Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Entertainment/2016 May 26

= May 26 =

3:10 Yuma (2007 Year)
I'll fix my Questions this Time ok.

While taking a shortcut through a canyon, the group is attacked by Apaches.

Wade kills the attackers and escapes to a Chinese laborer construction camp, where the foreman captures Wade because [Wade killed the foreman's brother].

Evans, William, Potter and Butterfield appear and regain custody of their prisoner, but Potter is killed in the process.

1. At the [Chinese laborer construction camp], did Wade get Captured by [Good Cops], [Dirty Cops], or [Random Vigilantes]?

2. [Evans, William, Potter & Butterfield] tried to Negotiate for the [Return of Wade], but did Anyone know that Wade's henchmen will Be coming soon?(67.187.181.37 (talk) 05:45, 26 May 2016 (UTC)).


 * Hey there! It appears the questions you're asking here (and similar ones above) are homework-type questions.  Please note the Reference Desk is not an appropriate place to get assistance with homework.  Otherwise, if you're simply trying to understand what happened in a movie, your best bet would be to watch the movie for yourself. RedLinkJ (talk) 21:55, 26 May 2016 (UTC)

classical music Composer
Who is the classical music Composer that composed the greatest number of compositions?--79.49.180.7 (talk) 14:01, 26 May 2016 (UTC)
 * It would be hard to prove definitively who actually composed the most compositions, but Georg Philipp Telemann's name frequently gets floated as a contender for being prolific. -- Jayron 32 14:06, 26 May 2016 (UTC)
 * Apparently Guinness agrees with that: Rmhermen (talk) 15:11, 26 May 2016 (UTC)
 * How Many Works Exactly Has Johann Sebastian Bach Created? puts the number of his preserved compositions at 1,128 but quotes an (unnamed) expert who thinks that only ten percent of Bach's output has survived. Alansplodge (talk) 20:10, 26 May 2016 (UTC)
 * That "expert" was probably not willing to cop the flak of the establishment, who would scoff at such a suggestion. That some of Bach's output has not survived - certainly.  But 90% is missing? - that's just laughable.  Bach was incredibly industrious; it was barely possible for a human to have written as much as we know he did, let alone even twice as much, let alone 10 times as much.  When he wasn't composing, he was apparently screwing: he had 20 children by two wives. --   Jack of Oz   [pleasantries]  18:37, 27 May 2016 (UTC)
 * Are you exclusively talking about humans? Or does sofware count too? The Quixotic Potato (talk) 20:59, 27 May 2016 (UTC)
 * There were very few computers during the Classical eras. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 09:57, 28 May 2016 (UTC)
 * Classical music says: "Classical music is art music produced or rooted in the traditions of Western music, including both liturgical (religious) and secular music. While a similar term is also used to refer to the period from 1750 to 1820 (the Classical period), this article is about the broad span of time from roughly the 11th century to the present day". The Quixotic Potato (talk) 12:59, 28 May 2016 (UTC)
 * In any case, the OP's question was "who", and a computer is a "what". ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 13:23, 28 May 2016 (UTC)
 * A computer programmer is a "who", and I blame them for whatever actions their software performs. The Quixotic Potato (talk) 14:04, 28 May 2016 (UTC)
 * That's one way to look at it. Is there any computer-generated classical-style music that's regarded as "worthy" of the genre? ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 15:17, 28 May 2016 (UTC)
 * Sorry, I do not feel qualified to answer this question. Maybe someone else can? The Quixotic Potato (talk) 15:23, 28 May 2016 (UTC)
 * See Computer music. It looks like Iannis Xenakis got into it a bit.  But then, whether any music he ever wrote is "worthy" of his genre is debatable.  --   Jack of Oz   [pleasantries]  22:43, 28 May 2016 (UTC)

Alien movie identification
I'm looking for a movie. I saw it in 1997, 1998 or 1999, on TV, so it must have been made no later than about 1996. My sense is that it was made in the early-mid 90s.

I remember nothing about the story, except that certain characters who appear to be humans turn out to be aliens who can transform themselves at will. The alien form is like metallic looking stick figures on steroids. They move incredibly quickly, while paradoxically not appearing to run particularly fast. By that I mean that when they run they cover a lot more ground than their apparent speed at any given moment would indicate. It's a very odd and somewhat unsettling effect. The only scene I remember reasonably clearly is at or towards the end, which is set in some Central or South American or Caribbean country (I think the rest of the movie was in the USA). There's something about a guy clambering over a wall or fence, then transforming into an alien, then running for his life at the previously described impossible speed across this vast plain.

That's all I remember. I always thought it was called "Stargate" or Star something, but I just sat through Stargate on TV and that was definitely not it. That clue may be a complete red herring, so treat it with caution.

Over to my ever-dependable colleagues. --  Jack of Oz   [pleasantries]  14:05, 26 May 2016 (UTC)
 * TV Tropes may have some leads. Aliens Among Us or Invisible Aliens or Masquerade.  -- Jayron 32 14:14, 26 May 2016 (UTC)
 * The first thing that came to mind with shape-shifting metallic looking aliens is Battlestar Galactica, as obvious as that might sound. Is that a popular enough trope to be in multiple sci-fi shows?  RedLinkJ (talk) 22:04, 26 May 2016 (UTC)


 * Still looking. I've looked at all sorts of lists, including the above suggestions, and I don't think I've missed it.  Maybe I'm conflating multiple movies and getting the date wrong.  The thing I'm mostly focussed on is the scene in which an entity who reveals his alien-ness by turning into a metallic being runs off into the distance across this expanse of land at least a couple of kilometres wide, and makes great headway in much too short a space of time for even Usain Bolt to keep up with him.  I'm pretty sure his quickly fading into the distant horizon was the final scene, but don't quote me.  --   Jack of Oz   [pleasantries]  18:26, 27 May 2016 (UTC)
 * Did you check this List_of_science_fiction_films_of_the_1990s too? Many of the articles linked to are stubs and not helpful, but if the title would ring a bell? ... --NorwegianBluetalk 09:44, 28 May 2016 (UTC)


 * Yes, I checked that, thanks. --   Jack of Oz   [pleasantries]  22:13, 28 May 2016 (UTC)