Watch, Watching, Watch -- Keep the change you filthy animal!

[Werthead]

Don't Look Up is an oddball. It's not that funny - most of the actual gags are tired and belaboured - but some of the more satirical moments of non-sequitur randomness work better (like the general who steals people's money despite presumably being on a massive salary, which was very Veep). It's also interesting that the serious actors, particularly Cate Blanchett, Mark Rylance (easily the film's MVP) and Meryl Streep - are much funnier than alleged professional comedy actor Jonah Hill, who was amusing earlier in his career but just sleepwalks through this one.

I did like the last-stage shift into doing oddly optimistic nihilism, trying to hit the same spot as Seeking a Friend for the End of the World (the 2012 Keira Knightley/Steve Carell movie) but not as well: that move hit that weird spot much more neatly.

Spoiler

Some of the science was ropey, but the actual moment of impact was extremely well done.

[DireWolfSpirit]

Well said @Deadlines? What Deadlines? That critical portrayal of media, pop culture and big tech, all neatly rolled into a nasty, icy, snowball to the temples.

It's an ambitious takedown to cast as wide as this does, and yet perfectly, muddy all the deserving and overly righteous.

I left feeling this really needed to be made, this was a parody out of necessity if you will.

[Nictarion]

Saw Licorice Pizza tonight. Really enjoyed it. Much more than PTA’s last couple films. Both the leads were great in their acting debuts. I also thought it had some of his best camera work since Boogie Nights.

[Astromech]

Been watching Arcane on Netflix. I don't know much about League of Legends and couldn't care less about it, so not sure how the animated series is related, but damn this is actually a good series. Interesting storyline, characters and plot. I also like the animation, a bit 3D.

Being a fan of Westerns, I watched the pilot of 1883, an origin story of sorts for Tyler Sheridan's Yellowstone. I enjoyed it. Not sure there is enough on Paramount Plus to justify the subscription yet. Maybe if/when previous and current seasons of Yellowstone are available on it.

[Deadlines? What Deadlines?]

I just found out Don't Look Up has an actual post credit scene. I take back everything I said about this movie. 

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

Keeping with my run of adventure docs, Losing Sight of Shore captures a real test of the human body, mind and spirit. Six women working in four person legs rowed from California to Australia, a daunting journey and they recorded their daily experiences, the highs, the lows and everything in between. Their determination to finish was incredibly inspiring.

[Mindwalker]

Any recommendations for a tv show not too deep or dark but not dumb, preferably not superhero/ supernatural/ fantasy/ horror? I'd take comedy, drama, period pieces, sci-fi... 

[Derfel Cadarn]

2 hours ago, Mindwalker said:

Any recommendations for a tv show not too deep or dark but not dumb, preferably not superhero/ supernatural/ fantasy/ horror? I'd take comedy, drama, period pieces, sci-fi... 

justified

[Teng Ai Hui]

I just finished S2 of The Witcher.  A slight step-up from S1.  The timey-wimey confusion is gone.  The soundtrack is better.  Can't go wrong with a song called "Whoreson Prison Blues".

Then, I watched the animated movie about Vesemir called Nightmare of the Wolf.

Also, I found a new game show hosted by Jimmy Carr, I Literally Just Told You.  I thought it was a lot of fun, especially the second episode.

[Cas Stark]

11 hours ago, Mindwalker said:

Any recommendations for a tv show not too deep or dark but not dumb, preferably not superhero/ supernatural/ fantasy/ horror? I'd take comedy, drama, period pieces, sci-fi... 

I enjoyed Belgravia, nice escapist period romantic drama, heavy on the romance, fairly light on the drama.  But I am a sucker for this genre.

[Ran]

9 hours ago, Derfel Cadarn said:

justified

Yep, Justified fits the bill.

Also The Great.

[LynnS]

4 minutes ago, Ran said:

Also The Great.

The Great is hilarious! Velementov, Rostov character portrayals just cracked me up.

[Argonath Diver]

I think the general consensus here is that you absolutely watch both (Justified and The Great, that is). I have only held off binging the latter because my parents want to see it but my holiday work crush has made arranging a night tough. Also been telling them to start up the former, Dad loves him some Westerns and they were big fans of Deadwood despite Mom's general distaste for violence, cursing, and nudity. Been trying to get them on that show for ages now; I already know which characters would be their different favorites.

