What movies or TV shows are you watching now?

[faraday]

Watched "Interstellar" couple of nights ago.

Fantastic film, with some really good tense scenes, great music & a decent ending.

[Frank James]

A whole pile of bad ideas came together to produce a remake of the 70's minor hit The Gambler. Where to begin?

• Mark Wahlberg has become a fairly watchable actor over several years. Put him in any "action" film, and he more than carries his weight. But as a professor of literature in a university? A professor of literature who is a compulsive (suicidal) gambler who dallies with his female students? It just doesn't work for me.
• Why remake this film at all? It wasn't that good the first time, although James Caan was at least somewhat believable as the professor.
• Who talked the great actress, the still lovely and talented Jessica Lange, into playing the throwaway part of this fool's mother? What a waste. Guess it pays the rent.
• John Goodman gets some good lines in this film, but whose idea was it to film him shirtless in a steam room? The man must be pushing 500 lbs/200 kilo. He looks like a huge pile of melted wax with a talking head on top. Grotesque.

I kept thinking, if I had a gambling addiction, would it help me to watch this character's behavior? Running all over town (L.A., of course!) borrowing money from various vicious loan sharks, only to get ever deeper into the hole...this is a character who elicits very little sympathy, somewhat like Nic Cage's sad sack drunk in the wretchedly excessive Leaving Las Vegas. This guy seeks death, and pretty much deserves it.

Barely a FOUR.

[faraday]

"Taken 3" - it was ok, quite enjoyed it but nowhere near as good as the first one.

[uptheos]

Today I watched two movies and enjoyed them both for different reasons.

First I watched Love is Strange (2014) with two excellent actors John Lithgow and Alfred Molina

Review here http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/love_is_strange_2014/

Second I watched The Theory of Everything, the story of Steven Hawking, brilliantly played by Eddie Redmayne

Review here http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_theory_of_everything_2014/

Eddie Redmayne and Benedict Cumberbatch are both batting for Britain at the Oscars and both gave superb performances in their respective movies (Cumberbatch in The Imitation Game).

I enjoyed The Imitation Game more, perhaps because it was newer to me, whereas I know quite a lot about Steven Hawking.

It's hard to separate the two Brits, but I thought Redmayne's performance was slightly better than Benedict's, we will see.

You can watch both movies above, here http://rainierland.com/movie/the-theory-of-everything-2014.html

http://rainierland.com/movie/love-is-strange-2014.html

Edited January 24, 2015 by uptheos

[i claudius]

For those who like Brit Murder mysteries ,Midsomer murders starts again on wed, 4 episodes ,i am sure you know where to find them

[Will27]

Just finished a 6 part BBC series called Uncle.

Quite enjoyable and has some real funny moments.

I'd rate it a solid 7.5

IMDB: An amateur musician of stunted emotional growth is reluctant to take care of his young nephew, but as his reluctance grows,

his other emotions begin to follow to the fore, meaning he may even become a better, more-rounded person.

Edited January 26, 2015 by Will27

[GrantSmith]

I watched a couple of films over the weekend...

The Interview: Probably the most overhyped and overrated movie since Titanic... Don't know if this movie even warrants a rating, maybe a 1, only because it took the piss out of North Korea... But Team America did a better job of that...

The Judge: A bit too typical of the feel good/disfunctional family/prodigal son returns but Downey Jnr is always good to watch... Duvall is also pretty damn funny in this... Would've liked to seen more of Leighton Meister's character but overall pretty good Sunday night at home watching.. 7/10...

[BookMan]

Broadchurch (UK) season 2 is up to episode 3!!

Looking forward to this one!

[i claudius]

I watched a couple of films over the weekend...

The Interview: Probably the most overhyped and overrated movie since Titanic... Don't know if this movie even warrants a rating, maybe a 1, only because it took the piss out of North Korea... But Team America did a better job of that...

The Judge: A bit too typical of the feel good/disfunctional family/prodigal son returns but Downey Jnr is always good to watch... Duvall is also pretty damn funny in this... Would've liked to seen more of Leighton Meister's character but overall pretty good Sunday night at home watching.. 7/10...

