What’re you watching now?

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What movies and TV shows are you watching?

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That’s my telly viewing sorted for this evening then.

And yay, you can see me. Goodness all round.

We’ve been working through more Jim Carrey movies with the kids as they love him. Watched Bruce Almighty a couple of nights ago which they enjoyed, and tonight it’s The Truman Show.

I liked it at the time but haven’t seen it in years. It’s an underrated film, very smart and ahead of its time, and it totally commits to its premise. It’s a beautiful movie.

And it got me at the end this time like it hasn’t before. I think it might be Carrey’s best film, even if it isn’t exactly the best Carrey performance.

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The ending is one of the best parts of the movie. The music, the audience reactions, Jim’s last line all really work in sync to bring it home.

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Dave

Yeah, it’s a great climax and ends at the perfect moment.

I fully expect Archer memes.

Dave wrote:

Yeah, it’s a great climax and ends at the perfect moment.

I fully expect Archer memes.

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Bruce, Todd, Uncle Retrospective

Dave wrote:

We’ve been working through more Jim Carrey movies with the kids as they love him. Watched Bruce Almighty a couple of nights ago which they enjoyed, and tonight it’s The Truman Show.

I liked it at the time but haven’t seen it in years. It’s an underrated film, very smart and ahead of its time, and it totally commits to its premise. It’s a beautiful movie.

And it got me at the end this time like it hasn’t before. I think it might be Carrey’s best film, even if it isn’t exactly the best Carrey performance.

I hope this means that Batman Forever gets a whirl.

Can they sanction his buffoonery?

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Dave

We were just talking about Batman Forever last night. They’ve actually seen that previously, but before they knew who Jim Carrey was.

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We watching The Great, about Catherine the Great coming to power. It’s bizarrely, a mix of the Favourite and Blackadder (with some of the humour), we’re 4 ep’s in and loving it. It’s pretty fucked up though, so if you’re of a fragile disposition, best avoid.

 

Uncle Retrospective wrote:

It’s pretty fucked up though, so if you’re of a fragile disposition, best avoid.

Fucked up how? Gory?

Uncle Retrospective wrote:

We watching The Great, about Catherine the Great coming to power.

I know who plays the two leads, but who plays the horse?

njerry wrote:

I know who plays the two leads, but who plays the horse?

Shut up, Baldrick!

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Uncle Retrospective, njerry

Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga : Too long at two hours, but a lot of fun, and helps fill the gap left by the lack of an actual Eurovision this year, especially including Graham Norton as commentator. Glad to see Dan Stevens and Rachel McAdams continue to do more comedy.

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lorcan_nagle

Random thoughts:

I imagine it (Chernobyl) now functions as cheery escapism. – DaveWallace

I almost put in a comment like “it’s still not for everyone”.
Because my ladyfriend has called me out on that stuff a long time ago (and I am old enough to figure some stuff out).
I say she could watch 1, 2, and 5, but things in episodes 3 & 4 nullify that (and what’s going on in the world has a multiplier effect).

leading me into this comment

Finally saw Midsommar. It was just the right kind of messed up. – Christian

When you vaguely describe things at the beginning, and talk about how beautiful the filming is (location, and sunlight/solstice), well, had to stop myself and say “not for you” (and basically tell the guy who loaned it to me to watch that).
It is a beautifully done piece of art, and masterfully done making me think what was written on the outside box was a complete hoax (to a certain point, but all those little things…), but damn near nightmares for me.
Just couldn’t shake it as it forced me to think about things for a few nights.
I stick by the comment “it’s not for everyone”.

Before the next bit, found “Director’s Cut” references (that sounded significant) but avoided all that as I think I borrowed a regular copy.

A couple of points, and admit a search helped me, but how can some completely miss certain things…
I did get the foreshadowing (even if I didn’t know what it meant) but there was lots (and from the beginning, like on the walls in the apartment).
Dani was in a bad relationship to start (to Christian).
Swedish friend that brought them there? Not an accident or happenstance, he made it happen. (obvious after you watch)
He was in love with Dani, and he made it so she won the May Queen (not agreed on).
That end bit? Purge. They were all dance/purging out the bad, and Dani smiled to the camera when she had purged Christian away
This is a beautifully fucked up movie.
______________________

Have some time off (still friday night for me), have Mon. Tues. off and Wednesday is Canada day.

