How did you like that movie / TV show / book?

[LeeVanCleef]

I am going to avoid that Red Son movie. I really dug that comic book. Must have read it about 10 times. It's some crazy shit and a must-read for any Superman fan. JFK's still president in the '70s, married to a way past her prime Marilyn Monroe. Hey, that would have made Marilyn the first First Lady to show her tits to the public, instead of that vapid Eurotrash porn-whore that's in there now! A lost chance, America!
I remember reading a lot of the entertainment press when Seinfeld was originally airing and it wasn't all shits and giggles. Some of the later seasons, like 6 or 7, were so bad people were pondering whether the show should wrap it up or not. There's never really been another network show quite like it (HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm doesn't count), but if I'm in a re-watching mood, I'd rather hit up The Office. American, not Limey.

 

[StevOz]

I here ya LVC and sure it's not something I do these daze, read comics that said I was somewhat less then satisfied with the animated versions of the Watchmen having read the comics.

 

[Isaac Sauvage]

@Steve,
You know when you rebooted this thread the other day, I started on a complete re-read of the thing. I must say, it's a really good thread! Not only had I completely forgotten about the stuff we were all talking about through the years, as well as my personal replies on this or that, but I was also reminded that this thread's chock full of interesting leads. For example, I was recollected by some of Bill's posts that I still need to watch a John Cassavetes film. Welp... cool beans! Being stuck in my own rut can definitely get boring!

Btw, as a longtime reader of graphic novels, I'm disappointed in myself that I never did finish Watchmen. Being able to compare and contrast it with the movie and TV versions is a fairly rare kind of opportunity, and so far I've been blowing it. The thing that greatly cuts down on these opportunities is that I haven't read any kind of superhero stuff for decades and decades, for better or worse. Sin City probably comes closest for me, although the films didn't do much for me, unfortunately. I.e. the graphic novels are way, way better IMO.

Ah, that also reminds me of Snowpiercer, which I did read recently. In that case, the graphic novel was actually pretty rough around the edges (even underdeveloped), while apparently they did a really slammin' job on the film adaptation.


@bill[/USER],
Thanks for dropping by, sir!

You know on Seinfeld's WP page, they go in to how poorly the pilot tested and how mediocre the audience reactions were to the first season's eps (there were only four made apparently, the smallest number ever ordered for a TV series). So, looks like it was one of those very few hugely successful shows that really shouldn't have made it past the pilot or the first season. Also, sometime back I tried watching one of the early eps (George is playing at being an "importer / exporter" I think) and it indeed came off really flat... borderline dead, really. Kind of amazing how much livelier and just plain better it got in short order.

.

Before I forget, I want to mention one of the few blogs I regularly read-- that of Mark Evanier, who's had a long career as a writer for TV and comic books, as well as other stuff, such as retrospective books on Mad Magazine, Jack Kirby, and Walt Kelly's Pogo. But regardless of all that, the essence of the blog is that of an industry insider in the entertainment field. A lot of the blog posts are kind of irrelevant to me, but then, a lot are pretty unique and fascinating, not unlike that other writing blogger who used to do M*A*S*H. Oh, and btw, Evanier also spends a lot of time analysing Herr Drumpf and the complete shitshow that is current American politics. Nothing wrong with that, of course...

 

[elton]

@Nic Now you've mentioned The Big Bang Theory ... we all rather liked that :)

@bill mentioning Shameless ... never seen the US version. The UK series was rather good to start with but got carried away and less funny imho. Should have stuck with the first 3-seasons.

 

[Isaac Sauvage]

@elton,
Yeah, you really don't want to know what I think about that show.

Then again, I'm pretty sure you couldn't give a toss, so that's that sorted.

.

Ah, I remembered just now that since this thread wound down three years ago, I did check out at least one new series, which was Mr. Robot, a show about computer hackers. It was actually quite intense and kind of depressing, and I couldn't quite make it through the first six eps or so. But I can vouch for it-- it's quite a good premise, and well done.

Also, can't remember if I brought this up before, but through the years I've watched a lot of old What's My Line? eps on YT. It's a surprisingly solid show to re-watch, and not just to check out 'how things were.' No, it's a really fine premise, plus there's a lot of surprisingly witty improvised banter, usually led by the likes of Bennett Cerf, the founder of Random House Books. How often do you have major book publishers serving as regular panelists on TV game shows, I ask. One other interesting thing about the show is that another of the regular panelists (Dorothy Kilgallen, a national newspaper columnist) was working on a book which evidently would have blown the lid off the JFK assassination when she suddenly died between episodes. Now I'm not a big conspiracy fan myself, but probably not too hard to connect the dots on that one.

