Movies

[Nonlinear FC]

I love how incredibly quiet it got in that room.

I watched the new Top Gun. So I'm about to be pretty hypocritical: It's really gross how much everyone in Hollywood sucks TC's nuts when he is pretty much the #2 guy at a cult that is known for being inhumane and evil on so many fronts.

Like, I'll kind of grudgingly go see an iconic reboot... But I'm not on talk shows/podcasts going out of my way to talk about what a great person he is. He's a fucking weirdo and he's aligned with a criminal cult at the highest level.

It's a really really weird cultural thing. It's like how it took so many people to finally come around on Michael Jackson and R. Kelly.

Gross.

[mister d]

Its why "separate the art from the artist" is bullshit. Agreeing to do so provides all the cover they need to keep doing fucked up stuff.

[L-Jam3]

I’m happy to say I’ve never heard that Scientology story. I’m also happy Jerrod Carmichael was dropping bombs like he was.

[The Sybian]

I’m happy to say I’ve never heard that Scientology story. I’m also happy Jerrod Carmichael was dropping bombs like he was.

I went down a Scientology rabbit hole 7-10 years ago. Read a bunch of books, watched documentaries... it's a wild fucking world. Infuriating how they were able to get the IRS to give them tax-free status as a religion. Hounded the highest-level authorities for years, down to constantly calling his house throughout the night, tailing their kids and calling to say where they were and what they were wearing, making all sorts of threats. They held strong for years, but the "Church" was relentless and broke the poor guy's psyche who eventually caved. They have teams of private investigators that hunt down Church members who flee. Terrifying stuff.

At the time, I had a coworker whose close friend went into a Narcanon rehab clinic for cocaine addiction. It's a Scientology front. I told my coworker to get his friend the fuck out of there ASAP. His friend completed the program, then stayed as he was offered a job as counselor. A few months later, the guy sold all of his possessions and cut off contact with all of his friends and family. It was crazy reading the emails his friend was sending during the process, watching him get pulled into different levels of the cult, then nothing. Coworker didn't believe me at first that it was a cult, he was happy his friend was getting help. Coworker quickly saw what was happening and was panicking, calling the friends' family to help persuade him. Lost touch with the coworker, but I wonder if his friend ever made it out of the cult.

[Giff]

I saw your co-workers friend on Friends the other day.

[Pruitt IV]

I’m happy to say I’ve never heard that Scientology story. I’m also happy Jerrod Carmichael was dropping bombs like he was.

I went down a Scientology rabbit hole 7-10 years ago. Read a bunch of books, watched documentaries... it's a wild fucking world. Infuriating how they were able to get the IRS to give them tax-free status as a religion. Hounded the highest-level authorities for years, down to constantly calling his house throughout the night, tailing their kids and calling to say where they were and what they were wearing, making all sorts of threats. They held strong for years, but the "Church" was relentless and broke the poor guy's psyche who eventually caved. They have teams of private investigators that hunt down Church members who flee. Terrifying stuff...

I read this book a number of years ago. Incredible.



One detail that I remember is that "Dianetics" - which is like their bible - was originally the outline for one of Hubbard's Sci-Fi novels.

Having said that, the story itself isn't all that much more crazy than the origin story of other religions. But I don't think the prophets of other religions ended up living it up like ole L. Ron did.

[A_B]

Maybe not the "accepted" prophets but a bunch of charlatans did and do.

[Johnnie]

Man, I remember the commercials for Dianetics. Campy and dumb then. Campy and dumb now.

[rass]

Took this in San Jose CR.

I read some of his scfi books back in Jr/HS. Pretty sure I actually liked Battlefield Earth.

1EC06D04-7373-4C14-BAEA-0F371AED815F.jpeg (41.2 KiB) Viewed 1066 times

[Giff]

I read Battlefield Earth before the movie came out and I think I think I liked the book OK because I'm comparing it to maybe the worst movie I've ever seen in my life.

[DSafetyGuy]

Right? It’s pathetic enough that this no-talent assclown gives his opinion on artists with actual skill; worse is people actually listen to him.

