quasigrecian thoughts
Apr. 20th, 2011 07:59 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
calimac1. Now that GRRM's Game of Thrones has come to HBO (where I'm not going to see it, because there's nothing that HBO could show that could possibly convince me it's worth the cost of subscribing to it, and I speak as someone who's been very impressed with several HBO movies and miniseries once I saw them on DVD), we're in for another onslaught of puff interviews saying things like "It's much more adult [than The Lord of the Rings] in terms of the complexity of the characters and the sexuality of the story." Sigh. Not to bash this tale in particular, but sexuality is not necessarily a sign of adulthood nor necessary to it, and by "complex" you mean "morally unpredictable." Tolkien's characters have a moral compass, but they're not less complex for abiding by it, and the ones who are of mixed mind whether to abide by it or not, like Boromir, Denethor, Saruman, and above all Gollum, are the most interestingly complex of all. I find stories whose characters unexpectedly undercut their own morality in order to provide plot thrills to be more juvenile than adult. GRRM says he was inspired by the Wars of the Roses, and if you look at the ages most of its participants were at the time, their juvenility is easily explained.
2. Interesting reverie on what it feels like to have the world's supply of recorded music and movies easily accessible after an economy of scarcity for anything but the most popular. Yeah, I have stories in my memory banks of waiting years for a chance to see some legendary film, and then having to take three buses to get to the distant theater showing it. And even with print books: discovering whether a book was in print, or which libraries had copies, was once a major hassle now easily done at home. On the other hand, it's harder to be surprised. When I first saw Monty Python and the Holy Grail, all I knew about it was that it was by the team that had made the Flying Circus. I'd seen no reviews, no comments, heard not a word. As a result, every one of its now-classic jokes hit me with the force of an exploding bomb. It was the best movie-going experience of my life, and I wouldn't have had it spoiled for anything.
3. Speaking of one of those guys, I've just finished watching my birthday gift, the remastered Fawlty Towers. Even a simply-filmed tv comedy like that looks better on a good DVD than on YouTube. I've also heard Cleese's commentary, mostly pertinent and specific remarks on the writing and performing of farce. His main point: performers must exchange their lines quickly or the pressure on the characters and hence the comedy evaporate. This can be achieved only through hard work at rehearsal. He's full of praise for the guest actors - mostly friends whom he'd invited on - who keep that pressure up.
4. Also seen, the DVD of Unstoppable. This is the one about the train, not the one about the bus. In the real-life incident that inspired it, the guys in the other locomotive were able to slow down the runaway train to 10 mph, slow enough for someone else to just hop on and take the controls, while in this one they ... let's just say some heroics are so improbable and impractical they spoil the whole movie.
5. Speaking of transportation, never go up the down escalator. At least, not unless you're Chris Pine.
2. Interesting reverie on what it feels like to have the world's supply of recorded music and movies easily accessible after an economy of scarcity for anything but the most popular. Yeah, I have stories in my memory banks of waiting years for a chance to see some legendary film, and then having to take three buses to get to the distant theater showing it. And even with print books: discovering whether a book was in print, or which libraries had copies, was once a major hassle now easily done at home. On the other hand, it's harder to be surprised. When I first saw Monty Python and the Holy Grail, all I knew about it was that it was by the team that had made the Flying Circus. I'd seen no reviews, no comments, heard not a word. As a result, every one of its now-classic jokes hit me with the force of an exploding bomb. It was the best movie-going experience of my life, and I wouldn't have had it spoiled for anything.
3. Speaking of one of those guys, I've just finished watching my birthday gift, the remastered Fawlty Towers. Even a simply-filmed tv comedy like that looks better on a good DVD than on YouTube. I've also heard Cleese's commentary, mostly pertinent and specific remarks on the writing and performing of farce. His main point: performers must exchange their lines quickly or the pressure on the characters and hence the comedy evaporate. This can be achieved only through hard work at rehearsal. He's full of praise for the guest actors - mostly friends whom he'd invited on - who keep that pressure up.
4. Also seen, the DVD of Unstoppable. This is the one about the train, not the one about the bus. In the real-life incident that inspired it, the guys in the other locomotive were able to slow down the runaway train to 10 mph, slow enough for someone else to just hop on and take the controls, while in this one they ... let's just say some heroics are so improbable and impractical they spoil the whole movie.
5. Speaking of transportation, never go up the down escalator. At least, not unless you're Chris Pine.
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no subject
Date: 2011-04-21 04:26 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-04-21 05:05 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-04-21 02:52 pm (UTC)Otherwise, in re: point 2, thanks for that link. I do know that I am happier as a consumer now than I ever was before, because I never enjoyed the "search" as much as the actual listening and reading/watching.
no subject
Date: 2011-04-21 03:05 pm (UTC)As I mentioned in an earlier post, I enjoy the thrill of the hunt so long as it actually puts the food on the table by dinnertime. If I can't find an OP book I want after a while, or if I need it sooner, I'll just look it up and order it.