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What DVD / Video did you watch last night? (pt3)

Journey Into Fear (1943) - Joseph Cotten is an American engineer/spy dragged into dubious foreign goings-on via Istanbul as Nazis plot to kill him and steal his blueprints etc. Based on a spy novel by Eric Ambler, although apparently he (Ambler) didn't even recognise it when he went to the premiere of the movie. Although it is supposedly half-directed by Orson Welles (uncredited) and the fantastically louche Dolores del Rio gets to pout alluringly, this is no noir classic or edgy thriller. It's more than a bit creaky, doesn't flow at any point, the final shootout is utterly anticlimactic and there's no real sense of peril at all. Tiny flashes of interest in the framing / composition of some shots, and little sparks of inspiration every now and again in the script, can't overcome the general sense of being suffocated in one dull scene in one tiny room after another. You can miss this one without feeling regrets.
 
trabuquera said:
Journey Into Fear (1943) - Joseph Cotten is an American engineer/spy dragged into dubious foreign goings-on via Istanbul as Nazis plot to kill him and steal his blueprints etc. Based on a spy novel by Eric Ambler, although apparently he (Ambler) didn't even recognise it when he went to the premiere of the movie. Although it is supposedly half-directed by Orson Welles (uncredited) and the fantastically louche Dolores del Rio gets to pout alluringly, this is no noir classic or edgy thriller. It's more than a bit creaky, doesn't flow at any point, the final shootout is utterly anticlimactic and there's no real sense of peril at all. Tiny flashes of interest in the framing / composition of some shots, and little sparks of inspiration every now and again in the script, can't overcome the general sense of being suffocated in one dull scene in one tiny room after another. You can miss this one without feeling regrets.
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Shame, the book's a little gem.
 
Storyville, Forever Pure - Football and Racism in Jerusalem

Jawdropping, very depressing, infuriating, but also blackly comedic documentary about the hijinks that ensue when Beitar Jerusalem (notoriously rightwing Israeli football club) got bought by a Russian and hired in a couple of Chechen players, for reasons which remain ... well, questionable. Boneheaded racists fans boycott the club, monster the manager, diss the coach, abuse the players who welcome the new arrivals, BURN THE CLUB MUSEUM and won't accept Muslims on the team even if they score. The entire history of modern Israel is bound up in the club's relationships to politicians, and there's plenty of fascinating stuff in there about corruption, dodgy mayoral bids, Ashkenazi/Sephardi splits, sport violence, tribalism, working class culture and all sorts. It is absolutely fascinating (and I'm not interested in football the game per se) and will make you gasp, shake your head and shout at the telly. still available for 19 days.

Short version: watch this, it will make you go :eek: :eek: :mad: :eek: :D :( :eek:
 
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Jason Bourne (2016)

pretty good in execution, but all somehow formulaic. The anti bond has become the bond or something. The chases and explosions and tech/spook stuff. Well done all round, if a bit by the numbers. Tommy Lee Jones schemeing spook was decent though.

Zootopia queued up for later
 
Parker.

The first Jason Statham movie I've ever seen. An efficient action-stroke-caper movie with noirish undertones. Does exactly what it says on the tin. Good support roles from the likes of Jennifer Lopez, Wendell Pierce and Nick Nolte. The latter looks like he might not make it to 31st December 2016, and I'm having him in the celebrity death pool next year.

A Very Peculiar Practice, season 2, episode 2. They could remake this under the title "they tried to warn us". Barbara Flynn: hhnnngggnnn.
 
The Expanse eps, last three of season 1

its crimanally undermentioned. Proper space opera, the real deal. Never felt cheap, never felt star-trek lite. Tempted to get the books now
 
^ this is what I should have been watching at stupid o'clock last night
Instead my insatiable lust for vintage fashion inspiration (read: handome men in tights) made me undertake the big ol' Netflix turkey that is Medici: Masters of Florence.

Mostly just seems like a school reunion for all the Brit-thesps who've now been killed out of Game of Thrones .... plus Dustin Hoffman, even more mannered and annoying than he was in Perfume - costume drama really brings out the worst in him. Richard Madden / Robb Stark can't pull off being Italian or posh so is a bit of a loss as a Renaissance man (princeling) called Cosimo. Brian Cox (the old rogue) makes for a very acceptable head councilman of Florence. They're obviously reusing a lot of the sets+clothes from Da Vinci's Demons and treading a lot on the toes of The Borgias, but this doesn't have the mad fanfic inventions of the first, or the sweeping style and cheek of the second. Perhaps the Italians on the team insisted it be all history-based and authentic. Even though it's not really.

