Unpopular opinions you genuinely hold

[Paul Worsley]

The Bends is a much better album than OK Computer even though it's always ranked in below it

I don't think that is an unpopular opinion at all. Most people I know prefer The Bends.

[Marc Meakin]

The Bends is a much better album than OK Computer even though it's always ranked in below it

I don't think that is an unpopular opinion at all. Most people I know prefer The Bends.

Across the pond they dont

[Mark James]

The Bends is a much better album than OK Computer even though it's always ranked in below it

I don't think that is an unpopular opinion at all. Most people I know prefer The Bends.

Same. Most people I know prefer The Bends.

Also, if you are over 30 and still worrying about album ranking lists you should examine what you're doing with your life.

[Marc Meakin]

The Bends is a much better album than OK Computer even though it's always ranked in below it

I don't think that is an unpopular opinion at all. Most people I know prefer The Bends.

Same. Most people I know prefer The Bends.

Also, if you are over 30 and still worrying about album ranking lists you should examine what you're doing with your life.

I disagree.
Old people in the 80s went window shopping when they were bored.
Old people nowadays spend free time window shopping and generally viewing shit content online

[Elliott Mellor]

I don't think that is an unpopular opinion at all. Most people I know prefer The Bends.

Same. Most people I know prefer The Bends.

Also, if you are over 30 and still worrying about album ranking lists you should examine what you're doing with your life.

I disagree.
Old people in the 80s went window shopping when they were bored.
Old people nowadays spend free time window shopping and generally viewing shit content online

You're very wrong with this generalisation (though you give the impression that you live in your own insular world). It might be hard to believe, but the vast majority of the old people I know actually have hobbies and spend their time doing productive things.

[Tal Lessner]

Goldfinger & Thunderball, probably the two most successful Bond films, should be banned for glorifying rape. (And I don't mean just the general Bond misogynistic rape culture, I mean outright rape).
By banned I don't mean making it illegal to view, only that no streaming service / tv channel should ever show this.

[Marc Meakin]

Same. Most people I know prefer The Bends.

Also, if you are over 30 and still worrying about album ranking lists you should examine what you're doing with your life.

I disagree.
Old people in the 80s went window shopping when they were bored.
Old people nowadays spend free time window shopping and generally viewing shit content online

You're very wrong with this generalisation (though you give the impression that you live in your own insular world). It might be hard to believe, but the vast majority of the old people I know actually have hobbies and spend their time doing productive things.

Sorry couldn't find the flippant emoji
Most old people I know are still working (maybe we need to clearly define what your definition of old is )
I also have hobbies but I can still idle away my time on internet from time to time

[Marc Meakin]

Goldfinger & Thunderball, probably the two most successful Bond films, should be banned for glorifying rape. (And I don't mean just the general Bond misogynistic rape culture, I mean outright rape).
By banned I don't mean making it illegal to view, only that no streaming service / tv channel should ever show this.

Not without a viewers discretion message.
BTW don't watch Irreversible or Straw Dogs

[Tal Lessner]

Goldfinger & Thunderball, probably the two most successful Bond films, should be banned for glorifying rape. (And I don't mean just the general Bond misogynistic rape culture, I mean outright rape).
By banned I don't mean making it illegal to view, only that no streaming service / tv channel should ever show this.

Not without a viewers discretion message.
BTW don't watch Irreversible or Straw Dogs

I don't mind (I even prefer) films that require viewer discretion due to violence, sex, language etc.
But I don't think anybody should commercially broadcast a film where the day is saved because the baddie turned good after she falls for her rapist.

Also, I saw Straw Dogs (albeit almost 20 years ago), from what I remember it's hard to watch, very controversial, but and I don't remember it giving a message of "Rape is great" like Goldfinger. Though I could be wrong here, since I don't remember it well enough and I actually liked Goldfinger 20-30 years ago.

Edit, just because I don't think my point was clear. I don't think films depicting rape should be banned, even when it's very graphical. My problem with the two films I mentioned (especially Goldfinger) is the way it's depicted. The girl rejects Bond, he still goes for it, she fights him off, and then it's all very casual (even with comical sound effects), he overpowers her on a haystack, and it's all rosy and beautiful once he's done raping. That's my problem here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pUXH1Bye88

[Fiona T]

Goldfinger & Thunderball, probably the two most successful Bond films, should be banned for glorifying rape. (And I don't mean just the general Bond misogynistic rape culture, I mean outright rape).
By banned I don't mean making it illegal to view, only that no streaming service / tv channel should ever show this.

