[watching] What have you seen recently?

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We're just contemplating rewatching it.

So, the last two nights we finished off the Bourne films. The Bourne Legacy is a side shoot, triggering from the events of Supremacy and Ultimatum, as the CIA burns down all the operations with a link to Treadstone and Blackbriar, trying to manage the revelations released by Pam Landy. It deals with an agent from Project Outcome who ends up running after the Agency attempts to kill him off; searching for the medications that he is on as part of the programme, he ends up linking up with a researcher from the company that provided the medical support. The film works fine, but it feels a bit like a remake of The Bourne Identity. The film has noticeably different end credits which annoyed me as it felt more like it should be a Bond film. I suspect that it was substantially cheaper than the usual animation.

Last night we watched Jason Bourne, the final film in the series to date. This one zings along compared to Legacy, which wasn't pedestrian! It's noticeable how little Jason Bourne actually says in the film. It's like his demons and conflicts are internalised, and he's lost in them until - once again - he gets drawn into conflict with the CIA when Nicky Parsons (from the earlier films) reaches out to him. As usual, the CIA assume the worst and it gets increasingly messy. There's a thread running underneath examining the impact of the Snowden revelations and the implications on privacy and freedom. The ending is very well done. If this is the way that the series bows out, then it was a good way to go.
 
Just finished seasons 1-3 of The Expanse, which have been lying around the house on DVD demanding attention for some time now.

As faithful to the books and real-world physics as can be expected for a TV space opera, and I look forward to binge-watching seasons 4 and 5 next time the opportunity for an Amazon Prime trial comes up. From a gaming perspective, very good for a near-future hard SF universe, but like most TV and movies, most useful for visuals and quirky NPCs. The principal plotline of seasons 1-3/books 1-3 isn't reusable because anyone who has read, watched or played any SF since the 80s will twig large chunks of it very quickly. The depictions of space combat and life in zero-g are especially helpful if your gaming universe has reaction drives and no artificial gravity, and the Belter creole and gestures are highly entertaining.

Apart from the unlikely fuel efficiency of the Epstein Drive, which I accept as necessary to tell the story without lots of "18 months later..." captions on otherwise blank screens, I didn't spot any science errors worth worrying about. The Expanse as a whole tells stories not often told in SF, namely how exactly does the human-dominated interstellar state come into existence, and why are there space pirates?

The break points at the end of season 3, when the show moved to Amazon, and season 6, when I hear they expect to finish it, fit neatly with the books, which are essentially three connected trilogies; especially the break at the end of season 6/book 6, where the timeline skips on something like 30 years.

That too is unusual, as at the start of book 7 we see the protagonists still doing space adventures but now in their 50s and 60s rather than their 20s and 30s, and starting to feel their age. Book 8 will be my holiday reading this year, and book 9 (the last one) should be out in time for Christmas. There is talk of doing the last three books as three movies, but I'm not holding my breath.
 
Manhunter - pre-Silence of the Lambs Lecter related serial killer shenanigans. I first saw this in 1989 at a late night showing at Exeter University. Watched it a fair few times since and my opinion's pretty much stayed the same: Two-thirds absolutely extraordinary psychological thriller, to one-third bog standard cop movie with sh*t e music. I still prefer it to Silence of the Lambs.
 
Falcon and the Winter Soldier was such a blast from start to finish. Such a great mini-series and opens the door to so many possibilities. I will have to rewatch this one again in the near future.

Terminator: Genisys: At the third attempt, I managed to make it to the end. But it did help being a little tipsy. I'm not sure what this film is trying to do, other than retcon the entire Terminator backstory in such a stupid way. I thought that Salvation somewhat managed to salvage the franchise after the abysmal T3, but the writers of Genisys managed to drag the franchise down to a new low. I haven't even attempted to watch Dark Fate yet and I'm still putting it off.

Suicide Squad: Another film that I couldn't finish. I know what the film should be about, but the whole set up and premise was utterly bonkers and didn't make sense. So let's have it that one of the main antagonists is released to join the Task Force X and then goes rogue to cause the very problem the Suicide Squad have to solve? WTF?! Did the writers actually bother to read the source material? Jared Leto portrayal of The Joker was terrible and I wasn't quite sure which of three to Joker archetypes he was actually aiming for.
 
Terminator: Genisys: At the third attempt, I managed to make it to the end. But it did help being a little tipsy. I'm not sure what this film is trying to do, other than retcon the entire Terminator backstory in such a stupid way. I thought that Salvation somewhat managed to salvage the franchise after the abysmal T3, but the writers of Genisys managed to drag the franchise down to a new low. I haven't even attempted to watch Dark Fate yet and I'm still putting it off.

