Watch, Watched, Watching: Hindsight in 2020

[HexMachina]

No love for Okja? Perhaps not a masterpiece but i found it very enjoyable

[Ran]

2 minutes ago, HelenaExMachina said:

No love for Okja? Perhaps not a masterpiece but i found it very enjoyable

Have it on my Netflix list.

[HexMachina]

3 minutes ago, Ran said:

Have it on my Netflix list.

I think its very much the same style as his other films but at the same time its different...i’m not sure that “lighter” is the right way to describe the difference, but i can’t quite put my finger on a better way to describe it.

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

I was a bit nervous going into Doctor Sleep because The Shining is one of my all-time favorites, but holy s*** did that deliver. Easily one of the best times I’ve had watching a movie in this young new year.

[Nictarion]

8 hours ago, Veltigar said:

Meh, I saw it pretty early that year and still thought it was only just about okay. It didn't incite me to check any of his other work. Same thing for Memories of a Murder which I saw without knowing it was his. Parasite is far and away the best film of his I have seen and it makes me want to check out some of his other work like The Host.

 

Finally someone who understands my needs  It's a cool article. 

One surprising factoid that I learned while doing another deep dive was

  Reveal hidden contents

the fact that Proximo was originally going to fight Maximus in his penultimate match as a final fuck you from Commodus before the final confrontation. I don't know how they would have made that work to be honest.

 

I thought Memories of Murder was great. In fact, between it and Parasite, I took a chance and blind bought the blu ray of Mother (2009). Haven’t got a chance to watch it yet, but I will soon. 

[l2 0 5 5]

Saw It chapter 2 over the weekend. It was enjoyable but I liked the first one more. There was probably about 30-40 minutes of fat they could've trimmed off the film. You pretty much didn't have to watch the first one. Fun watch nonetheless.

Curb was pretty good last night. It seems like they're trying to stuff as much content as possible in each ep this season. They've all been over 40 minutes which makes me wonder LD's thought process behind that. I'm not gonna bash more Curb but they seem long winded at times this season.

[Mark Antony]

I watched Memories of Murder yesterday actually cause the full movie is on YouTube and the premise seemed right up my alley. Yeah I did get some major Zodiac vibes though I preferred the ending of this by a large margin. I loved the progression of the relationship between the two lead detectives. The humor was trickled in perfectly along with a couple drop kicks .

Watched Parasite today, it lived up to the hype for me. Think it deserved best picture even if I might’ve liked some of the other noms more. 

The next movie of his that I want to check out is Mother. Sounds super interesting but not sure if it’s streaming anywhere. Okja and Snowpiercer are on Netflix

[Conflicting Thought]

12 hours ago, Mark Antony said:

I watched Memories of Murder yesterday actually cause the full movie is on YouTube and the premise seemed right up my alley. Yeah I did get some major Zodiac vibes though I preferred the ending of this by a large margin. I loved the progression of the relationship between the two lead detectives. The humor was trickled in perfectly along with a couple drop kicks .

Watched Parasite today, it lived up to the hype for me. Think it deserved best picture even if I might’ve liked some of the other noms more. 

The next movie of his that I want to check out is Mother. Sounds super interesting but not sure if it’s streaming anywhere. Okja and Snowpiercer are on Netflix

I saw the host on netflix, but it changes from country to country so maybe you are not so lucky. 

[Martini Sigil]

I would be shocked if Locke & Key doesn;t make my top 10 for the year... although Tyler's Oakland A's cap was nowhere to be found --I know in the show they're from Seattle, but that shouldn;t make a dif.... that hat is important!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

9 minutes ago, Martini Sigil said:

I would be shocked if Locke & Key doesn;t make my top 10 for the year... although Tyler's Oakland A's cap was nowhere to be found --I know in the show they're from Seattle, but that shouldn;t make a dif.... that hat is important!!!!!!!!!!

 

Does it get better with time? I watched most of the first episode, shrugged, and went back to Sabrina. 

