2015 Off Topic Thread

[Luke]

I think the idea of the movie was good, but the actual movie sucked. Like the idea of the move Runner Runner was good, but the movie blew bad

[Ludo]

I know the point of it was to give credence to the open ended spectrum of interpretation, but that Apollo 11 shit was just retarded. I don't think Kubrick is some kind of artsy genius in the sense that he "knew" people would read farther into shit than was ever intended, I just think he was the kind of artsy genius who just went off what felt right to him, or what made the most sense to him.

I completely understand why he didn't even finish the documentary. He didn't make the films so that thirty something years down the road a bunch of tin foil hat wearing assholes who call themselves fans would sit around talking about him as something other than an artist or a visionary. Not that he's necessarily only up to hearing praise, but calling him the guy who faked the lunar landing footage is kind of akin to calling him the second shooter on the grassy knoll.

I do truly think, without having watched the whole thing of course, that if the other theories are anything like the Apollo 11 theory, that the documentary doesn't have much to offer me. I get the feeling it's more about tearing the movie apart and analyzing it in small enough pieces that they can then manipulate to fit any puzzle they want. I get the feeling I wasn't far off when I commented about psuedo-intellectuals who need to find some kind of deeper meaning in every little thing. For them a hole in the ground has to lead to DB Coopers money, or the mouth of hell, or an underground civilization. It can't just be a hole in the ground to them.

There's something to be said about people who try to connect dots that aren't there.

[SPX]

Think the guy that wrote the book and someone who actually worked on the movie trumps the opinion of an Entertainment Weekly reporter.

If any of it had made sense, it might have been good. Saying Brian O Connor and Dom were gay lovers would have been more believable that the stuff that movie made up

You didn't think the idea about the overturned red VW was compelling?

[SPX]

I know the point of it was to give credence to the open ended spectrum of interpretation, but that Apollo 11 shit was just retarded. I don't think Kubrick is some kind of artsy genius in the sense that he "knew" people would read farther into shit than was ever intended, I just think he was the kind of artsy genius who just went off what felt right to him, or what made the most sense to him.

I completely understand why he didn't even finish the documentary. He didn't make the films so that thirty something years down the road a bunch of tin foil hat wearing assholes who call themselves fans would sit around talking about him as something other than an artist or a visionary. Not that he's necessarily only up to hearing praise, but calling him the guy who faked the lunar landing footage is kind of akin to calling him the second shooter on the grassy knoll.

I do truly think, without having watched the whole thing of course, that if the other theories are anything like the Apollo 11 theory, that the documentary doesn't have much to offer me. I get the feeling it's more about tearing the movie apart and analyzing it in small enough pieces that they can then manipulate to fit any puzzle they want. I get the feeling I wasn't far off when I commented about psuedo-intellectuals who need to find some kind of deeper meaning in every little thing. For them a hole in the ground has to lead to DB Coopers money, or the mouth of hell, or an underground civilization. It can't just be a hole in the ground to them.

There's something to be said about people who try to connect dots that aren't there.

If that's how you feel about it, then the movie's not for you. As I've said a few times now, I was fascinated by the Apollo 11 guy and his ideas. He didn't CONVINCE me, but he fascinated me. If it means anything to you, some of the other theories I do think are more plausible (and some less so).

I actually intend to watch it again soon, back-to-back with The Shining.

[Ludo]

If that's how you feel about it, then the movie's not for you. As I've said a few times now, I was fascinated by the Apollo 11 guy and his ideas. He didn't CONVINCE me, but he fascinated me. If it means anything to you, some of the other theories I do think are more plausible (and some less so).

I actually intend to watch it again soon, back-to-back with The Shining.

Some shit is just too "out there" for my suspended disbelief. It's one thing when a movie that's supposed to be fiction does it. But when people are actually proposing these kinds of ideas in all seriousness, it just becomes comical to me in the worst possible way.

[SPX]

Some shit is just too "out there" for my suspended disbelief. It's one thing when a movie that's supposed to be fiction does it. But when people are actually proposing these kinds of ideas in all seriousness, it just becomes comical to me in the worst possible way.

I guess for me it's an exploration of another person's consciousness, and that's interesting. As long as there's an understandable logic to the theories that are presented, and I can at least see how someone reached their conclusions, then I'll find it interesting.

With the Apollo guy, I'm not sure what exactly it is that you've watched so far or how much you've seen, but I feel like there is logic there. I can see how he would put the pieces together and get where he got, even if ultimately he got it wrong.

[Ludo]

I guess for me it's an exploration of another person's consciousness, and that's interesting. As long as there's an understandable logic to the theories that are presented, and I can at least see how someone reached their conclusions, then I'll find it interesting.

With the Apollo guy, I'm not sure what exactly it is that you've watched so far or how much you've seen, but I feel like there is logic there. I can see how he would put the pieces together and get where he got, even if ultimately he got it wrong.

I watched an 11 minute clip that claimed to be from Room 237, a deep voiced guy explaining how he came to that conclusion. But none of it seemed right. I personally didn't see what the fuck he was really getting at until he came right out and said it.

