Watch, Watched, Watching: Anybody but Superman

[Nictarion]

I had a big smile on my face for much of the Curb Your Enthusiasm finale. 

I’m going to miss the hell out of this show. 

[Ran]

1 hour ago, Nictarion said:

I had a big smile on my face for much of the Curb Your Enthusiasm finale. 

I’m going to miss the hell out of this show. 

Loved all the call backs, and the Seinfeld-finale meta. Only thing I regret? No Jon Hamm. He killed it every time he was on the show, would have been fun to have a cameo from him.

[RhaenysBee]

I’m watching 1883 and it’s not what I expected, but better in a lot of ways. I respect and appreciate that it’s not a classical western, that it’s not the same as Yellowstone set in a different time with a different cast and different costumes. The Duttons are the same, in terms of character archetypes, values and personality traits but that does more for the story than it takes away from the characters. The slow, melancholic but raw, powerful atmosphere is beautiful, to the point that I can cry multiple times per episode, quite different from the Yellowstone vibe. Male character writing is sublime. Cinematography and directing is sublime. The on the nose narration by Elsa irks me to no end, but other than that, the themes speak to me and touch me more the Yellowstone. At the beginning I rather disliked Elsa, because sassy maiden archetypes generally annoy the life out of me, but as the story progresses I understand and appreciate why she is the narrator and why it couldn’t be any other way. Overall I’m happy with this show albeit it’s a heavier watch than Yellowstone. I suppose that’s what makes it more meaningful and more beautiful. I don’t suppose I included spoilers. 

[Isis]

Monkey Man: unremittingly violent and bleak. I'm sure it will be popular based on that alone. I've read a critique of the politics which said that the film is niave, basically. I've read versions of the Ramayana so those bits are familiar, plus the film tells you the outline of that stuff anyway. I will read some more reviews I think.

Spoiler

One question: are we meant to think that he was always incredible at hand-to-hand semi MMA fighting in a enclosed spaces? But we never saw that in the ring as he was always meant to throw the fights? I guess his one-kick KO was shorthand for that? It's just that the order of the scenes kinda makes it look like punching a bag of rice gave him additional prowess. But no, I guess he had it all physically all along but was just playing it down. 

Also, I got worried near the end that it was going to have some sort of saccharine ending. Phew.

 

[Relic]

4 hours ago, RhaenysBee said:

I’m watching 1883 and it’s not what I expected, but better in a lot of ways. 

I quite enjoyed 1883 and 1923, way more so than the few episodes of Yellowstone I've watched. 1883 is pretty brutal, 1923 is a bit campier in certain moments but also extremely melancholic in others. Both are miles ahead of OG Yellowstone imho.

[TheLastWolf]

Titane 

Again, beautifully crafted and had its moments, but the Palme d'Or? 

Damn, I used to really enjoy films 

[Ran]

Watched In The Land of Saints and Sinners, a Liam Neeson film from last year set in Northern Ireland in the mid-1970s. It's in some ways a typical late-era Neeson film, where he's playing a man with a past who has a certain set of skills, but it's enlivened by the period setting, especially footage of the west coast in Co. Donegal, as well as the cast which includes Colm Meaney as a fixer, Neeson's long-time friend Ciarán Hinds as a garda, and especially Kerry Condon in a fiery performance as an IRA terrorist. (Oh, also Jack Gleeson -- aka Joffrey -- back out of retirement from acting, doing a good turn as a cheerful sociopath)

 

I've enjoyed Condon's performances ever since I first saw her, years ago, in Rome as Octavia, and this particular performance shows a very different kind of character, flinty and hard and uncompromising.

The film's let down a little bit by its rather formulaic back quarter, everything pretty much ends up as you expect it to, but it's a fun enough ride as that goes, and apparently most critics feel it's a sight better than a number of Neesons' recent paycheck films.

Edited April 8 by Ran

[3CityApache]

Huh, that was an underwhelming finale of the otherwise great season of Invincible. Do we have a confirmed renewal for a third season? Or am I missing something and that’s not the end?

[Kalbear]

1 hour ago, 3CityApache said:

Huh, that was an underwhelming finale of the otherwise great season of Invincible. Do we have a confirmed renewal for a third season? Or am I missing something and that’s not the end?

There's a confirmation of season 3, including apparently leaks to at least one of the episodes.

[Corvinus85]

2 hours ago, 3CityApache said:

Huh, that was an underwhelming finale of the otherwise great season of Invincible. Do we have a confirmed renewal for a third season? Or am I missing something and that’s not the end?

I found the season to have many great character moments but a highly diffused plot.

[Ran]

Finished The Regime from HBO, starring Kate Winslet. It was kind of bonkers and off-kilter, but I can't say it was superlative television. I feel like Will Tracy was trying to do something Armando Iannucci-like, and didn't quite have the chops to really get something scathing. Also, as to the finale,

Spoiler

It felt a bit bizarre that we never see or hear of Oskar again. Will Tracy seems to suggest it's on purpose, to leave it to the audience to decide, but... like, why? He's not significant enough, on the one hand, for it to matter, per se, what happened to him, and yet he's significant enough that audiences will naturally wonder. 

