Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Take your GOP plan out of the witness protection program.

Let there be snark.

They were going to turn on one another at some point. It was inevitable.

Hot air and ill-informed banter

Seems like a complicated subject, have you tried yelling at it?

We’re not going back!

That’s my take and I am available for criticism at this time.

This really is a full service blog.

So many bastards, so little time.

Not so fun when the rabbit gets the gun, is it?

… pundit janitors mopping up after the GOP

“woke” is the new caravan.

Optimism opens the door to great things.

Let’s finish the job.

Despite his magical powers, I don’t think Trump is thinking this through, to be honest.

As long as McCarthy is Speaker, the House will never be in order.

Nothing worth doing is easy.

Republicans: slavery is when you own me. freedom is when I own you.

Republicans don’t trust women.

It’s easy to sit in safety and prescribe what other people should be doing.

Narcissists are always shocked to discover other people have agency.

Proof that we need a blogger ethics panel.

When someone says they “love freedom”, rest assured they don’t mean yours.

Republicans seem to think life begins at the candlelight dinner the night before.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Open Thread (BG Gets the Night Off)

Open Thread (BG Gets the Night Off)

by | 219 Comments

This post is in: , ,

Let’s talk TV, movies, books, and music anyway.

Food fight!   Free for all.  Talk about anything you want.

Treadmill-watching report:  I finished Bad Sisters. (most excellent!)  After that I finished The Take with Idris Elba. (really good!)  Now I am watching 21 Bridges. (interesting and gripping)  Just 20 minutes left on that one, so I will have to do the switchover to The Lincoln Lawyer on the fly.

Can you guys recommend any other good movies with Idris Elba?

Open Thread (BG Gets the Night Off)

Open thread.

Reader Interactions

219Comments

  2. 2.

    Ihop

    I did enjoy his performance and really the whole film of James gunn’s reboot?  Of “suicide squad”.

    Darkly funny and incredibly violent. Ymmv.

  3. 3.

    Martin

    With Idris? Sonic the Hedgehog 2. My daughter loves Zootopia. 28 Weeks Later has good running energy.

  6. 6.

    James E Powell

    Started watching The Peripheral on Amazon. I like it so far. There is a lot going on that is not really explained, so I bought the audio book. Completely different.

  15. 15.

    dmsilev

    @beef: I’ll second that recommendation. Excellent film.

    Edit: capsule summary from Wiki: “Three Thousand Years of Longing is a 2022 fantasy romantic drama film directed and produced by George Miller. Written by Miller and Augusta Gore, it is based on the short story “The Djinn in the Nightingale’s Eye” by A. S. Byatt and stars Idris Elba as a djinn who is unleashed from a bottle by a professor (Tilda Swinton), and tells her stories from his thousands of years-long existence.”

    Most of the film is basically the two of them in a room talking and telling stories.

  16. 16.

    NorthLeft

    Funny, I can’t think of any really good movies that I remember seeing him in, but his TV series The Wire and Luther were fantastic.

    I always check IMDb to find out what else an actor has been in.

  18. 18.

    Suzanne

    This is like a beacon for lamh! She loooooves Idris.

    He was in one of the Star Trek movies. The movie wasn’t great, but he was.

  26. 26.

    Amir Khalid

    @WaterGirl:

    Speaking of eversor — not that I miss that troll, but where is he? In time-out, smote with the permanent Banhammer, taking a break, or did he GBCW?

  29. 29.

    Craig

    I found FastFurious: Hobbes and Shaw very entertaining, and Elba is the bad guy. Plus a quick Helen Mirren cameo.

  32. 32.

    NotMax

    Recently watched Troupers, which was wholly entertaining.

    Available on Tubi (free with ads*) and, in full, on YouTube. (It’s also a 99 cent rental on Prime.)

    *Xmas ads currently airing in plenitude.

  33. 33.

    Brachiator

    I have really been enjoying the Star Wars series Andor on Disney Plus. It treats the Empire as a grounded event, as opposed to background for whiz bang action adventure. The result expands and deepens the Star Wars universe thanks to great writing and consistently good acting.

    I recently caught up with Top Gun: Maverick, which was very enjoyable, but very safe. Because 30 years have passed in the film’s universe, there is an engaging cast of young actors involved in the action, but the film still centers around Tom Cruise. On reflection, the Star Wars sequel trilogy should have taken the same approach, and centered the film on the further adventures of Han Solo, General Princess Leia and Luke Skywalker and made the new actors supporting characters. This would have placated the angriest, most childish fans who felt that Luke Skywalker was poorly used in the sequels.

