Watch, Watched, Watching: I missed the last thread?

[RumHam]

6 hours ago, Heartofice said:

Bit like Citizen Kane, I’m sure that was an incredible movie back in the day, but everything groundbreaking about it has been taken and copied so many times, I have to admit to never really finding it that impressive.

I feel the same way. Just because a movie is important doesn't mean it's something you'd actually enjoy watching. 

Goodfellas I enjoy watching though. Casino too. 

6 hours ago, hauberk said:

 I wasn't able to get more than a couple of episodes into Sopranos either.

You need to give that another chance. Even the people I know who mainly like the show for it's mafia elements agree episode four is where it gets good. But the later seasons are a bit deeper. and also hilarious. 

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

So, I very clearly saw The Rock as a kid, because I don't remember old James Bond doing any of this. 

[Nictarion]

41 minutes ago, RumHam said:

You need to give that another chance. Even the people I know who mainly like the show for it's mafia elements agree episode four is where it gets good. But the later seasons are a bit deeper. and also hilarious. 

Yeah, episode 1x05 (College) is the one that hooks most people. 

[RhaenysBee]

I’ve almost finished The Great and it’s indeed marvelous. 

The story is obviously mostly anachronistic fiction - this is something the show is absolutely explicit and truthful about. Under the overall comedic approach however lies a strikingly realistic grip on real life. Very few productions are doing subversion the right way these days and I would say The Great is definitely one of them. The characterization is consistent and well thought out though hardly overly layered - this didn’t bother me as the show makes a point of being (often grotesquely) comedic and exaggerated. The dialogues are extremely witty and eloquent while still filled to the rim with vulgarity.
 

The lead actors do a phenomenal job, the most telling proof of this is that the show made me like Nicolas Hoult (I have always found him absolutely insufferable in any other film and yet, in spite of playing a rather loathsome character in The Great, I found his performance captivating). Some other actors in supporting roles (Velementov, Grigor and George, Aunt Elizabeth) also deliver quite well, while others just don’t seem to grasp the nuance of the show’s general tone and overdo the acting to the point that you no longer see a character but a try hard actor playing a caricature (Archy and Orlo fall into this category for me).

overall it’s just the kind of show I need right now, I love it and I hope they don’t screw it up in upcoming seasons.
 

 

[RumHam]

8 hours ago, Nictarion said:

Yeah, episode 1x05 (College) is the one that hooks most people. 

My mistake that's the one I meant.

[DMC]

"They seen The Godfather, right?"

"Not really.  Casino we like, Sharon Stone, the 70's clothes, pills..."

[hauberk]

23 hours ago, Nictarion said:

Scorsese has made a ton of great films not about the mob. 

Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, The King of Comedy, After Hours, The Wolf of Wall Street, Silence, Gangs of New York, Bringing Out the Dead, The Color of Money, The Last Temptation of Christ, The Aviator...

Coppola has far less, but Apocalypse Now, and The Conversation are both fantastic. 

Anyway not being into gangsters is one thing, but to say some of the best movies of all time are no good is quite another. 

Scorcese - of the one that you listed, Gangs of New York is the only one that I hold any affinity for.  The Aviator was a pretty movie.  The rest didn't do anything for me.  

I'll give Coppola a few more - certainly Apocalypse Now, but also Gardens of Stone and, in the pretty category, Dracula.

[hauberk]

23 hours ago, Heartofice said:

I’m going the other way on this, I was never a fan of Heat and I think Goodfellas is a 5 Star classic.

But I do wonder when people who disliked it, saw Goodfellas? I can imagine if it was recently ( as in the last decade) then it would probably seem kinda tired, and done... which is exactly how I felt about the Irishman. I even was quite bored by Casino, it feeling like it was repeating beats of Goodfellas too closely.

I mean, Goodfellas has been copied to death, parodied to death. It’s hard to watch it now with a fresh perspective.

Bit like Citizen Kane, I’m sure that was an incredible movie back in the day, but everything groundbreaking about it has been taken and copied so many times, I have to admit to never really finding it that impressive.

I saw Goodfellas as a new release to video.  So, it was back in the deep dark.  

[ithanos]

Got to watch Tenet today. First film in a cinema complex since the forgettable Bad Boys 3, pre-Covid. First off, all Christopher Nolan films must first be viewed in a theatre with as big a screen as possible that has accompanying sound capability, and Tenet is no exception.

CineFix did a timely piece on what to expect with Nolan and Time. And for Tenet, if you really want to go in prepped, I'd recommend this primer on Entropy and time.

The story had some elements that reminded me of a Claire North novel. All with the execution of Momento & Inception. I'm sure he broke some of the rules he sets within the film to tell the story, but that would have to be examined again in a re-watch.

John David Washington was good, though he doesn't quite exude the suave that his father has, and Pattinson seems to get better and better in everything he's in. A 5/10 plot, which may be improved upon future viewings. An 8/10 cinema experience in the time of Covid.      

 

[BigFatCoward]

Flicking through the channels the other day and s1 ep1 of the Sopranos was on so I dived right in. Not sure its aged that well, also how was Carmela 36 IRL when that was filmed, she looks about 50. 

[ljkeane]

9 hours ago, ithanos said:

John David Washington was good, though he doesn't quite exude the suave that his father has, and Pattinson seems to get better and better in everything he's in. A 5/10 plot, which may be improved upon future viewings. An 8/10 cinema experience in the time of Covid.     

