Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot isn't spectacular, but it's a nice story and jonah hill is excellent, like truly really great.
― Jeff the grown man (voodoo chili), Friday, 31 May 2019 15:09 (five years ago) link
yea i really enjoyed that 1 also, to my surprise
― johnny crunch, Friday, 31 May 2019 18:44 (five years ago) link
beautiful boy is watchable but not v good imo
― johnny crunch, Friday, 31 May 2019 18:46 (five years ago) link
I made it about 5 minutes into Historical Roasts or whatever before I cringed out.
― Leaghaidh am brón an t-anam bochd (dowd), Friday, 31 May 2019 19:00 (five years ago) link
Agree that Colette was pretty good. None of the others really interest me.
Terror has indeed just shown up on US Hulu. I watched the first episode last night but may wait a couple of weeks to resume - I can only take about one hour a week of Jared Harris, and Chernobyl's still going.
― shared unit of analysis (unperson), Friday, 31 May 2019 19:13 (five years ago) link
― Leaghaidh am brón an t-anam bochd (dowd), Friday, May 31, 2019 12:00 PM (two hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
for the netflix thread?
― easy ball shooter (Spottie), Friday, 31 May 2019 21:34 (five years ago) link
Oh, sorry! Got mixed up.
― Leaghaidh am brón an t-anam bochd (dowd), Friday, 31 May 2019 21:41 (five years ago) link
Yes, I already own the DVD, but I'm still excited to see Sun Ra: A Joyful Noise on here.
― Mario Meatwagon (Moodles), Sunday, 2 June 2019 02:48 (five years ago) link
Just added: Connie Plank – The Potential of Noise. Documentary about the krautrock producer made by his son. It's good, for the most part.
― punning display, Sunday, 2 June 2019 12:36 (five years ago) link
I noticed there's a load of the usually pretty good Classic Albums documentaries on Prime. Not sure if they're all there but there's lots
― nate woolls, Sunday, 2 June 2019 21:46 (five years ago) link
i watched a documentary the other night about the banana and American imperialism in Latin America. Pretty decent intro, though I'd really like to see something more in depth that isn't some smug Michael Moore or whoever-type expose.
― sarahell, Sunday, 2 June 2019 21:53 (five years ago) link
Watched the first episode of GOOD OMENS tonight and holy fuck was it bad. My tolerance for whimsy is low at the best of times, and this was about as Not For Me as it's possible for a thing to be, and that was before Queen showed up on the soundtrack. I don't really blame Neil Gaiman, though, 'cause I liked American Gods (book, not show), and while I've never read anything by Terry Pratchett, the Wikipedia plot summary of one of his novels (the first in a 40-book series, for fuck's sake) made me want to tear my eyes out.
― shared unit of analysis (unperson), Sunday, 2 June 2019 23:28 (five years ago) link
The trailer and even just the thumbnail looked so bad I couldn’t even bother giving the pilot a few minutes
― easy ball shooter (Spottie), Monday, 3 June 2019 00:11 (five years ago) link
i quite like it but the special effects are so unforgivably terrible ... ie vfx in s1 eccelstone new-Who level crappy — and whatever the fuck they did to Tennant’s lizardy demon eyes (contacts or digital i cant quite tell ) looks hideous.
― Squeaky Fromage (VegemiteGrrl), Monday, 3 June 2019 00:26 (five years ago) link
It's contacts in every shot, even when he's wearing sunglasses, but enhanced with cgi in the scenes where it looks aggressively stupid
that was before Queen showed up on the soundtrack
This is a reference to a very good running joke in the book, that has been left out of the series altogether.
― quelle sprocket damage (sic), Monday, 3 June 2019 01:43 (five years ago) link
oh man this is making me sad as I was super looking forward to this, although i think the book is way overrated.
― akm, Monday, 3 June 2019 01:48 (five years ago) link
sic what did you think of it? overall?
― Squeaky Fromage (VegemiteGrrl), Monday, 3 June 2019 02:10 (five years ago) link
Your objections make sense in that, as I understand it, due to Pratchett's passing they wanted to incorporate as many of the elements that he brought to the novel as possible.
