TV/Movies Megathread

[Ed Anger]

Or Minnesota. 

[Josephus]

I binged watched The OA at the suggestion of my son.  I thought it was excellent.  It seems inspired by the themes Eco explored in his books - which is probably why I enjoyed it so much

Interesting to know that. Look forward to watching it.

[viper37]

And Scarlett Johansson just keeps getting more doughy in that leather outfit with each successive movie.

Just like fine wine, she gets better as she ages.

[Ed Anger]

I think she turned into vinegar.

[CountDeMoney]

I like my gals under 125 pounds.

I hear ya.

Don't visit Iowa.

So much starch 

[Tonitrus]

Incorporated.

Partway through episode 2, I couldn't take it anymore.

Evil giant megacorp worrying about their stock prices?  Everyone knows that real evil giant megacorps stay private.

[Eddie Teach]

They can be real evil if they're private, but they can't be real giant.

[jimmy olsen]

And her other novels can be pretty dreary reading, at least the ones I've made an attempt at.

I liked Northanger Abbey

[celedhring]

You score Chinese films too low? Too bad, these men in uniforms want a word with you.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/critics-blamed-chinese-films-disappointing-box-office-959753

A Chinese movie site pulled reviews from professional critics, while leaving amateur ratings unchanged, after high-profile films, including Matt Damon's 'The Great Wall,' performed below expectations.
It's a "solution" that more than one poorly reviewed Hollywood director probably has entertained.

With another batch of high-profile local movies disappointing at China's box office, blame was cast this week in a new direction: on film critics.

During the past two weekends, three would-be blockbusters have opened below expectations in China. Legendary Entertainment's big-budget Chinese co-production The Great Wall, starring Matt Damon, opened to $64.7 million; Alibaba Pictures' romantic comedy See You Tomorrow debuted to $40 million; and Jackie Chan's latest action-comedy, Railroad Tigers, earned $31 million.

Those are sizable numbers, but far less than the $92 million that Mojin — The Last Legend, a local fantasy adventure, opened to during the same period last year.

After averaging 30 percent growth every year for a decade, China's box office has all but flatlined in 2016, inspiring head-scratching and, increasingly, finger pointing throughout the Chinese industry. The most common explanation for the downturn — and one endorsed by Chinese state media — has been the relative low quality of domestic Chinese films in 2016. But the critical consensus that served as the basis for that rationale is now coming under assault, too.

The three new releases all have been met with mostly lukewarm to negative reviews. On Douban, a leading Chinese reviews aggregator similar to Rotten Tomatoes, The Great Wall currently has a score of 4.9 out of 10, while See You Tomorrow sits at a lowly 3.8, and Railroad Tigers at 4.7. Mtime, a similar movie site, has the films rated a little better at 7.0, 5.2 and 6.2, respectively. The sites' scores reflect the reviews of both professional critics and film fans who are registered users.

An editorial published on the mobile site of the People's Daily, the official mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party, on Tuesday said "vicious and irresponsible" reviews written to "grab eyeballs" had caused serious harm to the ecosystem of the Chinese film industry. The article singled out Douban and Maoyan, another influential reviews aggregator and mobile ticketing service, for its "surprisingly low" ratings of the three Chinese films. The piece went on to suggest that Douban's reviews might have been hacked and manipulated.

The sentiment reflects Chinese film studio Le Vision Pictures' response to a negative review earlier this month. The company, which co-produced The Great Wall, posted a statement in the form of a legal letter on its official social media account after an influential online critic issued a scathing one-line review of the film. The critic, who writes under the Weibo handle "Xiedu Film" and counts nearly 750,000 followers, hyperbolically blasted the film's celebrated Chinese director by simply writing "Zhang Yimou has died."

With a budget of over $150 million, The Great Wall is the biggest China-Hollywood co-production ever, and all parties involved had a lot riding on the film.

In the letter, Le Vision characterized the critic's language as an assault on Zhang's reputation, saying it was "akin to libel and cursing [the director]." The studio demanded a retraction and an apology.

Xiedu Film replied by saying that he didn't intend to "curse" Zhang, but meant that The Great Wall signaled the end of Zhang's "artistic career."

The stakes were raised considerably Wednesday when Maoyan removed professional film critics' reviews from its main page in response to the criticism. The Global Times, a nationalist state-backed newspaper, reported Thursday that Douban and Maoyan's offices were visited by officials from media regulator the State Administration of Press Publication, Radio, Film and Television (SAPPRFT).

Zhang Hongsen, film bureau head of the SAPPRFT, denied Thursday that officials intervened in the ratings services' operations, according to local media reports.

Douban's ratings have remained mostly unchanged, while Maoyan's now are now made up exclusively of user-generated scores and stand at 8.4 for The Great Wall, 7.8 for See You Tomorrow and 8.5 for Railroad Tigers.

The controversy has inspired fervent debate on Chinese social media, with some film fans defending the value and integrity of independent criticism, while others argue that reviewers and ratings sites are lacking professionalism and unfairly harming local films. 

So far, Western critics largely have aligned with China's unfiltered critical consensus. "Matt Damon epic delivers spectacle but not soul," said the Guardian of The Great Wall. "Hardly epic," concurred The Hollywood Reporter's review.

THR described Railroad Tigers as a "ploddingly penned Jackie Chan vehicle," but praised the film's action sequences. The South China Morning Post gave See You Tomorrow a 3.5/5 rating, and THR had this to say: "The film is an impermeable melange of shapeless storytelling, rehashed gags, vacuous relationships and painfully over-the-top performances from its usually top-notch cast."

[11B4V]

Actors seek posthumous protections after big-screen resurrections


Tuesday's death of actor Carrie Fisher, who played Princess Leia in "Star Wars," set off waves of remembrance among fans - but also speculation over her character's return in yet-to-be-filmed episodes.

Filmmakers are tapping advances in digital technology to resurrect characters after a performer dies, most notably in "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story." The film, in theaters now, features the return of Grand Moff Tarkin, originally played by a long-dead actor.

The trend has sent Hollywood actors in the here-and-now scrambling to exert control over how their characters and images are portrayed in the hereafter.

"Celebrities are increasingly involved in making plans to protect their intellectual property rights," said Mark Roesler, an attorney and chairman of CMG Worldwide, an agency representing celebrity estates. "They understand that their legacy will continue beyond their lifetime."

Roesler said at least 25 of his clients are engaged in actively negotiating the use of their or their loved ones' computer-generated images in movies, television or commercials. Employment contracts govern how they can be used in a particular film or commercial, while a performer's will can address broader issues.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-film-resurrections-analysis-idUSKBN14J1TU?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FtopNews+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Top+News%29

[CountDeMoney]

Especially for Ideologue, in case he hasn't seen it yet

Wes Anderson's Isle of Dogs

[The Brain]

Pearl Harbor is on TV. Amazing that the Americans were caught napping when they had modern AA ships and everything.

[11B4V]

Poldark, well done so far.

[Eddie Teach]

The OA. Strange but I liked it.

[Berkut]

Mr. Right.

Bizarre movie, but pretty damn fun. Lots of amusing dialogue, I was very pleasantly surprised.