OT: Oddest by far...

[Don Y]

My previous record for oddest film had to go to _Rubber_.
And, perhaps a little affection towards it (being truly
novel).

But, tonight\'s review tops it: _A Glitch in the Matrix_.
Weird enough to need a second viewing just to make sense
of it (likely just listening to the *audio* soas not to be
distracted by the visuals!)

 

[John S]

On 4/3/2022 7:52 AM, Don Y wrote:

My previous record for oddest film had to go to _Rubber_.
And, perhaps a little affection towards it (being truly
novel).

But, tonight\'s review tops it:  _A Glitch in the Matrix_.
Weird enough to need a second viewing just to make sense
of it (likely just listening to the *audio* soas not to be
distracted by the visuals!)

I might watch it tonight, but Rubber may be more to my liking.
You need help.
..
..
..
Me, too.

 

[server]

On Sun, 3 Apr 2022 05:52:36 -0700, Don Y <blockedofcourse@foo.invalid>
wrote:

My previous record for oddest film had to go to _Rubber_.
And, perhaps a little affection towards it (being truly
novel).

But, tonight\'s review tops it: _A Glitch in the Matrix_.
Weird enough to need a second viewing just to make sense
of it (likely just listening to the *audio* soas not to be
distracted by the visuals!)

Looks tedious.



--

I yam what I yam - Popeye

 

[Don Y]

On 4/3/2022 10:55 AM, John S wrote:

On 4/3/2022 7:52 AM, Don Y wrote:
My previous record for oddest film had to go to _Rubber_.
And, perhaps a little affection towards it (being truly
novel).

But, tonight\'s review tops it: _A Glitch in the Matrix_.
Weird enough to need a second viewing just to make sense
of it (likely just listening to the *audio* soas not to be
distracted by the visuals!)


I might watch it tonight, but Rubber may be more to my liking.
You need help.
.
.
.
Me, too.

Our library has a rather large collection of DVDs (~8000?) plus
other streaming choices. So, its silly not to avail yourself
of them.

And, a generous check-out policy -- up to 15 DVDs in your 25 item
quota. So, we tend to have ~20 titles on hand, at all times.
(several visits to the local branch, weekly, ensures a constant
churn).

I\'ve learned NOT to explore what a title is about prior to deciding
whether to check it out as that makes it too easy to limit your choices
and get into echo-chamber mode (though there are some titles I know
to avoid simply by their cover art, etc.). \"Variety is good\" -- even
if you later decide you didn\'t like what you checked out! :>

So, this *seemed* like it would have been yet-another of the Matrix
series (the last -- 0th? -- being _The Animatrix_).

The material covered seems like it might be worth reviewing. But,
the visuals were too distracting -- like watching a guy juggling
fire axes while he\'s discussing particle physics. So, I\'ll \"watch\"
it again, but without the video (which, IMO, didn\'t really *add*
anything to the subject that you couldn\'t have already known)

I suspect there is a list, somewhere, of the N different plot lines
that a story arc can take. So, its really hard to come up with something
truly unique, in that regard. (_Rubber_\'s uniqueness is its absurdity.)

But, while I\'m rarely impressed with an electronic design, story-telling
and film-making are truly impressive (to me) undertakings; imagining the
sets, the character visuals, personalities, etc. just seems to be a
hugely creative process (whereas \"electronics\" has too many fixed rules
in place as to how you can meaningfully connect a small number of different
component types).

[E.g., _Valerian and the City of 1000 Planets_ is a stupid plot with
piss-poor acting. But, the (some of the) visuals are truly stunning!
That seems to be a common thread in Luc Besson\'s products]

Enjoy _Rubber_. Reimagining it with the protagonist being a person would
be a huge let-down -- LESS worth watching!

 

[John S]

On 4/3/2022 8:07 PM, Don Y wrote:

On 4/3/2022 10:55 AM, John S wrote:
On 4/3/2022 7:52 AM, Don Y wrote:
My previous record for oddest film had to go to _Rubber_.
And, perhaps a little affection towards it (being truly
novel).

But, tonight\'s review tops it:  _A Glitch in the Matrix_.
Weird enough to need a second viewing just to make sense
of it (likely just listening to the *audio* soas not to be
distracted by the visuals!)


