Me too! I even had an old lp with the entire audio track on it.

Made it through about fifteen minutes of the premiere of the B*****d Executioner on FX last night. It's really trying hard to be the 13th century version of Vikings… but it all comes across as trite to me. I'll try to give it a legitimate shot over the weekend, but I'm not optimistic.

Well I've been watching Project Runway (of course) and am rooting for Ashley Nell Tipton to win.

If you look at how she dresses herself, you wouldn't think she would make a great designer, but so far she has turned out some of my favorite designs each week. She has never failed to please me with them, even when she didn't win the week's challenge. Her personality is as nice as the clothing she produces too, making her my favorite contestant.


http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-W8lWmckQ25I/VfLm...on_r900x493.JPG


I also like Swapnil Shinde for a hopeful second place, lol.

As to the Errol Flynn Robin Hood, I think the deliberate decision to use the modern-day American vernacular of the time plays against its long-term appeal. I can see this being considered effective for the short-term, especially for a film made before there was a viable home video sales-market and thus not much thought of longevity. And of course its not an issue with movies set during the time period in which they are filmed. At any rate, choice of dialog is my only knock with the film. I still consider it my overall favorite Robin Hood movie and amongst the best swashbucklers ever made. I don't know of a better film music score.

Due to continued ear/hearing issues I've done no extended movie or GoF viewing. I did, however, watch this documentary on Herculaneum's Lost Library. Being a history buff I eat this sort of thing up.

This post has been edited by Decrepit: Sep 19 2015, 07:33 PM

Thank you for that! I watched the Herculaneum vid, and now I am watching Meet The Romans with Mary Beard.

I'm so sorry your ears are still giving you problems; and hope you find a solution for that. I really loved the vid you linked to; have always been fascinated by the digs of the ruins from Vesuvius - I remember as a child seeing the photos of them finding dogs frozen in time, and it was my first excited glimpse into archaeology. Awesome vid!

Now, on to the vid SubRosa linked!







I'm also a history buff, so liked this vid. Interesting; but a bit slow - wish she could pick up the pace a bit in this vid; she probably kept it slow deliberately for the subtitles, which I could have done without. But I think it would be awesome to follow in the footsteps or stand at the site of some of the moments in history - that was cool to do, though when the camera draws back it shows the modern view, and takes the immersion away, lol.

People interested in the history of Native America can find a treasure trove in the mountains of Tennessee; you can still dig up arrowheads, pottery, etc. - in fact, Tellico Lake was man-made (flooded the area via dams) - right over a Native American burial ground, angering the gods and tribes.

It became a favorite dive to see the relics, but if you take one, it is a federal offense.

I just finished watching Avengers: Age of Ultron, picked up the dvd earlier today.

Damn good film. Don't know that I'd call it better than Avengers Assemble though. A little predictable in places, but it had some very cool action sequences, a nice look inside their heads, and Scarlett Johansson

This post has been edited by Callidus Thorn: Sep 19 2015, 10:02 PM

I really like her down-to-nirn attitude. "This is how we have to imagine life in the ancient city. Everyone shitting together." As she is sitting on a toilet in one of the big public restrooms.

That, and one can see many similarities with modern urban Western life. Ancient Rome was one of the first consumer cultures. It's people didn't grow their own food, chop their own firewood, build their own homes, and all take their turn fighting in the ranks of the citizen army.

Instead in Rome it all came from somewhere else. People didn't do everything. Instead they had specialized professions. They were shopkeepers, shoemakers, pepper-salesmen, dressmakers, bakers, butchers, and so on. And they identified themselves with their profession. Their tombs say "I was Lucius the purple dyer", or "I am Sellia the clothier". Which is just like we are now. When you meet someone, one of the first questions that comes up is "What do you do?" and it is always something like "Oh, I'm a network engineer," or "I am a mechanic."

Also just like America, ancient Rome was a melting pot of different ethnicities. People came from all over the ancient world in the hopes of making their fortunes. Or as slaves. Either way they came in as outsiders, but they and their descendants ended up as Romans.

This post has been edited by SubRosa: Sep 20 2015, 07:58 PM

I just watched this vid of Mark Hamill talking about how he got into the Batman Animated Series, and became the Joker. He even gets up and does this fantastic in-character monologue from the Sid the Squid episode, where the Joker thinks that Batman was killed by Sid, and he delivers a euology for Batman. This guy is just pure awesome!

Luke Skywalker as the Joker?

