TV/Movies Megathread

[Threviel]

Watched the teaser trailer for Wheel of Time. Felt like Xena with CGI and a higher budget and makes me fear the LotR-series since both are Prime. 

Still not sure how you make a full TV show about a Blind Guardian song but ok.

It would probably be better...

Thinking a bit more on the trailer and why it rubbed me the wrong way. I don't think it's about money more than it's about how you choose to show the world being imagined. WoT apparently thinks that the main characters spends their childhood in some kind of Disneyland where the neighbouring 50 or so villages are taxed solely for the purpose of supplying the hundreds of candles lighting up the local inn every night. And so on and so forth...

Which can be contrasted with the Prancing pony in FotR. Presumably a sameish budget to build a wooden medievalish inside to look like an inn, but one show chooses to make it silly and unrealistic and the other doesn't. I might be wrong and all the candles are hiding something that can't be hidden in darkness, but I doubt it.

Of course, WoT might be a kids series, like Xena and Hercules and then it's ok I guess. I don't really know much about the target audience of it.

[Sheilbh]

Venom is fun. I think it's the right length for its level of seriousness (90 minutes; low). It clocked the best thing about the first film was Tom Hardy having a lot of fun and leans into that, while ditching the stuff that made the first film drag.

Harrelson is a little less scary than he seemed in the trailer andt there were kids in the screening I went to. I feel like I'd still say it's probably appropriate for kids over 12 but I'm aware that I'm a little bit of a prude

[celedhring]

So, looking for a mom show (I show to watch with my mother when I visit her) I randomly stumbled upon Deutschland 83. It is very entertaining, plus it scratches my Cold War itch. She loves it too.

[Berkut]

Watched the teaser trailer for Wheel of Time. Felt like Xena with CGI and a higher budget and makes me fear the LotR-series since both are Prime. 

Still not sure how you make a full TV show about a Blind Guardian song but ok.

It would probably be better...

Thinking a bit more on the trailer and why it rubbed me the wrong way. I don't think it's about money more than it's about how you choose to show the world being imagined. WoT apparently thinks that the main characters spends their childhood in some kind of Disneyland where the neighbouring 50 or so villages are taxed solely for the purpose of supplying the hundreds of candles lighting up the local inn every night. And so on and so forth...

Which can be contrasted with the Prancing pony in FotR. Presumably a sameish budget to build a wooden medievalish inside to look like an inn, but one show chooses to make it silly and unrealistic and the other doesn't. I might be wrong and all the candles are hiding something that can't be hidden in darkness, but I doubt it.

Of course, WoT might be a kids series, like Xena and Hercules and then it's ok I guess. I don't really know much about the target audience of it.

OK, just watched the trailer.

Seriously....wtf are you talking about? Too many candles? Really? That is your beef here?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIMkfP4JsxU

[Berkut]

OK, so just watched the official trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F75UGq2Uqhs

I think this looks VERY promising, actually. Clearly they are spending money.

And WoT could really have used someone to come along and wipe out about a third of the content entirely, which is very amenable to do for a series.

[grumbler]

Those aren't candles.  They are lamp wicks in some weird-looking bowl lamps.

[grumbler]

And WoT could really have used someone to come along and wipe out about a third of the content entirely, which is very amenable to do for a series.

More than a third.  More like two-thirds.  Way too much standing around and talking to show how uncomfortable characters were in the presence of other characters.  Plus, I hope they leave out the concept that anyone who dies can just be brought back to life.  A series where death isn't consequential loses credibility.

Oh, and they need to keep Brian Sanderson the fuck away from the series.

[The Brain]

The number of light sources look a bit weird, but then it's fantasy so stuff may be cheaper than in history. For better or worse TV is a visual medium, and you need light. Or you end up like Harlots where you can't see shit because it's fucking dark all the time and if you don't recognize the voice you have no idea which character is in the scene and you end up sitting there staring at your reflection in the black screen and questioning your life choices and maybe you should go get a snack instead of watching this crap.

[viper37]

Watched the teaser trailer for Wheel of Time. Felt like Xena with CGI and a higher budget and makes me fear the LotR-series since both are Prime. 

Still not sure how you make a full TV show about a Blind Guardian song but ok.

It would probably be better...

Thinking a bit more on the trailer and why it rubbed me the wrong way. I don't think it's about money more than it's about how you choose to show the world being imagined. WoT apparently thinks that the main characters spends their childhood in some kind of Disneyland where the neighbouring 50 or so villages are taxed solely for the purpose of supplying the hundreds of candles lighting up the local inn every night. And so on and so forth...

