Watch, Watched, Watching: Hindsight in 2020

[red snow]

I've been enjoying the Harley Quinn cartoon. It's actually a really good sitcom that rewards a passing knowledge of DC comics but I suspect can be enjoyed on its own thanks to gradual introduction of villains and legion of doom. 

Avenue 5 has enough funny moments to keep going but I'm not fully convinced ianucci's style totally fits SF

I enjoyed season 2 of "lost in space". It feels like well-executed non-cable TV. But I'm pretty much resigned to it being cancelled as Netflix has done nothing to promote it, released it over Christmas (while telling everyone to watch the witcher) and seems to be in a trend of canning shows quite ruthlessly if they aren't showing potential stranger things levels of success. Which is a shame as the show ends on a cliffhanger.

Picard is fun and while the plot bears no resemblance to next gen stories at all - it still feels more like Star Trek than anything else has in over a decade.

White house farm is continuing to be good besides the weird fact I'm becoming more convinced that Jeremy Bamber didn't kill anyone making the viewing really weird as the show is clearly on board with him being the killer. Sort of related is the conclusion of Tennants "Deadwater fell" which i felt had a somewhat limp and unsurprising conclusion.

As you can see, I've been busily ignoring Brexit day

[Ramsay B.]

I watched the Korean film Burning, and I was thinking about it for a few days after because of its ambiguous ending. It’s a real slow burner but the cast(including Steven Yeun) and general intrigue of what the hell was going on had me invested the whole time up until the conclusion. I definitely need to watch it again to get some clues to what probably happened. I highly recommend if you like these sorts of movies.

4 hours ago, red snow said:

And I now want to see Pattinson in some of the other indie roles he's been doing - i have "good" time queued up on Netflix.

He’s been legitimately great in everything I’ve seen him in post-Twilight, including Good Time. I hope he continues doing indie work after Batman. 

[Astromech]

7 hours ago, red snow said:

It's definitely an interesting film. I didn't exactly like the experience but after 30 minutes I was transfixed and couldn't look away. Absolutely everything about the film is designed to create the atmosphere which is unusually impressive. And I now want to see Pattinson in some of the other indie roles he's been doing - i have "good" time queued up on Netflix.

Good Time was a good film but frustrating as hell to watch. Just one bad decision after another from Pattinson's character.

[Nictarion]

21 minutes ago, Astromech said:

Good Time was a good film but frustrating as hell to watch. Just one bad decision after another from Pattinson's character.

That’s a Safdie brothers trait in their movies. Uncut Gems is similar in that way. 

[Zorral]

Finally, I get to re-watch Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007) -- Cate Blanchette.  The dvd hasn't been available on netflix, though the first part, Elizabeth, has been.  But as of today both of them are streaming on netflix.

[Martini Sigil]

we just started "the October Faction", which, I''m surprised that a forum full of nerds like this isn't already talking about... It's fun despite being --from what I understand-- a betrayal of the books.... 3 episodes in, and Fred is the best part of a terrific cast of characters... Holy shot his lines are gold, and delivered with a passive, indifferent sarcasm that I personally find wonderful... 

[Veltigar]

Saw Jojo Rabbit today. Wasn't that impressed by it. Not that it's a bad film, but quite average all in all.

 

Spoiler

Although I have to admit that the German Shepherd joke slew me 

 

[DireWolfSpirit]

Woman Walks Ahead

Stars Jessica Chastain as a NYC widow who travels to Standing Rock Reservation to paint Sitting Bull (portrayed brilliantly by Michael Greyeyes) in 1890. Sam Rockwell has a role as a sinister Calvary leader with blood on his hands.

It's an absolutely fascinating story that ends in tragedy.

[Isis]

23 hours ago, red snow said:

It's definitely an interesting film. I didn't exactly like the experience but after 30 minutes I was transfixed and couldn't look away. Absolutely everything about the film is designed to create the atmosphere which is unusually impressive. And I now want to see Pattinson in some of the other indie roles he's been doing - i have "good" time queued up on Netflix.

On the way home after seeing the film I commented on the same thing. I've seen Kristen Stewart in a couple of decent films and thought about how much of an impact the silly Twilight films had on both their careers. I'm sure they were rewarded financially for it but it seems like they had to fight to get out of its shadow. 

[Astromech]

Battle Angel Alita hit HBO last night. Very entertaining. 

[williamjm]

Since the Studio Ghibli films are now on Netflix (at least the first batch, with more to come) I watched Laputa : Castle In The Sky. It's one I had seen before, probably about 15 years ago, but I think I had forgotten most of the film. It's a good film, even if it is not quite up there with Miyazaki's best films. As ever, the animation is gorgeous, it's got some good set-pieces and a well-paced plot. There are several of the Ghibli films I've never seen so this may be a good opportunity to catch up with them.

[Raja]

Pattinson was excellent in High Life too.

[red snow]

5 hours ago, Isis said:

On the way home after seeing the film I commented on the same thing. I've seen Kristen Stewart in a couple of decent films and thought about how much of an impact the silly Twilight films had on both their careers. I'm sure they were rewarded financially for it but it seems like they had to fight to get out of its shadow. 