On my side, I'm going to binge Arcane soon. I watched the first two and really enjoyed them, but let's say i enjoyed them way too much as it was a very late night with copious amounts of smoke and drink. It's gonna look fantastic on my bigscreen.

[Mindwalker]

Oh right, Arcane is on my list too, even though it doesn't exactly fit my aforementioned bill.

(I have a distaste for violence, too. Cursing and nudity not a problem.)

I'm eagerly waiting for the second seasons of Star Trek: Picard, Gentleman Jack Hacks, and Resident Alien. And OMITB.

I think I saw Belgravia mentioned in a video about the accuracy of period drama clothing/ hairstyles etc. (where it didn't ranl very high.)

Will check out all the suggestion.

[Ran]

1 minute ago, Mindwalker said:

Oh right, Arcane is on my list too, even though it doesn't exactly fit my aforementioned bill.

(I have a distaste for violence, too. Cursing and nudity not a problem.)

Oh, well, both Justified and The Great have some of that... but they don't really revel in it, if that helps.

[Mindwalker]

Well, after watching THREE rom-roms in short order, two of them Christmas movies, (granted, gay ones, but just as .. uhm... saccharine), which will last me for the next decade or so, I'm less picky on the violence.

[DMC]

My mother claims she watched 42 Hallmark Christmas movies this season.  I think she's full of shit, and I'm not even sure that's possible, but if anybody could do it...

[Ran]

Finally got to watch The French Dispatch after missing it in theatres. It's minor Anderson, but even minor Anderson is a pleasure. As a sort of thematic anthology tied together by the conceit of representing pieces written for the fictional French Dispatch (a sort of fantasy of, and homage to, The New Yorker) it doesn't have a strong narrative line but it's quirky and engaging and has some the usual meticulous set design and cinematography one expects from a Wes Anderson film. I suspect the animated section, done in a New Yorker-ish comic strip style, would have been seen as controversial by some. The best segment is probably Jeffrey Wright's, whose character (Roebuck Wright) is decidedly inspired by James Baldwin with a dash of Tennessee Williams and recounts the events that accompanied his invitation to try a unique  and ridiculous haute cuisine meal entitled "Gastronomie Gendarmique". Funny stuff.

Finished the latest season of Curb Your Enthusiasm, and of all the self-centered, narcissistic things Larry David has done, his solving the dilemma of not having shoes by

Spoiler

stealing a pair from a display of discarded clothing from one of the camps in the Holocaust Museum was probably the most jaw-dropping thing I've seen on the show. I had to laugh.

I'm no sure the finale really wraps everything up in an entirely satisfactory way, though. But I think the highlight of the season has been Tracey Ullman's introduction to the show as the obnoxious and boorish Irma Kostroski. 

Then watched Those Who Wish Me Dead, the Angelina Jolie-led thriller directed and co-written by Taylor Sheridan. And it was ... kind of not good? It's a very "high concept" thriller in a 90's way -- "What if the hero was in a fire watch tower when bad guys start a huge forest fire while trying to kill a kid on the run that she needs to protect?" -- but it was really kind of mediocre and predictable. I also think Sheridan's direction was average at best, a decided step down from Wind River. I don't know the full story behind this one, but either he really just wanted to do a very pulpy, 90's style thriller, or the studio had a lot of say on it. Angelina Jolie's performance was fine, though I admit the idea of her as a former smokejumper when all her colleagues were burly, 6'+ guys was sort of funny.

And finally, Don't Look Up. It was ... interesting. Rylance was indeed funny, but a lot of the movie really turns on DiCaprio's performance as an astronomer who's deeply in over his head, and he does great. There's a rant by the character near the end that I can see being in DiCaprio highlight reels in years to come, there's so much conviction to it and it's a reminder that he's a truly gifted actor. As to the film as a whole, it's obviously a satire with more than a bit of black comedy to it, but substantial swathes don't really land and you just sort of smile or roll your eyes. (Though I do think the running mystery of why a three-star general charged people for food that was in fact free was really funny, especially as Jennifer Lawrence's character couldn't let it go and kept wondering across the film about it.) The cast is ridiculous.

