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Watch, Watched, Watching: Britannia doesn't rule the waves


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We're about to play a terrifying game: Tywin vs. the clock. I've got roughly 2 hours left on my rental for Ex Machina (expires at 7PM, it's about to turn 5 here). I've got about a 15 minute drive home. The film is close to two hours long. I better not get the ending clipped. It's happened before and it sucks! 

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12 minutes ago, Tywin et al. said:

We're about to play a terrifying game: Tywin vs. the clock. I've got roughly 2 hours left on my rental for Ex Machina (expires at 7PM, it's about to turn 5 here). I've got about a 15 minute drive home. The film is close to two hours long. I better not get the ending clipped. It's happened before and it sucks! 

It's a great film. Enjoy!

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I watched a lot of Gomorrah on the flights to and from Hawaii.  I finished S1 and I'm well into S2.  It's really, really good.  I love the sound-track, atmosphere, use of lighting, tension, limited dialogue (requires expressive acting), gritty feel of Naples and character conflict.  It's very dissimilar to Soprano's -- none of the clownish Goombah pigs, no rambling conversations.  One similarity is that they're all still parasitic scum who should be erased from the face of the planet.

It does have a weakness that too many of the other mid-level bosses/soldiers appear to just go along with things, especially in the early eps with Imma.  We don't see much agency from them until very late in S1.  It seems like a power vacuum would have prompted more self-interest and agency sooner.

I've also watched most of Myths And Monsters on Netflix.  Very good documentary series: well narrated, beautifully illustrated and contains solid content.  I wish a lot more documentaries were produced at this level.

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12 hours ago, Caligula_K3 said:

I really enjoyed Annihilation. I'm a big fan of the books and Jeff Vandermeer more generally. Although it's a pretty loose adaption, it succeeds in capturing the themes of the books and the atmosphere of unsettling creepiness that Vandermeer is so great at evoking. And I really enjoyed some of the original ideas put in here, especially the scene with the bear. 

I'm surprised that this movie isn't getting more discussion here, given that we're on a sci-fi fantasy board! 

I plan to see it Thursday, was waiting to see some reviews on here to make sure it's ok. The previews caught my attention and interest but you never know.

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Adoring Versailles (BBC 2) season 2!  It's sumptuous, gorgeous, bitchy, poisonous (in more ways than one!), gossipy, cross-dressing, witty, over-the-top, and the two actors playing King Louis XIV, George Blagdon (the muchly reviled by the end, Athelstan, captured monk and object of life long yearning of Vikings's Ragnar) and his brother Monsieur,  Philippe I, Duke de Orléans, Alexander Vlahos, who played Mordred in Young Merlin, make a great job of their roles, because they know better than to be sérieux. It's only the astounding gowns and suits -- and scenery -- that anyone takes seriously. Beats the hella outta the earnest endless emo of Reign, while managing to stick quite close to history's reality. (There really was an epidemic of poisonings at Versailles, and spells cast, etc -- or at least so the court was convinced, and people were executed for it.)  Though again, with contemporary historic costume drama set in courts and filled with royals, the protocols are much truncated and people are much too familiar with these figures for historical reality  Not even mistresses were allowed the familiarties that are taken with Louis.  But all those endless bowings and curtsies and other formalities would eat an entire episode's time if done accurately.

This season was added the character of the German Princess Palantine, Elizabeth Charlotte, second wife of Monseiur -- and she's fabulous.  She has become my favorite quickly.  In her life she took to having heralds preceding her and following her, announcing her presence whereever she went -- in other words she was as theatrical raging queen Philippe, her husband.  They haven't gone this far with her, at least not yet.

It's so amusing too, that this is a series about France, but made in England and played by Brit actors  -- all of whom do a praiseworthy job of not tripping on their lines, robes or high heels. There are many familiar faces from many other series, including The Tudors and Got.

The horses's beauty, elegance and grace are more than equal to that of the inhabitants of the palace.

