TV/Movies Megathread

[Sheilbh]

Last Atlantic had a review on the inability of Americans to do political satire compared to Brits, focusing on House of Cards.

Well they have 'Yes, Minister'.

I don't think 'Yes, Secretary' would have been anywhere near as good.

And yet The Thick of It, In the Loop and Veep are all pretty good.

[Martinus]

Well, "Veep" is amusing but admittedly it does not come close to "Yes, Minister". For one, I cannot imagine a Languish meet turning into a weekend spent in a budget Brussels flat watching "Veep".

[Admiral Yi]

Link?

No.

[The Brain]

Last Atlantic had a review on the inability of Americans to do political satire compared to Brits, focusing on House of Cards.

Well they have 'Yes, Minister'.

I don't think 'Yes, Secretary' would have been anywhere near as good.

Spanking is always good.

[frunk]

Last Atlantic had a review on the inability of Americans to do political satire compared to Brits, focusing on House of Cards.

Does it not consider things like the Daily Show and Colbert Report satire, or is it focusing on narrative rather than commentary?

Shouldn't forget Veep either, which has a...British show runner.

[CountDeMoney]

Well, "Veep" is amusing but admittedly it does not come close to "Yes, Minister". For one, I cannot imagine a Languish meet turning into a weekend spent in a budget Brussels flat watching "Veep".

Veep goes after the politics to an extent, but it's real strength is in dyfunctional staff culture, which can pretty much apply to any work environment.

[Admiral Yi]

Does it not consider things like the Daily Show and Colbert Report satire, or is it focusing on narrative rather than commentary?

Shouldn't forget Veep either, which has a...British show runner.

The latter.  I can't remember if the article mentioned those shows or whether I heard them mentioned on an NPR interview.

[Martinus]

See, Vikings are a great example of a show to contrast with Borgias.

Everybody on Vikings is flawed, brutal, corrupt and violent - but it has so many characters one feels like rooting for, often despite oneself. This is quite unlike Borgias.

[The Larch]

Mart, take a look at the European version of the Borgias, you might enjoy it better.

[Jacob]

Last Atlantic had a review on the inability of Americans to do political satire compared to Brits, focusing on House of Cards.

Link?

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/03/why-the-british-are-better-at-satire/384964/

[Sheilbh]

Last Atlantic had a review on the inability of Americans to do political satire compared to Brits, focusing on House of Cards.

Link?

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/03/why-the-british-are-better-at-satire/384964/

Ta muchly.

Calvary. Incredible film. Should be required viewing for every priest and seminarian too. So much to think on after it too.

[Sophie Scholl]

Finished revisiting the Lord of the Rings. It's pretty good, and definitely better not going in hoping it will be one of my favorite movies ever.

I do think it could have been better if they'd gone for less of an "epic" feel. Too many inspirational montages, too many meaningful glances set to soft music. Instead of Star Wars, we got Braveheart x3. I suppose that's kind of consistent with the tone of the books, but it wasn't annoying when reading it.

The theatrical versions or the extended editions?  I don't even bother watching the theatrical cuts anymore.  The extended editions are that much better in my opinion.

[Habbaku]

Calvary is definitely at the top of my to-watch list.    

[Eddie Teach]

The theatrical versions or the extended editions?  I don't even bother watching the theatrical cuts anymore.  The extended editions are that much better in my opinion.

Do the extended editions have Tom Bombadil and the Scouring of the Shire?

The theatrical version already has too much slow pacing and filler IMO. Don't see that adding a couple hours per movie would improve on that.

[Sheilbh]

Calvary is definitely at the top of my to-watch list.    

It's on British Netflix.