Watch, Watched, Watching: The Shield lands on top

[Heartofice]

Watched Collateral that Jamie Fox and Tom Cruise one. Hadn’t seen it since it came out. I still really enjoyed it, but it was noticeable how cruddy a lot of the digital filming is. Seem to remember it coming out at the start of the whole digital era, and maybe it shows.

Lots of the shots are grimy, low res shaky cam, don’t really do well in low light , whereas some of the indoor shots are higher res and a lot smoother. It jarred me a bit

[3CityApache]

Started season 3 of Shtisel on Netflix. What a mesmerizingly engaging series. I remember I struggled a bit to get through the first 2 or 3 episodes of the first season, but after that, and especially in the second season, it was fantastic. The series was picked up 4 years after second season, so there is a relevant gap in season 3, which only allowed some of the kids to grow up enough to have their own arcs. The most engaging one is still Akiva's though.

[Ran]

 

1 hour ago, Heartofice said:

Watched Collateral that Jamie Fox and Tom Cruise one. Hadn’t seen it since it came out. I still really enjoyed it, but it was noticeable how cruddy a lot of the digital filming is. Seem to remember it coming out at the start of the whole digital era, and maybe it shows.

Yeah, Mann was pushing it with the the dynamic range and low light capabilities of digital cameras at the time. Was always impressed by his willingness to dive in.

Just finished watching the first episode of The Nevers, from HBO. The reviews remarking just how many characters this thing has is true enough -- it was rather dizzying, the number of introductions -- but Linda and I quite enjoyed it. Great production values, of course, and some very winning performances to start things off. 

ETA: Also, great score in this episode from Mark Isham, whose name hasn't appeared on IMDB yet but was in the credits.

 

[DireWolfSpirit]

I'm a bit late to the party but I finally got around to watching

The Trial of the Chicago 7

Absolutely loved it!

So many strong performances by the cast I couldn't single just one out.

 

[TheLastWolf]

6 hours ago, DireWolfSpirit said:

So many strong performances by the cast I couldn't single just one out.

It's Eddie Redmayne for me 

[Cas Stark]

13 hours ago, dbunting said:

Watched Alexander, with Colin Farrell today...Extended exclusive definitive directors cut.

Ugh. 3.5 hours of time jumping and a Colin trying to hide his accent didn't work for me. Some good battle scenes though. Especially liked the color use for the war elephant ending scenes. Love me some Rosario!! Also nice to see The Hound as a younger man.

For my own limited tastes I wish they had just ran the timeline straight, but that's just me.

Another one of those movies that is inexplicably bad.  I did enjoy Angie as the OTT mother, but that's about it.  Also, that hair color on Colin Farrell, my goodness, the local mall salon could have done better. 

[l2 0 5 5]

17 hours ago, Nictarion said:

One of my favorite all time scenes from any film. 

My heart was pounding the whole time. You can see it in Dirk's eyes when he realizes he's taken a wrong turn. Enjoyed his next scene with Jack and the remaining minutes after that. Perfect.

[Zorral]

14 hours ago, dbunting said:

I wish they had just ran the timeline straight, but that's just me.

Every cut has buggered ever more with the timeline, which not only didn't help, but makes things much worse.

Last night I got through about 120 minutes of this latest Alexander before bed called. The pertinent addition was around Alex's marriage to Roxana, which mirrors the very S&M the very young child witnesses between Queen Olympias and King Phillip in the bedroom, after his mother had been giving her little son snaky, verging on sorcerous instruction.  This section then answers the question with which it begins, "No one could answer the question as to why marriage, THIS MARRIAGE, this bride, was chosen by Alexander."

The bedding is all violence, in which neither subdues the other, any more than in the earlier sequence neither Olympias nor Phillip dominate.  They are pulled off each other by retainers.  The child -- about four? -- sees it all, very up close and very personal.  Not that this actually answers why Alexander chose to replicate that experience for himself, there, and in that place.  Though it would explain why he chose a tribal woman of shaman tradition, perhaps? 

Maybe all of that was in previous cut and I just have no memory of it?  I would think so, as it's such a commonplace technique, but it's been a long time since I rewatched the previous cut.

I'll get to the rest later.  Do love the elephants.

[Ran]

I feel like there must be a fan edit that just straightens out the timeline entirely.

ETA: Indeed, there is.

[Mindwalker]

On 4/11/2021 at 11:22 PM, HelenaExMachina said:

Unfortunately it peaks with the first season

Tbh, I'm only into ep 7, and they've started to really revel in the murders now. Not a fan of that.

[dbunting]

9 hours ago, Cas Stark said:

Another one of those movies that is inexplicably bad.  I did enjoy Angie as the OTT mother, but that's about it.  Also, that hair color on Colin Farrell, my goodness, the local mall salon could have done better. 

I was thinking the same thing the whole time through, I mean WTF is up with the dark ass roots and dark eye brows? If you feel the need to make him blonde then commit to it.

