Movies/TV worth watching (or at least discussing)

[CameronBornAndBred]

I started a "new to me" show on Netflix last night that I don't see as being mentioned in any threads.
Wentworth had me binging pretty quickly. It's an Australian drama, very similar to HBO's Oz, but focusing on a women's prison named "Wentworth" instead of a men's prison named "Oswald". As in Oz, it's filled with a menagerie of characters, all portrayed with solid performances.
The show (at least in the first season that I'm watching) centers around three women. Bea, a new arrival, Frankie, a thin framed and small statured big dog, and Jax, who is Frankie's rival and been in the system for much longer.

Episode #1 features Bea's arrival and introduction to how things work if you want to survive, and is backgrounded by a prison riot that results in the death of the warren. Her murder sets up one of the running arcs of the season, as her husband, one of the prison officers, deals with her death and tries to solve the mystery of who it was who killed her. It could have been a prisoner, or it could have been one of the prison staff, who have their fair share of their own shady characters.

It looks like there are 8 seasons total, each episode is an hour long. Good stuff so far.

[WillJ]

I really loved "The Quiet Girl," even though it broke my heart. It should have won the best-movie oscar, IMO.

[CameronBornAndBred]

I wonder if Marvel is getting a little antsy (pun unintended) with news of their new supervillain making the rounds following his arrest this weekend.
It seems that Jonathon Majors has a reputation for being a wanker. The following quotes are from two directors he has worked with.

I don't know if his future at Marvel is affected, but Majors has been kicked out of the Army.
Know those recruiting ads that have been airing during the tournament games? They have been pulled.

In a statement Sunday, the Army’s Enterprise Marketing Office said that the Army was aware of Majors’ arrest and was "deeply concerned by the allegations.” It added that while Majors “is innocent until proven guilty, prudence dictates that we pull our ads until the investigation into these allegations is complete.”

https://www.yahoo.com/news/army-pull...183712893.html

[Skydog]

I wonder if Marvel is getting a little antsy (pun unintended) with news of their new supervillain making the rounds following his arrest this weekend.
It seems that Jonathon Majors has a reputation for being a wanker. The following quotes are from two directors he has worked with.

This is a damn shame. I became a big fan of Majors after his breakthrough performance in Lovecraft Country. Based on that and some interviews I imagined him to be a “gentle giant” in real life. I guess that's good acting on his part and a terrible read on mine.

[Rich]

Watched the first two episodes of Daisy Jones and the Six (Amazon Prime Video) and have been sucked in. I love watching stuff from the '70's era and the music is very good. For those who don't know, it's fictional but loosely based on Fleetwood Mac.

[bundabergdevil]

Do Mandolorians not bathe, wipe or brush?

[OldPhiKap]

Do Mandolorians not bathe, wipe or brush?

This is the way.

[bundabergdevil]

This is the way.

I guess. And hey Tim meadows I have a hard day one with you in anything besides snl and snl movies

[JasonEvans]

Do Mandolorians not bathe, wipe or brush?

They do it in private. It is not that they are prohibited from taking the helmet and armor off, it is prohibited that someone see them out of their armor. So, providing they are in private, they can strip naked and cover their body in honey if they want.

This is the way.

[OldPhiKap]

So, providing they are in private, they can strip naked and cover their body in honey if they want.

This is the way.

Eewww. Not my way.

[PackMan97]

Wick dies five minutes in. The rest of the 2:50 run time is various characters from the previous movies doing loving eulogies. It ends with him being buried next to the puppy from the first film.

Finally, the movie I've been waiting for!

[duke74]

Watched the first two episodes of Daisy Jones and the Six (Amazon Prime Video) and have been sucked in. I love watching stuff from the '70's era and the music is very good. For those who don't know, it's fictional but loosely based on Fleetwood Mac.

Thanks for the post. Have been watching in spurts over the past few days. Really like it. Hadn't realized that Daisy is Elvis's granddaughter.

Watching the last two episodes today/tonight.

[wavedukefan70s]

Has anyone watched 1883 . Just watched the 1st season .absolutely impressed with acting ability of Tim Mcgraw and faith Hill.
Might be worth a look for some.

Now I'll have to watch yellow stone.

[OldPhiKap]

SonPK and I saw John Wick Chapter 4 yesterday. If you like the franchise, this is an excellent outing.

(I posted this with a f’n pencil, btw)

[Phredd3]

Saw a trailer for dungeons and dragons .
Chris pine and Michelle Rodriguez .
Looks promising not sure of the release date.

D&D was released this past weekend. I thought it was fun. The humor was good, and the plot twists are clever enough to keep you on your toes. The pacing is great and keeps things moving really well, in an episodic, Indiana Jones kind of way. It's a silly feel-good action-comedy, and it looks good on a big screen. Well worth the price of admission.

