The Diplomat on Netflix is very much in the same ballpark as Black Doves - political spy/thriller that is pretty unbelievable but has really slick production and is highly entertaining
Also watched Occupied which is on Prime video - again lots of (hopefully) unlikely political goings on but fun.
Rivals was fantastic!
On a completely different note we watched the first episode of Lockerbie on Sky. It’s pretty horrific, as you can imagine but excellently done.
We're about 3/4 of the way through Mr & Mrs Smith on Prime. Not sure what to think tbh - it started well, really interesting premise, but as the series has gone on it's got further and further from the "best TV of 2024!!/ Must Watch This!!" write-ups I've seen. Good to see Wagner Moura pop up, but frankly that episode is where it starts to go downhill. Will finish it, but with reduced expectations.
Also into the latest Shetland. Interesting one, coming together quite nicely (we're at episode 4 of 6)
Also into the latest Shetland. Interesting one, coming together quite nicely
Do I understand that you are watching Shetland for some reason other than the scenery ? Interesting.
thols2
Best way to get 3 months free is to buy a new Apple device. Ipad will only cost you about £1200> is to buy it for £8.99 per month
FTFY. £8.99 per month is much cheaper than £400 per month.
Just seen this. You really didn't realise I was joking?? kinell.
Bullet Train is on All 4 another couple of weeks and is worth a watch for fun escapism.
Very Guy Ritchie-esque but not in an annoying way.
Any Netflix/Prime recommendations after this for People Who Like This Sort Of Thing?
The Gentlemen? Going older, maybe Killing Eve?
Still not watched it myself, Barry is meant to be very good in the slightly comedic + hitman/assassin genre.
Still not watched it myself, Barry is meant to be very good in the slightly comedic + hitman/assassin genre.
It's really good, but even when I had Sky I could never seem to find it (it's a HBO show).
Maybe one day I'll pay to watch S2 and onward.
Up to episode 5 of Black Doves, enjoying it so far but not exactly sure how to approach it.
It seems to be taking itself quite seriously but that requires some suspension of disbelief... around episode 3-4 I started treating it as "light-hearted fun, don't take it too seriously" instead which seems to work better but makes parts seem overly serious... The best way to enjoy this is by not thinking into it too much!
Helen seems odd, competent in some areas and terrible and well out of her depth in others (she's a terrible liar especially when put on the spot). Not entirely sure if this is intended or not - it kinda makes sense in context of the story and her background.
Loving all the scenes with the female assassins though. Sam/Ben's expressions after some of their comments just finishes it off perfectly.
Any Netflix/Prime recommendations after this for People Who Like This Sort Of Thing?
The Gentlemen? Going older, maybe Killing Eve?<br style="box-sizing: border-box; --tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246/0.5); --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000;" />Still not watched it myself, Barry is meant to be very good in the slightly comedic + hitman/assassin genre.
The Gentlemen was a lot better than I was expecting, that said, I was, however, not expecting much.
Currently watching The Rig, which is reasonable (if a bit generic) sci-fi fare.
Also watching second series of Devil's Hour. The first was a decent enough mystery (with a side order of ghosty sci fi fantasy elements). So far so reasonable.
Just watched first episode of silent witness 28(!) cos it's January. All the folks fretting about plot holes in Black Doves etc would sh1t the bed. SW was awful. Hopefully the second episode sees the series shoot itself in some assisted dieing twist and it's done
The Sticky, Prime.
Slightly based on the true story of the great Canadian maple syrup heist. Is much better than that sounds 🙂 May have been recommended earlier? Anyway, quite Fargo esque (ordinary people getting in over their heads, dark humour etc.) Only 6 episodes.
The Sticky, Prime.
I did a Google search for "The Sticky". Oh dear, I cannot unsee what I have seen.
Longlegs is free on Prime. Started it last night, but I was too tired and will revisit on Friday. Must say it looked very good for a HORROR FILM WITH NIC CAGE!! scary enough words, but seems more like a kind of "Se7en " type film. With added horror. Shame it's so bleeding dark all the time. Why don't people have proper lights in their houses??
roger_mellieFull Member
The Sticky, Prime.
Saw a review of that in one of the roundups of 2024, have added it to the list. 30 minute episodes, so probably quite bingeable?
@submarined - The Flight attendant was fun (although looks not to be on Prime/Netf which was part of your request).
Three Pines on Prime was interesting and lovely to look at as it's all Rockies landscape.
As for the comments about Mr&Mrs Smith it really did go nuts in it's lack of anything other than beautiful locations to shoot, the skiing episode as an example. It was still fun because of Donald Glover I thought, but it could have been better.
