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Greek Culture and the Ego: A Psycho-analytic Survey of an Aspect of Greek Civilization and of Art
Book
Tavistock Press was established as a co-operative venture between the Tavistock Institute and...
Awix (3310 KP) rated Space: 1999 in TV
Oct 10, 2019 (Updated Oct 10, 2019)
It's easy to mock Space: 1999, so let's get started. But which Space 1999? The nobly-intentioned, philosophical science-fiction drama of the first series, which somehow still ends up resembling a rip-off of 2001: A Space Odyssey made by lemurs? Or the second series, with laser-gun runarounds and rubber monsters turning up on a weekly basis?
Neither of them is honestly what you could call much good (the usual outstanding Anderson model effects excepted), but at least the first series tries hard and does have the odd pretty decent episode (Earthbound, guest starring Christopher Lee in a very strange wig, has a memorably creepy ending), even if it is mostly po-faced and turgid. The second series is brighter, more colourful, and seems to have eaten too much sugar; it's mostly just daft. All still highly enjoyable, though, even if not in quite the way the makers intended.
Neither of them is honestly what you could call much good (the usual outstanding Anderson model effects excepted), but at least the first series tries hard and does have the odd pretty decent episode (Earthbound, guest starring Christopher Lee in a very strange wig, has a memorably creepy ending), even if it is mostly po-faced and turgid. The second series is brighter, more colourful, and seems to have eaten too much sugar; it's mostly just daft. All still highly enjoyable, though, even if not in quite the way the makers intended.
Awix (3310 KP) rated The Hand of Night (1968) in Movies
May 29, 2020 (Updated May 30, 2020)
So-so British horror movie, one of a number of genre films made in north Africa in the mid to late sixties. A troubled man (William Sylvester, presumably fairly fresh from 2001: A Space Odyssey) visiting Morocco finds himself torn between a vivacious young French girl and a sultry woman who may or may not be (hint: she is) an ancient vampire.
Admirably serious tone and the central metaphor is coherent, but the problem with a lot of these foreign-shot films is that all the money seems to have gone on plane tickets, and the photography is often primitive and flat (a bit like a travelogue from the Moroccan Tourist Board). The pace is also not all it could be. Some decent bits here and there but the drabness of the film and its lack of incident counts against it. A case of potential not being realised.
Admirably serious tone and the central metaphor is coherent, but the problem with a lot of these foreign-shot films is that all the money seems to have gone on plane tickets, and the photography is often primitive and flat (a bit like a travelogue from the Moroccan Tourist Board). The pace is also not all it could be. Some decent bits here and there but the drabness of the film and its lack of incident counts against it. A case of potential not being realised.
The Demon Lover
Book
This groundbreaking work on the psychological and political roots of terrorism by award-winning...
Science Is Fiction: 23 Films by Jean Painleve (2009)
Movie
Jean Painlevé was a film director, critic, theorist, and animator, yet his interests and studies...
Televízia TA3
News
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Pozrite si spravodajstvo a publicistiku jedinej spravodajskej televízie na Slovensku aj na svojom...
Akcjonariusz - giełda, edukacja, analizy
Business and Magazines & Newspapers
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Kwartalnik Akcjonariusz jest oficjalnym wydawnictwem Stowarzyszenia Inwestorów Indywidualnych. Jest...
David McK (3425 KP) rated K-PAX (2001) in Movies
Apr 29, 2022
Hmmm ... bit of an odd one, this.
Drama film? Yep. Science Fiction? Possibly (probably).
But don't be thinking 'Star Wars', 'Star Trek' or even '2001: A Space Odyssey' - if anything, the closest correlation I can come up with is 'One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest'
Which might seem a bit odd, but consider: the bulk of this is set in an around a psychiatric hospital, where Kevin Spacey's main character Prot resides after claiming he is from the planet K-Pax, and after being arrested almost immediately after arriving in a train station at the start of the movie.
Jeff Bridges psychiatrist - who, initially, doesn't believe him (well, let's face it: would you?) then sets about uncovering the truth of Prot, digging into his (Prot's) past and uncovering some disturbing revelations.
So, yeah, a bit of an odd one, that largely relies on the charisma of it's two main lead actors.
Drama film? Yep. Science Fiction? Possibly (probably).
But don't be thinking 'Star Wars', 'Star Trek' or even '2001: A Space Odyssey' - if anything, the closest correlation I can come up with is 'One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest'
Which might seem a bit odd, but consider: the bulk of this is set in an around a psychiatric hospital, where Kevin Spacey's main character Prot resides after claiming he is from the planet K-Pax, and after being arrested almost immediately after arriving in a train station at the start of the movie.
