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grudlian.

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Posts posted by grudlian.

  1. Posted

    6 minutes ago, Quasar Sniffer said:

    I think the movie was sort of even-handed with the hippies, but when the group was sort such a bunch of unfeeling dicks to Hud's fiance and her child, my reaction was "fuck these clowns." As much as I am a Big Time Leftist and abhor everything the Vietnam War stood for, I was not behind these dumb-dumbs. Sure, I hate authoritarian institutions represented by the military at the end, and I felt sorry for Claude's plight, but the whole madcap ending where Berger ends up going to Vietnam? That strained by sense of credulity even for a musical.

    Yeah, the middle of this movie really soured me on the characters. I'm already pretty anti-hippy (but also pretty far left and anti-authority) and the scene with Hud/Lafayette really nailed what I don't like about the kind of wannabe hippy people I knew in high school.

    I agree with you about how preposterous the final act is but I was still weirdly moved by Berger going to war to die.

    • Like 2

  3. Posted

    41 minutes ago, GrahamS. said:

    Ā 

    I totally agree! Honestly, thatā€™s a large part of the reason why I donā€™t watch all the films they coverā€”I canā€™t afford to. Also..with a (usually) busy schedule, I like to balance crap thatā€™s FUNĀ to watch with stuff thatā€™s actually...good. If itā€™s memorably crappy fare, no matter the budgetā€”like I thought The Great Wall wasā€”then Iā€™m all in! If itā€™s a mediocre Movie that Jason or whomever regrets watching, then I usually feel ripped off either financially or time-wise. This is alsoā€”in large partā€”because Iā€™m watching these movies by myself, so I often donā€™t have anyone to talk shitĀ about it if itā€™s boring.

    i was also disappointed that Bloodshot was the next choiceā€”or even done at allā€”but since I didnā€™t see how I was going To change that, thatā€™s why I decided to be optimistic earlier. I like the texting idea. Hopefully it works!

    I watch them all and I usually pay very little for them. Depending on your library system, libraries are great for DVDs (but I also go by a couple to and from work which makes it pretty easy). At the very least, see if your library has a streaming service for free. A handful of hard to find movies have been on hoopla which is free with my library. Some libraries have kanopy which doesn't cover much HDTGM material but a free streaming service is strik a free streaming service. A couple HDTGM movies have been on tubi which is free. I also still have Netflix DVD (which has been gathering dust for months).

    • Like 3

  4. Posted

    3 hours ago, DrGuts1003 said:

    If no one has yet, I could text Paul and see if he would be open to holding off on this episode a few more weeks until it is at least available to rent.

    This is a great idea.

    On one hand, I don't want to bother Paul or make him/earwolf/June/Jason feel like they made a bad decision. On the other hand, $20 is kind of a lot for some people and it's kind of a lot for even more people right now. This is one of those damned if you do, damned if you don't kind of situations since the movie has already been announced. But they pulled an audible by changing Dragonheart to The Boy Next Door once. So, idk.

    4 hours ago, Cameron H. said:

    And thatā€™s fine. I have no doubt the episode will be funny. And I donā€™t necessarily object to them picking a movie you pay for (although options would be nice). Itā€™s the timing that I think is lame. According to iTunes, Bloodshot will be available to rent in two weeks (May 5th). Why do this movie right now? Why not *at least* wait until then so more people can *maybe* enjoy it?

    And of course I appreciate free entertainment, but for many listeners, part of the fun of the showĀ is watching the movie ourselves and discussing them here and elsewhere. That can relieveĀ some of the insanity too.Ā 

    I mean, thereā€™s no way Bloodshot is a ā€œmust-do-right-now-and-pay-full-priceā€ kind of movie. (Personally, I donā€™t think any of these movies ever are, but particularly right now.) Of course, they can chose whatever they want, and we can likewise choose whether we want to pay for a shitty Vin Diesel movie, but itā€™s still disappointing.

    Speaking for myself,Ā Iā€™mĀ 95% sure Iā€™m not going to buy it, especially now that I know I can rent it soon, and I probably wonā€™t bother listening to the episode until I can see the movie as thatā€™s how I prefer to enjoyĀ HDTGM.

