The Gaming Den

Koumei wrote:who goes around slapping up people who cut trees down but ignores murderers.

Not always. There was at least one episode, arguably the worst of the entire series, where they were trying to prevent a nuclear bomb from exploding in a city.

because it'd decimate the ecosystem, I'd wager, not because it'd kill people.

Which I, personally, have no problem with, but I also have no problem being commonly labeled as evil or degenerate because I value the ecosystem and animals more than people.

Prak_Anima wrote:because it'd decimate the ecosystem, I'd wager, not because it'd kill people.

No, it was because it would kill the people.

surprising. Usually the planeteers and Cappy only cared about nature and the people near to them.

Huh... apparently they were satanists... if the show were more bearable I'd totally have another reason to rewatch it...

They used magical rings that utilised mystic forces to control the elements and summon an otherworldly being. Of course they were satanists.

Convoluted wrote:Everyone is talking about this movie or that show that rocked them.
What about the effect of being rocked?
Has anyone else ever finished something epic (movie, book, video game, whatever) and spend the rest of the day in some kind of shock, because the world will never be quite the same again?

It happened to me after Dark Knight, after any number of book (seventh Harry Potter, but that was mostly because it was finally finished and set in stone rather than me actually liking it that much), the first time I read Girl Genius (to the most recent comic, anyway), and a few more times.

By the way, w00t. First post.

Aztec.

The first book that actually got me furious enough to stop reading. I finished it, but I had to get up and go outside for a while. I basically ragequitted that book when I read up to that part.

An other example that I can think of, was a "change the story for pathos" alternate ending to an Eva fanfic that got me super depressed. I probably wasn't feeling well at the time, and the thing pushed me over the edge.

Movies don't usually affect me all that much. A lot of the time there's not really a shock, as I can sense what's coming in advance. Stuff that jumps out at you is cheap scares, and don't last.

Things that I read tend to affect me more.

Oh wait. The Iron Giant. That's a movie that got to me, I watched it in our acting for animation class last year; I couldn't believe that a movie would get me so worked up.

The ending.... I dunno, it sort of stole the preceeding events. It felt like it cheapened what had happened in the rest of the movie.

Koumei wrote:They used magical rings that utilised mystic forces to control the elements and summon an otherworldly being. Of course they were satanists.

Of course, why didn't I see it before?

JE wrote: Oh wait. The Iron Giant. That's a movie that got to me, I watched it in our acting for animation class last year; I couldn't believe that a movie would get me so worked up.

The ending.... I dunno, it sort of stole the preceeding events. It felt like it cheapened what had happened in the rest of the movie.

Why? I think it was a perfect ending. I think it would've actually cheapened the ending if

The Iron Giant had stayed dead. It would've completely negated the movies' point of him being more than a weapon; the IG wouldn't have been all that more than a weapon that cancelled out another weapon.

You talking about Evangelion-R, JE? I recall it splitting in the middle for two different storylines and endings.

I don't remember it splitting in the middle. I think they redid the last 2 episodes but my memory is fuzzy, it might have just been one.

I just finished reading Buck Godot. What an awesome comic.

Judging__Eagle wrote:Movies don't usually affect me all that much. A lot of the time there's not really a shock, as I can sense what's coming in advance. Stuff that jumps out at you is cheap scares, and don't last.

Things that I read tend to affect me more.

Oh wait. The Iron Giant. That's a movie that got to me, I watched it in our acting for animation class last year; I couldn't believe that a movie would get me so worked up.

The ending.... I dunno, it sort of stole the preceeding events. It felt like it cheapened what had happened in the rest of the movie.

The ending of Children of Men really pissed me off. I was sitting there are ready for the credits to roll on the one pregnant woman in the world sitting in a dinghy with a dead guy, when

fucking deus ex machina comes along and ruins it

.

CatharzGodfoot, deus ex machina does not mean what you think it does.

angelfromanotherpin wrote:CatharzGodfoot, deus ex machina does not mean what you think it does.

It means that Zeus comes down out of the clouds on a painted wooden boat and makes everything right. What's not to get?

CatharzGodfoot wrote:It means that Zeus comes down out of the clouds on a painted wooden boat and makes everything right. What's not to get?

A deus ex machina device 'shows up out of the blue" to provide "sudden and unexpected resolution to a seemingly intractable problem." But the boat at the end of Children of Men has basically been the end goal for most of the film. While there has been a question as to whether or not it will show up (or even exists), it's firmly established as an existing plot element.

Classical use of deus ex machina involves previously unintroduced and unforeshadowed characters showing up to wrestle death and teleport people.

You may not like that the end of the film broke the unremittingly grim tone, but that's a separate criticism.

The two criteria for determining whether or not something is a deus ex machina is that if the plot-resolving event is logical or if it's foreshadowed.

For example, say you're sitting along, minding your own business, when a neo-nazi busts into your place and tries to stab you with a knife. You wrestle for awhile, but they're built like a brick shithouse and you're unarmed, so you're pretty much doomed.

While tussling, you spot a gun taped to the underside of a table, pull it free, and shoot the bad guy. Is this a deus ex machina? Let's see.

Logic End: If the fight is at a convenience store or at the home of someone who is interested in self defense, it's logical (though in real life pretty stupid, but that's beyond this) that someone would keep a 'hidden' gun they could easily reach, especially for home or personal business defense. We don't actually need to see them establishing the existence of the gun, we know that as long as the weapon is something plausible like a shotgun or a pistol, it doesn't feel artificial because people do in fact do that.

