OT: Capitals Cinema Club: TV and Movies

[Jags]

Yeah I wasn’t trying to say he was bad…although “crushed it” I dunno…..the role isn’t that great. If anything he’s under-used.

Definitely underused. I was just watching Ep3 and it feels like he's barely in it. And most of it is a one-note performance, but that one note is benefitting hugely from his commitment to it. The action sequences (many of which are him vs. a tennis ball on a greenscreen set) are fantastic. Not very many actors do the body work and execute the choreography the way he does.

Think of all the recent shows of its ilk -- GoT, HoD, LotR, WoT, Vikings, Last Kingdom -- no other actor is as physically commanding in their roles.

And the kicker is those small moments where you have to buy that he's in love with Yen or that there's more than duty to his devotion to Ciri. Suddenly the murder robot has a heart. And you don't normally get that from the big action guys. The guys that moonlight as action guys, sure -- Harrison Ford, Bruce Willis, Tom Cruise, Matt Damon, Brad Pitt, etc. That's good company to be in.

Maybe I'm laying it on a little thick, but I'm in the middle of the new episodes and picturing Hemsworth Lite in the role and it's bumming me out. That guy is terrible.

 

[HTFN]

Definitely underused. I was just watching Ep3 and it feels like he's barely in it. And most of it is a one-note performance, but that one note is benefitting hugely from his commitment to it. The action sequences (many of which are him vs. a tennis ball on a greenscreen set) are fantastic. Not very many actors do the body work and execute the choreography the way he does.

Think of all the recent shows of its ilk -- GoT, HoD, LotR, WoT, Vikings, Last Kingdom -- no other actor is as physically commanding in their roles.

And the kicker is those small moments where you have to buy that he's in love with Yen or that there's more than duty to his devotion to Ciri. Suddenly the murder robot has a heart. And you don't normally get that from the big action guys. The guys that moonlight as action guys, sure -- Harrison Ford, Bruce Willis, Tom Cruise, Matt Damon, Brad Pitt, etc. That's good company to be in.

Maybe I'm laying it on a little thick, but I'm in the middle of the new episodes and picturing Hemsworth Lite in the role and it's bumming me out. That guy is terrible.

He really sells the unique swordplay. Rather than flippy flips and big spins he just flips the grip, grabs it different, uses it to hold some guy hostage or perforate him, and then move to the next brutal thing. Yeah, that's the stunt coordinator way before it's Cavill but he executes and commands those scenes so well. There's a pretty good sequence in the first episode if I remember right with multiple different adopted stances depending on the engagement and it's a much more believable "one man army" scene than a lot of others.

It's an understated acting performance but you hit the nail on the head: acting with emotion is one thing, acting emotionless is another, but accurately producing small tells to betray emotion from relatively emotionless characters is a talent of its own and he really does very well with Geralt.

 

[RedRocking]

I agree with this, even the parts where Greg gets grimy, but then it's like the show undercuts itself by resetting and sort of making the message appear to be "everyone is gross, and that's okay because at the end of the day these people want for nothing but their own stupid little game and nobody ever really makes them pay for it". Like... I binge watched it, I don't want this to sound like it's got no merit. It's well shot and written and it's constantly intriguing, you're always like "oooooh that's going to mean big things" and that part is really fun but there's not really enough permanence or consequence for me.

Yeah, they're all sociopath work addicts who seem to have zero hobbies but the ways it's portrayed to impact them are all brushed off as minor or worth it. They don't engage with the outside world enough to make you truly question their characters, it's all still filtered through the scope of the business and controlling it being literally the most important thing on the planet to all of them. They're less fun DiCaprios, or like if Arrested Development was played completely straight and dramatic.

It's so hard to really pin down. It's not junk food TV, it has way too much substance for that but it's regularly coming up just shy of a full meal for me when I think about it more.

I think binging it would be exhausting and kinda boring tbh. I binged S1, but watched the rest as it aired. The weeks between episodes let them breathe and gave you stuff to chew on. Plus the break between S2 and S3 was forever due to COVID, esp with that cliffhanger (honestly the show could have just ended there and gotten its point across).

They change some dynamics in S4, but it was ultimately good that they ended it. It just becomes an endless circle jerk with the same characters, and beats after a while. I think the point is that they’re only comfortable in their hermetically sealed world, where they’re in this constant deal-making space and betraying one another. Ultimately the kids are all vying for something they’ll never get (Logan’s love), so they view the CEO job as equivalent.

“if Arrested Development was played completely straight and dramatic.”

Funny, you should mention that - check this out, it’s hilarious:

 

[HTFN]

Oh they really nailed the music and scene transitions, that's a great little project. Recognizing some of the moments from the show brings on such a different tone when you hear them, like all the times they used the Free At Last song and that peppy Latin one, that was great.

