I disagree that the systems are the same. On the sandwich bit, yes, they might, but on the flip side they are opposite. The Good Place voided deeds done for the purpose of getting 'points', for example. Further, in The Good Place you lost points for doing things out of spite/malice/hate, and my system does not care.
In my system, as long as the result improves overall well being, it counts. Technically, a serial killer could have a really high score if they tortured and murdered... oh, say, people who order their underlings to cut costs such that those underlings demand faster delivery times such that delivery drivers stop trucks in the street thereby blocking traffic for everyone rather than waste the driver's time by pulling into driveways. Corporate profits, baby! Fewer drivers needed! <-- the maniac killing people who are about to implement such a scheme would have a huge score.
kinda, but I want to see the result with no interest in their motivations. I don't care if you're a kindly gramma who bakes cookies for the neighbor kids if that is outweighed by your church donations that (unbeknownst to gramma) fund hate groups. Nor do I care if you spitefully convince your county/borough to designate your hated neighbor's property a 'wetland' such that the land loses value and can't be developed.
Perhaps the Swiss have better social safety nets? The U.S. loves the idea that you can lift yourself by your own bootstraps (you can't), and loves rugged individualism (you are alone). If an individual falls -- or feels like they've fallen -- there's not much help. There's guns, though.
Quality of Life impact: How much damage (or benefit) their actions (work, lifestyle, whatever) have done for the net quality of life across the globe. I figure anyone who drives to work is probably doing a little more harm than good, but perhaps they make up for it by being a good school teacher or something, whereas AI coders might make things worse ... but mostly I'd like to see if ANY world leaders score in the positive.
One of my grandmothers had secret recipes, but when realized her time was coming to an end she taught each of her daughters different ones. So one was taught these sauces, another those desserts, and the other some special entrees. Of course the daughters got together and trained one another, but that was the point.
This is the important part. Modern Brussels sprouts are NOT your grandma's sprouts from the 1990s or earlier. From wikipedia :
In the 1990s, the Dutch scientist Hans van Doorn identified the chemicals that make Brussels sprouts bitter: sinigrin and progoitrin.[11] This enabled Dutch seed companies to cross-breed archived low-bitterness varieties with modern high-yield varieties
I try not to do it at all because when I do, it feels like every step is wearing away the fabric of my socks. It feels like I am making holes in them -- especially the heel. Do not want.
Ramona (1928): silent, gorgeous - 1/2 native girl adopted by evil step mom is loved by son (badly remade in 1936), driven off by mom, suffers.
Navajo (1952): Navajo boy rejects the white man's school in semi-documentary style flick from white POV. Infuriating that white POV is presumed proper, so worth seeing.
Devil's Doorway (1950): U.S. veteran Indian tries to use the law to keep whites off his land. Recommended
The Exiles (1961): Semi-documentary of a night with Native Americans and their struggles. Sad and dull.
Powwow Highway (1989): Not perfect, but an interesting look at modern issues.
Dracula (1931): Bela Lugosi. Eminently rewatchable. Highly recommended
Dracula’s Daughter (1936): Rather good follow-up where she is sent to a psych because they think she's crazy, not undead. Recommended.
The Bat (1959): Not great, but good unscrupulous characters (Vincent Price etc.).
Mother Joan of the Angels (1961) (Matka Joanna od Aniołów): Like The Devils, but not raunchy. Probably source the material. Highly recommended . ::: spoiler Minor ending spoiler
At one point in film, we hear that the abbey bell calls out to the lost, and in the final scene, we see them toll yet only hear a nun sobbing. chef's kiss
:::
Cure (1997) (キュア): Like Pontypool, but no zombies. People are commit murders without knowing why. Cops investigate.
Ganja & Hess (1973): Vampire movie, but much more. There are several cuts, but this was the restored version the director, Bill Gunn, intended. It is atmospheric and relates to: heritage of American black culture from Africa compared to the modern heritage of the Church, predation, class issues, and so on.
Chang'an (2023) (长安三万里): Animated. Like Pocahontas in that it is supposed to be historical, but for Chinese general Gao Shi at Chang'an, explaining his lifelong friendship with famous poet while the enemy closes in. A bit too long, but it would have felt longer if not so light.