And Shapiro thinks he can start putting out movies/tv shows with "conservative content"...

Can Nashville Be Hollywood for Conservatives?

For years, the Daily Wire’s headquarters were in Los Angeles — the dream factory of coastal, liberal America. Then, in the fall of 2020, the company moved to Nashville, with the goal of expanding to become an all-you-can-eat buffet of conservative entertainment, complete with its own streaming platform and production house.

The article is worth a click...if only for the very definition of "all hat....no cowboy" picture of Shapiro.

[Square Rob]

Made our first foray to the French cinema tonight. We watched Banshees and what can i say other than it’s a McDonagh film. I enjoyed most of it, and it wil make me think, so I guess that’s good.

[sancarlos]

Made our first foray to the French cinema tonight. We watched Banshees and what can i say other than it’s a McDonagh film. I enjoyed most of it, and it wil make me think, so I guess that’s good.

Has your French comprehension advanced far enough that you’re not wishing the screen had subtitles?

[govmentchedda]

I liked Banshees at the beginning, then didn't as much, then read more about it, then liked it again.

[Square Rob]

Made our first foray to the French cinema tonight. We watched Banshees and what can i say other than it’s a McDonagh film. I enjoyed most of it, and it wil make me think, so I guess that’s good.

Has your French comprehension advanced far enough that you’re not wishing the screen had subtitles?

Non.

But film was in English (well, the Irish version) with French subtitles so not bad. My comprehension of the French is at about 50% right now. It’s going to take some time.

[DaveInSeattle]

The Baldwin (ugh) discourse is just the worst.

Yes...yes it is. And now they are going to charge him with involuntary manslaughter.

And, I'm not a lawyer, but wouldn't having the prosecutor going on Hannity be like a bad thing?

[Johnnie]

Just finished The Menu.

[+] spoiler

What the fuck did I just watch?

[Steve of phpBB]

This will be great for marketing …

[Johnnie]

Finally got around to watching Top Gun Maverick.

It was fine, but there was so much I rolled my eyes at. (And Jimmy Doolittle's Raiders did it better.)

[+] spoiler

Like, if you've been removed from flying duties and you go and fly after that, you're going to jail. And that happened like what? 3 times? You cannot be that insubordinate and not face consequences.

And it takes more than hopping in the cockpit to even launch a plane. Just the idea that planes take off that fast is nuts.

The guy passing out and nearly dying in flight would've been removed from flying duties. As would the two other pilots that had to eject after the birdstrike.

A super secret hypersonic aircraft flying capable of flying Mach 10 (And you better not go past it! Oh, wait Oops. Mach 10.3 and destroying it!) would probably be an Air Force program with far more people involved, but that he just walks away from that mess unscathed with no consequences? Nuts. I'm sure there's a very long wait to even be allowed to fly again after an ejection because medical reasons, but he ejects again later in the movie too.

Also, the scene where an old ass F-14 is just chillin' in the hangar and they escape in it...while also avoiding modern fighter jets from the Ambiguous Russo-Chinese country? I was checked out. It was 'Indiana Jones survives a nuclear blast by hiding in a fridge' level ridiculous.

It seemed more like a Tom Cruise dick riding movie more than anything else.

[govmentchedda]

Finally got around to watching Top Gun Maverick.

It was fine, but there was so much I rolled my eyes at. (And Jimmy Doolittle's Raiders did it better.)

[+] spoiler

Like, if you've been removed from flying duties and you go and fly after that, you're going to jail. And that happened like what? 3 times? You cannot be that insubordinate and not face consequences.

And it takes more than hopping in the cockpit to even launch a plane. Just the idea that planes take off that fast is nuts.

The guy passing out and nearly dying in flight would've been removed from flying duties. As would the two other pilots that had to eject after the birdstrike.

A super secret hypersonic aircraft flying capable of flying Mach 10 (And you better not go past it! Oh, wait Oops. Mach 10.3 and destroying it!) would probably be an Air Force program with far more people involved, but that he just walks away from that mess unscathed with no consequences? Nuts. I'm sure there's a very long wait to even be allowed to fly again after an ejection because medical reasons, but he ejects again later in the movie too.

