Feeling cruddy last week, I needed “comfort TV,” so I rewatched the 1955 ROBIN HOOD series. One of my favorites. It has the atmosphere of a superhero series. It's from the same era with some of the same actors as the SHERLOCK HOLMES series I also rewatch on occasion.

Having finished the series (again), I started looking through the unwatched things on my Netflix list and found that there are now dubbed versions of the subtitled series I had been putting off.

So, now I'm watching PARANORMAL, which is an Egyptian ‘horror’ series. Unlike American horror that I tried to watch, it isn't unbearably slow, and unlike the Korean horror I attempted, it isn't stupidly gory. It has a good pace, semi-free-standing episodes (but definitely folded into a serial), and I can see what is going on. Not a lot of “jump scares,” just supernatural things and a fair bit of mystery. I'm only two episodes in. The second episode was basically like the 1990s The Mummy but with Egyptians and less ridiculous (or more modern) CG. (It even had scarab beetles, but they were beetle-sized and didn't eat people. Just “omens.”)

@ozoneocean: thanks for the link to girl hunt ballet! In my opinion, it's not a real fight scene unless at least one person is wearing pointe shoes!

Eastern Promises has a reasonably realistic fight scene in it. Leave it to David Cronenberg to choreograph it like it is!

Ozoneocean wrote:

moizmad wrote:
bravo, “choreographed” nails it, old kung fu/karate movies are beyond stupid, anyone who watches UFC knows nobody fights like that, and if you were in a real street fight, you'd be using eye-gouging and flesh tearing, at least I sure would.

All movies and TV shows with fighting are like that now, from John Whick to James Bond to Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Witcher and so on.
It's ALLLLLL choreographed in a stylised, gratingly fake way

THIS is the PERFECT, very best and ultimate exemplar of ALL of those sorts of fights in the most honest way possible. No pretence that it's not “fake”, just pure style :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2C9CoAbwxy0
(“Girl Hunt Ballet” — Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse, 1953)

I've never seen Kill Bill, mainly because I don't like too much brutal violence and blood… But Stylisation helps ignore that aspect so I might give it a go.

More Girl Hunt Ballet: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8QmkDzD8Sk

I mostly agree, although there are some notable exceptions. Not in blockbuster movies though. In amongst my various martial arts experience I've trained with a few stunt performers and trained in screen fighting. Obviously it has to be well choreographed, but it doesn't have to be so obvious.

I've been rewatching Dexter, i've gotten on to the not so good later seasons but I'll keep going as it's coming back next year to give it a better ending.

Interesting - I hadn’t heard they were bringing Dexter back. I quit after season 5 I think it was. Not sure if I want to watch those later seasons - but I’ll check out the new season for sure

Should be pointed out that fights have always been choreographed for as long as there's been theater.

Slapstick too is usually carefully planned and rehearsed, though there have been plenty of goofs and improvisations caught on camera.

As shown in the Fred Astaire/Cydia Charisse clip: dancers and acrobats can stage very good fights even better than actual martial artists. Saw a making of video for the Cutey Honey live action where they went over how they trained the actresses to fight. All had taken dancing and acrobatic training first to do the moves and falls and then the martial arts for the strikes and moves. It's acting.

You really think bar fights happen like they do in Westerns? John Wayne versus Randolph Scott or Victor McLaughlin? Choreographed in detail with stunt performers and a little mischief by John Ford.

bravo1102 wrote:
Should be pointed out that fights have always been choreographed for as long as there's been theater.

There's a misunderstanding here Bravo
Of course theatrical fights are choreographed, they HAVE to be.
The problem is that they looks silly when they're too sylised so that your suspension of disbelif is broken and you can SEE that they're choreographed.

Obviously stylised fights can be ok in Martial arts films where the fighting is mainly a symbolic representation of a fight, but in modern American films it's a little stupid because it contrasts too starkly with the naturalistic acting style which is what they do for the rest of the film (because that's popular at the moment).

