According to the wife, I have already seen BSG The Razor, and we were both thoroughly entertained. Don't know how I forgot about that. Something else to rewatch, I guess.


Did you see the version that starts out with young Adama on the Galactica in the first Cylon War? Do you feel it redeems Cain as a human being?
   463. Los Angeles El Hombre of Anaheim Posted: May 17, 2012 at 12:43 PM (#4133942)
I enjoy the Nolan Batman films, but they're nothing next to the Arkham Asylum/Arkham City games, in terms of immersing you in the world and character.
True, but I also don't know that you could have gotten the Arkham Asylum games without Batman Begins, a serious cinematic treatment of the character. Arkham is nothing if not cinematic, and that's a big part of the draw.
   464. gef the talking mongoose Posted: May 17, 2012 at 12:43 PM (#4133943)
BTW, thanks, people upthread, for the mentions of Sunshine. Kept meaning to rent that from the brick-&-mortar Blockbuster nearest me & so never added it to my online queues, then after the last such store around here shut down a couple of years ago I completely forgot about it. (Same thing happened with Super, as it happens.)
   465. baudib Posted: May 17, 2012 at 12:44 PM (#4133944)
but also a lot of creative uses of the medium.


I feel one of the best examples of this is the Matrix Online, which I didn't even play.
   466. baudib Posted: May 17, 2012 at 12:52 PM (#4133947)
I was talking to my friend, who is a much bigger movie buff than me, about this thread.
Some random thoughts he had:
1. He is a huge fan of Wrath of Khan, but considers it merely a submarine movie, not sci-fi. Incidentally, we have a running argument about submarine movies: I prefer Crimson Tide and he prefers Hunt for Red October.
2. He considers Quaid as good a Doc Holiday as Kilmer, which I obviously lambasted him for.
3. He thinks Scarlett Johansson is wonderful in everything.
4. He argued vehemently -- I didn't even disagree with him -- that Sunshine is not a sci-fi movie despite the use of advanced technology as it's a movie using it as a device to talk about relationships and feelings. Also his comment on the movie is that it's the best movie where every character is thoroughly unlikable.


   467. Los Angeles El Hombre of Anaheim Posted: May 17, 2012 at 12:54 PM (#4133949)
BTW, thanks, people upthread, for the mentions of Sunshine.
Too uneven to be a great film but it's still a very good one, and the cast is outstanding. Cillian Murphy in particular is amazing in it, and that's the first time you see Chris Evans as an actor who's more than just a pretty face.

The orchestral soundtrack for the movie is pretty fantastic, too. Youtube it.
   468. formerly dp Posted: May 17, 2012 at 12:58 PM (#4133953)
True, but I also don't know that you could have gotten the Arkham Asylum games without Batman Begins, a serious cinematic treatment of the character. Arkham is nothing if not cinematic, and that's a big part of the draw.

I don't disagree with that, but plenty of superhero games have had great cutscenes and terrible or poorly-executed gameplay (that seems to be the formula, especially for those timed to coincide with film releases). AA and AC manage to capture what it feels like to be Batman; I think they do so by embracing the comics moreso than the films. From a financial perspective, you're absolutely right-- no one takes a chance on such a dark Batman game in the first place without Nolan's successful films.

===
Did you see the version that starts out with young Adama on the Galactica in the first Cylon War? Do you feel it redeems Cain as a human being?

I have no recollection of seeing the film, so I can't say; obviously it left quite an impression. After this thread I have a lot of stuff to rewatch and hope to get to it, but it'll be a solo project as the wife remembers it vividly and isn't interested in a second viewing.
   469. gef the talking mongoose Posted: May 17, 2012 at 01:03 PM (#4133958)
Too uneven to be a great film but it's still a very good one, and the cast is outstanding. Cillian Murphy in particular is amazing in it,

Hmmmmm. Saw him in Retreat just a few weeks ago.

and that's the first time you see Chris Evans as an actor who's more than just a pretty face.


Intriguing. Him I know from Captain America, of course, & Push.

And, IMDb tells me, a short-lived WB(?) sitcom I think I watched back in 2000 called Opposite Sex. Good lord. I knew I had no shame, but still ...
   470. Los Angeles El Hombre of Anaheim Posted: May 17, 2012 at 01:03 PM (#4133959)
4. He argued vehemently -- I didn't even disagree with him -- that Sunshine is not a sci-fi movie despite the use of advanced technology as it's a movie using it as a device to talk about relationships and feelings.
But that's that what science fiction is. Just like with any other genre of fiction, the "science" part provides context/backdrop for human interaction and experiences. Usually, the context is some form of action featuring the fictional science, but that doesn't necessarily have to be the case. In movies like Solaris, where there's very little kinetic action and a lot of what goes on is internal the science fiction just provides the setting, but it's still a science fiction movie.
   471. gef the talking mongoose Posted: May 17, 2012 at 01:05 PM (#4133960)
But that's that what science fiction is. Just like with any other genre of fiction, the "science" part provides context/backdrop for human interaction and experiences.


