Just finished Lillyhammer. Dark, funny, absurd, violent; quite excellent.
Printable View
Just finished Lillyhammer. Dark, funny, absurd, violent; quite excellent.
Bloodlines
Best thing about Bloodlines is how it deals with avoidance/projection of guilt in interpersonal situations. Is Danny just an unrepentant fuckup who deserves whatever bad happens to him, since he's so "mean" to his family? A lot of what that show presents applies to the stupid-ass feuds created on TGR for the sake of venting one's own weakness-derived insecurities (hi kidwoo, hi rideit), and it's a good metaphor for the Social Justice Warrior/eternal victim perspective people like to use when they push their antipathy onto someone else.
**cryptic spoiler alert**
I like how SS ended up being worst of bunch - that was well played.
If you're into indie rap and the esoteric Los Angeles music scene, then Our Vinyl Weighs A Ton: This Is Stones Throw Records is a pretty good docu hi-liting the rise/fall/rise of the venerable indie lable and head honcho DJ Peanut Butterwolf. Nice insight into the mind of Madlib and a tribute segment to J. Dilla.
I watched a documentary the other day about winemaking that was excellent. A year in Burgandy. Nice, in depth look at the wine growing and making industry in probably the most famous region in the world, following the cycle of all four seasons.
Buffalo Soldiers.
I'm no fan of ESPN but this past weekend I binged out on the "30 for 30" documentaries. Two of the best were "Of Miracles and Men" and "Slaying the Badger", but I also liked "This is What They Want"...I had no idea Jimmy Connors was such a dick.
I need to check out Daredevil this weekend. Seems to be getting good reviews so far.
watched the first 3 eps last night.
might help a wee bit if you're familiar with the character via the original comics (1964 Lee/Everett series, as well as a bit of the Kevin Smith re-boot).
they are unfolding the whole origin story slowly, which at first was frustrating, but actually works as a device to keep you watching (kind of like a subdued serial approach). they are also setting up the Daredevil/Kingpin clash nice and slow, too.
action sequences are well-done.
good cast, although the guy playing Murdock/Daredevil seems like an odd choice at first, but i'm warming up to him; definitely better than Affleck was.
i would say it's worth a watch if you like dark, gritty crime noir comic book stuff (i.e. like Batman or even Arrow: it's actually rather a lot like Arrow, albeit less gimmicky and less soap-opery).
bonus is that Foggy Nelson is played by the side-kick kid from Idle Hands.
and, fwiw, the series was created by Drew Goddard, the cat who wrote Cloverfield and wrote Cabin in the Woods (amongst other things). Daredevil is not as cheeky as the latter, though.
Halt and Catch Fire
Great look into the race to develop computers in the early 80s wrapped around good characters and a lot of tension.
Very good shit.
finished watching Daredevil.
realized that it actually owes more to the Frank Millar incarnation of the character from the mid-'80s than anything else.
good series.
hoping they continue the high caliber with the forthcoming Luke Cage, Iron Fist, and Defenders projects...
For those of you that dug Oculus (and I know there were a few of you), chances are good that you'll enjoy The Babadook.
This Aussie horror flick has been making the festival rounds for quite some time and finally got released Stateside.
Reminded me of The Exorcist, Wendigo, and Oculus.
The little kid in the film is spastic-creepy beyond reproach (and his mom is kind of nuts, too).
Good use of sound (and the absence of sound) as well as shadows and light to create tension and unnerving atmosphere.
THE PIRATES
Solid Korean swashbuckler loaded with swordkwondo, cannonkwondo, hand-to-handkwondo, whalekwondo, and quirky humor.
Pump.
Exposes the fallacy that we need gasoline. It costs twice as much to defend our oil interests as we actually pay for the oil out of the middle east. Triples the cost. I bet John D. Rockefeller is snickering in his grave. Ethanol and methanol can power every vehicle in America with a car computer update. Brazil already proved they needed no gas imports. Damn good movie along the lines of Who Killed the Electric Car?
I had no idea Rockefeller made prohibition happen to keep America from using alcohol as car fuel.
No No: A Dockumentary, is up. The story of Dock Ellis, and his pitching an MLB no-hitter on LSD.
Birdmen was pretty cool.
Chefs Table.
Episode 3.
Very well done.
Daredevil is surprisingly good. Excellent actually.
have to say Sixth Sense is one of the best child performances by Haley Joel Osment or however you spell that name. And the directing by m night shamalamlam wasn't bad either. Great screenplay and writing too. Good work guys
Blues Brothers. They're on a mission from God.
Fell asleep during episode 1 of chef's table, but it's now going to be in the rotation.
Watched all of the Chefs Table series. It is excellent. . If food interests you in the least. David Gelb is only 31. Mad talent.
The production value and the polished finish on this show is simply incredible. I hope he continues digging into this genre and follows many more skilled chefs.
Original Bad News Bears
One of our kids is playing youth baseball, and they fucking SUCK! Our guy is solid, but the team? My wife started calling them the Bad News Bears. FInally the kid asked what that was so we put the original on for him. We have a projector so he and a friend sat down there and watched it. I figured I'd sit and watch the first few minutes, but got sucked in and watched the whole thing.
"jews, spics, niggers, queers, and now a girl" You just don't see that in a kids movie anymore.
Have watched a couple. Really an excellent series but I really want to be Francis Mallman. Let's see: banging hot younger chicks...check, drinking good wine...check, living on a private island in Patagonia...check, continuously grilling and eating large pieces of meat...check.
Bad news bears... One of the all time greats!
For those of you inclined to enjoy martial arts movies, a number of Jet Li's '90s era flix have popped up.
I humbly suggest viewing Fist of Legend, Li and Director Gordon Chan's 1994 re-envisioning of Bruce Lee's seminal Fists of Fury. Action direction by the legendary Yuen Woo-Ping.
I further humbly suggest watching it in Cantonese with English subtitles.
Nightcrawler will be popping up on June 11.
It's in the vein of Taxi Driver in a a lot of ways. There's an underlying social commentary on how sensationalist the news has become, but towering over that is JG's creepy protagonist who will go to all ends to scoop a story. Has what is easily one of the best car chase sequences in recent cinematic memory; may even rival To Live and Die in LA, in terms of West Coast car chases.
Easily made my Top 10 Films of 2014 list.
THE DIVINE MOVE
Super slick and well-made Korean flick that's like Ocean's Eleven - 7 + Oldboy + The God of Gamblers + A Classic Kung Fu Revenge Saga all wrapped up in the ancient intricacies of GO.
Black Mirror. Two seasons, 3 episodes each.
Like twilight zone episodes, but technology-focused. Really well-done. Really dark and depressing and dystopian.
"Fist of legend" was all-time, long and epic.
No No was spectacular.
thanks for the recommendations...
Yes, he was creepy.
fixed!
but in serious comments, definitely worth watching, though I'm not sure it achieved Gilroy's goal of "satirizing" (quotes intentional, Gilroy said it's his aim) modern media. It does more to make it seem lucrative and enticing, even with Gyllenhaal's creep factor.
This was a fascinating documentary. Tony Hawk responded in an interview with Transworld to some of the stuff Tas said. I generally think Hawk is a douche, but I think the 900 stuff was probably blown out of proportion. If anything, I think it took away from the core of the story.
I remember Tas winning comps in '96, and wondering who the hell he was and later, what happened to him. Strangely, I remember Ben's face from watching those comps, but didn't remember his name. What a tragic story, though. Really sad.