https://www.bookforum.com/print/2701/ottessa-moshfegh-s-affe...
Edit: and for the life of me I could never understand what anybody saw in that vile show "Euphoria." It seemed so obviously just to want to do nothing but luxuriate in its own vulgarity and graphicness and expected audiences to be very impressed by how big everybody's feelings are. Same for "The Power of the Dog," which was as unsubtle and uninteresting a melodramatic turd as I've ever seen.
I was agreeing very much with both parent comment and yours, until your edit.
I loved Euphoria.
> graphicness - Was it graphic at all? > how big everybody's feelings are - Were their feeling that big? > It seemed so obviously.. - Maybe obvious to you? This might say more about you..
I found it brilliant and at times ironic and self aware and very explicit about what its target is (I think it's very much for teenagers)
So i don't know if it is a good example of this trend at all.
Just to say how nuanced these things can be, i guess...
Oh, how I agree with your comment!
This is a bizarre trend I've also noticed. Also unfortunately helped with the "adult" monicker for anything showing sex, which is in reality generally more aimed at horny teenagers and so-called "young adults" rather than grownups.
It has especially worked its way into popular literature. A books writing is at a 5th grade level, has almost zero depth, but then is full of sex and violence which makes it an "adult" novel. Authors like Sarah J Maas are almost comically bad writers but have achieved immense popular success using this setup.
Not surprising that books like this succeed.
Ultra-Violence is for all ages, great for kids.
One small shot of side boob -- OH NO, that is ADULT, porn.
The film has some interesting zen-like qualities like duality, and a more complex set of morals. The series just feels like most modern creations with a pretty bland right vs wrong.
The film is also almost entirely practical effects, which are incredible (the behind the scenes footage is amazing), while the series leans a bit too heavily on CGI in parts, which detracts from the action a bit (à la LoTR vs The Hobbit).
Given this piece I might go back to finish it now (and from another comment possibly upgrade my TV), but I still think I'll prefer the film.
It offers a level of subtlety I have not seen often in film, particularly since Star Wars.
They could easily have made the cash back on some reality thing that cost nothing but made bank.
This is what I also hate about the gaming industry. If you have a team that works good - find something to do for them.
The guys behind Prince of Peria lost crown were brilliant in every aspect. And Ubisoft disbanded them instead of giving them time to get their footing. But we have a bloated AC:Shadows crap coming our way.
They were always doomed by the budgetary limits, kind of like how the latest Indy movie was doomed to lose money unless it was as big as Avatar.
You seem to assume that people want to keep working together forever. Gamesdev can be really intense and for a lot of devs the end of a game is the opportunity to part ways cleanly and try something else.
Really good stuff IMHO, I suspect it was the movie(s) Snyder actually set out to make.
I'm struggling to get through the series. That ultra clunky opening narration is not a great sign and the world building and underlying plot feels shallow in the series.
I'd LOVE for more Dark Crystal content but I would like them to start over...
There are some kinda deep cut star wars references that non-fans will miss. Mon Mothma the political head of the rebellion is seen only sparingly in the original trilogy and in rogue one (scenes were shot for her in the prequels setting her up as politically aligned with Padme and Bail, but they were cut) is a main character here. Other characters like Saw Gererra only appear in the clone wars series and Rogue One (a film for which this series is a prequel). However this didn't seem to effect my friends much only one of whom had even seen rogue one and the prequels, the other two only having seen the original series.
I'm so glad that it got a second season and am very excited to see it play out.
It's a really beautifully shot show.
I have not seen it nor the original film to be fair, but this is quite literally the first positive thing I have heard about it.
I was young when the original came out so I found it good but scary. I felt the prequel was excellent and it left me wanting more.
These days I feel a lot of my youthful nostalgia has been vandalised for a quick corporate buck. Probably the worst has been Willow on Disney+.
There are so few examples of good follow-ups to nostalgic media. The only other example I can think of is Blade Runner (1982) and Blade Runner 2049 (2017).
I know this is controversial, but I disliked Blade Runner 2049. It feels made by someone who just didn't get Blade Runner and was both copying it mechanically in parts, and improvising unfaithfully in others. (Coincidentally, I liked Arrival but the changes Villeneuve introduced to make it more "sentimental" ruined the reigned-in emotions in Ted Chiang's piece -- again it felt like he just didn't "get it").
