Reaction Videos

71 dB · May 06, 2025, 09:40:07 AM

Coby enjoyed American Graffiti.

LKB · May 18, 2025, 07:45:33 PM

Kate can't carry a tune, but at least Kubrick doesn't make a monkey out of her.

LKB · May 19, 2025, 10:21:42 AM

Ashleigh meets Atticus.

Karl Henning · May 19, 2025, 02:47:42 PM

What is your quest?

Karl Henning · May 20, 2025, 08:27:13 AM

How shall we fuck off, Lord?

Karl Henning · May 20, 2025, 07:16:23 PM

"High colonics for everybody!"

Karl Henning · May 23, 2025, 10:27:37 AM

Quote from: DavidW on May 11, 2024, 08:07:28 AMI don't know if any of this counts, but here is a detailed critique of Foundation that I enjoyed:
btw he finishes with the best adaptation of Asimov by a landslide... as... The End of Eternity as a Russian tv miniseries. You'll find that at the end of the video.

And I also watched Lost in Adaptation on all Dune movies and the miniseries...
Original Dune:
Dune TV miniseries:
Dune Part 1:
Dune Part 2:

Say, Davey, any opinion on the further Dune franchise?

LKB · May 30, 2025, 06:17:29 PM

Disclaimer: I have not viewed this reaction, nor am I familiar with the channel, so I can't " recommend " it as such.

That said, 2011's Margin Call is ( unquestionably, imho ) the most lucid and well-written recounting of both 1) the business universe of high finance, and 2) specifically, the 2007/8 mortgage investment crisis that resulted in the demise of Lehman Brothers, as well as other firms.

The ensemble cast is amazingly strong, and the film's director ( name escape's me atm ) worked in the industry, which undoubtedly brings " street cred " to the production. It's instructive, as well as entertainingly suspenseful.

Now I'll watch the reaction, and perhaps update this post tonight or tomorrow.

Karl Henning · May 30, 2025, 06:29:22 PM

Quote from: LKB on May 30, 2025, 06:17:29 PMDisclaimer: I have not viewed this reaction, nor am I familiar with the channel, so I can't " recommend " it as such.

That said, 2011's Margin Call is ( unquestionably, imho ) the most lucid and well-written recounting of both 1) the business universe of high finance, and 2) specifically, the 2007/8 mortgage investment crisis that resulted in the demise of Lehman Brothers, as well as other firms.

The ensemble cast is amazingly strong, and the film's director ( name escape's me atm ) worked in the industry, which undoubtedly brings " street cred " to the production. It's instructive, as well as entertainingly suspenseful.

Now I'll watch the reaction, and perhaps update this post tonight or tomorrow.

I was this close to being a casualty of the crisis. Those were days when the missus and I still held some hope of owning our own place. We looked at some six places. Fact is, we've always been too short. If we had accepted a mortgage for any of those places, we would have been critically overextended. It was a tough decision, but I'm glad we stayed our hand.

LKB · May 30, 2025, 06:54:07 PM

Quote from: Karl Henning on May 30, 2025, 06:29:22 PMI was this close to being a casualty of the crisis. Those were days when the missus and I still held some hope of owning our own place. We looked at some six places. Fact is, we've always been too short. If we had accepted a mortgage for any of those places, we would have been critically overextended. It was a tough decision, but I'm glad we stayed our hand.

Yikes! Glad you were able to dodge that rather humongous bullet, even while unaware there was a bullet to be dodged.

LKB · May 30, 2025, 07:05:04 PM

Quote from: LKB on May 30, 2025, 06:17:29 PMDisclaimer: I have not viewed this reaction, nor am I familiar with the channel, so I can't " recommend " it as such.

That said, 2011's Margin Call is ( unquestionably, imho ) the most lucid and well-written recounting of both 1) the business universe of high finance, and 2) specifically, the 2007/8 mortgage investment crisis that resulted in the demise of Lehman Brothers, as well as other firms.

The ensemble cast is amazingly strong, and the film's director ( name escape's me atm ) worked in the industry, which undoubtedly brings " street cred " to the production. It's instructive, as well as entertainingly suspenseful.

Now I'll watch the reaction, and perhaps update this post tonight or tomorrow.

So, now I've watched the reaction, and I must say that these two gents must be utterly ignorant of the crisis represented, and therefore that while the film is a work involving a fictional company, the company was depicted realistically insofar as staffing and operations were concerned.

They both found the film " boring ", and that pretty much sums up what they had to say.

Don't waste your time with this reaction. Just watch the film yourself, if you haven't.

