Cameron H.

I was reading a part of an interview with Jerry Seinfeld the other day and the interviewer asked him why he only uses Twitter to promote his work and not tell jokes. Seinfeld replied that he didn’t see the point because he wouldn’t be able to hear the audience’s laughter - which is ultimately the point of being a comedian. He also pointed out that live audiences allow him to better gauge what works and what doesn’t. I’m not saying that’s what’s going on with the HDTGM crew, but it makes a lot of sense.

I guess I just don’t think Neff is smart (sorry, Paul) so much as he thinks he’s smart. I think Paul Referred to his hubris in the episode, and I’d have to agree. He’s so confident in his knowledge of the ins and outs of the insurance racket that he’s either ignoring the fact that Keyes knows far more than he does or feels like he can prove himself as the better man if he can outsmart him. Either way, he’s giving himself far more credit than he deserves.

Our next one of these is currently scheduled for 8/10. Technically, we should be doing Green Lantern, and that's fine if that's what you all want to do, but I'm wondering if we should skip it. I feel like most of us have probably already seen it and I'm not sure how fun it will be. It's bad, but is it it "fun bad?" Vote up top (That's right, I know how to do polls now and I'm going to do them as often as I can!) I'm cool either way (Although I would be lying if I didn't see that I'm really, really looking forward to The Back-Up Plan)

I think it’s funny that in Never Too Young to Die Gene Simmons is trying to get the “RAM-K” and in Runaway he’s trying to get “Ramsay.” Do you think Gene Simmons’ blossoming acting career was derailed by typecasting?

Ooh! I haven’t seen this in awhile! I’m looking forward to revisiting it

Wow, those are some horny dogs... We watched:

Speaking of the dumb bug-gum, I would just like to point out that having a reason to plant a bug is just as important as where you plant it. After leaving Ragnar, Lance rushes outside, ducks behind a dumpster, pulls out a receiver of some sort and hopes to hear...what? What was he expecting to happen? As near as I could tell, there was no one even left at The Incinerator. Who did he think Ragnar was going to speak with? Did he just assume that Ragnar would hold criminal court in her dressing room? Was he just hoping that as soon as he left the room Ragnar would indulge herself in a nice, long, self-incriminating soliloquy?

No, I didn't feel like you were complaining at all. The studio episodes are fantastic. I like the atmosphere in them because instead of trying to make an audience laugh they just seem to be trying to make each other laugh - which is absolutely endearing.

Am I the only one who felt that the only reason Vanity's character is named "Danja" is so that it can suit the Bond-ian convention of giving the female characters pun-tacular names? (Danja being a (near) homonym for "Danger.")

That’s actually something I kind of enjoyed although I’m not sure that it was fully explored (or intentional). It showed just how inexperienced he was and showed how far Ragnar was ahead of him. There are fight scenes where the bad guys straight up ignore him and just attack Danja - which is exactly how it should be! She’s the threat! It’s not until he gets Stargroved by his father’s medallion that he actually becomes competent (and a bloodthirsty killer).

I think the last one they did was Beautiful Creatures, but yeah, for all intents and purposes, I think it’s mostly live now. From what I understand, and I can’t remember where I heard/read this so please take it with a grain of salt, their schedules are often too busy to get everyone in the studio. It’s easier for them to schedule one night and knock out two episodes (essentially a month’s worth of HDTGM) than try to get together every two weeks for only one episode. Of course, they could always just record a few episodes while in-studio, but I think they like the energy of a live audience. I get that a lot of people prefer studio eps, but I think it’s a natural consequence of their rising careers. I’m happy that they’re doing well. I think what amazes me is just how reliable they are. There was a time around Monkey Shines where their episodes would be WEEKS late. Granted, I think that was around the time June and Paul had their first child, but since that time, they’ve been remarkably on schedule. The fact that you can count on a new episode dropping every two weeks is absolutely amazing!

I don't know a whole lot about motorcycles, but I do know that rolling up to the heavy metal nightclub riding a dirt bike while everyone else is riding medievally-accoutred, horse-motorcycles is lame as fuck.

