Current Watching

[Hot Pepsi]

He was a paedophile. His mishandling of the negotiations for Indian independence led to the death of millions.

I'm not sure The Crown mentions that, but then the India thing was mostly before the show starts, IIRC. It does show that he was helping to plan a coup in the late 60s. I read up on that and it seems like he may or may not have really wanted to do that, but I don't understand why all of those involved didn't go to jail. In the show, the Queen finds out and gives him a stern talking to. He should have been, at the very least, put out to pasture for not immediately blowing the whistle on the coup. A fucking COUP. In Britain. In the 20th century. C'mon, man. Get it together.

He just comes off as a pompous dickhead, played by Charles Dance, who played Tywin Lannister pretty much the same way. Well done.

[Sits]

Charles Dance has carved a great niche playing ageing, posh, flawed authority figures. And very well he does it. All the more impressive considering his background - I think it was someone here who told me about that.

[Lang Spoon]

I'm not sure The Crown mentions that, but then the India thing was mostly before the show starts, IIRC. It does show that he was helping to plan a coup in the late 60s. I read up on that and it seems like he may or may not have really wanted to do that, but I don't understand why all of those involved didn't go to jail. In the show, the Queen finds out and gives him a stern talking to. He should have been, at the very least, put out to pasture for not immediately blowing the whistle on the coup. A fucking COUP. In Britain. In the 20th century. C'mon, man. Get it together.

He just comes off as a pompous dickhead, played by Charles Dance, who played Tywin Lannister pretty much the same way. Well done.

Lots of chinless ex forces/current secret service cunts really really hated Harold Wilson.

[Amor de Cosmos]

Charles Dance has carved a great niche playing ageing, posh, flawed authority figures. And very well he does it. All the more impressive considering his background - I think it was someone here who told me about that.

Probably me. I overlapped with Charlie at Leicester College of Art in the late 60s. He was in the typography department, me in photography. Nicest, softest spoken guy you could wish to meet. One day he said "I'm off to be an actor." "Oh yeah?" we thought. "That'll end well." And so it did.

[Lang Spoon]

That's great to hear. He's so good in even the worst drek. Even Alien 3.

[Sits]

That's lovely. It's always good when famous people are genuinely nice people too.

[RobW]

Delighted to hear from one of the writers that the BBC have This Time with Alan Partridge back on iPlayer https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episod...alan-partridge. I was going to pop down the local CEX shop and buy the DVD for £4.

[Posty Webber]

That's great to hear. He's so good in even the worst drek. Even Alien 3.

The best Alien film!

[Bordeaux Education]

The new Ken Loach film reminded be why I don't like watching ken Loach films, certainly since Laverty became the scriptwriter. Harrowing... etc etc.... savage indictment of the gig economy... but also pantomime villain roles, other key roles painfully amateurish in the acting.....

at least Jimmy McGovern stuff can be somewhat entertaining and well acted as it hits you across the head with The Message.

Just seen it and, I have to admit, that there are elements that I agree with you on even though I thought the film was very good on the whole. What I always find about Loach's films are that, due to the actors and methods he uses, the acting is often below par. The main character and the daughter (along with the police man - who is a real policeman) were very good, I thought. The wife, son and boss (who, I assume, is the pantomime villain you are referring to) were pretty terrible. Having said that, Loach's films seem to transcend these failings in a way that good actors in badly written and directed films can't. I was genuinely brought to tears by many scenes - one being where the son was asking after his father's well-being and saying he was only next door even though it wasn't greatly acted and even that believable.

I think they tend to be in the category of "going for something ambitious and failing" which is better than "playing safe".

[E10 Rifle]

Anyone watching Pose? It's as good (and as political) as anything on at the moment, I reckon

[Sits]

Who's showing it?

[Diable Rouge]

BBC, so you can catch up on the iPlayer in the UK.

[Sits]

Ah right. We don't have that but I can keep an eye out.

[RobW]

Can't be bothered starting a new topic, but I saw Le Mans '66 (or Ford v Ferrari, if you're in the States) yesterday after a lot of debate whether to watch it or not. The 150 minutes running time had put me off, and the trailer didn't set my pulse going, but largely enjoyed the spectacle. Was worried Christian Bale's accent might grate, but it fortunately did not and the racing scenes are very well done. Didn't check my watch once, so thumbs up from me.

[Patrick Thistle]

I just watched "The Pirates in an Adventure with Scientists" with the kids. Why is this known as "The Pirates! Band of Misfits!" in the States? Would people not let their kids go and see a film if they thought it had scientists in?!?

Exactly that. I know a guy who worked on the film and he ranted at length about how they had to rebrand because Americans are morons.

[RobW]

Exactly that. I know a guy who worked on the film and he ranted at length about how they had to rebrand because Americans are morons.

I think I saw that in an otherwise empty screening. Rather enjoyed it at the time, particularly with the use of Tenpole Tudor. I read that they had planned on a sequel but that Sony weren't keen. Idiots. Bit here about the re-naming https://www.bbc.com/future/article/2...kipedia.org%2F

[Hot Pepsi]

Exactly that. I know a guy who worked on the film and he ranted at length about how they had to rebrand because Americans are morons.

Is that the old "Madness of King George III" canard?

[Felicity, I guess so]

Can I just say fuck The Crown and all who sail in it...?

[Patrick Thistle]

Is that the old "Madness of King George III" canard?

No it was a real thing. Because there are so many lunatic hardcore Christians who are afraid of science as the enemy, the studio in charge of the US release made them change the film title of Pirates: An Adventure with Scientists to Pirates: Band of Misfits.

[Hot Pepsi]

Did they have research to back that up or did they just assume?

[ursus arctos]

It seems to have had the Misfits title in Australia and New Zealand as well

[Hot Pepsi]

I suppose "misfits" sounds more entertaining for kids - scientist makes it sound like schoolwork - but then I'm not sure if most kids know what a "misfit" is.

[Patrick Thistle]

Did they have research to back that up or did they just assume?

I don't know.

[Patrick Thistle]

I've just watched the first 2 episodes of Nobody's Looking on Netflix. It's a (dubbed) Brazilian comedy about a brand new guardian angel who asks too many questions and messes things up. It's quite humorous and seems to be asking the same sort of questions that The Good Place was looking at in the first couple of seasons.

[Nocturnal Submission]

I don't suppose anyone's watching the BBC's adaptation of The War Of The Worlds, are they?