MentalMaden
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Posts
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Joined
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Much better. Looks fun.
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Quote:Historical threadjack!Originally Posted by Ironik
I don't recall, but they aren't all sunshine and rainbows, that's for sure. Not that many of the group homes are much better. A lot of abuse goes on there. Fortunately my cousin -- who is severely retarded (or developmentally challenged as it were) -- was able to get into a wonderful group home that is run by people I consider living saints. It's amazing the care they lavish on their charges. They get paid by the state to take care of their charges, but that's not why they do it. It's a thankless, 24/7 job and they aren't paid nearly enough for what they do for these people. He's in his mid 60s now and his childhood was simply horrific. But even though he's blind and essentially incommunicado, they take him out for ice cream and to the park, both things he clearly loves doing. Somewhere in there he knows, and he knows that he is loved. That never would've happened 50 years ago in an institution.
A little history of the Willowbrook State School per Wiki and it's significance in major changes to how institutions are run and Rivera's role in uncovering the problems. There was a time when he was a real hard nosed reporter and a champion for just causes, his later years have kind of centered on the sensational and scandalous but he deserves praise for whatever small place he had in reform of mental institutions.
Quote:A series of articles in local newspapers, including the Staten Island Advance and the Staten Island Register, described the crowded, filthy living conditions at Willowbrook, and the negligent treatment of some of its residents. Shortly thereafter, in early 1972, Geraldo Rivera, then an investigative reporter for WABC-TV in New York, conducted a series of investigations at Willowbrook uncovering a host of deplorable conditions, including overcrowding, inadequate sanitary facilities, and physical and sexual abuse of residents by members of the school's staff. The exposé, entitled Willowbrook: The Last Disgrace, garnered national attention and won a Peabody Award for Rivera.[6] Rivera later appeared on the nationally televised Dick Cavett Show with film of patients at the school.
As a result of the overcrowding, a class-action lawsuit was filed against the State of New York in federal court on March 17, 1972. A settlement in the case was reached on May 5, 1975, mandating reforms at the site, but several years would pass before all of the violations were corrected. The publicity generated by the case was a major contributing factor to the passage of a federal law, called the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act of 1980. -
Quote:\Originally Posted by Ironik
That's called "jumping on the bandwagon." It's just human nature. In this case, though, I'm one of the guys who hammered the wheels onto the wagon.
If someone wants to enjoy Sucker Punch for its mindless spectacle, then that's fine. But that doesn't mean I have to keep quiet about disliking Snyder's other work. That article TG linked to is just mindless crap. No one is trying to put on airs and act all "exclusive" about their geekery and who gets into the club -- what's happening is that geeks are, by and large, smart people and they've seen through the emptiness of Snyder's talent to discover he's a one-trick pony. The writing is on the wall: if as shallow a site as Ain't It Cool News doesn't like you, then you must suck. Because they are the Jackass of film reviewer-dom. Those guys like every stupid thing that comes along as long as it looks cool and has geek cred, yet they don't like it. I believe it's because they've finally had enough of that sort of thing, too, and even Harry is starting to grow up.
That's why I was glad I wasn't able to read a review before I went to see it. I got to walk out of there with my own opinion, unadulterated by what I'd read (not that I'm typically a bandwagoner). And I walked out with a big ole, meh. (And I actually have liked his previous work and really wanted to love this one too.)
Wasn't it Geraldo Rivera in the early 70s that did a big nasty expose on state run mental institutions that pretty much blew the industry to pieces?Quote:Originally Posted by Ironik
Go visit a couple.
There's a reason why "mainstreaming" and "halfway homes" are so popular. -
Edit- Just started the Ustream video.
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Quote:As I said in my review, I don't subscribe to that mentality of movie going (not that you are wrong, but there are those of us out here that do expect more from movies than a background for eating popcorn and drinking soda and it not be Eat, Pray, Love, which by the way is just as much drivel as Transformers). It's not too much to ask for both from a movie. I don't want to "turn my brain off" I want something to turn it on! That's my escape: real, honest, thought provoking cinema.Originally Posted by Jet_Boy
Oh, they get them, they just choose to dump on anything that doesn't meet with their idea of "good cinema." To a lot of the professional critics out there, if it's not Oscar material, it's crap. To others, its simply a job... muck = readers = sales = money = happy media owners = continued employment.
Others just have too much time on their hands
In any case, a lot of reviews seem to forgot that there's a whole class of movie fans out there. We go to the theater to escape. Most of us don't want some deep meaningful, life changing story. We just want to grab some popcorn, a big-*** bladder-busting soda, and lose ourselves for a couple of hours.
Sucker Punch is exactly that kind of movie. If you're looking for something more, grab your tissue box and go see "Exist, Consume, Worship" or " The Emporer's Oration..." SP is only going to disappoint you.
Also reviewers review movies based on their artistic value as film. It's not that they are "wrong" per se, its just that they are evaluating all movies based on the same parameters, which is fair. It's just not what you (generic you) are looking for and to be honest, it's not what most people are looking for; its a specific type of journalism that too many people put too much stock in and then blame the reviewers when they don't hear what they want. If you want a fun popcorn movie, its best to not get your recommendations from someone comparing them with the same method as The King's Speech.
Just saying. -
Quote:Actually its 22 now.Originally Posted by Reiyichi
21 50s... geeze, you must have farmed those boss farms in AE a lot...
Nope just a 7 year player that plays the game almost daily (or nightly really). Not saying in those 7 years I haven't been in a farm, but no that's not how my toons are typically leveled up. I just have a small group of friends that team nightly and over time your 50s start adding up. Of the 1100 levels of my fifties a very very small percetage of them came from farming means...more than likely a single digit percentage. I'm not against it, but it's just not my group's thing.
