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CuriousG
Half-elven
Feb 13 2019, 6:17pm
Post #1 of 56
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What are you watching?
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I think we're due for this to pop up again. (And I hope all is well with Aragorn the Elfstone.)
I've been bingeing lately and have a few things to recommend:
Movie: Ant-Man and the Wasp: going for humor more than most Marvel movies do, and it worked for me. It wasn't overtly self-conscious like Deadpool, but I really liked the line where Ant-Man interrupted the technobabble to say, "Do you guys just put the word 'quantum' in front of everything?"
Crime/conspiracy thrillers:
The Tunnel: English and French police have to cooperate to solve a crime committed precisely on the border between them in the Channel Tunnel, and the investigation takes unexpected twists and turns, plus the characters have complicated personal lives. I think what stood out for me the most was how minor characters that were only going to be in 1-2 episodes were fleshed out much more than usual--you didn't get their whole life story, of course, but you got a strong idea of who they are. They were much more than "the guy who gets shot in Episode 3." For me, the best part of this series was the first 8 episodes of Season/Series 1.
Secret City: if you're not Australian, you might forget (like me) that Canberra is the capital (sorry!), and this was all about intrigue in government and international plotting, spying, treachery, etc. It didn't always go in the direction I expected, which I appreciated. A thriller/mystery is supposed to tease you and keep you guessing without being too predictable. The acting was first-rate.
The Bodyguard: A British war veteran is assigned as the bodyguard for the Home Secretary, and intrigue swirls all around him. On the one hand, I liked how the show kept me guessing, dangling some minor clues that sometimes turn into major ones, and others that teach you not to jump to conclusions. On the other hand, there were some improbable scenarios that required a heavy foot on the Pedal Which Suspends Disbelief. I enjoyed it anyway.
What have you been watching?
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Annael
Immortal
Feb 13 2019, 10:41pm
Post #2 of 56
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lessee, since the last time we had this thread ...
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I saw "Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse" in the theater. AWESOME.Loved it. Probably will see again.
At home, we rented "Widows," which was very good, with excellent acting. (Cynthia Erivo stole the show, imo.) But I thought way too much time was given to the bad guys and their machinations with each other over an election; that was backstory, really (and Robert de Niro's character was backstory to the backstory and not needed at all). I wanted more time with the widows themselves and how they became a team. Also, because of all that time spent with the bad guys, it took too long to get to the actual caper, which happened and was over with way too fast, so one didn't even have time to be apprehensive about "will they pull it off"?
But Daniel Kaluuya was one scary bad guy.
As we were stuck at home because of the snow that hit Seattle last week, we binged "A Discovery of Witches." Excellently done, better than the book . . . both are quite slow-paced, something critics fault the author for, but when the screen version involves stunning locales (Oxford, Venice, upstate New York) and fabulous casting (Matthew Goode was the perfect choice for Matthew Clairmont as was Lindsey Duncan for Isabeau), I'm happy to sit and watch. Good to know that they will be filming the rest of the trilogy. Maybe the scriptwriters can fix some of the problems in the books.
I'm a devotee of "Star Trek: Discovery." Best of the Treks imho. Also I have a huge crush on Captain Christopher Pike. Which seems to stand no matter who plays him. Pike is the ideal captain.
My dad & I have become hooked on "Murdoch Mysteries." We live close enough to the border that we get Canadian channels, and we're enjoying this series very much.
What else? Project Runway AllStars, NCIS, and "The Magicians" are back! Yay! Love that show.
Also, I've been watching the Kids Baking Championship because 1. these kids know far more about baking than I ever will and 2. they are so adorable!
I am a dreamer of words, of written words. I think I am reading; a word stops me. I leave the page. The syllables of the words begin to move around … The words take on other meanings as if they had the right to be young.
