Bazza Posted June 11, 2007 Report Share Posted June 11, 2007 Re: What Have You Watched Recently? disc 1 & 2 of Smallville (season 4) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKJAM! Posted June 11, 2007 Report Share Posted June 11, 2007 Re: What Have You Watched Recently? The last bit of the first season of Kaleidostar, an anime series about a girl who "runs away" to join the circus. (Cirque du Soleil style one.) Half the episode synopses start "Sora trains very hard." Towards the end of the series, the Kaleidostage takes a wrong path, so Sora and her friends must train very hard to perform a particularly difficult aerial maneuver that will allow them to regain the circus' true spirit. And the first bit of Little Snow Fairy Sugar. This one's the story of an 11-year old orphan named Saga, who lives in a quaint German small town with her grandmother. She's very mature for her age and perhaps a little too responsible, but it turns out Saga can see fairies. In specific, an apprentice snow fairy named Sugar, who's come to the human world to search for "twinkle", the one substance that will allow Sugar to mature into a full-grown season fairy. Sugar is much more immature than Saga, and causes a lot of trouble. It's sweet, but definitely a kiddie series. Oh, and "Range War on the Big Sag," an old-time Western. While watching this one, I was thinking of the Bechdel Test. More than one major female character? Three. (Rancher's wife, Rancher's daughter, Saloon "girl") Do they talk to each other? Yes. (Wife and daughter talk, daughter and saloon girl talk.) About something other than a man? Barely. (Saloon girl briefly mistakes the daughter for a potential employee before they start talking about the saloon owner.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AliceTheOwl Posted June 11, 2007 Report Share Posted June 11, 2007 Re: What Have You Watched Recently? Josh and I spent the last couple of weeks watching Amazing Stories, that Spielberg series from 1985. The first season is out on DVD, and we finished it on Saturday. It seems like the fewer the special effects, the better the episode. Also, there were several episodes I remembered, and some I didn't remember consciously, but where lines sounded familiar, because I'd been repeating them for the last 20 years. Watching one, I realized where my phobia about mirrors came from. Dang. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Confoundo Posted June 11, 2007 Report Share Posted June 11, 2007 Re: What Have You Watched Recently? There were some excellent episodes of Amazing Stories - the pilot with the belly gunner of the B-52 bomber comes to mind (and a great cast - Kevin Costner, Keifer Southerland, Anthony LaPaglia, Casey Siemasko). But on the other hand, there were also some complete dogs... that was a very uneven show. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susano Posted June 11, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 11, 2007 Re: What Have You Watched Recently? There were some excellent episodes of Amazing Stories - the pilot with the belly gunner of the B-52 bomber comes to mind (and a great cast - Kevin Costner' date=' Keifer Southerland, Anthony LaPaglia, Casey Siemasko).[/quote'] If that's the one with the cartoon landing gear, that was a B-17. B-52s didn't fly in WWII and didn't have ball turret in the belly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AliceTheOwl Posted June 11, 2007 Report Share Posted June 11, 2007 Re: What Have You Watched Recently? There were some excellent episodes of Amazing Stories - the pilot with the belly gunner of the B-52 bomber comes to mind (and a great cast - Kevin Costner' date=' Keifer Southerland, Anthony LaPaglia, Casey Siemasko). But on the other hand, there were also some complete dogs... that was a very uneven show.[/quote'] Yeah, we wound up watching that one on Memorial Day. I got all teary-eyed. Uneven definitely describes it, though, and there's absolutely no unifying theme to the show. It's just loose stories, some of them heartwarming, some of them scary, some of them all about the schadenfreude. There isn't even any narration or anything to tie it all together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Confoundo Posted June 11, 2007 Report Share Posted June 11, 2007 Re: What Have You Watched Recently? If that's the one with the cartoon landing gear, that was a B-17. B-52s didn't fly in WWII and didn't have ball turret in the belly. Military nerd. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susano Posted June 11, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 11, 2007 Re: What Have You Watched Recently? Military nerd. Yeah.