Watch, Watched, Watching: The cancellations continue

[Heartofice]

I feel like Olivia Colmans portrayal of Lizzie is still too much of her, I find it harder and harder to get lost in her character and not just see the actress. It doesn't help that I am a big fan of hers and she is now quite famous. The original actress, Claire Foy I much preferred because I had never seen her before and she is going for quite an accurate impersonation. 

I am slightly dreading seeing Maggie Thatcher this season as well.. that looks pretty hammy from the trailer.

[Veltigar]

I have a confession to make folks. I have been hiding this for years, but I have finally decided to come clean. Hallelujah! Up until 30 minutes ago, I had never seen The Departed... Yes, let that sink in for a moment, there was a movie fan out there who had not seen that marvelous film.

For years I couldn't give any opinion on the rat symbolism or understand the joy people feel when they think about Marky Mark going full Bostonian, but now I do and I wonder why I have been putting off seeing this film for so many years. It was another outstand Scorsece picture, one of his very best.

The acting was superb, the story tight, I mean I could rave about this film for a while, but you have all seen it way befre me so I won't bother you all with that. I just want to let you all know that I get it now.

Just two points of criticism for me:

Spoiler

1. Vera Farmiga is terrible at her job. I actually wonder whether the film would not have been better if that character had been cut completely. She gave me serious "I send letters to Charles Manson and want to marry him" vibes. No way in hell she'd spend more than a couple of months before being kicked out for serious ethics violations.

 

2. Just me personally, but I prefer it if they had wacked Wahlberg instead of Ed Sullivan. If you're not giving me the full happy ending where Dicaprio gets the girl, than I want Matt Damon to do what Matt Damon does best... namely being a slimy douchebag for ever! 

19 minutes ago, Tywin et al. said:

Speak American! 

Hippity Hoppity, your oil is now our property! 

[Nictarion]

9 minutes ago, Veltigar said:

I have a confession to make folks. I have been hiding this for years, but I have finally decided to come clean. Hallelujah! Up until 30 minutes ago, I had never seen The Departed... Yes, let that sink in for a moment, there was a movie fan out there who had not seen that marvelous film.

For years I couldn't give any opinion on the rat symbolism or understand the joy people feel when they think about Marky Mark going full Bostonian, but now I do and I wonder why I have been putting off seeing this film for so many years. It was another outstand Scorsece picture, one of his very best.

The acting was superb, the story tight, I mean I could rave about this film for a while, but you have all seen it way befre me so I won't bother you all with that. I just want to let you all know that I get it now.

Just two points of criticism for me:

  Reveal hidden contents

1. Vera Farmiga is terrible at her job. I actually wonder whether the film would not have been better if that character had been cut completely. She gave me serious "I send letters to Charles Manson and want to marry him" vibes. No way in hell she'd spend more than a couple of months before being kicked out for serious ethics violations.

 

2. Just me personally, but I prefer it if they had wacked Wahlberg instead of Ed Sullivan. If you're not giving me the full happy ending where Dicaprio gets the girl, than I want Matt Damon to do what Matt Damon does best... namely being a slimy douchebag for ever! 

Hippity Hoppity, your oil is now our property! 

Glad you liked it. I’ve never really agreed with the idea of it being a “makeup call” for Scorsese wrt him finally winning best director. It was well deserved. 

[Red Tiger]

10 minutes ago, Veltigar said:

I have a confession to make folks. I have been hiding this for years, but I have finally decided to come clean. Hallelujah! Up until 30 minutes ago, I had never seen The Departed... Yes, let that sink in for a moment, there was a movie fan out there who had not seen that marvelous film.

For years I couldn't give any opinion on the rat symbolism or understand the joy people feel when they think about Marky Mark going full Bostonian, but now I do and I wonder why I have been putting off seeing this film for so many years. It was another outstand Scorsece picture, one of his very best.

The acting was superb, the story tight, I mean I could rave about this film for a while, but you have all seen it way befre me so I won't bother you all with that. I just want to let you all know that I get it now.

Just two points of criticism for me:

  Reveal hidden contents

1. Vera Farmiga is terrible at her job. I actually wonder whether the film would not have been better if that character had been cut completely. She gave me serious "I send letters to Charles Manson and want to marry him" vibes. No way in hell she'd spend more than a couple of months before being kicked out for serious ethics violations.

 

2. Just me personally, but I prefer it if they had wacked Wahlberg instead of Ed Sullivan. If you're not giving me the full happy ending where Dicaprio gets the girl, than I want Matt Damon to do what Matt Damon does best... namely being a slimy douchebag for ever! 

Hippity Hoppity, your oil is now our property! 

5 years ago I told my friends I had never seen the Wire. Now THAT was a coming out story.

[RumHam]

11 hours ago, Veltigar said:

You hate the head of the funky bunch?  why? 

