Movies/Shows you're watching.

[Wolkenkrabber]

Killing Eve

Looks like this show hit BBC America before it appeared on "proper" BBC. Which is weird.
I rarely get stuck into series where you need to see every episode. I generally prefer movies with a beginning and an end, or TV shows where you can watch free-standing episodes.
Anyway the first couple of episodes drew me in. Mostly due to the sense of mischief in the killer, "Villanelle". I've never watched Sandra Oh in anything before but she's also likable as Eve.

I must admit that as the series went on, I became equal parts engaged and frustrated. The books were adapted for screen by Phoebe Waller-Bridge who is probably best known as L3-37 in the Han Solo film. She also wrote and starred in Fleabag in 2016 which started off light but ended up somewhere a whole lot darker.

I suspect my frustration stemmed from

Spoiler

the lack of believability as the series progressed. It had dark comedy, but did it make me care enough? I think it became more difficult to root for either The British(& American) or the Russians as the series progressed, as they all seemed a bit too cosy with each other.

The soundtrack has some nice tunes from David Holmes' Unloved band/project, which gave the show some added stylishness.
Will I bother coming back for the second series? I'll probably watch the first episode in the hope that it will pull me in. And by the fifth one I'll be doubting myself again.

[sandelic]

I've recently discovered 'Big Fat Quiz of Everything' and 'Would I lie to you', it's BBC production if I'm not mistaken.
Great shows, good laugh!

[Enjoyed]

'Big Fat Quiz' is a Channel 4 thing. Used to watch a lot of them back in the UK. The 'Big Fat Quiz of The Year' is always an enjoyable way to catch up on all the shit going on throughout the year!

[Wolkenkrabber]

'Big Fat Quiz' is a Channel 4 thing. Used to watch a lot of them back in the UK. The 'Big Fat Quiz of The Year' is always an enjoyable way to catch up on all the shit going on throughout the year!

I was literally just about to say this. There should be a Big Fat Quiz Of The Year on in a few days' time. Though I don't know how long it takes for them to get to Croatia (unless you're watching via naughty not-quite-legal internet services...The stuff you can put on a Firestick these days, wow!)

Following on from my Killing Eve post further above, this may or may not be of interest to David Holmes fans (oh there are emojis, so it doesn't embed):

https://twitter.com/footbalIfights/status/1074728924939251712

or try Youtube

[sandelic]

We don't get most UK shows here, I've watched it on YouTube.
Thank gods I don't believe in for YouTube.

[Ben_j]

Black Mirror: Bandersnatch is the best thing I've "seen" this year. So incredibly well put together. It reminded me of The Stanley Parable in a way. The "meta" Netflix ending was my favourite.

[MIKL]

Black Mirror: Bandersnatch is the best thing I've "seen" this year. So incredibly well put together. It reminded me of The Stanley Parable in a way. The "meta" Netflix ending was my favourite.

I couldn't watch it on TV or computer unfortunately but did on my iPad. but in a way it made sense for a better experience using a 'black mirror' device with headphones on. There was a couple of times where it looked like i made the wrong choices and they showed me 2 screens to choose the 'right' way to continue which was bit odd. The backstage studio ending was where I ended up. Will have to try it again.

[Ben_j]

I couldn't watch it on TV or computer unfortunately but did on my iPad. but in a way it made sense for a better experience using a 'black mirror' device with headphones on. There was a couple of times where it looked like i made the wrong choices and they showed me 2 screens to choose the 'right' way to continue which was bit odd. The backstage studio ending was where I ended up. Will have to try it again.

The good thing is they made it so you can explore all the paths. You can always go back and see a different branch, and sometimes making the same choice over and over gives you different things

[MIKL]

The good thing is they made it so you can explore all the paths. You can always go back and see a different branch, and sometimes making the same choice over and over gives you different things

Just to add another layer of of the whole production in a creepy way (especially when it plays with mental health and whats real and whats not etc.):

[sandelic]

Black Mirror: Bandersnatch is the best thing I've "seen" this year. So incredibly well put together. It reminded me of The Stanley Parable in a way. The "meta" Netflix ending was my favourite.

It really is. I was expecting some kind of pause in motion while choosing, but it's really seamless and incredibly well put together, as you've said.
I didn't know anything about it and was surprised at

Spoiler

make your own adventure book 'theme' and seeing ZX Spectrum after a long time on the screen, as I used to own both ZX Spectrum (messed with BASIC quite a lot) and few said books, it was both creepy and fascinating watch for me!

