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      CommentAuthorThor
    • CommentTimeFeb 7th 2018
    As it should be. smile

    But yes, there are a few people with whom I disagree more than usual. You and Steven, for example.
    I am extremely serious.
  1. I'm insulted you didn't include me in that list. I consider it a mark of honor to disagree with you as frequently as possible.
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      CommentAuthorThor
    • CommentTimeFeb 7th 2018
    Edmund Meinerts wrote
    I'm insulted you didn't include me in that list. I consider it a mark of honor to disagree with you as frequently as possible.


    True, but we seem to agree more recently.
    I am extremely serious.
  2. Even blind chickens occasionally find a kernel or two of corn. tongue
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      CommentAuthorSteven
    • CommentTimeFeb 7th 2018
    Thor wrote
    As it should be. smile

    But yes, there are a few people with whom I disagree more than usual. You and Steven, for example.


    I agree with you about Hook, Avatar and Wes Anderson.
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      CommentAuthorSouthall
    • CommentTimeFeb 7th 2018
    I agree with both of you about everything, except for Wes Anderson. I agree with him most of the time but not about eggs.
  3. Finished all of "Wiseguy"


    The final season (most of the nine episodes didn't air) wasn't bad. I of course missed Ken Wahl as Vince. But the studio interference showed: no character development for the Lifeguard or Frank (well, Frank did grow a short beard, so that' technically a development).

    Comments were that the 1996 TV movie whipped out season four, but after having watched both, the movie doesn't. The events and re-opening of the O.C.B. can be explained with some creativity, especially considering there were almost nine years in between the two.

    I really enjoyed the percussion driven scoring by Velton Ray Bunch. I'd love to have a CD of that. I assume he re-worked the opening theme himself.

    While I accepted the new wiseguy, I would have preferred if the character Roger Lacoco had been the one to get it. In fact, that was a good nuanced character with some depth; even today I'd want to see that character again in something (the actor is still alive).





    So the network tried to revive the series with a TV movie in 1996 that could have been a starting point.

    Frank is back (sans the beard)
    Lifeguard is back.
    And Ken Hal is back as Vince. The new wiseguy from season four is neither seen nor referenced.


    Vince pissed off people in the government and was whisked away where he spent years working on wiretaps. That was the explanation. The TV movie is his first assignment back at the O.C.B. which sometime between the series' end and this TV movie, was re-formed.

    It's a very decent TV movie. Usually a lot of TV movie continuing from an old TV show, blow chunks, but this didn't.

    Mike Post and Walter Murphy are back scoring. Nothing remarkable and, too reliant on the series' theme and it was more synth than orchestra at times. Quite a dip from their work on season three.


    It's obvious they were trying to set up a potential series by having the villain of this promise to ruin Vince's life and be back; and a shocking scene involving Frank that was unequivocal in letting us know Frank's got bad problems in his life and obviously the series would have delved into that.



    The only problems I see with making season four work in regards to the TV movie:

    Frank was outed as an O.C.B. agent in season four, on television, so everybody now knows who he us and what he does. I guess I could explain it away by simply saying not only was he out-of-state but it was the local city news, and at a time where VHS ruled, so it's unlikely in my opinion the news got too far.

    Then of course there's the big one: how to explain the whole involved Vince was murdered by a radical foreign group thing. That'll be a tough one. Even a bad guy said a general in another country ordered the assassination.


    I think it's worth solving for a continuation series (which is not likely to ever happen).


    The network wanted to reboot the series years ago and ordered a script by Alex Cary. That was 2008 to 2011. It doesn't appear anything was ever shot.
    The views and opinions of Ford A. Thaxton are his own and do not necessarily reflect the ones of ANYONE else.
  4. Then, still on a Mike Post kick, I decided to check out another short-lived series called "Palace Guard", about a famous jewel thief who gets caught, goes to prison and when he gets out, gets recruited to help with crimes at hotels.

    A good premise, but ultimately I can see why it failed: the lead wasn't that great and his co-lead, was boring as hell. I tried watching it with only nine episodes to get through, but in episode three I gave up and started skimming episodes just to hear the scoring. It was very boring. Apparently only three of the episodes aired and it got canned fast.

