Community Thread XXXVIII: Lana Del Rey worship edition

[florencemachine]

i heard mixed things about cosmopolis, and the book was far from delillo's best so i avoided the film

[Gek]

Also B.o.B dropped one of the best mix tapes of 2012...

F*** Em We Ball

damn realgm won't let me link because of the URL...

Copy and paste, don't click.

Spoiler:

http://www.datpiff.com/BoB-Fuck-Em-We-Ball-mixtape.415029.html

I should also say it was one of my favorites, pretty sure it wasn't ranked highly in end of year lists because it came out in November.

[Doormatt]

cloud atlas isn't pretentious at all, neither the book nor film. neither aim to achieve anything supremely lofty or profound, its just a fascinating way to tell a story that translated really well to film because of actors playing multiple roles, despite leaving out some of my favourite story arcs from the book.

i agree. i prefer the term ambitious, not pretentious. i feel the same way about The Tree of Life.

i have to imagine reading the book before the movie helps a lot though. i really wanted to read the book after watching the movie.

[EArl]

My Cousins friend works with B.O.B. Dude has traveled the world with him and gets a bunch of free stuff.

[ennui]

cloud atlas isn't pretentious at all, neither the book nor film. neither aim to achieve anything supremely lofty or profound, its just a fascinating way to tell a story that translated really well to film because of actors playing multiple roles, despite leaving out some of my favourite story arcs from the book.

havent read the book but the movie failed on some levels. The tone of the movie was really disjointed because of the transition between the narratives. from sitcom humour to dystopia to thriller to romance...

the movie came off as pretentious because the thread that connected all these stories was so loose that it wasnt enough to make me feel invested in the message at the end. almost felt like a bunch of skits on snl

and some of the actors in different roles like the korean stuff was ridiculous to say the least

[Doormatt]

i thought the only ridiculous role thru out was hugo weaving. like him as a **** nurse and still as agent smith is so **** terrible.

[florencemachine]

cloud atlas isn't pretentious at all, neither the book nor film. neither aim to achieve anything supremely lofty or profound, its just a fascinating way to tell a story that translated really well to film because of actors playing multiple roles, despite leaving out some of my favourite story arcs from the book.

havent read the book but the movie failed on some levels. The tone of the movie was really disjointed because of the transition between the narratives. from sitcom humour to dystopia to thriller to romance...

the movie came off as pretentious because the thread that connected all these stories was so loose that it wasnt enough to make me feel invested in the message at the end. almost felt like a bunch of skits on snl

and some of the actors in different roles like the korean stuff was ridiculous to say the least

i think you missed the overarching thread of cloud atlas. it's not supposed to be tied together super neatly, but 6 individual stories that are somewhat part of the next chronological story (as a cautionary tale of sorts) ultimately repeating the same themes, social trends, and human flaws.

you probably expected a nice hollywood blockbuster bow to tie the whole thing together, and while it is hollywood in scope, it follows the message and style of the novel admirably

[Doormatt]

yeah its not supposed to be connected. each individual story has similar themes and messages, most notably someone bucking the norm or what is socially accepted (helping a slave, taking down an oil company, escaping a mental ward, etc.), but its not like the movie is trying to link them together and say "look at whats happening here."

i really like the quote "My life amounts to no more than one drop in a limitless ocean. Yet what is any ocean, but a multitude of drops?". you can kind of look at the movie as a whole like that as well.

however i agree that the movie is disjointed at points and sometimes the tone does not flow very well, and its really what holds the movie back from being truly great. the acting is wonderful imo, especially tom hanks. and i think i said this before but they gay musician story is amazing and carries the movie for stretches.

*one more thing about it being connected. i think in the book the tattoo (you know the shooting star one) has a different meaning than in the film.

[EArl]

[EArl]

Just got my hands on two tickets for 20$ to see Dropkick murphy's next Monday.




[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lsTreTfgNs[/youtube]

[ennui]

i got all that similar theme stuff

it just didnt translate well into the medium of film. almost all films have a consistent tones throughout the movie - even non-linear movies like memento etc. the Individual stories, albeit similar in themes, were drastically different in tone.

the transitions were jarring and enough to dissolve most of the tension(which to me is paramount in film)

[Doormatt]

i like the dropkick murphy's too.

when i was 14.

[Doormatt]

it just didnt translate well into the medium of film. almost all films have a consistent tones throughout the movie - even non-linear movies like memento etc. the Individual stories, albeit similar in themes, were drastically different in tone.

thats why i would say its an ambitious film.

21 grams is kind of like that, in that it has a non-linear story line, and while i think it does a much better job of having a consistent tone and connecting the stories, it falls short of a film like cloud atlas because it fails to connect to the viewer like the former and in general isnt as well done. and while i enjoyed 21 grams, that is probably a film i would call pretentious before cloud atlas.

[EArl]

i like the dropkick murphy's too.

when i was 14.

I like their old stuff which is what i'm hoping they will play.

[Doormatt]

i dont get the appeal of many hard rock or punk shows anymore, nor do i get mosh pits. i mean i kind of get why its appealing because of the whole angst/anger/rage against the machine type thing. iunno.

tbh i dont get punk rock at all anymore but whatever.

[Gek]

Don't knock EArl for going to a concert. broseph.

[florencemachine]

i got all that similar theme stuff

it just didnt translate well into the medium of film. almost all films have a consistent tones throughout the movie - even non-linear movies like memento etc. the Individual stories, albeit similar in themes, were drastically different in tone.

the transitions were jarring and enough to dissolve most of the tension(which to me is paramount in film)

thats your opinion, and regardless that doesn't make it pretentious, which was the contention i had a problem with

[florencemachine]

i also (and i know this is definitely personal preference) don't get the point of a lot of live gigs anymore. i used to go to a lot of rock/alternative/indie shows and while they were fun (especially more lively bands like phoenix), and seeing artist dedication and passion for some songs that are definitely personal in nature (frightened rabbit's poke, angus and julia stone's bella etc etc), for the most part, i find the crowd and the atmosphere to be quite poor. maybe thats a sydney/australia thing, as i have a problem with the trend towards scene and hipster kids, who stand there at gigs taking photos nonstop, talking to their friends, trying to hit on girls etc, i've been turned off that scene completely.

so now i just go to EDM rave type events, where at the least, people on drugs don't make for violence or a crappy atmosphere. although you still get the posers (at above and beyond, heard a girl ask her friend 'who's the second person on stage?' etc), theres still a little bit of PLUR and people are generally there to have a good time and enjoy themselves, and not there so they can tell their friends they saw xyz before they became popular.

on that note, i read a good article that made some salient points, although the writing isn't the best-

http://www.relevantmagazine.com/culture ... rfect-life

[Doormatt]

Don't knock EArl for going to a concert. broseph.

nah that wasnt what i was trying to do. i was being honest when i said i dont get it.

[ennui]

i got all that similar theme stuff

it just didnt translate well into the medium of film. almost all films have a consistent tones throughout the movie - even non-linear movies like memento etc. the Individual stories, albeit similar in themes, were drastically different in tone.

the transitions were jarring and enough to dissolve most of the tension(which to me is paramount in film)

thats your opinion, and regardless that doesn't make it pretentious, which was the contention i had a problem with

Well of course its my opinion. The ending to me was pretentious because it was telling me what to feel, it didnt earn it.