Also, the scene where an old ass F-14 is just chillin' in the hangar and they escape in it...while also avoiding modern fighter jets from the Ambiguous Russo-Chinese country? I was checked out. It was 'Indiana Jones survives a nuclear blast by hiding in a fridge' level ridiculous.

It seemed more like a Tom Cruise dick riding movie more than anything else.

Tell me you weren't a kid when the first Top Gun came out without telling me you weren't a kid when the first Top Gun came out.

[Steve of phpBB]

Finally got around to watching Top Gun Maverick.

It was fine, but there was so much I rolled my eyes at. (And Jimmy Doolittle's Raiders did it better.)

[+] spoiler

Like, if you've been removed from flying duties and you go and fly after that, you're going to jail. And that happened like what? 3 times? You cannot be that insubordinate and not face consequences.

And it takes more than hopping in the cockpit to even launch a plane. Just the idea that planes take off that fast is nuts.

The guy passing out and nearly dying in flight would've been removed from flying duties. As would the two other pilots that had to eject after the birdstrike.

A super secret hypersonic aircraft flying capable of flying Mach 10 (And you better not go past it! Oh, wait Oops. Mach 10.3 and destroying it!) would probably be an Air Force program with far more people involved, but that he just walks away from that mess unscathed with no consequences? Nuts. I'm sure there's a very long wait to even be allowed to fly again after an ejection because medical reasons, but he ejects again later in the movie too.

Also, the scene where an old ass F-14 is just chillin' in the hangar and they escape in it...while also avoiding modern fighter jets from the Ambiguous Russo-Chinese country? I was checked out. It was 'Indiana Jones survives a nuclear blast by hiding in a fridge' level ridiculous.

It seemed more like a Tom Cruise dick riding movie more than anything else.

Tell me you weren't a kid when the first Top Gun came out without telling me you weren't a kid when the first Top Gun came out.

This.

Though I was also bothered by the point in Johnnie’s fourth paragraph. That seemed like taking “Maverick” too far.

[A_B]

YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE MAVERICK!

[Giff]

I guess Johnnie's ego never written checks his body can't cash.

[P.D.X.]

Is there a fabulous v-ball montage in the new one?

[DSafetyGuy]

[govmentchedda]

Is there a fabulous v-ball montage in the new one?

Not going to spoil it for you, but there's something so ridiculous yet so similar to that scene from the original.

[govmentchedda]

Is there a fabulous v-ball montage in the new one?

Not going to spoil it for you, but there's something so ridiculous yet so similar to that scene from the original.

It's a real team building exercise.

[Nonlinear FC]

I'm the same age as a bunch of you and I had a number of the same issues that Johnnie had.

But I also loved the movie. You just have to say "This is Hollywood bullshit" and not get too worried about the logical and physical flaws. I get why that might be a bridge too far for many.

[+] spoiler

The most egregious to me was ejecting and walking away from a Mach 10 situation. Nope. And all the typical "that's not how that would go down" in terms of Cruise's character still having a job, let alone being locked up, for a number of his transgressions. But that was consistent with the first movie, so...

[Nonlinear FC]

While I'm in here, watched Vengeance last week. Written and directed (I think) by The Office's BJ Novak.

Pretty good! It's about a typical New York quasi-intellectual guy... writes for The New Yorker* and is a bit of a try-hard, wannabe intellectual douche. Very much lives on dating apps and is an empty, soulless person. He very much wants to host a podcast "so his voice can be heard." He gets a random call about a girl dying in Abilene and gets roped into attending her funeral. Weirdness and hijinks (and a podcast) ensue.

I really enjoyed it. Ashton Kutcher shows up and he's highly entertaining. Overall cast is charming.

I'm not gonna say 5 stars, but very much in the 3.5 range.

* - There is a very funny running gag about this that I won't spoil.

