OT: TV and Movies

[ReasonablySober]

Holy **** next season of Top Chef is coming to Wisconsin.

[HaroldinGMinor]

I had no idea he was actually a chef until I just looked him up

I used to watch some of his YouTube videos. He's a friendlier, funnier, less annoying version of Action Bronson. So the Canadian Action Bronson minus the rapping.

Don't you dare slander Bronson like that, sir.

I don't know how he is as a rapper but he is not good on TV.

Watch on YouTube

[machu46]

Watch on YouTube

This actually looks good, I think?

I’m gonna be really bummed if it isn’t good but trying to keep expectations low after some of the other shows were mediocre (being nice). The Rebels gang is probably my favorite group of characters in Star Wars.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[jimmybones]

The Witcher is almost purely a Henry Cavill as Geralt watch (and he is legitimately phenomenal). Those showrunners botched the story at every step, though. I haven't been able to bring myself to watch season 3 yet.

This tracks. Keep in mind I'm someone who actually played and near 100-percented The Witcher 3, and I still have no **** clue what's going on here. It's weird because I usually get bored to death with backstory and world-building, but just a tiny bit of exposition would have gone a long way in a show like this. Cavill is great and the only thing keeping me watching at this point.

I was wondering if I was just dumb so I went on reddit (lulz) to see what people were saying and the opinion that it's hard to follow seems universal. I've watched season one and season two and agree that Cavill is the main reason (also Yen is hot). I've watched two episodes of season 3 and more often than not I have no clue wtf is going on.

[Finn]

Holy **** next season of Top Chef is coming to Wisconsin.

‘Top Chef’ Winner Kristen Kish to Replace Host Padma Lakshmi in Wisconsin-Set Season 21

[ReasonablySober]

Dead Reckoning part 1 is very silly but also an unreal good time and probably my favorite of the franchise.

There's an extended scene in Venice, and I legit lost my breath and couldn't concentrate for a solid two minutes because they shot in places at night that I've stood in and actually took pictures. My avatar is one.



This is another.



Venice is cool as hell because at night (at least when I was there), the city is super quiet and there's no one on the streets in the much of it. When I took these photos I was legitimately the only one walking around.

And they filmed right where I was standing.

[jschligs]

I know I’m a bit late. But season 2 of the Bear. Just wow. It really turned up about episode 5/6 and it never let up. I liked Season 1 a lot, but season 2 was another level of amazing. Can’t wait for season 3.

[Couch Potato]

I watched Mission Impossible Dead Reckoning Part 1. It was okay. They could of trimmed the length of the movie a bit. I also watched The Out-Laws. That was good. But Pierce Brosnan movies are usually good. Ellen Barkin was in it as well. Then I watched The Horror of Dolores Roach. It's a short 30 minute TV show. It was good.

[ReasonablySober]

This week's Strange New Worlds is great. Spock turns 100% human. Hilarity ensues. I love this show so much.

[MickeyDavis]

First half of S2 Lincoln Lawyer was pretty good. Mostly predictable but it's a good cast and hopefully some twists when the second half drops next month.

[Badgerlander]

So I'm about 3-4 episodes into The Witcher and.....is the plot/narrative supposed to be this much of an absolute mess? Or is the writing and pacing just this bad? Had heard from some that it gets better in Season 2, but I'm about ready to jump ship.

I love a lot about the universe of the Witcher, but I don't think the Netflix show is good overall, season one especially. Has its moments but it isn't something I could recommend.

But "Nightmare of the Wolf" absolutely rips. That's a must watch.

Yeah I’ve struggled to get thru the Witcher. I’ll watch a couple episodes and then move on and only come back when I can’t find anything else. There are two or three episodes over 3 seasons that are good. It’s boring for the most part.

[Couch Potato]

I started watching the TV show Shelved. Its a TV show at a Library also less then 30 minutes a episode.

[MoreTrife]

It's been discussed here before but reading about the SAG strike brought it up for me again: CGI and (after reading the story) AI is really killing movies/TV. The proposal talked about using scans of background actors as kind of a stock library to be used in crowd scenes for future movies. Things are just out of control. Knowing that nothing is real just KILLS the viewing experience for me. There is ZERO weight to **** stunts and action scenes. Characters jumping out of planes, fight scenes, car chases and flips and stuff, when they are CGI it is just empty to me and rarely rarely feels impactful. I hate it. GIVE ME PRACTICAL EFFECTS ANY DAY. Moving forward to digital actors as well will likely further erode the experience. Horrific.

