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    The Rewatchables podcast have "done" it this week.

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      Yeah. I've listened to that twice.
      They often time their selections to round-number anniversaries of a film's release and/or their availability on popular streaming apps*. Goodfellas is on HBO Max right now, and I'm making the most of that until they take it off again. I guess I could just buy it.

      I remember liking it because it showed that gangsters were/are actually pretty fucking stupid. Indeed, there's a lot of that in Casino, The Irishman and The Sopranos too. These guys think they're more clever than everyone else, but by and large, they really aren't. They're not even as funny as they think they are. Contrast that to The Godfather films, which are far more disturbing because, other than Fredo, they are all fairly clever. Even Sonny seems to know what he's doing until he lets emotion make him reckless.



      *But occasionally, they do one that is hard to find like Proof of Life which is a remarkably entertaining garbage film.

      Speaking of films not on an app, I just bought a Blue Ray of To Live and Die In LA. I only saw it once**, on VHS in the 80s. Until recently, I thought it was a Michael Mann film, but it's William Friedkin. But Mann thought he'd ripped him off.


      **I saw it at the Durbin's house. That's also where I saw Spinal Tap. They knew about stuff we didn't and were a welcome addition to the neighborhood from Seattle but then then went back. Here's what they're doing now:
      https://www.smith.edu/academics/faculty/brent-durbin
      https://www.consumerfinance.gov/data...s/erik-durbin/
      Last edited by Hot Pepsi; 21-05-2021, 18:32.

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        We may well have covered it before but they also did Pump Up The Volume, by watching clips from YouTube, because it has never been available on streaming (or certainly hadn't at that point) and possibly even DVD due to issues with the music rights - one of which being that it used a Beastie Boys song that has never been released anywhere else, and it was integral to the story so couldn't be easily clipped out.

        Back on the Goodfellas episode though, due to its length I'm leaving it til a long walk tomorrow so I can listen in one go, and looking forward to it.

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          Yeah. Pump Up the Volume is one of those music-rights casualties.

          I’m sure the music for Goodfellas is expensive too, but it’s worth it for WB to pay for it, if for no other reason than keep Scorsese happy.

          I guess paying much to get Pump Up the Volume out there isn’t worth it. Gen Y and Z aren’t interested in how Gen X lived before the internet. They should be, damn it, but they aren’t.

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            I watched To Live and Die in LA.
            It’s sooo 80s. That Wang Chung song is in it five times, I think.

            Some great set pieces. Great scenes of the uglier parts of SoCal. I don’t just mean metaphorically. I mean underpasses, warehouses and shipyards.

            A lot that doesn’t age well. The term “Chinaman” is used liberally. It portrays same-gender sexuality as edgy and associated with evil.

            It’s kind of misogynist, the way the leads treat one of the only two women in the film. But I suppose that’s the point. The lead characters aren’t supposed to be “good guys.”

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              Originally posted by Ginger Yellow View Post
              Watched the new Whedon joint, The Nevers, and even leaving aside the issues around him, it's a weird one. There's a germ of a good show in there, the leads are compelling to watch, and there are lots of his characteristic dialogue touches, but the pacing is all over the place, one of the main antagonists is just poorly written, and it's leaning way too heavy into mystery-box type territory, for no particular reason. It even does a Dollhouse style time jump.
              Good lord that last episode. I won't say any more to avoid spoilers, but what the hell? I hope the series can redeem itself in the second half, because I was really enjoying it.

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                I've watched a couple of things lately:

                The Wu Assassins (Netflix) - Old skool Kung Fu type joint. Iko Uwais is the star of the show, so at least there isn't any of that cheesy and obvious stunt double work in the fight scenes. I watched the entire series without conclusively deciding if I liked it--yet I watched to the end and I will watch the next season when and if it drops.

                Q: Into the Storm (HBO) - Just a documentary about Qanon. It was fairly interesting and only 6 hour-long episodes, so not a huge time commitment. I recommend it if you're curious about what this whole Q thing is about.

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                  Thanks for the heads up about the QAnon doc. I'll try to dig that one out.

