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

[The39thStep]

Perpetual Grace Ltd. Its a new series on US channel Epix with Ben Kingsley, Jackie Weaver and Jimmi Simpson who was in Westworld. Simpson plays an addict involved in an con with Kingsley and Weavers estranged son . Kingsley and Weaver have a religious community and a bank account of donations , Simpson and the son want to extract 4m. Its quite quirky , bit Fargoish , you have to get used to black and white flash backs but its a good plot twister well acted. Seen two episodes so fingers crossed.

 

[trabuquera]

Shot Caller (2017) Brutal and depressing California-jail-gang saga with one ordinary middle class bloke who has a car accident ending up in the pen with the nasty Nazi boneheads. Twist: he ends up as one of their leaders. Some great art direction (big empty skies and chainlink fences) but even Nikolaj Coster-Waldau's beautiful nose and prison-built muscles aren't pretty enough to distract from all the bleak. Testosterone overload all over the place and the attempts at nuance don't hit home. (Unlike all the fists, shivs, shanks, clubs, breezeblocks, razor blades, etc.)

 

[The39thStep]

Shot Caller (2017) Brutal and depressing California-jail-gang saga with one ordinary middle class bloke who has a car accident ending up in the pen with the nasty Nazi boneheads. Twist: he ends up as one of their leaders. Some great art direction (big empty skies and chainlink fences) but even Nikolaj Coster-Waldau's pretty nose and prison-built muscles aren't pretty enough to distract from all the bleak. Testosterone overload all over the place and the attempts at nuance don't hit home. (Unlike all the fists, shivs, shanks, clubs, breezeblocks, razor blades, etc.)

Its pretty enjoyable though I thought

 

[trabuquera]

Nah, I love a good prison/crime flick or series (come back, Oz!) but somehow this movie just seemed too up itself and too in love with the violence. The odd bit of sniffling over old family photos doesn't add up to a full gamut of emotion; there are hints of a more interesting story (and film) about the guy's deliberate distancing from his family but that part's not well enough explored imho. It does look terrific but for something with so much lethal and near-lethal threat I just found it deadening rather than exciting.

 

[Orang Utan]

Have you seen Brawl In Cell Block 99, trabuquera?

 

[trabuquera]

No, but good gawd it sounds like the very same jail pic as Shot Caller! Heard good/grim things about Zahler's latest Dragged Across Concrete as well.

 

[DotCommunist]

Godfather of Harlem

Forrest Whitaker is the eponymous godfather, Bumpy Johnson who returns to Harem after 10 years in Alcatraz. Its set in the late 50s early 60's if my eye is right. You can't tell by the tunes becuase the soundtrack is modern which works. 2 eps in.

e2a of course my eye is right, its civil rights era ffs. Malcom x is in it.

 

[Part 2]

The Proposition. Top class Aussie western written by Nick Cave, starring Ray Winstone, Emily Watson and Guy Pierce

 

[Detroit City]

I watched Robocop I (for the 5th time)

 

[The39thStep]

Godfather of Harlem

Forrest Whitaker is the eponymous godfather, Bumpy Johnson who returns to Harem after 10 years in Alcatraz. Its set in the late 50s early 60's if my eye is right. You can't tell by the tunes becuase the soundtrack is modern which works. 2 eps in.

e2a of course my eye is right, its civil rights era ffs. Malcom x is in it.

That's also an EPIX original. There's quite a few of these American series companys.

 

[The39thStep]

The Proposition. Top class Aussie western written by Nick Cave, starring Ray Winstone, Emily Watson and Guy Pierce

Spot on that film. Always remember the flies in it.

 

[krtek a houby]

Hell's House (1932) another pre-code tale of crime and punishment. Kid takes a fall for local bootlegger and goes to reform school. Early role for Bette Davis as well.

 

[Part 2]

Finished season 2 of The Terror last night. Doesn't really warrant a thread of it's own but it's good entertainment if you like supernatural horror. Both seasons are based around true life events. First season Franklin's expedition to find the North West passage and second about Japanese internment after Pearl Harbour.

On AMC channel or torrents

 

[Ming]

Shoot 'Em Up with Clive Owen. Fucking great movie.

 

[krtek a houby]

The Martian. Enjoyable Matt Damon on Mars flick. Kind of Robinson Crusoe meets Gravity. Great cast.

 

[May Kasahara]

Just watched Mad Max: Fury Road. Fucking hell It was brilliant.

 

[Detroit City]

I'm gonna watch Goodfellas tonight, if I can find the time...it's more than 2 hours long

 

[8115]

The Green Book. It was ok.