I am set up for things to read/watch, but felt compelled to share my desire to watch Close Encounters of the 3rd Kind.
It’s been ages, and I haven’t seen it from beginning to end in one sitting ever (and none of those pieces were without commercials!).
Looking forward to it. Hope it holds up.

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Christian

njerry wrote:

Uncle Retrospective wrote:

We watching The Great, about Catherine the Great coming to power.

I know who plays the two leads, but who plays the horse?

Wasn’t that debunked?

Total nonsense in the same manner that Lucrezia Borgia’s name was poisoned.

(Unless BoJack Horseman is a secret Doctor Who).

JRCarter wrote:

We watching The Great, about Catherine the Great coming to power. I know who plays the two leads, but who plays the horse? Wasn’t that debunked?

It’s a running joke in the show.

Watched Man with a Movie Camera (1929) last night.

A truly fantastic film that is incredibly captivating. It’s an experimental documentary though it feels like an art film. It was so far ahead of its time. It put me in mind of Koyaanisqatsi.

One thing I love about watching very old films is seeing what life was like back then: culture, fashion, style, design, and the mundane, everyday life. It was fascinating to see Russia circa 1929.

I really enjoyed this film.

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Will_C

Incidently, my uncle Ian was a consultant on Koyaanisqatsi.

He was responsible for something or other, I forget, it was a long time ago.

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Todd

We listened to The Rewatchables “Talented Mr Ripley” episode a few weeks ago so decided to give the film a rewatch tonight. It’s been one of my favourite films since I saw it in cinema and it does hold up. They’re all such babies; Matt Damon, Jude Law, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Gwyneth Paltrow, Cate Blanchett, and all so good. Damon’s best ever acting.

Obviously the first half is more enjoyable than the latter, on account of the beautiful setting, and everyone having a good time. It certainly gets dark but remains completely captivating.

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Will_C

[Will_C]

I watched a couple classic horror movies last night:

Candyman – This movie is fucking great. I’m not a big fan of American franchise horror movies aside from the original Texas Chain Saw Massacre and Halloween so I always avoided this, which was a big mistake. Tony Todd and Virginia Madsen give excellent performances as the Candyman and the grad student investigating his legend. Like most great horror movies this works in some interesting commentary on racism and poverty, although as it was made in 1992 there are admittedly some awkward aspects, like the lead character (Madsen) being a bit of a white savior and the scariness of the Cabrini-Green projects where most of the movie is set being played up a little much.

The new sequel coming out this year is going to be about the baby from this movie all grown up and investigating the legend for himself in a gentrified Cabrini-Green, which is a great concept. Very much looking forward to it.

The Haunting – Although this movie is very well directed, with an incredible set and inventive camera angles and movements, I was a bit disappointed with it. The Innocents is a far better 1960s black and white haunted house movie. The main problem is the lead actress, Julie Harris, is pretty annoying. So annoying that she nearly derails the movie. Not only that, she’s made to deliver a totally superfluous voiceover that not once gives the audience information we couldn’t figure out for ourselves. Still, there are enough inventive moments to make this worth watching.

• This reply was modified 4 years, 9 months ago by Will_C.

We’re currently watching The Floor Is Lava on Netflix.

Dumb fun but it’s filling the Ninja Warrior gap this year for the kids.

 

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Bruce, Andrew, Ben

Guilty pleasure – Titan games.  Dwayne Johnson’s enthusiasm for torturing gym junkies is infectious.

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Rocket, Dave

Have you watched the kids Jedi academy thing on youtube? Quite good fun in a Crystal Maze sort of way.

Oh, that’s where it is? Will have to give it a look.

Eurovision movie with Will Ferrell and Rachel McAdams.

Reminds me of Anders for some reason…

Also, watched Irresistible (the Jon Stewart movie with Steve Carrell) which reminded me of the Politics thread

After Eurovision, the new Keanu movie Replicas is on the cards. This will probably remind me of… Todd?

