Watch, Watched, Watching: Coming 2 America is the reward for our sinful life

[Ran]

25 minutes ago, Tywin et al. said:

Adam Sandler makes truly awful films almost all the time, but Happy Gilmore is honestly a really good movie.

Of his comedies, I think The Wedding Singer is the only one I particulary enjoy. He's amazing in Punch-Drunk Love, though, and Uncut Gems. The Meyerowitz Stories is pretty good as well.

[DMC]

I always liked Big Daddy, good wholesome fun.  Wedding Singer is often cited as his only good comedy but I don't really get that.  Kinda like with Kevin Smith and Chasing Amy.

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

The Wedding Singer is a movie I remember liking, but I don't really want to see it again. Kind of the same with Big Daddy, and I actually haven't seen the last three you mentioned @Ran.

If you really hate someone though, go full Clockwork Orange and make them watch Grown Ups 2.

[WarGalley]

Finished Counterpart. Awesome story. I was still worried that the 2nd season/series finale would have problems with closure, but that was not in fact the case. Glad they were able to wrap things up despite the plot string left out there for a potential Season 3. Wish there was more story but absolutely no regrets watching what was already made. J.K. Simmons was awesome in his role as the Howard Silks and I kept thinking how hard it must have been to act his scenes (particularly when he was interacting with himself). 

I might get back to The Americans next..

[Veltigar]

Saw two films today I didn't particularly enjoy. The first was Ridley Scott's 1492: A Conquest of Paradise. @Ran put this on the list of films I remembered as awesome that on hindsight were really bad. It begins quite strong, but the film drops the ball as soon as Cristobal embarks on his epic journey which lasts all but 5 minutes before they hit land. A really curious decision to just breeze over that, especially given how bloated this feels over all.

The film lacks focus. It just aimlessly meanders from A to Z without trying to make much of a point. None of the characters are given any depth, nor does the film really tries to do that with anyone but Cristobal Colon in which it fails miserably. 

I also question the distasteful decision to turn Cristobal into a saint. I read that this movie was quite meticulously researched in its details (e.g. the hairstyles of the native americans are appropriate) but it feels as if this was one big historic fake because the film seems unwilling to do anything else but glorify Cristobal. Really curious decision as this film isn't that old, surely there were already critical views on Cristobal's expeditions available at the time.

It's really a shame that we are given such a wrong picture of Colon. He was a great man, but he was also a monster. Why do we find it so hard to accept that? I'd love to see a film that strikes the balance, but I don't think we'll ever get that. Anyways, this truly is another one to throw on Ridley Scott's shit pile (it's amazing how one director is able to turn out so many classics and so much dross at the same time). 

The second film I watched today was The Sound of Metal. It is one of the best picture nominees for this year, so I thought I'd give it a shot. Nomad land and Promising Young Women are pretty great, so I was hoping to get something along those lines or better. Unfortunately, it was quite a deal worse. This film was just dreadfully boring overall. I didn't like the characters, never felt much of a connection. This seems like a film that got its place solely because it's "about.something.IMPORTANT" and the Academy can now brag on how inclusive they have been this year. I think the deaf community deserves a more interesting celebration.

11 hours ago, Gaston de Foix said:

Comes out on the 31st in the States and on HBO Max.   It's out internationally.  

  Reveal hidden contents

I've been looking forward to this as well, although the super-powered Godzilla of the Legendverse is more than a match for Kong, having knocked out a three-headed regenerating dragon in the last epic throw down. 

They've tried to even things out by giving Kong a weapon, but it sort of feels like he would need a kaiju-sized handheld rocket launcher or something.  

 

Theatres are still closed here  Guess I'll be waiting for this a long, long time.

[Red Tiger]

9 minutes ago, Veltigar said:

This seems like a film that got its place solely because it's "about.a.handicap" and the Academy can now brag on how inclusive they have been this year. I think the deaf community deserves a more interesting celebration.

Fixed.

[Corvinus85]

Anyone start watching Invincible yet? Amazon animated superhero TV series based on a comic book written by Robert Kirkman. Amazon, as per their recent method, released the first 3 episodes on Friday, and each Friday there will be one episode released.

I watched only the first episode so far, and thought it was pretty solid, with a big holy shit moment at the end. I'm intrigued. And it has a strong cast.

