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Sophie muses: "What is a con? .... It's a set of artificial circumstances designed to elicit an intended response." And suggests Harry will someday go back "with a very distinctive set of skills" which alludes both to Eliot's frequent "it's a very distinctive [x]" assessment and to the classic quote from Liam Neeson's character in Taken, "I don't know who you are. I don't know what you want. If you are looking for ransom, I can tell you I… [more]
posted to FanFare by brainwane at 4:20 AM on December 21, 2022

#1 in the most recent BFI top 100 Films.
posted to FanFare by brainwane at 8:17 AM on December 2, 2022

Back in 2013, I saw Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du commerce, 1080 Bruxelles at my local film museum/arthouse theater. I found it amazing, immersive. The main character does super-mundane things efficiently, and the first act feels like a graceful dance. Then we see her competence decrease on a frazzled day -- the first time she dropped something, I think I literally gasped.

Several days later, my spouse and I saw Children of Men at… [more]
posted to FanFare by brainwane at 8:24 AM on December 2, 2022

Via vacapinta's front page post I found Laura Mulvey's essay which I found informative, especially regarding audience response:

Jeanne Dielman had been first screened in the Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes. Akerman has described the difficult atmosphere, as she and Delphine Seyrig, the film’s star, sat at the back of the cinema listening to the seats banging as the audience walked out. In a later interview she said: “The next day fifty people invited the film to festivals.… [more]
posted to FanFare by brainwane at 10:54 AM on December 2, 2022

Many of the best responses to this particular Trek film have been in the form of fanvids.

The satirical "...on the dance floor." by sloanesomething, to the tune of the song: "Too Many Dicks on the Dance Floor," Flight of the Conchords.

The grieving, processing, and celebrating "Grapevine Fires" by skywaterblue (original is no longer available online; it is, however, available as remastered by starlady), using the… [more]
posted to FanFare by brainwane at 4:02 AM on December 2, 2022

Am now curious about other fictional depictions of Bohemian Grove -- I've seen this and the one from the US House of Cards.
posted to FanFare by brainwane at 6:48 PM on December 1, 2022

My spouse and I noted: The choreography is incredible, all designed to point out how ludicrous the human body is.
posted to FanFare by brainwane at 6:46 PM on December 1, 2022

8 films recommended if you liked Star Wars: Andor.
posted to FanFare by brainwane at 6:24 PM on December 1, 2022

Currently available to watch for free in the US via Tubi.
posted to FanFare by brainwane at 8:30 PM on November 30, 2022

One of eight films recommended if you liked Star Wars: Andor.
posted to FanFare by brainwane at 6:21 PM on December 1, 2022

Seems fair to me to note that Burt Lancaster was an American actor rather than a French one!

A movie that trusts the viewer to understand some subtle schemes without anyone underlining them with dialogue -- I saw a note (maybe in IMDb trivia) that, like, the last 25 minutes only have like 1-2 lines of dialogue by Labiche.

Really suspenseful and immersive. I was pretty sure the resistance would win, but I didn't know how, and I didn't know how horrifically high the cost would be.
posted to FanFare by brainwane at 2:00 PM on November 30, 2022

The Train recommended if you liked Star Wars: Andor.
posted to FanFare by brainwane at 6:21 PM on December 1, 2022

I remember liking this a lot.
posted to FanFare by brainwane at 9:51 PM on November 30, 2022

Fun to see Harry get too deep into his role!
posted to FanFare by brainwane at 3:20 AM on November 23, 2022

Hardison's going to space!?

If the Season 2 finale for Leverage: Redemption is "let's go steal a space station" then I want you to know: I called it.
posted to FanFare by brainwane at 6:43 PM on November 22, 2022

I appreciate Breanna here (as in Season 1) feeling really uneasy about how the crew's jobs do not solve the root problem.
posted to FanFare by brainwane at 6:36 PM on November 22, 2022

The moments that most stick in my memory are the meeting at the bar, with the one-upmanship about frequent flier programs, and the surprise at the door of her home, with the ambient noises of family behind her.
posted to FanFare by brainwane at 4:58 AM on November 16, 2022

Roger Ebert pointed out many of the "wait, what?" aspects of Reign of Fire such as the dragons' biology but I'd like to take a moment to talk about some good things about this movie.

This is a Hollywood scifi movie with an original screenplay. It's not a remake and it's not based on some pre-existing comic book or novel or TV show. 20 years later that feels a lot rarer.

Quinn has to deal with incredible burdens and… [more]
posted to FanFare by brainwane at 4:20 AM on November 14, 2022

JP as a queer text
posted to FanFare by brainwane at 5:27 AM on November 13, 2022

I enjoyed this season so much! It reminded me of early 30 Rock. It was such a pleasure to watch Key, Bloom, and Reiser interact in particular -- actors I already enjoyed -- but also to discover the others too.
posted to FanFare by brainwane at 11:14 AM on October 30, 2022

What an amazing show. So many breathtaking moments.

