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Post by Plainsman on Oct 30, 2023 12:32:20 GMT -5
That “willing suspension of disbelief” is central to the enjoyment of literature and film. The creator must scrupulously maintain it. Fracturing it on one essential item breaks up the whole structure and down it crumbles. I very much enjoyed Tony Hillerman’s novels. The edifice collapsed when Jim Chee had to take the safety off of his Ruger revolver. I never read anything else by him. He was no longer “reliable.” About anything.
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Post by urbino on Oct 30, 2023 15:08:16 GMT -5
I generally cut writers some slack about these things unless they make it something the plot hinges on or something key to a character arc. In any well written novel there’s going to be so many small details that enthusiasts on that subject will know so much about, it would be impossible to get every one of them completely right. The book would never be finished.
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Post by Plainsman on Oct 30, 2023 15:38:35 GMT -5
Yes, Urb, I do have something like a bias I reckon. But… if a writer has a character put in danger by, say, a diesel engine failure he will do the research so as to be knowledgeable enough to pul it off. If he writes about a farmer seeding a field he will try to be sure he doesn’t make a fool of himself. Any decent, conscientious writer knows how — MUST know!— how to do research. But for some reason that I cannot fathom “guns” seem to be a topic that (some) writers feel it is not important to get right. Contempt? Disapproval? Annoyance at having to deal with the nasty subject in the first place? I know not, but there it is. So, show me you have no respect for me as reader and I’ll return the favor.
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Post by urbino on Oct 30, 2023 15:45:24 GMT -5
Yes, Urb, I do have something like a bias I reckon. But… if a writer has a character put in danger by, say, a diesel engine failure he will do the research so as to be knowledgeable enough to pul it off. If he writes about a farmer seeding a field he will try to be sure he doesn’t make a fool of himself. Any decent, conscientious writer knows how — MUST know!— how to do research. But for some reason that I cannot fathom “guns” seem to be a topic that (some) writers feel it is not important to get right. Contempt? Disapproval? Annoyance at having to deal with the nasty subject in the first place? I know not, but there it is. So, show me you have no respect for me as reader and I’ll return the favor. Or that's just a subject you have an extremely large and detailed knowledge of, making it harder for writers to get it completely right for you. That's all I'm saying. A writer can think they do have it right, only to have it pointed out to them by an enthusiast reader that, actually, there was an exception case the writer didn't know about and it ruined their suspension of disbelief. As one of my grad school professors told me, there's no end to the research you can do on a topic; at some point, you have to just stop and write.
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Post by Plainsman on Oct 30, 2023 15:48:34 GMT -5
It’s not that difficult a subject. You CAN get it right. Just might take a teensy bit of work. It ain’t rocket surgery.
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Post by Ronv69 on Oct 30, 2023 16:41:53 GMT -5
That “willing suspension of disbelief” is central to the enjoyment of literature and film. The creator must scrupulously maintain it. Fracturing it on one essential item breaks up the whole structure and down it crumbles. I very much enjoyed Tony Hillerman’s novels. The edifice collapsed when Jim Chee had to take the safety off of his Ruger revolver. I never read anything else by him. He was no longer “reliable.” About anything. Well, he got old and it slipped by. But, yeah.
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Post by Ronv69 on Oct 30, 2023 16:43:57 GMT -5
Yes, Urb, I do have something like a bias I reckon. But… if a writer has a character put in danger by, say, a diesel engine failure he will do the research so as to be knowledgeable enough to pul it off. If he writes about a farmer seeding a field he will try to be sure he doesn’t make a fool of himself. Any decent, conscientious writer knows how — MUST know!— how to do research. But for some reason that I cannot fathom “guns” seem to be a topic that (some) writers feel it is not important to get right. Contempt? Disapproval? Annoyance at having to deal with the nasty subject in the first place? I know not, but there it is. So, show me you have no respect for me as reader and I’ll return the favor. Or that's just a subject you have an extremely large and detailed knowledge of, making it harder for writers to get it completely right for you. That's all I'm saying. A writer can think they do have it right, only to have it pointed out to them by an enthusiast reader that, actually, there was an exception case the writer didn't know about and it ruined their suspension of disbelief. As one of my grad school professors told me, there's no end to the research you can do on a topic; at some point, you have to just stop and write. It's amazing the details that Patrick O'Brien got right and he wasn't even a sailor.
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Post by Ronv69 on Oct 30, 2023 16:54:29 GMT -5
The Webley-Fosbery Automatic Revolver had a safety, in case you run across it in an old detective story.😉 I believe that the gun was created mainly to sow confusion. Like the platypus.
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Post by Darin on Oct 30, 2023 17:04:10 GMT -5
We bought the movie "Strays". An adult take on the classic "dog journey home". It was pretty funny and one of the dogs looks like our Great Dane, Henry.
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Post by urbino on Oct 30, 2023 18:30:18 GMT -5
We bought the movie "Strays". An adult take on the classic "dog journey home". It was pretty funny and one of the dogs looks like our Great Dane, Henry. How is Henry, btw? Get the seizures under control?
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Post by Plainsman on Oct 30, 2023 22:00:31 GMT -5
Watched RED RIVER tonight. A classic but oh-so dated. 1947 so what would you expect? A good script, until it gets talky. And superb photography. Cinematographers don’t get the credit they deserve as they can MAKE a film. Never cared much for Clift. Still don’t, but he did good here.
