Gentleman's Compendium Of The Visual Arts (AKA Television and Films)

Playboy

Battlestar Galactica - Absolutley fantastic show that was ahead of its time. Gets tarnished with the Sci-Fi brush as people think its going to be like Star Trek or Stargate. It is also a totally different show to the original 70's series also although it does share an overarching plot. Real intelligent Sci-Fi that poses many many ethical questions. Watch it!

Breaking Bad - Excellent

The Walking Dead - Brilliant in spurts. First two season are brill then it slows down and really picks up the pace again halfway through Season 4. Even when its bad it is still good though. Frank Darabont of Shawshank and Green Mile fame is heavily involved.

Rome - Only 2 season but probably the best two seasons of TV I have ever watched. A real shame HBO ended it early.

Utopia - High concept mini series involving Government Conspiracies and Graphic Novels. Only have watched season 1 but it was great. David Fincher remaking it for US audiences

Marco Polo - Really strong first season, looking forward to season 2.

Dexter - Used to love it but it just withers out. Got half way through the final season and stopped watching it

Fargo - Great performances from Billy Bob and Martin Freeman. Was one of the standout new shows from last year

Oz - might be a bit dated now but was unbelievably good in its day. Harrowing stuff!

Banshee - My favourite show of the last couple of years. Brilliant entertainment in a pulp kind of way, doesnt take itself too seriously and probably some of the best violence you will ever see on tv or in movies.


Will add more later

keane2097

The BBC/HBO Rome is great. I was delighted with how closely it follows the actual events of the era as well. Much love from me.

barneysplash

Here is a list of films based on my own collection, again reflecting my oddball taste.
Some of them are standards that you would expect to see on any any list of recommendations,
the rest tend towards forgotten or low profile films that I have enjoyed.

The top three in each category have been highlighted in italics as they are are "required reading"
in my opinion. Start with these if you haven't seen them, and then pick any one from the rest of the list
if you're after a good movie.


Drama
The Godfather trilogy (every brother must see these films, yes even the third one.)
The Shawshank Redemption
Glengarry Glen ross
Fresh (1994)
Lone Star
The silence of the lambs
The Yards
Goodfellas
On the waterfront
Escape from Alcatraz
The Maltese falcon
Casablanca
Dog Day Afternoon
Boiler Room
Family Business
A stranger among us
Panic in the streets
Breaking in
The Stepford Wives (1975 version)
Dancing at the blue iguana
Saturday Night Fever
Threads
The Emerald forest
Manhunter
Thief
I.D. (1995)
Boys don't cry
Alive (1993)
Nothing Personal (1995)
The Road
Sexy Beast
Rogue Trager
The year of living dangerously
The quiet American
Deep Cover
Nineteen Eighty-Four
Midnight Express


Action
The Warriors
The French connection
Scarface
Die Hard
The Towering Inferno
The Outsiders
Top Gun
Point Break
El Mariachi
Backdraft


War / Espionage
The longest day
A bridge too far
Tora! Tora! Tora!
Ice cold in Alex
Shining Through
The one that got away
Went the day well?
The eagle has landed
Biloxi Blues
First Blood (younger folk may think they know Rambo, but this will set them straight)
Wargames
The Ipcress File
The Deer Hunter
Jacknife
The boys from Brazil
Marathon Man
Hope and Glory
Defence of the realm
The fourth protocol
The wild geese
The killing fields


Comedy
Blazing Saddles
Spinal Tap
Trading Places
Midnight Run
Smokey and the Bandit
The Producers (1968)
Zoolander
Anchorman: The Legendy of Ron Burgandy
Whiskey galore
Dead men don't wear plaid
Tootsie
Big trouble in little China
Clerks
Sideways
Swingers
Made
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Galaxy Quest
After Hours
Best in show
A mighty wind
For your consideration
Meet the Applegates
Bamboozled
Strictly Ballroom
Muriel's Wedding


Science Fiction
Star Wars Trilogy (the original un-enhanced version if you can get it)
Alien
Forbidden planet
Outland (forgotten gem, based on High Noon)
The day the earth stood still (1951)
Aliens
Predator
The Terminator
Terminator 2: Judgement Day
Blade Runner
Escape from New York (please don't attempt the sequel, Escape from LA, your brain will thank you)
The Thing (1982 version)
Westworld
The fifth element
Solaris (2002)
The Time Machine (1960)


Musicals
The sound of music
West side story (based on Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliette)
My fair lady
Mary Poppins
Oliver!
Cabaret
Gigi
Silk Stockings
The Wizard of Oz
Fiddler on the roof
Little shop of horrors


Epic / Historic
Ben Hur
Spartacus
The ten commandments
1492: Conquest of Paradise
Quest for fire


Westerns
The good, the bad and the ugly
The Searchers
Tombstone
Once upon a time in the west
Unforgiven
High Noon
Pale rider
The Alamo
Two mules for sister Sara


Children's Films
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971)
Toy Story
The Snowman
Bugsy Malone
The Iron Giant
The Dark Crystal

Aidric

For the third time, I watched A Single Man this weekend. This film seems to have slipped under many peoples radar unfortunately.

