Movie & TV Show Recommendations -

[Salubrious]

Watching the infamous season 2 of The Island with Bear Grylls. They take 2 groups of 14 people, one male, one female, and put them on separate tropical islands for 6 weeks during storm season to survive with 2 days survival training and basic gear. Both are perfect examples of male vs female social interaction and how they work together (or don't). It's so stereotypical in the way each group behaves that I just find it funny. I'm only 2 episodes in, but if you want to watch a bunch of whinging, whining Brits being absolutely fucking miserable, out of their depth and acting in the most gender stereotypical manner, I recommend it.

Male group get on shore and immediately have one alpha male building project manager naturally show leadership qualities, immediately marches the group to the other side to a beach where they camp out, he pisses some people off by being blunt and pushing them, but it pays off. Next day they divide up tasks, finding food and starting a fire. They get a bit of food, start a fire, a tropical storm comes in and they save the fire. They can now boil water so drinking water is now taken care of. Now they have to build a shelter or else face getting soaked and not getting any sleep. All the while this happens, the other, older, boomer builder of the group starts butting heads with the building project manager in a case of two Alpha males (or one Alpha and one Beta) clashing to the point it starts to fracture the group and both builders are threatening to quit. In addition, there is one wet drip of a recent graduate who wants to bail on them after 4 days. Alpha male leader decides to leave with graduate, boomer builder stays. The two become upset when the group basically tells them to fuck off and get out of their way.

Female group are far more entertaining. They get on shore and immediately all have a 15 minute chat on the shore, still halfway in the water. Even Bear, who dropped them off is going "they need to get a move on before it gets dark". They spend even more time taking the piss (literally and figuratively) till about 2 hours before it goes dark before they finally start to make a move. It immediately becomes a democracy or volunteering with decision making. One of them gets appointed navigator and told "we will follow wherever you go". One of them spots a snake, immediately starts shrieking and running away, being melodramatic. Eventually it starts to get dark/forest thicker, and they camp in the forest. They manage to make a fire once it stops raining and celebrate.

They then, though a democratic process, decide to split into two groups. 1 stay at the camp, other goes to look for the beach. The beach hunters go without any water, exposed to the elements. They return back to the group, people are crying, they sleep on the same place again. One quits and they are out of water. They split up again, following a forester going in a straight line, the advance party finds the beach, spend their time swimming in the water, only for it to get dark and are forced to sleep there without shelter. It also rains at 3am, ending their fire and making all wood wet. Advance party find a permanent camp with water source, but have to abandon it to go back and fetch the others...they get lost. Base camp start going at each other's throats.

Top tier entertainment, would recommend.

Quoting this because a video summary came out a couple months ago, and I found it interesting.

 

[Pokemonquistador2]

Quoting this because a video summary came out a couple months ago, and I found it interesting.

Years ago, PBS did a slew of reality shows where they took city slickers and had them live in primitive conditions from certain time periods. The most infamous of these was Texas Ranch House: (Playlist here) :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsA3IPy4KnY&list=PL72jhKwankOjl6DfRnzedkxaJJX0RQuYG

PBS found some Beta middle manager to be the leader of the Ranch, although judging by how easily he was manipulated by his ball-busting wife and lazy daughters, it's clear he couldn't run a mall kiosk, much less a Ranch. The show hired some young men to be ranchhands, but they were young bucks who needed strict leadership which they rarely ever got. What they did get was a cook who was so incompetent at his job, he gave everybody in the bunkhouse food poisoning.

By the last episode of the show, everything was falling apart. Every time the ranch "owner" came close to taking on effective leadership, his henpecking wife would swoop in and undermine everything he was trying to do. She was also terrible at maintaining even the basest level of hygiene. (She apparently thought dumping the food trash right next to the house was a good idea.) She also refused to maintain the family garden, even though the ranchhands were mostly starving and could have used some of the greens being left to wither and rot in the ground. At some point in the show, a woman named Moira joined the team. She was supposed to be a maid of all work that helped the wife in the kitchen, but she decided she'd rather be a female ranchhand instead. She insisted on going out and roping cattle with the boys and going out with them on their final cattle drive, even though her weaker body kept slowing down the entire team. She was a feminist who wanted to prove that women could do anything that men could on their level, but she proved just the opposite. In a harsh environment with unrelenting heat and hard work, a woman has a definite disadvantage and would require lots of coddling to keep up.

Oh man, I can't tell you how much of a simp the Ranch "Owner" was. The series ends with the ranchhands quitting in disgust and the entire experiment being labeled a failure. It was satisfying watching one of the series advisors (a Texas woman whose family had a long family history of ranching,) tearing into the owner's wife for running such a filthy house. Sure, being a woman means you probably can't ride and rope with the boys, but that doesn't mean you're unimportant. Being able to run a clean house that doesn't kill its occupants is arguably just as important a job as herding cattle. And this feminist harpy couldn't even do that. Her daughters just sat around and made crafts all day "to sell," even though the money they would bring in doing that wouldn't even bring in a fraction of the money that was being thrown away by not properly cultivating and harvesting the garden.

