Angel Studios: The Shift

[prisonchaplain]

Angel Studios is a movie producer, apparently owned by members of the church, but often putting out general Christian films. I watched The Shift this week and enjoyed. It seems to be a sci fi, dramatic retelling of Job. While it had a modest budget the story and acting were compelling. For those interested, do a bit of internet searching. It seems that there are ways of obtaining tickets for less than full price (mine was free). 😉

Edited December 6, 2023 by prisonchaplain

[Vort]

My wife took me on a date to the movie. It was not bad, better than I had been thinking going in. Supposed to be a sci-fi retelling of Job. I'd say more fantasy than sci-fi, but a reasonable effort. I enjoyed it, and would watch it again.

[NeuroTypical]

Angel Studios is one of the spin-off things that came from Vidangel, the company that allows you to watch movies with some of the sex/violence/bad language edited out.   I'm a fan.  They survived getting almost sued out of existence by Disney and other big studios, and have had to do no small amount of reinventing themselves to stay alive.  

Edited December 6, 2023 by NeuroTypical

[Ironhold]

The 70th anniversary Godzilla movie opened this past weekend, so I went for that as it was a limited-time event. 

May or may not see The Shift this weekend depending upon what the local theater actually lists. Getting a bit frustrated as it's already Wednesday morning and they've yet to put up this weekend's schedule.

[Vort]

12 hours ago, NeuroTypical said:

Vidangel, the company that allows you to watch movies with some of the sex/violence/bad language edited out

Hollywood bakes dog doo sugar cookies. Vidangel is an attempt to extract the dog doo so that the cookies are less unhealthful; you get that good sugar cookie taste without the nasty dog doo! Best of both worlds! Except that there's a fundamental flaw in the plan. Hollywood makes dog doo cookies. Even if you extract (most of) the dog doo, the cookies are what they are.

Hollywood has spent three full generations teaching us the glory of revenge (in unison: "A dish best served COLD, heh heh heh..."), the joy of carnality, the ineffectuality of meekness. Femininity is weakness, masculinity is toxic, the best women are basically men with a difference in plumbing, the best men are, well, nonexistent, really. Families are oppressive, the patriarchy is evil to its core, and our very best model for action is the foul expressions and outright street rebellions in certain elements of 1960s radicalism. Religious expression is embarrassing foolishness, and exists solely to be mocked. Free thinking and action is always encouraged, as long as it leads away from the traditional family.

There is no Bowdlerization that fixes this. No amount of censoring of nasty words will change the fundamentals of what Hollywood offers. Vidangel, for all their good intentions, offer nothing more than a bandaid on the amputated stump of Hollywood productions. What we really need is a society that rejects Hollywood's venomous offerings and demands something much better, and some production companies that cater to that desire and that have the actual depth of character and conscience to make something worthwhile, something that leaves the audience better off than they were before they went to the movie theater. Lady Ballers is not that movie, though arguably it may be a small step away from Hollywood orthodoxy. The pessimist in me doesn't believe this will ever happen. But another part of me thinks it's possible, if people will turn away from the vomit that is Hollywood and hold out for something better. Being addicted to "entertainment" does not help the cause.

/rant

[Carborendum]

10 minutes ago, Vort said:

Hollywood bakes dog doo sugar cookies. Vidangel is an attempt to extract the dog doo so that the cookies are less unhealthful; you get that good sugar cookie taste without the nasty dog doo! Best of both worlds! Except that there's a fundamental flaw in the plan. Hollywood makes dog doo cookies. Even if you extract (most of) the dog doo, the cookies are what they are.

From a speech in a recent Stake Conference:

Quote

See this  dish of brownies?  How many of you are thinking "Yummy"?

Now imagine if I took some dog poop and spread it around like icing.  How many of you want some now?

Now imagine if I wiped that poop off and assured you that there was no more dog poop on it anymore?  How many of you would want to have some?

I happened to be ill that week, so I didn't get the context or his final point with that object lesson.  But I believe this is kind of the message that you were outlining.

[zil2]

40 minutes ago, Vort said:

The pessimist in me doesn't believe this will ever happen. But another part of me thinks it's possible, if people will turn away from the vomit that is Hollywood and hold out for something better. Being addicted to "entertainment" does not help the cause.