  34. 34.

    Starfish

    This story about a boy’s mysterious illness was interesting.  These folks totally went to a rightwingy holistic medicine type to find out what was wrong with their kid, but it worked out for them because everyone else was looking for normal answers and unwilling to consider the weirdo ones.

  35. 35.

    Chacal Charles Calthrop

    @Benw: He’s also in the other two previous Thor movies, which I agree aren’t good, but he’s brilliant up against Tom Hiddleston (Loki) who’s also brilliant.

  36. 36.

    Jean

    Someone here recommended Extraordinary Attorney Woo.  I just completed all the episodes.  It is my favorite series in a long time.  Just loved  it.  Takes place in South Korea (subtitles). Woo is a young attorney who is a genius and also on the spectrum of autistic disorders.  She has a complex history. Woo-Young-Woo has an obsession with whales and they appear in the storylines sometimes in surprising ways.  The characters are interesting and the cases solved are too.  A young man in the law firm finds Woo endearing from the start and helps her manage revolving doors and other everyday occurrences that for Woo are difficult.

  37. 37.

    CaseyL

    I am so out of touch with “what are people watching? what is even on??” that I didn’t find out until today that Westworld, a series I did enjoy, and even signed up for HBO Max just so I could watch, has been cancelled. Waah! Tbf, it was losing audience, because each season was a little stranger – and a lot darker – than the last. But I still loved it.

    I am planning to catch a matinee of Wakanda Forever during Thanksgiving Week, which I am taking off from work. Hoping there won’t be too much of a line, and also not too many kiddos, even though they all probably have the week off from school.

  38. 38.

    Ohio Mom

    @Amir Khalid: I thought he was in a time-out but maybe he decided to go on to greener pastures?

    The person I have been wondering about is Bill from Glendale. Haven’t seen him or his photos in a while. Hope he is okay.

  40. 40.

    Eric S.

    I enjoyed The Take. Not an Ildris movie but the same night I also watched The Vault. It was a fun heist movie.

  41. 41.

    brendancalling

    Music? Pat Reedy and the Longtime Goners. Great working people’s country, and from an authentically left perspective. Can’t recommend him enough.

    Speaking of music, I’m recording a bunch of my honky-tonker tunes with the band I threw together when I got back to Philly in August. We have a good thing going.  I guess I should put up a GoFundMe or whatever it’s called.

  44. 44.

    WaterGirl

    We don’t just have to talk about Idris Elba, obviously.  But I do 💕 Idris Elba.  Speaking of which, has anyone heard from LAMH lately?

  48. 48.

    WaterGirl

    @Suzanne: Funny, I wrote the comment at #44 before you wrote your comment, but somehow I never hit Post Comment.

    So we both thought of lamh because of Idris Elba.  I would post on Idris Elba every day if it would bring lamh back.  (Do you think Cole would object?)

  50. 50.

    EmanG

    I feel like many people in this space might have a knee jerk negative reaction to the idea of watching “Vice-The Dick Cheney is a Dick Story” (not actual title). I know I did, but my sister is very persuasive when it comes to movie choices. Most of us know this story too well and might have a hard time approaching the idea of rewatching such a fucked up narrative, about a man in power who fucked us all up. That being said, it’s the best “pure” movie experience I’ve had in years. It hits on all 3 cylinders: Script, Production and Editing. Christian Bale and Amy Adams are bone chillingly accurate in their depictions of Dick and Lynne. Steve Carell as Rumsfeld is spot on as well (there’s the part where you keep waiting for him to be funny, but it never comes).  It really is an amazing feat of film making, using all the tools available. It’ll make you mad again, but in a good way. In the words of Joe Bob Briggs “Check it out!”

  51. 51.

    CaseyL

    @eclare: ​

    Lucy is a cutie! A new member of the household is always an adventure; I look forward to any updates you care to share.​

    @Omnes Omnibus: ​
      Wait, what?? Didn’t lamh just go through some kind of advanced research tech training not too long ago? And now she wants to go to school again?

