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Mark's Down On Your Syntax

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Join date
4-May-2016
Last activity
20-Jun-2025
Posts
608

Post History

Post
#1087423
Topic
Doctor Who
Time

Has there ever been any official word on whether a character in Doctor Who who meets an older version of themselves, interacts and affects the timeline remembers the encounter?

I’m thinking mainly of Missy and Masty here - are we to assume she always remembered what happened in this last episode before he regenerated into her? Or is it a case of time retconning memories only after the events happened to her?

Or are we just not supposed to ask?!

Post
#1087421
Topic
Help: looking for... StarWars.com 2004 Audio Commentaries
Time

Has anybody ever asked Pablo himself if these can be made available again? They exist somewhere at Lucasfilm and if enough interest is shown he’s certainly got enough clout to get the official site to make them available for streaming or perhaps put on the future blu-ray releases.

I mean, I’m sure it’s not that simple but it can’t hurt to ask him.

Post
#1087104
Topic
STAR WARS: EP V &quot;REVISITED EDITION&quot;<strong>ADYWAN</strong> - <strong>12GB 1080p MP4 VERSION AVAILABLE NOW</strong>
Time

Big lol at finding exactly the same posts in this thread as there were when I left a year ago!

On the subject of the Wampa - he’s a fine looking specimen. The skill it must’ve taken to create him… I hope the making of Revisited has been thoroughly documented because the world needs to see!

Post
#1087092
Topic
Last movie seen
Time

The Haunting (1999)

A well structured, interesting story full of twists and turns, a great set of characters you actually care about, witty dialogue and a subtle, slowly escalating air of creepyness and some genuinely inventive scares are all things this movie didn’t have.

What it did have was some great sets and good-for-the-time CGI. It also had Owen Wilson playing a character named Luke, which isn’t particularly helpful is it?

Boo out of five.

Post
#1085796
Topic
Last movie seen
Time

“Shoot 'em Up” (2007)

A crazier, distant cousin of John Wick with just as high of a body count but the added bonus of two instances of death by vegetable. Dripping with irony and wearing its action movie (and cartoon) influences proudly on its sleeve it definitely lives up to its name.

Paul Giamatti is hamming it up something fierce as the villain and Clive Owen’s gruff, monotone delivery of every single line has never been more appropriate. Monica Bellucci plays a pregnant Italian hooker, so, enough said. Everybody’s in on the joke and from start to finish this film has so much fun. Just watch the background bad guy’s reaction when Giamatti wipes his bloody hand on his coat.

There are many memorable scenes (a gun fight DURING a sex scene!) blink and you’ll miss it visual jokes and one liners that it’s probably going to be just as good on the second viewing.

The shoot-out set to “Ace of Spades” is a standout but everything’s done with so much skill and wit there’s never a dull moment. And just when you think it has nowhere else to go we get a bonkers parachuting gun battle.

I could go on but it’s pretty obvious I liked it, and if you like action movies I’m sure you’ll like it too.

Sample dialogue:

“Find me every wet nurse, lactating hooker and mammary-on-tap in the city.”

“Looking at those dog hairs on your trousers I’d say ol’ duchess took a liking to you.”

It’s a real shame this flopped in theatres, I think it’s a genuine classic of the genre. Beautiful, violent insanity.

I give it 4 and a half carrots out of 5.

Post
#1085353
Topic
If you need to B*tch about something <strong>other than originaltrilogy.com</strong>... This is the place
Time

From a purely psychological and trying-not-to-sound-overly-judgy viewpoint I’d say that anybody looking to make a career for themselves in prostitution is not in a good place. I think whether it’s legal or not and regardless of the superficial intentions of all involved in the transaction there’s a lot of damage being done.

But then again, using another person’s body parts to ease tension and create pleasure for yourself is also an accurate description of having a massage.

What’s my point? Darned if I know, but I don’t think the average masseuse has as many potentially self destructive issues as the average “happy ending” masseuse.

Post
#1085245
Topic
Last movie seen
Time

“Blair Witch” (2016)

I missed this one last year so I thought I’d give it a look last night.

This remakequel does what many movies today seem to think is required and takes a lot of things that made the original work and just copies and pastes them in - because that’s what we audiences want, right? The story beats are the same and there are many shots which are identical (even the very last one before the credits) but it just comes off as lazy rather than an homage. Gone is the subtle paranoia of the unseen force stalking the woods, instead we have multiple UNEXPECTED JUMP SCARES OF SOMEBODY WALKING ON SCREEN and brief (scary?) appearances of… a thing with long arms?! The use of realistic sounds in the original (distant human voices, twigs snapping and babies crying) has been amped up for extra effect with ground shaking bass and some definitely supernatural shrieking. There’s no mystery to that.