Do you suppose there will be an entertainment industry during the Millennium?  Movies, fictional novels and stories, poetry, music (in addition to hymns), painting and sculptures, etc.?  I wonder about such things.  If so, I believe we can have some good clean entertainment.   I can't remember the last time I went to a movie.  I stick with books.  There are still clean books to be found.

[Vort]

52 minutes ago, Carborendum said:

I happened to be ill that week

If you weren't ill before you heard the talk, you would have been afterward, anyway.

[Carborendum]

33 minutes ago, zil2 said:

Do you suppose there will be an entertainment industry during the Millennium?  Movies, fictional novels and stories, poetry, music (in addition to hymns), painting and sculptures, etc.?  I wonder about such things.  If so, I believe we can have some good clean entertainment.   I can't remember the last time I went to a movie.  I stick with books.  There are still clean books to be found.

That's an interesting question.  I just figured out that I've gone to see only three movies in the theater in about five years.  I don't really remember the last time I went to the cinema before that. 

If you're curious:

• Top Gun: Maverick
• D&D: Honor Among Theives
• Avengers: Endgame

Edited December 6, 2023 by Carborendum

[NeuroTypical]

4 hours ago, Vort said:

Hollywood makes dog doo cookies. Even if you extract (most of) the dog doo, the cookies are what they are.

Excellent rant, and I've probably spent half of my life on your side of the fence.   Certainly, I am constantly able to find endless flaws and reasons to dislike what comes out of 95% of the movies I watch.  But I can also find no end of light-of-Christ-approved universal principles expressed in just about every movie.  Just about every movie is a love story - even the Terminator.

Back in 2016, here was my review of Deadpool:

Quote

Spoilers (I guess)! My review of Deadpool - seen via VidAngel with half of the filters turned on so there's no nookie stuff or innuendo.

Filtered Deadpool is actually a tender love story about a guy who likes to play skeeball and a girl who likes Star Wars. Just as things are going well he discovers he has terminal cancer. Teary soul searching leads him to accept an experimental treatment from someone who turns out to not have his best interests at heart. He is left scarred and afraid his girl can never accept his disfigurement. So he seeks the evildoers in hopes they can make him handsome again. Jovial wisecracking hides his deep pain and fear of rejection.  A kind old blind woman takes him in while he heals - she doesn't really say anything besides "I miss cocaine".  He and his girl are reunited after he learns he'll never be cured, and even though he is terrified, he shows her his face.  She accepts him anyway, because her love of him is based on his nobility and courage, and both go deeper than scars.

For some reason X-men's Colossus is there, constantly reminding Deadpool to watch his language, which he does.

Cool show. Very violent.

 

[Anddenex]

It ended up being a different movie than I thought it would be. I enjoyed the movie overall.

[Vort]

59 minutes ago, NeuroTypical said:

Spoilers (I guess)! My review of Deadpool - seen via VidAngel with half of the filters turned on so there's no nookie stuff or innuendo.

Most interesting fifteen minutes you ever spent.

[mordorbund]

11 hours ago, zil2 said:

Do you suppose there will be an entertainment industry during the Millennium?  Movies, fictional novels and stories, poetry, music (in addition to hymns), painting and sculptures, etc.?  I wonder about such things.  If so, I believe we can have some good clean entertainment.   I can't remember the last time I went to a movie.  I stick with books.  There are still clean books to be found.

For a week or two (after reading a Brigham Young quote about how we'll still build houses, etc.) I got to thinking about what sort of businesses would still be needed in the Millennium. Long story short I concluded that I would be in the same line of work but very likely under new management. At that time I also got to thinking about whether the entertainment I enjoyed would still be a part of the culture. Specifically, I had the movie The Hunt for Red October* in mind. I got penny-wise on it and figured this that and the other could easily be cleaned up and then the pound-fools weighed in with the realization that the film wouldn't be relatable after a generation. The tension of "a war with no battles" and the duplicity of national leaders trying to cover their motives would be alien to the new culture. I still might be able to enjoy a VidAngel version, and my kids may humor my love of it, but my grandkids would find it foreign.

 

* I'm still waiting for that to be converted into an opera. Naval battle ballets; patriotic blues and red; and the bass parts go to the government bureaucrats.