Huh, he's Denzel Washington's son? I didn't realise that.

[Jaime L]

On 8/13/2020 at 9:30 AM, Maithanet said:

Finally caught Creed II on Netflix.  It felt a bit stale because the Rocky formula is so familiar at this point  I was totally uninterested in Stallone's character, and all of his character decisions seemed to be to inject false drama rather than feeling like realistic choices. And for the first time ever, I found Michael B. Jordan to be fairly disappointing as well.  Really felt like he was just going through the motions without being particularly invested in the role.  Instead it was the supporting actors like Tessa Thompson and Dolph Lundgren that provided a spark. 

One quibble, Drago and son are from the Ukraine.  And yet when they're having a party to celebrate his success, they talk about bringing glory to Russian Boxing.  Umm...Ukraine and Russia are two different countries, and they've been fighting a low intensity war for several years.  Plus, both Kitschko brothers brought a great deal of glory to Ukrainian boxing, since they were the two best heavyweights in the world for several years.  I guess the movie assumes we forget about them?  Or maybe the Dragos are Ukrainians who identify as Russian?  Anyway, seemed an odd choice.  Was there a throwaway line in Rocky IV about Drago being from Ukraine?  Because making him from Russia would have cleared up the whole issue. 

But that said, the movie is competent and enjoyable enough.  Loving Rocky IV definitely helps (looking at you @Jaime L).  The scene at the end

  Hide contents

Where Ivan throws in the towel to protect his son was the only surprise in the film and a very good moment.  I really wanted to like Ivan and his son, although the film didn't really give us a lot to work with. 

 

I coincidentally recently rewatched this too. Found myself still getting swept up in it even on the second viewing. What can I say, I'm a sucker for the killer intros in this film as Creed walks to the ring. And the boxing scenes were excellent. Couldn't get over how little Michael B Jordan is. They built up Drago Jr so well that I still wasn't convinced he lost by film's end.

To the points you made:

1) That they made Drago Ukrainian was a really fascinating touch! One they didn't do anything with. Coulda had a really fascinating angle where you realize Drago's "I fight for me!" line in Rocky IV is because he's a proud Ukrainian who was unwillingly conscripted into the Russian evil empire and pumped full of steroids for the glory of his country's occupiers. But instead they just ignored all that and only focused on how elite society (and Brigitte Nielsen) turned their back on Drago because he lost which is infinitely less interesting. But they did it because:

2) Drago can't be redeemed. Agree the moment you refer to is the finest in the film and one that humanizes him a bit. But he's still overall a massive villain and he has to stay that way because he murdered Apollo Creed. He can't have a Johnny Lawrence redemption arc for that reason. He went too far. So there's moments where the films forces you to empathize with his hardscrabble existence (not so unlike Rocky prior to fame) and as a father but it only goes so far. Despite his comeuppance he's still obsessed with avenging humiliations and "breaking" his enemies. He hasn't grown as a man. It's a shame though. There's a more interesting, more nuanced arc for Drago they could've pursued but then retreated to the simpler black and white Rocky world. 

 

[ljkeane]

I think Adonis is the bad guy in Creed II. Viktor's fighting to pull himself and his family out of poverty while the only reason Adonis has to fight is pride.

[DMC]

2 hours ago, BigFatCoward said:

Flicking through the channels the other day and s1 ep1 of the Sopranos was on so I dived right in. Not sure its aged that well, also how was Carmela 36 IRL when that was filmed, she looks about 50. 

Yeah, I don't know how, why, or if it's just me, but Falco always looks older and less attractive in Sopranos compared to other shows.  I didn't watch much of Oz or Homicide, but I did see her on Law & Order when she had a handful of stints as a defense lawyer in the mid 90s.  She looked much more her actual age in those episodes.

[Nictarion]

I don’t really care what she looked like in the show. Best performance from an actress I’ve ever seen in a series. 

[DireWolfSpirit]

I wish people would just not bother trying to criticize The Godfather, in anyway, whatsoever. You just make yourself sound cringe worthy and embarrassing.

[DMC]

13 minutes ago, Nictarion said:

I don’t really care what she looked like in the show. Best performance from an actress I’ve ever seen in a series. 

Not sure I'd dub her the GOAT in that regard, but of course I don't really care.  Just an odd observation that's been brought up with many friends for years - decades I guess - now.

12 minutes ago, DireWolfSpirit said:

I wish people would just not bother trying to criticize The Godfather, in anyway, whatsoever, you just make yourself sound cringe worthy and embarrassing.

It insists upon itself!

 

[Nictarion]

19 minutes ago, DMC said:

Not sure I'd dub her the GOAT in that regard, but of course I don't really care.  Just an odd observation that's been brought up with many friends for years - decades I guess - now.

For my money she is. Her performance in Whitecaps is as good as it gets. 

[DMC]

Just now, Nictarion said:

Not sure what’s odd about it...but for my money she is. Her performance is Whitecaps is as good as it gets. 

I meant the original observation was odd about her looking unexplainably worse on Sopranos than other shows.  As for her being the GOAT, again I dunno, I'd have to think about it.  This is obviously biased, but I'll take Eva Green in (the original) Penny Dreadful ahead of her every time, even if the series has less than half the episodes.

[BigFatCoward]

42 minutes ago, Nictarion said:

I don’t really care what she looked like in the show. Best performance from an actress I’ve ever seen in a series. 

I suppose everyone is entitled to an opinion.