Not without a viewers discretion message.
BTW don't watch Irreversible or Straw Dogs

I don't mind (I even prefer) films that require viewer discretion due to violence, sex, language etc.
But I don't think anybody should commercially broadcast a film where the day is saved because the baddie turned good after she falls for her rapist.

Also, I saw Straw Dogs (albeit almost 20 years ago), from what I remember it's hard to watch, very controversial, but and I don't remember it giving a message of "Rape is great" like Goldfinger. Though I could be wrong here, since I don't remember it well enough and I actually liked Goldfinger 20-30 years ago.

Edit, just because I don't think my point was clear. I don't think films depicting rape should be banned, even when it's very graphical. My problem with the two films I mentioned (especially Goldfinger) is the way it's depicted. The girl rejects Bond, he still goes for it, she fights him off, and then it's all very casual (even with comical sound effects), he overpowers her on a haystack, and it's all rosy and beautiful once he's done raping. That's my problem here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pUXH1Bye88

Yeah I felt similarly uncomfortable when watching the Rocky Horror show last year. I don't think the issue of (non)consent even registered when I first watched it years ago.

[Marc Meakin]

Goldfinger & Thunderball, probably the two most successful Bond films, should be banned for glorifying rape. (And I don't mean just the general Bond misogynistic rape culture, I mean outright rape).
By banned I don't mean making it illegal to view, only that no streaming service / tv channel should ever show this.

Not without a viewers discretion message.
BTW don't watch Irreversible or Straw Dogs

I don't mind (I even prefer) films that require viewer discretion due to violence, sex, language etc.
But I don't think anybody should commercially broadcast a film where the day is saved because the baddie turned good after she falls for her rapist.

Also, I saw Straw Dogs (albeit almost 20 years ago), from what I remember it's hard to watch, very controversial, but and I don't remember it giving a message of "Rape is great" like Goldfinger. Though I could be wrong here, since I don't remember it well enough and I actually liked Goldfinger 20-30 years ago.

Edit, just because I don't think my point was clear. I don't think films depicting rape should be banned, even when it's very graphical. My problem with the two films I mentioned (especially Goldfinger) is the way it's depicted. The girl rejects Bond, he still goes for it, she fights him off, and then it's all very casual (even with comical sound effects), he overpowers her on a haystack, and it's all rosy and beautiful once he's done raping. That's my problem here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pUXH1Bye88

Don't get me started on Pepe Le Pue
Also Bladerunner but as she is a replicant maybe she don't count

[Tal Lessner]

Don't get me started on Pepe Le Pue
Also Bladerunner but as she is a replicant maybe she don't count

Pepe le Pew is a caricature on predatory behaviour
The Blade Runner scene is made in a way to make the viewer uncomfortable and be perfectly aware it's fucked up.
Irreversible (read a bit about it) & Straw Dogs deal with the aftermath of brutal rapes

Goldfinger & Thunderball are neither of these. They depict the violent side of the rape as non existent / comical, and the raped women as lucky to be seduced and raped by the charming James Bond. With absolutely no irony or cringe intention. Just glorified, beautiful, family entertainment rapes.

[Marc Meakin]

Don't get me started on Pepe Le Pue
Also Bladerunner but as she is a replicant maybe she don't count

Pepe le Pew is a caricature on predatory behaviour
The Blade Runner scene is made in a way to make the viewer uncomfortable and be perfectly aware it's fucked up.
Irreversible (read a bit about it) & Straw Dogs deal with the aftermath of brutal rapes

Goldfinger & Thunderball are neither of these. They depict the violent side of the rape as non existent / comical, and the raped women as lucky to be seduced and raped by the charming James Bond. With absolutely no irony or cringe intention. Just glorified, beautiful, family entertainment rapes.

Fwiw in the sixties there was a popular trope of the 3 fs
Flirt , fight then luck.
James bond movies did this with the aforementioned films.
It doesn't make it right but Hollywood likes to play up to the audiences.

In a similar way that crap newspapers like The Sun and The Mail exist because people buy it , I don't remember much outcry at these movies at the time.
Obviously we have moved on but when I watched these movies as a kid I didn't see anything rapey probably because there was no terror

[Fiona T]

Don't get me started on Pepe Le Pue
Also Bladerunner but as she is a replicant maybe she don't count

Pepe le Pew is a caricature on predatory behaviour
The Blade Runner scene is made in a way to make the viewer uncomfortable and be perfectly aware it's fucked up.
Irreversible (read a bit about it) & Straw Dogs deal with the aftermath of brutal rapes

Goldfinger & Thunderball are neither of these. They depict the violent side of the rape as non existent / comical, and the raped women as lucky to be seduced and raped by the charming James Bond. With absolutely no irony or cringe intention. Just glorified, beautiful, family entertainment rapes.

