BearQueen87 Posted August 4, 2015 Share Posted August 4, 2015 I've been binging season 2 of Penny Dreadful, and I'm enjoying it sooooooooo much more than I did watching season 1 week-to-week. I don't know if it's that much better than season 1, or if it's just better as a binge show. One episode left. The witches' hissing is fucking hilarious, although it takes me out of the show every time. [spoiler]I think they've done a significantly better job at weaving the characters in and out of each others' lives this season than they did in the first. Specifically "Lilly" and Dorian. I also like the flip on how I feel about John/The Creature this season, especially after Lavinia lured him into the cell, that was brutal.[/spoiler] S2 was so flipping good. You'll have to pop over to the PD thread next season cause we were all freaking out each week. It was a fun discussion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theda Baratheon Posted August 4, 2015 Share Posted August 4, 2015 I have so much love for Penny Dreadful it's crazy lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grand Moff Mithrandir Posted August 4, 2015 Share Posted August 4, 2015 You know what I don't like about Reloaded? When that awful kid comes and tries to take Neo's bag, Trinity says "you know what they say about the life you save..." What? What do they say, Trinity? 'The life you save may be your own?' First of all, that's not really a thing people say, and second, I don't see what that has to do with some kid being really annoying. And afaik there are no other sayings about the life you save. What a bunch of bullshit. The movie does have some cool action scenes though. bloody hell lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GallowKnight Posted August 4, 2015 Share Posted August 4, 2015 They only made one. :P Yeah, fastest move-marathon ever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Veltigar Posted August 4, 2015 Share Posted August 4, 2015 I watched Bertoluci's Il Conformista yesterday. I think I did myself a disservice by watching it in the way I did. The quality was really horrible (so, I can't in good conscience judge the famous cinematography) and to make matters even worse, I watched the film in two sittings separated by more than a day. Not a good idea when you have to catch all the subtleties in the story. Luckily, I still enjoyed it. I like that it gets going almost straight away. I find that older classics often start pretty slowly. Not to say that the beginning in those films isn't important of course, but they often don't grip me straight away. This one did. I think in part that has to do with the simple premiss of the film. The lead is a wannabe assassin in fascist Italy. He's a [spoiler]closet case[/spoiler] desperate to confirm in every way. His adherence to fascism comes from the fact that he can't cope with what he really is. The way Bertolucci's story links politics and sexual frustration/repression is a really great dig at fascism. And he does it with such great symbols. Some of which I must admit I missed, but having read some comments on them are now glaringly obvious [spoiler]It's clear that our Conformist is repressing his homosexuality. Imo that's really at the core of this film. It is the conformists cowardice that primarily drives him to fascism instead of acknowledging his true self. However, his affair with Anna Quadri at first seems to complicate this analysis. Until you realise that she behaves and dresses in a very masculine way. Not stereotypical butch of course (that would make it to easy), but for instance the fact that she wears pants (very unusual for the time), sits with her legs open and even smokes like a man. Anna Quadri's part baffled me a bit, until I read that comment. [/spoiler] Aside from the great use of symbols, this film really has some very strong scenes. My favourite was probably the [spoiler]actual assassination. Not just because of the chilling display of cowardice by Marcello (by refusing to act in anyway) and that trilling chase afterwards (the assassins glee in tossing that pistol to one another during the chase was terrifying). I also really liked the actual murder of the professor. Mainly because it was just another great dig at fascism. They could have just shot the professor, but that wasn't a big enough gesture for these prima ballerina assassins. They had to full on Ceaser him to sate their appetite for theatricality and violence.[/spoiler] I think my least favourite bit of the film was probably the acting. In particular, I disliked Gulia, the wife of the Conformist. I'm really starting to notice this as a trend in these older movies I watch. I often find the acting to be inferior to the other aspects of the film. Which is strange, because in modern films I usually find that acting is among the best things in any films. I don't know whether this is a result of new acting styles (e.g. method acting) coming en vogue or that the actors in those European films were inferior to their top American counterparts of the time. Probably a combination of the two I guess. In this film, I only really liked the lead (Jean-Louis Trintignant) and the guy who played his handler Mangienello (Gastone Moschin) EDIT: I haven't seen much of Bertolluci's filmography. Looking at it, I have only seen Last Tango in Paris (many years ago) and Stealing Beauty. I think I would place Last Tango in Paris above Il Conformista, but both films are leagues ahead of Stealing Beauty (which I remember as somewhat of a turd). @ Veltigar, It's been a while since I've watched Le Samourai. I'm trying to recall the specifics of the film. I remember really loving the cinematography and Delon's portrayal of Jef. Actually, I've enjoyed many of the films policiers of the 50s-70s I've seen: Touchez Pas au Grisbi, Le Deuxieme Souffle, Le Cercle Rouge, Le pacha . . . Both the portrayal and the cinematography are the epitome of cool really. Cool with a bit of a nasty undercurrent perhaps, because it makes you a little bit uncomfortable (Delon's eyes in particular are used to great effect). I haven't seen many of the films policier of the 50s-70s but I'm slowly working my way through the nouvelle vague and I love them really. