TV - Yellowstone. Kevin Costner is a ranch owner with family hanging onto the old life. Beautiful landscapes and cinematography.
Movies - Apocalypse Now Final Cut (2019) - great remaster, interesting cut. A bit let down, not sure if it's because it hasn't aged as well as I remembered or I was expecting more from the cut. Probably both. Loved the Dolby Atmos mix.
>>interesting cut
Are there significant differences? That is, things that change the feel of the movie or even the plot?
>> hasn't aged as well as I remembered
Neither have I. I was just looking at some old pictures of myself. Time is a cruel master. That said, my all-time favorite movie (Jeremiah Johnson) still holds up for me. But the first time I saw it after 20 or 30 years, I found Redford's acting not great. But then I watched every couple of years and I grew to love it again.
The plot didn't change, and it's been a while since I saw the original. There were scenes that were new, for sure, that were more of a fill-in, I think.
I was wondering in particular about the scenes with Brando, since "Coppola admitted that he had no ending because Brando was too fat to play the scenes as written in the original script."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apocalypse_Now
Knowing only Apocalypse Now and Godfather, I never understood the whole Brando cult. Then I saw him in Streetcar Named Desire, and I thought, "Oh, now I get it. "
I just watched Jeremiah Johnson for the first time a couple of months ago. I could see how the film would intersect with your life choices.
If you like Tarantino movies Once Upon a Time in Hollywood may be interesting to you. It is a story based on an alternative timeline of a historical event.
The Irishman if you like mob movies.
The Nightingale an Australian film.
Fleabag & Russian Doll, two irreverent series with modern humor sensibilities
Chernobyl is suppose to be pretty good, haven't seen it.
Did you watch the Deadwood series? There was a movie made last year that wraps it up.
Other end of the spectrum, but we both liked "The Half of It." It's a high school romance, but quite different.
The script was a 2018 Blacklist (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_List_(survey)) selection.
>Godfather, I never understood the whole Brando cult.
Take that slander back!
>Chernobyl
Well worth a look, very well made
Peaky Blinders is decent, the British mob in the interwar period mixed in with the Communist uprisings in Brummie land
>Peaky Blinders
Yeah, good show. It also reminded me to mention Babylon Berlin. It's a German show, also during the interwar period, quite good.
edit:spelling
Quote from: ergophobe on July 28, 2020, 05:33:26 PM
I was wondering in particular about the scenes with Brando, since "Coppola admitted that he had no ending because Brando was too fat to play the scenes as written in the original script."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apocalypse_Now
Knowing only Apocalypse Now and Godfather, I never understood the whole Brando cult. Then I saw him in Streetcar Named Desire, and I thought, "Oh, now I get it. "
It actually seemed like his part was a bit abbreviated. Again though, it's been a while since I saw the original and it had a more profound effect on me the first time.
The BBC Dracula series on Netflix is well-done, i normally find BBC productions a bit dull but this is an exception.
Greyhound is a submariner flick with Tom Hanks as captain of the boat. It was okay but there were better sub films made in the 50s.
If you haven't seen Spaced, it's not new but it's funny, that's also on Netflix at the moment, old British comedy TV series.
It's also well worth searching youtube for short films, there's some amazing 'amateur' work going on, especially with CGI.
>>Peaky Blinders
Thanks! Started this week and really like it so far.
Also Condor TV series is pretty solid.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Downton_Abbey
I really enjoyed After Life, with Ricky Gervais. It's a bit dark. You have to stick with it. I just watched the first episode of season 2 and will definitely watch the rest.
>After Life
Likes the first season, the second season wasn't as good imo.
If you want light but sort of smart Cobra Kai is surprisingly good. It builds on the story of the Karate Kid movies. The show can be funny, sometimes goofy, but there is some depth to it too. For instance, instead of the typical story of how good people go bad, it explores how people with good intentions can do harm when they are filled with the wrong ideas.
We watched a couple last night. I thought it opened slowly, perhaps because I and was expecting something lighter based on your description, but we gave it a second episode and got pulled into the story. It's interesting what 35 years has done to storytelling. KKI was a pure good/evil story. 35 years later, there's no Mr Miyagi. Everyone is a little good and a little evil and the fun is trying to parse it all out. We're definitely in for the whole season now.
