Show thread📷 Ian Alexander Martin 🥾May 18, 2022
Good, solid fun. Not awesome, but fun. Missable, but there’s some surprises as you go through the episodes, as some guests are better at improv than you might expect!

★★★☆☆

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Show thread📷 Ian Alexander Martin 🥾May 20, 2022
An excellent seconds series of 7 episodes. Much folding back of time upon itself, like a comedic/dramatic croissant. Fabulous writing and cinematography. Solid acting and direction from Ms Lyonne. More of just about anything from her, please.
★★★★☆
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Show thread📷 Ian Alexander Martin 🥾May 21, 2022
An unexpected gem from Mike Myers! There are six episodes of about ½-an-hour each, so it’s easily a single evening’s enjoyment. Silly, profane, and jammed with throw-away gags for Canadians!
Recommended!
★★★★★
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Show thread📷 Ian Alexander Martin 🥾May 24, 2022
This series of episodes seems quite disjointed. The plot is light, and there are more self-referential flashes than actual plot advancement. That all said, maybe pieces are being set in place for something elaborate.

Or not.

★★★☆☆

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Show thread📷 Ian Alexander Martin 🥾May 24, 2022
I had forgotten just how improbable the subterfuge of ‘Operation Mincemeat’ was. Not only did Britain put all its eggs in one basket, there was just one egg and the basket was made of papier-mâché.

A couple of sub-plots are likely non-historical, but it’s a good film none the less.

Recommended.

★★★★☆

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Show thread📷 Ian Alexander Martin 🥾Jun 4, 2022

Grand stuff here. The characters continue to be real, compelling, and idiosyncratic. While the final conclusion of this plot fails to truly resolve, it’s clear it’s leading up to something quite big indeed.

All of this series is very highly recommended.

★★★★☆

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Show thread📷 Ian Alexander Martin 🥾Jun 7, 2022

A show that starts with an incredible conceit which then logically no longer matters, until it does again, but not always.

Great writing which regularly passes the Bechtel Test. What’s especially fantastic is that they have characters discuss matters of morality, as well as simply let them talk; both of which are so rare these days. There’s also a fair bit of humour, which always drives forward the plot.

Highly recommended.

★★★★☆

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Show thread📷 Ian Alexander Martin 🥾Jun 11, 2022

Each episode really is a complete film. Horror movies used to only run 70 or so minutes, just as nearly all the episodes of S4 so far. There’s more plot and character development here than in ‘normal TV.’

I know that people discussed the 2005–2015 period as the ‘new golden age of TV,’ but the wealth of story forms and strength of writing these days is phenomenal. This show reflects both its setting and what we want to be.

★★★★★

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Show thread📷 Ian Alexander Martin 🥾Jun 11, 2022
Very highly recommended, which seems to not be necessary, because everyone in the whole world seems to be watching this.

But, you know, if you •haven’t• heard of it and are •thinking• of checking it out? You totally should.
Show thread📷 Ian Alexander Martin 🥾Jun 13, 2022
One of the best film noir pictures ever made. Maybe one of the best pictures ever made! It’s certainly jam-packed with great dialogue!

However, I just can’t get past hearing Fred McMurray use the term ‘baby’ so much and buy it. Somehow, it just doesn’t fly.

The rest of it is fantastic, especially Barbara Stanwyck and Edgar G Robinson. If you haven’t seen this, you must!

Required viewing.
★★★★★
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Show thread📷 Ian Alexander Martin 🥾Jun 17, 2022
I wish there were more shows like this that look at politics not as a sport, but as a process-driven on-going effort. The effect on its managers and their family is unrecognized.

Very Highly recommended.

★★★★★

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Show thread📷 Ian Alexander Martin 🥾Jun 17, 2022
An excellent and satisfying read. While the conclusion arrives too abruptly for my taste, it is an excellent novel by Mr Aaronovitch and may be one of my favourites in the series!

Very recommended.

★★★★☆

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Show thread📷 Ian Alexander Martin 🥾Jun 23, 2022
I’ve only seen the first 16 episodes of #BabylonBerlin but am dedicated to watch the third series of them. Artfully shot and directed, the story is equal parts noir & glamour, with social commentary on top.

Highly recommended.

A solid ★★★★☆

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Show thread📷 Ian Alexander Martin 🥾Jun 27, 2022
The 3rd series of episodes for #BabylonBerlin really is extraordinary with its plot structure. There are twists, parallels, double and triple crosses, and incredible camera work.

