Now Watching, Films/ movies discussion Options

[SubRosa]

I finished Season 8 of Doctor Who. All in all it was lots of fun. I definitely enjoyed it much more than the Matt Smith years. It was nice to see the big villain at the end. I sort of saw it coming, because we have not seen this one since the end of Tenant's run. After the events of the 50th Anniversary show, it was only a matter of time (all pun intended), before we saw her again. As much as I did love the previous person to play the character, it was quite refreshing to see a woman in the role. It makes me wonder if someday - perhaps in a hundred years - if we will actually see a Doctor who is not a white male?

[SubRosa]

Almost done watching Changeling. I am not a big Angelina Jolie fan, which is why I never tried watching it sooner. But after being impressed with Maleficent, I decided to give it a chance. I am glad I did, it is a good movie, and once again she turned in a strong performance. She was actually acting, rather than just being a movie star.

Of course having other actors like John Malkovitch and Colm Feore helps. I noticed that J Michael Stracynski wrote the story, Eastwood directed. So there is pretty serious talent all around this movie.

Thanks to Three Dog, I have also started watching Dicte on Netflix's instant viewing. So far I have liked it quite a bit. The characters are interesting, and I really like seeing Scandinavia in films. It is such a wonderful region - with old Medieval cities, brooding mountains, primeval forests, countless lakes and seas - I would love to see more things set there.

This post has been edited by SubRosa: Jan 2 2015, 03:29 AM

[Callidus Thorn]

I'm working my way through Cowboy Bebop again.

[Callidus Thorn]

Watched The Big Lebowski yesterday.

I was recommended it by a friend, but I really can't see what all the fuss is about.

[Renee]

Watched The Big Lebowski yesterday.

I was recommended it by a friend, but I really can't see what all the fuss is about.

I agree with this one. It is kinda funny how the guy walks around in his pajamas constantly, and how he hates the [censored] Eagles, man.

[Jacki Dice]

I just started season four of The Walking Dead. I was happy to see my wife Michonne but it seemed like she's gone a lot and I hope she gets a decent amount of screen time.

[SubRosa]

I watched Comanche Moon over the weekend. Wonderful story, the prequel to Lonesome Dove for those not in the know. The characters are all so very vibrant and full of life, they just jump out at the screen at you. But really sad. I was going to watch Lonesome Dove following it, but that is depressing too. So I decided against it.

Instead I finished watching Season 2 of Doctor Who. I started again with Season One a few weeks ago. I plan to watch the whole thing through again.

[SubRosa]

I watched the first two episodes of Z Nation today. So far I am liking it. Much more than The Walking Dead, which I gave up on after two seasons. It's a Sci-Fi network show, show the budget isn't super high. So not always the best acting or cgi. But so far so good.

I am also still working through Doctor Who once more. I just got into Season Four. with Catherine Tate. This afternoon I saw the Pompeii episodes, which of course co-starred Peter Capaldi! I noticed that his eyebrows were not quite so pronounced back then. In fact, they looked quite normal. As opposed to the attack eyebrows he now that he is the Doctor.

This post has been edited by SubRosa: Jan 19 2015, 11:17 PM

[Callidus Thorn]

Not quite Now Watching, but I picked up 47 Ronin this afternoon. I've no idea if it's any good, but for £1.99 from a charity shop it'll be hard not to get my money's worth

Guess I'll report back this evening with my thoughts on it.

Edit:

Well, here I am...

Eh, it was alright.

My biggest issue with it was that parts of it; Asano's daughter, the witch, Keanu Reeves' character(and everything related to him), seemed to be very obvious additions. They all had the feel of being tacked at the end.

Literally the first thing I did after watching was google 47 Ronin, and found out that they were. (Well, according to a Wikipedia page, but I was just looking for confirmation, not all the details)

For £1.99 I'd say it was worth it; it's got some pretty good action sequences in it, some good acting, some very good CGI. But let me put it this way: I'm glad I didn't buy it brand new

This post has been edited by Callidus Thorn: Jan 23 2015, 10:14 PM

[Kiln]

I watched the first two episodes of Z Nation today. So far I am liking it. Much more than The Walking Dead, which I gave up on after two seasons. It's a Sci-Fi network show, show the budget isn't super high. So not always the best acting or cgi. But so far so good.

I am also still working through Doctor Who once more. I just got into Season Four. with Catherine Tate. This afternoon I saw the Pompeii episodes, which of course co-starred Peter Capaldi! I noticed that his eyebrows were not quite so pronounced back then. In fact, they looked quite normal. As opposed to the attack eyebrows he now that he is the Doctor.

