Watch, Watched, Watching: What Old Is New When There Is No New

[Heartofice]

1 hour ago, RhaenysBee said:

Still watching Money Heist. Season 3 feels like a fan-fiction based on the original series. Quick cuts, montages, zero subtlety, overdone and caricatured characters, zero understanding of the original structure and it’s purpose, zero tension building, wrong pacing. Stinks of Netflix and Hollywood. 

That was my opinion of season one so...

[RhaenysBee]

Wow boy, it’s unwatchable... I binged the first two seasons in essentially two and a half days, but this abomination (season 3 of money heist), I need to pause it every other minute to cope with the merciless flood of shit. I might just abandon it at some point. I mean I can’t say I care and I can’t say I can’t guess the ending. Did anybody watch it? Does it get... less like a fanfiction? 

Oh no, it’s getting worse. Now I’m down to pausing every minute. I might just entirely abandon this thing before it ruins the first two seasons, which I thought were amazing, not perfect at all, but still amazing. 

[HexMachina]

5 hours ago, Werthead said:

Excellent article on the limitations and problems of TV in the streaming era, including the fact that there are inducements with current shows to kill them off after 3 or 4 seasons which override all but the biggest mega-hit shows, and the negative impact that is having on projects which could go a lot longer.

Thanks, interesting read. There were definitely a few shows that came to mind while reading that. Quite a few of them Netflix shows

[RumHam]

The South Park documentary Six Days to Air is on HBO Max. I don't know what it says about me as a person that this is the first documentary I've watched since either Making a Murderer? The Jynx? I forget which came first. but anyway it's really good.

[RhaenysBee]

Upon deciding that elevating my blood pressure with Money Heist Season 3 is not beneficial for my health on either the short Or the long them, I’ve started watching Never Have I Ever. My brain lasted a total of 19 minutes. 

Moving on to Cursed. 

I’m really starting to hate Netflix productions. 

[Astromech]

On 7/23/2020 at 12:43 PM, lady narcissa said:

I watched the first two episodes on Sunday.  Looks like they are going to run this series through fast at 2 episodes per week.

I absolutely loved the first season of The Alienist.  I actively avoided it for the first half because I typically will not watch anything related to serial killers but I kept seeing adds and I began to watch with one eye closed and got totally sucked in.  I think the location and time period and sets were the big draw for me.  And the incorporation of real life people like Roosevelt into the story.  But I loved Luke Evans and Dakota Fanning's characters probably the most.  This series is also one of the few where I watched every episode multiple times during its run.  So much going on, so many characters, so much you miss the fist time around.  Doing this same thing with this second series...after watching the first two episodes, I immediately watched them again.  Think I will need to see them a third time before the next two episodes on Sunday.

Have your read the novels by Caleb Carr? I only read the first, The Alienist, and loved it.

The setting is also a big draw for me. I picked up Rick Zacks's Island of Vice: Theodore Roosevelt's Quest to Clean Up Sin-Loving New York to learn more about New York at this time. Highly recommended.

[Martell Spy]

On 7/23/2020 at 3:24 PM, Veltigar said:

To all of you who recommended Kingdom, you were right! Cookies for all and season 2 for me  

Is that the show about the retired MMA fighter that dropped on Netflix? I was watching that. I had to take a break in season 2 as I had some other things to watch, but it was excellent. Definitely going to finish the last 2 seasons. I'm not even sure what channel it originally aired on.

Just watched The Plot Against America, some of Perry Mason, and Brave New World On Peacock. Got to catch up on The Outsider next. Coming up is The Umbrella Academy season 2. Not sure where I'm going after that, but I also want to try Stateless on Netflix.

[Veltigar]

Finished the second season of Kingdom. Damn, it really is a great show. Not sure whether I like that it will probably continue for a third season, but at least the story arc was well done.

The actors were great, the costumes and settings superb and the story was rather more intelligent than you usually get in the genre. I also loved how it is very clearly rooted in a good knowledge of Confucian values and stereotypes which were executed rather well.  I also loved the action, which can be bonkers at time.

