You Ever Notice...and What's the Deal...

[minor muppetz]

They release trailers for video games months, if not years before the game is completed or even being worked on, so I don't really why this is so strange...

I had no idea of that regarding video games. But I still think it's strange they would make trailers for anything before they are finished. It's one thing for it to be publicly announced and then canceled, but I feel it's another for them to go through the trouble of making a trailer and then cancelling. Trailers make releases seem more official.

 

[D'Snowth]

One thing I've noticed is that every decade seems to have a particular type of movie that becomes such a trend, that that kind of movie can almost define that particular decade in cinema history.

For example, you ever notice that a lot of movies from the 70s were vibrant (and in some cases fanciful) musicals? Then you look at the 80s, and it seems like road comedies/travel movies were the thing. And how many movies can you name off the top of your head from the 90s that were about a ragtag bunch of misfit kids forming their own sports team? The 2000s seem to have been a big year for bawdy, raunchy, and lowbrow comedies with over the top, yet poorly acted performances by the same group of comedic actors you see over and over again (I think even Jonah Hill has said that he's getting tired of being typecasted in movies like that). It's still early to discern what kind of movie will end up kind of defining the 2010s, but so far, it seems like a tossup between cheapquels, crappy remakes, or fariy tales gone dark.

 

[minor muppetz]

One thing I've noticed is that every decade seems to have a particular type of movie that becomes such a trend, that that kind of movie can almost define that particular decade in cinema history.

For example, you ever notice that a lot of movies from the 70s were vibrant (and in some cases fanciful) musicals? Then you look at the 80s, and it seems like road comedies/travel movies were the thing. And how many movies can you name off the top of your head from the 90s that were about a ragtag bunch of misfit kids forming their own sports team? The 2000s seem to have been a big year for bawdy, raunchy, and lowbrow comedies with over the top, yet poorly acted performances by the same group of comedic actors you see over and over again (I think even Jonah Hill has said that he's getting tired of being typecasted in movies like that). It's still early to discern what kind of movie will end up kind of defining the 2010s, but so far, it seems like a tossup between cheapquels, crappy remakes, or fariy tales gone dark.

I was thinking that teenager movies (The Breakfast Club, Ferris Beuller's Day Off, etc.) were the trend of the '80s, while Home Alone knock-offs (Three Ninja's, Blank Check, Baby's Day Out, etc.) were the trend of the '90s.

 

[D'Snowth]

It's almost May, and you know what that means? It's almost time for Mother's Day... and you know what THAT means? Every year, one of these news organizations always conducts a study to determine how much of an income the average mother/housewive would earn if she was actually given a salary for all the work she does every single freakin' day of the year... and every year, I keep thinking to myself, instead of spending all that time figuring out how much they WOULD make if they were paid for everything they do, why don't they just figure out a way to actually just PAY them for all they do already?! Oh, I'm sorry, does that make too much sense?

 

[minor muppetz]

I just saw the opening to the M*A*S*H pilot, which is longer than the usual opening, and at the beginning there's text that reads "Korea 1950 - a hundred years ago". But the show began in the early 1970s, about 22 years after 1950. What's the deal with the obviously incorrect time frame given with a specific year? Was it supposed to be some kind of joke I don't get?

 

[D'Snowth]

Was it supposed to be some kind of joke I don't get?

Exactly.

The Korean War was something of a "forgotten war" at that point (especially since the Vietnam War was in effect at that point), not to mention both Koreas were incredibly poor and poverty-stricken countries at the time of the war, it almost felt like they were, as Hawkeye once said in another episode, "About a hundred years behind, as opposed to being ahead". So, in a sense, not only did the war seem like it was a hundred years ago, but because of how far behind Korea was with the rest of the world, it felt like you were a hundred years in the past.

 

[Drtooth]

I just saw the opening to the M*A*S*H pilot, which is longer than the usual opening, and at the beginning there's text that reads "Korea 1950 - a hundred years ago". But the show began in the early 1970s, about 22 years after 1950. What's the deal with the obviously incorrect time frame given with a specific year? Was it supposed to be some kind of joke I don't get?

M*A*S*H* was Hollywood being Hollywood. They wanted to rail against the Vietnam War without actually having the courage to outright mention it. Kinda like how The Hurt Locker was made and won an award when it was safe to criticize the Iraq War... from the very same people who booed Michael Moore for speaking out against it when it started?

They're basically courageous enough to speak out against unjust causes as long as they hide the message well enough so no one can call them off on it. And they totally do anyway. The only Vietnam films being made during Vietnam were Grindhouse pictures and little indie things. Liberal Hollywood my butt. They only care when it's safe to do so.

