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Re:Apple is discontinuing the iPod by boredtofears on Tuesday May 10, 2022 @05:24PM (#31332931)
Personally I think that has more to do with what movie offerings there are today vs 20 years ago. I could absolutely care less about the latest comic book movie but that seems to be where movie studios have put all their effort.

On the other hand, TV series have never been better - we seem to be in some kind of golden age where you can find tons of high quality well acted series on every streaming service. There was a bit of a lull (for me) during Covid, but my backlog is completely full through the next year.

Re:Apple is discontinuing the iPod by Syonyk on Tuesday May 10, 2022 @05:46PM (#31333137)
The consolidation of movie studios (mostly into Disney lately...) hasn't been helping either. There used to be plenty of small studios that would do "weird" stuff - it wasn't going to be a huge commercial success, but it would probably make back the modest budget it had.

There's always older films to watch. I'm at a point where I'd far rather put the time into something older, with solid actors, than watch the latest and greatest mostly-CG special effects laden [whatever]. That most of those movies are unwatchable unless you're "deep into the fandom" doesn't encourage me to invest in them either. And if it's not those, it's the "How can we prequel all the popular things," even when it makes no sense at all. To yell at a cloud briefly, Han Solo doesn't need a prequel. He's a standard drifter archetype, and to nail his past down doesn't do the character any service at all.

Re:Apple is discontinuing the iPod by boredtofears on Tuesday May 10, 2022 @06:23PM (#31333450)
> greatest mostly-CG special effects laden [whatever]

There was some threshold that was crossed probably close to a decade ago for me where CG effects stopped being interesting in any way, but watching older movies with their incredible special effects and stuntmen really does look impressive to me. There is no CG in the world that compares to the immersion in Apocalypse Now, for example.

I do think there are many ways to use CG to subtly support the impact of a scene driven by characters, but when the scene itself is driven by the CG (in ways that are unrealistic for actors or stuntmen to perform) it just feels like a lazy way to progress a storyline.

Re:Apple is discontinuing the iPod by Syonyk on Tuesday May 10, 2022 @07:14PM (#31333874)
Mad Max Fury Road stands out for their general lack of CG - and it shows in the movie. The thing is filled with practical effects, and it just looks right as a result. They don't have to simulate the physics of someone swinging around attached to the end of a fiberglass pole when they... just attached someone to the end of a fiberglass pole. The dirtbike trajectories look right, because... they filmed dirtbikes jumping the convoy. The flamethrowing guitar on top of the truck filled with speakers is exactly that. Etc.

Yes, there's some CG for the flame effects and such, but the bulk of it is just practical effects - and when you watch it, the movie stands out because of them. Everything they're doing can be done - as proven by the fact that they did it. Is it insane madness in the desert? Yes, but they filmed insane madness in the desert.

I started getting annoyed at CG heavily around the Star Wars Prequel days - when you've got movies in which the plot serves the tech demo, not the other way around. That's not a style of storytelling I enjoy, and more and more it seems to be the style used.

Re:Apple is discontinuing the iPod by TrevorJ on Wednesday May 11, 2022 @03:17PM (#31344486)
There are actually around 2,000 VFX shots in the film, but I think they really nailed the mix between practical and VFX in a way that makes the sum of the parts greater.
Re:Apple is discontinuing the iPod by cgrealy on Tuesday May 10, 2022 @11:48PM (#31335650)
There's a great video on how to use CG correctly by Rocket Jump https://youtu.be/bL6hp8BKB24
Re:Apple is discontinuing the iPod by boredtofears on Tuesday May 10, 2022 @08:47PM (#31334542)
Well put. Mad Max Fury road was fantastic.
Re:Apple is discontinuing the iPod by sharkweek on Tuesday May 10, 2022 @06:31PM (#31333524)
I do think this is why anytime the A24 logo comes up before a trailer it piques my interest.

(side note: the one they just released, Everything Everywhere All The Time, might be one of the best movies I've seen in the last decade)

Re:Apple is discontinuing the iPod by mmmpop on Tuesday May 10, 2022 @06:08PM (#31333328)
> He's a standard drifter archetype, and to nail his past down doesn't do the character any service at all.

old man makes great point

Re:Apple is discontinuing the iPod by OJFord on Tuesday May 10, 2022 @07:13PM (#31333871)
You mean you absolutely could not care less. (And neither could I.)

I agree though, fortunately I'm someone who doesn't mind rewatching old films I like, and also there are surely many greats I've yet to see. Television is not all hits, but there seem to be many more than in film, and then once you have one that's firstly and most simply more hours of entertainment; secondly it's a virtuous circle having more time for character and plot development etc.

Re:Apple is discontinuing the iPod by bear8642 on Tuesday May 10, 2022 @09:35PM (#31334869)
> I could absolutely care less

Feel petty mentioning this, but you mean you couldn't care less right? As in you care nothing about latest movie, right?

Took me a moment to work out what you were saying, hence why pointing out, although aware small, potentially peevish position on my part

Re:Apple is discontinuing the iPod by p00f on Tuesday May 10, 2022 @09:58PM (#31335011)
Both "could care less" and "couldn't care less" mean the same thing
Re:Apple is discontinuing the iPod by MrVandemar on Tuesday May 10, 2022 @11:37PM (#31335590)
Don't you love English. The langauge where polar opposites "sucks" and "blows" can mean in the right context exactly the same thing.
Re:Apple is discontinuing the iPod by abdulmuhaimin on Wednesday May 11, 2022 @01:19AM (#31336093)
Surely you're joking, right? I've never encountered those two phrases where they meant the same thing.

Couldn't care less - absolute zero care. Nothing can disappoint me whatever happen. Could care less - some degree of care is present. Thing can actually get worse

Re:Apple is discontinuing the iPod by dTal on Wednesday May 11, 2022 @04:08AM (#31337160)
The missing ingredient, as with many teenage idioms, is sarcasm.
Re:Apple is discontinuing the iPod by inetknght on Tuesday May 10, 2022 @10:06PM (#31335063)
Only if you've been around people who say it a lot and have the cultural context.

The internet, and Hacker News, is not that place.

There are plenty of people on here who will read "could" and "couldn't" as the actual words they are rather than the phrase they're a part of.

Re:Apple is discontinuing the iPod by p00f on Thursday May 12, 2022 @10:02AM (#31354339)
yes, that is why i explained that
Re:Apple is discontinuing the iPod by dTal on Wednesday May 11, 2022 @04:07AM (#31337150)
"Could care less" is an idiom, derived from a sarcastic acknowledgement that you haven't quite reached the theoretical minimum, absolute-0 of caring. "Well, I suppose I could care less..."
Re:Apple is discontinuing the iPod by hsbauauvhabzb on Wednesday May 11, 2022 @12:24AM (#31335833)
Star Wars was revolutionary for its time, but if it didn’t exist until today I’m doubtful you’d ever hear people fist bumping on may 5th.