Movies and TV shows (general recommendation thread)

[Xerxes]

The Fall list is heavy. Lots of work is needed to get through this: 

 

10 Rings (Marvel movie) -- done

Sopranos prequel

007

Dune

Foundation Trilogy

Eternal (Marvel movie)

Spiderman multiverse (Marvel movie)

Dexter

Narcos Mexico Season 3

Mandalorian (no clue on release date)

Billions (part 2 of the last season ?)

Succession (new season ?)

 

Might be missing 

 

[formthirteen]

On 8/5/2021 at 3:23 AM, DooDiligence said:

Australian crime drama. Very good.

 

https://www.hulu.com/series/mr-inbetween

 

Thank you DooDiligence. I've seen all episodes now and Mr Inbetween is one of the better TV shows I've seen. The writing and acting, both by Scott Ryan, was better than Breaking Bad IMO:

 

 

Nobody dies, not EverGrande, not Lehman:

 

 

Edited September 21, 2021 by formthirteen

[DooDiligence]

2 hours ago, formthirteen said:

 

Thank you DooDiligence. I've seen all episodes now and Mr Inbetween is one of the better TV shows I've seen. The writing and acting, both by Scott Ryan, was better than Breaking Bad IMO:

 

 

Nobody dies, not EverGrande, not Lehman:

 

 

 

If you liked that, you'll probably enjoy

 

Zero Zero Zero

 

and

 

Snowfall

Edited September 21, 2021 by DooDiligence

[Xerxes]

Is Inbetween a remake of Breaking Bad or vice versa.

 

I dont think we have that in Canada.

[formthirteen]

5 hours ago, Xerxes said:

Is Inbetween a remake of Breaking Bad or vice versa.

 

I dont think we have that in Canada.

 

It's a TV show written by the lead actor Scott Ryan, so it's not a remake. A bit similar, but with more (Australian) humor.

 

@DooDiligence thanks for the tips. I will try to watch Snowfall. Zero Zero Zero was very, very good. I also liked the first season or two of Gomorrah.

 

Trivia: I was handling some "ZeroZero" yesterday while making pizza dough:

 

Quote

The title ZeroZeroZero is a play on the Italian grading system for flour, which is rated, 2, 1, 0 or 00 depending on how refined it is (double zero being the highest grade). ZeroZeroZero, or triple Zero, here means pure cocaine.

 

 

I wouldn't touch the stuff in the movie (I don't work on Wall Street).

Edited September 22, 2021 by formthirteen

[DooDiligence]

7 hours ago, formthirteen said:

 

It's a TV show written by the lead actor Scott Ryan, so it's not a remake. A bit similar, but with more (Australian) humor.

 

@DooDiligence thanks for the tips. I will try to watch Snowfall. Zero Zero Zero was very, very good. I also liked the first season or two of Gomorrah.

 

Trivia: I was handling some "ZeroZero" yesterday while making pizza dough:

 

 

 

I wouldn't touch the stuff in the movie (I don't work on Wall Street).

 

Thanks, I'll try Gomorrah.

 

Same on the stuff in either Zero or Snowfall.

 

Dominos saves you from having to make pizza dough.

Disclaimer: Long Dominos.

[nwoodman]

Watched the first episode of Foundation on Apple TV+.  Very impressive production values.  Never read Asimov’s books, so that is a work in progress which certainly helps.  However, the kids were enthralled even without the background

[rkbabang]

On 9/21/2021 at 7:36 PM, DooDiligence said:

 

If you liked that, you'll probably enjoy

 

Zero Zero Zero

 

and

 

Snowfall

 

Thanks Doo!  I started watching Snowfall, I'm on the second season already.  An excellent show.

 

[Xerxes]

6 hours ago, nwoodman said:

Watched the first episode of Foundation on Apple TV+.  Very impressive production values.  Never read Asimov’s books, so that is a work in progress which certainly helps.  However, the kids were enthralled even without the background

 

Same here, that giant Apple cash hoard is better spent to have a sticky Apple services (like this type of TV show) than buybacks. I was never an Apple subs but I am now.

 

I have read the Foundation trilogy three times, and have read the entire Foundation-Robots-Empire arc twice.

The Foundation is NOT easily made into a TV show given that it spans over hundreds of years, so at time i got annoyed by some scenes and force interaction in Episode 1 and 2.

