TV/Movies Megathread

[crazy canuck]

I felt sorry for the actor who played the female Doctor Who.  The writing was atrocious.  I haven't watched since that season ended.

[Duque de Bragança]

James Franco has some other issues that are far worse than being portuguese

Not according to Luigizamo.
 

Besides, the Luigizamo role  (remember the Super Mario Bros. movie ? ), is far worse than any James Franco's issue.

[HVC]

James Franco has some other issues that are far worse than being portuguese

Not according to Luigizamo.
 

Besides, the Luigizamo role  (remember the Super Mario Bros. movie ? ), is far worse than any James Franco's issue.

Luigizamo is like Dinklage, pulling up the ladder behind himself. No problem playing drag and gay characters coming up, when he is neither, or playing an Italian plumber . Its fine when it pays his bills.

[grumbler]

I felt sorry for the actor who played the female Doctor Who.  The writing was atrocious.  I haven't watched since that season ended.

JMS recently moved to London. Rumor is that he is working on a new Doctor Who.

[crazy canuck]

I felt sorry for the actor who played the female Doctor Who.  The writing was atrocious.  I haven't watched since that season ended.

JMS recently moved to London. Rumor is that he is working on a new Doctor Who.

 

[Josquius]

I felt sorry for the actor who played the female Doctor Who.  The writing was atrocious.  I haven't watched since that season ended.

Doubly a shame as some of the directions they wanted to go in were good.
Jodie Whittaker - good. Her take on the Dr worked. And I wasn't keen on a female doc before hand.
Returning to the historic stories, looking at social issues - yeah cool.

But the way it was put together sucked.
And because of these other factors being there "woke" gets the blame.

I think the criticism about the armor, the boats and other wardrobe and set design decisions are justified since they don't reflect at all the historical setting in which of the Odyssey took place.
 

But the Odyssey is basically Greek king Arthur.
It's Greeks from a thousand years later telling this story from their history but parsed through "modern" eyes.
So dark ages chieftain Arthur becomes a high medieval knight.
Mycanean Oddyseus as a Classic Greek hero.
It's an alien culture interpreting an alien culture interpreting an alien culture.
So anything goes in my book. It's not like it's trying to be an actual story of the bronze age collapse.

[crazy canuck]

The Homeric poems were not thousands of years later.  Also, the armour is described in the poems.  The irony is that the descriptions were thought to be fantasy until the first boar tusk helmet was found by archeologists.

It's been a while since I've read them, and so I can't recall whether the boats were described in the same detail.

But they certainly didn't look like Viking boats, even at the time that the poems were reduced to writing.

[The Brain]

I'm sure Nolan had deep artistic reasons for making the movie look like an old Hercules episode. NB look, I've only seen screenshots and I don't judge a movie by its screenshots. I'll see it when it's streaming on my services.

[crazy canuck]

I'm sure Nolan had deep artistic reasons for making the movie look like an old Hercules episode. NB look, I've only seen screenshots and I don't judge a movie by its screenshots. I'll see it when it's streaming on my services.

You have to feel for the academic who served as the historical consultant on this movie. 

[HVC]

The translation source they picked is also getting flack apparently, so maybe the academic wasn't the best to begin with

[Duque de Bragança]

I'm sure Nolan had deep artistic reasons for making the movie look like an old Hercules episode. NB look, I've only seen screenshots and I don't judge a movie by its screenshots. I'll see it when it's streaming on my services.

Photography in IMAX 70 MM is way better than your good ol' Hercules or Xena episode, CGI is used sparingly, some sequences are pretty good.
However, the Odyssey has been dumbed down a lot.

Nolan should no be allowed to write scripts.
Much of the Homerian material did not make the cut, spoilers ahead, warning :




forget about the Cicones, Lestrygons look like a LARP of Boorman's Excalibur, no Nausicaa and Antinoos, and Æolus, Circe is not exactly bewitching as a witch (the pig scene is well done however). Also, no Nobody with Polyphemus.  The scene is interesting, however, despite that oversight.
Plus lotophages mixed up with Calypso. I almost forgot the ridiculous Sinon scene, only to bring some tears.

Chaste relationships with Circe, less so for Calypso, for a tormented Ulysses, played by a not very convincing Matt Damon. Speaking of which, the Twilight vampire as Suitors' leader is very one-dimensional. Worse, not killed in the right order. 
The subsequent slaughter of suitors was more convincing and realistic in the text.

Last but not least, the daft if not anachronic mention of the Sea Peoples or People of the Sea during the movie, for a cliché revelation.
I know some choices had to be made in adapting the material, but there were not the best ones.

Still, in a real IMAX 70 MM cinema, the best scenes, such as Charybdes and Scylla should be highlights.
Just don't re-read the Odyssey before watching the movie.

Ulysses 31, the Franco-Japanese anime (hey Ségolènes!) is way more respectful of the original material.
Kirk Douglas' mention still deserves a watch.

[Threviel]

I mean, Boorman's Excalibur is the best historical documentary I've seen, so if it resembles that it'll be glorious.

[Duque de Bragança]

I mean, Boorman's Excalibur is the best historical documentary I've seen, so if it resembles that it'll be glorious.

I would never dare to spoil your enthusiasm, but I  said a LARP (Live Action Role-playing-game) version of Boorman's Excalibur.  Not the best tribute to it.
Music is nowhere as good as Excalibur's, unless you like deafening and vibrating bass.