It's a recommended watch if you ever want to see how well Progressives would do without modern conveniences to help them.

 

[Slimy Time]

Quoting this because a video summary came out a couple months ago, and I found it interesting.

I ended up finishing that season. The male-female stereotyping sort of continued from what I remembered. Once the men kicked out the guys causing issues, it became regimental. One group walks to this place to get clean water and boil, one group chops wood to build a fire/maintain the shelter and few guys fish or go hunting. Any drama after that came from people not pulling their weight, especially between one middle aged working class guy fishing with a line for the rest of the group and one younger upper class guy who kept shirking graft to make nets to try and net fish. Eventually the netting of fish worked out and they squashed their issues.

Women I don't remember as much, other than two pigs appearing at their camp and instead of just killing and eating them they named them and kept them as pets, only to eventually kill and eat them after much crying. They then put the pig leftovers in a jerry can to "keep for food", only for it to spoil where they made the brilliant decision to throw the can away. This meant they ended up slowly dying of dehydration since they only had one can to collect water and boil, to the point where the radio operators called them and went "get the fucking can back and wash it out you retards before we have to evac everyone".

Years ago, PBS did a slew of reality shows where they took city slickers and had them live in primitive conditions from certain time periods. The most infamous of these was Texas Ranch House: (Playlist here) :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsA3IPy4KnY&list=PL72jhKwankOjl6DfRnzedkxaJJX0RQuYG

PBS found some Beta middle manager to be the leader of the Ranch, although judging by how easily he was manipulated by his ball-busting wife and lazy daughters, it's clear he couldn't run a mall kiosk, much less a Ranch. The show hired some young men to be ranchhands, but they were young bucks who needed strict leadership which they rarely ever got. What they did get was a cook who was so incompetent at his job, he gave everybody in the bunkhouse food poisoning.

By the last episode of the show, everything was falling apart. Every time the ranch "owner" came close to taking on effective leadership, his henpecking wife would swoop in and undermine everything he was trying to do. She was also terrible at maintaining even the basest level of hygiene. (She apparently thought dumping the food trash right next to the house was a good idea.) She also refused to maintain the family garden, even though the ranchhands were mostly starving and could have used some of the greens being left to wither and rot in the ground. At some point in the show, a woman named Moira joined the team. She was supposed to be a maid of all work that helped the wife in the kitchen, but she decided she'd rather be a female ranchhand instead. She insisted on going out and roping cattle with the boys and going out with them on their final cattle drive, even though her weaker body kept slowing down the entire team. She was a feminist who wanted to prove that women could do anything that men could on their level, but she proved just the opposite. In a harsh environment with unrelenting heat and hard work, a woman has a definite disadvantage and would require lots of coddling to keep up.

Oh man, I can't tell you how much of a simp the Ranch "Owner" was. The series ends with the ranchhands quitting in disgust and the entire experiment being labeled a failure. It was satisfying watching one of the series advisors (a Texas woman whose family had a long family history of ranching,) tearing into the owner's wife for running such a filthy house. Sure, being a woman means you probably can't ride and rope with the boys, but that doesn't mean you're unimportant. Being able to run a clean house that doesn't kill its occupants is arguably just as important a job as herding cattle. And this feminist harpy couldn't even do that. Her daughters just sat around and made crafts all day "to sell," even though the money they would bring in doing that wouldn't even bring in a fraction of the money that was being thrown away by not properly cultivating and harvesting the garden.

It's a recommended watch if you ever want to see how well Progressives would do without modern conveniences to help them.

I skipped to the end just to see the teardown (will watch another time). Holy shit that place was disgusting. Manure at the front door, dishes unwashed and next to the pigs, food on the floor, and then they wonder why they have 50,000 flies. I get the impression without washing that the modern female absolutely refused to clean anything.

 

[AnOminous]

Eventually the netting of fish worked out and they squashed their issues.

A major difference between men and women and social disputes between them is women are more likely to get catty and hold grudges forever. Men will either fight over some substantive issue or resolve it by some hierarchy, or for more insoluble issue, throw some fists at each other. Generally after that, whatever it is is over. You might even see the same two guys sharing a beer later.

 

[horrorfan89]

so i finally checked out that are you afraid of the dark reboot from 2019 and I gotta say it's not bad, and I actually like how aside a few nods and winks here it doesn't try to be a beat for beat remake of the 90s version. I do have some criticism though. For one it sometimes feels like they're tying too hard to ripoff other horror franchises. The first episode's opening alone feels like a ripoff of the opening to A nightmare on elm street. And this version of the midnight society feel like they're trying to be the losers from it (2017) to the point where i could have sworn the chubby kid was the same one who played ben in that movie.