Given that the Medici amazed, appalled and intrigued all Europe for centuries it's kind of baffling to me how a joint UK-Italian production team and Netflix dollars have managed to weed any trace of drama, suspense, decadence, vice, peril, ambiguity, or even interest from the whole story so far. It's just wodge after wodge of pisspoor Exposition 101 ("Hey! Lorenzo! Son! What are you doing?" "Father, it is essential we win the goodwill of the Doge" ... :rolleyes: etc etc etc, delivered by actors who're just not that good. Also annoyingly whispery so you have to lean your head into the laptop to hear what they're muttering about, which kind of ruins the time-travel effect. Wooden would be an improvement.

5 eps out of 8 in, sunk cost fallacy in action: I'll watch the rest but be very glad to vault into the future with Expanse.
 
You'll no doubt enjoy the linguistic oddities of the Belter creole/accents. I never could pin down where exactly its influences were, its familiar but oddly alien. Reminded me of hearing Tristan islander accents the other day on beebs 'Treasure Islands' about minute islands still populated by brits.
 
DotCommunist said:
The Expanse eps, last three of season 1

its crimanally undermentioned. Proper space opera, the real deal. Never felt cheap, never felt star-trek lite. Tempted to get the books now
Click to expand...

I'm intrigued. When you say space opera, would it rate alongside BSG or even Firefly? I just don't want to invest in another The 100...
 
krtek a houby said:
I'm intrigued. When you say space opera, would it rate alongside BSG or even Firefly? I just don't want to invest in another The 100...
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absolutely up there with BSG- hard to say on where the story is going and wether we'd get the damp squib ending we got from BSG. Unlikely though as its based on a written trilogy. Never rated firefly much.

If you have netflix, give it a go. I shall probably have this as my 'TV sci fi of the year' pick
 
National Treasure - Robbie Coltrane as much loved comedy double act partner accused of rape/abuse.
Grim as fuck, but compelling and superbly acted by everyone in it.
 
I really enjoyed Luke Cage and Jessica Jones, so thought I'd previously been unfair on comic book movies I'd watched.
I decided to give the Marvel Cinematic Universe another shot and thought I'd have a shot at Phase One.
Tony Stark is an annoying dick and not even funny to make up for it. Dunno why Pepper Potts puts up with him.
Captain America at least has an interesting back story.
The Hulk is just boring.
Thor at least had some wit and self-parody about it.
And The Avengers Assemble is just a mess.
The action scenes in nearly all the films were boring as fuck. They go on for ever and you can only see so many yellow taxi cabs get flipped.
Perhaps I enjoyed the tv series better because they took their time to establish the characters and the reasons they do what they do. And they are much better written.
 
Orang Utan said:
I really enjoyed Luke Cage and Jessica Jones, so thought I'd previously been unfair on comic book movies I'd watched.
I decided to give the Marvel Cinematic Universe another shot and thought I'd have a shot at Phase One.
Tony Stark is an annoying dick and not even funny to make up for it. Dunno why Pepper Potts puts up with him.
Captain America at least has an interesting back story.
The Hulk is just boring.
Thor at least had some wit and self-parody about it.
And The Avengers Assemble is just a mess.
The action scenes in nearly all the films were boring as fuck. They go on for ever and you can only see so many yellow taxi cabs get flipped.
Perhaps I enjoyed the tv series better because they took their time to establish the characters and the reasons they do what they do. And they are much better written.
Click to expand...
very different beasts, the netflix series and the movie universe. Violence levels is one thing, sex, language and as you mention serious plotting. You are not a fan of fight scenes in general which is basically the only reaon I find to watch Marvel or DC films. No wonder you got nothing from the films lol

on that note I have been finishing off DC's animated 'Young Justice' which started strong, dragged a little and picked up for series 2. 20 mins is a good length for a kids cartoon and it manages humour in a way DC films do not.
 
Room.

Dexter was right - the performances are quite something. An unusual film (quite old fashioned) in regard to the pacing and texture in comparison to the urgency usually deemed necessary in many recent films.
 
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