A lot of old Westerns and gangster films had fights that were a little too stylised but then so was the acting so the contrast wasn't as grating.

usedbooks wrote:
So, now I'm watching PARANORMAL, which is an Egyptian ‘horror’ series. Unlike American horror that I tried to watch, it isn't unbearably slow, and unlike the Korean horror I attempted, it isn't stupidly gory. It has a good pace, semi-free-standing episodes (but definitely folded into a serial), and I can see what is going on. Not a lot of “jump scares,” just supernatural things and a fair bit of mystery. I'm only two episodes in. The second episode was basically like the 1990s The Mummy but with Egyptians and less ridiculous (or more modern) CG. (It even had scarab beetles, but they were beetle-sized and didn't eat people. Just “omens.”)

Another vote for Paranormal, the Egyptian series. The cinematography was brilliant, especially with the creepiness vibe. Reminded me a bit of The Ring (the appearance and story arc of the main ghost character was very similar to Samara/Sadako).

Pretty much everything I watch on Netflix is non-US lately…I like that Netflix is bringing to light shows from other countries. I recently watched a Polish series called The Hater which was pretty good, but the character is an absolute sociopath.

Oz. Might want to watch Blood on the Sun (1945) Jimmy Carney trained in martial arts for a fight in the movie, one of the first in any American film. The westerners playing Asians are almost ridiculous with Bruce Armstrong (King Kong 1933) playing Tojo.

There's choreographed, and there's “what the hell are they doing?” So you're right there. Even the fights in something as recent as ST:Discovery weren't very convincing other than Lucy Liu.

But like so many things in film it's down to the director. The fight coordinator could come up with a hyper realistic sequence and the director nixes it because it looks awful on camera.

L.C.Stein wrote:
Pretty much everything I watch on Netflix is non-US lately…I like that Netflix is bringing to light shows from other countries. I recently watched a Polish series called The Hater which was pretty good, but the character is an absolute sociopath.

Same, and I'll put out a general recommendation to check out European animation. Only one really disappointed me, Jack and the Clock Heart (visually stunning but garbage story). The best thing about watching non-American productions, especially one-offs, is that they don't follow Hollywood formulas or designs. American animation tends to be especially formulaic, tropey, and predictable. I enjoy watching a production where I actually can't predict the entire ending. I love the variety Netflix offers. Always love to see more.

I watched 10 minutes of the Haunting of Bly Manor. The writing is painfully forced and unnatural, and the acting is horrible. Why do people give this stuff such glowing reviews and recommendations??

I swear I feel like I'm being punked. I see a ton of people recommend a series only to discover it is Peter-Jackson's-The-Hobbit level terrible. And at least The Hobbit cast could ACT.


(I wanted to give it a chance. I figured it might not be my “thing” based on the genre and style. But I didn't expect it to be objectively bad. If it was slow or boring, it'd be forgivable. But when it feels like it was written and performed by six graders in a mandatory drama class, I gotta give it a hard pass.)

bravo1102 wrote:But like so many things in film it's down to the director. The fight coordinator could come up with a hyper realistic sequence and the director nixes it because it looks awful on camera.

Ya, based on this conversation here we chatted about fight scenes in the latest Quackcast…
Real fights are awful to watch. They're funny, stupid looking, quick and lame, even the most deadly. Even gunfights in a military context/
UFC and boxing isn't “real” organic fighting, those people are paid entertainers and sportspeople. The fights aren't faked or anything but they're not real people in a fight.
(their moves are crowd-pleasing, there are things they aren't allowed to do, the fights are artificially extended and slowed by rules and the format etc)

So yeah, any kind of “real” fight looks terrible on screen. It's the job of the crew to choreograph the fake fighting so that it looks cool but not overly fake.

usedbooks wrote:
I swear I feel like I'm being punked.

Hype will do that :(
It's like with the Witcher: to many it seemed it was the best show EVER. but really the only great thing about it was Henry Cavell. Sets were bad, plotting was bad, costumes were lame, plot holes galore, dodgy times-kips with parallel stories, and so on. It was FUN but not great. Henry Cavell definitely saved it though.

usedbooks wrote:
I watched 10 minutes of the Haunting of Bly Manor. The writing is painfully forced and unnatural, and the acting is horrible. Why do people give this stuff such glowing reviews and recommendations??

I swear I feel like I'm being punked. I see a ton of people recommend a series only to discover it is Peter-Jackson's-The-Hobbit level terrible. And at least The Hobbit cast could ACT.