4 hours ago, Martell Spy said:

Is that the show about the retired MMA fighter that dropped on Netflix? I was watching that. I had to take a break in season 2 as I had some other things to watch, but it was excellent. Definitely going to finish the last 2 seasons. I'm not even sure what channel it originally aired on.

Just watched The Plot Against America, some of Perry Mason, and Brave New World On Peacock. Got to catch up on The Outsider next. Coming up is The Umbrella Academy season 2. Not sure where I'm going after that, but I also want to try Stateless on Netflix.

No, the South Korean period zombie drama of the same name on Netflix   

[Isis]

Just looked for S2 of The Alienist on Netflix. Not there. Release date for the UK is unknown. Wtf is that about? 

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

2 hours ago, Isis said:

Wtf is that about? 

This is what happens when you embrace socialism.

Also, can we have some of your federally funded medicine? 

[Isis]

25 minutes ago, Tywin et al. said:

This is what happens when you embrace socialism.

Also, can we have some of your federally funded medicine? 

ARGH. *shakes fist*

I also watched The English Patient last week in a fit of self-indulgence. I tend to view this film through multiple filters. First, it's incredibly beautiful to look at with some great performances. I recall there was a bit of a backlash that it won so many awards - like it was offensive to some people that a Booker Prize winning novel got adapted into a multi-Oscar winning film. I even recall at the time, the Max Factor ads on TV with a make up artist selling us their foundation, saying 'this is how I created Kristin Scott Thomas's bloody amazingly beautiful face in the English Patient' - you too could look like this. And Ralph Fiennes is just too, too handsome. And there are just so many pretty people in it that Colin Firth is relegated to a kind of dull old sock of a man, which is quite funny seeing as he'd been making women go a bit funny as Mr Darcy a couple of years before this film was made. LOL.

Secondly, it is actually a bit up itself and while I'm watching it I cannot help thinking about the brilliant parody of it, the Adam & Joe video (The Toy Patient) - from the time when they used to make parodies of films using toys as actors - which is screamingly funny. I need to watch it again now. The Toy Patient

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

26 minutes ago, Isis said:

ARGH. *shakes fist*

I also watched The English Patient last week in a fit of self-indulgence. I tend to view this film through multiple filters. First, it's incredibly beautiful to look at with some great performances. I recall there was a bit of a backlash that it won so many awards - like it was offensive to some people that a Booker Prize winning novel got adapted into a multi-Oscar winning film. I even recall at the time, the Max Factor ads on TV with a make up artist selling us their foundation, saying 'this is how I created Kristin Scott Thomas's bloody amazingly beautiful face in the English Patient' - you too could look like this. And Ralph Fiennes is just too, too handsome. And there are just so many pretty people in it that Colin Firth is relegated to a kind of dull old sock of a man, which is quite funny seeing as he'd been making women go a bit funny as Mr Darcy a couple of years before this film was made. LOL.

Secondly, it is actually a bit up itself and while I'm watching it I cannot help thinking about the brilliant parody of it, the Adam & Joe video (The Toy Patient) - from the time when they used to make parodies of films using toys as actors - which is screamingly funny. I need to watch it again now. The Toy Patient

Lol,

And I've never seen the movie, it came out when I was a little kiddo, but everyone just says it's boring as shit. Can't say I recall many if any positive comments about it. The only modern Best Picture winners I've heard slammed more are Crash and Shakespeare In Love. 

Also, while Fiennes is a great actor, I can't recall him ever being called "too, too handsome" before. He's not bad looking by any means, but I always just thought he was a regular looking guy. We each have our own tastes, though. Maybe his time as Voldemort has affected my view of him.

[Ran]

20 minutes ago, Isis said:

I also watched The English Patient last week in a fit of self-indulgence.

One of my favorite films!

Quote

I tend to view this film through multiple filters. First, it's incredibly beautiful to look at with some great performances.

Yep, absolutely stunning. Minghella and John Seale deserved their Oscars. Seale went on to work with Minghella on The Talented Mr. Ripley and Cold Mountain, the former of which was also particularly visually stunning (Cold Mountain was too often a bit murky and dark, OTOH, but that was Minghella's choice I guess). His last film, the one he retired on? Mad Max: Fury Road, another visual stunner.