LKB · June 01, 2025, 07:36:55 PM

This channel is on hiatus atm, as the couple are trying to overcome some challenges in their lives.

They are a favorite of mine and I don't want them to be forgotten, so here's their take on Top Secret.

Karl Henning · June 01, 2025, 08:00:00 PM

Quote from: LKB on June 01, 2025, 07:36:55 PMThis channel is on hiatus atm, as the couple are trying to overcome some challenges in their lives.

They are a favorite of mine and I don't want them to be forgotten, so here's their take on Top Secret.

Fun! And a movie I should watch again.

DavidW · June 02, 2025, 06:43:03 AM

Quote from: Karl Henning on May 23, 2025, 10:27:37 AMSay, Davey, any opinion on the further Dune franchise?

Oh, I missed this. It captures the trilogy's spirit, tone, and look, and the changes made were sensible and interesting. I loved the hints at Dune Messiah, and I think it will be made as Dune 3.

What I didn't like:
* The compressed timeline has too much emphasis on guerrilla warfare and not enough on Paul finding his new life among the Fremen.
* Swing and a miss on the mentats AGAIN. They are used in the background, I don't think the casual fan understands that all machines capable of calculations were banned, and people were bred and trained to replace that. But I will say my favorite subtle inclusion of them was in the Harkonnen war room. They were using their combined mental efforts to track global positioning of troops, and the 3d maps were manually adjusted like you would see in a WWII movie, just with 3d holograms. I think most people would assume computers were used because they don't get the lore. But also...
* Where is my Thufir Hawat? He was sadly cut out, and he had a great arc.
* There are too many lasers in many of the battle scenes, since shields easily negate the effect, it just confuses the audience when, in the final battle, everyone is using swords. The audience wouldn't necessarily understand and think that it is weird.

Changes I liked:
* The Southern Fremen were made more overtly religious, which helps hammer home the message that was so subtle in the book, that fans felt betrayed in the sequel. That and Chani's new arc bring clarity and drama where it is needed and set up Dune Messiah much better, and I think that it is a great novel that has been maligned by fans for too long.
* Feyd Ruatha is brutal, more so than in the book or previous adaptations. Austin Butler kills it and chews the scenery.
* Having Paul kill the Baron instead of his sister (who, now in the movie, had not been born yet) is much more satisfying and also not stupid looking.

The cinematography, the extended screen time (having two beefy movies), high budget, no meddling by stupid execs, and a great respect for the source material led to what I think is the best adaptation we will ever see. It also proves that ultimately most faithful adaptations are not necessarily page for page. The miniseries is extremely faithful, but still, these films feel more like Dune than the TV effort does.

Karl Henning · June 02, 2025, 08:43:03 AM

Quote from: DavidW on June 02, 2025, 06:43:03 AMThe cinematography, the extended screen time (having two beefy movies), high budget, no meddling by stupid execs, and a great respect for the source material led to what I think is the best adaptation we will ever see.

Between the great impression the Villeneuve movies make, and my fondness for the Lynch, I'm seriously considering re-reading Herbert's first novel again (putting it mentally in the queue.)

LKB · June 02, 2025, 01:28:53 PM

Quote from: Karl Henning on June 02, 2025, 08:43:03 AMBetween the great impression the Villeneuve movies make, and my fondness for the Lynch, I'm seriously considering re-reading Herbert's first novel again (putting it mentally in the queue.)

The original Dune trilogy made a very large impression on me when I first encountered it around 1978. I was still a teen in college, and my obsession with orchestral music had by then subsided enough to allow for literary explorations. Steinbeck, Hemingway and Tolkien were the first to encroach upon my imagination, but soon my explorations included Silverberg, Niven, Asimov and Frank Herbert.

The Dune series were the only books that rivaled ( imho ) Tolkien's Middle Earth, both for the scale of events and for the sheer variety of cultural environments and character types.

I've watched a bit of Lynch's effort, but was mostly unimpressed ( despite Sir Patrick's Gurney Halleck, who I found both likable and credible ).

The more recent version I haven't seen.

Karl Henning · June 02, 2025, 02:45:06 PM

Quote from: LKB on June 02, 2025, 01:28:53 PMThe original Dune trilogy made a very large impression on me when I first encountered it around 1978.

I didn't much connect with Dune (just the first novel) when I read it, but that was long enough ago, I readily see the fairness in giving it another shot. As to Lynch's movie, I see you aren't my only friend to not much care for it. I don't see myself dissuading anyone, but I'm simply (and arguably sentimentally) fond of it. What other cultural artifact lists both Brian Eno and Toto as musical contributors?