I'm retired. I usually watch a movie around brunch-time and then another in the evening -- and obviously sometimes I'll watch a couple more, too.
If someone actually wanted to spend time watching movies, the trick is to watch stuff from other times and places because even the standard boy-meets-girl story has interesting details when set in, say, 1940s Italy versus 1970s Detroit.
I watched a set of Marcello Mastroianni movies. He's been in over 100 flicks and a lot of them are pretty bad, so I tried to pick from the top rated ones I'd not yet seen.
The Friend (2024): Many women talk about the dead guy and the live dog. It does a good job of handling conflicting feelings during a time of loss. Recommended.
Joyland (جوائے لینڈ) (2022): Quiet film of a patriarchal family whose youngest son joins a burlesque show and falls for a strong-willed transgender woman, further complicating family relations, especially with his wife.
Green Book (2018): A bouncer drives African-American classical pianist Dr. Donald Shirley through the South. Great acting from Mahershala Ali and Viggo Mortensen. Forgive it for being "remarkably conventional and shallow in its treatment of racism" as it is based off real-life stories the driver told his son, who has a writing credit for the movie. Their NYC-Italian POV is valid, if shallow.
The Big Gay Musical (2009): While working on an off-broadway show, the lives of two men mirror the characters they are playing. Skip it.
A Petal (1996) (꽃잎): A fictionalized tale of how a girl reacted to the trauma of the 1980 Gwangju massacre. This film spurred the Korean public to demand the truth behind the incident, and their government eventually opened previously classified files on the massacre. I have issues with the film, but felt the need to watch.
A Taxi Driver (택시운전사) 2017 : Lighter than the previous. Based on a real-life story, the film follows a taxi driver from Seoul who unintentionally becomes involved in the events of the Gwangju Uprising in 1980. It draws on the experiences of German journalist Jürgen Hinzpeter and his interactions with driver Kim Man-seob. All of Man-seob's details are fictional because no one could find him until his son saw the movie and realized it was about his dad.
Manichitrathazhu (1993) (മണിച്ചിത്രത്താഴ്): Hailing from a family that follows tradition and superstitions, Thampi objects to his nephew's idea of moving into a haunted mansion. The warning ignored, things get spooky. Recommended.
Stalker (1979) (Сталкер): THIS IS STILL THE BEST MOVIE! Filled with despair.
Mastroianni movies:
The Organizer (1963) (I compagni): Former teacher-turned-unionist (Mastroianni) tries to organize workers laboring with inhuman conditions at a textile factory. Tense and true. Highly Recommended.
Ginger and Fred (1986): Old dance partners rejoin for TV special and comment on aging, societal change, the entertainment industry and more.
Le Notti Bianche (1957) (White Nights): A middle-aged man meets a young woman who is waiting on for her lover's return after a year apart. Will he sway her? Will the lover return? Highly Recommended.
8½ (1963) : Not my favorite Fellini, but others rate it highly.
Divorce Italian Style (1961) (Divorzio all'italiana) : Comedy about a husband who falls for sexy niece, but since Catholics can't divorce, the only option is murder.
I love watching movies based off a unifying element (actor/director/theme/etc.). I've seen a couple films he was in, but not the ones you mention. Of those 6, could you recommend two worth watching (possibly for historical interest or acting even if the movie isn't great) and two to skip?
Killers of the Flower Moon (2023): Native Americans, especially the women, get murdered, but the movie is about white guys stealing native wealth.
The Substance (2024): Y'all had me hoping there'd be more to this than body horror. It isn't allegory, it's cartoons. See Sunset Boulevard instead.
Revenge (2018): Sexy chick has to fight. Sexy blood & gore. Not empowering.
Poetry (시) (2010): Director Lee Chang-dong. Working grandma is sliding into dementia when grandson in her care does bad. She joins a poetry class as she tries to resolve issues while she still can. Highly Recommended.
Peppermint Candy (박하사탕) (2000): Director Lee Chang-dong moves us backwards through a man's life to see how he evolved, going back through and before the Gwangju Uprising of 1980. Highly Recommended.
To Live (活着) Huo zhe (1994): Director Yimou Zhang tracks married couple and the art of their shadow puppets through revolutionary times from landowner to peasantry and beyond. Recommended.
