30 seconds in. I spat my coffee all over the keyboard. Ok maybe not but I did crack a huge smile and reflected on whether this was genius or a new low. .
Quiz time: Sound Effects
The following are TV or movie sound effects as described in trademarks or scripts. See if you can recognise them:
1. “Annoyed grunt”.
2. “A series of approximately ten sounds, alternating between the chest and falsetto registers of the voice, as follows – 1) a semi-long sound in the chest register, 2) a short sound up an interval of one octave plus a fifth from the preceding sound, 3) a short sound down a Major 3rd from the preceding sound, 4) a short sound up a Major 3rd from the preceding sound, 5) a long sound down one octave plus a Major 3rd from the preceding sound, 6) a short sound up one octave from the preceding sound, 7) a short sound up a Major 3rd from the preceding sound, 8) a short sound down a Major 3rd from the preceding sound, 9) a short sound up a Major 3rd from the preceding sound, 10) a long sound down an octave plus a fifth from the preceding sound.”
3. The “sound of rhythmic mechanical human breathing created by breathing through a scuba tank regulator”
4. “An oscillating humming buzz created by combining feedback from a microphone with a projector motor » Continue Reading.
Alien or Aliens?
Alien – a slow and quiet (until it´s not) low-budget horror movie.
Aliens – a big action-filled thingy with lots of everything.
They´re both great at what they´re doing, both masterpieces in their respective genres, but completely different in all but franchise (and Sigourney Weaver).
So which one do you prefer and why?
(Yes, I´ve been listening to Smershpod again. The recent episode on Aliens is highly recommended)
What will you drop everything to watch?
A Matter of Life and Death was on BBC2 this afternoon, so of course I watched it. That makes perfect sense because it is the best film ever made, but less sense considering I already own 3 (maybe more) copies, I must have seen it at least 10 times, and last time I looked it was on YouTube and I could have watched it any time I wanted to even if I didn’t have a hard copy.
Is there anything that you will watch when it was broadcast even when you don’t need to wait? A film that will stop you in your tracks as you channel hop despite having a copy on a shelf a few feet away?
Secure The Perimeter
Mel Brooks likes to watch movies that have the “Secure The Perimeter” dialogue in them and it occurred to me that there are more than a few such cliches.
Frinstance.
1. “Suit Up” 2. “Protect the asset” 3. “It’s above our Pay Grade.”
Today, if you choose to accept this mission, I would like your suggestions.
This message will , etc, blah.
Best and worst Bond movies
Having recently decided to watch – for some reason – the Bond Movies starring Roger Moore for the first time in something like twenty years, I can´t help but marvel at how poor they are. It suddenly went, comedy wise and elsewhere, very Benny Hill. At least Connery era was silly in an entertaining way.
Live And Let Die (2 out of 5) is a direct result of Shaft. “Hey, let´s use some black actors! It´s seems to be the thing!”) And JW Pepper is just a terrible character.
The Man With The Golden Gun (3 out of 5) has Christopher Lee, which is good. And the scenery is marvelous. JW Pepper appears again. In one scene he points out he´s a Democrat, which is a redeeming quality.
Today I´ve watched The Spy Who Loved Me (2 out of 5), which holds together even worse than the previous two. Jaws is silly in the wrong way, Stromberg has the charisma of a garden fence and well, it just goes on for a while and then it ends. Parts of the movie is like a more expensive Thunderball.
Moonraker is next. I seem to recall For Your Eyes Only and » Continue Reading.
Best Fictional Tracks
Sorry if we’ve done this before, but how about collecting our favourite tracks by fictional (non-existant) artists? I’d imagine the richest seam will be songs from movies & TV series, but I think we can stretch things to include artists actively performing under assumed identities (e.g. Dukes Of Stratosphere, even Chris Gaines or Silicon Teens), though if there’s a “rule”, it would be that this doesn’t apply to simple pseudonyms (so no “Layla”).
I’ll kick things off with the track that put the idea in my head – “All Over The World” by Strange Fruit, from the movie Still Crazy, and featuring the collective songwriting talent of Mick Jones and Chris Difford (with Marti Fredriksen) – surely this would have been a hit in “real life”…?
Favourite Coen brothers movie?
Tough one; think I’d be hard pushed to choose between Fargo and No Country for Old Men.
Great British Road Movies anyone
Inspired by @anton – great British road movies anyone?
Radio On, to start with, although a fascinating unintended documentary of 70s Britain, is a bit of a non-event as an actual movie.
Anyone seen the Peter Capaldi one Soft Top, Hard Shoulder (the title does not give me confidence). Hardly Vanishing Point is it? Hmmm that had a Dodge Challenger. This has a 1971 Triumph Herald. And a score by Chris Rea.
If this doesn’t perk you up, nothing will
Terrifically cheering stuff.
What’s The Funniest Movie?
I need a laugh.
When I was a teenager, I loved Monty Python, The Producers and The Pink Panther. None of them seem so funny now. My favourites remain Duck Soup and Groundhog Day but I’ve seen them many times.
Please inspire me!
In the meantime, enjoy the mirror scene from Duck Soup.
