OT: TMB TV/Streaming Shows Club: Thread for streaming/TV show discussion…
- Thread starter Midnighter
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@LionJim ....thought you may be interested in this flick on Netflix.
Watched this movie over the weekend, "Battle Island". The movie is in Korean language, but the subtitles and sync are excellant. I was interested in the movie because my dad was captured in Bataan, in the "Death March" and sent to slave labor in the coal mines at Fukuoka, about 80 miles north of Nagasaki where he witnessed the detonation of one of the atom bombs.
LLP
"The Battleship Island" is set in a Japanese internment camp on Hashima Island just before the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Ryoo's film is, in that sense, more of a reaction to than a straight-up rehash of Spielberg's war dramas. Characters are routinely reduced to their human needs, whether it's using the bathroom, or finding ways to feed themselves. They lick dynamite sticks for extra food, and praise the emperor in order to curry favor with their jailers. They are not heroes, just survivors.
In this movie, sensational displays of violence and cruelty are understandably the norm, though that doesn't make them any more palatable. Ryoo's emphasis on beatings, explosions, and prostitution will test viewers taste for his film's thoughtful, but sometimes viscerally upsetting worldview. On a basic level, "Battleship Island," as war movie, is most striking for its tendency of defining the human experience through suffering and endurance. Which is striking on an intellectual level, but another thing entirely when you're watching extras get mowed down in visually striking, exceptionally well-choreographed set pieces. The film's big D-Day-style prison-yard escape climaxes with a death so gratuitously violent that it left this gorehound feeling a little uncomfortable.
Watched this movie over the weekend, "Battle Island". The movie is in Korean language, but the subtitles and sync are excellant. I was interested in the movie because my dad was captured in Bataan, in the "Death March" and sent to slave labor in the coal mines at Fukuoka, about 80 miles north of Nagasaki where he witnessed the detonation of one of the atom bombs.
LLP
"The Battleship Island" is set in a Japanese internment camp on Hashima Island just before the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Ryoo's film is, in that sense, more of a reaction to than a straight-up rehash of Spielberg's war dramas. Characters are routinely reduced to their human needs, whether it's using the bathroom, or finding ways to feed themselves. They lick dynamite sticks for extra food, and praise the emperor in order to curry favor with their jailers. They are not heroes, just survivors.
In this movie, sensational displays of violence and cruelty are understandably the norm, though that doesn't make them any more palatable. Ryoo's emphasis on beatings, explosions, and prostitution will test viewers taste for his film's thoughtful, but sometimes viscerally upsetting worldview. On a basic level, "Battleship Island," as war movie, is most striking for its tendency of defining the human experience through suffering and endurance. Which is striking on an intellectual level, but another thing entirely when you're watching extras get mowed down in visually striking, exceptionally well-choreographed set pieces. The film's big D-Day-style prison-yard escape climaxes with a death so gratuitously violent that it left this gorehound feeling a little uncomfortable.
Just rewatched True Detective S1 to refresh my memory and help to see possible links in this new season. That was some damn fine television!
Masters of the Air's first two episodes have dropped. Looks like they will be doing the "one episode a week" ******** but, alas, that seems to be the way they want to keep people on revenue. In the meantime, Curb Your Enthusiasm is just a week away.
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I was thinking of doing the same thing, so far I've really liked the first 2 episodes of season 4. I see a lot of "easter eggs" to season 1.
As an aside I watched the first episode of Echo. Not a fan.
Better than the last couple of Marvel shows......which isn't saying much.
SIAP
Just started this show on AMC, a slow burn but well done with Clive Owen as retired detective Sam Spade in France in the 1960’s
Just started this show on AMC, a slow burn but well done with Clive Owen as retired detective Sam Spade in France in the 1960’s
Yea I haven't been a fan either. I thought Loki was a mess.
American Nightmare on Netflix. Wow. Crazy story. I'm 2 episodes in and hoping the end doesn't disappoint.
It is a crazy story--I don't think you will be disappointed.
