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


Veltigar

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Just started watching Little Fires Everywhere in the breaks while I'm WFH this week. First, the title sequence looks like a student project - disappointing. Second, it feels like this is a bit of a re-tread for Reese W. I see she's an EP on this - did she maybe advocate for it and want to play the role of the Mrs Richardson? I think she does an amazing job in the role (I'm definitely a fan) but it just feels similar to her role in Big Little Lies? Anyway, it looks like it's going ok so far, so I'll keep watching (only on ep2).

ETA: I've watched another couple of episodes and I'm remembering why the book was so good. It's difficult to watch some scenes as they are so uncomfortable. Eeeeeee

 

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11 hours ago, Week said:

@Mexal, Alice in Borderlands was a great recommendation. Enjoyed very much.

Spoiler

It was surprising that in episode 3 they completely reset the show but then the last 5 were pretty stable in terms of the cast of characters. I kept expecting another total reset, probably at the hands of Cheshire. Great binge watch - just dive in and blow through it without thinking too hard about it.

 

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My parents have discovered streaming and binging the last few months - and also realized I'm far more chatty about movies and shows than I am about my day to day life. 

They haven't stopped pestering me about Lupin for a week. Dad lived in Brussels and Paris for years, and delights in anything in French. I was sold when he mentioned Sofia Butella, whom he and I had recently seen in Atomic Blonde (screened that personal favorite for him on my projection when he was over and asked for a film I wouldn't show if Mom were there - she'd find the violence reprehensible). I'm starting it tonight, happily going in completely blind. 

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I'm finally getting around to catching up on the Crown Season 4. Enjoying it as I have previous seasons, definitely think Olivia Colman has had more to work with this season and put in a wonderful performance this far.

I've just watched episode 4. The cringe and discomfort watching Andrew 

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2 hours ago, HelenaExMachina said:

The cringe and discomfort watching Andrew 

I know. Really well played by Tom Byrne.

Watched this a few weeks back. Not sure the overall quality is quite as good as previous seasons, but it's still great television. Is it me, or is the writing less sympathetic to the characters? I remember feeling sorry for Charles last season, but not anymore. They've got him down as a whining cry-baby, who only cares about himself.

The only one I have any sympathy for is Margaret.

  

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3 hours ago, Spockydog said:

I know. Really well played by Tom Byrne.

Watched this a few weeks back. Not sure the overall quality is quite as good as previous seasons, but it's still great television. Is it me, or is the writing less sympathetic to the characters? I remember feeling sorry for Charles last season, but not anymore. They've got him down as a whining cry-baby, who only cares about himself.

The only one I have any sympathy for is Margaret.

  

I feel very similarly so far. I’m only four episodes in but i’m not feeling sympathy for anyone so far except Diana and Margaret. And I guess Thatcher’s daughter. Charles was definitely given a “oh woe is him the poor baby” last season but that certainly isn’t the case now. I’m naturally very unsympathetic to the royals anyway though. 

Weirdly I feel like there is an attempt to portray Thatcher sympathetically which...is not working for me.

I also know little to nothing about most of the events so far, particularly around Charles and Diana.

I loved the Balmorral scenes purely for the shots on the landscape. Gorgeous.

The entire cast is great in this though, i cannot say there is a weak link.

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I watched it, so you don't have to: 

Spanish Princess season 2, OMG, this was SO bad, I didn't recall from the first season that the lead actress was not only pretty bad but her fake Spanish accent was atrocious, fake history, fake accents, awful acting from all but one of the female leads. So bad it makes the first of these insane Phillipa Gregory series, The White Queen, seem like masterpiece theater. 

The Grudge 2020...really there is nothing good to say here, gross out effects, the film looked terrible, so dark, the actors' make up also looked pretty terrible on almost everyone, story/bad, acting/mediocre, thin plot/no characterization for even the lead actress.  Terrible.  I loved both Ju-On and the first US Grudge with SMG, but not this.

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The first two episodes of The Watch are on the BBC America website.  I don't know why Death look like a Jawa.  I've not read the Pratchett series but I imagine it is a quite off for book-fans.  This feels more like Killjoys, which isn't a bad thing.

The Marxist goblins or whatever they are, are funny.  "Have you read the pamphlet?"