― Simon H., Monday, 3 June 2019 02:27 (five years ago) link
(I haven't watched it and probably won't tbh)
A someone who read the book as a teenager I didn’t dislike it but it wasn’t great either. It’s a bit heavy handed and too faithful as the book to the extent that Frances McDermont/God is explaining jokes that only really work written down. They also don’t really do much to build the characters of the ‘Them’. The book portrays them as a sort of a just William/Famous Five gang of kids living in an sentimental old world England that was already long gone in 1990, but conjoined up by Damian’s imagination field by these books . They almost seem incidental to the story. By contrast a lot of the rest of the series could do with some heavy editing. Too faithful to the book.
I don’t think we’ve talked about the Marvelous Mrs Maisel which is good fun.
(This Sunday in Melbourne was great weather for binge watching TV)
― American Fear of Pranksterism (Ed), Monday, 3 June 2019 04:31 (five years ago) link
Maisel talk moved to the Maisel thread in January 2018
it's not good but it's watchable. definitely wouldn't recommend it to anyone who hasn't read the book. I liked the 3rd episode best, which was almost entirely new material, and with Sheen and Tennant throughout.
Adam and his pals (who are 100% William and the Outlaws, with the serial numbers faintly liquid-papered over, in the book) are so minimal a presence in the series that I wondered if they got cut down drastically because the boys or just Adam turned out to be such bad / not grasping the (very had to grasp) tone of the production. Weren't they basically the second group of protagonists in the prose version?
Everyone who isn't Crowley and Aziraphale gets short shrift tbf - not only have Newt and Anathema only met each other about 40 seconds before they bone, we've not had much longer to get to know either of them. McKean has lost his ability at British accents since Spinal Tap, even with a Scottish director, and is startlingly uncompelling as the second-most-seen character so soon after he pinned your eyes and emotions in Better Call Saul. Miranda Richardson is kinda wasted, but also doesn't have any of the earthiness of the book's character: it feels like she is very relievedly slipping into chastity at the end, rather than diverting Shadwell into appreciating pleasures of the flesh.
Frances McDormand's narration is so flat that one imagines they'd proudly announced the casting before she recorded, and couldn't go back. It's not just that she's reading or elucidating stuff from the book, it's that either she doesn't seem to get the jokes enough to play them deadpan, or the visuals are so frenetically busy underneath her that it undermines her casual delivery from what might otherwise play as deadpan.
― quelle sprocket damage (sic), Monday, 3 June 2019 08:27 (five years ago) link
Similar objections to sic esp re: Frances McDormand's narration. Pacing was all over the place - it felt like they were just rushing through the plot points of the book.
I did like the kids though - thought the parts where Adam comes into his powers were better here than they were in the book. It's been a while since I read it but iirc Adam just weirds his friends out a bit before he comes round. Here he actually gets to be a bit more terrifying.
Sheen and Tennant were great, everyone else was underutilised/miscast. And as with all things Gaiman, the whole thing was all just entirely too pleased with itself.
― Roz, Monday, 3 June 2019 09:13 (five years ago) link
Young teen me is surprised no one has green-lit that Piers Anthony immortality series yet.
― Josh in Chicago, Monday, 3 June 2019 11:33 (five years ago) link
I watched the first ep, and it was much better than I expected. Will watch the rest.
― Leaghaidh am brón an t-anam bochd (dowd), Monday, 3 June 2019 12:26 (five years ago) link
while I've never read anything by Terry Pratchett, the Wikipedia plot summary of one of his novels (the first in a 40-book series, for fuck's sake) made me want to tear my eyes out.lol this is pretty much my experience except swap out Wikipedia summary for having someone describe the novel to me at length while I nod politely and desperately look for an exit (this has happened to me multiple times in my life with different people, so apparently pratchett fans are the type of people who do this) (I did try to read something by him once, it was bad)
― shhh / let peaceful like things (wins), Monday, 3 June 2019 12:52 (five years ago) link
Yeah the trailer is terrible and it definitely looks awful and cheap !
― AlXTC from Paris, Monday, 3 June 2019 13:06 (five years ago) link
It was okay. Tennant was great, Sheen was good (I probably would have thought he was great if his portrayal had matched the mental image I had from the book, which was a significantly older character), I kind of liked the Horsemen.
Jon Hamm was also pretty funny but that's not a surprise.
