Movie/TV recommendations

[jennegatron]

Have you watched Welcome To Sweden? I think it's fantastic, but it got buried amid NBC's flight from comedy.

 

It's stars Greg Poehler (Amy's brother) and I think was produced by Amy Poehler. It also guest-stars Amy Poehler and Aubrey Plaza playing "Amy Poehler" and "Aubrey Plaza", who are basically just Leslie Knope and April. It's a little different in tone from Poehler's other stuff, but I think it still has the same rapid-fire pacing and the same essential optimism.

 

It's funded in part by a Swedish interest (TV station or tourism board or something), so they already got another season.

 

"I love your normal face."

 

Looks like it's all available on NBC.com:

http://www.nbc.com/welcome-to-sweden/episodes

 

I will definitely check that out!

[Nappi]

Did a bit of a Lynch deep dive this year, having only previously seen Mulholland Drive and Twin Peaks.

So yesterday I watched Inland Empire and I don't even know how to begin making sense of it.  Maybe it's David Lynch's Breakfast of Champions or Dark Tower?  Kind of a self homage?  There's one shot leading down a hallway into a bedroom that is so Lost Highway.  I really don't know.  But what I do know is there's a scene in a hallway toward the end that is absolutely terrifying. 

 

I loved both Twin Peaks and Mulholland Drive, but Inland Empire was one of the most uncomfortable and distancing movies I have ever experienced. After half an hour or so I was not only aware that I was watching a movie but painfully aware that I was watching a screen on which a movie was playing. I couldn't get into it at all during the entire 3 hour runtime of the movie.

[Patrick R]

You know what's a good movie? All The President's Men.

</obvious>

[SecretAsianMan]

Just watched Avengers: Age of Ultron.  Pretty good fun.  The plot makes less sense than the first but it was entertaining which is really all that matters.

[agorman]

I just watched The Graduate for the first time and loved it quite a lot!

The only Lynch I've seen is Twin Peaks and FWWM, is there anywhere I should start with his stuff? Or can I just dive in with whatever

[Patrick R]

If you are a Twin Peaks fan the logical next steps would be Blue Velvet and Mulholland Drive (in that order). Elephant Man is more conventional but still great and visually striking. Eraserhead is a less conventionally entertaining film, but still really great and also astounding, visually. Then you can start going out into crazier territory like Lost Highway and Wild At Heart. Straight Story is a totally underrated Lynch film because it's so drastically different, but it's worth seeing.

 

Inland Empire only for the most die-hard, as it's punishingly long and is shot on pretty bad looking digital cameras.

[Mangela Lansbury]

The story of how Inland Empire was made is way more interesting than the movie itself. There are some really good monologues in the film, but I can't remember much else about it. It alludes to a lot of his older work -- shots that reference his other movies, a mid-film fulcrum like in Mulholland Drive, even just cutting in bits from that series of rabbit shorts -- and I'm sure there's a lot of meat for a die hard fan, but it's too much for someone like me.

Stories like Lynch just deciding one day, "I need a one legged woman, a lumberjack, and a monkey for this afternoon," have more entertainment value for me than the movie itself.

[Ben X]

In continuing "Suicide Squad interpretation of characters is pretty awful/goofy" news:

 

http://www.avclub.com/article/david-ayers-suicide-squad-cast-gets-together-yearb-218890

[tegan]

Captain Boomerang having a taped-up boot is a nice touch, because of course Captain Boomerang would rather duct tape a boot back togehter than buy a new one. The rest can fuck right off.

[Gormongous]

In continuing "Suicide Squad interpretation of characters is pretty awful/goofy" news:

 

The sad thing is, my gut reaction is irritation that both of the sharpshooter characters appear to have regular battle rifles with ACOG sights rather than anything particularly specialized. It doesn't really matter, gunplay in superhero stuff is always shit anyway.

[Twig]

bald will smith doesn't look like will smith anymore

[Merus]

I don't necessarily have a problem with this Harley either, although the Daddy's Little Monster shirt is pretty lame.

