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< Television ~ It's Not TV -- It's HBO! |
lshap |
Posted: Sat Jan 18, 2014 10:54 pm |
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Joined: 12 May 2004
Posts: 4246
Location: Montreal
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daffy wrote: billyweeds wrote: Nicholas Brody remains my hero and my power of example. (For those in the dark, that's the character played by Damian Lewis on Homeland.) A SPOILER alert and too much exposition would be necessary to explain why, but I salute you, sir!!! (And that "sir" extends to Lewis as well as Brody. What Brody is to heroism Lewis is to acting.)
Homeland SPOILERS: A hero?!?! No. Think about it: Brody plotted a mass murder, whacked his fellow soldier and friend, and assassinated a sitting Vice President of the United States, all while dragging his wife and children through hell. No doubt he's a flawed and complicated man who was ruined by a horrible situation, but a hero? I understand your urge to sympathize with him (which I feel is a huge tribute to Damien Lewis and the rest of the cast, writers, and directors) but think about it for a bit. Brody's actions were heinous. END SPOILER
I agree with you 100% about Damien Lewis, however. The guy is amazing. For those who aren't familiar with his work, check out the HBO World War II mini-series Band Of Brothers. He plays the lead and he's terrific (It's hard to believe he's actually British).
A little late to the debate, but the wild divide on Brody's morality reminds me of a similar discussion about Walter White in BB. Is he an evil character, or are his evil acts imposed by circumstance? Obviously it's a blend of both, which gives both him and Brody a deliciously sharp duality that goes too deep for simple definitions. We love watching characters pushed harder and farther until they reach their limits, and then watching the fireworks, like a human particle accelerator. |
_________________ "Are you suggesting coconuts migrate?" |
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lshap |
Posted: Sat Jan 18, 2014 11:17 pm |
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Joined: 12 May 2004
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Location: Montreal
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Didn't see any commentary on Homeland's finale, but contrary to the majority of reviews that panned it, I found the episode haunting and very sad. It's true that S3 was erratic and struck a totally different tone than the first two seasons, but the end brought the character arc of Nicholas Brody to a perfect conclusion. I can't believe they intend on soldiering on for S4 after what should be a series finale. |
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billyweeds |
Posted: Sun Jan 19, 2014 7:27 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
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lshap wrote: Didn't see any commentary on Homeland's finale, but contrary to the majority of reviews that panned it, I found the episode haunting and very sad. It's true that S3 was erratic and struck a totally different tone than the first two seasons, but the end brought the character arc of Nicholas Brody to a perfect conclusion. I can't believe they intend on soldiering on for S4 after what should be a series finale.
Agree. But I'll still be watching the next season, with admittedly a little lessened interest since the best thing about the show for me has been Damian Lewis from the beginning.
HBO has a new show to take up any slack we might feel, however. True Detective, which is an eight-episode miniseries, stars Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson as two detectives in a flash-forwarding-and-back murder mystery plot that is extraordinarily intriguing. WH and particularly MM are doing splendid work. My admiration for MM is so extreme that I've finally learned how to spell his last name.
The title is clever, btw, not a cliche. "True" in this title means not "non-fiction" but "genuine." |
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Ghulam |
Posted: Mon Mar 10, 2014 1:04 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: Upstate NY
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Amazing performance by Matthew McConaughey in "True Detective" in the last scene of the last episode for the season.
.[/b] |
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billyweeds |
Posted: Mon Mar 10, 2014 6:21 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: New York City
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True Detective is a mind-blowing show and McConaughey's last scene was indeed one for the ages. Harrelson was also fantastic. For me, however, the most interesting aspect of the entire episode was the fact that the old woman whose house was painted green was played by 1950s bad girl, Howard Hughes g.f., and Come Back, Little Sheba Oscar nominee Terry Moore. Unrecognizable until I saw in the end credits who she was and revisited the scene (whereupon it was clearly the ineffable Moore), she gave a remarkably fine performance in a crucial cameo with a strange and indescribable vibe.
