TV/Movies Megathread

[celedhring]

Incidentally, this weekend I went with my brother to a fan convention, and they had some car replicas, including a KITT from Knight Rider. I loved (loved!) the show as a kid, and it dawned on me how much I fantasized about having a KITT, and nowadays self-driven AI cars are pretty much around the corner.

And always will be.

Fair enough, you'll probably right.

[celedhring]

Went to see Pillion, the story of a toxic BDSM gay relationship starring Alexander Skarsgard and Harry Melling (of Harry Potter semi-fame). It is weirdly quite wholesome. Liked it quite a bit.

[Sheilbh]

Went to see Pillion, the story of a toxic BDSM gay relationship starring Alexander Skarsgard and Harry Melling (of Harry Potter semi-fame). It is weirdly quite wholesome. Liked it quite a bit.

I have slightly mixed feelings. On its own I think it's pretty good and quite enjoyed it.

But it's an adaptation of Adam Mars-Jones' Box Hill which is a really good novel and very much not got much (if any comedy). It's a far darker more introspective piece. So enjoyed it as a film on its own but I think it did lose something in going in a lighter, more comic and maybe more wholesome direction.

Separately as a Brit I went in expecting and anticipating disappointment, but SNL UK has been pretty good (based on the sketches uploaded to YouTube). Seems to be getting good reviews too and actually really good viewership figures for Sky.  Hope it slightly kickstarts a re-evaluation by the other broadcasters on whether we really need infinity panel shows with the same 30 comedians - or perhaps even if they maybe need to re-fresh their Saturday night broadcasts which have basically been unchanged for twenty years

[celedhring]

Went to see Pillion, the story of a toxic BDSM gay relationship starring Alexander Skarsgard and Harry Melling (of Harry Potter semi-fame). It is weirdly quite wholesome. Liked it quite a bit.

I have slightly mixed feelings. On its own I think it's pretty good and quite enjoyed it.

But it's an adaptation of Adam Mars-Jones' Box Hill which is a really good novel and very much not got much (if any comedy). It's a far darker more introspective piece. So enjoyed it as a film on its own but I think it did lose something in going in a lighter, more comic and maybe more wholesome direction.

Separately as a Brit I went in expecting and anticipating disappointment, but SNL UK has been pretty good (based on the sketches uploaded to YouTube). Seems to be getting good reviews too and actually really good viewership figures for Sky.  Hope it slightly kickstarts a re-evaluation by the other broadcasters on whether we really need infinity panel shows with the same 30 comedians - or perhaps even if they maybe need to re-fresh their Saturday night broadcasts which have basically been unchanged for twenty years

Yeah, looking it up the book seems far darker than the movie! I thought the movie managed to be weirdly sweet despite the toxicness of their relationship. And the ending was quite wholesome.

His dad is so absolutely adorable (the mom too, but alas).

[Norgy]

Speaking of novels turned into the big screen, I watched "Harry Hole" on Netflix. There are several of Jo Nesbø's novels shoved into it.

Some of the episodes are good. Santelman is a good Harry Hole. I would however like an all-Norwegian language cast. Joel Kinnaman as the antagonist Tom Waaler feels a bit of a stretch. And much feels like a stretch in this serial.

You never get to know Harry very well. And you never get to know his love interest Rakel much. There are some beautiful Oslo landscapes in the series, tastefully spread out. Drones can do a job.

It all comes down to the plot, though. While I like Nesbø's writing, some of it is very over the top. Harry may be a high-functioning alcoholic of the McNulty or Raymond Chandler school, but there is simply no way he would be able to do all the stuff he does.

That breaks immersion. At least for me.

[Sheilbh]

Yeah, looking it up the book seems far darker than the movie! I thought the movie managed to be weirdly sweet despite the toxicness of their relationship. And the ending was quite wholesome.

His dad is so absolutely adorable (the mom too, but alas).

I agree - I also think it is fantastically well-cast. I think it's a bit of high-wire walk in that I think especially if either of the main characters were wrong the whole thing would be very destabilised.

The author wrote a fun (and quite funny) piece about watching the premier at Cannes and was fairly phlegmatic about the changes. For example:

Harry and I had very little contact while the film was becoming more real. I had no input and wanted none. If you've given up a child for adoption it's bad manners to hang around the school gates – even worse manners if you sold the child in question.

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/may/23/adam-mars-joness-cannes-diary-pillion-box-hill-cannes-diary

[crazy canuck]

Babylon 5 is now available on Prime in Canada. So I am now binging it.

A few things didn't age well.  Garibaldi reading a newspaper for example.

I am looking forward to seeing the show unfold in one go this time.

[Norgy]

The Winds of War (1983)

TV-serial based on Herman Wouk's novels. Captain "Pug" and his family have some European hi-jinks.

Robert Mitchum is an extremely solid lead. He would have been a dream lead as Brian Clough if Nottingham Forest ever became a TV serial. Or as Lyndon B. Johnson. There is a solid likeness.

I believe it is one of the first serials that switches perspectives so often.

When first broadcast in Norway, it was a firm winner on Wednesday night. I was allowed to sit and watch with my mother and my grandmother. I was infatuated with the Nathalie character.

It had been translated into "nynorsk", Norway's second language for the subtitles.

While the storytelling might be a bit stunted at times, I still love this serial.

[grumbler]

Babylon 5 is now available on Prime in Canada. So I am now binging it.

A few things didn't age well.  Garibaldi reading a newspaper for example.

I am looking forward to seeing the show unfold in one go this time.

I remember binging it (on vHS!) not too long after it ended, and had a very different appreciation for the foreshadowing than when watching it weekly. That ended up being the best feature of the show for me.

[Syt]

I remember binging it (on vHS!) not too long after it ended, and had a very different appreciation for the foreshadowing than when watching it weekly. That ended up being the best feature of the show for me.

Agreed. And how some things that seemed less important then tied back into the bigger story.

[crazy canuck]

Babylon 5 is now available on Prime in Canada. So I am now binging it.

A few things didn't age well.  Garibaldi reading a newspaper for example.

I am looking forward to seeing the show unfold in one go this time.

I remember binging it (on vHS!) not too long after it ended, and had a very different appreciation for the foreshadowing than when watching it weekly. That ended up being the best feature of the show for me.

Yeah, that is the thing that stands out now that I missed the first time around.

[Syt]

Crap, I missed that The Longest Day was playing as Sunday movie at Gartenbaukino. 

[Baron von Schtinkenbutt]

I remember binging it (on vHS!) not too long after it ended, and had a very different appreciation for the foreshadowing than when watching it weekly. That ended up being the best feature of the show for me.

I first watched it after TNT picked up the fifth season and decided to rerun the first four weeknightly.  I think that helped me with following the larger threads in the show.