Jeff Bridges psychiatrist - who, initially, doesn't believe him (well, let's face it: would you?) then sets about uncovering the truth of Prot, digging into his (Prot's) past and uncovering some disturbing revelations.
So, yeah, a bit of an odd one, that largely relies on the charisma of it's two main lead actors.
Phillip McSween (751 KP) rated 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) in Movies
Jan 21, 2020
From a Sci-Fi Lover, It's a No
During a space mission, a spaceship supercomputer malfunctions and tries to kill the ship’s inhabitants. That’s the best I got for 2001: A Space Odyssey. Some films don’t translate far past their creation date and a lot of times, people find it hard to admit that. Hate me now because I wasn’t a fan of this movie in the slightest.
Acting: 10
Beginning: 4
The first few minutes of the movie left me scratching my head. You can save the whole explanation of the artistic aspect of this part, I’m not buying it and I feel directors have hid over “abstract art” for far too long. If it’s not good, it’s not good, and this? It made no sense. I had no desire to watch the rest of the movie after the first ten minutes, but I kept pushing.
Characters: 10
Cinematography/Visuals: 10
Conflict: 8
Entertainment Value: 6
Memorability: 7
Pace: 4
I snapped my fingers quite a bit through the duration of this movie. I wanted so badly for things to move along, but I felt like the movie thought looking great was more important. While it is cinematically stunning (and well deserving of a perfect score in that category), the story moves at an extremely slow clip. For example, so much time was wasted with one particular landing, I wanted to poke my damn eyes out. Watching this movie was like being stuck in traffic during rush hour.
Plot: 2
Resolution: 1
Overall: 62
I recently stopped reading a book because it dragged on so badly and was so confusing, I just couldn’t enjoy it any longer. With 2001: A Space Odyssey, I’ll just say this: When the movie ends and I have to wiki your plot, it probably wasn’t a good movie. I won’t argue that it deserved recognition for pioneering a beautiful vision of space, but the rest can honestly stay in history.
Acting: 10
Beginning: 4
The first few minutes of the movie left me scratching my head. You can save the whole explanation of the artistic aspect of this part, I’m not buying it and I feel directors have hid over “abstract art” for far too long. If it’s not good, it’s not good, and this? It made no sense. I had no desire to watch the rest of the movie after the first ten minutes, but I kept pushing.
Characters: 10
Cinematography/Visuals: 10
Conflict: 8
Entertainment Value: 6
Memorability: 7
Pace: 4
I snapped my fingers quite a bit through the duration of this movie. I wanted so badly for things to move along, but I felt like the movie thought looking great was more important. While it is cinematically stunning (and well deserving of a perfect score in that category), the story moves at an extremely slow clip. For example, so much time was wasted with one particular landing, I wanted to poke my damn eyes out. Watching this movie was like being stuck in traffic during rush hour.
Plot: 2
Resolution: 1
Overall: 62
I recently stopped reading a book because it dragged on so badly and was so confusing, I just couldn’t enjoy it any longer. With 2001: A Space Odyssey, I’ll just say this: When the movie ends and I have to wiki your plot, it probably wasn’t a good movie. I won’t argue that it deserved recognition for pioneering a beautiful vision of space, but the rest can honestly stay in history.
Awix (3310 KP) rated Phase IV (1974) in Movies
Feb 22, 2018 (Updated Feb 22, 2018)
Strange, chilly SF movie; cerebral even by the standards of the early 70s - rather like 2001: A Space Odyssey with much more insecticide. Quite what's going on remains somewhat obscure, but some kind of cosmic force or phenomenon affects the behaviour of terrestrial ants in a rather alarming fashion; two scientists studying the insects find themselves besieged by the creatures, along with a survivor of one of their attacks.
By no means the B-movie shocker it sounds like; actually quite slow and thoughtful (maybe too much so). Saul Bass was primarily a graphic designer and his interest is clearly in the visuals: there are long sequences of close-up photography showing ants behaving peculiarly, with no dialogue or voice-over. Certainly some striking sequences, and kind of pleasantly mystifying to watch; the decision by the distributors to remove most of Bass' original ending was probably a mistake, robbing the climax of its impact. A curiosity, but a worthwhile one.
By no means the B-movie shocker it sounds like; actually quite slow and thoughtful (maybe too much so). Saul Bass was primarily a graphic designer and his interest is clearly in the visuals: there are long sequences of close-up photography showing ants behaving peculiarly, with no dialogue or voice-over. Certainly some striking sequences, and kind of pleasantly mystifying to watch; the decision by the distributors to remove most of Bass' original ending was probably a mistake, robbing the climax of its impact. A curiosity, but a worthwhile one.