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jace, Extat Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 Gearing up for episode 6 of Hannibal. Here we go... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedEyedGhost Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 Season 2 was definitely better than Season 1, with a stronger more coherent plot overall, and side-plots that actually tie into the main cast now. I think there was also the benefit of a longer season so there was time for those really grim, bleak, dark episodes and then the more light-hearted stuff that built up the relationships between the characters (like Vanessa and Frankenstein, not a pairing I would ever have thought of last season). I also enjoyed the scenes between [spoiler] Vanessa and The Creature, especially their dancing scene. And I completely agree with you regarding Dorian and Lily. Love them. Lily's episode 8 speech though :bowdown: I also really liked Angelique. If not for the fact Dorian killed her (I saw it coming but damn I'm still sad) I'd be rootin for him and Lily to come out on top [/spoiler]I'm going to binge it on a rematch though, because I think [spoiler] The Devil's Biography thing [/spoiler] will be less frustrating when it's not spread out across 10 weeks. Also, heads up about the finale [spoiler] It's pretty damn depressing as an ending to the season [/spoiler] [spoiler]That ending was super depressing! I would like to know more about the conditions that can trigger Ethan's change - it seems to be great distress (the end of season one) and exposure to a full moon's light. But does he actually have to be exposed to the full moon's light, or does the full moon itself trigger it? Anyways it's a good thing the full moon just passed, but that will make for one interesting ship ride if there was any delay from when he turned himself in to when they departed. As soon as Angelique saw those candles blow out, I knew she was a goner. I can definitely see how the Devil's Biography would have been frustrating watching week-to-week. :lol: This show really does some damn fine flashback episodes! The only episode I enjoyed in season one was the flashback, and this year's was just as good if not better. And the time Ethan and Vanessa spent up at the cabin was great too - him teaching her to shoot and her teaching him to dance :love: [/spoiler] S2 was so flipping good. You'll have to pop over to the PD thread next season cause we were all freaking out each week. It was a fun discussion. I'll have to decided if I'm going to binge season three or not. Right now I'm leaning toward binging, because I enjoyed it so much more this go round - I really didn't care for season one and was on the fence about even watching season two, but I heard enough good things that I thought I should try it, and I'm really glad I did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jace, Extat Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 Got my hands on some fine herb to celebrate 6 weeks off work. I haven't lit one in at least a year, but I'm glad I have some now while I sit through the Lobotomy that is 'Alexander'. God, this movie is horrid. But Colin Farrell is a sexy dream and I do kinda like the great speeches he goes all-in on. :hat: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedEyedGhost Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 For the fans of Westerns: I watched The Salvation tonight and I thought it was excellent. Quite a nice little revenge tail starring Mads Mikkelson, Eva Green, and Jeffrey Dean Morgan. I thought Eva Green stole the show, even though she didn't have a single line of dialogue, as she was playing a mute who had her tongue cut out when she was kidnapped as a young girl by Indians. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramsay B. Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 For the fans of Westerns: I watched The Salvation tonight and I thought it was excellent. Quite a nice little revenge tail starring Mads Mikkelson, Eva Green, and Jeffrey Dean Morgan. I thought Eva Green stole the show, even though she didn't have a single line of dialogue, as she was playing a mute who had her tongue cut out when she was kidnapped as a young girl by Indians.I watched this a few months back because Eva Green and Mads were in it and I was pretty disappointed. It just dragged a lot and I was bored by the end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Veltigar Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 I watched this a few months back because Eva Green and Mads were in it and I was pretty disappointed. It just dragged a lot and I was bored by the end. Yeah, I agree with you. As a huge Western (and Mads Mikkelsen) fanboy, I didn't really think it was worth my time. It's really cool that we can have a Danish Western nowadays, but that novelty doesn't make the film any better. I watched it in theatre and it just struck me as such a run-of-the-mill piece of work. Not bad per se, but more like utterly mediocre. Which is a hard thing to do considering the fact that you have Eva Green and Mads Mikkelsen working on this film. Also, the real MVP was Eric Cantona's beard, not Eva Green :P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SheRa Seastar Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 Caught 7 days in hell on catch up. I'm not entirely sure what I just witnessed but I think I enjoyed it. Kit Harrington was indubitably good in it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talleyrand Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 For the fans of Westerns: I watched The Salvation tonight and I thought it was excellent. Quite a nice little revenge tail