                  I'm currently trying to work my way through The Crime of the Century, an examination of the opioid abuse epidemic in the States, but I keep on getting interrupted by family members who really wouldn't consider watching it with me a profitable use of their time.

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                    Just watched Our Towns, a documentary film about the challenges and ambitions of small town America and those people who are trying to make a difference in their communities.

                    Inspiring stuff.

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                      Originally posted by Uncle Ethan View Post
                      Thanks to Hot Pepsi I stuck it out with Mare and I'm glad I did. Becoming must watch stuff. Still bloody grim though.
                      Really enjoying the dramatic elements of this one, but the storyline has veered too much into Broadchurch territory so that each episode becomes a little too predictable for me having watched season 1 of Broadchurch. Never went back to that one after S2E1, which was ridiculous.

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                        Mare isn’t really about the mystery, though.

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                          There's probably a Fargo thread somewhere, but I cannot be arsed finding it. Catching up on All4 with series four and after a slow start really enjoying it. Jessie Buckley is wonderful.

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                            With our NBN finally connected and the Fetch TV box up and running, we’ve just started on the content of BBC First. So far Belgravia which is a by-the-numbers BBC costume job, but beautifully done with an excellent cast include Anne Reid, good as usual, and Adam James who is always reliable for a weasly bad guy.

                            15 Days on the other hand is really well made but just utterly, relentlessly grim. There’s gritty, and then there’s just depressing.

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                              I watched that doc about WeWork. Holy shit.

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                                Started watching New Girl. A lot of it is funny. A fair bit of it is annoying. Trying to not get burnt out as it's nice to have a long running comedy to pop into at the moment.

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                                  About 3 different threads this could go in but it's not a review, sooo...
                                  went to see Nomadland in Annan cinema last night. We were the only ones in, so no fears for soc distancing. Great little cinema for such a small town, will be back next month for The Father
                                  ​​​​and they had almond Magnums- haven't had one of them at the pictures since Madrid c2005

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                                    Originally posted by RobW View Post
                                    There's probably a Fargo thread somewhere, but I cannot be arsed finding it. Catching up on All4 with series four and after a slow start really enjoying it. Jessie Buckley is wonderful.
                                    Finished it today, and feel like re-watching series 1-3 as characters are interlinked etc.

                                    Been re-watching Hip Hop Evolution documentary on Netflix and up to the foundation of West Coast hip hop up to The Chronic, which i may listen to for first time in ages now.

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                                      I haven't been able to get through the most recent season of Fargo. I'm not sure why. I just don't find it compelling at all, Jesse Buckley's greatness aside.

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                                        Originally posted by Nocturnal Submission View Post
                                        Just watched Our Towns, a documentary film about the challenges and ambitions of small town America and those people who are trying to make a difference in their communities.

                                        Inspiring stuff.
                                        Yes, we watched this too and thought it was lovely.

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                                          There’s a local PBS series about small towns of Pennsylvania. I wonder if it’s somehow related.

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                                            Watched Elizabeth is Missing, a TV movie with Glenda Jackson playing a woman with dementia. Lovely, if not a little tragic.

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                                              Browsing All 4 recently I spotted Lipstick on Your Collar (the Dennis Potter set in the War office in 56) I had vivid recall of Ewan McGregor jiving on the desk but not much else so I watched ep 1 last night.

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                                                I enjoyed the BBC Celtic-noir The Pact, set at a brewery in Wales, over the last few weeks. There's a lot of good acting from a cast I don't know much of, and Adrian Edmondson plays an absolutely magnificent cameo.

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                                                  After trying and failing to find it on legit platforms, I've found the entire run of Newhart* on YouTube. I'm watching the first episode and it passed the six-laugh test in the first ten minutes alone. I know it's going to descend into catchphrase hell after the first season but it's s a strong start.

                                                  *as in where they run the Inn.

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                                                    Wayne on Prime is excellent violent fun. With luck there'll be a second season but it's in limbo right now. Also recommended is Girls5Eva based on a Spice Girls type group who try to revive their act in their forties. By the same people who produced The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, which is very similar humour-wise

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