Movies/TV worth watching (or at least discussing)

[cspan37421]

The first Dune trailer is out.

I never read Dune, but I would think/hope Herbert's celebrated work is far deeper than this trailer suggests. I am so weary of "the fate of the [world/galaxy/trade federation/all of civilization] rests on your young shoulders. And oh, btw, destiny awaits" theme. The hero of a thousand faces apparently only has one kind of movie trailer.

Maybe I'm just an anti-marketer at heart.

[Phredd3]

I never read Dune, but I would think/hope Herbert's celebrated work is far deeper than this trailer suggests.

Dune is a pretty amazing work of fiction that trailer-makers (and possibly film-makers?) are sorely tempted to turn into an action movie. The book takes place almost entirely in the heads of the characters, not in the external descriptions of them, so it doesn't lend itself well to translation to the big screen, IMO. I'll see the movie, no doubt, to see how much they "got right", but I don't have high expectations. However, I do regard it as a positive that this movie is only part one of a two-part series. Dune is a slow moving novel, and taking the time to only gradually disentangle the story at least has the potential to be a good thing.

[luburch]

Dune is a pretty amazing work of fiction that trailer-makers (and possibly film-makers?) are sorely tempted to turn into an action movie. The book takes place almost entirely in the heads of the characters, not in the external descriptions of them, so it doesn't lend itself well to translation to the big screen, IMO. I'll see the movie, no doubt, to see how much they "got right", but I don't have high expectations. However, I do regard it as a positive that this movie is only part one of a two-part series. Dune is a slow moving novel, and taking the time to only gradually disentangle the story at least has the potential to be a good thing.

I trust Denis Villeneuve to bring the books to the screen as much as I trust anyone. The first Dune novel would lend more towards an action movie than the subsequent books in the series.

[construe]

Before there was Game of Thrones *, there was Dune. (Caveat: I've only read the 1st book...and get the impression that's the only one worth reading.)

I agree with Phredd3. A lot of the "dialogue" in the book is characters talking to themselves. This translates very poorly on screen. Out of curiosity I re-watched Lynch's movie...and, yeah, the whispering internal commentary doesn't come off well. (I will say, however, that the Harkonnens are right in Lynch's wheelhouse...you could tell he was having fun there...)

But, like cspan37421, I'm also tired of the young messiah rescuing an entire people/country/planet. It may be too late now for a Dune adaptation to really be ground-breaking, but gotta give Herbert credit...his novel was one of the first in that genre. And the ecology of the world that he created was quite original (ridiculous sandworms aside).

Villeneuve is very good at creating tension...the smoldering tinder about to explode, etc...and he's had great help with that from his film scorers. Maybe he'll make it eerily beautiful to watch, with a lot of building tension. I really enjoyed his Blade Runner sequel for that reason (Sicario is still the best version of that I've seen from him).

* Nice to see Khal Drogo has a role in Dune...

[JasonEvans]

Villeneuve is very good at creating tension...the smoldering tinder about to explode, etc...and he's had great help with that from his film scorers. Maybe he'll make it eerily beautiful to watch, with a lot of building tension. I really enjoyed his Blade Runner sequel for that reason (Sicario is still the best version of that I've seen from him).

I'm just hoping he does not go to where he went in Arrival, which was just too cerebral and pensive for my taste (I appreciated it, but didn't really enjoy it).

-Jason "by the way, I sorta think Prisoners may be Villeneuve's best film... though I also loved Sicario and the visuals in Blade Runner 2049 were outrageously good" Evans

[camion]

I'm just hoping he does not go to where he went in Arrival, which was just too cerebral and pensive for my taste (I appreciated it, but didn't really enjoy it).

-Jason "by the way, I sorta think Prisoners may be Villeneuve's best film... though I also loved Sicario and the visuals in Blade Runner 2049 were outrageously good" Evans

I enjoyed Arrival. It’s a movie I will revisit, not frequently, but now and again.

[gumbomoop]

I’m devoted to Brit detective mysteries. (Also film noir and old comedies, but that’s for another thread.) “Sherlock,” the “Morse/Lewis/Endeavour” trilogy, which will surely end on either 99 or 100 episodes whenever they are able to resume filming. “Vera,” “George Gently,” “Scott & Bailey” (with the brilliant Nicola Walker as a series-stealing victim in series 3). I’ve read strongest of praise for “Happy Valley,” (2 seasons, I think), but haven’t seen it yet. Years back, “Cracker” (the British, not the American, version, with the great Robbie Coltrane) and “A Touch of Frost” (David Jason).

I haven’t kept up with this thread, so I just did a very quick look to see if a recent (2019) 6-episode series had been mentioned — “Years and Years.” Didn’t see it, apologies if I missed a mention.

