Watch, Watched, Watching: The Prequel

[DMC]

26 minutes ago, Corvinus of Teranga said:

Did you see Kong: Skull Island? That one takes place right at the end of the Vietnam War.

I did, that was kinda my point.  Even the "obstacle" in that could be overcome by drones.  Once there's flying robots, the rationale doesn't really work.

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

21 minutes ago, DMBouazizi said:

I did, that was kinda my point.  Even the "obstacle" in that could be overcome by drones.  Once there's flying robots, the rationale doesn't really work.

Well he will be set in modern (and possibly future) times when we get that King Kong, Godzilla, Pacific Rim mashup movie.

[williamjm]

2 hours ago, DMBouazizi said:

Watched Donnie Darko the other night for the first time in years.  Love that shit.  Still have 80s music in my head.  I think what stands out for me in that movie is the dialogue.  Plus, "sometimes I doubt your commitment to Sparkle Motion!!"

It is a shame Richard Kelly seems to have turned into a one-hit wonder, I really liked the film. It been a few years since I saw it, so now I'm tempted to watch it again.

[DMC]

13 minutes ago, williamjm said:

It is a shame Richard Kelly seems to have turned into a one-hit wonder

Yeah tried to read up on him afterwards but wasn't much there.  Just seemed bitter he didn't own the property.

[Nictarion]

5 hours ago, chiKanery et al. said:

 

The first one wasn’t really good or bad in my view. It took a big swing at a unique idea and it landed flat, but it was enjoyable enough. I was hoping they would correct the problems with the second one, but nope, it was worse in every appreciable way, and that acting was truly dreadful. I’m starting to wonder if John Boyega was a one hit wonder. I haven’t seen him be good in anything outside of The Force Awakens.

I thought he was good in Attack the Block. 

4 hours ago, dbunting said:

But was he actually good in that?

Yes. 

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

1 hour ago, Nictarion said:

I thought he was good in Attack the Block. 

Yes. 

I've never heard of that. 

[Isis]

I tried watching Sens8 last night but I could only manage 40 minutes before turning it off. By that point I felt like it had been on for at least two hours.  Ensemble casts don't really do it for me unless there's a strong narrative, which I wasn't getting here. It was painful.

On a brighter note, I watched Safe (Netflix) and thought it was pretty good, very engaging, kept you guessing as to who did what and I especially enjoyed the little Usual Suspects-eque montage post-reveal. But seriously, does anyone think that gated communities are a genuinely good idea?

Now I'm giving the original Fargo a rewatch because I think that I must have either not watched it properly the first time round, or not paid it full attention or just been too young to appreciate its qualities. 

[Derfel Cadarn]

Lucifer picked up by netflix for 4th series

[briantw]

On 6/25/2018 at 8:21 AM, dbunting said:

Started Dark on Netflix yesterday, three episodes in and I am liking it. Has a feel of Stranger Things meets It?

Show gets a lot better starting around episode four too, so you've got that to look forward to.  The stretch from like episode four to episode eight is incredible.

[Red Tiger]

1 hour ago, Derfel Cadarn said:

Lucifer picked up by netflix for 4th series

That's been known for almost 2 weeks now.

[Red Tiger]

22 hours ago, chiKanery et al. said:

I've never heard of that. 

His best film. He has a very stoic performance in it, but overall the best film he's been in, IMO.

[dbunting]

1 hour ago, briantw said:

Show gets a lot better starting around episode four too, so you've got that to look forward to.  The stretch from like episode four to episode eight is incredible.

Good to know. I think I see the one obvious "mystery"..

Spoiler

 I assume the hooded stranger is the kid who just went missing. He showed up in 1986 time frame and I assume he has been there every since? I will find out soon enough I am sure. Wait, that would make him 40+...nevermind. At 40+ he could be the friends dad, the one who killed himself? I am going on a bit but I can't discuss this in the Dark thread since it has spoilers.

Haven't had a chance to watch it since Sunday.

[Ramsay B.]