I obsess about Blade Runner -- to me almost every scene is artwork, and the music is amazing. The plot? I mean, yes, there are plot holes aplenty, but I don't think this movie is truly about the plot, beyond the philosophical themes.
Blade Runner 2049 in contrast seems so cynical and shallow to me. It just didn't work.
PS: also, the insufferable Jared Leto. And the non-entity that is Luv. While Blade Runner has the best anti-hero ever in Roy Batty... and the best dying speech (vs Luv's "I'm the best!". Ugh).
https://archive.org/details/the-dark-crystal-a.-o.-r.-episod...
Given how fragmentation and enshittification of streaming services is driving users back to piracy, one can't help but feel like the current model may not persist much longer. Heck, I wonder what the impact of the trade war is going to be! A lot of people in a lot of countries are cancelling Disney Plus, Netflix, Amazon Plus, Apple TV, etc. just because they're American.
Think you might be over-estimating the size of your algorithm bubble there. Normal people don't even make that connection.
There has been a surge of antipathy towards the U.S. in Canada and Europe; owing to Trump's threats with respect to trade wars, annexation of Canada and Greenland, and undermining NATO and the ability of Europe to defend itself.
The antics of the US have been a perfect excuse to clean up under-used subscriptions.
I seriously don't understand who's in charge of this idiocy. its not like they are relying on nielson boxes. they have good data on what is bringing people to the streaming platform. there's no reason for them to be cutting shows prematurely that people love.
(Had a page crash and strange refreshes from ads.)
My biggest gripe is that puppets have no facial expression, so this so-called "amazing voice acting" doesn't work for me. It feels like they're overacting to make up for lack of facial expression. Thing is, I've seen this work in shows like Yonderland where puppets make up less than 50% of the cast. If their human counterparts are good actors, the puppets interaction with humans work, especially if they have good lines and interesting characters (which, in the case of Yonderland, they do but with Dark Crystal they very much don't).
It's odd, but I also think that the CGI and lack of any physical actors is what kills this for me. I don't know anyone in the acting profession but one example I can relate is the amazing "Yes, Minister" political comedy series from the BBC on the early 80s. That was originally available as a radio show. Having watched and loved it, I decided to put the radio version on one day while cleaning. I had to turn it off. Even though it was the same cast of great actors, I think the fact that they were sitting around a bunch of microphones and not inter-acting completely stunted the dialog. I decided to put on the TV version and simply listen to it. Even though there were visual gags I couldn't see, it was far far better. Something about being the characters in costume, on a set, interacting with other actors, injected vitality and comic timing into the performance. You could listen between the lines and feel the gags you couldn't see.
I understand that a lot of time, effort, CGI went into this, but I just feel slapped in the face with beauty while not caring one jot about a single character. Or as the wife very uncharitably put it after 45 minutes "I hope all of these characters die in this".
Sometimes there are adult shows that also appeal to kids. Sometimes there are shows that appear to be aimed at kids but are really aimed at adults. But this wants to be the latter and fails as either.
This reminds me of Yonderland, an absolutely amazing TV show that has plot, characters and occasionally adult humour that will fly over the heads of children in the same way that a lot of great Simpsons gags did, in the good old days. Yonderland is made by the same people who did Ghosts (no, not the American rehash, the far superior original). Find it, watch it, it's brilliant.
Also, can't help pointing to this Robot Chicken gem: The Dark Cristal:
Every time I try to watch a tv series the padding starts to burst at the seams by at best the 3rd episode. Then I give up for a few years, let myself be tricked again and nothing has changed ...
Scavenger's Reign on Max got similarly cancelled after one season. There isn't much audience for weird shows like that, apparently. :(
I'm massively disappointed it got cancelled. It really scratched the sci-fi itch that usually only gets scratched via books. Most sci-fi movies and shows are really just lazily dressed up romance.
Louis Leterrier is considered a journeyman Hollywood director, but his work here was insane.
And the puppetry.
Huh. Why not also compare Jackson's puppet/splatter films, Bad Taste, Meet the Feebles, heck even Braindead?
"Ooh, aren't I lucky, I got a chunky bit!"
You could also have mentioned Heavenly Creatures and The Frighteners (filmed in my home town, was a blast seeing Michael J. Fox roaming around).
I suspect they mentioned LotR because you know, well known and, fantasy.
Not really comparable to Barry and the team vs. the evil aliens, or Harvey Weinstein personified in a walrus puppet.
But I'm rather glad you're aware of Jackson's earlier works.
