Musical Mondays Off-Week 6 (Quasar Sniffer's Pick)

[Cakebug Tranch 6873]

 

What if it's Shakespeare in the Movies? Does she throw it back?

[Cameron H. 23786]

 

Once I found Twilight, but I let that one go.

 

 

God damn it! We wrote essentially the same joke at the same time!

 

(Although, mine was a call back, so I think mine wins. )

[Cakebug Tranch 6873]

I just remembered a colleague of mine wrote in the lead-up to a conference we were both co-organising a panel at, that one of our panel members had used 'Shakespeare in the Movies' as a prominent source in his paper. My colleague wrote this email just prior to the conference:

 

Thank you for your paper, *redacted*. Just FYI and before you considering publishing it, I note that you quote Brode. My late friend Tom Pendleton reviewed that book for Shakespeare Newsletter detailing dozens of factual errors, claimed there were literally hundreds (I think it was hundreds), and suggested that OUP treat the book as if the lemon laws that apply to cars applied to this book, and recall it.

 

Maybe the point made by Brode is just fine in your case, but you might want to take a hard look and a long think before letting it stand.

 

[Cameron H. 23786]

I just remembered a colleague of mine wrote in the lead-up to a conference we were both co-organising a panel at, that one of our panel members had used 'Shakespeare in the Movies' as a prominent source in his paper. My colleague wrote this email just prior to the conference:

 

 

Me-OW!

 

[Cakebug Tranch 6873]

 

Me-OW!

 

Yeah bruh, don't mess with academics.

 

[taylor anne photo 11311]

Jesus Christ, y'all, I had to focus so much on actual work today and I miss everything

[Cam Bert 8145]

Jesus Christ, y'all, I had to focus so much on actual work today and I miss everything

Don't worry I'm in the same boat too.

 

For the record I really wanted to like World's End but I think by sticking to the formula and conventions of Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz (ie explain the story in a seemingly unrelated monologue up top) kinda did them in. Also part of what made the first two great were how they deconstructed the genre while embracing it at the same time and this one didn't really achieve that goal as well as the others did.

 

EDIT:Wrong Shaun, damn you names with multiple spellings!

[FisterRoboto 7499]

Here's where I make you all hate me:

 

I like The World's End. It's my least favorite of the three (Hot Fuzz being the best), but I still think it's absolutely great.

 

And I think Christopher Moore is a terrible writer.

[Cameron H. 23786]

Hey, look everyone! CakeBug and Fister are here via Skype...

 

 

 

 

[joel_rosenbaum 1269]

How does everyone feel about The World's End? I want to like it more than I do...

 

I actually thought it was okay.

[Cameron H. 23786]

In its defense, I don't think anyone here is saying that they hated World's End. Just that it was kind of a disappointment compared to SotD and Fuzz--which would have been a high benchmark for any movie. I'll put it this way, I've watched World's End twice, but I've seen SotD and Fuzz more times than I can count.

[Cam Bert 8145]

In its defense, I don't think anyone here is saying that they hated World's End. Just that it was kind of a disappointment compared to SotD and Fuzz--which would have been a high benchmark for any movie. I'll put it this way, I've watched World's End twice, but I've seen SotD and Fuzz more times than I can count.

Yes, this exactly. I had set my expectations really high when I first saw it. The second time I saw it I liked it more, but haven't rewatched it since.

[Cameron H. 23786]

Yes, this exactly. I had set my expectations really high when I first saw it. The second I saw it I liked it more, but haven't rewatched it since.

 

Same. The second time was better than the first, but I still don't feel a driving need to watch it again. Although, I can almost guarantee that I will at some point.

[Cakebug Tranch 6873]

Yes, this exactly. I had set my expectations really high when I first saw it. The second time I saw it I liked it more, but haven't rewatched it since.

Yes, I remember seeing the trailer for 'World's End' and being really bummed that it wouldn't come out for months, I was so excited about seeing that group of guys on their pub crawl. And there was a stack of amazing things in the film, but the final product just didn't live up to the expectations from the past. And as I've said, Simon Pegg is someone I instinctively want to like, and his character in this is such a selfish twat that I didn't enjoy it the way I did the previous two.

[kateacola 2440]

In its defense, I don't think anyone here is saying that they hated World's End. Just that it was kind of a disappointment compared to SotD and Fuzz--which would have been a high benchmark for any movie. I'll put it this way, I've watched World's End twice, but I've seen SotD and Fuzz more times than I can count.

^This. I didn't hate it, but definitely was disappointed. I think it could grow on me a little if I watch again, but don't know that it'll ever stack up or be close to the other two.

[taylor anne photo 11311]

Here's where I make you all hate me:

 

I like The World's End. It's my least favorite of the three (Hot Fuzz being the best), but I still think it's absolutely great.

 

And I think Christopher Moore is a terrible writer.

High five we're in the same boat together!

 

I thought it was quite moving and I'm pretty much on board with whatever they do. But I also think it is my least favorite of the three but Shaun is my fave forever.

[Cameron H. 23786]

 

High five we're in the same boat together!

 

I thought it was quite moving and I'm pretty much on board with whatever they do. But I also think it is my least favorite of the three but Shaun is my fave forever.

 

I don't understand...

 

We're basically all saying the same thing--LOL! Of the three, all of us has said it's the weakest one.