Z Nation is horrible. The majority of the ating, storyline, and effects are all bad. The only redeeming factor is the story arc involving Murphy and a few interesting plot elements.

Things like a zombienato, viagra zombies, and the entire ninth episode make the good parts of the show hard to enjoy. Somehow, I watched all of it so far though so it isn't entirely bad.

I don't know how anybody could prefer it over The Walking Dead.

[SubRosa]

I couldn't stand The Walking Dead. Mainly because I hated most of the characters. Not to mention idiotic ideas like guns being extremely difficult to find in rural America. My father - who lives in rural America - owns more guns than I ever saw in two years of that show. Or people thinking zombies are just sick and can be cured, rather than the undead, so lets keep them all in the barn. I could not get past the second season.

I wrapped up Z Nation yesterday and loved it. Mainly again because I actually liked most of the characters. Even Murphy, who was purposely played to be an ass, was someone I liked seeing on screen. The acting wasn't especially good, nor the cgi, but I don't expect either of those to be good from a Sci-Fi Channel movie.

OTOH, I loved that they had different kinds of zombies. There were fast zombies (who had recently reanimated), super-fast drugged zombies, slow zombies, even radioactive zombies covered in glowing bacteria. I also liked the humor, like killing zombies with the liberty bell, and the z-nado (I laughed out loud when the one character looks at it and remarks that it sure ain't sharks in there).

I also liked the variety in episodes too. We had the cannibal episode, the christian wacko episode, the crazy general episode, the nuclear powerplant episode (which was really nice, because nuclear plants and especially their spent fuel storage would pose a huge threat to any post-apocalyptic setting), the gun show episode, and others. In the end, it was a very enjoyable show that gave me something different every episode.

It even had some nice bits of world-building. I loved how they used the term 'Mercy' for killing zombies. It struck me as a euphemism that people would cling to, as it would help them deal with the ugly reality of having to kill their family and friends. It makes doing the horrible things they have to a little easier. The talk of the "Black Summer" where many people starved to death was another good touch too. What most zombie movies ignore is that a Zombie Apocalypse will be like any other natural disaster, in that all essential goods and services will stop. There will be no more food being sent to the grocery stores, no more water coming from the faucets, etc... If you live in a place like L.A., you will die of thirst or starvation in short order, quite possibly before the zombies can be get to you. There was even an episode of Z-Nation where the team was so exhausted from lack of food and water that they could not flee the oncoming zombie horde.

All in all, I enjoyed it a great deal. I am looking forward to a second season.

This post has been edited by SubRosa: Jan 24 2015, 04:24 AM

[mALX]

I couldn't stand The Walking Dead. Mainly because I hated most of the characters. Not to mention idiotic ideas like guns being extremely difficult to find in rural America. My father - who lives in rural America - owns more guns than I ever saw in two years of that show. Or people thinking zombies are just sick and can be cured, rather than the undead, so lets keep them all in the barn. I could not get past the second season.

I wrapped up Z Nation yesterday and loved it. Mainly again because I actually liked most of the characters. Even Murphy, who was purposely played to be an ass, was someone I liked seeing on screen. The acting wasn't especially good, nor the cgi, but I don't expect either of those to be good from a Sci-Fi Channel movie.

OTOH, I loved that they had different kinds of zombies. There were fast zombies (who had recently reanimated), super-fast drugged zombies, slow zombies, even radioactive zombies covered in glowing bacteria. I also liked the humor, like killing zombies with the liberty bell, and the z-nado (I laughed out loud when the one character looks at it and remarks that it sure ain't sharks in there).

I also liked the variety in episodes too. We had the cannibal episode, the christian wacko episode, the crazy general episode, the nuclear powerplant episode (which was really nice, because nuclear plants and especially their spent fuel storage would pose a huge threat to any post-apocalyptic setting), the gun show episode, and others. In the end, it was a very enjoyable show that gave me something different every episode.

It even had some nice bits of world-building. I loved how they used the term 'Mercy' for killing zombies. It struck me as a euphemism that people would cling to, as it would help them deal with the ugly reality of having to kill their family and friends. It makes doing the horrible things they have to a little easier. The talk of the "Black Summer" where many people starved to death was another good touch too. What most zombie movies ignore is that a Zombie Apocalypse will be like any other natural disaster, in that all essential goods and services will stop. There will be no more food being sent to the grocery stores, no more water coming from the faucets, etc... If you live in a place like L.A., you will die of thirst or starvation in short order, quite possibly before the zombies can be get to you. There was even an episode of Z-Nation where the team was so exhausted from lack of food and water that they could not flee the oncoming zombie horde.