Also re-watched Shot Caller, starring Nikolaj Koster-Waldau in what may be his single best performance. A prison thriller, he plays a stockbroker who ends up on a DUI manslaughter charge, and ends up being forced by circumstances to join up with a skinhead gang to protect himself. What goes on from there is often ugly and brutal, and as "Money" (as he comes to be known) we end up moving back and forth in time as we learn the costs of his survival. The script is actually quite well done. Jon Berenthal also features, and he's always worth watching.

[RhaenysBee]

On 4/8/2024 at 4:34 PM, Relic said:

I quite enjoyed 1883 and 1923, way more so than the few episodes of Yellowstone I've watched. 1883 is pretty brutal, 1923 is a bit campier in certain moments but also extremely melancholic in others. Both are miles ahead of OG Yellowstone imho.

I finished 1883. Or more like it finished me. It ripped out my heart, chewed it up raw and retched it right out. I spent 95% of the last episode in convulsive sobs. It hit home and it hit hard. It was beautiful and brutal and beautiful. It was indeed miles ahead of Yellowstone. Then again, very different goals with those two shows. Well, I will go now and try to think about something other than death. Like... I need a grocery delivery in the morning. 

[Zorral]

Enjoying Judge Dee’s Mystery (Original title: Da tang di gong an) (2024) season 1 – NF. 
Elane Zhong, the actress who embodies Empress Wu Zetian, is breathtakingly beautiful.  It’s worth watching just to see her.  It's a well-funded, handsome production, bringing more joy to the eyes.

Quote

 

Judge Dee, or Judge Di, is a semi-fictional character[1] based on the historical figure Di Renjie, county magistrate and statesman of the Tang court. The character appeared in the 18th-century Chinese detective and gong'an crime novel Di Gong An. After Robert van Gulik came across it in an antiquarian book store in Tokyo, he translated the novel into English and then used the style and characters to write his own original Judge Dee historical mystery stories.

The series is set in Tang dynasty China and deals with criminal cases solved by the upright and shrewd Judge Dee, who as county magistrate in the Chinese imperial legal system was both the investigating magistrate and judge.

The Judge Dee character is based on the historical figure Di Renjie (c. 630 – c. 700),[2] magistrate and statesman of the Tang court.[3] During the Ming dynasty (1368–1644) in China, a "folk novel" was written set in former times, but filled with anachronisms.

Van Gulik found in a Tokyo book store, the 18th-century Di Gong An novel (Chinese: 狄公案; pinyin: Dí Gōng Àn; lit. "Cases of Judge Dee") an original tale dealing with three cases simultaneously, and, which was unusual among Chinese mystery tales, a plot that for the most part lacked an overbearing supernatural element which could alienate Western readers.[4] He translated it into English and had it published in 1949 under the title Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee.[3]

van Gulik began writing his own novels with the character, eventually authoring sixteen books.[5] Van Gulik was careful in writing the main novels to deal with cases wherein Dee was newly appointed to a city, thereby isolating him from the existing lifestyle and enabling him to maintain an objective role in the books. Van Gulik's novels and stories are often referred to as the Shih Ti.[6]

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

 

 

[Veltigar]

I went to see Monkey Man, which was a pretty good experience. The people calling it Indian John Wick are on to something, although the action never quite rises to the Wick level (nor are their any cool dance routines, to really qualify for the title of Indian John Wick).

Plotwise, you know what you are going to get pretty much from the get-go, so there is barely any tension in the film. In addition, I also thought some of Dev Patel's acting when his character was recollecting past trauma was a bit overwrought. 

That being said, it was all pretty good and there were flashes in this film that made me really excited about Dev Patel's future projects. Some were story-related beats, where Patel makes good use of his setting and knowledge of Indian culture, but there were also some nice 'directorial' flourishes that I quite liked.

Spoiler

Story wise, I really liked the hijra involvement in the story. The set-up was pretty well done and how they then go on and fight with the enemy goons was something you wouldn't see in a purely western film and was a real asset.

Directorial (in the wide sense of the word, as I'm sure some of this is down to the fight choreographer and other creatives than purely the director) flourishes I appreciated were the training montage paired to the Indian drums, the vivid use of colours throughout (I first wanted to describe it as Refnian, but reconsidering it, I think the inspiration here rather comes from the Red Circle sequence in Wick 1), the brothel fight with the axe-wielding pimp and the use of the stray dog to bring in the revolver.

A final thing I liked was the fact that Dev Patel really did not hide his stance on the state of contemporary Indian politics. It probably doesn't move the needle one bit, but still nice for a celebrity to take a stance.

