OT: Capitals Cinema Club: TV and Movies

[Hivemind]

First episode of TLOU was terrific.

But I still think it probably shouldn't have been made. It's basically a show that can only disappoint expectations. The best case scenario is that they're able to match the original in quality (which they did in episode 1). And even if season 1 is done masterfully, all the shit that got stirred up with the release of TLOU2 is going to get stirred up again for season 2. The internet can be an awful place at times.

Have there been times where adaptations live up to or exceed the original material? Absolutely. But they're not super frequent, and especially not as frequent when the source material is *this* good. Aiming to be on the level of Blade Runner or Peter Jackson's LOTR trilogy is a hard thing to match. And even Peter Jackson messed it up with The Hobbit (plus there were always grumpy LOTR fans about the changes from the original novels), and then even with the largest budget in the world Amazon fumbled RoP. It's hard to stand up to this level of original material.

I will say having the same actress play Marlene in the show as played her in the original game was a nice touch.

 

[AlexModvechkin8]

Terrific opening episode. I watched the first half with that impending sense of doom knowing what was going to happen. The sounds and movement of the infected were spot on. Loved the opening monologue too… don’t think they had that in the game but I haven’t played the first TLOU since probably 2014.

 

[ChaosLord]

Legend of Vox Machina S2 gets an 8 from IGN. Season 1 I would have given a 10 -- just about perfect in every respect. Didn't expect the writers to pull off magic twice, so I'm pretty content with an 8 for this season.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

Legend of Vox Machina S2 gets an 8 from IGN. Season 1 I would have given a 10 -- just about perfect in every respect. Didn't expect the writers to pull off magic twice, so I'm pretty content with an 8 for this season.

Ohh I need to get on that.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

I don't like horror and zombies but Last of Us (2023) is amazingly powerful, poignant and sensational work.

And I've never played any of those video games.

Ok, I watched it. I DO love horror and have consumed a ton of zombie content….big fan of the genre.

First off, Pedro was very good, but that’s also expected.

On a scale of 5, with 3 being “entertained”…..I give it a 4 so far. It’s up there with The Walking Dead….that level of quality, not as gory.

I like the fungi angle.

I was annoyed they do not show the collapse of society more and jump ahead (very atypical for the genre). I’m sure we’re going to see flashbacks of that time gap as the series progresses.

Overall, happy to watch more…solid so far.

 

[Jags]

I was annoyed they do not show the collapse of society more and jump ahead (very atypical for the genre).

I had a similar thought, but maybe it's to preserve some of those elements so they can be a little surprising later. Also leaves them some narrative gaps they can fill in down the line if they want to shoehorn something in.

As pilots go, the structure was really solid in that way. Good to see some forethought as opposed to something like Lost where they just came out swinging with all these big ideas that they lost track of and never explained.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

I had a similar thought, but maybe it's to preserve some of those elements so they can be a little surprising later. Also leaves them some narrative gaps they can fill in down the line if they want to shoehorn something in.

As pilots go, the structure was really solid in that way. Good to see some forethought as opposed to something like Lost where they just came out swinging with all these big ideas that they lost track of and never explained.

I think it’s typically mostly cost…….but I could be wrong. But, yes, the technique can be used well, so some good flashbacks can be impactful and shift a storyline as needed.

 

[Neil Racki]

M3GAN - was pretty good, took my 10 year old and it was mostly fine but she's seen things .. not worth seeing in the movie theater but its a fun harmless 1 hr 45 mins

TLOU - didnt play the video game so zero reference or expectations, we likey

I agree with everyones thoughts here ... 4/5 so far, hopefully they do flashbacks to fill in the 20 year jump

So 1 episode a week? I like that

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

M3GAN - was pretty good, took my 10 year old and it was mostly fine but she's seen things .. not worth seeing in the movie theater but its a fun harmless 1 hr 45 mins

TLOU - didnt play the video game so zero reference or expectations, we likey

I agree with everyones thoughts here ... 4/5 so far, hopefully they do flashbacks to fill in the 20 year jump

So 1 episode a week? I like that

Not for everyone, but I was entertained for syfy content…..

 

[Hivemind]

It's amusing to see the people who didn't play TLOU speculating. I feel like the folks who actually read ASOIAF before GoT came out.

Not a spoiler - but don't expect much in the way of flashbacks.

 

[AlexModvechkin8]

It's amusing to see the people who didn't play TLOU speculating. I feel like the folks who actually read ASOIAF before GoT came out.