    They even re-tooled the general idea of it from the pilot, eliminating a character who was obviously going to be a regular.


    The scoring, over all is unremarkable and boring at times. The only good stuff to be had, is about six cues from the two-hour pilot.
    The views and opinions of Ford A. Thaxton are his own and do not necessarily reflect the ones of ANYONE else.
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      CommentAuthorSouthall
    • CommentTimeFeb 9th 2018
    Some recent tv viewing

    Britannia

    Excessively-hyped Game of Thrones knock-off. Absolute drivel, gave up after three episodes (not sure how I survived that many). Atrocious score.

    Line of Duty

    Missed this when it was originally aired and then binge-watched over Christmas. Outstanding show.

    The Orville

    Wasn't really sold on this at first but I've grown to quite enjoy it. A relic of an earlier age of television, really, so I'm surprised it's managed to get made. But pretty good.

    Hard Sun

    A very promising premise (something's happening to the sun and there are only five years left for Earth, but the powers-that-be want to keep that knowledge from the public) but it doesn't really seem to be doing much interesting with it. May give up on it.

    McMafia

    Billed as being this year's The Night Manager, but it isn't. Watched three episodes and barely anything happened in any of them. Gave up.
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      CommentAuthorRalph Kruhm
    • CommentTimeFeb 10th 2018 edited
    10 Cloverfield Lane

    While I very much enjoyed Cloverfield, I somehow never came to watch the "sequel", probably because the complete change of setting and story, and because I'm not the best target audience for "kidnapped women in creepy bunkers" movies. They scare me like frak.

    But since The Cloverfield Paradox looks a lot more like my cup of tea, and Amazon Prime was losing 10 CL in the next couple of days, and I wouldn't know if it would be on Netflix after that, I just gave it a try to prepare for the third movie (yeah, I know they aren't really connected, but anyway).

    Geez, what a mindfrak. I hate this kind of movie. I really do. It's when you have these brilliant actors who really bring their A-game to the table, and you don't know what to believe anymore when everything you've seen in the trailer (at least what I remembered) is done with after half an hour, and you're left with something you don't know anything about, and it scares you so much... God. Yeah, it was brilliant. I hate it.

    Bear's score is amazing for this, too. Now I'm amped for The Cloverfield Paradox, which I'm going to watch tonight. I know the reviews are bad, but I don't care. Reviews were bad for so many movies I love so deeply, so I don't give a sh!t.
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      CommentAuthorAidabaida
    • CommentTimeFeb 10th 2018
    you're left with something you don't know anything about, and it scares you so much...


    yep! 10 Cloverfield Lane was maybe my favorite flick of 2016 (I also really liked Rogue One and La La Land)... it floored me the first time and the second time. Just a brilliantly told story.
    Bach's music is heartless and robotic.
  5. The Cloverfield Paradox

    Well... yeah. This is more my cup of tea, thematically, which is why I'll forgive weaknesses more easily. It's inferior to both predecessors regarding to the scare factor, but that's fine by me. Give me a space & science thriller that has something going for it, and I'm happy. Now, this one has... a very good lead actress, some very nice effects work in some places, and another winner score from Bear McCreary, so I won't complain about the creepy stuff that makes no sense at all, the wooden acting by some other actors who I KNOW can do better work, and the missing suspense. It's a mixture of failures, some wins, and good intentions, and that's more than enough for me to have fun. Thank you, Netflix.
  6. Ralph Kruhm wrote
    The Cloverfield Paradox

    Well... yeah. This is more my cup of tea, thematically, which is why I'll forgive weaknesses more easily. It's inferior to both predecessors regarding to the scare factor, but that's fine by me. Give me a space & science thriller that has something going for it, and I'm happy. Now, this one has... a very good lead actress, some very nice effects work in some places, and another winner score from Bear McCreary, so I won't complain about the creepy stuff that makes no sense at all, the wooden acting by some other actors who I KNOW can do better work, and the missing suspense. It's a mixture of failures, some wins, and good intentions, and that's more than enough for me to have fun. Thank you, Netflix.