Very highly recommended.

★★★★★

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Show thread📷 Ian Alexander Martin 🥾Jul 1, 2022
The latest series of #UmbrellaAcademy3 episodes builds slowly but satisfactorily to create what •could• be an ending. If a fourth batch of episodes were ordered, I would be pleased, but they could leave it here if they had to.

Highly recommended overall.

★★★★☆

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Show thread📷 Ian Alexander Martin 🥾Jul 2, 2022
Because the last two episodes of #StrangerThings4 are movie length, I’ll note them separately.

This is excellent. All the threads are coming together and the Duffer Brothers are making the stronger choices to get the plot where it needs to go. I’m especially impressed with the event at the very end of the episode, which could have been soft and ‘typical Hollywood’ but did not go there. Hurrah!

Very highly recommended, as usual.

★★★★☆

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Show thread📷 Ian Alexander Martin 🥾Jul 3, 2022
S4Ep9, “The Piggyback,” completes #StrangerThings4 and sets up the 5th series of the show. It has… a lot… in it. Like… lots.

The kids use the word ‘epic’ these days, but this really earns it.

★★★★☆

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Show thread📷 Ian Alexander Martin 🥾Jul 3, 2022
Also, something I keep thinking to myself is that, with a name such as that, Finn Wolfhard had only two destinies for his life: become a movie & TV star, or become a character in a Jack London novel.
Show thread📷 Ian Alexander Martin 🥾Jul 5, 2022
#Kastanjemannen (or “The Chestnut Man”) is another reason for me to either move to — or at least visit — Denmark. It’s a slow building story, but you’re hooked from the very first scene.

Excellent production values, acting, direction.

Very highly recommended.

★★★★★

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Show thread📷 Ian Alexander Martin 🥾Jul 6, 2022
I’m also sure it would take me about 15 minutes to learn Danish. Basically it’s English that muttered in the back of the mouth. “Come and sit down,” “good morning,” & “okay, that’s good” are basically identical to English. All I need to learn is how to avoid lutefisk and I’m set.
Show thread📷 Ian Alexander Martin 🥾Jul 6, 2022
Based on real events, the story of how images of Nazi atrocities were hidden until liberation arrived and justice was seen to be done.

It’s difficult to be engaged with this, given its inevitable conclusion.

Just good.

★★★☆☆

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Show thread📷 Ian Alexander Martin 🥾Jul 6, 2022
Francesc Boix: [Looking at the Head of Medusa painting] I like it.
Paul Ricken: Be careful. It used to turn onlookers to stone. I like having some artists as references.
Francesc Boix: I prefer taking pictures of reality.
Paul Ricken: Reality doesn't exist, Franz. It all depends on the point of view. Don't forget it.
Show thread📷 Ian Alexander Martin 🥾Jul 6, 2022
Paul Ricken: A good photographer must know how to paint with light.
Francesc Boix: That is cheating.
Paul Ricken: This is art.
Paul Ricken: Some pictures have to be touched up. Some others, only the staging. Human beings are malleable.
Show thread📷 Ian Alexander Martin 🥾Jul 7, 2022
Good fun, considerably silly, and just what I wanted this evening.

Missable, but you’ll be happier if you watch it, especially with its harmonious message.

★★★☆☆

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Show thread📷 Ian Alexander Martin 🥾Jul 7, 2022
Stick around for the post-credits scene, too.
Show thread📷 Ian Alexander Martin 🥾Jul 9, 2022
Seeing it all spool out again, and hear from the people directly involved what they did is incredible.

It really was an historic moment, for so many reasons, not the least of which was the direction that the space programme headed in after that.

★★★☆☆

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Show thread📷 Ian Alexander Martin 🥾Jul 9, 2022
The day it happened, I had just arrived at Fleming Elem. to shoot class group photos. I stumbled into the school, eventually found my boss, and he reacted to the news with an ‘oh’ as though I had just wasted his time telling him that I really enjoyed salt water taffy.

I ought to have quit working for him on the spot, as he was clearly a psychopath.
Show thread📷 Ian Alexander Martin 🥾Jul 10, 2022
Every time I see Mark Ruffalo in a film it’s a completely different performance. Hell, I think he gets surgery done to alter his facial and neck features!

This is an incredible film about what’s happening Every Single Day in the name of ‘business.’ It’s really terrifying in its terrifying reality. If you haven’t seen this, do so, even if you’re aware of the issue already. It summarizes so much of everything so perfectly.

