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Post by screamingtreefrogs on Nov 11, 2020 12:17:58 GMT
Jingle All The Way Arnold, Sinbad I need it to start getting cold here to get more into the holiday spirit. Leaves all over the place - Turkey Gobbler is back at WAWA and Giant is now asking me when I'd like to redeem my free Turkey for my points I've racked up over the year
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Post by Rey Kahuka on Nov 11, 2020 14:53:47 GMT
I watched Barbarians last week. It was decent. The rare Netflix show where I actually think it could've been longer (only 6 episodes), but I'm a history buff so I think every historical epic should be 112 hours long, in order to give the proper context. Despite its generic title, it was focused mostly on Arminius himself. At the end of the day it did what it set out to do, though the production value wasn't the greatest I've ever seen. Of course they changed a few things, but hell, I'm sure the Roman historians changed a few things too. Certainly more historically accurate than Vikings for example, which is almost complete fabrication at this point. It did give me hope that with streamers begging for new content, they'll start producing these historical mini-series on a regular basis. There are tons, tons of incredible stories throughout history, no matter how far you want to go back into any given culture. Let's start mining that stuff more often. Medieval Europe, hell England alone during the War of the Roses is better than anything Game of Thrones has to offer-- except magic and dragons, of course. Love, death, war, intrigue, betrayal, politics, shifting alliances. Whatever you're getting out of garbage reality tv was done much better by real people with much higher stakes in ages past. Barbarians actually made me want to rewatch The Eagle (2011). Surprisingly great flick (it's legit in my all time top 25) that nobody ever talks about. The thing about Rome, as with any great empire of history, is that there's a moral argument to their very existence. They bring order out of chaos; a civilized, more advanced society. Of course to do so, they must strip the conquered people of their cultural freedom, which hardly seems like a fair prospect to those who are being conquered, even if the empire believes wholeheartedly in its own benevolence-- at least as an after effect. The Eagle is more of a "one man's quest/historical buddy movie" at heart, but it does touch on the issue of indigenous peoples vs the might of Empire better than most movies that are explicitly about that topic. Ironic that they manage to pull this off in a film where everyone is white. It's oddly cast, with Channing Tatum and Jamie Bell as the leads, and a cameo by Donald Sutherland of all people, but it's expertly directed (by academy award winner Kevin MacDonald) and the cinematography and music are incredible. The story pulls you in, right from the jump. (I was going to post the trailer, but holy shit it gives away too much.) Again, they take liberties such as giving a few of the wilder Brittonic/Pictish tribes a more African, Native American and even South Pacific islander motif, and they do things like having the Romans use the testudo as an offensive formation rather than defensive, but just enjoy the story and the visuals, don't deconstruct the proper history because that isn't the point of the film at all. In fact it was that testudo scene, which is early in the film, which made me lean over to my wife in the theater and say, "I love this movie." Yet again I've started one of these posts talking about one show or film and segueing into another, but that's just how I roll, evidently. The old two for one deal, you can't go wrong with that! I recommend Barbarians to anyone who likes sword and sandals material, and I highly recommend The Eagle to anyone who appreciates quality filmmaking, good storytelling, and period combat on a relatively small budget.
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Post by screamingtreefrogs on Nov 11, 2020 15:07:45 GMT
Interesting
Are there any dragons and monsters in this?
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Post by Rey Kahuka on Nov 11, 2020 15:09:08 GMT
Interesting
Are there any dragons and monsters in this?
No. Well, there may be monsters in a figurative sense, depending on your world view.
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Post by Jep Gambardella on Nov 11, 2020 15:34:33 GMT
I watched Barbarians last week. I am a sucker for this subject matter, so when I saw it pop up on Netflix I immediately added it to my ever-growing list. I will get to it eventually...
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Post by screamingtreefrogs on Nov 12, 2020 11:58:44 GMT
Nightcrawler
Jake Gyllenthal (or however you spell it)
Free on Netflix - has a very ratings
2/3 of the way through it
Decent enough - hoping this dude dies at the end
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Post by WullieFort on Nov 12, 2020 12:46:46 GMT
1. The Masters
2.Serbia v Scotland
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Post by masterofallgoons on Nov 12, 2020 12:47:38 GMT
Nightcrawler Jake Gyllenthal (or however you spell it) Free on Netflix - has a very ratings 2/3 of the way through it Decent enough - hoping this dude dies at the end Let us know how that turns out.
