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what the fudge...

the NATURAL — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 03:57:10 -0800

FilmFilter: Question regarding The Dark Knight, Public Enemies, and Collateral. I'm curious about these aforementioned films, which have been mildly trumpeted for some of their progressive filming methods.

In The Dark Knight: shooting in IMAX for four "major scenes," including the Joker's entrance, and, I'm assuming, part or all of the HK skyscraper leap.

In Collateral: according to different accounts (I blame Wikipedia), Michael Mann used a digital HD camera for parts of the movie -- apparently, low-light sequences and exterior shots.

In Public Enemies: acc. to Manohla Dargis, NYT, "shot in high-definition digital by a filmmaker who's helping change the way movies look..."

Why did the directors of these films (Nolan and Mann, respectively) choose to employ these methods (as opposed to conventional film)? And, what is the net difference in what I see as a viewer watching the movie?

Thanks, MeFi.

Just for fun.

the NATURAL — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 15:57:16 -0800

FilmFilter: In Collateral, is Vincent going to kill Max at the end of the night? In Michael Mann's Collateral, far and away one of my favorite movies, I'm never really sure of one thing. Is Vincent going to kill Max at the end of the night, like Mark Ruffalo's character suspects? Or is he actually going to let Max live? Or, did Mann mean for there to be ambiguity about it? Somehow this fuzziness hasn't depreciated my affection for the movie at all.

The only hint that Vincent will kill Max is that Ruffalo's detective alludes to the earlier Bay Area case. And, well, Max knows what Vincent looks like and thinks like. And can also link Vincent to Felix Reyes.

But, evidence to the contrary --
- Vincent: "do x and you might make it through tonight alive."
- Vincent "if you make it out of here, you should call her" (her, of course, being Jada Pinkett Smith's character Annie. Which is odd, because Vincent knows he's going to kill Annie. But the audience doesn't at the time.) -- he actually says this after the visit to Felix, which is really, really weird.

So, is Vincent just f-n with Max? Is he going to kill him? Or is there a chance that he was actually going to let him live?

when paypal isnt enough

jak68 — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 17:05:56 -0800

I want to rent audio equipment online. Rental payments will be handled via paypal. But whats the easiest way, online, to hold a monetary amount as collateral (cash value of the equipment until the rental is returned)?

Give Me Money For Someone Else's Stuff.

Gianna — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 05:20:32 -0800

I am my mother's legal guardian. Can I get a loan to pay her bills using her property as collateral? I need to raise almost $3000 within 30 days or bad things will happen.

Last year, my Mom had a stroke. She is pwned in the head and I am her guardian.

I own nothing except a car; selling it is a last resort.

Mom has two houses -- my childhood home and the one she inherited from my grandmother just before her stroke. Because she owns two houses, she is disqualified from receiving any kind of assistance. I am trying, unsuccessfully, to sell the grandmother-house. It is the remainder of the mortgage on the grandmother's house -- $2,673.90 -- that I need to come up with, or they will foreclose.

I am extremely broke; I quit my former job to take care of mom and now work odd freelance jobs for not-enough-money. I was counting on the sale of the grandmother house (it's appraised at almost $300k) to get us through, but it's not happening.

Could I get a loan with grandma's house as collateral, even though I do not own it? I have mom's power of attorney.

If that won't work -- would it be worth it to take one of these credit card offers that arrive in a deluge and pay off the mortgage? I hate the idea of accruing more debt, but things are really damned dire.

Any other suggestions for raising that kind of money speedily are welcome. Anyone know a good pimp?