[zil2]

20 hours ago, mordorbund said:

Specifically, I had the movie The Hunt for Red October* in mind. I got penny-wise on it and figured this that and the other could easily be cleaned up and then the pound-fools weighed in with the realization that the film wouldn't be relatable after a generation. The tension of "a war with no battles" and the duplicity of national leaders trying to cover their motives would be alien to the new culture. I still might be able to enjoy a VidAngel version, and my kids may humor my love of it, but my grandkids would find it foreign.

Yes, fictional stories (written or dramatized), which rely heavily on conflict, might all become "foreign".  On the other hand, you'd think we'd still have the scriptures, and especially the Old Testament and Book of Mormon are no different - the entire Book of Mormon would make for exceptional fiction...  So, who knows...

All the other forms of art, including poetry, don't need any conflict, so I would imagine they will continue, with the visual arts reverting to what I believe was their original purpose - to convey beauty.  Perhaps if I survive to the Millennium I can finally learn to draw and paint.   Or perhaps another type of fictional story will arise, one that I cannot now imagine.

Edited December 8, 2023 by zil2

[zil2]

9 hours ago, mordorbund said:

* I'm still waiting for that to be converted into an opera. Naval battle ballets; patriotic blues and red; and the bass parts go to the government bureaucrats.

[NeuroTypical]

18 hours ago, Vort said:

Most interesting fifteen minutes you ever spent.

Honestly, I was surprised.  Deadpool remained a fully intact show that made sense.  Pretty strong evidence that there's a reason they call certain things "gratuitous". 

As an intellectual exercise, I stuck A Clockwork Orange through the Vidangel system, and turned on every filter I could find.  The filters either cut or muted a full 42 minutes from the movie, leaving this:

 

I did not watch it to see if it still made any sense.

Edited December 7, 2023 by NeuroTypical

[Carborendum]

20 hours ago, Vort said:

Most interesting fifteen minutes you ever spent.

No, it wasn't any shorter. It was just a silent film.

[JohnsonJones]

How does it work, or how does it know how or what to filter?

Is there someone who has to go through it first to find it and mark it, or does it use some sort of AI?

[pam]

On 12/6/2023 at 12:19 PM, Carborendum said:

That's an interesting question.  I just figured out that I've gone to see only three movies in the theater in about five years.  I don't really remember the last time I went to the cinema before that. 

If you're curious:

• Top Gun: Maverick
• D&D: Honor Among Theives
• Avengers: Endgame

Absolutely no desire to see any of them.

 

[LDSGator]

25 minutes ago, pam said:

Absolutely no desire to see any of them.

 

I feel the same way about all those movies. Bizarrely, I had someone rant on my FB about how good Top Gun was and how everyone “Patriotic American” has a “requirement” to see the movie. All I could think of was “Really?”  

[The Folk Prophet]

On 12/6/2023 at 10:50 PM, mordorbund said:

* I'm still waiting for that to be converted into an opera. Naval battle ballets; patriotic blues and red; and the bass parts go to the government bureaucrats.

On it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(j/k of course)

[pam]

14 minutes ago, LDSGator said:

I feel the same way about all those movies. Bizarrely, I had someone rant on my FB about how good Top Gun was and how everyone “Patriotic American” has a “requirement” to see the movie. All I could think of was “Really?”  

I won't see it because it has Tom Cruise in it. 

[Carborendum]

50 minutes ago, pam said:

Absolutely no desire to see any of them.

Meh, no accounting for taste.

One thing I'll concede is that unless you're "into" the world of D&D, there were a lot of inside jokes or memes that you simply wouldn't recognize.  There was a whole bit about the Paladin walking over the rock.  It was a huge inside joke that the uninitiated simply wouldn't get.  People in the theaters were half laughing their hearts out.  While the other half were looking around wondering what was so funny.

I liked Maverick because it was the first just pure adrenaline rush movie I've seen in a long time. 

And Endgame... well, it was the end.  Sunk cost.  But it didn't disappoint.

[pam]

43 minutes ago, Carborendum said:

Meh, no accounting for taste.

 

Yep I have absolutely no taste.     

[LDSGator]

3 minutes ago, pam said:

Yep I have absolutely no taste.     

Well, you and I are friends. So @Carborendum may be on to something.