TV/Movies Megathread

[Duque de Bragança]

Oh, and as for the mono soundtrack, who cares?  Audiophilia is for nerds.

That and HD mono tracks sound a lot better than very compressed mono tracks for older movies. Not to mention Duel is remixed in 5.1, for those equipped.

[CountDeMoney]

Oh, and as for the mono soundtrack, who cares?  Audiophilia is for nerds.

Weirdo. You probably only have one speaker for your TV.  Probably only have one earphone, too.

[Barrister]

Chef: B+

Caught it on Netflix over the weekend.  More of a B I think.

I watched it wanting and expecting food porn, and I got it.  Nicely shot movie.  Plot was predictable from a million miles away, though it wasn't trying to be an "edgy" movie.  For Favreau's attempt at returning to small, independent movies he sure stuffed the movie with big name cameos.

[The Minsky Moment]

Oh, and as for the mono soundtrack, who cares?  Audiophilia is for nerds.

Really sound is a distraction.  All that dialogue just gets in the way.

[Martinus]

Finally got around to watching "Ida". A remarkable movie. Tackles quite openly the phenomenon of the so-called "Judeo-Communism" (paging grumbler) and does so from the perspective of understanding (as I have always done) rather than condemnation or denial/marginalisation, that has been the case to date. Plus it is quite interesting on a purely aesthetic level.

[Syt]

Better Call Saul. Good use of the Third Man theme.

Bit of a mood whiplash between funny (his new clients ) and the serious.

[spoiler]I loved the Matlock shtick that shows him slipping more into his Saul persona. And the little mindfuck with Hamlin which shows how casually manipulative he can be. The epilogue with Mike was cool, demonstrating that there are some situations he can't deal with, like talking to his daughter.

With the hooks set up in this episode, my guess would be that Jimmy/Saul puts his brother into an institution after all, after another breakdown, and then kicks Hamlin's ass to get at the money. Chuck disowns him, and Jimmy starts a new life as Saul. But that seems too straightforward, so it's likely not going to happen.[/spoiler]

[Liep]

The Team, first episode:  /

Crime series from the writers of 'Livvagterne' and 'Ørnen', two of the lesser successful shows to come from DR lately, although 'Ørnen' was still entertaining.

It's a collaboration between multiple European channels and as such features a myriad of languages and location shots, all that contribute to make episode 1 somewhat confusing. But it has a lot of potential.

Lars Mikkelsen (best of the Mikkelsen brothers?) is in it though. And my neighbour Lisbeth Wulff also makes an appearance!

[celedhring]

The Sentinel - a Michael Douglas thriller written by the same author of "To Live and Die and LA". The latter was a pretty damn great thriller, but this one is a pretty trite and cliche "wrongfully accused" type of story, involving a conspiracy to kill the POTUS.

Hell, it's so safe and cheap than even the most striking scene in the film - the Marine One being downed by a MANPADS - is immediately undermined when it's revealed than, hey, the President wasn't actually onboard, so it's there just for shock value.

[CountDeMoney]

The Sentinel - a Michael Douglas thriller written by the same author of "To Live and Die and LA".

I was on the set for that.   The Bay Bridge scene used our cops;  had to shut down the one span for a couple hours of filming.

And yeah, there is a wide gulf between that and "LA", quality-wise.

[The Larch]

Chef: B+

Caught it on Netflix over the weekend.  More of a B I think.

I watched it wanting and expecting food porn, and I got it.  Nicely shot movie.  Plot was predictable from a million miles away, though it wasn't trying to be an "edgy" movie.  For Favreau's attempt at returning to small, independent movies he sure stuffed the movie with big name cameos.

In a movie with Sofía Vergara and Scarlett Johansson I'd want another kind of porn.

[Liep]

The Team, episode 2: /

A little more exciting, but unfortunately some of the acting is somewhat lacking. The German inspector isn't really up for the task of making her character into what the writers wanted it to be (a less dysfunctional version of Broen's Saga Norén).

[mongers]

Enjoying Season 4 of 'Game of Thrones', I like how the retainers are increasingly sometimes taking centre stage.

[CountDeMoney]

Disconnected (2008): A bit dated, but three little douchebag hipster Millennial college students (Carleton College) attempt to go through life without computers.  HOLY SHIT I MIGHT ACTUALLY HAVE TO GO TO THE LIEBERRY

Grade: SS; for making me feel Supremely Smug, and for making me wish that's who showed up to deal with these little shits.

[Ed Anger]

 

[Ideologue]

The Homesman (2014).  The Homesman is an uncompromising vision of human nature that, nonetheless, seems a little too selective in what it wants to look at.  Even so, it's as good a Western that came out in 2014 (and since that's a bar that basically does not exist, let's also say it's very good in its own right, too).  B+

Focus (2015).  Focus is a world-trotting caper that is enjoyable throughout its every single moment, from the opening shot till the roll of the credits, and it leaves you wanting more—albeit, somewhat unfortunately, in both the good and bad meanings of that phrase.  A  (Also reminds me, I really need to watch To Catch a Thief, probably the only must-see Hitchcock flicks as picked by consensus that I haven't gotten around to yet, along with two that nobody talks about that I really want to watch, Lifeboat and Stage Fright.)

Also viewed:

Velvet Goldmine (1998).  I liked it, it's fun.  B+

The Unknown Known (2014).  Donald Rumsfeld is a tool to Errol Morris and Errol Morris is kind of a tool right back for almost two hours.  B+

All Cheerleaders Die (2014).  I really like Lucky McKee--he also wrote and directed May, which I liked quite a bit, and The Woman, which is one of the better horror films I've ever seen.  This is a kind of sub-Buffyish mess, not without its charms but not worth even marginally recommending, and it disappointed me.  C+

The Boxtrolls (2014).  The best R-rated cartoon in--wait, what do you mean this movie got a PG?  A very, very high B+, for its indelible grossness and sweetness