Re: It could also be that I'm just hyper-critical about Dutch-spoken movies.
Isaac Send a noteboard - 29/03/2012 09:46:04 PM
Which I guess is just the reverse of the same thing - I'm so used to watching movies or TV in English, with the distance that creates compared to my native language, even now, that acting on what must be a similar level in Dutch strikes me as worse and less convincing. But like I said, she's a fine actress and does convince me, even when speaking Dutch.
It's hard to be less serious than Robocop or Showgirls, though Total Recall has it's deep side. I'm afraid I know of the film chiefly from a random conversation in spring 2007 when we got back to Hesse from a friend's girlfriend trying to talk us into going and seeing it, theater or DVD I wasn't really clear. Much was made of it being directed by him and the presumed assumption that the copy of Starship Troopers (book) that was lying next to my ashtray at the time would make me a fan of his work, and admittedly he has done some decent stuff, that was probably what got the discussion started. I generally pass on subtitled films because I have difficulty simultaneously keeping up with the visuals and the text, making it tricky to get into the film, so I generally only make exceptions for must-sees like Das Boot.
Yeah. Verhoeven isn't exactly what you'd call a top director anyway. I guess it's just a rather heavy and serious topic to make over the top movies about.
Well that's practically his specialty when you get around to it.
You do miss out on a lot then, I'm so used to subtitles myself that it makes zero difference to me except on those occasions that I try to train myself in a language by putting subtitles on in a language I don't speak very well yet... struggling to translate subtitles does indeed detract from the movie you're watching, who'd have thought? Though even so, only slightly, as it's just a totally different kind of activity.
Das Boot is a masterpiece, alright.
Very, though Peterson is another of those director's who seems kinda coinflip odds on 'great' or 'meh'. I actually used Das Boot as one of my attempts to get better at German, I'd say it and some parallel attempts helped except that even living there for three years never got me even up to 'Taxi Driver' level of proficiency. Putting on foreign subtitles to an English movie sounds like it might be handy but knowing myself I'm pretty sure I'd tune them out. Considering some of the hatchet jobs I've seen of re-Enlgished subtitles on the various 'totally not pirated' DVD's I picked up downrange I figure I'm better off with dubbed stuff anyway, with a good actor and director the visuals and body language often matter more than the tone of voice, and since I can't walk and chew bubble gum by reading the subtitles and paying attention to the characters it's probably the best option for me.
I saw van Houten in Valkyrie (I guess, wiki-prodded memory) the movie didn't really do much for me, I'll be curious to see how she does in Game of Thrones, not a huge Martin fan but Season 1 was good enough I'll be tuning into season 2, she should be in the first episode, which IIRC comes out this weekend.
Between her and Sibel Kekilli (Shae), Game of Thrones seems to have started a pattern of putting world class actresses into surprisingly small roles... next time you're up for watching a movie with subtitles (of two different languages, no less), you should watch Kekilli in Head-On (Gegen die Wand).
I might give that one a try just to see how much German I remember and if it helps or hurts following the subtitles. Might be interesting to see if its harder or easier for me to follow it when it flips between Turkish and German.
Just watched the first season myself, I guess in another year the DVD of season 2 will come out and I'll be able to watch it at last... 
Ah, I also routinely wait for whole seasons to come out, especially if they're fairly serial cliffhanger rather than old-style unrelated plot.
The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift.
- Albert Einstein
King of Cairhien 20-7-2
Chancellor of the Landsraad, Archduke of Is'Mod
- Albert Einstein
King of Cairhien 20-7-2
Chancellor of the Landsraad, Archduke of Is'Mod
Test Your Geekdom, Vol V: The Sincerest Form of Flattery
- 27/03/2012 01:41:10 AM
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15/20. I guess this one was rather easier than the previous ones...
- 27/03/2012 06:00:27 PM
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- 27/03/2012 06:00:27 PM
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This seems to be a good difficulty level to aim at
- 28/03/2012 01:35:02 PM
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Zwartboek is an... interesting movie.
- 28/03/2012 10:36:20 PM
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You're probably right about the subtitles
- 29/03/2012 07:29:13 PM
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It could also be that I'm just hyper-critical about Dutch-spoken movies.
- 29/03/2012 08:43:48 PM
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Re: It could also be that I'm just hyper-critical about Dutch-spoken movies.
- 29/03/2012 09:46:04 PM
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