    As much as I love HDTGM, I donā€™t think theyā€™re above mild criticism. They have absolutely listened to our complaints before and made concessions. As long as weā€™re not being dicks, I feel like itā€™s all good.Ā 

    You're saying exactly what I'm thinking on this. Because I personally find the show much more enjoyable if I've watched the movie, I don't listen to episodes until I've seen it. Now that I know it's up for rent in a couple weeks, I'm fine waiting and I'm sure I'll like the episode when I get to it. The world isn't waiting with bated breath for my next C&O.

    It's mildly frustrating when a movie is especially hard to find or expensive when a ton of people have multiple streaming subscriptions (acknowledging that even that comes from a place of privilege). I want them to do the movies they want. I don't want them to limit everything to Netflix, Prime or Hulu. But when there's something like Prelude To A Kiss that involves joining Hulu/Prime then getting Starz on top of that, it feels like a bit much (though I'm very glad I saw Prelude To A Kiss). I'd really like to avoid another run like Bratz, Garbage Pail Kids, Ninja Terminator, Hard Ticket To Hawaii where a ton of movies in a short period where really hard to access.

    Also, I realize I probably sound like this right now:

    951850.jpg?b64lines=QVMgQSBMT1lBTCBsaXN0
    Ā 

    • Like 3

  5. Posted

    6 minutes ago, Cameron H. said:

    I havenā€™t listened to the ep yet, but that feels kind of like a BS choice. I mean, nothing says we have to watch every single movie, but a lot of us like to. With the current state of the world being as is,Ā and a lot of people struggling, it feels really tone deaf to choose a movie you have buy (on iTunes) for $20. šŸ™

    Yeah, I was thinking that same thing. They released an episode from behind a paywall then dropped a $20 movie? Kind of a strange timing thing in my mind. I can technically afford it but I was paying $20 a month for functionally unlimited movies in theaters. I'm probably going to skip this episode unless I can find it just to rent for a few bucks.

    • Like 3

  7. Posted

    Amy & Paul strut through 1972's Weimar Berlin-set musical Cabaret! They learn about the many forms thisĀ story took before becoming a film, discuss a scene that foreshadows today's "fake news" era, and ask if Liza Minnelli is too good of a singer to play Sally Bowles. Plus: Adam Pascal, who played the Emcee in the revival of Cabaret, talks about why he finds the character so unnerving.

  8. Posted

    51 minutes ago, DrGuts1003 said:

    I donā€™t want to beat a dead horse, but

    And yet...

    51 minutes ago, DrGuts1003 said:

    I was just listening to the Vampireā€™s Kiss (which stars Nicolas Cage if you donā€™t remember) episode and at the end, Paul announces that heā€™s now in a movie with Nicolas Cage called Army of One.

    Clearly they had no issue mocking one of Cageā€™s films and have also done others since. Ā And Iā€™m sure there are other examples of Jason, June and Paul working with actors who have been in movies they have done on the show. Ā So why is Cheadle so special? Ā Did Cheadle specifically ask they not air the episode?

    To my knowledge, the only reason it's believed that Don Cheadle is the reason Swordfish is unreleasedĀ is because someone not affiliated with the show or Earwolf claimed that Paul saidĀ this at a live show. So, the reality is that no one who isn't Paul, Jason, June, Earwolf staff and maybe Don Cheadle knowĀ the reason.

    Personally, I'm fine with whatever the reason is. I want the hosts to be successful and, should they feel an episode hurts their careers or working relationships, then don't release it. They pulled a released episode for yearsĀ (and it's generally accepted to be) at the request of someone in the movie. So, this isn't the first time it's happened.

  9. Posted

    25 minutes ago, Autumn H. said:

    Is there an episode with Jessica St. Clair and June on at the same time (other than when June was on Jury Duty)? I feel like they would take over, and I want to be in that group!

    Episode 204 Holidays In Handcuffs

    • Like 1

  10. Posted

    9 minutes ago, Cam Bert said:

    Having just watched this and knowing nothing about The Cowsills it seems very... church groupy. Like a bunch of uncool people trying to make fun of or re-appropriate something that is cool at the moment.

    This also reminds me of Tesla's cover of another hippie anthem of Signs. A former glam rock band doing hippie songs just seems odd.

