TV/Movies Megathread

[Admiral Yi]

I honestly don't understand how Rogen gets any work at all.

[Grey Fox]

He's Ceech for a new generation.

[Admiral Yi]

Cheech Marin, like Cheech and Chong?

[Grey Fox]

Yes.

[celedhring]

Steve Jobs (2015), or Aaron Sorkin really hates geeks. The film is Sorkin overkill; if you like his talkie style (I do) you'll love this. If don't, you'll find it immensely aggravating. Absolutely everything - and I mean *everything* is given through rapid-fire dialogue. Exposition, character backgrounds, feelings, doubts. It's easy to switch off in the middle of the whirlwind of words, though, and often the film cries for a bit of breathing space. Sorkin seems to have created a true word opera. I can see why the film wasn't successful. If it wasn't for the fact that Boyle's direction is actually pretty good here (subdued, but energetic and dynamic) this could be a play.

The film pretty much follows on the "brilliant techie guy who's a total cunt in real life" theme from The Social Network - and it's pretty on the nose -, but I find this film to be better than that one. For starters, Jobs is a more interesting character, Fassbender a much better lead, and Boyle's simple but energetic direction style fits Sorkin's word onslaught much better than Fincher's theatricality.

I don't know enough about Jobs' real life to know whether all the stuff that's on the movie is an exaggerated or reasonably based on facts, but he comes across pretty badly as a person.

[CountDeMoney]

"brilliant techie guy who's a total cunt in real life" theme from The Social Network - and it's pretty on the nose -,

that's because it's not too far from the truth with that crowd.

I don't know enough about Jobs' real life to know whether all the stuff that's on the movie is an exaggerated or reasonably based on facts, but he comes across pretty badly as a person.

Between the interviews, the tell-alls, the biographies, etc., since his death, that seems to be a consistent theme throughout.

[Admiral Yi]

Silicon Valley season premier at 10:52 Central.

[Eddie Teach]

Silicon Valley season premier at 10:52 Central.

I think it premiered last Sunday.

[Admiral Yi]

K

[Eddie Teach]

The Hateful Eight. I think Tarantino's lost his mojo.

[Martinus]

This seems like a good week - Game of Thrones, Silicon Valley and Veep premiered last Sunday and today it's Penny Dreadful.

Incidentally, is Silicon Valley good? I kinda watched the pilot 2 years ago and it did not draw me in but people are saying it is hillarious. Worth catching up?

[lustindarkness]

The Jungle Book, very good, well done, does justice to original story too.

[Eddie Teach]

Incidentally, is Silicon Valley good? I kinda watched the pilot 2 years ago and it did not draw me in but people are saying it is hillarious. Worth catching up?

I think it's hilarious, but I quit watching Veep after 7 minutes of painfully forced jokes in the pilot. YMMV, obviously.

[Admiral Yi]

Why are they showing a Silicon Valley repeat tonight? 

[Savonarola]

The Vagabond Lover (1929)

Rudy Vallee (sort of the Justin Bieber of the late 20s) stars in his first motion picture as a small town band leader.  His band goes to Long Island in order to meet and impress a famed saxophone correspondence course instructor (just play along with the premise.)  The correspondence course instructor, tired of being bother runs off, leaving the band in his home.  A wealthy matron mistakes Rudy Vallee for the correspondence course instructor and all sorts of wacky hi-jinks ensue.  Best line:

Rudy:  Are we going to hide behind a woman's skirts? 
Entire band:  YES!

Musicians never change, anyhow Rudy is pretty wooden as an actor in the film.  He got quite a bit better as his career progressed, ultimately staring in "The Palm Beach Story."  His singing was the reason everyone went to see the show; he was one of the very first crooners.  Prior to recorded sound and radio, singers had to have powerful voices to fill a concert hall.  With the new technology a softer croon became all the rage.  During the non-singing parts Marie Dressler steals the show as the eccentric matron.  She'd go on to have character parts in a number of early 30s films (she had a career as a silent actress too, she's "Tillie" in the very early Charlie Chaplin films.)