Netflix recommendations

[Spymaster]

The Innocent Man, docuseries written by John Grisham about the rape and murder of two women in Oklahoma and the absolutely staggering investigations and convictions that followed. It's one of those that keeps you watching "just one more episode" until 4am.

Six parts though, so I got impatient and googled the case after the 3rd episode.

 

[souljacker]

The Innocent Man, docuseries written by John Grisham about the rape and murder of two women in Oklahoma and the absolutely staggering investigations and convictions that followed. It's one of those that keeps you watching "just one more episode" until 4am.

Six parts though, so I got impatient and googled the case after the 3rd episode.

I've read the book. It's pretty fucked up. It's a considerably more clear cut miscarriage of justice than making a murderer.

 

[T & P]

Half way through S13 of Always Sunny. Pretty enjoyable but no outstanding or standout episodes so far. However I am very pleased to see Dennis has (so far at least) featured a lot more than the noises made by actors before the series came out had led me to believe. From what they were saying I got the impression he was going to do a few short cameos in a few episodes.

I do remember someone saying ITT there is one episode they thought was among the all-time greats, so I look forward to that.

 

[Orang Utan]

Half way through S13 of Always Sunny. Pretty enjoyable but no outstanding or standout episodes so far. However I am very pleased to see Dennis has (so far at least) featured a lot more than the noises made by actors before the series came out had led me to believe. From what they were saying I got the impression he was going to do a few short cameos in a few episodes.

I do remember someone saying ITT there is one episode they thought was among the all-time greats, so I look forward to that.

ITT?

 

[T & P]

ITT?

‘In this thread’

 

[Orang Utan]

‘In this thread’

Blimey. How lazy!

 

[DexterTCN]

For those, like me, who think The Punisher is great.

 

[souljacker]

I do remember someone saying ITT there is one episode they thought was among the all-time greats, so I look forward to that.

The gang win the super bowl 2 parter is one of the greats IMO.

 

[DexterTCN]

Next episode of The Good Place is finally here.

It's a good one.

 

[Me76]

Next episode of The Good Place is finally here.

It's a good one.

I need to wait until they're all there. Are they going to be drip feeding?

 

[DexterTCN]

I need to wait until they're all there. Are they going to be drip feeding?

It's once a week, not a Netflix original sadly.

 

[Orang Utan]

Roma - absolutely spellbinding - gutted I couldn't see this at the cinema - the sound design alone, let alone the photography, must make it worth the effort. Luminously beautiful photography, some astonishing and naturalistic acting and some mind-boggling technical trickery that I cannot fathom - you can't really spot anything like CGI in the film, but there must have been quite a bit of it. I don't know how they managed the many street scenes full of people and cars and buildings. Stunning.
It's a very human film - apart from a dramatic demonstration scene, the film focuses on quite mundane events within a family - but such particular events in a family are made universal in this story - one particular scene is so emotional and intense that it's almost unbearable to watch.
This film could have done with 80% less dogshit, mind. Beautifully filmed dogshit though, granted.

 

[Orang Utan]

Really quite cross that I couldn't see this at the cinema. I know it's a Netflix Original, but it wasn't just that this made the theatrical release more limited, but I gather that the film could only play at certain cinemas as most didn't have the right sound system for it

 

[Reno]

Roma - absolutely spellbinding - gutted I couldn't see this at the cinema - the sound design alone, let alone the photography, must make it worth the effort. Luminously beautiful photography, some astonishing and naturalistic acting and some mind-boggling technical trickery that I cannot fathom - you can't really spot anything like CGI in the film, but there must have been quite a bit of it. I don't know how they managed the many street scenes full of people and cars and buildings. Stunning.
It's a very human film - apart from a dramatic demonstration scene, the film focuses on quite mundane events within a family - but such particular events in a family are made universal in this story - one particular scene is so emotional and intense that it's almost unbearable to watch.
This film could have done with 80% less dogshit, mind. Beautifully filmed dogshit though, granted.

There is a fair amount of CGI in the film and you’d be surprised how much CGI in movies you don’t spot.

Of course you know its CGI if you see something that can’t be real, but compositing or creating digital environments in a real world context should be invisible unless done poorly. Cuarón is a technical perfectionist and innovator and really knows how to use effects. I’ve worked with a digital model maker who worked on Gravity and she said the amount of detailing he demanded was insane.

David Fincher also uses an incredible amount of CGI in his movies and TV series to enhance environments, which is invisible:



I once stayed with a friend and his parents in Australia. They were a well off family but they let the dog shit all round their pool and they didn’t pick it up for ages, which I found unbearable. Roma brought all of that back. Must have been an autobiographical detail of Cuarón’s childhood.

 

[sojourner]

Ooo I might give that a go then Orang Utan , was wondering if it'd be any good. We're in the middle of The First on 4OD though so gonna finish that first.

 

[Orang Utan]

Ooo I might give that a go then Orang Utan , was wondering if it'd be any good. We're in the middle of The First on 4OD though so gonna finish that first.

Try and get rid of any distractions while watching it - I had to watch it two parts cos even with my phone switched off, I got distracted. That could say more about me than owt else, mind.

 

[Orang Utan]

There is a fair amount of CGI in the film and you’d be surprised how much CGI in movies you don’t spot.

