The "I'm watching/just watched *movie title* thread....

[Taaroa]

Just finished watching the original House of Cards from the 1990s. It's set after Thatcher's resignation and follows the rise of Francis Urqhart, Chief Whip of the Conservative Party, and his eventual fall.  There are three seasons with four episodes apiece - the first season follows Urqhart's rise to PM, the second season is a conflict between him and the king, and the third season is his fall. Needless to say the story is much more focused and cohesive than the American version, and it is free of the writers injecting their own views and recent events into plots.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17uvKIAuVbU

Probably isn't for everyone, and you do need to know a little bit about British history and politics, but it was decent enough for a watch. Makes for an interesting comparison with the 2013 series (which lifts plot points and quotations directly from the older show).


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMRUHGnN29s

[Zetaspeak]

Watched the 2014 movie Lucy. Pretty cool movie with ScarJo in the lead, it's about expanding your brain power capacity. She was pretty kick ass in it.

[albrecht]

Just finished watching the original House of Cards from the 1990s. It's set after Thatcher's resignation and follows the rise of Francis Urqhart, Chief Whip of the Conservative Party, and his eventual fall.  There are three seasons with four episodes apiece - the first season follows Urqhart's rise to PM, the second season is a conflict between him and the king, and the third season is his fall. Needless to say the story is much more focused and cohesive than the American version, and it is free of the writers injecting their own views and recent events into plots.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17uvKIAuVbU

Probably isn't for everyone, and you do need to know a little bit about British history and politics, but it was decent enough for a watch. Makes for an interesting comparison with the 2013 series (which lifts plot points and quotations directly from the older show).


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMRUHGnN29s

I never saw the recent American remake but figured it would be typical Hollywood politics and why not just watch the old mini-series? Sort of like the remake of "Tailor-Tinker-Soldier-Spy." The British mini-series, which- though I like Gary Oldman- has Sir Alec Guinness in it, is far better because it is hard to get a whole Le Carre' novel into the ~2hour Hollywood movie format. I like the mini-series format. Long enough to get into more details but not long (like a tv show) that you must dedicate so many hours to watch and, possibly, never ending. A nice format between tv and movies. Usually rather read anyway though.

[pate]

Fookin' Commies

(url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5834198/)Fookin' Commies(/url)

mmmlll;;//??....

[21st Century Man]

I just watched Ishtar (1987) for the first time.  Warren Beatty and Dustin Hoffman play two singer songwriters whose songs suck so badly that they can only get gigs in Honduras or Morocco.  This is a terrible updating of the Hope/Crosby films and  it is simply not very funny.  Stick with The Road to Morocco with Hope and Crosby in their prime.  1.5 stars.

[chefist]

If you are into cold war nostalgia, missile technology and history...this is an excellent documentary. I've studied military, especially nuclear accidents for years. Damascus, AR is a classic example of an "almost" nuclear cataclysm.

Much of the footage was filmed 1/4 mile from my house at the Titan II Missile Museum in Sahuarita, AZ.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YiecixAsm8w

[SredniVashtar]

I never saw the recent American remake but figured it would be typical Hollywood politics and why not just watch the old mini-series? Sort of like the remake of "Tailor-Tinker-Soldier-Spy." The British mini-series, which- though I like Gary Oldman- has Sir Alec Guinness in it, is far better because it is hard to get a whole Le Carre' novel into the ~2hour Hollywood movie format. I like the mini-series format. Long enough to get into more details but not long (like a tv show) that you must dedicate so many hours to watch and, possibly, never ending. A nice format between tv and movies. Usually rather read anyway though.

I hated the film of TTSS, and Oldman seemed miscast to me. I don't see what gaying up one of the characters achieved either, not helped by Cumberbatch being fairly crap too. LeCarre is quite a dull writer but the TV series made it work to their advantage, with long takes of Guinness cleaning his glasses and long scenes that were fairly irrelevant yet somehow intriguing. You can still go back and watch it, even if you know who the mole is.

[chefist]

I hated the film of TTSS, and Oldman seemed miscast to me. I don't see what gaying up one of the characters achieved either, not helped by Cumberbatch being fairly crap too. LeCarre is quite a dull writer but the TV series made it work to their advantage, with long takes of Guinness cleaning his glasses and long scenes that were fairly irrelevant yet somehow intriguing. You can still go back and watch it, even if you know who the mole is.

Cumberbatch is much like Robert Downey Jr. They portray the characters through the filters of their own personality. Here we don't say, "Robert Downey Jr as Sherlock Holmes." We say, "Sherlock Holmes channeling Robert Downey Jr."

[Billy Joe Mulgreavey]

Stayed up late the other night perusing YouTube and was dismayed to find that actor Ji-Tu Cumbuka had passed in July.  Of course, one of his more memorable roles was the ill-fated crap shooter in Harlem Nights, for me, easily the funniest scene.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4F_vg3FXlE

I also rediscovered a television movie from 1979:  The Jericho Mile

I saw it when I was a kid and really liked it.  Directed by Michael Mann.  Starring Peter Strauss, Richard Lawson, Brian Dennehy, Roger Mosley, Richard Moll, Ed Lauter and Ji-Tu Cumbuka among others.  Looks like it was never released on DVD Region 1, but it is available on Youtube.   Interesting note:  It was filmed inside Folsom Prison.  Another note:  I recognized a couple Stones songs in the movie, but no credit was given.   A fine movie.  Check it out.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7NOQFWpwIo

[trostol]

give The Orville a chance..i enjoyed it

[paladin1991]

Revisiting the 'Big Love' series with Bill Paxton.   

