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Watch, Watched, Watching: Looking for the Light


Ramsay B.

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20 hours ago, Veltigar said:

The worst part however, was Kit Harrington. As an actor he is so utterly devoid of charisma that he just is not credible as Henry V. Compare his boring, dead-eyed delivery of the St. Crispin's day speech with the soaring, twinkle-in-the-eye-madness that is present in Branagh's rendition. Who could be inspired by such a king?

There was a brilliant version at the Globe in about 2010 with Jamie Parker and Roger Allam as Henry and Falstaff (they did V I & II and V). It was definitely recorded as we liked it so much we watched it again when it was on Channel 4 a few years later. I'll see if I can find a clip for you to wash away the scent of Kit Harrington.

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I liked the Henry V from the RSC in 2007, which ran as part of their Histories cycle. Geoffrey Streatfeild played Harry in casting intended to complement his role as failed conspirator Suffolk in Henry VI. (He'd go on to play Edward IV in the BBC Wars of the Roses series.) 

I went to a small conservative school in the middle of nowhere, and aged eleven the retirement-bound headmaster introduced the Olivier film to us, alongside his very unchallenging reading of the play, so I was pleasantly surprised to find out that it was a much more interesting play than Mr Mitchell of yore was willing to admit. I've never seen the Branagh film since I generally can't stand Branagh when he's directing himself. He gets actor-director syndrome. ('Time for another close-up of meeeeeee').

Henry V in 2007 didn't hit me as hard as Troilus and Cressida in 2005 ("wars and lechery; nothing else holds fashion"), but I was impressed that they left in the Siege of Harfleur speech which is normally cut, and loved Act 4 scene 1. 

WILLIAMS But if the cause be not good, the King
himself hath a heavy reckoning to make, when all
those legs and arms and heads, chopped off in a
battle, shall join together at the latter day, and cry
all “We died at such a place,” some swearing, some
crying for a surgeon, some upon their wives left
poor behind them, some upon the debts they owe,
some upon their children rawly left. I am afeard
there are few die well that die in a battle, for how
can they charitably dispose of anything when blood
is their argument? Now, if these men do not die
well, it will be a black matter for the king that led
them to it, who to disobey were against all proportion
of subjection.

I saw the live broadcast of Harrington's Henry V. I enjoyed it at the time, but now can't remember much about it; nothing about the production seemed very remarkable, except maybe the decision to show Princess Katherine's marriage to Henry as miserable and wholly unwanted. Harrington didn't strike me as terrible, but I'm okay with 'kind of leaden, brutal and slow' as a reading of the character in this play, even if it's less than thrilling. 

I much prefer Henry IV part 1 and 2 as plays, whereas I don't think Henry V even makes it to my top fifteen Shakespeare plays, and as a result I'm not likely to object strongly to any production of it unless God help us it's directed by Nigel Farage or Michael Gove. 

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27 minutes ago, Larry of the Lake said:

Watched The Adventures of Baron Munchausen and loved absolutley everything about it.  Charming and incredibly memorable.  

The Terry Gilliam version?

I admit that I'd like to see the 1943 film with a script by Erich "Emil and the Detectives" Kästner.

ETA: Link to Sarah Polley's retrospective article on working as a child actor on the Munchausen set. Good read. 

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43 minutes ago, dog-days said:

The Terry Gilliam version?

I admit that I'd like to see the 1943 film with a script by Erich "Emil and the Detectives" Kästner.

ETA: Link to Sarah Polley's retrospective article on working as a child actor on the Munchausen set. Good read. 

Yep, and fucking hell, poor Sarah Polley (and sounds like everyone else subjected to Gilliam's sets).  

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31 minutes ago, TheLastWolf said:

Wakanda Forever worth it?

I enjoyed it. It is a tad too long but was entertaining enough that it didn't feel tedious. 

 

Spoiler

Did miss Chadwick B of course, but I think the way they dealt with his horribly tragic, untimely death was quite moving. 

 

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On 2/1/2023 at 12:33 PM, kairparavel said:

AMC got so much right with their adaptation of Interview with the Vampire and so much wrong with Mayfair Witches. Sam Reid as Lestat was fantastic casting. Jack Huston as Lasher is the exact opposite. I'm sorry but there is nothing about him or his portrayal that demonstrates how he held generations of women under his thrall. He's just a creep in the show. Ugh. Also not sold on Alexandra Daddario as Rowan.

I really enjoyed it too. Great chemistry between Lestat and Greyworm (sorry lol). I saw some online moaning about how it was so different from the book, but I think they did well to adapt and update.

 

Spoiler

Also enjoyed the Dubai setting as that's where I live - though they did make it look pretty cool and otherworldly. 

