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Post by Beadyβs Here Now on Feb 20, 2021 20:05:13 GMT -5
Just discovered Jimmy Carrβs the Big Fat Quiz.
The quick, dry humour....Brilliant. π€£
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Post by eva on Feb 21, 2021 6:58:29 GMT -5
Just discovered Jimmy Carrβs the Big Fat Quiz. The quick, dry humour....Brilliant. π€£ I've been watching a lot of QI and 8 out of 10 Cats does Countdown. When I'm caught up I'll start with Big Fat Quiz episodes I love british panel shows and it's always the same people in all of these
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Post by Elie De Beaufour on Feb 22, 2021 12:53:17 GMT -5
ZeroZeroZero
They fucked it up massively. The point of Saviano's essay was to tell the difference between the Italians/Russians/Columbians in the cocaine trade, not make a drama which makes no fucking sense apart from GRANDPA GRANDPA GRANDPA every scene. Yeeesh.
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Post by tiger40 on Feb 22, 2021 18:19:49 GMT -5
The new series of Unforgotten on ITV episode one which was on ITV tonight. It looks like it's going to be another good season of this popular series.
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Post by matt on Feb 23, 2021 12:33:59 GMT -5
AI: Artificial Intelligence
What an unbelievably sad film. Mixing Kubrick's dystopia with Spielberg's humanity, it is beautiful but so existential and lonely.
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Post by tiger40 on Feb 23, 2021 14:51:16 GMT -5
Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that I really enjoyed the first episode of BBC One's new drama on Sunday Bloodlines. I'm not usually a big fan of James Nesbitt but he's really good in this.
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Post by tiger40 on Feb 25, 2021 14:53:46 GMT -5
I really enjoyed the second series of The Bay it was good and I'm looking forward to the next series already. Of course it won't be on for a while yet not just because of Covid but the scripts have to be written first of course.
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Post by tiger40 on Feb 27, 2021 14:40:44 GMT -5
So that's it then confirmed on the Line Of Duty page on Twitter that season 6 brings on 21st March and I can't wait for it as it's the best police thriller the UK has ever produced. ππΊ
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Post by theyknowwhatimean on Feb 28, 2021 9:33:53 GMT -5
AI: Artificial Intelligence What an unbelievably sad film. Mixing Kubrick's dystopia with Spielberg's humanity, it is beautiful but so existential and lonely. I canβt wait to watch this. I got the blu-ray the other week (Iβm planning to do a Spielberg marathon later in the year, so Iβve been scouring HMV, Music Magpie, and eBay for deals, piecing together his back catalogue in preparation). I put it on just to check the disc wasnβt defective, and I ended up watching that whole first scene, where the scientists talk about building a robot boy. I was sat on the floor, ready to eject the disc, but I was so engrossed by that first scene that I could have stayed like that for the duration of the film.
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Post by theyknowwhatimean on Feb 28, 2021 9:34:48 GMT -5
Hitchcockβs 39 Steps. Didnβt think much of it.
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Post by Elie De Beaufour on Feb 28, 2021 12:06:58 GMT -5
After the Prix De Paris and Canberra Calvary season:
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Post by matt on Feb 28, 2021 12:50:24 GMT -5
AI: Artificial Intelligence What an unbelievably sad film. Mixing Kubrick's dystopia with Spielberg's humanity, it is beautiful but so existential and lonely. I canβt wait to watch this. I got the blu-ray the other week (Iβm planning to do a Spielberg marathon later in the year, so Iβve been scouring HMV, Music Magpie, and eBay for deals, piecing together his back catalogue in preparation). I put it on just to check the disc wasnβt defective, and I ended up watching that whole first scene, where the scientists talk about building a robot boy. I was sat on the floor, ready to eject the disc, but I was so engrossed by that first scene that I could have stayed like that for the duration of the film. I hope you really enjoy it, and if not, it's certainly a film that is rewarding on repeated viewing. It must be the third time I'd watched it and different themes kept popping up that I missed the first time around. It's a film that on first viewing has the sweeping emotion that Spielberg is famous for but then your thoughts become immersed in various themes on repeated viewings. I feel if Kubrick directed it himself, the themes would be a lot more explicit and it would be a colder, more detached film. Equally fascinating, but with Spielberg at the helm, it's a much more emotional one. It's one of those things Spielberg is a genius at in his more serious films. Serious topics and themes can be explored but he frames it in a way that really hits you hard emotionally. Schindler's List is a prime example - Kubrick was planning a Holocaust film, and Scorsese was originally intended to make that film. All due respect to those legendary film makers (and the pair have made many of my favourite films) but none of their films have made me cry and nobody other than Spielberg could do that. And to confront a serious film like that, you need to be pulled in rather than reel and run away from the horror of it. The flipside to that is that you get 'artsy' folk saying he sentimentalises serious topics and that a film regarding the Holocaust shouldn't have a sense of humanity and goodness (key tropes in Spielberg films). It's one of those pretentious opinions that I just don't understand. Other hard hitting directors might have made it more explicit and nihilistic in just displaying its horrors, and although there's disturbing scenes, Spielberg's essence of humanity makes the film more accessible to all viewers. His ability to contrast the incessant bleakness of the Holocaust with a glimmer of light of humanity and decency makes that film much more emotionally devastating, because it provides a stark contrast between the best and worst of humanity. And in the process of watching that film, you're a lot more conscious of what humanity stands to lose with such atrocities. In the most explicit way, that film demonstrates the genius of Spielberg and it's something that AI deftly deals with too, combining heavy thought provoking themes with a degree of humanity. Getting back to AI, it has to be Spielberg's most underrated film and one of the most underrated films of all time.
