Sat, 2020-Sep-12 18:58 (BST)
I'm currently watching through all the seasons of Red Dwarf on Netflix. Any fans? For those that have never heard about it, it's a UK TV sci-fi sitcom that started in the late 80's, It's kind of like the Rick & Morty of its day.
I have mixed feelings going back. I do like the way they'll end an episode with no resolve though. Sometimes I feel we can work to hard too try and button up a plot when it's really not needed.
Night Train.
Worth. Every. Cent. Awesome movie!
Lazy Susan with Sean Hayes, loved it.
I subscribed to Shudder. It's very cheap. And I saw an original on there called Watcher. It was very good, if you like Thrillers.
There's a very unusual four-part mini series on PBS Passport, "Marriage" with Sean Bean and Nicola Walker. It's ultra realistic and could have been awful with a less talented cast.
The script's by Stefan Golaszewski.
I also binged season one of 2007's "Mistresses" on Kanopy. (courtesy of our local library. !0 free credits per month.) It was good to see Sharon Small all dolled up and looking gorgeous in a lead role. I remember her as a rather dowdy DS in the Inspector Lynley mysteries.
There's a very unusual four-part mini series on PBS Passport, "Marriage" with Sean Bean and Nicola Walker. It's ultra realistic and could have been awful with a less talented cast.
The script's by Stefan Golaszewski.
I also binged season one of 2007's "Mistresses" on Kanopy. (courtesy of our local library. !0 free credits per month.) It was good to see Sharon Small all dolled up and looking gorgeous in a lead role. I remember her as a rather dowdy DS in the Inspector Lynley mysteries.
Yesterday I finished a Norwegian Netflix series named RAGNARÖK.
As the name suggests the story revolves around some rather well known gods. But the approach is very unique and down to earth. I found the English dubbing not to be so great but it did not matter to me because I saw the German version. And if there is one thing the German industry does well it is dubbing.
It was great fun to watch anyway!
Streaming has ruined my life. With Amazon, Hulu and Netflx at the ready on my desktop, I have no reason to leave the house and binge watch all manner of drek.
Speaking of Netflix, last night I saw "Shaitaan" which is available right now on Netflix in my country (Germany). It's a 2024 Indian Horror movie and I have not seen such a smart and gripping horror movie in a while. Also it did not contain any common clichés I am familiar with. If you like intellegent horror I recommend you see it as long as it is available on Netflix. Highly entertaining :-)
Lucky Grandma, debut feature of Sasie Sealy. Grandma's a badass and takes on the mob.
I rewatched Summer Lease written by John Mortimer (love his Rumpole series too) starring John Gielgud as a rather lovable old reprobate.
Also, laughed through Martin Amis's Ending UP, with John Mills as a waspish old grump playing practical jokes on his housemates with disastrous results.
Both tv series have wonderful ensemble casts.
The Wall (German: Die Wand) is a 2012 Austrian-German drama film written and directed by Julian Pölsler and starring Martina Gedeck.[3] Based on the 1963 novel Die Wand by Austrian writer Marlen Haushofer and adapted for the screen by Julian Pölsler, the film is about a woman who visits with friends at their hunting lodge in the Austrian Alps. Left alone while her friends walk to a nearby village, the woman soon discovers she is cut off from all human contact by a mysterious invisible wall. With her friends' loyal dog Lynx as her companion, she lives the next three years in isolation looking after her animals. The Wall was filmed on location in the Salzkammergut region of the Austrian Alps.[4] The film was selected as the Austrian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 86th Academy Awards,[5] but it was not nominated.
Picked this up on Amazon Prime. A strange (introverted) movie in the enigma genre which I enjoyed.
I watched Legend the other week and was pleasantly surprised. Then I saw it was a Brian Helgeland film and it all made sense.
The Long Good Friday (1979) - again. Both Dame Helen Mirren and Pierce Brosnan's first movie, the latter having a non speaking role. Considered by many to be the UK's greatest gangster film - which I just don't get. However, the music is amazing. As for the final scene in the back of the Jaguar, probably one of the best film endings ever. The politics behind this film is intriguing; Monty Pythons Eric Idle recommending it to George Harrison's company HandMade Films (Life of Brian), whose investment allowed it to be released in its original format, uncut and without Bob Hopkins London accent being dubbed over by a voiceover artist with a Wolverhampton accent, for the American audience. How on earth a Wolverhampton accent was going to make it easier for an American to understand, I'll never fathom out.
I saw Strange Darling one week ago. I had certain expactations from the trailer but the movie managed to be differend, more uncomfortable and better than I expected...a lot better!
