Film and Episodic Content Discussion Thread

For reasons perhaps peculiar to my worldview, I was prepared to like THE BEEKEEPER (a lot). I've been a Jason Statham fan for years, and generally view his martial arts actioners as somewhat more interesting from a main character point of view than some of the other sturdy vehicles such as the EXTRACTION duo mentioned above.

Man, what a disappointment! Despite some surprisingly good reviewes, TB was an over the top, excessive, howling mess. I mean literally howling--the hyper-annoying soundtrack insistently blared every time punches were thrown.

Maybe the worst part (hard to even select one) was the insanely trite "beekeeper" metaphor that even crept into Statham's dialogue, so unbelievable that anyone speaking his lines IRL would wind up in a psych ward, and so ridiculous that I laughed at the screen several times ("He's killing his way to the top of the hive! Next he'll kill the Queen!"). Then there was the astonishing body count; the impossibility of one man dispatching literally dozens of heavily armed SWAT teams, Secret Service teams, Army teams (maybe even a few high school basketball teams--hard to tell through the wreckage and explosions) without a weapon of his own.

There were a few bright spots, all of them actors. I liked the unstoppable Emmy Raver-Lampman & her laconic partner, Bobby Naderi; Emma Redgrave really impressed, too. I could stand to see all of them again. As for Josh Hutcherson...no more, please. I can't handle it.

I could go on, but that's quite enough. My friend w/whom I saw the film last night and I agreed that films like this test our shared affection for kick-ass action films.

 

RIP Carl Weathers

Let's hope he keeps punching Predators, Ruskies, Storm Troopers, and Alligators in the afterlife.

 

Watched Ferrari a couple nights ago (and interestingly woke up the next morning to see Lewis Hamilton has signed with them for 2025). Michael Mann and Adam Driver did a fine job of depicting a flawed human being who has nonetheless left a big mark on the motoring world. One of the better pics I've seen in a while, and the prop cars are impressive as well.

 

Became aware recently that both seasons of the original OUTER LIMITS are now available on Prime Video's Freevee (with ads). The quality is very good, far better than I've seen on a couple other ad-supported wingnut channels.

This is exciting news for OUTER LIMITS afficionados like me. The very first episode, "The Galaxy Being," completely blew my young mind when it first aired. Everything about this series worked for me then, and still does:

• Stark black and white photography
• Straight-ahead, scary, non-ironic portrayal of science fiction topics ... treating these things not as fantasy, but as menacing new realities

I loved THE TWILIGHT ZONE (then and now). But it was refreshing to see somewhat similar material treated in such a dark, insistent manner, also in longer form (60 vs 30 minutes).

And it must be said, the iconic opening sequence ("We control the vertical. We control the horizontal") has never been equaled. That really scared the shit out of yours truly back in the day...

 

The Outer Limits and The Twilight Zone are two of my all time favorite series, both the new and old versions in both cases. Are there any other similar concepts around? Black Mirror is OK, but not on the same level IMO.

 

A bit off topic but there were certain episodes of Black Mirror that scared the shit out of me. So much so that I stopped watching the show.

 

I found BLACK MIRROR is incredibly inconsistent. I saw all episodes in the first 5 seasons. The episodes that were good were extremely good (a couple were among the best TV episodes I've ever seen). A few were "eh," and a few other episodes were almost too poor to finish watching.

Tried the season-6 in recent months and I found the first 2 episodes quite bad/impossible to finish. Then again, I should remind myself that based on the previous 5 seasons, my luck might change in a big way if I just keep trying new episodes.

 

The other night, with zero expectations (the right frame of mind for Netflix streaming series) I began watching THE TOURIST. I knew nothing about it; had no idea it was rapidly climbing the ranks of most-watched Netflix shows; and hadn't seen any of the actors in it except the Icelander, Ólafur Darri Ólafsson, whom I know to be a talented character actor.

Well, 2 episodes in and I'm hooked. Just about everything in this show is working for me. The acting is uniformly good. The two leads, Jamie Dornan and Shalom Brune-Franklin, have great chemistry together, making it very believable they have a history together (which Dornan is unaware of courtesy of total amnesia). The outback (somewhere way out there in Australia) is gorgeous, an apparently endless, constantly changing desert place.

The best thing about this production is the laid back, laconic vibe. The director and screenwriter are in no hurry to bring the plot's revelations to us. In scene after scene the participants take their time, look around, register the beautiful/alien surroundings, and think about their next move I love that kind of pacing. With it comes a weird vibe of irony and inevitability. Everyone here is, or will soon be, the butt of some violent cosmic joke played on them. "Outback Ironic Noir" needs to be a new auteur style..

