Dallas Buyers Club

[Stewball]

This forum really needs Pickpocket to be around more. A much more entertaining dynamic!

So which is the objective here, Truth or entertainment? Overall that's an excellent question to ask everyone who walks into a movie theater, and God I know what the answer would be.

[mattorama12]

This forum really needs Pickpocket to be around more. A much more entertaining dynamic!

So which is the objective here, Truth or entertainment? Overall that's an excellent question to ask everyone who walks into a movie theater, and God I know what the answer would be.

I look for both in movies. Bad movies provide neither. Good movies usually have one or the other, or sometimes both to a certain degree. The masterpieces are full of both

[ShogunRua]

I will take entertainment over truth, thanks.

I rarely want to watch a genuine "art" movie that speaks to the human condition. Most of the time, I am quite satisfied if it's simply enjoyable. And that's nothing to look down upon; most films don't even manage that.

And I second mattorama; Pickpocket is one of the OGs of this forum.

[Stewball]

This forum really needs Pickpocket to be around more. A much more entertaining dynamic!

So which is the objective here, Truth or entertainment? Overall that's an excellent question to ask everyone who walks into a movie theater, and God I know what the answer would be.

I look for both in movies. Bad movies provide neither. Good movies usually have one or the other, or sometimes both to a certain degree. The masterpieces are full of both

I agree, but we're apparently in the minority. All a lot of people are looking for is an escape that triggers their emotions into a few laughs and a good cry, but is ultimately shallow and vacuous.

I will take entertainment over truth, thanks.

I think the best entertainment includes/leads one to meaningful Truth(s). If you disagree, I think we've found the nut behind your dislike for Her.

I rarely want to watch a genuine "art" movie that speaks to the human condition. Most of the time, I am quite satisfied if it's simply enjoyable. And that's nothing to look down upon; most films don't even manage that.

More often than not, what we call "art" flicks are pretentious fluff, which by definition is the opposite of Truth. Merely chronicling the condition of some humans who tend towards self-destruction (Blue Jasmine, August: Osage County and to some extent, Nebraska from 2013's crop of showcases for dramatic but pointless scripts), is to pointlessly obsess on the humor in the stupidity behind their self-destruction.

And I second mattorama; Pickpocket is one of the OGs of this forum.

For the record, it was Rufflesack who was flattering Pickpocket--who I characterize as a hit and run sniper.

[mattorama12]

For those who came in late - what is OG?

OG is technically "original gangster," but it's generally used just to mean somebody who's been around for a while.

[Stewball]

Movies are primarily for entertainment as far as I am concerned. Truth is a bonus, if there.
A very small %age of movies manage to even entertain properly.

So what we have here is a failure to communicate that which is entertainment--the value of entertainment for its own sake not being an acceptable subject for discussion.

And I don't see anything liberal in the link Pickpocket posted. And your post which he replied to didn't make much sense to me also. As always, I think you read too much into stuff.

"Liberal"? Certainly I harbor no love for liberals, but, if you're referencing a post I made (something you might want to quote in the future), I only denigrate liberals.

[mattorama12]

the value of entertainment for its own sake not being an acceptable subject for discussion.

?????

"Liberal"? Certainly I harbor no love for liberals, but, if you're referencing a post I made (something you might want to quote in the future), I only denigrate liberals.

You come out of semi-retirement and drag out that tired old, typical, liberal name-calling rant as your sole method of criticism?

[ShogunRua]

I think the best entertainment includes/leads one to meaningful Truth(s). If you disagree, I think we've found the nut behind your dislike for Her.

God, you're obsessed with that dumb little flick, aren't you? The "nut" behind my dislike is that it's a generic, cliched romance movie with the only creativity being that the love interest is AI. And with 30 minutes of content stretched to 2 hours, it's neither meaningful nor entertaining.

Stewie, I read a lot of serious literature; Murakami, Conrad, Kundera, Steinbeck, Nabokov, Faulkner, etc. If a movie wants to be serious, it doesn't need to measure up to that level, but it needs to have some genuine depth. It can't just be another hollow Hollywood piece of trash fully comprehensible by 8 year-olds, but heaped with layers of pretension.

Merely chronicling the condition of some humans who tend towards self-destruction (Blue Jasmine, August: Osage County and to some extent, Nebraska from 2013's crop of showcases for dramatic but pointless scripts), is to pointlessly obsess on the humor in the stupidity behind their self-destruction.