On 4/8/2024 at 12:08 PM, Isis said:

Monkey Man: unremittingly violent and bleak. I'm sure it will be popular based on that alone. I've read a critique of the politics which said that the film is niave, basically. I've read versions of the Ramayana so those bits are familiar, plus the film tells you the outline of that stuff anyway. I will read some more reviews I think.

  Hide contents

One question: are we meant to think that he was always incredible at hand-to-hand semi MMA fighting in a enclosed spaces? But we never saw that in the ring as he was always meant to throw the fights? I guess his one-kick KO was shorthand for that? It's just that the order of the scenes kinda makes it look like punching a bag of rice gave him additional prowess. But no, I guess he had it all physically all along but was just playing it down. 

Also, I got worried near the end that it was going to have some sort of saccharine ending. Phew.

 

To answer your question with my own interpretation of events:

Spoiler

I think the film indeed tells us that he was always an amazing fighter. The crucial difference between the beginning fights and the latter fights however, comes about due to the substance he inhales in the hijra temple. These help him to face and process his trauma.

Before he did that, he could never exploit his true prowess since he was always held back by his own need for punishment. I think the Hijra guru pretty much spells it out that Patel's character blamed himself for not saving his mother and therefore allows himself to be beaten as he uses the physical harm this brings with it as a form of self-flagellation.

Due to his "therapy", he realizes that he is not to blame for his mother's sad demise and that he can honour her legacy by fighting for the people (like the hijra) who are currently being dispossessed. Thus, his need to hold back disappears and he can go completely ape-shit (pun intended) on his opponents. 

This was actually another flourish I really liked, since it's a lot more credible than the usual post-training montage step up in skills.

On 4/9/2024 at 10:47 PM, Ran said:

Also re-watched Shot Caller, starring Nikolaj Koster-Waldau in what may be his single best performance. A prison thriller, he plays a stockbroker who ends up on a DUI manslaughter charge, and ends up being forced by circumstances to join up with a skinhead gang to protect himself. What goes on from there is often ugly and brutal, and as "Money" (as he comes to be known) we end up moving back and forth in time as we learn the costs of his survival. The script is actually quite well done. Jon Berenthal also features, and he's always worth watching.

I remember that film. Pretty good work-out songs in it. The story is absolutely preposterous, but I do agree that the cast gives such good performances that you can go along with it. Sad that it isn't more widely appreciated.

[TheLastWolf]

1 minute ago, Veltigar said:

A final thing I liked was the fact that Dev Patel really did not hide his stance on the state of contemporary Indian politics. It probably doesn't move the needle one bit, but still nice for a celebrity to take a stance.

1 minute ago, Veltigar said:

(nor are their any cool dance routines, to really qualify for the title of Indian John Wick).

Woe to them all responsible for the export of this irreparable stereotype. 

[Veltigar]

3 minutes ago, TheLastWolf said:

Woe to them all responsible for the export of this irreparable stereotype. 

I do tend to genuinely enjoy the dance sequences though. When I went to see Fighter back in January, they were really the highlight more than the jet action. I'd actually like a western production to take a risk and include something similar. A bit like the mirror image of The Lunchbox, which excised the dance sequences to bring a western-style Indian film that was really great 

[TheLastWolf]

18 minutes ago, Veltigar said:

I'd actually like a western production to take a risk and include something similar

Top off my head I can say La La Land. 500 Days of Summer had a scene where Tom breaks into a jig with pedestrians in sync. But yeah, few and far between.

20 minutes ago, Veltigar said:

A bit like the mirror image of The Lunchbox, which excised the dance sequences to bring a western-style Indian film that was really great 

Why I'm frustrated is that there are really great films from India, many as good or even better than, say, The Lunchbox. It's always the RRR type excesses getting international attention that irks me.

[dbunting]

14 hours ago, Veltigar said:

I do tend to genuinely enjoy the dance sequences though. When I went to see Fighter back in January, they were really the highlight more than the jet action. I'd actually like a western production to take a risk and include something similar. A bit like the mirror image of The Lunchbox, which excised the dance sequences to bring a western-style Indian film that was really great 

I can't stand those sequences generally.  The Marvels comes to mind. Also the dancing waterfall scene in Black Panther.  Hate both of those sequences.

I do have a vague recollection of a western movie where all of a sudden the cowboys break out in a dance, then go right back to normal, which I found amusing but that's as close as I get.

[dbunting]

Watched She Said recently and the whole thing just burns me. Hope he rots in jail for the rest of his life. Wish his enablers were right along side of him.

Also watched Lioness and generally enjoyed it. Most of the characters felt right for the roles. There was a twist in the last two episodes that almost ran the thing off the rails but in the end it seemed like it made sense.  From what I understand there will be a second season, but new characters and in Mexico this time?

[Deadlines? What Deadlines?]

7 hours ago, dbunting said:

I do have a vague recollection of a western movie where all of a sudden the cowboys break out in a dance, then go right back to normal, which I found amusing but that's as close as I get.

The guy on the right with the white coat; I have no idea what he’s doing.