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  • Showing only topics with the tag "movies". Back to normal view
    1. What are your favorite soundtracks for films and video games?

      Basically the title. I have seen soundtracks referenced in my searches for ambient music and homework music, but (possibly due to search skills) I didn't find a full discussion focused on this....

      Basically the title. I have seen soundtracks referenced in my searches for ambient music and homework music, but (possibly due to search skills) I didn't find a full discussion focused on this. Thank you.

      35 votes
    2. Good book/TV/movie trackers à la Goodreads

      As part of the ongoing quest to turn everything I enjoy into an exercise in statistical modelling, I had a look around today for a way to track what books I've read and which ones I may be...

      As part of the ongoing quest to turn everything I enjoy into an exercise in statistical modelling, I had a look around today for a way to track what books I've read and which ones I may be interested in. I found a bit of a jumble of things in various states of development, half of which are owned by Amazon (which I'd prefer to avoid) and the other half with incomplete, confusing, and opaquely sourced data.

      I use this kind of service for a handful of other topics, mainly untappd, AniList, and last.fm. I'm only really interested in the ability to keep track of read/watched items - I don't find myself rating things or making complex lists unless I started my journey with a hobby by using one of these systems. Of course for this to work out, it needs to have a fairly comprehensive library. I was unfortunately disappointed with OpenLibrary, which would otherwise be my top pick. I found systems like readarr and calibre a little clunky for this in the past since they're so focused on file management, but I'm open to retrying them.

      Does anyone here have any insights in this space? Not just limited to books, I'm also interested in trackers for TV/Movies. Preferably not owned by a massive company like Amazon, I know a lot of people were disappointed when they deprecated the Goodreads API.

      19 votes
    3. Looking for audiobook ideas that have TV/movies released

      Hey folks! I’m looking for some audiobook ideas (preferably fantasy and science-fiction). I want them to have a TV series or Movie about them though I could watch before listening to them. All...

      Hey folks! I’m looking for some audiobook ideas (preferably fantasy and science-fiction). I want them to have a TV series or Movie about them though I could watch before listening to them.

      All ideas welcome!

      14 votes
    4. Film soundtrack discussion

      Im a soundtrack collector, I have a ton of vinyl and tapes of various quality and I regularly listen to a mixtape or something of film music while doing my work. I lean towards more ambient styles...

      Im a soundtrack collector, I have a ton of vinyl and tapes of various quality and I regularly listen to a mixtape or something of film music while doing my work. I lean towards more ambient styles like Prisoners and Arrival by Johann Johannson (rip) as well as Bladerunner the best soundtrack of all time. Also, im not entirely against pop soundtracks where the studio has just got a load of songs and not written their own but often the album release misses out songs due to rights reasons, so its incomplete.

      today’s top 5: Vangelis’ Bladerunner, JJ’s Arrival, Prisoners, Jerry Goldsmith’s Chinatown and Tangerine Dream’s Sorcerer.

      What are people into? Nothing better than decent headphones and a coffee with a soundtrack.

      23 votes
    5. The horrifying Public Information Films of 1970s Britain

      As far as I can make out, every country has public information films. They rarely pull punches, which is pretty important as their messages are usually important. I remember being terrified by...

      As far as I can make out, every country has public information films. They rarely pull punches, which is pretty important as their messages are usually important. I remember being terrified by Monolith as a child. I still think about It's Thirty For a Reason whenever I drive in suburban areas, and I've seen similar things from New Zealand, Canada and so on. Creative agencies love PIF gigs because you can do so much more than a normal advert/TV spot would allow. People can, and do, go all out on them. They're also ripe for parody

      However, back in the seventies, that's when the UK government went a little... well.. overboard. Imagine showing Lonely Water to actual children. Or Stand Steady, or even Frisbee? I remember being shown films like these at school, from scratchy old VHS tapes on clunky old school TVs. I remember them being broadcast during children's programming time. I remember being irrationally terrified of old fridges even though I've never see a fridge with a lock in my entire life.

      But sure, they're scary topics and sometimes you do need to scare people into not doing stupid stuff that might kill them. There are plenty of examples of scary short PIFs aimed at all ages from their invention right up to the present day. But then there are the longer form movies about safety for children. That's what this post is really about. Let's call these the "unholy trinity" of PIF terror:

      There's the weird time-loop slaughter fest of Building Sites Bite (unfortunately the only copy I could find was a 'reacts' video but it's worth watching)

      Ignoring the of-it's-time but now recognised as problematic "Cowboys and Indians" conceit, Apaches is utterly horrifying.

      Then there's the dystopian awfulness of The Finishing Line

      These films were rated PG (aka safe for kids). They were shown in schools. Not just high schools, but primary (elementary) schools. Although to be fair, someone did get a clue fairly quickly and The Finishing Line was banned and withdrawn in under a year because holy shit.

      I'd be interested to see some of your favourite public information films, please do link them if you have any.

      9 votes