Films added to the collection

[Gendo]

Amazon Black Friday sales = new movies.

Edge of Tomorrow - Or "Live, Die, Repeat". The movie doesn't know what its name is.

The Theory of Everything - Sounds good.

The Judge - Robert Downy Jr + Robert Duvall = autowin.

Whiplash - I've always loved J. K. Simmons. Awesome to see him do something so serious.

Jurassic Park Collection - So I already owned 1-3 on DVD, but I got this because it has all 4, but also because 1 and 4 are in 3D.

Taken 3 - Can't wait to see this given how good 1 and 2 were.

Gone Girl - So looking forward to this.

The Lego Movie - Heard good stuff.

Fury - Looks good.

Scary Movie V - Because I had 1-4. Actually I got this a few weeks ago.

Interstellar - My Nolan Collection is complete. Except for Following.

How to Train Your Dragon 2 - I don't expect it to be as good as part 1, but it doesn't need to be.

Home - Never heard of it; my wife got this one.

The Imitation Game - Because computer science.

Oblivion - Trailers looked good.

Um, so yeah, I haven't seen a single one of those except Interstellar, and Jurassic Park 1+2.

[Blade Azaezel]

I liked Interstellar, Edge of Tomorrow and Oblivion. Thought they were all pretty decent sci-fi. I liked EoT more simply because it was based in Europe and not the US, for a change.

[Unvoiced_Apollo]

HTTYD2 IMO got robbed of the Oscar. It's nearly as good as the original and better thsn Big Hero 6 (which I do still like). However, the villain could have been better and some of the story beats are a tad predictable.

[sikax]

Edge of Tomorrow - 7.75/10
Really good. I think it was overlooked because people seem to have a problem with Tom Cruise these days for some reason.

The Theory of Everything - 8.25/10
I like Eddie Redmayne and am in love with Felicity Jones. And Stephen Hawking is interesting.

The Judge - 7/10
Pretty funny. Great cast.

Whiplash
I saw it when it came out and didn't like it, but I can't remember why, so I'm withholding final judgement until I see it again.

Gone Girl - 7.95/10
Good for every reason except Rosamund Pike. Her performance was the most praised thing about it and it's the thing I liked the least.

Fury - 7.8/10
Hilarious, mostly. Also sad and quite heavy. Brad Pitt adopts the same accent he used in Inglourious Basterds, and Shia LaBeouf is amazing.

Interstellar - 9/10
We all know how good this was.

The Imitation Game - 6.5/10
Meh, I don't much care for Benedict Cumberbatch.

Oblivion
I saw it but I don't remember it.

[Derived Absurdity]

From what I've seen -

Edge of Tomorrow - I thought it was really bad, and not because of Tom Cruise

The Theory of Everything - it was pretty good

Whiplash - it was amazing, J.K. Simmons was fantastic, the ending was great, everything was great

I don't like any of the Jurassic Park movies

Gone Girl - I thought it was sort of boring and lame, personally

The Lego Movie - pretty great, it was pretty clever, you should probably watch it twice, it has a bunch of flaws though

Fury - the only thing I remember from this movie was the repulsive rape scene right in the middle of it, where the movie treated it like no big deal

Interstellar - better than TDKR and Inception but it's still a mess

HTTYD2 - here I'm genuinely confused. I thought the first one was perfection and this one was a pale shadow of it, but people think it's almost as good or better. I think it's pretty bad, with a weak villain, weak storyline, and female characters suffering from Trinity Syndrome.

[CashRules]

people seem to have a problem with Tom Cruise these days for some reason.

I might have figured this out:

When I see someone in a bad traffic accident I know I need to stop and help them because, as a Scientologist, I'm the only one who can.

If you're on board, you're on board. If you're not on board, you're not on board. Either you're on board, or you're not on board. But if you are on board, then you're on board -- just with the rest of us.

[BruceSmith78]

HTTYD2 was garbage. Not even close to as good as the first. DA got one right.

Ok, I also agree with him about The Lego Movie and The Theory of Everything.