(I wanted to give it a chance. I figured it might not be my “thing” based on the genre and style. But I didn't expect it to be objectively bad. If it was slow or boring, it'd be forgivable. But when it feels like it was written and performed by six graders in a mandatory drama class, I gotta give it a hard pass.)

I watched it and really enjoyed it. Some dodgy accents aside I didn't have an issue with either the acting or the writing. Maybe it's because I'm used to worse acting on horrors. Still different strokes for different folks.

I started watching star trek the lower decks, it's not as bad as I feared. In fact in many ways it's the trek show I've been wanting bro see, but the comedy is a little ott for me but not unbearable.

I didn't watch horror movies growing up. It was never my thing. I watched spooky kids' anthology series. As an adult, I love horror anthologies and ghost stories.

So when someone recommends a horror movie/series, I check it out. But I have yet to find (a popular) one I can actually sit through. (The one exception was Get Out, which I did enjoy, as it felt like The Outer Limits.) And it has nothing to do with it being “too scary” or “gross.” They just don't manage to suspend disbelief because the characters do not react to the world like real people do, and the acting is so unnatural. Is this just something horror fans tolerate and have become oblivious to?

Horror and sci-fi anthologies have brilliant acting, as a whole. The writing is hit-or-miss. 80% of Black Mirror is the same stupid plot recycled in different forms, but the actors are fantastic, so I can at least sit through them. (I guess knowing it's just an episode makes it easier to invest too.)

I enjoyed the series Evil. Paranormal was enjoyable, too, albeit predictable. And The Girl With All the Gifts was fantastic – despite being a zombie movie and chock full of tropes.

I do try to be “hype” immune. Things tend to get accolades for a reason, so I expect at least something solid. I am starting to get the feeling that people who grew up with horror movies have a much higher tolerance for bad acting, though. (Tbh, the acting and writing in horror movie is the exact same level as in Hallmark Christmas movies. I guess it's a quantity over quality issue. People who enjoy them are used to them, so it's just their comfort zone.)

It's funny that you mention Get out, that was a hyped up movie that I found quite average. If you want a horror series that is worth watching, Lovecraft country, although it definitely revels on the gore at times. I haven't seen Evil or Paranormal, but have heard good things.

Genejoke wrote:
It's funny that you mention Get out, that was a hyped up movie that I found quite average. If you want a horror series that is worth watching, Lovecraft country, although it definitely revels on the gore at times. I haven't seen Evil or Paranormal, but have heard good things.

“Average” is pretty much the top of horror movie spectrum for me. XD There are very few movies I consider excellent, and none of them are horror. None of them are action movies either. I do enjoy the experiences, but they are definitely “in-the-moment” genres, not masterpieces by any stretch. They're what I call “amusement park ride” movies.) Gore usually takes me out of a film/show (my suspension of disbelief crashes down; maybe because of all the fake-ass haunted houses I've been to, lol), but I'll check it out.

Evil is interesting because you never know if it's supernatural or not. Paranormal really isn't that scary. I'm not sure if it's horror, feels a bit like adventure to me (kinda like the 90s The Mummy, that in-between horror-adventure genre). I also like that both are more episodic than serial (but do have a continuity). That's part of what makes them watchable for me. I like to have satisfying pay-off at intervals not wait an entire series for a climax/conclusion. (They also have very good acting, which is the most important thing for me.)

THE OUTSIDER - Ben Mendelsohn, Cynthia Erivo, Paddy Considine, Mare Winningham, Bill Camp….Netflix series based on Stephen King's book. Seems a horrible entity gets inside anyone and kills and kills. Jumps from one person to another without warning. Cop Ben goes by hard actual evidence while Cynthia has special talents for seeing the unknown. They finally find entity in cave and Ben thinks he killed it??? Not so sure about that. A generous 2 on the Moizmeter.

“TIDELANDS” Series on Netflix. It’s as if the producers of “American horror story” had made a very low-budget adaptation of “The shadow over Innsmouth” by H.P. Lovecraft. It’s vaguely supernatural horror, acted out by gorgeous models, and by the end of the series, everyone has somehow managed to have had sex with everyone else.

