OFF TOPIC Fall/Winter 2015-2016 TV and Movies

[inkman]

Was the X-Files always this hilariously bad and I was just too young to notice? It's like it's become a caricature of itself.

I never saw the orig but this relaunch has opened my eyes. I asked my wife if Duchovny was always this terrible of an actor. She looked at me like I was speaking Chinese. I guess I offended her. :lol:

[darksabre]

Was the X-Files always this hilariously bad and I was just too young to notice? It's like it's become a caricature of itself.

Yes it was. And I love it. Jo and I watched ep 3 last night and were rolling on the couch laughing. So bad. So good.

[Neo]

There will be no going back.

 

Russians don't take a dump, son, without a plan ....

[nfreeman]

So my wife and I sprung for Showtime in order to binge-watch "Homeland." We're 4 episodes into season 1 and so far it's pretty good, although not quite as good as "The Americans" IMHO.

[inkman]

So my wife and I sprung for Showtime in order to binge-watch "Homeland." We're 4 episodes into season 1 and so far it's pretty good, although not quite as good as "The Americans" IMHO.

Keep watching. It kills the Americans IMHO. Try Shameless if you get a chance. The first couple of seasons.

[Stoner]

So my wife and I sprung for Showtime in order to binge-watch "Homeland." We're 4 episodes into season 1 and so far it's pretty good, although not quite as good as "The Americans" IMHO.

Stay with it. I quit after the third season in 2013 but have just now started season 4. It's still really good and am hopeful it will get back to full speed by the middle of this season.

[Hoss]

So my wife and I sprung for Showtime in order to binge-watch "Homeland." We're 4 episodes into season 1 and so far it's pretty good, although not quite as good as "The Americans" IMHO.

Get around to Dexter eventually. You could stop watching after season four if you want but I think it's better than people let on beyond that. Season eight stinks up a storm and the finale sucks, though.

[nfreeman]

Get around to Dexter eventually. You could stop watching after season four if you want but I think it's better than people let on beyond that. Season eight stinks up a storm and the finale sucks, though.

 

I watched the first 5 seasons and then bailed.  It was pretty good, although I think I read that it went downhill.  I thought the actress that played Dexter's sister was terrific.

[inkman]

I watched the first 5 seasons and then bailed. It was pretty good, although I think I read that it went downhill. I thought the actress that played Dexter's sister was terrific.

Maybe but she was a terrible cop. She's on the new network TV show Limitless which I rather enjoy.

[Stoner]

Maybe but she was a terrible cop. She's on the new network TV show Limitless which I rather enjoy.

Put sprinkles on that stick! (OK, not sure she ever said that, but she probably did.)

[Sabres Fan in NS]

Not sure I'm doing this right, but my wife and I are reliving our early 20's dating lives and it was the 30th anniversary last of the timeless ... The Breakfast Club.

[GoPre]

Okay, I'm sure this movie has been discussed before here in The Aud, but I gotta say The Martian was a fun, interesting movie to watch. I'm not an astrophysicists or have a degree in anything of the like, but it appeared to scientifically accurate. At least according to NASA. Yes, the Hollywood moments had to be added which take from the realism of it, but all in all it seemed to be very accurate. Must watch in my opinion. 

[pastajoe]

Watched 'St. Vincent' starring Bill Murray, about a curmudgeon who has to deal with new neighbors (mother and son) who have their own issues. His performance reminded me of Walter Mattheau. It will make you laugh and make you cry.

[MattPie]

Okay, I'm sure this movie has been discussed before here in The Aud, but I gotta say The Martian was a fun, interesting movie to watch. I'm not an astrophysicists or have a degree in anything of the like, but it appeared to scientifically accurate. At least according to NASA. Yes, the Hollywood moments had to be added which take from the realism of it, but all in all it seemed to be very accurate. Must watch in my opinion. 

 

It's not perfect, but on the whole the entire movie is plausible with current technology. That's really saying something when it comes to Hollywood.

[inkman]

Do most people go into movies looking for the plausibility of said plot? If so, I have some serious questions for Lord of the Rings and Chronicles of Narnia.

[MattPie]

Do most people go into movies looking for the plausibility of said plot? If so, I have some serious questions for Lord of the Rings and Chronicles of Narnia.

 

It depends on the film. LotR or Narnia you know what the deal is so it's not as rigorous as something set in the real world. That being said, I was pretty turned off by the first Hobbit movie due to implausibility. There's a scene where a bunch of characters are falling down what has to be an 8000 ft crevice based on how long it took, bouncing off rocks and hitting the ground at the end. That should have been the end of the movie with a bunch of bloody pulp dwarves on the ground, but they got up and dusted themselves off and walked away. That's roadrunner and coyote nonsense. It's just as ridiculous, even in a setting of Dwarves and Dragons, as the cop movie where the good guy gets thrown through the wind shield of a car, slides along the pavement, and jumps up blasting away at the bad guy car with 25 rounds out his revolver.

