2 Rants

PatH · 07-18-2006, 01:27 AM

Saw "Dead Man's Chest" the other night and enjoyed it, but this is not a discussion of the movie. Bought the soundtrack at best buy (I won't dignify them with even capital letters) and was less than delighted to learn that Track 12 was a DJ remix inspired by the film. On listening to this, it bore little, if any, resemblance to Zimmer's score. The 2 bonus tracks I got for buying it at best buy were also DJ remixes and these at least bore some connection to the film. Not enough for a second listen, though. I now convert all my CD's to MP3's and my "Dead Man's Chest" stops after Track 11. I understand that profit motivates this, but how many people are going to buy a soundtrack for one DJ mix when it is (thankfully!) not heard in the movie?

Second rant: there is on this site somewhere a topic about the least enjoyable aspects of the movie going experience. I'm not going to waste all night trying to search for it (I really haven't figured out HTF's search engine, considering some of the results I've gotten for some of the searches I have done. But that's another topic).

Anyway, I can put up with cell phones (much less so after the movie starts, of course), and commercials (some of them are actually amusing). But I'm getting really sick of the Movie Music or Cinema Sounds or whatever they call the noise that hits you when you come in the door and doesn't let up 'til the house lights go down. This music rarely has anything to do with the movies but is only a vehicle to try to ram whatever new artists the music arm of the entertainment conglomerate has down the public throat. Even worse, the last such loop I endured was only three songs at most! I've even heard the canned DJ thank me for listening, as if, having decided to come to a movie, I have a choice.

I've always felt that on some level movies were a collective experience, with the movie stirring the audience and the audience reacting to the movie and each other (watching Jaws alone, for example, is a completely different experience than watching it with a theater full of people). But I'm beginning more and more to hope for the day when movies will be released for DVD or download on the same day as theatrically; I want to watch the movie, not put up with all the unrelated crap that goes with it now. But I'm already 57 and may not last long enough for this to happen

PatH

TheLongshot · 07-18-2006, 12:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PatH

Saw "Dead Man's Chest" the other night and enjoyed it, but this is not a discussion of the movie. Bought the soundtrack at best buy (I won't dignify them with even capital letters) and was less than delighted to learn that Track 12 was a DJ remix inspired by the film. On listening to this, it bore little, if any, resemblance to Zimmer's score. The 2 bonus tracks I got for buying it at best buy were also DJ remixes and these at least bore some connection to the film. Not enough for a second listen, though. I now convert all my CD's to MP3's and my "Dead Man's Chest" stops after Track 11. I understand that profit motivates this, but how many people are going to buy a soundtrack for one DJ mix when it is (thankfully!) not heard in the movie?

This isn't exactly new. There have been a few CDs out there of music inspired by a movie, where they weren't actually in the movie. The example that comes to mind was Madonna's "I'm Breathless" album, which contains the three songs she did for Dick Tracy and a bunch of others which were inspired by the movie. (With the exception of Vogue, which didn't fit at all, and seemed to be a saftey valve for her hit machine.)

Personally, as long as something movie related didn't get omitted for it to be included, I don't care. If I don't like the song, I can always burn a copy without the song on it.

Quote:

Anyway, I can put up with cell phones (much less so after the movie starts, of course), and commercials (some of them are actually amusing). But I'm getting really sick of the Movie Music or Cinema Sounds or whatever they call the noise that hits you when you come in the door and doesn't let up 'til the house lights go down. This music rarely has anything to do with the movies but is only a vehicle to try to ram whatever new artists the music arm of the entertainment conglomerate has down the public throat. Even worse, the last such loop I endured was only three songs at most! I've even heard the canned DJ thank me for listening, as if, having decided to come to a movie, I have a choice.

Yet, you don't mind the commercials? Strange.

Also, you are talking about something that has probably been a part of the movie experience for the past 20 years. Personally, I don't mind the music, since it is usually low key enough that you can have a conversation over it. You can't say the same for something like "The Twenty", which Regal does for the 20 minutes before a film starts.

Jason

Chuck Mayer · 07-18-2006, 12:30 PM

My newest theater plays famous movie music until the trailers...Conan, Raiders, Star Wars, Titanic, LOTR, Captain Blood, etc. It's quite cool.

Haggai · 07-18-2006, 01:11 PM

Chuck, it's actually from The Sea Hawk, not Captain Blood...time to shrink that head?

Ricardo C · 07-18-2006, 01:36 PM

You think you have it bad? Gather 'round, my children...

Sunday I went to see Dead Man's Chest, too. Wanna know what I sat through?

1. Government-mandated "commercial" trumpeting agreements signed by the president with this or that company. You've not experienced true horror until you've seen Hugo Chávez's face plastered on a 50-foot wide screen. To make it even worse, the clip was shot in 4x3 and was stretched to 2.35:1.

2. Government-mandated commercial for "Amazonia Films", Chávez's answer to "the imperialist Hollywood brainwashing machine". Of course, it was the same ad I saw when I last visited this particular theater six months ago, which means they haven't produced anything yet. Their slogan is "come watch".

3. Government-mandated piece on a local sculptor who makes horse sculptures out of reshaped junk. Interesting, although I resent having it force-fed.

4. Condom ad, shot like a movie love scene, so that when it begins you think it's a trailer. The background song lyrics include "I want to wake up inside you". No nudity, but darn close. The tagline is "when you sleep with someone, you sleep with their entire history. Protect yourself, wear a condom." Creative, though wildly out of place in an A-rated film (DMC received the equivalent of a G rating here).

5. Trailers for Deja Vu and The Guardian.

6. Finally, the film. Remember the aforementioned "A" rating the film was given here? Imagine a toddler wailing at the top of his lungs for the duration of Davey Jones' first scene. Icing on my particular cake

**HTF Ads**

Haggai · 07-18-2006, 02:06 PM

Quote:

You've not experienced true horror until you've seen Hugo Chávez's face plastered on a 50-foot wide screen. To make it even worse, the clip was shot in 4x3 and was stretched to 2.35:1.

Leave it to an HTFer to see through to the REAL source of the horror--theatrical projection that isn't OAR!

That does sound like a rough time at the movies, Ricardo. Although the condom ad sounds pretty funny.

PatH · 07-18-2006, 09:46 PM

Chuck:

Is this newest theater of yours a real theater or your home theater. If a real theater, what chain is it?

PatH

Malcolm R · 07-18-2006, 10:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PatH

Chuck:

Is this newest theater of yours a real theater or your home theater. If a real theater, what chain is it?

PatH

If real, it's probably not part of a chain. Hence why it's not using every spare moment to shill stuff to the captive audience.

Haggai · 07-19-2006, 09:40 AM

Chuck is referring to a recently-opened theater that's part of the Consolidated Theatres chain, which is a regional circuit based in North Carolina.

Chuck Mayer · 07-19-2006, 10:32 AM

Haggai and I saw V for Vendetta there, hence his correction of my soundtrack mishap. It is a Consolidated Theaters, titled Kingstowne 16. The Palmetto Grande in Mount Pleasant, SC is from the same chain.

The music is a nice touch, before the ads begin at least

Garrett Lundy · 07-19-2006, 10:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ricardo_C

..... "I want to wake up inside you". .....

Best ..... Pickup Line ..... Ever.