What Are You Watching

[A Lark Ascending]

The Crusades (BBC4 Three Part series)

An interesting if a bit ordinary documentary covering the First, Third and Seventh Crusades. Found the last part most interesting as I knew nothing about the Seventh Crusade or the subsequent defeat of the Mongols by the Mamluks prior to wiping out the last crusader kingdoms.

Suffered like a lot of pre-modern history programmes from deciding what to show on screen given the dearth of visual evidence - some lovely illuminated manuscript pictures and plenty of crumbling castles and (not so crumbling) abbeys but did the usual thing of having the presenter jet setting round the world to stand in front of contemporary Cairo, Jerusalem or Paris and try to find vague connections between the scene and the narrative (lots of mysterious ladies at windows whenever whores were mentioned; a description of a massacre with a group of chaps playing cards in a cafe!). 

Standard paste in library music - the expected Gregorian Chant and Arabic music but some strange choices of Romantic classical music at points of high drama - Finlandia at one point! Sorry, going all train spotter - 'I say, in episode 12 of Downton Abbey, supposedly set in the 1920s, it showed a Mark 3 doubled boggied guards wagon; everyone knows these were not introduced until 1933.'  

[jlhoots]

13 hours ago, jazzbo said:

A double "Tuco" viewing: Better Call Saul, Major Crimes.

Mike (Pop-Pop) is crucial too.

[paul secor]

Wallander - Series 3

[Balladeer]

42 minutes ago, paul secor said:

Wallander - Series 3

Wallander with Branagh - like them, too!

[paul secor]

1 hour ago, Balladeer said:

Wallander with Branagh - like them, too!

I like them too, but I'll have to take a break. Dark stuff.

[erwbol]

On 8 Mar 2016 at 3:27 PM, jazzbo said:

A double "Tuco" viewing: Better Call Saul, Major Crimes.

I wonder if we'll ever see that collector's squat cobbler video ... 

 

Reposted with the added benefit of images.

[A Lark Ascending]

Had much the same reaction to this as I had to 'Inside Llewyn Davis'. Thin plot line, didn't really get the jokes, seemed to lean too heavily on knowing references to old movies and pastiche reconstructions. Probably means more to people really up on their Hollywood.

Not a big draw in North Notts on a cold March afternoon - had the theatre entirely to myself.  

[A Lark Ascending]

Now this one I did enjoy. Unusually, a film where the bad guys win. 

Edited March 12, 2016 by A Lark Ascending

[jlhoots]

guilty pleasure -I still watch Gray's Anatomy.

[page]

New series on Canvas: Follow the money. A Danish series about an energy company. First episodes were promising.

On 9-3-2016 at 3:13 PM, paul secor said:

I like them too, but I'll have to take a break. Dark stuff.

Mind the tune. The singer especially wrote that tune about the subject of Alzheimer and they chose her tune to accompany the series. I think it is a stunning tune, it made me cry. Series 3 was really wonderful, I can tell you.

[kinuta]

Bosch season 2

Very entertaining with a plotline to keep you on your toes.

Jeri Ryan a great femme fatale.

[JSngry]

Spent the weekend going between Shameless & Albert Hitchcock Prevents.

[A Lark Ascending]

Final Happy Valley. Loved the jump from the bridge scene which Wainwright managed to turn into black comedy with the jumper explaining to Catherine how to talk him down because she'd not done the course. And the end where without saying a word she put the shooting up on the moor together with her grandsons genetic connect with Royce and starts to fear the worse....without a word spoken. Nicely set up for a third series.

Though if Whittingdale and the Tories have their way it won't happen because Happy Valley is popular and the BBC shouldn't be doing popular.

[jazzbo]

The excellent "Better Call Saul" and the excellent Season 2 of "Manhattan" (on Blu-ray).

[jlhoots]

7 hours ago, A Lark Ascending said:

Final Happy Valley. Loved the jump from the bridge scene which Wainwright managed to turn into black comedy with the jumper explaining to Catherine how to talk him down because she'd not done the course. And the end where without saying a word she put the shooting up on the moor together with her grandsons genetic connect with Royce and starts to fear the worse....without a word spoken. Nicely set up for a third series.

Though if Whittingdale and the Tories have their way it won't happen because Happy Valley is popular and the BBC shouldn't be doing popular.

I guess Happy Valley (season 2) will eventually show up on DVD in the US - although it took a long time for season 1 to get here. I'll get it when it does.

[A Lark Ascending]

3 hours ago, jlhoots said:

I guess Happy Valley (season 2) will eventually show up on DVD in the US - although it took a long time for season 1 to get here. I'll get it when it does.

It's worth the wait! We had to wait 2 years between series; probably have to wait the same for series 3 if it happens. 

Meanwhile the third series of 'Line of Duty' starts next Thursday - another 'popular' high quality BBC drama.

[jlhoots]

45 minutes ago, A Lark Ascending said:

It's worth the wait! We had to wait 2 years between series; probably have to wait the same for series 3 if it happens. 

Meanwhile the third series of 'Line of Duty' starts next Thursday - another 'popular' high quality BBC drama.