  55. 55.

    brendancalling

    Film AND music? Jackals, you HAVE to see “Rompan Todo” (“Break it All” in English). It documents the history of rock-n-roll in Latin America, y es FANTÁSTICO. On Netflix. My son and I loved it.

    Also good on Netflix, “Maniac” with Jonah Hill and Emma Stone.

    Finally, another music rec: Elvis at Stax. It’s incredible. It’s Elvis with the Stax rhythm section. It’s funky AF, and a surprisingly loose and improvisational approach from the big E. Put it this way: even if you don’t like Elvis, you’ll love this so much you’ll question why you don’t like Elvis.

  56. 56.

    Amir Khalid

    There’a YouTube channel that I think merits the attention of animal-loving Jackals: The Orphan Pet. Valia talks about the inner lives of furry beings with perception, empathy, and grace. Her videos are often profoundly moving.

  58. 58.

    WaterGirl

    @Amir Khalid: I don’t know that eversor ever saw the note I put in the comments – that Cole has said “3-day time out” that would go into effect the first time I saw another one of his bigoted comments about religion in a post.  And that when he came back we expected it to be sans-bigotry.

    But I only saw one comment from him after that, and it was a perfectly normal comment.  Maybe he decided that BJ with the rules that were set out would not be fun anymore?

  66. 66.

    James E Powell

    @WaterGirl:

    The Peripheral (wikipedia entry w/some spoilers) is based on a book series by sci-fi major writer William Gibson. It’s the near future, 2032, the main character Flynne is woman who is really good at video games which are well beyond virtual reality as we know it today. Near future interacts with far off future

    I am not really a sci-fi reader and I am not familiar with William Gibson but the word is he an important sci-fi writer (he coined the term cyberspace). One of his things is he does not explain or hold the readers’ hands. The show is the same.

  70. 70.

    oatler

    I’ve been enjoying the Pitch Meetings on the movies mentioned here. “Sir, I’m gonna need you to get one hundred percent off my back on this one…”

  74. 74.

    zhena gogolia

    We’ve watched two episodes of The Crown. We like it. Jonathan Pryce is excellent. Magpie Murders tonight.

  77. 77.

    Kristine

    @eclare: What a backstory–poor girl! Glad you found her–dogs that have had it rough always seem to appreciate a good home. It’s like they know they caught a break and life will be good now.

  78. 78.

    SFBayAreaGal

    Miss Scarlett and the Duke is another one my sisters and I enjoy watching. It’s in its second season

  87. 87.

    zhena gogolia

    @WaterGirl: he was very cute in an episode of Lynley . I think it’s called Painted in Blood. It’s early in his career so his part is not large.

  88. 88.

    James E Powell

    @SFBayAreaGal:

    Andor is awesome. Everyone who is watching it seems to like it but I don’t know if a lot of people are watching it. When I bring it up, the two responses are ” Best Star Wars show!” and “What’s Andor?”

  102. 102.

    NotMax

    If you happen to have any access to Epix, shall again recommend the twisty turny series Perpetual Grace LTD.

    BTW, it was previously asked for fare to pass the time while on the treadmill. Did not at the time remember to include Hamish Macbeth in that thread.

  103. 103.

    Kelly

    This should go on a “This Fucking Old House” thread. I found an easy way to clean my Mom’s third floor rain gutter. I bought a Rigid 6.5 hp shop vac and the gutter cleaning kit. The key part is a simple goose neck attachment which allows me to lean out the windows, reach overhead and vacuum the gutter. The tool reaches the rest of the gutters and the gutters on my house standing on the ground.  Been climbing up on Mom’s roof for over 20 years. Mrs. Kelly, my Mom and brother have been telling me 66 is too old to get up on the roofs.

  104. 104.

    Anotherlurker

    @eclare: Thanks for your good wishes.  It has only been 5 days since Addie’s passing and the grief is real and painful, but necessary.

  105. 105.

    Benw

    @Chacal Charles Calthrop: agree they aren’t good, and that both Elba and Hiddleston are excellent in the MCU. He’s also in a couple of the Avengers movies, too. I picked Ragnarok because it’s pretty stand alone and really good

  109. 109.

