h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Actually, I think that's where that thought first occurred to me.

Touche, then.

As a practical matter, I go to movies hoping that even one character will be worth caring about. (I also read books with that hope in mind.) Yes, I acknowledge the important of big social issues, and promoting the public good.

At the same time, movies are not free. I could fall back on watching older movies on DVD or streaming them on my computer, but the world is a certain way at the time a movie opens. I can't keep up with *everything* that's new and trendy, but at least I can see what the moviemakers think is important by going to their new shows.

Even if a movie is set in a prior era ("Once upon a time in Hollywood" is set in 1969), it's going to reflect the insights of 2019. Otherwise, why not just watch some movies that were actually made in 1969? The flmethrower scenes are disturbing (Tarantino is perhaps a bit over the top there? ), and yet we don't exactly have a violence-free culture here and now. Is mass murder more common now than it was then?

I wasn't really suggesting you wanted that - probably more of an avoid comment really.

I wonder what would have been made of John Wick 2 in the late 80s/early 90s when the Arnie and Stallone action movies were being all criticised for their death counts. A whole Stallone movie has a death count that would only take John Wick a few seconds to achieve.

I get the sense that the cultures of some *ahem* countries have become inured to violence. Maybe Hollywood's CGI technology has made it too easy to show violence that would have been costlier and bloodier by more conventional means.

In the 1940s and 1950s, the Three Stooges were criticized for the many pokes in the eyes and bops on the head. The thing is, they choreographed those skillfully so that no one was actually hurt. Eventually, one of the replacements for Curly (or maybe in was Curly himself) urged the other two to go easy ion that stuff. Maybe he was worried that kids would try it and get hurt.

Every so often you hear of a little kid who has fallen out of a high-rise window because he thought he could fly like Superman. I knew a college student who injured himself pretending to be superman: he jumped through an opening in a college lounge, not realizing it was a pane of glass.

Nowadays, there are violent computer games and websites, in addition to more prevalent violence in movies. Am I surprised that more people are doing mass shootings? No!

Films & TV historically have to my mind been a bit like cartoons in the amount of punishment someone can receive & bounce back. I wonder if the depth of violence has increased, but has the reaction of the sufferer changed? I rarely watch anything with much violence in as I don't enjoy it.

I stopped watching television regularly at the end of the 20th Century. Then Youtube came along, and I found I could catch things I had missed without turning it on at all.

Hmm, nobody seen anything good lately?

A few weeks ago we went to see the new David Copperfield film. Very watchable, pleasant not to have the classic quotes but plenty of sharp dialogue. I felt the multi racial casting was a bit distracting in places. Raced along, but then it's a very long book to compress into a movie.

Yesterday watched The Return of the Hero (in French, with subtitles). A little predictable but a thoroughly enjoyable Austen parody. The 'hero' reminded me a bit of Pratchett's Moist von Lipwig.

"David Copperfield" won't come to theaters near me until May 8.

Last night I saw "Emma." A delight, including a lively film score.

I had an afternoon to kill in Cambridge on Monday and went to see David Copper field (I wanted to see "Emma" it it wasn't showing at a convenient time). I have since started re-reading the book and am surprised how true to the original it is.

I love Dev Patel and the whole film was thoroughly enjoyable.

I look forward to seeing it, then.

Well, no visits to the cinema for me since March.
But have picked up some DVDs of films I missed when released, also a few on TV. More watching old favourites though.
Yesterday I saw on Tv 'The man who invented Christmas', about Charles Dickens writing 'A Christmas Carol'. Better than I expected, quite imaginative. Certainly good entertainment for an evening at home.

Yes, I saw "The man who invented Christmas" when it first came out. I enjoyed it.

My great niece gave me a DVD of "Anna and the Apocalypse," which is sort of a cross between "Zombieland" and "La La Land." the zombies attack, while the students at the high school break into song and dance routines at regular intervals.

I've also seen a couple of free movies on Youtube: "Charade," and "This can't be love" (a television movie starring Katharine Hepburn, Anthony Quinn, and Jason Bateman).

I've been bingeing on Christmas specials that are available at Youtube, and every night I watch several episodes of the old Burns and Allen TV series that ran for eight years during the 1950s. I might be able to see enough of those episodes that I can write an edited guide article on that series.

Charade, that's a golden oldie.
I've watched several old black & white 'classics'. Interesting how the comedies often feel very dated & non PC, because the culture of the time is essential to the laughs, whereas other films are still very watchable as a drama set in a certain period.
Brief Encounter (Trevor Howard & Celia Johnson) still makes me cry...

"Brief encounter" is a free movie available at Youtube, so I could watch it.

I've checked the edited guide to see if Burns and Allen are mentioned. If there were a h=guide entry on them, I would not proceed with an entry of my own. There is no entry, but George Burns is the answer to two questions in a quiz:
http://h2g2.com/dna/h2g2/alabaster/A679403

His partner, Gracie Allen, is one of the answers to a quiz question about the first woman to run for President of the U.S. (1940). If I remember correctly, she pulled out of the race, admitting it was a joke, but she still got 40,000 votes.

Her quip that is great to have fun even if you don't enjoy it, is also alluded to.

(I watched four more Burns and Allen episodes last night.)