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More Jordan and less Kevin thank you

they say good fences make good neighbors but a nice shed makes the best neighbor in my humble opinion. love to look out the window over the sink while i sip my coffee in the morning and admire my neighbor's shed. ive never been inside and lord willing i never will but just knowing its there keeping his lawn mower out of the rain fills me with ineffable joy

My new favorite quote...

"I like a bigger boy." ... "I like a bigger boy."

What would be really interesting but painstakingly hard to put together is a series of sequels dedicated to maybe just the top 10 films of different countries based on that country's AFI equivalent or critics circle chosen greatest films. Not only do you cover the classics of various countries but it is an interesting look into what each country values in their films and what films other nations overlook.

I feel like I should have remembered that but once the Japanese version finally got a US release around 2003, I never needed to go back to the Raymond Burr version. There are a few really good lists like the BFI Sight and Sound, Cahiers du Cinema that include US films alongside foreign films (and have a lot of overlap). If you want a really daunting task, try 1001 Movies To See Before You Die or They Shoot Pictures Don't They. I don't think any of these lists have the really weird rules to include or exclude certain movies that AFI has either.

Here's what I would like: once they're done with this list, I would like them to cover the movies that got booted off from the 98 list. Then, if they're up to it, I'd love for Amy and Paul to dive into World cinema. I'd love to hear their take on Bergman and Kurosawa et al. I know Unspooled was always meant to be a macroseries, but the fact that they are already 12% done makes me anxious Of course, I don't actually expect this will happen, but a boy can dream, can't he?

For sure. At the end of this pod, I’m absolutely going to be digging through a ‘best foreign film’ list or two.

And to think, all those chumps on the street got to see his carcass for free!

For me personally, even though I don't love King Kong, I think the technical side of things are so impressive that it deserves to be on the list. This movie was doing things effects wise that even twenty or years later they weren't doing as well. It was really ahead of the curve on that kind of stuff. The easiest parallel I can think of is if you think of modern actors working on a green screen reacting to tennis balls that will be a monster. That's basically this movie, but eighty plus years ago. These were pioneering effects and ways of making a movie, not to mention the score. Therefore it deserves a spot. However, if we were allowed to put on non-American films I would say the originally Japanese non-Steve Martin version of Godzilla is the better example of a monster movie with a complex story. If your only familiar with the later versions of Godzilla as in the "Godzilla vs" movies the original is a completely different thing. On the surface you think it is just a movie about a giant lizard destroying a city, but there is much more to it than that. It is a movie with a lot of subtext about post war Japan and the sometimes obvious but sometimes subtly done fear and destructive power of radiation and nuclear weapons. Of course you can choose to ignore that as Toho did going forward as well.

There was some question about why Peter Jackson decided to tackle a remake of King Kong, but the discussion of the meta-filmmaking aspects of the original movie make me think this fits right in with his thematic interests in much of his non-Tolkien stuff. I'll also note that I can't take all credit for this stuff, as I first read this analysis of Jackson on the old (now defunct) Rotten Tomatoes forums. Jackson is interested in the idea of fantasy storytelling and how it interacts with reality (or "reality" as individuals perceive it). Heavenly Creatures - about two girls who live out a secret fantasy world that morphs into a real-life murder Forgotten Silver - mockumentary about a fake Kiwi filmmaker that aired on New Zealand television and fooled a lot of people into thinking it was real The Frighteners - story about a guy who can actually see and speak with ghosts but uses this ability to fake hauntings and get people to pay for his "exorcisms" In that context, remaking a movie about a film production turned frighteningly real like King Kong fits right in. He even cast Jack Black as Carl Denham, and Black is a fairly decent on-screen counterpart for the then-portly and scraggly Jackson. Anyway, it was divisive, but I also quite liked the Peter Jackson version of Kong, though it is certainly too long and seemingly the beginning of Jackson overstretching his narratives to their detriment.

So what does "good" mean in this context? Is it entirely based on our personal feelings about the movie, or are we also making an effort to look outside ourselves at how others have reacted? The "influence" argument goes to the latter, IMO. If something has had that much influence on the culture then it must have been doing something that worked on a lot of people. I might need to step outside myself a little bit if my reaction didn't match up with that. Not necessarily that I'm going to love it, but I can use that as a way of seeing merit. In some cases you can make the argument that the influence was mostly negative. I don't really see that with King Kong (unless you're really strongly against action/adventure movies in general), but that could be the case sometimes. Finally, this also doesn't mean you have to put the movie on your personal Top 100. But a list like the AFI 100 is attempting to form some kind of consensus. For that maybe you do want to look more at outside factors like influence and cultural impact.

Was this the earliest instance where, when everyone is running around in a panic, the movie cuts away to a child crying by itself in the street? You know, just so the audience knows the shit just got real.

Kevin's mom is definitely a MILF. Mom I'd Like on Forums.

Sorry, but I just don't see an argument for leaving it off. It's way too iconic and influential. Personally, I find it very entertaining. Some of the racist/sexist stuff I largely chalk up to being a product of its time, and on the other hand the movie also has hints of progressivism in how it gets you to sympathize with the creature. As a thrill ride I think it holds up marvelously. The characterization/dialogue only needs to be good enough to serve as scaffolding for the adventure spectacle, and IMO it does.

can we track down a picture of kevins mom so CMB can make a 'where in the world is kevin's mom' poster? please

I have to question whether or not the love story was intentional terrible or not. When Denham is explaining why he needs an actress for the movie he complains that after he works hard to make a movie the critics and exhibitors claim "if this movie had a love interest it'd gross twice as much." He also cites this is what the public wants and it makes him sore. Cut to twenty minutes later or so and we have John and Ann fall in love out of nowhere. Was this the writer and director giving the critics and exhibitors what they wanted? Were they aware they were doing what they just complained about? I'd like to think this was some meta message.

It’s RAINING! It’s going to get out of control! Damn you, Zephryus! Why must you curse my curb appeal!

(I hope no one minds that I’ve been creating these threads.)

I am not a fan of the new multiple emoji response system. As the current #8 top poster for "most reputation" I need to know if a trophy earns more reputation than a "huh?" face.

some good diversity in the forums this week, folks. nothing like an all-timer to bring the fans together.

Rarely drop by anymore (long story but also very simple story) but just had to praise this ep. Great stuff.

this is like the Mount Everest of podcast episodes, in that it's awe-inspiring and badass as hell and I think it might physically kill me