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Post by masterofallgoons on Nov 12, 2020 13:01:12 GMT
Interesting
Are there any dragons and monsters in this?
No. Well, there may be monsters in a figurative sense, depending on your world view. I might check that out. One of the things I have a hard time with regarding these newer historical epics is something that you pointed out there which is low production values. I was sort of interested in Turn: Washington's Spies, Vikings, and some other AMC period drama/horror thing, but I do sort of struggle with taking any of it seriously when it's clearly shot digitally and the costumes came from a local theater shop. It's a matter of tone, in a lot of cases, but with the greater possibility of pulling off these period settings on a lower budget comes the more likely scenario of not pulling it off well. There was a kind of interesting Viking movie called Valhalla Rising with Mads Mikkelson by Nicolas Wing Dings Reffing. It's a very stark and sort obscure film that has barely anything resembling a plot, but it has some really gorgeous imagery and even though the specifity of its historical context is not what the movie is about in the slightest, I think it does have an authentic feeling. Robert Eggers has a movie in production about a Viking as well. I really loved The Witch and I think I really liked The Lighthouse, but I'd probably have to see it again to be sure. But the guy is clearly a slave to period authenticity. Every detail is made to be as true to its era as possible, and it really permeates everything. So far at least, I don't know that anyone around captures that sort of period atmosphere better as a writer/director. I'm looking forward to that one. I believe it's called The Northman.
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Post by screamingtreefrogs on Nov 12, 2020 13:02:01 GMT
Nightcrawler Jake Gyllenthal (or however you spell it) Free on Netflix - has a very ratings 2/3 of the way through it Decent enough - hoping this dude dies at the end Let us know how that turns out. Enjoyable enough
Uncut Gems - Adam Sandler
Also free on Netflix......
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Post by Rey Kahuka on Nov 12, 2020 13:20:47 GMT
I ended up rewatching Midway (2020) last night.
First I'll reprint my thoughts from a previous post elsewhere on the site when it originally came out:
It just blows my mind how historically accurate this film is. The specific details of how the battle played out, the failed early American bombing runs, the Japanese being unable to quickly determine the priorities of the attack once they knew that we knew they were there. All of it. The attention to detail in this film is stunning. They even depict a FOD walk on the carrier deck in the background. There's literally no reason to put that in the film other than for authenticity.
I love the flick. As I stated in my original review, it's corny at times and suffers from some hammy dialog with the Americans, and features kind of an odd cast that can be distracting, but holy shit is it action packed and true to life. I think the major complaint it got was its lack of practical effects (the battle scenes are almost 100% CGI), and that's fair. If this kind of film appeals to you, you want to see real planes in the air and real ships in the sea. But keep your expectations in check, the budget for this film was never going to afford that stuff. Again as I said earlier, I can't believe this film was made at all in 2019. Special thanks to my wife who had to watch this again with me last night and deal with me pausing it 150 times to explain the finer details behind every scene, even though I already did that over dinner when we saw it in theaters last year.
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Post by masterofallgoons on Nov 12, 2020 13:20:54 GMT
Let us know how that turns out. Enjoyable enough
Uncut Gems - Adam Sandler
Also free on Netflix......
I liked it. I like the way it ends for Jake Gyllenhaal's slimeball character, because it's so unsatisfactory. It's sort of a Taxi Driver thing in a way. It's not the most subtle social commentary but I dig it. And I think Gyllenhaal is great, pretty much in everything, but especially in that. Uncut Gems is totally worth a watch too. But it's equally unpleasant.
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Post by Jep Gambardella on Nov 12, 2020 14:52:52 GMT
I ended up rewatching Midway (2020) last night. First I'll reprint my thoughts from a previous post elsewhere on the site when it originally came out: It just blows my mind how historically accurate this film is. The specific details of how the battle played out, the failed early American bombing runs, the Japanese being unable to quickly determine the priorities of the attack once they knew that we knew they were there. All of it. The attention to detail in this film is stunning. They even depict a FOD walk on the carrier deck in the background. There's literally no reason to put that in the film other than for authenticity. I love the flick. As I stated in my original review, it's corny at times and suffers from some hammy dialog with the Americans, and features kind of an odd cast that can be distracting, but holy shit is it action packed and true to life. I think the major complaint it got was its lack of practical effects (the battle scenes are almost 100% CGI), and that's fair. If this kind of film appeals to you, you want to see real planes in the air and real ships in the sea. But keep your expectations in check, the budget for this film was never going to afford that stuff. Again as I said earlier, I can't believe this film was made at all in 2019. Special thanks to my wife who had to watch this again with me last night and deal with me pausing it 150 times to explain the finer details behind every scene, even though I already did that over dinner when we saw it in theaters last year. I thought it was pretty decent - but then they had me at "WW II aerial battle scenes".
