Episode 236 — The Great Wall (Live)

[Blast Hardcheese 636]

On 3/27/2020 at 6:35 PM, DrGuts1003 said:

Nobody could seem to figure out what type of accent Matt Damon was going for in this movie.  And apparently that was by design.  In an interview with Yahoo, Damon discusses the character's accent, which he created with acclaimed Hollywood dialect coach Tim Monich. "The accent we made up," he says. "It had to be understandable. It couldn't be modern English. And then [Monich] made rules for it -- the way he does with any dialect we're working on -- so we kinda cobbled it together that way.”

Who wants to speculate on what those rules could possibly be?  I’m guessing they were based on the color of the outfit each character that Damon spoke to was wearing.  If the person wore blue, Damon spoke in an Irish accent.  If the character wore red, he spoke with a Texas twang.  And so on.

Be that as it may, to me Matt Damon sounded like he was doing an impression of Liam Neeson doing an impression of an American accent. Imagine Damon’s character from this film doing the “particular set of skills” speech from Taken and you’ll get the idea.

[gigi-tastic 2322]

On 3/27/2020 at 8:18 PM, Elektra Boogaloo said:

 

I don't think dragons are bad in Chinese mythology. I am a white lady so I can't speak with confidence. 

I learned today that the two tei or taotie are a mythological creature in China. They represent gluttony, which I think Paul referenced when namechecking WALL STREET's "greed is good." It doesn't seem like there is a standard depiction, as with many fictional creatures. (I have had fights about how many legs a dragon has.) But the alien/bug device seems new... 

They really look like greener versions of the Outriders from AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR to me. Rocket even calls those "space dogs."

 

What was with the boob plate shot of the Crane Corps jump? 

 

It was weird to me that each of the different corps had a color and an animal on their helmet. It made me think of Power Rangers. 

ETA: Also I have a question. When Matt Damon goes to the key fumbling guy and tells him that he is beaver than he knows... Does that guy speak English? 

From what little I know of dragons in Chinese myth dragons are auspicious. I know that the emperor of China is traditionally associated with dragons.

[gigi-tastic 2322]

I don't know much about Chinese history . This actually isn't going to be very useful, I just wanted to show everyone one of my favorite pieces of art from my local museum ( The Flint Institute of Art).

It's a Han dynasty model of a watchtower. It has tiny watchmen with crossbow, fish, ducks( geese?) .It would have been used as a funerary object to protect the deceased in the afterlife.  I don't know why but I just love it. It doesn't photograph as well as it looks in person.  Some of the figures look to be missing . In person you can see the fish on the bottom of the "lake"  and I don't know... I just think it's neat. I chose this over the creepy painting of one of the Medici that follows you around the room I love or the fantastic tapestries, during an Art Appreciation class . We had to write about our favorite piece and I knew exactly what I was going to write about and I never do that. I just find this little tower fascinating. 

Long story short visit museums virtually right now and when you can go see your local ones!

[TheeCupcakeKid 25]

I never paid attention to this when it came out other than knowing people were upset Matt Damon was in a staring role. I feel stupid because I thought this was some historical movie, even if it was historical fiction. Yeah. No. Not even close.