Saturday Movie Post

By Shamus Posted Saturday Jun 12, 2010

Filed under: Movies 78 comments

The Saturday morning movie post begins with a coy introduction designed to make you curious about the video in the hopes of enticing you to watch it. Then it’s followed by a YouTube embed of the video in question:


Link (YouTube)

After the video I’ll refer to the content more explicitly, and I’ll try to mention what parts I thought were interesting or perhaps what it is about the subject matter that caused me to link it in the first place.

And finally I’ll have the wrap-up paragraph, where I’ll say something in hopes of inciting a response or starting a conversation.

 


From The Archives:
 

78 thoughts on “Saturday Movie Post

  1. Falcon_47 says:

    I guess this is the part where we, the viewers of said video, post some sort of illuminating fact about what we just saw.
    Or we simply go on saying something completely irrelevant to the discussion at hand.
    In the end it’s pretty much your choice.

    OT: nice one, it had me laughing quite a bit.

    1. Ben says:

      This is the part where I hijack the first post with an unrelated comment, but really I just want you to click on the link to my homepage that I included in my post.

      Except I don’t have a page I want to share, so here’s something better: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmBtanGjziM

      1. Mari says:

        And here’s the part where some random internet troll pops in to tell everybody how much they suck. Oh, and long live the reign of the Republicans/Democrats/Labour/Torries/Greenies/Fascists/political party of your choice. Because all other politicians suck as well and are personally responsible for this terrifying news segment.

        1. Audacity says:

          Well this is the part where some other poster ignores the troll and moves back on topic. Thanking Shamus for another amusing Saturday morning diversion.

          1. Moridin says:

            Except it’s Saturday evening where I live

            1. Another Scott says:

              Eventually someone will post an reply to an earlier remark that is unconnected to its content, only ‘replying’ near the top in order to insure more people will see his contribution. Rather than posting the new thought near the bottom of the thread as etiquette dictates he should.

              1. Pickly says:

                This brings up an actual question. Are people more likely to read these sorts of replies? (I usually expect, and do, the opposite, but I do end up as the unusual one in a lot of areas.)

                (Or, in the style of the thread)

                Than someone finds a tangentially related detail that sticks out, and asks a question related to that detail.

        2. somecrazyfan says:

          No, Actually I was going to complain about the fact that Shamus doesn’t write articles as he used to, about game design or game reviews…He keeps putting those lame ass videos and the LP for Fallout 3 that I’ve gotten tired of :(

      2. Daemian Lucifer says:

        This is a comment full of fanboyish glee and impatience and gibberish about the impending starcraft sequel.

        1. Jarenth says:

          This is a comment decrying foul and explaining in long, heated sentences why Starcraft II is going to suck, why Blizzard has sold out, and possibly some insults regarding the sexual orientation of the previous poster. Caps Lock and l33t-speak may or may not be involved.

    2. Maldeus says:

      Then someone takes the current running gag of the comments thread and goes meta with it by applying the gag’s format to the gag itself, possibly while referencing the Xzibit meme.

  2. Jarenth says:

    Don’t forget that there will always be people who post first, and only then actually start watching the video.

    Edit: And after watching, time permitting, will edit their comment-for-the-sake-of-comment to actually include their thoughts on the video, in an effort to make the comment seem worthwhile and thought out instead of just claiming space.

    1. Nyaz says:

      And then some jerk comes along and completely disagrees with what has been previously stated and adds his own troll-like reply just to show the world what a great mastermind he is.

      Then he adds a final paragraph, quite possibly involving something humorous at the expense of the previous poster. It might involve his mother and a horse performing something sexual, or worse.

    2. MintSkittle says:

      There’s also the post made about the original poster failing to actually post first.

      1. Jarenth says:

        While simultaneously decrying the folly of posting for the sake of getting first place.

  3. Sean says:

    Then a reader posts a link that may or may not be relevant to the topic at hand: http://www.google.com/search?q=recursion

    1. ZzzzSleep says:

      To understand the above link, you really must see this link first though.
      http://www.google.com/search?q=recursion

      1. Belzi.ET says:

        Google says you mistyped the word and proposes to use this link instead:
        http://www.google.com/search?q=recursion

  4. Weimer says:

    I believe this is the part where someone showers your blog post with mindless praise/unrationalized ridicule without even looking what the post was all about.

    But I did, and that was two minutes of genius.

  5. Conlaen says:

    Stumbled into this a couple of months ago. Enticed me to watch some more Newswipe, but none were quite as good as this one. Still funny stuff though.

    1. Zukhramm says:

      Then some cxommenters will write how they saw the video long ago and that it’s now old.

      1. Audacity says:

        And someone else will agree, but insist that it is still entertaining and worth a look.

        Then he may wonder aloud to himself, typing the thought as he does so, how long this can continue before the entire page qualifies as a gigantic piece of spam.