Have you seen the Japanese movie The Eternal Zero ? I really liked it, even though I watched it on one of those tiny screens in an airplane, which really doesn't do it justice.
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Post by Rey Kahuka on Nov 12, 2020 16:16:38 GMT
I ended up rewatching Midway (2020) last night. First I'll reprint my thoughts from a previous post elsewhere on the site when it originally came out: It just blows my mind how historically accurate this film is. The specific details of how the battle played out, the failed early American bombing runs, the Japanese being unable to quickly determine the priorities of the attack once they knew that we knew they were there. All of it. The attention to detail in this film is stunning. They even depict a FOD walk on the carrier deck in the background. There's literally no reason to put that in the film other than for authenticity. I love the flick. As I stated in my original review, it's corny at times and suffers from some hammy dialog with the Americans, and features kind of an odd cast that can be distracting, but holy shit is it action packed and true to life. I think the major complaint it got was its lack of practical effects (the battle scenes are almost 100% CGI), and that's fair. If this kind of film appeals to you, you want to see real planes in the air and real ships in the sea. But keep your expectations in check, the budget for this film was never going to afford that stuff. Again as I said earlier, I can't believe this film was made at all in 2019. Special thanks to my wife who had to watch this again with me last night and deal with me pausing it 150 times to explain the finer details behind every scene, even though I already did that over dinner when we saw it in theaters last year. I thought it was pretty decent - but then they had me at "WW II aerial battle scenes".
Have you seen the Japanese movie The Eternal Zero ? I really liked it, even though I watched it on one of those tiny screens in an airplane, which really doesn't do it justice.
Thanks for the recommendation, sounds good.
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Post by screamingtreefrogs on Nov 13, 2020 22:17:15 GMT
Trailers for upcoming horror movies.... Late to the party.. This.. Looks.... Awesome Chris Rock's 'Saw'
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Post by klawrencio79 on Nov 14, 2020 2:37:07 GMT
The Queens's Gambit, a Netflix miniseries starring Anya Taylor-Joy about a young orphaned girl who blossoms into a chess prodigy. Very engaging and worthwhile character study that is highlighted by Taylor-Joy's work. She's an impressive up-and-coming actress and she gives a standout performance. Check this out if you're in need of something new to watch. I’m two episodes into it and so far it’s excellent. How far along are you now?
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Post by FrankSobotka1514 on Nov 14, 2020 4:33:45 GMT
I’m two episodes into it and so far it’s excellent. How far along are you now? Literally just finished. Loved it. That last episode was great. One thing I liked is that they didn’t make Borgov like some Ivan Drago dude. Just the right amount of episode and good acting all around.
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Post by tristramshandy on Nov 14, 2020 6:13:46 GMT
Finished up The Leftovers a few weeks ago. Really loved the series - - sad to be done with it.
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Post by sdm3 on Nov 14, 2020 10:03:09 GMT
David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet (2020) Pretty harrowing stuff if you care about the planet, which I like to think I do.
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Post by klawrencio79 on Nov 14, 2020 21:21:53 GMT
How far along are you now? Literally just finished. Loved it. That last episode was great. One thing I liked is that they didn’t make Borgov like some Ivan Drago dude. Just the right amount of episode and good acting all around. Yeah man, I'm with you. The ending went in a different direction than I expected and I found it to be very sweet and satisfying. Really, a lot of the characters accomplished that for me. Alma - you expect her to basically just use Beth completely to improve upon her life and while you could argue she does that to a degree, she does love her and respects her passions. In the end, her absence was really felt, both for the character and the audience. Benny - you expect him to be some sort of shitbag hustler, and he kinda is in some ways, but he completely respects Beth and ends up making her a better player, basically at his own expense. I read somewhere (and I can't find it now for whatever reason), about how every character in the show represents a piece on the board. Benny is the bishop. He teaches her, bestows wisdom upon her but is chaste in a weird way and really holds out from giving her carnal affection despite her wanting it. Harry - after their brief interlude ends, he still supports her and ends up helping her in the end. Just a beautifully told, wonderfully shot and crisply acted story. I'm glad you enjoyed it!
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