The cast are fine though, doing their best with this dross they’ve been given, probably happy to be working. The inclusion of modern era technology works well enough but could’ve been used so much more creatively. How much better would it have been for that drone to give the characters a clear view of the layout of the woods, where the house was, where their cars were, where the other people in their group were, only for them to continually lose their way, lose each other and have things happen with seemingly nobody around to cause it?

Overall, and despite the nifty little bow the film ties itself into with its own timeline, the movie seems ultimately pointless as --SPOILER WARNING-- everybody dies and nobody learns anything and nobody will ever know what happened to anyone.

As someone who is mildly claustrophobic I do have to give the movie some credit for the scene in the tunnel, it was extremely effective and I actually had to look away. Why couldn’t there have been more scenes with that much inventiveness? I think I actually preferred Book of Shadows.

I give it 2 children’s handprints on the wall out of 5 (with a couple of fingers missing).

Post
#1084821
Topic
The &quot;Is it in HD somewhere because I can't find it&quot; thread.
Time

I edited the list as I’ve just discovered the “Before Trilogy” has been released by Criterion as a wonderful looking boxset in the U.S. Also, the outstanding news has dropped that “Batman: Mask of the Phantasm” is coming to Blu-Ray later this year and it’ll be presented in both 16x9 and open matte. I honestly never thought I’d see the day!

Post
#1084275
Topic
Going away? Post so here!
Time

Hey all, I couldn’t find an “I’ve come back after being away” thread so I thought I’d post in this one.

So I’ve come back after being away. My health is super duper again and the future looks good (no joke, they fired proton beams into my brain) and although I’ve got a year’s worth of originaltrilogydotcomming to catch up on I’m looking forward to seeing what I’ve missed.

It’s nice to see most of the old regulars are still here and congratulations on finally finding a cure for the Hansi virus!

I’ve really missed this place and I’m glad to be back.

Post
#962597
Topic
Going away? Post so here!
Time

I know I’ve not been posting here very long but I’ve got to leave already (stupid body being stupid, needs fixin’) I’ve had a lot of fun and I’ll try to stop in and catch up if I get the chance. I like this place, and you’ve all kept me company whenever I needed it long before I started writing my nonsense here. I hope in my brief time I made at least one person laugh!

Please be excellent to each other 😃

Post
#962437
Topic
Last movie seen
Time

“McBain: The Movie” AKA “Eraser” (1996)

A twentieth anniversary viewing of this… production, for me. I actually went to see this in the cinema all those years ago for reasons I still can’t explain and which are even more baffling to me today.

They managed to, one assumes, bribe or threaten the families of Vanessa Williams, James Coburn and James Caan into starring in this. Arnold is as reliably naff as ever and there’s a bit with some 90’s CG alligators that had me snorting my tea out my nose.

It successfully stereotypes Russians, African-Americans, Italian-Americans, Hispanics, Homosexuals AND has a good go at white collar management (every last one of them is corrupt!) so at least it’s not discriminating!

The total disregard for the laws of physics, how computers work (was that Windows 95 in a government lab?), how firearms function and most egregiously, how aeroplanes fly is laughable in a film that plays things as straight and “realistic” as it can.

The bad guy’s name is Deguerin, and given that he’s essentially a gunrunner, that’s about as clever as this waste of everybody’s money gets.

If this had been animated with Rainier Wolfcastle starring it would have been a genuine classic.

I give it a hugely generous 1 and a half “you-survived-that-fall-and-all-you-need-is-a-walking-stick?!”'s out of 5.

Post
#962220
Topic
Franchises which left their franchise name behind (or completely changed it)
Time

(Did HansiG forget how to make pointless threads? This one isn’t half bad!)

Indiana Jones might’ve been put on the DVD cover art but Raiders never had the franchise name.

I’ve also recently seen the Twilight movies listed in TV guides by their sub-titles (New Moon, Eclipse etc) but the posters and DVD covers show them with the “Twilight Saga” banner. I will not subject myself to those films again to check what comes up on screen.

Post
#961578
Topic
If you need to B*tch about something... this is the place
Time

Bingowings said:

Some way into my breakfast I noticed how the beans tasted a bit icky and then I noticed a pork sausage.

I’ve been Vegetarian since 16… I’m nearly 46 but I’m also frugal and hate to waste food.
So I picked out and rolled the sausages into the compost bin and finished the beans on toast but it really tasted and felt rank.

I spent the whole morning feeling kind of sick and sort of contaminated.

In complete seriousness, Bingo - that actually sounds like a pretty nasty experience for you. Going that long without coming into contact with meat products and then having it happen unwittingly? I’m not a vegetarian but I feel for you.

It won’t have much effect psychologically but have you ever tried the trick ofholding a mouthful of olive oil for a minute or so? It cleans your mouth and removes bad tastes and bacteria.

(Of course, if you don’t like olive oil then you’ve given yourself another problem…)