The only solution I see is doubling down on tech and moving tech forward. VR movies where you are in the movie. In the middle of the scene. Standing next to the characters. Take it even further with Oasis-like **** like feel the wind the air the vibrations, impacts. Otherwise, I could give a **** about advancements in CGI because my BRAIN knows it is fake. In the "old days" when a car chase happened it was real cars!!! Now like even Extraction 1 to Extraction 2 felt like a ton more CGI. Terrible. Doubling down in tech is only solution because going backwards to practical is basically dead except for a handful like Nolan and Cruise.

[Licensed to Il]

It's been discussed here before but reading about the SAG strike brought it up for me again: CGI and (after reading the story) AI is really killing movies/TV. The proposal talked about using scans of background actors as kind of a stock library to be used in crowd scenes for future movies. Things are just out of control. Knowing that nothing is real just KILLS the viewing experience for me. There is ZERO weight to **** stunts and action scenes. Characters jumping out of planes, fight scenes, car chases and flips and stuff, when they are CGI it is just empty to me and rarely rarely feels impactful. I hate it. GIVE ME PRACTICAL EFFECTS ANY DAY. Moving forward to digital actors as well will likely further erode the experience. Horrific.

The only solution I see is doubling down on tech and moving tech forward. VR movies where you are in the movie. In the middle of the scene. Standing next to the characters. Take it even further with Oasis-like **** like feel the wind the air the vibrations, impacts. Otherwise, I could give a **** about advancements in CGI because my BRAIN knows it is fake. In the "old days" when a car chase happened it was real cars!!! Now like even Extraction 1 to Extraction 2 felt like a ton more CGI. Terrible. Doubling down in tech is only solution because going backwards to practical is basically dead except for a handful like Nolan and Cruise.

I hear your concerns, but think you are a bit over the top. CGI movies suck, but that is not a reason to double down on CGI. Its a reason for Hollywood to make one F’ing movie without a superhero or alien.

I imagine 100 years ago when movies were invented, people speculated that would be the end of plays and books. Didn’t happen.

We don’t need immersion by tech. We need the immersion and engagement to come via the story and the acting. That is the art that is being lost.

[WeekapaugGroove]

It's been discussed here before but reading about the SAG strike brought it up for me again: CGI and (after reading the story) AI is really killing movies/TV. The proposal talked about using scans of background actors as kind of a stock library to be used in crowd scenes for future movies. Things are just out of control. Knowing that nothing is real just KILLS the viewing experience for me. There is ZERO weight to **** stunts and action scenes. Characters jumping out of planes, fight scenes, car chases and flips and stuff, when they are CGI it is just empty to me and rarely rarely feels impactful. I hate it. GIVE ME PRACTICAL EFFECTS ANY DAY. Moving forward to digital actors as well will likely further erode the experience. Horrific.

The only solution I see is doubling down on tech and moving tech forward. VR movies where you are in the movie. In the middle of the scene. Standing next to the characters. Take it even further with Oasis-like **** like feel the wind the air the vibrations, impacts. Otherwise, I could give a **** about advancements in CGI because my BRAIN knows it is fake. In the "old days" when a car chase happened it was real cars!!! Now like even Extraction 1 to Extraction 2 felt like a ton more CGI. Terrible. Doubling down in tech is only solution because going backwards to practical is basically dead except for a handful like Nolan and Cruise.

I hear your concerns, but think you are a bit over the top. CGI movies suck, but that is not a reason to double down on CGI. Its a reason for Hollywood to make one F’ing movie without a superhero or alien.

I imagine 100 years ago when movies were invented, people speculated that would be the end of plays and books. Didn’t happen.

We don’t need immersion by tech. We need the immersion and engagement to come via the story and the acting. That is the art that is being lost.

I'm totally with you on making movies outside of the super hero ecosystem. The problem is those are the easiest to market globally and the 'experience' actually gets people out to a theater.

The best actual story ideas are now TV shows and small low budget movies that likely go straight to streaming.

Doubt that really changes moving forward.

