TV/Movies Megathread

[mongers]

The is an almost extraordinary piece of television documentary work, it's the story of when the founder of the English Defence League (EDL) meet a British Muslim and the 'debate' they had:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b03ghfyp/Quitting_the_English_Defence_League_When_Tommy_Met_Mo/

If outside the UK, you might have to use a proxy IP etc to watch it.

[Ideologue]

Vertigo (1958).  Another "Jimmy Stewart solves a mystery by being a piece of human garbage" picture, and in many respects Vertigo really is pretty great (it's never as great as its reputation), but it's rare to see someone so talented degrade their movie so thoroughly in so short a span as Hitchcock did in this.

While Scottie, Stewart's character, does solve the mystery on his own, we are not permitted that luxury.  Instead, we just have the entire plot explained to us through a vomit party of narrated exposition held halfway through the movie.  It was, of course, not very satisfying.  Yes, they did it in Rope--in the beggining; in Rope, the lack of mystery was the point.  Here it's teased and then just dropped with the subtlety of a broken neck--and I wasn't that concerned whether Judy got caught or not because she's awful on at least two levels, one being that she's a murderer, and the other being that she's a completely spineless worm.

I suppose, in its defense, it explains upfront why Judy can be such a weak and pathetic creature in the face of Scottie's (frankly) overly-broad turn toward utter monstrosity, but I would have accepted "it was the 1950s and women were things" just as readily.  No, it sucks and it sucks hard.  All Vertigo leaves us with is the psychological stuff, which is good if a little too blunt and forceful, but is harder to focus on when the thrill of discovery--as Judy becomes far too perfect a Madeleine for it be a coincidence--has been so cruelly snatched away.

Also, I liked the Midge character and thought she was close to as pretty as Kim Novak, and maybe thinner, but Scottie seemed disinterested, probably because Midge, while a fully functioning adult sane person--unlike Madeleine--and possessed of an actual human personality--again unlike Madeleine--did not have the allure of social class and insane amounts of money, and I was annoyed and offended by this.  It's also possible that she's a secret production code homosexual and I didn't notice again; he did say she's the one who called off the engagement when they were in college, but more likely because she recognized, perhaps instinctively, that beyond his America's Dad exterior Scottie is pure, unexpurgated evil.

Finally, the dream sequence should have been at least six minutes longer, featuring false color pictures of landscapes and then Jimmy Stewart meeting himself as an old man.  I'm just suggesting these as improvements; I did think it was neat.

Other than those complaints, Vertigo is a gorgeous, engaging film with fine performances and at least three really amazing sets (the mission bell tower, obviously, but also an office so big and paneled it's an offense to God, and my favorite, Ernie's, with the reddest wallpaper you'll ever see outside of Only God Forigves).  Additionally, I liked the vertiginous camera effect; it looks very cool.  Most spectacular, however, was the makeup and hair work done to create two Kim Novaks, to the extent I wasn't even sure it wasn't a different actress at first, and although I'm afraid it might mean I'm actually a high-functioning autistic, I probably could've been fooled a good while longer.

So, yes, I did like it.  But the best American movie of all time?  Man, that's not even cooked baloney.

B+

[Sheilbh]

God I hope this brings back Habs on a wave of outrage.

[Ideologue]

God I hope this brings back Habs on a wave of outrage.

I SAID I LIKED IT.

Was Habsburg a big fan of Vertigo?  In any event, I would be very pleased to see the old follow again. We don't have a :wistful:, but I would use it if we did.

[crazy canuck]

I finished watching a BBC series on Netflix called "Survivors".  The premise is that most of the population is killed by a flu epidemic.  The show follows a group of survivors through a well constructed story arc.  It is well written and I highly recommend it.

The only problem is that it looks like it was meant to continue past the second season but for whateve reason the BBC had, they didnt get a third season.


I am happy that I stayed with the Blacklist.  The last episode made this more nuanced than first feared.

[Josephus]

I finished watching a BBC series on Netflix called "Survivors".  The premise is that most of the population is killed by a flu epidemic.  The show follows a group of survivors through a well constructed story arc.  It is well written and I highly recommend it.

The only problem is that it looks like it was meant to continue past the second season but for whateve reason the BBC had, they didnt get a third season.

So, you saying it doesn't have a satisfying conclusion. Cause I've been thinking about adding that to my watchlist, but won't bother if it's gonna go all Jericho on me.

Meanwhile, I found online that they cancelled it due to that old standby, low ratings.