 

[elton]

Oh, I'd love to hear your opinion on TBBT Nic ... go on, indulge me :D

Mr Robot showed promise but rather ran out of steam for me in season 2. I did read that there was a season 3 but cannot be arsed.

A series that did get me engrossed a few years ago was Banshee ... not 100% sure why, but I enjoyed it.

 

[Isaac Sauvage]

How to describe it, exactly? Like a bunch of TV producers did their 'research' by watching the complete Revenge of the Nerds series, then managed to create something barely half as interesting, coupled with a viewing public who wouldn't know the difference in a million years.

Watching that show, I can actually -feel- long chains of neurons winking out of existence in my head. I think I'd rather watch reruns of the Brady Bunch and Gilligan's Isle, frankly. Maybe even My Mother the Car. Basically, watching that show would be a great way to turn myself in to Dougal McGuire. Rapidly and efficiently, I suspect.

Well... you did ask!

 

[StevOz]

mmm the last modernistic TV series I watched was The Handmaid's Tale, rather brutal and wrong as all religious beliefs are that which the right wing feeds upon to make the mostly simpleton population believe in fear over logic and reason.

 

[elton]

Yes I did ... thanks Nic.

 

[Isaac Sauvage]

mmm the last modernistic TV series I watched was The Handmaid's Tale, rather brutal and wrong as all religious beliefs are that which the right wing feeds upon to make the mostly simpleton population believe in fear over logic and reason.

Hmm, sounds like an interesting, nightmarish premise. Not necessarily all that different from the reality we know, given how much closer we all are to 1984 than we were just a few years ago.

Is there a proper, post-apocalyptic TV series out there? I could definitely go for something like that, or for some kind of historical fiction. Anybody here catch Vikings, for example?

 

[elton]

I have the Vikings series but have yet to watch it.

 

[StevOz]

Just watched....

Spies in Disguise (2019) ⭐ 6.8 | Animation, Action, Adventure

1h 42m | PG

www.imdb.com

I rate it a 009.

 

[Isaac Sauvage]

Speaking of animated films, I just noticed Rotten Tomatoes' top 100 list.

Given that I'm not a huge fan of CG stuff, I do see some interesting-looking prospects, listed below. Most of those I hadn't heard of before:

Paddington 2 (2018)
Isle of Dogs (2018)
Shaun the Sheep Movie (2015)
Only Yesterday (1991)
My Life as a Zucchini (Ma vie de courgette) (2017)
The Lego Batman Movie (2017)

Somewhat related, YT just matched me up with a truly interesting-looking live action + animated film from the legendary Ralph Bakshi. The #1 thing that immediately pops out is the racial overtones. But at the end of the day, this looks like a dang innovative, cool film, and arguably Bakshi's masterpiece.

 

[StevOz]

That Coonskin dope better be good brother cause I just got that shit coming down da pipe now...

 

[elton]

Not a huge fan of cartoon films ... the exception being the 1968 film Yellow Submarine.
My children like some Anime but not me. Never seen one I've liked even some earlier recommendations by StevOz.

 

[Isaac Sauvage]

Not a huge fan of cartoon films ... the exception being the 1968 film Yellow Submarine.
My children like some Anime but not me. Never seen one I've liked even some earlier recommendations by StevOz.

You know, Yellow Submarine actually rates a 97% score on Rotten Tomatoes! I saw it a long time ago, as a kid most likely, and probably didn't realise how good it was. Maybe time for a rewatch.

One thing I do remember is that Paul, George, John & Ringo didn't do their own voices. I recall being confused by that at some point, but looking back on it now, it probably didn't hurt anything. Undoubtedly it saved them weeks of extra studio time at a time when they were already getting on each others' nerves.

 

[elton]

Well worth another watch my friend :)

 

[Isaac Sauvage]

I bumped in to this amazing, atypical scene for Columbo.

As good and effective as his usual routine is, one realises how much more is possible. I don't even know if I'm describing Lt. Columbo or Peter Falk at this point.

 

[Isaac Sauvage]

So, I was trying to track down a certain Columbo episode via free online sites and kept coming up empty. Somehow I then stumbled on IMDB TV, which allows you to login through IMDB acct, Facebook acct, or a couple others. Well... it seems they have a boatload of TV shows and movies on offer, including Columbo! Cool beans!