 

 

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Todd

Anonymous wrote:

Also, watched Irresistible (the Jon Stewart movie with Steve Carrell) which reminded me of the Politics thread

As it should!

Was it any good? I was planning on watching it. I miss Jon Stewart.

It’s… fine.

The core message is … fine.

I like it for the fact that it casts both parties [pause for drama] in the same mold, but ultimately I expected more.

In other news, the internet is out and that Keanu movie was terrible so im watching nothing.

How am I typing this then? I’ll never tell…

Edit: you should be able to watch it now. We had no trouble streaming it from Amazon despite the location, and it seems to be on a bunch of streaming services. YouTube too.

Poor Keanu. He still seems terribly sweet though. (Just like Todd).

I know how you’re typing but I won’t tell. That method can be very tiring – so, as a gesture of appreciation for all your efforts, I’ll send you a bonus later.

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Todd

I hope its puppies!

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I hope for puppies every day.

I’ll see. The last attempt wasn’t very successful. Probably because you forgot to press triangle.

Cowboy Bebop – the Movie

I really loved the main series, but this was the first time I’d seen the movie. It’s utterly gorgeous, that is undeniable, but I found the plot not really worth the running time, to be honest.

The Sons Of Katie Elder

This is a Western from 1965 and it’s pretty standard stuff really. The four eponymous brothers meet for the first time in a while at their mother’s funeral and in the course of settling her affairs – and finding out what happened to their father and the family ranch a year or so earlier – end up getting framed for murdering a sheriff. It’s based somewhat on a true story.

The most notable things about it are Dean Martin as a travelling con man, a young(ish) Dennis Hopper in a small role and then John Wayne. Not that Wayne does anything special or different – it’s John Wayne being John Wayne. It’s just that logically, the character he plays can only really be in his mid-30s at most. Wayne is in his late 50s here (and looks older still). It really doesn’t make any sense, when you have him with the  17 year old youngest brother who he could easily pass as the grandfather of. Wayne’s so old here that he’s only a couple of years younger than the age given on the dead father’s gravestone. It’s a really bad bit of casting. Frankly, even Dean Martin’s too old for his role at 48, but Wayne’s the really obvious one.

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DavidM, Todd

Martin Smith wrote:

Cowboy Bebop – the Movie I really loved the main series, but this was the first time I’d seen the movie. It’s utterly gorgeous, that is undeniable, but I found the plot not really worth the running time, to be honest.

The soundtrack more than makes up for it though, so that’s good enough for me =P

Martin Smith wrote:

Cowboy Bebop – the Movie I really loved the main series, but this was the first time I’d seen the movie. It’s utterly gorgeous, that is undeniable, but I found the plot not really worth the running time, to be honest.

Apparently those crowd shots in the opening montage weren’t rotoscoped!

Watched The Green Book yesterday.

It’s very Hollywood, but it also works very well. And, well, most of it appears to be biographically true… also, Ali and Mortensen are very, very good (unsurprisingly).

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njerry

Christian wrote:

And, well, most of it appears to be biographically true… also, Ali and Mortensen are very, very good (unsurprisingly).

Not according to Don Shirley’s family:

https://time.com/5527806/green-book-movie-controversy/

The floodgates opened even wider in December when Shadow and Act published an interview with the family of Donald Shirley. The family said that Nick Vallelonga and the creative team had completely left them out of the filmmaking process—and that the film was filled with falsehoods. Dr. Maurice Shirley, Donald’s brother, called it a “symphony of lies.”

The family took offense at the film’s depiction of Shirley’s being isolated from both the black community—citing his involvement in the Selma march—and his own family. “There wasn’t a month where I didn’t have a phone call conversation with Donald,” Maurice Shirley said in the interview.

But their most glaring accusation tore into the movie’s central tenet: that Donald Shirley and Tony Vallelonga were even friends. “It was an employer-employee relationship,” Maurice’s wife Patricia said.

lorcan_nagle wrote:

Martin Smith wrote:

Cowboy Bebop – the Movie I really loved the main series, but this was the first time I’d seen the movie. It’s utterly gorgeous, that is undeniable, but I found the plot not really worth the running time, to be honest.