  6. Moriarty says:

    how old is this?
    LRR did something similar six years ago:

    http://loadingreadyrun.com/videos/view/117/Quantum-Documentary

    it’s actually the oldest video on their site

    1. Syal says:

      Haven’t seen the LRR video (it’s not loading), though I do know the Daily Show did a news deconstruction with debates on current events.

      1. Josh R says:

        Having seen the LRR one a while back whilst trying to convince myself they were funny, the charlie brooker one is immensely better. Especially so if you live in the UK where this is exactly how the BBC news here report.

      2. Heron says:

        The LRR video says it requires Quicktime. After I went to so much trouble uninstalling it.

    2. Kennet says:

      There is also this one

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFicqklGuB0

      which is apparently not as original as I had initially assumed, but still pretty funny and well made.

      1. ZeroByte says:

        LRR recently did a similar video in an informational presentation style. It had graphs. It’s a lot better than the quantum documentary one.

        1. Daemian Lucifer says:

          So I search for the mentioned video,and finally link it here:

          http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/loadingreadyrun/1645-Informational-Presentation

      2. albval says:

        Funnily (or stupidly) enough, I’d go and see that movie if somebody really made it…

  7. Someone says:

    Obligatory irrelevant link
    http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2010/06/12/xcom-the-first-trailer/

    Its the first trailer for xcom.
    Apparently its Bioshock + X-files with x-com unnecesairily slapped on top.

    UPD: As for the subject matter…yeaaah.

    Modern News pretty much lost all respect and trustworthiness at this point, not presenting objective analysis of facts and events, but merely spoonfeeding “right” opinions to the Average Joe, these opinions being tailored according to interests of whatever power is holding the media outlets, or just saying what people want to hear.

    1. Daemian Lucifer says:

      Then I reply to one of the comments fuming with rage about something that I dont like.

  8. Galad says:

    I like how everything is in line with this “behind-the-scenes” recursive journalistic take and then there’s the animation of the whatever person getting beheaded by a lightsaber…

  9. I suppose my love of British humor has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that my maiden name was Bottomley.

    Nah…

    It’s probably because I drink too much tea.

    Leslee

  10. Ed says:

    Flame bait. Ban-worthy comment consisting of leetspeak.

    1. Eric says:

      Egregious hostile response by someone with easily injured self-esteem tied to a subject that may or may not be related to the subject at hand.

      1. Irridium says:

        Second hostile response telling the instigator to go shove things into an inappropriate place, and then learn the basic values of English.

        1. Syal says:

          Third party reminding the two hostile commenters that they are giving the original commenter what he wants. Call for better moderation.

          1. Syal says:

            Double-post to lend more credibility to myself, in case people gloss over the names on posts.

            1. Guile says:

              LOLcat that is only tangentially (if at all) related to the topic at hand: http://icanhascheezburger.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/funny-pictures-cat-eats-your-newspaper.jpg

              1. Matthew says:

                Troll-like post, irrelevantly questioning the sexuality of previous poster. Insulting ensues. Most likely in caps.

                1. acronix says:

                  Post agreeing with last poster, while asking everyone to visit a link to a site that gives hair grow pills in exchange for full credit card access.

                2. Jarenth says:

                  Stock picture of Picard facepalming. You know which one.

                3. Cezar says:

                  Spam post containing an auto-generated response stating how good the movie is and that everyone should watch it at s u s p i c i o u s w e b s i t e . c o m

  11. Gary says:

    Short post indicating approval of subject matter, quickly glossed over by 99% of those making comments.

    1. Mari says:

      Because the short post happens to be witty, one random person who obsessively reads comments will comment with approval for the comment.

  12. Risven says:

    I got my Journalism class to watch this. It is hilariously accurate, but I agree that not many of the other Newswipes are as good as that particular segment.

    Oh, sorry, uh, and then this is the part where I participate in the ongoing joke, albeit poorly?

  13. Steve C says:

    I remember a British advert I saw that did exactly the same thing for something they were trying to sell. It even included a black guy saying “I’m the token black guy in this commercial.” I only saw it once and it was 2 decades ago but I still remember it because it was so awesome.

  14. vukodlak says:

    So Shamus, you have forgiven Charlie Brooker? I seem to remember a text of his in the Guardian provoked some ire from you a while back…

    1. Shamus says:

      I had ire because I didn’t realize the article was in jest. I’d never heard of the guy before and didn’t get his humor in print.

      I guess it was like someone catching a transcript of Stephen Colbert and missing out on the fact that he’s satire. Embarrassing.

      1. Ross Bearman says:

        You may be interested to know that he’s a gamer, and did a fantastic one-off special called Gameswipe:

        http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_Brooker%27s_Gameswipe

      2. Maldeus says:

        I’ve done a few google searches and come up blank. I give up. When before did Shamus mention this Charlie Brooker bloke?

          1. Daemian Lucifer says:

            Dont feel bad.Good satire can be hard to spot,especially if it is in writing.