Not a detective series, this one. But it’s best thing I’ve seen in a long time. British (Manchester) family drama about the decade of the 2020s, set in context of fascist politics, immigration, technological change, “minor” nuclear bombing. Many twists, but not silly. Compelling, gripping. An unfortunately perfect fit for pandemic times.

[Nepos]

I’m devoted to Brit detective mysteries. (Also film noir and old comedies, but that’s for another thread.) “Sherlock,” the “Morse/Lewis/Endeavour” trilogy, which will surely end on either 99 or 100 episodes whenever they are able to resume filming. “Vera,” “George Gently,” “Scott & Bailey” (with the brilliant Nicola Walker as a series-stealing victim in series 3). I’ve read strongest of praise for “Happy Valley,” (2 seasons, I think), but haven’t seen it yet. Years back, “Cracker” (the British, not the American, version, with the great Robbie Coltrane) and “A Touch of Frost” (David Jason).

I haven’t kept up with this thread, so I just did a very quick look to see if a recent (2019) 6-episode series had been mentioned — “Years and Years.” Didn’t see it, apologies if I missed a mention.

Not a detective series, this one. But it’s best thing I’ve seen in a long time. British (Manchester) family drama about the decade of the 2020s, set in context of fascist politics, immigration, technological change, “minor” nuclear bombing. Many twists, but not silly. Compelling, gripping. An unfortunately perfect fit for pandemic times.

We seem to overlap quite a bit in interest and taste. Given what you've liked, I suspect you will appreciate Happy Valley. I'll look for Years and Years, and add a plug for the Danish series Borgen which just recently became more widely available in the US. West Wingish, but better in my opinion. In the Brit police procedural category, would add to earlier endorsements in this thread for Line of Duty.

[Nepos]

We seem to overlap quite a bit in interest and taste. Given what you've liked, I suspect you will appreciate Happy Valley. I'll look for Years and Years, and add a plug for the Danish series Borgen which just recently became more widely available in the US. West Wingish, but better in my opinion. In the Brit police procedural category, would add to earlier endorsements in this thread for Line of Duty.

Oh, and if you get PBS Passport, you might want to check out the Belgian series Professor T. From your list, think Sherlock crossed with Scott and Bailey, but with less vinegar and more mayo on the chips.

[TomJoad]

We seem to overlap quite a bit in interest and taste. Given what you've liked, I suspect you will appreciate Happy Valley. I'll look for Years and Years, and add a plug for the Danish series Borgen which just recently became more widely available in the US. West Wingish, but better in my opinion. In the Brit police procedural category, would add to earlier endorsements in this thread for Line of Duty.

I would also add Shetland and Kenneth Branagh's Wallander to your list.

[gumbomoop]

We seem to overlap quite a bit in interest and taste. Given what you've liked, I suspect you will appreciate Happy Valley. I'll look for Years and Years, and add a plug for the Danish series Borgen which just recently became more widely available in the US. West Wingish, but better in my opinion. In the Brit police procedural category, would add to earlier endorsements in this thread for Line of Duty.

Happy to chat with someone of similar interests. Maybe someone else will chime in on detective series. Do you know “Hinterland”? Welsh, produced in both Welsh and English. I might put it at top of my list, or right behind “Wallander,” which for some reason I forgot to mention, perhaps because there were only 12 episodes total of “Wallander.” Also forgot to mention “Shetland.” Anyhow, if by chance you don’t know “Hinterland,” highly recommended. It’s grim, of course.

Have you seen “Scott & Bailey”? I ask because I missed out on the final, shorter season, but read it fell flat, compared to the first 4, longer seasons. Also, do you know “The Missing” (2 seasons) and “The Fall” (3 seasons), both probably 2014-16-ish?

Thanks for tips. I’ve heard strong praise for Line of Duty and Happy Valley.

ETA — While I was typing — thinking, remembering — TomJoad has joined in on Shetland and Wallander. Thanks!

[gumbomoop]

Say, Nepos and TomJoad and anyone else, maybe you can help me remember a couple of things.

1. What was that series set somewhere in a frozen land about a mythical/supernatural bear? 4-5 years ago, 2 seasons.

2. Even more obscure — I’m almost sure the very first episode of some grim British detective series was entitled “Aftermath.” The very first scene involved 2 beat cops down in a basement, and one was killed. The series went from that horrific scene. But I can’t identify the series. I thought it was Scott & Bailey, but researching it, seems I’m misremembering.

[TomJoad]

Say, Nepos and TomJoad and anyone else, maybe you can help me remember a couple of things.