 

[Jags]

It's an understated acting performance but you hit the nail on the head: acting with emotion is one thing, acting emotionless is another, but accurately producing small tells to betray emotion from relatively emotionless characters is a talent of its own and he really does very well with Geralt.

Yeah, that's putting it better than I did. They're lucky to have him in that role.

I really love the movie True Lies, but I always thought it would have been even better without Arnold. He was bad casting for it, sure, but the thing you lose is those moments where it could have stopped being a comedy for a minute to acknowledge the stakes. A couple moments with his wife, but the whole end sequence with his daughter especially.

Arnie was at this best in that movie, but Cameron set the bar low for him in those moments and it really showed. It takes a real actor to take full advantage of those opportunities, and they elevate the material. Cruise in that scene in MI:3 where he's begging Phillip Seymour Hoffman not to kill his wife -- you need an actor for that.

CCR is right in that Geralt doesn't call for range a lot, but it's crucial when it does. So much of the likability of that character is reliant on those moments and the chemistry they generate. Hunger Games is not the actor for that job. That is a job for Superman.

 

[usiel]

I think for shows like Succession where there are characters that I can't latch on to some degree my watching appetite is in very small spurts.

EDIT: I'll clarify further if I hate like every character equally that is where I really fall off.

 

[HTFN]

I wish they'd do another Man from UNCLE, that was a pretty fun movie. Was slightly weird to have the American play the Russian and the Brit play the American but Cavill was a lot of fun in it

 

[Neil Racki]

Finding this nice nitch in my weekly life routine. I have a newborn so on the weekends i get up when he does (6-7 am) and take him downstairs so the mom can sleep. I make a great cup of coffee, hit a weed pen once or twice then watch a movie early in the morning wiht my baby boy falling in and out of sleep in my arms.

Eighth Grade - Bo Burnham director debut ... putting this off bc as a 44 year old beer chuggin male ... a girl coming-of-age movie that is inappropriate to watch with my daughter just feels f***ing weird. I love non actor kids in a story about a kid bc they tend to be very good at playing themselves.

good movie good feel to it. My daughter ended up coming downstairs half way through and i re-started it now that i knew where this older kid bl**j** scene was and could skip it.

 

[ChaosLord]

Some great, but also weird news: Primal gets renewed for a third season.

You are being redirected...

I mean, I'm as a big a Tartakovsky / Primal fan as they come, but didn't you just kill the main character (Spear) in Season 2?

 

[max21]

Soo uhh @Hivemind what episode in season 4 was the good one?

 

[Hivemind]

Soo uhh @Hivemind what episode in season 4 was the good one?

The one that IMDB users have rated as the 13th best episode of any TV show (you just have to scroll past a bunch of various anime to find it )

Advanced search

www.imdb.com

(This isn't intended to use IMDB as "proof" to support my opinion, I just wanted to answer the question without revealing the episode name or number to anyone still watching the show).

 

[Hivemind]

Speaking of character-driven shows - I recently started watching The Bear. Got thru season 1 so far. Perfect example of how to do character drama in an excellent fashion. The actual overarching "plot" is purposefully slow, but it's also not just constantly resetting things back to zero. It's a show that delivers on exactly what it promises, with a surprising amount of wit and personality, and is executed very well.

 

[RedRocking]

Speaking of character-driven shows - I recently started watching The Bear. Got thru season 1 so far. Perfect example of how to do character drama in an excellent fashion. The actual overarching "plot" is purposefully slow, but it's also not just constantly resetting things back to zero. It's a show that delivers on exactly what it promises, with a surprising amount of wit and personality, and is executed very well.

Great show. Just finished S2 - really good stuff.

 

[usiel]

Speaking of character-driven shows - I recently started watching The Bear. Got thru season 1 so far. Perfect example of how to do character drama in an excellent fashion. The actual overarching "plot" is purposefully slow, but it's also not just constantly resetting things back to zero. It's a show that delivers on exactly what it promises, with a surprising amount of wit and personality, and is executed very well.

Just starting S2 of The Bear. Enjoyable character drama. That said moving to the 50k feet level if that amount of yelling is needed in the kitchen seems like an epic reality fail.

 

[RedRocking]

Just starting S2 of The Bear. Enjoyable character drama. That said moving to the 50k feet level if that amount of yelling is needed in the kitchen seems like an epic reality fail.

It’s very strange that in 2023 we have this show commenting on masculinity (toxic or otherwise) through the lens of…cooking. But, here we are.

I assume it’s born out of all the reality cooking shows where they just scream at people? (bizarre how popular that stuff is imho).

