usagi

great, so Remedy still haven't learned I absolutely loathed the combat in the first Alan Wank.

RIP. he had a unique, influential sound. as if you'd post that instead of one of the real KJ classics.

on her we agree, though she is infinitely foxier with dark hair than as a blonde.

this thread is a shitshow lol (much like its subject)

probably Triangulation

I don't want this to get buried in the youtube thread and it's relevant insofar as this is a thread to bag out tech cunts, so this goes here. this is some egregious shit. skip to the demo at 13:08 to cut to the chase

you've been done a favour.

good stuff to accompany late night reading about civilisational collapse.

s6 has been getting hammered by critics. seems to me like a sudden about-face where they haven't realised that the show's been kind of soapy for at least the last 2-3 seasons, i.e. since it's caught up with more recognisable times (80s onwards). but I can't comment fully til I see it. this is a "mum time" show for me, we watch it when I'm over at her place for weekend biryani.

That OPN score didn't hurt either! that's the only episode of that show I've watched (because Penis)

I do like his music. he just seems (or seemed) to go out of his way to be a cunt online.

he still does this?

yes, it is. it is worse if you hold all the cards, enjoy the staunch support of world powers, pretend you're an enlightened democracy... and then go on to employ the same dehumanising tactics that were used on you not too long ago. anyone who kills an innocent person is morally responsible for that action, but there is no equivalence between the two sides. Hamas terror is a product of US/Israeli policy, or the failure thereof.

lol no

*farts violently*

The Killer. super by the numbers but rendered highly watchable by Fincher's style/precision and Assbender's magnetism. I think alco's interpretation makes sense, but it's so subtle that it may as well not be there. e.g. that "I don't give a fuck" line is cringy and delivered so straight that most viewers will take it at face value. anyway, I didn't think about it much after and I don't expect I'll rewatch it anytime soon. maybe it'll settle in with time and deserve a re-appraisal at some point.

Music Has The Right To Be Forgotten

this is why I was torn while doing the writeup, cos I definitely like it and it has replay value for me personally, but trying to assess it objectively against his other work means it inevitably comes up short. Master Gardener is significantly weaker though, and I say that even though I consider Joel Edgerton is one of Australia's best atm. I also saw some online commentary bashing Tiffany Haddish unfairly. she's clearly trying a role she's not used to and putting in the effort to make it work, and I think she pulled it off for the most part. she just needs to expose herself to more varied roles like this and become more seasoned for it to feel a bit more natural. Cedric has that depth already, I agree he was perfect for that role. I've been meaning to make time for this one. there's also Bringing Out The Dead with ye olde Nic Cage.

cheers. I knew I had to say something about these movies that tied them all together but I couldn't quite settle on how, it took me a long time to write that up and I still don't think it does the job right. but if you know Schrader, you know what I'm talking about and you'll know what you're in for if you try the more recent two films. you might get something out of them in spite of their shortcomings (I did). First Reformed itself isn't completely flawless either (people take issue with the ending etc) but it was much more pure and crystalline as a whole. if you clicked with it, you really clicked. probably his finest moment as a director.

I was on leave from work recently and watched/rewatched a bunch of movies in my spare time. this included the two most recent movies in what is now a loose trilogy by Paul Schrader, beginning with First Reformed. I wasn't even aware the last two existed until I saw ads for Master Gardener which is coming to cinemas here soon. I like all of these actors a lot. and I like Schrader's thing a lot, his "alienated man" canon with its archetypes and tropes going all the way back to Taxi Driver. however, it has to be said that with each new movie in this vein, he has found less and less to mine. or perhaps it's not that there isn't anything more that can be said but rather that he's strayed further and further from what he's good at by experimenting with things that have not delivered. for one thing, I think he's a much better writer than he is a director. in the latter capacity, he has a tendency to make odd stylistic choices that don't quite jive well together, and I don't think he always has people around him who can bring out the best in him. First Reformed remains exceptional to me. I was and am still moved to tears by parts of it, because of how simply, directly and unflinchingly it speaks to some of the issues of our time - not just the present-day unfolding catastrophe but the philosophical/existential dimensions of it all, which have been questions for us since the beginning. The Card Counter has some strengths, namely Oscar Isaac and his ability to speak volumes with just his body language, an expression and a few words intoned a certain way. Master Gardener has a nice bucolic mood to it, deliberately trying to be more optimistic against the gloom ("gardening is a belief in the future"), but in spite of good performances from Joel Edgerton et al, it's pretty loose and hardly bites. I'd say the last two are are both still worth a watch if you like Schrader's thing, but don't expect the tour de force of First Reformed. I hate scoring art but just as an attempt to weigh these against each other, I'd probably go: First Reformed - 9/10, The Card Counter - 7/10, Master Gardener - 6/10. this is scoring by feel, not with complete objectivity, so probably a bit generous.

RIP

it is if you've been coddled by power players in the international community to feel like you can act however you please. it also is if you're a basic bitch on the internet with no overarching comprehension of the problem and how its different parts fit together.

separately:

so yeah, that video smells like confected bullshit. and again you should have known better. fuck the IDF. source However, what that page depicts is a calendar with days and dates starting on Saturday October 7, when Hamas launched its surprise attack against Israel. The Arabic text above the numbers spells out the names of the days. There do not appear to be any personal names on the sheet. The text at the top reads "The Aqsa flood battle", the name which Hamas gave its attack. The days up to and including Friday November 3 have been marked out in yellow highlighter. The sheet of paper that IDF claims is a guard roster has days and dates in Arabic.(Supplied: IDF) In a later media briefing Hagari playing back some parts of the video, amended his language and correctly identified what the page said. In the basement he also showed weapons including grenades, suicide vests and other explosives as well as a motorcycle with gunshot marks which he said appeared to have been used to bring hostages to Gaza after the attack. He also showed footage of what appeared to be rudimentary living quarters, including a small kitchen, as well as a nearby underground tunnel which he said led to the house of a senior Hamas naval commander. The ABC could not verify when or where this footage was taken. Daniel Hagari shows what he says are weapons stored by Hamas in the basement of Rantisi Hospital.(Supplied: IDF) Israel has repeatedly accused Hamas of using hospitals and other civilian infrastructure to hide command centres and weapons positions, claims which Hamas and hospital authorities in Gaza have denied. Rantisi Hospital is a paediatric hospital which specialises in treating cancer patients.