ARCHIVED FORUM -- March 2012 to February 2022READ ONLY FORUM
This is the second Archived Forum which was active between 1st March 2012 and 23rd February 2022
BeoNut since '75
elephant:@Jeff Similar treatment as in the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo? Well deserved either way.
Similar treatment as in the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo?
Well deserved either way.
Similar, but in comparison the guy in The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo got off easy. Much longer and more intense mind games, plus worse physical abuse. By far. You're not sure who to root for in this one, the guy is obviously a scumbag, and in the end turns out to probably have murdered a young girl, but Ellen Page's character is psychotic and psychopathic in her own right and not the kind of "girl getting revenge" you can cheer or feel OK about. Complex movie, thought provoking and well written and acted.
Jeff
I'm afraid I'm recovering from the BeoVirus.
Just watched Jo Nesbo's Headhunters. Norwegian with subtitles. A terrific film, shown in the UK on BBC4.
Now, should I read the original book?????
Graham
Watching the second season of Black Sails, on STARZ cable channel in the US. Last season was OK but didn't really grab me, but so far the first two episodes of this season are much more engaging. The personalities of several of the characters are getting quite well fleshed out and interesting, and there's a new captain who is a complete psychotic psychopath. Becoming one of my favorite shows.
Finally got around to watching "Rush" - the movie about the 1976 Formula 1 rivalry between James Hunt and Niki Lauda. Good movie, the actors did a good job portraying their respective drivers.
Just saw Jeff's post on Rush. What really make me crazy as much as I liked this film is the latitude with the facts that are taken by directors on movies like this based on true stories. I respect Ron Howard a lot as a director but I read that the two main characters in the film actually shared a room in London in their early days of their racing careers which does not at all match the rivalry that was worked into the film. For many people films will be the reality of the story. Too many films based on real people and situations have way too much creative license taken in the filming and story. A personal bug a boo of mine. Why not just create a film and say it was inspired by real people and not imply that it was how it happened.
John
John Francis: Just saw Jeff's post on Rush. What really make me crazy as much as I liked this film is the latitude with the facts that are taken by directors on movies like this based on true stories. I respect Ron Howard a lot as a director but I read that the two main characters in the film actually shared a room in London in their early days of their racing careers which does not at all match the rivalry that was worked into the film. For many people films will be the reality of the story. Too many films based on real people and situations have way too much creative license taken in the filming and story. A personal bug a boo of mine. Why not just create a film and say it was inspired by real people and not imply that it was how it happened. John
I agree, they take too much leeway with the truth. Not only had Hunt and Lauda been roommates, they were friends from what I understand. Fierce competitors but not as adversarial as the movie let on. Apparently one other thing Lauda didn't like about the films that it made him look like He never got any babes, Hunt did. He said he was quite successful with the ladies.
Just watched "Edge Of Tomorrow" a scifi movie based on a manga starring Emily Blunt and Tom Cruise. Surprisingly, given my opinion on Cruise, the movie was quite good and Cruise did a really good job. During an alien invasion Cruise's character, at first a conscript weasel coward, acquires the aliens ability to reset time to the beginning of the day if killed. You get to see him essentially play a real world video game with no ability to save, every time he gets killed the whole thing starts over, only its not a game. He goes from a useless coward to a battle hardened, stone cold soldier, and Emily Blunt's character, who he obviously comes to care deeply about, he gets to see her die hundreds of times. Kind of a cross between Starship Troopers and Ground Hog Day. Great action scifi flick.
Also recently watched the original "The Producers" with Gene Wilder and Zero Mostel. What a funny movie. Gotta love the songs: Springtime for Hitler and Germany, Winter for Poland And France...
"Oblivion" was the other Cruise movie, which also had the benefit of two very lovely actresses. I liked it as well, great visually.
I thought the aliens were well done in "Edge of Tomorrow" personally...they didn't so much move like tentacled things as they seemed to flow in almost impossible ways. In a way they reminded me of the descriptions of beings from beyond in HP Lovecraft's stories, like they existed in more than 3 dimensions and you only saw what mapped into the 3 dimensions we have.
I read the IMDB trivia for Edge, and the reason Blunt's character used a melee weapon, the sharpened rotor blade, was because she found in all the repeats she got killed when she had to stop and reload the guns, so she went for something else.
You're spot on about Starship Troopers never being done well...one of my favorite of Heinlein's books, the exoskeletons in Edge were closer to Troopers than anything in the movie versions of ST.
I agree that even most short stories seem to need more than one movie...the movie Dune was awful. Not a short story by any stretch but SciFi channel did a mini-series of it that was far far better and covered more of the important parts of the book. I do see a lot of PKDick stories made into movies, but few are truly accurate. I think the best, most accurate film is A Scanner Darkly.