A note about Dornan. Reading up on him I learned he's pretty famous, has a history as an (on screen) pretty boy, bad boy, and before that, underwear model. Here his banged up face and full beard are the opposite of boyish good looks; he looks like a very lived in 40 something. And yet his craggy face has lines and shadows any photographer would kill to somehow put on film. He's also a talented actor. I especially like the way he plays the 1st episode and most of the 2nd: completely lacking memory, broke, banged up from a terrible car crash he can't even remember--yet he takes no shit from anyone. He's oddly composed, unafraid. Certain threads of his former (unremembered) self poke through: a tendency to be brutally honest, and expect it from others; impatience; strong drive to attain the tiniest goals...yet the whole time he doesn't even know his name. I call that good acting.

Dornan reminds me of mid career Antonio Banderas, with lines and wear on his face, but acting better than ever before.

 

If you're liking Dornan, watch The Fall (Ireland, 2013-2016), in which he plays a serial killer pursued by Gillian Anderson's cop. No humour in this one though.

 

You know, I saw that title in Dornan's list of work. Missed it because I didn't stream TV 'til 2018. Looked at it pretty carefully but didn't try it. My problem is Gillian Anderson. She's one of the most mannered, artificial actresses I've ever encountered. She's off-putting to me, so I passed.

 

Agreed. In that particular role, though, it actually works quite well as a contrast to the characters around her (she's an outsider, brought in to try to make progress on the case). Give it a try.

 

Addendum to my recent post above about THE TOURIST on Netflix:

1. Four episodes into it (of 6 episodes) & it's only getting better, even loopier & more ironic. This is some of the best new streaming content I've seen since first getting into streaming in 2018. I'm happy to learn the show has already been renewed for a 2nd season;
2. And per the advice of @Biodegraded, I've begun watching the first episode of THE FALL (which also stars Jamie Dornan) on Prime Video. He was 10 years younger then so his face was a bit less weathered than now...but his acting style was similar (intense without much emoting; perfect control of what his eyes are doing in each scene; playing a character that is veiled and hidden).

 

I have attempted to skip everything with a "total amnesia" plot device ever since Memento as a) how are they going to top that film and b) I can't decide which is weaker/less creative, "total amnesia" or the weather disaster plot device. Particularly with the latter I am always afraid I'm going to regret not tuning into Sharknado instead

That said your description of this "Outback Ironic Noir" has me curious.

 

‘The Drop’ (2014), w/ Tom Hardy & James Gandolfini (in his final role).
Best movie I’ve seen in a long, long time.

 

I liked that one, too. Tom Hardy was more of a fresh face then, not yet a big star stateside. He did a better performance of that friend-with-secret-history-and-skills trope than most could. As I recall, their non-sentimental but fond friendship was the plot engine for the entire film.

 

You're right about amnesia being an overworked plot mechanism ("deus ex mentis machina"). But here it's far easier to accept (IMHO) because of the continual tension between this blanked out main character and his complex, perhaps criminal past deeds (which we find out the same time he does); also because he seems like a pretty decent sort based on certain things he does/doesn't do (in his blanked out state), especially his growing friendship with the probationary cop who started out being the only character here who seemed to give a shit about this amnesiac accident victim.

Amnesia also adds to the mist of irony that lays over every scene here. People are trying hard to kill him, and he has no idea who they are or why they want him dead. It just adds to the dust cloud that seems to hang over him...no money, car, or even a change of clothes throughout the whole thing. After all, by Episode 4 the t-shirt & pants donated to him in hospital ("that probably came off a dead man") never get washed and thus starting being main characters in their own right. I mean, this man is truly fucked, and yet never seems to despair. If that's how amnesia works, maybe I need some...

 

Have not seen the second part of Dune yet, but am looking forward to it. Hopefully I will be around to see it, which is not true for everyone. Just leaving this story here not as a commentary on Denis Villeneuve's directorial skills, but rather his skills as a human being. Props.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/dune-ii-man-dying-wish-1.7132622

 

That's a nice thing to have done.

I'm looking forward to seeing it. One thing I miss about living in SF is access to multiple full-Atmos theaters. I'll have to drive the hour to the city to see it, I'm sure the score and sound will be worth it.

 

Honestly, we’re kind of there already. Some of the stuff people do in Blender is shockingly good. But going beyond a short and creating a feature-length film still requires a team, and I think it always will. But the team can sure be a lot smaller, more mobile, and cheaper than it used to be…

 

I was at the premier of this beautifully shot film. Storaro two years after Apocalypse Now. Nearly destroyed FFC's career. wow