-- Gaston Bachelard
* * * * * * * * * *
NARF and member of Deplorable Cultus since 1967
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CuriousG
Half-elven
Feb 13 2019, 11:24pm
Post #3 of 56
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Rating ST: Discovery as the best of them is interesting. I feel a bit trekked out, as in "how many more stories can they retell, and how many more disappointing Vulcans speaking in a snarky monotone can they come up with?" But sounds like I need to try at least one episode. I did like Sonequa Martin-Green a lot from The Walking Dead, so it would be worth seeing her again.
And Disc of Witches sounds intriguing.
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cats16
Half-elven
Feb 14 2019, 4:33am
Post #4 of 56
(1933 views)
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Shoplifters: Didn't love it the way others have, but it's well made. Solid performances all around.
High Flying Bird: Steven Soderbergh's next iPhone-shot movie is on Netflix. It's about an NBA agent attempting to play the game behind the game as he deals with a top-tier rookie client during a lengthy league lockout. It's a snappy script (the writer of Moonlight wrote it) and has Soderbergh's wit all over it. A bit inside baseball with the sports stuff (though intentional, I'd say), but fun enough and has things to say about labor/unionization underneath it all.
Punch-Drunk Love: I hadn't seen this until now, somehow. An Adam Sandler art film, indeed. I would almost not believe that Paul Thomas Anderson directed this. It's an outlier in his ouevre, but a befuddingly curious one. It's very odd, but in the best of ways. Currently on Netflix. PTA's film The Master is also on Netflix now.
I've been watching Twin Peaks for the first time, too. Wow, wish I had done this sooner. So ahead of its time. I just started season 2, and it's starting to get a lil' weirder and a lil' more David Lynch-y. I like it.
Oh, and I watched the movie Mikey and NIcky, which floored me. Directed by Elaine May, starring buddies Peter Falk and John Cassavetes. Highly recommend.
So far I'm at 35 movies for the year. Need to kick it into high gear!
Join us every weekend in the Hobbit movie forum for this week's CHOW (Chapter of the Week) discussion!
(This post was edited by cats16 on Feb 14 2019, 4:34am)
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grammaboodawg
Immortal
Feb 14 2019, 1:51pm
Post #5 of 56
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Last weekend was a free movie channel viewing spree
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Sadly, 99% of the movies playing on 5 channels over 4 days only offered one treasure that I'm longing to get! More sadly is that it's not available in Region 1 North America format *whimper*
"Pork Pie" stars our feisty dwarf, Fili -- Dean O'Gorman :D I LOVE this movie! He is such a riot in this and plays SO GREAT with his fellow "outlaws" played by James Rolleston and Ashleigh Cummings.
It's a kiwi film that really highlights the beauty of New Zealand! It's like LotR that the lands are another character in the story... and the roads... and the car!
"Pork Pie tracks the escapades of a trio of accidental outlaws [and female a fast-food escapee and free-spirit] as they travel the length of the New Zealand in a yellow mini cooper, protesting conformity and chasing lost love, with a posse of cops and a media frenzy hot in their pursuit." -imdb
When they say the length of NZ, it's true! Rolleston's character is a former race-car driver, so he knew how to take that mini through its paces!! And it had me up and jumping when there was a car chase in Wellington right past my beloved Quest hotel in Lambton Quay! And raced they through all my streets I love so much! *squeeeeeee!*
    
We have been there and back again.
TIME Google Calendar
(This post was edited by grammaboodawg on Feb 14 2019, 1:52pm)
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Annael
Immortal
Feb 14 2019, 2:51pm
Post #6 of 56
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1. Other "Treks" have 2-3 women and 6 men in leading roles. "Discovery" (did they realize that works out to "ST:D"?) has an equal balance. Same with people of color; where the others would have 2, "Discovery" is truly diverse as to color, ethnicity, and even body shape.
2. No giant reset button. When things go bad, they stay bad, and there are lasting consequences.
3. Doug Jones, who can act through LAYERS of latex rubber while wearing high heels to make his alien character seven feet tall.
4. Scriptwriters very cleverly fixing plot holes in ST canon as part of the story (like why Klingons look different at different times in history and why the Enterprise of the original series didn't have holograms).