Light is relative I guess, but compared to other shows/movies on this list I'd call it light. There were some moments when I've laughed out loud which doesn't happen to often for me.
Yes, light is relative. Our previous watch was "I Am Not Your Negro," about James Baldwin. Very good. Definitely not light, but very much worth a watch. I wish it had been longer.
We also watched Ip Man, which is fairly light, despite a background of Japanese atrocities in China during WWII. It has nothing to do with the actual life of Ip Man. Best thought of as a propaganda film for China.
The ending is precious - it says that Ip Man moved to Hong Kong after the Chinese defeated the Japanese in 1945. If I think really hard, I seem to recall some other countries involved in that effort too... if I could only remember who they were...
>Ip Man
As far as storytelling and overall quality the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Ip Man movies definitely take a step down. Still good fight scenes and all that if you just want something mindless on in the background.
Favourite movies of the year so far, with the caveat that it's been far from a vintage one:
1917
Hamilton
Come As You Are
Richard Jewell
Dark Waters
The Gentlemen
Just Mercy
The Platform [subtitled]
The Rhythm Section
Les Miserables [subtitled]
7500
Bombshell
Stage Mother
Why Don't You Just Die! [subtitled]
The Vigil
Beastie Boys Story [documentary]
JoJo Rabbit
Days Of The Bagnold Summer
Proxima
Alice [subtitled]
>JoJo Rabbit
If you liked JoJo you'd probably like The Death of Stalin. They are very complimentary films.
Jetboy, thanks for the list. I'm watching Come As You Are right now and really enjoying it.
Cool :) Mulan would be on the list now. I didn't get on with Tenet or The New Mutants.
Quote from: ergophobe on August 19, 2020, 07:01:31 PM
I really enjoyed After Life, with Ricky Gervais. It's a bit dark. You have to stick with it. I just watched the first episode of season 2 and will definitely watch the rest.
It crosses lines for me, i hate to sound like Mary Whitehouse, but lots of modern humour isn't even toilet-humour, it's just toilets, i find myself watching older comedies more often.
I blame the dumbing down of education in general and the tendency to disencourage (is that a bloody word?) imagination , lots of the young script writers are thick as two short planks compared to stuff like Monty Python, Seinfeld and Friends, which is generationally recent.
This is embarrasing for me but i'' share it with the group because forums are basically group-therapy in the end ;+} I've become hooked on a reality TV show called Below Decks, on Bravo i think in the US.
In the face of crap drama on TV, at least these series are real so you're getting real reactions (i know they stage parts of it).
I'm shuting up now, there's no excuse, i'm just watching crap, i have COVID lazy-brain disease.
I've probably said these before but they are always worth rementioning :
Life After Beth.
Phil The Alien.
Bad Milo.
Lars And The Real Girl.
If i could only own one film it would be the 82 Blade Runner commercial release not the directors cut, madly enough i found Sean Young's YT channel a couple of years back and she responded to a couple of posts. If you like blade runner her channel is worth a visit, she has private video of Sting filming Dune and other things : https://www.youtube.com/user/msyPARIAH
How about the news? Totally fictional comedy-drama with a good dose of condescension thrown in. Lap it up.
>>If i could only own one film
Hands down, Jeremiah Johnson
>one film
Last Samurai, for me. "Necessary. What could be more necessary?"
One film? Gremlins.
Just watched David Attenborough's "A Life on our Planet" (Netflix). Makes a lot of sense. Preserve biodiversity and focus on poorer parts of the world becoming sustainable with less children. Insane how much our planet has been adapted within a few generations. Reckon biodiversity supercedes any human ideas of progress, but hopefully we can sort that in the coming decades.
Just bought a job lot of bond films on ebay... ready for the cold long nights of winter, ....locked down.
Shows:
The Expanse is pretty good scifi.
The Kominsky Method (Michael Douglas/Alan Arkin), light dramady
The One I Love (2014) - on Netflix. A Twilight Zone-y movie that bills itself as a chick flick ---but it's not. Light suspense. You'll talk about it after it's over.
