Author Topic: Last movie you saw?  (Read 554546 times)

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Offline hefdaddy42

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Re: Last movie you saw?
« Reply #7455 on: September 14, 2020, 08:08:06 AM »
With the Oscars, I find that they normally do a fair job of narrowing down the field to the five (or, now, ten) nominees for Best Picture.  Then, the winner is rarely head and shoulders above the other nominees.  Usually, the winner could be any of those nominees.  Especially over the course of the last 25 to 30 years.
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Offline pg1067

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Re: Last movie you saw?
« Reply #7456 on: September 14, 2020, 10:29:14 AM »
I think everyone has those classic "how have you never seen that?!" movies that they just never got around to seeing.

New sub-topic: What's the most famous, classic, "how have you never seen that?!" film?

Mine is probably Gone With the Wind. But then I wonder, despite it being a classic and one of the most (albeit controversially, now) highly-regarded films of all time, has "everyone" actually seen this?

Absolutely not.  I've never seen it and am pretty sure my wife never has.  ZERO interest.


Browsing through the list of Best Movie winners at the Oscars, other very famous titles I didn't see are:

Generally speaking, if a movie wins best picture at the Oscars, I'm not going to have any interest.

The last best picture Oscar winner I saw was, I think, Argo, which I probably saw on pay-per-view in a hotel.  Before that, it was Lord of the Rings: Return of the King.  I saw several winners in the 90s:  Dances with Wolves, Silence of the Lambs, Unforgiven, Forrest Gump, Braveheart, Titanic and Shakespeare in Love.  Never seen Schindler's List.  From the 80s, the only one I saw was Rain Man.

I'm not 100% sure I ever saw the first Rocky, but I probably did.  Sometime back in the mid-90s, my wife and I watched Godfather, although when I mentioned it recently, she denied it.  I don't remember if we also watched Godfather 2.

Looking at the AFI 100, I've for sure seen 21, and the number is probably closer to 25, but I can't remember some.  The only two of the top 10 I've seen are Godfather and Wizard of Oz (although I MIGHT have seen Citizen Kane in a college history of film class).


This is a cynical take, but I don't put much stock in "Oscar Winner".   At least in the last 25 years or so, it seems such a clique-y in-group kind of thing, with "buzz" and "word of mouth" that I think there are as many "statement" (political, social or community) wins as there are legit, "now THAT was a film!" wins.   I have zero desire to see Shakespeare In Love, but Cuckoo's Nest is a must-see film.  I loved that movie (and the book, by the way).

But WHY is Cuckoo's Nest a "must-see film"?  When I was in a band, the guitar player and I felt like we needed to see Clockwork Orange.  We were both left with a WTF feeling.

Having looked at the last 40 years or so, it seems like the last 15 years have been all about "edgy" "artsy" stuff.  The prior 20+ years seemed to be very much about popular appeal stuff (which is why I saw a lot of 90s winners).


The one good shark film i've seen since that is literally Jason Statham's The MEG.

I was expecting it to be tongue in cheek fun - and that's exactly what it is. It's a really fun film that doesn't take itself seriously but isn't deliberately shit trying to be a cult film like ShartNado.

The Meg was ok.  My biggest problem with it was that I really enjoyed the book, but the movie had virtually nothing to do with the book.  The similarities were limited to:  (1) the premise that megalodons survived but only at the greatest depths of the ocean; (2) one (two actually) got released into the upper ocean as a result of a submersible in the Mariana Trench; and (3) the lead character was named Jonas Taylor, and a side character was named "Mac."  There might be a few other trivial things, but the plot was NOTHING like the book, which means the planned sequel will probably look even less like the "source material."
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Offline Stadler

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Re: Last movie you saw?
« Reply #7457 on: September 14, 2020, 11:42:36 AM »
This is a cynical take, but I don't put much stock in "Oscar Winner".   At least in the last 25 years or so, it seems such a clique-y in-group kind of thing, with "buzz" and "word of mouth" that I think there are as many "statement" (political, social or community) wins as there are legit, "now THAT was a film!" wins.   I have zero desire to see Shakespeare In Love, but Cuckoo's Nest is a must-see film.  I loved that movie (and the book, by the way).