The villan also feels like he's trying to a mix of Freddy Kruger, pennywise, and just a hint of i kid you not....oogie boogie.

 

[X Prime]

Wow, Clarice is terrible.

If you liked the movies or the books, you should stay away. I caught an episode today and a good chunk of it was about the struggles of black FBI agents who were being passed over by the man for promotions.

They even try to humanize Paul Krendler, of all people, by making him out to be a guy who is willing to alter evidence for the sake of his squad, which includes Clarice Starling. I don't think I need to tell you this is the complete opposite of how he behaves in all other media. It's kind of like they made him Jack Crawford, who I should mention does not show up.

If you watch this, do it solely to see how badly they will screw it up.

 

[kaien]

Watched Murder Among the Mormons, the Netflix doc about the White Salamander bombing case from back in the '80s. Good true crime stuff if you're into that. For various PL reasons I was very familiar with the facts of the story, but not so much with some of the key personalities, and it delivers a good look at those. Shannon Flynn, who was Mark Hofmann's sidekick/right hand man, is weird as hell and clearly keeping God knows what on the down low.

 

[Tor Lugosi]

Anyone here watch Amazon's Patriot?

The concept sounded interesting -- a burnt-out spy going on a new mission. It also has a lot of good reviews. But... I couldn't make it more than thirty minutes into the first episode. The amount of quirky injected into the show as just too much for me. The main character isn't just a depressed spy... he's also a folksong singer, and a stoner (done in the usual '420 lmao' way), and like's to ride the mechanical bull. Once he started singing a duet with his father is when I checked out. Plus, even a lot of people who like the show seem to think it went off the rails in the 2nd season.

 

[AnOminous]

Watched Murder Among the Mormons, the Netflix doc about the White Salamander bombing case from back in the '80s. Good true crime stuff if you're into that. For various PL reasons I was very familiar with the facts of the story, but not so much with some of the key personalities, and it delivers a good look at those. Shannon Flynn, who was Mark Hofmann's sidekick/right hand man, is weird as hell and clearly keeping God knows what on the down low.

I like that all of Mormon history is cast into doubt by the fact that almost any historical document "discovered" after him could easily be just a Hofmann forgery.

 

[Pyre]

If you like good special effects I recommend a 1999 sci fi horror film. The movie was universally panned when it came out but it has a solid cult following now. The visual effects are extremely impressive. It was based off a comic series, had a toy line set up, and had a few well known actors like Jamie Lee Curtis.

 

[kaien]

I like that all of Mormon history is cast into doubt by the fact that almost any historical document "discovered" after him could easily be just a Hofmann forgery.

I tend to think that pretty much everything he made he sold, because he went through money like a fiend and was desperately broke by the end. So it at least all got into circulation while he was active. On the other hand, he had a phenomenal output and he sold a lot of it privately, so who knows how much of his stuff is in private hands and doesn't necessarily have a provenance that can be traced straight to Mark.

The funny part is that his stuff used to be valuable because it was a glimpse of early Mormon history, and now it's still almost as valuable because it's so notorious.

 

[Ralph Cifaretto]

I've been binging Sons of Anarchy lately and I'm surprisingly impressed with the quality of drama. I went in expecting a pretty brainless crime/action show but three seasons in and it's obvious the creators aimed for a lot more. I wouldn't quite place it at the level of the Sopranos, but the crime family dynamic is reminiscent. Absolutely would recommend for anyone interested.

Also if you're a fan of prestige TV, it's got a lot of familiar actors. The show was made by a writer/producer of The Shield (another show I highly recommend), so there's a ton of crossover there, but also actors from Mad Men, Deadwood and Breaking Bad (it's Danny Trejo to be fair).

 

[kaien]

I've been binging Sons of Anarchy lately and I'm surprisingly impressed with the quality of drama. I went in expecting a pretty brainless crime/action show but three seasons in and it's obvious the creators aimed for a lot more. I wouldn't quite place it at the level of the Sopranos, but the crime family dynamic is reminiscent. Absolutely would recommend for anyone interested.

You're at just about the peak of the series there IMO, although opinions vary back and forth a bit.

 

[Ralph Cifaretto]

You're at just about the peak of the series there IMO, although opinions vary back and forth a bit.

Aha good to know. Have you watched Mayans at all? I thought I'd give it a shot after Sons.

 

[kaien]

Aha good to know. Have you watched Mayans at all? I thought I'd give it a shot after Sons.