I liken him to those people who believe that Bigfoot is still roaming the backwoods of Appalachia, or that Loch Ness still has a massive prehistoric creature swimming in it that nobody has been able to snag clear visual evidence of. Sometimes people WANT something to be true so badly that they start looking for ways to prove it, without actually proving it It's a logical fallacy, no matter how swathed in would-be-evidence, or feigned coincidence. Much in the same way a self fulfilling prophecy works.

[Luke]

There's something to be said about people who try to connect dots that aren't there.

There is . They are called paranoid schizophrenics

[Luke]

You didn't think the idea about the overturned red VW was compelling?

No. Was more surprised that they didn't try to connent two German cars as a symbol of the Holocast

[SPX]

I watched an 11 minute clip that claimed to be from Room 237, a deep voiced guy explaining how he came to that conclusion. But none of it seemed right. I personally didn't see what the fuck he was really getting at until he came right out and said it.

Can you post the clip?

I liken him to those people who believe that Bigfoot is still roaming the backwoods of Appalachia, or that Loch Ness still has a massive prehistoric creature swimming in it that nobody has been able to snag clear visual evidence of. Sometimes people WANT something to be true so badly that they start looking for ways to prove it, without actually proving it It's a logical fallacy, no matter how swathed in would-be-evidence, or feigned coincidence. Much in the same way a self fulfilling prophecy works.

I think it's possible a Bigfoot-like creature is out there somewhere. Nessie is less likely.

In any case, I don't get worked out about these things. I am open to the possibility of a lot of things beyond our current understanding of the world we live in.

[Ludo]

Can you post the clip?




I think it's possible a Bigfoot-like creature is out there somewhere. Nessie is less likely.

In any case, I don't get worked out about these things. I am open to the possibility of a lot of things beyond our current understanding of the world we live in.

I don't personally believe that there's a freakishly large, bipedal creature covered in fur, roaming around the wilderness that so many people claim to have seen, yet can't produce a single clear photo of the thing, despite the advances in camera and trail cam technology. That's just too much "perfect storm" action going on for the better part of the last fifty years for me. I know we still find new species in the Amazon and shit all the time, but there's ton of very hostile, and hard to get to areas in the Amazon, and most of those species are small insects and plants. This is an upright walking ape-like creature that stands between 8 and 10 feet tall. Pretty hard to miss. Appalachia is pretty much fully known by now since we've been settled in it now for over 300 years.

I'm all for believing in possibilities, but it just doesn't seem likely that such a thing could have gone un-photographed clearly for so long in such a relatively easily accessible area.

[SPX]

Hmm, yep. That's from the movie. And you didn't find it interesting? That's strange to me.

You also said, "I personally didn't see what the fuck he was getting at until he came right out and said it," but at 1:02 he says, ". . . and this deeper story has its birth, I guess, with this idea that Stanley Kubrick was involved with faking the Apollo moon landing." So it should've been clear early on.

In any case, perhaps a 9 minute clip taken out of context with the rest of the film isn't the best way to experience that particular theory. But there IS logic to it. Having seen all of Room 237 and looked into the idea beyond just that one film, it more or less goes like this, with each point building upon the last:

1. Having lost to the Russians in just about every other facet of the space race, the US government was willing to do just about anything to beat them to the moon, including faking the moon landing.

2. The government/NASA knew that a convincing moon landing could be staged because in 1968 Stanley Kubrick had come out with a movie (2001: A Space Odyssey) that realistically portrayed men on the moon, using a technique called front screen projection. If shot in grainy B&W, this sort of footage would be sure to fool the common person.

3. The moon footage appears to show evidence of the front screen projection technique, tying the footage to Kubrick.

4. NASA later lent a series of 50mm light-sensitive Zeiss prime lenses to Kubrick for use on his 1975 film Barry Lyndon, implying an existing relationship between Kubrick and the space agency.

5. In The Shining, Kubrick then encoded clues to his involvement as a sort of confession to the American people.

If you don't BELIEVE it, then I am with you. But if you say it's not INTERESTING or THOUGHT PROVOKING or ENTERTAINING, then you've lost me because I find it to be all of those things.

[Luke]

^^^I think its thought provoking, but to me, there just wasn't enough evidence to make it interesting.......if that makes sense. I never had that "oh damn" moment when watching it. It was more like "mehh, I don't think that's what he meant" when they pointed out something. I think it was even worse that they just kept jumping from subject to subject. Had they stayed on one subject....and had more evidence...I think they could have done better.

I like alternate meanings. The Signs write up you posted was interesting. It was taken from different parts of the movie and made sense. This one just didn't do it for me

[Luke]

And God damn you, Ludo!!! I had my movie all set up last night to wathc Oldboy, started it, and that damn shit was in subtitles.

I don't do subtitles.

[SPX]

And God damn you, Ludo!!! I had my movie all set up last night to wathc Oldboy, started it, and that damn shit was in subtitles.

I don't do subtitles.

Oldboy is an excellent movie. You really should get over the subtitle thing and just watch it.