    EmbraceYourInnerCrone

    @WaterGirl: peripheral is set in our near future in a small rural town in I think, North Carolina. The main character is a woman in her twenties who works at a local fast food place in their worlds version of Walmart and also subs for her left brother in MMOs helping rich players win their big boss fights. Hee brother gets a new VR headset from a Colombian company (allegedly). Except this new game is a lot more immersive… and maybe not owned by a Siuth American company..or is it a game/sim at all? I recommend reading the books while watching the series as the books give you lot more depth. But I am enjoying the series a lot.  For Idris Elba shows you have probably already watched the Wire? I assume?  I loved his character in that show, and Michael K  Williams (Omar Little).  Love Luther as well.

  110. 110.

    CaseyL

    @WaterGirl: Black Panther is excellent – I just love the idea of an African nation untouched by the slavers and diaspora.  The main character appeared in a few other Avengers movies before his own feature film, but it’s not necessary to see those in order to watch Black Panther.​

  111. 111.

    Jay

    Last I saw, Bill from Glendale was on the Orange Evil’s night crew, picking delivery orders, so his shift is probably from 10pm to 6;30 am.

  114. 114.

    kalakal

    No Idris but at the moment I’m rewatching Life on Mars ( the British original ) and loving every bit of it. Gene Hunt rules!

    An extra attraction for me is how well it recreates 70s England

  115. 115.

    Starfish

    The Big C with Laura Linney had four episodes with Idris Elba, and his job in that movie is to be sexy eye candy.

  117. 117.

    Kristine

    @WaterGirl: You could watch Andor w/o having seen Rogue One since the events in Andor takes place before. I think everything would make sense. You’d just be missing that extra layer that comes with knowing how the protag’s story ends, but it’s not necessary to the plot.

  119. 119.

    Starfish

    @Suzanne: I would have gone to Italy to celebrate her birthday, but it would take me being competent enough to renew my passport (and also being invited.)

  122. 122.

    Raoul Paste

    I recall some rumours a while back about Idris Elba as a potential 007.

    That was a missed opportunity

  125. 125.

    WaterGirl

    @EmbraceYourInnerCrone: I have to give The Wire another try.  I got 4 episodes in and I didn’t feel like I was tracking all the characters very well, so I sort of quit watching and quit walking on the treadmill.

    Someone on one of these thread said it sort of starts to come together after episode 5 so I should give it another go.  I probably will.

  129. 129.

    UncleEbeneezer

    We just finished the K-drama, Little Women which was superb…right up to the last episode.  Wasn’t a bad finale, but didn’t really live up to the standard of the rest of the season.  Oh well, I would say the same for The Wire, Boardwalk Empire and Game of Thrones, though I still think those are some of the best series’ I have ever seen.  It’s really rare for great shows to really stick the landing, in my experience.  Anyways, Little Women is still probably in our top three K-dramas (along with Mr. Sunshine and Crash Landing On You).  If you’ve never tried a K-drama before all three of these are pretty great tastes of high-quality examples.  Kingdom is also very good, but is an historical, horror/zombie thing.

  130. 130.

    eclare

    @WaterGirl:   You do have to give The Wire at least four episodes, maybe more, for it to click.  When it comes together, it’s amazing.  As Lester says, “All the pieces matter.”

    Also, the characters change…who you thought were good guys become bad guys, and vice versa.  A lot to keep up with.

  134. 134.

    kalakal

    @WaterGirl: I’m watching the British one on Britbox. Then I’m going to have to track down the sequel/spinoff Ashes to Ashes which was equally good but set in the 80s

  135. 135.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @WaterGirl: It helps if you look at a character chart, to keep straight how all the characters are related/connected.  I’ve had to do that with several complex series’ like Narcos: Mexico, Dark (for sure) and some of the K-dramas we watch.  Also reading recaps of episodes really helps too.

  136. 136.

    piratedan

    as Idris Elba fare goes, I also believe that he’s in Guy Ritchie’s Rocknrolla

    can also second Hamish Macbeth as bingeworthy as the characters and personal growth are both endearing and painful to watch.

    After enjoying Extraordinary Attorney Woo, I ran thru Inspector Koo and am now working my way thru Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha.  In a way it’s great, because I don’t know these actors, so being able to accept them at face value while they inhabit their characters is much more believable.

    I find that to escape I have also found that british game shows are a great way to take your mind off of things and get you out of the US is the center of all things mode, especially Pointless, Only Connect and Impossible!.  When I need a laugh, I still pop over and immerse myself in some MST3K and Rifftrax.

  138. 138.