Not a spoiler - but don't expect much in the way of flashbacks.

I wonder if the show will have more flashbacks than the game since flashbacks are a bit harder to incorporate in a game but yeah, not expecting much.

One post-apocalyptic dystopian show that did a great job with flash backs was Revolution. It ran a few seasons back in 2012 but was cancelled before Season 3 which was a bummer because the story was pretty intriguing.

 

[Hivemind]

I wonder if the show will have more flashbacks than the game since flashbacks are a bit harder to incorporate in a game but yeah, not expecting much.

One post-apocalyptic dystopian show that did a great job with flash backs was Revolution. It ran a few seasons back in 2012 but was cancelled before Season 3 which was a bummer because the story was pretty intriguing.

I also don't think additional flashbacks are particularly necessary to telling this story. I get that people are interested in them now, given that all they know is this one episode (which features that big time jump), so they're curious about what happened in between. But once we get into the story proper, they will see that they don't really need to see the whole step-by-step downfall of society for this story to function, and will get invested in what it actually does well.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

I wonder if the show will have more flashbacks than the game since flashbacks are a bit harder to incorporate in a game but yeah, not expecting much.

One post-apocalyptic dystopian show that did a great job with flash backs was Revolution. It ran a few seasons back in 2012 but was cancelled before Season 3 which was a bummer because the story was pretty intriguing.

Yeah I don’t expect their storytelling/directing to strictly follow the same style as a video game. It would not translate IMO. Too many holes in the story right now. I guess we’ll see.

 

[AlexModvechkin8]

Yeah I don’t expect their storytelling/directing to strictly follow the same style as a video game. It would not translate IMO. Too many holes in the story right now. I guess we’ll see.

Hive touched on it but the backstory of how society collapsed really doesn’t have anything to do with the plot line moving forward. I do wonder how they’ll address FEDRA and the Fireflies since those are important plot lines but the story is compelling enough without having to see cities collapse and chaos ensue.

 

[Hivemind]

In the game you do collect/read letters and notes people leave behind as you explore, so I guess those could be re-imagined as flashbacks to fit the TV format. Granted, they're mostly short and tend to be clues as to opening safes or locked doors, but some are there entirely for world-building. They don't come from the perspective of characters we meet in the present-day, however, which would make them out of place as flashback scenes. Obviously the showrunners could re-imagine them as backstory for characters we meet, but that might not go over quite as well.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

I wonder if the show will have more flashbacks than the game since flashbacks are a bit harder to incorporate in a game but yeah, not expecting much.

One post-apocalyptic dystopian show that did a great job with flash backs was Revolution. It ran a few seasons back in 2012 but was cancelled before Season 3 which was a bummer because the story was pretty intriguing.

Hive touched on it but the backstory of how society collapsed really doesn’t have anything to do with the plot line moving forward. I do wonder how they’ll address FEDRA and the Fireflies since those are important plot lines but the story is compelling enough without having to see cities collapse and chaos ensue.

do we know they’re completely following the video game storyline? I’m saying I expect flashbacks based on the limited story so far, not specifically what will be in them.

 

[Jags]

Yeah, never played the game. Curious as to how much story content you think is actually there. I know there's a sequel and probably some DLC, but a game that takes dozens of hours to play through doesn't actually have that much story. If HBO builds the show to last several seasons, it feels like they might outpace the source material before too long.

Then you're in Game of Thrones TV and Hobbit movie territory, where you have to cross your fingers and hope the showrunner and writers room expand upon the source in ways you like.

Does it feel to you like they'll burn through the source material and create from there or slow the source material down and stretch/flesh it out? Seems like they'll have to do one or the other, but I'm talking out of my ass on this one. Interested in what you guys think cuz I really liked the pilot.

 

[AlexModvechkin8]

do we know they’re completely following the video game storyline? I’m saying I expect flashbacks based on the limited story so far, not specifically what will be in them.

Yeah, never played the game. Curious as to how much story content you think is actually there. I know there's a sequel and probably some DLC, but a game that takes dozens of hours to play through doesn't actually have that much story. If HBO builds the show to last several seasons, it feels like they might outpace the source material before too long.

Then you're in Game of Thrones TV and Hobbit movie territory, where you have to cross your fingers and hope the showrunner and writers room expand upon the source in ways you like.

Does it feel to you like they'll burn through the source material and create from there or slow the source material down and stretch/flesh it out? Seems like they'll have to do one or the other, but I'm talking out of my ass on this one. Interested in what you guys think cuz I really liked the pilot.