    For me this is indeed the weakest of them all. But above all, this is not a Cloverfield film. They give it a side story that could have unleashed the monsters of the first film, but they do not use the story to tell us more about it. They just make their own story and occasionally throw in the tale that happened during the first film. No, in general it's an okay film with great effects, and McCreary's score sounded nice. But no way is this a Cloverfield film. At least the second film did that very good, in its different but own way. Too bad because as a sci-fi film it did keep me interested. But I think the reason why so many people rate it so poorly is because they wanted more ... Cloverfield. In fact they should have continued where the second ended.

    5 out of 10 (for being a Cloverfield prequel)
    6 out of 10 (as a standalone film)
    waaaaaahhhhhhhh!!! Where's my nut? arrrghhhhhhh
    • CommentAuthorjb1234
    • CommentTimeFeb 12th 2018
    Watched Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them last night. It took about forty minutes before I started to get engaged, but once I was there, I found the movie entertaining. Great cast. JNH's score is quite beautiful and I'm pleased he's being retained for the second film.
  7. Thomas Glorieux wrote
    Ralph Kruhm wrote
    The Cloverfield Paradox

    [...]this is not a Cloverfield film.

    It is well known that the movie wasn't meant to be one, but they were right in recognising its potential to be a part of it, and a pretty quintessential one, I think. I believe JJ once said that he plans CF to be an anthology series that kind of connects thematically only, and I think the approach works pretty well, since it gives you something new with each entry, even different genres, which means quality isn't that important, too, if things are well less connected than, for example the MCU. So you can have one story misfire and still come up with a new one next time that's better. Now I kind of wish they would treat the Terminator franchise this way, instead of calling each movie the definite, legitimate sequel, instead making each one another reality created by the very first jump in the very first movie. Makes forgiving mistakes made much easier. Same with the whole Alien/Predator/Prometheus debacle. That one just needs a great dimension-ripping movie to explain it. ^^ I could even live with Scott's "Android - In Space, no one can hear your flute"-series of movies.

    Back on topic, this movie explains how the anthology system works for this series, since it features the event that created the anthology, so to say, which can mean a hundred different events in all times and (alternate) realities. Whether it explains it well is another topic, but they were right to recognise this one as the defining cause & effect movie for the whole franchise.
  8. jb1234 wrote
    Watched Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them last night. It took about forty minutes before I started to get engaged, but once I was there, I found the movie entertaining. Great cast. JNH's score is quite beautiful and I'm pleased he's being retained for the second film.


    As am I. I was really impressed by all the themes JNH was able to weave through that score. I really hope he scores the whole series and develops all of them and keeps adding new ones. That series could become his magnum opus.
  9. For some reason FB I couldn't grab me as much as HP could, which is, not necessarily, the movie's fault, and I am looking forward to rewatch it on BluRay and getting soaked into the magical world again just in time for the sequel, including giving the score a proper, awake listening, which I somehow failed to manage since it came out, though I've always been a big JNH fan. I remember at least one of the themes very fondly, and maybe I give the original book a listen, since Redmayne himself reads the audiobook.
  10. christopher wrote
    jb1234 wrote
    Watched Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them last night. It took about forty minutes before I started to get engaged, but once I was there, I found the movie entertaining. Great cast. JNH's score is quite beautiful and I'm pleased he's being retained for the second film.


    As am I. I was really impressed by all the themes JNH was able to weave through that score. I really hope he scores the whole series and develops all of them and keeps adding new ones. That series could become his magnum opus.

