AliveProbably's recent activity

  1. Comment on <deleted topic> in ~humanities

    AliveProbably
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    I do think this is interesting, but it does feel to me that we do have words for a lot of these. Maybe not words that capture the idiom-like quality. Like we have lots of words for people who do...

    I do think this is interesting, but it does feel to me that we do have words for a lot of these. Maybe not words that capture the idiom-like quality. Like we have lots of words for people who do not show interest in things--indifferent, apathetic, impassive, etc--and while obviously the term "I-don't-care-ist" is not an existing term, it's still translatable as far as I can tell.

    I couldn't think of a parallel to "insortable", "aktivansteher", "ochtendhumeur" though. We've got some words that come close, but I don't think seem to capture the connotation.

    10 votes

  2. Comment on The Lion King | Official teaser trailer in ~movies

    AliveProbably
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    The CG is just stunning. The animals in the Jungle Book emoted pretty clearly, but none of them were the main character, so it will be interesting to see how that is handled. I kinda wish I could...

    The CG is just stunning. The animals in the Jungle Book emoted pretty clearly, but none of them were the main character, so it will be interesting to see how that is handled. I kinda wish I could watch a cut of this teaser styling itself as a nature documentary without knowing it was Lion King, just to see if my brain would accept it as real or not.

    The original Lion King was a huge smash--it's hard to overstate how much. Even today it stands at #8 of the highest grossing animated films of all time. You have to get to #47 to reach another film before 2000, Toy Story 2. I remember the trailer for it just being the opening "Circle of Life" and how entrancing that was. And then Disney trying to recapture that with Dinosaur and just... not.

    2 votes

  3. Comment on "Framed": She was the PTA mom everyone knew. Who would want to harm her? in ~life

    AliveProbably
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    Yes, exactly. That's how I see it too. It's not like all people aren't capable of the same kinds of crimes, but it's more what the environment is conducive towards.

    Yes, exactly. That's how I see it too. It's not like all people aren't capable of the same kinds of crimes, but it's more what the environment is conducive towards.

    1 vote

  4. Comment on "Framed": She was the PTA mom everyone knew. Who would want to harm her? in ~life

    AliveProbably
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    Oh, I'm not saying framing in general, that happens everywhere. I'm saying that the type of parent it breeds--like the easily offended, litigious, conniving kind. This is just coming from my...

    Oh, I'm not saying framing in general, that happens everywhere. I'm saying that the type of parent it breeds--like the easily offended, litigious, conniving kind. This is just coming from my personal experience in childcare. You could usually guess what kind of trouble you'd get from kind of parent.

    1 vote

  5. Comment on "Framed": She was the PTA mom everyone knew. Who would want to harm her? in ~life

    AliveProbably
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    Yes that absolutely stuck out to me. As badly put together as their revenge plot was, had this been a less affluent neighborhood or a less sympathetic victim it probably would have worked. Of...

    Yes that absolutely stuck out to me. As badly put together as their revenge plot was, had this been a less affluent neighborhood or a less sympathetic victim it probably would have worked. Of course, this specific brand of crazy seems to permeate this kind of neighborhood more, so perhaps they walk hand-in-hand. It does make me wonder what other things this couple might have staged and gotten away with in their past.

    2 votes

  6. Comment on "Framed": She was the PTA mom everyone knew. Who would want to harm her? in ~life

    AliveProbably
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    This is a pretty famous story that is being adapted into a movie, but if you haven't read it, it's incredibly engrossing. I think it's definitely worth it to read it beginning-to-end as intended...

    This is a pretty famous story that is being adapted into a movie, but if you haven't read it, it's incredibly engrossing. I think it's definitely worth it to read it beginning-to-end as intended by the author Christopher Goffard, but if you want to know how inconsequential the slight was--the victim said the perpetrator's son was "slow to line up" when being called to come into the building. That's it, that's the slight that two successful lawyers needed to plan the stupidest revenge plot ever.

    2 votes

  8. Comment on 'That time Disney remade Beauty and the Beast' - On Disney's ongoing live action remake trend in ~movies

    AliveProbably
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    I don't think any genre movies truly die. We still get the occasional western or noir movie after all, and the heyday of those films are well over. I think for me it sticks out more for musicals...

    I don't think any genre movies truly die. We still get the occasional western or noir movie after all, and the heyday of those films are well over. I think for me it sticks out more for musicals because--well first because I like that genre a lot, but mostly because musicals are more flexible. You could do a superhero musical or a western musical or a historical drama musical, but that's where that pigeonholing comes in. Can't have people singing about their problems, that's for kids and also girls. Well I hate it and I want everyone to sing about their problems.

  9. Comment on 'That time Disney remade Beauty and the Beast' - On Disney's ongoing live action remake trend in ~movies

    AliveProbably
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    Hm, I didn't think about the dubbing aspect. You're right, that's remarkably harder to adapt than spoken dialogue. I don't think it's too much of a concern, since Disney's animation branch is...