>>The Expanse
We've both enjoyed that too. Like many series, the more seasons, the less compelling. But the first three seasons are all good.
>Like many series, the more seasons, the less compelling.
I'd agree that there was a fall off, but it is a gradual taper with the fifth season being the weakest so far. Still better than most though. A show that really did that was the relaunch of BSG, the first season and the mini-series before that were really very good, by the last season the show was a complete mess. Fargo was great for season 1-3 but the last season was just OK. I like how the different time periods interact though.
RC, I'll give it a watch and get back to you.
Yes, we definitely still liked season 4 and will probably watch season 5. But seasons 1-3 are very strong storytelling.
I think one thing that happens with series, both books and movies, is that the authors start with an idea for a complete story arc but then, having found success, they keep writing in that world, but the overall direction becomes less clear. So it ends up becoming more episodic. In other words, it switches from Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter to Hardy Boys or a superhero comic book.
Writing is easy. Writing well is one of the hardest things there is.
LM - have you seen Altered Carbon? If you like the Expanse, I think you would like that.
BTW, we watched a movie we both liked a lot, but it is definitely not for everyone. Almost nothing happens.
In Paterson, Adam Driver is a poet who drives a bus for the city of Paterson, NJ. I would be hard-pressed to even say why we liked it.
I watched Altered Carbon, it's quite dystopian.
I enjoyed Paterson too. I didn't recommend it because I don't think it would be for everyone's taste.
>The One I Love
That was good RC.
We watched EG's "The Half of It" on NF. Enjoyed it pretty much.
I don't want to get invested in a series. Looking for movies.
There's a new season of Master of None on Netflix.
Added: Season three is not at all the same show. It as about as much entertaining as watching bubbling stew.
Quote from: rcjordan on February 16, 2021, 03:15:21 AM
Looking for movies.
- Peanut Butter Falcon
- Hunt for the Wilderpeople
I feel like there are a few more we've liked in the past year, but those stick out.
QuotePeaky Blinders
my claim to fame... an old Aunt is fond of saying the first time she heard that phrase was when she was 10.... from her old Aunt. A part of the family came from that part of Birmingham. Ran a coal yard or something, so the suggestion is she had to pay the mob protection money. (The women ran the yard for clarity and let rooms for extra cash)
Of course, there were not many men about either in those days, so there were 5 women sharing a house later on. All poor, needing looking after, so doing odd jobs, or in service to keep going. I have a cousin researching it all.
Have I ever mentioned Coupling? I enjoyed it.
Quote- Peanut Butter Falcon
- Hunt for the Wilderpeople
If you like those two:
Captain Fantastic (I feel like this could have been you Ergo)
Nebraska
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
>Coupling
Is that a UK show?
UK yes... A little dated in some ways:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coupling_(British_TV_series)
Quote from: littleman on May 25, 2021, 11:56:28 PM
Captain Fantastic (I feel like this could have been you Ergo)
Now I'm afraid to watch it ;-)
Seriously, it has been on the list for a while.
I just watched "The Nevers" on HBO. And I LOVE it!
Quote from: littleman on May 25, 2021, 11:56:28 PM
Captain Fantastic (I feel like this could have been you Ergo)
We this last night and the night before (it takes us two days to watch most movies). We liked it, but not as much as Wilderpeople.
I gotta say that Ben is much, much more intense than I am.
Just watched the trailers for the other two. Nebraska looked funny. Ebbing looks... like a rural county. I'll put it on the list.
>We liked it, but not as much as Wilderpeople.
Yeah, I am a fan of Taika Waititi's less blockbustery type movies -- like Wilderpeople, Jojo Rabbit and What We Do in the Shadows. He's really good when he's not making big budget movies like those superhero things. I just love movies about quirky people trying to figure it out. Speaking of, you two might like Lady Bird.
>I gotta say that Ben is much, much more intense than I am.
Yeah, he's more like if I had to right a story with a character loosely based on you but turned up the dials for dramatic and comedy effect.
We've been enjoying Mr. InBetween. A sort of Australian Ray Donovan. Wish the eps were longer.
For All Mankind has been interesting through the first season.
Upgrade was the first decent new-ish flick we've watched in a while.