      3. Soylent Dave says:

        At least you weren’t one of the Americans who sent him death threats when he accidentally suggested that George Bush be the target of an assassin.

        (well, he paraphrased some old British graffiti from the Thatcher years, which ran “Guy Fawkes, where are you now?” with “John Wilkes Booth, Lee Harvey Oswald, where are you now?” – this, he has since pointed out, works rather better when you aren’t writing it in a national newspaper which also publishes your articles online)

        I do like Charlie Brooker though, I used to read his TVGoHome website when I was at University and am quite chuffed that he’s all famous now. Ish. In a ‘writes for the Guardian and has TV programmes on BBC4 and Channel 4’ way.

  15. Cthulhu says:

    Down here, someone posts a comment without reading any of the comments above it because there’s too many of them, without bothering to make a point since he knows no one’s going to read his comment either.

    1. Audacity says:

      Then someone posts a comment on this comment out of simple spite, just to demonstrate how truly unrelated to everything else it is.

  16. Syal says:

    Then somebody posts a comment where they declare themselves the first commenters, long after commenting has begun.

  17. SolkaTruesilver says:

    This is a post I make referencing te issue only tangentially, and asking Shamus why he hasn’t tried Dwarf Fortress yet.

    1. BaCoN says:

      At this point, it’s common practice for someone to step up and agree, and wonder if we’ll see a Let’s Play of DF somewhere down the line, while at the same time making a self-deprecating comment to make it seem less serious and fanboyish, even though it’s an entirely serious question, and super fanboyish.

      1. evileeyore says:

        Here another DF fan steps in to counter-point that though DF is an excellent game, and Author Of Site should definitely play it [place ellipsis here] this repondent’s claim is towards the unsuitability of it as a deprecative comedy medium. Respondent then suggests it be completely overlooked due to just mentioned unsuitibility.

        Respondent then makes clever and suggestive remarks designed to provoke Author of Site into doing the opposite of Respondent’s suggestion.

        1. Pumpkinetics says:

          Here’s where a fan of a completely different game with the same abbreviation (Dark Forces) posts a comment of approval without paying attention to the predecessors, setting off a personal spiral of shame and embarrasment for the rest of his life.

          1. Syal says:

            Grammar Nazi comment correcting ’embarassing’ to add to the aforementioned spiral.

  18. Daemian Lucifer says:

    I also post one witty comment somewhere,and probably add a tangent link:
    http://giblar.com/games/click/link%20windwaker.JPG

  19. Huckleberry says:

    A link to an actually relevant AND funny video:

    http://www.collegehumor.com/video:1930825

    EDIT: Then finds out that someone has already posted a link to the same video above… (explanation as to why one had missed that)

  20. Nyaz says:

    Oh, actually. That reminds me of a video that actually relates to this:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFicqklGuB0&

  21. Volatar says:

    I will now ruin the pattern by saying that this is the best blog post + comments ever.

    1. Mari says:

      It’s like a performance art piece, isn’t it? It all feeds into a biting commentary about pop culture.

  22. Pickly says:

    This comment has been deleted

    (Or whatever it says when a comment is deleted) The comment will than provoke curiosity from people wondering what was said that was so bad as to need deletion.

    1. Kavonde says:

      Despite the initial post in this thread being deleted, below it is an angry comment referencing a hot-button issue and the poster’s passionate stance in apparent opposition to the above poster’s opinion.

  23. Lalaland says:

    Charlie Brooker is a former games writer who used to work for PC Zne (a big UK PC gaming mag) in the 90s. He had a back page cartoon/column that once got the magazine removed from WH SMiths (the largest magazine retailer) for a cartoon called ‘Cruelty Zoo’. It was a cartoon which described a game in which the player shoot animals in the face all day as a comment on the Tomb Raider games which seemed to consist of killing every rare species on the planet. Not a comedy highlight but it showed a willingness to bite the hand that feeds (the magazine included an A4 apology the next issue).

    Also worth finding is his quiz/comedy on tv tropes ‘You Have Been Watching’ (http://www.channel4.com/programmes/you-have-been-watching/4od may not work outside UK&I)

  24. Slothful says:

    Snide comment on how this has been done plenty of times before this, rebuking you for your unoriginality despite the fact that that gag gets me every time.

  25. Arquinsiel says:

    If pushed I’d say that Charlie Brooker deconstructs the television experience in the way that you deconstruct the gaming experience with Yahtzee’s use of profanity.

    I enjoy his work hugely.

  26. David Lawson says:

    And then a lesser blogger links to the post and tries posts a trackback in order to draw attention to his piddly, mundane blog. Unfortunately, his web-fu is weak and he ends up posting a spammerific comment instead.

  27. ClearWater says:

    Two weeks later someone who’s still catching up comes across the post and adds his comments, making Shamus wonder what that’s all about until he remembers the details of the post the comment was in reply to.

  28. Lilin says:

    This is the part where someone who hasn’t been visiting this site for a few months decided to post a comment while reading the archives.

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