[Unvoiced_Apollo]

HTTYD2 was garbage. Not even close to as good as the first. DA got one right.

Ok, I also agree with him about The Lego Movie and The Theory of Everything.

Nah you're just wrong w/DA on the first.

I honestly don't see why the Lego Movie is so popular. All they did was turn a blatant marketing ploy into an average parody movie with predictable jokes that came a mile a minute. I watched it twice, and both times it disappointed.

[Cassius Clay]

How can one person be wrong about so many movies?

I'd say the scene in Fury is an example of rape culture but I wouldn't call it rape.

It's rape culture because the writers don't seem to consider that realistically meaningful consent under those types of circumstances is practically non-existent. But, in the context of the fantasy as presented (with the writers actually knowing the hearts and minds of the characters...since, you know, they created them), she actively consents because she has magically fallen for the guy because she knows he has a heart of gold(and they kind of develop an intimacy because they are both helpless...the kid is a prisoner of his crew in his own way)...or something. So, it wasn't presented as rape, but realistically it would be.

Though it's also not very clear how much the writers/director are aware of the dynamics. I admit that my interpretation of their presentation and potentially naive intentions are a bit charitable. Like, are they really saying this girl consented because she quickly fell in love with the guy (and even if she did, it's still creepy that the power dynamics and potential for abuse are completely unexamined....especially since they had just been threatened with rape by other soldiers in his crew just previously)? Or do they actually recognize the possibility that she is might be latching on to the "good" soldier for protection/survival(which is a disturbingly real thing that happened....especially in Germany at that time), yet still don't examine the disturbing implications?

The other disturbing complication is that since the guy is written as this kid with a heart of gold that wouldn't harm a fly(who basically has no power himself/is bullied and threatened by his crew and is forced to commit atrocities against his will), it seems to sweep under the rug the fact that she could be sleeping with him because she is terrified of the other soldiers....with the implication that he isn't really responsible or something. That scene just plays around with agency, consent, power, and responsibility in a way that I find difficult to process.

As you can see I gave a lot of thought to that scene because it really bothered me for a long time.

[Unvoiced_Apollo]

Amazon Black Friday sales = new movies.

Edge of Tomorrow - Or "Live, Die, Repeat". The movie doesn't know what its name is.

The Theory of Everything - Sounds good.

The Judge - Robert Downy Jr + Robert Duvall = autowin.

Whiplash - I've always loved J. K. Simmons. Awesome to see him do something so serious.

Jurassic Park Collection - So I already owned 1-3 on DVD, but I got this because it has all 4, but also because 1 and 4 are in 3D.

Taken 3 - Can't wait to see this given how good 1 and 2 were.

Gone Girl - So looking forward to this.

The Lego Movie - Heard good stuff.

Fury - Looks good.

Scary Movie V - Because I had 1-4. Actually I got this a few weeks ago.

Interstellar - My Nolan Collection is complete. Except for Following.

How to Train Your Dragon 2 - I don't expect it to be as good as part 1, but it doesn't need to be.

Home - Never heard of it; my wife got this one.

The Imitation Game - Because computer science.

Oblivion - Trailers looked good.

Um, so yeah, I haven't seen a single one of those except Interstellar, and Jurassic Park 1+2.

If Home is the one with the cute-purple looking Alien voiced by Jim Parsons, get your wife to burn it...by which I mean burn it with fire.

[Gendo]

If Home is the one with the cute-purple looking Alien voiced by Jim Parsons, get your wife to burn it...by which I mean burn it with fire.

It's some animated thing with some alien-looking thing, so that must be it. Didn't know it had Jim Parsons, but I bet now that that's a big part of the reason she wanted to see it.

[Unvoiced_Apollo]

If Home is the one with the cute-purple looking Alien voiced by Jim Parsons, get your wife to burn it...by which I mean burn it with fire.

It's some animated thing with some alien-looking thing, so that must be it. Didn't know it had Jim Parsons, but I bet now that that's a big part of the reason she wanted to see it.

The only creatively funny thing is how he gets his nickname "Oh".

