Posts by Jessica Nguyen85

he’s actually from Canada, after all!!

I can't help but feel like blueranger12 just found a "replacement" for the ice floe 😁

so, I guess this was just a lesson in false modesty

Never quite enough 😁

honestly, I wouldn't count on those empty promises from blueranger12... there's already one showdown they managed to skip out on...

I put my "weapon" on the table... we'll see where things go from here... 😁

Being at peace with who you are without trying to be "better" is just being average.

I guess what I meant was 😁

Thinking your perspective on the world is the ultimate truth is just pure vanity.

Look... just because someone holds an opinion doesn't mean they think it's the gospel truth. I don't know where this idea comes from. You won't find me—or anyone else here, really—claiming our takes are the absolute best. We just have thoughts. That’s it. It seems to be becoming a thing on this forum lately (not just in the Movies section)—just a few posts ago, Joseph Lee3 was busy lecturing everyone on how to be humble. But look, if my username is attached to a post, it's just my opinion, regardless of how I landed there. I dare anyone to find a single instance where I've added "AND THIS IS THE BEST AND SMARTEST TAKE EVER" to my posts. Btw... this would make a decent sig 😁

We should just meet up on some frozen tundra and settle this once and for all.

After we "settle it" out there on the ice, nothing's going to grow for at least a decade 😁 Honestly, that's just how long it takes for the ground to recover after someone spills twenty liters of beer everywhere. If you throw in some Ozujsko, make it fifteen years 😁

When I watch a movie and just... don't get it—especially when everyone else seems to be loving it—it honestly worries me. It’s not just a "meh" feeling. I can't sleep. I just lie there, tossing and turning. Is it me? Am I lacking enough life experience to actually find those deep, cinematic connections that make a movie feel like a mirror to one's own existence? Or have I just lived a particularly shallow life?

Man... honestly... you might have a problem 😁

Failing to hit the mainstream average should probably be seen as a sign of individuality.

One major edge cinema has is how it strips away any cognitive interference—you aren't distracted by sound or visuals because they’re dialed in perfectly. When you’re watching a movie at home on a TV, the screen barely covers 20 or 30 percent of your field of vision. But in a theater? That aggressive sensory assault on your eyes and ears basically forces you into a state of "suspension of disbelief." It's funny, really. Much like how people used to look for deep, cosmic meaning in lightning bolts and thunderstorms, modern folks seem just as willing to bow down to laser swords and high-end special effects.

.s. I think I finally found my train of thought. Most movies just take everyday things and crank them up to eleven to actually keep an audience awake. It’s pretty standard stuff you learn in film school. If a car flips over, you don't just show the metal denting; you make the whole thing explode. If a character is terrified, you don't tell the actor to freeze up; you tell them to scream. If they're angry, you don't have them tapping their fingers impatiently; you have them smashing vases. If they're head over heels in love, you don't just give them a longing stare; you have them diving into each other's arms.

Well, you added that part later... so just a quick thought. You're pivoting toward dramaturgy here, and there’s really one rule to it: an event only "broadcasts" new information if something actually happens. If nothing moves, there's no info, which means boredom. Like in
Lost in Translation.
Since we're talking about this supposed isolation... calling this movie isolated feels a bit forced. I mean, whenever you visit a foreign country, you feel isolated. Where's the subtlety? Using that as the central theme for this film feels a little silly to me. That whole idea of feeling isolated in a foreign land 🙄 is just... wow, what a genius move. 😁

If you want a real movie about isolation, go watch the Assassination of Richard Nixon. Then come back and let me know so we can talk more about it.

Paradigm, huh? I guess what they mean is that most movies follow the exact same formula—you know, the predictable beats we’ve all seen a thousand times. People get used to that rhythm, it becomes background noise. Then along comes something that breaks the pattern. Something that actually hits different. It targets a completely different part of the brain.

Like I said before, I had a feeling the conversation would head in this direction... which is fine, I guess. But honestly, people haven't quite wrapped their heads around it yet. Even Aristotle understood that the "three-act structure" is basically the bedrock of literary work. That concept of "structure" you mentioned? It’s pretty much hardwired into us—it's baked into our perception, our cognitive processes, our entire nervous system. Generally speaking, any art form that relies on time—theater, movies, music, literature, even high fashion couture—can be broken down into three phases: the setup, the conflict, and the resolution. Of course, that only applies if the artist actually intends to communicate something. If they don't, then we're just dealing with something unfinished or incomplete. Though, looking at films like Lost in Translation, it isn't even really about being "incomplete." For something to truly feel unfinished, there has to be at least some indication that an intelligent attempt was made to say something meaningful in the first place.