As to performances, Ralph Fiennes and Kristin Scott Thomas are so magnetic on the screen, Binoche, Andrews, and Dafoe hold up their end of the story really well... just a great film.  

 

Quote

 I recall there was a bit of a backlash that it won so many awards - like it was offensive to some people that a Booker Prize winning novel got adapted into a multi-Oscar winning film.

I am not sad that it beat out Fargo, but I know people that are. I don't get it, personally. Yes, Fargo is great, but so is The English Patient.

Quote

 I even recall at the time, the Max Factor ads on TV with a make up artist selling us their foundation, saying 'this is how I created Kristin Scott Thomas's bloody amazingly beautiful face in the English Patient' - you too could look like this.

She was stunning in the film.

Quote

And Ralph Fiennes is just too, too handsome.

Perfectly cast. I'll watch most anything he's in.

He had his doomed romantic lead trilogy between this, Onegin, and The End of the Affair (which is especially good).

 

7 minutes ago, Tywin et al. said:

Lol, and I've never seen the movie, it came out when I was a little kiddo, but everyone just says it's boring as shit.

 

Very sad for those who believe it. It's deliberately but perfectly paced, I think, never a moment stretched too long. 

7 minutes ago, Tywin et al. said:

Can't say I recall many if any positive comments about it. The only modern Best Picture winners I've heard slammed more are Crash and Shakespeare In Love. 

People whine a lot about Dances with Wolves, too.

Shakespeare in Love is overly maligned. I remember seeing it in the theatre, and it was such an engrossing experience. The meat heads wanted Saving Private Ryan, which has is problems, and the cinephiles probaby wanted The Thin Red Line, even though that was the film where Malick really crawled up into his belly button rather than just gazing at it (the butchery he did to the film because he got upset that Jim Caviezel got so much attention was a mistake), whereas for me it was ether SiL or Elizabeth, and I'd give it to SiL thanks to the all-around charm of the cast and Tom Stoppard's wonderful script.

7 minutes ago, Tywin et al. said:

Also, while Fiennes is a great actor, I can't recall him ever being called "too, too handsome" before.

I think he's not handsome in the way a lot of Hollywood types tend to be handsome. It's in the eyes with him (NOTE: Linda reduced to puddle when reminded of said picture), and the way he carries himself. He received comparisons to the young Peter O'Toole circa Lawrence of Arabia, which is funny because he played Lawrence in a miniseries or made-for-tv thing before he made it big. 

[Cas Stark]

9 hours ago, Veltigar said:

Finished the second season of Kingdom. Damn, it really is a great show. Not sure whether I like that it will probably continue for a third season, but at least the story arc was well done.

The actors were great, the costumes and settings superb and the story was rather more intelligent than you usually get in the genre. I also loved how it is very clearly rooted in a good knowledge of Confucian values and stereotypes which were executed rather well.  I also loved the action, which can be bonkers at time.

No, the South Korean period zombie drama of the same name on Netflix   

I finished it last night, really liked it.  In a perfect world there would have been about 20% more focus on the political machinations and character development, but that is my only small gripe.  Will def. watch season 3 when/if it comes out. 

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

30 minutes ago, Ran said:

1. Very sad for those who believe it. It's deliberately but perfectly paced, I think, never a moment stretched too long. 

People whine a lot about Dances with Wolves, too.

2.Shakespeare in Love is overly maligned. I remember seeing it in the theatre, and it was such an engrossing experience. The meat heads wanted Saving Private Ryan, which has is problems, and the cinephiles probaby wanted The Thin Red Line, even though that was the film where Malick really crawled up into his belly button rather than just gazing at it (the butchery he did to the film because he got upset that Jim Caviezel got so much attention was a mistake), whereas for me it was ether SiL or Elizabeth, and I'd give it to SiL thanks to the all-around charm of the cast and Tom Stoppard's wonderful script.

3. I think he's not handsome in the way a lot of Hollywood types tend to be handsome. It's in the eyes with him (NOTE: Linda reduced to puddle when reminded of said picture), and the way he carries himself. He received comparisons to the young Peter O'Toole circa Lawrence of Arabia, which is funny because he played Lawrence in a miniseries or made-for-tv thing before he made it big. 

