Watch, Watched, Watching: The cancellations continue

[polishgenius]

To be fair, it's Takashi Miike, he's known for being very weird. Judging the Japanese by him would be a bit like judging Americans by David Cronenberg.

Weirdly I cannot remember 13 Assassins at all even though I'm positive I've seen it. Only one of his I actually have seen apart from Sukiyaki Western Django, which I didn't love, so I guess his action offerings aren't really for me.

[Nictarion]

40 minutes ago, polishgenius said:

To be fair, it's Takashi Miike, he's known for being very weird. Judging the Japanese by him would be a bit like judging Americans by David Cronenberg.

Weirdly I cannot remember 13 Assassins at all even though I'm positive I've seen it. Only one of his I actually have seen apart from Sukiyaki Western Django, which I didn't love, so I guess his action offerings aren't really for me.

Cronenberg is Canadian. Replace him with Lynch in your analogy.

[Veltigar]

7 hours ago, polishgenius said:

To be fair, it's Takashi Miike, he's known for being very weird. Judging the Japanese by him would be a bit like judging Americans by David Cronenberg.

Weirdly I cannot remember 13 Assassins at all even though I'm positive I've seen it. Only one of his I actually have seen apart from Sukiyaki Western Django, which I didn't love, so I guess his action offerings aren't really for me.

Fair point. Although in my defense, I have actually spent some time in Japan and I would still stand by the statement  

8 hours ago, Nictarion said:

Too bad you didn’t care for it. I really love this movie (never seen the original). Pretty sure it’s up there with Two Towers for having one of the longest battles in film history. 

It's not the length that matters Nictarion, but what you do with it 

I really wanted to like it and I think the villain deserved to be in a better movie. That guy really made my skin crawl, but the most damning thing I can say is that I could hardly tell most of the 13 apart from one another during the final climax. That is always the biggest threat in these kinds of ensemble pieces (one of the reasons why The Hobbit trilogy sucked), as the characters don't really feel all that real then.

[Heartofice]

Hmm, I still to feel the other way round about 13 Assassins. I don't think I really enjoyed the first half, which just seemed a little too dark and unpleasant, and possibly a little dull. I did however enjoy the action of the second half and thought it was visceral enough to keep me happy. 

I do however think it is a very good entry in the Seven Samurai genre of movies.

[Cas Stark]

Emma--liked it, very sumptuous, everything about it was generally good and mostly faithful to Jane Austen, couldn't decide whether I preferred this one to the goop version from the 90s.

JoJo Rabbit--liked it, but other than being a black comedy, it wasn't nearly as edgy as it thinks it is.

*Also rewatched a couple of DePalma movies after watching the DePalma documentary.  Dressed to Kill & Body Double.  Let's just say, he's  no Hitchcock, or even close.

[polishgenius]

3 hours ago, Veltigar said:

Fair point. Although in my defense, I have actually spent some time in Japan and I would still stand by the statement  

 
I've seen this so I can't really argue.

[Iskaral Pust]

Queen’s Gambit was quite good, although it seems like it will be only a single season (so a miniseries?).  It felt like an echo of MadMen, not just the era and endemic sexism, but also the substance abuse and escaping a tragic childhood while distrusting others and yet craving stability/normalcy, all of which support and also slightly impair an intuitive creative genius that becomes the escape and outlet.  But QG has faster tempo and narrower character focus than the somewhat sprawling MadMen. 

I started Fargo S4 but found it dull and plodding.  This show has lost all the quirky humor, inescapable (slightly satanic?) villains and tragically doomed Everymen that made it great.  I don’t think I’ll bother watching it any further.

The Comey Rule was very good.  Recommended.  Brendan Gleeson is chilling as mafioso Trump.

Otherwise I’ve caught a few episodes of British Bake-Off for genteel, low stakes relaxation.  But why did they change the personnel so much in S5? (US version, I think that was S7 in the UK)  The comedic duo of Sue and Mel were excellent, and creepy Noel and stentorian Sandy don’t replace them well.  And Pru seems pretty insipid so far.  They retained the least enjoyable quarter of the original cast, and encouraged him to be more matey to help gloss over the changes.

My wife has been watching the incredibly cheesy Netflix Christmas rom-coms (is Vanessa Hudgens in half of them?).  She loves cheesy rom-coms anytime of year, but Netflix’s offering of extra cheesy seasonal fare went down really well with her last year.  It seems like the princess fantasy is really heavy in all these rom-coms, sometimes with a literal prince of a fictional European country with plummy English accents, sometimes with a rude proxy in the shape of a billionaire trustfundee.