I mean... I wouldn't exactly be against it. Actually, if anything, some of my favorite moments as a viewer happen when a movie leaves these intentional "gaps" in the narrative. You know, those expertly placed holes that aren't just mistakes, but rather calculated choices. It gives you room to fill them in with your own perspective, your own history, or just whatever vibe you're feeling at the moment. It lets the art become something uniquely yours. Those kinds of films are rare, though. And unfortunately, this one just isn't that kind of movie.

How much of a jerk was I being with that comment earlier?

On my scale of roughly "0.75 Maristella69"... 😁
You probably still need to eat some processed deli meat to recover 😉

But seriously though... I’m curious about this pattern. And I think we can all agree there's this general tendency where people take someone else's dislike a little too personally, which then leads to them—maybe even unconsciously—trying to devalue the other person's opinion. Full disclosure, though: if it were anyone else besides Maristella69, I wouldn't care, but since we usually have pretty similar takes on movies, I guess I felt a tiny bit guilty. 😉 😁

I find conversations between two neighborhood moms carrying groceries onto a bus at 8 AM way more riveting than anything involving Bill and Scarlett.

On that same scale... this definitely earns a "5 Maristella69" 😁

Or maybe just a general lack of cinematic literacy?

😁

there isn't really a standard paradigm to help us decide how to value a movie.

That’s a bit of a heavy statement... what Americans might call "demeaning" if you ask anyone who hated this film—people who actually think watching it was just a total waste of time.

So, I have to wonder... what exactly would that paradigm be? Though, I have my suspicions.

//ps. demeaning—it's basically a polite way of dismissing the opinions of people who supposedly didn't "get" the movie (not that there's much to get, but let's not go there). By "politely" invalidating someone's take like that, you're implicitly saying, "if they had understood it, they would have liked it"—which is just a circular argument. It feels less like a critique and more like pure patronizing, or as Americans would put it, being downright condescending.

Man... I am so glad I didn't reply to Smudj on the Chuck Palahniuk
Literary Themes thread. I'm actually shivering just thinking about how easily I could have taken the bait when Smudj threw out that little hook: "And you won't tell me anything, will you, lumberjack?"😁 It was such a calculated move...

🙄

I guess I can't be the first one to kick off a thread anymore, thank God... 😁

Well, it's fine, really... I was just hoping to catch Kilmer in something along the lines of Salton Sea. Not exactly my thing, but whatever... anyway, moving on... I'm actually holding out for Bang, Bang, Kiss, Kiss... word is it's actually decent.

Dumb & Dumber

😁

Psycho

🤣

Solid connection there.

This could actually turn into a pretty fun little game... maybe try finding a thread on Reddit and linking it to a specific movie.

Like, be cool

..who knows, maybe those Canadians will actually pull something off...

Anything can happen, I guess... 😁

BTW, you find all sorts of things on Reddit—like this: Monkeys prequel or Episode One - 11 Monkeys 😉 😁 just kiddin' 🙂

Oh man, I was laughing so hard... honestly, I thought I might actually get kicked out of the theater. Luckily, there were only about seven or eight of us in there at the time. So, this guy goes back to grab his wallet—after that whole ridiculous moment where he has to handle everything himself, which is always how it goes for me—and the guy is just acting all aggressive and crude, total jerk vibes. It’s pretty obvious she staged the whole thing just to "catch" her husband with some younger guy. Then the camera pans over toward the wallet, slides past the TV screen, and right there on the TV... just Bush, making this incredibly stupid face...

Not to spoil the mood 😉 but that joke is a little long-winded, don't you think? 😁

Man... I just can't stand Wild at Heart because of Nicolas Cage.

😲 With anyone else in the lead, it probably would've felt more like Lost in Translation 😁

I mean, come on... who else could have pulled it off?

el Duderino... 👍 (it was just like that back in the 90s) 😉

In his life, there was really just one way of looking at things—the Hero angle.

There was actually a stretch of time in his life where Hero wasn't even in the picture. It isn't the cause, really... more like the consequence.