TV, I am thinking of, but all media is probably suitable for inclusion.
I"m thinking ..
Incorporated (new series, M Damon and B Affleck involved in producing) Anything with Canadian actor Ian Tracey gets my attention. But the subject matter - a dystopian, corporate-ruled future - is, of course, of interest.
Westworld (see The Android Manifesto, etc. )
and whatever you care to add.
This is probably a duplicate of a similar, previous thread. I just can't find it.
Nope, I don't think it is a dupe, at least not a live one. Good idea for a holiday diversion.
Anyway, In the thick of it. British government satire. Serious Scottish cursing warning.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Thick_of_It
Also, the original Life on Mars and Ashes to Ashes, if you haven't seen it.
All my shows have gone off the air for the season. Depressing, really, since being inside in winter is the ideal time to watch TV. That said, I'm looking forward to the imminent return of [i]Sherlock[/i], and hoping [i]Better Call Saul[/i] comes back before too long.
We are all anticipating Sherlock with much excitement over here!
I've been watching Designated Survivor and Pitch. Both well-scripted shows with great casts. Network TV has stepped it up to compete a little better with HBO.
The blond guy watches Westworld. A bit too violent for me.
We've also been watching Timeless, which is silly and has huge plot holes, but I'm a sucker for time travel. Also Kim's Convenience, also light but pretty fun.
We're also going to be binge-watching season two of Broadchurch.
And lots of documentary.
We don't have cable so have Netflix. I'm watching too many British murder mysteries and period pieces. All well done, of course, but I'm drinking entirely too much tea.
And using words like "entirely".
We ditched our cable over a year ago (though, admittedly, we kept paying for it for a long time before that, even though we weren't watching it) so I suppose I don't really watch much.
But I've been watching Kim's Convenience on cbc.ca, which replicates the "TV" experience pretty well, right down to the commercials.
It's a good show. Gentle humour, talented cast, and an interestingly multicultural approach. Sort of an urban, Korean "Corner Gas". As it happened, I lived within site of the actual convenience store they film in (at Queen and Sherbourne) for years, and I enjoy watching the little bits of "B-roll" footage between scenes and trying to figure out if I know where it was shot.
Also, I recently found, discarded, the DVD sets for seasons 1-3 of Breaking Bad. I hear that's going to suck me in, so I haven't started watching it yet. Plus, if it's as awesome as everyone says, I'll be on my own for the remaining seasons.
We have always had farmervision, though we had about a month of Netflix when a visitor was here this fall. Not bad,but not worth paying for.
We mostly rely on the library.
Other recommendations: Simon Schama's History of Britain, and The Power Of Art, even though the subjects are all white European Men, with the exception of Russian/American/Jewish Mark Rothko.
And of course, Ken Burns' documentaries. I have seen The Civil War, and Prohibition. Highly recommend both.
Edgar Reitz's Heimat.
And the miniseries version of Master and Margarita. Not sure if that one is available on DVD
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Master_and_Margarita_%28miniseries%29
I am seriously pissed that they never released all of Made In Canada on DVD.
I watched Mars, a combination of documentary and drama but not a docudrama, on Nat Geo channel ... and then they suddenly stopped offering this freebee. Over the holidays, lots of programming is free, then gets cut off, I think, to lure you in....
There is almost no (older) film that I cannot find on youtube - eventually.
So my viewing habits are changing. It's no longer a question of "What's on" but, rather, what would I like to watch (or read - this also applies to many books I can get as well) and doing so in an organized way.
HBO is my go-to. Always something good to watch on that channel. Netflix would be nice but I don't own a credit card.
Netflix would be nice but I don't own a credit card.
Don't some financial institutions offer limited credit cards, or what about the kind you can pick up at a supermarket?
Of course, there are good reasons not to have one.
I'm watching you guys because I'm being paid to.
hah. It's the unblinking, lidless eye of babble's moderator. Look upon him and despair.
I'm watching you guys because I'm being paid to.
I thought you were here seeking enlightenment.
Recently watched "Day of the Jackal" - probably for the third time. Still a very well-made movie that keeps you watching.
http://putlockers.ch/watch-the-day-of-the-jackal-online-free-putlocker.html
Tonight will be "Tootsie" (for the first time.)
http://123movies.net/watch/nGE3AEvb-tootsie.html
I'd like to get the BBC 1970s TV series "The Lotus Eaters" on line but so far can't find a site that doesn't want my credit card no (which of course they won't use, right?) I recall being glued to the set weekly, back then. Wonder if I'd now discover it wasn't all that great :(
Trumbo was a great flick that I saw recently.
..my latest view. i liked the review.
