Recent Films and TV Shows that were good...

[jeffb]

Well, SNW is also burdened with STD production design. I don't know how you screw up such an iconic, beautiful, dignified, recognizable yet fundamentally simple design as the NCC-1701, but they did it.

Blame the king of the lens flare, J.J. Abrams

 

[topspeed3]

Loki series Marvel stuff ?

 

[Pioneer]

I just watched the movie AK 47 Kalashnikov on Prime TV.
It's Russian, but has English dubbing.
I've read the book The Gun: The Story of the AK-47  and appreciate the life of Mikhail Kalashnikov.

I particularly liked seeing the given weapons he invented and the way in which the Russian's conducted their competitions.
I particularly liked the end with Marshall of the Artillery Voronov and Mikhail Kalashnikov!!

Regards
Pioneer

 

[bobbymike]

43 most timeless war movies ever made

If looking for war movies to binge, try these absolute classics.

www.marinecorpstimes.com

What’s your top 3?

 

[SOC]

43 most timeless war movies ever made

If looking for war movies to binge, try these absolute classics.

www.marinecorpstimes.com

What’s your top 3?

Patton, Kelly's Heroes, The Tuskegee Airmen.

 

[TsrJoe]

Battle of Britain, Kellys Heroes, Generation Kill

 

[Dew]

Watched this recently and very much enjoyed it. Dar Salim was most exceptional in his role. Highly recommended (in UK at least currently on Amazon Prime).

 

[Rhinocrates]

43 most timeless war movies ever made

If looking for war movies to binge, try these absolute classics.

www.marinecorpstimes.com

What’s your top 3?

It's hard picking favourites - I only end up adding to a list. I'd choose Das Boot and Lawrence of Arabia and add Threads, The Beast (1988, aka The Beast of War), The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, and Dr Strangelove.

 

[DE1083]

I have been re-watching the HBO (Max) series "DEADWOOD". It is bit gritty, but very entertaining.

 

[overscan (PaulMM)]

Warhammer 40K is set for the TV show treatment with Amazon and Henry Cavill.

I look forward to seeing if Amazon does as good a job translating the world of 40K as they did Middle Earth.

Apparently Henry Cavill is also executive producer and has control over it. Unlike The Witcher, he isn't just a hired actor. And he's been a Warhammer 40k nerd for decades.

Paints his own figures if you believe it.

 

[Orionblamblam]

View attachment 701225

The inevitable interview, where Cavill geeks out with another 40K fan, to the clear and obvious disdain of one of his female co-workers. And to his clear and obvious lack of give-a-damn about her disdain.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlkzcreCKrU

 

[jeffb]

Warhammer 40K is set for the TV show treatment with Amazon and Henry Cavill.

I look forward to seeing if Amazon does as good a job translating the world of 40K as they did Middle Earth.

Apparently Henry Cavill is also executive producer and has control over it. Unlike The Witcher, he isn't just a hired actor. And he's been a Warhammer 40k nerd for decades.

Paints his own figures if you believe it.

View attachment 701225

LOL! That's so awesome, and nice work too. I'm too old and shaky now to do good detail work like that. I entertained the idea of buying and painting a set of Napoleonic figures for tabletop gaming at one point but nixed it for that reason. If I painted up a set of figures now they'd all end up looking like paint ballers.

I'll have to have a closer look into what Amazon and Cavill are planning to do with the series because honestly, 40k is BLEAK. Like BLEAK squared BLEAK.

 

[Orionblamblam]

, 40k is BLEAK. Like BLEAK squared BLEAK.

40K gifted the world the word "grimdark." And i don;t see a major studio faithfully making something truly "grimdark," every moment of every episode.

That said, I wonder if it might be possible to make a 'light hearted" version of 40K that is somehow still faithfully grimdark. Because if you, Mr. Space Marine, are five hundred years old and have lived all those years in this grimdarkness... it just seems normal to you. So from your point of view, all that horror and blood and general awfulness might seem like a beautiful day at work, joking with your co-workers, gleefully bring the light of the Emperor to heretics and xenos and whatnot. So a good writer *could* craft stories set in grimdarkness that are actually enjoyable.

A *good* writer could.

 

[jeffb]

, 40k is BLEAK. Like BLEAK squared BLEAK.

40K gifted the world the word "grimdark." And i don;t see a major studio faithfully making something truly "grimdark," every moment of every episode.

That said, I wonder if it might be possible to make a 'light hearted" version of 40K that is somehow still faithfully grimdark. Because if you, Mr. Space Marine, are five hundred years old and have lived all those years in this grimdarkness... it just seems normal to you. So from your point of view, all that horror and blood and general awfulness might seem like a beautiful day at work, joking with your co-workers, gleefully bring the light of the Emperor to heretics and xenos and whatnot. So a good writer *could* craft stories set in grimdarkness that are actually enjoyable.

