[Closed] Recent Viewing Part III

GREASE

On tv right now; gayest movie of all times.

Nop! Should I?

Grease greasy grease.

Rocky Horror? No. Avoid!

I'd rather listen to Chinatown!

....with your hand on your hips

.......but it's the pelvic thrust

......lets do the time warp agaaaain

West Side Story

The greatest film musical. Outstanding.

Rewatching the old Universal catalog from the 40's

Has anyone seen Baaria and if so opinion please

I have the score but my question is how it works in the film.
Thomas

I thought it was excruciatingly meandering and slow moving, with a foreboding sense of taking itself WAY too seriously.
And sadly, none of the characters -with the exception of the flamboyant Mr. Brown- were even vaguely interesting.
Just brooding and brave and dark and ...well...kinda emo-avant-la-lettre, really.
Thoroughly annoying film.
And indeed FAR too long.

Anyway.
Just watched the second half of Season 5 (new reckoning) of Doctor Who.
The return of the reptilian Silurians in the double-header The Hungry Earth/Cold Blood (Big industrial drill disturbs underground menace) was ....OK, but starting with the small but thoroughly enjoyable Vincent And The Doctor (Van Gogh versus The Monster) -which at times was quite moving, really- I have to say the writing and directing really took a leap forward!

The episode following, The Lodger (strange things happen on the first floor), was really excellent: very well acted, a little eerie, quirky and with thoroughly likable and believable secondary characters (and thankfully very little Loud Amy). Matt Smith really shone here as he had every opportunity to bounce his quirky characterization off the unsuspecting secondaries. Best episode of this series, I think.

The double-header finale contained, I think, the best combination of Grand Finale plot devices since the Doctor Who reboot and indeed even an internally coherent storyline (unlike for example the dismal, dismal Bad Wolf finale of Season One). Oh sure, it still has holes big enough to steer a Dalek attack fleet through, but at least it was done with fun, and panache. And its sense -again in wry contrast to earlier seasons- was truly an epic one (Dude, it had f*cking Romans! ).
I really enjoyed every aspect of it, to the point that the part one cliffhanger really had me gagging for part two and a new shot of cachaça to steady my nerves! (By the way, did anyone catch Murray Gold's rather unsubtle but fun musical device at the very end of part two, where he played parts of the soundtrack backwards? Nice one!)

All in all, at the end of the day I liked this season for its writing, direction and production values, which more often than not were top notch. Sadly though companion Amy, starting off plucky and vibrant, turned out to be little more than loud, abrasive and annoying. Almost all of the minor characters were better: Rory, the brilliant River Song, and even some of the temporary companions, like Dr. Nasreen Chaudhry (played by the ever reliable Meera Syal).

And, I'm sad to say, that with the single exception of one very brief scene in Cold Blood, where The Doctor warns against the use of weapons ("I'm asking nicely"), where Matt Smith was truly scary and intimidating (those few seconds were the best bit of acting in the whole series!), Smith ultimately and conclusively lacks the gravitas of a Time Lord. Wherever Ecclestone or Tennant (or indeed Pertwee, Baker, Troughton or all the others -with the possible exception of hapless Sylvester McCoy-) would call their opponents' bluff "Do you DARE tangle with THE DOCTOR?" and you'd BELIEVE them, Matt Smith in the same situation just invokes an Indiana Jones reaction (just shoot him and be done).
The character seems out of control, and worse, out of his depth. And for all intents and purposes it's really like watching "Young Doctor Who", or "The Time Kids".

As I'm currently hypothesising that River Song IS in fact the NEXT reincarnation of the Doctor, I'm sure I'll be watching the Christmas Special and Series 6 (heck, who am I kidding? If there's Daleks, I'm always there!), but Smith -to me- sadly turned out to be way too lightweight for the role.
Earlier musings here and elsewhere on the web that this really was a reboot for a new generation, to appeal to "the kids", seems to have been prophetic.
Well. Sign of the times, I guess. Even a Timelord can't be immune to those.

Right. That's seven paragraphs on Doctor Who.
I think I have filled my anorak quota for the year.

Damn, how do you watch that thing? It's on tv these days and it's really something i cannot understand. Definitely not for me.