All in all, I enjoyed it a great deal. I am looking forward to a second season.

I saw the preview for this and had to sleep with a night light on, lol. (same thing happened after seeing "The Last Of Us."

I'm wondering if you are going to want to watch "Salem" when it comes out?

[SubRosa]

I don't think I want to watch Salem at all. Witchcraft in movies or TV it is usually the fundamentalist Christian propaganda that Witches are all worshipers of their devil, and go around murdering people. I have almost never seen any movie or show portray my religion with anything close to realism. It just makes me furious, and I wonder how Christians would feel if they simply reversed the labels, and called the so-called Witches Christians instead, and vice-versa?

[mALX]

I don't think I want to watch Salem at all. Witchcraft in movies or TV it is usually the fundamentalist Christian propaganda that Witches are all worshipers of their devil, and go around murdering people. I have almost never seen any movie or show portray my religion with anything close to realism. It just makes me furious, and I wonder how Christians would feel if they simply reversed the labels, and called the so-called Witches Christians instead, and vice-versa?

I have to agree with what you are thinking they would portray witches as in this film. I saw three separate ads for it, and it was like the network was trying to drum up suspense with the ads. The first was the most intriguing, made me wonder what the show was going to be about. The second nearly turned my stomach, and I knew I would not be watching it. The third downright made me sleep with the light on.

I will not be watching this, and have to agree with you on the portrayal of witches as evil. Not much different than blacking out a tooth and putting a wart on an elongated nose under a crooked black hat - either way it is a stereotypical derogatory portrayal that keeps that prejudicial fear of the actual Salem trials alive.

[SubRosa]

I started watching The Men Who Built America on Netflix. It is rather dry, and gets repetitive where they put the commercial breaks. But so far it is fascinating. It tells the stories of America's first great business tycoons: Cornelius Vanderbilt, John D Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, Henry Ford, and JP Morgan. These guys all faced trials, and disasters that could have ruined them, yet rose above it all to be become the wealthiest entrepreneurs in the country. At the same time they literally did change America, and how people lived. From the railroads that linked the east and west, the kerosene that filled everyone's lamps, the steel that allowed all the skyrscrapers to be built, and of course the Model T that even an ordinary person could afford.

The show also does not flinch at showing the dark sides of these men, who were just as ruthless and duplicitous as their modern counterparts: Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and so on. They went to war with one another, and ruined the lives of millions of people, just so they could have their personal revenge on the people who crossed them, or simply just to get ahead. It really shows how evil unrestrained capitalism is, and the necessity for government oversight into big business.

This post has been edited by SubRosa: Jan 25 2015, 06:38 AM

[mALX]

I started watching The Men Who Built America on Netflix. It is rather dry, and gets repetitive where they put the commercial breaks. But so far it is fascinating. It tells the stories of America's first great business tycoons: Cornelius Vanderbilt, John D Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, Henry Ford, and JP Morgan. These guys all faced trials, and disasters that could have ruined them, yet rose above it all to be become the wealthiest entrepreneurs in the country. At the same time they literally did change America, and how people lived. From the railroads that linked the east and west, the kerosene that filled everyone's lamps, the steel allowed all the skyrscrapers to be built, and of course the Model T that even an ordinary person could afford.

The show also does not flinch at showing the dark sides of these men, who were just as ruthless and duplicitous as their modern counterparts: Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and so on. They went to war with one another, and ruined the lives of millions of people, just so they could have their personal revenge on the people who crossed them, or simply just to get ahead. It really shows how evil unrestrained capitalism is, and the necessity for government oversight into big business.

As long as that government oversight is not self-motivated or harboring any greed of its own; which is nearly impossible to find in government.

[Destri Melarg]

I couldn't stand The Walking Dead. Mainly because I hated most of the characters. Not to mention idiotic ideas like guns being extremely difficult to find in rural America. My father - who lives in rural America - owns more guns than I ever saw in two years of that show. Or people thinking zombies are just sick and can be cured, rather than the undead, so lets keep them all in the barn. I could not get past the second season.

I loved this! Did you just dismiss the Walking Dead, a show centered upon a zombie apocalypse, patially because of what you perceive to be a dearth of firearm availability? How fantastically American does that statement sound?! That would be a little bit like saying that Doctor Who sucks because you can’t fit that much stuff inside a police box.