Obviously we have moved on but when I watched these movies as a kid I didn't see anything rapey probably because there was no terror

But that's exactly the problem. Rape doesn't have to be in a dark alley at knifepoint. This sort of stuff sends the message that "no doesn't really mean no", and that wasn't a good message then, and is definitely a very bad message today.

[Marc Meakin]

Pepe le Pew is a caricature on predatory behaviour
The Blade Runner scene is made in a way to make the viewer uncomfortable and be perfectly aware it's fucked up.
Irreversible (read a bit about it) & Straw Dogs deal with the aftermath of brutal rapes

Goldfinger & Thunderball are neither of these. They depict the violent side of the rape as non existent / comical, and the raped women as lucky to be seduced and raped by the charming James Bond. With absolutely no irony or cringe intention. Just glorified, beautiful, family entertainment rapes.

Obviously we have moved on but when I watched these movies as a kid I didn't see anything rapey probably because there was no terror

But that's exactly the problem. Rape doesn't have to be in a dark alley at knifepoint. This sort of stuff sends the message that "no doesn't really mean no", and that wasn't a good message then, and is definitely a very bad message today.

I think that anyone watching this nowadays and thinks that are the same people that kill people because of what they have seen on thmv or the movies.
Respecting women in the 21st century should be a given along with respecting everyone's serial orientation and religious preferences.

Apropos of nothing in particular I am so glad I'm not a hormonal teenager now , not that I ever took the lead with women

[Gavin Chipper]

Bond could have instead murdered her - sorry killed with his licence to kill - and it would have been fine of course.

[Tal Lessner]

Bond could have instead murdered her - sorry killed with his licence to kill - and it would have been fine of course.

My point is not about the morality of the actions in the film, but about depicting rape as a pleasant comical form of seduction.

And even by mid 60s moral/legal standards, these are rapes. The women refuse both verbally and physically.

[Marc Meakin]

Bond could have instead murdered her - sorry killed with his licence to kill - and it would have been fine of course.

My point is not about the morality of the actions in the film, but about depicting rape as a pleasant comical form of seduction.

And even by mid 60s moral/legal standards, these are rapes. The women refuse both verbally and physically.

These films would never get made now.
But as a film enthusiast and sort of historian it would be wrong to ban them.
After the Hays Code was scrapped film makers were desperate to push boundaries.

[Philip A]

Golf is better than cricket.

Cricket involves ball-hitting on the spot with one bat, whilst in golf every stroke (except from the tee) provides a different challenge depending on where the ball lies, with 14 clubs.

[Marc Meakin]

Golf is better than cricket.

Cricket involves ball-hitting on the spot with one bat, whilst in golf every stroke (except from the tee) provides a different challenge depending on where the ball lies, with 14 clubs.

To play or watch ?
I think individual sport v teamsport is apples and pears.

I think facing a 90 mph cricket ball takes some courage BTW
I grew up watching cricket when headboards were for sissies.

[Philip A]

Golf is better than cricket.

Cricket involves ball-hitting on the spot with one bat, whilst in golf every stroke (except from the tee) provides a different challenge depending on where the ball lies, with 14 clubs.

To play or watch ?
I think individual sport v teamsport is apples and pears.

I think facing a 90 mph cricket ball takes some courage BTW
I grew up watching cricket when headboards were for sissies.

Both to play and to watch.

Golf does have team events; The Ryder Cup is a terrific event and the support is obvious, plus golf courses are generally beautiful (and much quieter). They have tried to speed up the game too.

Cricket’s too pedestrian and too “fixed” for me, especially T20 and the TikTok-y nonsense that is The Hundred.

[Marc Meakin]

Golf is better than cricket.

Cricket involves ball-hitting on the spot with one bat, whilst in golf every stroke (except from the tee) provides a different challenge depending on where the ball lies, with 14 clubs.

To play or watch ?
I think individual sport v teamsport is apples and pears.

I think facing a 90 mph cricket ball takes some courage BTW
I grew up watching cricket when headboards were for sissies.

Both to play and to watch.

Golf does have team events; The Ryder Cup is a terrific event and the support is obvious, plus golf courses are generally beautiful (and much quieter). They have tried to speed up the game too.

Cricket’s too pedestrian and too “fixed” for me, especially T20 and the TikTok-y nonsense that is The Hundred.

Would like to see a golf equivalent of a T20.
Maybe 2 minutes per stroke