Of course. There doesn't need to even be any "science" at all.

I presume he's not the same guy who was arguing in a favorite sf movies thread on comicbookresources a couple of weeks ago that Star Wars (of which the guy in question is a gigantic fan) isn't sf, either, because none of the characters are actually (supposed to be human). WTF?
   472. Los Angeles El Hombre of Anaheim Posted: May 17, 2012 at 01:08 PM (#4133966)
I don't disagree with that, but plenty of superhero games have had great cutscenes and terrible or poorly-executed gameplay (that seems to be the formula, especially for those timed to coincide with film releases). AA and AC manage to capture what it feels like to be Batman; I think they do so by embracing the comics moreso than the films.
I guess what I meant to say is that the gameplay is cinematic. Comic books are great for storyboards, but the translation from storyboards to a storytelling device is really difficult.

Intriguing. Him I know from Captain America, of course, & Push
I really liked Push.
   473. gef the talking mongoose Posted: May 17, 2012 at 01:11 PM (#4133969)
I really liked Push.


As did I. Only reason I knew about it, I think, is having read the comics adapation a couple of years earlier.
   474. gef the talking mongoose Posted: May 17, 2012 at 01:13 PM (#4133971)
Right now (literally; I brought it to work to watch the final 10 minutes on my computer during my lunch break, as well as, I hope, a 5-minute-or so-segment in the middle that wouldn't play on my DVD player) I'm watching an odd one called The Sobbing Stone -- basically an evangelical Christian take on Nigel Kneale's exceptional The Stone Tape.

As I said: Odd.
   475. zonk Posted: May 17, 2012 at 01:16 PM (#4133975)
My problem with Event Horizon (and I've come around a bit to thinking it's "OK") is that it can't seem to decide if it wants to be a sci-fi film or a horror film. I'm not saying that line can't be toed successfully -- see Alien/Aliens, of course -- but I just think Event Horizon falls off the beam more than a few times. It's not quite "Freddy Kreuger goes to Space", but at several points - I just feel it's in danger of being there.

You have to be very, very careful with a genre bender and I don't think EH was careful enough.
   476. gef the talking mongoose Posted: May 17, 2012 at 01:20 PM (#4133981)
Horror sf might well be my favorite (sub)genre, actually, given not only my general taste for horror but also my lack of enthusiasm for "hard" sf in any way, shape or form. Not surprising, then, that I'm so big on Event Horizon (& at least half the rest of the movies in my Top 11 list), which as it happens is included in Fangoria's 101 Best Horror Movies You've Never Seen.
   477. bachslunch Posted: May 17, 2012 at 01:34 PM (#4133994)
Sci Fi is not a movie genre I seek out, but favorites of the type for me would include:

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
Star Wars
E.T.
Wall-E
Plan 9 from Outer Space (in a reverse sort of way)
Cocoon

Haven't seen "Metropolis" or "Things to Come" yet. Do not like "2001, a Space Odyssey" or "Close Encounters of the Third Kind." "Spaceballs," "Planet of the Apes," "The Incredibles," "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" (1978), "The Empire Strikes Back," and "Return of the Jedi" are all good if maybe the next level down for me.

Edit: if we're including "Iron Giant," add that onto one of the lists as well.
   478. Crispix Attacks 2: Swag Airlines Posted: May 17, 2012 at 01:36 PM (#4133999)
In the genre of "Monster movies on board spacecraft" I preferred Pandorum to Event Horizon. Almost everything took place in darkness and there wasn't a bunch of pseudo-religious claptrap.
   479. gef the talking mongoose Posted: May 17, 2012 at 01:37 PM (#4134001)
"Things to Come"


Rather creaky (as am I, to be honest), but I remember liking it a lot.

Even earlier, Invisible Man is a strong contender. Ditto for Island of Lost Souls. Hell, Frankenstein & Bride of.
   480. gef the talking mongoose Posted: May 17, 2012 at 01:38 PM (#4134003)
In the genre of "Monster movies on board spacecraft" I preferred Pandorum to Event Horizon.


Pandorum I liked a lot. That's what I get for neglected to check my Blockbuster history (which for some reason goes back only a couple of years).