    I don't know a ton about the Cowsills to tell you. The Partridge Family is inspired by/based on them if you're familiar with them except the Cowsills felt tamer than that. They looked very clean cut. They wore matching suits well after that stopped being normal for bands. They were big in the late sixties and their hair would have been acceptable in pre-Beatle era music.Ā I don't know if they were religious, but church groupy doesn't feel far off. Just covering the song had to be ironic to the audience.

    • Like 2

  11. Posted

    1 hour ago, Cam Bert said:

    Add to this the main song which I believe goes "Give me a head with hair, hair, long glorious hair, shoulder length or longer" and we're on the same page.

    In fact this one may out hippie Jesus Christ Superstar.

    Oh man, I can't believe I forgot about that song. I only know the Cowsills version but it's pretty great (for maybe the least hippie band of the era to cover).

    • Like 1

  14. Posted

    8 hours ago, AlmostAGhost said:

    First year in law school is the trying, difficult one. For various reasons. But it generally gets easier from there. (I'm a lawyer.) I've been meaning to watch Paper Chase sometime, I'll try to do that this week!

    I'd be curious how accurate this is to the law school experience. I'm assuming it's kind of the Platoon of law school movies where he condensed every crazy story into one group of kids. I assume there's some validity because the author was a lawyer.Ā 

    • Like 1

  15. Posted

    22 minutes ago, Cinco DeNio said:

    I just finishedĀ The Paper Chase. I welcome your comments because I am not sure about it. It was similar toĀ FameĀ (or vice versa) in that a group of students push through a trying school (Harvard Law in this case) with varying degrees of success. (Like FameĀ it also spawned a successful, entertaining TV show.)Ā There is an attempted suicide, dropouts, and one student we follow throughout. This movie has better focus since it only covers the first year. On the other hand I find it less satisfying because I know he has more challenging years ahead of him. If he thought the first year was tough just wait!
    Ā 

    The story is also likeĀ The Jazz SingerĀ in that the character runs away from people who care about him and then comes back and theyā€™re fine with it. He sort of redeems that in the end but itā€™s a drop in the bucket compared to his assholery.

    Ā I would give it 6/10. I am glad I watched it but once is enough.

    I liked The Paper Chase just fine. I think theĀ comparison to Fame is interesting and sort of apt. It does kind of feel like a lot of stereotypes we all believe of law school. You're right that it's more focused than Fame. I think following a group of students all in the same classes with a single "villain" gives it a bit more structure.

    • Like 1

  17. Posted

    1 hour ago, sycasey 2.0 said:

    For the 90s, I dunno, maybe something likeĀ Reality BitesĀ orĀ Empire Records?Ā But on the other hand, those movies were never super well-received critically.

    For the 80s it tends to be stuff people saw as kids and loved for that reason, likeĀ The GooniesĀ orĀ HookĀ orĀ The Lost Boys.Ā But again, I think adults during that time never held those movies up as being particularly good.

    There really does seem to be something very specific to the young-adult era of the Boomer generation that doesn't totally translate elsewhere.

    I'm not sure I even know entirely what I mean by Easy Rider for the 80s or 90s. I guess I look at Easy Rider as a movie that defined a specific moment in culture that sparks a lot of peoples imaginations, but really wasn't of the culture at all. How many people actually went and lived like Wyatt and Captain America? Or even attempted it? Or even kind of seriously thought about it beyond "man, that would be sooo cool"? And yet it seems like a lot of people treat Easy Rider as a "YOU HAD TO BE THERE, MAN!" kind of movie despite never being there themselves. If that makes any sense?

    I haven't seen Reality Bites but my perception of what I think it is kind of fits it. Empire Records kind of does to an extent.

    The closest I can think of would be Wall Street but I'm not sure if that's quite right either. People use it as a definition of the 80s. It didn't necessarily create yuppie culture, but I think it popularized it the way Easy Rider did. But I think very few people left Wall Street dreaming of being Gordon Gecko and everything he stood for (though some audience members certainly did).

  18. Posted

    2 hours ago, bleary said:

    I'm with @AlmostAGhost.Ā  I like this film quite a bit (though perhaps not as much), but I'm voting no.Ā  While I agree with @sycasey 2.0Ā and @grudlian.Ā overall about the defects in storytelling, I actually think this is beautifully shot, particularly considering the budget.Ā  And the way it used its score was extremely influential, and I think still great today.Ā  Although the points it tries to make don't really work for me, I guess I admire it more than I decry it for trying to process that era.Ā  And the theme/vibe of "what the fuck is wrong with this country and is it even possible to fix it" is certainly something that resonates with me at this time.

