memfree

I think you’re asking for someone to say a particular thing so I take the bait and say: The Leftovers.

Almost a third of Americans who could vote don’t – either by not registering at all or registering but not casting a ballot. Do you really think people who don’t have the time to vote – people with jobs and/or kids at home – want to “do research” for their down time? They aren’t ‘going’ anywhere. They flip on the boob tube and catch whatever has made it to cable/free-streaming. Then they are disappointed because they liked the first one and this new one is so bad by comparison.

I’m retired, so I do research, and while I’m not the one complaining, I DO sympathize with the complainers that don’t want to invest as much time as I do on inspecting the lineage of a film and what might make it worth viewing.

I’ve seen interesting remakes and sequels – like just this week I rewatched Fassbinder’s original The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant because I hadn’t yet seen Ozon’s remake, Peter von Kant, where the main characters reverse sexes. There’s more crossovers with those two directors and I care about it, so I watch all those. What I didn’t see was all the Spidermans, Batmans, and Marvel movies.

Ah, but the production money doesn’t flow to many original movies, but almost always gets invested in existing franchises. The result is a bunch of original movies that would have been better if they’d had a bigger budget. Add to that the issue of marketing: no one is going to the film that doesn’t advertise, have guests on talk shows, and gets limited distribution. The big studios have contracts with the theaters and tiny films are frequently relegated to art houses.

Lastly, I don’t think it is fair to ask people to do homework on which movies to watch. I mean, I do that, but I’m a freak that way. Most people don’t have the time, and they aren’t looking for the next Citzen Cane, they’re looking for a light escape from a difficult week. Ideally, people would follow a critic that has tastes similar to their own, but in the fractured world of the internet, that gets hard. There are too many voices and they rotate in and out too often to figure out who’s currently matching your tastes.

True, but I’ll cut early Hollywood some slack because some of the reboots were from silent to talkies or from black and white to colour. I like the talkie version of Gunga Din better than the silent version, but I like the black and white Philadelphia Story more than the remake, High Society. The color 1942 version of Jungle Book was really good, but Disney’s cartoon version with songs and all was better childhood entertainment. I think I watched a more modern reboot at some point? That was one interation too many.

https://archive.ph/LHtUQ

According to Datos Insights, in 1992 there were 88,000 households worth $20 million or more in 2022 dollars; by 2022, there were 644,000. Those who could pay almost anything for a vacation were becoming their own mass market.

Paired with:

In 2012 the My Disney Experience app gave guests an easy way to check wait times, show times, restaurant bookings and more. In return, Disney gained a trove of information on exactly where guests went, what they purchased and how much they spent in its complex.

So now that we’ve got a system where you get perks for spending cash.

Fourteen hours later, Ms. Cressel has experienced nine of the park’s attractions, three in the Tier 1 category, plus a parade and the fireworks show. She and her companions leave, exhausted, at 11 p.m., when the park closes.

Note that part of that time was messing with a mobility scooter, but regardless it was less than 1 attraction per hour.

In all, Mr. Conahan and his daughter are able to visit 16 attractions, including all five of the park’s Tier 1 rides plus its two most coveted attractions — Seven Dwarfs and Tron — that charge separately for passes. They do all that, plus the lunch stop and a Dole Whip snack break, in just seven hours.

More than 2 attractions per hour at more than twice the price to get that access. The article implies that big spenders get other rewards, but it doesn’t specify any except mentioning an invite-only club – but we don’t know if that invite is solely monetary or if it has frequent visits from, say, make-a-wish kids and other celebrities.

Well, for one: Lots of conservatives fought and died to stop Hitler.

In case you are serious: easy there, tiger.

The OP was asking about terms like ‘racist’ – not nazi. Yes, anyone walking in a group where there’s a swastiza flag can be appropriately called a nazi because they chose to join in a group with that flag, BUT just because a person is considers themself a ‘conservative’ does not also make them a racist just as being a ‘lefty’ does not make them antisemetic. Maybe they are, but it takes an action or at least a comment – not a general label – to make a judgement.

My German ‘must have more’ was the sauerkraut. It is sooo much better there than in the states, and it was slightly different in each town I tried it. My staple meal was whatever the local version was of: sausage, sauerkraut, and wheat beer.

Nope. Once you make me dictator, I force a bunch of experts to work out a system of government that will make sure there will be no more dictators after me, and that said government will be obligated to work for the betterment of the populace as a whole without massive disparity. At the same time, I’d hire another bunch of experts to figure out what the first bunch got wrong.

While those two groups are working, I shall decree that in one month we will start executing billionaires starting with the richest and working our way down – but anyone who donates all their ‘excess’ money to the new government or charities and research that I personally approve of before the deadline gets to live. I’m counting all off-shore money, and any attempt to flee the country shall be met with lethal force.