I saw the first episode at a friend's place and then showed it to my spouse. My spouse said that he didn't enjoy it but that he appreciated it as performance art, and agreed to watch the rest of the season.

That last speech, about trust and mistakes and surprises. And then the mistake, if it was a mistake, of saying "I'm your dad," and then doubling down on that.
posted to FanFare by brainwane at 9:56 AM on October 30, 2022

I would recommend The Rehearsal to people who enjoyed how The Good Place would suddenly take a left turn and utterly commit to a complete overhaul of the previous premise, with topics covering redemption, the environments that help us act how we want to act, and deception.

Also, in how things might go in a new direction at any moment, it reminded me of Everything Everywhere All At Once. Anytime Nathan started… [more]
posted to FanFare by brainwane at 11:09 AM on October 30, 2022

Yes, a bunch of the cast and crew for Titanic were sickened when an unknown malfeasor laced the chowder with PCP.
posted to FanFare by brainwane at 9:53 AM on October 30, 2022

Grimgrin: the observations you made at the start of your comment are extremely similar to what I was shouting at the screen during this episode. Thank you.

I think Mariner does not actually belong in Starfleet and I would love for her to actually stay a civilian! Maybe she could talk with Kasidy Yates sometime about what her life is like and see whether it might suit her!
posted to FanFare by brainwane at 8:26 PM on October 20, 2022

What if the reason the Ornarans tried to shoo Starfleet away is that they had vengefully sold out Brekka to the Breen and didn't want anyone to find out?

But some sort of Starfleet "Supplemental Training Initiative," or similarly polite phrasing, for the low-achievers and misfits who nevertheless have that core spirit of benevolence and teamwork?

That's something that could absolutely be a cool Federation… [more]
posted to FanFare by brainwane at 4:59 AM on October 21, 2022

(I recognize upon rereading that I have not made the distinction you have, of comedy versus serious Trek. Maybe I should try to make that distinction and it will get me to yell at the screen less!)
posted to FanFare by brainwane at 5:02 AM on October 21, 2022

Around 2008, my spouse and I came across a quote from J. Michael Straczynski: "It's been pointed out that TV-SF is generally 20-30 years behind print SF." This rings true for me; the issues and premises and speculative ideas that we see in film and TV science fiction often feel like stuff that print writers were developing 20-30 years prior.

I find Inception an example of this. I seem to recall that, right after seeing… [more]
posted to FanFare by brainwane at 1:10 PM on October 17, 2022

[copying and expanding on what I said on my blog]

A good farce is such a delight, like a magic trick or an elegant piece of music (or an arbitrage that doesn't hurt anyone). I absolutely love it when artists surprise me by combining pieces that were already right in front of me, such that immediately after the surprise I think "well of course that's what had to happen." And farces with physical elements require so much precise preparation so… [more]
posted to FanFare by brainwane at 4:50 AM on September 27, 2022

Glad to talk with another fan!! YES re: the consistent personas and the fresh jokes/styles.

While watching the nativity Christmas special I realized that, when he's smiling through gritted teeth, Chris Bean is like the Kermit of this particular Muppet Show.
posted to FanFare by brainwane at 8:38 AM on September 27, 2022

The clips on the BBC website include 74 seconds from "90 Degrees" and it's great.

Lord_Pall, here's a 10-minute clip from the beginning of The Play That Goes Wrong as performed at The Royal Variety Performance 2015.

I just posted season 2.
posted to FanFare by brainwane at 9:16 AM on October 13, 2022

I remember the incredible instantaneous blessing Morissette as God changes someone with, transforming their affect and leaving them tearful with gratitude instantly. So otherworldly and one of the cinematic expressions of "this is what is appealing about the idea of religion" that sticks with me, along with the bedside story about heaven in "The Invention of Lying".
posted to FanFare by brainwane at 2:06 AM on October 7, 2022

I have now watched the first 6 episodes, and will probably watch the rest of the season. I am a sucker for an underdog story, and for an institutional turnaround story. And I find Reynolds an intriguing person -- and he's of course superlatively charismatic.

But I find myself wanting a story that this particular series is not interested in providing me, or cannot.

I'm a manager myself and when I come into a stagnating or failing project to turn… [more]
posted to FanFare by brainwane at 4:46 AM on September 12, 2022

A friend pointed me to a news story of a different recent team purchase by foreign owners which serves as an interesting contrast.
posted to FanFare by brainwane at 9:33 AM on September 12, 2022

I think I saw someplace a mention of the showrunner's hopes to extend the story in some graphic novels.

