TV/Movies Megathread

[mongers]

Eventually got around to watching 'Hot Fuzz', OK probably worth another view in the future.   

[Ed Anger]

I skip the Bastogne episodes. BORING

The French nurse is pretty easy on the eyes IIRC.

Yes. But that episode makes my skin crawl.

[Ideologue]

[spoiler]Back-up back-up: full-scale domestic terrorism. [/spoiler]

With what we saw at the beginning of the resumption of the show--[spoiler]between the house burned down and an M-60 in the trunk--I'm sorta leaning that way myself.   [/spoiler]

You know what bothered me there?  [spoiler]The house being used as a den of iniquity and skatebording, but the rest of the neighborhood is the same middle-class suburb it's always been.  Do the cops in ABQ suck that much?  Well, given the previous five seasons, I suppose that is a possibility. [/spoiler]

(And something that bothers me very mildly about the whole show: while I appreciate Breaking Bad's extravagant boosting of the STEM, or useful, fields, it takes a virtually magical approach to drug manufacture.  Is making methamphetamine really so artful and random that lab techs simply cannot follow a set of directions and produce identical results every time?  I mean, Gayle was like a real chemist with actual pharmaceutical experience: he really can't refine the process to get the 99% purity rates and that blue color?  It's not like he's synthesizing a different molecule each time.  And yes, I realize that without Heisenberg's specialness, there's no show--Gus kills him the first time he negatively impacts shareholder value--but, seriously, what is with that?)

[CountDeMoney]

(And something that bothers me very mildly about the whole show: while I appreciate Breaking Bad's extravagant boosting of the STEM, or useful, fields, it takes a virtually magical approach to drug manufacture.  Is making methamphetamine really so artful and random that lab techs simply cannot follow a set of directions and produce identical results every time?  I mean, Gayle was like a real chemist with actual pharmaceutical experience: he really can't refine the process to get the 99% purity rates and that blue color?  It's not like he's synthesizing a different molecule each time.  And yes, I realize that without Heisenberg's specialness, there's no show--Gus kills him the first time he negatively impacts shareholder value--but, seriously, what is with that?)

Not the first time science crunchiness has been streamlined for the sake of plot. 

And besides, Gayle's batch was sabotaged by Walter on purpose to save his own ass, what with the issue over the alleged screw up over the temperature gauge.

[Ideologue]

Oh yeah.  I forgot about that.

Whenever the whole series is out, if I've got the scratch, I may get it on BD (or may not; it is, after all, perfectly watchable on Netflix... but forever? who knows).  Definitely want to do a rewatch.

In other news, Ghostbusters and the Toy Story trilogy came today.   Those Toy Story BDs have some preposterously large boxes, almost the twice volume of a normal movie.  Wasteful.

[katmai]

Bought smart tv with 3D this past week.
So far picked up Hobbit, life of PI and Star Trek in 3D.
Like the 3D better at home then I did in theater.
Also picked up Shaun if the Dead, Hot Fuzz and Evil Dead on blu ray to boot.

[Eddie Teach]

And yes, I realize that without Heisenberg's specialness, there's no show--Gus kills him the first time he negatively impacts shareholder value--but, seriously, what is with that?)

Eh, Gus didn't arrive on the scene 'til the 3rd season or so. They'd have just had to go a different direction.

[Ideologue]

I dunno.  No Gus, no show.  His antagonism was indispensable.

But anyway, my main point is that I imagine any trained chemist would be able, with the proper lab equipment, to produce chemically pure methamphetamine.  I mean, methamphetamine is legally produced right now as Desoxyn.  And even if Walter created the process, which I strongly doubt, once you have a process, that process can be replicated, and I doubt there's any tough nut to crack in the process of creating a drug which has been synthesized in factories and labs for like sixty years.

[Eddie Teach]

I would agree that it got better after Gus arrived, but it was hardly "no show" before that. I mean, why would I have been watching it then?

[Ideologue]

Waiting for Gus.  [spoiler]Also to see Q slam two airliners into each other.  Before that, to see Q's daughter take her top off.[/spoiler]

[Admiral Yi]

But anyway, my main point is that I imagine any trained chemist would be able, with the proper lab equipment, to produce chemically pure methamphetamine.

The episode I caught in which the sidekick tried to go solo made the claim that the tricky part is correct crystalization.  So maybe art more than science.

[Eddie Teach]

Trying to entertain myself while on the elliptical machine and treadmill has led me to be more like Yi in my movie-watching habits lately. I've seen parts of a movie where James Woods defends a Korean dude framed for a murder(True Believer) and another where Pam Grier takes on a yacht full of rich white thugs(Sheba, Baby). Today, I saw the end of one where Chris Rock runs for President(Head of State). It was mostly retarded, but the part where he and brother/running mate Bernie Mac heckle his opponent into agreeing to a debate made me laugh.

[CountDeMoney]

'Breaking Bad' Spinoff, 'Better Call Saul,' Is Picked Up by AMC
By BILL CARTER

The news for "Breaking Bad" fans isn't all bleak, as their much-loved series draws to a close.

Saul Goodman will be back in his own series.

AMC and the Sony Pictures Television announced on Wednesday that "Better Call Saul" — the long-rumored spinoff of "Breaking Bad" — is going forward, with Bob Odenkirk set to star as Saul, the morally compromised lawyer who has represented the meth dealers Walter White and Jesse Pinkman.

The news behind the announcement is that AMC is the network that wound up with the show. Despite the iconic status achieved by "Breaking Bad," the network did not jump to buy the spinoff; that hesitation allowed several other networks to express serious interest in picking it up.