A CLOCKWORK ORANGE - Malcolm McDowell and a bunch of unknowns. I'm revising my list of worst movies ever and this one has been declared the winner. I've attempted to watch it several times but it's so stupid I'm lost for words. I have no idea what the story is trying to say and nary a one remotely likeable character. Hard to believe Stanley Kubrick had anything to do with this. Move over Citizen Kane and Kill Bill, you've been beaten!

fallopiancrusader wrote:
“TIDELANDS” Series on Netflix. It’s as if the producers of “American horror story” had made a very low-budget adaptation of “The shadow over Innsmouth” by H.P. Lovecraft. It’s vaguely supernatural horror, acted out by gorgeous models, and by the end of the series, everyone has somehow managed to have had sex with everyone else.

Sounds like my kind of show :p

I am finishing up The Rain, which is a Danish show, and is pretty good. Reminds me a bit of The Walking Dead, but without zombies.

Ghosts of Girlfriends Past
Boring romantic comedy. Terrible role for Matthew McConnehy. He's too good an actor for that film. Michael Douglas was perfect as his lothario ghost uncle.
The film is a version of A Christmas Carol, but instead of finding the meaning of Christmas it's about finding the love. I watched it because of Banes' newspost. So it's his fault XD


Palm Springs
I really liked this romantic comedy! It's based on the Groundhog day thing: being stuck in a time-loop and repeating the same day over and over again. The difference here is that Any Samberg's character gets a couple of other people stuck there with him and they actually do a bit of thinking about their predicament, taking the scientific and moral aspects into account somewhat…
I mean, when you just repeat the same day over and over again with no consequences, what does that do to your mind? Can you happily keep that up forever and be effectively immortal? What are the limits of your time-bubble?
I really liked this movie.

YouTube has so many old movies of the 1930s-40s that I can usually spend whole weekends watching them.

And counting all the themes, plots and even dialogue that has been endlessly recycled ever since.

bravo1102 wrote:
And counting all the themes, plots and even dialogue that has been endlessly recycled ever since.

Thank goodness things do advance though XD
I watched Fred Astair's “Royal Wedding” the other day on Amazon Prime.
The story is boring as arse! Just so tedious…
A brother and sister who perform together in shows go to Britain to do some more shows and see the royal wedding. Along the way they both fall for people there…

Totally shot in a studio in Hollywood, probably in 5 weeks or so, with footage included of the wedding of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Fillip I think…

Anyway, VERY dull in every respect, just made as a vehicle for Astair.

BUT, all his dancing and performance scenes were great and deserve to be cut out and enjoyed in their own right. Particularly the famous dance he does with a hat-stand and of course the excellent dancing on the ceiling scene (and the walls etc), which is a real stand out. His performance is so good you don't really think that the room is being spun to allow him to do that.

Ozoneocean wrote:

bravo1102 wrote:
And counting all the themes, plots and even dialogue that has been endlessly recycled ever since.

Thank goodness things do advance though XD
I watched Fred Astair's “Royal Wedding” the other day on Amazon Prime.
The story is boring as arse! Just so tedious…

The Fred Astaire/Ginger Rodgers are like that too. The Gene Kelly movies are much better. Personally I prefer Betty Grable and even Sonja Henie movies.

bravo1102 wrote:
YouTube has so many old movies of the 1930s-40s that I can usually spend whole weekends watching them.

And counting all the themes, plots and even dialogue that has been endlessly recycled ever since.

I rewatch the clip of “Can't Take That Away from Me” with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers all the time on youtube. It is the friendliest parting of ways, ever.

I have been watching sappy, corny Christmas films made by Hallmark features. The cheezier and more predictable, the better. I really like the stories where the high powered business executive leaves her busy firm in the big city in order to move to a small town, suburban farm and harvest Maple syrup all day.

Last night, I watched “A Nun's Story”, starring Audrey Hepburn, for the first time. The movie was intense and had me take a pause after it ended.

kawaiidaigakusei wrote:
I have been watching sappy, corny Christmas films made by Hallmark features. The cheezier and more predictable, the better. I really like the stories where the high powered business executive leaves her busy firm in the big city in order to move to a small town, suburban farm and harvest Maple syrup all day..