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thag13 Posted June 12, 2007 Report Share Posted June 12, 2007 Re: What Have You Watched Recently? I have become a Deadliest Catch fan. Watching crazy crab fisherman is a lot of fun. Ghost Hunters has started its new season. As usual, shows are kinda hit and miss, but overall I like watching Grant and Jason and the rest of the gang. My son watches Top Chef so I do to. I normally dont like Vote the loser off kinda shows, but this one is the exception. I caught the Hammer Film version of Hound of the Baskersvilles a few days ago on the Retro Channel. Peter Cushing as Holmes is quite fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AliceTheOwl Posted June 12, 2007 Report Share Posted June 12, 2007 Re: What Have You Watched Recently? Josh and I watched A Clockwork Orange last night, which neither of us had ever seen in its entirety. (I'd seen the last half of an edited-for-TV version.) I can see why it's so iconic; it kinda stays with you. I thought the more subtle elements were interesting. People blame drugs and TV and music and violent movies (and now video games) for the kind of behavior Alex exhibits, but he drinks milk, is inspired by Beethoven, and finds the Bible titillating for all its violence and sex. That sort of supports my supposition that it's not the music or TV or movies or video games; people are inherently violent. Which only tells me that the author agrees with me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rebeccared50 Posted June 13, 2007 Report Share Posted June 13, 2007 Re: What Have You Watched Recently? Special Unit 2 - it's kinda on in the background... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AliceTheOwl Posted June 14, 2007 Report Share Posted June 14, 2007 Re: What Have You Watched Recently? Josh and I watched Ghost Rider last night. Unimpressed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rebeccared50 Posted June 15, 2007 Report Share Posted June 15, 2007 Re: What Have You Watched Recently? GhostHunters - the episode at Englands Hellfire Caves - very cool! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FenrisUlf Posted June 15, 2007 Report Share Posted June 15, 2007 Re: What Have You Watched Recently? GhostHunters - the episode at Englands Hellfire Caves - very cool! OT, but if you can ever find a copy of Daniel Mannix's book The Hellfire Club, get a copy. Weirdly interesting history and as funny as all get out. "You, sir, will perish either of the pox or on the gallows!" "That depends. Shall I embrace your mistress, or your ethics?" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susano Posted August 6, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 6, 2007 Re: What Have You Watched Recently? Jackie Chan's New Police Story. A nice action flick, with a twist on the "buddy cop" angle. Jackie is getting older, but he can still do the moves and still does his own stunts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ternaugh Posted August 6, 2007 Report Share Posted August 6, 2007 Re: What Have You Watched Recently? Just got back from "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix", which wasn't bad, though it did suffer from the normal compression that the books usually go through when they're made into movies. Yesterday, I watched "Fail-Safe" and "Total Recall". Both good movies for different reasons. JoeG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Hopcroft Posted August 6, 2007 Report Share Posted August 6, 2007 Re: What Have You Watched Recently? Finally got a chance to watch Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow from beginning to end. Outdated as hell but good, goofy pulp fun. Interesting how they managed to use an actor who had been dead for twenty years as the movie's master villain (in what was very much a riff on the Wizard of Oz concept -- "I wanted to pay no attention to the man behind the curtain, but somebody needs to bury the dude; he's really starting to smell....") Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OzMike Posted August 6, 2007 Report Share Posted August 6, 2007 Re: What Have You Watched Recently? Saw Sicko on Sunday. Pretty good. Michael Moore manages to go for almost the whole movie without putting on a gigantic Barnum and Bailey hat and when he does it falls flat. Still didn't detract from the movie much for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bazza Posted August 6, 2007 Report Share Posted August 6, 2007 Re: What Have You Watched Recently? Saw Sicko on Sunday. Pretty good. Michael Moore manages to go for almost the whole movie without putting on a gigantic Barnum and Bailey hat and when he does it falls flat. Still didn't detract from the movie much for me. sicko Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AliceTheOwl Posted August 6, 2007 Report Share Posted August 6, 2007 Re: What Have You Watched Recently? Josh and I saw Paprika, Satoshi Kon's latest, in the theater on Saturday. It's about the DC Mini, a device which allows people to share dreams, and for these dreams to be recorded. However, the device has more far-reaching consequences when it's used to forcibly trap someone in a delusional person's dream, and it starts leaking out into the real world. It's very trippy and weird, and I fully expected to have odd dreams that night. My dreams were very vivid, but mundane, which was odd. Kon