 

[cybershot]

Stuber.

Uber driver becomes a cops sidekick. Killed 90 minutes.

 

[Chz]

The Green Book. It was ok.

I've started to enjoy more TV and films that are just "nice and pleasant". That did the trick. It's not deep or moving, but all the performances are good and it was a pleasant way to pass the time. See also: The Detectorists.

 

[DotCommunist]

I started another Epix show, Pennyworth. Its the origin story for batmans butler, Alfred Pennyworth.

its awful but entertainingly so. The bizarre anachronisms and weirdness and pastiche brit stuff. It feels like a piss take. Its supposed to be post ww1 and executions are, get this, pubic hanging and disembowelment that gets shown on TV to the cheers of all. Why is alfred ex sas when the forerunner soe came out off ww2 not ww1?

Simon Day has turned up as well as other uk actors from the past. It deffo isn't sure which time period it is set in at all. Just a brit history megamix covering 1800-1970.

and the lead can't help but keep veering into Michael Cain impressions the whole time

 

[The39thStep]

I started another Epix show, Pennyworth. Its the origin story for batmans butler, Alfred Pennyworth.

its awful but entertainingly so. The bizarre anachronisms and weirdness and pastiche brit stuff. It feels like a piss take. Its supposed to be post ww1 and executions are, get this, pubic hanging and disembowelment that gets shown on TV to the cheers of all. Why is albert ex sas when the forerunner soe came out off ww2 not ww1?

Simon Day has turned up as well as other uk actors from the past. It deffo isn't sure which time period it is set in at all. Just a brit history megamix covering 1800-1970.

and the lead can't help but keep veering into Michael Cain impressions the whole time

I’m really into Epix’s Perpetual Grace LTD

 

[DaveCinzano]

Why is alfred ex sas when the forerunner soe came out off ww2 not ww1?

SOE was not in any sense a forerunner of the SAS.

 

[May Kasahara]

Liked for pubic hanging sorry DotCommunist. Although it sounds plausible that something so badly made might randomly include pubic hanging.

 

[Detroit City]

last night I watched Robin Hood (2010) with Russell Crowe and Cate Blanchett, it was ok but nothing special

 

[flypanam]

A.P. Bio - stars Glenn Howerton (Dennis from Always Sunny) as a Harvard professor who has lost his job and returns to his hometown, embittered. A familiar premise but some funny moments and could be a grower.

 

[The39thStep]

Perpetual Grace LTD isnt on Amazon or Netflix ( depends if Epix want to do a deal with them or forge ahead as a streaming company in their own right) but if you can get on any bent android film/TV boxset app or site is really worth a watch. Ben Kingsley plays a superb nutter/pyscho role prob his best since Sexy Beast imo. The whole plot is engagingly surreal. I'm 3/4s through but I havent enjoyed a series like this since Fargo.

 

[T & P]

I started another Epix show, Pennyworth. Its the origin story for batmans butler, Alfred Pennyworth.

its awful but entertainingly so. The bizarre anachronisms and weirdness and pastiche brit stuff. It feels like a piss take. Its supposed to be post ww1 and executions are, get this, pubic hanging and disembowelment that gets shown on TV to the cheers of all. Why is alfred ex sas when the forerunner soe came out off ww2 not ww1?

Simon Day has turned up as well as other uk actors from the past. It deffo isn't sure which time period it is set in at all. Just a brit history megamix covering 1800-1970.

and the lead can't help but keep veering into Michael Cain impressions the whole time

We’ve paid for a month subscription for Starzplay on Amazon Prime and this is available. Is this DC Comics cañón for the Batman universe? Because if so I never knew it took place in an alternative reality. I mean, outside of accepting the existence of Gotham, you expect the rest of the world to be as we know it.

Middle Age-style executed convicts hanging from buildings in metal cages in wartime London? WTF?

 

[krtek a houby]

We’ve paid for a month subscription for Starzplay on Amazon Prime and this is available. Is this DC Comics cañón for the Batman universe? Because if so I never knew it took place in an alternative reality. I mean, outside of accepting the existence of Gotham, you expect the rest of the world to be as we know it.

Middle Age-style executed convicts hanging from buildings in metal cages in wartime London? WTF?

Wiki says it takes place in an alternate London. It could be part of the greater Elseworlds DC stuff?

 

[krtek a houby]

Empire of Dreams - The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy. In depth doc from 2004 focusing mainly on the original 3 films, outtakes, rare footage of screen tests (Kurt Russell as Han Solo! William Katt as Luke Skywalker!) and lots of behind the scenes stuff.