★★★★☆
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Show thread📷 Ian Alexander Martin 🥾Jul 10, 2022
If you want inspiration, and the will to keep going, this works wonders.

Robert Bilott: The system is rigged. They want us to believe that it'll protect us, but that's a lie. We protect us. We do. Nobody else. Not the companies, not the scientists, not the government. Us.

So, basically, if your cause is both just and the Right Thing To Do, never give up. Never.
Show thread📷 Ian Alexander Martin 🥾Jul 11, 2022
While not exactly neo-noire, this certainly is noire, in that there are no heroes or heroines, everyone is out for themselves, and the truth is more twisty than a very, very twisty thing.

Recommended.

★★★★☆

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Show thread📷 Ian Alexander Martin 🥾Jul 14, 2022
Another excellent entry in the series. The ending, as seems to be frequent, is abrupt, and I would prefer more pages comprising the struggle to win, but this is solely my preference, as the story is grand otherwise.

I’ve realized I’ve missed two novels so will have to head back.

★★★★☆

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Show thread📷 Ian Alexander Martin 🥾Jul 18, 2022
SEASON I ONLY: While not great, this series is a good look at how the USA could restructure itself overnight if the unthinkable happened and all of the governmental branches were wiped out instantly.

Its writing suffers from a fair few dialogue tropes — a repeated line for extra drama, predictable replies, plot twists at set times in the story — but it is sufficiently entertaining for this viewer.

I look forward to Seasons II and III.

★★★★☆

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Show thread📷 Ian Alexander Martin 🥾Jul 23, 2022
Maybe it’s the Law of Diminishing Returns, but this doesn’t seem to be as lively and as fresh as it seemed in my memory of Series 1. I’ll probably watch Series 3, but after seeing all of “Parks & Rec” do this stuff better, it’s disappointing.

★★★☆☆

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Show thread📷 Ian Alexander Martin 🥾Jul 25, 2022
The dialogue is less predictable, the plots are more twisty but still have predictable aspects, and there are just as many ‘oh c’mon now!’ moments involving an FBI agent’s involvement with things.

All that said, I’m going to see this through, because it’s better than some of the tripe I could be watching instead.

“Damning with faint praise?” You might well think that. I couldn't possibly comment.

★★★☆☆

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Show thread📷 Ian Alexander Martin 🥾Jul 25, 2022
Here’s a rarity: something involving Vancouver history, and jazz, about which I knew nothing! A wonderful gift from a wonderful person, and a wonderful read about an influential jazz club located a short walk from where I now live.

Very highly recommended.
★★★★★
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Show thread📷 Ian Alexander Martin 🥾Jul 25, 2022
It deserves mentioning that author Marian Jago has clearly left no stone unturned to record the events and people involved in the creation and operation of The Cellar. It is an important piece of Jazz History which needed to be told, for both the musical idiom and Vancouver.
Show thread📷 Ian Alexander Martin 🥾Jul 27, 2022
I’m currently reading this #book, all about Oleg Gordievsky, a Soviet KGB Officer who defected to the west during the Cold War. It’s fascinating, and I’m entirely pleased that #IOwnThis, but the heat today while riding on the bus is enough that I cannot follow it.
Show thread📷 Ian Alexander Martin 🥾Jul 29, 2022
The first series introduced a solid story idea, the second series seemed a tad rudderless, the third introduced real issues discussed by real people.

Over all, it’s… okay. Let’s say a C+.

★★★☆☆

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Show thread📷 Ian Alexander Martin 🥾Jul 30, 2022
Initially so thought the length was insane; it’s not. It needs that time to stretch its legs fully. There is some phenomenal cinematography in this, and it’s a solid story. Selina and The Batman are great, but Bruce as a character just seems tired all the time. MORE ALFRED!! Also, Messers J and Cobblepot need their time in the sun. Speaking of sun, could Robert Pattinson book some tanning booth time, please?

Good, but not genius.

★★★★☆

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Show thread📷 Ian Alexander Martin 🥾Jul 31, 2022
Do they think they’ve found who ‘D.B. Cooper’ was? Yes. Does that matter? No. What’s fascinating here is the people who are searching for the answer to the identity and why. That’s why this is worthwhile. If you want to.
★★★☆☆
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Show thread📷 Ian Alexander Martin 🥾
Exciting thriller with lots of inedible fight choreography and delightful character notes throughout. Additional fun is @ChrisEvans’ work as a deliciously infantile villain who could also double as a stand-in for Freddie Mercury.