 

(Unless, of course, you're including your distaste for Christopher Moore in your response.)

[taylor anne photo 11311]

But you've all said you were disappointed by it. I was not.

 

I still really liked it. That's just how much I love Shaun & Hot Fuzz.

[Cameron H. 23786]

But you've all said you were disappointed by it. I was not.

 

I still really liked it. That's just how much I love Shaun & Hot Fuzz.

 

Gotcha!

[Cakebug Tranch 6873]

But you've all said you were disappointed by it. I was not.

 

I still really liked it. That's just how much I love Shaun & Hot Fuzz.

 

For me it was the lazy 'it was aliens' trope that bugged me - in those cases you always want there to be some kind of grounded explanation for the wacky things that have been going on, and to explain it away with BTW Aliens made me feel like it was Kingdom of the Crystal Skull-esque. Also, the exponentially more money they had to spend compared to (especially) SotD meant there was more flash, less substance. I did like the idea that the rise of internet technology over the past two decades were entirely down to an alien race (sort of contradicting myself I know but I liked this element) and once the aliens left we were cast back into the dark ages. More of an exploration of that world would have been welcome in another film...

[Cameron H. 23786]

Kind of piggybacking a bit on CakeBug's earlier comments, I have real issue with people who can't let go of their past, refuse to grow up, or try to relive their "glory days." And while I get this is kind of the point of the movie, it made it a tough watch. Pegg's character was such a loser, that to ostensibly be forced to spend almost two hours with him, was kind of torture.

 

I wish they could have done the same-ish movie, but without that character.

[FisterRoboto 7499]

 

For me it was the lazy 'it was aliens' trope that bugged me - in those cases you always want there to be some kind of grounded explanation for the wacky things that have been going on, and to explain it away with BTW Aliens made me feel like it was Kingdom of the Crystal Skull-esque. Also, the exponentially more money they had to spend compared to (especially) SotD meant there was more flash, less substance. I did like the idea that the rise of internet technology over the past two decades were entirely down to an alien race (sort of contradicting myself I know but I liked this element) and once the aliens left we were cast back into the dark ages. More of an exploration of that world would have been welcome in another film...

But it was supposed to be a parody of alien invasion movies. That's kind of the whole point of it. SotD was zombie movies. Hot Fuzz was buddy cop/action movies. And The World's End was sci-fi/alien invasion movies. There are so many great references to movies like Aliens, The Day the Earth Stood Still, and Invasion of the Body Snatchers that the reveal of the aliens shouldn't be a giant surprise.

Kind of piggybacking a bit on CakeBug's earlier comments, I have real issue with people who can't let go of their past, refuse to grow up, or try to relive their "glory days." And while I get this is kind of the point of the movie, it made it a tough watch. Pegg's character was such a loser, that to ostensibly be forced to spend almost two hours with him, was kind of torture.

 

I wish they could have done the same-ish movie, but without that character.

I actually liked what they did with his character. I thought it was fun to have Nick Frost be the semi-responsible adult in this one and have Simon Pegg be the stunted manchild. Yeah, he's totally annoying and selfish, but so is Frost in Hot Fuzz and SotD.

[Cakebug Tranch 6873]

But it was supposed to be a parody of alien invasion movies. That's kind of the whole point of it. SotD was zombie movies. Hot Fuzz was buddy cop/action movies. And The World's End was sci-fi/alien invasion movies. There are so many great references to movies like Aliens, The Day the Earth Stood Still, and Invasion of the Body Snatchers that the reveal of the aliens shouldn't be a giant surprise.

 

Oh, I'm not saying it's a big surprise or anything, and the tribute to the genre is fine. It just lifts it out of the humanity that's more prevalent in the previous two movies, which I found made it a far less satisfying watch. It wasn't so much that it was an alien flick, but it was that it was using the Cornetto Trilogy dynamic to explore it, which jarred for me.

[Cameron H. 23786]

I actually liked what they did with his character. I thought it was fun to have Nick Frost be the semi-responsible adult in this one and have Simon Pegg be the stunted manchild. Yeah, he's totally annoying and selfish, but so is Frost in Hot Fuzz and SotD.

 

Yes, but Frost still manages to be likable. I feel like they reversed types in Paul as well and I found i liked that one more.

 

The thing is, the movies in the Cornetto Trilogy are not what they actually are. Shaun is about putting behind your childhood and becoming an adult and accepting responsibility; Fuzz is about not getting so wrapped up in being a responsible adult that you forget to have fun; World's End is about being so wrapped up in the ephemera in life that we lose sight of who we truly are. I'm on board for the first two, but I'm not sure that I buy the third.

[Cakebug Tranch 6873]

 

Yes, but Frost still manages to be likable. I feel like they reversed types in Paul as well and I found i liked that one more.

 

The thing is, the movies in the Cornetto Trilogy are not what they actually are. Shaun is about putting behind your childhood and becoming an adult and accepting responsibility; Fuzz is about not getting so wrapped up in being a responsible adult that you forget to have fun; World's End is about being so wrapped up in the ephemera in life that we lose sight of who we truly are. I'm on board for the first two, but I'm not sure that I buy the third.

With that kind of analysis, I feel like you could be a prominent poster on an online movie discussion forum or something. Great stuff!