[Nictarion]

I watched The Empty Man after seeing Chris Stuckmann’s recent video on it. It was made back in 2017, but was just finally released last year after issues with the studio and production. Apparently it’s based off a horror comic by Cullen Bunn. Haven’t read it, but I do like some of his work (I actually have another one of his horror titles Harrow County sitting on my shelf which I still need to read). 

I liked the movie a lot though. Especially the first 20 minutes or so. It has one the better openings I’ve seen in a while. And I’m usually a fan of this type of horror. It’s nowhere near as good, but it kind of reminded me of Hereditary a bit, in that it revolved around a cult that’s mixed up in some supernatural stuff. I definitely think it’s worth a watch and would recommend it. 

[Veltigar]

As we're stuck in lockdown again, I decided to start watching one of the great series I never had the courage to start before. I opted for The Shield as it is the longest series I still haven't seen yet. Even in these pandemic times 7 seasons sounds scary, but I'm liking it so far. I'm three episodes in and it's weird how this feels like a fusion between older type of cop series and the new Golden Era of TV that was happening at around the same time. I quite like it already though. Vick Mackey is such a jerk, but you can see the charm he has.

[Spockydog]

1 hour ago, Veltigar said:

 Vick Mackey is such a jerk, but you can see the charm he has.

Yeah, he's great. One of TV's all time finest anti-heroes. Though,

Spoiler

I'm amazed the man managed to get through life without someone chopping his feet off.

[Red Tiger]

1 hour ago, Spockydog said:

Yeah, he's great. One of TV's all time finest anti-heroes. Though,

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I'm amazed the man managed to get through life without someone chopping his feet off.

He does his namesake (Machiavelli) proud.

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

A tradition unlike any other, watching  The Ten Commandments after Passover dinner, falling asleep, and trying to find where I left off the following morning.

I'll always have a crush on Anne Baxter and Yul Brynner is the shit. Fuck Heston though.

[Zorral]

5 minutes ago, Tywin et al. said:

Fuck Heston though.

 

Our Easter tradition of watching The Ten Commandments mutated into watching the Taylor-Burton Cleopatra.  Mutation particularly because Heston.  Still, the castles overpower Heston in El Cid, so I'd watch that too -- if it were available anywhere for watching.  Happen to have Cleo on DVD though. 

 

 

[Mexal]

3 hours ago, Veltigar said:

As we're stuck in lockdown again, I decided to start watching one of the great series I never had the courage to start before. I opted for The Shield as it is the longest series I still haven't seen yet. Even in these pandemic times 7 seasons sounds scary, but I'm liking it so far. I'm three episodes in and it's weird how this feels like a fusion between older type of cop series and the new Golden Era of TV that was happening at around the same time. I quite like it already though. Vick Mackey is such a jerk, but you can see the charm he has.

You're in for quite a ride. One of my favorite all time shows.

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

1 hour ago, Zorral said:

 

Our Easter tradition of watching The Ten Commandments mutated into watching the Taylor-Burton Cleopatra.  Mutation particularly because Heston.  Still, the castles overpower Heston in El Cid, so I'd watch that too -- if it were available anywhere for watching.  Happen to have Cleo on DVD though. 

 

 

Both movies serve as good examples o how our consumption behaviors have changed. People used to always complain about really long movies, but now they're happy to binge hours of a TV show.

[Veltigar]

3 hours ago, Mexal said:

You're in for quite a ride. One of my favorite all time shows.

it's been great so far. Really weird to see a show from 2002 that has the balls to delve deep into all these controversies. Definitely a head of its time. 

[Mindwalker]

I think I might finally give Dr. Who a try. Should I start with the first season (of modern Dr. Who)?

[Mexal]

5 minutes ago, Veltigar said:

it's been great so far. Really weird to see a show from 2002 that has the balls to delve deep into all these controversies. Definitely a head of its time. 

Oh yea and just wait. It doesn't get any easier in the themes they deal with. There are also some new compelling characters that really steal the show as the seasons go on (e.g., Forrest Whittaker, Glenn Close).

[felice]

31 minutes ago, Mindwalker said:

I think I might finally give Dr. Who a try. Should I start with the first season (of modern Dr. Who)?

No, start with An Unearthly Child! But if you can't handle 60s TV, then yes, Rose is probably the best place to start.

[Mindwalker]

Oh, for now, I don't want to go farther back. 12 or so seasons are already quite something!