Octopus Overlords

Just watched the first episode of Guy Ritchie's The Gentlemen. It's over the top and brutal. Theo James is restrained perfection as Eddie.

Watching the “documentary” on Alexander the Great. It’s a mix of history (decent commentary by real historians), dramatization of events, both real and fictional, and some just plain made up stuff. Pretty much what I expected. It gets the broad strokes correct, but the important details are fudged or omitted in many cases. They really make some strange narrative choices, such as showing Alexander having an affair with Darius III’s wife, which is in some ancient accounts but seems to be disregarded by most current historians. They also play up Alexander’s purported sexual relationship with one of his best friends, which may or may not have been a thing.

The Macedonians outfits are like nothing I’ve ever seen depicted (they look like outfits from the movie Troy, all dark colored and rough hewn), and while they do show how Alexander’s use of cavalry, the phalanx is almost totally ignored. It’s entertaining, but I wouldn’t use it as the basis for a high school paper.

Oh, and the battle scenes are just awful, no slow disciplined advance of the phalanx, just a rapid change which quickly devolves into these confused and disorganized melees that filmmakers seems to love. Heck, some of the charging Macedonians are seen charging with the sarissa up in the air, not even leveled and aimed at anyone. They also show Alexander fighting in an Egyptian pharaoh helmet at Gaugamela, which is a weird choice.

Finished Avatar: The Last Airbender season 1 last night. Just an immensely entertaining show that I didn't expect to enjoy as much.

ATLAS Trailer (2024) Jennifer Lopez, Simu Liu

Jaymann wrote: ↑Thu Mar 07, 2024 11:01 pm Just watched the first episode of Guy Ritchie's The Gentlemen. It's over the top and brutal. Theo James is restrained perfection as Eddie.

Did you watch the 2019 movie that was somewhat related to this series?

I loved the movie, so I need to watch the series.

Victoria Raverna wrote: ↑Thu Mar 14, 2024 12:51 am

Jaymann wrote: ↑Thu Mar 07, 2024 11:01 pm Just watched the first episode of Guy Ritchie's The Gentlemen. It's over the top and brutal. Theo James is restrained perfection as Eddie.

Did you watch the 2019 movie that was somewhat related to this series?

Yes. The series may actually be better.

Unfrosted: The Pop-Tart Story

I like Seinfeld, but man does he overact. Still, I'll see this. I love these kinds of movies. Blackberry was one of my favorite films of 2023.

Blackberry was a fun movie, and a Canadian one at that. Rare to see a Canadian movie actually make waves outside the Country.

Ugh, I hate MM. But Jim Gaffigan? And Bill Burr? In.

Whoever made the decision to make the new Netflix series Ripley black and white made the right call. It just makes the story even more creepy and noir. Absolutely loving it.

Color is overrated.

Although I learned tonight that the uniforms in ST:TOS were brightly colored because the company that owned that network was drumming up business for newfangled and crazy expensive color TVs.

The classic blue, red, and... green uniforms.

Kraken wrote: ↑Thu Apr 11, 2024 1:24 am Color is overrated.

Although I learned tonight that the uniforms in ST:TOS were brightly colored because the company that owned that network was drumming up business for newfangled and crazy expensive color TVs.

Oooh, nice bit of Star Trek trivia I didn't know. Thanks!

Seriously, watch Ripley if you appreciate good cinematography in B&W. They're just nailing how to use it for atmosphere. It's almost like another character in the show.

NBC was making a big push, along with RCA, based on the newfangled 'color television.' NBC's gimmick at the time was the they were the color TV network, and Star Trek was a big part of that.



Lucille Ball had a hand in that decision as well, as I recall. It's also why they have random colored lights shining on all of the walls. They wanted to wow people with color:

Blackhawk wrote: ↑Thu Apr 11, 2024 2:26 am The classic blue, red, and... green uniforms.

Good lord, I don't even remember posting this. Am I sleep posting now?

But yeah, the original series gold uniforms were actually green. The lighting, plus the physical film they were using, made them look gold.

Blackhawk wrote: ↑Thu Apr 11, 2024 12:01 pm NBC was making a big push, along with RCA, based on the newfangled 'color television.' NBC's gimmick at the time was the they were the color TV network, and Star Trek was a big part of that.

Yeah, I was posting from memory and forgot the company names. NBC was pushing color because their parent, RCA, made color TVs -- which were crazy expensive at first.

We had the first color TV on our block, and my friends used to come over after school to watch Batman...IN COLOR!!!

Batman has colors?

So much color

No. I've seen Batman in film and on TV. There is black, and gray, and sometimes sepia. Never color.

Yellow is a color...and frequently found on Batman. Of course, if you've ever seen Robin with Batman, you've seen even more color. However, if you've never watched the old Adam West Batman, any of the Joel Schumaker or Tim Burton Batman films, or many of the animated versions, then you may not have encountered a Batman with colors. Also, if you're purposely turning OFF the color on your TV when watching Batman films or shows, or forcing the projectionist at the theater to turn off color for everyone during your viewings, then that might also explain your experience.

I have a moderate collection of Batman comics. I'm aware of the colors. I was just commenting on the recent trend for all Batman shows/films to forego that in favor of black, gray, and, if the director's name rhymes with spider, sepia.

That's a shame. I rather liked the concept of Blackhawk forcing a projectionist at gunpoint to turn down the color on a film so he could keep to his worldview.

Lol, there is a series called:

FLORIDA MAN

An angry mobster. A gambler in debt...

Ripley continues to blow me away with its cinematography and performances. The lead actor deserves the Emmy for this year. No need for a contest.

Super excited for the final season. If you haven't seen it you are missing out..

Looking forward to it. I do love the show.

Been watching "Delicious in Dungeon" which has been a fantastic blend of tongue-in-cheek D&D adventure and...cooking show. It's definitely lighthearted, with lots of laugh out loud moments, some very memorable characters, and a ton of heart. Every episode leaves me with a smile.

Skinypupy wrote: ↑Thu Apr 18, 2024 2:06 pm Been watching "Delicious in Dungeon" which has been a fantastic blend of tongue-in-cheek D&D adventure and...cooking show. It's definitely lighthearted, with lots of laugh out loud moments, some very memorable characters, and a ton of heart. Every episode leaves me with a smile.

They tricked me with this one. I didn't realize it was weekly.
I've stopped watching it a bit to try to finish it in one shot.
Can't find out how many actual episodes there are though so i know jow ling to weight

Punisher wrote: ↑Thu Apr 18, 2024 2:18 pm They tricked me with this one. I didn't realize it was weekly.
I've stopped watching it a bit to try to finish it in one shot.
Can't find out how many actual episodes there are though so i know jow ling to weight

There will be 24 episodes, with Ep 17 coming out next week.

I'm through Ep 10, and it's been fantastic so far.

Yeah I've been enjoying Delicious in Dungeon.

I just finished Unlocked: A Jail Experiment, which is an 8-part series where they experimented giving inmates usually locked up 23 hours a day freedom to open the doors and govern themselves without a deputy.

I thought it was really interesting from a standpoint of what life is like behind bars and meeting some of the inmates, though the experiment itself wasn't as compelling as I hoped.

hepcat wrote: ↑Thu Apr 18, 2024 12:34 pm Looking forward to it. I do love the show.

So have I. I like the storytelling and narrative approach to it.

Skinypupy wrote: ↑Thu Apr 18, 2024 4:10 pm

Punisher wrote: ↑Thu Apr 18, 2024 2:18 pm They tricked me with this one. I didn't realize it was weekly.
I've stopped watching it a bit to try to finish it in one shot.
Can't find out how many actual episodes there are though so i know jow ling to weight

There will be 24 episodes, with Ep 17 coming out next week.

I'm through Ep 10, and it's been fantastic so far.

Thanks! On the one hand, it's nice to know there is an end goal. On the other, that means 8 more weeks...ugh.
I'm on E13 right now. Must. Hold. Out.

Rebel Moon - Part Two: The Scargiver: We've Got Good News and We've Got Bad News

The good news about Zack Snyder’s latest film, Rebel Moon - Part Two: The Scargiver is that, without a doubt, it’s better than its predecessor. It’s more focused, cohesive, and character-driven, telling a story that nearly makes Rebel Moon - Part One: A Child of Fire feel insignificant. Unfortunately, there’s also bad news. The bad news is those positives don’t outshine the negatives. It’s slower, unbalanced, and emotionally vapid. But, if you enjoyed the first film, you’ll like this one even more. If you didn’t enjoy the last film, you probably won’t like this one either, but it’s at least a more well-rounded affair.

I don't get this through Netflix but it's apparently available there. I'm really enjoying it.

https://www.crunchyroll.com/series/GG5H ... urneys-end

He's been threatening people with a part 3.

I didn't even bother with part 1 given the reviews, and I'm not a big Snyder fan to begin with. but given Netflix's track record with terrible movies, it's another to add to its pile. I don't know why Netflix keeps funding these projects. 90% of the big directorial vanity projects on Netflix have been bombs, and very few of them have actually been any good.