[MaxWebster]

any other Gen-Xers that have never seen a minute of Top Gun [the original. also this new one]?

better not be just me...

[brian]

any other Gen-Xers that have never seen a minute of Top Gun [the original. also this new one]?

better not be just me...

I'm legitimately not sure how you managed to avoid it.

[GoodKarma]

Every Paramount-related network has been running it all week.

[The Sybian]

any other Gen-Xers that have never seen a minute of Top Gun [the original. also this new one]?

better not be just me...

I'm guessing you are in a small minority on this one. No desire to see the new one, despite most people saying it was entertaining. Too much great content to bother with big budget Hollywood thrill rides with little substance. Without seeing the movie, I feel like I've seen it dozens of times under different names.

I agree with the comment that you need to suspend belief for these movies, but I get the criticism Johnnie posted. When a movie is about the industry you work in, it's tough to ignore blatantly unrealistic or impossible scenarios.

[MaxWebster]

i mean... "avoid" in terms of just not watching it is/was easy. But of course it was everywhere in the 80s - MTV videos, HBO, commercials, etc. It seemed a perfect storm of everything I hated at the time - bad music*, glorified slick military action, Tom Cruise. Like my teenage unholy-trinity of, well, avoidance LOL

*i did love my 80s "metal" bands at the time so bad is of course as always, subjective

any other Gen-Xers that have never seen a minute of Top Gun [the original. also this new one]?

better not be just me...

I'm legitimately not sure how you managed to avoid it.

[Rush2112]

I've never seen any of the Matrix movies, nor have I seen either Ghostbusters.

[Johnnie]

Finally got around to watching Top Gun Maverick.

It was fine, but there was so much I rolled my eyes at. (And Jimmy Doolittle's Raiders did it better.)

[+] spoiler

Like, if you've been removed from flying duties and you go and fly after that, you're going to jail. And that happened like what? 3 times? You cannot be that insubordinate and not face consequences.

And it takes more than hopping in the cockpit to even launch a plane. Just the idea that planes take off that fast is nuts.

The guy passing out and nearly dying in flight would've been removed from flying duties. As would the two other pilots that had to eject after the birdstrike.

A super secret hypersonic aircraft flying capable of flying Mach 10 (And you better not go past it! Oh, wait Oops. Mach 10.3 and destroying it!) would probably be an Air Force program with far more people involved, but that he just walks away from that mess unscathed with no consequences? Nuts. I'm sure there's a very long wait to even be allowed to fly again after an ejection because medical reasons, but he ejects again later in the movie too.

Also, the scene where an old ass F-14 is just chillin' in the hangar and they escape in it...while also avoiding modern fighter jets from the Ambiguous Russo-Chinese country? I was checked out. It was 'Indiana Jones survives a nuclear blast by hiding in a fridge' level ridiculous.

It seemed more like a Tom Cruise dick riding movie more than anything else.

Tell me you weren't a kid when the first Top Gun came out without telling me you weren't a kid when the first Top Gun came out.

I was 3 when the first movie came out and probably 10 or so when I saw it. And I don't remember seeing it a second time. So my memory of it is pilots doing pilot things.

And it's like Syb said. I can't separate this stuff in my brain because I lived it for so long.

Plus, I'm pretty sure I saw this guy speak of his experience outlined in the link.

So yea. Suspension of disbelief is fine for cultural military things or uniform infractions in movies. But when it comes to the stuff I mentioned, it gives a false impression of what the military is like.

Talk to an EOD guy about The Hurt Locker. Same reaction.

[Giff]

Talk to an EOD guy about The Hurt Locker. Same reaction.

"No way we'd let a woman direct us!"

[brian]

Finally got around to watching Top Gun Maverick.

It was fine, but there was so much I rolled my eyes at. (And Jimmy Doolittle's Raiders did it better.)

[+] spoiler

Like, if you've been removed from flying duties and you go and fly after that, you're going to jail. And that happened like what? 3 times? You cannot be that insubordinate and not face consequences.

And it takes more than hopping in the cockpit to even launch a plane. Just the idea that planes take off that fast is nuts.

