Off Topic The Review Thread

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Just finished watching The Lighthouse with Willem Defoe and Robert Pattinson. Dark and broody film, all shot in black and white and in 4:3 ratio, the cinematography is amazing.

Two lighthouse keepers, stranded on a rock in the middle of the Atlantic in 1890s during a massive storm - what could go wrong. Watching the chemistry between these two as they gradually descend into madness is an entralling watch - Defoe is phenomenal, and a little bit weird, and Pattinson, as his lacky, gets more and more pissed off with the way he's treated.

Definately worth a watch
 
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In these ****ty times decided to watch again ‘Fire In Babylon’ looking back at the superb West Indies Cricket team of the 70’s and 80’s.
Interviews and soundbites from the likes of Viv Richards, Clive Lloyd, Desmond Haynes and Joel Garner make superb watching along with a fantastic soundtrack.
Well worth a watch. (On Sky Documentaries)
 
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Been watching tv as I got talked into working Saturday nights for a few weeks and they are always quiet

noughts and crosses
First couple of episodes I liked
Got bored with the rest

The capture
If you haven't already seen it
BBC I think
It's worth watching
Will certainly make you think about cctv
Ron Pearlman is great in it
 
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kiwiqpr said:
Been watching tv as I got talked into working Saturday nights for a few weeks and they are always quiet

noughts and crosses
First couple of episodes I liked
Got bored with the rest

The capture
If you haven't already seen it
BBC I think
It's worth watching
Will certainly make you think about cctv
Ron Pearlman is great in it
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The Capture - I enjoyed it, but the attention to detail let it down, and big gaps in the story made it a bit unbelievable for me.

I liked the premise of Noughts and Crosses - but couldn't quite figure out if it was supposed to be a drama about racial divides or a love story which put a bit of a dampener on it for me.
 
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Last night finished the marathon of 92 episodes of Madmen. As with anything over this length very variable in quality and interest, the middle series sagged badly. However some great performances, some fascinating characters and great sixties and early seventies design and fashion, superb production values.

I am probably over thinking this, but I like to think that it started off as a pretty high concept idea, an allegory of the US, with the central character of Don Draper/Dick Whitman representing its flaws, falseness, genius and robustness. Then it proved very popular with people who probably didn’t look at it like this at all, and essentially turned into a soap opera. Overall I’m glad I spent the family time watching it. When is the third series of American Gods available?
 
sb_73 said:
Overall I’m glad I spent the family time watching it. When is the third series of American Gods available?
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American Gods isn't due until later in the year - time to fit in Zero Zero Zero, or Hunters which I've just started watching and is very good....Nazis in 1970s USA being hunted down by a gang of Holocaust survivors and a rag-tag bunch of nerds, whilst plotting to bring about the rise of the Fourth Reich...and the FBI chasing both sides! What's not to love? Apparently it's loosely based on true events too - and it's on Amazon Prime for free!
 
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Started another relatively family friendly series on Amazon Prime, The Good Fight, a legal drama with a couple of ongoing storylines but a case or two per episode. It’s pretty good.

Also Staged, a lockdown comedy on BBC with David Tenant and the brilliant Michael Sheen. They play ‘versions’ of themselves, a bit like the Trip - and in interviews have acknowledged the debt - but I have to say they are both much better actors than Coogan or Brydon, and this feels much more spontaneous than the by now rather repetitive though sometimes very funny restaurant/impressions show.

Hearing Sheen yell ‘you feathered ****’ at a bird is pure joy. I think this is six 20 minute episodes in total, which is the perfect amount. Samuel Jackson and Judy Dench make foul mouthed appearances as well. No more please, quality over quantity! Apparently Sheen appears in The Good Fight in some future series.
 
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Also just finished James Ellroy’s latest tale of corruption and depravity, This Storm, set in LA in the months after Pearl Harbour. An acquired taste, but despite him slagging one of my heroes, Orson Welles, I loved it. As a 76 year old I don’t think Ellroy will ever hit the peaks of LA Confidential or the epic American Tabloid again, but this is still great stuff. Recommended for those who like their noir really black, and can cope with jagged, stylised sentences filled with period jargon.
 
Finished the first series of Ozark on Netflix which I'd recommend. Slow first episode but quickly gripping. Not the best series I've seen but solid, not entirely predictable, I'll watch series two.

Also watched Hillary on Sky Documentaries. Four part series on Hillary Clinton which is really interesting and very well made. Her side of the story, naturally, but interesting on her time as First Lady and also as Presidential Candidate.
 
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Steelmonkey said:
Here he comes! Big Robert Smith, one of our own, going to smash it on the Pyramid Stage! Can"t wait, am seeing them in August.
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As it's Glastonbury weekend, we're just re-watching The Cure from last year...

Glastonbury, The Cure: www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p08h384p via @bbciplayer

I decided to re-read our male bonding session from when it was live! ****, he's still brilliant - and I've got the bonus of having seen them a few weeks after they did this (although the weather was dreadful then!)
 
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Staines R's said:
Just seen ‘Gomorrah’ season 4 is available to watch in advance in a sky box set.....I almost cried tears of joy and gonna start tonight.

For those who haven’t seen it from the start...all episodes from series 1-4 are available...you won’t regret it
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You need to check out Zero Zero Zero, which I finished a few weeks ago. Same writer and production team - top quality, storylines in Calabria, Mexico City, New Orleans and across Africa following a cocaine deal gone terribly wrong - you won't be disapppointed, especially as Mogwai did the soundtrack
 
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Steelmonkey said:
You need to check out Zero Zero Zero, which I finished a few weeks ago. Same writer and production team - top quality, storylines in Calabria, Mexico City, New Orleans and across Africa following a cocaine deal gone terribly wrong - you won't be disapppointed, especially as Mogwai did the soundtrack
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What’s it on mate ?
Sounds good
 
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Steelmonkey said:
Good question! I downloaded it from a torrent site

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Trailer says it's on Amazon...

Although this one says it's coming on Sky!

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Looks really good....I assume it’s got something to do with the book, which I read ages ago.......
 
Steelmonkey said:
As it's Glastonbury weekend, we're just re-watching The Cure from last year...

Glastonbury, The Cure: www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p08h384p via @bbciplayer

I decided to re-read our male bonding session from when it was live! ****, he's still brilliant - and I've got the bonus of having seen them a few weeks after they did this (although the weather was dreadful then!)
Click to expand...

Yeah, The Cure were great last year. We've been watching a lot of Glastonbury this weekend.- REM, Blur, The Streets, Florence, Mumford, all good.
 
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Stroller said:
Yeah, The Cure were great last year. We've been watching a lot of Glastonbury this weekend.- REM, Blur, The Streets, Florence, Mumford, all good.
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Did you watch the Julien Temple documentary. It’s really goood with some great clips of performances from some great bands (inc the Alabama 3)
 
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