    Doug R

    @CaseyL: The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror a couple of weeks ago might amuse you-especially the last segment.

    It’s already on Disney + ,at least here in Canuckistan.

  139. 139.

    James E Powell

    @Brachiator:

    This would have placated the angriest, most childish fans who felt that Luke Skywalker was poorly used in the sequels.

    I wasn’t angry and I don’t think I’m being childish, but I do feel that Luke Skywalker was poorly used in the sequels.

    I would have preferred if the last three stayed with the main characters of the middle three or, in the alternative, leapt far enough into the future so that they were nothing but memory. But in either case, I would have preferred better writing.

  140. 140.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @Jean: Keep hearing great things about Woo it but it looks a bit corny (which can often be a problem for us with K-dramas).

    Speaking of Autistic characters, The Bridge (Swedish version) has a really fantastic woman lead who plays a detective on the spectrum.  Great series but very, very dark and at times, disturbing.

  144. 144.

    Doug R

    @WaterGirl: Andor is a prequel to Rogue One, might be interesting to see Andor first.

    Although Rogue One is the best Star Wars movie since Disney bought Lucasfilm, a little more grounded than the main line but still fits right in.

  146. 146.

    EmbraceYourInnerCrone

    @eclare: This is very true, I also realized after the first half season or so The Wire’s a little like Game of thrones. Don’t get too attached to anyone,it really made me care about the characters even though No One is really a good guy…also Little Finger sighting!  And like Game of Thrones, if you re in the game you win..or you die.

  147. 147.

    geg6

    I have nothing about Idris Elba.  But I would love to recommend a recent Henry Louis Gates, Jr. multi-part doc that recently ran in PBS: Making Black America:Through the Grapevine.  Really, really enjoyed it.  Learned some things and found some real joy in it.  If you can stream it, do it!  You’ll all enjoy it, too.

  148. 148.

    Doug R

    @WaterGirl: Disney+ is cheaper than Netflix and presents everything in the best format, most new things are 4K HDR and I find there’s a lot more I actually want to see on there than Netflix, which has really lost whatever mojo it had.

  149. 149.

    Craig

    Andor really is excellent. The show runner wrote Michael Clayton so he understands grim, dark heroes. He seems to understand the Star Wars galaxy better than anyone else working in it, in his galaxy the Empire is ruthlessly consolidating it’s control and grinding people under it’s boot, there’s no room for cutesy baby Jedi. The acting horsepower is pretty amazing, Stellan Skarsgard is a show stealer, Andy Serkis is phenomenal, Anton Lessor is perfectly cast, Fiona Shaw is also perfect. Diego Luna in another great role.

  152. 152.

    NotMax

    Slowly, slowly making my way through the new season of Deadwind on Netflix. Missing the spark of previous seasons (for me); it’s akin to wading across a room partially filled with Jell-O. But only eight episodes and want to see how it turns out.

  153. 153.

    piratedan

    @UncleEbeneezer: well as to the Corny issue, it’s mostly upbeat in total, but there are some incredibly thoughtful and poignant pieces in it as well.  I would endorse giving it a try and see for yourself as they tackle some societal themes in Korean society, such as autism, nepotism, rural vs urban and all presented via a lens of the court.

  156. 156.

    J R in WV

    @WaterGirl: ​
     

    has anyone heard from LAMH lately?

    Wasn’t LAMH and a bunch of her family and friends gong to Italy about now? Sounds like BIG fun…

  158. 158.

    different-church-lady

    So after years of resisting I finally signed up to comment over at LGM, and now I’m having a very difficult time stopping myself from posting, “Fuck you, Loomis” just because I’m drunk.

  160. 160.

    Old Dan and Little Ann

    Count me as a huge Andor fan.  I’ve seen everything Star Wars and I’d say it would be enjoyable even if you had never seen anything else.

  161. 161.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @piratedan: It’s the silly faces and weird sound effect punctuations that often turn us off.  They are sometimes very prevalent in K-comedies.

  162. 162.

    Citizen Alan

    @Brachiator:

    My theory about the sidelining of Luke Skywalker is that if Luke does found a new Jedi Order that functions at all like the old one, then they should have solved all the problems of the setting. That’s why I hate Star Wars RPGs because if you’re not the Jedi of the party, you just some lame asshole with a blaster.

  163. 163.