[21st Century Man]

I hated the film of TTSS, and Oldman seemed miscast to me. I don't see what gaying up one of the characters achieved either, not helped by Cumberbatch being fairly crap too. LeCarre is quite a dull writer but the TV series made it work to their advantage, with long takes of Guinness cleaning his glasses and long scenes that were fairly irrelevant yet somehow intriguing. You can still go back and watch it, even if you know who the mole is.

This comment needs special commendation.  Le Carre is a very dull writer and only an actor such as Guinness can elevate the mundane to another level.  Not to piss on Oldman because I think he is a great actor too but he lacks the charisma of Guinness.

[albrecht]

This comment needs special commendation.  Le Carre is a very dull writer and only an actor such as Guinness can elevate the mundane to another level.  Not to piss on Oldman because I think he is a great actor too but he lacks the charisma of Guinness.

I disagree with the both of you on all points. I think Le Carre' is better in book than in movies, especially in a Hollywood movie that must, by necessity, condensed into a ~2hr movie. (I think the mini-series format, as an aside, makes his stuff- and many others- better than a 2hr movie or tv series, where they tend to 'go on forever' or get canceled without a good ending. And finds a happy medium of enough length to tell complicated plots and character development but not a go-on-forever, wait-for-next-season milking of the story. ) But agree, in a way, that both Oldman and Guinness are both great actors but different and better in different roles and Oldman lacks nuance. But in movies like "The Firm" and the "Leon" was great in the role.

[21st Century Man]

I disagree with the both of you on all points. I think Le Carre' is better in book than in movies, especially in a Hollywood movie that must, by necessity, condensed into a ~2hr movie. (I think the mini-series format, as an aside, makes his stuff- and many others- better than a 2hr movie or tv series, where they tend to 'go on forever' or get canceled without a good ending. And finds a happy medium of enough length to tell complicated plots and character development but not a go-on-forever, wait-for-next-season milking of the story. ) But agree, in a way, that both Oldman and Guinness are both great actors but different and better in different roles and Oldman lacks nuance. But in movies like "The Firm" and the "Leon" was great in the role.

Maybe so, it just seems like every Le Carre adaptation that my wife and I have seen have been rather dull.  I have several of his books but have yet to read them. If I had seen a good movie, maybe I would have wanted to read Le Carre.  I have the Guinness version of TTSS but have not watched it yet.  Maybe you are right in that Le Carre doesn't transfer well to cinema.  We did try to watch the Night Manager on TV but it failed to hold our interest.  I love Sean Connery but I found The Russia House dull.  The Oldman version of TTSS was sort of interesting but if it had been a miniseries, I wouldn't have bothered with a second episode.  It has been a long time since I saw The Spy Who Came In From The Cold with Burton and I can't remember my initial reaction to the film. I probably saw the Constant Gardener but if so it was very forgettable because I don't remember much about it either.

[albrecht]

Maybe so, it just seems like every Le Carre adaptation that my wife and I have seen have been rather dull.  I have several of his books but have yet to read them. If I had seen a good movie, maybe I would have wanted to read Le Carre.  I have the Guinness version of TTSS but have not watched it yet.  Maybe you are right in that Le Carre doesn't transfer well to cinema.  We did try to watch the Night Manager on TV but it failed to hold our interest.  I love Sean Connery but I found The Russia House dull.  The Oldman version of TTSS was sort of interesting but if it had been a miniseries, I wouldn't have bothered with a second episode.  It has been a long time since I saw The Spy Who Came In From The Cold with Burton and I can't remember my initial reaction to the film. I probably saw the Constant Gardener but if so it was very forgettable because I don't remember much about it either.

Yes, I was hoping the recent AMC deal would be better but, not. The Sir Alec stuff, I thought, was good though. But Le Carre books aren't "James Bond" or Ludlam etc (though I like those books) but as well suited for Hollywood or etc. More nuanced, not, a lot of "action," and multiple subplots, more reality of the situation (wheels within wheels as JJA might say,) and politics and bureaucracy. So, yes, I guess, can be a bit slow at times but because so more realistic. (In some ways, actually, this kind of fiction has problems, like historical fiction- or some might say certain C2C guests, can be a problem as they 'become' history versus 'real' history.

[21st Century Man]

Maybe so, it just seems like every Le Carre adaptation that my wife and I have seen havehas been rather dull.  I have several of his books but have yet......

FIFM

Tired last night.

