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Thread: Best movies of 2017

  1. #76
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    You must confront your shadow self- your doppelganger- to pass through the black lodge. The implication is everyone has a doppelganger.
    Tulpas are artificial doubles created with a specific purpose.
    You can have a doppelganger (Mr C) and a tulpa double (the Dougie Jones whose head popped)
    Tulpas are created by a person'
    s will. doppelgangers are a result. not controlable

    -reddit comments

  2. #77
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    Why did I know you two critics would be able to link Stanley Kubrick to this series? Interesting historical facts, though. BTW - just because I watched ONE Stanley Kubrick doc in my YouTube account, my inbox is flooded with Stanley Kubrick docs on all of his films. Who knew YouTube had such a plethora of Kubrick docs waiting for someone like me to watch them all... as if ANYONE had the time to do that! My Covfefe agrees with your tulpas.
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  3. #78
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    I still don't have a firm opinion on Spielberg decrying Netflix.
    Let's give Chris all the credit for linking Kubrick and Lynch via Nabokov. I found the comments very interesting and the links take you on intriguing paths.
    I don't see reason to leave out a great piece of audiovisual narrative because of length, or "platform" or format. It's become increasingly difficult to separate what premieres in theaters from what debuts on broadcast TV or available via streaming. There are a number of made-for-TV films or series in my canon. They include Dekalog , Berlin Alexanderplatz,An Angel at My Table (1990), The Boys of St. Vincent, etc. Others that I need to watch (test) one more time before listing include Pride and Prejudice (1995), Angels in America (2003),and Mildred Pierce(2011). My listing of Twin Peaks: The Rturn in 2017 coheres with my desire to acknowledge my appreciation of these works.
    I think it would be interesting to open a thread to discuss movies from the current millennium that have been maligned in some way, under appreciated, or "mismarketed", ignored, etc. I teach film history and one constant is that there are myriad films of all kinds which today are hailed as great achievements and widely viewed that were considered terrible or barely released at all when they were new. I have a couple of films I want to bring up that fit into these categories. One fits into the definition of "film maudit". Any interest in that kind of thing. Can you think of films you know that you think are great that few have seen? Or that you think it's been completely misunderstood?
    Last edited by oscar jubis; 05-06-2018 at 05:03 PM.

  4. #79
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    It's good to be liberal, Oscar, but you can be too liberal, and then the world crumbles into chaos. "Dekalog" is great and profound, but it's a series of films, not a film. They certainly have validity as feature films. It's an "anthology series," in current jargon.

    Cinemabon, at first I thought it was Johann talking with the fanboy talk, but then you say you haven't the time. I am not busy since the SFIFF ended so I could devote many hours to first "Twin Peaks: The Return" and then "Babylon Berlin." Which, incidentally, in my view are not movies, but TV series. My friend says this is "the golden age of television" and so, there is a plethora of great series. I think if we want to argue about this, the thing is, that there is a certain limit to what can make sense at one sitting, a rhythm and a flow that makes the experience of a feature in a theater satisfying. They can be long. Oh boy, can they ever. But we don't have to call something that's in 18 episodes a film. But call it that if you like. I just would hold back.

  5. #80
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    I'm such a colloquial pussy (but don't grab me). I have Pride and Prejudice (1995 Colin Firth) on "fast dial" on my laptop. Whenever I feel subservient or submissive too much, I pull it up and fantasize I'm Mr. Darcy, prancing around with too much pride. Just as Jeremy Brett epitomized Holmes, so too does Firth with Darcy. Nobody does it better (to quote Carly). The golden age of TV? Perhaps if you discount the 1950's when you had writers like Rod Serling cranking out things like "Requiem for a Heavyweight." Nothing like access to Broadway in which TV studios drafted talent in those days. Now they just turn to modeling agencies. Too cynical?
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  6. #81
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    Cinemabon, the original TV Golden Age of the Fifties that you refer to was really special and I loved what little I saw of it. Everything was so simple and direct then. But now the quantity of good stuff is astounding. Even Emily Nussbaum, the excellent New Yorker TV writer from whose column I learned about "High Maintenance" and "The Deuce", can't keep up with it all. I learned about "The Good Wife," "Black Mirror" and "Babylon Berlin" from Peter. You cannot totally discount the claim that this is a new TV Golden Age. I am no expert, but some say it all began with David Chase and "The Sopranos" in the Nineties. And then he followed up with "The Wire" and lately, "The Deuce" (which I like a lot). And I don't think the casts are fielded from "modeling agencies." Yes, too cynical.

    With HBO and Showtime access and a subscription to Netflix, I can watch a lot of this stuff on my computer screen. Other series I have enjoyed: "Mr. Robot." "Silicon Valley." "Bored to Death." Plan to watch: "The Americans." "Billions." ""Halt and Catch Fire," "The Leftovers."

    I understand that "Twin Peaks: The Return" crowns all these, in a class by itself, and David Lynch's original "Twin Peaks" is considered to be a great influence on the best, most imaginative TV done since.


    HALT AND CATCH FIRE
    Last edited by Chris Knipp; 05-08-2018 at 07:41 AM.