A *good* writer could.

Maybe they could add a laugh track...

Otherwise though I'm thinking it'd be "Writing Difficulty level: Extreme - I like a challenge".

 

[Orionblamblam]

Otherwise though I'm thinking it'd be "Writing Difficulty level: Extreme - I like a challenge".

Imagine how novel it would be if they actually tried.

I have no doubt that there are any number of writers out there who are up to the challenge. But given the nadir of quality Amazon displayed with the writing of "Rings of Power," I'd be hard pressed to generate a smidgen of hope they'd actually entertain the idea. Plus, that's just not where culture is these days. Consider:
Option one: "Hey, Captain Kirk is on TV. I want to be like Captain Kirk."
Option two: "Hey, captain Kirk is on TV. I want Captain Kirk to be more like me."

Writing these days - TV certainly, but *blatantly* obvious in things like comic books - is far more likely to seem like Option Two, with self-inserts of weirdos. Imagine how the people who scribbled STD and RoP would self-insert into 40K. Bluuurgh.

 

[Orionblamblam]

This perhaps belongs in an "AI" thread. But this AI-generated ad shows that the future belongs to the machines. Not since The Thing has there been a commercial as downright watchable as this...

https://twitter.com/x/status/1666632335159173121

View: https://twitter.com/BlueJays/status/1666632335159173121

 

[edwest4]

Otherwise though I'm thinking it'd be "Writing Difficulty level: Extreme - I like a challenge".

Imagine how novel it would be if they actually tried.

I have no doubt that there are any number of writers out there who are up to the challenge. But given the nadir of quality Amazon displayed with the writing of "Rings of Power," I'd be hard pressed to generate a smidgen of hope they'd actually entertain the idea. Plus, that's just not where culture is these days. Consider:
Option one: "Hey, Captain Kirk is on TV. I want to be like Captain Kirk."
Option two: "Hey, captain Kirk is on TV. I want Captain Kirk to be more like me."

Writing these days - TV certainly, but *blatantly* obvious in things like comic books - is far more likely to seem like Option Two, with self-inserts of weirdos. Imagine how the people who scribbled STD and RoP would self-insert into 40K. Bluuurgh.

Here is where Amazon is at creatively, and I use the term very loosely.

‘Citadel’ Is a Business Plan in Search of a Show: TV Review

If “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” was Amazon’s attempt to supply its streaming service Prime Video with a homegrown version of “Game of Thrones,” the new spy series “Citadel” is its at…

variety.com

 

[Richard N]

 

[flateric]

The Swarm or Der Schwarm https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Swarm_(TV_series)

Of course it's got all the pulpy stuff you need to get funding but ideologically I like it because it shows scientists being scientists throughout working to a solution, not just to provide exposition or some hand-wavey magic solution at the end. Good cast and characters, interesting ideas about meeting a powerful non-human intelligence.

View: https://youtu.be/6SqufBzChsw

 

[martinbayer]

You lost me at dog - I'm a cat man through and through.

 

[zjz]

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5QXphRn-TM


Can't wait for it!!

 

[Rhinocrates]

Some weird new form of quantum superposition.

 

[Rhinocrates]

Can't wait for it!!

Early signs are good. https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/jul/12/oppenheimer-movie-reactions-christopher-nolan-release

 

[greenmartian2017]

I miss these TV shows, which were cancelled before they were able to tell their story arcs in completeness: Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles; Dracula (starring Johnathan Rhys Meyers); and Kings.

 

[zjz]

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOsIKu2VAkM


All pumped up!

 

[Rhinocrates]

Foundation is back for its second season. As before, any resemblance to Asimov's novels is barely more than the odd coincidence here and there but it's OK on its own terms and looks gorgeous.

 

[zjz]

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QaFb572jyvQ

 

[zjz]

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nD-Dco7xSSU

 

[Kiltonge]

It was Emil Konopinski who calculated the impossibility of a runaway atmospheric reaction, to everyone's satisfaction, but I doubt he'll get any screen time.

Just prior the Trinity shot Teller made a joke about betting on the odds of burning off the atmosphere, unsettling Compton who hadn't seen the calculations and didn't get the joke. He later recounted it as if it was a valid concern and the myth grew from there.

Oppenheimer didn't really have any involvement.

 

[Rhinocrates]

That grin is terrifying.

 

[Richard N]

SISU

Meet John Wick's WW2 Finnish grandfather.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NnPzpuU5ao

 

[Rhinocrates]

Well, I've seen Oppenheimer. First, yes it's great.