[21st Century Man]

Be warned.  Sometimes Rex Reed praises mediocre movies but if he bashes a movie then you know it is bad.  Such is the case with Darren Aronofsky's new movie, mother! starring Jennifer Lawrence, Javier Bardem, Ed Harris and Michelle Pffeifer.  Shame about the last because she hasn't been in many films of late.  Aronofsky's the filmmaker of the atrocious Noah that bombed a couple years ago.  Hopefully this movie will seal his doom.

http://observer.com/2017/09/darren-aronofsky-mother-worst-movie-of-the-year/

[SredniVashtar]

I disagree with the both of you on all points. I think Le Carre' is better in book than in movies, especially in a Hollywood movie that must, by necessity, condensed into a ~2hr movie. (I think the mini-series format, as an aside, makes his stuff- and many others- better than a 2hr movie or tv series, where they tend to 'go on forever' or get canceled without a good ending. And finds a happy medium of enough length to tell complicated plots and character development but not a go-on-forever, wait-for-next-season milking of the story. ) But agree, in a way, that both Oldman and Guinness are both great actors but different and better in different roles and Oldman lacks nuance. But in movies like "The Firm" and the "Leon" was great in the role.

I liked the series of TTSS, and the book wasn't bad either, but when you read one you've read them all. Lots of peripheral detail to throw you off track and pad things out. Smiley's People was a prime example of that, getting twisted up in his own plot and tripping over his feet.

[albrecht]

I liked the series of TTSS, and the book wasn't bad either, but when you read one you've read them all. Lots of peripheral detail to throw you off track and pad things out. Smiley's People was a prime example of that, getting twisted up in his own plot and tripping over his feet.

He has a new one out "A Legacy of Spies" but I haven't read it yet.

[ItsOver]

Be warned.  Sometimes Rex Reed praises mediocre movies but if he bashes a movie then you know it is bad.  Such is the case with Darren Aronofsky's new movie, mother! starring Jennifer Lawrence, Javier Bardem, Ed Harris and Michelle Pffeifer.  Shame about the last because she hasn't been in many films of late.  Aronofsky's the filmmaker of the atrocious Noah that bombed a couple years ago.  Hopefully this movie will seal his doom.

http://observer.com/2017/09/darren-aronofsky-mother-worst-movie-of-the-year/

I saw the preview this week.  The movie looked like one big garbled hodgepodge.  I'm not a fan of Lawrence, anyway.  She just looks like slightly above a Plain-Jane, with the performance of a dull knife.  Bardem's talent looked to be wasted in this latest Hollywood wreck.

[21st Century Man]

He has a new one out "A Legacy of Spies" but I haven't read it yet.

Yeah, I saw it at Costco the other day.  He must be close to 90 yet he keeps churning them out.

[21st Century Man]

I saw the preview this week.  The movie looked like one big garbled hodgepodge.  I'm not a fan of Lawrence Lawrence, anyway.  She just looks like slightly above a Plain-Jane, with the performance of a dull knife.  Bardem's talent looked to be wasted in this latest Hollywood wreck.

I'm not a fan of hers either.  This looks like a simply terrible movie.

[Dr. MD MD]

Be warned.  Sometimes Rex Reed praises mediocre movies but if he bashes a movie then you know it is bad.  Such is the case with Darren Aronofsky's new movie, mother! starring Jennifer Lawrence, Javier Bardem, Ed Harris and Michelle Pffeifer.  Shame about the last because she hasn't been in many films of late.  Aronofsky's the filmmaker of the atrocious Noah that bombed a couple years ago.  Hopefully this movie will seal his doom.

http://observer.com/2017/09/darren-aronofsky-mother-worst-movie-of-the-year/

You know I've only ever seen his first two movies which I thought were great but I obviously lost track of him awhile back.

[albrecht]

Yeah, I saw it at Costco the other day.  He must be close to 90 yet he keeps churning them out.

Is there a special 3,000 page version for Costco or do you make you buy 2 of them in a shrink-wrap package?

[GravitySucks]

Is there a special 3,000 page version for Costco or do you make you buy 2 of them in a shrink-wrap package?

The sample I got in the little plastic cup wasn't very tasty.

[SredniVashtar]

He has a new one out "A Legacy of Spies" but I haven't read it yet.

Yes, Smiley gets a walk-on part in that, I believe. As you said, it's certainly not Bond (no bad thing because the books are terrible) but if you don't mind unthrilling thrillers then it's fine. People who read him probably love Trollope too, something they can pick up and put down without getting their pulse racing.

[Dr. MD MD]

Yes, Smiley gets a walk-on part in that, I believe. As you said, it's certainly not Bond (no bad thing because the books are terrible) but if you don't mind unthrilling thrillers then it's fine. People who read him probably love Trollope too, something they can pick up and put down without getting their pulse racing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXnuy0hOs64

[21st Century Man]

Is there a special 3,000 page version for Costco or do you make you buy 2 of them in a shrink-wrap package?

Not a 3000 page version but there are two bonus chapters in their editions! Not necessary to the plot and focuses mostly on characterization. LOL.

[albrecht]

Not a 3000 page version but there are two bonus chapters in their editions! Not necessary to the plot and focuses mostly on characterization. LOL.

And I thought I was kidding! Classic.

[21st Century Man]

And I thought I was kidding! Classic.

No, I was kidding!!!    LOL