infinitelurker wrote: ↑Sun Aug 23, 2020 10:22 am
I did a search to see if this has been mentioned already and didn’t see it, so apologies if this is a repeat.
We started watching High Score on Netflix last night. The first 3 episodes so far have been good and a real blast from the past for my 48 year old self. If you grew up in the arcades, playing text adventures, etc. and have been gaming since the “old days” you will likely enjoy it too.
I've been watching this too. What a wonderful deep dive into the people who really created the whole video game scene. Really enjoying it!
The duo are teaming with writer-producer Alexander Woo (True Blood) to tackle Liu Cixin's The Three-Body Problem trilogy, which depicts humanity’s first contact with an alien civilization. The saga's debut book was published to considerable acclaim in China in 2008, while an English translation by Ken Liu became the first Asian novel ever to win a Hugo Award for Best Novel in 2014. The New Yorker dubbed Liu "China's Arthur C. Clarke," referring to the 2001: A Space Odyssey screenwriter.
...
The cost of the series is sure to be substantial. In 2018, the Financial Times reported that Amazon Studios was making a heavy play for the rights to the novels, looking into potentially making a deal worth $1 billion — a figure that would even dwarf the company's initial investment in its upcoming The Lord of the Rings series. That the project ended up at Netflix despite such numbers floating around is really saying something (though one source described the $1 billion figure as overblown).
I found the first book really interesting, especially because of the cultural revolution history /ties throughout. Haven't read the rest of the series.
However, I would see this as a play for a Chinese audience. I hope they can do it well.
infinitelurker wrote: ↑Sun Aug 23, 2020 10:22 am
I did a search to see if this has been mentioned already and didn’t see it, so apologies if this is a repeat.
We started watching High Score on Netflix last night. The first 3 episodes so far have been good and a real blast from the past for my 48 year old self. If you grew up in the arcades, playing text adventures, etc. and have been gaming since the “old days” you will likely enjoy it too.
I've been watching this too. What a wonderful deep dive into the people who really created the whole video game scene. Really enjoying it!
That looks interesting, but I am pretty sure my wife would not have any interest at all. Maybe if I run out of games to play.
Remus West wrote: ↑Wed Jul 29, 2020 12:01 am
Finished Cursed. Kinda felt like the ending was just the beginning but the rest wasn’t interesting enough to make me watch another season unless they release it while Covid is still creating a mess of life.
I'm planning to give it a whirl. There is so little fantasy stuff on TV that I tend to be pretty tolerant when it comes to shortcomings.
Well, I finished Cursed. It was... solidly OK. The plotting and concept were OK, but the dialog was pretty bland and predictable. It was like they couldn't decide if they were doing Game of Thrones or a teen drama. But I think the biggest failing, for me at least, was the casting of Nimue. I don't know whether she's a good actress or not, but she absolutely did not fit the part. The character was written with some fire and steel in her, but the actress just didn't bring it to the role. And her look, both the actress plus her hair/makeup were too contemporary. She just didn't fit the setting. She'd walk through the village and I'd be waiting for her to pull out her phone and answer a text. The funny thing is that the other characters were just fine. It was just she and to a lesser degree, Arthur, that stood out in a bad way.
I liked the girl. I really liked Floki-as-Merlin. I'm not sure about the Weeping Monk. I liked the character, but when he took his hood off I started to get the Nimue/Arthur vibe, and his big last-second reveal was obvious two episodes before the end.
Maybe they can turn it around in season 2, if there is one.
Remus West wrote: ↑Wed Jul 29, 2020 12:01 am
Finished Cursed. Kinda felt like the ending was just the beginning but the rest wasn’t interesting enough to make me watch another season unless they release it while Covid is still creating a mess of life.
I'm planning to give it a whirl. There is so little fantasy stuff on TV that I tend to be pretty tolerant when it comes to shortcomings.
Well, I finished Cursed. It was... solidly OK. The plotting and concept were OK, but the dialog was pretty bland and predictable. It was like they couldn't decide if they were doing Game of Thrones or a teen drama. But I think the biggest failing, for me at least, was the casting of Nimue. I don't know whether she's a good actress or not, but she absolutely did not fit the part. The character was written with some fire and steel in her, but the actress just didn't bring it to the role. And her look, both the actress plus her hair/makeup were too contemporary. She just didn't fit the setting. She'd walk through the village and I'd be waiting for her to pull out her phone and answer a text. The funny thing is that the other characters were just fine. It was just she and to a lesser degree, Arthur, that stood out in a bad way.
