Movie/TV recommendations

[DanJW]

For those that remember the BBC pilot for Being Human earlier in the year - a drama about a werewolf, and vampire and a ghost sharing a flat - it looks like the full series will start soon.

This teaser has popped up. I asked the series writer Toby Whithouse about it and he said:

George's one is obviously very derivative, but this character was the one that was easiest to introduce - as he's the only one still played by the same actor as in the pilot. Plus, weirdly, it's the only time in the whole series we actually allowed ourselves to use a specifically horror genre technique or style. Which was kind of fun.

Anyway, the next two should be on-line very soon.

[miffy495]

Well besides shooting a policeman, this weekend I'm going to see Slumdog Millionaire, that should be good. Danny Boyle hasn't let me down for at least his last 3-4 films, I forgot where that stinker The Beach lies in the timeline.

I don't know. Did you see Millions? That movie was pretty bad, as I recall.

And yeah, Wrestle, as a guy who works in DVD retail, watching the latest Mummy movie fly off the shelves yesterday was signal enough that plenty of people really don't think, just buy.

[brkl]

For those that remember the BBC pilot for Being Human earlier in the year - a drama about a werewolf, and vampire and a ghost sharing a flat - it looks like the full series will start soon.

This teaser has popped up. I asked the series writer Toby Whithouse about it and he said:

Aww, I liked that pilot, but shame they haven't got the original cast :/

[syntheticgerbil]

Is it better than the Dragon Hunters movie? Because that one is also awesome. It's like a non-interactive action adventure game.

I haven't seen it, but I really doubt it.

Yahoo News...the movie broke a record for having the worst opening ever for a film in wide release. "Delgo" earned a measly $511,920 this weekend on 2,160 screens, not even breaking the top ten. That's an average of $237 per screen for the three days. If you figure there were five screenings a day, and assume ticket prices are about $8, that comes out to two people in the theater per showing.

I don't know. Did you see Millions? That movie was pretty bad, as I recall.

But... I love that movie.

[miffy495]

Sorry. Love Danny Boyle, (actually kind of liked The Beach) but Millions bored me...

[brkl]

Man, the Doctor Who Christmas special totally ripped off Precipice of Darkness.

[elmuerte]

just because they have a big robot?

didn't see any other similarities, also... giant robot... you could even say, a Iron Giant

[brkl]

It's a giant steam-powered robot with glowing red eyes and a stompy demeanor. Granted, most giant robots have that demeanor, but few are steampowered. Also, I was making a joke.

[elmuerte]

well.. you got my hopes up for something interesting

didn't like is episode much

[ysbreker]

I loved the Christmas special! Anything to keep me busy during the incredibly long wait until the start of the new season in 2010 :/

[elmuerte]

2010!? wth, why?

[brkl]

2010!? wth, why?

David Tennant was busy with other stuff. Only two specials in 2009.

Then he quit.

[ysbreker]

anyone here seen slumdog millionaire yet? If not, do so at the earliest opportunity. It's a great movie!

A story about a boy from the slums of Bombay who wins the India version of 'Who wants to be a millionaire'. Sounds boring, but it's full of greatness.

So again I implore you, watch this movie!

[syntheticgerbil]

Oh haha, I guess I said I was seeing Slumdog Millionaire a few posts back, but never followed up.

Anyways, I went that weekend and I really enjoyed the movie. Some parts were cringe worthy because of the environment or the horrible way in which some characters treated each other, but it made for a story with a realistically heightened sense of danger. Although someone who lives in India may say it was an extreme depiction, sensationalist, had an agenda, etc.

I don't know, I've never been, but a friend of mine has been there the last four months and a lot of it seemed accurately aligned to his description as far as housing conditions and the poor children that he described in his e-mails.

I love Danny Boyle films because I get surprised each time by his wildly varying subject matter movie to movie. The only thing that really ties most of them together is that they all seem to involve a large sum of money b.

I also saw A Christmas Tale in a small cinema, but man, that's exactly what I think of when I hear the phrase "art house wank." yuck

Edited December 29, 2008 by syntheticgerbil

[Chris]

This week I watched the original The Stepford Wives, as well as the original TV broadcast of the David Frost/Richard Nixon interviews on Watergate.

Both were unsettling, and highly worth watching.

[ysbreker]

I just found out that the muscles from Brussels can act:

JCVD

Jean Claude plays himself in this movie where he just got back to Belgium after losing a custody case over his daughter and ends up in a robbery of a local post office. Great camera work and superb acting makes this a must see.