5. Rainn Wilson as Harcourt Fenton Mudd.
6. Michelle Yeoh stealing the show in a double role.
7. Actually, pretty much every character. Excellent casting all around, some famous actors, lots of unknowns getting their shot.
As for the Vulcans, all we've had so far is Sarek, who is played by James Frain beautifully; one sees the empathy beneath the cool logical front. Amanda also gets a real presence. We will get to meet young Spock this season; already getting a good idea why his loyalty to Pike led him to risk his career with Starfleet later. Because:
8. Anson Mount as Christopher Pike.
I am a dreamer of words, of written words. I think I am reading; a word stops me. I leave the page. The syllables of the words begin to move around … The words take on other meanings as if they had the right to be young.
-- Gaston Bachelard
* * * * * * * * * *
NARF and member of Deplorable Cultus since 1967
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Annael
Immortal
Feb 14 2019, 2:56pm
Post #7 of 56
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I took Italian for a while, and my teacher was a "Twin Peaks" fan. So we learned useful phrases like "who killed Laura Palmer?" and "the owls are not what they seem."*
My brother lives in Snoqualmie, Washington, which is where most of it was filmed. The restaurant where Agent Cooper gets his pie & coffee is still there, but the garage became a kite/toy store for a while and now seems to be shut up. I don't think they do tours any more.
* I guffi non sono qui apperanno
I am a dreamer of words, of written words. I think I am reading; a word stops me. I leave the page. The syllables of the words begin to move around … The words take on other meanings as if they had the right to be young.
-- Gaston Bachelard
* * * * * * * * * *
NARF and member of Deplorable Cultus since 1967
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Lily Fairbairn
Half-elven
Feb 14 2019, 3:34pm
Post #8 of 56
(1884 views)
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Crazy Rich Asians is a fairly standard rom-com made remarkable by the Asian cast and setting. The ostentatious display of wealth (and entitlement) added a fantasy element to the story, although I thought the wedding scene was too over-the-top even for a fantasy.
I've gotten to know Constance Wu from her role as the mother in Fresh Off the Boat, so had a bit of difficulty seeing her in the ingenue role. She won me over, though, especially since CRA's Rachel has a softer edge than FotB's Jessica.
Christopher Robin is a pleasant, quiet, utterly predictable movie about Winnie-the-Pooh's Christopher Robin all grown up, starting to collapse beneath the weight of adult responsibility, and rediscovering his whimsical side. It's almost cloying in its sentimentality, but then, a dose of sentimentality every now and then is a good thing. So are happy, positive endings.
Mamma Mia, Here We Go Again. I enjoyed this more than I thought I would, mainly because I wasn't expecting much of a story---both Mamma Mia movies are excuses to sing ABBA songs. I got music, color, attractive actors, and an intriguing structure in that this is both a sequel to the original movie and a prequel to it. The two story lines with two sets of actors in two time periods were knitted together skillfully.
Where now the horse and the rider? Where is the horn that was blowing?
Where is the helm and the hauberk, and the bright hair flowing?
Where is the hand on the harpstring, and the red fire glowing?
Where is the spring and the harvest and the tall corn growing?
They have passed like rain on the mountain, like a wind in the meadow;
The days have gone down in the West behind the hills into shadow....
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CuriousG
Half-elven
Feb 14 2019, 3:50pm
Post #9 of 56
(1879 views)
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Speaking of Wellington movies: "What We Do In The Shadows"
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I would say this isn't even a genre I like that much, but I really enjoyed watching "What We Do In The Shadows" recently. I enjoyed "Thor: Ragnarok" a lot, and Taika Waititi seemed to have a lot of creative control in that movie, so watching his comedy-documentary about vampire roommates in Wellington was pretty fun.
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Starling
Half-elven
Feb 14 2019, 5:32pm
Post #10 of 56
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You really need to see the original Goodbye Pork Pie, which is a national treasure. It has some really special nostalgic footage for ChCh people now as well.
