The Film and Television Thread.

[LetsGetQuizzical 217]

Hi all.

I don't spend my days glued to a rectangular screen, but when I do want to kill a few hours and relax, I do enjoy a good TV series or film.

I wondered if perhaps you guys might want to discuss some good series and/or films you've seen, recently or in the past. I'm always on the lookout for something new and interesting to watch.

Also, I might suggest that we keep discussion free from any spoilers, so we don't ruin any plots for each other! I haven't checked whether there is a spoiler tag feature on this forum, but that'd be handy if so.

I'll start!

At the moment, I'm watching an American sitcom called How I Met Your Mother. I'm also a fan of Supernatural, a TV series about two brothers who hunt demons/vampires/supernatural beings. I don't really believe in these things outside of fantasy TV, but enjoy it all the same. I also have The Walking Dead (zombie series) on my "to watch" list. Last but not least - Scrubs. My favourite TV series, and one which I have watched from start to finish more times than I can count!

Looking forward to any suggestions you guys may have :)

[steve25805 126,021]

It isn't being made anymore, but no doubt will pop up regularly on cable or satellite channels - the British secret service drama, Spooks. I would highly recommend it. The rogue cop drama, Luther, is also well worth a look.

The British historical drama, The Devil's Whore, set during and after the English Civil War, is also well worth a look if you ever see it repeated anywhere.

I very rarely watch films anymore, but something a little different from your usual Hollywood production which I would strongly recommend, is the German language film (with English subtitles) Der Untergang/ Downfall, which is historically highly accurate and features Hitler's last days in the bunker and the fall of Berlin. Please don't let the fact that it is subtitled put you off: it is such a truly excellent film that you actually quickly get beyond that and become fully absorbed. And actually having a German actor, ranting in German with a very Hitler sounding voice, in the role of Hitler, adds tremendously to the authenticity.

[LetsGetQuizzical 217]

I saw the first 2 series of Spooks, pretty good but I kinda lost touch with it. I've seen the first 3 series of Luther and completely agree - it's brilliant. Speaking of, there's another series with Idris Elba in called The Wire, quite old but very good if you give it time to get going.

[Admin 14,788]

I'm a fan of How I Met Your Mother, too. In fact I've seen every episode. The show is currently on its last series mind (and we've finally found who the mother is!). I would recommend you do get around to watching The Walking Dead soon, as that's also a good show (very different to HIMYM of course). Having said that, I still haven't caught up with the latest series, but it's definitely worth a watch. A show I'd recommend to everyone though is Breaking Bad; a story that involves a Chemistry teacher who starts producing and selling crystal meth... that has to be one of my favourite series' and although it recently finished, it's definitely worth checking out. I'm yet to meet someone whose not liked it.

I really struggle to narrow it down when attempting to pick favourites though, so I'll share with you what I've watched lately. The last TV show I watched was The Inbetweeners - a comedy series that certainly won't be to everyone's taste, but in my opinion is very funny (so much so I'm re-watching it, as I've actually seen all of the episodes before). The last film I watched was called The Internship, where two older guys attempt to get a job at Google - again it's a comedy, and I'd certainly recommend that too.

So there you go, plenty for you all to be getting on with watching! ;) It'd be great if people could briefly review any films they've recently watched mind.

[LetsGetQuizzical 217]

Hmm. I'm only on season 2 of HIMYM, long way to go there. I own season 1 of Breaking Bad too, haven't started that yet though. I liked the Inbetweeners at first, but got a bit bored with the style of comedy after a while. The first 2 series were hilarious though. Never heard of the Internship, but I'll check that out!

[Admin 14,788]

Hmm. I'm only on season 2 of HIMYM, long way to go there. I own season 1 of Breaking Bad too, haven't started that yet though. I liked the Inbetweeners at first, but got a bit bored with the style of comedy after a while. The first 2 series were hilarious though. Never heard of the Internship, but I'll check that out!

There's only 3 seasons in total (and a movie!) and whilst it is the same kind of comedy, there's only 6 episodes in each season so I'd recommend sticking it out to the end. As for HIMYM, you've got 7 seasons to go there, each with around 20 odd episodes in! But yes, if you've already got Breaking Bad I can't recommend watching it enough (although it's worth remembering it gets better as it progresses, so stick with it even if you're only a little intrigued after the first couple of episodes).