I also went on a Jacques Tourneur binge because Cat People was airing on TV and I love Out of the Past and Berlin Express, so I watched a bunch of his early stuff. They are generally well paced, well shot, and easy to watch without needing much search for hidden meanings. Before I list what I watched of his, here's a bit on the man:
Tourneur began work as an editor and assistant director. He made his debut as a director on the French film Tout ça ne vaut pas l'amour [fr] in 1931. In 1934, Tourneur went to Hollywood, where MGM Studios put him under contract.
He was hired to run the second unit for David O. Selznick's A Tale of Two Cities (1935), where he first met Val Lewton. In 1942, when Lewton was named to head the new horror unit at RKO, he asked Tourneur to be his first director. The result was the highly artistic (and commercially successful) Cat People (1942). Tourneur went on to direct masterpieces in many different genres, all showing a great command of mood and atmosphere.
Cat People (1942): First solo U.S. film by director Jacques Tourneur. Serbian émigré thinks a curse will turn her into a cat if she's intimate/impure.
The Leopard Man (1943): Tourneur was told to make a sequel. Escaped leopard blamed for deaths, but is it?
Curse of the Cat People (1944): NOT Tourneur, but Gunther von Fritsch takes most the original Cat People cast and does an actual sequel. Lovely.
Days of Glory (1944): Tourney has Gregory Peck as lead Russian in guerrilla cell fighting Nazis.
Experiment Perilous (1944): (Tourneur) Mixed up bags give a man insight into a family's dysfunction as he falls for the wife.
Easy Living (1949) : Doctors tell football star to ease up or die. His wife wants fame, so what to do? (Trigger warning: domestic violence -- and it is excused).
Stars in My Crown (1950): Nostalgic look at a small town and its pastor from the POV of the orphan who loves him.
Great Day in the Morning (1956): Southern drifter wins Denver hotel in card game at start of Civil War. He'd rather make money than pick sides, and the women love him. This time the orphan is the fault of the lead. Worst of the Tourneur set.
I guess I phrased that badly. The viewer will feel callbacks. The director had not seen a nuclear facility fail, but we've since seen an exclusion zone like the one in the movie and it is eerily similar. Obviously the director couldn't know that in the future (now) we'd have this comparison to make.
This was a heavy Brit week for me with a few from India thrown in.
Wicked (2024): Half of a musical needing its 'part 2'.
The Life of Chuck (2024): Thanks to y'a'll for recommending this. Poignant.
Sita Sings the Blues (2008): Animated. Indian tale of Sita, wife to Ramayana, as told by modern people trying to remember the details and interspersed with the 1920s Annette Hanshaw singing.
Good Bye, Lenin! (2003): German. East German mom wakes from coma after Berlin wall falls, so son pretends they're still divided.
Pyaasa (1957) प्यासा (aka Thirst): Indian. Highly Recommended. Director Guru Dutt also stars in his own most-celebrated film (see also Paper Flowers).
Don (1978) डॉन : Bollywood singing/dancing crime thriller with Pauper/Prince motif except with a crime lord instead of a prince. Pretty good for what it is.
He Ran All the Way (1951): beautifully shot, tense, but so much melodrama.
Any Wednesday (1966): Flick about cheating exec tries for funny but is cringe.
Crooks and Coronets (1969) aka Sophie's Place: Telly Savalas is a crook who likes the Brits he's supposed to rob. Okay, but skippable.
Inside Out (1975): Skippable Comedy/Thriller where crooks try to steal Nazi gold. Telly Savalas, Robert Culp, James Mason, and so on. Yawn.
From Beyond the Grave (1974): Brit ghost-y shorts tied together by Peter Cushing's curio shop. Good for its (now-dated) type.
Die! Die! My Darling! (1965): Brit thriller/camp fave. Tallulah Bankhead is a strict religious crone grieving her dead son and so she takes his once-fiancee captive.
When The Wind Blows (1986): Animated. Elderly British couple chat and prepare their cottage as nuclear war begins. Well done. Mildly recommended.
I disagree that the systems are the same. On the sandwich bit, yes, they might, but on the flip side they are opposite. The Good Place voided deeds done for the purpose of getting 'points', for example. Further, in The Good Place you lost points for doing things out of spite/malice/hate, and my system does not care.
