Whatcha Been Watching?

This is the place where you can conflab about all the other stuff besides videogames
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Alex79
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Re: Whatcha Been Watching?

Post by Alex79 »

Hmm yeah it doesn't look too great. A bit of a falldown from stuff like Jam and Brass Eye. I think the trouble is with his classic stuff, it's most of it has come true, so where does he go now? It's scary how prophetic stuff like Brass Eye and The Day Today really were.
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Re: Whatcha Been Watching?

Post by duskvstweak »

I guess I've been in a 90s mood? The wife and I watched the Fugitive, the Firm and Being John Malkovich. I hadn't seen any of them before and they're all pretty good, aren't they?
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Re: Whatcha Been Watching?

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We're watching season three of The Handmaids Tale. I really enjoyed the first and second seasons, despite (because of?) the relentless, oppressive bleakness, but season three is sooooooooo slooooooow....!
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Re: Whatcha Been Watching?

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We watched One Of Us on Netflix over the last couple of nights. Four part BBC series that aired in 2016. It was pretty good. Double murder in the Scottish Highlands, standard police investigation stuff but we enjoyed it. Kept us guessing and the ending was nicely done. Worth a watch if you like that sort of thing.
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Re: Whatcha Been Watching?

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We went to see Ready or Not this weekend. The wife liked it, but it did nothing for me. It's not as funny as it should be and they do nothing with old, giant mansion the story takes place in. It really felt like a basic version of a pretty fun idea.
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Re: Whatcha Been Watching?

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Third season of "Dear White People" is out so i decided to rewatch the whole thing from the beginning.
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Alex79
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Re: Whatcha Been Watching?

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Has anyone on here watched The Wire? I'm assuming so. We're struggling for a series we both want to watch after finishing GoT. My suggestions, American Gods, The Boys, Mad Men and Castle Rock all got shot down.

We tried Manifest, but it was the worst 'OMG ALL THESE PEOPLE VANISHED THEN REAPPEARED FIVE YEARS LATER. WITH POWERS!!!!!' type shit I've ever seen. Seriously, that premise has become its own genre by now, surely!?

Thinking of The Wire. We both enjoy good British crime drama, I'm just worried my partner doesn't concentrate enough when we watch TV to get anything out of it! :lol:
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Re: Whatcha Been Watching?

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Alex79uk wrote: September 4th, 2019, 5:10 pm Has anyone on here watched The Wire? I'm assuming so. We're struggling for a series we both want to watch after finishing GoT. My suggestions, American Gods, The Boys, Mad Men and Castle Rock all got shot down.

We tried Manifest, but it was the worst 'OMG ALL THESE PEOPLE VANISHED THEN REAPPEARED FIVE YEARS LATER. WITH POWERS!!!!!' type shit I've ever seen. Seriously, that premise has become its own genre by now, surely!?

Thinking of The Wire. We both enjoy good British crime drama, I'm just worried my partner doesn't concentrate enough when we watch TV to get anything out of it! :lol:
I've only started watching it recently, I'm on the third season, but I recommend it. It's very easy to get sucked in. Also, that cast is everywhere afterwards.
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Re: Whatcha Been Watching?

Post by James »

The Wire remains my favourite TV series. The only word of caution I might offer is that the dialogue comes thick and fast, so subtitles could be useful for an episode or two until you get used to the Baltimore accent.

My partner and I rewatched The Dark Crystal over the weekend and started watching the new Netflix series tonight. We were both absolutely astounded by it!
I really like the film, but I couldn't ever quite come to terms with the limitations of a fully puppeted production (versus, say, Labyrinth). This series, or episode one at least, completely solves those issues for me. They're supplementing the puppetry with some CG to what I think is really good effect, and they've started to flesh out the great film lore in what already promises to be an interesting way, I think.
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Re: Whatcha Been Watching?

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We finally got around to watching Chernobyl. Very good. Very bleak. Hard to imagine something like that happening, and the way the Russians tried to cover it up to the world.
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Re: Whatcha Been Watching?

Post by Caligulas Horse »

ThirdMan wrote: September 15th, 2019, 3:55 am
Time Bandits[/i][/b]

This seems to be a British fantasy classic but for some reason I'm only getting to it now! It's Terry Gilliam which means it's wildly imaginative with physical special effects that have aged brilliantly. There's also a strong whiff of Python about it (not least in the presence of Cleese and Palin). The Criterion extras include a short piece on the production design which illustrates just how hands-on Gilliam was right through the entire process.
"Stand by for mind control!!"

Love that film, haven't seen it for awhile. Your posts in here made me really want Criterion but it's not available in England :(
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Re: Whatcha Been Watching?

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Since The King of Comedy is being talked about quite a bit these days, mainly due to Joker using it for inspiration, I finally watched it for the first time. I like Scorsese quite a bit but there's still a few films of his I need to watch...
King of Comedy is quite funny, though Robert De Niro's character just made incredibly sad.

I think the ending is interesting in that our view of it might have changed since the early eighties. I wonder if people watching it then ever figured on it being rather tame compared to the present day.
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Re: Whatcha Been Watching?

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ThirdMan wrote: September 16th, 2019, 5:59 pm
duskvstweak wrote: September 16th, 2019, 4:10 pm Since The King of Comedy is being talked about quite a bit these days, mainly due to Joker using it for inspiration, I finally watched it for the first time. I like Scorsese quite a bit but there's still a few films of his I need to watch...
King of Comedy is quite funny, though Robert De Niro's character just made incredibly sad.

