just finished “Your Honor” starring Bryan Cranston. A 10 episode limited series. Thumbs up from me.
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Watched the first two episodes of Stanly Tucci’s Finding Italy on CNN.
The greatest foodie road trip ever so far.
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I just watched Nomadland on Hulu. Frances McDormand is a 60 something widow who due to various circumstances ends up living in her van. It was somewhat depressing but very well done.
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It’s great to see Stanley Tucci’s fully conversant in Italian. I’ve always been admiring of Pacino and De Niro for their opportunity to be fluent in Italian as Americans.
That said, I really miss Anthony Bourdain and I’m still shocked at his passing
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My wife and I recently started watching the series “Elementary”. Of course, the plots are ridiculous, but we really like the acting. It has become a nightly wind down for us. In my opinion, it is much better than the series “Sherlock” which went from being interesting and intriguing to very weird in a heartbeat.
That, that show did get pretty bad. Moriarty? Just weird. And, having read the stories, I’m not really interested in the “sherlock as a socially inept jerk” angle. Martin Freeman is cool, though.
Yes, Martin Freeman rapidly became my favorite actor in the show.
I never read any of the stories - something to do with knowing someone who loved them, and I thought that person was a dweeb, therefore it would be impossible for me to like the stories - sometimes I am not sure how I survived being a teenager. I think it is time to pick up a book and give it a chance.
Wife and I decided tonight on watching a random episode of Colombo from 1973. Guess who was the murder victim? A young Martin Sheen. Looked just like Charlie.
I did that last year. Loved it.
Also, have been watching The Expanse on Prime. Took a while for me to get in the groove with it but just started Season 5 and love it now.
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I absolutely love the way they portray Moriarty- completely crazy. The actor also plays a crazy priest in the second season of Fleabag. I never finished the final season of Sherlock it got so bad.
My wife and I liked it.
Has anyone watched Ted Lasso? It got some good coverage on NPR this morning.
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I watched it. It was pretty good. But it’s a bait and switch. It starts as a fairly goofy and really funny comedy, and it morphs into a comedy-drama.
Also, it would have been a great show for my family, but it is full of unnecessary salty language.
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By Salty you mean “average British person’s” language.
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I love Ted Lasso. I’ve watched it twice now. Very funny, heartwarming, and lots of salty language. But it doesn’t sound so bad with a British accent (Ted, the main character never swears).
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This movie suuuuucked:
I got a screener for “free.” It’s two hours I’ll never get back. Going to watch this documentary tonight:
Also, Wandavision bustin out “what is grief, if not love persevering.” I wasn’t ready for them to give us these kind of lines in our comic book TV show.
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I thought it was excellent. Depressing how many people are and will be in that situation.
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it’s a remarkable documentary.
I’m not a snowboarder - and I’m not necessarily even a fan of extreme sports per se… but, this documentary is so positively affirmative about family, communication, commitment, reality versus desire, etc.
There are so many elements to this documentary. Every character is so compelling: none more so than Dave, sage brother who also happens to have Down Syndrome that is destined to be the shaman for the family by adroitly communicating everyone’s feelings without filters, we normally employ to avoid discussing hard issues.
I just started a new show on Apple TV that’s so good two shows in. But first, my best show in 2020 was Apple TV’s Ted Lasso:
The new show (to me) I started this week was “For All Mankind.” Season 2 starts soon so I started season 1 before it drops:
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We’ve had a tradition that started in 2001 that we would see every film nominated for Best Picture before the Academy Awards. A couple of years later we expanded that to see the 9 major categories, Picture, Actor, Actress both supporting categories, original & adapted screenplays, director & cinematography. We’re going to The Father which will finish out the Best Picture films. Here are a few thoughts.
Best Picture: All were good and The Trial of the Chicago 7 or Judas & the Black Messiah could easily win in another year but Nomadland was head and shoulders above the group. It’s a very real feeling film that almost seems like a documentary, partly because there are only two actors among the main cast. The rest are actual nomads. Like Frances McDormand’s Fern says, they aren’t homeless, they’re just houseless.
Best Actor: Look, Chadwick Boseman has it wrapped up. Steven Yuen would probably have the inside track under other circumstances.
Best Actress: We haven’t seen Vanessa Kirby in Pieces of a Woman but it’s a two woman race to my mind. Andra Day for the United States vs. Billie Holiday and Frances McDormand in Nomadland. The question with Andra Day is will they award her for being so excellent in her first acting role or will they use the same rationale they used last year to eliminate Lady Gaga. She was just a singer playing a singer.
Best Supporting Actor: It may sound strange but the next time you see him on screen he could be credited as “Academy Award Winner Sacha Baron Cohen”. His Abbie Hoffman is really good. I think either Sacha Baron Cohen or Daniel Kaluuya from Judas & the Black Messiah.
Best Supporting Actress: We haven’t watched Maria Bakalova in the Borat sequel, Cris has watched Glenn Close in Hillbilly Elegy, I haven’t. Cris says Close is amazing and how do you get nominated for an Oscar and a Razzie for the same role? My guess is Close in a makeup call for her snub in The Wife but my bet is the Minari planting grandmother Youn Yuh-jung.
Best Director: We have yet to see Thomas Vinterberg’s Another Round but I think this one goes to Chloe Zhao’s Nomadland. I can’t think of the last time a film has felt that real. Lee Isaac Chung is a possibility for Minari but this one looks like a lock.
Original Screenplay: I can easily see any of them winning. I have no clue where this is going to go. Possibly an inside track for Lee Isaac Chung for Minari or maybe a nod to Emerald Fennell as the Academy tries to become more inclusive for women.
Adapted Screenplay: Again, it seems like a lock for Chloe Zhao’s Nomadland. We haven’t seen Borat Subsequent Moviefilm and The White Tiger yet.
Best Cinematography: My guess here is Erik Messerschmidt’s Mank. Maybe the weakest storyline of the 8 Best Picture nominees but beautifully shot in black & white. Possibly a nod to Dariusz Wolski for the broad country western News of the World.
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