[Illuyankas]

Don't read Orson Scott Card books. Not because he's a raging homophobe, but because they're not very good.

[Macros]

Agreed, I read game before I knew anything about cards personal beliefs, and found it to be massively over rated

[Salt-Man Z]

Inocrrect! Ender's Game is great, and Speaker for the Dead (the "sequel" for which the Ender's Game short story was rewritten into a novel) is one of the best First Contact sci-fi books ever written.

The most (only?) amusing thing about Card's homophobia is that it flies directly in the face of the thesis of his Ender books, which are about understanding and empathizing with The Other until you love them.

[Macros]

In my not so humble opinion Ender's game is hot garbage and I regret the time I wasted reading it

[Aptorian]

Loved Enders Game (the book). Use this information however you choose!

[Illuyankas]

The second nicest thing to say about it is that it isn't actually an explicit defense of Hitler like that one person had suggested, only a flimsy excuse for genocide

The actual nicest thing to say about it is there is a plot point where Ender's siblings - the sociopath and the flawless angel, in case you forgot their single character trait - write blog posts so well that Earth puts them in charge of their governments, which is eeriely prescient since Twitter wasn't invented yet (also slightly more highbrow than reality)

[Mezla PigDog]

This debate only makes me want to read it more. If it is trash then doubly so.

[Macros]

It's short, you'll blitz it in a day no problems, but just find a way to borrow it or something

[Illuyankas]

Yes, definitely don't exchange any actual cash.

[QuickTidal]

You could Library it Mez (if you have a library card)...but then you'd have the stain of an OSC book on your library history...

[Imperial Historian]

Speaker for the dead is very good. Enders game is enjoyable if a bit dated. Don't bother with any of the rest of the ender books.

[Malankazooie]

Down a Dark Hall.

Don't waste your time. Woof, it's a stinker. Maybe check it out to see Uma Thurman's shitty attempt at some sort of an accent (is it supposed to be French?). Haven't seen her in anything for quite some time. Is she in that - just going through the motions, don't care, and phoning in my performances - stage of her career?

It's a cool concept for a movie, and in the right hands something of quality could come of it, but Down a Dark Hall, no, just no. Avoid it.

[QuickTidal]

I am a DIE-HARD fan of the 1994 version of this story (The Winona Ryder one)...so this was never going to measure up...and Timothy Chalamet is NEVER ever going to win me over as a baby-faced Teddy/Larry...he just isn't, nor can he touch what Bale did with the role...but otherwise this does not look too shabby. The proof will ultimately be in Ronan's Jo portrayal, and the scenes with Beth getting sick and then dying...those are the ones that really hammer the narrative home in the earlier version. And I like that the one thing that was missing from the 1994 version (that of Meg's early life aspirations for the stage, which fell by the wayside when she fell for John Brooke) seems to be present and accounted for here. I mean the 1994 version has them doing the "theatricals" in the attic, but it never focuses on Meg being interested in pursuing that.

And it definitely seems to reach for more cinematic...but I hope we don't lose the character moments for spectacle.

EDIT to add: If that is meant to be Orchard House early in the trailer and I think it is...it's not remotely "cozy" enough. Real Orchard House (Where Alcott grew up) is nestled in amongst a flurry of forest and trees...this has them in the middle of a barren field...far from neighbours...which...nope.



Oh, also Streep as crabby old Aunt March is...INSPIRED casting.

This post has been edited by QuickTidal: 13 August 2019 - 05:13 PM

[Abyss]

Aptorian, on 05 August 2019 - 07:26 PM, said:

Loved Enders Game (the book). Use this information however you choose!

I very enjoyed the original short story and later the full novel. This was years before Card's personal views became widely public knowledge.

Illuyankas, on 05 August 2019 - 07:31 PM, said:

...there is a plot point where Ender's siblings - the sociopath and the flawless angel, in case you forgot their single character trait - write blog posts so well that Earth puts them in charge of their governments, which is eeriely prescient since Twitter wasn't invented yet (also slightly more highbrow than reality)

While i enjoyed those characters, I found that the notion that their intellectual debate skills were so wildly amazing that the world put them in charge of everything was weak and weakly written.

Imperial Historian, on 06 August 2019 - 01:51 PM, said:

Speaker for the dead is very good. Enders game is enjoyable if a bit dated. Don't bother with any of the rest of the ender books.

I did not enjoy SPEAKER. I found it to be too introspective, too slow, too 'i'm trying to be intelligent here and if you came for more of the cool mil sf action from the first book fuck you here are some philosophical ewoks'. Never bothered with the subsequent books or more Card beyond the odd short story here or there, again before his anti-gay views became known.

All i can recommend is read if you care to and make up your own mind. As a seminal or foundational piece of sf, ENDER'S GAME is probably worth a look the way Lovecraft is to horror notwithstanding the author's views. Just my $0.02CDN.

[Mezla PigDog]

Has anyone seen Once Upon A Time In Hollywood yet? Got a week off and thinking of going tomorrow. I find Tarantino hit and miss but his movies are at least usually interesting.

[Mezla PigDog]

Saw it. Loved it. It's less overtly Tarantino than his other recent ones. It is still obviously Tarantino though. Can't explain it but I knew in the first 30 seconds I was going to love it. DiCaprio is brilliant and it's kind of meta watching him play a Hollywood actor, which I think is what I enjoyed most. Him and Brad Pitt look like they have an absolute blast making it.

I forgot it was about the Sharon Tate murder but that isn't central so don't be put off because of the Manson connection.

[QuickTidal]

New Bond 25 title is out.

NO TIME TO DIE

I mean, it's hokey and we really didn't need another Bond flick with 'kill' or 'die' in the title. And the Logo Font itself is an abomination using "stencil" font...which like...Grade 3 me used the Stencil font. Might as well have used Comic Sans.

I am not fond of Fukanaga's existing films, and I don't think adding Phoebe Waller-Bridge humour polish (At Daniel Craig's personal request) is about to save a script that was so clearly in production hell after Boyle walked off the film...the main writer of which has nothing much of note to his name...

But it's still Bond, so I still hope it's going to be good...or at least clear the low bar of "better than SPECTRE".

[Aptorian]

Compared to Skyfall, Spectre was a masterpiece.

[QuickTidal]

Aptorian, on 20 August 2019 - 05:35 PM, said:

Compared to Skyfall, Spectre was a masterpiece.

As usual Apt, you have the OPPOSITE opinion to the world. But then, that's why we luvs ya!

[Aptorian]

I mean, if a plot so stupid a toddler could foil the baddie, is worth 92% on RT, sure... I'm the guy who's wrong.

All I recall is being so angry I was still ranting about the film a week later.