― Arugula Raccoon (DJP), Monday, 3 June 2019 13:19 (five years ago) link
Yeah I thought it was ok. Tennant, Sheen and Hamm were all good. Whitehall ok. Any others with big parts pretty poor esp McKean who was dreadful.
The first episode, or even just the opening sequences were nearly enough to put me off totally - the stench of cod Douglas Adams was overwhelming and threatened to come back every time the Frances McDormand v/o struck up.
― Elitist cheese photos (aldo), Monday, 3 June 2019 13:28 (five years ago) link
Has anyone watched "Higher Power"? Looks like a b-grade alt-superhuman movie, very vaguely like "Rupture", in that putting someone through stress unlocks latent ability. Not having Amazon Prime, if someone rates it average or better, I'd track it down elsewhere. Am thinking Google Play for "Forest of Lost Souls", so would look for "Higher Power" there, also.
― the body of a spider... (scampering alpaca), Monday, 3 June 2019 13:34 (five years ago) link
^"Forest of Lost Souls" is great. It's on both Prime and Hulu.
Searching at justwatch.com, I see that "Higher Power" is on Hulu but would cost $4.99 for members to watch on Prime. Not my thing anyway.
Hulu would be your best deal to see both films. The $5.99/month plan works great for watching just movies. That's less than Google Play for just the two, and Hulu's ads only interrupt their TV shows/series.
― punning display, Monday, 3 June 2019 14:03 (five years ago) link
Thanks for the input! Been planning on dropping HBO, which - aside from GoT, John Oliver, and the periodic special or movie - hasn't been an excellent value for the money.
― the body of a spider... (scampering alpaca), Monday, 3 June 2019 14:07 (five years ago) link
So could replace it with Hulu, meant to say.
― the body of a spider... (scampering alpaca), Monday, 3 June 2019 14:08 (five years ago) link
I've been watching Long Strange Trip, the Amazon original Dead documentary. It's definitely a cut above the standard issue streaming doc-in-a-box and is done in a style that suits is subject matter very well.
― longtime caller, first time listener (man alive), Monday, 3 June 2019 14:36 (five years ago) link
Any others with big parts pretty poor esp McKean who was dreadful.
About a minute into his first appearance, I said to myself "McKean was cast and directed to give this ridiculous performance because Shadwell is not supposed to come across as a credible human being" and then he stopped bothering me.
― Arugula Raccoon (DJP), Monday, 3 June 2019 14:43 (five years ago) link
xp to alpaca: the main story element of 'this week tonight' is on their youtube channel every week fwiw
― Fuck the NRA (ulysses), Monday, 3 June 2019 15:27 (five years ago) link
Good Omens is not as bad as I expected but I feel like actors other than Sheen and Tennant would have made it better.
― Greta Van Show Feets BB (milo z), Tuesday, 4 June 2019 03:09 (five years ago) link
It just occurred to me that the Queen gag was the one thing from the book that they DIDN'T signpost and repeat three times to make sure everyone watching got it
― Arugula Raccoon (DJP), Tuesday, 4 June 2019 16:47 (five years ago) link
thanks for the post about the 'classic albums' series being on here. got those queued up for background viewing during work .
― easy ball shooter (Spottie), Tuesday, 4 June 2019 17:09 (five years ago) link
Here are links to specific threads for some Amazon Originals shows:
— Bosch: "If you can smoke and drink while doing it, it's not a sport" - a thread for BOSCH— Sneaky Pete: Sneaky Pete on Amazon Prime— Homecoming: Homecoming, a good show on Amazon Prime— The Man in the High Castle: Search is Broken so I Don't Know if there's already a Man in the High Castle TV show thread— The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel: The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel— Transparent: Transparent - Jill Solloway television series on Amazon— The Expanse: (Amazon picked this up for season 4 and beyond): Is anybody else watching The Expanse?
― easy ball shooter (Spottie), Tuesday, 4 June 2019 17:28 (five years ago) link
One of the episodes of Good Omens has the intro 25 minutes in. That's just not on.
― Leaghaidh am brón an t-anam bochd (dowd), Tuesday, 4 June 2019 17:47 (five years ago) link
Watched The Posse yesterday. It's a western from 1975 starring and directed by Kirk Douglas. Bruce Dern is in it as well. Not a typical western - kind of weird little film tbh.