[mongers]

I finished watching a BBC series on Netflix called "Survivors".  The premise is that most of the population is killed by a flu epidemic.  The show follows a group of survivors through a well constructed story arc.  It is well written and I highly recommend it.

The only problem is that it looks like it was meant to continue past the second season but for whateve reason the BBC had, they didnt get a third season.


I am happy that I stayed with the Blacklist.  The last episode made this more nuanced than first feared.

This was a modern remake of a classic 70s BBC series, same premise, but more imaginative stories. It ran for three series and had an ending.

Well worth checking out is you can live with the slightly different styles of acting compare with today's shouty actors.

First episode here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ak1SrFGXgA4&list=PL60B5B3443161A19C

[viper37]

I am happy that I stayed with the Blacklist.  The last episode made this more nuanced than first feared.

Yes, we have something here, there looks to be a 3rd party involved, somehow.

[Ideologue]

Topaz (1969).  One of the better efforts from the Roger Moore era, I suppose, but it's certainly no Moonraker.

C+

Frenzy (1972).  Guy gets fired from his job and then he gets accused of murdering his ex-wife and then his fetchingly svelte girlfriend gets killed too.  Isn't that just lovely?

B+

The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956).  Considering the entire plot revolves around the McKennas not interfering and not going to the authorities because it would put their son in danger, they interfere and go to the authorities and put their son in danger an awful lot more than you would expect.  But it's an excuse for one of the best thriller scenes you're likely to see.

B+

Rope (1948).  Again, and it bears repeating because people don't know God damned cinema gold when it's right up in their face.

A+

[Josquius]

I finished watching a BBC series on Netflix called "Survivors".  The premise is that most of the population is killed by a flu epidemic.  The show follows a group of survivors through a well constructed story arc.  It is well written and I highly recommend it.

The only problem is that it looks like it was meant to continue past the second season but for whateve reason the BBC had, they didnt get a third season.


I am happy that I stayed with the Blacklist.  The last episode made this more nuanced than first feared.

The modern one I take it?
I didn't rate it. It was all a bit too fast and flashy. The 70s one was pretty good until it tailed off in the second or third series.

[viper37]

I am happy that I stayed with the Blacklist.  The last episode made this more nuanced than first feared.

[spoiler]
Option #1: Reddington is Liz's father.  That would be strange, as I would have thought the FBI would explore this option first, check their DNA, when he asked for her.  Still, they don't strike me as the brightest light in the universe, could be possible.  Then the mysterious man watching Liz's house is an ennemy of Reddington, trying to use his daughter against him.

Option #2: Reddington once said to Liz he was there about his father, or something like this.   We can surmise Red is not Liz father, but rather her father is an ennemy of Red and he is using her to get to him.  That man would be the strange one watching the house.

Option #3: Neither one of them is Liz father.  Liz father is the one who hired her husband and the good looking chick from Revenge.  He hates Red, and wants to make sure he doesn't get too close to his daughter.
[/spoiler]

It will be interesting to see where it goes from there

[Caliga]

I watched Star Wars on DVD the other day (the most recent edition).  I don't understand why people bitched about all the tweaks Lucas made to it.  For example, I liked the scene with Jabba the Hutt and Solo, though Jabba seemed smaller that he should have been.  Conclusion: the people who bitched about this are retarded and/or homos.

[CountDeMoney]

I watched Star Wars on DVD the other day (the most recent edition).  I don't understand why people bitched about all the tweaks Lucas made to it.  For example, I liked the scene with Jabba the Hutt and Solo, though Jabba seemed smaller that he should have been.  Conclusion: the people who bitched about this are retarded and/or homos.

He changed around a lot of footage during the Death Star battle.  Looks stupid now.

[jimmy olsen]

I watched Star Wars on DVD the other day (the most recent edition).  I don't understand why people bitched about all the tweaks Lucas made to it.  For example, I liked the scene with Jabba the Hutt and Solo, though Jabba seemed smaller that he should have been.  Conclusion: the people who bitched about this are retarded and/or homos.

If it's the scene I think you mean, it's fine. It's the Han didn't shoot first whitewash that is hated.

[Savonarola]

The Mummy (1932)

As Ide noted in another thread, this is pretty much Dracula with a competent director.  What stood out for me on this re-watch was how little soundtrack there was.  Silent films always had music playing along so in order for sound films to be a distinct medium they didn't initially have background music.  Background music was starting to creep in at this point, but throughout most of the film there is nothing.

Here's a Silly Symphony from the era along the same lines:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1j7uhwDGsc

MUMMY!