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EarBear

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Posts posted by EarBear

  13. Posted

    Two things are clear to me now after listening to this podcast, they need to review more movie trailers in the future. maybe the mini podcast could have paul and the gang review movie trailers that they have seen.

     

    I've been saying this for awhile. Trailer reviews would be a great addition to minisodes.

  15. Posted

     

    Also, the 300 or so pages that were cut out contained an entire other plot including a character every bit as important as Peter (Hardesty Maratta) and another antagonist named Jackson Meade, without whom nothing makes sense. That plot dovetails with Peter's and the added stakes really are necessary for it not to be silly.

     

    If you're wondering why Peter didn't get with Virginia Gamely, it's probably because in the book she's married to Hardesty.

     

     

    Oh, in the book Peter does not just wander around Manhattan for a hundred years. There's a rip in time off the cost known as the Cloud Wall which occasionally spits out ancient artifacts and occasionally consumes people. It's part of the "everyone just knows and accepts it" magical realism of the book. At the end of the first section Peter and the horse escape Pearly by jumping into the cloud wall. It transports both of them into the present. In the present people have forgotten about the cloud wall over time, so no one can tell exactly how Peter got there, who he is, etc. he doesn't live for 100 years without aging.

     

    That decision in the movie sounds insane.

     

    This is fucking fascinating. How did they make the decision to cut these details out entirely? And just say he'd been wandering around Manhattan for a fucking century? That is god damn outrageous.

     

    Thanks a lot for your insight, BadgerNoonan! Your contribution has further illustrated that this movie is a fucking shitheap garbage adaptation of a likely rightfully beloved novel. The book actually sounds intriguing from what you write, maybe I'll pick up a copy.

    • Like 3

  16. Posted

    Just to piggyback on a lot of the well articulated and salient points on magic realism from other users like Lyla Rozelle - it sounds like this movie just did a horrible job at handling magic realism. If any of you want to watch a fucking fantastic film with magic realism, adapted from a novel that features magic realism, I say 'Like Water for Chocolate' any day. Also great as it was directed by Alfonso Arau, who most of us know as the actor that played El Guapo in 'Three Amigos'.

     

    Magic realism is one of those exceedingly delicate things that needs special handling. It can go way over the top very easily. Sounds like the whole creation / insertion / execution of the Will Smith Lucifer is a prime example of that. I have not seen this flick, and don't really plan to, but I did watch all the press clips for it at work. Basing my opinion on those presented in this podcast, as well as the 30 or so minutes of the film I watched in clip form, here's my take.

     

    There is a moment in the film where Russell Crowe is obsessing about the killing of Colin Farrell. He calls a lackey into his dark, dusty office to order him to find Farrell. The lackey is played by Kevin Durand (LOST). Russell Crowe tells Durand to find and kill Peter Lake, but calls Durand by the wrong character name. Durand pauses, unsure of how to proceed, how to address this mistake. The name Crowe used was Durand's grandfather, played by Kevin Corrigan, who had died many, many years ago (was in fact killed by Crowe, if memory serves). Durand corrects him.

     

    Here's the thing about this scene and how is immediately turned me off from watching this film when I saw it as a clip a few weeks back. Magic realism in literature is great because all of the characters understand it is part of their universe. It gets touchy in cinema because it takes a lot of communication and commitment on the part of the actors and director to imbue the story with that foundation. So this clip Durand is working for the ageless demon that killed his grandfather. Great, I'm on board. This horrific demon needs a man killed, Durand wants to satisfy him. The demon calls him by his grandfather's name, makes sense, he's ageless, he's got a lot of evil on his mind. My issue is, why would Durand correct him?

     

    This is a fucking ageless demon. Durand desperately wants to please him so he doesn't meet the same hideous fate as his grandfather. Would he really take a time out to call him on something like that? It's possible, sure. But to me it seemed a moment that put a lack of communication concerning magic realism between director and actor on display. I like Durand in almost all things I see him in, and he made an interesting choice to assert a bit of power with that pause and question. But story wise it didn't really gel. It would, at best, be a more nebbishy "That was my grandfather", followed by some blustering by Crowe, because Durand would understand that this is a fucking AGELESS DEMON THAT KILLED HIS GRANDFATHER BEFORE HE WAS BORN.

     

    If you're in that world, you understand and accept the reality of the magic. When actors aren't constantly affirming the reality of this magic world and moving the story forward, then the magic becomes a distraction, and you as a viewer are unable to appreciate any of the story or symbolism. (Though is sounds like they did a shitty job at translating the symbolism as well).

    • Like 4

  18. Posted

    "Was his dick too warm?..." Man, that is classic.

     

    This was a great episode, guys. Well done.

     

    That said, I did miss having a female voice represented. Since June is pregnant, I'm assuming she'll be missing more than a few episodes in the near future. Here's my list of possible female guest hosts who I'd love to hear on the show while June is attending to more important matters:

     

    Kulap Vilaysack

    Jessica St. Clair

    Lennon Parham

    April Richardson

    Alie Ward and/or Georgia Hardstark

    Barbara Gray, Brandie Posey and/or Tess Barker

    Emily V. Gordon

    Cameron Esposito

    Rhea Butcher

    Elizabeth Laime

     

    Mostly just awesome ladies from other podcasts, but I know they'd all make fantastic contributions.

    • Like 7

  25. Posted

    She was totally showing when I went to the taping of the Deck the Halls ep last month. I thought about telling you guys but I decided to respect their privacy instead.

     

    Looking forward to welcoming baby Street Fighter Raphael-Scheer into the world!

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