It was certainly toxic for their careers but seems to have encouraged them both, pattinson in particular, to do more interesting/risky films.

Let's hope he doesn't get burned playing batman

2 hours ago, williamjm said:

Since the Studio Ghibli films are now on Netflix (at least the first batch, with more to come) I watched Laputa : Castle In The Sky. It's one I had seen before, probably about 15 years ago, but I think I had forgotten most of the film. It's a good film, even if it is not quite up there with Miyazaki's best films. As ever, the animation is gorgeous, it's got some good set-pieces and a well-paced plot. There are several of the Ghibli films I've never seen so this may be a good opportunity to catch up with them.

Same here, it's a good chance to fill in some gaps. It's not just studio ghibli they have but anime in general released this month. "In this corner of the world" is excellent and well worth the watch especially considering our perception of the Japanese in world war II. The film does a great job of showing how regular people are still regular people as well as how the more you suffer in war the more determined you feel your side has to win. Heartbreaking though

[Ran]

Been on a tear of late:

Five Came Back - Three part Netflix documentary about five great Hollywood directors -- John Huston, John Ford, William Wyler, George Stevens, and Frank Capra -- and their experiences as military filmmakers during WWII. Some fascinating anecdotes and commentary from a host of notable filmmakers of today (Spielberg, Del Toro, Lawrence Kasdan, Francis Ford Coppola, Paul Greengrass), and best of all a number of the films the five made during that period are all on Netflix. Huston has a particularly fascinating one, about soldiers being treated for "combat fatigue" (aka PTSD) that was censored and kept from the public for three decades titled Let There Be Light.

Klaus - Netflix's animated series nominated for an Oscar, quite lovely hand-drawn animation with computer effects organically worked in to provide a lot of shading that makes it seem almost CG. Not entirely Disney formula, in that no one breaks into song, but there are a couple of (to me, intrusive) songs that play over the action at a couple of points. It has a nice fairy tale feel to it, as it gives an account for how Santa Claus (or Klaus, of course) came to be. Bonus points for featuring Sámi characters and the Sámi language.

Uncut Gems - First time I've seen a Safdie Brothers film, and boy, that one puts you through the ringer. Amazing performance by Adam Sandler, second only to his Punch Drunk Love performance. He makes his character such a revolting loser, and you're getting pulled along from one disaster to the next as he makes the wrong choice at all times... Yeah, very good stuff. Also, have to say, Kevin Garnett was surprisingly good playing a fictionalized version of himself. Didn't feel wooden as a lot of athletes-turned-actors do. Fine, he's playing a version of himself, but that didn't stop some of the Space Jams guys from doing much worse... I see they have Good Time, think I'll check it out.

Robin Hood - The Ridley Scott film, which seemed like fairly mediocre Scott, but still, fun enough if wildly ahistorical on any number of points, and with some real silliness thrown in (like a common stonemason creating a proto-Magna Carta that a bunch of barons sign on to...) Russel Crowe is stoic and charming and does what he does best, Cate Blanchett is always a pleasure. Oscar Isaac was excellent as John.

Little Women - Finally premiered in Sweden last week. I found the direction kind of uninspiring, and my understanding is that the writing, as such, is almost entirely taken from Louisa May Alcott. But Greta Gerwig does deserve major kudos for her rearrangement of the original novel, making it feel like a new experience after having watched the same, usual chronological narratives for years (including, I now find after googling, late 80s HBO showing the English dub of the Japanese Tales of the Little Women). Fine acting, particularly from Ronan, Pugh, and Chalamet. I'm not surprised it didnt' score BP or Director nominations, but Gerwig's nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay is well-deserved.

Joker - All the controversy aside, Joaquin Phoenix is phenomenal and disturbing in this role, a contorting scarecrow filled with raw pain and agonizing alienation. Is the film derivative of Taxi Driver? Yes. Is it derivative of The King of Comedy? Yes. But I think the melding of these two films to create a hybrid character who manages to fall within the lines of what we identify as the Joker is pretty good. Also, the rundown, garbage-strewn streets of 1970s Gotham feels very authentic. A spoiler for those who haven't seen it:

Spoiler

This may be rather nihilistic, but I recall Kevin Smith mentioning that a screenwriter friend of his told him something that I think would have been quite amazing: instead of the Joker-inspired mugger killing Thomas and Martha Wayne.... he should have come back and decided, eh, it's all a joke, and shot little Bruce too. This dark Elseworld would be one with no Bruce Wayne and no Batman. It felt like a really fitting idea.

Kramer vs. Kramer - Classic 80s divorce drama, not a little bit of an inspiration for Marriage Story. It is wildly unequal in its portrayal of the two Kramers, with Streep's estranged wife being depicted as wildly self-centered and needy, but the sense that in that era women were by default going to win custody it felt like the screenwriters really felt they had to push her that far to make it even plausible that she might lose. That aside, fine performance from Dustin Hoffman as a career-minded ad executive who suddenly has a broken home when his wife takes off and leaves him to care for their child. Really interesting to see how there was a recognition that the sexist enviroment of the era of course led to conflict with his employers that he wasn't dedicated enough because he wasn't working overtime and so on. 