Excellent UK single-season series from the last few months:
I May Destroy You (Michaela Coel)
It's A Sin (Russell T Davies)
Time (Jimmy McGovern with Sean Bean, Stephen Graham)
Favourite films from this year:
Pieces Of A Woman
Nomadland
The Father
Nobody
I Care A Lot
Supernova
Moxie!
Palm Springs
A Quiet Place Part II
Archive
Creation Stories
Synchronic
Another Round
Apples [subtitled]
We've only just discovered drug drama Snowfall, so are catching up on that, along with revisiting St Elsewhere.
@Drastic: We loved the first season on For All Mankind. Less thrilled with the second.
Not new, but I just watched it for the first time. Contagion 2011, I'm surprised by how much they got right about humans during a pandemic.
Watched The Equalizer from 2014, Denzel. Solid movie.
Vigil submarine/spy series from BBC was pretty good.
The Many Saints of Newark (Tony Soprano origin story) was decent.
Best of the lot for me, though was new release "Old Henry" western. It's not perfect but the best new release I've seen in quite some time. Recommended. If you're interested, don't watch the preview/trailer.
Was forced to watch 'Free Guy' (it's on Disney+)... not too bad but makes you feel a bit older than you'd like maybe. Ryan Reynolds as an 'NPC'... a bit like Ready Player One with lots of cultural references to online gaming.
Downloading Old Henry to have a look at tonight.
'Free Guy' I've been looking at but not dl yet. Thanks for the vote, I'll probably check it out.
What did you think about Old Henry?
>Old Henry
Enjoyable, I'll not spoil it for anyone else.
Watched about a dozen films of the old West this year, easy watching for me. Last I watched was The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, mini-stories and some are wee bit left-field but plenty of the frontier vibe.
For Ergo: The Alpinist (on Netflix)
Thanks. Didn't know about it.
Late to the party but I loved Mr Robot!
Quote from: littleman on December 11, 2021, 03:43:20 AM
For Ergo: The Alpinist (on Netflix)
We watched this a couple nights ago. I'm curious how it plays for people who have never done any alpine climbing. I watch a move like Free Solo and it is way beyond what I would do, probably even if I had Alex's skill. I've climbed a lot of that terrain ("free" but not "free solo"). It's out there, but I can wrap my mind around it. Same with some of the more insane ski descents.
But once upon a time, I did a fair bit of alpine climbing, mixed climbing, ice climbing. A friend and I even went to Canada with thoughts of possibly getting on the Emperor Face, but we were (probably luckily) shut down by a series of storms. So I have a sense of what it is Marc-Andre is climbing in the film... but it is just so far out there it's hard to wrap my mind around.
I would put it this way. Honnold (Free Solo) is out there on the edges of the map, where the known world meets its limit. Leclerc is off the map, in the white spaces where you encounter dragons.
Maybe for a non-climber it all sort of feels the same?
>The Many Saints of Newark
I think Michael Gandolfini did a good job playing young Tony, but the movie felt really incomplete. It really felt like an opening episode instead of a movie.
Don't Look Up, a cynical masterpiece inspired by the last two years.
>Don't Look Up
This was awesome. Lots of great laughs.
1883 TV series is shaping up nicely.
Worth watching: Severance
Devs seems promising, by Alex Garland who also wrote and directed Ex Machina.
Chernobyl was also quite good.
We've been digging the new Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. Anson Mount seems to a great pick for the role of Captain Pike. The Spock actor seems a bit weak, but who wouldn't have trouble filling Nimoy's shoes.
Shining Girls is a bit weird but interesting so far. Severance has been great. Succession is also solid.
>Peaky Blinders
Members of the Peaky Blinders, a street gang based in Birmingham, England, that operated from the end of the 19th century to the early 1900's.
https://old.reddit.com/r/Damnthatsinteresting/comments/wrn9ro/members_of_the_peaky_blinders_a_street_gang_based/
>Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
So much better than Picard and Discovery.
>@Drastic: We loved the first season on For All Mankind.
I think the show is pretty good. I like what they can do with alternative timelines and, in that sense it reminds me of a Philip K. Dick novel. I also like how they are using deep fakes of historic people.