    I was impressed by JNH's themes too. Much less impressed by the decision (whether JNH's or Yates') to scatter them so randomly throughout the film, so that what I originally thought was the main theme disappears after 30 minutes and then an entirely new theme dominates the final third. Both good themes, but it makes the score feel rather messy.
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      CommentAuthorchristopher
    • CommentTimeFeb 13th 2018 edited
    Are you talking about the intro theme that plays pretty soon after Hedwig’s theme, or are you talking about the two themes for Newt Scamanger? Giving Scamander two themes was an interesting choice. I can understand that being an annoyance, but I liked that he had the main theme and then the hero theme. There kind of are two sides to him. The nutty professor side is captured well by the main theme. It’s innocent, childlike, and befits his more bungling side. But he’s clearly a very capable wizard, as evidenced by the fact that he’s found and caught all theme fantastic beasts. And when he’s doing something heroic or exciting, his main theme wouldn’t exactly fit, but the hero theme works really well. Then you’ve got a theme for the American witches, a theme for the American ministry of magic, a theme for the firebird, a bad guy theme, Jacob gets a theme, and there’s a friendship theme, and all of them are really great! It’s some of the best lietmotific scoring I’ve heard outside of Star Wars or Lord of the Rings. The more action-y tracks where they’re losing or recovering the beasts kind of dragged down the album a bit for me, but overall I thought it was totally brilliant, and I’m excited to see what Howard does with all those themes in the sequel, as well as any new themes.
  11. Mostly I'm thinking of the theme that dominates "A Man and his Beasts" and gets the big statement in "Tina Takes Newt In/MACUSA Headquarters". I think that's a really great theme which perfectly captures the whole wizarding world feel, it has a bit of that "Hedwig's Theme" spirit but at the same time is its own thing and not just a redo. But that theme disappears about a third of the way into the movie for some reason. The Newt themes are solid and it doesn't bug me too much that he gets two separate ones, but then the Thunderbird theme (the Edward Scissorhands one) kind of comes out of nowhere to become the new main theme of the final third of the movie. I don't know, it's weird. There are tons of great themes flying around for sure but it feels like JNH picks them up and sets them down at random and it leaves the score without much of a backbone. It's frustrating because I feel like the score could have been really great, but got muddled up somehow and ended up as only good.

    Definitely looking forward to seeing what he does with the sequel, and whether that will solve the flaws that hold the first one back for me.

    (Also, while I'm usually a much bigger fan of action music than you are, I agree with you that the action portions of that score were somehow dissatisfying. I feel like JNH can do a lot better in that arena than he did for Fantastic Beasts.)
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      CommentAuthorBregt
    • CommentTimeFeb 13th 2018
    SHAPE OF WATER

    Well, I found this rather disappointing, and I even thought it was clichéd and very predictable. Nice music, very good acting, and it's lovely in its own right. But it's not very subtle, the good vs evil is simple, ... I probably was taken into the hype or so, I have no idea why it didn't do much for me.
    Kazoo
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      CommentAuthorThor
    • CommentTimeFeb 13th 2018
    Bregt wrote
    SHAPE OF WATER

    Well, I found this rather disappointing, and I even thought it was clichéd and very predictable. Nice music, very good acting, and it's lovely in its own right. But it's not very subtle, the good vs evil is simple, ... I probably was taken into the hype or so, I have no idea why it didn't do much for me.


    I'm seeing it on Tuesday, and have high expectations. It's Del Toro, after all. But I find the score an utter bore. Hopefully, it won't ruin the experience.
    I am extremely serious.
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      CommentAuthorAidabaida
    • CommentTimeFeb 13th 2018 edited
    Bregt wrote
    SHAPE OF WATER

    Well, I found this rather disappointing, and I even thought it was clichéd and very predictable. Nice music, very good acting, and it's lovely in its own right. But it's not very subtle, the good vs evil is simple, ... I probably was taken into the hype or so, I have no idea why it didn't do much for me.


    I dunno, another monster/human "fairy tale"? Could it possibly surpass the masterful Pan's Labyrinth? Not to mention half of the praise I've heard has to do with it's social agenda, and how it "really sticks it to Donald Trump"... ugh.

    Maybe I'll rent it sometime.
    Bach's music is heartless and robotic.
  12. Edmund Meinerts wrote
    Mostly I'm thinking of the theme that dominates "A Man and his Beasts" and gets the big statement in "Tina Takes Newt In/MACUSA Headquarters". I think that's a really great theme which perfectly captures the whole wizarding world feel, it has a bit of that "Hedwig's Theme" spirit but at the same time is its own thing and not just a redo. But that theme disappears about a third of the way into the movie for some reason. The Newt themes are solid and it doesn't bug me too much that he gets two separate ones, but then the Thunderbird theme (the Edward Scissorhands one) kind of comes out of nowhere to become the new main theme of the final third of the movie. I don't know, it's weird. There are tons of great themes flying around for sure but it feels like JNH picks them up and sets them down at random and it leaves the score without much of a backbone. It's frustrating because I feel like the score could have been really great, but got muddled up somehow and ended up as only good.

