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Re: Whatcha Been Watching?

Posted: April 5th, 2020, 9:26 am
by Stanshall
@Alex/Suits

Laputa: Castle In The Sky is a fantastic romp, more action-packed than most Ghibli. The music is sensational. It all feels very Nintendo in a way to me. Some of the visual design is amazing.

Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind is quite similar to Mononoke in its themes but I find it a lot more engaging. Again, the music. The opening scene and then the titles, and the theme, iconic as anything. Incredible film from 1984.

Porco Rosso is another absolute belter. Might be a little bit more grown-up in some respects, but it's a strange and stunning love letter to Italy through the Ghibli lens, about a charming fighter pilot pig.

I'd also recommend, not necessarily for the kids:

Whisper of the Heart, a slice-of-life high school drama/romance but that does it a massive disservice. Again, the opening theme, titles and scene setting is peak Ghibli for me, and the varied use of Country Roads throughout makes me very misty-eyed.

Ocean Waves is another slice-of-life romantic drama. It's so full of longing and bittersweet truths about what love is as a teenager and as an adult. I've only seen it once but it's stuck with me for fifteen years.

Re: Whatcha Been Watching?

Posted: April 5th, 2020, 5:05 pm
by duskvstweak
Oh! And Lupin the 3rd: Castle of Cagliostro! It's his first directorial debut and it's old school fun! And it has David Hayter as the lead role (credited as Sean Barker).

And I agree with Stans about Nausicca and Mononoke being similar in tone. While I prefer Mononoke, Nausicaa is probably more family friendly, while still delivering on some deep themes. There's a few decapitations in Mononoke...

Re: Whatcha Been Watching?

Posted: April 5th, 2020, 6:46 pm
by Alex79
Awesome, thanks guys!

Re: Whatcha Been Watching?

Posted: April 5th, 2020, 9:19 pm
by Suits
Yeah, awesome guys cheers 😎.

Re: Whatcha Been Watching?

Posted: April 26th, 2020, 8:12 am
by fieldy
I started Peaky Blinders this past week. Initially was not a fan of the premise but surprisingly I love it, the turn of there century setting really grabbed me with the backdrop of post WW1 Birmingham. The characters are generally well written if a little predictable but I keep coming back to the exploits of the Shelby family episode after episode 🙂 one of the only things I did find jarring were the jumps in time (I'm just starting season 4 now)

Well worth a watch and its currently on Netflix :)

Re: Whatcha Been Watching?

Posted: April 26th, 2020, 10:38 am
by Alex79
Yeah same here, I put it off for years but then really enjoyed it when I started watching it. I think the accents irritated me which was why I never watched it, but I'm on season 2 now and think it's pretty good.

Re: Whatcha Been Watching?

Posted: May 8th, 2020, 7:31 pm
by duskvstweak
My wife got me the Criterion Channel for Christmas, it just expired and I used it to watch...

Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto
Samurai II: Duel at Ichijoji Temple
Samurai III: Duel at Ganryu Island
No Blade of Grass
THX
A Boy and His Dog
Rollerball
Death Race 2000
Dark Star
In the Heat of the Night
Urban Rashomon
The Beast
Birdman of Alcatraz
The Man Who Fell to Earth
The Big Heat
The Getaway
Eraserhead
Near Dark
Hollywood Shuffle
Red Beard
In a Lonely Place
Mulholland Drive
Picnic at Hanging Rock
A Colt is My Passport

Re: Whatcha Been Watching?

Posted: May 17th, 2020, 5:27 pm
by duskvstweak
Ugh. Bloodshot was real dull. Over-explains the only interested plot-twist right at the beginning, does zero with the character's power, Vin is barely in it and when he is, he's sleep walking. And I hate when people say this about CGI, but the big action piece on an elevator looks like a bad video game.

Re: Whatcha Been Watching?

Posted: May 19th, 2020, 5:01 pm
by Combine Hunter
Pedro Pascal (filling in for Walton Goggins) losing it during this moment of The Community Charity script read was magic: https://twitter.com/darkestimeline/stat ... 87202?s=20

Re: Whatcha Been Watching?

Posted: May 22nd, 2020, 4:14 pm
by Flabyo
The 2019 released Apollo 11 documentary is on Netflix now. It’s fantastic, there’s no narration, interviews or modern recreations. The entire thing is made up of footage and audio recordings from the time (a lot of which haven’t been made public before).

It’s very chill, and quite unlike any other doc I’ve watched about the moon missions.

Re: Whatcha Been Watching?

Posted: May 22nd, 2020, 4:39 pm
by ratsoalbion
I saw it at the cinema and would also recommend it.

Not sure I'd describe it as 'chill' myself - I recall it being pretty intense (albeit in a thoroughly enjoyable way), even though of course you know how it ends (as with Ron Howard's dramatisation of the Apollo 13 mission I guess)!

Re: Whatcha Been Watching?

Posted: May 23rd, 2020, 8:45 pm
by duskvstweak
My Criterion Channel subscription ended : (
I finished with...

Mickey & Nicky
Persona
The Fireman’s Ball
The Limey
Godzilla Raids Again
Vampyr
The Vanishing
Walkabout
Mothra vs. Godzilla
Brief Encounter
The Last Picture Show
A Night to Remember
Gilda
The Stranger
Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster
Long Day’s Journey into Night
A Hard Day’s Night
My Dinner with André
Old Joy
The Trial of Joan of Arc
Following

Re: Whatcha Been Watching?

Posted: May 24th, 2020, 11:39 am
by Alex79
duskvstweak wrote: May 23rd, 2020, 8:45 pmLong Day’s Journey into Night
I remember reading about this when it came out and making a mental note to watch it, then totally forgot. Is it the film that's shot in one take? I remember Rolling Stone reviewing it well, I'm sure.