Hahaha! Talk about Bravo's point about movies doing the same thing over and over again XD
I think that's the rough plot of about 200 Hallmark films :D

And then she falls for the roughly handsome man with the stubble on his jaw, plaid jacket/shirt, beatup pickup trick, dog etc…

I have been watching sappy, corny Christmas films made by Hallmark features. The cheezier and more predictable, the better. I really like the stories where the high powered business executive leaves her busy firm in the big city in order to move to a small town, suburban farm and harvest Maple syrup all day.

My mother used to watch them with my sister. They are nice satisfying stories. Since mom's passing my sister has continued watching them as a way of remembering her.

I usually pick up on some old movie with a similar storyline and start talking about Ray Milland and Paulette Goddard or something.

After a break, I returned to my rewatch of the Walking Dead. Damn, when that show was good it was so damn good. Even with the decompressed season 4. That has great character stuff and it's a thrill when various characters and threads finally come together again.

Season 5 is where I thought it became a necessity to watch multiple episodes through the week. I would watch at least two in a row myself. Great stuff, but getting much more decompressed. Waiting a week between episodes I might have quit the show.

I'm in early season 6 now, where some infamous gimmicky-type storytelling began. Also, there are early signs of gratuitous gore. The stories are even more spread out, and the quality of writing has slipped. Just a little bit, but there's slippage. Still a really good show.

After this season was when I quit the show myself, though. I did binge those next two to catch up, a few years back, but have only vague memories of them. I will power through when I get there - but for now, since it's been quite a few years, I'm still enjoying it thoroughly.

Couple of Australian movies - THE DRESSMAKER - Kate Winslet, Judy Davis, Hugo Weaving, Liam Hemsworth. When Kate was a little girl she was accused of murdering a young boy. No proof and she was sent away. Years later she returns, reunites with her mom Judy and she goes back to her dressmaking career. Hugo is a cop who seems to like wearing a dress on occasion and eventually we see via flashback what actually happened with the murder? Judy Davis fab as usual and a so-so 2 1/2 on the Moizmeter.
THE RELIC - Emily Mortimer, Bella Heathcote, Robyn Nevin. Emily's mother is losing her marbles and something even worse is growing on her skin. Bella is Emily's daughter and they live in this massive house with walls inside walls, don't go in closet! Some later scenes make your skin crawl, literally. A 1 1/2 on the Moizmeter.

Banes wrote:
After a break, I returned to my rewatch of the Walking Dead. Damn, when that show was good it was so damn good. Even with the decompressed season 4. That has great character stuff and it's a thrill when various characters and threads finally come together again.

Season 5 is where I thought it became a necessity to watch multiple episodes through the week. I would watch at least two in a row myself. Great stuff, but getting much more decompressed. Waiting a week between episodes I might have quit the show.

I'm in early season 6 now, where some infamous gimmicky-type storytelling began. Also, there are early signs of gratuitous gore. The stories are even more spread out, and the quality of writing has slipped. Just a little bit, but there's slippage. Still a really good show.

After this season was when I quit the show myself, though. I did binge those next two to catch up, a few years back, but have only vague memories of them. I will power through when I get there - but for now, since it's been quite a few years, I'm still enjoying it thoroughly.

Season 7-8 was when I started watching the show sporadically. It started getting to repetitive and I lost interest. There have been so many spoilers since there I am even more hesitant to power through watching more.

I'm thinking about taking the plunge into the Mandalorian…
I've avoided it because of the hype and the fan gushing and also all the images that sappy wankers are posting of that F****** yoda baby…
I don't know what it is but I can't stand images of manufactured cuteness, it really sickens me.
REAL cuteness of real baby animals is different, I love that. But fake cuteness has that uncanny valley effect on me I think. I find it horrible.

Even “real” cute animals or babies being cute in film: so it's basically essentially fake at that point because it's animated or cut in such a way as to give a movie-maker's idea of cuteness, which is disgusting to me.
A good analogy would be little girls in a beauty parade with makeup and stuff: the mums and parade organisers think they look cute and beautiful but in reality it a horrific spectacle of stomach churning weirdness.


Anyway, Banes gave the first good review of The Mandalorian I've heard so that nudged me in the direction of it