1997 was an absolutely phenomenal year for movies. Life Is Beautiful, Boogie Nights, Jackie Brown, Titanic, Donnie Brasco, The Fifth Element, Good Will Hunting, As Good as It Gets, Austin Powers International Man of Mystery, Gattaca, LA Confidential, Men in Black, Liar Liar, Amistad, The Game, Con Air, Contact.
There was a lot to do in 1997, just not as much to do without leaving home. We went to movies because they were affordable and great movies were being released.
Also, that was the era where new multiplex theaters were being built with great sound systems, so it was worth going to a theater for the high-quality experience. While quality consumer electronics are more readily available today than ever before, I feel like the vast majority today only watch media with headphones, TV speakers, or maybe a 2.1 stereo+sub setup.
I was just watching Donnie Brasco earlier this week. He was so awesome as Sonny Black (great movie if you have never seen, true story undercover mob fbi story)!
A high school friend of mine in Modesto became a cop and ended up doing undercover work - small-time stuff, mostly dealing with biker gangs and meth dealers. Years later we met up and he told me the undercover work he did reminded him of the movie, "Donnie Brasco", because the movie showed how it becomes extremely difficult to separate your "undercover life" from your regular home life. For years after he retired, he had nightmares about bumping into someone he busted. He left Modesto, but still gets nervous whenever he hears a Harley cruising by him out on the road.
1. First Law cycle by Joe Abercrombie - too much violence for me is first books, but last trilogy is quite interesting.
2. Dark Tower by Stephen King - do I need to say more?
3. Old Man's War by John Scalzi, like this guy writing.
4. The Farseer trilogy and The Liveship Traders trilogy by Robin Hobb - pure pleasure.
5. Shades of Magic trilogy by V.E.Schwab, re-read, preparing to read new cycle.
6. Some Terry Prachett books.
Non Fiction:
1. Ghost Map by Steven Johnson, about cholera outbreak in London in 1854, but more about society and life of that period.
2. Donnie Brasco - FBI guy infiltrated to one of five Mafia families and bring many people to justice, worth reading.
3. Oppenheimer by Kai Brid - didn't watch movie yet, prefer to start with book.
4. Sex at Dawn: The Prehistoric Origins of Modern Sexuality by Christopher Ryan,
Cacilda Jethá - interesting stuff about our sexuality and how we became who we are.
After reading the comments here, I've started to wonder...
Does elitist mean "Doesn't like the same things I do?"
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While I wouldn't phrase it the way Scorcese did, I sort of share his opinion. Super hero movies bore me to death in most cases. As do most things created and A/B tested by a committee, i.e. most Disney movies. Despite having all the time in the world, I do not go to the movies any more. There's very little I want to see...
When will there be new movies in the same vein as Pulp Fiction, Tombstone, Donnie Brasco, True Romance, The Godfather, Goodfellas or hell, even the Rocky movies.
Actually, the Bank Secrecy Act was passed alongside RICO. The target was organized crime, not drugs. Nixon coined the term "War on Drugs" in 1971, but aggressive drug prohibition in the U.S. dated back long before that, and the explosion in imprisonment as a result of drug prosecutions didn't really kick in until a decade later: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_on_Drugs#Arrests_and_incarceration.
While "financial crimes" are a key part of the drug war now, their primary use has been to attack the kind of organized crime that turned New York into Gotham City in the 1970's.
Hacker Cinema
6 comments on Hacker News
1997 was an absolutely phenomenal year for movies. Life Is Beautiful, Boogie Nights, Jackie Brown, Titanic, Donnie Brasco, The Fifth Element, Good Will Hunting, As Good as It Gets, Austin Powers International Man of Mystery, Gattaca, LA Confidential, Men in Black, Liar Liar, Amistad, The Game, Con Air, Contact.
There was a lot to do in 1997, just not as much to do without leaving home. We went to movies because they were affordable and great movies were being released.
Also, that was the era where new multiplex theaters were being built with great sound systems, so it was worth going to a theater for the high-quality experience. While quality consumer electronics are more readily available today than ever before, I feel like the vast majority today only watch media with headphones, TV speakers, or maybe a 2.1 stereo+sub setup.
I was just watching Donnie Brasco earlier this week. He was so awesome as Sonny Black (great movie if you have never seen, true story undercover mob fbi story)!
A high school friend of mine in Modesto became a cop and ended up doing undercover work - small-time stuff, mostly dealing with biker gangs and meth dealers. Years later we met up and he told me the undercover work he did reminded him of the movie, "Donnie Brasco", because the movie showed how it becomes extremely difficult to separate your "undercover life" from your regular home life. For years after he retired, he had nightmares about bumping into someone he busted. He left Modesto, but still gets nervous whenever he hears a Harley cruising by him out on the road.
Fiction:
1. First Law cycle by Joe Abercrombie - too much violence for me is first books, but last trilogy is quite interesting.
2. Dark Tower by Stephen King - do I need to say more?
3. Old Man's War by John Scalzi, like this guy writing.
4. The Farseer trilogy and The Liveship Traders trilogy by Robin Hobb - pure pleasure.
5. Shades of Magic trilogy by V.E.Schwab, re-read, preparing to read new cycle.
6. Some Terry Prachett books.
Non Fiction:
1. Ghost Map by Steven Johnson, about cholera outbreak in London in 1854, but more about society and life of that period.
2. Donnie Brasco - FBI guy infiltrated to one of five Mafia families and bring many people to justice, worth reading.
3. Oppenheimer by Kai Brid - didn't watch movie yet, prefer to start with book.
4. Sex at Dawn: The Prehistoric Origins of Modern Sexuality by Christopher Ryan, Cacilda Jethá - interesting stuff about our sexuality and how we became who we are.
After reading the comments here, I've started to wonder...
Does elitist mean "Doesn't like the same things I do?"
---
While I wouldn't phrase it the way Scorcese did, I sort of share his opinion. Super hero movies bore me to death in most cases. As do most things created and A/B tested by a committee, i.e. most Disney movies. Despite having all the time in the world, I do not go to the movies any more. There's very little I want to see...
When will there be new movies in the same vein as Pulp Fiction, Tombstone, Donnie Brasco, True Romance, The Godfather, Goodfellas or hell, even the Rocky movies.
/Old man yells at clouds
Actually, the Bank Secrecy Act was passed alongside RICO. The target was organized crime, not drugs. Nixon coined the term "War on Drugs" in 1971, but aggressive drug prohibition in the U.S. dated back long before that, and the explosion in imprisonment as a result of drug prosecutions didn't really kick in until a decade later: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_on_Drugs#Arrests_and_incarceration.
While "financial crimes" are a key part of the drug war now, their primary use has been to attack the kind of organized crime that turned New York into Gotham City in the 1970's.
Watch the movie Donnie Brasco and also the various documentaries about the Mob Commission Trial. National Geographic has some good material here: http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/channel/inside-the-american-mob.