It is easily one of the best movies from the last 10 years driven by a career best performance from Colin Firth. Movies dealing with grief and loss can understandably veer towards the sentimental. Further, movies working from an original novel can often stray too far from the source material.

This movie does neither and is all the stronger for it. It is beautifully shot and skillfully directed. That it comes from a first time director is hard to believe. A special mention also to the soundtrack from Abel Korzeniowski.

D'Agger

Aidric wrote: »

For the third time, I watched A Single Man this weekend. This film seems to have slipped under many peoples radar unfortunately.

It is easily one of the best movies from the last 10 years driven by a career best performance from Colin Firth. Movies dealing with grief and loss can understandably veer towards the sentimental. Further, movies working from an original novel can often stray too far from the source material.

This movie does neither and is all the stronger for it. It is beautifully shot and skillfully directed. That it comes from a first time director is hard to believe. A special mention also to the soundtrack from Abel Korzeniowski.

I saw this before in the cinema and I have to say, I wished after I'd seen it at home. That might sound strange but it's a movie that's best served being watched on your own, I was with a group that weren't best pleased with it - I wasn't sure where I stood on it tbh.

With that said, I thought Firth was brilliant in it, really good performance and the movie in full was quite good, but I didn't see what all the fuss was about to an extent. At the time I remember hearing some brilliant things about it and for me at least, it failed to live up to it's billing somewhat. It is worth mentioning that the pace of the movie is quite slow from what I remember....and in saying that, I should probably give it a second watch at home soon because I'm not working from a fresh memory!

keane2097

Saw Whiplash and American Sniper last night.

Whiplash is superb and really should be taken in at the cinema rather than on a laptop with a screener with dodgy sound, as the music is as much a character of the piece as JK Simmons or Miles Teller.

American Sniper is another one of these dreary, boring, monochromatic depictions of the American campaign in the Middle East. There are about 15 minutes at the start where Bradley Cooper actually snipes - these scenes are quite compelling - the rest is him and his 2D squad mates interminably bursting into houses in some Iraqi city or other and getting into various shoot-outs with men in head scarves whose motivations are never really considered.

Very dull overall, almost saved by decent performances by Cooper and Sienna Miller in particular, but the story is just too bad to really care.

ongarboy

Happy Valley on Netflix was recommended to me recently - only 6 episodes but very gripping and very well acted.

Enlightened for me is a show that got cancelled before it's time. A brilliant and hilarious dramedy - Laura Dern shines througout.

Just finished season 3 of American Horror Story - as OP said, AHS is about as weird a storyline you can get. S3 was a let down for me compared to S1s and 2 but a friend who is already watching S4 said it's much improved.

Watching Damages on Netflix also at the moment with Glenn Close - the show's flashforward/flashbacks can be tiresome at times but Close's brilliance and icy stares save it.

I was a late comer to Breaking Bad so had to block my ears everytime everyone discussed the finale but it meant I didn't have to wait a year between seasons!

Netflix exclusives Orange is the The New Black and House of Cards - excellent.

Masters of Sex is highly recommended.

Mad Men slipped in S4 and S5 but I found S6 really satisfying. I missed S7 on Sky Atlantic so will just wait for it to come on Netflix.

Homeland another show that dips in quality.

The Walking Dead - only finished S1 but highly gripping.

I just love this golden era of high quality television and it's all thanks to the benchmark that Sopranos set!

Adamantium

Kudos to the poster who mentioned BSGG

It pains me to think of how many people watched Breaking Bad and how few have watched Battlestar Galactica (BSG)

Everybody who I've ever turned on to watching (people who don't care for sci-fi drama) it have said it was some of the most brilliant honest storytelling/moral dilemmas predicaments/philosophy they have ever watched anywhere And for all its supposed nilhilism and darkness the characters (the men in particular) were positive/damn inspiring in their actions and attitudes and self awareness (a element so obviously lacking in Breaking Bad) I thought I might mention that giving the forum.

It's a show about fundamentally relatable decent beings and surrogate families doing their best (like Friday Night Lights) in a horrific setting that manages to make you feel these are real refugees/military and civilian people in small spaceships on the run

after their civilisation has been annhilated

I still think about in the same way as the Wire after watching it through 5 years ago in summer 2009. I'd even say it's much more profound than the wire, intimate yet epic an widesweeping allegory for human nature and experience, by the end it was heartbreaking/overwhelming realising just how many avenues you've explored with these characters, really feels like a true journey across the unknown universe, I hadn't had that childhood like ache as an adult with a piece of media until this series.

The soundtrack if it were in film, would be considered one of the best of the last 20 years, godly stuff.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4hSkWmxHrA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFz1409WBzo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-tUbTU0jIA

Liam McPoyle

I recently finished off the BSG re-imagining for the first time myself, excellent stuff alright.