I quite like Genisys - obviously not a patch on the original which it imitates, but I preferred it to T3. Surprisingly good performance from Schwarznegger, and overall thought the film did a pretty decent job with some very shopworn ingredients e.g incorporating the Dysons into the story. Do we need more Terminator sequels? Probably not, but as redundant movies go Genisys isn't the worst by a long chalk.

Not seen Salvation.
 
Surprisingly good performance from Schwarznegger

In my opinion, that was the only saving grace. Genisys just didn't do it for me, and when we have a treasure trove of Dark Horse comics to fall back on, I feel the film was a wasted opportunity.
 
In my opinion, that was the only saving grace. Genisys just didn't do it for me, and when we have a treasure trove of Dark Horse comics to fall back on, I feel the film was a wasted opportunity.

I've not read any of the comics, although I'm not over enamoured of Dark Horse's Aliens efforts, so possibly not for me.
 
What is Terminator Dark Fate like? (Anyone?)
It’s like someone tried to remake Terminator 2 but removed all the subtlety and added more of everything else. Not offensive but you may find yourself getting bored halfway through another interminable action set piece.
 
What is Terminator Dark Fate like? (Anyone?)

It very sensibly pretends all the Terminator movies after 2 didn't happen and is a direct sequel to Terminator 2. It feels like an homage to those two great movies, but never quite lives up to their legacy.

That said, it's a fun action movie, with good set pieces, and a plot that's not particularly original but did manage to surprise me a few times. The main cast do a good job and Linda Hamilton was a delight. Set your expectations somewhere around the Terminator 3 level and you should be pleasantly surprised.
 
Outside the Wire
Netflix
Very enjoyable near future action war SF movie that never pushes one too hard, never over reaches and is a very enjoyable watch. Two very strong leads I look forward to watching again.

8/10

This explores the whole robot as soldiers theme well, not too heavily
 
What Happened to Monday
Netflix
Noomi Rapace has a lot of fun playing 7 identical sextuplets in a near dystopia where siblings are illegal. I found it fun and exciting and very well paced. Not sure why the critics dissed it, I think they wanted deep thoughts about dystopia. I just enjoyed multi roles and high action.
7/10
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1536537/
 
The Terminator
you know, Linda Hamilton.. some Austrian guy, Lance Henrikssen
This is never going to be remastered as HD, it's just too grainy and the special effects are quite noticeable even at standard SD, but it's still very good, and maybe it's nostalgia, but I kind of rate it. Thing is.. you could just remake this, but what's the point, and yet would a young person not turn their nose up at the technical weaknesses?
Still, still a 8/10 for me.
 
The Trial of the Chicago 7
lots of great actors, but written and directed by Aaron Sorkin..
Sorkin has got this directing lark sewn up now. Great script, great performances especially by Sacha Baron Cohen. A stark reminder that show trials happen in our own countries as well as 1930s Soviet Union. It's very good and very watchable.
But.. what did they really achieve? Or is that irrelevant to the film?
7/10
 
Mank
Netflix, Gary Oldman
mmm.. lovely black and white homage to the kind of great films Herman Mankewitz wrote for.
However.. Gary Oldman is unconvincing as a 40 year old, there is a lot of witty one liners and the film talks a lot, but it never says anything at all.
Not only that but it says nothing about people no-one except film buffs or US political historians even knows about anymore.
I can't recommend this one.. 4/10

The Dig
Ranulph Fiennes, Netflix
A very charming, low paced, low action and yet very watchable flick about the dig that discovered the hugely important treasure at Sutton Hoo in Suffolk. This did not talk much, but it said a lot. Plus lovely huge East England skies.. have a relax and watch this if you have Netflix 9/10
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-suffolk-55877934
 
The Dig
Ranulph Fiennes, Netflix
A very charming, low paced, low action and yet very watchable flick about the dig that discovered the hugely important treasure at Sutton Hoo in Suffolk. This did not talk much, but it said a lot. Plus lovely huge East England skies.. have a relax and watch this if you have Netflix 9/10
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-suffolk-55877934

I enjoyed this as well. Thought it did a better job of the story than John Preston's source novel which wasn't bad, just not very involving.
 
I have a one month trial of Amazon Prime, what would people recommend?

I have just finished binge-watching seasons 4 and 5 of The Expanse on Amazon, which did not disappoint. It strikes me as true to the novels, as far as a TV show can be, and made by people with an eye both for detail and scientific plausibility. The series bears watching again to catch what's going on in the background - belter ships with signs in belter creole ("ME FO DEK A" on a ladder), the Rocinante's main drive pulsing to counteract the recoil from firing her railgun, stuff like that.

The visuals really bring the setting to life, and the story has been compressed in a way that highlights the key plot points - I think I understand some of books 3 and 5 better after seeing the series.

Anyway, hunting more Amazon Prime stuff to watch while I can. I see there is a Tales From The Loop series, that might be worth a peek.
 
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