Apparently those crowd shots in the opening montage weren’t rotoscoped!

No way!

On Saturday I watched the film adaptation of Stephen King’s “Doctor Sleep”, his sort-of-sequel to “The Shining”. Directed by Mike Flanagan, whose TV miniseries of “The Haunting of Hill House” I enjoyed, and starring Ewan MacGregor and Rebecca Ferguson, the film is technically good. The references to Danny Torrance’s childhood experience at the haunted Overlook Hotel were very faithful to the Kubrick version of “The Shining”, down to the recreation of the hotel’s interior design and decoration and sampling of the original film score, and the casting and performances are all very good. Ultimately, though, Flanagan’s screenplay and direction resulted in a scary movie that wasn’t scary. The original novel was scary in the best Stephen King fashion, but the sense of imminent danger and mounting horror that was prevalent throughout the book was just not there in the film. Disappointing.

Yeah I felt similarly about Dr Sleep.  I thought Rebecca Ferguson (who I sometimes conflate with Rebecca Hall) was the best thing about it.

njerry wrote:

The original novel was scary in the best Stephen King fashion, but the sense of imminent danger and mounting horror that was prevalent throughout the book was just not there in the film.

Whisper it, but I felt that about Kubrick’s movie too. It doesn’t capture the unease and disturbing quality of the book, partly because I don’t think it ever really lets us into the characters’ heads.

The Goldfinch.

I never read the novel which is rare for me because I usually read the pulitzer-winner for the year (incidentally, I checked and I’ve seen every nominee for best picture for that year so I must have been watching movies and not reading).  Anyway, it’s fine, but it makes me want to read the book becaue the movie is fine, but – as sometimes happens with average movies based on (presumably) good novels -the script cannot keep up with the plot.

 

 

I’ve read The Goldfinch.

Apart from her Christmas story, I’ve read all Donna Tartt’s books.

I’ve read this many:

None.

I suppose winning awards counts for something, and I suppose reading most of her books counts as a recommendation (however I am aware of the vociferousness with which you consume books), but, is it good? Do you recommend I partake in the Tartt?

She’s only written three novels. Took around ten years to write each one which like prizes doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll think she’s good. She can be brilliant. Goldfinch was fairly divisive. It depends how much you like very densely detailed descriptions with a touch of Dickens.

Her novels are all very different although she returns to East Coast elitism, for want of a better phrase, in The Goldfinch.

I’d start with The Secret History alongside Williams’ Stoner.

Yes, the film appears fairly ripe with aforementioned elitism.  To the extent that it could be considered a bit tedious a narrative.

I’d say more, but as per usual I’m in the wrong thread.

Dave wrote:

Whisper it, but I felt that about Kubrick’s movie too.

I seem to recollect getting a chill or two from the Kubrick film — the first appearance of the twins, the rotting lady in the bathtub, Nicholson with the axe. The new film revisits those scenes, but in a bland, almost nostalgic way.

Anonymous wrote:

Williams’ Stoner.

 

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Did my re-watch (or proper ever beginning to end viewing) of Close Encounters of the 3rd Kind.
I’ve never owned it but it’s on Netflix, so I just did that.

It really holds up. 1977 and Spielberg was given some money and used it wisely.
(I think he was trusted with money for 1975’s Jaws, but the special effects screwed up on them, but led to a better movie (look it up).
I was surprised that it’s a 2 hr. 14 minute movie. Didn’t feel like it, or didn’t feel too long to be more specific.
He had a good way of showing things that didn’t over explain and hit the audience on the head, or better said that a younger viewer could be in the audience (Kubrick I didn’t get as a teenager, but later appreciate certain things).

So, I really enjoyed that. But…
What’s going on in the world may have made me notice more, but is that ever White.
Yes there was a scene early in Mexico, and later in India.
In the U.S.? You see Carl Weathers (Rocky was the year before) as Military Police, and after his quick (speaking) scene then it shows another black military man for a few seconds and I got the vibe that they got their quota out of the way.
Can’t remember if I saw an Asian person.

Since I’m picking on things, Richard Dreyfuss’ character of Roy Neary’s decision at the end?
Bitch left me, so to hell with the kids and I’ll see what these aliens have to offer.

