site banner
PaperclipPerfector  4d ago (text post)   2083 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for October 25, 2024

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.

3
Top Bottom Old Controversial Comments
Jump in the discussion.

No email address required.

I've been a fan of Scott Sumner's movie reviews, and he recently created a website compiling all of the movies he has covered: https://www.sumnerscores.com/

I don't recall seeing any Coen brothers movies, but I feel like I should. I plan to watch The Ballad of Buster Scruggs this weekend.

I recently saw Apollo 11, which was perhaps one of the best documentary films I've ever seen. Be sure to watch it in 4k, they cleaned up historical footage and it feels like you're watching it live. Everyone knows about the moon landings in general, but this documentary drives home the incredible difficulties they faced while trying to execute the mission.

I wouldn't recommend Buster Scruggs as your first film from the Coen brothers, it's a collection of short stories that I suspect was made largely to satisfy Netflix's insatiable lust for content. Not that it's a bad collection, just not what I would recommend if you wanted to get introduced to the directors. I would heavily recommend starting with Fargo

I don't recall seeing any Coen brothers movies

Lucky you.

They're about the best American film makers of the last 30 years.

Regarding Coen brothers, I thoroughly enjoyed Fargo, The Big Lebowski and Burn After Reading. The Hudsucker Proxy was decent, but not as successful a comedy as either Burn After Reading or The Big Lebowski. A Serious Man is weird, and I still have no idea what to make of it, ~15 years later. I only got around to seeing No Country for Old Men this year, and in all honesty I was decidedly underwhelmed, excellent villain performance from Javier Bardem notwithstanding. It's not at all representative of their oeuvre.

Buster Scruggs is a bit weird, if you end up not liking it don’t let it put you off the rest of their output. I would suggest trying Fargo and the Big Lebowski. Those are kind of their two most iconic movies and it gives you a pretty good idea of the kinds of movies they make. No Country for Old Men is very good, but it’s pretty different from anything else they ever made. It’s more of a Cormac McCarthy movie than a Coen Brothers movie.

The Coen brothers are among my favorite directors. No Country for Old Men is a must see. Fargo and The Big Lebowski as well.

I enjoyed BoBS but didn't really care for the final vignette. There's a semi famous meme that you might recognize and point your finger at.

What is this place?

This website is a place for people who want to move past shady thinking and test their ideas in a court of people who don't all share the same biases. Our goal is to optimize for light, not heat; this is a group effort, and all commentators are asked to do their part.

The weekly Culture War threads host the most controversial topics and are the most visible aspect of The Motte. However, many other topics are appropriate here. We encourage people to post anything related to science, politics, or philosophy; if in doubt, post!

Check out The Vault for an archive of old quality posts. You are encouraged to crosspost these elsewhere.


Why are you called The Motte?

A motte is a stone keep on a raised earthwork common in early medieval fortifications. More pertinently, it's an element in a rhetorical move called a "Motte-and-Bailey", originally identified by philosopher Nicholas Shackel. It describes the tendency in discourse for people to move from a controversial but high value claim to a defensible but less exciting one upon any resistance to the former. He likens this to the medieval fortification, where a desirable land (the bailey) is abandoned when in danger for the more easily defended motte. In Shackel's words, "The Motte represents the defensible but undesired propositions to which one retreats when hard pressed."

On The Motte, always attempt to remain inside your defensible territory, even if you are not being pressed.


New post guidelines

If you're posting something that isn't related to the culture war, we encourage you to post a thread for it. A submission statement is highly appreciated, but isn't necessary for text posts or links to largely-text posts such as blogs or news articles; if we're unsure of the value of your post, we might remove it until you add a submission statement. A submission statement is required for non-text sources (videos, podcasts, images).

Culture war posts go in the culture war thread; all links must either include a submission statement or significant commentary. Bare links without those will be removed.

If in doubt, please post it!


Rules


Recommended Posts And Communities

Recommended Realtime Chats