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Post by tiger40 on Feb 28, 2021 17:36:32 GMT -5
The trailer for Line Of Duty series 6 looks good. Anyway, I've just watched episode 2 of Bloodlands on BBC One and it's getting good now. It's a shame that it's only in four parts. But it will be interesting to see if they do another series after this one.
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Post by tiger40 on Mar 2, 2021 14:35:32 GMT -5
I see that from January next year BBC Three is to return to a fully TV channel again. I'm not sure why they're not going to bring it back sooner though. I did read on the BBC news pages a few months ago that it might be coming back as a TV channel. I must admit that it's not a channel which I watched a lot before it was moved online but I used to watch the odd one or two programmes on there.
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Post by mimmihopps on Mar 3, 2021 5:57:33 GMT -5
Why is Covid Killing People of Colour on BBC 1 last night.
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Post by theyknowwhatimean on Mar 3, 2021 11:10:11 GMT -5
I canβt wait to watch this. I got the blu-ray the other week (Iβm planning to do a Spielberg marathon later in the year, so Iβve been scouring HMV, Music Magpie, and eBay for deals, piecing together his back catalogue in preparation). I put it on just to check the disc wasnβt defective, and I ended up watching that whole first scene, where the scientists talk about building a robot boy. I was sat on the floor, ready to eject the disc, but I was so engrossed by that first scene that I could have stayed like that for the duration of the film. I hope you really enjoy it, and if not, it's certainly a film that is rewarding on repeated viewing. It must be the third time I'd watched it and different themes kept popping up that I missed the first time around. It's a film that on first viewing has the sweeping emotion that Spielberg is famous for but then your thoughts become immersed in various themes on repeated viewings. I feel if Kubrick directed it himself, the themes would be a lot more explicit and it would be a colder, more detached film. Equally fascinating, but with Spielberg at the helm, it's a much more emotional one. It's one of those things Spielberg is a genius at in his more serious films. Serious topics and themes can be explored but he frames it in a way that really hits you hard emotionally. Schindler's List is a prime example - Kubrick was planning a Holocaust film, and Scorsese was originally intended to make that film. All due respect to those legendary film makers (and the pair have made many of my favourite films) but none of their films have made me cry and nobody other than Spielberg could do that. And to confront a serious film like that, you need to be pulled in rather than reel and run away from the horror of it. The flipside to that is that you get 'artsy' folk saying he sentimentalises serious topics and that a film regarding the Holocaust shouldn't have a sense of humanity and goodness (key tropes in Spielberg films). It's one of those pretentious opinions that I just don't understand. Other hard hitting directors might have made it more explicit and nihilistic in just displaying its horrors, and although there's disturbing scenes, Spielberg's essence of humanity makes the film more accessible to all viewers. His ability to contrast the incessant bleakness of the Holocaust with a glimmer of light of humanity and decency makes that film much more emotionally devastating, because it provides a stark contrast between the best and worst of humanity. And in the process of watching that film, you're a lot more conscious of what humanity stands to lose with such atrocities. In the most explicit way, that film demonstrates the genius of Spielberg and it's something that AI deftly deals with too, combining heavy thought provoking themes with a degree of humanity. Getting back to AI, it has to be Spielberg's most underrated film and one of the most underrated films of all time. Thanks for your carefully considered write-up, Matt. I'm even more excited to see it now.