The remake bombed here. I'm glad you enjoyed your tiki tour around NZ though! 
Speaking of national treasures, I have to admit I could never bring myself to see the Pork Pie remake because of what happened to James Rolleston shortly after filming.
He was involved in a serious car crash and suffered a major head injury, which he will probably never fully recover from.
He has worked super hard on his recovery and is determined to get back to his career.
People in NZ love him and he has had so much support and goodwill from the public, as he takes on small roles in local productions. We all have our fingers crossed for him.
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Kimi
Forum Admin
/ Moderator
Feb 14 2019, 11:03pm
Post #11 of 56
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The crash happened in my old home town
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(he's originally from my old home of Opotiki) which brought it quite literally close to home. I've spent many a happy hour swimming close to that bridge.
Yes, fingers firmly crossed for him.
The Passing of Mistress Rose
My historical novels
Do we find happiness so often that we should turn it off the box when it happens to sit there?
- A Room With a View
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sevilodorf
Tol Eressea
Feb 15 2019, 1:20am
Post #12 of 56
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Fair to good depending on how seriously you take your legends. But I couldn’t resist the LOTR connection as the lead is Andy Serkis’ son Louis.
Fourth Age Adventures at the Inn of the Burping Troll http://burpingtroll.com
Home of TheOneRing.net Best FanFic stories of 2005 and 2006 "The Last Grey Ship" and "Ashes, East Wind, Hope That Rises" by Erin Rua
(Found in Mathoms, LOTR Tales Untold)
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Starling
Half-elven
Feb 15 2019, 2:45am
Post #13 of 56
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I didn't know you were from there
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Yes, that does bring it close to home.Did you see the documentary about him recently? I thought it was very brave and will have given people a valuable insight into the damage and ripple effects of serious head injuries.
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Cygnus
Lorien
Feb 15 2019, 2:48am
Post #14 of 56
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I posted this on the actors thread but I guess I'll put it here too since it's a pretty cool coincidence. I think my wife has only seen a couple episodes of Grey's Anatomy and I'd never seen any. I sat down with her a few minutes tonight and the next thing I know somebody familiar is on there. It took a second to realize who it was. When he spoke I was certain...Pippin... Billy Boyd. This means that I've only ever seen 20 minutes of Grey's Anatomy and there is a LOTR connection!
"I found it is the small things.....everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keeps the darkness at bay.....simple acts of kindness and love." - Gandalf (movie quote)
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Kimi
Forum Admin
/ Moderator
Feb 15 2019, 2:53am
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It does sound brave, and very worthwhile.
Yes, Mr Kimi and I are both from Opotiki originally. We don't often get back there these days (no close family still there).
The Passing of Mistress Rose
My historical novels
Do we find happiness so often that we should turn it off the box when it happens to sit there?
- A Room With a View
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Lissuin
Valinor
Feb 15 2019, 8:40am
Post #18 of 56
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The opening was in Wellington at the Embassy last night, general showings begin in NZ on 21 March. I haven't found any reviews online today. Weird that, but perhaps they've asked them to hold off? This from earlier in Feb describes it well: https://www.google.com/...OMgH_q4kix7sfbj9Q8yU
I won't say more so it will be fresh for you, too.
You may have gotten the idea around here that I love musicals, and this one was splendid. I was very moved, even though I wasn't in New Zealand in the 1960's-80's and don't have the same memories of the well-loved New Zealand pop hits being the background sounds of my youth. There were lots of tears for an assortment of reasons from my age group, including yours truly. In the pre-screening speeches, it was stated that this was meant to be a Kiwi film made by Kiwis for Kiwis, and it was hoped the story and songs would translate well to a world-wide audience. 'The Piano', 'Whale Rider', and 'Hunt for the Wilderpeople' did it with their relatable human themes, and I believe this will too. I'll go again as soon as we can.