There are no spoilers because it's history anyway, but the frame it gives to history is its own. There's a reason it's called Oppenheimer and not The Manhattan Project or Los Alamos: it's about the man himself. It chooses as its frame around his conscience the hearing that stripped him of his security clearance. It's doesn't misrepresent or gloss over the scientific-engineering process but that's nested within the wider frame. Nor is it about his allegiance - that's surely been settled. The subject is the making of a new world.

The Trinity test takes place about two thirds of the way through and there's another hour to go. Much of it consists of people in rooms talking. Personally, I wasn't bored for a second and even my bladder endured it without complaint but some may have a problem with this.

Without giving too much away, when you see it, keep an eye and an ear out for these:

The possibility that the first test would lead to a runaway chain reaction that would ignite the atmosphere and destroy the world. That was determined to be almost impossible as an event, but as a metaphor...

A line that's already in the trailer, so again, no spoiler: 'They won't fear it until they understand it and they won't understand it until they use it.' "Them', as it turns out, is 'I.' 'They' didn't.

A conversation between Oppenheimer and Einstein that seems brief and innocuous at first, but is highly significant at the end when we find out what was said.

Fun facts:

The film is based on a biography of Oppenheimer called American Prometheus. 'Prometheus' means 'foresight.' Now isn't that ironic?

Robert Oppenheimer was often a guest in the household of Ursula Le Guin when she was growing up. The character of the scientist Shevek in her novel The Dispossessed was based on him.

 

[zjz]

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-UGA6zWYuE

 

[Rhinocrates]

By the way, one criticism of The Death of Stalin was that it portrayed Georgy Zhukov as a 'buffoon.'

Nope, it portrayed him as a Yorkshireman. The actor who played him, Jason Isaacs, is a Liverpudlian (or 'Scouse'). He said that he got the impression from reading the script that Zhukov was 'blunt', that is, he didn't waste time with bullshit and liked taking the piss, so he wanted to play him that way. This scene sums it up:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WY5I64suokM


For anyone, a primer on Yorkshireness:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VLYpKGVBUg

Of course, I couldn't miss this:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEIApUNVBKg

 

[Rhinocrates]

... and connected to the above, Armando Iannucci, who wrote and directed The Death of Stalin, is adapting Dr Strangelove for stage, with the blessing of Christiane and Katharina Kubrick, respectively the widow and stepdaughter of Stanley.

Armando Iannucci to adapt Stanley Kubrick’s film Dr Strangelove for stage

The Thick of It creator will collaborate with actor Sean Foley on first authorised adaptation of director’s 1964 apocalyptic comedy

www.theguardian.com

 

[Arjen]

By the way, one criticism of The Death of Stalin was that it portrayed Georgy Zhukov as a 'buffoon.'

Somebody saw a different The Death of Stalin than I did.

Zhukov was 'blunt', that is, he didn't waste time with bullshit and liked taking the piss

That's what I saw.
I'm looking forward to Iannucci's take on Dr Strangelove.

 

[Rhinocrates]

Here's What 'Oppenheimer' Gets Right--and Wrong--about Nuclear History

Here's what a historian who has studied J. Robert Oppenheimer for two decades has to say about the new Christopher Nolan film on the father of the hydrogen bomb.

www.scientificamerican.com

 

[Flyaway]

The last film I saw that I actually really rated was Nope. I’m pretty jaded by a lot of modern films TBH. Same with TV.

As to TV I thought the last season of Picard wasn’t bad and Strange New Worlds is also pretty good. Andor however was outstanding.

 

[Rhinocrates]

Invasion has begun its second season. The first was hit with generally negative reviews but gained enough viewers to justify its huge budget and it was renewed. This time around the reviews, while still mixed, are more positive and describe the show as having been 'reinvented' with much improved momentum. I quite liked it and the aliens are creepy and refreshingly non-humanoid. Their seemingly impossible movements suggest that they're Mandelbulbs (see link) or three-dimensional cross-sections of four-dimensional objects. Worthy of Lovecraft.

View: https://vimeo.com/10531753

 

[bobbymike]

Long review of Oppenheimer by Dr. Mark Schneider

https://www.realcleardefense.com/articles/2023/08/25/hollywood_rewrites_history_again_what_the_oppenheimer_deification_movie_didnt_tell_you_975398.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook

Dr. Mark B. Schneider is a Senior Analyst with the National Institute for Public Policy. Before his retirement from the Department of Defense Senior Executive Service, Dr. Schneider served as Principal Director for Forces Policy, Principal Director for Strategic Defense, Space and Verification Policy, Director for Strategic Arms Control Policy and Representative of the Secretary of Defense to the Nuclear Arms Control Implementation Commissions. He also served in the senior Foreign Service as a Member of the State Department Policy Planning Staff.