This makes me want to visit Croatia and Prague. When I do, I will keep away from the Czech public transit, however.

★★★★★

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Aug 1, 2022 at 4:50amWeb
Show thread📷 Ian Alexander Martin 🥾Aug 2, 2022
If you’ve ever looked at an exhibit in a museum and thought ‘how did they ever find this?’ then you need to watch this. It’s not as boring as a dig in Essex, nor as exciting as ‘Indiana Jones,’ but it’s pretty damned cool!

This site was an incredibly rich one, with items galore providing all sorts of information about the people who frequented the area.

Highly recommended.

★★★★☆

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Show thread📷 Ian Alexander Martin 🥾Aug 3, 2022
To be clear, the techniques employed, to both discover and secure any artifacts, are best described as ‘a salvage mission.’ The area is entirely open to theft, as has historically been the case. Getting things safely house quickly here is paramount.
Show thread📷 Ian Alexander Martin 🥾Aug 3, 2022

Some evenings you work until 22:00, and you want to watch something an hour long, and preferably laugh a bunch. This is one of those evenings.

Ms Alonzo is funny. I like her very much.

Now I will sleep.

★★★☆☆

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Show thread📷 Ian Alexander Martin 🥾Aug 4, 2022
I nearly turned around and bought another ticket to see “Brazil” right after seeing it the first time. That was a rewarding experience because the viewer is about ½ a step behind the story and expected to catch up. Here, it feels like the story is 1½ steps ahead of the viewer laying traps instead of clues as to where to go, yelling “gotcha!” whenever we head the wrong way. I feel the need to watch this again merely to understand what I saw.
★★★★☆
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Show thread📷 Ian Alexander Martin 🥾Aug 4, 2022
Films shouldn’t be far smarter than the audiences. Films certainly shouldn’t expect audiences to do homework, either. “Here’s something you’ll enjoy watching repeatedly” is far better than “here’s something you’ll shake your head at later until you finally give up trying to understand it.”

I’ll watch it again, but resent doing so, as I will have to spend 5 hours to understand a story that ought to take two hours to tell more simply and effectively.
Show thread📷 Ian Alexander Martin 🥾Aug 5, 2022
A perfectly serviceable thriller / revenge / action film, with less of the usual witty Guy Ritchie dialogue. About as close to “Rashōmon” as this director will ever get, but closer than you might expect.

★★★☆☆

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Show thread📷 Ian Alexander Martin 🥾Aug 6, 2022
Right.

Watched it again, it makes more sense and holds together far better once you’ve got enough of a grasp on things going into it.

YOU SHOULDN’T HAVE TO DO THAT!!!

Whilst I love ‘The Prestige,’ there’s a lovely •story• unfolding through the film, whereas here it’s more CRASH CRASH BANG BANG unfolding than anything else.

[:: heavy sigh ::]

Missable, unless you like 5 hours of heavy lifting or not thinking at all.

★★★★☆
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Show thread📷 Ian Alexander Martin 🥾Aug 6, 2022
I HAVE FIGURED IT OUT!!

The reason I found ‘Tenet’ so disappointing and pointlessly convoluted is that I HAVE ALREADY SEEN THIS DONE SO MUCH BETTER!

I found the #Netflix series #Dark to be, for me at least, the best TV that I have ever seen. You care about the characters and the outcome and you understand everything as it goes along as well as the plot twists having roots in the plot itself.

Skip ‘Tenet,’ watch all of ‘Dark’ and you’ll be far better off. Trust me.
Show thread📷 Ian Alexander Martin 🥾Aug 7, 2022
A complicated story about the complicated investigation of a complicated situation in a very complicated region of the world, whose history is as complicated and as old as all of recorded time.

Recommended.

★★★★☆

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Show thread📷 Ian Alexander Martin 🥾Aug 8, 2022
A story about David Bouie (no, not that one), a pastor in Crossett, Arkansas, attempting to get the US Environmental Protection Agency to protect the environment in his area from the pollution of a GP plant owned by the Koch brothers.

Very highly recommended.

★★★★☆

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Show thread📷 Ian Alexander Martin 🥾Aug 8, 2022
A film from a time when lapels were narrow, cars were wide, sleeping pills were plentiful, no one locked their doors, Los Angeles had a ‘hard g,’ go-go dancers were obligatory, and ‘The Organization’ was how you referred to the Mafia.

Very highly recommended.

★★★★★

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