TV/Movies Megathread

[Threviel]

Been watching Vikings S4. Damn it's silly, every civilised nation has soldiers in uniforms and uniformly equipped, Wessex and Mercia especially are very different from one another. Everyone has torches and candles lit mid day and most other lazy tropes are fulfilled. The vikings are dressed like something out of Xena. One thing that might be correct is that the vikings are manicured, has silly make-up and great hair. I don't remember where I read it, but apparently vikings were seen as something like effeminate dandys by the folks they were raping and pillaging.

Ragnar has a python snake in a shed mid winter, I wonder how he got hold of that and by what magical means they keep it alive.

Apparently two sheds by the river with a chain in between is enough to stop a viking army, but no fear, the vikings can lift their ships up a mountain and over miles of land to get through. And apparently the best place for those two "forts" are a few kilometers from Paris, the duke of Normandie couldn't find a better place to block the Seine.

[The Brain]

Been watching Vikings S4. Damn it's silly, every civilised nation has soldiers in uniforms and uniformly equipped, Wessex and Mercia especially are very different from one another. Everyone has torches and candles lit mid day and most other lazy tropes are fulfilled. The vikings are dressed like something out of Xena. One thing that might be correct is that the vikings are manicured, has silly make-up and great hair. I don't remember where I read it, but apparently vikings were seen as something like effeminate dandys by the folks they were raping and pillaging.

Ragnar has a python snake in a shed mid winter, I wonder how he got hold of that and by what magical means they keep it alive.

Apparently two sheds by the river with a chain in between is enough to stop a viking army, but no fear, the vikings can lift their ships up a mountain and over miles of land to get through. And apparently the best place for those two "forts" are a few kilometers from Paris, the duke of Normandie couldn't find a better place to block the Seine.

Don't worry, it gets sillier.

[Duque de Bragança]

Been watching Vikings S4. Damn it's silly, every civilised nation has soldiers in uniforms and uniformly equipped, Wessex and Mercia especially are very different from one another. Everyone has torches and candles lit mid day and most other lazy tropes are fulfilled. The vikings are dressed like something out of Xena. One thing that might be correct is that the vikings are manicured, has silly make-up and great hair. I don't remember where I read it, but apparently vikings were seen as something like effeminate dandys by the folks they were raping and pillaging.

Ragnar has a python snake in a shed mid winter, I wonder how he got hold of that and by what magical means they keep it alive.

Apparently two sheds by the river with a chain in between is enough to stop a viking army, but no fear, the vikings can lift their ships up a mountain and over miles of land to get through. And apparently the best place for those two "forts" are a few kilometers from Paris, the duke of Normandie couldn't find a better place to block the Seine.

Don't worry, it gets sillier.

Was it Rollo?

[The Minsky Moment]

Once you accept that Rollo was running around with mid 9th century Vikings, you can't really expect much more in the way of strict historical accuracy. 

[Threviel]

I don't really mind that they've moved viking characters in time, after all, Rollo was a viking fighting early medieval franks, Ragnar was also a viking fighting early medieval franks. Switching Charles the bald and Charles the simple is not really such a great deal. It's tv entertainment after all.

But why must every viking look like a mix between Xena and a hipster summer camp? Why must battle be so unrealistic and silly? 30 crossbowmen with toy crossbows 30 m in front of 50 vikings would mean 30 dead crossbowmen and perhaps a few vikings. In the show the vikings form a testudo and stand still.

And the show goes out of its way to show that the king of Wessex plans to form England. They call the region England. They call themselves English. And then the show displays Wessex, Mercia and Northumberland as totally different when it comes to their armies. Weta in NZ must have tons of leftover Rohirrim stuff, slap some of that on and everything would look much nicer.

Edit: The point being that having the actors dress at least somewhat according to the people that they are portraying would not take anything away from the story.

[Razgovory]

I hate Rolos.  I could see why the French and the English wouldn't want them around.

[Eddie Teach]

Are you talking about the candy?

[viper37]

Once you accept that Rollo was running around with mid 9th century Vikings, you can't really expect much more in the way of strict historical accuracy. 

they've compressed the timeline to make all of the viking age's main accomplishment to happen within the lifetime of Ragnar and his sons.  We'll see Greenland and Vinland by the end of the final season, I'm guessing.

As for towing the boats overland, IIRC, it's something Vikings did with their drakkars to avoid obstacles.

They do not adhere to strict historicity, but it's a great tv show, well worth watching.

[The Minsky Moment]

I don't really mind that they've moved viking characters in time, after all, Rollo was a viking fighting early medieval franks, Ragnar was also a viking fighting early medieval franks. Switching Charles the bald and Charles the simple is not really such a great deal. It's tv entertainment after all.

Hmm . . . to each his own I guess.  To my mind the dictates of TV entertainment justify modifying dress styles and uniforms, but not taking a very significant historical figure (Rollo) and mixing him up with legendary figures from couple generations before, like portraying Teddy Roosevelt fighting with Grant in the Mexican and Civil Wars.

[Threviel]

I think I want a faithful representation of the age, but it can still be stories. I immensely enjoyed Flashman and Aubrey/Maturin for example. I don't mind the compressed timelines/characters as long as the story is well made and plausible.

Vikings is just fantasy trash in the vein of Xena, but I still enjoyed S1-3 even though they were historically retarded. I guess my irritation grew on me, I abandoned it and only returned to it now since I'm at home caring for a sick family with some time to spare.

[The Larch]

Oscar noms are in! These are the ones for best film, if anyone's curious:

- Ford Vs. Ferrari.
- The Irishman.
- Jojo Rabbit.
- Joker.
- Little Women.
- Marriage Story.
- 1917.
- Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.
- Parasite.

Overall, Joker leads with 11 nominations, followed by 1917, The Irishman and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood with 10 each.

[Razgovory]

Are you talking about the candy?

Yeah, what were you guys talking about?

[Razgovory]

HBO has a new series, The Outsider, which is basically True Detective as envisioned by Stephen King.  It seems to be drawing from the German myth of the Doppelganger.

[crazy canuck]

Getting into the fourth season of Expanse.  I like that they are slowing down a bit and spending more time on developing the characters and storyline.  If you have the richest man in the world backing the show, I guess you get more freedom to tell the story the way you want.

[Sheilbh]

Given the buzz, reviews and the type of role it is the lack of noms for Uncut Gems is really surprising.

Also it is really annoying how well Bohemian Rhapsody (a not very good film) did compared to Rocketman (a very good film)