For a week now I have had this movie on my mind constantly and the music (which is written for the movie by Z Berg and absolutely beautiful) is in my ears all the time. The story is gripping and keeps you on the edge of your seat while everything that penetrates your eyes and ears is nothing less than beautiful and of absolute aesthetic coherence. When I think about my screenplay this is the kind of feel I would be aiming for.
I have not seen a work of art like this in a long time and this is my favorite movie in 2024 so far. It might not be everyones cup of tea but I feel like most poeple who are passionate about movies will recognise that there is something special about it. Before seeing it I was worried it might be just a gimmick trying to impress with a mix of spectacular elements but after seeing it I understand this could not be further away from being a gimmick.
To me it is always a good sign when a movie does not let go of me for days. I am curious what other folks think of it because so far I talked to noone who saw it.
My five cents on Strange Darling
I'm currently watching The Good Wife. Like Mad Men, It's a highly addictive soap opera but set in a law firm in Chicago instead of Madison Avenue.
Yes, there's a new Good Wife channel on PlutoTV and I'm really enjoying it. They also show The Good Fight and I'm taking to that too. The first few seasons of both shows are available on demand.
I've rewatched the first three Indiana Jones movies. They have not aged well LOL.
after a 3-year wait, the second and final season of *Arcane* is on Netflix – woohoo! – beautiful animation, great world-building, complex characters etc – i'm not a gamer (sadly), so i can tell you that you don't have to be, to enjoy this series
the headlines say the two seasons cost $250M to produce, which is 'correct', but it should be noted that the actual making of the series cost $166M, with the rest of the money going to marketing and various other sundries
The Substance with Demi Moore. Amazing film that completely lost me at the last 20 minutes with the whole Elisabeth/Sue monster. It was like I was watching a whole different movie at that point. The only saving grace was the last few seconds where Elisabeth dies over her Hollywood Star. Overall, pretty disappointed.
YouTube Shorts: For those of us with short attention spans, try YouTube Shorts.
Rewatched "Belonging" with Brenda Blethyn, Kevin Whately and a wonderful cast of quirky characters. Ditto with "The Detectorists".
Also watched "Tenure", a good natured poke of fun at academia.
I consume a lot. Not a fan of a lot of the heavily USA styled series. Rewatched "Birds of Prey" yesterday and Steel Town Murders the day before.
I'm watching "Secret Level" on Amazon Prime and a few anime series on Hulu and Crunchyroll. I grew up watching old 80s and 90s anime, which inspired my writing, including reading comic books.
I'm watching Chernobyl for the eighth time, it's really good
The Day of the Jackal (Sky) - a ten part miniseries. Indifferent, though Eddie Redmayne plays a superb role.
I watched The Lincoln Lawyer, which was just bizarre. Full of plotholes, and the protagonist not only drives while heavily drunk, but also ends with them willing to help a biker gang out with a member that's been caught with fifty kilos of what's clearly drugs. I just couldn't figure out what the story was trying to say, and it felt like the script had suffered from a lot of interference. People like it though, and there's perhaps something to be learned from that.
I also watched Replicas which, again, wasn't to my personal taste, but know people like. The big take home for me was that even the biggest stars out there, when faced with a limited budget, still make what feels like a low-budget film, with the same limitations and compromises.
On the TV side, I've been watching Shrinking (Apple TV), Minx (HBO), and Penguin (HBO)
On the movie side, some recent watches/rewatches: Greenberg, the Outfit, The End of the Tour, Nebraska, Broken Flowers, and born to be blue.
I forget to mention that I watched Furiousa on the plane ride home from the states this year. I have to say, as a huge Mad Max nerd and someone who thought the trailer looked dreadful, I kinda wanted to hate it, but I actually thought it was really good. Sure, the effects are comically bad in places, but there's good reason why. My only complaint was how the ending seemed to steal defeat from the jaws of victory. They could have just left the last scene out and it would have ended perfectly.
I saw Northman and Furiosa within a month of one another; both are revenge flicks but from past and future eras, interestingly enough. But as for Furiosa, I've seen it twice now, and I would again. Yes, for me too its ending really got under my skin. Maybe that's what they wanted to do - don't we all crave for a memorable ending. But of all of the evil villains in movie history, Hemsworth was far from the worst - yet this was truly a horrible fate. Yet, in the standoff scene in the desert just beforehand, I almost interpreted a bit of reconciliation between the two characters. Oh well, now with disappointing box office the lords-that-be say there can't be any more stories. Miller has to dream a bit (lot) smaller, I guess, or sell the rights to somebody with lots of money.
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