What's the last thing everyone else has watched then?

[steve25805 126,021]

I like all the series of Star Trek , The X - Files , Law & Order S.V.U. ,Historical Documentaries , National Geographic Documentaries

and Mail Call on the Military History channel I watch very often . :biggrin:

I also enjoy watching WWII movies . Along with those about the Korean war and Vietnam war too . This also includes Sci Fi movies . Which I had just watched Oblivion with Tom Cruise in it ! !

Oh, I love Star Trek and the X-Files too. I am old enough to have enjoyed the original Star Trek with Captain Kirk and crew during childhood.

I also enjoy historical documentaries and love good war films. So we have some similar interests.

My favourite war films are

Der Untergang/Downfall

Dresden

Saving Private Ryan

Full Metal Jacket

Apocalypse Now

Tora! Tora! Tora!

The Battle of the Bulge

The Battle of Britain

Enemy at the Gates

A bridge too far

The longest day

Midway

[steve25805 126,021]

I like all the series of Star Trek , The X - Files , Law & Order S.V.U. ,Historical Documentaries , National Geographic Documentaries

and Mail Call on the Military History channel I watch very often . :biggrin:

I also enjoy watching WWII movies . Along with those about the Korean war and Vietnam war too . This also includes Sci Fi movies . Which I had just watched Oblivion with Tom Cruise in it ! !

Also, Kevin, since you seem to share my enjoyment of history in general, and military history in particular, you might possibly be interested in this forum -

http://historum.com/

Check it out.

[steve25805 126,021]

There is also the action packed Where Eagles Dare and, going back into the 19th century, Zulu. And of course the First World War epic Lawrence of Arabia remains a classic.

[LetsGetQuizzical 217]

Thanks for your responses guys, glad you've found so many things to contribute!

I had just watched Oblivion with Tom Cruise in it ! !

I watched this over Christmas, thought it was a very good film, but I felt like they had borrowed heavily from a number of other Sci Fi films for some of their ideas.

[steve25805 126,021]

Really ! ! I didn't know that Laurence of Arabia was a WWI era film . Thought it was slightly before that war . Though I could be wrong in that . Now Eagles Dare , OOH My Gosh , Slaps Head ! ! How could I have forgotten that gem of a movie ! I really liked Clint Eastwood's role and that of Richard Burton as well ! They made a very good team . Now Zulu , I have not watched yet . Is it close to Zulu Dawn by the way ?

On another note I would love to make a re - make of The Battle Of The Bulge . with authentic armor . Like a tiger tank , panther and also the Sherman M4a3e8 and not use modern tanks to represent either American / German Armor . Use the real thing now . Now that they have some restored to running condition . Especially the tiger tank and the Panther now ! !

One last note ; I almost forgot to mention , '' Band Of Brothers " which was a Excellent program / Documentary series on HBO

That was worth mentioning on here .:cool:

Yes, Band of Brothers was superb. I saw it here too.

And Lawrence of Arabia was definitely set in the First World War. T.E. Lawrence was himself a serving British officer appointed to lead the Arabs in revolt against the Turks, who were our World War One enemies at the time, on the side of Germany and Austria-Hungary. At that time the Turks, ruling what was known of as the Ottoman Empire, ruled not only the whole of modern day Turkey, but also modern day Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, Jordan, and large parts of Arabia.

I like the idea of using authentic tanks to re-film the Battle of the Bulge. One of the superb things about the Batlle of Britain film, apart from it's great historical accuracy, is the fact that it used real Spitfires, Hurricanes, ME109s, ME110s, and Stukas in it's making. Of course that was easier back then (the film was made in the 1960s) because rather more were still in good flying condition.