 

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On 1/11/2021 at 11:02 PM, williamjm said:

I watched the first episode of Lupin on Netflix. It's a new French series about a Senegalese immigrant plotting revenge on the rich family who cause his father's death, inspired by the final gift from his father - a copy of Arsène Lupin, Gentleman Burglar. It was a fun heist story.

I watched first episode of this last night. It reminded me of Money Heist in some ways, in that it’s a European show that is heavily derivative of Hollywood heist movies , without really doing anything particularly new or inspiring.

It was fun, I enjoyed it more as there were more and more twists, and the Senegalese aspect makes it a little different, however it does feel like something I’ve seen 100 times before, and you have to really work hard to know question some of the silly things that happened.

I will keep watching it though, then episode count is pretty low and it’s still entertaining.

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I just finished This way up and I feel emotionally drained but in a good way. The same way I felt when I finished After Life, bittersweet and deep. It was one of the best things I have seen lately. And the actors were really good too, especially Aisling Bea whose character was balancing between devastation and success and was as endearing as it was sad. It was splendid.

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42 minutes ago, Lilac & Gooseberries said:

I just finished This way up and I feel emotionally drained but in a good way. The same way I felt when I finished After Life, bittersweet and deep. It was one of the best things I have seen lately. And the actors were really good too, especially Aisling Bea whose character was balancing between devastation and success and was as endearing as it was sad. It was splendid.

Never seen her act but generally love her, huge crush obviously, sexiest accent ever, but mainly she is just very very funny. Will need to watch asap. 

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9 minutes ago, BigFatCoward said:

Never seen her act but generally love her, huge crush obviously, sexiest accent ever, but mainly she is just very very funny. Will need to watch asap. 

Outside of Cats does Countdown the place I really noticed her was Living with Yourself with Paul Rudd on Netflix, she was fantastic in that as well.

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6 hours ago, BigFatCoward said:

Never seen her act but generally love her, huge crush obviously, sexiest accent ever, but mainly she is just very very funny. Will need to watch asap. 

Her accent is amazing and she even speaks a little bit of French. I was also amazed by Tobias Menzies, he was so awkwardly charming.

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1 hour ago, HelenaExMachina said:

Number 3 ibble dibble took 10 ibble Dibbles to oops dribble dribble over number 1 ibble dibble

Yes, what in the actual fuck was that?

It was so bizarre, I guess they actually must do it. 

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14 hours ago, Heartofice said:

I watched first episode of this last night. It reminded me of Money Heist in some ways, in that it’s a European show that is heavily derivative of Hollywood heist movies , without really doing anything particularly new or inspiring.

It was fun, I enjoyed it more as there were more and more twists, and the Senegalese aspect makes it a little different, however it does feel like something I’ve seen 100 times before, and you have to really work hard to know question some of the silly things that happened.

I will keep watching it though, then episode count is pretty low and it’s still entertaining.

I think that's a fair assessment. It did remind me a bit at times of films like Inside Man or Now You See Me - it even has a scene with a handcuff trick directly from the latter which may have something to do with them both being directed by Louis Letterrier.

I've finished the first batch of episodes now, it did continue to be good fun although it does end on a horrible cliffhanger.

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Good grief, the ignorance.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arsène_Lupin

Netflix France's Lupin is derivative of a 1920's French series of stories and novellas, very popular in France, from which has been derived the whole slough of gentlemen thieves and masters of disguises.  So all of these are derivative from this. The very concept of Gentleman (chevalier / knight) vs barbarian -- so French -- is embedded in the series as it is in the (French) fictions of 1920's.

It's also very popular with the US English speaking audience. Ha!

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/14/arts/television/lupin-netflix-omar-sy.html

One of the most popular ever of the Netflix offerings.

Quote

...a five-episode installment of Sy’s new French-language series, “Lupin,” debuted on Netflix. Less than a week later, the show, a stylish caper set in the heart of Paris, has become the streamer’s second most popular title in the United States, the first time a French series debuted in the Top 10, according to Netflix. A second installment has been filmed and is set to follow later this year....

It's also deliberately meta as part of its contemporary location.  Being French the stories and novels are so much of the content -- and again characters talking books -- so ... French, and charmingly so, also so French.  Alas we only got 5 episodes. But there are more coming.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Also really liking A Suitable Boy, which novel I loved.  But then I've only gotten one episode through the production.  But all is gorgeous and going well, if seemingly several trajectories toward tragedy being set up.  I.e. good writing.

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