Sent from my SM-G986U using RealGM mobile app

[Licensed to Il]

It's been discussed here before but reading about the SAG strike brought it up for me again: CGI and (after reading the story) AI is really killing movies/TV. The proposal talked about using scans of background actors as kind of a stock library to be used in crowd scenes for future movies. Things are just out of control. Knowing that nothing is real just KILLS the viewing experience for me. There is ZERO weight to **** stunts and action scenes. Characters jumping out of planes, fight scenes, car chases and flips and stuff, when they are CGI it is just empty to me and rarely rarely feels impactful. I hate it. GIVE ME PRACTICAL EFFECTS ANY DAY. Moving forward to digital actors as well will likely further erode the experience. Horrific.

The only solution I see is doubling down on tech and moving tech forward. VR movies where you are in the movie. In the middle of the scene. Standing next to the characters. Take it even further with Oasis-like **** like feel the wind the air the vibrations, impacts. Otherwise, I could give a **** about advancements in CGI because my BRAIN knows it is fake. In the "old days" when a car chase happened it was real cars!!! Now like even Extraction 1 to Extraction 2 felt like a ton more CGI. Terrible. Doubling down in tech is only solution because going backwards to practical is basically dead except for a handful like Nolan and Cruise.

I hear your concerns, but think you are a bit over the top. CGI movies suck, but that is not a reason to double down on CGI. Its a reason for Hollywood to make one F’ing movie without a superhero or alien.

I imagine 100 years ago when movies were invented, people speculated that would be the end of plays and books. Didn’t happen.

We don’t need immersion by tech. We need the immersion and engagement to come via the story and the acting. That is the art that is being lost.

I'm totally with you on making movies outside of the super hero ecosystem. The problem is those are the easiest to market globally and the 'experience' actually gets people out to a theater.

The best actual story ideas are now TV shows and small low budget movies that likely go straight to streaming.

Doubt that really changes moving forward.

Sent from my SM-G986U using RealGM mobile app

I don’t disagree with anything you said. But entertainment is totally different now than it was 5 years ago and that was totally different than it was 10 years before.

Movies are over 100 years old and it is still a medium that great directors and writers will use. I do agree lots of movie worthy stories are today’s single season tv shows.

[MickeyDavis]

Tulsa King is funny (and yes, dumb). Rocky as an aging gangster. You don't have to think (and overthink) it.

[MoreTrife]

It's been discussed here before but reading about the SAG strike brought it up for me again: CGI and (after reading the story) AI is really killing movies/TV. The proposal talked about using scans of background actors as kind of a stock library to be used in crowd scenes for future movies. Things are just out of control. Knowing that nothing is real just KILLS the viewing experience for me. There is ZERO weight to **** stunts and action scenes. Characters jumping out of planes, fight scenes, car chases and flips and stuff, when they are CGI it is just empty to me and rarely rarely feels impactful. I hate it. GIVE ME PRACTICAL EFFECTS ANY DAY. Moving forward to digital actors as well will likely further erode the experience. Horrific.

The only solution I see is doubling down on tech and moving tech forward. VR movies where you are in the movie. In the middle of the scene. Standing next to the characters. Take it even further with Oasis-like **** like feel the wind the air the vibrations, impacts. Otherwise, I could give a **** about advancements in CGI because my BRAIN knows it is fake. In the "old days" when a car chase happened it was real cars!!! Now like even Extraction 1 to Extraction 2 felt like a ton more CGI. Terrible. Doubling down in tech is only solution because going backwards to practical is basically dead except for a handful like Nolan and Cruise.

I hear your concerns, but think you are a bit over the top. CGI movies suck, but that is not a reason to double down on CGI. Its a reason for Hollywood to make one F’ing movie without a superhero or alien.

I imagine 100 years ago when movies were invented, people speculated that would be the end of plays and books. Didn’t happen.

We don’t need immersion by tech. We need the immersion and engagement to come via the story and the acting. That is the art that is being lost.

I definitely hear you with story and acting being lost but specific to actions movies - action is going to play a part. And more and more CGI is killing those scenes. Acting and story are kind of irrelevant to it. Some scenes come to mind - Ronin car chase, hell recent Mission Impossible Rogue Nation I was gripping the armrests during those car chase scenes which I'm almost certain were practical (just rewatched, definitely some CGI) , T2. Nowadays, no matter how good story and acting, if a car chase scene is CGI, it is obvious and it detracts. I don't disagree at all at laziness seeping into story but action is action and fake action is killing those movies.

[stellation]

This week's Strange New Worlds is great. Spock turns 100% human. Hilarity ensues. I love this show so much.

It is an absolute joy.

[HaroldinGMinor]

Soderbergh's new series, Full Circle, on HBO (refuse to call it Max) is really good.