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

Saw the first two eps of this on BBC2 last night. If it doesn't work as well as it could (and it does work very well in spite of that, IMO) it's because Blanchett steals the whole thing from under the eyes of every other actor involved. She maybe makes Schlafly - a genuine monster - a bit too sympathetic in the process. . .

As a political lesson, it was a good idea to make Blanchett the centrepiece though. What we're looking at is US "progressives" consistently underestimating the opposition - something they continue to do to this day.
I wrote another post after I finished it and by the end I really liked it. Schlafly becomes far less sympathetic and other characters get to shine as it goes on.
 
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Death of a Vlogger

I wrote another post after I finished it and by the end I really liked it. Schlafly becomes far less sympathetic and other characters get to shine as it goes on.
I'll have to keep watching so - as long as Blanchett continues to radiate her intense sexual charisma.
 
Relic, new Australian horror film which is a promising debut feature. An old woman goes missing, her daughter and granddaughter drive from Melbourne to search for her. Eventually the grandmother returns but she doesn't seem to be the same and something may have followed her into the house. Strong on atmosphere and a sense of menace, it taps into the fear of an ageing parent declining. Great performances from the three lead actresses too, I enjoyed this a lot.

 
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Making the most of my (probs temp) subscription to Britbox, I watched the first series of Broadchurch on Thursday - fantastic show. I then watched the first few episodes of the second series, convincing me that it was done already. Now sat watching Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy :cool:
 
Making the most of my (probs temp) subscription to Britbox, I watched the first series of Broadchurch on Thursday - fantastic show. I then watched the first few episodes of the second series, convincing me that it was done already. Now sat watching Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy :cool:
The second season of Broadchurch is really bad but the third one is very good.
 
Black Sunday, the 1977 political thriller by John Frankenheimer which I'd never managed to see. It was banned when I grew up in Germany due to parallels with the terrorist attack at the 1972 Munich Olympics. As a fan of 70s disaster films I always was curious because it was promoted as such. It really isn't though. It's decent enough if a little too long and could have done with a more compelling lead actress than the lethargic Marthe Keller (someone like Genevieve Bujold would have been great). Robert Shaw who is credited as the main character has surprisingly little screen time, Bruce Dern is cast to type as a psychotic creep. The film was tooled to be a major blockbuster and was thought to become a major hit, but it flopped at the box office when it came out. In part that had to do with another terror-attack-on-a-football stadium movie which got released just before, the turgid Charlton Heston starring Two Minute Warning.

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In the series, Blanchett is clearly fighting the urge to say "I am surrounded by idiots".

Which is probably historically accurate. I'm not so sure about the accuracy of the scenes where she runs the southern blondes out of her group for their open racism.
 
In the series, Blanchett is clearly fighting the urge to say "I am surrounded by idiots".

Which is probably historically accurate. I'm not so sure about the accuracy of the scenes where she runs the southern blondes out of her group for their open racism.
Apparently Schlafly was prepared to work alongside anybody who would support Stop ERA, be that black church ladies or Southern racists. The scene is fictional but it's supposed to demonstrate how her principles slip in the pursuit of her campaign. This becomes more clear in later episodes.
 
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Nymphomaniac Vol I. I'm not that keen on Von Trier's films so avoided this when it came out. (Being in two, longish parts put me off too.)

Anyway, found it surprisingly funny in places, if bleak. There's a lot of sex but it's really very unsexy which I guess is kind of the point. Will probably watch Vol 2 over the weekend.
 
Nymphomaniac Vol I. I'm not that keen on Von Trier's films so avoided this when it came out. (Being in two, longish parts put me off too.)

Anyway, found it surprisingly funny in places, if bleak. There's a lot of sex but it's really very unsexy which I guess is kind of the point. Will probably watch Vol 2 over the weekend.

Nymphomaniac Vol 2. Darker and less funny than the first part. Not sure it merited an overall 4+ hour running time.

Mullholland Drive. Saw this when it came out, not sure I understood what was happening any better this time round... Very stylishly made though.
 
Contrary to the opinions of the bourgeoisie, the new nine part TV serialisation entitled Brave New World is a pretty impressive adaptation!
I am on episode 6 and all is well ... it really is quite close to the book essentially.
 
After rather enjoying The Righteous Gemstones a few months ago, we’ve started watching Danny McBride’s previous creation, Vice Principals, currently showing on Sky Comedy.

While not as superbly funny as Community, it is still very good indeed, based on the six episodes we’ve seen. I also like the fact that this conceived and written as a limited, 18-episode miniseries before a single day’s filming had began, rather than the usual let’s-write-an-open-ended-season-and-see-if-we-get-renewed norm.