You could have made this easier and just quoted me in a followup post.... 

1. Yeah, it's a movie mostly only film school students like, and even then many of them hate it, and I can say that as someone who has a decent amount of family ties in the business and took a few classes myself, and yeah, damn near everyone says it's boring. Very few people, when discussing the great films of all time, bring up The English Patient. It's kind of seen as a joke from the conversations I've had. Just like Dances with Wolves. Has Avatar fared better? It's the exact same move............but in space......................

 

2. Stop while you're ahead, my friend. Shakespeare in Love isn't a top 100 film, it may not even be a top 500 film. It was a typical nothing Oscar-bait piece that the overwhelming majority laughs at years later. It has zero rewatchability. There's nothing to celebrate about the film outside of costume and set designs. Meanwhile, an all time great war movie was shafted, and no, that's not just because meatheads wanted it. 

And holy shit, as I look at films from that year, Pleasantville and The Truman Show were far better films. I watched both in film classes. No one would have ever thought to have shown Shakespeare in Love. 

Shit, The Mask of Zorro might have been a better film.

 

3. When forced to think about it, he did have pretty eyes when he was younger, but he played so many evil roles so that can get lost. Again, he's not unattractive, but he isn't standard lead material these days, which id more of a negative reflection on Hollyweird than Fiennes . Rarely do you see him in anything and critique his work as an actor. 

[Cas Stark]

There is nothing wrong with Shakespeare in Love.  Good cast, well acted, very well written, innovative take.  

[Nictarion]

@Tywin et al. channeling his inner Elaine Benes...

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

5 minutes ago, Nictarion said:

@Tywin et al. channeling his inner Elaine Benes...

It's almost like she was trying to explain sex to prudes and how even the basics work......

[Ran]

2 minutes ago, Tywin et al. said:

You could have made this easier and just quoted me in a followup post.... 

1. Yeah, it's a movie mostly only film school students like

The critics adored it, the audiences adored it, the people in the industry adored it. It's not a surprise it did so well at the Oscars.

 

2 minutes ago, Tywin et al. said:

and I can say that as someone who has a decent amount of family ties in the business and took a few classes myself, and yeah, damn near everyone says it's boring.

Better that you go watch it yourself and tell me you find it boring than telling me complete randos found it boring. 

 

Never watched Avatar, but Dances with Wolves  was quite the achievement 

2 minutes ago, Tywin et al. said:

2. Stop while you're ahead, my friend. Shakespeare in Love isn't a top 100 film, it may not even be a top 500 film.

Which of the films up for an Oscar that year are a top 500 film? Not Saving Private Ryan. What do your friends say about The Thin Red Line?

2 minutes ago, Tywin et al. said:

It has zero rewatchability.

Strange, rewatched it a few times. Holds up.

2 minutes ago, Tywin et al. said:

There's nothing to celebrate about the film outside of costume and set designs.

Warbeck's score? Stoppard's screenplay? Yeesh.

2 minutes ago, Tywin et al. said:

Meanwhile, an all time great war movie was shafted, and no, that's not just because meatheads wanted it. 

That movie had a masterful opening 20 minutes and then it's an overlong, uneven 2 hours afterward followed by a taut ending and then a schmaltzy epilogue. Spielberg should have quit WWII movies after Schindler's List.

2 minutes ago, Tywin et al. said:

 

 

Again, he's not unattractive, but he isn't standard lead material these days,

Time and tide waits for no man, etc. 

2 minutes ago, Tywin et al. said:

Rarely do you see him in anything and critique his work as an actor. 

He's an exceptional actor, yes. He was mesmerizing in A Bigger Splash. And he can do a certain kind of comedy, to boot, as in The Grand Budapest Hotel and Hail, Caesar!

[Ran]

Also, my remarks about Malick may give the impression that I think TTRL is a terrible film, but no, it's gorgeous and meditative even if Malick hacked it to pieces to minimize Caviezel ... and it's a better war film than SPR, to boot.