[OldPhiKap]

$73.5 mil opening weekend. I think it will have legs too. I could see this film topping $250 mil in total boxoffice. Would love to know if any of you saw it and what you thought.

Your review was spot-on, Jason.

[JasonEvans]

Has anyone watched 1883 . Just watched the 1st season .absolutely impressed with acting ability of Tim Mcgraw and faith Hill.
Might be worth a look for some.

Now I'll have to watch yellow stone.

Yellowstone is in real trouble.

Over the weekend, the entire cast, including Kevin Costner and EP/writer/director Taylor Sheridan, was supposed to appear at Paleyfest in Los Angeles. Tickets to the event were going for over $100 per person. Well, when the media and fans showed up they were told there had been a little change of plans: https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/yel...an-1235570919/

About 30 minutes before the red carpet was supposed to begin at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood, press was let in and given a tip sheet with only four cast member names on it: Josh Lucas, Wendy Moniz, Mo Brings Plenty and Dawn Olivieri.

None of the main cast showed up. Sheridan didn't show up. It was a huge surprise and letdown.

So, what is going on here? Well, it has been revealed that shooting on the second half of season five, which is supposed to debut this summer, has not even begun. Apparently, the cast hasn't even seen scripts yet to know what is happening. What's more, it appears Costner is finding a TV series more demanding than he would like and is having real trouble making all of this work in his schedule. There is a ton of talk that Sheridan is going to have to write Costner off. I'm not sure the show can survive without him as he is just too central a character.

I am sure the money will start talking very soon and convince Kevin and Taylor to get back together and get this show moving. There's just too much at stake for it to flounder too much longer... but I also won't be surprised if Season 5 is the end of the line for John Dutton/Kevin Costner.

[Ggallagher]

This might not be everyone's cup of tea, but I stumbled onto it a few weeks ago and really enjoyed it. The link below captures short takes from several episodes of the BBC program "Cunk on Earth".

https://youtu.be/JWS-qfR6K3w

If formal, staid, informative British documentaries appeal to you... that's NOT what this is. It's pretty much everything they're not. And every once in a while, it may not be totally suitable for the entire family, so choose your viewing mode appropriately.

If the linked excerpts appeal to your sense of humor, the entire series is now available on Netflix.

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

This might not be everyone's cup of tea, but I stumbled onto it a few weeks ago and really enjoyed it. The link below captures short takes from several episodes of the BBC program "Cunk on Earth".

https://youtu.be/JWS-qfR6K3w

If formal, staid, informative British documentaries appeal to you... that's NOT what this is. It's pretty much everything they're not. And every once in a while, it may not be totally suitable for the entire family, so choose your viewing mode appropriately.

If the linked excerpts appeal to your sense of humor, the entire series is now available on Netflix.

We binged all episodes in two nights. Lots of fun if taken lightly.

Especially "Pump up the Jam."

[brevity]

AVClub: Air review: Air Jordan origin story isn't quite a slam dunk

The most comical epitome of Air’s own version of flop sweat is the way it shows Michael Jordan. Because it doesn’t—or rather it shows him only from behind, as a shoulder, or as an outstretched hand. Because really, how do you cameo Michael Jordan in his own story, without the audience noticing the movie they’re watching ought to be about him? You can’t. So you cut away to a bizarre montage of the real Michael Jordan enduring the horrors of contemporary celebrity in the space where Matt Damon is forced to address Jordan directly, appropriating the real Jordan’s pain in collage form to paper over a pothole, just because your camera is looking the wrong way.

This is what I feared. I saw the trailer when it was posted upthread and immediately noticed that a film ostensibly about Michael Jordan somehow failed to include Michael Jordan. I went to the film's IMDb page that day -- at that point, there wasn't even an actor listed as playing Jordan. (There is now.)

I know he's a Carolina guy, but it bothers me that Jordan is no given no agency here. By comparison, I enjoyed last year's HBO limited series "Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty" primarily because they not only cast actors to play Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, but made them major parts of the story. Magic and Jerry Buss were equal protagonists who got to carry separate storylines when they weren't together. (They also include a funny bit where Magic Johnson turns down Nike and Phil Knight's profit participation for every unit sold, denying himself billions in future earnings. Knight was more established a few years later, so I don't think Jordan got quite as good of a deal.)

I'm sure the film is fine for what it is -- an internal look at a running shoe company that makes a massive entrance into basketball, and a Matt Damon/Ben Affleck reunion -- but I disagree with the above review quote. You can and should cast a full-bodied Jordan, and you make him more than a casual bystander to his own life. Affleck has said that he spoke with Jordan, and Jordan's only request was that Viola Davis play his mother. Jordan should have asked for more, because it looks like the filmmakers did not voluntarily give him more.