What Have You Watched Recently?

[Michael Hopcroft]

21 hours ago, Ternaugh said:

Snow White: The first feature-length animated movie from Disney, still a classic. (Blu-ray)

Two notes related to that: when my parents and I saw Toy Story back when it was released, I wondered aloud if the reactions in the audience were like those to Snow White when it was released.  They thought it was a silly question. I seemed to know just what a watershed moment Toy Story was, and that film animation had been changed forever in one stroke. But Snow white really was that transformative  The difference between the rotoscoped human characters (Now, the Queen, the unnamed Prince) and the more "cartoony" hand-drawn ones (the Dwarves, the Old Witch) are jarring, but the experience obviously told the Disney animators what worked and what didn't (the Fleischer Brothers' Gulliver's Travels had the same problem). As a result, they found a much more natural compromise in Pinocchio, probably the first animated feature that could truly be described as a great film as opposed to just being a great animated feature.

[Ternaugh]

The Mandalorian-Chapter 1: Best described as a western in the Star Wars universe. The first episode was very good, and I'm looking forward to more. (Disney+)

 

 

[slikmar]

wish I had the data to get Disney+. Not sure if it is Boba Fett, but I described it to my wife as finally getting the Boba we wanted in the 3rd movie and not the stupid incompetent killed by accidentally being hit and falling into a sandworm. Instead, the Boba that even Vader respected.

[Ternaugh]

40 minutes ago, slikmar said:

wish I had the data to get Disney+. Not sure if it is Boba Fett, but I described it to my wife as finally getting the Boba we wanted in the 3rd movie and not the stupid incompetent killed by accidentally being hit and falling into a sandworm. Instead, the Boba that even Vader respected.

 

It's not Boba Fett, and the character is portrayed as extremely competent. We only get hints to his backstory. There's also a definite Clint Eastwood "man with no name" vibe, which I really like.

[slikmar]

Yeah, figured wasn't actually him, but was just commenting that it really was the type of character we expected to see of Boba after the 2nd movie (chapter 5).

[Starlord]

It was quite good with top level FX.  Definite western vibe, lotsa terminology thrown around that you had to guess at which is fine because I don't want a show that feels like it has to explain everything to me.  Definitely looks like it will delve deeply into the background of the Mandalorian race.  The only drawback is that the episode is only about 40 mins.

[Ternaugh]

The Black Cauldron: One of the animated movies during the Disney malaise period. It wants to be The Sword in the Stone, but feels more like a watered-down Don Bluth clone. (Disney+)

 

Brainstorm: Decent SF movie about the development of a neural interface, and the ramifications of the technology. Original plans were to shoot the movie in 60fps ShowScan, with the "real world" sequences shown in standard 24-frame, but the studio balked at the cost of retrofitting theaters, and the increased cost of film stock*. Star Natalie Wood's death during production delayed release for two years, and that only happened because Douglas Trumbull went over the studio chiefs to the insurer and gained funding directly to finish the film. (Netflix DVD)

 

 

*ShowScan uses 2 1/2 times the amount of 65mm film as traditional shooting. It went on to be used in ride films at amusement parks, and a related form of the technology is used in digital movie production for action sequences today. Some theaters are also already equipped to show 60-frame video, and most new TVs can also handle that frame rate.

[Joe Walsh]

Watching Rick and Morty on Hulu. It's good -- funny and disturbing at the same time! It provides plenty of food for thought if you're into that, or you can just enjoy it at the surface level and ignore the deeper issues raised.

 

I'd never seen an episode, and I'm kinda glad I missed it since that means I get to watch three seasons over the course of weeks instead of years.

 

[slikmar]

So, Fantasy Island being done as a Horror Movie, based on the preview I saw today.

[Ternaugh]

All Things Must Pass: Well-made documentary about the rise and fall of Tower Records. (Kanopy)

 

Tron: Disney classic about the dangers of sitting in front of lasers controlled by evil computer programs. (Disney+)

[csyphrett]

6 hours ago, slikmar said:

So, Fantasy Island being done as a Horror Movie, based on the preview I saw today.

I'm passing on that, but Mike Pena as Roarke. Man who would have thought that?

CES

[Old Man]

Jojo Rabbit is a brilliant, brilliant film that should put Taika on the short list for an Oscar.  It wasn't exactly what I expected, however.  I was expecting a dark comedy like Dr. Strangelove.  While Jojo Rabbit is a dark and often hilarious comedy, it also has a number of moments that are NOT. FUNNY. AT. ALL.  Definitely see it if you can.

[Old Man]

Rambo: Last Blood.  Don't.

[Pariah]

I just watched the first episode of Star Trek: The Animated Series on Amazon Prime. It was interesting. Familiar voices, decent writing, and the animation was pretty good for the era. I'm not sure I'd call it compelling. I expect I'll watch several other things before I go back to that series.

[Lord Liaden]

The animated Star Trek was very clearly presented as a continuation of the original series, with most of the original characters voiced by their respective actors. It even used rotoscoping to translate the live-action sets and ship models to animation. Themes and plots were what one might expect from Star Trek, and comparable in quality to the average for the live series; although with only half an hour to tell them they were markedly more compressed. However, the animation format gave the series the freedom to craft more spectacular visual effects, more exotic planetary landscapes, and a greater diversity of non-humanoid sapient species.

 

If I'm not mistaken, it was also the first official ST source to proclaim the "T" in "James T. Kirk" stood for "Tiberius."

[Michael Hopcroft]

On 11/26/2019 at 9:34 AM, Old Man said:

Rambo: Last Blood.  Don't.

Why did you?