    Definitely looking forward to seeing what he does with the sequel, and whether that will solve the flaws that hold the first one back for me.

    (Also, while I'm usually a much bigger fan of action music than you are, I agree with you that the action portions of that score were somehow dissatisfying. I feel like JNH can do a lot better in that arena than he did for Fantastic Beasts.)


    Ah, okay. Yes, that is a really great theme. But I also love the Thunderbird theme (which of course I should have called it in my last post smile). I think of that first theme as the witch's theme. Given the direction the story goes, I think it's understandable that you'd hear that theme a lot more at the beginning and the thunderbird theme more at the end, but I can understand your wanting a more cohesive listening experience. I would argue that neither of them is the "main theme" of the film. And that's kind of the problem, isn't it? There really isn't a main theme. Star Wars has all those themes, but also an overarching main theme. This score has all the leitmotifs but not really a main theme that ties it all together.
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      CommentAuthorBregt
    • CommentTimeFeb 13th 2018 edited
    Aidabaida wrote
    Not to mention half of the praise I've heard has to do with it's social agenda, and how it "really sticks it to Donald Trump"... ugh.

    A lot of movies have a message, but to call that immediately "an agenda" is a bit far fetched. Obviously one of the not so subtle messages here is "people are different, accept each other" like we have seen in so many other movies. Obviously a movie's message is often connected with recent events and news, and that always gets heigher points with reviewers and media. But I wouldn't take it so far to call it "an agenda". Pacific Rim could be criticising the way we use computers and machines. biggrin
    Kazoo
  13. I just rented Only The Brave - I didn't know the story and was shocked and deeply saddened by the ending. But learned much more about firefighting than I knew before. The music by the new-to-me Joseph Trapanese was haunting and beautifully composed. His style reminds me a little of Harry Gregson-Williams.
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      CommentAuthorAidabaida
    • CommentTimeFeb 13th 2018
    Bregt wrote
    A lot of movies have a message, but to call that immediately "an agenda" is a bit far fetched. Obviously one of the not so subtle messages here is "people are different, accept each other" like we have seen in so many other movies. Obviously a movie's message is often connected with recent events and news, and that always gets heigher points with reviewers and media. But I wouldn't take it so far to call it "an agenda". Pacific Rim could be criticising the way we use computers and machines. biggrin


    oh certainly, "agenda" makes it sound like a hidden conspiracy, it's definitely not, I mean Del Toro was tweeting about how he intended "The Pale Man" from Pan's Labyrinth to signify white male privilege... he's definitely not hiding this stuff biggrin
    Bach's music is heartless and robotic.
    • CommentAuthorjb1234
    • CommentTimeFeb 14th 2018
    Last night's watch was How to Train Your Dragon 2, which I had been putting off for four years now (don't ask me why, I have no idea). I found it pretty charming, albeit maybe a notch lower in quality than the original. It tackles a more serious story line but some of the fun is sapped away as a result.

    As I expected, John Powell's score is excellent, especially when the chorus chimes in. I'm looking forward to exploring it more on disc.
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      CommentAuthorsdtom
    • CommentTimeFeb 17th 2018
    Watched a 20th Century Fox film from 1946 called "Behind Green Lights," available for free if you have Amazon prime. It starred Carole Landis who OD on seconal http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0484808/bio. Charles Russell was the voice of the popular radio show "Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar." John Ireland, a beat reporter went on to be nominated for an Oscar in "All the Kings Men," another in a list of must watch films.
    listen to more classical music!
  14. STAR WARS REBELS: Twilight of the Apprentice (2016)

    Wow! This turned me into a child again, gazing at a Star Wars story in awe and wonder. Powerful stuff! Lucking forward now to dive into season 3.

    Volker
    Bach's music is vibrant and inspired.