[SecretAsianMan]

Captain Boomerang having a taped-up boot is a nice touch, because of course Captain Boomerang would rather duct tape a boot back togehter than buy a new one. The rest can fuck right off.

 

Even after all these years I still can't believe there's a Captain Boomerang.  I will never be able to take that character seriously.

[Twig]

I thought the whole point of the Suicide Squad was to not take it seriously but based on the press photos I'm seeing, I'm completely wrong?!

 

This is why I just don't read superhero comics and this is why I just have little to no interest in DC's movies.

[Patrick R]

Duke of Burgundy is still the best movie of the year!

[Ben X]

I don't necessarily have a problem with this Harley either, although the Daddy's Little Monster shirt is pretty lame.

 

Kind of sad that she's pretty much in her underwear, though.

[BobbyBesar]

Kind of sad that she's pretty much in her underwear, though.

For some reason, that bothers me less than the enormous (and enormously impractical) stiletto heels she's wearing. You can't really tell from that group shot, but it's clearer in some of these on-set photos.

[Gwardinen]

Ugh. Those on set photos look awful.

[Merus]

Kind of sad that she's pretty much in her underwear, though.

 

That Harley is wearing revealing clothing (they're shorts), or that a female character is wearing revealing clothing? Because Harley is a Jersey goil, and Harley seems more or less in line with the terrible fashion decisions of her homeland (as opposed to, say, Arkham Asylum, where Harley's in a corset because I guess she's being... a nurse? Except a sexy nurse? What does that have to do with Harley?)

 

I'm hoping that the character design is 'Harley is definitely not taking this seriously' because that's the only way you can justify sneaker stilettos.

[Twig]

I've certainly seen real women wear shorts like that but even though I know they're "shorts" they elicit a reaction from me like "wow that's some nice underwear".

 

That said, I can't say I really care one way or the other if people choose to wear that kind of thing, and also I just accept that Harley dresses like that at this point, even though the first Harley I knew wore a full-body jester outfit.

[Ben X]

That Harley is wearing revealing clothing (they're shorts), or that a female character is wearing revealing clothing? Because Harley is a Jersey goil, and Harley seems more or less in line with the terrible fashion decisions of her homeland (as opposed to, say, Arkham Asylum, where Harley's in a corset because I guess she's being... a nurse? Except a sexy nurse? What does that have to do with Harley?)

 

I'm hoping that the character design is 'Harley is definitely not taking this seriously' because that's the only way you can justify sneaker stilettos.

 

That Harley is, but to be fair I only really know her Animated Series incarnation, where she managed to become a fan favourite without showing any skin. I'm not going to judge the film's treatment of her based on this one photo/outfit, but it felt almost as off to me as seeing the Arkham interpretation.

[I_smell]

I thought the Arkham Asylum Harley Quinn was straight-up stupid. That whole game's aesthetic isn't my kind of thing.

 

I think this Harley Quinn that you guys are posting about looks alright, it does seem to maintain the character in a way that's less super-hero and more street-thug. I like it. I completely hate that everything's sapped down to dirty, muddy, zero-colour mode, though.

The rest of the characters on display here, I dunno, who fuckin' cares!

 

The original Harley Quinn is a totally perfect character that everyone seems to re-design of their own liberty, so yeah I understand the ire.

[dium]

Said it in the cartoons thread, but it's worth saying here too: Song of the Sea is good. See it in a theater if you can, it's very pretty.

[tegan]

Thoughts on Age of Ultron.

 

 

 

 

 

That Harley is wearing revealing clothing (they're shorts), or that a female character is wearing revealing clothing? Because Harley is a Jersey goil, and Harley seems more or less in line with the terrible fashion decisions of her homeland (as opposed to, say, Arkham Asylum, where Harley's in a corset because I guess she's being... a nurse? Except a sexy nurse? What does that have to do with Harley?)

 

Harley Quinn is a medical professional with a PHD in criminal psychology.

[feelthedarkness]

I have no horse in the superhero race but those Batman pictures give me a really shitty WARRIORS vibe in a way that I find kind of appealing.