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| bartist |
 Posted: Fri Apr 24, 2015 8:29 pm |
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Joined: 27 Apr 2010
Posts: 6961
Location: Black Hills
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Quote: ...Inherent Vice...
Haven't read much Pynchon. Tried and failed with Gravity's Rainbow, many years ago, and sorta got Crying of Lot 49, but somehow never really was drawn in. I am trying to read Bleeding Edg right now,
but the characters don't seem real to me and there's a lot of "hey, Ma, watch me write! look how cute I am!" going on. Maybe I'm missing something. Seems like turning his stuff into a screenplay might exert a positive tightening effect.
Any SF fans seeing Ex Machina? Good buzz, but I've sat through a shit-ton of sci-fi disappointments past few years. Knox? Syd? |
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| Ghulam |
| Posted: Sun Apr 26, 2015 2:43 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 4742
Location: Upstate NY
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I too enjoyed Inherent Vice.
Has anyone seen Ex Machina?
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| bartist |
| Posted: Sun Apr 26, 2015 10:13 am |
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Joined: 27 Apr 2010
Posts: 6961
Location: Black Hills
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| (Deleted off-topic....but we really need to open the membership door a wee crack...) |
Last edited by bartist on Mon Apr 27, 2015 8:26 am; edited 1 time in total
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| marantzo |
| Posted: Sun Apr 26, 2015 1:48 pm |
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Joined: 30 Oct 2014
Posts: 278
Location: Winnipeg: It's a dry cold.
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OK, I'll write something.  I have only seen two movies in the last two months. Both of them were in Atlanta. I have seen quite a few movies on TCM. Liked them all. I saw a number of them before. A funny thing yesterday; I watch Rancho Notorious on TCM. I had seen it when I lived in Paris in the early 1960's. I was looking forward to see it again and for some reason I had no remembrance of the story. The only thing I remembered was the big dinner that was had. George Reeves showed up on big dinner scene. The girl (woman) I saw it with (a female from New Jersey), she saw George Reeves at the dinner and said out loud, that's Superman! Almost everyone in the theatre turned around to look at who said that. Almost all of them were students from the Sorbonne.
My day by day are plain. Virtually, nothing exciting in the least. The weather is nice, mostly.
"I'm just a lonely boy,
Lonely and blue!" 
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| knox |
| Posted: Sun Apr 26, 2015 2:15 pm |
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Joined: 18 Mar 2010
Posts: 1246
Location: St. Louis
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That was impressive.....like it hit everything on Bart's list....personal details, cinema experience, anecdote, a movie I've never seen and now I'm curious about.
I haven't seen Ex Machina, either. Am thinking it looks cheesy, but in a quality Danny-Boyle's-"Sunshine" way. I will attempt, and report back.
Marantz, hope Spring reduces your blues. If you are in Winnipeg, I would expect Spring to be met with dancing in the streets and mass euphoria. Not saying that cures the blues, though. Three words: monster truck rally. |
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| carrobin |
| Posted: Sun Apr 26, 2015 2:46 pm |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
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Location: NYC
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| I saw "Rancho Notorious" yesterday as well, for the first time. I hadn't realized it was by Fritz Lang. It wasn't bad for a shoot-'em-up. |
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| bartist |
| Posted: Sun Apr 26, 2015 10:05 pm |
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Joined: 27 Apr 2010
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Location: Black Hills
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| Alex Garland does a good job in his first directed film and, I think it's not a spoiler to say, "Ex Machina" gets into the philosophical issues in a way that leaves it up to the viewer as to the value of the Turing test and what said test can really determine. The film is dark and cerebral and Domnhall Gleeson looks very like Bertrand Russell when he was young, which added a nice meta resonance for me. Also strong perfs from Svensk stunner Alicia Vikander (Ava, the AI) and Oscar Isaac, who shows us a very credible version of an arrogant scientist/CEO driven by massive ego. And a massive liquor cabinet. To be sure, there are the usual movie compressions and composites - one guy is not going to build an AI by himself. But the film is going for psychological depth more than realism. I would say this is a more pessimistic and disturbing take on AI than "Her," and the ending leaves much open to interpretation. |
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| Ghulam |
| Posted: Mon Apr 27, 2015 3:49 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: Upstate NY
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| Thanks Bart. I think I shall pass on it. |
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| gromit |
| Posted: Mon Apr 27, 2015 6:56 am |
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Joined: 31 Aug 2004
Posts: 9016
Location: Shanghai
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The ads for Ex M during NBA playoff games don't look promising.
I'm just starting to hear a little about it, so trying to keep an open mind/pocketbook ... |
Last edited by gromit on Thu Jul 09, 2015 2:10 am; edited 1 time in total
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| Syd |
| Posted: Mon Apr 27, 2015 7:05 am |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 12929
Location: Norman, Oklahoma
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| I've only been seeing one 2015 movie a month in theatres. The last three were Kingsman, Cinderella and Woman in Gold. I'll probably see Ex Machina at some point, perhaps on the same day as Avengers 2. The rest of the recent releases don't look promising. |
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| bartist |
| Posted: Mon Apr 27, 2015 8:20 am |
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Joined: 27 Apr 2010
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Location: Black Hills
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Ghulam wrote: Thanks Bart. I think I shall pass on it.
Just curious: what, if any, of my comments made you go that direction? Strong performances, thought-provoking, psychological depth....pretty Swedish girl.  |
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| Ghulam |
| Posted: Mon Apr 27, 2015 9:42 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: Upstate NY
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Bartist,
Perhaps the sentence, "I would say this is a more pessimistic and disturbing take on AI than "Her". I did not care much for AI in the first place. Also the fact that "Two Days, One Night" is now showing in a local theater, and I do want to see it this week. But next week, who knows? I may end up seeing Ex Machina if it is still running. |
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| gromit |
| Posted: Tue Apr 28, 2015 4:33 am |
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Joined: 31 Aug 2004
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Location: Shanghai
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I thought he meant artificial intelligence in general, not the movie AI.
But I was wrong once back in the late 20th C .... |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Tue Apr 28, 2015 6:16 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
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gromit wrote: I thought he meant artificial intelligence in general, not the movie AI.
But I was wrong once back in the late 20th C ....
But I think you're right here. For myself, I have no desire to see Ex Machina, having had my fill of that premise with Her. |
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| marantzo |
| Posted: Tue Apr 28, 2015 6:49 am |
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Joined: 30 Oct 2014
Posts: 278
Location: Winnipeg: It's a dry cold.
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| Billy, I never wanted to see Her. Saw the preview a number of times and wasn't impressed in the least. Pretty sure I would have had the same feeling about the movie as you. |
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