 

For Sci-fi, there's a certain amount of fun to something like Forbidden Planet or Iron Sky (Nazis on the Moon, with giant robot Hitler), but it's nice to see a movie play it straight with current tech from time to time. I feel like the Martian would have been far less compelling if he'd magically found super protein Mars beetles and an underground lake of potable water to survive on while building a rocket out of spare parts and Mars rocks.

[qwksndmonster]

Piling on to the Hobbit a little bit, they did a good job making the main villain look like a total useless dunce.  He had a bunch of helpless dwarves cornered in his lair and he couldn't even kill a single one before the end of the movie?  One was resting on his snout for a few seconds for sake!  Then he flies toward the town all like "I AM DEATH!"  Who's death? Who did you kill you reptilian loser??

I didn't even see the third one.  I don't feel like I missed anything.

[Thorner]

Piling on to the Hobbit a little bit, they did a good job making the main villain look like a total useless dunce.  He had a bunch of helpless dwarves cornered in his lair and he couldn't even kill a single one before the end of the movie?  One was resting on his snout for a few seconds for ###### sake!  Then he flies toward the town all like "I AM DEATH!"  Who's death? Who did you kill you reptilian loser??

I didn't even see the third one.  I don't feel like I missed anything.

 

Haha, blame Tolkien then, that's what happens in the book, pretty much,

 

I still liked the Hobbit movies, and the third one best, but they don't hold a candle to LOTR. And part of that is subject matter.

[Hoss]

The Hobbit movie is brutal. The Hobbit book is enjoyable. I felt like the book was a jolly fantasy journey which would mesh with the main villain not slaughtering a bunch of main character dwarves, but the movies up to that point had several darker moments that changed expectations a bit.

Also, the main orc in the movies doesn't even exist in the books. He seemed like he'd be a major character going forward into movie two and three... But I felt like he ended up barely mattering.

[TrueBlueGED]

I loved the Hobbit book when I read it the first time. I actually went back and read it again while I couldn't so anything after surgery, and man, it did NOT hold up with age. Totally destroyed my fond childhood memories. As a result, I'm much more forgiving of the movies--the source material was not strong.

Edited February 12, 2016 by TrueBlueGED

[Hoss]

I loved the Hobbit book when I read it the first time. I actually went back and read it again while I couldn't so anything after surgery, and man, it did NOT hold up with age. Totally destroyed my fond childhood memories. As a result, I'm much more forgiving of the movies--the source material was not strong.

This might be the case for me if I were to go back and re-read. Because of your horror story I will not be doing so.

[WildCard]

The Hobbit movie is brutal. The Hobbit book is enjoyable. I felt like the book was a jolly fantasy journey which would mesh with the main villain not slaughtering a bunch of main character dwarves, but the movies up to that point had several darker moments that changed expectations a bit.

Also, the main orc in the movies doesn't even exist in the books. He seemed like he'd be a major character going forward into movie two and three... But I felt like he ended up barely mattering.

I knew you I liked you

[Thorner]

The Hobbit movie is brutal. The Hobbit book is enjoyable. I felt like the book was a jolly fantasy journey which would mesh with the main villain not slaughtering a bunch of main character dwarves, but the movies up to that point had several darker moments that changed expectations a bit.

Also, the main orc in the movies doesn't even exist in the books. He seemed like he'd be a major character going forward into movie two and three... But I felt like he ended up barely mattering.

 

Well, technically he exists. But he's long dead, he dies shortly after the battle you see referenced near the beginning of Hobbit 1. His son, Bolg, is the main villain Orc in the book, and he's still there in the movie. They basically just have two main villain orcs rather than one.

 

Anways, I still like the Hobbit movies, due mainly to Martin Freeman's spot on performance as Bilbo.

[TrueBlueGED]

Well, technically he exists. But he's long dead, he dies shortly after the battle you see referenced near the beginning of Hobbit 1. His son, Bolg, is the main villain Orc in the book, and he's still there in the movie. They basically just have two main villain orcs rather than one.

 

Anways, I still like the Hobbit movies, due mainly to Martin Freeman's spot on performance as Bilbo.

Armitage was also terrific as Thorin.

[Thorner]

Armitage was also terrific as Thorin.

 

Yes. And McKellen as Gandalf, of course.

 

In fact, the acting overall was very, very good. The Hobbit just suffers upon comparison to LOTR, and due to weaker source material. There are other problems as well, but I actually think The Hobbit films are quite a bit better than your average blockbuster. Now, some may say that that's not saying much, but at least the series had genuine spirit in it, you could tell that the filmmakers cared deeply for what they were doing, and that shows to me, warts and all.

 

If anyone doubts the effort put in (and actually cares about Middle-Earth enough to do so), I would recommend the Hobbit extended edition special features, exceptional stuff.