Movie/TV recommendations

[DanJW]

Misfits really is pretty good. ASBO kids with super powers and little motivation to be virtuous.

What I like is that while there tends to be a "super-antagonist of the week", the misfits make no particular effort to 'defeat' them, in the tired old comic book formula way. Sure a lot of them meet nasty ends, but half the time the cast just sort out the immediate complication that affects themselves and then wave the afflicted person goodbye. No saving the world or righting wrongs here.

Heroes always had the tag "ordinary people with extraordinary abilities" but the save the world plots soon made the characters almost as bad as the comic book source material they were meant to be de-constructing. Misfits is refreshingly small scale and while the characters are larger than life they are still believable as well as being hilarious.

[Gwardinen]

I just watched the first episode of Misfits and I have to say, I'm suitably surprised and impressed. It was much better than I thought it would be. I'll give it at least a few more episodes to see if it holds me.

That said, does it make me an asshole that I felt better as soon as the others pointed out how annoying and stupid Kelly's manner of speech was?

[pabosher]

For people who like Misfits (I've never seen it so can't comment) the writer from that has penned the Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency TV Show, which should be airing on BBC 4 sometime in the next couple months.

[ThunderPeel2001]

Interesting. I was never a big fan of Dirk Gently, but I thought it had potential.

Saw the Deathly Hallows. MEH! Another completely bland David Yates film. I feel really sorry for the people who are seeing the story through the movies. Not only are they missing out on an excellent experience reading the books, but they're also getting everything spoiled for them... so if they do go back, they won't have as good an experience.

But forgetting all that, even as a film in its own right, it's MEH. Not terrible, but certainly not great. Made me yearn for Lord of the Rings, a fantasy film actually made me feel something as I watched it.

Still, it looked beautiful (in places) and there were some occasionally good moments... but MEH!

[pabosher]

Yeah, it's a completely unrelated one-off show, but with the Dirk Gently name attached to it. Tbh, I don't have high hopes. Nothing to do with either of the two books (nor the unfinished Salmon of Doubt), so I may just go and reread those or listen to the brilliant radio series.

[Roderick]

I saw Deathly Hallows yesterday and thought it was pretty good. I may not have had huge expectations, so I was certainly not disappointed by it. There were some brilliant scenes all in all,

infiltrating the ministry in disguise was absolutely hilarious and the animated sequence near the end is stunning

.

I particularly liked how they finally managed to make a Harry Potter movie that took the time to tell a story and was able to breathe a little, instead of having this cramped plot trying to shoehorn everything and their mum in. Splitting the book up into two parts was the right call.

[JonCole]

I saw Deathly Hallows yesterday and thought it was pretty good. I may not have had huge expectations, so I was certainly not disappointed by it. There were some brilliant scenes all in all,

infiltrating the ministry in disguise was absolutely hilarious and the animated sequence near the end is stunning

.

I particularly liked how they finally managed to make a Harry Potter movie that took the time to tell a story and was able to breathe a little, instead of having this cramped plot trying to shoehorn everything and their mum in. Splitting the book up into two parts was the right call.

I agree with everything you said right here. I thought the pace was fantastic... this movie feels like one of the only ones that I'd actually want to be something like 4 or 5 hours (kinda like the Kingdom of Heaven: Director's Cut 4 hour extravaganza). Also, the way it straddled the comedy and drama line was really well done.

[ThunderPeel2001]

You're both wrong.... It's sooo incredibly bland!!! David Yates is the biggest "non-director" I've ever seen. It's like watching wallpaper. I appreciate the moments he underplayed.... but when he calls for the BIG moments (like the very last scene) I felt about as emotional as if I was watching a Coke commercial.

I cannot understand anyone who didn't find the Deathly Hallows incredibly, incredibly bland.... despite the few amusing scenes.... it lacked any emotional punch at all.

Ahhhhh!

*leaps out of window*

(Sorry, a film critic I listen to every week also liked it, and now two Thumbs liked it, too. So did the person who I went to see it with... I feel the whole world has turned upside down.)

[Ben X]

I'm with you, TP.

[JonCole]

You're both wrong.... It's sooo incredibly bland!!! David Yates is the biggest "non-director" I've ever seen. It's like watching wallpaper. I appreciate the moments he underplayed.... but when he calls for the BIG moments (like the very last scene) I felt about as emotional as if I was watching a Coke commercial.

