"Stonehearst asylum", I enjoyed very much,I'd been meaning To watch it for sometime, mainly for miss beckinsale, Never managed to get the sight of her in full leather Whilst playing a vampire out of my mind....... A manage e toi with beckinsale and Carrie-Anne moss Both in full leather of course, is my all time fantasy
Another thumbs up for Fortitude. Series 2 due this year. Thanks for the recommendation. Watched it last night. Very good but I would have preferred a more violent end to both of the stars..
Am taping that, am reliably informed by my Mam that it is excellent after the first few episodes. I've managed to turn her into a Netflix binge watcher in her retirement, she just got through Breaking Bad in a few weeks and is onto Better Call Saul. Bojacks Mam recommends Narcos by the way, I've never seen it so can't comment but she was on about it on the phone the other week.
Day 54, film 54, going with "once upon a time in America" Absolutly love this film, I'm at darts tonight so watching it today. An absolute classic.....love joe Pesci "my cousin Vinny", nothing more to say...
Similar with my 80yr old Mam. I have at last weaned her of soaps and Midsummer Murders. Trouble is since she has seen Breaking Bad she will be forever be disappointed. Better Call Saul was funny, good and worth watching but not in the same class. Narcos is quite good too. How about Fargo? A film and 2 series to go at with another on the way. 2 series of True Detective. For action, if not quality, The Shield whiled away the hours with seven series to go at. She didn't think much of The Man in the High Castle. I like alternative histories though so quite enjoyed it. Appalling writing. Very patchy. The Wire, quite watchable but mostly dull. Any recommendations of similar apreciated.
The Sopranos was excellent, six seasons worth too so there's plenty to watch - James Gandolfini is brilliant in it, Steve Van Zandt shows he's more than just a great musician.
Hannibal all the way, but then if you / your mam liked Breaking Bad then we're singing from different hymn sheets.
Well pointed out, the current generation would have no idea what I'm on about. On a random note this reminded me of going past Gough and Davey today, the old sign is visible at the moment proudly advertising 'Grammophones' of all things!
Love Fargo both series, and am in a minority that I love both seasons of True Detective too as most people seem to dislike the second season as far as I can tell but I thought Farrell and the lady in it (forgot her name) were fantastic. Seen all of the Shield, bit of a connection there with how Vic Mackey ended up with one of the characters fates in Fargo, can't say anymore without spoilers for people.
Yes. Anyway, films... got 2 Kurosawa films watched last night, so will post both reviews. Day 4 of Kurosawa: The Idiot Brief synopsis: A Japanese veteran, driven partially mad from the war, travels to the snowy island of Kameda where he soon enters a love triangle with his best friend and a disgraced woman. Review: Having read Dostoevsky's novels, it would be very difficult for me to even imagine how to adapt one of them into a film and still have the essence of Dostoevsky's writing. Kurosawa's film, cut against his wishes, has a very gothic element which remains in memory long after having seen it. The acting style is very different from all of his other films. It is very restrained, which allows the sudden and unexpected outbursts to have effect. There is an overall sombre, gloomy, and ominous atmosphere which definitely establishes that 'gothic' feeling I got from the film. The cold winter and abundant snow provide the perfect setting for a film which intends to show how cold and dark the human world has become. This film is an achievement in style and cinematography, containing a lot of magnificent shots and is a further testament to Kurosawa's continued grasp of his craft in that point of his career. It is a shame that Kurosawa's original 4-hour cut does not exist, but this film has it's great moments which make me so angry at the studios who cut his films (and at studios in general, whose money-hungry producers cut quantity, in favour of pleasing feeble-minded audiences, and do away with quality as well in that process. Would you cut Wagner's operas to appease time limits? Would you cut Faulkner's Sound and Fury because it is too long? However, this is a topic for another time and place). Unfortunately, as the film is, it is difficult to sit through and frankly unbearable at some parts. The film was too focused on a love story and I have a feeling (from watching his other films) that Kurosawa's version would have been more about just that and presented it much more realistically. The relationship between Akama and Taeko seemed to be confusing and contrived, which is something that should have been built up a little instead of forcing it. A number of relationships in the film were unclear and seemed 'put together' or arranged, not organic at all. This again is just a guess, but Kurosawa's original would have been a lot more different. It was particularly the ending of the film that seemed to carry no weight whatsoever and felt contrived to me. Kurosawa's 4-hour version might have been considered one of his masterpieces along with the film that he made after it (Rashomon) and the film that came after that (Ikiru). It would've added yet more glory to the works of Kurosawa as a whole and might've been the best Dostoevsky adaptation ever made. Things did not turn out this way, and we are forced to dream of what this film might have been. Rating: 7.5/10
Day 5 of Kurosawa: Ikiru Brief synopsis: A bureaucrat tries to find a meaning in his life after he discovers he has terminal cancer. Review: Couldn't have been done without Takashi Shimura as the protagonist Watanabe. Realizing his death is near and imminent, he tries to find joy in the last few months he has to live. He leaves his day job and tries to truly 'live', but fails to find any sustained happiness. He confides to a young girl that he finds it very hard to 'live' at all. Shimura delivers a tremendously powerful and emotionally intense performance; completely embodying his character to the extent that he blew me away because it was nothing like I have ever seen before. Also, there is Shimura's well-known ruminative and perplexed look that serves as a knock-out punch among the arsenal of his craft. Director Akira Kurosawa continued to impress as his career progressed. He uses a non linear structure to film a very good story. The first 15 and the last 40 minutes of this films are very, very, very good examples of filmmaking and effective story telling. Emotionally moving without being overly sentimental, it's protagonist earns every bit of sympathy and emotion from us. An optimistic film which is executed just wonderfully by Kurosawa, making it neither sappy nor trite filled with platitudes and peppy little bromides. The film provokes a lot of thought and manages to depict psychological aspects of modern society in a truthful manner. Rating: 9.5/10
Perhaps even from different planets. Thanks anyway and I will give it a go. --- I am with BOJACKHCAFCMAN on True Detective. Second series not as dramatic as the first but made up for it with better acting and more depth imo. Sorry to Quill for sullying the thread with TV. That was a heavy night for you last night. Thank's for the reviews. As you suggest capturing D's intensity of psychological menace and torment must be a virtual impossibility on film. Many have tried though. I thought the von Sternberg version of Crime and Punishment with Peter Lorre came close. Although the director himself slammed it. I too struggled with Kurosawa's Idiot (now I remember it). For me it needs the atmosphere of the original intended location and the specifically Russian social and cultural nuances of the time to carry it. I have started on the serialised Soviet version of The Idiot mentioned previously. Very authentic but so wordy as to feel more like a talking book than a film. I think I will give Richard Ayoade's take on The Double a look after the footie tonight. Low expectations but hoping to be surprised.
If u enjoy realistic post apocalypse films like `The Road` then `The Survivalist filmed in Northern Ireland worth a watch
Narcos was excellent Fargo with Martin Freemans very good as well also Lilyhammers great I liked the 1st two episodes of Fortitude then i thought it went downhill especially the wasps coming out of the mouth. Really enjoyed the first 4 of Trapped also
Yeah you need to watch all of Fortitude to see and understand the significance of that heh. It does make sense.
Don't worry, was just joshing on the telly, all these series nowadays are pretty much movies. Yeah, I had some free time so thought I'd watch a couple of them. Ikiru was a bit of downer to end the evening, that will be remedied tonight - Seven Samurai.
please log in to view this image Bollox ....... should have been a picture of the Spanish beauty from Fortitude! Worth watching for her alone
