smoontjes's recent activity

  1. Comment on What creative projects have you been working on? in ~creative

  2. Comment on TV Tuesdays Free Talk in ~tv

    smoontjes
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    Shrinking - 8/10 Watched season 1 over the past week and it's giving me a ton of laugh out loud moments, even some where I can't breathe for a moment! Some of the drama parts are quite mediocre...

    Shrinking - 8/10

    Watched season 1 over the past week and it's giving me a ton of laugh out loud moments, even some where I can't breathe for a moment! Some of the drama parts are quite mediocre though I know that's secondary to the comedy. Funniest show I've watched in years!

    Season 2 is apparently starting to roll out but a 30-minute show on a weekly basis doesn't really interest me, sorry/not sorry, so I'll wait until the whole thing is out. Looking forward to it though!

    2 votes

  3. Comment on Midweek Movie Free Talk in ~movies

    smoontjes
    (edited )
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    Gladiator II - 7/10 It's out internationally but not in NA yet so I'll keep this little review as vague as possible. Saw it with a friend two days ago. It was thoroughly entertaining throughout...

    Gladiator II - 7/10

    It's out internationally but not in NA yet so I'll keep this little review as vague as possible. Saw it with a friend two days ago.

    It was thoroughly entertaining throughout but mood and tone felt very unlike the original. There were some things that were very questionable and odd to do, but battle and action scenes were absolutely stunning and incredible to watch. It was beautifully shot as a whole, and the addition of many more colours compared to the first was very welcome. Editing was off at times, and some of the casting decisions also felt wrong so much so that we felt that a few of the actors were miscast. Pedro Pascal and Denzel Washington had the stand-out performances though, just so damn good in their scenes.

    Stunning movie, but I much more of an action movie in comparison. It didn't live up expectations, but to be fair how could it? That said, it was definitely worth the price of admission to catch on the big screen.

    Mildly spoilery things:

    Especially Connie Nielsen just gave Nicole Kidman in The Northman vibes. Just extremely out of place in a period film.

    The sharks in the Colisseum gave us a good laugh. Like how the fuck did ancient Romans pull off the logistics required!? Hahaha

    Felt like the ending was rather bad and abrupt. Seemed like a cliffhanger or a tease for a third movie instead of a proper wrapping up of the story they tried to tell.

    5 votes

  4. Comment on Wicked, Dune, It, and deceiving the audience about two-parters in ~movies

    smoontjes
    Link Parent
    My parents didn't allow me to watch LotR in the cinema :( I know, I'm young, but they were pretty damn strict!

    My parents didn't allow me to watch LotR in the cinema :( I know, I'm young, but they were pretty damn strict!

    1 vote

  5. Comment on Marius Borg Høiby, the 27-year-old son of Norwegian Crown Princess Mette-Marit, has been arrested on suspicion of raping a woman in her 20s in ~news

    smoontjes
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    I know he's not royalty himself, but his actions are still rubbing off on the royal family right? Blowing it up seems like a fitting way to phrase it!

    I know he's not royalty himself, but his actions are still rubbing off on the royal family right? Blowing it up seems like a fitting way to phrase it!

    4 votes

  6. Comment on Wicked, Dune, It, and deceiving the audience about two-parters in ~movies

    smoontjes
    Link Parent
    Enemy was special! Saw a fun fact about it the other day, spoilers: The spider at the end was not CGI, but an actual tarantula in a miniature room.

    Enemy was special! Saw a fun fact about it the other day, spoilers:

    The spider at the end was not CGI, but an actual tarantula in a miniature room.

    1 vote

  7. Comment on Wicked, Dune, It, and deceiving the audience about two-parters in ~movies

    smoontjes
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    I'm 31 and the only movie I've ever caught in a cinema with an intermission was The Hateful Eight - and that was well under 3 hours!! Maybe there still were some in the 90's and 00's that I was...

    I'm 31 and the only movie I've ever caught in a cinema with an intermission was The Hateful Eight - and that was well under 3 hours!!

    Maybe there still were some in the 90's and 00's that I was too young to recall, but I definitely don't remember any others with intermissions since the 10's. It was super nice with an intermission for that movie. Could go for a pee and get another lil snack

    Watched it in Imperial in 70mm. I didn't like the actual movie all that much but the experience was unforgettable!

    1 vote

  8. Comment on Marius Borg Høiby, the 27-year-old son of Norwegian Crown Princess Mette-Marit, has been arrested on suspicion of raping a woman in her 20s in ~news

    smoontjes
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    Do we have any Norwegians on tildes that could chime in? Consequences for the monarchy etc? Could it lead to the end of royalty? I can only assume that their popularity has completely tanked.