Here is some of the dialogue you can look foward to:

Oh: Why do you haves this thing?
...
Oh: You has me for companion on the ship.


Oh: Bovvs do not dancing
...
Oh: It is shaking in a most undignified way. Oh no, My hands are in the air as if I just do not care. This is not how a Boov behaves.

Have fun.

[Derived Absurdity]

It's still rape. Even in context. Two armed men hostile to their side burst into a home and order two women around at gunpoint. Then after like five minutes Brad Pitt orders the dude to fuck one of them. He brings his gun into the bedroom with her. How long had they been in the house by this time, like five minutes? She didn't know them. And it's been a while and I wasn't paying attention in the first place but I don't remember the woman ever saying yes or agreeing to it, she was just led in. And she was cowering from him like all the time. It was rape.

I remember vaguely that I thought maybe Brad Pitt agreed to it because a bunch of thugs and psychopaths were about to enter the house too, and this was his way of "saving" her from them because they would realize she was already "taken" by one of them. But even still the movie should have presented this as horrific, instead of presenting it as some kind of bizarre romantic coming-of-age thing I remember it as. Both of the women were basically treated as chattel throughout the entire sequence and I don't remember the movie ever acknowledging their viewpoint or treating them as subjective people.

It was irresponsible at best... and I feel icky using such a mild word. You don't force some dumbass love/coming-of-age story into what common sense and international law would say is rape. So it's definitely rape culture. And I don't think this movie deserves any sympathy or the benefit of the doubt.

[Cassius Clay]

It's still rape. Even in context. Two armed men hostile to their side burst into a home and order two women around at gunpoint. Then after like five minutes Brad Pitt orders the dude to fuck one of them. He brings his gun into the bedroom with her. How long had they been in the house by this time, like five minutes? She didn't know them. And it's been a while and I wasn't paying attention in the first place but I don't remember the woman ever saying yes or agreeing to it, she was just led in. And she was cowering from him like all the time. It was rape..

Yeah...that's not at all how it happened. This is reductive and inaccurate. It was a lot more nuanced than that. Anyone who reads that and hasn't seen the movie will be left with a very bizzare impression.

Brad Pitt and the kid were presented as basically the only "good" people left in his crew. Part of the theme of the movie was about how war had turned them all into monsters because the atrocities they had witnessed. Pitt was shown to still have some semblance humanity/civility and the kid was written as completely innocent/good....while the rest of their men had devolved into animals at that point. Pitt and the kid come across the two women hiding in the house and obviously they are scared to death about two enemy soldiers showing up. There was no ordering around at gun point, as I recall. Pitt asked them to set the table so they could all eat, and they obliged because they were scared to death. Other than the fact that they are armed enemy guards, Pitt and the kid try to be as non-threatening as possible. And as time went by the women began to feel more comfortable and confident that these were "decent guys" that weren't going to harm them(even if that's unrealistic, that's how it was presented). And, strangely, started to build a rapport and ease or something. They also intentionally show a special connection between the kid and the girl. Their strange little nice dinner was then interrupted by the rest of the gang, acting aggressive and threatening rape. Pitt strangely stays silent until one of the soldiers throws the girls plate away, that's when Pitt puts his foot down. I believe he then made it clear that no one would be raping anyone. He never ordered anyone to go "fuck the girl to save her" or some shit like that. The "sex" between the kid and the girl is then portrayed as occurring naturally.

[Derived Absurdity]

What did I say that was inaccurate? They were enemy soldiers, they entered the house without invitation, the two women were obviously terrified, and they were obviously armed. I don't see any meaningful difference at all between an armed enemy soldier asking someone who's house he just broke into to make him dinner and him ordering her around at gunpoint. There is no sharp distinction there... at all. They're enemies, he's armed, he just broke into her house, he's "asking" her to do stuff. The power dynamic clearly dissolves any distinction between "ordering" and "asking".