2 hours ago, briantw said:

Show gets a lot better starting around episode four too, so you've got that to look forward to.  The stretch from like episode four to episode eight is incredible.

Nice. I’m 3 episodes in and like it but want it to pick up a little.

I started watching Parts Unknown and it’s very good. One of my best friends, who really respected Bourdain and was pretty shook up about his death, recommended it. Also seeing a few boarders here write up nice little tribues to Bourdain made me wish I paid attention to the man earlier. 

[briantw]

7 minutes ago, Ramsay B. said:

Nice. I’m 3 episodes in and like it but want it to pick up a little.

I started watching Parts Unknown and it’s very good. One of my best friends, who really respected Bourdain and was pretty shook up about his death, recommended it. Also seeing a few boarders here write up nice little tribues to Bourdain made me wish I paid attention to the man earlier. 

I thought that the first two episodes made it seem like a German version of Stranger Things, but it starts to find its own footing around episode four and really sets itself apart.

[Deadlines? What Deadlines?]

On 6/5/2018 at 11:36 AM, GallowKnight said:

I watched Tango & Cash last night. It was fucking ridiculous and I'm not sure if it was ridiculous in a good way or a bad way.

I saw it in the theater when it came out.  The '90's were gooood.

On 6/10/2018 at 12:25 PM, DMBouazizi said:

Between Ridley Scott, Dicaprio, and Crowe - not to mention the film was based on the very (and much more) interesting book by David Ignatius and adapted by William Monahan (who's got a pretty damn good resume himself) - the fact Body of Lies was so incredibly mediocre is kind of amazing.

Ridley Scott is responsible for some of my favorite films.  He's also pooped out some real stinkers. His recent biblical epic was just bad.

On 6/11/2018 at 3:32 PM, red snow said:

I started watching "the leftovers" yesterday and im wondering why the hell it took me so long? Probably all the lukewarm reviews initially of it being overly melancholy and plodding? But with the benefit of watching at my own pace I'm having no such issue and finding the premise and exploration fascinating. I have to admit I recall thinking "2% that's not that big a deal" but I totally missed the point. It's not about an apocalypse, it's about 2% of the world disappearing and their being no apparent explanation other than "god did it". That seems to be the unnerving thing, mankind being returned to being at the mercy of something unfathomable. Moreso if you think you missed out on the rapture. And the normal grief if a missing person but on a global scale. I'm hooked.

I just finished binge watching The Leftovers and I was blown away.  The first season is truly heartbreaking.  The second season rips your heart out of your chest in the first five minutes and then shit get crazy.  I've never seen a show that pivots so deftly and instantly from laughs to sorrow like The Leftovers does.  Brilliant use of music.

On 6/16/2018 at 10:01 AM, Cas Stark said:

I finally got through Blade Runner 2049, and I should have seen it in the theater.  I can see though, why it wasn't a hit.  Its really, really slow, and I say this as someone who has seen the original many times and loves it.  I also wonder about making Gossling's character a replicant, I see why from a story perspective it works well, but as a viewer, it means that the main character is extremely flat at all times...which makes an already slow movie feel slower....his character is at all times more flat than even the other replicants, who show more emotion than he does. 

Blade Runner 2049 was absolutely meant for the cinema.  I saw it opening weekend and I was totally sucked in.  It's just not the same on a Tee Vee.

I might need a bigger Tee Vee.

[Isis]

I watched The Hard Stop last night (film about the aftermath of the police shooting of Mark Duggan in Tottenham in 2011). My first thought was, Jesus how had we totally forgotten the riots which followed this? Even the stuff about sentencing these people who were looting during the riots, middle class people who had absolutely fuck all to do with Mark Duggan, who were smashing up shops and nicking trainers. I recall that being such a big deal at the time... and then a bunch of xenophobic idiots voted to flush this country down the toilet in June 2016 and it's like all of that stuff never happened. It just makes you realise there is so, so much stuff that needs to be fixed in this country and we are just spunking all of our time, money and effort on fucking brexit and it makes me feel like the top of my head is going to explode.