Also: both in Motherland: Fort Salem and in Star Trek: Discovery we have mystical mycelial networks that help us transcend spacetime! Fungal magic is in the zeitgeist....
posted to FanFare by brainwane at 11:55 AM on September 7, 2022

I am still internally chortling at "Well, if Alan Alda says it!....."

And: I really appreciated getting to see the legal aid clinic Kim visits. It's a storefront like Saul's office, but it's SO strikingly opposite in other ways. EVERYONE there is a woman - the clients and the staff (rather than the gendered Francesca-Saul split). There seems to be no opaque barrier between the waiting area and the consultation area - no gaudy inner sanctum. Practically the… [more]
posted to FanFare by brainwane at 5:50 AM on August 21, 2022

Mud 2!
posted to FanFare by brainwane at 7:07 AM on August 20, 2022

BTW I also love the age progression specialist who notes that if we were all in outer space, WHERE WE WILL ALL LIVE SOMEDAY, we would visibly age much less because of the lack of gravity. His utter assurance on this point was so charming!
posted to FanFare by brainwane at 3:13 AM on August 21, 2022

Early in the episode: going from the divorce papers to the slicing of a potato (the potato being divided, like the marriage was)! And then the potato salad is like the marrying of ingredients! But it rings false because of using Miracle Whip instead of mayo, the same way the Florida boyfriend -- wearing a loud shirt and a smile -- doesn't have the substance Kim craves! (This is a kind of a placeholder paragraph awaiting kewb's magisterial comparison of potato salad and Cinnabon.)… [more]
posted to FanFare by brainwane at 1:38 PM on August 9, 2022

Also, I loved the mention of Ask Jeeves.
posted to FanFare by brainwane at 1:39 PM on August 9, 2022

The 3rd and final season is now partially available - I believe all the episodes will be available within the next several weeks.

Unicorn on the cob - which revelation from the Season 1 finale horrified you?

I am so so so fond of Tally! And of the deep immortality weirdness of General Alder and her crew of biddies!
posted to FanFare by brainwane at 10:04 PM on July 29, 2022

FanFare puts the link in the right sidebar under "Info" - here's the link to stream the musical.

Also: this work won "Best Original Single Drama" in the BBC Audio Drama Awards 2021.
posted to FanFare by brainwane at 8:46 AM on July 29, 2022

Just finished the season. Fun, very true to the spirit of the comic, and particularly a great vehicle for Brain Drain's idiosyncratic line delivery.
posted to FanFare by brainwane at 6:13 AM on July 28, 2022

I gasped aloud when Jimmy cut that wire on Marion's chair. SO EVIL. He absolutely knew how much pride she took in her independence, he engineered the ice on the sidewalk to make it just tough enough to stymie her chair, and then, to literally cut a wire that a disabled person depends on, to make her dependent on him (even temporarily) .... I know he had done awful things before, but this specific sabotage and manipulation was so breathtakingly cruel.

Also: Frank's utter… [more]
posted to FanFare by brainwane at 7:26 AM on July 26, 2022

tiny frying pan said: I liked how Slippin Jimmy almost had the scheme undone by a real slip and fall. YES! Nicely caught!!

My spouse and I noticed the shoe scuff mark on the floor and Kathy's order to get it cleaned, but predicted the issue would be that the cleaner would be in the shop during the robbery -- and I thought maybe Jeff would (without telling Jimmy) have a gun on him during the robbery, and panic and shoot the cleaner. I also thought… [more]
posted to FanFare by brainwane at 7:39 AM on July 26, 2022

Pendragon, that makes SO MUCH SENSE.
posted to FanFare by brainwane at 9:13 AM on July 26, 2022

I posted about Perhaps the Stars and figure we can talk about the whole series there.
posted to FanFare by brainwane at 8:02 AM on July 26, 2022

I am very fond of Lyle.
posted to FanFare by brainwane at 11:54 AM on July 12, 2022

When I was watching Babylon 5 I followed along with the Lurker's Guide which, for each episode, summarized plot points, analyzed new info, quoted contemporaneous comments from the showrunner (from Usenet), and listed newly raised/unanswered questions, some of which hadn't occurred to me till I read them in the guide.

In that spirit, I'm reflecting on still-unanswered questions (as far as I know):

* Does HHM collapse, and do… [more]
posted to FanFare by brainwane at 10:00 AM on July 13, 2022

kewb: thank you! My memories completely failed me and I appreciate the reminders of answers!
posted to FanFare by brainwane at 11:46 AM on July 13, 2022

The film's now out on DVD and Blu-Ray, and in the US is available for streaming purchase or rental on many platforms.
posted to FanFare by brainwane at 1:57 PM on July 11, 2022