Both those negative points may or not be fair to 1977.
Second point just the thoughtless way of the times.
The first point makes me appreciate Star trek being more ground breaking a decade before.

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Uncle Retrospective, Todd, njerry, Will_C

Dark season 3. Count me in the positive category.

Good job on what they showed us. My brain says to expand and have 4 seasons.
But really, after season one, season two didn’t hide what it was and 3 explained more and went to an end.
They did need that (season 3 revelations).

Now, like anything, you can pick it apart. Not perfect, but nowhere near as confusing as Marvel movie time travel (which honestly ruins Endgame).

I may need a complete re-watch, but what exactly makes it a loop? I get that one character needs that to change things, but…

I’ll stay happy with it until the internet bands together to rip it apart.
At that point I’ll dig my heels in and say it’s the best thing ever… (hmmm, reminds me of something…)

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Will_C

Just watched The Treasure of the Sierra Madre which is what one might call a Very Good Movie. Bogart is downright despicable as the lead antihero and Walter Huston (director John Huston’s father) gives an all-time great performance of the wisdom that comes with age.

paul f wrote:

Not according to Don Shirley’s family:

I’d read up a little on that, and it’s very much a question of who you believe. But there are audio clips from an interview around in which Shirley describes Tony Lip as his friend and in which other aspects of the movie are corroborated.

The audio in which Don explicity says that they didn’t have an employer/employee relationship and that he taught Tony to speak properly is here:

Oscars Last Call: RFK Family On ‘Green Book’; Hear Doc Shirley & Tony Lip’s Audio Testimony That Dispels Disinformation

I finished Upload. I feel sorry for Ingrid and Byron, concerned for Nora and angry at Ingrid’s Dad who I believe manipulated Nathan’s memories to make Nathan look like the bad guy.  I think his last line was “no more mister nice guy” or something like that. The actor who played Nathan was ok but it might not be a bad thing if he is stuck in 2G land and everyone acts around him.

Highlander. I made it ten minutes in. Man, this has aged badly.

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Uncle Retrospective

It’s one of those films that rather shockingly I have never seen. I suspect I’m the only one here but I’ve never seen any Highlander film or spinoff.

garjones wrote:

I’m the only one

There can be only one!

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DavidM, Todd, Dave, njerry, Will_C

I saw it when I was a teenager but my friend and I were making fun of it the whole time so I barely remember it. I don’t blame Andrew for bailing.

Arjan wrote:

Highlander. I made it ten minutes in. Man, this has aged badly.

Arjan, did you get a new account?

garjones wrote:

It’s one of those films that rather shockingly I have never seen. I suspect I’m the only one here but I’ve never seen any Highlander film or spinoff.

Different Arjan. I know, we are legion.

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Todd

Arjan wrote:

Different Arjan. I know, we are legion.

My apologies and welcome! There’s an introduction thread somewhere in the The Pub if you feel the need to tell us who you are! :D

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Arjan wrote:

Highlander. I made it ten minutes in. Man, this has aged badly.

Yeah, I thought that when I recently re-watched it with my kid. I mean, a lot of it still worked and this time around I noticed some stuff I didn’t conciously see as a kid, like the weird camera angles and otherwise artsy shots, but… man, this is such a mysoginyst movie.

I’ve been watching Titans. I don’t know why, it’s terrible, but I kind of felt the need to finish it, and then I kept watching into season 2… it’s like eating snack food you don’t like, but you somehow can’t stop eating.

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Uncle Retrospective

I kinda enjoyed season 1 but I couldn’t finish season season 2. It was just terrible,

Christian wrote:

I’ve been watching Titans. I don’t know why, it’s terrible, but I kind of felt the need to finish it, and then I kept watching into season 2… it’s like eating snack food you don’t like, but you somehow can’t stop eating.

This is exactly what it’s like.  Like there are some elements of the show which are actually good but its so hard to distinguish them from the drek and yet you feel compelled to keep consuming both good and drek because OF THE ENDLESS CONSUMPTION OF ALL THINGS NOM NOM NOM

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Christian

I didn’t hate S2, but boy it has some really crap episodes… particularly the first one.