Watching Sandman. We're both fans of the graphic novels, but read them long enough ago that we have only vague memories. For such a strange, magical, dreamlike story, they've done a pretty good job bringing it to the screen.
We also watched a season of Kim's Convenience, which is not that new, but it is pretty funny.
>Sandman
I had never read the graphic novels but started watching the show and really like it so far. From what I have heard of the graphic novels it seems like they are staying somewhat true to the source material. There are some episodes that when they are done I just sit there and say "wow, I have no idea what I just watched but that was pretty cool".
A fun, light comedy: Only Murders in the Building (https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/only_murders_in_the_building).
Cunk On Earth, on Netflix.
A mockumentary history of civilization. It's rare for movies, and even more rare for TV shows, to make me laugh out loud. This one did.
Trailer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hm6AOHq9OL4
Show
https://www.netflix.com/title/81516751
Jury Duty, it is a cross between The Office and The Truman Show.
It's on Amazon, free with ads or Prime.
https://www.amazon.com/Jury-Duty-Season-1/dp/B0B8JM2BBS
The Foundation (Apple TV), very good SciFi based on Isaac Asimov's work.
>Cunk On Earth
Very funny stuff to me.
Coming Soon -ish?
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_6CbpF2FSk
I have no idea what kind of taste you all have but I liked The Holdovers (2023). It is kind of a slow drama/comedy, semi-Holiday movie with Paul Giamatti.
On HBO Max: "The Guilded Age"
https://www.hbo.com/the-gilded-age
It takes place in 1880s New York, and is worth watching just to see the costumes.
Each bustle dress takes MINIMUM 15 yards of fabric. Mostly silk. (I recognize many from the Silk Baron online shop.) Cheap silk is around $40/ yard. These are not cheap silks.
I cannot even imagine what their costuming budget is.
But, even if you're not into costumes, it is entertaining and surprisingly funny. Also, it references many historic events.
When I am missing humour, I have a problem. Sue and I sometimes seem to struggle to find things to watch that make us laugh out loud. Canned laughter can turn me off.
Jut started watching a couple of these a week. A real tonic. Lee Mack is at his best. I am guessing most of you can access the BBC:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b007r3n8
Would I Lie to You?
The award-winning comedy panel show. Suave host Rob Brydon and lightning-quick team captains David Mitchell and Lee Mack encourage their guests to tell the tallest of tales.
I don't think anyone has mentioned Ted Lasso. It was recommended a long time ago, but since we don't have Apple TV, we didn't watch, but finally watched while visiting family.
It is the rare show where every major character is genuinely good-hearted, at least when the chips are really down. Might be a bit pollyannish for some, but in the current gloom, anything that is fundamentally positive is nice.
Also, The Hundred Foot Journey. Most predictable too, but nice feel good vibes.
Older, but in a similar vein, Today's Special is a favorite. I keep meaning to get myself some business cards like Akbar's.
This thread is still going!
Apple TV has some great stuff on it:
Slow Horses
TV version of Mick Herron's spy series with Gary Olman in the lead role.
Shrinking
A darker take on the Scrubs comedy formula with How I Met Your Mother's Jason Segel and Harrison Ford.
Pluribus
A (not really an) alien invasion series with the style and pace of Breaking Bad. Rhea Seehorn from Better Call Saul stars.
And you're still alive!
Thanks for the suggestions and good to see you pop in.
https://podcasts.apple.com/za/podcast/dave-grohl-joins-us-for-mouthwatering-spanish-style/id1626354833?i=1000762976744
If you like food, Laughter and Rock and Roll, you will enjoy this:
Time extremely well spent with a master of storytelling... and barbecuing!
Dave Grohl in the Dish studio. It finally happened. The award-winning musician and founder of Foo Fighters settled in for a delicious meal with Nick and Angela to discuss the band's forthcoming album, My Favourite Toy. The record - the group's twelfth - is out on Friday 24 April ahead of a worldwide tour that includes two dates at Liverpool's Anfield Stadium.
I have no real interest in Foo Fighters or Nirvana, but read Dave Grohl's autobiography anyway. Even as a non-fan I truly enjoyed it. Highly recommended.
I have the book by my bed to read. I must find the time!