TV/Movies Megathread

[The Brain]

 

[CountDeMoney]

[spoiler]Back-up back-up: full-scale domestic terrorism. [/spoiler]

With what we saw at the beginning of the resumption of the show--[spoiler]between the house burned down and an M-60 in the trunk--I'm sorta leaning that way myself.   [/spoiler]

[mongers]

Eventually got around to watching 'Hot Fuzz', OK probably worth another view in the future.   

[Ed Anger]

I skip the Bastogne episodes. BORING

The French nurse is pretty easy on the eyes IIRC.

Yes. But that episode makes my skin crawl.

[Ideologue]

[spoiler]Back-up back-up: full-scale domestic terrorism. [/spoiler]

With what we saw at the beginning of the resumption of the show--[spoiler]between the house burned down and an M-60 in the trunk--I'm sorta leaning that way myself.   [/spoiler]

You know what bothered me there?  [spoiler]The house being used as a den of iniquity and skatebording, but the rest of the neighborhood is the same middle-class suburb it's always been.  Do the cops in ABQ suck that much?  Well, given the previous five seasons, I suppose that is a possibility. [/spoiler]

(And something that bothers me very mildly about the whole show: while I appreciate Breaking Bad's extravagant boosting of the STEM, or useful, fields, it takes a virtually magical approach to drug manufacture.  Is making methamphetamine really so artful and random that lab techs simply cannot follow a set of directions and produce identical results every time?  I mean, Gayle was like a real chemist with actual pharmaceutical experience: he really can't refine the process to get the 99% purity rates and that blue color?  It's not like he's synthesizing a different molecule each time.  And yes, I realize that without Heisenberg's specialness, there's no show--Gus kills him the first time he negatively impacts shareholder value--but, seriously, what is with that?)

[CountDeMoney]

(And something that bothers me very mildly about the whole show: while I appreciate Breaking Bad's extravagant boosting of the STEM, or useful, fields, it takes a virtually magical approach to drug manufacture.  Is making methamphetamine really so artful and random that lab techs simply cannot follow a set of directions and produce identical results every time?  I mean, Gayle was like a real chemist with actual pharmaceutical experience: he really can't refine the process to get the 99% purity rates and that blue color?  It's not like he's synthesizing a different molecule each time.  And yes, I realize that without Heisenberg's specialness, there's no show--Gus kills him the first time he negatively impacts shareholder value--but, seriously, what is with that?)

Not the first time science crunchiness has been streamlined for the sake of plot. 

And besides, Gayle's batch was sabotaged by Walter on purpose to save his own ass, what with the issue over the alleged screw up over the temperature gauge.

[Ideologue]

Oh yeah.  I forgot about that.

Whenever the whole series is out, if I've got the scratch, I may get it on BD (or may not; it is, after all, perfectly watchable on Netflix... but forever? who knows).  Definitely want to do a rewatch.

In other news, Ghostbusters and the Toy Story trilogy came today.   Those Toy Story BDs have some preposterously large boxes, almost the twice volume of a normal movie.  Wasteful.

[katmai]

Bought smart tv with 3D this past week.
So far picked up Hobbit, life of PI and Star Trek in 3D.
Like the 3D better at home then I did in theater.
Also picked up Shaun if the Dead, Hot Fuzz and Evil Dead on blu ray to boot.

[Eddie Teach]

And yes, I realize that without Heisenberg's specialness, there's no show--Gus kills him the first time he negatively impacts shareholder value--but, seriously, what is with that?)

Eh, Gus didn't arrive on the scene 'til the 3rd season or so. They'd have just had to go a different direction.

[Ideologue]

I dunno.  No Gus, no show.  His antagonism was indispensable.

But anyway, my main point is that I imagine any trained chemist would be able, with the proper lab equipment, to produce chemically pure methamphetamine.  I mean, methamphetamine is legally produced right now as Desoxyn.  And even if Walter created the process, which I strongly doubt, once you have a process, that process can be replicated, and I doubt there's any tough nut to crack in the process of creating a drug which has been synthesized in factories and labs for like sixty years.

[Eddie Teach]

I would agree that it got better after Gus arrived, but it was hardly "no show" before that. I mean, why would I have been watching it then?

[Ideologue]

Waiting for Gus.  [spoiler]Also to see Q slam two airliners into each other.  Before that, to see Q's daughter take her top off.[/spoiler]

[Admiral Yi]

But anyway, my main point is that I imagine any trained chemist would be able, with the proper lab equipment, to produce chemically pure methamphetamine.

The episode I caught in which the sidekick tried to go solo made the claim that the tricky part is correct crystalization.  So maybe art more than science.

[Eddie Teach]

Trying to entertain myself while on the elliptical machine and treadmill has led me to be more like Yi in my movie-watching habits lately. I've seen parts of a movie where James Woods defends a Korean dude framed for a murder(True Believer) and another where Pam Grier takes on a yacht full of rich white thugs(Sheba, Baby). Today, I saw the end of one where Chris Rock runs for President(Head of State). It was mostly retarded, but the part where he and brother/running mate Bernie Mac heckle his opponent into agreeing to a debate made me laugh.

[CountDeMoney]

'Breaking Bad' Spinoff, 'Better Call Saul,' Is Picked Up by AMC
By BILL CARTER

The news for "Breaking Bad" fans isn't all bleak, as their much-loved series draws to a close.

Saul Goodman will be back in his own series.

AMC and the Sony Pictures Television announced on Wednesday that "Better Call Saul" — the long-rumored spinoff of "Breaking Bad" — is going forward, with Bob Odenkirk set to star as Saul, the morally compromised lawyer who has represented the meth dealers Walter White and Jesse Pinkman.

The news behind the announcement is that AMC is the network that wound up with the show. Despite the iconic status achieved by "Breaking Bad," the network did not jump to buy the spinoff; that hesitation allowed several other networks to express serious interest in picking it up.

The negotiations went down to the wire, according to one executive briefed on the details. AMC had an exclusive negotiating period, but no deal was in place by the time that ended. Out of consideration for the partnership over "Breaking Bad," however, the period was extended and AMC and Sony concluded a deal.

The planned series, which does not yet have a date to go on the air, will be a prequel rather than a sequel — which, for rabid "Bad" fans, who continue to obsess over every possible outcome of the series, means the Saul character does not necessarily survive. The new show will cover the evolution of Saul into the colorful character "Bad" fans have come to love.

And for giggles, some of Saul's greatest lines:

http://youtu.be/bBeQO1nBThQ