Heidegger

So many fine lists! Film buffery can be as rewarding as gaming. And we all love lists, where we identify similar tastes we may find new interesting recommendations.

1. 2001 - A Space Odyssey

2001 is still widely-regarded as the greatest sci-fi film ever, why then do so few attempt to follow it? The formula is no secret: intelligent and epic with realistic characters playing professional non-emo roles. Contact, Interstellar, Gravity, Arrival etc all failed as they put too much weight on emotional main characters, thinking that's the most effective way to pull the audience in. 2001 proved 50 years ago that's not what we want from our sci-fi: we want grand ideas which tickle the intellect, we don't want to be distracted by one sole character's emotional issues, issues that better suit being handled via a family-drama film. Deep sci-fi as a genre isn't about human emotion: it's about our imagination. 2001 will be lauded in another 50 years time while the afore-mentioned films will be forgotten.

Let's make sci-fi deep again!

2. Excalibur

John Boorman's epic opus, retelling the famous Arthurian tale as fever dream. I get stunning goosepimples just thinking about this film. Featuring the original dramatic use of the incredible Carmina Burana chorus, which despite since being overused in other media still mightily hits home here. Excellent evocative music otherwise too.

3. Oldboy.

Obligatory must-watch in original Korean language with subs! Choi Min-Sik ties with Daniel Day-Lewis (There Will Be Blood) in offering us the greatest of acting performances. Everything else is damn perfect too. Avoid reading about this film online, don't even look at the description. Watch it blindly, you will be stunned.

4. There Will Be Blood.

Proper cinema. TWBB has a gorgeously-effective soundtrack which elevates the hypnotic drama to another level. Day-Lewis is obscenely good, Paul Dano is also outstanding. These two, plus the camera and soundtrack, combine to create high art out of what at first appears to be a humdrum story.

5. Apocalypse Now

Poetic horror. Spellbinding. Watch the original cut if you haven't seen it before. The Redux is good but the film loses its perfect pacing so better save it for the rewatch. While Sheen and crew are effective template characters, it's Brando's Kurtz we remember most. Rare magnetism. Gorgeous locations filmed with expert cine-technique.

6. 1984

The most important novel ever written gets a faithful film adaptation, which necessarily cuts down on the heavy detail while still making us feel the world Orwell intended. Eurythmics may sound somewhat distracting at first, but it eventually fits the future-retro vibe nicely.

7. Pink Floyd's The Wall

Similar to 1984, the greatest album of all time gets a faithful film companion. Bob Geldof surprises with a depth of feeling we never knew he had. If you're not a fan of the album, this picture will probably make no sense. But for fans, it's a beautifully dark work of passion.

8. Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back

It's true what they say: Empire is the best Star Wars, and thus one of the greatest films of all time. As with all original trilogy, watch the "despecialized" edition: original theatrical cuts but with the recent HD remastering.

9. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

The funniest and most accurate portrayal of total psychedelic hedonism. If you've never been in that world, you'll likely not get it.

10. It's a Wonderful Life

I saw this for the first time only last Christmas. Didn't expect much, turns out it's an instant top ten! Gave me a rare manly tear in the eye. A truly wonderful film.

...just missed out: REC 1/2 and 1951's Moby Dick.

the new trailer just dropped:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=GBpq_Jq7yn0

honestly, very cheesy dialogue & voices, annoying tired by-numbers orchestral versions of the soundtrack, too-pretty characters nullifying individuality, worrying trend towards pay-to-win DLC's...hopefully we can select japanese voices with subs, and that the music won't be as incessant-sounding as it seems here.

...and i say that as someone who rates ffvii as best game ever, and even own the original soundtrack on CD (4 CD's even).

Your thoughts?

I don't agree with this, unless you can name & shame? Who do you mean? It's important to field different ideas and objectives. Candace Owens, Alex Jones, Milo Y, Ben Shapiro, Crowder etc all have some good ideas and valuable things to say. They also have some dumb and even downright nasty opinions. Better to reveal themselves that way than only being known by their own channels or short-form interviews. Listeners are mature enough to make up their own minds whether the good ideas outweight the bad or not.

The podcast doesn't really field ultra-leftists who promote the divisive identity-politics agenda, I imagine they don't wanna come on as they only communicate within their echo chambers. Dave Rubin has commented on this before, that those on that left-spectrum (who dominate mainstream media, Twitter etc) always refuse to come on his own long-form debate show. By the way Rubin's show gets old for me real quick. Rogan's has much more variety, as for example we get Carmack and others enthusing about their own specialist subjects.

@nicksgreen: Giant Bomb is a video-game debate forum with slow pacing and thoughtful posters. Recommended for more mature gamers and those who enjoy detailed open discussion.

I've heard it has other stuff too but I never looked.

@efesell: Jordan P himself praises Joe's intellect, saying it is he himself who sometimes feels outclassed, which challenges him in a positive way.

Rogan is easy to under-estimate because he doesn't look like a stereotypical intellectual. Plus the podcasts aren't intended to have winners and losers.

Still, his filler podcasts with his 'comedian' and fighter mates are mostly not worth anyone's time. The ones with political, scientific or specialist fields are however valuable in this soundbitey Twitter-age.

@kmj2318: great and true rebuttal. Freedom of speech means everyone has an equal right to say what they think, and an equal right to be challenged on it. That's what Rogan's podcast does so well. Someone like Milo Y will come across as funny, charming and clever until he makes a crass nasty joke which makes him look like a bit of a dick. Alex Jones will say fascinating things until he goes overboard, making him look a little unhinged. Long-form reveals a lot of true essence about people.

Being worried about 'signal-boosting' and claiming their own beliefs being more important than others just come across as somewhat fascist.

@monkeyking1969: Rogan's mostly a liberal (pro-drugs, pro-abortion, pro-gay marriage etc). He does support gun ownership and has guests on from all shades of the political spectrum.

He's open to all opinions, and admits when he doesn't know stuff, like in this podcast where he admits he only really knows Quake. That's where the guest comes in, to share the specialist knowledge.

Also recommended podcasts are the ones with Matthew Walker (sleep scientist), Sean Carroll (theoretical physicist) and Louis Theroux (documentary maker).

@splodge: great post, wise words! Discussing such things is thankfully becoming more acceptable and encouraged. Check this football forum out and its thread on depression (where everyone is invited, not just Everton fans):

https://www.grandoldteam.com/forum/threads/discussion-help-on-depression-mental-health-related-issues.62441/

That even among the somewhat macho-culture of football fans there can be a kind open discussion (almost 13,000 posts so far) is a sure sign we're collectively heading in the right direction, as is your post :)

@noboners: interesting take. i bought it a few weeks ago due to the hype, at least the price was good. haven't played it yet, hopefully when i do i'll end up mentioning it in the positivity thread rather than this one!

@craigieboy: It's probably more common for adults to develop other interests than those they had as a kid.

Kids ARE fundamentally different to adults, at least until the grey/crossover area of puberty during which kids slowly (very slowly in most cases) morph into adults.