The writers have said the show will follow the storylines in the game and that they’re not going to create new material. They actually used GoT as an example and said that’s not where they want to be, having to make stuff up. Between the two games there’s a lot to work with and it’s confirmed that there will be a third game as well which adds some complexity to this since I don’t think the third game is scheduled to come out until 2024 or 2025.

There’s a lot of stuff along the way that they can lean into. I’m not too concerned about them running out of source material. There are times in both games when you separate and play as only one of the characters so I’m curious to see if they try to add more backstory or flashbacks to help with developing character arcs during those moments.

There are also some scenes that made me jump out of my chair when I was playing it. There’s definitely a thriller/scary element to the game so I’m interested to see how they handle that.

 

[usiel]

Ok, I watched it. I DO love horror and have consumed a ton of zombie content….big fan of the genre.

First off, Pedro was very good, but that’s also expected.

On a scale of 5, with 3 being “entertained”…..I give it a 4 so far. It’s up there with The Walking Dead….that level of quality, not as gory.

I like the fungi angle.

I was annoyed they do not show the collapse of society more and jump ahead (very atypical for the genre). I’m sure we’re going to see flashbacks of that time gap as the series progresses.

Overall, happy to watch more…solid so far.

It was 3.75 out of 5 for me. A little underwhelming for a pilot. Also like the fungal angle that is different (never played the game so coming in totally fresh). Cool to see Anna Torv. Don't mind the time jump but the tech support brain still looks a more detail view of the society collapse but maybe that in flashback s ahead.

Different show but did enjoy Half Bad: The Bastard Son & The Devil Himself on Netflix plowed through that this weekend.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

It was 3.75 out of 5 for me. A little underwhelming for a pilot. Also like the fungal angle that is different (never played the game so coming in totally fresh). Cool to see Anna Torv. Don't mind the time jump but the tech support brain still looks a more detail view of the society collapse but maybe that in flashback s ahead.

Different show but did enjoy Half Bad: The Bastard Son & The Devil Himself on Netflix plowed through that this weekend.

Love me some Anna Torv yeah…..it’s pretty standard zombie fare so far….but well done.

just finishing Witcher Blood Origins now…..not bad. Only 4 episodes.

 

[usiel]

Love me some Anna Torv yeah…..it’s pretty standard zombie fare so far….but well done.

just finishing Witcher Blood Origins now…..not bad. Only 4 episodes.

Funny started that right after half bad.

 

[Hivemind]

Yeah, never played the game. Curious as to how much story content you think is actually there. I know there's a sequel and probably some DLC, but a game that takes dozens of hours to play through doesn't actually have that much story. If HBO builds the show to last several seasons, it feels like they might outpace the source material before too long.

Then you're in Game of Thrones TV and Hobbit movie territory, where you have to cross your fingers and hope the showrunner and writers room expand upon the source in ways you like.

Does it feel to you like they'll burn through the source material and create from there or slow the source material down and stretch/flesh it out? Seems like they'll have to do one or the other, but I'm talking out of my ass on this one. Interested in what you guys think cuz I really liked the pilot.

They've said they're only going to do enough seasons to cover the two games. Season 1 is the first game + DLC. The second game may be broken into two seasons.

TLOU1 takes about 10 hours to playthru if you're very efficient, and a typical player might beat it in about 12-15 hours. The cutscenes only add up to about 3 hours of time. While there's definitely a fair bit of story beyond just the cutscenes, they obviously aren't going to show the characters exploring countless abandoned buildings to gather scissors and tape to craft new weapons, or endless stealth/gunfights against clickers, or have the characters die and re-spawn a bunch because you picked too high a difficulty. For reference, the 2003 intro stuff (which was 2013 in the game) took about 16 minutes in the video game, but they stretched it to about 30ish minutes for the show (and there are both pros and cons to the changes). So there's definitely some amount of padding they'll do.

 

[twabby]

Has anyone seen Avatar in theaters yet? Is the 3D worth it, or should I just stick to 2D?

 

[notDkristich]

Has anyone seen Avatar in theaters yet? Is the 3D worth it, or should I just stick to 2D?

no, and no plans. my kids (17-8 yo) laughed at the preview. told me everything i needed to know.

 

[twabby]

no, and no plans. my kids (17-8 yo) laughed at the preview. told me everything i needed to know.

It tells me your kids are dweebs!

Anyways thank you for your contribution!