The ironic thing about self-awareness is that it's bound up in other people. It's less about how we understand ourselves than about how we use the perceptions of others to train us to modulate our behavior and tame our impulses.
quote:
More ambitiously, the film is about whether it's even possible for one to be happy and fulfilled while locked in a demeaning, time-sucking embrace with global capitalism. Ines Conradi (Sandra Hüller) is fluent in the language and style of the consultant class, as her wardrobe is sleek yet conservative and anonymous. Her sentences slip effortlessly from German to English and are littered with observations about “concepts,” “clients,” and “performance”; they scan like mind-numbing bureaucratese, but have ramifications that may impact countless wage-earners. On a trip home for her current post in Bucharest, consulting for an oil company, she has a brief reunion with her father, Winfried (Peter Simonischek). He has a blood pressure monitor strapped to his chest and detachable reading glasses dangling from his neck; he's temporarily removed a set of fake teeth, but his face is still smeared with Gene Simmons makeup. “Am I supposed to get this?” Ines asks of his getup....
I rewatched the "Simonne et Chartrand" series about Simonne Monet-Chatrand and Michel Chartrand, and the great changes in Québec over their lifetimes. The episodes were silent on the 1972 General Strike, which I found very strange. I suppose no direct allusion to the PQ election (the PQ government is only mentioned when they start to sell out the working class who voted for them, and just as an allusion) was due to avoiding a "divisive" political stance or something, but I didn't understand glossing over one of the greatest episodes in Québec working class history.
I'll be looking forward to X Company, though I know that the series can be criticised as glorifying Canadian spy agencies, which were certainly not only involved in supporting anti-Nazi resistance forces! But it is a good period drama with interesting characters, and in addition to the genocide of the Jewish people, also focuses on other "races" and human groups targeted by Nazism (there is a Roma character whose entire extended family was murdered in an atrocity), the persecution of gay people, "breeding programmes", the "elimination" of mentally, physically and intellectually disabled people etc. It also touches on the important role "marginalised" people played in the war effort; one character has a condition close to mild autism, another is a geek etc - we can't help but think of Bletchley Park, which is mentioned in the series.
That said, I don't watch a lot of TV, except documentaries, the Enquête investigative journalism episodes and Infoman... I watch whatever I have to for work.
Enjoying Transparent.
Trumbo was a great flick that I saw recently.
About Dalton Trumbo? I'll have to see that - is it online?
If not you should be able to find it at the library.
I must confess that on Thursdays I watch, or record, "Alone" - a true survivor show - but I'm a bit of a fanatical hiker and so I'm kinda fascinated by people who are better at that than I am. And yes, I have a copy of Che's Guerilla Warfare. Doesn't everybody?
The first two seasons were on Vancouver Island. Now they're in Patagonia.
I watched Romeo's Section on the Ceeb because it was the same writers (and actors to some degree) who did Davinci's Inquest and Intelligence. And Eugene Lipinski reminds me of a old friend that I can't forget.
About Dalton Trumbo? I'll have to see that - is it online?
Should be in the McCarthy thread?About Dalton Trumbo? I'll have to see that - is it online?
No, the film is about actual McCarthyism. Totally off topic. ;)
The blond guy and I watched Henry VI part one last night - it's part of a series of films of Shakespeare's historical plays culminating in Richard III starring Benedict Cumberbatch. It was really well done! We have Part Two and Richard III on the PVR.
yeah, he's not a bad actor. I still like old melon head as Henry IV, mind you.
..very well done indeed. the very first episode draws you in and each epi after that takes you deeper and deeper into the story. each epi ending leave you hanging and wanting more. and if that's not enough there's a russian connection.
The OA | Official Trailer [HD] | Netflix
No, the film is about actual McCarthyism. Totally off topic. ;)
Watched it (Trumbo) last night - very good. I was surprised that McCarthy came relatively late to the witch-hunting, although he made up for lost time :(.
SHERLOCK SEASON 4!!!!!!!!!
Seriously. I had almost forgotten how much I missed Sherlock until tonight.
Finally watched Trumbo. We enjoyed it, for all kinds of reasons. Highly recommended.
Ever seen Emile de Antonio's documentary, Point of Order?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJHsur3HqcI
Just one of a number of his films which are on youtube.
I want to see Trumbo and thanks for posting the link, but my computer is really unstable. I have to take it to the doc's. Major bummer.
SHERLOCK SEASON 4!!!!!!!!!
Now I am curious. A friend of mine saw it and was terribly disappointed. On the other hand, other friends wrote in and completely disagreed with him.
I also like dramas that are based on real history. I just watched a Dutch film called the Admiral. Great insight into the the Dutch view of the history of their Republic's battles to survive against the English and French. What I thought was fascinating is the film clearing represents William III or William of Orange as gay. If you like the historical drama genre this was a very good film. "Michiel de Ruyter" was the original title and it is about a real person.
k, ever seen la Reine Margot? The side story is based on Dumas' novel, but the main story is a faithful retelling of the Bartholamew's Massacre. I highly recommend it.
That movie sounds quite fascinating, and I will look for it. Though of course you do know that William wound up being the instrument of the British parliamentary coup.