Lets hope that we get to see more proper acting from him.

[elmuerte]

yeah, that movie was great

[ThunderPeel2001]

You mean... it's REAL? Weird.

[Wrestlevania]

Mrs V and I watched Superman Returns earlier in the week, and what a disappointment that was. Not that we were expecting much of course, but it's just how little it actually delivers is what's disappointing.

It's like a rejected version of a script for the original film, except with far less effort to characterise and endear the main parts to the audience. The remake trades exclusively off its history, and expects everyone watching to know and care about the main characters quite intimately already--without putting in any effort to further these characters through the course of the film.

It's also a mish-mash of notable scenes - or at least ideas/sentiments - from the previous films, with nothing new being added at all. If anything, Returns pretty much kills the filmic series stone dead.

There were a couple of aspects of the production that annoyed me, too. The intro and theme music are, to all intents and purposes, exactly the same as the 80s movies. Except the opening credits are computer-generated this time. Also, the modern CG effects used for Superman's powers make them seem mundane and dull in Returns. He doesn't shoot exciting red lasers from his eyes any more; you get this faint wobbly heat signature instead.

Real duffer of a film, with no imagination or merit of its own. The casting is pants, too; Kevin Spacey is pointlessly cast as Lex Luthor and makes nothing of the role.

[ThunderPeel2001]

While I agree the film was unfortunately disappointing (where was the fun??), in its defence: Remaking Superman: The Movie would be stupid and pointless. Firstly, everyone knows Superman's origin story -- even my mother. Why bother "rebooting"? Secondly, the first movie was excellent... why try and top it?

So!

I applaud Bryan Singer for deciding to do a sequel to that movie instead... it's just a shame it wasn't so good.

My likes: The original opening! As V points out, they copied it exactly. An incredibly cool touch.

My dislikes: Brandon Routh is an ok Clark Kent, but a crap Superman. Why oh why was Kevin Spacey cast? Where was the light relief from Posie Parker (and why did she look so ugly in that horrible wig?). Why did Lois Lane receive such a beating in this movie... and why was she invulnerable? (Wouldn't it have been better for her to have been knocked out on the plane, only for her to regain conciousness with Superman standing over her?)

Despite some nice touches, there was just no sense of urgency in the movie, especially in the end. "Ooh, a big rock is growing!" (Plot holes: Who wants to live on that rock? How could Lex defend it from the world's armies? Where would food grow?? Why on earth did Lois go investigating on her way to a award ceremony with her SON in tow??)

Ugh.

All my disappointment just came flooding back.

Edited January 3, 2009 by ThunderPeel2001

[syntheticgerbil]

I watched The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and while I was dreading the 3 hour runtime, I did not feel antsy in my seat. I'm one of those types of Americans who can't sit still for longer than an hour, so movies that go over 90 minutes sometimes bug me. I don't think I looked at my watch once, but I did have to get up at one point.

Anyways, the movie wasn't that special, artistic, deep, or involve amazing plot twists, but I did not care. I really felt for the characters, not to mention the great filming locations, lighting, and cinematography.

Kind of left me feeling really sad, but I'll probably be panned by someone on the internet somewhere for saying that I have feelings.

[Jake]

I really felt for the characters....

Kind of left me feeling really sad

oh PLEASE. give me a BREAK!

* full disclosure: i have not yet seen this film

[syntheticgerbil]

Two minutes later, eh?

[Chris]

I saw Seven Pounds today, and it wasn't that great. My opinions are possibly colored by the fact that we intended to see Benjamin Button but the internet told us the wrong time and we were late so we had to settle for Seven Pounds, but also it still wasn't actually that great.

However, and this is probably the best thing about the film, and I don't entirely mean to damn with faint praise, was how successfully they managed to obscure the actual plot of the film in the trailers. It's been a long time since I saw a movie in a theatre and didn't actually know what it was going to be about before it started. Maybe the television advertisements gave more hints, but the theatrical trailers I saw were impressively secretive about the film's plot, and that was pretty awesome. It was really the one thing that made us curious to see it at all.

[Garple]

I'm totally down with that concept, Chris. I wish every movie didn't get pre-screened by the critics. Of course, every studio would have to stop it simultaneously. Otherwise they look like the douchebags who don't want people to find out how lame their movie is.

I think another part of the problem is that so many movies are just bullshit rehashes that they can't make previews that show us one striking image and arouse our curiousity...because they don't have any striking images in the whole film.