Quote

In June 1986, then-15-year-old Wahlberg and three friends chased after three black children while yelling "Kill the nigger, kill the nigger" and throwing rocks at them.^[81] The next day, Wahlberg and others followed a group of mostly black fourth graders (including one of the victims from the previous day) taking a field trip on a beach, yelled racial epithets at them, threw rocks at them, and "summoned other white males who joined" in the harassment.^[82][81] In August 1986, civil action was filed against Wahlberg for violating the civil rights of his victims, and the case was settled the next month.^[83][84][85]

Another racially charged incident occurred in April 1988. While high on PCP,^[86] then-17-year-old Wahlberg assaulted a middle-aged Vietnamese man on the street, calling him a "Vietnam fucking shit" and knocking him unconscious with a large wooden stick. Wahlberg attacked a second Vietnamese man later the same day, punching him in the eye. When Wahlberg was arrested and returned to the scene of the first assault, he told police officers: "I'll tell you now that's the mother-fucker whose head I split open."^[87] Investigators also noted that Wahlberg "made numerous unsolicited racial statements about 'gooks' and 'slant-eyed gooks'".^[88][89] Wahlberg was charged with attempted murder, pleaded guilty to felony assault, and was sentenced to two years in jail, but served only 45 days of his sentence.^[88][90] Wahlberg believed he had left the second victim (named Johnny Trinh) permanently blind in one eye, though Trinh stated that he had lost his eye in the Vietnam War, while serving in the South Vietnamese Army, who were fighting alongside American troops.^{[91][85][88][89]}

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Wahlberg#Legal_issues

[Zorral]

5 hours ago, HoodedCrow said:

Haven’t watched the new Crown:) I’m a bit apprehensive about Diana. Zorral, the monarchy needn’t be remarkable people. They need to do the ceremonial role adequately. It sounds tedious and invasive. Trump would have been fine as a constitutional monarch as long as his powers were duly curtailed. He also needed to be willing to stand in the rain and actually have or fake respect for others.( like war dead and families or sick people or handicapped people...the list goes on.) Trump could have been dumped by his own party or by non confidence vote in a different system. Kings can be forced to abdicate if they are really bad.

Supposedly tRump can be forced out too, via the 25th Amendment but too many just like him are blocking that.  But he needs to be shoved out NOW.  The country's burning down and he insists on making it burn faster. And that's it.

[Spockydog]

On 11/12/2020 at 5:27 AM, Corvinus85 said:

I watched Bone Tomahawk, starring Kurt Russell and a bunch of other well known actors. I've never heard of it, indie film, blending western with horror. It reminded me a bit of The 13th Warrior but western. It had a slow pace, and some really, really fucked up moments, but strong performances and I appreciated all the little moments, giving the movie a strong dose of realism.

That's a great movie, with one of the most disturbing scenes I've ever seen.

[HoodedCrow]

If tRump were a British monarch, they could force him to abdicate. If the king is Mad, they can also have a regent! It’s better to just fire tRump as you say. He has been impeached and the people have spoken. Whew, though, I agree, he’s trying to burn the country down.
I do think that there needs to be a person whose job it is to pardon turkeys and host Easter eggs rolls. Jeff Probst? I must watch some Survivor.

[Rippounet]

I finished The Queen's Gambit tonight, and it was totally as amazing as everyone is saying it is. My eyes watered during the finale - nearly shed a tear.

It was not what I expected at all. I thought we'd see far more of the chess games themselves - at least the key moves. In fact, there's only about a couple of times when a key move is truly explained.
I also thought it was a true story... Well, inspired from a true story at least. Turns out it's more like 90% fictional, as a finger to Bobby Fischer, who had little respect for female chess players...
I am still disappointed that Elizabeth Harmon was never real.

Because that character is fucking incredible. She's an amazing three-dimensional woman, sweet and tortured in a way that just feels real. And she's badass. I'd put her right next to badass female characters like Ellen Ripley or Jyn Erso.
Except, of course, Beth Harmon does it all with a chess board and a deep gaze, rather than a blaster. And yet the tv show someone manages her to make her both kickass and vulnerable, proud and meek, bristling with both confidence and self-doubt.
I think I'm in love with that character. Anya Taylor is beautiful of course, but it's Beth Harmon that's the true jewel there. She's the chick I dreamed of in high school (down to the color of her hair too). That look, that gaze... it just gives you goose bumps.

The entire show gets a 10/10 for me. The acting is top-notch (hey, Thomas Sangster (Jojen Reed) and Harry Melling (Dudley Dursley) !), the decors, the costumes, the lighting... Everything is just perfect, to the tiniest detail. The music is fantastic, perfectly adapted to each scene (but that's becoming a feature of good shows these days, like in Mrs America).
And of course, the writing is phenomenal. Expectations are built and then subverted, the pacing is so good that it makes chess gripping (chess), and the 7 episodes form a coherent whole with a satisfying ending.
I'd go as far as to say that The Queen's Gambit truly manages to be more than entertainment and be art. And that's not something I would say of many shows. Many do try, sometimes too hard (I'm looking at you, Raised by Wolves), but The Queen's Gambit does it.

It also made me play chess for the first time in at least five years, and I'm eager to  start playing again now.
Will also watch that show again at some point in the future.

PS: don't watch the trailer if you can avoid it, it gives away too much imho.