Glad to see you recommend Schindler's List too. That's another one I haven't seen, but I am aware of the arguments against it, like Kubrick's thing about the Holocaust being a story of failure not success. As you say, depictions of humanity and goodness are at the core of Spielberg's filmmaking. Therefore, to criticise his films for depicting what he as a filmmaker does best, what is most natural to him, seems foolish and petty. Like complaining that there aren't enough camp laughs in a Scorsese film, or that a Peter Jackson film is too long. If a filmmaker's stylistic tendencies rub you up the wrong way, that doesn't mean their films are in any way broken; just that your tastes might be better served by a different filmmaker.
Incidentally, what's your opinion on Saving Private Ryan? That's another one that comes in for a lot of flak for being too sentimental. Over the last year I've been going through the archive of old Kermode and Mayo podcasts on the BBC website, which dates back to late 2010. I'm up to May 2012, when Kermode's opinion of Spielberg as a filmmaker seems to be softening. He recently broke ranks with his film critic friends and praised War Horse; and A.I., which he originally dismissed as boring, has replaced E.T. as his favourite Spielberg film. (In a year's time he'll apologise to Spielberg for having "got [A.I.] wrong," and get all choked up when Spielberg sends out his thanks to Mark's wife Linda for having encouraged him to try the film again. He also goes on to give all subsequent Spielberg films released in the 2010s positive reviews.) But at this point he still maintains that Saving Private Ryan is great for 25 minutes, but that the rest is "self-indulgent schmaltz," which seems to be the fashionable opinion for critics to hold on the film.
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Post by tiger40 on Mar 3, 2021 14:58:43 GMT -5
Secret Safari Into The Wild and it was really sad last night that I had tears in my eyes watching it. I know it's what rhinos do fight but that was so brutal last night and I didn't think that the injured one would die like that. π¦ππ¦π¦π¦π¦π¦π¦π«
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Post by matt on Mar 3, 2021 19:52:26 GMT -5
I hope you really enjoy it, and if not, it's certainly a film that is rewarding on repeated viewing. It must be the third time I'd watched it and different themes kept popping up that I missed the first time around. It's a film that on first viewing has the sweeping emotion that Spielberg is famous for but then your thoughts become immersed in various themes on repeated viewings. I feel if Kubrick directed it himself, the themes would be a lot more explicit and it would be a colder, more detached film. Equally fascinating, but with Spielberg at the helm, it's a much more emotional one. It's one of those things Spielberg is a genius at in his more serious films. Serious topics and themes can be explored but he frames it in a way that really hits you hard emotionally. Schindler's List is a prime example - Kubrick was planning a Holocaust film, and Scorsese was originally intended to make that film. All due respect to those legendary film makers (and the pair have made many of my favourite films) but none of their films have made me cry and nobody other than Spielberg could do that. And to confront a serious film like that, you need to be pulled in rather than reel and run away from the horror of it. The flipside to that is that you get 'artsy' folk saying he sentimentalises serious topics and that a film regarding the Holocaust shouldn't have a sense of humanity and goodness (key tropes in Spielberg films). It's one of those pretentious opinions that I just don't understand. Other hard hitting directors might have made it more explicit and nihilistic in just displaying its horrors, and although there's disturbing scenes, Spielberg's essence of humanity makes the film more accessible to all viewers. His ability to contrast the incessant bleakness of the Holocaust with a glimmer of light of humanity and decency makes that film much more emotionally devastating, because it provides a stark contrast between the best and worst of humanity. And in the process of watching that film, you're a lot more conscious of what humanity stands to lose with such atrocities. In the most explicit way, that film demonstrates the genius of Spielberg and it's something that AI deftly deals with too, combining heavy thought provoking themes with a degree of humanity. Getting back to AI, it has to be Spielberg's most underrated film and one of the most underrated films of all time. Thanks for your carefully considered write-up, Matt. I'm even more excited to see it now.
Glad to see you recommend Schindler's List too. That's another one I haven't seen, but I am aware of the arguments against it, like Kubrick's thing about the Holocaust being a story of failure not success. As you say, depictions of humanity and goodness are at the core of Spielberg's filmmaking. Therefore, to criticise his films for depicting what he as a filmmaker does best, what is most natural to him, seems foolish and petty. Like complaining that there aren't enough camp laughs in a Scorsese film, or that a Peter Jackson film is too long. If a filmmaker's stylistic tendencies rub you up the wrong way, that doesn't mean their films are in any way broken; just that your tastes might be better served by a different filmmaker.