[Isis]

Because the company who produced it sold it off to C4, who didn't want Mel and Sue. So Mary Berry left the show as well. Agreed that Sandy didn't work out on the show (no problems with her in general). And in his first season Noel was like a pale shadow. He gets more relaxed (?) in subsequent seasons. 

[polishgenius]

18 minutes ago, Isis said:

who didn't want Mel and Sue.

In fairness there's no indication that's what happened. The pair of them quit coz they didn't feel comfortable moving from the BBC especially since they weren't consulted by the higher-ups and didn't know it was happening till it was announced on telly. Berry also left because she felt a loyalty to the Beeb.

[Iskaral Pust]

37 minutes ago, Isis said:

Because the company who produced it sold it off to C4, who didn't want Mel and Sue. So Mary Berry left the show as well. Agreed that Sandy didn't work out on the show (no problems with her in general). And in his first season Noel was like a pale shadow. He gets more relaxed (?) in subsequent seasons. 

 

13 minutes ago, polishgenius said:

In fairness there's no indication that's what happened. The pair of them quit coz they didn't feel comfortable moving from the BBC especially since they weren't consulted by the higher-ups and didn't know it was happening till it was announced on telly. Berry also left because she felt a loyalty to the Beeb.

I’m probably years late to this debate.  Streaming has made TV discussion asynchronous.  I feel like Sandy and Noel were both much better in their prior work.  Perhaps they’re trying too hard to replicate Mel and Sue’s act.  The change isn’t disastrous, just a bit jarring and slightly disappointing.

[l2 0 5 5]

Working my way through season 4 of Outlander. Overall I find the show entertaining though outlandish at times. Can't believe I'm saying this but the sex scenes are too long. Way too long at times. I sometimes feel like Jamie and Claire have their own 18th century game of trying to have sex in every room and establishment they can imagine, making an ever-growing list that I'm sure even makes them blush at times. 

Also watching:

1. The Mandalorian: Fun as advertised. I try to keep up with all Star Wars stuff but am not a superfan. Also watched Rise of Skywalker last weekend. Again, it entertains me throughout, don't care about the lore, etc.

2. Suburra: Fucking love this show. Season 3 popping up a couple weeks ago caught me by surprise. Only 6 episodes sadly. 

The Samurai death was awesome and welcomed. Was so waiting for that guy to meet his end. Was pumped that Aureliano and Spadino were the ones to do it, and the punching bag politician leading him right to them 

. Only finished the first two eps.

3. The Undoing: I've only watched the first ep, and I'm sure this has been said, but this seems like the NY version of Big Little Lies. Nicole Kidman's character welcomes the out of town enigma and assures her the affluent community they live in isn't so bad if you surround yourself with the right people, blah, blah, blah. Having said that I was entertained. Will continue to watch.

4. Lovecraft Country: I've stalled out after episode 7. The "play next episode" prompt on HBO Max is blatantly flicking me off right now. I don't foresee myself finishing it. Cool first ep, and enjoyed the third one too, but everything else lost/bored me. 

[Zorral]

48 minutes ago, l2 0 5 5 said:

Lovecraft Country: I've stalled out after episode 7

It's been really interesting to note the very different takes between the white and the Black audiences on this series.  Among what I've been listening to from Black people is how much this series makes graphic why the Horror Genre is speaking more and more loudly to them, as both audience and as creators.  They have some criticisms, but those are rather different than those of the white audience.  A lot of it comes from the depiction of music performed in the series, as well as some other unrealistic aspects around those scenes -- and critiqued from angles of style, of fashion, of playing and presenting technique -- i.e. knowing and often professional eyes.

~~~~~~~~~~

P.S.  Presumably HBO's The Undoing concluded as we began suspecting around the fourth episode it would, at least as to who did it?  Haven't watched it yet, but probably will soon.

[maarsen]

15 hours ago, polishgenius said:

To be fair, it's Takashi Miike, he's known for being very weird. Judging the Japanese by him would be a bit like judging Americans by David Cronenberg.

Weirdly I cannot remember 13 Assassins at all even though I'm positive I've seen it. Only one of his I actually have seen apart from Sukiyaki Western Django, which I didn't love, so I guess his action offerings aren't really for me.

Cronenberg is Canadian. Judge him appropriately. 

[Fez]

Watched the first three episodes of The Flight Attendant. It started as pulpy dumb fun, but Kaley Cuoco's character just keeps making too many unbelievably stupid decisions for me to stick with it. It makes sense that a barely functioning alcoholic would do a lot of dumb stuff, but she takes it way too far.

I also watched the first four episodes of The Great. It's fun. Though, in keeping with how unhistorical it is, I'm hoping Peter II/III stays around longer than he did in real life; Nicholas Hoult is kinda incredible in the role. I'll keep watching.

And I watched the first episode of The Third Day. I couldn't stand it, even though Jude Law seemed very good.

[RumHam]

14 minutes ago, Fez said:

And I watched the first episode of The Third Day. I couldn't stand it, even though Jude Law seemed very good.

What a weird series that was. I basically stuck it out for the atmosphere.

[Veltigar]

I watched Touch of Evil (1957) today. Now that is a proper movie. A classic deserving of the high regard in which it is held. It certainly shows its age in places (Charlton Heston plays a Mexican ), but then at other moments its strangely ahead of its time

Spoiler

The way it flips the stereotypes around and gives us a tale of an outstanding Mexican lawmen fighting back against a drunk, corrupt, violent and racist American Sheriff is not something I would have expected to find in a film from the fifties.

The film has one of the best casts ever assembled in the history of cinema. A true embarrassment of riches. It's magnificent to see Orson Welles, Charlton Heston, Marlene Dietrich, Janet Leigh square off against each other and I'm sure that many of the other actors are legends of the silver screen as well, even though they might be a tad less famous.

It's masterfully directed, from the opening sequence (which I won't spoil) until the very end. Welles is just wonderful at making it all appear seedy, dark and hot as is appropriate for a tale as foul as this. Best of all though, this is a movie that understands the power of good writing. The plot moves along nicely and some of the dialogue is just unforgettable. There are just so many damn good lines in it. It might be the most quotable film that I have seen since Casablanca.

Spoiler

Some examples:

Quinlan: Come on, read my future for me.

Tanya: You haven't got any.

Quinlan: Hmm? What do you mean?

Tanya: Your future's all used up.

 

 

Ramon Miguel 'Mike' Vargas: A policeman's job is only easy in a police state.

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[Last lines]

Tanya: Isn't somebody gonna come and take him away?

Schwartz: Yeah, in just a few minutes. You really liked him didn't you?

Tanya: The cop did... the one who killed him... he loved him.

Schwartz: Well, Hank was a great detective all right.

Tanya: And a lousy cop.

Schwartz: Is that all you have to say for him?

Tanya: He was some kind of a man... What does it matter what you say about people?

Schwartz: Goodbye Tanya.

Tanya: Adiós.

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[Quinlan fires a pistol at Vargas, not hitting him]

Quinlan: That wasn't no miss, Vargas. That was just to turn you 'round, so I don't have to shoot you in the back. Unless you'd rather run for it.

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Vargas: This isn't the real Mexico. You know that. All border towns bring out the worst in a country. I can just imagine your mother's face if she could see our honeymoon hotel.

Some of the dialogue is also surprisingly meta. The first exchange of lines I quote in the spoiler section for instance, doesn't only apply to Welles' character but also to his own career. He was past his prime and would never direct another movie (not completed anyway is my understanding). Harsh when you think about it, but what a run the man had as a director.

[Ran]

@Veltigar

Yeah, fantastic movie, totally ahead of its time in some ways: Welles's Hank Quinlan is an antagonist for the ages, his physical presence oozing an air of gross corruption. And the whole motel sequence with Leigh's character, Susie, felt incredibly harrowing to the point where I couldn't really believe it was in a film from 60 years ago.

11 minutes ago, Veltigar said:

He was past his prime and would never direct another movie (not completed anyway is my understanding)

He completed The Trial and Chimes at Midnight afterward, but yes, he had a lot of unfinished projects that followed Touch of Evil.

[DMC]

25 minutes ago, Veltigar said:

I watched Touch of Evil (1957) today. Now that is a proper movie. A classic deserving of the high regard in which it is held.

Agreed entirely.  In fact I'd argue it's one of the most underrated as far as "all-time classics" go.  Man, haven't seen it in years.  Hm..well shit, doesn't appear to be streaming free on anything.  Damn Hearsts.

[l2 0 5 5]

6 hours ago, Zorral said:

It's been really interesting to note the very different takes between the white and the Black audiences on this series.  Among what I've been listening to from Black people is how much this series makes graphic why the Horror Genre is speaking more and more loudly to them, as both audience and as creators.  They have some criticisms, but those are rather different than those of the white audience.  A lot of it comes from the depiction of music performed in the series, as well as some other unrealistic aspects around those scenes -- and critiqued from angles of style, of fashion, of playing and presenting technique -- i.e. knowing and often professional eyes.

~~~~~~~~~~

P.S.  Presumably HBO's The Undoing concluded as we began suspecting around the fourth episode it would, at least as to who did it?  Haven't watched it yet, but probably will soon.

Yeah I just find it confusing and a mediocre watch. Not sure if that has anything to do with my race.

[TheLastWolf]

Watched The Informer 

Underwhelming, coming from the producers of Sicario and John Wick