Edit: well, there is at least one game that has been analysed in detail on youtube... Though how this dude managed to gather all this from the show I have no idea... He had to speculate a bit...
[WARNING: this video is a spoiler, though it doesn't look like one at first]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIMaTKOZG-8

Edit2: ok, so apparently the games in the show have been thought out, several are based on historical games, and Kasparov consulted on the show so... Basically you can study the games and then rewatch the show, understanding exactly what is happening... ??

 

[Rippounet]

shit, double post

[dbunting]

Funny that The Departed comes up, I just watched it again about 2 weeks ago and had a few of the same thoughts. Vera's character is pretty bad. Much better film that the irishman

[DMC]

7 hours ago, Red Tiger said:

5 years ago I told my friends I had never seen the Wire. Now THAT was a coming out story.

 

[ithanos]

7 hours ago, RumHam said:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Wahlberg#Legal_issues

I dunno. Looking at what you posted in isolation, it reads like the rap sheet of an angry young man at 15yrs and then 17yrs of age. A product of his peers and environment. Did this kid harbour racist ideology and act on them? No doubt. Did he succumb to this confinement of ideas and never develop out of it? or did he find some outlet to grow and learn of a world beyond hate & judgment? The evidence suggests he did. But I dunno, starring in movies like The Big Hit* and The Corruptor with Asian and black actors and then several more, he could have been faking it all this time. I'd like to give him the benefit of the doubt. As to trying to get his record pardoned, yeah that was silly, he should've just owned it and left it at that - and apparently it has been dropped.

*Note to self, find time to re-watch The Big Hit, that movie was awesome.

 

[Mark Antony]

Perry Mason HBO fills the boardwalk empire hole with a dash of Chinatown. What a cast. The show is just gorgeous as well. Tim Van Patten is the goat

[TheLastWolf]

For the true blue cinephile, Soumitra Chatterjee just passed away. Belongs to the RIP thread, I know, but I just rewatched Satyajit Ray's Apu Trilogy and am still immersed in that world. Just thinking of all the great auteurs Ray inspired gives me the goosebumps. He itself was inspired by Vittorio De Sica's Bicycle Thieves. What a piece of art. One of his 99 London views. 

[RumHam]

13 minutes ago, Mark Antony said:

Perry Mason HBO fills the boardwalk empire hole with a dash of Chinatown. What a cast. The show is just gorgeous as well. Tim Van Patten is the goat

Shea Wigham has become one of my favorite actors.

 

[Veltigar]

11 hours ago, Nictarion said:

Glad you liked it. I’ve never really agreed with the idea of it being a “makeup call” for Scorsese wrt him finally winning best director. It was well deserved. 

Yeah, I agree. I haven't seen all the nominees that year, but it's definitely better than the others of that year I saw. 

4 hours ago, dbunting said:

Funny that The Departed comes up, I just watched it again about 2 weeks ago and had a few of the same thoughts. Vera's character is pretty bad. Much better film that the irishman

Still have to see the Irishman, but the runtime (+ the creeping suspicion that everyone in it is passed their prime) is turning me off from it.

11 hours ago, Red Tiger said:

5 years ago I told my friends I had never seen the Wire. Now THAT was a coming out story.

And did they accept you? Or were you thrown out of the house?

4 hours ago, DMC said:

 

That's brilliant 

10 hours ago, RumHam said:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Wahlberg#Legal_issues

Ah, that is indeed very distasteful. I was planning on retorting with "How can you hate a guy with a burger chain which puns on his own name (Wahlburgers)" but these kind of issues merit a serious response. I would have to agree with @ithanos that it appears that Wahlberg has repented his earlier errors. Not that that makes your dislike for him any less valid of course, but it is a grey zone I would say.

[dbunting]

Watched The Hurt Locker, saw it a long time ago also. I'm not sure how I feel about the movie. I want to like it but just can't think of it as more than just ok.

Started Justified, two episodes in. Seems like a typical cop show so far. Good enough to get me to watch more.

[Heartofice]

Finished The Queens Gambit, thought it was a fantastic little mini series, exactly the right length to tell the story it was trying to tell. Well acted, well paced and smartly written, it almost makes you want to go and play chess!

Having said that:
 

Spoiler

The last episode was an absolute cheese fest, the way it was set up in the final match, and the feel good final scenes etc. I would have rolled my eyes at it, except I simply assumed it was based on a real story. 

So I couldn't wait to google the real Beth Harmon.. oh except she doesn't exist. There was no female chess player with a similar story, and that more than likely she is based on Bobby Fischer.. who was a man. That kind of puts a dampener on the whole thing and I'm glad I didn't know that going in. 

 

[Mark Antony]

1 hour ago, dbunting said:

Started Justified, two episodes in. Seems like a typical cop show so far. Good enough to get me to watch more.

Justified starts off as the typical cop show but turns into something much more and much better. If you are already liking it you are gonna be very pleased with how it develops. 

3 hours ago, Veltigar said:

. Still have to see the Irishman, but the runtime (+ the creeping suspicion that everyone in it is passed their prime) is turning me off from it..

Not saying you’re gonna love the Irishman (I did) but no one is “passed their prime” performance wise. Everyone puts in a proper performance (especially Pesci and Pacino) .