To add, most movies that are based on video games are terrible, the only two exceptions to me are the original "Resident Evil" and by far the best, "Silent Hill." That is a truly surreal and unsettling movie, one freak out after another, some deeply deranged and disturbing visual imagery in that.
So far so good
Wolf Hall finished last night in the UK. Brilliant television. Showing in the US in April.
The night interiors have been filmed entirely by candlelight....... if you want to test just how good your Beovision really is turn your own room lights right down and immerse yourself.
Just watched "The Signal" with Lawrence Fishburne. Very odd...these kids from I think MIT decide to try and find this hacker Nomad, who trashed the university servers. They drive out to the middle of nowhere in the desert, then wake up in this facility where everyone is dressed in protective bunny suits, one can't move his legs, one is missing, the girl is in a coma, an Fishburne's character is interrogating the boy. When were you first exposed to the signal? He indicates the "signal" was extraterrestrial in origin. A decidedly creepy movie, keeps you guessing, although the ending was a tad predictable in hindsight, still well worth watching.
Forgot to mention two things. First, in Edge Of Tomorrow, in the General's office there's a large screen behind his desk, flanked by speakers, which are some unknown speaker with exposed drivers, and sitting on top of each of them is a Beolab 8000.
Second, also watched the latest incarnation of Godzilla...typical big budget Hollywood movie, lots of expensive special effects, mediocre acting, and just about no plot. It's amazing but the original was much better despite the fact that Godzilla was a guy in a rubber suit. And hands down the most idiotic scene was when Godzilla came up out of the ocean and into Honolulu. People are watching as all these helicopters suddenly fly over and drop a lot of troops on top of the hotels. Godzilla comes out of the water and marches into the city, and these soldiers, armed with 9mm machine guns, all start shooting at him. Yeah, like that will do anything to a 10 story tall monster.
Beosound Stage, Beovision 8-40, Beolit 20, Beosound Explore.
Top Gear from my DVR. Gillian Anderson is the celebrity guest. I always had a crush on her from her Dana Scully days on X-Files. God, she gets better with age. I'm smitten.
Sal: Top Gear from my DVR. Gillian Anderson is the celebrity guest. I always had a crush on her from her Dana Scully days on X-Files. God, she gets better with age. I'm smitten.
You, me, and about every other nerd on the planet! I remember back when X Files was on, I worked as a researcher in a university computer lab. ALL the computer nerds were head over heels in lust with her.
Jeff:You, me, and about every other nerd on the planet! I remember back when X Files was on, I worked as a researcher in a university computer lab. ALL the computer nerds were head over heels in lust with her. Jeff Beovirus victim, it's gotten to be too much to list!
Cleviebaby: Not sure if the series 'The Fall' has made it to the 'States yet but she is mesmerising in that - you simply can't take your eyes off her and not just because she looks wonderful in a silk blouse! She is outstanding in it. Cleve
Not sure if the series 'The Fall' has made it to the 'States yet but she is mesmerising in that - you simply can't take your eyes off her and not just because she looks wonderful in a silk blouse! She is outstanding in it.
Cleve
I believe it's on Netflix, going to have to see about adding it to my queue
I just checked and Netflix says they have it both streaming and discs. Definitely adding it to my watch list, probably will wait until I finish American Horror Story.
elephant:Back to Heinlein, I see there is going to be a third attempt to bring "The moon is a harsh mistress" to film. What can I say ? TANSTAAFL !
What can I say ?
TANSTAAFL !
Interesting. I've grown increasingly apprehensive when they start talking about making Heinlein or Asimov into movies, the track record isn't good. Starship Troopers and I, Robot come to mind. They seem to do fairly well with PKDick. Hope if they do attempt this they do it well.
For moon movies I always liked the old First Men In The Moon, and lately I've seen Moon, which is quite a good story, simply told, only a handful of actors, great concept and story though. About a guy on the dark side of the moon mining helium 3, nothing is what it seems to him. Quite a good, thought provoking movie.
In the What Are You Reading Now thread Rich made a comment about a book he said he didn't like but was glad he read. I've just experienced the same with a movie. The movie is "Chained" and stars Vincent D'Onofrio as a cab driver who is also a serial killer. Sparse, brutal, and truly messed up psychological drama, well written and stunningly well acted. Well photographed. The movie starts with him driving out to his remotely located house, pulling in the garage, closing the door, and pulling a woman and her 6-7 yr old kid out of the back seat. He kills the woman but keeps the kid around. He tells the kid his duties, which are to obey him, serve his meals, and the kid only gets to eat what's left on the table after the man finishes. After the kid tries to escape he keeps him chained with a very long chain. This continues, the kids servitude and the mans serial killing of women until the kid is a young man, when he's pressed to follow in the mans footsteps. Won't say more as the plot twist at the end is shocking, but it's an unpleasant film you won't want to watch more than once but which is nonetheless compelling and hard to take your eyes off, very well crafted, very well acted, and disturbing.