Of course you know its CGI if you see something that can’t be real, but compositing or creating digital environments in a real world context should be invisible unless done poorly. Cuarón is a technical perfectionist and innovator and really knows how to use effects. I’ve worked with a digital model maker who worked on Gravity and she said the amount of detailing he demanded was insane.

David Fincher also uses an incredible amount of CGI in his movies and TV series to enhance environments, which is invisible:



I once stayed with a friend and his parents in Australia. They were a well off family but they let the dog shit all round their pool and they didn’t pick it up for ages, which I found unbearable. Roma brought all of that back. Must have been an autobiographical detail of Cuarón’s childhood.

Aye, I was aware that a lot of background stuff is CGI and it it's good you won't spot it. Cheaper than set dressing I suppose. There's a lot of it Boardwalk Empire I think.

 

[Orang Utan]

Spoiler

wtf was going on with the stuffed dogs' heads in the holiday home? Is it meant to be macabre and disturbing? Or is it some cultural Mexican thing?{/spoiler]

 

[magneze]

The Foreigner
Very entertaining Jackie Chan film with Pierce Brosnan as Gerry Adams, sorry, a fictional politician. Well worth a watch.

 

[Reno]

Spoiler

wtf was going on with the stuffed dogs' heads in the holiday home? Is it meant to be macabre and disturbing? Or is it some cultural Mexican thing?{/spoiler]

Spoiler

I know of people who’ve had their beloved pets stuffed after they died and I suppose it’s what they did. They were the rich relatives, who could afford to have that done.

While I don’t think it’s a specifically Mexican tradition, it may have to do with the general attitude towards death in Mexican culture. Mexicans honour their dead by reminding themselves of the physical reality of death (as in Day of the Dead), something which is a taboo in our society. So I can see why they would mount their former pooches on the wall and don’t think of it as macabre.

 

[DaveCinzano]

The Foreigner
Mildly diverting Pierce Brosnan film, with Jackie Chan as Jackie Chan, sorry, a fictional version of Jackie Chan. Barely worth a watch.

FTFY

 

[Orang Utan]

Spoiler

I know of people who’ve had their beloved pets stuffed after they died and I suppose it’s what they did. They were the rich relatives, who could afford to have that done.

While I don’t think it’s a specifically Mexican tradition, it may have to do with the general attitude towards death in Mexican culture. Mexicans honour their dead by reminding themselves of the physical reality of death (as in Day of the Dead), something which is a taboo in our society. So I can see why they would mount their former pooches on the wall and don’t think of it as macabre.

Spoiler

that makes sense. I can dig stuffing your pet, but it was the manner of it that disturbed me - heads on plaques like hunting trophies rather than dear departed family member.

 

[Reno]

Spoiler

that makes sense. I can dig stuffing your pet, but it was the manner of it that disturbed me - heads on plaques like hunting trophies rather than dear departed family member.

I think Cuarón uses the image as a surreal sight-gag to satirise the excesses of the rich. It’s a moment which feels like a homage to Buñuel, who of course had a long career in Mexico and who made surreal satires about the rich. The Film Comment podcast had an episode on Roma with a Mexican film critic who said that Mexico is a country where the surreal is the norm and you constantly come across bizarre sights. He also said Roma is seen as being far more political in Mexico than over here.

 

[T & P]

Titans. Despite growing increasingly bored with the ever-expanding superhero genre, decided to give this a go, and the first two episodes have been rather enjoyable.

Much grittier than your average DC staple, nearly as dark and violent as Gotham in fact, which was a pleasant surprise given that it is based on Teen Titans. Let’s just say that Robin has become rather more ruthless on his own than during his days as Batman’s sidekick.

 

[Duncan2]

Also think Roma was beautifully shot-but I thought the political message was ambiguous.

 

[Orang Utan]

Also think Roma was beautifully shot-but I thought the political message was ambiguous.

Aye, there's a lot to be said about class and gender in that film, though I think it is rather fudged. It's really got under my skin though, been pondering it a lot today.

 

[Reno]

One of the many things I liked about Roma was that it made many political points in a rather understated way and what it thankfully didn't have was a political message. The entire film is about Cuarón's ambivalence about his upbringing.

I don't think it fudged anything unless you wanted a more polemical film out of this, which it wasn't meant to be.

 

[Orang Utan]

Just read this:
Oscar contender Roma stirs up nostalgia and guilt in Mexico’s middle class

 

[Reno]

Just read this:
Oscar contender Roma stirs up nostalgia and guilt in Mexico’s middle class

Any childhood reminiscence can be accused of "stirring up nostalgia". I think it's debatable just how nostalgic the film is. It has an dysfunctional family at its center and depicts a notorious massacre. I certainly don't think Roma can't be accused of being sentimental.

It's an art house film and by its very nature that will appeal to a middle class audience.

These are the two worst accusations the article comes up with and both aren't exactly insightful. The Guardian picks and chooses a few statements to string them together into something rather empty. The most important thing to take away is:

“It’s not a lecturing film,” he said. “In Mexican cinema … the poor are noble and the rich are bastards. Roma is very fresh in this regard. It’s not vilifying the employers. These are all well-rounded human beings, and that makes this film so innovative.”

I’d say 90% of the article praises the film’s politics.

It's not a the "heroes and villains" narrative a more polemical film would have come up.

 

[Pickman's model]

surprised no one's mentioned bad blood with kim coates out of sons of anarchy in it.