Re: Whatcha Been Watching?

Posted: May 24th, 2020, 8:37 pm
by duskvstweak
Alex79uk wrote: May 24th, 2020, 11:39 am
duskvstweak wrote: May 23rd, 2020, 8:45 pmLong Day’s Journey into Night
I remember reading about this when it came out and making a mental note to watch it, then totally forgot. Is it the film that's shot in one take? I remember Rolling Stone reviewing it well, I'm sure.
It's a strange film and not one I can claim to understand. The whole movie isn't oneshot, but the last hour is and it's very dream-like and floaty. Again, I didn't understand the whole thing, but it made for an interesting watch. Some shots reminded me of the sinking feeling I get when I have a fever.

I believe Criterion has the streaming rights at the moment. You can do a free two-week trial as well.

Re: Whatcha Been Watching?

Posted: June 2nd, 2020, 5:00 pm
by SludgeWizard
Prisoners (2013)
Finally watched this after hearing about it for a long time. A podcaster I like put it up there with Seven and Silence of the Lambs, as far as dark crime thrillers go, but I hadn't gotten around to it because it wasn't streaming anywhere.
I finally bit the bullet and just shelled out $4 and holy cow was it worth it. 10/10 movie. Loved it. It's a shame I waited so long to watch it.
It's hyper-dark and upsetting, so it's hard to recommend to everybody, but if you like those type of movies, check it out.

Re: Whatcha Been Watching?

Posted: August 1st, 2020, 9:12 pm
by Alex79
We just watched The Visit. Now, I'm not a fan of horror (I just don't think films are ever scary), and I'm really not a fan of M. Night Shyamalan, but this was actually worth watching. For the first time in ever (?) my heart was actually pounding as we watched it. I don't want to spoil anything, but it went places I really wasn't expecting.

Re: Whatcha Been Watching?

Posted: August 1st, 2020, 11:57 pm
by Simonsloth
Alex79uk wrote: August 1st, 2020, 9:12 pm We just watched The Visit. Now, I'm not a fan of horror (I just don't think films are ever scary), and I'm really not a fan of M. Night Shyamalan, but this was actually worth watching. For the first time in ever (?) my heart was actually pounding as we watched it. I don't want to spoil anything, but it went places I really wasn't expecting.
I am a fan of his early work (I even liked The Happening) and I enjoyed it too. At the point when this was released he had run out of goodwill and his name on a new release was no longer a box office draw. I do wonder what happened as it was such an almighty slump until recently.

I think as with a lot of his “good” films the less you know the better!

Re: Whatcha Been Watching?

Posted: August 2nd, 2020, 12:05 am
by Simonsloth
A bit of a weird one but I’m going to recommend Perfect Sense.

I was going to post about it on here a few months ago but amidst a global pandemic a slightly depressing film about a global pandemic causing loss of sense of smell would probably have been in poor taste.

Forget the fact it’s Ewan McGregor in a (probably 7/10) film which would no doubt be straight to a streaming service these days but revel in the magnificent Max Richter composed score which propels this into my carefully curated blu ray collection. Without knowing it you’ll have heard a lot of Max Richter’s work in adverts and the absolute sublime HBO series The Leftovers. Sensational stuff.

Re: Whatcha Been Watching?

Posted: August 7th, 2020, 5:18 pm
by HaloFandango
Stanshall wrote: April 5th, 2020, 9:26 am @Alex/Suits

Laputa: Castle In The Sky is a fantastic romp, more action-packed than most Ghibli. The music is sensational. It all feels very Nintendo in a way to me. Some of the visual design is amazing.

Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind is quite similar to Mononoke in its themes but I find it a lot more engaging. Again, the music. The opening scene and then the titles, and the theme, iconic as anything. Incredible film from 1984.

Porco Rosso is another absolute belter. Might be a little bit more grown-up in some respects, but it's a strange and stunning love letter to Italy through the Ghibli lens, about a charming fighter pilot pig.

I'd also recommend, not necessarily for the kids:

Whisper of the Heart, a slice-of-life high school drama/romance but that does it a massive disservice. Again, the opening theme, titles and scene setting is peak Ghibli for me, and the varied use of Country Roads throughout makes me very misty-eyed.

Ocean Waves is another slice-of-life romantic drama. It's so full of longing and bittersweet truths about what love is as a teenager and as an adult. I've only seen it once but it's stuck with me for fifteen years.
Ghibli is life man! One of the movies that I haven't seen yet is Porco Rosso! Ghibli really are masters of their craft.

My favorite has to be either Howl's Moving Castle or Kiki's Delivery Service. Grave of the Fireflies is also great (albeit a total gut punch).

My movie I'm about to watch:

Dredd (2012)

Absolutely love the Sylvester Stallone movie for its cheese and I only heard amazing things about Dredd!

Re: Whatcha Been Watching?

Posted: August 11th, 2020, 12:37 pm
by Angry_Kurt
A couple of weeks ago on TCGS there was a listener question about film endings which have stuck with you and Mat's answer was Requiem for a Dream. I had heard of the film but knew literally nothing about it. I saw it was leaving Amazon Prime soon so decided to watch it last night. To say I was not prepared is an understatement.

It is definitely the bleakest and most depressing film I have ever seen, but despite this I loved it and agree that the ending will stay with me for a long time. The last 30 minutes are particularly grim. I was thoroughly engrossed throughout, the editing was excellent, really got across the state of mind the characters were in and got you as close as possible to feeling those feelings yourself without taking drugs.

I thought First Reformed was a bleak film, but in comparison it is a Saturday morning cartoon. Definitely make sure your in the right frame of mind before watching it. I will check out the directors other work, but not in a hurry.