Long live Capt. Outhouse! -
Quote:That is what I understood as well.Originally Posted by Exodus_V
Now my question is Baby Doll said she learned something along the way...was it that she was going to have to sacrifice herself for the others(i believe so) because i know it wasnt "when you try to kill someone make sure you kill them" (see step-dad and Blue).
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Quote:Fixed for maximum effect.Originally Posted by CaptainFoamerang
All that's left is to include the Rebecca Black if they want to set a record for number of televisions broken simultaneously.
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Yeah, I love cooking and am fascinated by molecular gastronomy. But he is the last person to spearhead it to the mainstream. Put Dufresne, Blais or any number of other chefs on a show dedicated to it. Anyone but that little ----.
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I was really just referencing its connection to Real Genius...but whatever works for you.
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Quote:The best video version of that song!Originally Posted by Ironik
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Quote:Originally Posted by CaptainFoamerang
I don't know how anyone could watch a movie where the main character dies to "Mad World" and not find it sad. o.O
Actually, it makes these two very happy. -
Drink!
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Squeeeeeeee!
The new season looks epic. And yay! more River Song! -
Quote:But how do you know it won't work for this movie if you haven't seen it? While I think overall as a film Sucker Punch misses the mark, I will give it points for the ending and how it was hinted at throughout the narrative. I'd call this movie a lot of things, but depressing isn't one of them. Average, middle of the road, lost potential, so so, meh, but not depressing.Originally Posted by Knight_Errant
I'm not completely averse to the tragic endings. I went out of my way to see Last Samurai knowing full well how the final battle would turn out. Historical and cultural inconsistency nit-picking aside, a great movie with a tragic ending.
However Sucker Punch has completely lost any appeal it had garnered with the trailers. -
Take this show off SyFy and its still pretty bad and only for one reason: Marcel. He's a little weasel with no personality and zero screen presence. I love the concept of the show, but he is not a good anchor for it.
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Quote:On her right hip.Originally Posted by Residentx_EU
. Where's her lasso, too?
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You could probably ask that question in the Comic and Hero/Villain culture forum. There are quite a few music, movie and tv threads there. Lately, its become a little more focused on comic type material, but we still get the occasional music related thread.
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Quote:I'm God of thunder,Originally Posted by rian_frostdrake
so he actually was too sexy for his shirt, too sexy for his shirt, so sexy it hurt?
You know I am.
I invoke bolts of lightning on the catwalk.
On the catwalk
On the catwalk, yeah
I throw my little hammer on the catwalk. -
I've never understood why people don't like or won't accept sad endings. I love a good sad ending (when done right). Besides, technically there is a happy ending to this movie.
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Quote:/mentalfistbumpOriginally Posted by Mental_Giant
Mentals just get it.
/mentalfistbump
Back atcha.
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Quote:Oh my, what is the world coming to now? Foamy and I agree on a movie.Originally Posted by CaptainFoamerang
Also, about Sucker Punch, I basically agree with MentalMaiden's take.
That is basically the tldr version of why I really liked D9. I'm going to rewatch and post a detailed explanation of why it works for me at some point.Quote:Originally Posted by Mental_Giant
I've read enough analysis by haters to know the plot holes, but the narrative arc of the movie carries it for me. Whether D9 is "smart" or not is irrelevant. I buy Wilkes' transformation (regardless of the actual mechanism), and that's what's important. -
Quote:Ironik, I respect your movie opinions and know how, but here.......you're wrong.Originally Posted by Ironik
Totally agree with Dark One here. District 9 was terrible on almost every level. That thing was a mess.
Oh and you too, Dark One.
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Quote:Ok, if you're going to continue to argue with me over semantics, the term rip off does in fact imply theft. Your choice of words, not mine.Originally Posted by TrueGentleman
Nobody's calling Snyder a thief (he's one the drawing comparisons between Sucker Punch and Brazil). He just puts me in mind of the saying "Good artists borrow. Great artists steal." He's inarguably good at design and action sequences, but he's emphatically not a great artist despite repeatedly drawing "inspiration" from them. Moore, a great artist who steals all the time, is quite open about his inspirations for V for Vendetta, but his final product actually backs them up.
Again, I'd be a lot less harsh about this film if it weren't an $82M would-be blockbuster whose track record is going to impact a comic book-based movie with much more potential. These days there are too many big-ticket geek-centric busts that should be low-budget b-movies. At a certain point after so many flops, it's going to be hard for anyone to receive studio financing of any sort for these kinds of movies.
Also, take the success or failure of Sucker Punch out of the picture. Snyder still isn't the right director for Superman. His fast edits and slow mo will not work for a Supes movie. I think for a Superman film you need classic Americana cinematography, not flashy MTV style visuals. I think the last movie "looked" liked a Superman film should, but unfortunately had an abyssmal script and plot. I think to pull off a Superman story, you need to go big, widescreen, cinematic and more classic Hollywood. Snyder just ain't that guy unless he makes major changes to his visual style.
I don't think you need to use this movie as a point that drive home how terrible the guy is. If this movie was fantastic, he still wouldn't be the guy for the job. -
The movie has absolutely nothing to do with schizophrenia. I don't think the word is even used at all. It's not even about mental illness, except in that it shows how poorly the mentally ill were treated in institutions 40-50 years ago. Again she was put there against her will, with NO diagnosis, under false pretenses and the procedure was shown to be barbaric and wrong. Nothing glamorized or made it seem to be a viable option.
You're getting caught up in something that has nothing to do with the movie, Remus.