    Heidi Mom

    I hope I’m not too late to this thread, because I’ve seen a few Idris Elba movies:

    Beasts of No Nation–He plays a charismatic but very bad African warlord.  Great performance, difficult subject matter.

    The Mountain Between Us–Romantic thriller, two people in a small plane crash in the snowy mountains.  With Kate Winslet.  There’s also a dog, which survives.

    Sometimes in April--Rwandan genocide; Idris is a good guy who survives.

    the Gospel--Idris plays a Southern preacher of the megachurch sort, who finds a better way.

    Molly’s Game–Jessica Chastain is a wildly successful gambler who’s caught the attention of the FBI; Idris is her lawyer.

    The Dark Tower–-Idris is the Gunslinger who pursues Matthew McConnaughey’s Man in Black (adaptation of Stephen King story); not very good but Idris is great.

  164. 164.

    CaseyL

    I signed up with the Nevada Democratic Victory Ballot Cure Team to do ballot-curing calls.  Just got an email saying that due to overwhelming support, the last two shifts this evening have been cancelled.  Mine was one of them.

    So, once again: equal parts relieved (I don’t need to call strangers!) and disappointed (I do want to do my bit to help!).

    In any case, Yay! to the Nevada Democratic Victory Ballot Cure Team, who are apparently burning through their phone lists.

  166. 166.

    Layer8Problem

    I didn’t think I’d have anything to add to the conversation Elba-wise, not having seen Luther, or The Wire, or That Star Trek Movie; then I remembered watching him in Concrete Cowboy on the Netflix, about Black urban riders in Philadelphia in a real, operating riding club.  I thought it was pretty good.

  169. 169.

    Jay

    @WaterGirl:

    all the victims at the Orange get to set their hours and availability.

    It doesn’t mean that the software doesn’t schedule you for when you are available or that you “make hours”.

    Nights mean:

    • no adult supervision.
    • no body cares as long as you make most of your shifts
    • $1 premium
    • no consequences
  174. 174.

    phein63

    @sab: I second that!  Black Panther was the first of this generation’s superhero movies I could watch all the way through.  I have three now-grown sons, so we saw or owned them all.  Black Panther had actual characters who were interesting in their own right.

  175. 175.

    UncleEbeneezer

    For more Idris, there is also The Harder They Fall a Black, cowboy movie on Netflix.  I started it and quickly lost interest but will probably go back at some point.  It wasn’t bad I just think I wasn’t in the right mood/head-space at the time.

  177. 177.

    CaseyL

    @WaterGirl: ​
     

    Yes, but also sort-of. You see him in a taped record, and when you see him again he’s kind of unrecognizable due to [SPOILER]
    [SPOILER]
    [SPOILER]
    [SPOILER]
    mutations.

  178. 178.

    geg6

    @Doug R:

    OTOH, there are people who have never seen anything other than Hamilton on Disney+ that interested them and who watch tons of things on Netflix.  Of which I would be one.  I get good value from Netflix.  You get good value from Disney+.  It’s good that both exist for people of different tastes.

  179. 179.

    Rokka

    @different-church-lady: ​
     Loomis banned me yesterday because I called him ignorant narcissist for taking cheap shots at music acts he doesn’t like. What makes this worse is he did this while saying a band member had died. After banning me, he doubled down with another more extreme cheap shot.
    The problem with LGM is there is no recourse. There’s no administrator contact and only one person on the site has an email address.

  180. 180.

    zhena gogolia

    @geg6: I always think I should watch more than Hamilton or Get Back on Disney+, but it doesn’t happen. On the other hand, I have watched those two things multiple times.

  184. 184.

    James E Powell

    @UncleEbeneezer:

    Speaking of Autistic characters, The Bridge (Swedish version) has a really fantastic woman lead who plays a detective on the spectrum.  Great series but very, very dark and at times, disturbing.

    I’m kind of surprised that a Swedish police drama would be very, very dark & disturbing.

  186. 186.

    NotMax

    Shall briefly add that the closed captioning on Troupers as mentioned above has gotta be terribly confusing to those with hearing impairment.

    Such goofs as the lyrics to a song wishing “the best of health” being transcribed as wishing “the best of hell.” Multiple times.

    ;)

  189. 189.