 

What I found very interesting is that some characters from later books that Asimov wrote in the 90s (prelude to Foundation etc.) are shown in Episode 1 and 2, that were NOT in the original Foundation trilogy written in the 60s. That shows AppleTV+ creative team is thinking big and looks like they are looking at 80-episodes show covering Foundation-Robots-Empire into one Arc.

 

[John Hjorth]

Saturday evening I watched "An Affair" on Viasat Series - I really don't  know how many parts of it I watched, but it was about 4:00 AM sunday when I went to bed, I think.

 

It's basically a story of how the libido of two human beings attracted to each other destructs two families into a friggin' mess.

Edited September 27, 2021 by John Hjorth

[Pelagic]

2 hours ago, Xerxes said:

 

Same here, that giant Apple cash hoard is better spent to have a sticky Apple services (like this type of TV show) than buybacks. I was never an Apple subs but I am now.

 

I have read the Foundation trilogy three times, and have read the entire Foundation-Robots-Empire arc twice.

The Foundation is NOT easily made into a TV show given that it spans over hundreds of years, so at time i got annoyed by some scenes and force interaction in Episode 1 and 2.

 

What I found very interesting is that some characters from later books that Asimov wrote in the 90s (prelude to Foundation etc.) are shown in Episode 1 and 2, that were NOT in the original Foundation trilogy written in the 60s. That shows AppleTV+ creative team is thinking big and looks like they are looking at 80-episodes show covering Foundation-Robots-Empire into one Arc.

 

If someone were to start reading the books today for the first time, would you recommend reading the whole series or starting with the original trilogy?

 

The first two episodes were awesome, I've found the production quality of most of Apple's shows to be quite good.

 

I think I've recommended For All Mankind before but another series on Apple TV, Defending Jacob is good too. Starting to watch The Morning Show which has some serious acting talent too.

[Xerxes]

I recommend going non-chronologically in the order he wrote it.

I would start with Foundation Trilogy ...

 

The Foundation Trilogy itself was a series of shorts stories cobbled together. And more or less written at the same time as the Caves of Steel and the Naked Sun (the two books of the Robots series). 1950s, 1960s whenever that was.

 

In the 80s though, Asimov was contracted again to write more books and there he started to merge the two universes together: Robots & Empire, and the subsequent works. I think reading the books non-chronologically you get a glimpse of the back story of what Asimov was thinking as he evolved and his ideas evolved. I think that is super fascinating and how he meshed one universe (Robots) series set in the near future (it has earth in it) and depicts the spacers and robots etc. with another universe entirely (Foundation) set in a veryyyyy distant future where there are no robots (i cannot say more than that :-) ).  

 

The his last two books written in the 90s are Prelude to Foundation and Forward to Foundation, which are his less popular books. And if i recall one of them is like a prequal to the trilogy. That said, even with those books, you would have needed to have read most of the previously written books.

 

I admit, it is very tough to translate this into a TV Series & happy they are tackling it. i am a pretty liberal fan but i got to say at a few point i lost patience in Episode 1 and 2, when Hollywoodism took over.

 

The one thing to know is that almost (or most) all of the Asimov books had a twist in them that I didn't see coming when I read it for the first time. There was one book, where i kind of figure out the plot twist close to the end (because Asimov wanted me to, I guess), but then there was a twist within a twist that sent me packing. 

 

----------------------------------------------------------------------

On a different note, looking forward to see Dune on big screen, i think the first book is very translatable into a movie (or 2 movies as they are doing there), but then even the mighty Dune by the time you get to Book 4, it becomes untranslatable into movie/TVshow. I have read all of six Frank Herbert original work (the first one many times), and i got to say i understood nothing when i read Book 4.

 

Dune is going to be awesome.

----------------------------------

 

EDIT: minor typo; i meant non-chronological order

 

Edited September 28, 2021 by Xerxes

[nwoodman]

4 hours ago, Xerxes said:

Same here, that giant Apple cash hoard is better spent to have a sticky Apple services (like this type of TV show) than buybacks. I was never an Apple subs but I am now.

At this price, I tend to agree.  Also, saw your note on the Foundation Trilogy, thanks. That is what I have started with. I was hoping to get thru them prior to the Apple release but alas not.  Still reading and watching the side by side is accretive.  Also appreciate the observation that some of the characters from the later books have been meshed into the first two episodes, that makes more sense now

[Xerxes]

^^ I think you can enjoy both the show and the book at the sametime. The show seem to be going slow, so you have plenty of time to at least finish the Trilogy. I would just avoid looking on the internet for articles that makes comparison between show and the book ...