But WHY is Cuckoo's Nest a "must-see film"?  When I was in a band, the guitar player and I felt like we needed to see Clockwork Orange.  We were both left with a WTF feeling.

Having looked at the last 40 years or so, it seems like the last 15 years have been all about "edgy" "artsy" stuff.  The prior 20+ years seemed to be very much about popular appeal stuff (which is why I saw a lot of 90s winners).

I don't quite know how the last sentence fits with what I said (that's my fault) but I use "must-see" not because you'll love it!, but because it brings something to the experience of watching movies.  I think there's enough there in terms of the performances (Nicholson, Fletcher, Forman), in terms of the making of the movie (Forman, the guy that did the soundtrack) and the story (how it works on a couple levels) that it's a worthwhile addition to anyone's enjoyment of other movies.   

I've said this in terms of music; it's helpful to have a working knowledge of what came before.   Yeah, Lady Gaga is awesome, and a real talent, but if you know Madonna and her career, it puts it into perspective.   Pearl Jam is awesome.  As I've learned about The Who, it's changed what and how I see Pearl Jam.  I could do this for any of 30 other bands.  Doesn't mean they aren't doing great things, and pushing the envelope, but I think it's interesting to see how things evolve.

Back to movies, it's almost quaint how confident McMurphy was that he could game the system, and even have fun doing it, and yet at the end, the system ground him up and spit him out.   McMurphy was flabbergasted that most of the people were there voluntarily.   The only one that seemed to be a man on his own was Chief; he wasn't there voluntarily, but he played the game as long as he could, and likely would have continued to play the game, but opted to buck it when he couldn't be clear if he was going to end up like McMurphy.   It's a fascinating juxtaposition to today, for one example, where there are so many discussions of the system, it's efficacy, and the people operating within, and without, it.

Offline Kotowboy

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Re: Last movie you saw?
« Reply #7458 on: September 14, 2020, 05:56:10 PM »
S T A L L O N E   S N I P E S
D e m o l i t i o n   M a n


Second time ever seeing this. Obviously I'm a lot older now and I was laughing consistently. But WITH the film. Not AT it.  ;D

It's not even billed as a 'comedy' but it's funnier than most 'comedies' nowadays which are just people shouting and badly improvising to a locked off camera.

The tone was just like Last Action Hero - but I think I prefer this. I love when Bullock mentions President Schwarzenegger and Stallone is like  :(

Funny film.

However - one of my peeves in these types of films - is - when a guy ( police officer or villain ) is supposed to be *best of the best* or *baddest of the bad*

and it ALWAYS comes down to who can punch the hardest. Not who is the most tactical or smart. Whenever it comes down to Good v Bad in a fist fight I zone out.


Offline Orbert

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Re: Last movie you saw?
« Reply #7459 on: September 14, 2020, 08:10:26 PM »
Demolition Man does have a lot of humor in it, and it comes quite naturally to the script.  It doesn't feel forced, and it doesn't detract from the "seriousness" of the film.  Snipes is fucking crazy, there's no question about it, but he's smart and resourceful.  Stallone's at least half nuts himself.  And every restaurant is Taco Bell, the only survivor of the franchise wars.

Offline Bolsters

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Re: Last movie you saw?
« Reply #7460 on: September 14, 2020, 09:23:00 PM »
I still want to know how you're supposed to use the three sea shells.

Offline Kotowboy

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Re: Last movie you saw?
« Reply #7461 on: September 15, 2020, 04:51:47 AM »
I love jokes where they never explain it.

Too many films would go to great lengths to show you.

Like literally any Will Ferrell or Adam Sandler nonsense. And they'd show you whilst SCREAMING AT THE CAMERA.