[Isis]

I watched a short series called Cheat on Saturday evening when I was bedridden. It begins as a student being accused of cheating on an assignment but it morphs into something darker. There was a point halfway through the second episode where I had to stop watching for a while because I had reached my current limit of seeing men do creepy things to women. I had also just finished reading My Dark Vanessa so I was thinking "please no more creepy inappropriate male academics who refuse to behave". That said, it is a twisty little series which keeps you guessing as to what is happening. Plus it's only four episodes so you can watch it in one go. That's if you can stomach watching the actor who was a disgusting creep and failed husband in Humans be a disgusting creep and failed husband again. And apparently he has played a third character in much the same mould for which he cited his experience as an adulterer in real life. GRIM. 

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

I tried to tell you people, it was the line of the year in cinema:

 

[Veltigar]

I started watching Breaking Bad. I saw the first season years ago before it went mainstream and I never really bothered with any of the subsequent seasons even when it became a hype. After the positive experience with The Shield I decided to give it another go and see whether the hype was worth it.

Two episodes in and I remember why I bailed after one season. Walter White is quite compelling, but everyone else is just awfully boring so far. Worse is Walter White's wife though, she's such a nag. No wonder this guy opted for a life of crime, I wouldn't hesitate to do so either if it got me away from the house.

[WarGalley]

43 minutes ago, Veltigar said:

I started watching Breaking Bad. I saw the first season years ago before it went mainstream and I never really bothered with any of the subsequent seasons even when it became a hype. After the positive experience with The Shield I decided to give it another go and see whether the hype was worth it.

Two episodes in and I remember why I bailed after one season. Walter White is quite compelling, but everyone else is just awfully boring so far. Worse is Walter White's wife though, she's such a nag. No wonder this guy opted for a life of crime, I wouldn't hesitate to do so either if it got me away from the house.

That is an ... interesting... take. I really enjoyed Season 1 even upon re-watch. I'm not sure it's really going to get better in S2 per se, just a little different. It might just not be for you.

[DMC]

IMO Breaking Bad didn't start to get Really Good until around the end of Season 2, and continued to consistently get better and better until the end of Season 4.

[RumHam]

3 hours ago, DMC said:

IMO Breaking Bad didn't start to get Really Good until around the end of Season 2, and continued to consistently get better and better until the end of Season 4.

It's not really fair to judge season one on it's own because it was cut short by the writers strike. Personally I think the show is overrated. When it peaks it's soooo great. But it's tv so it has to keep going. 

They did a really great job with the casting  and I suspect a lot of the show shows success stems from that. But Gillian and co have improved their craft, Better Call Saul is a less flashy story, told better. 

Breaking Bad spoilers (at least the end of season two) 

 

Walt really had to both watch Jane die and cause a plane crash because he met her dad in a bar. The man is manufacturing a drug that ruins countless lives but lets make sure the lines are clear.  [/spoiler?]

 

 

[Heartofice]

I liked BB immediately, I think that first episode is a fantastic pilot for the show. I've said this to friends before but if you don't really like the show after the first season then i don't expect it's going to grow on you that much more. It does get better but the seeds for what make it good are there from the start.

There is a period where the show does drag it's heels and feels like it's just recycling things, probably around season 5 if I remember? And yeah, Walt's wife is always going to be an irritating nag, that never changes.

[DMC]

2 minutes ago, RumHam said:

Spoiler

Walt really had to both watch Jane die and cause a plane crash because he met her dad in a bar. The man is manufacturing a drug that ruins countless lives but lets make sure the lines are clear.  [/spoiler?]

 

Spoiler

I think watching Jane die is crucial to Walt's character and the story, yeah.  It haunts him, which is raised again in The Fly - the greatest bottle episode ever - and then serves as Walt's turn of the knife to Jesse in Ozymandias.

"Causing" the plane to crash - and that being the big reveal hinted at all season?  Agreed, a bit of overkill.

 

[RumHam]

18 minutes ago, DMC said:

  Hide contents

I think watching Jane die is crucial to Walt's character and the story, yeah.  It haunts him, which is raised again in The Fly - the greatest bottle episode ever - and then serves as Walt's turn of the knife to Jesse in Ozymandias.

"Causing" the plane to crash - and that being the big reveal hinted at all season?  Agreed, a bit of overkill.

 

Right one thing is fine but 

 

They teased the "guys in hazmat suits recovering a stuffed bear eye from the pool" shots the entire season. Then they pulled out to reveal it was the White's house and that was a big deal.

Then it turned out to be that two planes collided overhead and Walt was indirectly responsible.

That's lame as fuck.

get rid of the season long pre-title teases and just do it before the finale: ok you've showed us how walt's terrible actions had butterfly wings. That's fine. It was the tease that made it seem both forced and disappointing.  

edit: that shit wouldn't happen on Better Call Saul!