What's in/on Your DVD/VCR/PVR etc

[R6GYY]

Whilst the new series of James May's Oh Cook! is a bit patchy (I've watched4 so far), the first episode concentrating on French classics was very interesting. 4 recipes I fancy having a go at. French Onion Soup, Coq Au Vin, Tarte Tatin and Croque Monsieur (and indeed Croque Madame).

[R6GYY]

Oh yes - finished off Annika's 6 episodes, and we really hope this proves popular enough that it gets a second series. We really liked it.

[Red Lenses]

Watched the 1st episode of True Lies on Disney+ last night.

Wish I hadn't.

Watched the first 4 episodes of Fubar (Netflix) which has True Lies vibes going on with it.... always like Big Arnie so lapping this up so far !!

[R6GYY]

Tonight we kick off our warm-up for July's impending release of Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning (Part 1) in the cinema (planning on taking Sian to this for her first exposure to the IMAX experience).

1996's Mission: Impossible is up tonight, followed by an instalment each Saturday to take us into July.

[pxr5]

Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves - An enjoyable fantasy romp with Chris Pine and Michelle Rodriguez. This must have been a blast to make and it shows with the actors attitudes. Some really funny moments lift it from the normal and enough adventure and thrills to distract from the obvious CGI. I really enjoyed it 8.5/10

[Matt2112]

Tonight we kick off our warm-up for July's impending release of Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning (Part 1) in the cinema (planning on taking Sian to this for her first exposure to the IMAX experience).

1996's Mission: Impossible is up tonight, followed by an instalment each Saturday to take us into July.

I might well join you in that, Reg.  Think I saw the first four on release - obviously that was a while ago now - but none of the follow-ups.

I've seen the featurette of Cruise's utterly gob-smacking stunt from the forthcoming film - apparently he did it six times, the absolute mad lad.

[dom]

4 episodes into Magpie Murders. Really good!

[Matt2112]

Tar

Now, per se I really don't mind films that are "arty", slow, slightly (or highly) enigmatic, proudly intellectual and even slightly pretentious, that appeal to the "snooty" critics and are nominated for awards the world over - if they lodge themselves in the mind and make you think about them, or even get under your skin and affect you on an even more elevated level of profundity.

When it all works, I find it thrilling (classic examples off the top of my head: Mulholland Dr., The Lighthouse, Holy Motors); when it doesn't it all comes across as the Emperor's New Clothes.

Tar, for me, is an example of the latter.  This is 2 hours 38 minutes long and by "long" I mean "really long".

Yes, Cate Blanchett was rightly lauded for her impressive performance as a world-renowned orchestra conductor whose career and personal life goes through a steady meltdown.  We're also meant to be wowed by Todd Field's script and direction and all their "arty" trimmings - but I'm afraid I just found it rather pretentious window-dressing for what amounts to not much at all.

Like fellow Oscar nominee Everything Everywhere All At Once, this is chronically over-rated.

Rating: **

[Red Lenses]

Finished Fubar (Netflix) which ran out of steam with long episodes and 2 episodes longer than needed (6/10).

7 episodes out of 8 watched of Pieces of Her (Netflix) and decent enough so far....watching this with the wife.

2 episodes into The Days (Netflix) of the Fukushima nuclear disaster, good viewing so far.

[Matt2112]

Arnold

Watched the first part of this three-part Netflix documentary where Arnold Schwarzenegger talks quite candidly about his life and career - as "Athlete", "Actor" and "American".

Quite good so far.

[pxr5]

Series 2 of The White Lotus. Great TV and I'm really liking it.

[R6GYY]

Last night, Mission Impossible II.

So this slightly strange. When it came out (2000) I thought that this was the bee's knees.

But sadly, I don't think it has stood the test of time very well although Thandie Newton is still, well, Thandie Newton 

To me, this is very much the weak link in the series. I still have a lot of warm fuzzy feelings for the first film, but looking at the series as a whole, I think number 2 was 'of its time', but things really got going again with the 3rd instalment, helmed by JJ Abrams, but that's for next weekend

[pxr5]

We finished series 2 of The White Lotus tonight. A great show with more series in the pipeline. I think all in all I slightly preferred the first season, but both were really well written and produced.

[Fishy]

Joan is awful ...first ep of the new black mirror season

[Matt2112]

[quote author =Fishy link=msg=14059 date=1686921321]
Joan is awful ...first ep of the new black mirror season
[/quote]

I initially read that as a criticism of something called "Joan".