Great Movies and Series [Not Sci-Fi]

[DaveC426913]

It is rare that someone comes up with truly new ideas. And the writing is brilliant.

I was going to comment: In the dictionary, next to "formulaic: antonyms", is a thumbnail of "The OA".

 

[Ivan Seeking]

I was going to comment: In the dictionary, next to "formulaic: antonyms", is a thumbnail of "The OA".

Seriously? I'm confused. Why? Where?

 

[DaveC426913]

Seriously? I'm confused. Why? Where?

No. It's a saying.
Like, "In the dictionary, next to 'nerd', is your mugshot."
would mean " [you] are the epitome of [nerd] ".So 'The OA' is the antonym of 'a formulaic show'.

 

[Bystander]

These days I watch NCIS

Season 11+, Bishop played by Emily Wickersham...does she remind you of a cross between Emma Watson (Hermione Grainger) and Cynthia Gibb (Short Circuit 2, Malone/Burt Reynolds)?

 

[rsk]

We can't watch it on YouTube in the US.

Spoiler

If you have VPN and don't mind using it, it definitely works from Spain and UK

 

[Ivan Seeking]

No. It's a saying.
Like, "In the dictionary, next to 'nerd', is your mugshot."
would mean " [you] are the epitome of [nerd] ".So 'The OA' is the antonym of 'a formulaic show'.

As soon as you started to explain it I realized... DUH!

What a wild and crazy ride eh? Are you into season 2 now?

 

[DaveC426913]

What a wild and crazy ride eh? Are you into season 2 now?

Yup.

 

[Bystander]

Just started re-watching Leverage, and while it's no longer "cutting edge geek," can't say that for any other shows either.

 

[Fervent Freyja]

God why?

(That post is old, but I think my question is timeless).

My wife and I watched this and spent almost as much time looking at each other and blinking audibly as we did watching this dreck.

Don't get me wrong - we like Roberts* (and Gere) but we just could not choke back the Kool-aid.

(Best I can figure, we did not see Pretty Woman when it first came out - it was a few years later. And I guess sometimes the freshness of certain films fades quickly).***

Oh my gosh, I have a funny story. You would have spat out your Kool-aid upon witnessing it.

I ended up dating a guy that looked exactly like Richard Gere in that movie. It was hilarious to us, because he’s around 50 and I’m almost 20 years younger. On our first date, every man in the room is about dying and can’t stop looking and smiling- it looked like that sort of thing was going on! We ended up playing on it and having a blast messing with people. He would do weird stuff like drop his glasses under the table to look up my dress and I played on his flower metaphor by wearing a floral one. He would spout out hilarious remarks while waitresses and other patrons could hear it. I’m not sure if he is a millionaire (I think he does programming on nuclear stuff), but he always looked he was and I would get all dressed up for dates. I ended up hurting his feelings during a debate on politics while we were hiking later on, so we broke it off when I wouldn’t convert to his political ideals. I guess I’m no Julia Roberts and will be single forever!

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Oh my gosh, I have a funny story. You would have spat out your Kool-aid upon witnessing it.

I ended up dating a guy that looked exactly like Richard Gere in that movie. It was hilarious to us, because he’s around 50 and I’m almost 20 years younger. On our first date, every man in the room is about dying and can’t stop looking and smiling- it looked like that sort of thing was going on! We ended up playing on it and having a blast messing with people. He would do weird stuff like drop his glasses under the table to look up my dress and I played on his flower metaphor by wearing a floral one. He would spout out hilarious remarks while waitresses and other patrons could hear it. I’m not sure if he is a millionaire (I think he does programming on nuclear stuff), but he always looked he was and I would get all dressed up for dates. I ended up hurting his feelings during a debate on politics while we were hiking later on, so we broke it off when I wouldn’t convert to his political ideals. I guess I’m no Julia Roberts and will be single forever!

After my ex and I split, through a series of events I never could have imagined, I found myself dating and madly in love with a woman who was 30 years my younger, who was also the most beautiful woman I had ever met. She was a "beach-babe" blonde and absolutely breathtaking. From day one I knew I couldn't keep her forever but we dated for the three best years of my life. I didn't know it was possible to be so happy.