    Do we have any Norwegians on tildes that could chime in? Consequences for the monarchy etc? Could it lead to the end of royalty? I can only assume that their popularity has completely tanked.

    4 votes

  9. Comment on Wicked, Dune, It, and deceiving the audience about two-parters in ~movies

    smoontjes
    Link Parent
    Again, I only looked at financials from the box office. Maybe it is ignorant, yes, but I am not about to look up contemporary sources for all his movie releases. I was just sharing it because I...

    Again, I only looked at financials from the box office. Maybe it is ignorant, yes, but I am not about to look up contemporary sources for all his movie releases. I was just sharing it because I was curious myself.

  10. Comment on Danish lawmakers have agreed to plant one billion trees and convert 10% of farmland into natural habitats over the next two decades in ~enviro

    smoontjes
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    I wasn't referring to the land part, sorry, I should have been more clear. I was referring to this. Deepl translated some bits:

    I wasn't referring to the land part, sorry, I should have been more clear.

    I was referring to this. Deepl translated some bits:

    Agriculture also gets off too lightly when it comes to the upcoming carbon tax compared to the higher climate tax on industry, according to criticism from Enhedslisten.

    ‘It's still a climate tax that is far too low and insufficient. On the other hand, the agreement practically marinates agriculture and large landowners in money. And there are even bigger bills ahead for taxpayers.

    The agreement is very much based on voluntary action, i.e. expectations that agriculture will voluntarily adapt, which is a big concern for me. We have a really boring history of setting ambitious targets based on voluntary efforts that don't materialise afterwards.

    He points out that agriculture is miles away from achieving the ambitions of the agricultural agreement signed in 2021.

    At the time, a broad majority in the Danish Parliament agreed that agriculture should have reduced annual nitrogen emissions by 1,500 tonnes by 2027 through voluntary agreements, including the creation of wetlands and afforestation.

    In addition, Enhedslisten is concerned that in October, the National Audit Office criticised inadequate control of farmers' emissions of nitrogen, which is the primary cause of oxygen depletion in the sea.

    The inspection is based on the farmers' own reports, where there is a risk of errors.

    We recently saw the National Audit Office of Denmark criticise that they had not been able to control emissions from agriculture. Is this something that worries you in relation to the agreement that's coming now?

    ‘Obviously, if we can't check whether agriculture is actually reducing its emissions, there's no point in setting targets. So it's incredibly important that we also get a grip on control. But first and foremost, it's important that farmers are given clear incentives to sign up to these voluntary agreements, otherwise experience shows that they won't do it.

    1 vote

  11. Comment on Wicked, Dune, It, and deceiving the audience about two-parters in ~movies

    smoontjes
    Link Parent
    I didn't calculate any of it precisely, just guesstimates. But okay, 462.5=115 and 302.5=75 and. They made 7M and 10M respectively. That counts as barely broke even in my book but I do see your...

    Classifying both Prisoners and Sicario as “barely broke even” is incorrect as they both made profits from their theatrical releases alone.

    I didn't calculate any of it precisely, just guesstimates. But okay, 462.5=115 and 302.5=75 and. They made 7M and 10M respectively. That counts as barely broke even in my book but I do see your argument there.

    But even then, Sicario was an awards contender and Arrival was one of the most nominated films of its year.

    I was talking only financially. If he is not profitable for a studio at he box office, that just simply means they are careful what they greenlight. Oscars wins and nominations are taken into consideration for sure though - those have massive value to studios.

    And yeah I cannot argue with you about his filmography obviously. Even after LOTR, Peter Jackson hasn't had that many hits (critically) as Villeneuve. Far from it. And once again just for my own curiosity's sake, here's his post-LOTR films financially:

    1. King Kong 207M budget, 556M BO - profitable

    2. The Lovely Bones 65M budget, 94M BO - flop

    3. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey - 180M budget, 1017M BO - profitable

    4. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug - 217M-250M budget, 959M BO - profitable

    5. The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies - 270M budget, 962M BO - profitable

    We both agree that Villeneuve has better movies than Jackson, but Jackson is by far the most profitable - although The Hobbit movies is of course as much down to the IP as the director. They would have likely all made those ~1B box office runs regardless of the director.

    This is still all pedantics but yeah ^^

    1 vote

  12. Comment on Wicked, Dune, It, and deceiving the audience about two-parters in ~movies

    smoontjes
    (edited )
    Link Parent
    I was pretty certain when I wrote the part about "few (none?)" of his movies were not successful at the box office. I realize it seems very pedantic but it's as much for my own sake/knowledge...

    I was pretty certain when I wrote the part about "few (none?)" of his movies were not successful at the box office. I realize it seems very pedantic but it's as much for my own sake/knowledge kinda, so here's the financials of his movies, chronologically. My memory was faulty about that movies had to triple or quadruple its stated budget - the rule of thumb is apparently that it has to double or triple it, x2.5 being the go-tobaseline.