Haven't seen the other two, but I recently watched Nebraska. It was a good film. Not exceptional, or particularly deep, but it's vastly superior to Her in terms of both entertainment and meaning. The characters in that movie, while suffering from some degree of Hollywood cliche, were still less black-and-white and more genuine and interesting than what I see from most of the modern dreck. Also, it was funny and fast-paced, two qualities Her sorely lacked. Lastly, Nebraska wasn't pretentious.

It didn't feature any vague, pseudo-philosophical bullshit about "space between the words" better confined to an angsty teen's Twitter.

]For those who came in late - what is OG?

"Original gangster", but it's usually a reference to someone that was around when a forum first started.

Oh, and Stewie, Pickpocket is hardly a liberal. He's actually a lot more conservative-minded and probably more of a Libertarian, like myself.

[Stewball]

the value of entertainment for its own sake not being an acceptable subject for discussion.

?????

Movieboy wrote, "Movies are primarily for entertainment as far as I am concerned. Truth is a bonus, if there." All this suggests we are talking at cross purposes, or possibly (probably?) many engage with the intent of sidestepping/obfuscating the issue. For those suggesting the primacy of movies is entertainment, then why spend time on movie boards defending them? Is that entertainment? Shouldn't profundity be the ultimate goal, with entertainment as a bonus? Is shallowness preferable to depth?

"Liberal"? Certainly I harbor no love for liberals, but, if you're referencing a post I made (something you might want to quote in the future), I only denigrate liberals.

Thanks for doing the legwork neither he nor I cared to do, by referencing the post he didn't. I must admit I don't remember PP's post, but based on my response, it's obvious I'm accusing him of the political liberal tactic of name calling in lieu of some sort of reasoned argument. If anything, it's disgusting how often I have to drag out that argument, in one form or another, because that's all they've got. Same goes for conservatives about religious issues, but surprisingly, not as often--I think because the modern world is wearing many of them down; leaving the fundamentalists in an increasingly isolated situation. And believe it or not, I think religious blind faith is the firm foundation behind liberal blind faith, though they'd NEVER admit it.

[Stewball]

God, you're obsessed with that dumb little flick, aren't you? The "nut" behind my dislike is that it's a generic, cliched romance movie with the only creativity being that the love interest is AI. And with 30 minutes of content stretched to 2 hours, it's neither meaningful nor entertaining.

I went back and looked at PP's quote (actually a YouTube link), and it looks like you're doing the same thing PP did by linking to it; associating himself with a defense based entirely on name calling and innuendo. The people who use the Ad Hominem attack rarely realize that's what they're doing--it just seems so obvious to them that "I'm right and therefore, you're stupid".

Stewie, I read a lot of serious literature; Murakami, Conrad, Kundera, Steinbeck, Nabokov, Faulkner, etc. If a movie wants to be serious, it doesn't need to measure up to that level, but it needs to have some genuine depth. It can't just be another hollow Hollywood piece of trash fully comprehensible by 8 year-olds, but heaped with layers of pretension.

But it isn't, and likely that's the problem--on some level anywy.

Merely chronicling the condition of some humans who tend towards self-destruction (Blue Jasmine, August: Osage County and to some extent, Nebraska from 2013's crop of showcases for dramatic but pointless scripts), is to pointlessly obsess on the humor in the stupidity behind their self-destruction.

Haven't seen the other two, but I recently watched Nebraska. It was a good film. Not exceptional, or particularly deep, but it's vastly superior to Her in terms of both entertainment and meaning. The characters in that movie, while suffering from some degree of Hollywood cliche, were still less black-and-white and more genuine and interesting than what I see from most of the modern dreck. Also, it was funny and fast-paced, two qualities Her sorely lacked. Lastly, Nebraska wasn't pretentious.

No, at least not as much, which is why I said "somewhat". What was the point? Did it have something to say? Was it anything more than mildly entertaining?

It didn't feature any vague, pseudo-philosophical bullshit about "space between the words" better confined to an angsty teen's Twitter.

So, you drag out the big name-calling guns, knowing I hate teeny-bopper shit, which is almost always a sign of serous self-doubt.

Oh, and Stewie, Pickpocket is hardly a liberal. He's actually a lot more conservative-minded and probably more of a Libertarian, like myself.

If it walks like a duck.... straight out of the liberal playbook, and you're following in his web-footed footprints. You have every right to be disgusted by the places where I find value, but at least have the decency to challenge me with reason instead of unbridled emotion. By such have I learned much.