 

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Wakanda Forever is ok, no real better or worse than most other Marvel offerings these days. It's too long, it's quite dull, it has your standard big stupid CGI fights in it. If you really care about the story then you probably would have watched it already, if you aren't fussed then I guess you'll be bored and drop out quite quickly.

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I quite enjoyed A League Of Their Own, even though I'm not into sports. And I didn't know D'Arcy Carden would be in it!

It's not a remake of the movie of the same name, but is set around the same women's league in WWII times (and the black league, which was called something else). A well-researched look at stories that couldn't be told in the Nineties, and just fun to watch. Episode 6 was particularly poignant. I hope they'll get a second season, but knowing my luck...

Poker Face looks to be good after one episode. Also has Natasha Lyonne.

I need to check out The Last Of Us before I get spoiled.

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Just finished ep7 s2 of For All Mankind

Spoiler

I was really hoping they weren’t gonna have Karen hook up with the son. They’ve been inching their way towards it all season and they just made out at the end of the episode. I don’t like it. If it turns into an all out affair then the fallout is gonna be brutal with Karen’s adopted daughter and all that. 

Also probably gonna see Knock At The Cabin tomorrow. I wasn’t in love with the book and thought it kinda dragged, but I haven’t been to the movies in a while so fuck it.

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53 minutes ago, Ramsay B. said:

Just finished ep7 s2 of For All Mankind

  Reveal hidden contents

I was really hoping they weren’t gonna have Karen hook up with the son. They’ve been inching their way towards it all season and they just made out at the end of the episode. I don’t like it. If it turns into an all out affair then the fallout is gonna be brutal with Karen’s adopted daughter and all that. 

Also probably gonna see Knock At The Cabin tomorrow. I wasn’t in love with the book and thought it kinda dragged, but I haven’t been to the movies in a while so fuck it.

I didn't realize this was based on a book, I'm just curious does the book have a twist ending? 

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Babylon

The message of this film is crystal clear: There is a direct connection between Fatty Arbuckle getting a golden shower and Post-Avatar depression Syndrome. 

The first half is bonkers as hell and I found myself laughing a lot. I agree that the film is a bit all over the place but I was more bothered by the tonal shift in the second half. That could have been developed better. This had probably the funniest prologue since Super Troopers.

I liked it. 

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6 hours ago, Ramsay B. said:

Just finished ep7 s2 of For All Mankind

  Reveal hidden contents

I was really hoping they weren’t gonna have Karen hook up with the son. They’ve been inching their way towards it all season and they just made out at the end of the episode. I don’t like it. If it turns into an all out affair then the fallout is gonna be brutal with Karen’s adopted daughter and all that. 

Also probably gonna see Knock At The Cabin tomorrow. I wasn’t in love with the book and thought it kinda dragged, but I haven’t been to the movies in a while so fuck it.

I think it's my least favourite Paul Tremblay novel. But tbf he's written some great books. I will probably see this - in support of horror adaptations from authors I like. 

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21 hours ago, Heartofice said:

Wakanda Forever is ok, no real better or worse than most other Marvel offerings these days. It's too long, it's quite dull, it has your standard big stupid CGI fights in it. If you really care about the story then you probably would have watched it already, if you aren't fussed then I guess you'll be bored and drop out quite quickly.

True. If you aren't really into the Marvel thing then it definitely could be quite a drag to watch. This was the last Marvel content I had on my list, I haven't watched any of the other shit they've put out post Endgame as it is really too much now. 

And I am tired of CGI too - one of the reasons I enjoyed Maverick is that it also had real stunts etc. 

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1 hour ago, Isis said:

I think it's my least favourite Paul Tremblay novel. But tbf he's written some great books. I will probably see this - in support of horror adaptations from authors I like. 

The only other book I read of his was A Head Full of Ghosts, which I really liked. I see that that’s gonna be made into a movie too starring Margaret Qualley, aiming for 2024 apparently. Interesting.

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On 2/1/2023 at 2:37 PM, Isis said:

There was a brilliant version at the Globe in about 2010 with Jamie Parker and Roger Allam as Henry and Falstaff (they did V I & II and V). It was definitely recorded as we liked it so much we watched it again when it was on Channel 4 a few years later. I'll see if I can find a clip for you to wash away the scent of Kit Harrington.

I'm waiting for the MiB to wipe my memory.

23 hours ago, BigFatCoward said:

I started last night. Was bored after 20 mins and gave up. 

There is one scene you have to see (spoiler about a character appearance, so don't click on it if you don't want to know)

Spoiler

Michael B. Jordan returns for one scene and steals the entire film again as Killmonger.

 

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