Watch, Watched, Watching: Anybody but Superman

[BigFatCoward]

19 hours ago, Consigliere said:

Just finished rewatching The Shield 

eta. next up is a first time rewatch of Justified.

On a Goggins trip or entirely coincidental. 

Righteous Gemstones next? 

[Ran]

Watched Barbarian, a 2022 horror film from writer/director Zach Cregger. I had heard a fair bit about this film and assumed I knew the general gist of the horror, that it was inspired by some true life story... but, well, it went well beyond what I imagined. It was quite clever and took what were unexpected turns. There's a jump of location and characters half way through that was such a cognitive shock, and another one a bit later that was very, very foreboding in a good way. Excellent stuff. Cregger is apparently working on a new horror film called Weapon. 

[Consigliere]

53 minutes ago, BigFatCoward said:

On a Goggins trip or entirely coincidental. 

Righteous Gemstones next? 

Just a coincidence. There are a few top shows that I've not rewatched since its original run so I'm slowly working my way through those. I'll be getting to Black Sails eventually as well.

[Nictarion]

I finally watched Michael Mann’s Manhunter for the first time last night. Good stuff. I think William Peterson was probably the best Will Graham out of the three actors that portrayed him. Tom Noonan also made a great Francis Dolarhyde, too. His size alone made the character that much more imposing. I’ve seen people say the film is a bit dated, but I actually really liked the 80’s synth music, and the atmosphere overall. 

[Isis]

Watched John Wick 4 this weekend. I feel like four is enough, tbh three was probably enough? Not sure if it was just me, but I couldn't really engage with it, all a bit too predictable. 

Went to see Abigail last night. As predicted merely from learning what the run time was, this film was a bit too long. However, I did enjoy it overall. Some nice cinematography too. But there's a high bar to clear in the horror-comedy sub genre and I don't think this is a film I am going to need to revisit. (Unlike Dog Soldiers or Ginger Snaps) For one thing, the comedy wasn't quite comedy enough for me. The gore was pleasingly OTT though. Would recommend if you like horror and fancy something a bit more light-hearted/less tense than your average vampire/haunted house movie.

[Mexal]

19 hours ago, Consigliere said:

Just a coincidence. There are a few top shows that I've not rewatched since its original run so I'm slowly working my way through those. I'll be getting to Black Sails eventually as well.

Also did this with my wife recently. You’re hitting all the bangers!

[Zorral]

The Annual Met Gala 2024 Celebrity Arrivals.

To which, btw, the stinkin' pile and none of his 'ladies' have ever been invited to spend whatever it is ($75,000, this year, I think) per person to attend, much less be part of the Red Carpet cat walk.

 

Edited May 6 by Zorral

[Ran]

Gwendoline Christie is co-hosting the coverage.

[Spockydog]

Decent people of the World. Don't look here. Look over there!

 

Edited May 6 by Spockydog

[Zorral]

Yes she is.

And Melania is nowhere.

If the stinkin' pile gets back in power, Anna Wintour, watch out!  Not joking.

Also, mostly, but not quite entirely, the coverage pretends that anti-war protestors are not gathered outside the Met.

 

Edited May 6 by Zorral

[dbunting]

I also watched The Fall Guy this weekend and enjoyed it. I remember watching this when I was a kid, it came out in 81 and I was 8-9. Not sure when I started watching but it was a fun watch. Loved his truck. The movie is what I expected, just fun and exciting, short on plot. When I first saw Waddingham I thought she was Lena Headey, they really look alike when she has the dark hair, IMO.  Anyway I made sure to watch the credits and heard the updated version of the theme song come on. I actually listened to the original this weekend just to remind myself of it.

Watched Eye in the Sky, it's a movie about drone strikes basically. It isn't so much about using them and bam, killing bad guys, but more about should you use them and when. The movie keeps the tension pretty high throughout it. Pretty good cast of actors in it as well.

[dbunting]

Watched Man Down today. Tag line is something like man looks for his family in post apocalyptic U.S., basic easy to watch movie.  So I just went off that, Shia LeBeouf, Kate Mara and Gary Oldman in it.  Starts out with basic training, guy and best friend going together, does flash backs through entire movie, middle east, post apocalyptic U.S etc.

Spoiler

Took me a little bit to catch on that the post middle east scenes are all in his head and are part of his delusions from PTSD. Honestly until I figured this out I was gonna turn movie off because it wasn't making a whole lot of sense. After I realized it, and saw what exactly happened to him to cause this mental break it all started making sense. Then you really start to get a feel for what he is going through and the rest of the movie is really full of emotions.

Pretty dark movie. Can't really say much else without giving stuff away. Good performances by all the actors.

[Veltigar]

I finished the Ken Burns documentary The Vietnam War yesterday. I thought it was outstanding, though poorly titled. I think it would have been more appropriate to call the documentary something like "The People of the Vietnam War", as it felt more like the televised American equivalent of Svetlana Alexievich' Nobel prize winning books about the Soviet experience of Afghanistan and WW II (e.g. Boys in Zinc and The Unwomanly Face of War) than anything else.

Like those books, Ken Burns put the people who lived through that era front and center and hearing all those testimonies from these people who had either fought in Vietnam (on all sides), lost people in Vietnam (on all sides) or had protested heavily against the War (some of whom really regretting a few of the methods used) was incredibly emotional.

Whenever it shifted focus to the leadership decisions, I was less enthralled partly because that was clearly not where the heart of this documentary was and partly because it's just heart wrenching to see a successive series of POTUS' abandon their duty to the people. I hope that they show this documentary regularly in classes of American history, because it seems like a good illustration of what can happen when leaders are allowed to forsake the values of the nation.