The guy passing out and nearly dying in flight would've been removed from flying duties. As would the two other pilots that had to eject after the birdstrike.

A super secret hypersonic aircraft flying capable of flying Mach 10 (And you better not go past it! Oh, wait Oops. Mach 10.3 and destroying it!) would probably be an Air Force program with far more people involved, but that he just walks away from that mess unscathed with no consequences? Nuts. I'm sure there's a very long wait to even be allowed to fly again after an ejection because medical reasons, but he ejects again later in the movie too.

Also, the scene where an old ass F-14 is just chillin' in the hangar and they escape in it...while also avoiding modern fighter jets from the Ambiguous Russo-Chinese country? I was checked out. It was 'Indiana Jones survives a nuclear blast by hiding in a fridge' level ridiculous.

It seemed more like a Tom Cruise dick riding movie more than anything else.

Tell me you weren't a kid when the first Top Gun came out without telling me you weren't a kid when the first Top Gun came out.

I was 3 when the first movie came out and probably 10 or so when I saw it. And I don't remember seeing it a second time. So my memory of it is pilots doing pilot things.

And it's like Syb said. I can't separate this stuff in my brain because I lived it for so long.

Plus, I'm pretty sure I saw this guy speak of his experience outlined in the link.

So yea. Suspension of disbelief is fine for cultural military things or uniform infractions in movies. But when it comes to the stuff I mentioned, it gives a false impression of what the military is like.

Talk to an EOD guy about The Hurt Locker. Same reaction.

I watched Superbad a few days ago and next you're going to tell me that cops aren't allowed to blow up their cars and let teenage boys shoot their firearms!

[A_B]

Finally got around to watching Top Gun Maverick.

It was fine, but there was so much I rolled my eyes at. (And Jimmy Doolittle's Raiders did it better.)

[+] spoiler

Like, if you've been removed from flying duties and you go and fly after that, you're going to jail. And that happened like what? 3 times? You cannot be that insubordinate and not face consequences.

And it takes more than hopping in the cockpit to even launch a plane. Just the idea that planes take off that fast is nuts.

The guy passing out and nearly dying in flight would've been removed from flying duties. As would the two other pilots that had to eject after the birdstrike.

A super secret hypersonic aircraft flying capable of flying Mach 10 (And you better not go past it! Oh, wait Oops. Mach 10.3 and destroying it!) would probably be an Air Force program with far more people involved, but that he just walks away from that mess unscathed with no consequences? Nuts. I'm sure there's a very long wait to even be allowed to fly again after an ejection because medical reasons, but he ejects again later in the movie too.

Also, the scene where an old ass F-14 is just chillin' in the hangar and they escape in it...while also avoiding modern fighter jets from the Ambiguous Russo-Chinese country? I was checked out. It was 'Indiana Jones survives a nuclear blast by hiding in a fridge' level ridiculous.

It seemed more like a Tom Cruise dick riding movie more than anything else.

Tell me you weren't a kid when the first Top Gun came out without telling me you weren't a kid when the first Top Gun came out.

I was 3 when the first movie came out and probably 10 or so when I saw it. And I don't remember seeing it a second time. So my memory of it is pilots doing pilot things.

And it's like Syb said. I can't separate this stuff in my brain because I lived it for so long.

Plus, I'm pretty sure I saw this guy speak of his experience outlined in the link.

So yea. Suspension of disbelief is fine for cultural military things or uniform infractions in movies. But when it comes to the stuff I mentioned, it gives a false impression of what the military is like.

Talk to an EOD guy about The Hurt Locker. Same reaction.

I watched Superbad a few days ago and next you're going to tell me that cops aren't allowed to blow up their cars and let teenage boys shoot their firearms!

Brian...those kids were white.

[sancarlos]

any other Gen-Xers that have never seen a minute of Top Gun [the original. also this new one]?

better not be just me...

I’m a late-stage boomer, but I only saw it once - back in the 80s. Didn’t see the new one. Not a Cruise fan.