Pacific Rim: Uprising - Not sure why I bothered to watch this, other than I felt like watching something mindless. The only good thing I have to say about it is that it motivated me to finish...

Neon Genesis Evangelion - The final pair of episodes are... something else. Affected as they were by a major budget shortfall, some heroic effort and creative problemsolving were needed to create a finale that could go this deep into the central characters as the Human Instrumentality Project achieves its goal of merging the consciousness of human kind. If that sounds weird, well it is. Google tells me that what I find a bravura bit of philosophy with no action to speak of was pretty controversial and ultimately led to a couple of attempts to redo the finale in film form. I'll watch the two Netflix has when I have a chance, just to see how they approaced things differently.

WHAT DID JACK DO? - David Lynch's short film, a festival piece, that Netflix released last month on his birthday. Lynch plays a detective in a noirish, black and white film, grilling a suspect in a murder by the name of Jack Cortez. The thing is, Jack is a suit-wearing monkey, a famed crooner, with a human mouth (David Lynch again, I think), and the murdered individual was a rival for the love of Tootoban, a chicken. It is bizzare, full of strange non-sequitors, but it all comes to a head in a nicely melodramatic way. 

Shazam! - Fun DC film that's heartwarming and nice and just the right amount of silly and fun. Not much else to say about it, other than it being the second film on the list (with Robin Hood) featuring Mark Strong as the primary villain.

Next up: Looks like Good Time and then Netflix also added Mandy, a film I've heard some very good things (for a bonkers, super-stylistic horror thriller starring Nic Cage). And later this week, off to see my second IMAX film ever 1917 (yes, Roger Deakins will get me to splurge). Also need to finish the Star Wars watch with Linda, still need to do Return of the Jedi.

[RhaenysBee]

I’m watching the Witcher and I don’t understand the hype. It’s a particularly poor television series. Its only redeeming quality so far is the non-linear timeline. Aside from figuring that out, I can’t say I’m invested in anything. Certainly not the poorly constructed and inconsistent world, the terrible acting, the unlikable and flat characters or the misplaced music. I’m sure I would have all the feelings if I ever played the Witcher game, alas that is not the case. 

[HexMachina]

3 hours ago, RhaenysBee said:

I’m watching the Witcher and I don’t understand the hype. It’s a particularly poor television series. Its only redeeming quality so far is the non-linear timeline. Aside from figuring that out, I can’t say I’m invested in anything. Certainly not the poorly constructed and inconsistent world, the terrible acting, the unlikable and flat characters or the misplaced music. I’m sure I would have all the feelings if I ever played the Witcher game, alas that is not the case. 

I still squirm uncomfortably recalling how awful i found episodes one and two. Two hours of my life i won’t be getting back. 

Everything about how it was written just felt lazy, contrived and horribly cliched. And without any high quality acting to redeem it either

[RhaenysBee]

15 minutes ago, HelenaExMachina said:

I still squirm uncomfortably recalling how awful i found episodes one and two. Two hours of my life i won’t be getting back. 

Everything about how it was written just felt lazy, contrived and horribly cliched. And without any high quality acting to redeem it either

But if I understand correctly, at least you saved another 6 hours of your life. I wasn’t aware that it was only 8 episodes long, I stopped to check after finishing episode 6, in which still nothing of substance happens. And at this point I’ll just finish it because if I don’t I know it’ll annoy me in my Netflix feed. well, I suppose I don’t need to point out that no aspect of the film gets better in further episodes. 

[Veltigar]

I just saw Knives Out. Good little film. The actors are all great. I liked Ana de Armas a lot. It seems as if she is coming out of nowhere, but is now omnipresent, but I like that development a lot! Daniel Craig was hilarious as a southerner

Spoiler

And Chris Evans was great playing against type. I hope he plays more villains!

The story was lovely as well. Cleverly put together 

Spoiler

I thought the clue was going to be that Christopher Plummer had staged everything to test his heirs and that was why the antidote was missing. Turned out I was wrong, but at least I picked up some of the clues way before they got renewed importance.

The only thing I didn't like was the whole blood test reveal. As if they couldn't test Harlan remains again (the movie should have cremated him at the least). Not to mention that the test results were probably stored on a computer somewhere. I call bullshit on a single fire destroying all evidence. But all in all a minor thing.

 

[williamjm]

9 hours ago, red snow said:

Same here, it's a good chance to fill in some gaps. It's not just studio ghibli they have but anime in general released this month. "In this corner of the world" is excellent and well worth the watch especially considering our perception of the Japanese in world war II. The film does a great job of showing how regular people are still regular people as well as how the more you suffer in war the more determined you feel your side has to win. Heartbreaking though

Thanks for the recommendation, I might watch that one as well.

[A True Kaniggit]

9 hours ago, red snow said:

"In this corner of the world" is excellent and well worth the watch especially considering our perception of the Japanese in world war II. The film does a great job of showing how regular people are still regular people as well as how the more you suffer in war the more determined you feel your side has to win. Heartbreaking though

Did you watch the story in the credits at the end of the movie?

It shows a little bit of Lin's life.