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PaperclipPerfector  3mo ago (text post)   2609 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for January 31, 2025

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

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I don't normally watch war or action movies, but I watched Black Hawk Down (2001) last night. And it's fantastic. Ridley Scott used to really know how to make movies. He's made several that figure somewhere on my top 50 list. Blade Runner, Gladiator, Spy Game (edit: this is by the other Scott), Kingdom of Heaven, and Black Hawk Down. In recent years he has shat the bed, reportedly , with both Napoleon and Gladiator 2 (haven't watched them myself and don't know if I will). Did he fall into some ideological trap or what happened?

Anyhow, I was both thrilled and touched by BHD. The music is fantastic (Hans Zimmer). And the cast has so many good actors. Might actually watch it again with the commentary track on.

I can't speak for Scott in particular, but there's a known issue where a creative type gets too successful and then starts being allowed to do whatever they want, with nobody around to tell them, "this one thing is dumb and your movie/book/etc will be better without it," and it turns out they really did produce better work when they were subject to external veto.

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