I started watching the interview ,but just gave up after 15 minutes ,to be kind ,it was crap. i did watch the sniper ,not bad ,but not worth an oscar by a long shot ,usual American flag waving and that does not mean i dontlike Americans i do.

[evadgib]

Just watched Bangkok Airport on the i player, good fun ,the usual losers and fat birds , i sometimes wonder how some people manage to leave their homes let alone travel 5 thousand miles ,as for the guy on the immegration desk ,ive been through the airport dozens of times ,how come a never saw him ,in fact i never saw any of them smile .

Me too. I found it utterly cringeworthy & only kept watching to see just how badly the 'victims' had prepared themselves.

[evadgib]

I watched a couple of films over the weekend...

The Interview: Probably the most overhyped and overrated movie since Titanic... Don't know if this movie even warrants a rating, maybe a 1, only because it took the piss out of North Korea... But Team America did a better job of that...

The Judge: A bit too typical of the feel good/disfunctional family/prodigal son returns but Downey Jnr is always good to watch... Duvall is also pretty damn funny in this... Would've liked to seen more of Leighton Meister's character but overall pretty good Sunday night at home watching.. 7/10...

I started watching the interview ,but just gave up after 15 minutes ,to be kind ,it was crap. i did watch the sniper ,not bad ,but not worth an oscar by a long shot ,usual American flag waving and that does not mean i dontlike Americans i do.

Cumberbatch's is the better performance/role/film IMO.

[GrantSmith]

Just watched Bangkok Airport on the i player, good fun ,the usual losers and fat birds , i sometimes wonder how some people manage to leave their homes let alone travel 5 thousand miles ,as for the guy on the immegration desk ,ive been through the airport dozens of times ,how come a never saw him ,in fact i never saw any of them smile .

Me too. I found it utterly cringeworthy & only kept watching to see just how badly the 'victims' had prepared themselves.

Yes I sat through it for exactly the same reason, nothing new really, same old stories lost passports, wallets stolen bla bla bla... The recording of the car accident was refreshing though...

[BookMan]

Just watched Bangkok Airport on the i player, good fun ,the usual losers and fat birds , i sometimes wonder how some people manage to leave their homes let alone travel 5 thousand miles ,as for the guy on the immegration desk ,ive been through the airport dozens of times ,how come a never saw him ,in fact i never saw any of them smile .

Me too. I found it utterly cringeworthy & only kept watching to see just how badly the 'victims' had prepared themselves.

Yes I sat through it for exactly the same reason, nothing new really, same old stories lost passports, wallets stolen bla bla bla... The recording of the car accident was refreshing though...

Not a patch on Border Security. Border Security canada is my favourite. those guys dont take any Sh*t! Got some undeclared food? $800 fine buddy. Border security Australia: 'Oh, trying to sneak in 3 suitcases of prohibited foods? Bad people, here is a slap on the wrist'.

[GrantSmith]

Just watched Bangkok Airport on the i player, good fun ,the usual losers and fat birds , i sometimes wonder how some people manage to leave their homes let alone travel 5 thousand miles ,as for the guy on the immegration desk ,ive been through the airport dozens of times ,how come a never saw him ,in fact i never saw any of them smile .

Me too. I found it utterly cringeworthy & only kept watching to see just how badly the 'victims' had prepared themselves.

Yes I sat through it for exactly the same reason, nothing new really, same old stories lost passports, wallets stolen bla bla bla... The recording of the car accident was refreshing though...

Not a patch on Border Security. Border Security canada is my favourite. those guys dont take any Sh*t! Got some undeclared food? $800 fine buddy. Border security Australia: 'Oh, trying to sneak in 3 suitcases of prohibited foods? Bad people, here is a slap on the wrist'.

Oh Border Security (Australia), how I miss thee... So many highlights...

[BookMan]

Oh Border Security (Australia), how I miss thee... So many highlights...

Youtube has most episodes mate

[SurinBeach]

Detectorists

great first series about a bunch of geeks in the UK from BBC3 or BBC4 ....

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4082744/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

[Patsycat]

A nice little film "What we did on our holidays", set in Scotland with David Tennant, Billy Connolly and a host of other Scottish actors - including Victor Meldrew's long suffering wife.

The kids acting and conversation was just lovely.

