Watch, Watched, Watching: We Need This!

[Isis]

18 hours ago, Cas Stark said:

"Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again."

I'll be watching tomorrow, but I don't have very high hopes for this one, other than KST as Mrs. Danvers.  The two leads seem kind of miscast to me, he's too young and boyish and she's too pretty, but perhaps I'll be surprised.  Nothing will ever touch the 40s version for me.  

 

I actually haven't even seen the Hitchcock version. But my friend, who was an extra in this version (he's not sure if he made the final cut) said this is on Netflix from today. I'm torn because I really wanted to visit my local indie cinema...

[HoodedCrow]

I have a mug with a Van Gogh on it. Since I’ve seen the real one, it serves as a souvenir. It isn’t the same experience.

[Cas Stark]

2 hours ago, Isis said:

I actually haven't even seen the Hitchcock version. But my friend, who was an extra in this version (he's not sure if he made the final cut) said this is on Netflix from today. I'm torn because I really wanted to visit my local indie cinema...

It's one of my fav movies of all time.  A brooding, hot Olivier, Hitchcock, George Sanders at his debonair best as the bad guy, a Mrs. Danvers that cannot be topped, gothic atmosphere, I am not a huge fan of the simpering, mannered Joan Fontaine in general but that sort of works because she's so insecure and freaked out all the time.  Love it.  I'm a little surprised TCM isn't showing it to coincide with the new Netflix version which sadly is getting pretty slammed by critics. I'll still watch. 

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

I've tried a few times now with Ad Astra, but I just can't get into it. 

[dbunting]

1 hour ago, Tywin et al. said:

I've tried a few times now with Ad Astra, but I just can't get into it. 

With good reason, because it isn't a good movie. I made the mistake of paying to see it at the theater, at least the popcorn was good.

[Martini Sigil]

1. Checking out Swamp Thing.... I'm not at all familiar with the comics, so I'm enjoying it on it's own merits... is it great?... not at all... but its a fun watch... Tim Russ (Tuvok on ST Voyager) was in last nights episode... I always thought that he spoke in that serious tone because he was playing a Vulcan... turns out that's his real voice....lol

[Heartofice]

Watched Daniel Radcliffe in Jungle. it’s about Daniel Radcliffe going into a jungle.

To be fair, he is ok in it, he looks older.. and skinny. I’ll give him that.

The movie hit all the beats you’d expect in one of these survival movies. Too much in fact, at time’s it was basically trying to be The Beach. 
 

It didn’t hit the mark though, it feels like a lot of the film was chopped out in edit, the pacing is odd, scenes are sloppily slotted together, whole plot points rushed in seconds.

Plus, it never really captured the terror or scale of the jungle. Probably due to budget but there seemed to be quite a few CGI shots rather than location. Kinda spoilt it.

[Zorral]

All I've watched this month were the October episodes of The Boys, and two things that include plague one way or another, though that was inadvertent on my part.    Both of them were produced quite a bit before the pandemic so it is purely coincidental.

Deliler – The Hunt for Vlad the Impaler (2020; 2018 in Turkey) 

Turkish film in which 15th century Vlad is a monstrous, cruel fellow with delusions of godhead, cruel to everyone, not just the Ottoman emperor’s armies. Clumsily dubbed into English, but gorgeous to look at – such landscapes, all physical location, no CGI.  The appearance of these 7 legendary, mysterious Deliler super warriors of the Sultan (yes, think The Seven Samurai / Magnificent Seven) is sorta Mongol as they were depicted in the endless Turkish television series, Resurrection: Ertugrul, sorta Tartar as they too were depicted in Ertugrul, and their leader wears the Polish cavalry warrior Husiaria wings., which was a unique Polish cavalry warrior thing, not Ottoman, as far as I understand.  Also, deliberately following Vikings  -- but so much better the showrunners stoutly proclaim, lots and lots and LOTS of eye liner. Historically, the Deliler were Ottoman cavalry shock troops. The theme music is sorta Mongolian throat singing.  There is one scene of the Deliler and their horses emerging out of -- the Caspian Sea? -- with this music going on, which will knock your sox off, it's so beautiful.  But ultimately the movie is fairly silly.

The plot has something to do with Vlad being a bad seed despite having been brought up with Mehmet II at the Ottoman palace,  believing he's God on earth and to get it all he’s got an alchemist manufacturing a super weapon –a plague to be carried by his infected rats into the Red Apple (what the Ottomans called Constantinople) and kill every living thing, leaving the structures and wealth intact. 

Quality of Horses -- A-

***************************************************************************

And, as mentioned before, La Révolution (October2020), a French Netflix original. It too has a plague, but it it was written and produced prior to the current pandemic, shot on location in 2019.