[Heartofice]

Watched Don’t look up. It’s had some really polarising reviews from what I’ve seen, many love it and others think it’s a really dumb and obvious movie. I enjoyed it, the satire is very obvious and low brow and on the nose, but that in itself is pretty enjoyable. The performances are fun, I really liked Rylances character, it was so over the top and he seemed to be having a blast with it.

It was quite cartoonish and it’s political points were far from subtle, but I think that will just give it a more mainstream appeal which I can’t complain about.

[Veltigar]

I finished season two of The Great recently. I enjoyed it a lot, but I do think its first season was slightly better in the comedy department, which was got me hooked on this show. Dramatically this season works better though and the cast fit together more snuggly than last season 

Spoiler

Mainly due to the elimination of the Leo character. He was responsible for quite a few good laughs (inventor of the Moscow mule), but I never warmed to Catherine's obsession with him. I also liked that they took George out of the picture for a few episodes, as that lead to an interesting dynamic between Marial and her husband whom I am now totally blinking on. I wish more shows dared to rotate out characters like that to explore different dynamics.

When this is renewed for another season, I'll be back for more. Nicholas Hoult and Elle Fanning (whom I never really liked before, but is tremendous here) make a great pair.

For the rest, I also watched three films over the weekend. First, there was the first installment of the Fantastic Beast franchise. I can't be bothered to look up the complete title as they didn't bother to make a real movie.

I skipped this in 2016 because I figured it was going to be a dud and I was definitely right on that front. Sadly, sometimes you get outvoted by the family. It was a tedious film all around. J.K. Rowling seems intent of lessening the magic with every new piece of work she puts out and she worked her withering touch here in spades. I loved this universe as a kid, but looking back to it as an adult, it really does not make sense at all.

This film aggravates all these issues, as it really contains only one sort of interesting new piece of world-building (the obscurial), but draws attention to a lot of existing issues [why are wizards scarred of muggles? Why do wizards perfectly replicate the geographic borders of the muggle world? Did all the American wizards join Voldemort (as the thinly veiled/poorly disguised Jim Crow metaphor seems like they would jive with Voldie's crew)? Why was Voldemort such a big deal if Grindelwald was wreaking havoc across the world instead of just in ye old England? Etc.]

Luckily, I also watched two very interesting films to wash the taste out of my mouth. The first of those was Paul Grimault's Le Roi et L'Oiseau (English title: The King and the Mockingbird), an animated classic which was a huge influence on Miyazaki according to the man himself. The film was released in 1980, but some of the work was done back in the fifties apparently. There is a lot of stilted movement in there, typical of the older more laborious process of animation but the imaginative power cannot be denied. The King's castle is a wonder and it is well worth a watch for anyone with a liking for animated films in general and Miyazaki in particular.

The second film (and my favorite of the week) was Kim Han-min's War of the Arrows (2011). A film that has more titles than it should have (in Korean it's called Choejongbyeonggi Hwal and there was at least one alternative English title, namely the idiotic sounding Arrow: The Ultimate Weapon) and that I cannot believe is not more talked about now that Korean cinema is so fashionable.

It's an action adventure film set during one of the Manchu invasions of Joseon/Korea and it's basically the film Mel Gibson wished his Apocalypto would have been. After an exciting action prologue with some of the best dog action I have seen so far, they release the throttle for a bit and introduce the main characters. This is the roughest part of the film as it has several scenes that flirt with the typical broad Korean humor that I personally am not a fan off, but it never goes all the way with it and keeps it mercifully short before the abduction that sets off the film.

After that, the film is just non-stop chase action with a heavy focus on archery by both the hero's and the villain (the lead villain Jyushinta is as good as Magua in Last of the Mohicans, a really intimidating villain). The archery is spectacular while apparently being reasonably ground in historical fact. Honestly, it was such a thrill to see. Anyone who's looking for a historical action/adventure film should just grab a good bag of crisps and a big coke, before putting this on and enjoying themselves.