Offline pg1067

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Re: Last movie you saw?
« Reply #7462 on: September 15, 2020, 11:42:46 AM »
Not a me thing, but I wanted to share that my wife and son went to see Tenet this past weekend -- IN THE THEATER!!!

They both said the movie was hella confusing, but they were glad for the opportunity to go to a theater!  Yea!!
« Last Edit: September 15, 2020, 12:46:50 PM by pg1067 »
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Offline Phoenix87x

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Re: Last movie you saw?
« Reply #7463 on: September 15, 2020, 11:52:58 AM »
Also saw Tenet in the theater recently.

And it was Surreal. Not the movie, but going back to the theater for the first time. The place was like a ghost town. This is a pretty big place and I saw 2 employees total, and maybe 3 other movie goers. It was such a wild feeling.

Offline Stadler

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Re: Last movie you saw?
« Reply #7464 on: September 15, 2020, 12:43:23 PM »
I love when Bullock mentions President Schwarzenegger and Stallone is like  :(

Not generally a fan of the fourth wall/meta in-jokes. 

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Re: Last movie you saw?
« Reply #7465 on: September 16, 2020, 11:38:54 AM »
I love when Bullock mentions President Schwarzenegger and Stallone is like  :(

Not generally a fan of the fourth wall/meta in-jokes.

Those two did that a few times as friends. In Last Action Hero, they showed a cardboard thing of T2 and Stallone is the Terminator. It's just generally a cute call out thing.
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Offline New World Rushman

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Re: Last movie you saw?
« Reply #7466 on: September 18, 2020, 12:25:06 PM »
I started watching the star-studded table read of Fast Times last night, and will finish it later.

If you haven't heard about it, it featured Brad Pitt, Jennifer Aniston, Julia Roberts, Matthew McConaughey, the original Spicoli, Sean Penn (though he only played the part of "Mr. Pizza Guy"), and many other big names.

Now this is one of those movies that my friends and I can quote from all day. We were all around 19 - 20 when it came out and know it front to back. I loved what I saw, but one thing that surprised me was how many lines were completely different than the movie. I assume the table read was of the original script, and the final product must have had a lot of re-writes or maybe even ad-libs.

Also, there's nothing like hearing The official Voice of God, Morgan Freeman (who was the narrator), saying
"She takes out a carrot stick and eases it down her throat"!  :o

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Offline pg1067

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Re: Last movie you saw?
« Reply #7467 on: September 18, 2020, 01:50:47 PM »
I watched Bedazzled last night on HBO or something.  It's a 2000 movie starring Brendan Fraser as a lonely dork who sells his soul to the devil (played by Elizabeth Hurley).  Apparently, it's a remake of a Dudley Moore movie from about 30 years earlier, but I didn't know that until today.

Anyway, it's not a good movie, but it's worth watching solely to see Liz Hurley change from one HOT outfit to another throughout the movie.  Holy crap, she was so damn good looking back then!
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Re: Last movie you saw?
« Reply #7468 on: September 18, 2020, 01:54:49 PM »
She still is:


Offline pg1067

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Re: Last movie you saw?
« Reply #7469 on: September 18, 2020, 03:54:01 PM »
She still is:

You'll get no argument from me.

This is the particular scene/outfit that prompted me to post:

"There's a bass solo in a song called Metropolis where I do a bass solo."  John Myung

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Re: Last movie you saw?
« Reply #7470 on: September 18, 2020, 05:38:12 PM »
I don't like country music, but I don't mean to denigrate those who do. And for the people who like country music, denigrate means 'put down'.” - Bob Newhart
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Offline Phoenix87x

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Re: Last movie you saw?
« Reply #7471 on: September 18, 2020, 09:00:55 PM »

Offline MirrorMask

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Re: Last movie you saw?
« Reply #7472 on: September 19, 2020, 04:25:07 AM »
And based on the recent discussions about famous movies never seen, can you guess which one I scratched off the list?

yup... One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.

