TV/Movies Megathread

[Duque de Bragança]

As part of an ongoing Heroic Fantasy/Sword and Sorcery cycle:

Hawk the Slayer (1980)

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080846

British low-budget [spoiler]those mattes![/spoiler] attempt at defining a soon to be born genre with Conan the Barbarian (1982) or even possibly Excalibur (1981).

Interestingly enough, the movie was renamed Voltan the Barbarian in some countries, following the success of the above mentioned Heroic Fantasy Classic. The antagonist Voltan being played by an overacting Jack Palance while the rest of the British cast is restrained. The only other US actor being the stoic hero, often wooden unfortunately.
Action sequences really have an old-fashioned, read amateur, feeling [spoiler]crossbow/bow repetitive action yikes[/spoiler], with a punchy kitsch electro-disco-orchestral-morriconesque stereo soundtrack.
Obvious Tolkien, Star Wars, Samurai or even Chambara film influences for a family-oriented film (here lies the problem?) but not always in an interesting way.
Very entertaining in a so-bad-it's good way though, with some scenes which have to be seen and heard to be believed.

Available on Blu-ray in the UK for cheap, the transfer is pretty good for a film shot in not exactly sun bright British woods with diffused light and filters (not to Lucio Fulci's Conquest level thankfully).

Mostly known nowadays for this punchline: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTDt5PuETLA

[Syt]

I need to check out The Archer: Fugitive from the Empire. Loved that movie when I was a kid.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082027/

[Duque de Bragança]

That's a TV movie right? Hawk the Slayer has that TV feeling as well though it was released in cinemas in the UK.

I see it was released on DVD in Germany and has a better IMDB rating than Hawk the Slayer. 

[Syt]

I don't know. In Germany it was called Der Zauberbogen (The Magic Bow), but I don't think I've seen it since l was a young teen in the late 80s.

[Duque de Bragança]

Then you might want to hang on your young teen memories of the film since a lot has changed in Heroic Fantasy.

https://www.jpc.de/jpcng/movie/detail/-/art/Der-Zauberbogen/hnum/4951813?lang=de

Probably cheaper if looking around.

[celedhring]

"Dragonslayer" was another favorite of mine as a kid, although that was a proper movie with a decent budget and good SFX for the era.

Now, the film I've wanted to rewatch for quite a while is Krull. Should I? 

[The Brain]

Yes.

[Duque de Bragança]

Dragonslayer that's one I only discovered recently and it's indeed worth watching again, very mature for a Disney film (technically Paramount-Disney) unavailable on blu though, unlike Krull, for some reason.
European DVDs (non-anamorphic) of the former are not great on current big flat-screens.

Go rewatch Krull so we can be warned, at worst. 

[The Larch]

I enjoyed Breaking Bad a lot, but I went in with no expectations. My main criticism would be that the series relies a lot on "how will they get out of this?" situations. The first season is IMHO by far the weakest as the series didn't quite know where to go yet, and how much comedic elements it wanted to have. I do think Better Call Saul is overall a lot better, though the first two season was also a tad aimless.

To me the big letdown was the [spoiler]magical remission of Walt's cancer in the 3rd season[/spoiler].

[celedhring]

I personally thought that was a brilliant move.

[The Larch]

I personally thought that was a brilliant move.

For me it was a cheap trick pulled out of the writer's ass. 

[Syt]

I personally thought that was a brilliant move.

For me it was a cheap trick pulled out of the writer's ass. 

I agree it was brilliant: [spoiler]Walter's main reasoning for going into the drugs business was to provide money for his treatment and for his family when he would be gone. His cancer going into remission (which is not unrealistic, these things happen), puts that motivation to the test or if maybe there's more behind it.[/spoiler]

[celedhring]

I personally thought that was a brilliant move.

For me it was a cheap trick pulled out of the writer's ass. 

I agree it was brilliant: [spoiler]Walter's main reasoning for going into the drugs business was to provide money for his treatment and for his family when he would be gone. His cancer going into remission (which is not unrealistic, these things happen), puts that motivation to the test or if maybe there's more behind it.[/spoiler]

Exactly.

[The Larch]

I know that was the point of it, and agree with you about what it means for the story going forward, but I still disliked it. It made me roll my eyes so hard when it happened.

[Josephus]

IMO...Breaking Bad kept getting better with each season.