Foreshadowing End: Say you're not at a place where it's logical to keep guns around, like you're at a playground in an elementary school. If you knock over a trash can and find a gun people are going to go 'bullshit', unless you're making a wry-but-trite comment on the prevalence of school violence. But if you had an earlier scene where it was established that was a thug from the same neo-nazi gang was going to shoot you at the school but one of them had a realization that this was fucked up and in self-loathing through away the gun, that would not be a deus ex machina.


in Dodgeball, despite their cheekily naming the treasure pot a Deus Ex Machina, it is not one of these things. The whole point of the movie was trying to win the dodgeball tournament and they won the tournament fair and square. It's a very tidy and pat solution, perhaps to the point of being kind of trite (which is probably why which may be the film decided to engage in some self-depreciation) but it is not a deus ex machina.

angelfromanotherpin wrote:

CatharzGodfoot wrote:It means that Zeus comes down out of the clouds on a painted wooden boat and makes everything right. What's not to get?

A deus ex machina device 'shows up out of the blue" to provide "sudden and unexpected resolution to a seemingly intractable problem." But the boat at the end of Children of Men has basically been the end goal for most of the film. While there has been a question as to whether or not it will show up (or even exists), it's firmly established as an existing plot element.

Classical use of deus ex machina involves previously unintroduced and unforeshadowed characters showing up to wrestle death and teleport people.

You may not like that the end of the film broke the unremittingly grim tone, but that's a separate criticism.

There was no reason that the ship should have really existed. If I claim that I think that "Jesus will make everything OK" and the later Jesus comes down out of heaven and makes everything OK, that's still deus ex machina. Don't make me pull out the linguistics bullshit guns to prove that I'm right.

---

Anyway, District 9 was a fun movie. I highly recommend it to those without weak stomachs.

No, not Evangelion-R (soemthing that I've never seen until now, I probably won't read it b/c I'm sort of done with Eva fics now).

Basically, it ended with Shinji being in the same position as his father was, and the other characters filling in the roles of the other characters in Gendou's life. It was depressing b/c it was the same horrible shit happening all over again. Shinji played Gendou, Maya replaced Ritsuko, Asuka replaced Yui; and Rei still played herself. Only this time Shinji was in charge of NERV, and using Rei as a guinea pig and spare parts to bring Asuka back, after she remained comatose after Unit 02 got rage-eaten in End of Eva by the mass-production units. Maya is in the same relationship with Shinji, as Ritsuko was with Gendou (fucking creepy).

Basically it was the least desirable ending possible; and that was sort of the point. The author said as much, and that they didn't like it themselves, but it was an idea that they got, and thought to write down. If only as an alternate ending. The actual ending was very different, in terms of tone and events.

Catharz,

I dunno. The IG's mastery of himself and willingness to sacrifice himself pretty much convinced me that it was more than a weapon.

If it had flown into the air guns blazing, trying to blow up the nuke, and got killed... that would have left an even worse taste in my mouth.

The fact that the IG comes back is what makes it feel like.... it's sacrifice was not as valuable or costly. I think that's what summarizes my feelings on that.

Jarhead.

I saw it when it came out, and it blew me away (gimme a break, I was an 18 year old floundering in a college career path that wasn't what I wanted.)
Hell, it made me think about enlisting.

Watched it again the other night, and it didn't have quite the same effect. I still think it's an enjoyably movie, but it's just not the same. Though I love the scene towards the end, the big "War's over" party. The many references to Full Metal Jacket were great too.

I think Jarhead is one of the few movies that can would actually make Traffaut rethink his famous statement.

The video game Justice League Heroes. It's an unpolished action RPG. In one level White Martians have launched an invasion fleet and Gorilla Grodd is destroying the planet with earthquakes. Wonder Woman tells the rest of the league, "You guys deal with Grodd, I'll handle the alien fleet." And then she does.

Lago PARANOIA wrote:I think Jarhead is one of the few movies that can would actually make Traffaut rethink his famous statement.

I have to admit I had no clue who that was until I googled, but it doesn't give me his statement on a cursory glance. What was it?

edit: and what the fuck is up with your sig?

Prak_Anima wrote:

Lago PARANOIA wrote:I think Jarhead is one of the few movies that can would actually make Traffaut rethink his famous statement.

I have to admit I had no clue who that was until I googled, but it doesn't give me his statement on a cursory glance. What was it?

There are no anti-war movies, because showing war involves such cool action that any attempt to make war look bad will just turn into war looking badass.

Neeeek wrote:

Prak_Anima wrote:

Lago PARANOIA wrote:I think Jarhead is one of the few movies that can would actually make Traffaut rethink his famous statement.

I have to admit I had no clue who that was until I googled, but it doesn't give me his statement on a cursory glance. What was it?

There are no anti-war movies, because showing war involves such cool action that any attempt to make war look bad will just turn into war looking badass.

Then, yeah, I conditionally agree with Lago. Jarhead's got it's moments, but it actually displays War as overall pointless, at least as far as glory and kill seeking semi-sociopathic soldiers go...

Prak_Anima wrote:

Lago PARANOIA wrote:I think Jarhead is one of the few movies that can would actually make Traffaut rethink his famous statement.

I have to admit I had no clue who that was until I googled, but it doesn't give me his statement on a cursory glance. What was it?

Maybe the thing about 'no good or bad movies, only good or bad directors'? I'm not sure what he's getting at either.

Prak_Anima wrote:edit: and what the fuck is up with your sig?

It's a Bill O'reilly quote.