I know I am late to the party but watched the first season of True Detectives this weekend and last night. Matthew McConaughey was just magnificent and Woody Harrelson was right behind. I don't often appreciate fine acting as I think good acting is a dime a dozen (tons of extras were awesome as well). But McConaughey was incredible. I have to also "shout out" to the writers as the banter about life, in general, was first-rate. Worth a second look actually. Lastly, the details were just awesome. It is a difficult watch, to be sure.
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I've liked this season but the recent episode was pretty blahhh. Lots of easter eggs in this season that refer back to the first season.
Episode 5 drops on Max Friday due to the Super Bowl
Getting Jodie Foster is a real coup as she doesn't do much acting anymore but is one of the best. The other comment I have is that the producers do a GREAT job of immersing the viewer in the show. Seasons one's hot/humid/impoverished Louisiana and four's cold/dark Alaska has been awesome.
May be the best 'first episode' of TV I've ever seen. Just spot on perfect (and better still is going in not knowing anything).
Agree. The location really is there character. Some are disappointed this season is leaning so hard into the supernatural, but it works for me (my thought is seeing ghosts are individual experiences - not shared...). Kali Reis has been a very welcome surprise for me. Foster, as always, is tremendous.
Supernatural or poisoning from the mines in the water supply? (See Mad Hatter’s Disease).
I think True Detective really needs two strong leads to be successful. Season 1 was great, but it needed both McConaughey and Woody H to thrive.
In truth, I find this Season 4 to be really bad. Very poorly written, and even Jodie Foster can’t save the MMA chick that is the other lead. No worries if other folks like this season, but it is not in the same league as Season 1, IMO.
Nothing will be in the same league as Season 1, that was a supernova.
It wasn’t without issues though they’re largely overlooked because of the main characters. They don’t ever really explain anything about Carlos’s and the Yellow King (just that they’re the inspiration for our killer) and the big bad guys go free. Oh - and Cole nuts in about 30 seconds when getting it on with Marty’s wife. Still, it’s the best season by far.
LOL...my wife pointed out how long Rust lasted (I took that as a compliment) and that this version of MM would be the last person any woman would want to do, especially one that looks like Monaghan. There was also a comment on how good-looking the ****** are in deep LA. A big miss is how people keep surviving situations that would kill 99.999999999% of the population. I can no longer take the fight scenes that are completely crazy. Season four just had an episode where a woman gets the living **** kicked out of her and then is just fine the next day.
True Detective S4 has ended with a whimper. A jumbled mess IMO. Perhaps time to move on from this series?
+1. It started out with so much promise. Very disappointed with how it ended.
It was truly one of the worst series of TV that I have ever seen.
But more interesting to me were the Rotten Tomatoes scores. Critics liked it at a 93% clip, which isn’t surprising. But the audience was at 60-some percent, aided by a bunch of AI-generated 5-star ratings. This is the first time I have seen AI used to try to prop up a TV series or movie on RT.
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Going to disagree with you and the others; I like it a good bit and felt overall, it was the best since S1. I think there are some gigantic issues with 'what really happened' but I enjoyed the mystery for what it was while it lasted. It's never going to live up to the hype (hell, S1 didn't either), but the experiential part of the show, as well as the mood/tone, was there enough for me to remove expectations of S1 and just enjoy it. Thought they did a nice job tying a bow on *nearly* everything and was ultimately a satisfying experience for me (but, I know the biggest reason certain people do not like the show or ending and it's not the plot-holes).
I'd like to see another creative get a shot at TD (Donald Glover/Hiro Murai, Noah Hawley, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, or, please God, David Lynch).
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Watching now - glad things started to turn by episode four; wasn’t going to sit through a show where our ‘hero’ takes *that* many losses…
Really good though. Larson is great.
I didn't have any expectations for it other than what I saw in the first episode and I really liked it. But by the 4th episode (which I absolutely hated) the shine was starting to wear off.
IMO the show runner bit off more than she could chew.
I thought the acting was very good, especially Foster and Reis.
I could not live in that town. LOL.
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