    1. Polytechnique: 6M budget,

    2. Incendies: 6.8M budget, 6.8 BO = total flop

    3. Prisoners: 46M budget, 122M BO = barely broke even

    4. Enemy: no data on budget, 3.5M BO = probably a total flop

    5. Sicario: 30M budget, 85M BO = barely broke even

    6. Arrival: 47M budget, 209M BO = quite successful

    7. Blade Runner 2049: 150M budget, 276M BO = total flop

    8. Dune: Part One: 165M budget, 408M BO = barely broke even

    9. Dune: Part Two: 190M budget, 714M BO = very successful

    Conclusion: Villeneuve has had only two out of nine box office successes.

    Clearly studios still get him to work because there's no way a single one of his movies don't earn everything back when released on digital or physical. But he does have an absolutely horrid track record at the box office for a big time director.

    Disclaimer: he's by far my favourite working director if not all-time fave and I've watched all his films (except Polytechnique but I will soon) multiple or half a dozen times. His earlier movies are in my opinion good to great, and all of them since Sicario is incredible. Here's my ratings for his films if anyone cares.

    4 votes

  13. Comment on Girl Scout – I Just Needed You To Know (2024) in ~music

    smoontjes
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    Yesss love their vibe My fave of theirs is Honey

    Yesss love their vibe

    My fave of theirs is Honey

    2 votes

  14. Comment on I am looking for 100% ad-free apps for older adults with dementia. Things like jigsaw puzzles, coloring and the like. Paid is fine. in ~life

    smoontjes
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    OrdinaryPuzzles could be the perfect game for this. It's super simple and gets progressively harder. Can be played in the browser, on iOS and Android

    OrdinaryPuzzles could be the perfect game for this. It's super simple and gets progressively harder.

    Can be played in the browser, on iOS and Android

    1 vote

  15. Comment on Danish lawmakers have agreed to plant one billion trees and convert 10% of farmland into natural habitats over the next two decades in ~enviro

    smoontjes
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    Gonna be a debby downer about this because it's not all that uplifting - as per usual with environmental and climate policies. They are too little, too late. Not mentioned in the article is that...

    Gonna be a debby downer about this because it's not all that uplifting - as per usual with environmental and climate policies. They are too little, too late. Not mentioned in the article is that part of this deal is giving free reign to farmers in many aspects. I don't know the specifics but it's been heavily criticized by actual green parties because farmers can decide for themselves whether or not they want to do it. It's on a completely voluntary basis. Which, obviously, practically nobody will do.

    Better than nothing though I guess.

    6 votes

  16. Comment on What have you been eating, drinking, and cooking? in ~food

    smoontjes
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    I had been assigned a social worker for unrelated reasons and she just so happened to have been a professional chef in the past. So I kinda of have a personal chef!? It's pure luck and I still...

    I had been assigned a social worker for unrelated reasons and she just so happened to have been a professional chef in the past. So I kinda of have a personal chef!? It's pure luck and I still can't quite believe it lol

    First dish we made was bulgur with pesto and feta cheese, and marinated chicken

    2 votes

  17. Comment on Wicked, Dune, It, and deceiving the audience about two-parters in ~movies

    smoontjes
    Link Parent
    That's what baffles me about this. A musical or theater performance should be like 90% adaptable to a movie. It's not like a book where things may need to change for it to make sense in a...

    But a typical run of the Wicked musical is shorter than the 2024 movie! I expect a lot of filler content, bringing down the pace of what is a well oiled story.

    That's what baffles me about this. A musical or theater performance should be like 90% adaptable to a movie. It's not like a book where things may need to change for it to make sense in a different medium.

    8 votes

  18. Comment on Wicked, Dune, It, and deceiving the audience about two-parters in ~movies

    smoontjes
    Link Parent
    Well that's some infuriating news. Goddamn it..

    I was so disappointed and now the second part is nowhere in sight.

    Well that's some infuriating news. Goddamn it..

    9 votes

  19. Comment on Follow up on the username thread: What Tildes users do you recognize when browsing and, without being rude or inflammatory, what is your impression of them? in ~tildes

    smoontjes
    Link Parent
    Wouldn't mind that - that's a good suggestion for those that don't look at usernames at all. I always do since it's right there, 10 pixels above the first words of every comment - but yeah,...

    Wouldn't mind that - that's a good suggestion for those that don't look at usernames at all. I always do since it's right there, 10 pixels above the first words of every comment - but yeah, wouldn't hurt or harm anyone to do it I suppose. Maybe as an opt-in setting.

    3 votes

  20. Comment on Joe Biden allows Ukraine to strike Russia with US long-range missiles in ~society