TV/Movies Megathread

[The Brain]

A Jazzman's Blues. Love and race in 20th century Georgia. Totally OK, managed to keep my interest all the way through.

[HVC]

Final episode of house of the dragon leaked for those so inclined :

[Josephus]

Someone want to explain to me why Alicent and her dad raced to find Aegon, when they both wanted the same thing?

[The Larch]

Someone want to explain to me why Alicent and her dad raced to find Aegon, when they both wanted the same thing?

They wanted the same thing, but done in quite different ways. They wanted to be in control of the coronation process.

[Sheilbh]

Emily - the new biopic of Emily Bronte.

I don't think it's particularly strictly a biopic as a depiction of Emily Bronte and it makes some real bold choice in terms of style for a "period biopic" with bonnets. There are moments that feel quite like a horror film and I think the writer and director Frances O'Connor has definitely been watching Andrea Arnold's (incredible) adaptation of Wuthering Heights.

As a film, I loved it. Emma Mackey, from Sex Education, is perfectly cast as Emily Bronte.

That's about 90% of my feelings - 10% is that I think it is a slander on Charlotte and Anne and I am incensed about it.

Edit: Badenoch also endorsing Rishi which is not exactly a surprise as I suspect that after she was knocked out her preference was Sunak.

[The Brain]

The Vow S1,S2E1. Documentary about the NXIVM cult (if you will) and the people who left it and tried to bring it down. You could say that the series could be a lot more condensed, but it keeps my interest. One thing that makes it interesting is that, as cults go, it seems to be fairly mild (more revelations in coming episodes might change this perception). There doesn't appear to be anything matching the horror of the Catholic Church or Peoples Temple.

[The Brain]

Gaia. Forest rangers encounter fungus. Not as bad as I feared it would be, but not very good. Starts off at an OK pace but then begins to drag.

[Sheilbh]

Montage Daydream. Phwoar. Also further convinced Velvet Goldmine is the best Bowie biopic we'll ever get (albeit missing his last act).

Argentina, 1985. Fine. Felt a bit light. Also it obviously makes you think of The Secret in their Eyes which I also wasn't wildly impressed with - but is really helped by a spectacular set piece. Nothing quite as stylish here. It felt like a film by a streaming service.

[celedhring]

Montage Daydream. Phwoar. Also further convinced Velvet Goldmine is the best Bowie biopic we'll ever get (albeit missing his last act).

Argentina, 1985. Fine. Felt a bit light. Also it obviously makes you think of The Secret in their Eyes which I also wasn't wildly impressed with - but is really helped by a spectacular set piece. Nothing quite as stylish here. It felt like a film by a streaming service.

Quite pissed me off that they swept Bowie's drug issues under the carpet despite featuring several clips where he's obviously tripping balls 

I loved the film because it's fucking David Bowie and it features many clips I hadn't seen before, and the editing is so great (although I kinda miss why they edited all those clips from pulpy films in it, despite the "space" theme). But its value as a film depicting his career and art was rather average.

[Sheilbh]

Quite pissed me off that they swept Bowie's drug issues under the carpet despite featuring several clips where he's obviously tripping balls 

Yes. Also (relatedly) the fascism which was gestured at a little bit.

I understand the family were involved and it did feel like that a bit - a little bit taking things at his word which is...a choice.

I loved the film because it's fucking David Bowie and it features many clips I hadn't seen before, and the editing is so great (although I kinda miss why they edited all those clips from pulpy films in it, despite the "space" theme). But its value as a film depicting his career and art was rather average.

Yeah. I loved it because I would but it seemed to me very much a collage with a thesis, which is fine, and broadly chronological. But I know a decent bit about Bowie so I could make sense of it - I don't know if you could if you didn't. I think it didn't have much structure or much shape though, as I say, I think there was an argument the director was making.

But as a geeky fan - there was loads I'd not seen before so I was just thrilling at that and my favourite Bowie (drug-addled, quasi-fascist LA Bowie and Berlin) got a good bit of airtime which was nice because whenever there's anything Bowie in the UK it always focuses on the early 70s Ziggy Bowie (perhaps because that's when he made the biggest impact/was most "ours"?).

Having said that I wonder if you can really do a film about Bowie? It's why I think the best biopic is the one that isn't technically about Bowie and is from the perspective of a fan who ends up doing a Citizen Kane investigation of the  "Bowie" like idol of his youth through a series of unreliable narrators. Basically I feel like you need Todd Haynes doing it (and I loved his Velvet Underground documentary on a bit of an overlap)

[FunkMonk]

How many more gratuitous birthing scenes will they have in House of the Dragon season 2?

[HVC]

Unless I missed them Rhaenyra has three more to go, but one of them should be around already, at least, since he was a very strong child from birth.

[Habbaku]

Unless I missed them Rhaenyra has three more to go, but one of them should be around already, at least, since he was a very strong child from birth.

You definitely missed them. She's already had two children by Daemon. They were even mentioned in this episode (prospective cupbearer and squire).

The "gratuitous" (  ) still-birth was her third by Daemon.

[HVC]

Unless I missed them Rhaenyra has three more to go, but one of them should be around already, at least, since he was a very strong child from birth.

You definitely missed them. She's already had two children by Daemon. They were even mentioned in this episode (prospective cupbearer and squire).

The "gratuitous" (  ) still-birth was her third by Daemon.

Ok then, I did miss the daemons kids. No third bastard?

[The Larch]

Unless I missed them Rhaenyra has three more to go, but one of them should be around already, at least, since he was a very strong child from birth.

You definitely missed them. She's already had two children by Daemon. They were even mentioned in this episode (prospective cupbearer and squire).

The "gratuitous" (  ) still-birth was her third by Daemon.

Ok then, I did miss the daemons kids. No third bastard?

Rhaenyra's kids with Daemon already appeared on episode 8, the two small kids that they introduced to Vyserys. The third "strong" kid already appeared as well, he's the one being born right after the big time jump. You don't pay much attention when watching the show, do you?