Incidentally, what's your opinion on Saving Private Ryan? That's another one that comes in for a lot of flak for being too sentimental. Over the last year I've been going through the archive of old Kermode and Mayo podcasts on the BBC website, which dates back to late 2010. I'm up to May 2012, when Kermode's opinion of Spielberg as a filmmaker seems to be softening. He recently broke ranks with his film critic friends and praised War Horse; and A.I., which he originally dismissed as boring, has replaced E.T. as his favourite Spielberg film. (In a year's time he'll apologise to Spielberg for having "got [A.I.] wrong," and get all choked up when Spielberg sends out his thanks to Mark's wife Linda for having encouraged him to try the film again. He also goes on to give all subsequent Spielberg films released in the 2010s positive reviews.) But at this point he still maintains that Saving Private Ryan is great for 25 minutes, but that the rest is "self-indulgent schmaltz," which seems to be the fashionable opinion for critics to hold on the film.
Ah it's been years since I saw Saving Private Ryan. That might tell its own story. I wouldn't describe it as 'self-indulgent schmaltz', I don't think that's the issue (I assume Kermode is referring to the old man at the start and beginning tearing up at the graves) but I do have problems with the film. The literal flag waving of the stars and stripes at the start makes me roll my eyes, thinking we're in for more patriotic Hollywood guff. It's not exactly subtle. In fairness, it doesn't bang that drum and the depiction of war is not the alpha male heroic stuff but rather more wearisome and stressed. And this is the big bugbear I have with that film - despite the conditions they are under, I don't care for the characters, aside from Tom Hanks. Hanks character is spot on - no better actor to play the ordinary everyman (he's originally an English teacher I think in the film) who was thrown into deep conflict and you do care for him. But none of the other actors or characters are gripping in anyway, I don't get any sense of a backstory or any depth to them at all. I couldn't name another actor in that film aside from Tom Hanks. There's one other character I recall, the soldier who is a nervous wreck all the time - only other worthwhile character as it's probably the one I'd react similarly with in a war situation (primarily why Spielberg put him in as he believed that is how he himself would act)! I also remember it being very long with not much of a plot. I'm not the best judge, last time I saw it was about 2009, but it doesn't strike a chord with me. I'd be interested to watch it again to see if I think differently about it. But I don't think I'll ever have a moment of enlightenment with the film to be honest like I had with later Spielberg films (Minority Report being one that changed my opinion on second viewing). Maybe it's something with war films, the only war film I've ever been truly impressed with was Christopher Nolan's Dunkirk for the sheer visual spectacle. Still, the first half hour of Saving Private Ryan is cinema at its finest and John Williams theme is great too.
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Post by Elie De Beaufour on Mar 4, 2021 22:38:54 GMT -5
Cluck Quack Doing
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Post by tiger40 on Mar 6, 2021 14:27:48 GMT -5
It's episode five of The Disappearance on 5Star tonight at 9 pm. It doesn't say how many episodes there are of the series but if there is six then we've only got two more episodes to go.
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Post by tiger40 on Mar 6, 2021 14:30:47 GMT -5
Adrian Dunbar and Vicky McClure were on Graham Norton's show last night but as expected they didn't give much away about the new series of Line Of Duty. All they revealed was the clip which we've already seen.
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Post by tiger40 on Mar 7, 2021 13:39:06 GMT -5
Well, it must be getting close to the final of The Disappearance now judging by last night's episode. So I'm guessing that the final is next week. It's been a good drama though and I've enjoyed it.
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Post by theyknowwhatimean on Mar 7, 2021 18:32:09 GMT -5
Ghostbusters (1984)
Possessed Sigourney Weaver was pretty cool, and I liked some other bits, but it didn't really make me laugh (too arch for my liking), and the direction felt very flat. Poltergeist is the better film.
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Post by mimmihopps on Mar 8, 2021 8:09:20 GMT -5
The new season of Line of Duty starts in 2 weeks!
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Post by tiger40 on Mar 8, 2021 14:35:19 GMT -5
The new season of Line of Duty starts in 2 weeks! Yep and I can't wait as it's been too long since the last series. If we hadn't have had Covid we would've had this new series last year but of course filming got held up for a few months when they had to stop filming last year like everything else.
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