1. What was that series set somewhere in a frozen land about a mythical/supernatural bear? 4-5 years ago, 2 seasons.

2. Even more obscure — I’m almost sure the very first episode of some grim British detective series was entitled “Aftermath.” The very first scene involved 2 beat cops down in a basement, and one was killed. The series went from that horrific scene. But I can’t identify the series. I thought it was Scott & Bailey, but researching it, seems I’m misremembering.

I don't know either of those.

If you need a break from the darker stuff, there is a new series (2 episodes) called McDonald and Dodds that is enjoyable, but much lighter, comparable to Midsomer Murders.

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

All of these European cop shows do very little for me, but my wife loves them. She likes to put them on as I'm falling asleep. Works well, as the thick accents and/or foreign languages help me zonk out.

[gumbomoop]

All of these European cop shows do very little for me, but my wife loves them. She likes to put them on as I'm falling asleep. Works well, as the thick accents and/or foreign languages help me zonk out.

Hey, don’t poop on our party! We know a lot about ... um ... criminal activity, and we know where you live, roughly. By which I do not mean to imply, Brit-speak-wise, that you “live rough.”

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

Hey, don’t poop on our party! We know a lot about ... um ... criminal activity, and we know where you live, roughly. By which I do not mean to imply, Brit-speak-wise, that you “live rough.”

No pooping intended! Just chiming in. I appreciate them for what they are, they just tend to be SO dark sometimes.

[gumbomoop]

No pooping intended! Just chiming in. I appreciate them for what they are, they just tend to be SO dark sometimes.

You’re right, lots of dark darkness. I suppose a scientific study awaits, re personality types who are addicted to dark darkness. Maybe already been done. I’ll not search out the findings; better not to know.

The non-detective series I praised a few posts back, “Years and Years,” includes little gore, but it’s a darkly dystopian tale, all too appropriate for pandemic-times. The characters in the blended family at its center are ordinary folks, for whom the 2020s bring extraordinary, unimaginable changes, large and small. But, as the scriptwriter intends, not totally unimaginable to the viewers, these days.

[Nepos]

Happy to chat with someone of similar interests. Maybe someone else will chime in on detective series. Do you know “Hinterland”? Welsh, produced in both Welsh and English. I might put it at top of my list, or right behind “Wallander,” which for some reason I forgot to mention, perhaps because there were only 12 episodes total of “Wallander.” Also forgot to mention “Shetland.” Anyhow, if by chance you don’t know “Hinterland,” highly recommended. It’s grim, of course.

Have you seen “Scott & Bailey”? I ask because I missed out on the final, shorter season, but read it fell flat, compared to the first 4, longer seasons. Also, do you know “The Missing” (2 seasons) and “The Fall” (3 seasons), both probably 2014-16-ish?

Thanks for tips. I’ve heard strong praise for Line of Duty and Happy Valley.

ETA — While I was typing — thinking, remembering — TomJoad has joined in on Shetland and Wallander. Thanks!

I've liked Hinterland and Wallander, am a fan of Shetland and The Missing, but was less into The Fall. Prime Suspect and Foyle are two classics which I suspect you have seen. One of the more obscure and quirky ones that I recommend if you can find it is the Italian procedural Inspector Montalbano, and it's prequel The Young Montalbano.

[Nepos]

Say, Nepos and TomJoad and anyone else, maybe you can help me remember a couple of things.

1. What was that series set somewhere in a frozen land about a mythical/supernatural bear? 4-5 years ago, 2 seasons.

2. Even more obscure — I’m almost sure the very first episode of some grim British detective series was entitled “Aftermath.” The very first scene involved 2 beat cops down in a basement, and one was killed. The series went from that horrific scene. But I can’t identify the series. I thought it was Scott & Bailey, but researching it, seems I’m misremembering.

1. Fortitude, not a big fan (see below). Trapped is similar and better in my opinion.

2. I don't know that one, but the more like horror, the less interest on my end.

[Stray Gator]

We're avid fans of murder/detective mysteries from the British, including Grantchester, Hinterland, Miss Marple (starring Joan Hickson), and Poirot (starring David Suchet), as well as the lighter touch of Midsomer Murders (especially the episodes starring John Nettles) and Father Brown; we also enjoy similar programming from our Australian friends, including Jack Irish, Doctor Blake, and the lighter fare of Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries. But in our judgment, Endeavour stands in a class by itself for consistently captivating stories with near-perfectly tailored scripts, superb acting from the top to the bottom of the cast, spectacular cinematography (particularly the imagery in transitions), all masterfully orchestrated beneath a musical score that seems magically woven from a mix of classical and opera. In a word, Endeavour is . . . well, . . . brilliant!

I'm glad to learn that there are others here who share our guilty pleasure in this genre.