[GrantSmith]

Well with the slow down until Super Bowl, my film catch up prevailed... I was going to catch up on 'Galavant' but there were a few movies I had to get ahead of..

"We Still Kill the Old Way" was one. Another in the old Guy Ritchie genre. But <deleted> me. Very well done.. Just a movie where you wanted to see revenge acted upon those young punks. Nobody of particular note, which made it worth the watch.. I'd watch it again, 8/10

[uptheos]

"It's a lady of the night, kid"

"What's that?"

"One of the more honest ways to make a living"

Not one of the greatest movies ever, but hey it's got Bill Murray in sparkling form and anything with him in it, is OK with me.

St Vincent

Review here http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/st_vincent/

Watch it here http://rainierland.com/movie/st-vincent-2014.html

[Ulysses G.]

I liked St Vincent too. A very interesting character for Bill Murray to play.

[WhamBam]

The Murdoch Mysteries. Set in Toronto in the late 1800's. A likeable historical detective series. Don't expect too much violence or blood, it is not that sort of series. 8 series in this set to date.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1091909/?ref_=nv_sr_1

Rated 8.

The White Queen. Historical drama.If you liked the Tudors, you might well like this. From 2013.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2372220/?ref_=nv_sr_1

Rated 7.8.

Yes, yes, I am behind the times, but there is soooooo much to watch that I like

[JB300]

Black Hat...

Absolutely rubbish, watched it in a cinema in Philippines & actually fell asleep...

[Will27]

Katie's joing Ray Ray and the crew.

Katie Holmes returning to TV with big Showtime role

http://www.imdb.com/news/ni58223146?ref_=hm_nw_tv1

[GrantSmith]

Katie's joing Ray Ray and the crew.

Katie Holmes returning to TV with big Showtime role

http://www.imdb.com/news/ni58223146?ref_=hm_nw_tv1

This is very good news

[BookMan]

Just finished a 6 part BBC series called Uncle.

Quite enjoyable and has some real funny moments.

I'd rate it a solid 7.5

IMDB: An amateur musician of stunted emotional growth is reluctant to take care of his young nephew, but as his reluctance grows,

his other emotions begin to follow to the fore, meaning he may even become a better, more-rounded person.

Watching this now and funny stuff. Episode 1 is a bit slow, but 2-3-4 have some cracker moments

[Will27]

Just finished a 6 part BBC series called Uncle.

Quite enjoyable and has some real funny moments.

I'd rate it a solid 7.5

IMDB: An amateur musician of stunted emotional growth is reluctant to take care of his young nephew, but as his reluctance grows,

his other emotions begin to follow to the fore, meaning he may even become a better, more-rounded person.

Watching this now and funny stuff. Episode 1 is a bit slow, but 2-3-4 have some cracker moments

Yep, I wasn't too sure I was going to keep going after episode 1, but it really picks up.

[Will27]

I'm really looking forward to this one.

Child 44

[Frank James]

I watched the Swedish film "Force Majeure" last night. This is the kind of European film that quite often receives an Oscar for "Best Foreign Film." Which I believe is a conspiracy by the American film industry to put the public off "foreign films" forever. I've been a fan of non-US films since my earliest teens, and I don't mind subtitles at all.

But THIS...I can't even give a capsule description of what it's "about" without turning this into a spoiler, or worse, a petulant rant. I stayed with it for the whole excruciating two hours, thinking something was sure to happen, eventually. Nothing did.

Maybe you need to be from Scandinavia, and be rich enough to take the whole family on an expensive vacation at a tony Alpine resort, to understand this movie.

3-1/2 Arf Arf!

[Frank James]

Then there's American Sniper. A pretty straight ahead War is Hell type movie, which I always enjoy. What made this film stand out for me is the performance of Bradley Cooper as Chris Kyle. I could barely believe this was the same guy who starred in Silver Linings Playbook and American Hustle. What an outstanding and versatile actor!

NINE !

[uptheos]

Inherent Vice (2014)

A mind boggling film of intimate and ambitious ideas.

The casting, the screenplay, performances and direction are all excellent IMO.

Might not be everyone's cup of tea.

Review here http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/inherent_vice/

Watch it here http://rainierland.com/movie/inherent-vice-2014.html