[Michael Hopcroft]

2 hours ago, Lord Liaden said:

The animated Star Trek was very clearly presented as a continuation of the original series, with most of the original characters voiced by their respective actors. It even used rotoscoping to translate the live-action sets and ship models to animation. Themes and plots were what one might expect from Star Trek, and comparable in quality to the average for the live series; although with only half an hour to tell them they were markedly more compressed. However, the animation format gave the series the freedom to craft more spectacular visual effects, more exotic planetary landscapes, and a greater diversity of non-humanoid sapient species.

 

Which presents a good argument for a CGI-animation Trek series having the potential to be really good, and potentially mind-blowing. Especially if it retained the old paradigm of using space as an opportunity to present morality plays, speculative fiction, and the sort of human storytelling both the original series and TNG were most noted for. Which I hear the franchise is really walking away from, if not running.

 

I don;t watch Star Trek for an adrenaline rush or sensory bombardment. I want to feel. I want to think. I want a good laugh every now and again. Those were the things Star Trek was best at.

[Old Man]

3 hours ago, Michael Hopcroft said:

Why did you?

Wife insisted. No, I don’t understand it either. At least it was only 90 minutes. 

[mallet]

Watchmen (TV Series) - 6 episodes in and it is very, very good. Better then I was hoping/expecting, although it still feels a bit weird not to be "following" the masked vigilantes like in the comic and movie, but rather the cops (the main ones are masked heroes, just ones working for the cops, not vigilantes). Some cool callbacks to the comic and great to see how some of the heroes characters from the comics are presented this many years later.  Worth checking out if you can and don't mind the violence, swearing, nudity and disturbing (and political) situations. it is HBO after all. 

[Ternaugh]

Ratatouille: Anyone Can Cook, but be sure to wash your hands first. (Disney+)

 

War of the Worlds: George Pal's classic tale of an invasion of Earth by anti-vaxxers. (Kanopy)

 

Star Wars (Episodes I through VII): 4K versions of the Saga. Some parts are good. Some parts are not. (Disney+)

[Nolgroth]

Annihilation: Reminded me of the Colour Out of Space by HP Lovecraft and I would be honestly surprised (and skeptical) of any claims that it wasn't. I think it was a tremendously well done show that had some genuinely creepy moments. The narrative conceit of the story being told via interview removed any sense of actual tension in terms of wondering what happens to the protagonist. I don't really spoil that, as it is made pretty clear really soon in the movie. Not sure about the ending. I don't think that there could have been any ending that was satisfying to everyone.  

 

Gotham, Final Season: About what I was expecting. Didn't like the deformed Joker character. I did like the reinvigorated Selena Kyle as she crawled and tumbled over cars during one scene. Screamed, "this girl is going to be Catwoman someday." All in all, entertaining but not in any deep sort of way.

 

Arrow, Final Season (to current episode): Meh. Figured they would bring back some much missed characters for the final sendoff. Happy that they are sending it off without it just getting dumped. The only Arrowverse show I started and intend to finish. 

 

History Guy, History Deserves to Be Remembered: If you like interesting bits of history that the common person is simply not exposed to, then this is the YouTube channel for you. I am nearly caught up on his extensive library that covers anything from World War (both), the history of traffic lines, Bass Reeves ( a black US Marshall that the Lone Ranger is based upon), the first female attorney in the US and so very many more. Each episode is between 10-20 minutes long and I've noticed a trend to spotlight the underdog hero whenever possible. The only issue I have with his channel is that the early episodes have the theme music turned up really high. Other than that, my favorite YouTube channel.

[Duke Bushido]

Thundarr the Barbarian.

 

Not because it was _good_, but because I miss Keith Curtis.   :/

 

 

 

[Guest Usagi]

On 11/12/2019 at 9:48 AM, slikmar said:

the stupid incompetent killed by accidentally being hit and falling into a sandworm.

Hey now, that's not fair.  Boba Fett is neither stupid or incompetent.  Boba Fett got Frank Grimesed.  He went up against Han Solo, a stupid, incompetent loser blessed by whatever god looks after fools and madmen.  All of Fett's cool, all of his competence, his reputation, his awesome bag of tricks, all of it was useless in the face of Han Solo's Sheer Dumb Luck.

[csyphrett]

You know what old soldiers say when they are down at the bar telling stories. It's better to be lucky than good

CES 

[death tribble]

Dracula (1931)

This is Bela Lugosi's star turn. It is a tad theatrical as in Lugosi's reaction to the sudden appearance of the crucifix but it gives a reliable template for a vampire that would not be bettered until Christopher Lee played Dracula. If you have not seen this, do..

 

Frankenstein (1931)

Boris Karloff is the only member of the cast who people remember if you mention this film. The make up became iconic. The film was very successful and deserves to be seen. 'It's alive !' is deservedly iconic But how the creature is hunted down and what it does when it escapes is also memorable. A salutory tale of why you should mess with nature or God and create life.

 

The Mummy (1931)

Boris Karloff is back as Imhotep who was mummified for trying to revive his love. He is awakened and then tries to find his lost love disposing of anyone who gets in the way. Useful for Cthulhu players as well showing how madness can cause permanent insanity and death. One of the four great horror films brought out by Universal. 

 

The Wolfman (1941)

Lon Chaney Jnr is turned into a werewolf by Bela Lugosi and then tries to fight his new condition before being killed by his father Claude Rains. Ralph Bellamy who later appeared in Trading Places is also in the cast.

 

French Dressing

Director Ken Russell's first film.  A seaside town stages a film festival and brings in a French film star but things go wrong as other towns get upset about the publicity. See once if at all.

 

The Golden Salamander

An archaeologist becomes entangled with gun smugglers in North Africa. The film is notable for not being patronising towards the locals in this case Arabs.