sprinkles in his usual movie homages, not bothering to hide his nods to the classics. Josh spotted a few movie references that were less blatant, too. I enjoyed the movie, and will be tracking down the soundtrack in the near future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susano Posted August 9, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 9, 2007 Re: What Have You Watched Recently? Last King of Scotland Forest Whitaker is just frightening as Idi Amin (and he justly deserves his Oscar), while the film itself gives us a scary look at a mad man in power -- from the inside. I really can't feel any sympathy for our 'hero,' a young doctor from Scotland, as he basically goes along for the ride willingly and ignores what is really happening for the most part -- until the ugly truth is presented to him directly. Then he wants out. Million Dollar Baby Whew... what a well-made and ultimately depressing film. I won't say too much about it, except that it is an excellent film about boxing, friendship, and going for one's dream. And it also proves the saying -- you can pick your friends, but you're stuck with family. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susano Posted August 18, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 18, 2007 Re: What Have You Watched Recently? Stardust Someone took the original novel and did a fairly good job of trimming it down. I haven't read it in a while, so I'm not 100% how everything compares (as in, what parts were made up for the movie and what was cut... exactly), but overall it holds together. As one reviewer said, it's The Princess Bride for the 21st Century. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Hopcroft Posted August 18, 2007 Report Share Posted August 18, 2007 Re: What Have You Watched Recently? Josh and I saw Paprika, Satoshi Kon's latest, in the theater on Saturday. It's about the DC Mini, a device which allows people to share dreams, and for these dreams to be recorded. However, the device has more far-reaching consequences when it's used to forcibly trap someone in a delusional person's dream, and it starts leaking out into the real world. It's very trippy and weird, and I fully expected to have odd dreams that night. My dreams were very vivid, but mundane, which was odd. Kon sprinkles in his usual movie homages, not bothering to hide his nods to the classics. Josh spotted a few movie references that were less blatant, too. I enjoyed the movie, and will be tracking down the soundtrack in the near future. Satoshi Kon has always been an animator with a vast appreciation for cinema history. Each of his first three film could be said to be tributes to an icon of the cinema; Perfect Blue was a near-spot-on Hitchcock tribute, Millennium Actress was highly reminiscent of Kubrick and Fellini, and Tokyo Godfathers was a remake of a classic John Ford film. Paranoia Agent, his twelve-episode TV series, was, of course, a major-league mind-bleep. But it is well worth catching. Still, it must be very tough for him, brilliant thought he is, to know that whether he likes it or not he is the heir to Miyazaki's mantle. He would be far happier to be known as "the first Satoshi Kon" than "the next Hayao Miyazaki", and fortunately he is being recognized as just that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AliceTheOwl Posted August 20, 2007 Report Share Posted August 20, 2007 Re: What Have You Watched Recently? Satoshi Kon has always been an animator with a vast appreciation for cinema history. Each of his first three film could be said to be tributes to an icon of the cinema; Perfect Blue was a near-spot-on Hitchcock tribute' date=' [i']Millennium Actress[/i] was highly reminiscent of Kubrick and Fellini, and Tokyo Godfathers was a remake of a classic John Ford film. Paranoia Agent, his twelve-episode TV series, was, of course, a major-league mind-bleep. But it is well worth catching. Still, it must be very tough for him, brilliant thought he is, to know that whether he likes it or not he is the heir to Miyazaki's mantle. He would be far happier to be known as "the first Satoshi Kon" than "the next Hayao Miyazaki", and fortunately he is being recognized as just that. I haven't seen him called that, except by anime fans trying to recommend him. "He's a more grown-up Miyazaki," is what most of them say. Most fans of film seem to acknowledge his skill as an animator in his own right, and the only comparisons I've seen have been as "the Hitchcock of animation," or some other live-action director. That Kon's stuff is usually pretty adult, and a mindf*** in animation form, tends to set him apart from Miyazaki's more family-friendly fare. Even anime fans recognize that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
proditor Posted August 20, 2007 Report Share Posted August 20, 2007 Re: What Have You Watched Recently? Big Trouble in Little China on the big screen at the AFI. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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