Watch, Watched, Watching: My Queen's Gambit brings all the boys to the yard

[TheLastWolf]

13 hours ago, Martell Spy said:

I did not know it's a novel. I may well check that out

Do it. U won't regret it, I promise 

13 hours ago, Martell Spy said:

Just watched White Tiger. An excellent movie. Really gets down in to the grit and realism of what it's like to be really poor in India....and the crimes that must be committed to escape what the character calls the rooster coop.

"A good servant must know his masters from end to end, from lips to anus."

Thanks 

[Zorral]

A good piece on Scorsese --

https://www.vulture.com/2021/01/the-exquisite-violence-of-scorseses-the-age-of-innocence.html

That the critic chose to lead with Age of Innocence is a big plus, though like so many who discuss Scorsese, the author seems to miss understanding that among the other things his films do, is they depict (some of) the history of NYC on the big screen, and within this Scorsese theme, too, Age of Innocence has a large place.

[briantw]

On 1/23/2021 at 6:39 PM, Veltigar said:

Then there were the first two episodes of Godless (2017), a mini-series with the guy from 101 Dalmatians cast as a raging psychopath. I'm not exactly blown away by it yet, but given that I liked most of the performers and the critical praise this got I'll probably continue next week.

I watched it when it first came out, so my memory is a little fuzzy, but I remember the first few episodes being boring as fuck but then it picks up speed and never really lets go.  The final confrontation in the series was fantastic, and the entire final episode was great.

[GallowKnight]

6 hours ago, briantw said:

I watched it when it first came out, so my memory is a little fuzzy, but I remember the first few episodes being boring as fuck but then it picks up speed and never really lets go.  The final confrontation in the series was fantastic, and the entire final episode was great.

I remember the opposite, it starts of pretty good and then turned into a shitty mess, with the final episode being particularly bad.

[Veltigar]

I joined the hype train and jumped on Lupin as well. Crazy how this has blown up in my real-life social circles. Unfortunately, I'll have to go with the "overhyped" crowd on this one. Mainly because it is intensely stupid. It is pretty impossible to make a heist movie that doesn't involve some moments where both the police and the bad guy (and their goons) are being absolutely terrible at their job. Otherwise the protagonist can't get away with things and we wouldn't really have a show, but Lupin is really pushing it.

The first episode is the best, as it seems a fair bit of preparation went into the heist there and they cap it off with only one moment where the police completely fail. By that time you're invested enough not to care. The episodes after that there are multiple instances at various point in the episode where my suspension of disbelief was broken due to the shit our protagonist can get away with and also the timing in which he does it. 

Despite the level of stupidity, I did enjoy it though. I'll probably give the second half of season 1 another go when it comes out, as I'd like to see how it ends and I like the actors.

On 1/25/2021 at 4:43 PM, Heartofice said:

I said upthread but I suspect this is getting hyped up simply because it’s French and that makes us all think it must be something special if English speaking audiences are watching it.

It really isn’t special though, it’s very run of the mill, and were it in English nobody would be talking about it.

I found the last episode an improvement but really regretted starting to watch it two episodes in.

A bit harsh, but not overly so. Omar Sy is a big draw for me and the pacing is quite nice, but for the rest you are right that it is a run-of-the-mill product. Sort of a good midweek BBC show or thereabouts is where I would situate it quality wise.

But it's in French so indeed, you are right, all the Americans can feel sophisticated for watching it  

9 hours ago, briantw said:

I watched it when it first came out, so my memory is a little fuzzy, but I remember the first few episodes being boring as fuck but then it picks up speed and never really lets go.  The final confrontation in the series was fantastic, and the entire final episode was great.

 

2 hours ago, GallowKnight said:

I remember the opposite, it starts of pretty good and then turned into a shitty mess, with the final episode being particularly bad.

So basically @briantw is offering me sweets and biscuits and @GallowKnight wants to give me the cane and a lump of coal 

Well, you can probably guess for whom I will be rooting for next time I pop in Godless  Curious to see in which camp I will fall.

[Zorral]

8 hours ago, Veltigar said:

But it's in French so indeed, you are right, all the Americans can feel sophisticated for watching i

Sounds like BREXIT.  You may not believe it but not all people in North, South America and the Caribbean are anti-French -- sheesh a lot of them speak French.  Some locations are even part of France politically.  And there are even more of us who genuinely love French culture and art, so stfu.  (While there are many a BREXITer who knee jerk anit anything that centers figures who aren't white and aren't Brit. Not sayin' u r 1 of those, V One of my nearest and dearest doesn't care at all for Lupin either -- and he happens to be fluent in French, Spanish and the Sardinian dialect, as well as American English, and is AfAm too, so I know he is honest in his reaction. However, -- but there are those others, u gotta admit! 

In the meantime there is terrible news: Hirst is adapting The Great Gatsby, planning to make Fitzgerald better poor old Fitzgerald managed to be as a writer.

How more awful than this can one get?

Quote

“Michael brings a deep reverence for Scott’s work to the project but also a fearlessness about bringing such an iconic story to life in an accessible and fresh way.” Call it the Bridgerton effect, just with a lot more jazz and dead bodies floating in a swimming pool.

 

[Veltigar]

11 minutes ago, Zorral said:

Sounds like BREXIT.  You may not believe it but not all people in North, South America and the Caribbean are anti-French -- sheesh a lot of them speak French.  Some locations are even part of France politically.  And there are even more of us who genuinely love French culture and art, so stfu.  (While there are many a BREXITer who knee jerk anit anything that centers figures who aren't white and aren't Brit. Not sayin' u r 1 of those, V One of my nearest and dearest doesn't care at all for Lupin either -- and he happens to be fluent in French, Spanish and the Sardinian dialect, as well as American English, and is AfAm too, so I know he is honest in his reaction. However, -- but there are those others, u gotta admit! 

? I don't even know how to begin unpacking this quote To quote everyone's favorite Republican president of the 21st Century "That was some weird shit"

[Hereward]

2 hours ago, Zorral said:

Sounds like BREXIT.  You may not believe it but not all people in North, South America and the Caribbean are anti-French -- sheesh a lot of them speak French.  Some locations are even part of France politically.  And there are even more of us who genuinely love French culture and art, so stfu.  (While there are many a BREXITer who knee jerk anit anything that centers figures who aren't white and aren't Brit. Not sayin' u r 1 of those, V One of my nearest and dearest doesn't care at all for Lupin either -- and he happens to be fluent in French, Spanish and the Sardinian dialect, as well as American English, and is AfAm too, so I know he is honest in his reaction. However, -- but there are those others, u gotta admit! 

In the meantime there is terrible news: Hirst is adapting The Great Gatsby, planning to make Fitzgerald better poor old Fitzgerald managed to be as a writer.

How more awful than this can one get?

 

What the hell did I just read? Are you... alright?

[polishgenius]

4 hours ago, Zorral said:

Sounds like BREXIT. 

 

Getting into French stuff to feel sophisticated is like the opposite of Brexit mate.

[Heartofice]

14 hours ago, polishgenius said:

 

Getting into French stuff to feel sophisticated is like the opposite of Brexit mate.

Lol, exactly this. Can’t see a lot of Brexit voters scouring Netflix for some sophisticated French drama 

[Maithanet]

I just watched Rise of Skywalker for the first time last night.  It was...very uneven.  The good parts were quite good, and the bad parts were just so bad.  But my biggest disappointment is probably different from most people's:
 

Spoiler

 

What happened to the music?!  Star Wars always has great music, even the prequel trilogy has some really good stuff.  It was still John Williams doing it, but I have to assume that he didn't really want the job and just couldn't turn away that paycheck.  The music is not just unmemorable, but TIMID!  During the big scenes there's a little bit of music, but not enough that you actually notice it or it elicits any sort of feelings.  The only exceptions were every once in a while he'd throw in some music from the original trilogy and you'd notice "oh yeah, Star Wars usually has music".  But then it would back off and return to filling your ears with timid nothings. 

Very disappointing. 

 

 

[Werthead]

50 minutes ago, Maithanet said:

I just watched Rise of Skywalker for the first time last night.  It was...very uneven.  The good parts were quite good, and the bad parts were just so bad.  But my biggest disappointment is probably different from most people's:
 

  Reveal hidden contents

 

What happened to the music?!  Star Wars always has great music, even the prequel trilogy has some really good stuff.  It was still John Williams doing it, but I have to assume that he didn't really want the job and just couldn't turn away that paycheck.  The music is not just unmemorable, but TIMID!  During the big scenes there's a little bit of music, but not enough that you actually notice it or it elicits any sort of feelings.  The only exceptions were every once in a while he'd throw in some music from the original trilogy and you'd notice "oh yeah, Star Wars usually has music".  But then it would back off and return to filling your ears with timid nothings. 