― brownie, Tuesday, 4 June 2019 17:53 (five years ago) link
I guess it's just called Posse.
― brownie, Tuesday, 4 June 2019 17:54 (five years ago) link
thanks, Spottie!
― mh, Tuesday, 4 June 2019 20:15 (five years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKXyXyJtbhg
― shared unit of analysis (unperson), Tuesday, 4 June 2019 20:58 (five years ago) link
Watched this https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hannie_Caulder cuz the cast is amazeballs (well, except for Culp). Unfortunately it sucked.
― Οὖτις, Wednesday, 5 June 2019 05:20 (five years ago) link
An area that I don't think has been mentioned where Amazon Prime is pretty strong is Italian genre films of the 60s, 70s & 80s. Spaghetti Westerns, Euro-crime, Giallo, etc. Unless you go searching for it and follow links to related titles, directors or actors, you might never know it's there. Amazon's website is the best way to explore, as opposed to the Prime Video app. A few examples:
Search for Spaghetti Western. Just a fraction of what Amazon suggests:
Django Kill... If You Live, Shoot!Django, Prepare A CoffinDjango Meets Sartana!(The original Django film is no longer available for some reason. None of the sequels come close, but these three are the best of the 10 or so on Prime.)I am Sartana...Your Angel Of DeathIf You Meet Sartana... Pray for Your DeathSartana's Here, Trade Your Pistol for a Coffin$100,000 For A KillingA Fistful of DollarsGod Made Them, I Kill ThemGod Said to CainA Man Called BladeDay of AngerCompanerosDead Men Don't CountMan, Pride & Vengeance
Sure, they ain't all classics. Many don't belong in a discussion of "what's good", but just seeing the lurid cover art by the dozen should make your pulse race. A search for Euro Crime leads to, for starters:
The Italian ConnectionCaliber 9The BossBlood & DiamondsExecution SquadHired GunKiller CopHow to Kill a JudgeProperty Is No Longer a TheftShoot First, Die Later
Search for Giallo. Some of what shows up:
Seven Deaths In The Cat's EyeEye In The LabyrinthYour Vice Is a Locked Room and Only I Have the KeyWeekend MurdersThe Black Belly of the TarantulaThe Bloodstained ButterflyThe Blood Spattered BrideBlood and Black LaceForbidden Photos of a Lady Above SuspicionDon't Torture a DucklingThe Black CatCity of the Living DeadShort Night of Glass DollsDeath Laid an EggThe Cat O' Nine TailsThe Red Queen Kills Seven TimesKiller Is On The PhoneOperaDeep RedPhenomena
Beware that many versions have terrible dubbed English and no option for Italian with subtitles. I'm no expert, but I think that's what comes with the territory. It's more tolerable with the better movies. With the crappier ones, it can add to the charm. Or not.
Whenever you find an old movie on Prime from before about 1990, from anywhere, not just Italy, you should proceed with caution. I've gotten excited to find old classics that turn out to be unwatchable, shoddy transfers. As a rule, when the cover thumbnail is a generic dark box the video quality is shit.
― punning display, Wednesday, 5 June 2019 15:09 (five years ago) link
oh damn, i didn't realize so much of that giallo put out in recent times by Arrow was on Prime in the US. Awesome! i wanna watch all of that.
― Nhex, Wednesday, 5 June 2019 15:16 (five years ago) link
yes! i have been filling my watchlist with all this stuff and absolutely going to town.
it is also a goldmine for the works of folks like joseph merhi, richard pepin, and the like.
― andrew m., Wednesday, 5 June 2019 15:50 (five years ago) link
the church is missing from that giallo list, it's on prime and it's spectacular
― american bradass (BradNelson), Wednesday, 5 June 2019 15:57 (five years ago) link
Whenever I stumble upon a cache of stuff I like that I didn't know was there I add it to my watchlist. But then I end up with 300+ things in my watchlist, which is so many that I can't tell when something vanishes. Until I look for it, and it turns out to be the one thing I want to see and it's not there.
― Josh in Chicago, Wednesday, 5 June 2019 16:36 (five years ago) link