The Movie Thread

[Wakas]

some of my favs are (in no particular order):

The Matrix
Braveheart
Terminator 2
Bad Boys
Memento

[Tay]

Peace All,

Reading through everyone's opinions brought something to mind. Living my entire life in the US, I have no idea what American movies are like for folks in other countries.

A few questions for those from other countries (forgive my ignorance in advance):

Are American movies held in the same regard as movies made in your country, ie, picture quality, acting quality, stories, sound, etc.?

Are American movies marketed as aggressively in your country as they are here: trailers, billboards, fast food giveaways, etc.?

Are the mainstream American movies released at the same time?

Thanks,
Tay

[TAJ]

Salaams Idris, All

peace all,

Sin City was pretty sick, best movie this year so far but I'm going to see Kingdom of Heaven soon, I know I'll love it cause I love epic battle movies, my favorite movie(s) of all time like zenje is the Lord of the Rings trilogy

I just saw Kingdom of Heaven.
Let me ask you, Idris: Have you seen Troy?

[TAJ]

Salaams Tay, All

People here in Arabia much prefer Arabian movies. Foreign (non-Arabian) movies are released much later than in UK or the States.

[Wakas]

peace be upon you Tay,

American films are treated like the mainstream films here in the UK. Most likely very similar to the US. They are marketed significantly (TV, newspapers, magazines, billboards, fast food giveaways etc). Then, there is a minority market for other films (i.e. not as popular). Although British films tend to do best here than in other places, which I guess is what you'd expect.

Picture/sound quality, perhaps they are regarded as better than the UK, but acting wise, it depends on the actor/actress.

Movies tend to be released several months after the US here in the UK. Sometimes quicker if its a big film.

Generally speaking, the UK is very much like the US, just more expensive. There is a significant anti-US sentiment in the UK however, although thats probably amplified due to the current US presidency.


Wakas

[Tay]

Peace Taj and Wakas,

Thank you for the info.

Taj, you stated:

People here in Arabia much prefer Arabian movies. Foreign (non-Arabian) movies are released much later than in UK or the States.

I'm curious if Hollywood celebrities are household names. For instance, if you say "Deniro has a new movie", will people know what you're talking about?

Wakas, you stated:

Generally speaking, the UK is very much like the US, just more expensive.

I just recently learned about this. A friend of mine spent a semester at Cambridge and she was almost broke after 2 weeks- often spending twice what she would here, even for mundane things like shampoo. How the heck do people survive? The wages aren't significantly higher, are they? Plus you guys get taxed to death.

There is a significant anti-US sentiment in the UK however, although thats probably amplified due to the current US presidency.

That doesn't surprise me. Rest assured, there is an anti-US sentiment here as well  :wink:

Peace,
Tay

[Wakas]

peace Tay,

The UK is known as 'treasure island' for companies because they can charge a lot more for the same product. US consumers have much more power. For example, freephone numbers for UK companies are becoming rarer and rarer. Apparently, in the US its practically all toll-free.

I'm not entirely sure about the wages. I know for most professional jobs, you can get more in the US. I only really know about my own profession and it is quite a bit higher in the US. The minimum wage per hour here is about ?5 which by today's exchange rate is about $9 US. Is that a lot per hour in the US for non-skilled labour?

If I had to give an educated guess, I'd say salaries are more in the US generally speaking.
The taxation rate here is slightly higher than the US, apparently, once you factor in the health cover. That is what I've heard.

See cost of living table here. London is 2nd to Tokyo in the world, NY is 12th most expensive.

[Elke]

Salam all

There were a few films I watched more than once

Once upon a time in America (long ago)
Prince of tides
Heat

And more recently
Romeo must die (i'd just die for Jet Li's smile!)
Crouching Tiger - Hidden Dragon

Elke

[Tay]

Peace Wakas,

Thanks for the info and the link. Interestingly, before I checked out the link, i wondered where Prague sat on the list, as a few buddies of mine went there as part of a Euro trip. They told me they spent less than $20 each in total at a bad-ass nightclub, including admission and drinking until they were crawling on the floor. Dinner was not much different. Do you know if they've adopted the Euro yet?

Peace,
Tay

[Tay]

Peace All,

I just purchased and watched "What the bleep do we know". If you haven't heard of it, here's a link...
http://www.whatthebleep.com

I thought it was pretty good as a way to express the abstracts of Quantum Theory to the layman, myself included. What I really enjoyed was hearing how these scientists articulate their understandings of God, or lack thereof. I find myself leaning towards their expression. Oh, and there's some really cool shots of Emoto's water pictures.

I also caught Finding Neverland the other night. Very inspirational. Depp is just awesome.

Peace,
Tay