I've watched & liked both seasons of Line Of Duty. I'll watch for season 3. Don't know why BBC America doesn't run these.

[paul secor]

On ‎3‎/‎11‎/‎2016 at 5:13 PM, page said:

New series on Canvas: Follow the money. A Danish series about an energy company. First episodes were promising.

Mind the tune. The singer especially wrote that tune about the subject of Alzheimer and they chose her tune to accompany the series. I think it is a stunning tune, it made me cry. Series 3 was really wonderful, I can tell you.

I've read a number of the books, so I know what's in store. Didn't make the connection with the song, though. Thanks, page.

[A Lark Ascending]

56 minutes ago, jlhoots said:

I've watched & liked both seasons of Line Of Duty. I'll watch for season 3. Don't know why BBC America doesn't run these.

Well you learn something new every day...never knew there was a BBC America. Always assumed the Beeb sold to various networks. Looking on the website seems to show a lot of Star Trek! 

[erwbol]

Ófærð (Trapped). Ten part Icelandic crime series through the BBC broadcast.

[page]

5 hours ago, paul secor said:

I've read a number of the books, so I know what's in store. Didn't make the connection with the song, though. Thanks, page.

It's the Ane Brun song, not the one of Anna Ternheim,
but this one:

No jazz of course, but it is moving at least it has me. I actually really like Anna Ternheim as a singer songwriter but the Ane Brun song did more to emotionally than the soundtrack Anna did. She has better songs than the soundtrack for Wallander. Anna Ternheim did some jazz, but I wasn't really impressed by it. I prefer to hear her sing her own music. Don't know much about Ane Brun's other music, checking some out right now.

16 hours ago, A Lark Ascending said:

Final Happy Valley. Loved the jump from the bridge scene which Wainwright managed to turn into black comedy with the jumper explaining to Catherine how to talk him down because she'd not done the course. And the end where without saying a word she put the shooting up on the moor together with her grandsons genetic connect with Royce and starts to fear the worse....without a word spoken. Nicely set up for a third series.

Though if Whittingdale and the Tories have their way it won't happen because Happy Valley is popular and the BBC shouldn't be doing popular.

That was a marvellous final. Man, series 2 was even better than series 1. A pity I've missed that one episode. I will definitely watch again when series 2 will be on the Dutch tv, which it probably will. I really thought the scene with the mom was really really good where she held her and the dialogue there. (don't want to spoil too much for people who still want to watch).

Edited March 16, 2016 by page

[jlhoots]

Finished season 3 of The Americans in time to begin season 4 "live" tonight.

[A Lark Ascending]

9 hours ago, page said:

That was a marvellous final. Man, series 2 was even better than series 1. A pity I've missed that one episode. I will definitely watch again when series 2 will be on the Dutch tv, which it probably will. I really thought the scene with the mom was really really good where she held her and the dialogue there. (don't want to spoil too much for people who still want to watch).

Sarah Lancashire came to fame via soaps. She then did a number of rather weepy type hard luck story series. I never paid any attention to her until 'Happy Valley'. Completely changed my view on her. Have you seen 'Last Tango in Halifax', also with Lancashire and written by Sally Wainwright (and set in a similar part of Yorkshire)? Unpromising premise - two retired people rekindle an old flame in late life (Lancashire plays a daughter). I ignored it until Happy Valley, then tried it and got gripped. More of a comedy than HV but has that same down-to-earth grittiness (I'm sounding like a spokesperson for the Yorkshire tourist board). Also has Nicola Walker in it in a wonderful role.  

Enjoyed this last night. Hugely simplified from real life with some rather stock Eureka moments and sub-plots...and, I read on Wiki, takes huge liberties with historical fact (inevitable in telescoping complex events into a two hour film, although it seems the portrayal of Turing's eccentricities as Aspergers went over the line). But good entertainment. My mum worked at Bletchley Park in the war as a teleprinter operator so the story has special meaning. Trying to portray Knightley's character as a dowdy bluestocking was a complete failure!  

[Shawn]

On March 16, 2016 at 6:19 AM, jlhoots said:

I guess Happy Valley (season 2) will eventually show up on DVD in the US - although it took a long time for season 1 to get here. I'll get it when it does.

It's already on Netflix.  

 

8 hours ago, A Lark Ascending said:

 

Enjoyed this last night. Hugely simplified from real life with some rather stock Eureka moments and sub-plots...and, I read on Wiki, takes huge liberties with historical fact (inevitable in telescoping complex events into a two hour film, although it seems the portrayal of Turing's eccentricities as Aspergers went over the line). But good entertainment. My mum worked at Bletchley Park in the war as a teleprinter operator so the story has special meaning. Trying to portray Knightley's character as a dowdy bluestocking was a complete failure!  

It was good, although it did feel like an incredibly calculated "prestige picture".  

I actually prefer the highly-fictionalized film "Enigma" from 2001, sure, it takes a lot of liberties with the story but I think it's a more successful film.  

 

[A Lark Ascending]

2 hours ago, Shawn said:

I actually prefer the highly-fictionalized film "Enigma" from 2001, sure, it takes a lot of liberties with the story but I think it's a more successful film.  

I must watch that at some point. I read the book many years ago.