The best thing is the opening, a young girl (we assume a young girl anyway) on a white horse riding through carnage. Horse is blood stained, but corvettes.  It is Jeanne d’Arc, but carrying a cutlass, not the French flag, yet this one is saving her country as did Jeanne D’Arc in the 15th century.  At least ... I think so.  We never any more of this again in any of the succeeding episodes.

Quality of horses -- C.

The exception to this grade is the A grade equine ridden in this opening scene and -- I think the same one -- ridden in a dressage practice in a middle episode -- and I believe ridden by the same rider. But at lot of things are confusing and not resolved in this series, not only this.  Will there be another season?  Did they even plan on it? Surely the pandemic put a stop to whatever they'd planned and hoped for with this series.  

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Joan_of_Arc_on_horseback.png

Français : Jeanne d'Arc chevauchant devant Orléans.
English: Joan of Arc depicted on horseback in an illustration from a 1504 manuscript.
Date    1506
Medium    illumination on vellum
 

[l2 0 5 5]

11 hours ago, Annara Snow said:

People who vote on Emmys? Not so sure about that...

I still need to know how they decided OITNB was a comedy, and I've seen 4 seasons of it so far.

I've seen a good bit of OITB. I think I need caught up on the last two seasons, but can understand how it's considered a comedy. Maybe a dark comedy? Still more comedy than drama imo. 

[Cas Stark]

Ugh, finished Rebecca, exactly as mediocre as I feared. If you're going to ditch all the gothic elements, and dial down the quirks that made the characters interesting, why bother?  why make it a period piece when there is no attempt to write the characters as realistically 30s? just reimagine it in the present day, a CA mansion, make Max a rich writer or businessman, Rebecca a movie star, at least there would be some interesting possibilities there and I wouldn't have constantly been thinking 'this scene was so much better when Hitchcock filmed it' every 7 minutes. KSC was wasted and her Danvers was too dialed down, like everything else was dialed down into mediocrity and dullness.  

[SpaceChampion]

4 hours ago, dbunting said:

With good reason, because it isn't a good movie. I made the mistake of paying to see it at the theater, at least the popcorn was good.

Really??  I haven't been able to get good popcorn at a theatre in years.

[Nictarion]

1 hour ago, SpaceChampion said:

Really??  I haven't been able to get good popcorn at a theatre in years.

Alamo Drafthouse 

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

There's another Tremors movie....
 

 

[dbunting]

2 hours ago, SpaceChampion said:

Really??  I haven't been able to get good popcorn at a theatre in years.

Use to be good at MJR but now with the covid you can't make it yourself, not the same as before.

[Mexal]

I've been watching season 6 of The 100 while working... I'm entertained 

[RedEyedGhost]

6 hours ago, Heartofice said:

To be fair, he is ok in it, he looks older.. and skinny. I’ll give him that.

How gracious of you?

 

2 hours ago, Mexal said:

I've been watching season 6 of The 100 while working... I'm entertained 

That really felt like they cribbed a lot from the most recent Expanse books.  Oh wait, that's season 7.  6 was alright.

 

I just finished, and enjoyed, The Trial of the Chicago 7.  Didn't really feel all that Sorkin-y to me.

[DMC]

37 minutes ago, RedEyedGhost said:

I just finished, and enjoyed, The Trial of the Chicago 7.  Didn't really feel all that Sorkin-y to me.

Other than the cheeseball ending, totally agreed.  Surprisingly muted considering he also directed it.  I guess when you're approaching 60 it's finally time to grow up.  Overall it was very good with great performances.  One thing I'm surprised about is he didn't give Cohen more to work with as Hoffman.  There's literally great material in the transcripts that Hoffman said but Sorkin didn't use.  Only other gripe is how ahistorical it was in so many ways.  To be expected to an extent but geez.  Not gonna go through a laundry list, but the manufactured tension between Hoffman and Hayden was especially galling.  Strong as Rubin stole the show.  I also really loved Carroll Lynch as Dellinger.

[Mark Antony]

Enjoying the Great. Fanning and Hoult are terrific

[Heartofice]

6 minutes ago, Mark Antony said:

Enjoying the Great. Fanning and Hoult are terrific

Love that show. Maybe my FAVOURITE this year.

[DireWolfSpirit]

So fucking lame Netflix to cancel AWAY.

They are whining that it's expense didn't justify its audience size.

What's next are they going to transition into another reality TV network?

How about a nice "Keeping up with the Trumps" show next, got you salivitating Netflix, amirite? Thanks for moving towards sucky with all these cancellation trends, your well on your way to becoming another marginal option.