I wonder if this kind of interactive movie is a step forward to next stage of this genre. Movies, as a format, are basically unchanged since beginning, it was always a passive experience, until now.
Maybe this will push things around a bit.

[surface_to_air]

Has anyone seen Glitch yet? I've just finished the second season and I'm really excited to see where it goes.

Another favourite is Legion, really dig the soundtrack and cinematography.

The Patriot also is cool, a of the songs he sings in the episodes describe whats going to happen in a few scenes time plus it's funny.

Falling Water is pretty good also

I'm about to start the Leftovers again and I'm enjoying the teasers for the new Watchmen series.

Before I finish I gave been enjoying Preacher also

[MIKL]

On behalf of people with taste in Australia, I apologise for Tidelands (the first Australian Netflix series). Played out like a bad version of Home and Away or Neighbours and thats saying something. So embarrassing. Of course it got vaguely interesting on the last episode.

Bird box however was pretty good and Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross did the soundtrack too. Didn't hold back at the start, couldn't take a breather until something else happened. Quite refreshing for that type of genre.

[Bosco]

Roma

So I was gifted a membership to the same art movie-house that showed all the old 70mm films I saw late this summer (2001:A Space Odyssey, Patton, Lawerence of Arabia etc...). Well, they were offering an exclusive 70mm screening of 'Roma' through this weekend and I managed to make the trip out.

It was beautiful. This is an amazing film which you can find on Netflix right now, and I highly recommend it to those who are not afraid of slow paced films. Despite it being shot in black and white, do yourself a favor and watch it on the highest quality of viewing that you may have. High quality really helps in this case, because there's certain nuances on shots throughout the film where the director wants you to absorb the entire scene and not just the primary character.



The House that Jack Built

Also saw the Lars von Trier's 'The House that Jack Built'. It was good. It's about a serial killer and the stages he goes through. Also a lot of philosophical and ethical thoughts that Jack (the serial killer) has.  Certainly not for everyone, and I can see why it would piss people off. But, I feel the criticism about this film is due to the current social climate and everyones cold feelings towards the director. Maybe I've been exposed to too many horrible things, but this wasn't as bad as I was expecting it to be. 'Irreversible' still holds that title.

Bruno Ganz (hitler himself!) is in it. This is relevant because Lars von Trier has been quoted at Cannes film festival "I understand Hitler" and "I'm a Nazi" thus being banned. Well after 7 year banishment, he returns with 'The House that Jack Built' featuring Bruno Ganz ('Downfall') as second lead character.

[Wolkenkrabber]

Roma
It was beautiful. This is an amazing film

Hmm,the premise and trailer didn't grab me (other than the visuals). But Barack Obama had this in his films of 2018 list, and I hear it's going to be Oscar nominated. So I guess I'll have to watch it...

The House that Jack Built

Also saw the Lars von Trier's 'The House that Jack Built'. It was good. It's about a serial killer... and I can see why it would piss people off...

I rememeber enjoying American Psycho (the book). Sort of rooting for the bad guy, enjoying his fashion advice and his cheesy apraisals of Whitney Houston albums etc. Sometimes it's fun to be bad. But this? It pissed me off.
I sat there thinking: why do I put myself through von Trier films? It feels so fucking long! What's the message? If you're a psycho killer you may go to hell? People are too trusting of psychos because they don't expect them to be psychos? It was about art, or von Trier himself? Maybe I wasn't in the mood to see beneath the surface.  There was some very dark humour in places (I'll admit I chuckled at the "waving" kid). But jeeesus, this was hard going.

Fun fact: I was reading about psychopathic behaviour a while ago. Apparently most Psychopaths aren't locked up in nut houses or the Big House. The live and work among us, pretending to empathise and interact like normal people do, but they're always looking to do things for their own purposes. Murder isn't usually on their minds because it's messy and likely to slow them down, and then they won't achieve their goals. Their goal is rarely murder in itself. Psychopaths often do well at climbing the corporate ladder because they're ruthless, shallow and lie to get what they want. Reassuring stuff!