    Jean

    @piratedan: I agree!  Some very interesting cases address societal issues.  Some of the most poignant scenes between characters are wordless–the expressions are everything, particularly between Woo and the young man who is falling in love with her, but that could be said about other characters too.  The acting is excellent.  Some emotions are new to Woo and she can’t always identify them.

  190. 190.

    Blue mouser

    Another recommendation for Andor.   It is Star Wars for adults without a light saber or Jedi or Sith or adorable Force using alien in sight. It is not a rousing space opera series but it is set up more like a spy drama, I guess. It just has so many elements. It is about the start of the rebellion from both the rebel and Imperial side.  It sets its characters on different levels of the socio economic spectrum from Andor who is eking out a living on a poor planet to a brilliant imperial inspector trying to  rise up the ranks and a  dedicated corporate security agent on the way down after a screw up to a rich senator living in luxury in the highest levels of Coruscant.  Some have said it is a bit slow but I would argue it is subtle and deliberate in setting up in story lines.  Each line of dialogue when you look back at it is there for a purpose.  It is one of those series you can rewatch an episode and catch something you missed before.  Tony Gilroy ( Bourne movies, Michael Clayton, Night crawler Rogue One etc) is the show runner. He has writers like Beau Wilson who worked on creating the American version of House of Cards and has worked on Sherlock and the Black Mirror series.  I don’t know who the cinematographers are but this show has some of the most beautiful and breath taking scenes I have seen in a Star Wars series. You have incredible character actors like Stellan Skarsgaard, Anton Lessor, Andy Sirkus,  Diego Luna, Fiona Shaw, Forest Whitaker and others I have never seen before but put in compelling and mesmerizing performances (Denise Gough Genevieve O’Reilley and Kyle  Soller)

    just a heads up, the first two episodes of the series set up the characters and their situations so it is not the usual action filled spectacle one expects from the get go in a Star Wars series. The series is set up in 3 episode arcs. The first two episodes of the arc set you up for the dramatic conclusion. Developments in each arc carry over to the next.     I just love the dialogue.
    ‘Thesis, please.

    never more than 12

    But I’ll be worried for you all the time.   That’s just  love   Nothing you can do about that

    I burn my life to make a sunrise I’ll never see

    i would rather die trying to take them down than die giving them what they want

     

    These don’t make sense out of  context but within the series they are some of the many lines that one remembers. It is really sad that Andor does not have the same viewership numbers that other Star Wars productions had. I would argue that In terms of “prestige tv” it is up there with breaking bad,  house of the dragon and early game of thrones. At least it is green-lit for a second season.

  195. 195.

    Matt McIrvin

    Star Trek Beyond wasn’t great but I do think it was the best (though least successful) of the Abramsverse Star Trek movies, with some imaginative touches and a more Star Trek-like feel than the other two. Idris Elba is kind of wasted in it, mostly acting under heavy prosthetics as the villain.

  197. 197.

    Matt McIrvin

    Loomis can be an ass but his dragging of Matthew Yglesias today was great.

    I just have to stay off his threads about certain subjects–on the ones about climate change, his outrage is well-taken but his doomy negativity is so extreme that I think it’s actually doing harm as a demotivator. In general most of the people there seem to be too cool and cynical for any kind of activism.

  198. 198.

    BlueGuitarist

    @CaseyL:

    If you or anyone else wants to make phone calls to help voters cure ballots – one of the few times people will be glad to get a phone call from someone they don’t know yet – Monday Tues or Wednesday:

    Dana Allmond, an awesome Super Swing District candidate running against an election denier in a key Arizona legislative district is asking for help.

    She and her opponent have 53k votes; he’s got a few hundred more; with about 11k to count.

    With your help she could win an AZ House seat and tie the chamber.

    https://www.mobilize.us/missionforaz/event/542942/?share_medium=native_share&share_context=event_detail_page&force_banner=true

     

    A little more about the candidate:

    West Point graduate, retired Army Lt. Col. Dana Allmond resigned from Sinema’s veterans’ advisory group because of the senator’s lack of support for Biden’s agenda.

    She is endorsed by:

    Emily’s List, NARAL; AFSCME, teachers’ union, nurses’ union; Everytown for Gun Safety, Moms Demand Action; Human Rights Campaign. Stand for Children. Care in Action; Progressive Turnout Project.

  200. 200.