  7. #82
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    Ok, ok... I concede that Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, and HBO have given us an incredible array of new TV shows that rival any historical period in TV history. As a sci-fi and mystery fan, I've been overwhelmed with the level of choice. On the quality side, there's Game of Thrones and Westworld along with Barry this season. Stranger Things and the Crown on Netflix. Altered Carbon was one of the finest sci-fi shows I've ever seen in a theater or on TV and no one's talking about it. I watch the Expanse and Lost in Space (new, released last month). I have Australia's Mrs. Fisher on fast dial (silly, I know) but there's also the weighty "Marcella," one of the finest murder mystery shows since Helen Mirren did Prime Suspect (and yes, I have all of those on fast dial, too). Documentaries and Science shows are of equal value to me and I have several series that I follow. Most recent? Hidden Houses is a retro English doc that delves into the history of Welsh manor houses. I could spend a whole paragraph on "Did you know..." The stand up comedy on Netflix is a standard Saturday night fare for me. Of course, so is Bill Maher and John Oliver on HBO.

    This plethora of choice leads us off on our own merry path. No longer left with a handful of network choices, I can peruse the internet, go to my apps, and watch in the car, in the waiting room of the dentist office, in my bed before I fall asleep or in-between writing inspirations. I have my over-sized cell phone, my tablet, my living room big screen TV with Roku and my laptop. When we're together, my wife and I have a slew of shows that we parse like an open can of caviar, savoring each episode and counting down until we have to scramble for another series we like.

    I wouldn't say this is a new golden age. I would say we're in the diamond jubilee; and the choices are so many that it makes my head swim on a daily basis.
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  8. #83
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    I have watched the two first seasons of "The Crown" with great pleasure and admiration. I have started "Stranger Things" inspired by "Skam," the great Norwegian 4-season TV series, where a lead character, Isak, mentions it. It's good but I haven't gone on, yet. Why didn't you say which shows you and your wife Parse like a can of caviar (what does that mean, exactly?)? Aprropos of something you said, "silly" series can be addictive too, and my favorites have been "Doc Martin" and "Weeds."

  9. #84
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    We're big murder mystery fans but we also like some fantasy stuff if there a number of seasons, i.e. Beauty and the Beast or Lost Girls (Each has close to a hundred episodes, which we go through slowly as if we were sipping fine cognac, as opposed to cheap California wine). Some, like The Crown, are seasonal and usually cram those into two or three weeks. Altered Carbon only had one season but it was very excellent. My son recommended Marco Polo. Told on a grand scale, I loved the personal side of the show (backstory) and hoped it would continue. Evidently, it cost too much. Still, I found it very entertaining. I watched the new Star Trek Discovery on CBS All Access this year and paid the extra three dollars so I could watch without commercials. At the end of February, when the season ended, I cancelled my subscription. I'm not interested in watching golf, basketball, or the other two shows CBS offered through the subscription. This fall, in October, when the series returns, I'll renew my subscription and start watching Star Trek on a weekly basis. The quality of those shows went unmatched by any other subscription series. The money they spent was clearly up on the screen. I also loved the variety of characters, including the gay lovers featured in the main story. I'm only sorry they killed one of them off and sent the other one packing at the end of the season. So much for being gay. Evidently, it's still a fatal disease.

    Speaking of fatal gays, I see Matt Bomer, Andrew Rannells, Zachary Quinto, Jim Parsons in the all-star cast revival of "Boys in the Band" on Broadway. I'd wager the entire run is sold out the first day.
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  10. #85
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    I'm glad you like that adaptation of "Pride and Prejudice" and thanks to you (and Chris) for all the comments about tv series that you've seen that are really good. Good to learn. especially for me, who hasn't seen most of them. There's just so many movies and so many other things to do. I'm doing a lot of running and cross training these days and spending time outdoors. I'm also "seriously" dating because it's time I have a "serious" relationship again and it takes time to do that.

  11. #86
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    Good luck. For Lori and I both, this is our second marriage. My first one lasted one year. For Lori, her first lasted eight. We just celebrated our thirty-second wedding anniversary, so for us, the second time was the charm. I think we made all of the mistakes with our first marriage and learned our lessons. TMI?
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  12. #87
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    Oscar, I'm glad you're seriously running (as well as dating). I remember looking you up online when I first came to this site and found you listed as an accomplished masters runner with good times in road races and as a former road racer myself I was pleased to see that.

    It is especially useful to compare notes on TV series because the scene is so rich now; as I said, even Emily Nussbaum, the excellent New Yorker TV columnist, often protests, or pleads, that she has missed some and just can't consider them all.
    Last edited by Chris Knipp; 05-10-2018 at 12:01 PM.

  13. #88
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    Quote Originally Posted by cinemabon View Post
    Good luck. For Lori and I both, this is our second marriage. My first one lasted one year. For Lori, her first lasted eight. We just celebrated our thirty-second wedding anniversary, so for us, the second time was the charm. I think we made all of the mistakes with our first marriage and learned our lessons. TMI?
    Congratulations! I miss the romance, but it gets more difficult to find as you get older.

  14. #89
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    The goal is 5k under 22 minutes or about 7 minutes per mile which I aim to accomplish this year. I have a personal best of exactly 18 minutes (I was 30,I think). I completed a couple of marathons, and a really fast half marathon in my 30s. As long as my joints allow me to run I'm going to enjoy it. Most 57 year olds (including my 2 younger brothers) cannot run anymore.

  15. #90
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    You are lucky. I was forced to quit before that, not willingly, I assure you. I didn't last that long, less than 15 years, but they were some of the best. When foot trouble forced me to stop I did aerobics for 8 years, then yoga, now I just walk every morning. I think Walt Stack, the legendary San Francisco runner, did not even start doing his ridiculously intensive morning routines till he was your age, 57, and continued how long? 25 years? I ran one of my first marathons, the defunct Sonoma Wrong Turn Marathon, and it was announced Walt was there to celebrate his 70th birthday by running his 70th marathon. He lived to be 87 but he was ill in a nursing home for some years. All that drinking may not have been good for him, but he certainly enjoyed himself.

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