Also, from the '50s, It! The Terror from Beyond Space growls "hi!"
   481. Los Angeles El Hombre of Anaheim Posted: May 17, 2012 at 01:46 PM (#4134008)
Would Frankenstein be considered sci-fi or horror, or a cross-over? I've always considered it horror, or else that'd have cracked my top 10 for sci-fi. The original really is timeless and still effective; I haven't liked any of the subsequent treatments (except for Young Frankenstein, which doesn't count).
   482. Lassus Posted: May 17, 2012 at 01:47 PM (#4134010)
The Man from Earth

Lots of blah blah blah blah in this one. Talky talky talky about immortality and such. A lot of very interesting themes within one of my absolute favorite topics that were all lost in the tiresome conclusionary TWIST! that just proves one specific inescapable about something that permeates nearly every narrative around us, the audience.
   483. gef the talking mongoose Posted: May 17, 2012 at 01:48 PM (#4134011)
Would Frankenstein be considered sci-fi or horror, or a cross-over?


A crossover, seems to me. A scientist creating life in a laboratory is basically pretty science-fictional, no?
   484. gef the talking mongoose Posted: May 17, 2012 at 01:51 PM (#4134017)
That's what I get for neglected to check my Blockbuster history (which for some reason goes back only a couple of years).


Whereby I missed remembering, till now, one of my favorite movies -- sf & otherwise -- of the last several years: Never Let Me Go. Just outstanding.

Also: Skyline (hated by many, I know, but damn if I wasn't surprised to find I liked it better than the celebrated Battle: Los Angeles), Ghost from the Machine, Monsters, the very fun Gentlemen Broncos, the also very fun Paul.
   485. gef the talking mongoose Posted: May 17, 2012 at 01:56 PM (#4134023)
Lots of blah blah blah blah in this one. Talky talky talky about immortality and such.


I probably liked it because it reminded me of certain BTF threads.
   486. zonk Posted: May 17, 2012 at 02:00 PM (#4134026)
Pandorum's pretty good...

Perhaps my initial rejection of EH was just a matter of not expecting what I got. Comparing it to, say, Solaris -- I got the movie I expected with Solaris... Like I said, I've changed my opinion of EH after multiple viewings. Still not one of my favorites, but I did leave it on in the background just last weekend.
   487. gef the talking mongoose Posted: May 17, 2012 at 02:02 PM (#4134027)
Someone mentioned a page or 2 ago that the recent The Thing prequel was pretty solid.

Very much agreed.
   488. bachslunch Posted: May 17, 2012 at 02:03 PM (#4134030)
Would Frankenstein be considered sci-fi or horror, or a cross-over?

Good question. I'd consider it horror, but it's a judgement call.

The only horror films I like come from the canon of 30s-40s Universal and the like:

Frankenstein (1931)
Dracula (1931)
The Mummy (1932)
Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
Nosferatu (1922)
The Wolf Man (1941)

Much as I love, love, love many of Alfred Hitchcock's films, I don't at all like either "Psycho" or "The Birds." In fact, with the sole exception of "Frenzy," I don't like any of Hitch's movies from "Psycho" onward.
   489. gef the talking mongoose Posted: May 17, 2012 at 02:06 PM (#4134032)
Have you seen The Seventh Victim, or for that matter Lewton's other films?
   490. gef the talking mongoose Posted: May 17, 2012 at 02:10 PM (#4134035)
Oh, yeah: It occurs to me that I forgot to second/third/whatever the love expressed the last day or so for Dark City.
   491. bachslunch Posted: May 17, 2012 at 02:17 PM (#4134043)
gef, have not seen any of Val Lewton's movies, and that's a hole in my film experience I should address one of these days. "Cat People," "The Body Snatcher," "I Walked with a Zombie," and "The Seventh Victim" are ones I especially hope to get to.

Re Kubrick: I haven't seen all his films, but the two I most definitely like are "Paths of Glory" and "Dr. Strangelove." Besides "2001," am also not at all a fan of "Clockwork Orange." "Spartacus" is pretty good of its type, if probably not what most folks consider typically Kubrick. Am in no hurry to see "Full Metal Jacket" or "The Shining," as they're not the type of film I usually seek out.
   492. Monty Posted: May 17, 2012 at 02:19 PM (#4134044)
angoria's 101 Best Horror Movies You've Never Seen.


It's not a bad list (the movies are here), but a weird title. Can people really be expected not to have seen Day of the Dead? I don't think of myself as a Horror expert, but I've seen 23 of those movies.
   493. gef the talking mongoose Posted: May 17, 2012 at 02:22 PM (#4134046)
It's not a bad list (the movies are here), but a weird title. Can people really be expected not to have seen Day of the Dead?


Or the Invasion of the Body Snatchers remake or even Don't Answer the Phone, for that matter.


I don't think of myself as a Horror expert, but I've seen 23 of those movies.