The Korean War was something of a "forgotten war" at that point (especially since the Vietnam War was in effect at that point), not to mention both Koreas were incredibly poor and poverty-stricken countries at the time of the war, it almost felt like they were, as Hawkeye once said in another episode, "About a hundred years behind, as opposed to being ahead". So, in a sense, not only did the war seem like it was a hundred years ago, but because of how far behind Korea was with the rest of the world, it felt like you were a hundred years in the past.

At least we saved South Korea... the north is still being run by some fat inbred idiots that the people are way too scared to try and overthrow. Say what you will about Egypt, Libya, and Syria.... they had the guts to overthrow their governments. They risked everything and caused these massive Civil wars just to be free. People died for their relative freedom, even though religious dictatorships came out of the former 2, a lateral move... but they strongly believed against their leaders that they didn't like... North Korea seems so incredibly brainwashed and oppressed, they just can't do that. And they're being run by the noodle guy from Parappa 2.

 

[minor muppetz]

Regarding M*A*S*H, I keep forgetting that the show took place at a time then television was starting to become popular (I wonder how aware the army's staff was of the invention, as they'd been busy with war). I remember being surprised when I first heard there was an episode where the characters were interviewed for a TV documentary.

One thing I've always found strange about The Three Ninja's movies: Tum Tum got his ninja name because he'd eat anything (well, in the first movie he said he won't eat dog poop, so anything but that), but then the first two sequels (can't remember if this applies to the fourth) have them mentioning foods he doesn't like. In The Three Ninja's Kick Back at one point one after Tum Tum tries something one of the brothers says "we know what a picky eater our brother is" (and he got his ninja name because.....?). And in Three Ninjas Knuckle Up, there are a couple scenes where he says that he hates peas and also mentions a dislike for something else. So did he start to hate certain foods after the first movie?

(Of course, now that I think about it, I wonder if that "we know what a picky eater our brother is" might have been sarcasm.)

 

[D'Snowth]

Regarding M*A*S*H, I keep forgetting that the show took place at a time then television was starting to become popular (I wonder how aware the army's staff was of the invention, as they'd been busy with war). I remember being surprised when I first heard there was an episode where the characters were interviewed for a TV documentary.

M*A*S*H had the misfortune of always serving Anachronism Stew: it was supposed to take place between 1950 and 1953, obviously, but there are few mistakes throughout the entire run of the show, such as the mention of various movies that weren't made until after the war ended; Radar reading comic books that were printed in the 70s; Hawkeye and B.J. and others wearing 80s style civilian sneakers; B.J. towards the latter half of the series with his shaggy 70s style haircut and "porn stache"... one thing that REALLY grabs my attention everytime was the episode, "The Long-John Flap", in the scene where Henry's appendecitis flares up, and he fixes himself an antacid drink... I swear, his water pitcher not only doesn't look like a product of the 50s, it doesn't even look like a product of the 70s, it actually looks like a modern-day water pitcher. That's suspicious.

Not to mention, because the show ran so long, there were also some conflicting dates throughout the series as well, such as some episodes with Trapper, Henry, and Frank taking place as late as 1952, then later episodes with B.J., Potter, and Charles taking place as early as 1950.

One other thing that gets me too is everybody remarks on the obvious aging of the actors, especially Alan Alda, whose hair went from jet black to salt-and-pepper, and people questioning why didn't he at least try to darken his hair, reasoning that Hawkeye couldn't have aged THAT much in three years... but I actually think that's a more realistic visual, because not only does war take an emotional and mental toll on you, but it would probably also take a physical toll on you as well, considering all the stress (understatement) that he was under, nonstop for three years straight, yeah, I would imagine that that would increase Hawkeye's aging process... I mean look at Obama, his hair went gray within his first year in the White House.

 

[minor muppetz]

A few things about The Mask:

1. What's wrong with Stanley Ipkiss's pajamas? The cop apparently thinks his pajamas are ridiculous, and even thinks "there can't be two idiots with pajamas like those". But it seems like an average pair of pajamas with some interesting designs. Maybe they were much worse-looking then than now (though I saw it within a year of its release and never saw them as odd or anything like that, but then again I was 10 at the time).

2. At least the first time, it seems Stanley slept with the mask on, thinking it was a dream. I assume this happened the second time as well. But then wearing the mask caused his pajamas to turn into a different suit, when the tie gets shot off it turns into part of his pajamas, and in the morning he just happens to be wearing a different pair. So he actually had time to change pajamas before morning?