Sean Robinson wrote:

Random thoughts:

I imagine it (Chernobyl) now functions as cheery escapism. – DaveWallace

I almost put in a comment like “it’s still not for everyone”.
Because my ladyfriend has called me out on that stuff a long time ago (and I am old enough to figure some stuff out).
I say she could watch 1, 2, and 5, but things in episodes 3 & 4 nullify that (and what’s going on in the world has a multiplier effect).

leading me into this comment

Finally saw Midsommar. It was just the right kind of messed up. – Christian

When you vaguely describe things at the beginning, and talk about how beautiful the filming is (location, and sunlight/solstice), well, had to stop myself and say “not for you” (and basically tell the guy who loaned it to me to watch that).
It is a beautifully done piece of art, and masterfully done making me think what was written on the outside box was a complete hoax (to a certain point, but all those little things…), but damn near nightmares for me.
Just couldn’t shake it as it forced me to think about things for a few nights.
I stick by the comment “it’s not for everyone”.

Before the next bit, found “Director’s Cut” references (that sounded significant) but avoided all that as I think I borrowed a regular copy.

A couple of points, and admit a search helped me, but how can some completely miss certain things…
I did get the foreshadowing (even if I didn’t know what it meant) but there was lots (and from the beginning, like on the walls in the apartment).
Dani was in a bad relationship to start (to Christian).
Swedish friend that brought them there? Not an accident or happenstance, he made it happen. (obvious after you watch)
He was in love with Dani, and he made it so she won the May Queen (not agreed on).
That end bit? Purge. They were all dance/purging out the bad, and Dani smiled to the camera when she had purged Christian away
This is a beautifully fucked up movie.
______________________

Have some time off (still friday night for me), have Mon. Tues. off and Wednesday is Canada day.

I am set up for things to read/watch, but felt compelled to share my desire to watch Close Encounters of the 3rd Kind.
It’s been ages, and I haven’t seen it from beginning to end in one sitting ever (and none of those pieces were without commercials!).
Looking forward to it. Hope it holds up.

I just watched Midsommar.

 

Holy fuck.  That was a movie

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Christian, Sean Robinson

They’re releasing a director’s cut of Midsommar with an intro by Scorsese.

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Will_C

Midsommar is excellent. Ari Aster’s one to watch.

I watched The Exorcist and The Exorcist III last night. I’ve seen the first many times but never the third. The first is one of the greatest movies of all time, and imo Friedkin’s best (yes, even better than The French Connection). It’s a perfect movie, and one of the finest examples of clear, concise movie storytelling there is. Jason Miller also gives one of my all-time favorite performances.

The third Exorcist is decent. I’m not much of a George C. Scott fan so that hampered my enjoyment a bit. Jason Miller returns as Father Karras, possessed by the spirit of an executed serial killer played by Brad Dourif, and he’s pretty good though never gets the meaty material he got in the first film. It’s not a scary movie, either. The first Exorcist has never scared me that much (all I’ve ever found scary are those few “blink and you’ll miss it” shots of Pazuzu’s face) but it achieves an eerie, unsettling mood throughout. Part III never really gets there. But I had a fun time watching it so I can’t complain too much. William Peter Blatty also does a pretty good job directing. There are some great shots in that movie.

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Todd

I keep meaning to watch Midsommar but I’ve been putting it off.

Is it as scary and unsettling as I’ve been told?

Scary: No.

Unsettling: Holy shit yes.

Don’t forget gruesome!

I’ll give it a go.

It can’t be any more disturbing than what I’ve been watching – I’m on episode 7 of I May Destroy You.

I’ve a vague notion of reading Aster promoting Midsommar as inspired by some sort of real-life incident. It’s set in Sweden, isn’t it?

Has anyone been watching the new Perry Mason series from HBO starring Matthew Rhys and John Lithgow? I’m wondering if I should give it a try this weekend…

I just watched the first episode of Warrior Nun on Netflix, very loosely based on the Antarctic Press Warrior Nun Areala comics.  It’s not particularly good, but it’s also not bad.  Alba Baptista, who plays lead character Ava is very charismatic and does a good job of being the centre of the story to the point of being in almost every scene.