starring Mads Mikkelson, Eva Green, and Jeffrey Dean Morgan. I thought Eva Green stole the show, even though she didn't have a single line of dialogue, as she was playing a mute who had her tongue cut out when she was kidnapped as a young girl by Indians. You appear to have missed the best and most important actor out of your description: Eric Cantona, god amongst men. As Veltigar said though, I didn't find this film bad just a bit underwhelming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cas Stark Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 I have so much love for Penny Dreadful it's crazy lol. Yep. I rewatched season 1 and was even more blown away by the production values, the direction and the writing. I hate, hate, hate that it gets such little love from critics. The insects still creep me out though, LOL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BearQueen87 Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 Yep. I rewatched season 1 and was even more blown away by the production values, the direction and the writing. I hate, hate, hate that it gets such little love from critics. The insects still creep me out though, LOL. I rewatched the first season flashback episode a few weeks ago and was equally blown away, remembering how incredible that episode was. I cannot say enough good things about Eva Green as Vanessa (and now Billie Piper as Lily) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Veltigar Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 Just finished the first season of Luther... Holy shit, that was awesome. I should have watched this years ago! I guess I always put it off because I watch to many of these British crimi's as it is. And I'm not in the habit of seeking them out specifically, I just watch them when they are on the tele. Luther though is cut from a wholly different (and much higher quality) of cloth. The acting is so great. Ruth Wilson and Idris Elba in particular. The stories are great to, the killers look like normal people and the way everything connects is much better than the usual fair in the genre. There was only one real eyeroll moment in the entire first season, so that is damn impressive. I also adore the music they use to close of the episode Just great stuff. I'm going to watch them all and prepare for the new season which seems to be coming out in 2015 :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grand Moff Mithrandir Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 Bloody hell! the subtlety of the foreshadowing in Arrested Development puts many drama series to shame. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HexMachina Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 Yep. I rewatched season 1 and was even more blown away by the production values, the direction and the writing. I hate, hate, hate that it gets such little love from critics. The insects still creep me out though, LOL. I missed out on a lot of the discussion as season one aired (I binge watched the first episodes, up to Closer Than Sisters). But it was still really great to binge watch. Agree about the production values etc. And I loved shots like the Blood Ball; Dorian and Lily's dancing; Sir Malcom's know who you are... Which insects? I rewatched the first season flashback episode a few weeks ago and was equally blown away, remembering how incredible that episode was. I cannot say enough good things about Eva Green as Vanessa (and now Billie Piper as Lily)I was re watching the Possession scene (where Ethan exercises her) and was reminded how much I loved that episode. I still think the Season 2 flashback was better than the Season 1, but both were brilliantly done. It's also great to watch Billie Piper/Brona/Lily's journey, knowing the long-term plan for her (Logan and Piper have both said they knew from Season 1). I've been thinking about Season 3 and I'm really curious as to who their new cast will be. They've done such a great job casting wise. The acting is superb. Also, I want the Season 2 soundtrack. Now. :p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Antony Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 Just finished the first season of Luther... Holy shit, that was awesome. I should have watched this years ago! I guess I always put it off because I watch to many of these British crimi's as it is. And I'm not in the habit of seeking them out specifically, I just watch them when they are on the tele. Luther though is cut from a wholly different (and much higher quality) of cloth. :DI couldn't get into Luther. Remember thinking Ruth Wilsons character was a little over the top. May have to pick it back up cause I've been looking for a new show to watch (thinking of making it black sails) but Has anyone here seen the show Kings starring Ian Mcshane that was cancelled after one season a few years back? Also thinking of watching that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedEyedGhost Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 I watched this a few months back because Eva Green and Mads were in it and I was pretty disappointed. It just dragged a lot and I was bored by the end. Hmm, I wasn't bored for even a second, and thought it just kept moving along at a steady and fast paced clip. I couldn't get into Luther. Remember thinking Ruth Wilsons character was a little over the top. May have to pick it back up cause I've been looking for a new show to watch (thinking of making it black sails) but Has anyone here seen the show Kings starring Ian Mcshane that was cancelled after one season a few years back? Also thinking of watching that. Ruth Wilson was sexiness incarnate in season one of Luther. Their interplay was really what made the show so great. You should try it again. I watched Kings, but honestly don't remember much about it. Overall I think I was pretty meh towards it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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