Anyone who liked the glossy, cheesy, compulsively watchable 1957 adaptation of Peyton Place as much as I did will remember Moore as the trashy, sexy Betty Anderson. Some will even agree with me that she was the coolest thing about the whole movie. She also played the Fay Wray surrogate in the original Mighty Joe Young. And she's still in there doin' it at a feisty 85 years old. Go Terry! |
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Ghulam |
Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2015 1:54 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 4742
Location: Upstate NY
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The Jinx was amazing television. From the same Andrew Jarecki who gave us another revealing documentary Capturing the Friedmans over a decade ago. |
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bartist |
Posted: Fri Mar 20, 2015 10:48 am |
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Joined: 27 Apr 2010
Posts: 6954
Location: Black Hills
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Not a subscriber, but was considering watching the video release when it's available. Not sure, though, I mean it's Durst -- who seems so obviously a sociopathic scumbag that it's hard to imagine peeling away any interesting layers. Wonder how much longer his fancy lawyers can keep him out of jail (or from the needle). Heard a clip of his bathroom soliloquy, seemed like the prosecutor has something admissible there, be interesting to see how his legal team spins those self-damning words. |
_________________ He was wise beyond his years, but only by a few days. |
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billyweeds |
Posted: Sat May 30, 2015 5:20 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
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David Oyelowo is fast becoming one of my very favorite actors. Following his magnificent take on MLK in the great Selma (his failure to receive an Oscar nomination is a particularly egregious blight on Academy Award history), he stars in the new HBO movie Nightingale, in which he plays an insane young man to stunning effect. But wait. He's the only actor in the film, and he's quite enough. Oyelowo is a truly great actor at the beginning of what promises to be a legendary career. Whether or not you subscribe to HBO, you must somehow contrive to see this disturbing, remarkable film, and of course to see Selma if you haven't already. |
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billyweeds |
Posted: Sun Jul 12, 2015 6:56 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
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Just getting into Ray Donovan on Showtime, in which Liev Schreiber and Jon Voight astonish with their sizzling portrayals of a father and son whose interaction makes Hamlet-Claudius and Willy-Biff seem touchy-feely by comparison. This occasionally pretentious but more often super-entertaining gangster(ish) story of an L.A. "fixer" (think Michael Clayton with more muscle) and his Boston Southie ex-con hilarious-obnoxious pop had me from the first frame.
I can even stand to watch Voight despite his unspeakable off-screen political views. He's that good--never this good since 1969's Midnight Cowboy. As for Schreiber, I can also forget the "fact" (my fact) that he tends to be egregiously overrated by the intelligentsia, who have been known to call him "the best actor in America." No way, but he's terrific here.
I'm three seasons behind, but, hey, that's what binging was invented for. Did it with Breaking Bad, so once more into the breach. |
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marantzo |
Posted: Sun Jul 12, 2015 9:44 am |
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Joined: 30 Oct 2014
Posts: 278
Location: Winnipeg: It's a dry cold.
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I can even stand to watch Voight despite his unspeakable off-screen political views.
When I read about Voight's political views way back when, I thought I'd puke! |
_________________ Big bang, shmig bang; still doesn't explain how anything starts. |
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billyweeds |
Posted: Thu Jul 23, 2015 8:27 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: New York City
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marantzo wrote: I can even stand to watch Voight despite his unspeakable off-screen political views.
When I read about Voight's political views way back when, I thought I'd puke!
Yeah, this is a John Wayne litmus test to the max. Voight is a toxic human being, but his acting remains world-class, so I'm holding my nose and watching, galvanized. |
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bartist |
Posted: Thu Jul 23, 2015 11:25 am |
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Joined: 27 Apr 2010
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Location: Black Hills
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I don't think Voigt is as consistently Right wing and hawkish as John Wayne was. Voigt campaigned for George McGovern and appeared at several leftist cause rallies with Jane Fonda, back in the day. His move to conservative ideology in the following years has been pretty neck-wrenching, for sure. I recall he was pretty pro-Israel (as in, pro-Israel right wing party), criticizing Obama strongly for his various dealings with Israel's unfriendly neighbors. |
_________________ He was wise beyond his years, but only by a few days. |
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bartist |
Posted: Wed Jul 29, 2015 12:12 am |
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Joined: 27 Apr 2010
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Location: Black Hills
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Just watched my first Last Week Tonight, at daughter's rec. On mandatory minimums. Sharp and funny. Had not seen John Oliver before. |
_________________ He was wise beyond his years, but only by a few days. |
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Ghulam |
Posted: Sun May 22, 2016 12:16 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 4742
Location: Upstate NY
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Bravura performance by Bryan Cranston as LBJ in All the Way. The show packs a lot of material in 130 minutes. Very well researched.
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billyweeds |
Posted: Sat Jul 09, 2016 11:54 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
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Got a sneak peek at the new HBO series The Night Of. It's amazingly good; will be the new trending topic soon.
It's a murder mystery starring John Turturro as the lawyer representing a young man who gets himself accused of murder by being pretty stupid in the first episode. The Turturro role was created for James Gandolfini, but looks more like a Turturro role now. |
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