In my system, as long as the result improves overall well being, it counts. Technically, a serial killer could have a really high score if they tortured and murdered... oh, say, people who order their underlings to cut costs such that those underlings demand faster delivery times such that delivery drivers stop trucks in the street thereby blocking traffic for everyone rather than waste the driver's time by pulling into driveways. Corporate profits, baby! Fewer drivers needed! <-- the maniac killing people who are about to implement such a scheme would have a huge score.
kinda, but I want to see the result with no interest in their motivations. I don't care if you're a kindly gramma who bakes cookies for the neighbor kids if that is outweighed by your church donations that (unbeknownst to gramma) fund hate groups. Nor do I care if you spitefully convince your county/borough to designate your hated neighbor's property a 'wetland' such that the land loses value and can't be developed.
Perhaps the Swiss have better social safety nets? The U.S. loves the idea that you can lift yourself by your own bootstraps (you can't), and loves rugged individualism (you are alone). If an individual falls -- or feels like they've fallen -- there's not much help. There's guns, though.
Quality of Life impact: How much damage (or benefit) their actions (work, lifestyle, whatever) have done for the net quality of life across the globe. I figure anyone who drives to work is probably doing a little more harm than good, but perhaps they make up for it by being a good school teacher or something, whereas AI coders might make things worse ... but mostly I'd like to see if ANY world leaders score in the positive.
There are a couple copies on the internet archive, but be warned that a large chunk of source material was home VHS recordings. Warning! Very graphic & torturous stuff: https://archive.org/details/sick1997 & https://archive.org/details/sickllifebob93
I'm sure that's true now , but search engines used to be so much better.
On the continent, they called it aspic. It used to be a thing: https://juliachildfans.com/julia-child-aspic-recipe/
Maybe it still is? (vegan alternative): https://www.realfoods.co.uk/recipe/egg-and-green-pea-vegetarian-aspic-agar-agar-jelly
How to starter bit: https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/food/2010/08/how-do-i-make-lovely-jellies.shtml
Pan fry or outdoor grill. I want that skin blistered and browned.
One of my grandmothers had secret recipes, but when realized her time was coming to an end she taught each of her daughters different ones. So one was taught these sauces, another those desserts, and the other some special entrees. Of course the daughters got together and trained one another, but that was the point.
This is the important part. Modern Brussels sprouts are NOT your grandma's sprouts from the 1990s or earlier. From wikipedia :
I try not to do it at all because when I do, it feels like every step is wearing away the fabric of my socks. It feels like I am making holes in them -- especially the heel. Do not want.
I watch 'em so you don't have to. A bunch of movies about Native Americans in this mix (at end).
Native American movies:
Lots of spooky movies.
At one point in film, we hear that the abbey bell calls out to the lost, and in the final scene, we see them toll yet only hear a nun sobbing. chef's kiss :::
Not spooky:
I'm retired. I usually watch a movie around brunch-time and then another in the evening -- and obviously sometimes I'll watch a couple more, too.
If someone actually wanted to spend time watching movies, the trick is to watch stuff from other times and places because even the standard boy-meets-girl story has interesting details when set in, say, 1940s Italy versus 1970s Detroit.
I watched a set of Marcello Mastroianni movies. He's been in over 100 flicks and a lot of them are pretty bad, so I tried to pick from the top rated ones I'd not yet seen.
Mastroianni movies:
Thank you! I get that you liked all 6, but I also appreciate having a way to narrow down which to make sure to fit in.
I love watching movies based off a unifying element (actor/director/theme/etc.). I've seen a couple films he was in, but not the ones you mention. Of those 6, could you recommend two worth watching (possibly for historical interest or acting even if the movie isn't great) and two to skip?
I also went on a Jacques Tourneur binge because Cat People was airing on TV and I love Out of the Past and Berlin Express, so I watched a bunch of his early stuff. They are generally well paced, well shot, and easy to watch without needing much search for hidden meanings. Before I list what I watched of his, here's a bit on the man:
I guess I phrased that badly. The viewer will feel callbacks. The director had not seen a nuclear facility fail, but we've since seen an exclusion zone like the one in the movie and it is eerily similar. Obviously the director couldn't know that in the future (now) we'd have this comparison to make.
This was a heavy Brit week for me with a few from India thrown in.