I cannot understand anyone who didn't find the Deathly Hallows incredibly, incredibly bland.... despite the few amusing scenes.... it lacked any emotional punch at all.

Ahhhhh!

*leaps out of window*

(Sorry, a film critic I listen to every week also liked it, and now two Thumbs liked it, too. So did the person who I went to see it with... I feel the whole world has turned upside down.)

Wow, we couldn't be more polar opposite on this one. I thought Deathly Hallows had some of the most gravity in the film series.

I'm an incredibly unprofessional film critic, you should absolutely feel suicidal if you don't agree with me.

[Roderick]

So there you have it. Deathly Hallows: the Citizen Kane of Harry Potter movies.

Look, it's not the best film of the year. I saw Buried last week and it that was a piece of work. Deathly Hallows was, a movie. I thought it was pretty entertaining. I didn't expect Lord of the Rings; I expected 2 hours of a bunch of kids dicking around in the woods and I was not disappointed.

[ThunderPeel2001]

Well considering I found the books to be as equally entertaining as Lord of the Rings (and I'm a huge LotR fan) I can say I expected more... I don't understand why (almost) everyone is giving it a pass. As a stand alone movie, without low expectations based on bad reviews or previous poor experiences in the series... I think it's, I'm sure you're all aware by now, bland.

Anyways, instead of ranting, I'm going to try and be constructive...

I have to ask:

Did anyone care when Dobby died in Harry's arms? At first I was shocked (when it was revealed who'd been hit), and I thought I was going to get upset, but instead... I got bored. When I think of Gandalf's death I get a bit teary. Dammit. (Told you I was a big LotR fan )

Did those of you who liked it get emotionally involved at this point?

When you don't think of it as a stand-alone film, and start comparing it to the book, it gets even worse for me (which is one of the reasons I've tried not to do it).

In the book you're just thinking, "Wow. They're just totally and utterly fucked. The whole of society cannot be trusted, everyone's looking for them, and not only have they got to escape, hide and not die, but they've also got to do the impossible: Find several random objects about which they know absolutely zero about, and could be anywhere and anything on the entire planet -- and they've got no contact with or help from anyone else. They are totally and utterly fucked." I don't know if the folks who liked the film felt that feeling. I certainly didn't, but it'd be nice to think that some did.

Another thing:

The bit in the Ministry of Magic could have been so tense and exciting, the whole time with your heart in your throat. They did a good job making it amusing, sure, but I think they missed the tenseness of it... They're hopelessly outmatched, fed up, lost, without a clue... and their best plan takes them right into the last place they want to be, and will most likely get them killed. It should have been scary, but...

again, I don't know if people felt that?

It certainly wasn't a terrible film, I guess we all agree on that, I just don't think it was very good. Thinking about it now, it seems that how you interpret the film might come down to what your expectations were: If you were expecting an average/bad film you thought, "well, it wasn't bad!". If you were expecting something good (like me) then you thought, "well, that wasn't very good!".

Hmm. Maybe I've just answered my own question at the top of this post.

Anyways, enough of that. Bring on the Oscar contenders, dammit -- I've got my cinema pass to use up!

In other news: I watched the infamously terrible Otto Preminger movie Skidoo the other day... and I quite enjoyed it, despite how terrible it was. (Oh, the irony.)

Edited November 23, 2010 by ThunderPeel2001

[Kolzig]

We have some time ago started to watch a really great show from Japan called Begin Japanology.

It's made by NHK World channel and it has been on air since 2007. Very nice 30 minute weekly show where the host Peter Barakan talks about all things Japanese. Like chopsticks, Tokyo tower, bunraku, rice, sake and hundreds of other subjects.

For example this week's subject will be Udon noodles.

The weekly show is a bit short and could be longer, but the amount of history they tell about each subject is priceless. Anyway the show serves as kind of introduction to each subject. They try to show both old and modern culture of Japan and also show how the culture has changed in modern times and how it has stayed the same in some ways.

This is a show that I'd like to own on dvd, but I kind of doubt that it is not on dvd or any other format sold anywhere.

http://www.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/tv/japanology/

[Ben X]

Well considering I found the books to be as equally entertaining as Lord of the Rings (and I'm a huge LotR fan)

I changed my mind, I'm not with you.