Very disappointing. 

 

 

For truth, although I don't think that needs a spoiler.

The Force Awakens probably has the best score of the three new ones (Rey's theme is excellent). The Last Jedi is okay but Rise is just phoned it. Williams can be very uneven, but this did feel more uneven than normal. I feel we have to cut him some slack for his age though.

[Ran]

Half way through Russell T. Davies's It's a Sin. Searing, beautiful work from the writing and directing (handled by Davies and Peter Hoar, respectively) to the performances to the production and costume design and the music coordination.  It's a vivid recreation of life in the shadow of the burgeoning AIDS crisis in the UK in the early 80s through (as I understand it) to 1991, and the young men who lived (and, for far too many, died) through it.

Third episode made me tear up, I'll just say that much. As I understand it, it may be a weekly release in the UK, but HBO Nordic and I suspect some other outlets have the whole thing already.

[Maithanet]

Just now, Werthead said:

For truth, although I don't think that needs a spoiler.

The Force Awakens probably has the best score of the three new ones (Rey's theme is excellent). The Last Jedi is okay but Rise is just phoned it. Williams can be very uneven, but this did feel more uneven than normal. I feel we have to cut him some slack for his age though.

TFA had some good music, and the times it reached back to older Star Wars music was really effective.  I don't really remember the music in TLJ, but here it was just a mix of not noticing it and noticing how bad it was.  Which is a real shame.  A lightsaber fight without decent music is fairly dull. 

In contrast, all three prequel movies had at least a couple moments of great music (Ep 1 especially). 

[Werthead]

1 minute ago, Maithanet said:

TFA had some good music, and the times it reached back to older Star Wars music was really effective.  I don't really remember the music in TLJ, but here it was just a mix of not noticing it and noticing how bad it was.  Which is a real shame.  A lightsaber fight without decent music is fairly dull. 

In contrast, all three prequel movies had at least a couple moments of great music (Ep 1 especially). 

The Phantom Menace had an outstanding score. Attack of the Clones were pretty weak (the only strong point came when they reused the Imperial March, which was a bit telling).

Revenge of the Sith had one outstanding moment (the dialogue-less sequence where Anakin decides to betray the Republic) and a potentially good moment (the Obi-Wan/Anakin fight) that was ruined by going on way too long, but that wasn't Williams' fault.

[DMC]

59 minutes ago, Maithanet said:

But my biggest disappointment is probably different from most people's

Yeah.  I don't recall it being noticeably bad, but it certainly is either bland or not there.  And definitely a huge contributor to not making it feel like a Star Wars movie.  Also agree with Werthead that TFA was by far the best of the new three and I really like Rey's theme.  And that TLJ's was pretty meh.  At least the decrease in quality was purely linear when it came to the score.

I thought the scores in the PT were like a great player trying to carry a bad team to the playoffs.

[polishgenius]

Some of you might enjoy this video that goes into why the music in TROS might have felt so empty and phoned-in.

[Corvinus85]

35 minutes ago, Maithanet said:

TFA had some good music, and the times it reached back to older Star Wars music was really effective.  I don't really remember the music in TLJ, but here it was just a mix of not noticing it and noticing how bad it was.  Which is a real shame.  A lightsaber fight without decent music is fairly dull. 

In contrast, all three prequel movies had at least a couple moments of great music (Ep 1 especially). 

The music in TRoS was badly utilized. There is a youtube video on it, I don't remember what it's called, but it basically points out how iconic music themes from the previous films were used in the wrong scenes. Furthermore, there no noticeable new themes.

And by polishgenius.

[Maithanet]

I just felt like the music was afraid of being noticed.  Which is the exact opposite of every other Star Wars movie, which leans heavily on the score, to great effect. 

[Ran]

We had to finish It's a Sin. It's just that good. Absolutely beautiful, and heartbreaking, and deeply humane. If you can see it (think it's all out in the UK, will be in the US on HBO Max on February 18th), very much recommended. 

Keeley Hawes comes in like a storm in the fifth and final episode. We were absolutely rivetted by her performance, but honestly everyone was fantastic, including leads Olly Alexander (who's also a singer, lead of the synth pop act Years & Years, which collaborated with the Pet Shop Boys a couple of years back, and now I see they did a cover of "It's a Sin") and Lydia West.