For The Love Of Port

Watched The East on a flight last night. A serious and interesting movie. I just checked and it isn't on Netflix yet.

Which direction were you flying?

Barry Sunderland wrote:Which direction were you flying?

East IAD->GVA

The other day I saw "The Way" which I thought was a very well made, introspective movie. It's not a mass market type if film, but it does draw you in and by the end you feel as though you've taken part in the journey.

Just watched the series on John Adams, and thought it was appropriate to sip some madeira: RWC Savannah Verdelho.

Very good movie(s). Shows a different light on the USA Founding Fathers.

John F. Newman wrote:Just watched the series on John Adams, and thought it was appropriate to sip some madeira: RWC Savannah Verdelho.

Speaking of series, I am probably the last person to get on board with this ... after the series is over ... but Dexter is pretty wild.

2 Guns ... Denzell and Markie Mark. AVOID ... unless on TV for free.

Roy Hersh wrote:2 Guns ... Denzell and Markie Mark. AVOID ... unless on TV for free.

Too late! I already pre-ordered it from Amazon. Oh well, there is always the garage sale box if it turns out to be really terrible.

I recently dipped my toe (first season) into a TV series which generated a LOT of buzz during its airing time: Breaking Bad. It lives up to its hype, at least in the sense that it is fairly addictive. I'm now into the fourth season and have pre-ordered the sixth/final season which comes out on DVD later this month. Like I say - addictive. I'm watching it, even though it fails one of my main requirements: there has to be at least one character who I like or sympathize with.

Be warned, it has no English subtitles, only closed captioning, so I am watching each episode twice - once on the computer (which can show CC) to understand it (everybody mumbles) and then with Eva (who has also been watching) on the main system (which cannot - for some reason - show CC). I gotta do something about getting hearing aids.

If you decide to try this, the older seasons are so cheap on Amazon that it is more economical to buy individual seasons than the boxed set.

Watched it too. V good. Season 2 or 3 wasnt great and we stopped for a while, but went back to it a couple of months ago. V good.

Other series we've watched and enjoyed
- 24 (fantastic - some seasons felt repetitive, but still great)
- House of Cards (on Netflix - v different topic, v good)
- Game of Thrones
- Downton Abbey
- Breaking Bad
- Dexter
- Californication

Technically it's a TV series, but each episode is 90 minutes long so they're almost movies.

Sherlock with Benedict Cumberbatch in the title role is a lot of fun so far. Kari and I have just started watching the DVDs.

We finally received our very first Breaking Bad disc from Netflix. There was long wait. No spoilers please!
+1 on Downton Abbey
+1 on Sherlock, the BBC version. We've been streaming it from Amazon Prime.
= We have Game of Thrones, but haven't started watching it

We'll have to check out House of Cards, Dexter, etc. But sorry, we gave up on 24 after season 2 or 3.
-Eric

Not a series, or a particular movie, I started tuning in Saturday Nights to the channel Turner Classic Movies. Before and after each movie, the usual TCM host Robert Osborne and Drew Barrymore discuss the film. http://www.tcm.com/essentials/

I am not a Drew Barrymore fan, but in this "role" she has proved herself quality knowledgable about film and can discuss them intelligently.

As opposed to downloading or ordering a movie, it's nice to "go old school" and look forward to an event on tv.

Saw a classic the other night "A Countess from Hong Kong" with Marlon Brando and Sofia Loren. Talk about sex appeal on the silver screen...

Eric Menchen wrote:But sorry, we gave up on 24 after season 2 or 3.

Lol... it does get repetitive for a couple of seasons, but picks up nicely towards later seasons. More character development, different geographical settings.

Compiled series on DVD are almost as good as "real" movies. You can watch for times equal to movies. Watching them as they first air is not possible for me, as I need subtitles and can't abide interruptions from commercials.

Definitely a +1 (maybe +2) on Downton Abbey.
Several versions of Sherlock Holmes are very good as well. I am awaiting a version which takes place in NYC with Lucy Liu as a female Watson.
Game of Thrones is absorbing, but definitely not family fare! (I have also read the books - so far as they have been written. George R.R.Martin is notorious for slow writing of sequels.)

Series which are still in production are horrible time sinks for me, as I need to rewatch at least a full year of previous episodes to get up to speed before watching a new season compilation.

Peter W. Meek wrote:Compiled series on DVD are almost as good as "real" movies. You can watch for times equal to movies. Watching them as they first air is not possible for me, as I need subtitles and can't abide interruptions from commercials.

We DVR current stuff (Criminal Minds, Big Bang Theory, SNL) so we can skip the commercials, and for SNL, the bad skits and sometimes the music act. There is closed captioning for the current shows, but that does look a bit crappy compared to the subtitles done later.

Eric Menchen wrote:

Peter W. Meek wrote:Compiled series on DVD are almost as good as "real" movies. You can watch for times equal to movies. Watching them as they first air is not possible for me, as I need subtitles and can't abide interruptions from commercials.

We DVR current stuff (Criminal Minds, Big Bang Theory, SNL) so we can skip the commercials, and for SNL, the bad skits and sometimes the music act. There is closed captioning for the current shows, but that does look a bit crappy compared to the subtitles done later.

No room on the DVRs (yes, two of them) for anything I'm interested in. My wife frequently uses all four tuners simultaneously. I really prefer the commercially prepared DVDs of an entire season anyway.

Does anyone watch these series ON DEMAND, offered by Comcast?

One thing I can't figure out. After watching a particular show and want to go to the next one, you must back out and then go back and enter the entire menu process and scroll to the right season and episode once you get to it. Very big PITA. There must be a better way, but I can't figure it out and my wife who is v. technically skilled is also baffled by this. HELP!

As for the series: 24 ... I watched it like it was a comedy, because the acting was so campy that it really was funny. I wish I had a dollar for everytime they had to remove wires while a bomb was being diffused and the counter wound up under 10 seconds. Awful pablum, imnsho.