It definitely makes me wonder if that kinda insanity is happening in the back when I go to restaurants now though.

 

[usiel]

It’s very strange that in 2023 we have this show commenting on masculinity (toxic or otherwise) through the lens of…cooking. But, here we are.

I assume it’s born out of all the reality cooking shows where they just scream at people? (bizarre how popular that stuff is imho).

It definitely makes me wonder if that kinda insanity is happening in the back when I go to restaurants now though.

Agreed didn't know how to factor in the kitchen reality shows when thinking about it only have a bit eye ball watching with bar rescue/kitchen nightmares.

 

[usiel]

This is a bit off topic but the toxic masculinity stuff which should probably be in the OT so will hold off here.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

Extraction 2…….loved it. Hemsworth is the best action star on the planet, yet I feel like he’s underutilized.

 

[usiel]

Extraction 2…….loved it. Hemsworth is the best action star on the planet, yet I feel like he’s underutilized.

I thought it was enjoyable.

 

[HTFN]

Extraction 2…….loved it. Hemsworth is the best action star on the planet, yet I feel like he’s underutilized.

It's the weirdest thing... I just watched it a few days ago, and granted, I'm pretty sure I was drunk but I remember after like the first 5 minutes I had to load up a youtube video that reminded me what happened in the first one because I was super sure that the man and woman he was with were the family from the first one, and that was the little boy he protected.

Fixed that obviously wrong thing that I likely got from one of the 7 identical movies that released around the same time, and got into Extraction 2.

Once again I can't remember a single thing that happened, who did what, or why it mattered. Hemsworth is genuinely very good in both, I do remember that, but f*** me if I could tell you what happened in either of those movies right now even though I just had a refresher course in both.

 

[usiel]

It's the weirdest thing... I just watched it a few days ago, and granted, I'm pretty sure I was drunk but I remember after like the first 5 minutes I had to load up a youtube video that reminded me what happened in the first one because I was super sure that the man and woman he was with were the family from the first one, and that was the little boy he protected.

Fixed that obviously wrong thing that I likely got from one of the 7 identical movies that released around the same time, and got into Extraction 2.

Once again I can't remember a single thing that happened, who did what, or why it mattered. Hemsworth is genuinely very good in both, I do remember that, but f*** me if I could tell you what happened in either of those movies right now even though I just had a refresher course in both.

I was glad there was a connection to the first movie but yeah probably hurt me too not re-watching the first one.

 

[HTFN]

I was glad there was a connection to the first movie but yeah probably hurt me too not re-watching the first one.

As someone who went back to check, it was tenuous and likely something most would have gotten with context if they didn't massively misread the situation from the beginning like I did.

For example, the male and female he's dropped off at the cabin with are his handler and squad mate, which is something that gives itself away unless specifically like me you think "wait, is he the aged version of the boy he saved from the last one and now he's using his family money to save his savior?" but nothing in the movie language really dictates that, it was just me remembering too many movies back to back and mushing them all up. Really the connection is all his squad and in typical action sequel fashion nothing past the first 10 or so minutes actually ties in to the last movie

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

It's the weirdest thing... I just watched it a few days ago, and granted, I'm pretty sure I was drunk but I remember after like the first 5 minutes I had to load up a youtube video that reminded me what happened in the first one because I was super sure that the man and woman he was with were the family from the first one, and that was the little boy he protected.

Fixed that obviously wrong thing that I likely got from one of the 7 identical movies that released around the same time, and got into Extraction 2.

Once again I can't remember a single thing that happened, who did what, or why it mattered. Hemsworth is genuinely very good in both, I do remember that, but f*** me if I could tell you what happened in either of those movies right now even though I just had a refresher course in both.

Heh funny, I actually rewatched the first one a week ago myself for the refresher. It holds up well.

2 was waaaaaay better though. Reminded me a little of The Raid/Raid 2 in the action scenes, especially the prison, but it was really well shot.

 

[max21]

Spoiler: Succession

I thought the show wrapped up pretty good for what I thought was a pretty boring series (maybe it’s not boring, but the show wasn’t really for me) I was really hoping Kendall wasn’t going to appointed CEO. The way he propped his legs on Logan’s desk right before the vote just really annoyed me lol. In the end all the siblings lost, which Logan probably wanted. My favorite part of the show was the Tom and Greg bromance. Roman should’ve listened to Gerri, and it was funny his final scene was him drinking a martini. Like many of you mentioned there wasn’t really one person I liked in the show, Kendall was there for me at times but then he’d just f*** it up. I’m glad the show is over, I was getting fatigue from the constant backstabbing, it was getting monotonous

 

[twabby]

Dead Reckoning Part 1. I give it 23 thumbs up!



Tom Cruise brings magic to the movies.