[HexMachina]

2 hours ago, Tywin et al. said:

Does it get better with time? I watched most of the first episode, shrugged, and went back to Sabrina. 

It must be truly awful if that is the better alternative  

[BigFatCoward]

First episode of the outsider was excellent. However Mendelsohns way of speaking is very very off putting. 

[red snow]

Just finished watching "Mythic Quest; Raven's banquet" on apple. Initially it was "ok" but whenever it took to more dramatic elements (usually dark ones) it really shone. Weirdly there is a tangential "flashback" episode that is essentially a mini film that steals/transforms the season but almost does too good a job in the sense I'd probably prefer a show about those characters. That said there's some neat revelations in episode 8 that gives most of the main cast a lot more depth.

Fans of "Sunny in Phillidelphia" will enjoy the presence of Mac and Cricket and there's a lot of humour shared with that show (just done in a more accessible way). What's lost in laughs is certainly made up for in the character work.

It's also a fun take on MMORPG and the gaming industry.

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

12 hours ago, HelenaExMachina said:

It must be truly awful if that is the better alternative  

Yeah, Sabrina is not the best, but it was a part of my childhood so I want to finish the modern reimaging of it.

[Zorral]

I highly recommend this first season of Ragnarock far and above either Sabrina or Locke & Key; I bailed on both of them quickly.

Even so, they are better -- yikes! -- than that insane, but not in a good way, Britannia.  But you know, I guess this why They actually made another season of Britannia -- somebody liked it.  We didn't know!

Ragnarock isn't without problems, but it is mercifully brief, only 6 45 minutes episodes.  And almost everything thrown up there on the screen is fresh and interesting to look at, despite it being a super power conflict, of which there are, what? about 18 trillion and 56?

 

[Astromech]

28 minutes ago, Zorral said:

I highly recommend this first season of Ragnarock far and above either Sabrina or Locke & Key; I bailed on both of them quickly.

Even so, they are better -- yikes! -- than that insane, but not in a good way, Britannia.  But you know, I guess this why They actually made another season of Britannia -- somebody liked it.  We didn't know!

Ragnarock isn't without problems, but it is mercifully brief, only 6 45 minutes episodes.  And almost everything thrown up there on the screen is fresh and interesting to look at, despite it being a super power conflict, of which there are, what? about 18 trillion and 56?

 

I really enjoyed Ragnarok. That ending of the season was fantastic. I've been replaying that final 6 or so minutes. I really wish there were subtitles for the dialogue in Old Norse.

I've watched the first few episodes of Sex Education s1. Not too bad. Gillian Anderson looks too much like Emma Thompson with that haircut. I can already see the characters growing after only three episodes. Definite plus there.

[HexMachina]

4 hours ago, Tywin et al. said:

Yeah, Sabrina is not the best, but it was a part of my childhood so I want to finish the modern reimaging of it.

The one with Melissa Joan Hart? I loved that growing up. I watched season ome of chilling adventures and it was a very different and inferior beast so i dropped it.

1 hour ago, Astromech said:

I really enjoyed Ragnarok. That ending of the season was fantastic. I've been replaying that final 6 or so minutes. I really wish there were subtitles for the dialogue in Old Norse.

I've watched the first few episodes of Sex Education s1. Not too bad. Gillian Anderson looks too much like Emma Thompson with that haircut. I can already see the characters growing after only three episodes. Definite plus there.

I’m still convinced it must be Emma Thompson. The likeness is uncanny

[Veltigar]

On 2/11/2020 at 7:30 PM, Zorral said:

In terms of cultural and political history it's really interesting to read  review of film like this written during what none of us at the time knew was the run-up of 9/11, when the world changed for the worse, the very much worse: "Sun 23 Apr 2000 17.35 BST First published on Sun 23 Apr 2000 17.35 BST"

 

I feel like you are teasing here. Like how would this review have been different post 9/11? Or how would Gladiator have been different?

On 2/11/2020 at 8:48 PM, Astromech said:

I would love to have at least one Hollywood epic annually to get excited for. 

