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1. Discovered purely by accident, a podcast series with James Marsters and Mark Devine entitled Schmactors, which is basically two theater, television and screen actors riffing on their careers and various topics. ( Read more... )
2. Binged all six episodes of the new HBO Max medical procedural series The Pitt yesterday. Each episode is one hour in a busy inner city Pittsburgh, PA, emergency room. Stars Noah Wyle as the head or Chief of the ER, and follows the medical interns, residents, attendings, nurses, etc under his leadership. Starts at the beginning of his shift.
I found it compelling. It also made me want to rewatch ER. Wylie has aged well, and is almost unrecognizable as the lead, with a beard. The Pitt is also by John Wells, who did ER, and produced The West Wing.
I enjoyed it. I tried the first episode and just kept going.
3. Dune Part II direct by Denis Villeneuve, and the second part of the massive book. Actually this is the more interesting portion of the story - the first part is when everything falls apart, the second is where both Paul and his mother figure out how to survive and lead the Fremen. This is the portion in which Paul falls for Chani and comes of age. I liked this film better than the first - in part because it was filmed in daylight and not mainly at night-time. So I could see it. It's a stunning film in regards to cinematography and score alone. I can see why it's gotten various nominations and did so well. It held my interest and I stuck with me long after the finale credits rolled.
Best things in it? The female cast. Rebecca Ferguson as Lady Jessica, Zendaya as Chani, Florence Pugh as Princess Irulan, and Lady Margot are stellar. So too is Chani's friend. The male cast stands out less - which I found interesting. I forgot how strong the female characters were in Dune.
Although the casting is pitch perfect, Timothy Chalmat fits the role of Paul Atredies, as does Austin Butler's unrecognizable casting as Fe-ayd Harkonnon, who Butler manages to bring sultry and dangerous vulnerability to the role. It's a well cast film. No miscasts here.
Dune was the science fiction book that caused me to fall fully in love with sci-fi. The world-building in it is phenomenal. Also, the writer subverts the hero trope completely - and kind of points out all the problems within it, along with the inherent problems of prophecy and hero worship on everyone involved.
The movie is a very good adaptation of the novel - a novel that I thought was impossible to adapt. Curious to see what he does with Dune Messiah - which is Dune Part III.
Among the best films I've seen this year.
2. Binged all six episodes of the new HBO Max medical procedural series The Pitt yesterday. Each episode is one hour in a busy inner city Pittsburgh, PA, emergency room. Stars Noah Wyle as the head or Chief of the ER, and follows the medical interns, residents, attendings, nurses, etc under his leadership. Starts at the beginning of his shift.
I found it compelling. It also made me want to rewatch ER. Wylie has aged well, and is almost unrecognizable as the lead, with a beard. The Pitt is also by John Wells, who did ER, and produced The West Wing.
I enjoyed it. I tried the first episode and just kept going.
3. Dune Part II direct by Denis Villeneuve, and the second part of the massive book. Actually this is the more interesting portion of the story - the first part is when everything falls apart, the second is where both Paul and his mother figure out how to survive and lead the Fremen. This is the portion in which Paul falls for Chani and comes of age. I liked this film better than the first - in part because it was filmed in daylight and not mainly at night-time. So I could see it. It's a stunning film in regards to cinematography and score alone. I can see why it's gotten various nominations and did so well. It held my interest and I stuck with me long after the finale credits rolled.
Best things in it? The female cast. Rebecca Ferguson as Lady Jessica, Zendaya as Chani, Florence Pugh as Princess Irulan, and Lady Margot are stellar. So too is Chani's friend. The male cast stands out less - which I found interesting. I forgot how strong the female characters were in Dune.
Although the casting is pitch perfect, Timothy Chalmat fits the role of Paul Atredies, as does Austin Butler's unrecognizable casting as Fe-ayd Harkonnon, who Butler manages to bring sultry and dangerous vulnerability to the role. It's a well cast film. No miscasts here.
Dune was the science fiction book that caused me to fall fully in love with sci-fi. The world-building in it is phenomenal. Also, the writer subverts the hero trope completely - and kind of points out all the problems within it, along with the inherent problems of prophecy and hero worship on everyone involved.
The movie is a very good adaptation of the novel - a novel that I thought was impossible to adapt. Curious to see what he does with Dune Messiah - which is Dune Part III.
Among the best films I've seen this year.