I also went to the theatre to watch Civil War. Going in, I was a bit apprehensive about it and that turned out to be a good thing, because I was pleasantly surprised. It got a lot of critiques for being vague and not taking a stand, but the vagueness actually worked to the film's benefit in my opinion.

For example, there were a lot of jokes about the implausibility of one secessionist grouping in the film, but I thought the pairing made sense to highlight the perversity of the besieged POTUS 

Spoiler

If even Texas and California can set aside their grievances to fight you, the POTUS in the film must have been a real piece of shit. Not to mention a complete and utter moron, since these two states are also the biggest economies in the U.S. if I'm not mistaken, so to alienate them to a point of civil war would be a surefire way to get your ass beat.

Heck, if I had to offer up one criticism of the film, I'd say that I find it hard to believe that so many people would stick with a POTUS that bombed American citizens even when his war efforts were rapidly going down the drain. You'd think a lot more of his people would surrender and a lot less extra judicious killing would be perpetrated by the opposition to enable defections.

I also liked the focus on war photographers. You'd actually think there would be more movies about that, because the early Magnum photographers who documented World War II were quite colourful characters. All in all, a pretty good flick and one that does feel appropriate for the time we live in what all its blurred lines and mutual incomprehension.

 

[Darryk]

Started watching Shogun expecting to be bored but damn it's good. 

[House Cambodia]

58 minutes ago, Darryk said:

Started watching Shogun expecting to be bored but damn it's good. 

Heh, I've been avoiding the Shogun thread here 'cos I'm late to the party. Just watched episode 8. You're right - it's utterly brilliant.

[Quijote Light]

5 hours ago, Veltigar said:

I also liked the focus on war photographers. You'd actually think there would be more movies about that, because the early Magnum photographers who documented World War II were quite colourful characters. All in all, a pretty good flick and one that does feel appropriate for the time we live in what all its blurred lines and mutual incomprehension.

 

Ask, and ye shall receive. 
 

 

[dbunting]

12 hours ago, Veltigar said:

I also went to the theatre to watch Civil War. Going in, I was a bit apprehensive about it and that turned out to be a good thing, because I was pleasantly surprised. It got a lot of critiques for being vague and not taking a stand, but the vagueness actually worked to the film's benefit in my opinion.

For example, there were a lot of jokes about the implausibility of one secessionist grouping in the film, but I thought the pairing made sense to highlight the perversity of the besieged POTUS 

  Hide contents

If even Texas and California can set aside their grievances to fight you, the POTUS in the film must have been a real piece of shit. Not to mention a complete and utter moron, since these two states are also the biggest economies in the U.S. if I'm not mistaken, so to alienate them to a point of civil war would be a surefire way to get your ass beat.

Heck, if I had to offer up one criticism of the film, I'd say that I find it hard to believe that so many people would stick with a POTUS that bombed American citizens even when his war efforts were rapidly going down the drain. You'd think a lot more of his people would surrender and a lot less extra judicious killing would be perpetrated by the opposition to enable defections.

I also liked the focus on war photographers. You'd actually think there would be more movies about that, because the early Magnum photographers who documented World War II were quite colourful characters. All in all, a pretty good flick and one that does feel appropriate for the time we live in what all its blurred lines and mutual incomprehension.

 

I also was wary going into this, for some reason I had it in my head that this was a MAGA centric fantasy and it wasn't at all.

Spoiler

The biggest realism fail for me was POTUS cowering behind / under his desk in the Oval office. He would have been deep in a bunker and completely untouchable from the outside.

 

[Nictarion]

Watched The Wages of Fear (1953) and I have to say, it’s a really tough call between this and Sorcerer (both adaptations of the same book). They’re pretty equally fantastic, but I think I prefer the ending of the latter. 

[Veltigar]

18 hours ago, Quijote Light said:

Ask, and ye shall receive. 
 

 

Oh, this looks like it could be fantastic. Thanks for sharing!

11 hours ago, dbunting said:

I also was wary going into this, for some reason I had it in my head that this was a MAGA centric fantasy and it wasn't at all.

  Hide contents

The biggest realism fail for me was POTUS cowering behind / under his desk in the Oval office. He would have been deep in a bunker and completely untouchable from the outside.

 

I guess things like that I could explain away because of

Spoiler

the sheer incompetence of the besieged POTUS depicted. Similar to how you must be really fucking stupid to get Texas, California and Florida to secede, it was characteristic for him not bunker down.

It was other people's actions I had more difficulty in fathoming. You'd think the Secret Service guys for example would not be willing to sacrifice themselves for a cause that was definitely lost and a POTUS who does seem to have been disconnected from reality.

 

[WarGalley]

I watched Red Rocket as it appeared to be leaving Amazon Prime (US) soon. Good drama in the same vein as (and from the same director of) The Florida Project. The story follows a washed up ex-porn star who returns to his hometown of Texas City, TX to get his life back together by basically manipulating people with his confidence, charismatic storytelling and outright deceit. He enters into a relationship with a seventeen year old girl that is disturbing in it's rightfully pedophilic creepiness. However the relationship comes off very natural, in that, it's exactly the stereotype I imagine of a washed up porn star from LA. Both leads kill their roles in making this realistic. The actress, Suzanna Son, is entirely believable as a high school girl from a podunk Midwestern town who would begin a relationship with an older man and is pretty much exactly how I think every porn actress got their start and moved to LA. The film is also set against the backdrop of the industrial oil refining scenery of Texas city which is mesmerizing in it's own way. Recommended.  

Edited May 8 by WarGalley