What are you watching?

[brianvds]

Let's restart another thread from the previous board: movies, documentaries, musicals, etc - what have you been watching?

I'll start with this documentary I found on YouTube (StLukes, you may also enjoy this):

Now hear this - The riddle of Bach

Scott Yoo goes to Germany to learn Bach’s sonatas and partitas, widely considered among the greatest works ever written for solo violin. There, he discovers a riddle Bach left behind in his portrait. In trying to solve it, Scott discovers that Bach based his melodic style on Vivaldi and his rhythms on the music of the French court, which leads to a spectacular finale in Paris.

The whole thing is done in fairly light-hearted manner, and you get to see a great deal of fun, spontaneous music-making.

 

[Artyczar]

Recently (in the last week or so), I've been watching Hanna (second season), a doc about Lance Letscher, Wally (about a looted Egon Schiele painting), a doc about fake Norval Morrisseaus, I'll be Gone After Dark (the ongoing series on HBO about the East Area Rapist turned murderer), the new Perry Mason, The whole season of Shrill on Hulu, that Sally Mann movie I mentioned before, a few stand-up specials, and maybe a couple more things.

 

[brianvds]

Where on earth do you get time for anything else?

 

[Artyczar]

Ha! Well, I said in the last week or so. Shrill, I almost binge-watched in a few days. They are half-hour episodes and there were only eight. I'll be Gone After Dark and the new Perry Mason come on Sundays, but I don't watch both right away. I watch about two hours of something every night after dinner before bed. It's how I wind down. Other times when I'm not feeling well, I'll watch more. I'm making up for all the TV I didn't watch for 25 years. Plus, I don't really consider it "TV" so much as docs and well-written shows.

 

[musket]

I can't believe they did a remake of Perry Mason. Raymond Burr was as definitive in that role as Richard Boone was as Paladin and Craig Stevens as Peter Gunn. Judging by the reviews, just another lame revisionist HBO antihero trying to navigate his way through an impeccably period correct corrupt world, I'm sure with lavish production values (the real star of all such shows). These people have no shame.

 

[Artyczar]

So far, it's not all that.

 

[Claude J Greengrass]

The Gilmore Girls: mindless

 

[musket]

So far, it's not all that.

You mean it actually has bad production values? That'd be a first. We don't watch TV in real time so we'll have to wait for it on disc... but who did they get to fill in for Ray Collins as Lt. Tragg?

 

[Artyczar]

No, it's the writing. It's not great.

I forgot his name (I suck at actor's names, but I know them well when I see them). He's the reason I started watching it. He was the husband (star) from The Americans, one of my favorite shows ever.

 

[musket]

We've been re-watching The Nanny on and off; my sweetie found the box set used for ten bucks. Hilarious. Fran Drescher, oy gevalt be still my heart. How did she fit into those clothes? "Oh, Mr. Shef-field!" Our favorite episode is the one with Shari Lewis and Lambchop. Or maybe the one with the entire Brian Setzer Orchestra, or the several with Ray Charles as Grandma Yetta's new boyfriend. The one where Brighton goes to videotape a bris, with no idea in advance of what that means, is hysterical too.

 

[xie-kitchin]

I'm rewatching Star Trek: Voyager from beginning to end. Actually, most of it is totally new to me, I never made it past the first season, and had low expectations going in. I wound up liking it more than I figured I would. Still weak compared to previous series. Yeah, I'm kind of a Trekker.

Watched Her about two weeks ago. Overall, a lovely movie.

 

[Artyczar]

I have Her on my list. I've never seen it yet. I'm not into Star Trek, never was. My brother and father were into the original though, so I saw it here and there growing up. I used to live with Jonathan Frakes. He directed some of the Voyager episodes after staring in the previous series. At the time, he was engaged to, then later married to my boyfriend's sister. Just a fun fact. He is hilarious.

 

[xie-kitchin]

I grew up with Star Trek, a number of family members were fans. Frakes directed episodes on several of the series and one of the movies, I believe. Neat fact, I figured he might be a hilarious guy IRL!

 

[Artyczar]

Before he got that role, things were a bit grim for him, job-wise. He'd done a few really good things (he's a great actor--he'd done a great job in a miniseries called North and South about the Civil War), but it came at a perfect time. He could hardly afford the engagement ring for Genie, then viola! He was so happy to get that role. He'd just sold me his old, beat-up Datsun for like $1,000 and it took a shit the second day I had it. He felt so bad, he gave me my money back. Then I felt bad, but then a week later he was able to buy a new Cadillac. Life can change on a dime I guess. Needless to say, we're not in touch anymore since that boyfriend of mine is long gone in a past life.

 

[brianvds]

Two more episodes of Now hear this. Scott Yoo goes on the trail of Scarlatti:

And Vivaldi:

 

[PSA3475]

There has been lots of time for watching stuff...my recommendation is Schtizel (this is probably misspelled) on netflix

 

[Artyczar]

Now I'm into Hannibal.

 

[stlukesguild]

I was just watching The Artist on Netflix:

 

[brianvds]

A day or two ago, I re-watched Big Eyes, the fascinating and often deeply funny biopic of Margaret Keane, and her shyster of a husband who took credit for her work but ended up shooting himself in the foot when he fell too deeply in love with his own legend.

 

[Artyczar]

That was a good movie. I've seen it. I recently saw a doc on Banksy, but it was more about the history of graffiti than it was about him. I didn't like it so much, only because I already knew everything they talked about., but it might be of interest to someone else.