And then after a short while Brad Pitt orders the dude to "go to the bedroom with the girl... do it, or I will." Or something like that. Obviously a threat, and whether he meant it or not and whether he had good intentions or not, he clearly took away whatever choice she may have had at that point. And then the guy did it, and she obliged, because she obviously had no choice. She didn't say "yes" or "okay", as meaningless as that would have been anyway. They just went in the bedroom. He still had his gun on him. And she was trembling and cowering the entire time. I don't remember any "special connection" between him and her but how the fuck can you develop a special connection in a span of ten minutes with an armed enemy soldier who just invaded your home and who for all you know might be a serial rapist? How can whatever develops be in any sense genuine?

Yeah, I'm looking up plot summaries and I'm pretty sure I summarized it accurately. In fact Wikipedia says they only had breakfast after the two had sex, so it's even worse than what I remembered. This bullshit with Brad Pitt and the kid being the only good ones left and that they had a special rapport with the girl and that they felt comfortable and whatever is just the movie's attempt to downplay and whitewash what is obviously, factually, a rape. And if the movie didn't portray it positively I wouldn't have a big problem with it.

[Cassius Clay]

Ummmm....yeah...again, as unrealistic as her agency would be in such circumstances, the filmmakers did heavily imply that she did have agency in that particular, fantastical context(showing her smiling, singing with the kid as he played piano, looks/glances). And I don't believe Pitt's threat was meant to be taken as legitimate....I don't believe the girl took the threat seriously(could she even speak English?). I also don't believe the girl felt threatened by the kid. Again, it might be unrealistic writing, but it is what it is. I admit I remembered some things out of order tho. But I think plenty of time had passed from their discovery to the time they actually slept together. I'll have to go rewatch that.

And you painted an inaccurate picture with the exclusion of certain nuances. And the difference between Pitt ordering them around with a gun pointed at them and "asking" them to do things is not irrelevant. It might be irrelevant in real life, but...again...this isn't real life....it's a movie with specific themes and narratives. He was presenting himself as an unthreatening protector type....which feeds into the kind of weird(albeit UNREALISTIC) comfort that develops.

It is also clear that the two bond over their mutual innocence/youth and powerlessness. And I just watched part of a clip and she wasn't led to the room, she actually leads him....and I don't recall her cowering.

[Derived Absurdity]

k well clearly my memory of the scene is sort of distorted.

[Gendo]

Forgot to mention it because it hadn't arrived yet:

Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)

Really looking forward to seeing this one.

[BruceSmith78]

Birdman bored the shit out of me. Hella lame.

[Derived Absurdity]

Birdman bored the shit out of me. Hella lame.

^ that

[sikax]

Birdman is awesome. You're both wrong.

[Unvoiced_Apollo]

Birdman is awesome. You're both wrong.

^This

[Gendo]

Just finished Fury. So was it rape? No way to know. Whether or not is was rape is defined by whether or not she wanted to have sex with him, and we simply can't have that information. Yes, it indeed seemed like she actually liked him, and that she wasn't fighting against the sex. Then again, she could very well have just been acting like that because these were men from an opposing army with guns who burst into her home.

It's clear that Machine thought he had consent. He felt there was something more between them than just a one-time sex. So his intentions were not bad. But again, he wasn't in a position to really know how she felt. He couldn't have known any better than us what she was really thinking and feeling about the whole thing. So it seems that rape or not, it was wrong of him to sleep with her, because at the very least he should have realized that in the position they were in; he didn't really know for sure if he had consent.

[Gypsy-Vanner]

Edge of Tomorrow - Loved it, again Tom is certifiably nutso but he's a good actor

The Judge - Loved it, totally not what I was expecting but the depth and feeling portrayed was moving

Taken 3 - Meh…1 was the best, 2 and 3 were “wash rinse repeat" of the first movie

Gone Girl - Loved it

Fury - Not a big wartime film fan and this was mediocre at best.

Interstellar - Liked it a lot even though the spacetime thing was confusing

How to Train Your Dragon 2 - I liked it

Oblivion - I liked it


Having seen the movie Fury...when you got two armed men breaking into your house, men who happen to be enemy soldiers, you are going to do whatever you have to do to survive.