    Hm, I didn't think about the dubbing aspect. You're right, that's remarkably harder to adapt than spoken dialogue. I don't think it's too much of a concern, since Disney's animation branch is still more than happy to produce musicals. But then, Disney attracts hordes of talent for people who specifically want to make musicals...

    I shared this below, but you might want to watch the essayist of this post, Lindsay Ellis, talk about the death of the movie musical here.

    1 vote

  10. Comment on 'That time Disney remade Beauty and the Beast' - On Disney's ongoing live action remake trend in ~movies

    AliveProbably
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    While I don't hate autotone on its own merits--sometimes styles that can only be produced through a computer sound great--I don't think BatB (or The Greatest Showman) were trying to go for that...

    While I don't hate autotone on its own merits--sometimes styles that can only be produced through a computer sound great--I don't think BatB (or The Greatest Showman) were trying to go for that style. They were, as @cfabbro says, trying to compensate for hiring famous actors, not good singers.

    In my personal unsubstantiated opinion, the reason why the movie musical remains dead to this day is not because there is no good musicals to adapt, but because Hollywood has no producers who are remotely competent when it comes to music.

    Actually, it's funny you say that because I debated on whether to link the BatB video or this video on the death of Hollywood musicals. You should watch it, I actually think it's more interesting than the BatB one (just less topical).

    Honestly... this might sound a bit much, but I do think part of the reason movie musicals are having trouble establishing themselves is because more and more we have been culturally stamping certain genres and ideas and tropes as being feminine and girly while at the same time continuing to pressure men and women to reject feminine things. Think about all the scorn and derision heaped on the Mamma Mia sequel.

    But then again, another part of that is women are showing a more discriminating taste when it comes to genres that appeal to them, and those same genres are almost always produced without a lot of feminine input... that is, Hollywood makes movies for women that don't exactly appeal to women, leading Hollywood to read it as "wow women must not like movies".

    Sorry, that's a bit of a tangent. Anyway, yes, I do love movie musicals, and it is certainly disappointing that the few we get somehow manage to miss the mark musically. Even La La Land, which has some great songs, is led by two people who can't sing.

    2 votes

  11. Comment on What are you thankful for? in ~talk

    AliveProbably
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    My succulent collection is looking pretty good, relatively speaking. Starting with just a few 2" plants now I've got several little collections and lots more cuttings I'm hoping will root. I know...

    My succulent collection is looking pretty good, relatively speaking. Starting with just a few 2" plants now I've got several little collections and lots more cuttings I'm hoping will root. I know it's not a lifechanging thing, but it's really rewarding seeing something come together to match the vision you had in your head.

    6 votes

  12. Comment on 'That time Disney remade Beauty and the Beast' - On Disney's ongoing live action remake trend in ~movies

    AliveProbably
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    It's so hard for me to talk about the live action BatB soundtrack because on the one hand, I actually like some of the live action versions more and the new songs I think are all very good... on...

    It's so hard for me to talk about the live action BatB soundtrack because on the one hand, I actually like some of the live action versions more and the new songs I think are all very good... on the other, the soundtrack is the same style of overproduced the rest of the movie is. By which I mean, the autotune. Evermore is a beautiful song, crippled by the weird hollow computerized "Beast" voice they put over the singer (in comparison, the Josh Groban version ends up shining). And... I mean I don't have to say anything about Emma Watson's singing that hasn't been said.

    In an ideal world, we'd get a great soundtrack and a great movie, but I worry that these things can end up being incompatible because of why the movies are made like they are. That is, if the movie isn't made for its own merits, then it's going to end up being the overproduced mess that BatB was. If it is made for its own merits, then whether or not there's music is going to come down to whether they think that will serve the movie... and Disney seems more interested in hiring big name directors who aren't exactly interested in movie musicals.

    3 votes

  13. Comment on 'That time Disney remade Beauty and the Beast' - On Disney's ongoing live action remake trend in ~movies

    AliveProbably
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    While this video has a lot of entertaining complaining about the live action remake, I found the most interesting part of the video is the history that led us here. Worth watching, considering the...

    While this video has a lot of entertaining complaining about the live action remake, I found the most interesting part of the video is the history that led us here. Worth watching, considering the marketing for Dumbo is ramping up and there are five others on the horizon for the next year and a half.

    I did find that she articulated really well my feelings on Disney's "no, she's feminist now!" version of Belle--that is, it's not to disparage strong female role models or anything, but rather Disney's rather patronizing way of "fixing" Belle. That bit starts here.

    7 votes

  15. Comment on Tildes, what are your thoughts on the "Earth Strike" movement that's currently being organized? in ~talk

    AliveProbably
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    I don't disagree, but we wouldn't need the collective willpower needed to enact these changes if we chose to just exert it at select times--when we vote. That's the beauty of a representative...

    I don't disagree, but we wouldn't need the collective willpower needed to enact these changes if we chose to just exert it at select times--when we vote. That's the beauty of a representative system, you're electing others to do the caring for you. You just, you know... need to do the electing.

    To that point, I think it's far more important to combat voter apathy in service to environmental reform, than it is to hold protests and strikes, admirable though they are.

    1 vote