The whole warrior nun idea is… a bit silly to say the least, and outfitting the characters in tacticool habits and carrying rifles with tons of accessories doesn’t really help, but it might look better when the action picks up, here they’re mostly brooding from the events that kick off the story.

The main attraction for me is that it’s set in Andalucia, and was shot in some of my favourite parts of Spain.  I might have been roughly tracing Ava’s wandering around Marbella in episode 1 to figure out how realistic it was to the local geography. Also, I never knew that one church I’ve yet to visit in Ronda was the headquarters of a sect of Warrior Nuns, so I’m definitely gonna check it out next time.

njerry wrote:

Has anyone been watching the new Perry Mason series from HBO starring Matthew Rhys and John Lithgow? I’m wondering if I should give it a try this weekend…

I watched the first episode. It’s… ok, I guess. It’s one big case for the series, rather than individual ones and Mason is a PI rather than a lawyer, for some reason (I’m not up enough on Perry Mason to know if that’s something true to the character, I just know him as a lawyer. A returning lawyer). The colour grading is incredibly brown and sepia, which gets pretty tiresome after a while. It’s such a trite idea, throwing a sepia colour palette on it to reflect the depression.

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Todd

Martin Smith wrote:

njerry wrote:

Has anyone been watching the new Perry Mason series from HBO starring Matthew Rhys and John Lithgow? I’m wondering if I should give it a try this weekend…

I watched the first episode. It’s… ok, I guess. It’s one big case for the series, rather than individual ones and Mason is a PI rather than a lawyer, for some reason (I’m not up enough on Perry Mason to know if that’s something true to the character, I just know him as a lawyer. A returning lawyer). The colour grading is incredibly brown and sepia, which gets pretty tiresome after a while. It’s such a trite idea, throwing a sepia colour palette on it to reflect the depression.

The series is basically Perry Mason: Year 1. I haven’t watched the second episode yet but I understand Paul Drake is now black.

Anonymous wrote:

Scary: No.

Unsettling: Holy shit yes.

On what planet is it not scary, Anders?

And how does anyone even begin to act a scary smile like that?

Holy fuck. Even the flowers were unsettling. Talk about a heavy bough. Berserk.

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Sean Robinson

I may be densensitized to getting scared by a movie.

Or different things scare you.

Anonymous wrote:

Arjan wrote:

Different Arjan. I know, we are legion.

My apologies and welcome! There’s an introduction thread somewhere in the The Pub if you feel the need to tell us who you are! :D

It’s funny there are two Dutchies on this board and we’re both named Arjan. It’s not an uncommon name over here, but not that common.

Will_C wrote:

The first Exorcist has never scared me that much

 

That movie is maybe the one movie that really scared me to the point of being afraid to sleep etc. Something about the supernatural themes, the idea of demonic possession and how it was portrayed was really unsettling for me at the time.

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Will_C, Todd, njerry

The wife has put Hamilton on on Disney+. The music is good but there’s rather a lot of it.

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Dave

Bruce wrote:

The wife has put Hamilton on on Disney+. The music is good but there’s rather a lot of it.

Don’t worry, there will be plenty of explosions later on during the confrontations between Stormare and Hamill.

Finished watching Avatar: The Last Airbender Today. It definitely lived up to all the hype I’ve seen over the years. It’s a really well written show, with a great fleshed out cast of characters. The animation is solid and gets even better as the series goes on. The fight scenes especially get super smooth looking later on.
The Legend of Korra is on Prime, so I’m looking forward to starting that next.

I also watched Gemini Man. It’s an interesting premise, but man the CGI is bad. It felt like a film from the early 2000’s at times.

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Uncle Retrospective

Been kinda binging episodes of Bravestarr on YouTube. A space Western notable for its Native American lead and that it was the last series produced by Filmation before the studio folded.

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Andrew, Todd

I am bingeing on the final season of Person of Interest, because the last season of WestWorld made me remember that I never finished this.

Man, that was a good show. Poor Finch.