Cool!
I like Netflix, I am a member in both streaming and DVD by mail rentals, because while streaming is convenient it's catalog compared with the DVDs they offer is limited, and also changes fairly often as rights agreements come and go. They took The Lexx down right as I was in the middle of the series. And foreign and indie films are usually more available on DVD or BluRay. Recently I finished binge watching the first season of American Horror Story, quite a fun ride that was. Got to get started on the remaining seasons.
If you run across anything that you want to check and see if it's on the US side or not, say if it's not there in Australia or such, drop me a line and I'll check.
Just made a new disvovery on my apple TV: TED Talks on science, culture, lifetyle etc. of about 18 min each. For example: a love poem of a lonely prime number (59), talks on architecture, a visit to Rome with the help of drawn scetches (Escher meets Piranese was one scetch), a typographical emoticonal love story. But now I let it be a Good Friday after listening to Kurt Thomas (1904-1973) Passionsmusik nach dem Evangelisten Markus, op 6 (1926). Yes, he was 22 as he did it. It was not on CD, but life at the Liturgy of the Good Friday 3pm.
The new season of Penny Dreadful has started over here...so far if anything even creepier and more disturbing than the first. Pretty strong right out of the gate, only two episodes in and it's intense.
Jeff: The new season of Penny Dreadful has started over here...so far if anything even creepier and more disturbing than the first. Pretty strong right out of the gate, only two episodes in and it's intense.
"Penny Dreadful" is finally coming to Australia ... so I shall get to follow up your recommendation.
Bought Sue sight unseen 3 DVDs of "Morden" another dip into Swedish Noir - from the Fjallbacka books that she loves by Camilla Lackberg. I'll let you know how they are later.
Speaking of all things Scandinavian, we watched "Love Is All You Need" the other night. An Apple this week's special 0.99 cent rental. The description was OK, but had not prepared me for the fact it was Danish with a mixture of subtitles for the Danish dialogue, and also English dialogue. It was OK ... and the only reason I am mentioning it was that there is an office scene featuring a BeoCom 5.
It took so long for Penny Dreadful to make it Down Under because they had to modify the creepy, swirling mists to revolve clockwise rather than counterclockwise.
I think you'll like it. I need to do more of a dive into Swedish film, but I'm so backlogged with things I want to watch it will have to wait I think. I don't watch that much TV, less retired than when I worked for some reason. I still have at least two more seasons of American Horror Story to watch.
Game of Thrones started again, and while I still enjoy it I think either it's not as good or I'm just suffering GOT fatigue, I'm just not as into it as I was.
I picked up the director's cut of Dark City, one of my favorite films, but haven't had a chance to watch and see what's different yet.
Jeff: Game of Thrones started again, and while I still enjoy it I think either it's not as good or I'm just suffering GOT fatigue, I'm just not as into it as I was.
Which is exactly the reaction I had when reading the books. I read the first 3 books back to back to back in the summer of 2005 when I read a review of the fourth book, A Feast for Crows, and was completely hooked. Couldn't put them down. (I was single and childless at the time.)
But then I started A Feast for Crows, and just couldn't get into it. Never did read it or the fifth book.
Jeff: I picked up the director's cut of Dark City, one of my favorite films, but haven't had a chance to watch and see what's different yet.
If it's been awhile since you've watched the "original," you may not notice anything different. I didn't. Maybe the "dual" at the end is longer.
I recently watched a very strange and unsettling Asian horror film, "Three...Extremes." Three vignettes by different directors in different languages, first was Chinese, Cantonese to be precise, second was Korean, third was Japanese. Out of them all, the first and last were the creepiest, with the last being truly odd and surreal and just creepy. There's something about Japanese horror, it can be very different and very unsettling. Asian horror in general is different, but Japanese seems even farther out there to Western sensibilities.
Enjoyable? Depends on your opinion of horror movies. I enjoyed it, and am still haunted in a way by the imagery in the final vignette.
Meanwhile Penny Dreadful continues to impress.
I watched 'Under the Skin' last week. A very odd and pretty tense film with Scarlett Johannson prowling around Glasgow streets as this alien life form. Sounds very strange and it was. But it was also very good and compelling.
Recommended!