    WaterGirl

    @BlueGuitarist: I did add Lupin to My List on Netflix, though I am going to try the Lincoln Lawyer first because of the subtitles.  On the treadmill, sometimes I am looking out the window to distract myself and I worry that with subtitles I would not be able to do that.  Lupin does seem like a good show!

  206. 206.

    Steeplejack

    @Mr. Bemused Senior:

    Elementary is very good—one of the few “network” shows that I can rewatch. The first season gets off to a bit of a bumpy start, but it finds its footing and improves each year. Lucy Liu as (Joan) Watson starts off as a handmaiden helper character but develops into an equal partner with Sherlock. Aidan Quinn and Jon Michael Hill are good as the police liaisons. It would be a good treadmill watch for WaterGirl. Available on Hulu.

  207. 207.

    kalakal

    @WaterGirl: If you liked LOM you’ll enjoy Ashes to Ashes, it’s a perfect recreation of 80’s London with the same cast except Keeley Hawes is the time traveller/coma victim instead of John Sims. The music is again ace, those 2 shows are the soundtrack of a lot of my youth. It starts a little slow. I’d rewatch LOM first

  209. 209.

    prostratedragon

    @WaterGirl: ​ I found that there was a lot to get attuned to in The Wire, even the speech patterns. My way in turned out to be mostly the young kids, especially D’Angelo Barksdale (Lawrence Gilliard), who seemed to move through the early episodes much like a camera.​
     
    [Spell correction]

  210. 210.

    kalakal

    @Rokka: Yep that’s about it. The bit that gets me is how narrow his range is. Basically he likes both kinds, Country & Western. I exaggerate but he really knows fuck all about music and anything outside certain areas he hates and anything within he loves. That’s not a music critic, that’s a teen fanboi

  211. 211.

    Juju

    @WaterGirl: I’m very late to this, but I heard BG was changing the kitty litter in the litter boxes at elementary schools so it would be fresh for the new week.

    As far as Edris Elba goes I got nuffin except that I’m free next Friday.

  213. 213.

    WaterGirl

    @Juju: You might just be right about BG!

    As for Idris, I was going to say you will have to fight me for him on Friday night, but then I remembered that LAMH and I had come to some sort of sharing agreement, and I’m sure you and I can do that too.

  214. 214.

    way2blue

    (Loved ‘The Take.)  I assume you’ve already watched the BBC series, ‘Luther’.  (Highly recommended)   My spouse liked ‘The Mountain Between Us’ at lot.  Haven’t yet seen it.  Via Wikipedia [condensed] »

    The Mountain Between Us [2017] based on the 2011 novel of the same name by Charles Martin. Idris Elba and Kate Winslet as a surgeon and a journalist, respectively, who survive a plane crash, with a dog, and are stranded in the High Uintas Wilderness with injuries and harsh weather conditions.

    Luther [2010-2023] is a British psychological crime thriller series starring Idris Elba as DCI John Luther and Ruth Wilson as Alice Morgan. The detective Luther must make cases against criminals while the murderer Morgan has a complicated relationship with him.

  215. 215.

    Bobby Thomson

    Idris Elba was great in Rock n Rolla.  No spoilers but he has a nice LGBTQ-positively affirming moment.

  216. 216.

    Paul W.

    @WaterGirl: Well, since you mentioned “The Take”, there is an excellent BBC series called Bodyguard which is REALLY good and will keep you guessing the whole way (but not in the “everything is 180, here’s why” Sham-hammer way).

    Highly recommend.

  217. 217.

    Paul W.

    @Blue mouser: Great quotes, full throated endorsement of Andor – already in my top 3 television shows of all time! This is especially so when you consider it is the single best piece of cinema or tv dealing with rebellion against overwhelming oppression which fires me up in these fights against the gerrymandering and court stealing GOP.

  218. 218.

    Hob

    @Rokka: “Loomis banned me yesterday because I called him ignorant narcissist for taking cheap shots at music acts he doesn’t like”

    Uh… a moderator is IMO absolutely justified in banning people who think “you’re an ignorant narcissist” is an acceptable response to something they feel was a “cheap shot.” Loomis has crankish and annoying opinions about music, sure— and commenters on LGM say so all the time without getting banned, when they don’t put it in the form of personal abuse.

  219. 219.

    louc

    @Layer8Problem: I second this nomination of Concrete Cowboy. I thought it was pretty good flick and of course, Idris was great. Isn’t it supposed to be based on real urban riders in Philly?

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