There will be at least a third series, which makes me happy.

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Just finished Everything Sucks. This series really touched my heart. Luke reminds me so much of my nephew who I am (was) really close to and was right around Luke's age in 1996.  He was more into making music than film, but he seemed to excel at anything he put his mind to. I felt nostalgic not as much for myself but thinking of my nephew going through these times.

As for Peyton Kennedy who plays Kate, I am so glad I Googled to find out if anyone else thought she looked like she could be Gaten Matarazzo's sister (Dustin from Stranger Things) because she looks so much like him it was driving me crazy. I'm far from the only one who thought that but the two actors are not related.

 

Also, for anyone looking for something fun to watch, check out Imposters on Netflix. Originally I think it was a Bravo series? It's not high art entertainment or anything, just something that moves fast and is fun and has likable characters. Also Uma Thurman in a great recurring guest role as well as a good turn in a supporting character role from a where-the-hell-has-he-been and I-still-can't-believe-that's-his-real-name, Brian Benben.

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On 2/27/2018 at 5:21 PM, WarGalley said:

Especially in telling his stories about the Beast.

 

Correction: Vladisav and his stories of the Beast were my favorite parts of the film.

You can't go wrong with any of them really. Deacon doing that incredible erotic dance for his friends... and bisgetti! Totally lived up to the forum hype.

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I'm way behind on this, but randomly watched an episode of the Office a week ago and have been watching it on Netflix ever since.

I'm not sure why I didn't watch this when it originally aired, but I am laughing my ass off at this show.  I'm glad I found the time to finally watch this.

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1 hour ago, Fiddler said:

I'm way behind on this, but randomly watched an episode of the Office a week ago and have been watching it on Netflix ever since.

I'm not sure why I didn't watch this when it originally aired, but I am laughing my ass off at this show.  I'm glad I found the time to finally watch this.

The U.S. version? Definitely one of my favorite comedies. Seasons 2-5 are pure gold. 

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6 hours ago, drawkcabi said:

Just finished Everything Sucks. This series really touched my heart. Luke reminds me so much of my nephew who I am (was) really close to and was right around Luke's age in 1996.  He was more into making music than film, but he seemed to excel at anything he put his mind to. I felt nostalgic not as much for myself but thinking of my nephew going through these times.

As for Peyton Kennedy who plays Kate, I am so glad I Googled to find out if anyone else thought she looked like she could be Gaten Matarazzo's sister (Dustin from Stranger Things) because she looks so much like him it was driving me crazy. I'm far from the only one who thought that but the two actors are not related.

I literally started watching this right before reading your post.  I graduated from high school in '96, so the nostalgia factor is very high for me.  Really good so far. 

 

Really feeling sad for both Luke and Kate so far

Scott Pocket.

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9 hours ago, RedEyedGhost said:

I literally started watching this right before reading your post.  I graduated from high school in '96, so the nostalgia factor is very high for me.  Really good so far. 

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Really feeling sad for both Luke and Kate so far

Scott Pocket.

Thought of Jim Gaffigan right when she said that. Poor Gaffigan, he's always "The Hot Pocket Guy" now, but he kind of made his own bed there.

Also, they nailed 1996's look with Scott, just look at Jon Hamm in that year.

 

 

Anyone checking out Shut Eye on Hulu, starring Jeffrey Donovan from Burn Notice? I'm three episodes in and liking it more than I thought. It's about a magician/con-artist who may or may not have real psychic abilities who is a non-gypsy (gadje) working for a powerful Roma/gypsy and organized family working the fortune teller/psychic con. He's like middle-low man on the totem pole and tired of it.

Isabella Rosalini is in it as well as David Zayas (Angel from Dexter).

 

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I am finally getting around to watching the most recent season of Archer.  The first few episodes were just okay, but episode four was awesome.

Spoiler

Loved the twist with Krieger where he had been sabotaging the Nazi robotics program, and then the fucking robot Dobermans.  :lol:

 

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