At first we lived in different cities so we would meet half way at a really nice hotel. I always got their nicest suite and we made a big evening of it. Normally we would eat in our room by the fire but for some reason one night we went down to the restaurant for dinner. As was our routine, I had ordered a nice bottle of Champaign to take back to our room after dinner. So was carrying that in an ice bucket in tow with J walking in front of me. But something was being done to the regular entrance to the restaurant. So we had to walk through a large banquet room that was filled with perhaps 40 or 50 middle-age and older men. No women.

As we approached I could hear the normal rumble of a large room filled with people in discussions. But when J walked in the place fell silent. As I entered I saw about 80 adoring eyes on J, which quickly shifted to me and filled with something that was a cross between hate and envy. They were all staring at her stunning beauty, and or me sauntering along with my bottle of Champaign and thinking"Yes boys, eat your hearts out!". We had to walk all the way along the length of the room to the opposite end. Poor J felt soooooo conspicuous. But we laughed about it. It was one of the few times I was definitely the coolest guy in the room. LOL!

After meeting her, every cheesy romance movie and love song made perfect sense.

 

[Fervent Freyja]

After meeting her, every cheesy romance movie and love song made perfect sense.

Aww, I loved this, thank you for sharing! Funny, but made me tear up! Bittersweet. It’s so cruel how life can be so marvelous for a season or so and then it’s all ripped away in an instant or you watch it slowly leaving your life and you have no control to stop it.

Do you write romance novels? You would do well at it!

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Aww, I loved this, thank you for sharing! Funny, but made me tear up! Bittersweet. It’s so cruel how life can be so marvelous for a season or so and then it’s all ripped away in an instant or you watch it slowly leaving your life and you have no control to stop it.

Do you write romance novels? You would do well at it!

haha, thanks. And no, but no man has ever been more in love. I can promise you that! For three years I was completely consumed. She was all I could think about day and night. It took me months after meeting before I could begin to fully function at work again. I dreamed about her almost every night. And when she left I cried every day for months. It really was like something out of a movie or romance novel. And I cherish every moment that I had with her.

 

[rsk]

Continuing with the end of the world theme, Last Night was great!
In Toronto, a group of friends and family prepare for the end of the world, expected at midnight as the result of a calamity that is not explained, but which has been expected for several months. [wiki]
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CUQA0SY/?tag=pfamazon01-20

I've seen one along those lines - Los días no vividos by Alfonso Cortés-Cavanillas. I seem to remember it's something to do with a solar flare / em storm or something, but the film is about half a dozen people in Madrid who decide to spend the last night together.

It's available on Vimeo in Spanish. I'm not sure whether there is a subtitled version anywhere.

I liked it and might watch it again.

 

[Fervent Freyja]

The series Agent Carter on Disney+ needs to be on this list. There are 4 great ladies that dominate the show!

 

[Bystander]

Lucifer,

Season 5 wrapped it all up in one complete package; what's the Season 6 "messing with perfection" going to accomplish beyond creation of another banal soap opera?

 

[StevieTNZ]

Best movie EVER plane @ simple - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norbit

 

[DaveC426913]

Best movie EVER plane @ simple - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norbit

It won no less than eight Razzie Awards!

 

[Hornbein]

I hardly ever watch movies, but my favorite is Cutie Honey (2004). Absurdity played straight. That's just like real life.

 

[Jarvis323]

I've enjoyed a Russian series on Netflix called "To The Lake".

"Raised by Wolves" is another good series.

I also like "Resident Alien", which is an alien sci-fi comedy series.

An interesting indie sci-fi comedy film is "Save Yourselves!"

Edit: Since the OA was mentioned I though the No Sci-Fi rule as been relaxed.

 

[Bystander]

I also like "Resident Alien", which is an alien sci-fi comedy series.

 

[Bystander]

Alias? Once you get past the "horse-drawn" computer/CIA premise (plus "Davinci Code" prophecy)...okay, I'm watching it with my wife. Still...

 

[mcastillo356]

The Russia House

 

[Ivan Seeking]

I've enjoyed a Russian series on Netflix called "To The Lake".