I might watch it tonight, but Rubber may be more to my liking.
You need help.
.
.
.
Me, too.

Our library has a rather large collection of DVDs (~8000?) plus
other streaming choices.  So, its silly not to avail yourself
of them.

And, a generous check-out policy -- up to 15 DVDs in your 25 item
quota.  So, we tend to have ~20 titles on hand, at all times.
(several visits to the local branch, weekly, ensures a constant
churn).

I\'ve learned NOT to explore what a title is about prior to deciding
whether to check it out as that makes it too easy to limit your choices
and get into echo-chamber mode (though there are some titles I know
to avoid simply by their cover art, etc.).  \"Variety is good\" -- even
if you later decide you didn\'t like what you checked out!  :

So, this *seemed* like it would have been yet-another of the Matrix
series (the last -- 0th? -- being _The Animatrix_).

The material covered seems like it might be worth reviewing.  But,
the visuals were too distracting -- like watching a guy juggling
fire axes while he\'s discussing particle physics.  So, I\'ll \"watch\"
it again, but without the video (which, IMO, didn\'t really *add*
anything to the subject that you couldn\'t have already known)

I suspect there is a list, somewhere, of the N different plot lines
that a story arc can take.  So, its really hard to come up with something
truly unique, in that regard.  (_Rubber_\'s uniqueness is its absurdity.)

Indeed. I watched it this afternoon.

But, while I\'m rarely impressed with an electronic design, story-telling
and film-making are truly impressive (to me) undertakings; imagining the
sets, the character visuals, personalities, etc. just seems to be a
hugely creative process (whereas \"electronics\" has too many fixed rules
in place as to how you can meaningfully connect a small number of different
component types).

[E.g., _Valerian and the City of 1000 Planets_ is a stupid plot with
piss-poor acting.  But, the (some of the) visuals are truly stunning!
That seems to be a common thread in Luc Besson\'s products]

Enjoy _Rubber_.  Reimagining it with the protagonist being a person would
be a huge let-down -- LESS worth watching!

Have you seen Black Crab?

 

[Don Y]

On 4/3/2022 6:37 PM, John S wrote:

On 4/3/2022 8:07 PM, Don Y wrote:
On 4/3/2022 10:55 AM, John S wrote:
I suspect there is a list, somewhere, of the N different plot lines
that a story arc can take. So, its really hard to come up with something
truly unique, in that regard. (_Rubber_\'s uniqueness is its absurdity.)

Indeed. I watched it this afternoon.

If the protagonist had been a human, it would have been far less interesting:
\"<yawn> Yet another shoot-em-up flick...\" Somehow, the absurdity of a tire
just makes it fun!

> Have you seen Black Crab?

No, I will look for it.

In no particular order, you might want to try (for oddities):
_Valerian and the City of 1000 Planets_ (stunning visuals)
_The City of Lost Children_ (how do they come up with this stuff??)
_The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec_ (ditto!)
_Man Facing Southeast_
_The Fifth Element_
_RED_ (for humor/fun)
_The Zero Theorem_
_Pan\'s Labyrinth_
_Hellboy_ (for humor)
_9_ (likely the most well-crafted production I\'ve ever seen)
_Harold and Maude_ (though this is pretty mainstream/cult, now)
_Cashback_ (delightfully light-hearted)
_God Bless America_ / _Parting Shots_
[similar plots -- ever notice how often that\'s the case? As if one
firm was shopping around a script and another firm decided to WRITE
one just like it! IIRC, the second is the better executed of these]
_John Dies at the End_ (I would enjoy a sequel)
_Journey to the West_ (sequel was disappointing)
_Troll Hunter_ (a different \"culture\" to wrap your head around)
_Little Shop of Horrors (remake)_ (one of the few musicals that I enjoyed)
_Mars Attacks_ (ack! ack!)
_The New New Testament_ (you\'ll likely have to resort to subtitles)
_Mr Nobody_ (preachy -- but only after-the-fact)
_The Happytime Murders_ (silly enough to border on slapstick)

Apologies if I\'ve misremembered some of the titles!

By far, I find more of these \"oddballs\" more entertaining than most of
the \"mainstream\" offerings!