The first minutes it was just noticing famous things or actors - "Oh, look, that's Jack Nicholson's iconic hat.... oh, that's the indian guy.... wait, is that a young Wormtongue? IS THAT A YOUNG DOC BROWN?", then I eventually settled in the story (fun fact - midway through the movie I thought "hey, that guy looks like Danny DeVito", turns out he was indeed DeVito).

I knew the iconing ending, but that didn't spoil the viewing experience - if at all, it prepared me for a sucker punch because you can't help but root for the guys and the hope they get more humane conditions but no, this was marked for tragedy since the beginning.

I say this is one of those movies who are 101% deserving of the fame, classic status and praise they got over the years and it doesn't sound dated at all.

I feel like listening Alice Cooper's From the Inside album now, the album based entirely on his experiences in rehab.
« Last Edit: September 19, 2020, 09:56:57 AM by MirrorMask »
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Offline Orbert

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Re: Last movie you saw?
« Reply #7473 on: September 19, 2020, 09:15:01 AM »
I saw the movie One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest a few times when I was in high school, then read the book for the first time in a freshman literature class.  I was blown away to realize that the book was written from the Chief's point of view.  I thought that that was a brilliant device.

It's what got me thinking that there should be a proper definition of "second person" viewpoint in writing.  First person is when it's written by the main character's point of view: "It bothered me that she never answered my question."  Third person is when the story is told by a narrator, some unseen person: "It bothered him that she never answered his question."

I'd already read all the Sherlock Holmes stories by then, which are told from the viewpoint of Dr. Watson.  So the stories are told "first person" but Watson is not the main character; Holmes is.  Cuckoo's Nest is similar.  McMurphy is the main character, but he's not the one telling the story.  I asked my prof it there was such thing as "second person" and explained my rationale.  With "second person" viewpoint, you get the story told not by some omniscient narrator, nor the subjective viewpoint of the protagonist, but by the presumably more objective viewpoint of someone in the story.  I thought I was on to something.  He said something like "That's cute" or whatever.  Dismissed it totally.  Watson and the Chief are first persons who are not the first person.

Offline Cool Chris

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Re: Last movie you saw?
« Reply #7474 on: September 19, 2020, 09:45:11 AM »
Brad Dourif owned that role of Billy Bibbitt. He was only nominated for an Oscar, but he did receive other accolades for that performance.

Telling the movie through the Chief's eyes would have been a challenge, since in the book he is truly an impartial, silent observer. Works much better in print than film. The fill makers did a great job condensing the story down to the core element of McMurphy rallying the troops against Ratched, and made a wonderful film. The Shawshank Redemption is similar. It is ostensibly Andy's story, Red is just our narrator. But it is really Red's story, Andy is just the catalyst.

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Offline Orbert

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Re: Last movie you saw?
« Reply #7475 on: September 19, 2020, 05:04:54 PM »
Oh, I agree that telling the story, on film, through the Chief's eyes would have been tough.  The device of focusing on the Chief's face, then seeing McMurphy in action and whatever else was going on, would have to be used enough to make things clear, but it would get old really fast, so there would have to be variations, and it would eventually be done less and less because the viewer has "learned" to interpret things properly.  And of course, Chief also serves as our narrator in the book, and the film doesn't have narration, so something else that would have to be somehow conveyed.  Remember that the Chief himself was at least partly insane.  He had episodes where they flooded the room with fog and stuff, and sometimes it was hard to see and hear stuff.  And they shrunk him somehow, but McMurphy made him big again.

I loved his line about houses.  When they're driving through the 'burbs -- I think it was on the way to the fishing trip -- he comments on the rows of identical houses, they're squeezed out that way by a giant machine, like a sausage-making machine, all identical.  Definitely would be a challenge to film, though it does work fine in print.

Offline Cool Chris

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Re: Last movie you saw?
« Reply #7476 on: September 19, 2020, 10:27:26 PM »
Remember that the Chief himself was at least partly insane. 