I dunno if its been mentioned but The Royle Family is one of the greatest "Britcoms" ever made.

Granted it petered off quality wise from "The New Couch" Christmas episode but it was some of the funniest, heart felt comedy & drama ever written.

The Queen of Sheba episode when Nana died had me in bits and gets me every single time I watch it, the below song was used, heart breaking stuff, particularly when Jim breaks down.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0l54pvTyUcc

Dog of Tears

Semi-retired Director Stephen Soderbergh has removed the colour and sound from Raiders of the Lost Arc and added an electronic score.

It sounds weird, but I find it strangely hypnotic.


http://extension765.com/sdr/18-raiders

keane2097

BSG was very good, excellent even, in its high points but was pretty poor at times as well. The end of the final season was pretty terrible.

EDIT: Would definitely recommend it though fwiw. Definitely nowhere near The Wire's level, but I'd say it's on a par with Breaking Bad.

Slattsy

True Detective - best TV ever and that 1st season will never be bet. Ever.

/thread



GOT is good too.
Walking Dead was decent but last few seasons have been tripe.

I dont really watch that much tv

D'Agger

Slattsy wrote: »

True Detective - best TV ever and that 1st season will never be bet. Ever.

/thread

Slattsy

Love a good gif !!

Slattsy

Even though im not wrong

Liam McPoyle

True Detective is pretty over rated IMO.

KomradeBishop

The Caprica spinoff from the BSG re-imagining, while not nearly as good, is not a bad show.

barneysplash

I enjoyed the rebooted series "The Outer Limits" back in the 90s:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Outer_Limits_(1995_TV_series)

I've seen a few of the original ones from the 1960s as well:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Outer_Limits_(1963_TV_series)

I especially liked the episode called "Soldier" that "inspired" The Terminator.

Here is a good one, it's a made for TV film from the 80s called "Special Bulletin".
It was made at the height of the cold war and plays on fears about nuclear prolifieration.
It's laid out as a live broadcast on television that gets interrupted by a terrorist incident.

For comedy, anyone remeber Sledge Hammer?

Did anyone else watch The End on RTE with Sean Moncrief?
That's where I saw the forgotten animated comedy The Critic
and a funny "Upstairs-Downstairs" satire comedy called Brass.

The Black Oil

I went to see The Lives of Others a second time after learning the main actor, Ulrich Mühe, had passed away. A real shame.

True Detective is overrated in terms of not being a particularly remarkable story. Don't really have any other issues with it.

I bought a copy of A Single Man for €1 from a charity shop, but haven't watched it yet. No idea what to expect.

FunLover18

The Black Oil wrote: »

I bought a copy of A Single Man for €1 from a charity shop, but haven't watched it yet. No idea what to expect.

At least you won't have lost much if you don't like it. I thought it was very good although I wouldn't be in a hurry to rewatch, but worth seeing all the same.

The Black Oil

The Oz boxset has arrived. Will make a start on it soon.

Liam McPoyle

The Black Oil wrote: »

The Oz boxset has arrived. Will make a start on it soon.

You are in for a treat mate, prepare to forget about anything that isn't Oz til you get through it!

ancapailldorcha

Business Cat wrote: »

You are in for a treat mate, prepare to forget about anything that isn't Oz til you get through it!

I second this. You may want to watch Whiplash at some point. JK Simmons is really good at torturing people.

Barna77

Business Cat wrote: »

You are in for a treat mate, prepare to forget about anything that isn't Oz til you get through it!

ancapailldorcha wrote: »

I second this. You may want to watch Whiplash at some point. JK Simmons is really good at torturing people.

What they said. Brutal and brilliant at the same time.

Rewatching Six Feet Under. I only got to season 2 back in the day, I'm in a couple of episodes of the last season. It's just perfect. I wonder if anyone is happy in that series

barneysplash

A few other bits:


Disney sci-fi opera The Black Hole is worth a look for any space movie
fans, and features the meanest robot ever - Maximillian!


For comedy you can't beat The Golden Girls. Three retired friends and one
hilarious mother share laughs, love and tears in the Florida sun.

JaseBelleVie

barneysplash wrote: »

For comedy you can't beat The Golden Girls. Three retired friends and one
hilarious mother share laughs, love and tears in the Florida sun.

That is like my biggest guilty pleasure ever! I love it. Hard to believe that only Betty White is left.

Pawwed Rig

Bought the Sopranos box set yesterday:). Finally gonna get to see what all the hype was about

Oz is next although I have seen most episodes of that

ancapailldorcha

Pawwed Rig wrote: »

Bought the Sopranos box set yesterday:). Finally gonna get to see what all the hype was about

Oz is next although I have seen most episodes of that

I've that as well. It's been sat there for 2 years!

The Black Oil

Funny thing about Oz - based on the first episode - it feels a little ahead of its time.

mass_debater

Finished Gomorrah, found it slow to get going but ended pretty decent. Enjoyed it in the end though I wasn't too gone on it half way through.