Now, it looks like you do have to sit through an ad about once every 14 minutes, which isn't terrible. Actually if I get my scriptblocker tuned right, I'm hoping the ads won't show up at all.

On their page, they also have "Bladerunner 2048" appearing on top right now, a good omen for the likes of me.

Note: Archive.Org also has some older series available (minus the ads of course), such as the entire run of M*A*S*H. They do have nine episodes of Columbo at the moment, and hopefully that will increase with time.

 

[elton]

Good luck with Columbo ... rather you than me.

As for 2048 ... I was massively disappointed. Just didn't work for me at all. Mind you, it was better than the absolute crap I watched last night ... Primal. Totally abysmal.

 

[Isaac Sauvage]

As for 2048 ... I was massively disappointed. Just didn't work for me at all. Mind you, it was better than the absolute crap I watched last night ... Primal. Totally abysmal.

Yeah, just from seeing the 2048 previews and reading the summary, I was a little surprised they decided to switch gears so much compared to the original premise.

Btw, one thing I'm enjoying these days from your side of the pond is "The Two Ronnies." The skits I'm seeing on YT are as sharp as the likes of Monty Python, The Goodies, A Bit of Fry & Laurie, etc. The format's a bit dry and 70's-like, but the humor makes that irrelevant in short order:

 

[StevOz]

Birds Of Prey And The Fantabulous Emancipation Of One Harley Quinn...

Birds of Prey (2020) ⭐ 6.1 | Action, Comedy, Crime

1h 49m | R

www.imdb.com

Mostly just a meaningless action flick and not much else I give it an emancipated seven.

 

[Isaac Sauvage]

I just watched the original "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" mini-series (BBC, 1979) on YT, and it was quite good. Kinda funny seeing Obi-Won Kenobi (Alec Guinenss) as a completely different character, but his voice was exactly the same as in Star Wars. I found it amusing and eerie at the same time.

The series was heavy with bureaucrat-talk and spy-talk, which is about a million miles from how the James Bond movies go. It could be completely fascinating for some and utterly boring for others, depending. It's a really good series, and critically-acclaimed, but it's the dialogue that will probably make it or break it for you.

For me, the ending was kind of depressing. The traitor does get caught, but there's little sense of victory. What's more, the manner in which he turned to the other side makes you question some civilised values that are maybe best left unquestioned. Fortunately, this stuff probably won't be a big deal to most watchers.

And now I'm kinda curious what the 2011 Gary Oldman movie is like!

If you're interested, you can watch the series here:

 

[Isaac Sauvage]

@elton,
Dunno if you're dropping by these days, but lately I've been riding out quarantine by going through Granada's Sherlock Holmes series. Happily, the entire series seems to be uploaded on YT:
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=granada+"sherlock+holmes"

Although I still find it to be the best-ever adaptation of Holmes, I'm not sure all the stories make for great TV. IMO some of them are downright draggy, such as The Resident Patient, the two-parter of Holmes - Moriarty's battle to the death, The Abbey Grange, and The Man with the Twisted Lip.

Also, the second series doesn't seem quite up to the high quality of the first, which may have something to do with the change in actors playing Watson. Yet another influence upon my shifting opinion is that Sherlock (2010– ) with Benadryl Custardbath was so fantastic for the first few series.

Overall, though, it must be said-- Jeremy Brett and Granada's version is still a great series. What particularly blows me away on a regular basis is how excellent the quality of the background actors, scenes and props are. In some places I could have sworn they had access to a time machine. For example, at the 35:40 mark, just look at this scene from the Norwood Builder. All this background work (and museum pieces trotted out) for ~25 seconds of throwaway atmosphere-building in an 80's TV series:

Just... wow.

 

[Isaac Sauvage]

S----- M----- challenged me to list the ten albums that greatly influenced my taste in music, one album a day for ten consecutive days. No explanations, no reviews, only covers. Each day I'll ask someone else to join me and do the same if they wish. Day 7 -- Today I nominate Ike Savage.

Elton, my man, this list will not be exhaustive, but attached are some good examples that pop in to mind.

There's also plenty of classical, jazz, and folk albums that belong, but aren't necessarily in the form of a single, discrete album. There could be plenty of other versions and interpretations, for example.

Btw, I really like it when there're alternate covers that got used less often or didn't make the cut. The Beatles one below would be an example: