Amazon Prime Instant Video Rec

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Originally Posted by PB

Tales ftrom the Loop: only two episodes in, but beautiful in its understated poignancy. The second episode killed me.

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When you say "killed me" do you mean it had you laughing uncontrollably or that it was visceral and emotional?

I watched the first episode late Saturday night and have to say I was underwhelmed.
It is visually arresting, but the acting by all involved was a bit earnest and the incessant use of non-stop musical score became overbearing; the quietly engaging imagery really didn't call for continuous music to be running in the background. This is the type of show that would benefit from more silence.

Definitely gonna give it a coupla more eps, but the first one didn't really do it for me as a whole. It had some great, nuanced images, but didn't really flow as a whole to me.

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Originally Posted by bobz

Swift, Silent, Deep, a docu about the Jackson Hole "Air Force", and somewhat of a history of steep powder skiing in general, is running for free on Amazon currently. I'm about half way through; good stuff.

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Thanks for letting me know this was available. I hadn’t seen it in some years.

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Originally Posted by dookey67

When you say "killed me" do you mean it had you laughing uncontrollably or that it was visceral and emotional?

I watched the first episode late Saturday night and have to say I was underwhelmed.
It is visually arresting, but the acting by all involved was a bit earnest and the incessant use of non-stop musical score became overbearing; the quietly engaging imagery really didn't call for continuous music to be running in the background. This is the type of show that would benefit from more silence.

Definitely gonna give it a coupla more eps, but the first one didn't really do it for me as a whole. It had some great, nuanced images, but didn't really flow as a whole to me.

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Actually agree with your reaction to the first episode; "killed me" as in broke my heart i.e. much better than the first episode, although I'm guessing that all the episodes will be soft, subtle and slo-mo. I was able to tune out the soundtrack early into the second episode. I'm actually appreciating it not being the typical life smashing, thrill ride that most SF movies tend to be.

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Originally Posted by ACH

I watched the first three seasons of The Expanse in the last month and enjoyed it.
Season four goes live tomorrow.

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Seasons 1-3 were great.
Multi-faceted characters with believable motivations.
Good depiction of zero-g physics.
Deep political intrigue and powerplays, potential planetary extinction events and the genesis of new life.

Season four "welcomes" a (I think) new director and writer to adapt the story for screen.
(Who think they're hot shit and as such they command a few seconds each at the end of the hurried opening credits.)
Sadly the series devolves into formulaic sci-fi with tired tropes typified by a string of contrived emergencies that exist merely to heighten tension.

Sigh.

Well put. 1-3 were some of the best SF on tv; S4 was a joke. What a waste. They literally had an infinite amount of worlds on which to continue the story, and they completely fucked it up.

Altered Carbon (Netflix) had a similar trajectory. S1 was a masterpiece, A+; S2 is a shitty joke of an homage to the original. I couldn’t even finish it.

Ash is Purist White is free on Prime. Zhao Tao might be my favorite actor right now.

"Zhao is magnificent throughout. With her smile she can project warmth or daggers, and she seems able to grow younger or older at will. She has become one of the finest actors in world cinema and is well worth an early flutter for the Cannes Best Actress prize. Head down to your nearest jianghu gambling den now."

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/ash_is_purest_white

https://youtu.be/l0fKX6VhovQ

The Scheme is an interesting doc. Fuck the NCAA

If you like fantasy anime set in feudal Japan then "Blade of the Immortal" is for you. Incredibly gory - sometimes downright gut-wrenching depictions of torture and dismemberment. No nudity but sexual situations abound. Subtitles only, no English dub.

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Originally Posted by Tippster

If you like fantasy anime set in feudal Japan then "Blade of the Immortal" is for you. Incredibly gory - sometimes downright gut-wrenching depictions of torture and dismemberment. No nudity but sexual situations abound. Subtitles only, no English dub.

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The live action version by Takashi Miike is also good...

ZeroZeroZero was ok. Preferred the action outside of Mexico, didn't care for watching Mexicans killing each other, though a cartel boss's violent succession folded nicely into the ending. North African scenes were good.

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Originally Posted by Tippster

If you like fantasy anime set in feudal Japan then "Blade of the Immortal" is for you. Incredibly gory - sometimes downright gut-wrenching depictions of torture and dismemberment. No nudity but sexual situations abound. Subtitles only, no English dub.

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Tipp, what kind of set-up are you using for streaming?

I attempted to watch BOTI last year and it wouldn't give me subtitles.
Tried it again last night and again it won't allow subtitles.
Dunno if my Roku stick is too old, but pretty much everything else I've watched that is foreign gives me subtitles (that said, Prime's subtitles kinda suck; 9 times outta 10 I have to return to the Roku main menu and choose subtitles under the settings. Dunno why they don't automatically pop up).

I watch on my laptop. Upper right of the streaming window there are icons, one of which is language and subtitle options.

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Originally Posted by Tippster

I watch on my laptop. Upper right of the streaming window there are icons, one of which is language and subtitle options.

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;)

BATTLES WITHOUT HONOR AND HUMANITY
Began the deep,dive into this 8 film series tonight.
Gritty yakuza a yarn from 1973.
Hard to determine if it influenced Scorsese or the other way around, since this and Mean Streets came out around the same time, but there are definite similarities between Kinji Fukasaku and Martin S. (this film had quite a few elements that reminded me of The Irishman, for example).
Bouncing between hardboiled action and heavy melodrama, the film bubbles with a steady intensity, buoyed by a well-placed musical refrain that repeats throughout the film every time
somebody is killed, to the brooding charisma of the lead actor.