Nah, I never did. The last couple seasons of Sons were polarizing. It's not a Game of Thrones situation where EVERYONE hated it, but to try and put it in non-spoilery terms, I was just pretty burnt out on the series by the end. That said, I've seen enough folks who liked the first season of Mayans that if you want to keep going after Sons, I figure it's worth a look.

 

[Vancouver Terry Bollea]

Watching Millennium for the first time since it was on originally. Henriksen is A1.

 

[Tor Lugosi]

Counterpart is absolutely amazing.

The writing is thoughtful and intelligent, constantly dealing with themes of identity and fate, while rarely ever being overwritten, heavy handed, or pretentious. It also manages to balance being both character and plot driven, with a ton of fantastic character moments and an equal amount of detailed world building.

J.K. Simmons and Olivia Williams play the leads (and dual roles). I remember a lot of people gushing over Tatiana Maslany playing multiple roles in Orphan Black, but whereas the clones Maslany played were pretty much completely different characters Simmons and Williams play characters who are the same people but whose lives diverged, and they completely nail it.

The direction, cinematography, and locations are quite good, too. In particular I really liked the actual 'Passage' and what seemed to be a screaming void you can faintly hear outside of its walls.

Speaking of Orphan Black, did anyone here watch it all the way through? I remember really being into season one, losing interest (for some reason I can't remember) during season two, and then never bothering with the show after that. Is it worth restarting and watching all the way through?

 

[albert chan]

Drishyam

I made it a goal to see how much Bollywood I can watch, and it all started with this movie. In fact, I just randomly searched “best Bollywood movies” and this one was on the top half of the list. It’s a really good movie with family and action being mixed together that it doesn’t always have to rely on too much violence and cursing to get its point across.

Overall, very good movie.

 

[Wooper]

There's a blacksplotation movie I like called The Spook Who Sat By The Door that was removed from theaters when it came out and was locked away for like 30 years because of the FBI. It's about the CIA in the 60's getting a token black guy and training him only for him to train the black youth in guerrilla warfare. With certain racial tensions in the United States I think the film is at least an interesting watch for those who are curious.
The movie's history is also interesting enough where a documentary about the movie was made. There is one part where basically there is a riot scene and it actually caused a real riot in downtown Chicago because people just saw actors fighting and joined in.
Just looked it up the whole thing is on basic YouTube for free.

 

[LinkinParkxNaruto[AMV]]

Been downloading some of my favs again so i'm gonna sperg

Barton Fink.
Every time i see John Goodman in anything, no matter what it is i am unsettled because i remember his role on this film. Is a really brilliantly dark and funny movie.

Carandirú.
Is a brazilian film about a infamous prison where a riot happened in the 80s that ended in the army stepping in and hundreds of prisoners dead. The riot is not the drive of the film though, the movie is about showing life in the prison and the inmates telling their stories on how they got in and how they live inside, told from the POV of a physician who was there to test prisoners for AIDS, it can be both incredibly funny to incredibly depressing.

Amores Perros.
Still my favorite Latin-American movie and Inarritu's best. Is 3 different tragic love stories in the same city all relating to each other by chance and each of the three involving dogs as a major issue- Is beautifully narrated and everything seamlessly falls in place, the plot itself is very sad, i can never forget it.

Y tu mamá también
My second favorite latin american movie. It does a fantastic job at telling a story though the visuals and connecting the theme with the character drama, its a truly clever portrait of the cultural and economic contrasts happening in the background of daily life in Mexico, although this movie could very well take place anywhere in latin america. Its a fantastic layered movie that can even be enjoyed as a funny buddy comedy with some strong drama, the acting of Diego Luna and Garcia Bernal alone is incredible, is the most believable friendship chemistry i've seen on the screen, even at the most douchebag and unbearable their characters are perfectly crafted as i have known people exactly like them.

El día de la bestia/ Day of the beast
This is a spanish one, is nothing too deep but i always loved the idea of it. A priest is breaking bad and trying to get in good graces with the devil by committing sin so he can infiltrate into the birth of the antichrist and kill him on christmas eve. He uses the help of a metalhead and a phony tv psychic and every one of the eccentric protagonist is really funny. The director also made a movie called The community which is another dark comedy about a very dysfunctional building were all the tenants end up pitted against one another.

Spirit of the beehive
This one is very slow and very moody, is a period drama about a little girl during the spanish civil war. It might be boring or amazing depending on the person, i personally love the ambiance and a simple concept being smartly executed. This one is the movie Guillermo del Toro copied the most to make Pans Labyrinth, and it honestly really is a much more subdued gritty and realistic Pans Labyrinth.

The holy innocents
If you are in the mood for pretty solid and refined misery porn, i would add The Young and the Damned by Buñuel in this category, that one and Simon of the desert are the two Buñuel films i actually love