True or False? Just a theory...

[Hollis]

Afternoon all,

I understand I'm not a kid any longer and my tastes have mellowed a bit, but some things in life seem to have taken a drastic turn for the worse. That being said, here's my question. And I hope that no one takes any offense to it.

If the opening credits of a movie roll to a background theme of rap music, does that indicate that the movie won't be worth watching (for the most part?) I say yes, yes it does. Your opinions please.

As always,

Hollis

[movieman1957]

At the least it may be an indication you (and me) are not the target audience. For me it depends on who is in the film and a handy mute button.

[charliechaplinfan]

To me if it has rap music it's a no. It means it's a fairly modern movie set in a modern time, I've no interest, with my films I'd rather live in the past.

I love my ears to much to subject them to most rap music

[Bogie]

I dunno give the movie Hustle and Flow a chance. You might like it.

[mrsl]

Bogie:

That name pretty well turns me off. But I do agree with Movieman 1957 that a lot depends on who's in it.

I wonder though, how many people got up and left when the credits started for Blackboard Jungle? One, two, three o'clock four o'clock rock, etc.
I don't think that turned a lot of people on.

Anne

[Bogie]

Well in the context of the movie "Hustle and Flow" is not that offensive. It's about a guy who tries to make it big in the rap/hip hop industry. Hustle refers to doing everything you can to get a leg up and flow is the flow of your lyrics and how well you can spit out the words to said lyrics.

I dunno how that is offensive or a turn off but hey diff'rent strokes for diff'rent folks.

[mrsl]

There you go!

Bogie:

Since seeing this, when the movie comes to TV, I would remember this confab and read the paragraph explaining the movie on the cable guide and probably watch it, although hip hop and rap are not my thing.

Anyway, when I hear the word 'hustle', I think of pool first (a game I detest for very personal reasons), and secondly of someone screwing someone else over, (as per 'hustling'). Actually the word 'flow' never entered my mind.

So you see, as my life has gone, certain words carry bad or terrible images for me. We all have our likes and dislikes and many of mine come out in my movie choices. But that's why I love seeing what people are watching, it gives me a wider perspective on what to choose.

Anne

[charliechaplinfan]

Anne it's interesting how we pick our films, I admit to avoiding certain actors and perhaps I shouldn't.

I love reading others reviews, it gives me better ideas of what to watch and new appreciation of more actors, directors and genres.

Before being a member of a forum I'd only really been as completist as I could about a handful of actors. This has opened up a whole new world for me .

[Mr. O'Brady]

No more so than if they played post-1950 country, disco, new age, or John Williams. I think some of the worst soundtracks in movies were from the 60's and 70's though, trying too hard to sound hip with horrific elevator music. Sure, there were some good ones, but most just make me cringe. Since I rarely watch anything post-1962, it's really not an issue for me though.

[Synnove]

Hm. I don't watch much modern film now, I've become completely snowed in on the classics. But I used to watch only modern movies, and when I think of a film beginning with rap music, I think of the 90's, which makes me feel nostalgic. So, does rap signal that a movie is bad? Not to me. Those films are built in a way that I am used to. I agree with Bogie: diff'rent strokes for diff'rent folks. (That's an excellent saying, by the way.)

Swedish rap, on the other hand... But then again, most Swedish movies can be summed up with a word that begins with c.

[MichiganJ]

A “c”? A “c”?? I hope you are referring to “modern” Swedish movies (of which I am completely unfamiliar), and not the amazing Swedish films of the 50’s, 60’s, 70’s and early 80’s by one of the greatest filmmakers, Mr. B. I think those can be summed up with a word that begins with...with...Oh, they are all just great.

One of the “problems” with using rap, rock, (or whatever current music out there) is that the film becomes dated pretty quickly, and you do get that odd sense of nostalgia in a film that is only a couple of years old. Sometimes, as in the case of the films of Cameron Crowe and Quentin Tarantino, (or the recent movie, Juno) the soundtrack becomes an integral part of the film, but usually the song selections are so obvious and redundant to what is gong on on screen that they become annoying (or worse, the song is better than the movie and you’d rather just listen to it ).

Mr. O’Brady, I agree that (with many notable exceptions) the worst soundtracks come from the 70’s, and I blame the synthesizer. Talk about dating a film. (Speaking of dating films, I'm reminded of something I’d heard way back when Ted Turner was busy colorizing the classics [aka, Casablanca] and it was suggested that instead of doing that, he should revisit the films from the 70’s and remove all of those bushy mustaches and sideburns...)

[Synnove]

It does become dated, very tied to one time and place. The historian in me loves that, though it might hinder the movie from being a timeless masterpiece.

A “c”? A “c”?? I hope you are referring to “modern” Swedish movies (of which I am completely unfamiliar), and not the amazing Swedish films of the 50’s, 60’s, 70’s and early 80’s by one of the greatest filmmakers, Mr. B. I think those can be summed up with a word that begins with...with...Oh, they are all just great.

Nope, I wasn't talking about Mr B, may he rest in peace. I went to a Bergman festival last year, just a couple of months before he died. I got to see Fanny and Alexander on the big screen.

However, sometimes unfortunately, there's more to Swedish cinema than that one man. It's not all bad, but the quality is unneven.

[mrsl]

Synnove:

Thank you for clearing up who Mr. B. is. I had no idea since I'm not a fan of foreign language films and when thinking of great directors, his name would never be on a list of mine. I'm still however, trying to figure out what 'c' is, hopefully it's not my own personal most hated 4 letter word in the English language.

Regarding the music though, I guess if you lived through the era being remembered and you liked the music, although dated, it just may make you love the movie. I personally love the movie The Big Chill and I really don't know if it's because of the story line or because of the sound track which I love, but it's also filled with a lot of future stars whom I grew to admire.

Anne

[MichiganJ]

The Big Chill is a great example of the music enhancing the film. After all, it’s a film about a reunion of friends, and the music obviously played a big part in their lives (I love that scene where everyone is singing while washing dishes, and the organ playing the Stones at the funeral certainly sets up the entire tone of the film.) American Graffiti is another example, I think, where the music plays an extensive roll.

It’s interesting how many future stars were in both The Big Chill and American Graffiti.
The cast lists are a virtual who’s who in today’s cinema....

[ChiO]

For period music and future stars (or, almost-stars), I'll go with DINER.