RIYL
The Godfather; The Irishman; Tokyo Drifter; Branded To Kill; Sonatine; Outrage

Anyone watching Tales From The Loop? Kind of a modern take on The Twilight Zone but episodes take place in the same town.

I’m only a couple of episodes in but am hooked.

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Originally Posted by Peruvian

Anyone watching Tales From The Loop? Kind of a modern take on The Twilight Zone but episodes take place in the same town.

I’m only a couple of episodes in but am hooked.

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PB is digging it (see posts #521 and #524 on Page 21 of this thread).

I was severely underwhelmed with Episode 1 (see post #522 on Page 21 of this thread).

:smile:

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Originally Posted by dookey67

PB is digging it (see posts #521 and #524 on Page 21 of this thread).

I was severely underwhelmed with Episode 1 (see post #522 on Page 21 of this thread).

:smile:

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It really is staggering how poor the search function is on this forum.

You would think I’d have learned by now.

Well, the TGR Loop loves to endlessly rehash da shit, so .....

I have to take the episodes in small sips - too heavy and a little depressing, but well worth watching.

Bosch Season 6 just got released on Prime.

Watched this quirky horror comedy tonight.
Great premise, wonderful practical effects (cardboard! confetti! puppets!)
Only weak link for me was Nick Thune, whose earnest deadpan acting just didn't work. The rest of the cast was solid, though.

Fwiw, I watched it dead sober, but methinks it might be best viewed in an altered state of some kind...

This existential tour de force just popped up on Prime this week.

I reviewed it in the Ongoing Current Movies In Theaters thread last October, fwiw:
https://www.tetongravity.com/forums/...41#post5799041

Willem Dafoe shoulda oughta won the Oscar he was nominated for, that's for sure!

Pioneer One
Russian teen from Mars crashes in Canada. US Homeland Security lock him down while he recovers.
If you are looking for a series written and filmed by what must be a high school kid with the budget cobbled from his days manning the fryer, then this is for you.


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

So ...... 5 stars?

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Originally Posted by Elkhound Odin

Pioneer One
Russian teen from Mars crashes in Canada. US Homeland Security lock him down while he recovers.
If you are looking for a series written and filmed by what must be a high school kid with the budget cobbled from his days manning the fryer, then this is for you.


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

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Your most excellent capsule review makes me want to simultaneously watch it right now and avoid it at all costs...

Today's HIGHLY recommended Red Eye Matinee features a lingerie clad Vanity, a mega-mulleted John Stamos, Gene Simmons in drag, and cameos from Freddy Kruger and a former James Bond. And lots of explosions.

This is, without a doubt, the greatest B-movie this side of Hell Comes To Frogtown...

Damn, that looks like fun, Now I;ve got to see a trailer for Frogtown.

I gotta say that donkey's review of The Lighthouse is excellent

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Originally Posted by JongDoe

Damn, that looks like fun, Now I;ve got to see a trailer for Frogtown.

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It's gonna set you back $2.99 on Prime, but well worth it imho.
Just slam a few brews/cocktails or get lifted first.
:cool:

Super8 - kids making a zombie movie in 1979 discover a more compelling story

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Originally Posted by ::: :::

Super8 - kids making a zombie movie in 1979 discover a more compelling story

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The writer of Super8 should sue the Stranger Things guys.

It was a pretty good movie tribute to all things Speilberg

This looks cool.
It screened at TIFF and Fantastic Fest, both of which usually have a good eye for interesting genre films.

Coming to Prime May 29th, 2020

Lots of really cool, slightly twisted, left-of-center titles lurking in the deep recesses of Prime right now.

Here are two worth watching:

CUL-DE-SAC
Donald Pleasance anchors this strange and demented off-beat thriller.




A FIELD IN ENGLAND
Ben Wheatley's 2013 film is a psychotropic slant on the folk horror subgenre.

This one’s for Dookie - available on Amazon

“Time Warp: The greatest cult films of all time”

https://chicago.suntimes.com/platfor...uman-centipede

https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood...ocumentary/amp

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Originally Posted by mcski

This one’s for Dookie - available on Amazon

“Time Warp: The greatest cult films of all time”

https://chicago.suntimes.com/platfor...uman-centipede

https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood...ocumentary/amp

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Nice!
Will have to check that out.
I read through the CST article and ironically enough, I have not seen a lot of the films covered!
:cool:

I was pretty intrigued when my friend posted it. Lots of interesting tidbits for sure

Ralph Bakshi's early 70s ccounter culture cult classic FRITZ THE CAT, is lurking around Prime.
If you have never seen it, you might want to check it out. And if you have seen it, you might want to revisit it.
(DO NOT waste your time with the shitty sequel, though...)

Nicholas Winding Refn's (Drive; Valhalla Rising; Bronson) first English language film is a claustrophobic psychological affair featuring John Turturro.

And on the horror tip there is Ti West's retro-styled, super creepy THE HOUSE OF THE DEVIL.
West is an extremely hit-or-miss genre director, but this is easily his masterpiece.
Teeming with some wicked performances and a great sense of unbalanced dread.

RIYL
The Sentinal; Rosemary's Baby

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Originally Posted by dookey67

Nicholas Winding Refn's (Drive; Valhalla Rising; Bronson) first English language film is a claustrophobic psychological affair featuring John Turturro.

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Whoa.I got goosebumps watching that trailer.

Quite the good number of solid recommendations on this list:

https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies...p-making-sense

PRO TIP
Do not watch Dead Ringers with your wife or girlfriend...I made that heinous mistake in college!

:D