[Orv]

I changed my mind, I'm not with you.

I however, absolutely am with TP.

How people that loved the movies can find the book unentertaining/boring is beyond my level of ken. It just doesn't make sense to me.

[MrHoatzin]

I however, absolutely am with TP.

How people that loved the movies can find the book unentertaining/boring is beyond my level of ken. It just doesn't make sense to me.

The books are just horribly written. The language is cheap and uninteresting.

[ThunderPeel2001]

The books are just horribly written. The language is cheap and uninteresting.

*draws blade*

In all seriousness, that's quite a bold claim. Can I ask which of the series you have read? Same goes for you, Ben. I'm really, genuinely interested. Please don't be shy.

[JonCole]

I think I'd agree that the books are as entertaining as LOTR, but entertainment isn't the only metric with which I measure the books I read.

[MrHoatzin]

I read the first three in a single weekend, in Serbian (for some reason). As I read it I kept thinking to myself how I would write it were it in English, and imagining how good that could be if it weren't a relatively flat translation. And then I read the fourth book in English and realized that, no, the translations were spot on and the language is just not very well crafted. It is all just very straightforward, not nearly as playful as I like my language to be.

I have not read any of the subsequent books or watched any of the movies past the fourth one. I really enjoyed Alfonso Cuarón's take on the third book the most of all the Harry Potter films I've seen.

[Orv]

I declare you all have no imagination.

I can see the complaints of the language being "eh" but I mean, he was a British English prof in the mid 1900s. If that doesn't get you dry and cut English, I propose a machine to make even more dry writing.

Back on track:

Dark City :tup:

[Roderick]

I think you're making a mistake, Orvidos. The discussion is about the language of the Harry Potter books, not Lord of the Rings. Unless J. K. Rowling was also a mid 1900s English professor

On-topic: I saw Unstoppable yesterday in the sneak preview. It was thoroughly entertaining. Denzel Washington is a really good actor, there's nary a role he plays that I won't completely buy into Unstoppable is an unpretentieus, entertaining film with a clear idea of what it wants to be.

Edited November 24, 2010 by Rodi

[Kolzig]

Wesley Snipes is a really good actor...

...in jail.

But I bet you meant to say Denzel Washington. Isn't he the one the new Unstoppable train wreck of a movie? Snipes is in some older movie with the same name.

[miffy495]

I think you're making a mistake, Orvidos. The discussion is about the language of the Harry Potter books, not Lord of the Rings. Unless J. K. Rowling was also a mid 1900s English professor

Although to be fair, I can't stand LotR for pretty much the same reasons.

[Roderick]

But I bet you meant to say Denzel Washington.

GAH, of course I meant Denzel Washington. I don't know why my fingers turned it into Wesley Snipes. That was uncalled for.

[ThunderPeel2001]

I read the first three in a single weekend, in Serbian (for some reason). As I read it I kept thinking to myself how I would write it were it in English, and imagining how good that could be if it weren't a relatively flat translation. And then I read the fourth book in English and realized that, no, the translations were spot on and the language is just not very well crafted. It is all just very straightforward, not nearly as playful as I like my language to be.

I have not read any of the subsequent books or watched any of the movies past the fourth one.

Well that's fair enough. I think I enjoyed the fourth book the most out of the series, and if you didn't like it, you didn't like it. You have to remember though, these are books aimed at kids. I found the first book almost painful to read, because the language was so simplistic, but it's aimed at a very young readership, so it's kind of expected.

Thankfully the books get more sophisticated as the series progresses (the characters and the readership growing up together). I was perfectly happy with her level of language used in book 4, but then I wasn't reading it expecting it to be The Great Gatsby or Moby Dick.

The level of the language used and the storytelling itself both continue to mature with each book, but if you weren't uttery grabbed by her ability to accurately capture the feelings of being a teenager, and her excellent storytelling skills, then it's most definitely not worth continuing reading... Especially as the first third of book 5 is in desperate need of an editor.

I really enjoyed Alfonso Cuarón's take on the third book the most of all the Harry Potter films I've seen.

Me too, it was actually the film that me think, "hmm, maybe these folks who love the books aren't so silly afterall", which led me to reading them all.