Okay, so here's a problem I have with this "movie" and its "plot." We're told that this disc will allow Ragnar to re-route radioactive waste from Diablo Canyon into the city's drinking supply and contaminate it "forever." Okay, fine. But, I mean, like, that's it. That's all that it does. It doesn't actually control Diablo Canyon or the reservoir. If Ragnar doesn't have that disc, then there really isn't a threat. I mean, seriously guys, it's just a shitty floppy disc. Just snap that fucker in two. Problem solved. Had the movie been the slightest bit interested in making sense, they would have wrote it so Ragnar had aleady hacked into Diablo Canyon and rigged it to redirect the waste into the drinking water in two days. Then he could say to the government, "Hey, in 48 hours I am going to irrevocably poison your water supply. The only way to stop it is with this disc in my possession - which I will give to you for one billion dollars in gold, ransom, jewels, and money. Ragnar out!" Had they gone this route, then you could have had Stargrove in a race against the clock to steal the disc before it's too late. I don't know, it just seems to me that the only real conflict in the movie is between our heroes and their moronic refusal to end Ragnar's madness at literally any moment of their choosing.

I would really like to emphasize just how terrible of a spy Stargrove Sr is. In his brief time on screen, he manages to: blow himself up, get his team killed, get betrayed, give himself up by branding his paramour with earrings baring his family crest, and implicate his son while under mild interrogation. Apparently this super spy's plan was to send his son a care package full of candy bars, fruit preserves, and top secret floppy discs that homicidal maniacs are willing to kill for. He paints a target on his son's back and doesn't even bother to include a single note to say, "Oh, and by the way, heads up, I just endangered your life. Say 'Hi' to Cliff for me..."

I am a HUGE fan of Dalton. He fucking smolders. I wouldn't say Lazenby is the worst Bond, but I agree that Hulu documentary makes him come off as a terrible human being.

I think it’s the height of arrogance that Stargrove goes to all the trouble of creating a secret, underground spy bunker to house all of his counterintelligence memorabilia, but keeps all of his top secret and classified files in an unlocked, run-of-the-mill, Office Depot filing cabinet.

It’s interesting that you suggest that one of the essential tropes of Noir is a “private eye” and then suggest a Noir film to replace it, The Third Man, in which the protagonist is a novelist. If you’re suggesting that it doesn’t necessarily have to be a private eye, but just someone conducting an investigation, wouldn’t that character be Keyes in Double Indemnity? As far as “getting caught up in a criminal underworld” that exists just outside our perception, I think that’s exactly is happening in DI. When Neff suggests that native Californians are “from Iowa” and they live in “Spanish”-style houses, he’s calling out the superficiality. Even (as Shay has pointed out) all of Neff’s “babys” are a manifestation of his own façade. Neff isn’t an actor, but he’s still playing a role. No, DI isn’t about some vast criminal empire or anything, but it is exposing the shadowy underbelly of “sunny” California, which - in my opinion - makes it just as Noir as anything.

What was everyone’s favorite Noir line? Mine was: “They’ll hang you just as sure as ten dimes will buy you a dollar, and I don’t want you to hang, baby.”

Personally, I loved all the "babys." As I said on my initial Letterboxd review, I liked the movie for all the right reasons, but I think I loved it for all the wrong ones. I got so much joy out of how hard-boiled everything was. Everything Neff utters is pure brilliance. I also agree with you. As they said in the show, I feel like Neff (much like Eve) is playing a role. His life is kind of whatever, and when this woman seems a little interested in him, he really pours it on. In my mind, all the "babys" and everything are complete artifice. He's pretending to be something he's not - or something he wishes he could be. (You've got to stop slumming over there on Facebook )

I think my favorite part was when Neff needed to cool off so he bowled a couple frames...and grabbed a beer a Drive-In restaurant. Oh, 1944, you so crazy.

Amy and Paul wondered why the movie was set in 1938 instead of 1944, and I wonder if maybe the studio was afraid audiences might not accept that Neff - a healthy, thirty-five year old man - wasn't enlisted in the military. While still a few years from America actually entering the war, 1938 is conspicuous in being the year before WW II began. While Neff is never portrayed as a "good guy," he still needed to be someone that the audience could root for. If there was a hint that he might be a draft dodger or something, they might have been afraid that people would turn on him off him right off the bat..

I did! It was fantastic!

I don’t know. I feel like - especially back then - her being a lesbian would have only been seen as a part of her overall psychosis. Back in those days, in many places, it was still illegal to be gay and people were institutionalized for being homosexual.

I don't hate it...