One More on the Telly: Page 153 - The Arsenal discussion forum and community: One More in the Tolly

One More on the Telly

Coombs

Have to say, I can't stand Alex Garland, and generally think he's a hack to boot. The good bits of what he does all seem to come from someone else.

Burnwinter

Have to disagree with you both on various levels, though I do think it's fair to say Alex Garland has often flattered to deceive with his projects.

But anyway, I'm slowly writing a piece about adaptation, the "unnameable" and the "unfilmable" that talks about both the book and the film of ANNIHILATION, as well as ROADSIDE PICNIC and STALKER ... so might be better just to concentrate on knocking it off and post it here when it's done / if it gets published.

RC8

Sounds good, looking forward to it.

Out of curiosity, did you read the rest of the Southern Reach Trilogy?

Klaus

Burnwinter wrote:
Have to disagree with you both on various levels, though I do think it's fair to say Alex Garland has often flattered to deceive with his projects.

I kinda like his books. Both The Beach and The Tesseract were interesting in a way that felt rewarding going in blind but would probably have been less so if I'd been aware of the strange cult surrounding his writing beforehand.

I haven't seen Annihiliation yet. His best film has to be Sunshine for my money, but I don't know if it was really down to him. I feel the same way about Dredd, which was a lot better than it's usually getting credited for. Both movies work for me because of their fascinating aesthetics. I really think it was to Dredd's credit that it hadn't been overwritten though. Absolutely useless source material to base a film on, and yet it came out pretty decent. I would probably be willing to pay for a director's cut where they've edited out Domhnall Gleeson's character.

QuincyAbeyie

😆 There's something so pure about your hate of all things Domhnall Gleeson.

I didn't know that Garland was involved in Dredd, but I remember that I liked the movie.

Burnwinter

RC8 wrote:
Sounds good, looking forward to it.

Out of curiosity, did you read the rest of the Southern Reach Trilogy?

Thanks. Be nice to share with you guys when it's done and hopefully will convey some of the things I think are good and bad about the Garland adaptation and the problem of making a film about "the Zone" …

I've got the latter two books on the shelf but I have to admit I never actually read them—I picked both up some years after reading the first and got sidetracked. ANNIHILATION is far better than VanderMeer's other work I've read, for me that's mainly because it's about something serious, relationship breakdown.

RC8

Burnwinter wrote:
RC8 wrote:
Sounds good, looking forward to it.

Out of curiosity, did you read the rest of the Southern Reach Trilogy?

Thanks. Be nice to share with you guys when it's done and hopefully will convey some of the things I think are good and bad about the Garland adaptation and the problem of making a film about "the Zone" …

I've got the latter two books on the shelf but I have to admit I never actually read them—I picked both up some years after reading the first and got sidetracked. ANNIHILATION is far better than VanderMeer's other work I've read, for me that's mainly because it's about something serious, relationship breakdown.

[size=x-small][font=Tahoma, sans-serif]I cannot recommend the other books enough. You should definitely pick them up![/font][/size]

[size=x-small][font=Tahoma, sans-serif]I enjoyed Annihilation, but it's the trilogy as a whole that left me very fulfilled. It's a very vivid and immersive universe.[/font][/size]

[size=x-small][font=Tahoma, sans-serif] [/font][/size]
[size=x-small][font=Tahoma, sans-serif]spoiler alert

[/font][/size][size=x-small][font=Tahoma, sans-serif]One of the really neat things about the relationship breakdown in the first book is that it depicts a natural process where both the biologist and her husband loved each other and were doing their best to save their marriage. Both of the characters were uncompromisingly honest, but struggled because their coping mechanisms were inherently different. The book offers deep and thoughtful commentary on relationships and emotional regulation, while also suggesting that these difficulties can be overcome by stoically embracing objective reality. It deals with natural and human ecosystems while fittingly starring an ecologist, and it's beautiful.

The film destroys all this by making the biologist a boring self-destructing snake without any interesting insights of any sort. They make her a micro-biologist who specialises in cancer research because the film is about self-destruction. It's ugly and tired and worthy of One Tree Hill. Also, her husband in the film is a pathetic excuse of a man. The physicist in the film comes closer to embodying the biologist from the book, but only superficially (like all the other characters in the film she is a failure and a loser, which the original biologist is not).[/font][/size]
[size=x-small][font=Tahoma, sans-serif] [/font][/size]
[size=x-small][font=Tahoma, sans-serif]Disclaimer: I majored in biology and find the book's biologist very relatable and similar to many of my peers and professors. The biologist from the film is completely alien to me. Garland should have made her a chemist.[/font][/size]

RC8

P.S. a while back I came across PDF versions of all three books, so if anyone wants one just let me know 🙂

Burnwinter

Yeah I've got hard copies of the second two in the trilogy, though I gave my copy of ANNIHILATION itself to a deadbeat ex-colleague some years ago. I should really read them in the next week or two. 🙂

Klaus

Burnwinter wrote:
DEVS turned out to be a bit of a fizzer after a few promising setups.