I know it’s irrational but because he usually gets cast as a complete arsehole in the Seth Rogen subdivision of the Frat Pack films and subconsciously dislikable, I had until recently overlooked McBride’s work. But Righteous Gemstones was great, and this is shaping up to be quite good also.
 
After rather enjoying The Righteous Gemstones a few months ago, we’ve started watching Danny McBride’s previous creation, Vice Principals, currently showing on Sky Comedy.

While not as superbly funny as Community, it is still very good indeed, based on the six episodes we’ve seen. I also like the fact that this conceived and written as a limited, 18-episode miniseries before a single day’s filming had began, rather than the usual let’s-write-an-open-ended-season-and-see-if-we-get-renewed norm.

I know it’s irrational but because he usually gets cast as a complete arsehole in the Seth Rogen subdivision of the Frat Pack films and subconsciously dislikable, I had until recently overlooked McBride’s work. But Righteous Gemstones was great, and this is shaping up to be quite good also.
Loved it .
 
I was so affected being an alcoholic that I was scared to do it, but I rewatched The Lighthouse last night. I enjoyed it a lot more second time around, I would imagine that this is a very hack observation, but it's a comedy,

I am really glad that comedy has become so dark. It must be so amazing to work on something like that. On reviewing, a lot of the flourishes are pretty silly, but it's just so solid
 
Palm Springs, comedy which turns out to be about a Groundhog Day-style time loop. Surprisingly good and very funny, this manages to add a couple of twists to the formula (it takes place in a world where the characters are aware of films like Groundhog Day). The two leads, Andy Samberg and Cristin Milioti have been around for a while but not in lead roles and I hope this gives them a career boost, both have comedic chops and great chemistry.

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Archive about an A.I. robot in the mould of Ex_Machina. It tries hard but just isn't very good and not nearly as smart as it thinks it is. It takes aspects from many better science fiction films. Unlike Palm Springs it doesn't manage the breathe any fresh air into a familiar concept. Even a big plot twist is a snooze which I've seen done too many times before.

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The Nightshifter is a Brazilian horror film which starts out strong but then becomes a little too conventional. It's about a morgue worker who can converse with the dead. The image of the talking corpses is unsettling as only their faces move. When one day he uses information gained from on of those conversations to take revenge on someone, the dead don't take well to having been used in that way. Good but could have been better, worth a watch though if you like horror films.

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Poodle Springs

An early HBO TV movie based on the eighth Philip Marlowe novel - one that chandler had only written four chapters of.

James Caan is an aged Marlowe who starts badly by wearing a toupee. He doesn’t get much better. The dvd itself doesn’t seem too impressed by the film, including a quote on the back that’s says it resembles a quagmire. Why they thought that was a good idea, I don’t know.

The basic story is okay, a bit Big Sleepy with elements of Chinatown. The conclusion is actually described on the back cover.

Not as bad as Robert Mitchum’s Big Sleep, but pretty darned rubbish.
 
Poodle Springs

An early HBO TV movie based on the eighth Philip Marlowe novel - one that chandler had only written four chapters of.

James Caan is an aged Marlowe who starts badly by wearing a toupee. He doesn’t get much better. The dvd itself doesn’t seem too impressed by the film, including a quote on the back that’s says it resembles a quagmire. Why they thought that was a good idea, I don’t know.

The basic story is okay, a bit Big Sleepy with elements of Chinatown. The conclusion is actually described on the back cover.

Not as bad as Robert Mitchum’s Big Sleep, but pretty darned rubbish.
Seen this , its watchable but not good. I did like Mitchum's Farewell My Lovely though
 
Sweet Country (2017/8) - a brutal revisionist Western (but aren't they all, these days?) with the twist of being set in traumatised post-WW1 Australia and mostly about critiquing racism, colonialism and male violence. A tale of inevitable, spiralling doom and revenge in a time and place where stealing and enslaving native people, especially children, was considered no big deal at all, especially if there was some menial work which needed doing. Beautifully shot and acted (decent chewy roles for old Antipodean stagers Sam Neill and Bryan Brown, but more importantly for a trio of Aboriginal actors I'd not seen before), script's a bit overbaked in places, slightly arty flash-forward-and-back structure but it stands up pretty well. Director Warwick Thornton did Samson and Delilah (one of my favourite heartbreak/feel-bad movies ever) so you know where it's all going. Really, really, really worth a watch, for the history and politics as much as for the wonderful visuals. Yes, everything in Australia probably is trying to kill you.
 
The Assasination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. Not felt able to concentrate on a film for ages so this was very much welcome.

What a beautiful film. I've always convinced myself I don't much like Westerns but need to reconsider that.

Had Sweet Country waiting to watch for ages so I'll give it go.
 
Red Sparrow. Rather ludicrous spy thriller that traps the excellent Jennifer Lawrence in a male-gaze world of unerotic sex and unpleasant dynamics. Lovely apartments though.
 
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