To be honest, I've lost track of Mark Hamill. I knew he turned in an outstanding performance as Wolfie in the Broadway version of Amadeus, and I totally loved him as Christopher Blair in Wing Commander 3 and 4. It makes sense that he would go into voice acting, since he has the flexibility to take on different roles. After seeing the vid you linked, Sage Rose, now I kind of want to see Sushi Girl!

He was also Firelord Ozai, if I recall correctly.

That was an absolutely stunning performance he gave impromptu there, and I love how he acted out the role as he spoke, even making his face mobile to the part/features of The Joker - but overall I was really floored to see the Mark Hamill I remember from Luke Skywalker has changed so much in physical appearance - did not expect that, somehow - holy cow!

I mean, let's face it - this is how I always think of him:


http://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/starwa...=20100622233847


This vid followed your linked vid, also a great look at Hamill doing his voice performances for the video game Batman:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUBfbW2-vfQ






This post has been edited by mALX: Sep 20 2015, 10:52 PM

He was indeed.

He does a ton of voice acting for various animations.

Sushi Girl was an outstanding movie! Definitely watch it. It is a really dark criminal drama, about a guy who just got out of prison for a jewel heist, in which the jewels themselves disappeared. Now his partners want to know where they are, and he doesn't know. Mark Hamill turns in an extraordinary performance as a truly psychotic killer.

But you have not heard about him being the Joker? Get thee to The Batman Animated Series at once! Mark Hamill is the Joker. The one, the only. His Wikipedia page even has an entire section just on his Joker appearances. Likewise, Kevin Conroy is the ultimate Batman. That show really defined the two characters like never before or since. It is also where the character of Harley Quinn was invented, and became so infamous that she crossed over into the comics and now movies.

This post has been edited by SubRosa: Sep 21 2015, 03:33 AM

Sorry.

No captions. No watch.

I started watching Gotham. I am really loving Donal Logue as Harvey Bullock. He really brings the character to a whole new level from being simply a thug (like he was in the comics) or a slob (like he was in the Nolan movies). Oops, I was thinking of Flass. Now I remember Bullock from the Animated Series. While admittedly still slovenly, he is a guy who is easy to relate to, and is very fun to watch.

Jada Pinkett is really cool as the crime under-boss Fish. She has a great sadistic streak to her, and it is easy to see her being a mob lieutenant. John Doman rules as the the crime boss Falcone, and the Proto-Penguin is a delightfully sociopathic worm. Even young Catwoman (Kitten-girl?) is delightfully cute and larcenous.

The only thing I really balk at is James Gordon himself. Ben McKenzie seems kind of bland. I loved how they portrayed Gordon in the Nolan movies. Gary Oldman was exactly what I envisioned Gordon to be. But this guy with his buzzed hair, no glasses, and just sort of dull personality is not really it. I think it is the latter that really disappoints me. The actor himself just doesn't seem to have any magnetism. He doesn't own the scenes he is in. He is just there with the background.

This post has been edited by SubRosa: Sep 29 2015, 07:54 PM

Just finished watching this series. mALX, thanks for mentioning the subtitles. I wouldn't have watched it if you hadn't said anything. Google captions is horrible, and oftentimes laughably NOT what was said! But this series had genuine subtitles. And mALX, it's not slow paced because of the subtitles. It's just the way Mary speaks. She has very careful enunciation. So careful that I wonder if she has some kind of physical issue. In any case, I enjoyed watching Meet the Romans. I noticed many of the same things SubRosa mentioned. And I just can't get over how Mary Beard says "A Roman menage a trois"!

Well, finished blitzing the first four series of Babylon 5. Which for me is all there is, because I never liked the fifth series.

Now, I'm watching Firefly again. Because it's Shiny!

Now get the hell out of our galaxy!

Between the newest iPhone launch and reinstalling and starting Skyrim with a new character, I haven't had time to watch anything for about a week. But I did finally get around to watching Peter Jackson's The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.

Watching it, I realized that it has to have been 35 years or more since I last read that little tome. LOTR was more my speed - big, epic, plenty of memorable characters. I'm watching this movie trying to remember if this was in the book, or if that was in the book. I do vaguely remember Bilbo conning the trolls into staying out until the dawn caught them. I also remember Bilbo meeting Gollum. However, I don't recall the rivalry between Durin Oakenshield and the Pale Orc. I guess I will have to dig out that tattered paperback copy I have and reread the book. It would be very enjoyable, I'm sure. I just don't know if I want to do it before I watch the other two films in the Hobbit trilogy, or if I want to wait until afterwards.

If I recall correctly, Azog the Defiler was established as a minor character in the appendices of the Lord of the Rings (and then creatively interpreted by the film team). He definitely wasn't in the original text of The Hobbit.