I get what you're saying, but I don't mind it much.  Too few lights on the set and it creates too many shadows.  This scene seems to serve as an introduction for most major characters, so I feel it's important we can see them in detail.

I think I am cautiously optimistic about the series.

[celedhring]

I have only read the first book of WoT (I picked up 10 years ago from a discount bin). I found it quite slow, and then I saw the saga had 23414227845235 more books and just gave up.

I see why threviel may think the trailer looks garish, but I will certainly check the show.

[Syt]

So, looking for a mom show (I show to watch with my mother when I visit her) I randomly stumbled upon Deutschland 83. It is very entertaining, plus it scratches my Cold War itch. She loves it too.

I liked the first season, although there were some questionable plot points. I watched a few episodes of Germany '86, but I felt it went it bit too far into James Bond/Jason Bourne territory.

[Josquius]

So, looking for a mom show (I show to watch with my mother when I visit her) I randomly stumbled upon Deutschland 83. It is very entertaining, plus it scratches my Cold War itch. She loves it too.

I liked the first season, although there were some questionable plot points. I watched a few episodes of Germany '86, but I felt it went it bit too far into James Bond/Jason Bourne territory.

Yeah, 83 was good.
86 was... Meh alright. But yes, quite the generic spy show.
I haven't seen 89 yet but it should be a bit more interesting with things shifting back to germany.

[celedhring]

So, looking for a mom show (I show to watch with my mother when I visit her) I randomly stumbled upon Deutschland 83. It is very entertaining, plus it scratches my Cold War itch. She loves it too.

I liked the first season, although there were some questionable plot points. I watched a few episodes of Germany '86, but I felt it went it bit too far into James Bond/Jason Bourne territory.

There's plenty of deus ex machina resolutions, but so far I find I can take them in stride.

[Threviel]

The candles was an example of the setting that the show tries to set and it rubbed me the wrong way. It's just so unnecessary and lazy (and also not really candles like grumbler said, oil lamps or something). Likewise the fairy tale buildings in the village, the Xenaesque clothes, the throwing into ravines, the non-armoured Lan, the mouth of Sauron myrdraal.

It's silly, childish, ridiculous, cheap and unimaginative. Hopefully I'm wrong and it turns out great, but I doubt it.

Edit: Just thought of a comparison. I want a fantasy version of Maximilian, and this feels more like a fantasy version of Black Sails.

[Berkut]

The candles was an example of the setting that the show tries to set and it rubbed me the wrong way. It's just so unnecessary and lazy (and also not really candles like grumbler said, oil lamps or something).

The setting is an inn, at night.

What would have been better, more necessary, and less lazy but still actually provide some illumination? Are oil lamps something that just should not exist? Should there have been torches or something instead?

I am really kind of baffled here. If you had not mentioned it, I would definitely never have noticed the candles/lamps at all. There is a lot going on in that scene (for better or worse), I am just kind of amazed it is the candles someone would care about one way or another. I am trying to think back to other similar scenes in other shows, and I honestly cannot even remember what the light source was at all. My suspicion is that you would typically just have overhead "magic" lighting?

I mean, anything "realistic" would be terrible to shoot in, right? Everything would be in weird shadows basically all the time.

Also, it is a fantasy setting. WHo is to say how valuable candles are in it? Maybe they are actually relatively easily made compared to what we would expect.

Likewise the fairy tale buildings in the village, the Xenaesque clothes, the throwing into ravines, the non-armoured Lan, the mouth of Sauron myrdraal.

It's silly, childish, ridiculous, cheap and unimaginative. Hopefully I'm wrong and it turns out great, but I doubt it.

It will likely be not great because statistically, these things don't often turn out great.

But none of your complaints feel real. The buildings, again, I did not even notice. Clothing? Style choice, I guess complain to the costume design people? Lans armor? Did he wear armor in the books? I don't actually remember.

Should the myrdraal been less....toothy? That did seems kind of "meh" and a rather overdone "scary" trope to me.

It's odd how two people can see the same things and find them so totally different from the stance of their emotive reaction. I thought the trailers I saw were actually quite good. When I heard this was being done, my reaction was very "Meh". After watching the trailers, I am actually rather interested. You seem to have had the exact opposite reaction.

Did you like the books themselves?