If you have a cable company that carries Turner Classic Movies, their schedule shows they’ll be airing these Kipling inspired items on Wednesday night/Thursday morning (times in EDT):

• 3:15 AM The Man Who Would Be King (1975)
• 5:45 AM Gunga Din (1939) Despite my apprecication of Cary Grant as an actor, I’m less fond of Gunga Din compared to The Man Who Would Be King, but Gunga Din is worth seeing once for reference. Kim and various Jungle Book movies are better Kipling choices IMO, but since Gunga Din is a poem instead of a whole story, I can’t blame Kipling for the movie plot.

Though I’ve belted you and flayed you,
By the livin’ Gawd that made you,
You’re a better man than I am, Gunga Din!

I’ll second both Zulu and Battle of Algiers. Both are great movies related to colonialism with very different styles.

Oh no! I’m sorry. Looking back at my list, I guess most of it IS on the dark side. I mean, Bergman is unavoidably dark and people joke about Herzog’s bitter nihlism, but I didn’t mean be a downer, I hope I didn’t ruin any evenings. I cry uncontrollably at Kes, but I also love it. 400 Blows is equally depressing, but Kes is closer to my heart (professional critics will tell you 400 Blows is a more important film). Ring of Bright Water is a somewhat lighter take on animal bonding and loss about a man and his otter but it is only a so-so film.

You will notice The Princess Bride got recommended repeatedly, That is a happier, family friendly film that is sure to put a person in a better mood. Some Terry Gilliam is lighter, but save Brazil for when you’re once again ready for ‘grim’ (great flick, though – and you could theoretically ignore the intended ending by picking an alternate cut).

I had a relative with similar issues and he rented scooters for various trips. If you are willing to blow $200-300 for a multi-day rental, maybe try this place? https://www.onestopmobility.com/los-angeles-ca/scooter-rentals/

Caveat: I’ve never used them and don’t know if they have a good reputation or not. I only know that this sort of thing was useful for a family member.

Somewhere out on the web one can find 2001 with Pink Floyd replacing the movie audio. Don’t settle for just the last bit. Get the whole movie with alternate (flyod) audio. A cursory look suggests the full replacement isn’t on youtube, but since I’ve seen it in the past, I’m sure it still exists somewhere.

Soundtrack details here: https://moviesyncs.com/pf_syncs/sync_pf_i.html

Not at all like Army of Darkness, but my fave hasta be 2001: A Space Odyssey

Thank you. I spend too much time watching movies, and there are so many more to recommend for various reasons. The above are all pretty ‘serious’ movies, but I figure the other lists have fun and comedic movies well covered with outstanding pics by many other people.

Wings of Desire (and Wim Wenders in general) is AMAZING, but it requires a… sort of quiet solitude such as a theater where the length and pacing won’t lead to distractions. I love that movie and the rest of the set.

Dark Star!!! John Carpenter before he had a budget! If you like that, you might also like Silent Running (though it doesn’t have the edge of Dark Star, it is an interesting scifi film of that generation).

I’m going to restrict this list to older movies and imports since there’s already most of Hollywood’s best listed by other people.

• Ran (1985): Japanese take on King Lear. Kurosawa.
• 12 Angry Men (1957): Fonda has doubts about the man charged. Sidney Lumet.
• Lawrence of Arabia (1962): Based on actual WWI British officer T.E. Lawrence, but more story than history. David Lean.
• One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975): Jack Nicholson leads this Milos Forman movie about what it was like in mental hospitals (based on Ken Kesey’s book of same name – see also Keroac book On the Road for more of that generation).
• The Man Who Would Be King (1975) : Sean Connery and Michael Caine star in John Houston movie based on Ruyard Kipling story. There are more famous names to pack in there, but mostly the story is great (though told from a supremely Colonial POV).
• Grand Illusion (1937): French Jean Renoir film classic about WWI.
• Beauty and the Beast (1946): French Jean Cocteau masterpiece of the fairytalke before it got Disney-fied.
• The Tin Drum (1979): German Volker Schlöndorff film of Günter Grass story about a boy who won’t grow up.
• Amarcord (1973): Italian Federico Fellini film about growing up. You could sub in Nights of Cabiria or Satyricon as a starter Fellini pic.
• Kes (1970): British Ken Loach film about a boy and a bird.
• Winter Light (1963): Swedish Ingmar Bergman about a priest struggling with faith. The 7th Seal probably a better place to ease in to Bergman, though.
• A Man for All Seasons (1966): British Fred Zinnemann telling of how Sir Thomas More was stuck between his Church and his King. For an alternate take on same chunk of history, see Wolf Hall.

There’s so many more. Rosselini’s Open City, Jodorosky’s El Topo/Santa Sangre, Errol Morris documentaries (Fog of War, etc.), Les Blank docs (from music to Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe), oh! and Herzog flicks! I should stop.

Jesus Christ Superstar

I actually like the orginal album of the songs (which came out before the movie) more than any of the movie versions, but I grant that seeing a movie version makes the album even better!