I've seen about 80, though in fairness about half of those I made a point of either renting/acquiring or digging out of my own collection after I got the book.
   494. baudib Posted: May 17, 2012 at 02:23 PM (#4134047)
Favorite horror movies, sort of in order

Bram Stoker's Dracula
Interview with a Vampire
Silence of the Lambs
Poltergeist
Jaws
The Ring
Omen I/II
Exorcist
Serpent and the Rainbow
Near Dark
Hellraiser

comments:
- I think Poltergeist is the scariest, most nightmare-inducing film I've ever seen.
- I have nothing against slasher films as cheap entertainment but can't be arsed to actually think about them as serious movies outside of the original Halloween
- I'm a sucker for vampire stuff in general (non-Twilight category). I love, love, love Blade but it seems more action-y than horror-y. Same for the Underworld stuff, which is mostly just a device for Kate Beckinsale to look great in. Lost Boys is great fun.
- no desire to ever see The Blair Witch Project
- can't stand zombie movies
- Edit: Evil Dead 2 deserves mention here.
   495. gef the talking mongoose Posted: May 17, 2012 at 02:30 PM (#4134052)
- can't stand zombie movies


*gasp*

Must ... go ... lie ... down.
   496. Lassus Posted: May 17, 2012 at 02:31 PM (#4134056)
Can people really be expected not to have seen Day of the Dead?

-raises hand-

Zombies generally bore me, but to be fair, the horror genre bores me for the most part anyhow.
   497. CrosbyBird Posted: May 17, 2012 at 02:42 PM (#4134063)
Video/computer/RPG/Magic/Yu-Gi-Oh/etc.-type crap.

I.e. basically anything that not only doesn't interest me (with which I am by definition obsessive, I'm told, as counter-intuitive as that might seem) but whose very appeal baffles the hell out of me.

When it comes to such forms of gaming, I'm apparently the equivalent of an aspie. Oh, well.


I'm sort of the opposite of you in this regard: I can't understand why anyone would not like SOMETHING in as broad a category as video games. It would be like someone failing to see the appeal of music or film. I could see someone saying "I don't like twitch-based games" (games based on quick and precise input, like shooters) the same way I could see someone saying "I don't like jazz." I can't imagine being unable to find anything in the world of computer/video gaming that has any appeal at all. There are word games, puzzle games, twitch games, turn-based strategy games, competitive games, cooperative games, games that are about exploring worlds, and games that just tell a story in a different way. (Of course, there are games that do many of these things at once too.)

I'm also curious if you're at all familiar with modern video games. The medium has really come quite a long way in the past decade or so. Some games can behave like interactive movies (and the music and voice acting talent can be very impressive). Some stories actually work better in an interactive medium because it is simply more immersive.

One recent example is "I Am Alive." This is far from a perfect game, but there are some incredible elements that simply work better here than within any other medium.

Some of the action sequences are just like what you'd expect in a high-budget movie, except you're doing the action. The game offers little in the way of explanation and there's a lot of unpleasant moral decisions. It's one thing to watch a movie where the hero has to decide whether to give his last bit of medicine to a dying man or keep it for himself in a dangerous world. It's a totally different experience to be controlling that hero. The margin is close enough that you might actually die because you gave up that medicine, but you also might be fine without it.

You've got a gun but often you have only one bullet. You hear the screams of two people asking for help, and you can see that they're locked up behind a gate, guarded by two men. You approach, and it's obvious that the guards are cannibals. If you leave, you'll be condemning those people to death, but you'll have to risk getting hurt facing two armed guards. Even if you defeat them without injury, you've got another problem. The two people are begging for help, and the only way to open the gate is to shoot the lock with your one remaining bullet.

It's compelling because if you allow yourself to be immersed in the world, it's not "this guy" making the life-or-death decisions. It's you.
   498. Every Inge Counts Posted: May 17, 2012 at 02:43 PM (#4134065)
Speaking of horror movies has anyone seen The Cabin in the Woods yet? Saw it and quite enjoyed it.
   499. gef the talking mongoose Posted: May 17, 2012 at 02:45 PM (#4134066)
Can people really be expected not to have seen Day of the Dead?

-raises hand-

Zombies generally bore me, but to be fair, the horror genre bores me for the most part anyhow.


I would say it should be clear that the rhetorical question you're responding to is of course referring to those of whom the latter part of your post doesn't apply.

   500. Lassus Posted: May 17, 2012 at 02:46 PM (#4134068)
Speaking of horror movies has anyone seen The Cabin in the Woods yet? Saw it and quite enjoyed it.

I blinked and it was out of the theater in this area, which was disappointing. I knew the film editor rather well in college.

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Baseball Equipment
Baseball Protective Gear

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