They had made vinyl LP's of the soundtrack which were for sale. It was certainly an appropriate idea for the era covered, but I wish they'd had a CD, too. I would have taken it home and been playing it and singing all day today, memories of a great evening.
A TORn-related fact: Mark Mitchinson who plays Eric's father in 'Daffodils' also played Braga, the Master of Laketown's chief enforcer in 'The Hobbit'.
And Bret McKenzie, aka Figwit aka Lindir, was spotted in the lobby. Icing on the cake. 
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grammaboodawg
Immortal
Feb 15 2019, 12:34pm
Post #19 of 56
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Oh geez. My nephew has been living with a head injury from an accident that he wasn't even directly in. He was waiting at a traffic light on his way to work, and a car ran through the red light, hit another car broadside, and they both slammed into my nephew's car. That was 5 years ago, and he's still only able to work 2 days a week and suffers from constant headaches.
Someone like Rolleston, I would think, would have a positive effect on others in understanding about such injuries and what to do to help prevent them.
I saw references to the original "Goodbye Pork Pie" and I'd love to see it. I'll have to check Netflix (which I don't subscribe to) and maybe youtube. I got a copy of "Pork Pie" on ebay even though it won't play on my US machines. I'm hoping someday it can be converted. I'll have to get one of Goodbye, too :)
We have been there and back again.
TIME Google Calendar
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N.E. Brigand
Half-elven
Feb 15 2019, 6:15pm
Post #20 of 56
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Reading: "Who Will Win Best Picture? 20 Oscar Voters Spill Their Secrets".
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A useful reminder that many Academy voters make their decisions for reasons having nothing to do with quality. One of them won't vote for Black Panther because of concerns that Disney already controls too much of the market. Another won't vote for Roma because of fears that Netflix is undercutting cinema viewing. Someone else voted for Vice because its producer is a friend. And there are also voters who criticize films they haven't seen, and voters who won't cast their ballot for their favorite film because they think it won't win.
Here's the article.
Treachery, treachery I fear; treachery of that miserable creature.
But so it must be. Let us remember that a traitor may betray himself and do good that he does not intend.
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Discuss Tolkien's life and works in the Reading Room!
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How to find old Reading Room discussions.
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Ataahua
Forum Admin
/ Moderator
Feb 15 2019, 7:14pm
Post #21 of 56
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I hope it comes to my cinema.
Celebrimbor: "Pretty rings..."
Dwarves: "Pretty rings..."
Men: "Pretty rings..."
Sauron: "Mine's better."
"Ah, how ironic, the addictive qualities of Sauron’s master weapon led to its own destruction. Which just goes to show, kids - if you want two small and noble souls to succeed on a mission of dire importance... send an evil-minded beggar with them too." - Gandalf's Diaries, final par, by Ufthak.
Ataahua's stories
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Kimi
Forum Admin
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Feb 15 2019, 9:02pm
Post #23 of 56
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Thanks for the recommendation!
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I saw the trailer at our local cinema and was quite caught up in it. Your description makes it even more appealing!
The Passing of Mistress Rose
My historical novels
Do we find happiness so often that we should turn it off the box when it happens to sit there?
- A Room With a View
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sevilodorf
Tol Eressea
Feb 16 2019, 6:20am
Post #25 of 56
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Father with PTSD lives in a public park/forest with his teen daughter. Eventually they are caught by rangers and the police who try to provide help the father doesn’t want.
hobbit connection as the daughter is played by Thomasin McKenzie (spelling?) a New Zealand actress who was in Battle of the Five Armies as Astrid ( not that I recognize exactly who that was but it’s on her bio). So basically everything in the world connects back to LOTR in some way shape or formal.
Fourth Age Adventures at the Inn of the Burping Troll http://burpingtroll.com
Home of TheOneRing.net Best FanFic stories of 2005 and 2006 "The Last Grey Ship" and "Ashes, East Wind, Hope That Rises" by Erin Rua
(Found in Mathoms, LOTR Tales Untold)
(This post was edited by sevilodorf on Feb 16 2019, 6:23am)
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