 

PS: There was a typo in my note above, i meant non-chronological (order they were written) and not chronological (in order they happened)  

 

[Spekulatius]

I watched the first show from the Foundation series and it is mesmerizing. Great production. I have read Asimov, but never the Foundation series.

They could really develop this into a franchise, imo.

[Pelagic]

Thanks Xerxes, I'll start with the original trilogy and see how they go.

[UK]

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4302938/

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kubo_and_the_Two_Strings

 

"Kubo premiered at Melbourne International Film Festival and was released by Focus Features in the United States on August 19 to critical acclaim, but was considered a box office failure, grossing $77 million worldwide against a budget of $60 million."

 

After watching cannot believe it was considered a failure:) 

[Xerxes]

I finished watching Expanse Season 5.

The best scene in the season, where the Martian Admiral talks about .... guess who ? Xerxes.

 

 

[Xerxes]

On 9/19/2021 at 10:15 PM, Xerxes said:

The Fall list is heavy. Lots of work is needed to get through this: 

 

10 Rings (Marvel movie) -- done

Sopranos prequel 

007

Dune

Foundation Trilogy

Eternal (Marvel movie)

Spiderman multiverse (Marvel movie)

Dexter

Narcos Mexico Season 3

Mandalorian (no clue on release date)

Billions (part 2 of the last season ?)

Succession (new season ?)

 

Might be missing 

 

 

10 Rings (Marvel movie) -- done

Sopranos prequel -- done

007

Dune

Foundation Trilogy -- on-going

Eternal (Marvel movie)

Spiderman multiverse (Marvel movie)

Dexter

Narcos Mexico Season 3

Mandalorian (no clue on release date)

Billions (part 2 of the last season ?)

Succession (new season ?)

Expanse Season 6

Yellowstone Season 4

 

 

Edited October 14, 2021 by Xerxes

[formthirteen]

The North Water and Time both with Stephen Graham are quite good IMHO:

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_north_water/s01

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13138834/

 

Squid Game is a massive disappointment. I don't get it at all.

[thowed]

6 hours ago, formthirteen said:

Squid Game is a massive disappointment. I don't get it at all.

 

There's some good stuff i.e. some of it looks incredible.  There's some good tension in the middle.  But yes, overall, given the hype, very disappointing.

 

I am unbelievably stoked for Succession Season 3 next week.

[Gregmal]

Kids were watching V for Vendetta again. Just something about the story line that resonates. Governments using a virus as an excuse to steal freedoms from their people and ultimately trap them within the system. Good storyline!

[Gregmal]

On 10/15/2021 at 6:52 AM, thowed said:

 

There's some good stuff i.e. some of it looks incredible.  There's some good tension in the middle.  But yes, overall, given the hype, very disappointing.

 

I am unbelievably stoked for Succession Season 3 next week.

Succession 3 episode 1 was good. I was also incredibly surprised with how good Billions finale was. I have generally found Billions stale and cliche as well, but season 5 ending was incredibly savage. Quite sad what happened to Lewis in real life. 

[Xerxes]

For me, Lewis best performance will always be Lt. Winters in Band of Brothers.

 

PS: I am about to finish off Billions season 5. Funny how suddenly mid-season they were wearing masks or the lead actor shaved off his beard. I guess different production period before and after Covid.

[nwoodman]

A big shoutout for the current spate of music doco's on Apple TV+.

 

The Velvet Underground (Movie)- really enjoyed it.  2 hours was over in the blink of an eye.  Todd Haynes directing style might not be for everyone but it worked for me...a masterpiece

 

1971: The year music changed everything  (Series) - this filled in a lot of musical blanks for me.  My Dad's record collection wasn't as diverse as it needed to be!

 

Watch The Sound with Mark Ronson (Series) -  Steps through the major advances in electronic music - Auto-tune, Sampling, Drum Machines etc.  I didn't realise it but Mark's step father was Foreigner's guitarist Mick Jones.  So he was living and breathing music from a young age. No muso, but this has inspired me to play around with Garage Band on the iPad for the first time in years.  Who knows maybe one of those new Mac's  with Logic Pro might be in my future