I liked the girl. I really liked Floki-as-Merlin. I'm not sure about the Weeping Monk. I liked the character, but when he took his hood off I started to get the Nimue/Arthur vibe, and his big last-second reveal was obvious two episodes before the end.
Maybe they can turn it around in season 2, if there is one.
So I am guessing you didn't watch 13 Reasons Why where she played the teenage girl pulling out her phone. She was definitely a much better fit there and at least the first season is worth watch if you have time and want to be a little more depressed than you are now. I liked the actress from that experience going in and she still didn't work for as Nimue. Of course I found the whole thing fairly uninteresting and I am not really a big fan of Arthurian legend anyway.
Background: the script was originally a very controversial, very well-received play in 1968. The actors in this trailer (including Parsons and Quinto) are the main cast of a recent successful Broadway revival.
Re: Netflix exclusive films and content
Posted: Thu Sep 10, 2020 9:27 pm
by McNutt
I watched the first episode of Away. I was not impressed.
Re: Netflix exclusive films and content
Posted: Thu Sep 10, 2020 9:31 pm
by Isgrimnur
McNutt wrote: ↑Thu Sep 10, 2020 9:27 pm
I watched the first episode of Away. I was not impressed.
Yeah, the trailer looked a little schmaltzy to me
Re: Netflix exclusive films and content
Posted: Thu Sep 10, 2020 9:41 pm
by Anonymous Bosch
This documentary's well worth watching IMHO (all the moreso for parents of juveniles):
Boy twin saw an add for something called "Camp Cretacious" on the back of a Ranger Rick Jr. magazine, which is an animated show spin off of Jurassic Park set to debut on 9/18 on Netflix. He only mentions it about 135 times a day.
Re: Netflix exclusive films and content
Posted: Fri Sep 11, 2020 10:15 am
by hepcat
You're stuck with it now. You may as well add it to the queue and get the popcorn ready.
I watched an extended scene posted somewhere for Cuties. That was...disturbing. I know Netflix is going all in with the assertion that the movie is actually making a statement about how our society sexualizes children in response to the backlash they’re getting over this. But I really don’t want to find out after experiencing that scene.
Re: Netflix exclusive films and content
Posted: Mon Sep 14, 2020 8:57 am
by Skinypupy
ImLawBoy wrote: ↑Thu Sep 10, 2020 11:30 pm
Boy twin saw an add for something called "Camp Cretacious" on the back of a Ranger Rick Jr. magazine, which is an animated show spin off of Jurassic Park set to debut on 9/18 on Netflix. He only mentions it about 135 times a day.
I could be worse, he could be obsessed with "Total Drama Island" (an animated spin on Survivor-esque reality shows) like my kids currently are.
Of all the Netflix shows they've watched (which is a lot), this one is - by far - my least favorite. It's not offensive or anything, just remarkably stupid. Add in my general distaste for all things reality TV, and I just cringe every time they turn it on.
hepcat wrote: ↑Sun Sep 13, 2020 8:44 pm
I watched an extended scene posted somewhere for Cuties. That was...disturbing. I know Netflix is going all in with the assertion that the movie is actually making a statement about how our society sexualizes children in response to the backlash they’re getting over this. But I really don’t want to find out after experiencing that scene.
Yeah, this seems like a really weird hill for them to die on, especially right now. The amount of fodder it's giving to the Q-heads is rather annoying as well. Had a relative yesterday tell me that if I didn't cancel my Netflix subscription, then I was actively supporting pedophilia.
Re: Netflix exclusive films and content
Posted: Mon Sep 14, 2020 11:17 am
by Blackhawk
Does the story they're telling explain the content? I haven't seen it (and wouldn't, as it just doesn't look interesting to me), but sometimes you have to have disturbing content to address disturbing topics. Films about the horrors of rape sometimes have disturbing rape scenes. Likewise torture, murder, kidnapping, and other evils of society that sometimes need to be addressed. Is the film actually, as proponents seem to be claiming, about the problems surrounding external pressures for children to become sexualized? Or is it just glorifying the sexualization? Most of the criticism I've seen seems to be by people who haven't actually seen the film and are just having knee-jerk reactions to the content.