I don't think I want to watch Salem at all. Witchcraft in movies or TV it is usually the fundamentalist Christian propaganda that Witches are all worshipers of their devil, and go around murdering people. I have almost never seen any movie or show portray my religion with anything close to realism. It just makes me furious, and I wonder how Christians would feel if they simply reversed the labels, and called the so-called Witches Christians instead, and vice-versa?

We watched the first six or seven episodes last season. IMHO you aren't missing much.

I started watching The Men Who Built America on Netflix.

I still find myself going back to it every time I see it on the History Channel. You're right, it is fascinating. You should also check out The World Wars by the same filmmakers. It is amazing to think about how much of WWII came as direct consequence of the allies actions following WWI.

Edit:

Oops, forgot the reason I came in here: I held out as long as I could, but we're about to finally sit down and watch The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. Wish me luck...

This post has been edited by Destri Melarg: Jan 25 2015, 02:22 AM

[SubRosa]

I loved this! Did you just dismiss the Walking Dead, a show centered upon a zombie apocalypse, patially because of what you perceive to be a dearth of firearm availability? How fantastically American does that statement sound?! That would be a little bit like saying that Doctor Who sucks because you can’t fit that much stuff inside a police box.

America is a gun nation. It is one of the reasons we are a sovereign state, and not still a bunch of British colonies! We love our guns, and thousands of us die every year because of them, but we still love them just the same. If we melted down all of our guns we could probably build a bridge to the Moon out of the iron. If they had set the show in England, I could see the problem with finding firearms, and using that as a major plot point for an entire season. But there are literally 90 guns in America for every 100 people. They may as well have made the inability to find sand in the Sahara a major plot point. I was not exaggerating about my father owning more guns than I have ever seen put together in two seasons of that show either. He literally does. If there is ever a zombie apocalypse, his place is going to my first stop.

I started watching The Men Who Built America on Netflix.

I still find myself going back to it every time I see it on the History Channel. You're right, it is fascinating. You should also check out The World Wars by the same filmmakers. It is amazing to think about how much of WWII came as direct consequence of the allies actions following WWI.

I am looking it up on Netflix right now. I know what you mean though. The Treaty of Versailles guaranteed another war. The German troops going home actually held a grand triumphal parade through Berlin, as if they had won the war. They were not convinced they had lost! Then many of them became members of Friekorps, basically mercenary bands who controlled different slices of the country. If Hitler and the Nazis had not taken over, it would have just been some other warlord, maybe the communists, maybe Ernst Rohm. And the creation of Yugoslavia out of so many disparate ethnic groups. Only a ruthless bastard like Tito could run that place after WWII. Look what a mess that turned into after he died.

Oops, forgot the reason I came in here: I held out as long as I could, but we're about to finally sit down and watch The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. Wish me luck...

I enjoyed the first two Hungry Game movies. I am still waiting for the third one to come out on dvd before I see it. They are not great, and the world-building really stretches my ability to say "ok, I can believe that". But I think the characters more than make up for it. Cantmiss Everdeen is definitely one of my favorite heroines, she has a lot of humanity, flaws and all, to balance out her uberness with a bow. Plus Jennifer Lawrence is not difficult to look at.

For me that is usually the make or break point. Do I like the characters? If I don't, I usually cannot sit through a movie. That is not to say the characters have to be nice, or moral, even if they are the protagonist. A well done anti-hero - like Chris Evans in Snowpiercer - is just as good as a well done hero. They just have to possess something that I like, even if it is just the actor's personal charisma. For example my biggest gripe with TWD is that I just cannot stand the characters. While one reason I didn't mind the bad cgi and bad acting and sometimes silly events in Z Nation was I liked the characters in that.

This post has been edited by SubRosa: Jan 25 2015, 03:18 AM

[mALX]

That would be a little bit like saying that Doctor Who sucks because you can’t fit that much stuff inside a police box.

NoNo - that worked due to the TARDIS effect, which works on the same principle as macaroni (which swells to several times its own size); which actually was derived from the "Sea Monkey Effect" ... (etc)

[SubRosa]

Well, the Tardis is not a police box. It is just disguised to look like one. It is really more like an alternate dimension, and what we see as a police box is just the point where it intersects with our own reality. So of course the 'inside' can be bigger than the outside. There can be an entire universe in there, because well, there is. It is not so much a ship that can travel through time and space. Rather it is another reality, which can intersect with our own at any given place, at any given when. At least that is my take on it. In the very least it is a pocket universe, existing within our own (which would actually make more sense, with travel between alternate realities being so difficult).

This post has been edited by SubRosa: Jan 25 2015, 04:58 AM