I actually think it worked better with him fighting that retired champion, Tigris, and facing Commodus at the end. 

Ah, was that the plan? I thought the Proximo fight came on top of the Tigris fight, which seemed a bit excessive.

And yeah, wish that Hollywood made a Gladiator level film every year. Unfortunately we both know they don't  Although it is a hard formula to crack in their defense. I meanRidley Scott has tried and failed to recapture that magic so many times since then.

On 2/11/2020 at 8:48 PM, Astromech said:

I would love to have at least one Hollywood epic annually to get excited for. 

I actually think it worked better with him fighting that retired champion, Tigris, and facing Commodus at the end. 

Every time I watch the film, I can't help but think of films like Ben Hur and Quo Vadis when seeing the design of the Colosseum. As well as the triumph when Commodus returns to Rome from Germania.

Apart from its updated morality and attitude to violence I think Gladiator has far more in common with those films than with its contemporaries really

On 2/11/2020 at 9:50 PM, polishgenius said:

 

Yeah it's almost as good a revenge flick as Man on Fire.

Troll :p Gladiator > Man on Fire. You must give Ridley something, otherwise he'll always be known as the Top Gun director's brother 

On 2/11/2020 at 9:50 PM, polishgenius said:

I like Snowpiercer a lot, though it's nowhere near as good as Parasite. I didn't even get into Memories of Murder.

The Host is excellent but is also scattered and weird. I haven't seen it for ages, should give it a rewatch, as well as watching Mother which has been sitting next to my desk for two years.

 

 

The film that Parasite most reminds me of is American Beauty.

I don't see that comparison at all? Like who is the pedo in this story? And who the plastic bag?

On 2/11/2020 at 10:07 PM, williamjm said:

I thought The Host was a fun monster movie which managed to feel quite different to American films in that genre. I haven't seen Parasite yet but I suspect The Host doesn't have the same depth to it.

I'll add it to the watchlist

On 2/11/2020 at 11:13 PM, Conflicting Thought said:

Snowpiercees is his worst movie imho, he went full holywood and i didnt care for it, didnt like chris evans performanse and it was just too in your face.l. 

 

Based on the films of his I have seen, I would definitely agree!

On 2/12/2020 at 2:54 AM, Nictarion said:

I thought Memories of Murder was great. In fact, between it and Parasite, I took a chance and blind bought the blu ray of Mother (2009). Haven’t got a chance to watch it yet, but I will soon. 

What is Mother about? 

 

[Veltigar]

I watched the first season of Ragnarok the other day and I was pleasantly surprised. Very glad that the Board hivemind convinced me of giving it a shot. Not a masterpiece by any stretch of the word, as it does not do enough to break new ground, but it's far more enjoyable than most big budget films featuring similar superpowered characters.

1 hour ago, Astromech said:

I really enjoyed Ragnarok. That ending of the season was fantastic. I've been replaying that final 6 or so minutes. I really wish there were subtitles for the dialogue in Old Norse.

I've watched the first few episodes of Sex Education s1. Not too bad. Gillian Anderson looks too much like Emma Thompson with that haircut. I can already see the characters growing after only three episodes. Definite plus there.

It adds to the mystery though, the fact that we are excluded by their use of Old Norse. It's one of those little details that make the series far more interesting than it should be based on the premise on paper.

 

[polishgenius]

1 hour ago, Veltigar said:

Troll :p Gladiator > Man on Fire. You must give Ridley something, otherwise he'll always be known as the Top Gun director's brother 

Well I am for the most part a Tony > Ridley guy so yeah...

I actually put Man on Fire at pretty much equal, ie really good, I just find the contrast in reception between them to be a pretty amusing extreme example of the way certain critical and awards quarters will look down on certain kinds of stories... unless you dress them up in period costume.


 

 

1 hour ago, Veltigar said:

I don't see that comparison at all? Like who is the pedo in this story? And who the plastic bag?

Hah.

Well, they are both poison-family-drama films where prim visuals contrast with the oozing heart behind the facade, replete with mega-dark humour.