Was there a connection? Well, in that time period women submitted to men plain and simple so any "connection" is tarnished by a very sexist society so speculating on whether it was rape or not seems really stupid. Just my two cents.

[Cassius Clay]

Well, DA was saying it absolutely was a rape, while my issue basically was that it wasn't clear. And the fact that it wasn't clear is really what bothered me about the scene. I've seen movies/shows where they paint an obvious rape as consensual...which is clearly fucked up. But this movie intentionally made it ambiguous...which, again, I found disturbing. I don't believe there's such a thing as an "accidental rapist".

[Derived Absurdity]

Birdman fucking sucked ass. One of the worst movies I've seen this year. I've been hearing that new movie where DiCaprio doesn't get raped by a bear is even worse. Alejandro Inarritu needs to stop making movies, period.

[Unvoiced_Apollo]

Birdman fucking sucked ass. One of the worst movies I've seen this year. I've been hearing that new movie where DiCaprio doesn't get raped by a bear is even worse. Alejandro Inarritu needs to stop making movies, period.

It's statements like these thst make us think you'rr hipstering, trolling, or both.

[Derived Absurdity]

No, people think I'm a hipster because I don't like Marvel, Christopher Nolan movies, and Game of Thrones.

[BruceSmith78]

I started calling DA a hipster just to mess with him, and he's right. Birdman was horrible. It was one of the worst movies I've seen this year. Probably the worst.

I dunno about the movie where DiCaprio doesn't get raped by a bear. To my knowledge that's every movie he's been in, because has he ever been raped by a bear in his movies?

[Gypsy-Vanner]

Well ya, no man has accidently let his dick slip into a vagina so accidental is definitely not the word.I think a better term would be rape through ignorance.

And as for DA, I didn't read any of his comments. I read yours and Gendo's. DA seems to have a habit of choosing the extreme end of the spectrum in every issue. That's not to say he isn't right as I didn't read his comments but that scene, that situation, I do not think was as ambiguous as you imply. From a woman's perspective, there is little question as to the situation being one of coercion, perhaps ignorant coercion, but still a situation that is rooted in actions from men which leave women little choice.

I'm going to watch Birdman now, because DA hates it.

[Blade Azaezel]

Well ya, no man has accidently let his dick slip into a vagina so accidental is definitely not the word.I think a better term would be rape through ignorance.

Funnily enough, I have a news article about that.

http://www.therakyatpost.com/world/2015 ... e-accused/

[Gypsy-Vanner]

Of course you did.

[Blade Azaezel]

Of course you did.

Well, I believe him

[Gypsy-Vanner]

Only a virgin would believe him.

[Blade Azaezel]

Only a virgin would believe him.

Clearly I'm the exception that proves the rule

[Cassius Clay]

Yeah...I don't think "rape through ignorance" is really a thing either.

And I'm saying, realistically, I don't really believe there is such thing as "ambiguous rape"...which is kinda what bothers me about the scene because they intentionally displayed something ambiguous.

Also, though I'm aware that there is certainly a misogynistic, gendered aspect of rape(male-on-female), rape and rape culture goes far beyond that...male-on-male prison sexual violence, rape in gay and lesbian communities, child abuse/molestation, adult female-on-adult male rape(which is obviously much less common), racist sexual violence....and a general, cultural lack of respect for consent/boundaries. So, I don't agree with the idea that there's a particular woman's perspective that can say for certain that this was rape as presented in the narrative(unless I'm inferring something incorrectly). It's also the implication that women know something more about consent/boundaries than men do...I think that's a problem viewpoint. Consent is not something one can be "ignorant" about. Let one of these date rapists get raped and watch how they suddenly "understand" consent and boundaries. Rape is more of a matter of not taking consent seriously(especially those you're socialized to view as "less" than you...or view as owing your entitled ass something)...rather than literally not "understanding" it.

And, I have a feeling there are a shitload of female child molesters/statutory rapists out there, and it's partly because of our limited view of rape, which is ironically patriarchal("women are helpless little flowers"), that allows them to keep doing this shit unnoticed.