Anyway, the film - it's hard to disagree with the evidence that no gun was found at the scene even though the responding officer claims it was pointed at him. The rest of it is mostly scene-setting. Although there's some stuff covering his best mate Marcus wanting to do some mentoring work with the upcoming youth, which seems genuine and plausible. But then you see that Mark Duggan's kid has been suspended for fighting at school saying 'my dad was Mark Duggan, who the fuck was your dad?' or whatever. And you think, Jesus, is that really supposed to be an impressive thing to say? I don't know. It feels really hard to discuss anything to do with this city (country) while it's obviously totally fucked by brexit so I'm not going into any more detail on how I feel about gangs/criminal activity right now.

If you're interested in the case, watch the film. It had a resounding impact on this city so if you live here you should probably watch it.

[HexMachina]

4 hours ago, Isis said:

I watched The Hard Stop last night (film about the aftermath of the police shooting of Mark Duggan in Tottenham in 2011). My first thought was, Jesus how had we totally forgotten the riots which followed this? Even the stuff about sentencing these people who were looting during the riots, middle class people who had absolutely fuck all to do with Mark Duggan, who were smashing up shops and nicking trainers. I recall that being such a big deal at the time... and then a bunch of xenophobic idiots voted to flush this country down the toilet in June 2016 and it's like all of that stuff never happened. It just makes you realise there is so, so much stuff that needs to be fixed in this country and we are just spunking all of our time, money and effort on fucking brexit and it makes me feel like the top of my head is going to explode.

 

  Hide contents

Anyway, the film - it's hard to disagree with the evidence that no gun was found at the scene even though the responding officer claims it was pointed at him. The rest of it is mostly scene-setting. Although there's some stuff covering his best mate Marcus wanting to do some mentoring work with the upcoming youth, which seems genuine and plausible. But then you see that Mark Duggan's kid has been suspended for fighting at school saying 'my dad was Mark Duggan, who the fuck was your dad?' or whatever. And you think, Jesus, is that really supposed to be an impressive thing to say? I don't know. It feels really hard to discuss anything to do with this city (country) while it's obviously totally fucked by brexit so I'm not going into any more detail on how I feel about gangs/criminal activity right now.

 

If you're interested in the case, watch the film. It had a resounding impact on this city so if you live here you should probably watch it.

Thanks for the rec. I lived within sight of where he was shot while I was at uni. Had ocassion to speak with a number of people in the area while I lived there’s who obviously had their own views on the shooting, aftermath and crime and gang culture more generally. Will give it a watch.

 

Im also making my way through Luke Cage season 2. Three episodes down, so far I think it is much better than the first season (although that started out stronger and ended with a bit of a flop). Not venturing into the spoiler thread though I wish i could discuss it somewhere because there is a lot to unpack in terms of the issues the show is raising

[dbunting]

16 hours ago, briantw said:

I thought that the first two episodes made it seem like a German version of Stranger Things, but it starts to find its own footing around episode four and really sets itself apart.

That was my first impression, Stranger Things meets IT.

I finished ep 4 last night, still getting it's feet under it.

9 hours ago, Deadlines? What Deadlines? said:

Blade Runner 2049 was absolutely meant for the cinema.  I saw it opening weekend and I was totally sucked in.  It's just not the same on a Tee Vee.

I might need a bigger Tee Vee.

I also watched it opening weekend on an "Epic" screen, visuals were great. Movie, acting, script, people, ehh..couldn't have cared less about any of it.

[Deadlines? What Deadlines?]

3 hours ago, dbunting said:

I also watched it opening weekend on an "Epic" screen, visuals were great. Movie, acting, script, people, ehh..couldn't have cared less about any of it.

It's a mistake... to give up caring.

I still need a bigger Tee Vee.

[dbunting]

14 minutes ago, Deadlines? What Deadlines? said:

It's a mistake... to give up caring.

I still need a bigger Tee Vee.

Always need a bigger tv. I got a 55" recently and now I am thinking a 70 would be so much better.....