I have not read the book in a long time, but just to stir the pot a bit... was he? 
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Offline Orbert

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Re: Last movie you saw?
« Reply #7477 on: September 19, 2020, 10:32:59 PM »
I always thought so.  He talked rather matter-of-factly about things that you know couldn't possibly be real.  They did not shrink him.  At no point was he physically any less the large, imposing Indian guy he always was.  That was all in his head.  The times when (according to him), they would flood the room with some kind of fog, making it hard to see anything.  No, that was just him having episodes.  That kind of thing.

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Re: Last movie you saw?
« Reply #7478 on: September 19, 2020, 10:38:31 PM »
Correct to all that, but was that due to insanity (at least in the clinical sense)? Or was it just his mind forming a sort of alternate reality to deal with the crappy reality he found himself it? Or is there not all that much difference between the two? He certainly was a few fries short of a happy meal, but remember that some of the acutes (I believe that is what they called them) were not that far gone. Some of them were there willingly. I wouldn't want to meet Taber on a dark alley at midnight, but Billy Bibbitt would have been fine if he just told his mom to f*@& off and let him live his life.
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Offline MirrorMask

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Re: Last movie you saw?
« Reply #7479 on: September 20, 2020, 01:03:58 PM »
Trailing along Jack Nicholson's prime.... is Chinatown worth watching? I mean, of course everything is subjective, but it's one of those "you had to be there" movies, or it's kinda timeless like Cuckoo? from the same timeframe is Taxi Driver which I LOVED, it was so immersive and gripping, but I've read that Chinatown is set in Los Angeles so, even if it's a '70s noir like Taxi Driver was, the atmosphere might be drastically different.
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Offline Cool Chris

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Re: Last movie you saw?
« Reply #7480 on: September 20, 2020, 01:18:04 PM »
Had a hard time with Chinatown myself. Was a while ago, cannot recall why I didn't enjoy it. Seems like a film such as that would have been right up my alley.
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Re: Last movie you saw?
« Reply #7481 on: September 20, 2020, 01:18:45 PM »
Trailing along Jack Nicholson's prime.... is Chinatown worth watching? I mean, of course everything is subjective, but it's one of those "you had to be there" movies, or it's kinda timeless like Cuckoo? from the same timeframe is Taxi Driver which I LOVED, it was so immersive and gripping, but I've read that Chinatown is set in Los Angeles so, even if it's a '70s noir like Taxi Driver was, the atmosphere might be drastically different.

I saw Chinatown not too long ago. It’s slow and calm but really fantastic. As long as you’re not expecting modern movie hyper pacing, you might dig it.
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Offline El Barto

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Re: Last movie you saw?
« Reply #7482 on: September 20, 2020, 10:00:05 PM »
I dug Chinatown. It's fairly complicated, but certainly worth watching. I've never been much of a Jack Nicholson fan, so it was cool to see him before he became a caricature. John Huston was also a hoot.
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Offline Stadler

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Re: Last movie you saw?
« Reply #7483 on: September 21, 2020, 08:18:13 AM »
My $0.02:  Chief wasn't "insane", but thought about things differently and so was considered insane.  Sort of a metaphor for the movie.  Those "episodes" were themselves metaphorical.

I need to revisit Chinatown; it didn't work for me when I saw it, but I think I didn't pay it enough attention.   All the (good) things said here are essentially true, so I think maybe I owe it another watch. 

Offline hefdaddy42

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Re: Last movie you saw?
« Reply #7484 on: September 21, 2020, 08:35:47 AM »
It's what got me thinking that there should be a proper definition of "second person" viewpoint in writing.  First person is when it's written by the main character's point of view: "It bothered me that she never answered my question."  Third person is when the story is told by a narrator, some unseen person: "It bothered him that she never answered his question."
Your "first person" definition isn't quite right.  It doesn't have to from the main character's point of view.  It just has to be a character in the story, telling from an "I/we" perspective.  Third person is, as you say, someone not directly involved, using the "he/she/they" perspective.