Also, liked the Black Doves hit-women side story, they were fun and carried the comedy element the Helen character lacked.
@nicko74 yeah I guess so. We strung them out over the course of a week or so, but they're easily digestible 🙂
Thanks for the recommendations. Haven't seen Killing Eve so will stick it on the list.
Watched the first episode of The Gentlemen a while back. It's one of the only things I've seen in recent memory that I refuse to give any more time to. I thought it was awful. Not a Guy Ritchie fan, but it was pretty much him by numbers.
I watched the first episode of The Sticky. Great cast, entertaining.
watched the rest of Longlegs. My word, one of the most disturbing horrors I’ve seen in a while. My sort of film that, highly recommended, if you don’t mind feeling a bit screwy.
Netflix has a new gritty western series: American Primeval. Promising start.
Another who has just binged The Sticky. Very good so far. Margo Martindale from Justified is excellent (again) in this.
Never watched Silo before as I avoid depressing dystopian content but it's actually very good.
Watched civil war earlier with mum, got the thumbs up from her which is high praise, I also thought it was good and would watch it again
Yeah @Caher I found S1 was better watching a couple at a time, and S2 has improved.
American Primeval - can't stop watching. It's so good. If you like your westerns gritty and violent. Guarantee in 10, 15, 20 pages time on this thread people will be piping up, Just discovered American Primeval! Only downside is the bloody woman who won't do what she's told! (You'll see what I mean if you watch it)
I tried American Primeval, not that impressed. Just seems lazy to me, they don't have much of a story so just fill it with gratuitous violence. Wyatt Earp and The Cowboy War was much better.
Finally got into series 3 of the Bear and was almost relieved when after 2 nice episodes we finally got one that was a 40 minute long panic attack. Remember kids, if you're ever making a decision and New Noise by Refused starts playing, do something else.
Caher
Full MemberNever watched Silo before as I avoid depressing dystopian content but it’s actually very good.
Yeah I was pleasantly surprised, it'll be interesting to see how it continues considering the novels completely fell to bits about halfway through the second one. Some of the changes so far were pretty odd, I'm wondering if they're setting up for something later.
Never watched Silo before as I avoid depressing dystopian content but it’s actually very good.
Gave up on it.
For me, it had too many big stretches of bland acting*,a lot of scenes filmed in dark mode and a wandering storyline.
* and sometimes a bit too american high-school
'On Call' on Amazon is rather good if you like a gritty police procedural.
I don't know if it's been mentioned here but we've just watched season one of Guilt on iPlayer. Very good, tense, menacing, occasionally funny, with plenty of twists and turns.
I've just sat in economy for 23 hrs (plus an unplanned 19 hour layover in Dubai after sitting on the tarmac at Manchester for 2 hours waiting to be de-iced), things I watched:
Strike (Ink Black Heart): Meh. I like the Strike books - but the TV adaptations have been variable - this latest one was ok, but it started with a book that was very difficult to turn into telly - much of the plot is revealed by way of messaging in the game, social media posts etc. I thought they did a decent job of it, but it was never going to be great. I don't particularly like the lead either - was pretty surprised to see him show up in the new mad max movie (in which he was fairly beige also). Holiday Grainger on the other hand......
Landman: New Taylor Sheridan thing - Enjoyed it. Carried entirely by Billy Bob Thornton's performance - but it occurred to me that Timothy Olyphant would also have been good.
Lionesses S2: Didn't know this was also Taylor Sheridan until some of the same actors started turning up. Much better than the previous season - decent action thriller.
Furiosa: Enjoyed it, but not as good as the last one. Anya Taylor-Joy was ok - but (like tom Hardy) had virtually no lines. Chris Hemsworth was decent as the baddie, but what was missing/much needed was some zippy/deranged dialogue- the whole film felt like it was taking itself a bit too seriously for a mad-max film. And then strike turned up - playing the beigest of all heros, who you are supposed to believe is some kind of legendary road warrior. 5/10
An old film and nineteen years late to the party, but just watched Children of Men (Amazon or Netflix) and was pretty blown away on many fronts - directing, cinematography, the gripping story and relevance to today's world. I want to watch it again this weekend.
We watched Civil War over the weekend. Very good, well-made. Quite on the nose, no subtlety whatsoever about its politics, but still a decent film.
Finished it last night, I agree it was very well made and IMO very thought provoking.
But I thought the politics side of it was deliberately ambiguous and subtle. Perhaps it allows the viewer to project their own ideas onto it?