Other films:
A Simple Favour. Anna Kendrick is always likable, Blake Lively (who I never watched in Gossip Girl but I liked in The Shallows) was great too. A fun, slightly dark movie.
American Animals. Decent acting, true story. A heist movie like no other.
These above two are the sort of films that should be getting nominated for best picture at the Oscars IMO, but won't.
First Man: Wow, they really concentrated on Neil Armstrong; didn't even bother showing Buzz's moonwalk. But I guess if the idea was to help us get to know the famous guy who nobody knew, then job done.
A Quiet Place: I thought the premise was a bit silly but then I watched the film and just got into it. Well done Mr & Mrs Emily Blunt.
The Happytime Murders: Why all the hate? Had a scene to rival the handsoap scene in Ted 1. Yeah it was crude and silly, but I laughed.
Venom: Check the Rotten Tomatoes critics score Vs audience score. A fun, freestanding comic book movie. Imperfect but felt fresh and less bloated than the Avengers stuff.
A Star Is Born: Oscar fodder? I liked the characters, story and music in the first half more than the second half. Gaga was good! Now if she could just make rock music in real life...
Bad Times At The El Royale: Great to see Jeff Bridges still in interesting films. Not as good as Hell Or High Water, and needed to be about 25 minutes shorter, but has a nice semi-Tarantino feel to it.
Ralph Breaks The Internet: Loved the scene with all the Disney Princesses. And Wonder Woman is in it (well, Gal Gadot playing a sexy bad girl game character). Pure entertainment.
Vice (2018). From the guy who explained the 2008 crash in The Big Short, we get a sort of explanation of Dick Cheney and Iraq war 2, (lets blame 9/11 on a country, people don't understand a war with an abstract group). Very funny in places, but it mixed acting with real life stuff. Seeing real footage of the blood soaked carriage of a Picadilly Line train that was bombed in 2005 was sobering for me, as I was very close to being on that train (I remember the lights in the the station flickering and the platform guard getting on his walkey talkey, I knew something had happened). Oscar contender?
The Favourite: Another Oscar contender? Didn't think I would like this as period pieces just aren't my thing. Also thought I'd had enough of Yorgos Lanthimos and his deadpan style. But actually: Great acting, lots of humour, and fun to hear Emma Stone say 'cunt' quite regularly (oh I'm easily amused). I wouldn't have known it was a Lanthimos film. Ending was a bit 'arty' though.
Bohemian Rhapsody: It was fun celebrating the character of Freddy Mercury and some of Queen's music. But I wanted even more music! And I knew they had just made stuff up and rearranged the order of events (they didn't have a huge break up/ fall out in the months prior to Live Aid, they had actually just finished a big tour). Sacha Baron Cohen was originally Freddie and I wish we had seen his take, TBH. The film went through multiple directors too! Brian May & Roger Taylor seem happy to be involved with the inaccurate final product. I guess it works as entertainment.

[MIKL]

Watched the Fyre Festival documentary on Netflix just for a laugh but then realised the mess that sociopath and other morons left in other peoples lives and genuinely not giving a shit and still worried about themselves. (like some of the workers that got burnt and the people who live on the island including the woman who owned that cafe they dumped all the crowd too all the time.) Paints a picture in many ways about people in this day and age we live in. Crazy shit.

[sandelic]

True Detective, anyone?
First 3 episodes are out.

[Bosco]

^I'll be on it eventually. I'm a little TV show fatigued at the moment. Season 1 was maybe the finest season of Television I've ever seen. Season 2 while not as captivating, still brought some great moments and introduced me to the lovely Lera Lynn:

her album 'Resistor' is worth checking out

[Ford]

Anyone going to give Hanna on Amazon Prime a look? Wonder what kind of music they'll have for it!

[inchemwetrust]

Anyone going to give Hanna on Amazon Prime a look? Wonder what kind of music they'll have for it!

I know that Geoff from Portishead works on it. Gonna try and watch it today.

[Bosco]

RIP Bruno Ganz

Hard not to be cliche at this moment, but you were really fucking great as Hitler and it will always be remembered, either through the lens of a monumental performance, or the dark-humor of an enraged hitler that has been meme'd to death.

Gonna seek out 'Wings of Desire'.





Disney...

Somebody's gotta call out Disney. The countless Marvel and Star Wars movies are annoying, but this 'live action' remake bullshit is getting out of hand. I feel really horrible for the animators that partook in the originals.





P.S. RIP to Albert Finney, too. 'Big Fish' is such an important movie for me. Man, did I cry after seeing this for the first time.