algroth

It is a stunning film, which in my experience as well only improves the longer it sits with you. I've ordered the Blu-Ray recently so I should get the chance to revisit it soon. Seen any other Tarkovsky?

Thor would obviously want to show you his hammer.

Sure, but it's still a spoiler. And we discussed it just last month too We did? Huh. If we did, sorry for bringing it up, I don't really recall (though I do recall us discussing about why people get so touchy with dogs dying in film). But still, I think it would be good to keep it in mind the next time that tidbit is shared.

Sure, but it's still a spoiler.

Could we try using the spoilers tags for these details? I don't intend to watch that but I wouldn't want to learn of a dog's fate (whether positive or negative) for a film I would want to see as it likely indicates how future events involving the rest of the characters develop as well.

Talking Heads could be appealing. A couple of other acts from the time might have some nice tracks too, like Fad Gadget or Siouxsie and the Banshees, that have some of that gothy yet playful vibe to them. Coil's latter-day albums also kinda bridge the progressive electronic of Karftwerk, Tangering Dream and Klaus Schülze with the gothier and weirder stuff from post-punk and industrial (that might be more a rec for you than your kid though, Enoch).

Looking forward to that immensely.

It's worth checking out. If you enjoy Gilliam's more out there stuff like Brazil or The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, this is sort of a precursor to these. It deals with pretty similar topics too, even: much like Brazil, the film is a Kafkian critique of bureaucracy and institutions, this time seen through a story where a young man in the early 1900s goes to visit his father at a sanatorium where he's being attended, only to find him lost in this almost death-like state of sleep. In order to reach him, he too is subjected to the same 'treatment' and thus starts to look for his father in these series of dreamlike scenarios depicting several scenes of Polish society and history.

No dubs for me, only subs. And I'm quite used to Polish (and Eastern European in general) weirdness. Seen The Hourglass Sanatorium by any chance? That's an all-time favorite for me, right after 2001: A Space Odyssey. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Is1wg2Ie15M

Sounds pretty interesting, I'll check it out. Last I've seen was Boogie Nights with some friends on Sunday. It'd been about uh... 14 years or so since I'd last seen it. Still great, several scenes really get under your skin... And it's curious how in light of all the Hollywood sexual abuse scandals this film's depiction of abuse towards women within the microcosm of this industry and period feels so much more poignant.

Also, Clark:

I am! I'm all for you sharing some more. Here's another album I've been really liking of late... And if you're for really outlandish stuff and have the time, here's a 4h20m conceptual instrumental hip-hop album by Impossible Nothing (one of three he's released so far this year):

I do kinda feel like he has the most relatable arc in the film. His conflict seems to respect a number of elements that make him closer to a classic tragic hero than that of Thor's, and the film definitely plays some with those elements - he feels always relegated to a second place by his brother's side, but is unaware of his true nature and thus his 'destiny' and so forth. His envy feels quite natural and justified in comparison to Thor's arrogance and hotheadedness. He's probably the most outright tragic character in the MCU thus far, and yet The Avengers managed to **** that arc up quite rotundly by turning him into some one-dimensional "I'm gonna rule over the world"-type villain for absolutely no reason. He's been comic relief since.

Digging this album quite a bit right now:

Yeah, I probably hate it any time, especially in December.

That's pretty much been my experience as well. DC has had such low lows, but there's actually been a couple that I moderately enjoyed...Marvel, on the other hand, I'd characterize as being consistently mediocre/bleh all the way down, but never really quite "turn the TV off" terrible like some of DC's movies have been. Watchable, but not really very enjoyable. So I guess I'd rather waste my time taking a chance on a DC movie than another predictably mediocre Marvel movie. I like the Marvel films overall more than you do, but this is roughly how I feel about them. They play each of these films very safe, they deliver a familiar experience and by and large do so in alright fashion nowadays. I do think they are better overall films than DC, but at least up until recently I also felt like DC had the greater ability to surprise. Now, however, I'm not even so sure that DC will do as much - they seem very intent in trying to replicate the MCU formula beat for beat. I actually think Fox are the ones with the greatest capacity for surprise, unpredictability and uniqueness at this point, if both Logan and Legion and their relative success are any indication. With regards to Thor, it was very enjoyable but didn't really break the MCU mold in any fashion. I like that the series is becoming a bit more creative visually, but it does feel like they take babysteps toward that goal, and there's still a long way to go. Dramatically it's still utterly inert. Yeah, for Thor, I've only seen the first, which I thought was pretty dull already. Well, actually, I've seen bits and pieces of the Avengers and the Dark World, but I really just couldn't sit through them. I guess the problem with Marvel and DC is that one, I'm really just not very into superhero-ish characters on a conceptual level, and two, I don't know, I just don't seem to really like any of the characters to begin with. So the fact that I'm not invested into literally any of the characters, and in fact have a tendency to grow to dislike them over the course of the movie, makes them a hard sell, especially when all of these movies feel like they're following a very similar formula, as you said. I guess the genre's just not really for me. If I had to pick a favorite Marvel movie, I think I'd have to go with Iron Man 1...which they, of course, immediately followed up with the crappiest sequel that killed any interest I had in the franchise. I liked Thor more than Iron Man myself, mostly because I really dig Branagh's sense of humour and timing, and took the film to be something of a parody of self-important fantasy epics. It was the fantasy RPG's Enchanted in a way, and I dug it that way, more than Robert Downey Jr. doing his usual shtick even if that is also enjoyable in its own right. But yeah, it didn't really blow my mind either, and while at some point it may have felt fresh, that freshness has really worn off with the slew of sequels that came right after (as well as the increasingly expected tongue-in-cheek approach to just about every genre roughly alluded to by the franchise's setting, be it fantasy, space opera, heist movie, etc.).

That's pretty much been my experience as well. DC has had such low lows, but there's actually been a couple that I moderately enjoyed...Marvel, on the other hand, I'd characterize as being consistently mediocre/bleh all the way down, but never really quite "turn the TV off" terrible like some of DC's movies have been. Watchable, but not really very enjoyable. So I guess I'd rather waste my time taking a chance on a DC movie than another predictably mediocre Marvel movie. I like the Marvel films overall more than you do, but this is roughly how I feel about them. They play each of these films very safe, they deliver a familiar experience and by and large do so in alright fashion nowadays. I do think they are better overall films than DC, but at least up until recently I also felt like DC had the greater ability to surprise. Now, however, I'm not even so sure that DC will do as much - they seem very intent in trying to replicate the MCU formula beat for beat. I actually think Fox are the ones with the greatest capacity for surprise, unpredictability and uniqueness at this point, if both Logan and Legion and their relative success are any indication. With regards to Thor, it was very enjoyable but didn't really break the MCU mold in any fashion. I like that the series is becoming a bit more creative visually, but it does feel like they take babysteps toward that goal, and there's still a long way to go. Dramatically it's still utterly inert.

I don't know why I cried, I guess I'm a sucker for dog movies even though I never see them since I dread thinking that the dog might die.I don't blame you. I will never again watch Marley and Me Neither will I, but not because the dog dies. Alpha looks about as preposterous as 10.000 B.C. and even less aware of it, doubt I'll be checking it out.

Down with the Aristocats?

I'll be disappointed if they don't call the final season Strangest Things.

I wanna watch this.