The main things I took from it initially were the media's complicity and do-dependence with the military, and seeing the "civil war" as a literal representation of the current state of politics and public opinions - with people on both sides being terrible to each other because they think they are right.
I saw Civil War on the big screen when it came out and watched it again last night.
Such a powerful film ,but glad I saw it before watching the Lee Miller film.
That early scene at the protest with the young photographer (for me) ,still holds up as one of the best use of crowd and sound when it all kicks off,and even second time around ,that Jesse Plemons scene was still intense.
The only thing that eased the Jesse Plemons scene for me was knowing that he and Kirsten Dunst are married! Otherwise it was properly anxiey-inducing stuff.
I've just (last week) finished reading Prophet Song, and Civil War feels very of a piece with that, in terms of the through line of the story they're telling etc. Both v good, neither very cheery
That early scene at the protest with the young photographer (for me) ,still holds up as one of the best use of crowd and sound when it all kicks off
I know Alex Garland doesn't do the sound himself, but the use of sound (and sometimes lack of it) throughout the film was very Alex Garland-y, I thought.
And the way scenes feel like they are running over, or the camera lingering on incidental things.
The final part of the film (trying not to spoil it) felt deliberately unrealistic in the way the journalists were so involved in the action, which I imagine was a decision taken to make a point.
re civil war IIRC they tried to neutralize the politics somewhat by making the large militia group a california/texas coalition so it wasn't a clear 'red' or 'blue' movement
just pasted from wikipedia:
An authoritarian federal government, led by a third-term president, is embattled by secessionist movements. Despite the president claiming victory is imminent, it is widely expected that Washington, D.C. will soon be reached by the "Western Forces" (WF) led by Texas and California, while forces of the southeast Florida Alliance are also fast approaching
also, the torture scene with the former schoolmates was realistic as , given the polarisation in US you can actually see it easily happening.
I've just finished Squid Games season 2 and am obsessed with the 'mingle' kids song ('round and round') Im listening to it a couple of times a day at the moment.
An old film and nineteen years late to the party, but just watched Children of Men (Amazon or Netflix) and was pretty blown away on many fronts – directing, cinematography, the gripping story and relevance to today’s world. I want to watch it again this weekend.
An absolute masterpiece of cinematography, and at last, an accurate representation of Bexhill-on-Sea.
Seriously, one of my personal top 10 movies of all time. So many great performances. The direction is top-notch. Made a box office loss, apparently.
I’ve just finished Squid Games season 2 and am obsessed with the ‘mingle’ kids song (’round and round’) Im listening to it a couple of times a day at the moment.
Can't believe they ended it where they did, felt like half a season (seven episodes is an unusual number for the streamers too).
Working my way through Blackbird on Apple at the moment. It's a bit 'Manhunter' meets 'Prisoner Cell Block H', but not bad overall.
I know Alex Garland doesn’t do the sound himself, but the use of sound (and sometimes lack of it) throughout the film was very Alex Garland-y, I thought.
I know what you mean, but for Denis Villeneuve. Arrival and Sicario made really big use of double bass, and for me that's the Denis Villeneuve 'sound'
i think with squid games, as it's netflix's sacred cow they probably wanted to truncate the final season (as is the convention these days) to milk it and build anticipation etc
the way S2 ends definitely suggests that season '2' and '3' are effectively the same series. I think season 3 is in June 2025?
In the meantime we can enjoy listening to Round and round on loop:
The final part of the film (trying not to spoil it) felt deliberately unrealistic in the way the journalists were so involved in the action, which I imagine was a decision taken to make a point.
Yup,watching it again, it didn't quite fit with the rest of the film.
Politics aside,having now seen the Lee Miller* film (Lee),I thought they both dealt with the disconnect that War photographers and journalists need while doing that work.
*I have to confess I was ignorant of the Lee Miller story before seeing the film
Another thumbs up for Civil War, beautifully shot and very tense at times. All felt very real given the current state of the world!
An old film and nineteen years late to the party, but just watched Children of Men (Amazon or Netflix) and was pretty blown away on many fronts – directing, cinematography, the gripping story and relevance to today’s world. I want to watch it again this weekend.
One of my all time fave films! Re watched it recently actually.
Hmm, well 1883 is behind a paywall, but also is a "Yellowstone origin story", which really doesn't sell it to me. Yellowstone was just a soap.
And I saw some of Deadwood, but never really engaged with it.
Each to their own eh.But at least you've recommended something, rather than going "nah that's crap".