I think the ending is interesting in that our view of it might have changed since the early eighties. I wonder if people watching it then ever figured on it being rather tame compared to the present day.
I think it's one of Scorsese's very best. If you get the chance read Roger Ebert's coverage of it, particularly his back and forth with Scorsese himself. Ebert was a huge champion of Scorsese right from the very beginning but he couldn't bring himself to appreciate The King of Comedy. It's a good example of a critic and a director openly discussing the perceived failures of a film.

Incidentally, I tried to watch Casino again recently and I couldn't even finish it. It felt like too much hard work. A collection of set pieces. I used to adore that film, maybe even more than Goodfellas at one point. I cannot think of another example of my opinion of a film changing quite so drastically.
Casino is one that I still haven't watched. Goodfellas is one my favorites, but I've heard Casino retreads a lot of ground from that film.
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Re: Whatcha Been Watching?

Post by KSubzero1000 »

Yeah, Casino is basically a overly indulgent Vegas-flavored version of Goodfellas with a handful of great scenes. It has its detractors, although I remember enjoying it a lot the few times I saw it many years ago. Interesting that ThirdMan would be so down on it upon rewatching it, I'll have to look and see if I feel the same!
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Re: Whatcha Been Watching?

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Oh man, that's rough. I'm really sorry to hear that. :(

I love Scorsese, too. I think it's interesting that he's one of the few directors whose names have remained synonymous with top-quality films over the entire duration of their lengthy career, in my opinion. His current directorial style is different than it was 40 years ago, but it doesn't feel like he has lost his touch, unlike other Hollywood darlings I won't mention.
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Re: Whatcha Been Watching?

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Alex79uk wrote: September 4th, 2019, 5:10 pm Has anyone on here watched The Wire? I'm assuming so. We're struggling for a series we both want to watch after finishing GoT. My suggestions, American Gods, The Boys, Mad Men and Castle Rock all got shot down.

Thinking of The Wire. We both enjoy good British crime drama, I'm just worried my partner doesn't concentrate enough when we watch TV to get anything out of it! :lol:

I can highly recommend The Deuce, The Americans and GLOW

All excellent, and underrated/underseen shows, , and all (I would say) have equal appeal to both male and female audiences.

GLOW is a frothy, fun and breezy comedy drama about female wrestlers in 1980s LA, partially based on the real world 'Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling'. One of those shows you can just inhale in a single weekend. It just wrapped up its third season on Netflix.

The Americans - a high concept and occasionally jaw-dropping drama series about a married couple of Soviet deep cover agents living in 1980s Washington DC - wrapped up last year and the entire thing is streaming on Amazon Prime. I binged all six seasons in a single month, and though it never really hit a massive audience during its run it thoroughly deserves to be held up with the very best of Golden Age TV drama alongside Mad Men and Breaking Bad, in my opinion.

The Deuce is another period drama, this one about a cast of interconnected figures (some real, some fictional) working in or around the sex trade in gritty 1970s New York City. It sounds like it might be a little dry or serious, but I find its often weirdly funny and exhuberant, and has a great cast of larger than life characters. It doesn't get many viewers or awards, but for me its one of the best shows currently running on TV. Each series jumps forward another five years, with the current third and final season opening in 1985 at the outset of the AIDS epidemic.

Netflix's The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance is also just incredible. Cannot recommend it highly enough. Had no expectations, no real affection or nostalgia for the original film, but for whatever reason this show just instantly clicked with me, and is absolutely blowing me away. Surprisingly dark and Game of Thrones-like. But, you know, with puppets.
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Re: Whatcha Been Watching?

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Life Itself was very good. Though, as a critic, I often found Ebert more snide than useful. But, it was always nice to hear him gush over something or give something a boost when it was down.

And, yeah, Scorsese has stayed great. Obviously, his style would be different than how it began, but I think Wolf of Wall Street still had the energy and focus found in Goodfellas. And, it's not for every director that I will sit and watch something as brutal as Silence.

And the Last Waltz is so good.
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Re: Whatcha Been Watching?

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ThirdMan wrote: September 16th, 2019, 11:48 pm
Caligulas Horse wrote: September 16th, 2019, 10:32 amYour posts in here made me really want Criterion but it's not available in England :(
Have you tried the BFI Player? Their collection is also outstanding. There's a huge overlap with Criterion in terms of world cinema classics and it's actually better for 21st century cinema. Plus at £4.99 per month it's incredible value. I'm a Criterion fanboy but the BFI is a more than capable alternative.

The only problem with it is that it doesn't have a robust app. Its iOS app is simply for connecting to Apple TV or Chromecast. There's no Android app and the Samsung Smart TV app only works on certain 2015-2018 model TVs.

Personally, I just connect my laptop to the TV with a HDMI. It's not very elegant but it gets the job done and for 5 quid a month it's hard to complain about.
I didn't know there was one, thanks for the recommendation. The issue is that I don't have a laptop or computer at the moment, I do most of my watching through PS4 but I am saving up to change that!
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Re: Whatcha Been Watching?

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Just finished Unbelievable on Netflix. It was very good.
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Re: Whatcha Been Watching?

Post by Stanshall »

ThirdMan wrote: September 22nd, 2019, 10:00 pm The Dark Crystal (Netflix)
Films like this age only up to a certain point before becoming locked forever in their own twilight.
What beautiful phrasing.
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