    But in trying to make points about the clashing of vastly different subcultures in that era, this film fails, I think, mostly from oversimplification.Ā  There is little nuance in the way that the film presents extremely nuanced things.Ā  As I mentioned in my Letterboxd review, you learn more about this late 60s clash of cultures in something like the showĀ Mad Men, because there's plenty of room to breathe with these complicated ideas.Ā  But even in a more condensed timeframe, I foundĀ Gimme ShelterĀ much more compelling as well, as grudlian also mentioned.

    I think what frustrates me most about Easy Rider is that I want to like it. Or, when I hear what people like about it, I like all that stuff as well. It's truly independent cinema made in the moment (both in the moment of the scenes and as time capsule of culture). You mention being unable to fix what's wrong with this country as a theme and that resonates with me as well. I guess I could talk a lot about what others see in the movie as great. On paper, it's a great movie but the final product leaves me kind of cold. I don't have a lot of concrete thoughts on the movie (partly because it's been years since I watched it) other than I didn't think much of it. I think my ideas are all over the place because the movie is all over the place.

    I guess a perfect critique of this movie, or at least my take away from it, is that I see them riding down the road on a motorcycle, Born To Be Wild blaring and I absolutely want to do the same thing. I don't even particularly like motorcycles, but this primal area of my brain wants to ride a motorcycle during that scene. It seems so thrilling and and free. But I feel the exact same urge listening to Born To Be Wild on the radio without the movie playing. All the stuff around this movie (soundtrack, politics, culture of the time) seems to be doing the heavy lifting for this movie.

    There's probably some 80s/90s movie that is the equivalent to Easy Rider that was just right place/right time that I was the right age for and I'll love it forever in spite of any logical criticism of it. But I can't think of what that is.

  19. Posted

    I agree with the negative review they read in the podcast and Sycasey. I didn't rewatch this movie but I remember finding it very boring. I didn't find it haveĀ anything interesting to say and I'm not sure what it might be trying to say other than "fuck the old way" in a general sense. While I can get behind that (generally speaking), this felt meandering without purpose or artistry or skill.

    The only thing I can see that I might appreciate in this is encapsulating a feeling/time. But I think I just don't feel that kind of call that this movie seems to invoke in its fans. Maybe I'm just not connected with 1969 enough to get it.

    I think what really turns me off is the idea of Wild Hogs (which I haven't seen) or the type of people who just interpret the movie as...I don't know... freedom of the open road, rebellion, whatever. Since the movie is so muddled and the main characters don't seem admirable to me, the movie's influence seems to be people either ignoring its flaws or bringing their own interpretation to it. So, real hard pass on this one.

    If we must have a movie about what the 60s was like, I'd rather have Woodstock or Gimme Shelter but the AFI doesn't count documentaries.

    • Like 2

  20. Posted

    19 minutes ago, Cameron H. said:

    No problem! Intolerance is a breezy 1,000,000 hours long. You can probably watch both...

    No amount of quarantine is enough for me to consider watching Intolerance again.

    • Like 1

  21. Posted

    31 minutes ago, DanEngler said:

    Weird, the "Share" menu is completely missing for me in Firefox but shows up in other browsers. I corrected my earlier post.

    The Share button shows up for me in Firefox but the download button in the doesn't download. It starts opening a page on Omny but doesn't initialize the download.

    It's working in Chrome though. I knew I should have tried a different browser before asking. Thanks!

    • Like 1

  25. Posted

    10 minutes ago, AlmostAGhost said:

    Yea that number was wild and bad. I wonder how it got stuck in there.

    Generally though, the music was pretty solid all the way through, I thought. Diverse stuff too, not all just early rock.

    That's the one thing I liked in this was the music. There was some artist I didn't recognize at all. Was Jimmy Cavallo a big name in early rock? Or was he one of those "big for the month this movie was filmed so he lucked out being in this". Was he friends with Stan Freed (or a payola person)? I had at least heard of almost all the other bands in this. It seemed strange that Jimmy Cavallo got a couple songs in this movie.

    • Like 3
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