Second person is rarely used, because it is the story being told to the reader.  It uses the "You/You're" perspective.
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Offline Orbert

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Re: Last movie you saw?
« Reply #7485 on: September 21, 2020, 08:46:56 AM »
My $0.02:  Chief wasn't "insane", but thought about things differently and so was considered insane.  Sort of a metaphor for the movie.  Those "episodes" were themselves metaphorical.

It's been a while since I read the book, but I don't remember anything hinting that the episodes were metaphorical.  It simply wasn't in the writing style.  I thought it was pretty obvious that the Chief was mentally unstable, if only to provide a less-than-reliable point of view.

It's what got me thinking that there should be a proper definition of "second person" viewpoint in writing.  First person is when it's written by the main character's point of view: "It bothered me that she never answered my question."  Third person is when the story is told by a narrator, some unseen person: "It bothered him that she never answered his question."
Your "first person" definition isn't quite right.  It doesn't have to from the main character's point of view.  It just has to be a character in the story, telling from an "I/we" perspective.  Third person is, as you say, someone not directly involved, using the "he/she/they" perspective.

Second person is rarely used, because it is the story being told to the reader.  It uses the "You/You're" perspective.

In my experience at the time, "first person" stories were always told by the main character, and it's still the most common.  The only exception I was aware of was the Sherlock Homes stories, which is why they stuck out to me.  When we read Cuckoo's Nest, I was reminded of the "theory" I'd formed back in junior high about "second person".  I figured a professor of literature would be a good person to ask, but he basically told me I was wrong, that's not how it works, and blew me off.  I would have liked a more thorough explanation.  At the very least, it would have been nice to know that "second person" is an actual thing so I could stop putting it in quotes, because I was left with the impression that there's no such thing.

I don't quite follow your explanation, though.  The story is being told to the reader, and the reader actually experienced the events (thus the "You/You're" perspective)?  Can you provide an example?

Offline MirrorMask

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Re: Last movie you saw?
« Reply #7486 on: September 21, 2020, 08:54:24 AM »
I think Watson is still a first person since he's inside the story and telling it.... it's just that he's not the protagonist, so he doesn't say "I realized this was a clue" because "Homes realized this was a clue". But still, he's writing the story, no omniscent abstract person is there to tell it.

Maybe that was the rationale for your teacher to blow you off, certainly he could have explained it a little better, whatever the actual reason.
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Offline Orbert

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Re: Last movie you saw?
« Reply #7487 on: September 21, 2020, 09:38:08 AM »
I understand that.  My only misconception was thinking that "first person" meant it was the main character, but as I said, that was based on my limited experience at the time.  It did seem to leave the door open for "second person", and if my freshman literature prof had just explained that it exists and what it was instead of blowing me off, I would have known for the past 30-some years instead of wondering all this time why there's no such thing as "second person" and why my definition isn't viable.

Offline hefdaddy42

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Re: Last movie you saw?
« Reply #7488 on: September 21, 2020, 12:03:53 PM »
I don't quite follow your explanation, though.  The story is being told to the reader, and the reader actually experienced the events (thus the "You/You're" perspective)?  Can you provide an example?
Well, like I said, it's rare.  I don't know of any novels written in second person off the top of my head.

There is a great horror short story that I have at home, but I don't remember the name or author at the moment.  I will get it for you.

The best example I can think of right now are Choose-Your_Own-Adventure books.  "You walk down the hall and come to a passageway.  You can turn left or right."
Hef is right on all things. Except for when I disagree with him. In which case he's probably still right.

Offline Orbert

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Re: Last movie you saw?
« Reply #7489 on: September 21, 2020, 12:14:46 PM »
Ah, I get it.  By "example" I meant like you could just make one up, as I did, to show how it works, so this is fine.  I hadn't really thought of which voice the choose-your-own books are written in, but if this is what we call second person, then at least I get it now.