The negotiations went down to the wire, according to one executive briefed on the details. AMC had an exclusive negotiating period, but no deal was in place by the time that ended. Out of consideration for the partnership over "Breaking Bad," however, the period was extended and AMC and Sony concluded a deal.

The planned series, which does not yet have a date to go on the air, will be a prequel rather than a sequel — which, for rabid "Bad" fans, who continue to obsess over every possible outcome of the series, means the Saul character does not necessarily survive. The new show will cover the evolution of Saul into the colorful character "Bad" fans have come to love.

And for giggles, some of Saul's greatest lines:

http://youtu.be/bBeQO1nBThQ

[CountDeMoney]

An Early Start on Promoting a Mini-Series Spoof Set for January
By STUART ELLIOTT

AS viewers are inundated with promotions for the new fall television series, which start appearing next week, the IFC cable channel is beginning to beat the drum for a show that does not make its debut until January.

The show, "The Spoils of Babylon," is a six-part series on IFC about a wealthy oil family that will spoof, in over-the-top fashion, the mini-series like "Roots" and "The Winds of War" that were mainstays of the broadcast networks in the 1970s and 1980s. The first commercial meant to whet appetites for "The Spoils of Babylon" is planned to begin running on Friday, the start of a three-month campaign with a budget estimated at more than $3 million.

The promotional effort for "The Spoils of Babylon" will include, in addition to commercials on IFC, commercials on other cable channels and in movie theaters; ads in magazines like Entertainment Weekly and The New Yorker; and ads on Web sites like The Huffington Post, The Onion and Vulture.

The Taco Bell division of Yum Brands, a major sponsor of "The Spoils of Babylon," will be involved in the campaign, in ways that are still being determined. The sponsorship may have a content marketing aspect — that is, weaving Taco Bell into the plot of the show — as well as Taco Bell buying conventional commercials during the show.

Some unconventional tactics will be used to publicize "The Spoils of Babylon," which IFC is producing with Funny or Die, known for its creation of comic content for Web sites and television. For instance, there will be displays in Hudson News stores for a book, also titled "The Spoils of Babylon," on which the show is supposedly based.

But a central jest of the campaign is that the book does not exist, nor does its putative author, Eric Jonrosh; savvy viewers will probably figure that out when they see the comedian Will Ferrell — a partner in Funny or Die — as Mr. Jonrosh. So the displays at Hudson News, which will proclaim that the novel is "now an epic television event on IFC," will always be empty, as if the book is continuously sold out.

The campaign also will have a cause marketing aspect in partnership with Little Free Library, an organization that promotes literacy; the joke is that literacy is Mr. Jonrosh's pet cause because he wants everyone to be able to read his masterpieces. IFC will help the organization place small "pop-up" libraries, stocked with free (real) books, around New York.

The campaign is being created internally at IFC with help from Funny or Die. Fallon in Minneapolis, part of the Publicis Groupe, handles the media planning.

The campaign is another example of how media and entertainment companies that sell commercial time and advertising space are increasingly becoming buyers, too.

"The Spoils of Babylon" is part of a programming strategy at IFC that seeks to establish a new identity for the channel, which is part of AMC Networks. Once a niche choice for viewers seeking movies outside the Hollywood mainstream — IFC stands for Independent Film Channel — IFC now wants to be known for original comedy content.

"This show continues IFC down the path of alternative and what we like to call 'slightly off' comedies," said Jennifer Caserta, president and general manager at IFC, quoting the channel's marketing theme, which is "Always on. Slightly off."

"The concept and the sensibility of this project are a perfect match," Ms. Caserta said, for IFC series like "Comedy Bang! Bang!," "Maron" and "Portlandia."

Juliet Corsinita, senior director for media and brand sponsorships at Taco Bell, said it was the "new original programming" at IFC "that piqued our interest" and led the company to become an advertiser on the channel for the first time.

"It sounds like the show is going to be a lot of fun," she added. "Apparently, Mr. Jonrosh really loves Taco Bell."

At Funny or Die, "The Spoils of Babylon" was written by Andrew Steele, also a producer of the show, and Matt Piedmont, the director. "We were both children in the '70s and remember 'Roots,' 'The Winds of War,' 'The Thorn Birds,' 'Shogun,' and how they were staples on television," said Mr. Steele, the creative director at Funny or Die.

"It was a time there were only three networks," he added. "We watched a lot of stuff we probably wouldn't watch today."

Although the campaign is straight-faced, those involved with "The Spoils of Babylon" are confident the potential audience will realize it is a lampoon.

"We try not to point to the joke," said Blake Callaway, senior vice president for marketing at IFC. Still, viewers should be able to figure it out from elements like "the overproduction" of the commercials, he added, and overheated descriptions of Mr. Jonrosh as "the undisputed master of dramatic fiction."

On the other hand, a recent ad for an actual novel, "Winter of the World," by an actual author, Ken Follett, called it "the tale of the century from the master of historical fiction."

[Malthus]

(And something that bothers me very mildly about the whole show: while I appreciate Breaking Bad's extravagant boosting of the STEM, or useful, fields, it takes a virtually magical approach to drug manufacture.  Is making methamphetamine really so artful and random that lab techs simply cannot follow a set of directions and produce identical results every time?  I mean, Gayle was like a real chemist with actual pharmaceutical experience: he really can't refine the process to get the 99% purity rates and that blue color?  It's not like he's synthesizing a different molecule each time.  And yes, I realize that without Heisenberg's specialness, there's no show--Gus kills him the first time he negatively impacts shareholder value--but, seriously, what is with that?)

It's a definite weakness of the series - you just have to take it on faith that Heisenberg has some sort of unique talent for producing meth on an industrial scale. Otherwise,  if any reasonably trained industrial chemist could pump it out on a large scale - which I suspect is true - much of the show doesn't make sense.