[wetmanjf 2,787]

May be hard to believe but I don't even have a TV in my house....But I always enjoyed comedy shows...like SNL etc

wetmanjf

[steve25805 126,021]

For all UK members I want to point out that the new series of Top Gear begins on BBC2 at 8pm tonight, less than an hour from now. I do love that program. Jeremy Clarkson may well be an arse, but he sure can be a funny arse sometimes. :laugh:

[DiaperFun 14]

I like Terminator part 1-4, Predator part 1-4, Johnny English reborn and some on going good series on TNT channel like Moonlight and Lost Girl. This is just a few films/series I like to watch.

[Admin 14,788]

I watched two films I really enjoyed lately. One of them is actually from a couple of years called Limitless which I'm sure some of you will have seen. For those who haven't, I thought it was a really interesting concept and very much worth watching. The film I watched yesterday was Wolf of Wall Street. All I can say is that the positive reviews and hype about this film are justified.

For all UK members I want to point out that the new series of Top Gear begins on BBC2 at 8pm tonight, less than an hour from now. I do love that program. Jeremy Clarkson may well be an arse, but he sure can be a funny arse sometimes. :laugh:

You've got a point there! I'm late seeing this but will watch it on catchup and then watch tonight's episode later on. Despite not being a huge car fan, I am a big Top Gear fan, especially the (roadtrip) specials. Thanks for letting us know it's back...

[Admin 14,788]

Anyone familiar with the series, Outnumbered (on BBC) ?

[Admin 14,788]

I've been watching lots of random films lately, and coincidentally the last two have both featured pee scenes; Our Idiot Brother and Smashed. I'm sure they're already on the pee movie list, but it's always a nice bonus when you stumble across a film with girls peeing (I suppose I should have expected it given the plot of 'Smashed').

I haven't really been watching much TV lately, there seems to be less and less that I'm actually that interested in watching.

[steve25805 126,021]

I haven't really been watching much TV lately, there seems to be less and less that I'm actually that interested in watching.

Me too. The internet has totally and utterly supplanted the TV as my main focus of interest in the room now.

In fact, this appears to be increasingly true generally, the younger the age groups - my teenage nephews hardly ever watch TV - and in consequence I am beginning to suspect that TV in it's current form is in terminal decline and will eventually in future decades disappear as a seperate entity, with the stuff we want to watch accessible only via the internet. Thus much content will be pay-per-view, with foreign TV broadcasts as readily accessible as local ones. If the BBC license fee survives at all it will purely exist to fund public service broadcasting - news, current affairs, high art and culture, and that kind of thing.

At least, that is the way I think things are heading.

[pwpj 462]

I think you're right - it will be interesting to see what happens when the license fee comes up in a couple of years time? Remember once upon a time you needed a license to own a radio! However it is good that we still have the BBC as an unbiased and non-commercially-run organisation.

TBH like other posters I use the catch up online services, the chances of me catching something I want to watch live anyway are slim.

[Admin 14,788]

Even programmes on TV I do like, I don't end up watching live on the television. I'd either record them or - more likely - watch them on the catchup service (which I normally stream on my laptop).

Some of the films I've watched lately... 'Her' - not exactly new but fairly recent, very unusual but well worth a watch. It's about a guy who falls in love with his operating system... yeah. Just give it a chance. In terms of comedies, I recently watched Bad Neighbours and A Million Ways to Die in the West; both were good, though didn't quite live up to the hype in my opinion. I'm still looking forward to watching 22 Jump Street, as I really enjoyed the first one and apparently the second is just as good, if not better (which is rare with sequels).

Anyone looking for a short comedy tv series to check out, try Beaver Falls. I just finished watching it and would definitely recommend it.

Right now I'm about to watch Mock The Week on catchup.

[Admin 14,788]

Oh, just another film I'll mention to you all, Disconnect. This was another film I watched recently, it's a very interesting take on the online world.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1433811/

I feel this film could've been a lot more successful with the right advertising. Has anyone else seen or even heard of it? I only stumbled across it by chance.

[chantelle22 50]

I saw 22 and 21 jump street yesterday and in my opinion 22 jump street was better/funnier although the first is great too. I love Jonah Hill. :tongue:

I've been spending all my time watching Orange Is The New Black. I'm sure you've heard of it as it is doing pretty well. It follows a woman doing time in prison and it's sooo addictive.

I'm also a huge fan of the series American Horror story. :redface: