TV/Movies Megathread

[Syt]

Enjoyed the new episode of Foundation.

SPOILERS

Though I'm a bit weary of the trope of "idyllic hippie commune of outsiders/telepaths with a dark secret".

Enjoying the extra backstory and revelations about Lady Demerzel.

Though Bel Riose seems a bit wasted so far. 

[The Brain]

Though Bel Riose seems a bit wasted so far. 

You do what you have to do to get through the day.

[Syt]

 

[crazy canuck]

PSA, the Wheel of Time second season has started on Prime.

[Sheilbh]

Passages.

Not quite sure how to describe this film - maybe a love triangle. It stars Franz Rogowski, Ben Whishaw and Adele Exarchopoulos. Rogowski is Thomas a self-involved (as described by his husband Martin, played by Whishaw) and narcissistic director, who is married to Martin and at the wrap party dances and then sleeps with Agathe played by Exarchopoulos. He falls in love witih Agathe while, perhaps never quite wanting to move on from Martin's love. It plays through that relationship with ups and downs between the characters.

The performances are all excellent. Rogowski and Exarchopoulos are perhaps the showier performances but there is a brilliant scene towards the end in a cafe between Martin and Agathe, where I think Whishaw is exceptional but his is generally the more restrained, controlled character. We are brought in and follow Thomas and maybe see some of what the other characters see in him - to the extent we do I think it shows how strong Rogowski's performance is.

I loved it. It is beautiful throughout - the costuming, the sets, Paris are gorgeous. I think the direction is great. It is, I think increasingly as the movie goes on, claustrophobic between those three characters - again drawing us in to perhaps see some of Thomas' charisma. But the thing I found really interesting is that how frankly sexual it is. This is an adult film - 18 rated in the UK - for adults about adult relationships and desire with an, in many ways, unsympathetic protagonist. For that, in this context, I found it quite novel and refreshing.

As I say I loved it and would strongly recommend - but it is an 18, it is sexual, the main character is not very sympathetic so may not be for everyone.

[Eddie Teach]

Blue Beetle just seems designed to be a flop. I saw a poster near my house and had no idea it was a DC film or anything about it. It just sounds so.... Shit. Like a sort of half arsed film within a film fictional superhero film.
But interesting to hear its good.

The pitch meeting doesn't make it sound all that great. 

[grumbler]

Blue Beetle just seems designed to be a flop. I saw a poster near my house and had no idea it was a DC film or anything about it. It just sounds so.... Shit. Like a sort of half arsed film within a film fictional superhero film.
But interesting to hear its good.

The pitch meeting doesn't make it sound all that great. 

Hey, shut up!

[Josephus]

Anyone watch Silo? It was a slow burner, but got quite interesting. A sort of Dystopian series about people in a post apocalyptical world living in a --you guessed it--silo. The ending caught me quite off guard, although there was something about it I didn't understand.

[Grey Fox]

PSA, the Wheel of Time second season has started on Prime.

My gf and I we watched episode 1 last night. I told her about the candle industry needed by that world. 😆

[Syt]

PSA, the Wheel of Time second season has started on Prime.

My gf and I we watched episode 1 last night. I told her about the candle industry needed by that world. 😆

[Sheilbh]

The Blackening. I think this is basically a post-Get Out Scary Movie. It takes all the tropes of horror films for African-Americans and then satirises them. As you'd expect characters and the tropes are fairly broad.

But it's pretty good - enjoyable half an hour even if I think the scares could have been scarier and some of the gags funnier.

The First Slam Dunk. So this is an anime from a long line of manga, meaning there's huge amounts of backstory I didn't know about. It's already been a huge hit across Asia and, based on my screening, has a devoted fan base here too.

The film is mostly told through a single high school basketball game, from which hangs various character vignettes and bits of backstory. The animation is brilliant, particularly during the game itself. As an outsider with no knowledge I think you still get enough to enjoy and for there to be emotional stakes. I really enjoyed it despite knowing nothing.

[Josquius]

.

The First Slam Dunk. So this is an anime from a long line of manga, meaning there's huge amounts of backstory I didn't know about. It's already been a huge hit across Asia and, based on my screening, has a devoted fan base here too.

The film is mostly told through a single high school basketball game, from which hangs various character vignettes and bits of backstory. The animation is brilliant, particularly during the game itself. As an outsider with no knowledge I think you still get enough to enjoy and for there to be emotional stakes. I really enjoyed it despite knowing nothing.

How did you go to see this? You just randomly rock up at every cinema screening going?
Sounds odd enough to even watch online

[Sheilbh]

Little bit random. I was booking something else and saw this had two or three sold out screenings at that cinema. So fancies a film today and looked for this within an hour of where I was so popped to the Barbican.

And it was national cinema day so only £3.

[Sheilbh]

Bobi Wine: The People's President.

Powerful documentary about Ugandan pop star turned opposition leader, Bobi Wine. He is incredibly charismatic and the story of the film is around his entry into politics and presidential win. You see the shame of that narrative in the change of his behaviour from a smiling, warm charisma at the start to something far more sober and serious by the end.

It's reallly brave documentary as you have footage that seems quite unsafe to have got of police on the streets with guns and the cameraman running to hide and much more footage from the perspective of the grass-roots crowds. There's no great probing of Wine (and I think there probably doesn't need to be) or even of Museveni and the nature of the regime. It is, however, incredible at the energy and feeling of the campaign and of the power struggle between Wine and Museveni.

[Josquius]

Theres a new episode of Invincible out. Backstory of Atom Eve.
Its a good show. Impressive how it manages to keep so many of the appearances of a kids show yet be very grown up.