Re: Netflix exclusive films and content
Posted: Mon Sep 14, 2020 12:04 pm
by hepcat
If the film goes on to cover how wrong the sexual objectification of children is in our society, that would be great. But the extended scene I saw of a dance routine seemed to spend its entire time giving us close ups of little girls performing a dance routine that was incredibly uncomfortable due to its sexual nature. A brief scene to shock us into realizing how awful it can be for these children trying to grow up in that kind of environment is one thing, but that didn't seem to be the purpose of that long, lingering dance routine scene full of close ups of children acting like strippers.
To me, it seemed like it was trying to show us empowerment for these little girls...but it seems like misguided empowerment at best.
I also wasn't aware it had become a political issue. Although I shouldn't be surprised in this day and age.
Re: Netflix exclusive films and content
Posted: Mon Sep 14, 2020 1:09 pm
by YellowKing
I know it's not an apples to apples comparison, but I've always been slightly perturbed at the blatant sexualization of high school kids in teen dramas like Riverdale, Glee, etc. I guess people figure since the actors that play them are usually in their 20s then it's OK, but I've always felt a bit weird about it.
Re: Netflix exclusive films and content
Posted: Mon Sep 14, 2020 4:42 pm
by Hyena
Blackhawk wrote: ↑Mon Sep 14, 2020 11:17 am
Does the story they're telling explain the content? I haven't seen it (and wouldn't, as it just doesn't look interesting to me), but sometimes you have to have disturbing content to address disturbing topics. Films about the horrors of rape sometimes have disturbing rape scenes. Likewise torture, murder, kidnapping, and other evils of society that sometimes need to be addressed. Is the film actually, as proponents seem to be claiming, about the problems surrounding external pressures for children to become sexualized? Or is it just glorifying the sexualization? Most of the criticism I've seen seems to be by people who haven't actually seen the film and are just having knee-jerk reactions to the content.
I had a lengthy-but-civil discussion about this very concept with an old HS friend via facebook. I mentioned that in order to cover uncomfortable topics, uncomfortable scenes sometimes needed to be used. I brought up movies like 12 Years a Slave and Schindler's List as movies that necessitated horrific scenes to show how awful the situation was. His response was, "Do you really need to see the sexualization of a child to know that sexualizing a child is bad?" I could see his point, and I said as much, but still...I don't know. Like you, I have no desire to ever watch the movie because I enjoy films to escape, not to be reminded of how horrible this world is.
Re: Netflix exclusive films and content
Posted: Mon Sep 14, 2020 5:02 pm
by ImLawBoy
I think the issue here is that they're using 11 and 12 year old girls in the movie. It's one thing to portray the sexualization of teenagers using 20-something actors to play younger, but it's another thing for adults to be directing preteens to act in highly sexualized ways on camera. (At least, it's my understanding that this movie uses very young actors - I may be wrong as I haven't looked that closely into it.)
Blackhawk wrote: ↑Mon Sep 14, 2020 11:17 am
Does the story they're telling explain the content? I haven't seen it (and wouldn't, as it just doesn't look interesting to me), but sometimes you have to have disturbing content to address disturbing topics. Films about the horrors of rape sometimes have disturbing rape scenes. Likewise torture, murder, kidnapping, and other evils of society that sometimes need to be addressed. Is the film actually, as proponents seem to be claiming, about the problems surrounding external pressures for children to become sexualized? Or is it just glorifying the sexualization? Most of the criticism I've seen seems to be by people who haven't actually seen the film and are just having knee-jerk reactions to the content.
I had a lengthy-but-civil discussion about this very concept with an old HS friend via facebook. I mentioned that in order to cover uncomfortable topics, uncomfortable scenes sometimes needed to be used. I brought up movies like 12 Years a Slave and Schindler's List as movies that necessitated horrific scenes to show how awful the situation was. His response was, "Do you really need to see the sexualization of a child to know that sexualizing a child is bad?" I could see his point, and I said as much, but still...I don't know. Like you, I have no desire to ever watch the movie because I enjoy films to escape, not to be reminded of how horrible this world is.
Seems like a cynical ploy to drum up ratings for what would otherwise be a fairly unremarkable subtitled French film no one would be watching.
Re: Netflix exclusive films and content
Posted: Mon Sep 14, 2020 5:12 pm
by Blackhawk
An article I read earlier suggested that they were intentionally using preteens specifically to make the audience uncomfortable, and that the highly sexualized scenes showed the audience itself being uncomfortable, and emphasized that every time the girls took the 'sexy is cool' approach it backfired on them. I'll try and find the article when I get home.