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Post by toshtego on Oct 31, 2023 1:04:54 GMT -5
The Webley-Fosbery Automatic Revolver had a safety, in case you run across it in an old detective story.😉 I believe that the gun was created mainly to sow confusion. Like the platypus. As did my Webley Mark IV .38/200 revolvers.
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Post by Darin on Oct 31, 2023 6:41:36 GMT -5
We bought the movie "Strays". An adult take on the classic "dog journey home". It was pretty funny and one of the dogs looks like our Great Dane, Henry. How is Henry, btw? Get the seizures under control? Thanks for asking, Urb. He's doing great on a low dose of Phenobarbital and has had no seizures since August 3rd. This week, he turns 18 months old and is the size of a small deer. Lol
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Post by toshtego on Oct 31, 2023 9:59:40 GMT -5
"The Mind Benders", 1951. English. With Dirk Bogard and a host of regulars. The effects of isolation immersion tanks on brain washing. A movie which should be seen before watching Ken Russel's "Altered States." Available on Amazon Prime Video in the BFI Collection of movies.
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Post by coalsmoke on Oct 31, 2023 17:46:53 GMT -5
Watching the original 1941 production of "The Wolf Man" with Lon Chaney and Claude Rains.
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Post by Plainsman on Nov 1, 2023 9:37:36 GMT -5
HELL OR HIGH WATER last night. Jeff Bridges deserves an Oscar nomination, though it’s water over the dam. Excellent cast and script (by Taylor Sheridan) and a good look at west Texas.
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Post by toshtego on Nov 1, 2023 9:42:28 GMT -5
HELL OR HIGH WATER last night. Jeff Bridges deserves an Oscar nomination, though it’s water over the dam. Excellent cast and script (by Taylor Sheridan) and a good look at west Texas. That was a great movie. Yes, Jeff Bridges was excellent. Great story. I sure got a kick out of the scene at the T-Bone Cafe with that old gal.
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Post by toshtego on Nov 1, 2023 9:45:30 GMT -5
Watching the original 1941 production of "The Wolf Man" with Lon Chaney and Claude Rains. That is a good one. Watched it a few weeks ago. Last night. being Halloween, I watched "Abbot and Costello Meet Frankenstein". The best of their movies and one of Universal's best monster movies. Lou was in top form with his antics. Bella was his excellent Count character. "Ah, you young people. Making the most out of life... while it lasts."
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Post by Plainsman on Nov 1, 2023 10:00:04 GMT -5
“What DON’T you want?”— Rattlesnake waitress.
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Post by urbino on Nov 1, 2023 15:10:27 GMT -5
HELL OR HIGH WATER last night. Jeff Bridges deserves an Oscar nomination, though it’s water over the dam. Excellent cast and script (by Taylor Sheridan) and a good look at west Texas. That the one where he's chasing the two brothers? I enjoyed that one.
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Post by Plainsman on Nov 1, 2023 15:20:38 GMT -5
That’s the one. A really good film. Very Texas.
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Post by toshtego on Nov 1, 2023 15:21:07 GMT -5
HELL OR HIGH WATER last night. Jeff Bridges deserves an Oscar nomination, though it’s water over the dam. Excellent cast and script (by Taylor Sheridan) and a good look at west Texas. That the one where he's chasing the two brothers? I enjoyed that one. I particularly enjoyed that. The old Midland National Bank was a client of mine following their receivership by the FDIC in 1984. Seeing the brother come through the turmoil was a real pleasure.
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Post by toshtego on Nov 1, 2023 15:26:41 GMT -5
That’s the one. A really good film. Very Texas. Almost all of it was filmed in New Mexico. There were two locations in Arizona. Of course, here in northern NM, we call those locations "Texasville" since they border Texas, look like Texas, and are filled with Texans. .
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Post by Plainsman on Nov 1, 2023 15:51:33 GMT -5
I saw that, John. “Very Texas” does not HAVE to be IN Texas. It’s a state of mind as well as terrain.
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Post by toshtego on Nov 1, 2023 16:47:24 GMT -5
I saw that, John. “Very Texas” does not HAVE to be IN Texas. It’s a state of mind as well as terrain. The movie invoked many memories of my time in Texas.
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Post by Plainsman on Nov 1, 2023 21:01:18 GMT -5
Since dvd.com went bellyup I have been watching films from my accumulection. Tonight I watched DEATH WISH, the original 1974 film that started the series. A tale for our times! I was surprised at how timely it seemed. It’s quite a good film actually, and far better than I originally thought. But it had been a LONG time since I had watched it.
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Post by lizardonarock on Nov 1, 2023 21:32:10 GMT -5
Watching World War Z 2013 not filmed in Texas or New Mexico but still a great zombie apocalypse movie. Bradd Pitt does a outstanding job as the lead actor adding to his long list of better than average movies.
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Post by urbino on Nov 1, 2023 21:35:28 GMT -5
I liked that one.
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Post by Ronv69 on Nov 4, 2023 19:19:02 GMT -5
Watched Corsicana, a fictional story about Bass Reeves. Actually a good flick if you can get past the opening, which is so disgusting that it would be unbelievable if it wasn't for recent events that show that there's nothing an evil man won't do.
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Post by Ronv69 on Nov 4, 2023 19:20:22 GMT -5
Watching World War Z 2013 not filmed in Texas or New Mexico but still a great zombie apocalypse movie. Bradd Pitt does a outstanding job as the lead actor adding to his long list of better than average movies. You know that we Texans are just rooting for a zombie apocalypse. 😁
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