Just came here to say the same thing. I managed two episodes through steadily rising skepticism. I got started on the third but when the senator showed up and held her speech I shut it down. Sorting this as the same kind of tripe as Person of Interest, Deja Vu, The Fringe, etc. Unwatchable.

goon

God I forgot all about Fringe. I seem to remember always wanting to watch the next episode but hating the experience of watching each episode. It was a bit like watching Arsenal.

I've finished Halt and Catch Fire. I'm surprised I've never heard of it until recently. Solid 7/10 with some decent character development.

In other news, it turns out you were right about The 100 Klaus, I couldn't get through season 4. Quincy's reputation for recommending TV shows has taken a big hit.

QuincyAbeyie

I don't remember at all what happened in which season other than 2 being the best and 1 being the worst.

Qwiss

Klaus wrote:
Burnwinter wrote:
DEVS turned out to be a bit of a fizzer after a few promising setups.

Just came here to say the same thing. I managed two episodes through steadily rising skepticism. I got started on the third but when the senator showed up and held her speech I shut it down. Sorting this as the same kind of tripe as Person of Interest, Deja Vu, The Fringe, etc. Unwatchable.

Person of Interest was great.

Claudius

I have thoroughly enjoyed F1: Drive to Survive on Netflix. Almost done with season 1. It’s given me a renewed appreciation for a sport I’ve followed since I was knee-high. Such a revealing dive into rivalries between and within teams. Also follows 3 owners as they deal with the challenges of competing in landscape that’s as unequal as football, with the Williams owner being particularly full of self-doubt before the camera. The drivers are equally exposed, with Leclerc showing his mettle, Perez appearing volatile and Grosjean possibly ill-equipped for the intensity of it all.

The show definitely benefits from the Ferrari/ Mercedes boycott of season 1as we can invest in these lesser drivers.

Asterix

Drive to Survive is excellent. The season for this year will only be one episode sadly - went to Melbourne, went home, some drivers changed teams, did ESports.

Watched the first episode of The Great - had some really funny moments so we're looking forward to the rest. Have also recorded Bad Education because we love Allison Janney. I think that's a movie though.

Sicario

Anyone watched the Last Dance on Netflix, the show about Michael Jordon?

I have never been a basketball fan but boy oh boy, what a documentary! Maybe best sports documentary I have ever seen! MJ was a genius and an absolute beast! Talk about big game player, he had it all! Actually, the sports star that I see the most resemblance is our very own Thierry Henry albeit MJ was on another planet.

As I said I dont really watch BB but are Kobe and Lebron comparable at all to the great man? Surely he is the out and out GOAT!

Claudius

Kobe and Lebron have given us great basketball careers but once Jordan figured out the Pistons, he owned the NBA. Completely dominant. His ability to consistently take over games is unmatched. These other players can give highlights but weren’t dominating daily. Lebron might be seen as more of an all-rounder but Jordan was able to do that as well in his early career. And then Jordan completely changed his game for the 2nd three-peat, becoming a low post demon.

I’m saving Last Dance for later but looking forward to it. Do they interview Bryon Russell?

Sicario

Cheers, that is interesting.

Also, it seems back in Jordan's day it was a lot more physical. Hell, the Pistons were like the Crazy Gang on steroids!

Bryon Russell? Name does not come up unless I have missed it. There are two episodes left on Netflix, they have released 2 per week here in the UK instead of all at once - think this is better as you really appreciate and look forward to each one.

I also loved the nostalgic aspect of this show i.e. 90's pop culture.

Even from a non-sports documentary perspective, Last Dance definitely gives the Defiant Ones (about Dr Dre that came out a few years ago) a massive run for its money, it is just so well made. And sports documentary wise, it sits on its own at the top for me - a lot better than those 'All or nothing' Amazon prime sports documentaries imo.

Gazza M

Sicario wrote:
Anyone watched the Last Dance on Netflix, the show about Michael Jordon?

I have never been a basketball fan but boy oh boy, what a documentary! Maybe best sports documentary I have ever seen! MJ was a genius and an absolute beast! Talk about big game player, he had it all! Actually, the sports star that I see the most resemblance is our very own Thierry Henry albeit MJ was on another planet.

As I said I dont really watch BB but are Kobe and Lebron comparable at all to the great man? Surely he is the out and out GOAT!

It would be a great, comprehensive for newbies and the new generations to get an understanding of the impact MJ had. For hoopheads there wasn't anything too revealing, just a very slick retelling of the bulls story. Finding out jordans production company basically had final cut was disappointing, and having seen all the episodes, the palpable lack of edge made sense

Lebron grazed jordans greatness when he beat the 73-9 warriors after going 3-1 down in the finals, but for me neither he or kobe quite measured up to MJ

If you enjoyed the last dance, a better slice of 90s basketball nostalgia would be winning time: reggie miller vs the new york knicks. It might be part of the 30 for 30 series, but im not 100% sure

The best american sports doco is oj simpson made in america. Vastly superior to the last dance

@[deleted] - no interview with byron russell, just the story about his run ins with MJ during the jazz series. Really the only person that provides a compelling interview is zeke, who's taking his grudges to the grave it seems

spacemanspiff

Meh - I'll just stick with Hoop Dreams

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