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Rocket, Uncle Retrospective, Sean Robinson, paul f, Todd

I couldn’t watch that latest Coen brothers thing with the funny talking cowboy. I was cringing almost from the start. So I’m rewatching A Serious Man instead. I’m fairly sure I’m going to like that.

Anonymous wrote:

So I’m rewatching A Serious Man instead. I’m fairly sure I’m going to like that.

Oooh, I love that film. I must have your review when you’re finished.

What’s the funny talking cowboy Coens film?

Anonymous wrote:

What’s the funny talking cowboy Coens film?

Blood Simple

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Todd, Sean Robinson

Fuck that made me laugh.

I just copied and pasted the query into google and…

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs – Wikipedia

I haven’t seen that one. maybe soon.

I thought he meant No Country for Old Men.

Not the latest, but I went with dodgy lockdown-esque hairstyle + Yeats lament.

I keep meaning to watch The Ballad of Buster Scruggs actually.  A friend of mine who does YouTube videos did one about it a while back and it looks really good.

But even this week when I got a Coen Brothers itch I wound up watching Burn After Reading again instead.

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs is a mixed bag, but worth watching.

It was supposed to be a TV series, but they edited it down into an anthology movie instead. It was probably going to be six ~30 minute episodes, and instead it’s six ~20 minute segments, which is better.

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Todd

It was way too silly for me. I watched 15 minutes or so then thought meh, I am not going to spend my time watching this.

 

So I watched a Serious Man, for maybe the tenth time. Still brilliant.

lorcan_nagle wrote:

I wound up watching Burn After Reading again instead.

That one is really great. The Coens brothers do comedy like nobody else. The singing cowboy movie is the first time I’ve been so disappointed with one of their movies.

 

With No Country for Old Men I just thought it was weird the first time I watched it but I gave it another try and the second time it clicked and I thought it was great.

Anonymous wrote:

What’s the funny talking cowboy Coens film?

It assume it refers to Hail, Caesar, the Hollywood period film wherein the studio lends their well-known “cowboy” actor to a British director who tries in vain to get him to talk like a proper gentlemen instead of a hillbilly. Or it could be The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, although the title character didn’t really talk funny

Haven’t seen Buster Scruggs hence the confusion.

Anonymous wrote:

The singing cowboy movie is the first time I’ve been so disappointed with one of their movies.

For what it’s worth, the movie is an anthology of six stories, and the singing cowboy is only in one of them. You could just skip that one and see if you like the other ones; they’ve also very different tonally. “Meal Ticket” is extremely bleak, but brilliant; it features Liam Neeson as a travelling entertainer whose attraction is a young man without arms and legs who recites the classics of literature. “All Gold Canyon”, with Tom Waits as a prospector, is also very good. I liked all of the stories, but those two really stuck with me.

Anyway, they’re all completely unlike the first one – that’s the only one that’s tonally very goofy and wink-y. So you could easily go back and watch the other stories.

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Todd

Yesterday, I watched the last episodes of Person of Interest and John Wick 3, so I am now properly desensitised to violence.

Person of Interest ended really well, in a way that not many shows do.

I also watched John Wick 3. It was fine. Personally, I think the John Wick movies are bit diminishing returns; the first one had a story, the second and third are just assassins killing each other. And I am not all that interested in this world they built for these movies in which everybody is an assassin. But on the other hand, many of the fights were really well done, and I do appreciate that. And they had a very cool cast; in addition to Ian McShane and Laurence Fishburn returning, there were Marc Dacascos, Brom from Game of Thrones and Anjelica fucking Houston. Dacascos is still amazing. And he also got to be funny, which I have never seen before. (I’ve only seen him in movies, not his TV shows where I assume he gets to be funny more often, so I didn’t know he had comedic chops. The moment in which he sits down uncomfortably close to John was my favourite moment in the whole movie, which probably tells you I’m not the right kind of audience for action movies anymore.) I should go back and watch Crying Freeman again. Which reminds me, I always wanted to see Silent Hill, but somehow never did… what is Christophe Gans doing these days anyway? Wait, he made the Beauty and the Beast live-action remake? Seriously? Now that’s seriously weird. Where was I? Ah, yes. John Wick. So like, it was alright. I had beer.

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Todd