"Raised by Wolves" is another good series.

I also like "Resident Alien", which is an alien sci-fi comedy series.

An interesting indie sci-fi comedy film is "Save Yourselves!"

Edit: Since the OA was mentioned I though the No Sci-Fi rule as been relaxed.

The OA is fantasy, not Sci Fi.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Crashing [British]
Like Fleabag, a favorite of mine, it was created and written by, and stars Phoebe Waller-Bridge.

It is rude and crude like Fleabag but I found it amusing.

 

[Jarvis323]

The OA is fantasy, not Sci Fi.

Is this a theory about what really happened in the show?

 

[DaveC426913]

Is this a theory about what really happened in the show?

No. What makes it fantasy is that things happen and the 'how' is irrelevant.

Regardless of how things might have "really" happened, the show doesn't know or care. Thus, fantasy.

 

[DaveC426913]

By that definition, none of the shows I mentioned are sci fi either I guess. Is that right?

I'm not sure. It doesn't have to have a lot of science to be sci fi, but the OA had none. There was literally no attempt at an explanation at all about how they were doing what they were doing. Like a magic potion or magic pill in plays of yore.

 

[Jarvis323]

I'm not sure. It doesn't have to have a lot of science to be sci do, but the OA had none. There was literally no explanation at all about how they were doing what they were doing. It was hand waving. Like a magic potion or magic pill in plays of yore.

What about the part where she was being held by a mad scientist who was doing human experiments on near death experiences?

My interpretation is that she was a lab rat for the experiments, but the acts of magic were open to interpretation, either delusion or real. There was never any demonstration of those magical powers outside the stories she told.

 

[DaveC426913]

It's not to say it doesn't have science in it. But the central premise - the conceit of the story - is a deliberate hand waving mystery.

 

[DaveC426913]

No science in the central premise - the conceit of the story.

What actual science is there in a mad scientist trying to drown people? That's really about character development than story premise.

How DID they keep coming back to life after being drowned? No science there. Just accept it and move on.

 

[Jarvis323]

No science in the central premise - the conceit of the story.

What actual science is there in a mad scientist trying to drown people? That's really about character development than story premise.

I don't know, it's labeled as sci fi by its distributors and elsewhere. Most of what is labeled as sci fi now days is not centrally premised on real science.

 

[DaveC426913]

I don't know, it's labeled as sci fi by its distributors and elsewhere. Most of what is labeled as sci fi now days is not centrally premised on real science.

It doesn't have to be real science to be sci fi. Star Trek is sci fi because advanced tech based on fictional science is critical to the premise.

No such science - real or fictional - is required for the premise of The OA. Magic or occultism or deism are perfectly plausible vehicles, and are defined by NOT being under the purview of scientific rationality. And that's OK - in fantasy.

 

[Jarvis323]

It doesn't have to be real science to be sci fi. Star Trek is sci do because advanced tech based on fictional science is critical to the premise.

No such science - real or fictional - is required for the premise of The OA

I think it would be a pretty different show if half of it wasn't about a scientist with advanced tech that is able to monitor near death experiences trying to prove the afterlife.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

I think it would be a pretty different show if half of it wasn't about a scientist with advanced tech that is able to monitor near death experiences trying to prove the afterlife.

She was an angel - the Original Angel.

It doesn't get more mystical than that.

Your point is taken. It did have that sci-fi side to it. But ultimately the events were mystical and without explanation. And with her and her guide both being angels, it is hard to deny the mysticism.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

I think it would be a pretty different show if half of it wasn't about a scientist with advanced tech that is able to monitor near death experiences trying to prove the afterlife.

She was an angel - the Original Angel.

It doesn't get more mystical than that.

Your point is taken. It did have that sci-fi side to it. But ultimately the events were mystical and without explanation. And with her and her guide both being angels, it is hard to deny the mysticism.

One way to contrast the idea [sci vs fantasy] is to watch what I consider to be the best hard sci-fi movie ever made - Primer

If you watch Primer a number of times and think very hard about the plot, it can all be reverse engineered. But this is not true with The OA. The mystical events are unpredictable even retrospectively.