As for his sexuality, I know the "Gunpowder Treason and Plot" miniseries (which I also recommend) only hinted at that with James I, when in fact he was open about it to the point that there was a latin meme circulated: Rex fuit Elizabeth: nunc est regina Jacobus—"Elizabeth was King: now James is Queen."
kropotkin, have you seen the Versailles series? I binge-watched the first season the last time I traveled. Really well done and fairly good representation of history. There's a second season coming this summer. I'm also looking forward to Victoria airing on this side of the Atlantic. ETA: I hear Wolfe Hall is pretty good too, but haven't seen it yet.
kropotkin, have you seen the Versailles series? I binge-watched the first season the last time I traveled. Really well done and fairly good representation of history. There's a second season coming this summer. I'm also looking forward to Victoria airing on this side of the Atlantic. ETA: I hear Wolfe Hall is pretty good too, but haven't seen it yet.
Haven't seen Versailles but I did see Wolfe Hall and quite liked it. Very BBC style historic drama.
Yes, they do period drama extremely well. I found Versailles interesting in that the broadcaster was stretch, but it's in English. If you're a Vikings fan, Louis is played by the guy who was Aethelstan in the early seasons of Vikings.
This past holiday was our first with Netflix, so I decided to binge thematically: it was the Christmas of music documentaries. OK - rockumentaries.
Best of the bunch IMHO was 'The History of the Eagles'. A great film of a band whose music resonated with me at a certain stage of my life.
'Muscle Shoals' was also great - the delightful story of a small recording studio in rural Alabama that somehow become the place to record for all sorts of world-class musicians.
There was a biopic on Keith Richards (remarkably articulate and reflective after all he has ingested) and the next night one on Jimi Hendrix. There was also a somewhat less compelling film on The Grateful Dead ('The Other One') - but opinions may vary as I was never much of a Deadhead.
And there were two slices of musical whimsy: 'Good Ol Freda', the story of an ordinary young woman in early 60s Liverpool who suddenly found herself at the center of Beatlemania. And 'Searching for Sugarman' - which I had seen on the big screen a few years back but enjoyed watching again - a lovely tale of personal and musical vindication as a long forgotten Dylan-esque troubadour discovers 30 years on that he is actually a much beloved star half way round the world.
For the more political amongst us, I will recommend the documentary "13th" which recounts the evolution of slavery in the US through to Jim Crow and mass incarceration. Pretty grim stuff. But the soundtrack was great. Trailer here:
..i watched this movie about a year ago but saved it because i wanted to watch it again. today may be the day i do that since there's edit: snow storm ending. i was reminded of it while listening to music and came across the soundtrack the movie. i've added the link to one of the songs.
Toward the end of Abderrahmane Sissako's 2006 film Bamako, an elderly man breaks into rebellious, heartbroken song in the fictitious court where the World Bank's push for globalization is put on trial. The man's unshakeable wails and calling out to the ether speak more powerfully than the tirades of factual evidence and outrage that the prosecutors muster in the film's final minutes. For Sissako, music is a language of furious hope and peace, and in his remarkable fourth feature, Timbuktu, musicians are both songbirds of peace and targets of the religious rigor that Muslim jihadists use to punish, enslave, and murder several members of the titular North African city...
..i'm adding a trailer
Sherpa-finn: Have you seen Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage? I must confess to being a huge Rush fan, but even if you are not, it's interesting and well made.
I've also been watching Season 19 of south park, when my kids aren't around.
Muscle Shoals was a good doc. Masterful use of B-roll, and totally necessary when revisiting the past with not so many archival images. Just beautifully done.
I loved Sugarman. Again, a story that is in past tense for the most part, but well done.
When we are looking for doc funding, what we hear most often is that the broadcaster want something that is unfolding now, so that the audience can go along and experience it. Which is a good notion, but so many of the successful docs aren't that style. Blackfish, Sugarman, Muscle Shoals, Going Clear. All past tense, with sit down interviews.
..txs smith
..i've just started watching the 3rd and final season of this brilliant, compelling and savvy political drama. it began in 2010 and the political manoeuvrings alone is worth the watch.
Borgen (TV series)
quote:
Birgitte Nyborg
The main character Birgitte Nyborg is sometimes believed to be based on Denmark's first female prime minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt, even though Thorning-Schmidt was not elected until after the second series of Borgen had been made. Adam Price, the creator of the series, has stated, "I definitely want you to believe there is a shred of idealism in Birgitte Nyborg that is real. She's also become a very professional political being, but there is definitely that idealism, and that's important."
Sidse Babett Knudsen plays Nyborg and assists in developing the script. In describing her relationship with the character, she said, "They liked to see a woman feeling guilty and I didn't like that ... I think [Nyborg] should be responsible for her feelings. And when she has to make unsympathetic decisions, she should stand by them. I don't want her to feel sorry for herself or suddenly become a soppy mess in her private life, because you wouldn't believe her as a prime minister if she did that."
I'm still watching X-Company, which is fairly well documented, and of course very upsetting now that they are in Poland. Fortunately, the show also portrays local partisans; it isn't one of those orful series where the "heroes" (in this case, mostly Canadians) are doing all the work.
On Radio-Canada, I often watch Enquête (investigative journalism) and Infoman (a news-based comedy). I don't have a TV, so my viewing is limited.
