What Have You Watched Recently?

[kahuna's bro]

Re: What Have You Watched Recently?

 

semenoles vs wake forrest

[death tribble]

Re: What Have You Watched Recently?

 

Most of Season 1 of the Munsters including the pilot which is in colour. And has a different Lily and Eddie.

[kahuna's bro]

Re: What Have You Watched Recently?

 

the avengers emh emporer stark

[Logan D. Hurricanes]

Re: What Have You Watched Recently?

 

Saw Raiders in the theater last night. Not the IMAX, but still freaking awesome. It was incredible seeing it like that with older, wiser eyes, eyes that have seen the horror of the fourth film and started to bleed in protest.

 

Perhaps the best part was that there was one kid in there (with all of us old fogies). He was around the age I was when it first came out, and listening to his reactions was wonderful.

[kahuna's bro]

Re: What Have You Watched Recently?

 

music choice

[death tribble]

Re: What Have You Watched Recently?

 

The Raid. An Indonesian SWAT team invades a tower block to take down a major criminal figure only for him to turn the tables on them. Some great martial arts fighting. Very good.

 

How I spent my Summer Vacation. Mel Gibson ends up in a Mexican jail and tries to survive and get out. This is surprisingly good and low key.

[Brother Jim]

Re: What Have You Watched Recently?

 

Starship Troopers: Invasion.

Breaking Dawn, Part 1.

The Cabin In The Woods.

[SSgt Baloo]

Re: What Have You Watched Recently?

 

Top Gear, the American version. Not as good as the BBC version, but still better than any other domestically-filmed general-interest automotive series.

 

Plus Avengers, EMH.

[kahuna's bro]

Re: What Have You Watched Recently?

 

the centurions power xtreme

[Ternaugh]

Re: What Have You Watched Recently?

 

Saw Raiders in the theater last night. Not the IMAX, but still freaking awesome. It was incredible seeing it like that with older, wiser eyes, eyes that have seen the horror of the fourth film and started to bleed in protest.

 

Perhaps the best part was that there was one kid in there (with all of us old fogies). He was around the age I was when it first came out, and listening to his reactions was wonderful.

 

Just finished watching Raiders on Blu-Ray, as part of the new set released yesterday. Strange, though, there's a fourth film in the box. It must be a packaging error.

 

For those that are interested, the Blu-Ray transfer looks very good, and the remixed sound is excellent. And yes, the movie's as fun as I remembered.

 

JoeG

[Zen Archer]

Re: What Have You Watched Recently?

 

Gamera, with commentary by the MST3K gang.

[Nolgroth]

Re: What Have You Watched Recently?

 

Last Resort - S1 Pilot: A lot of story and dynamic packed into a 45 minute episode. I watched the preview when I saw Bane Begins and was intrigued. I am definitely watching, though I have this cynical feeling that it is going to become a vehicle for some sort of blatant political rhetoric instead of just telling a story. So far though, I am impressed with what I watched.

 

Covert Affairs - Season 3 (up to episode 10): An interesting maturation of the story. Still a lot of cinema spy action and stuff, but fun to watch.

 

Burn Notice - Season 6 (up to episode 8): I thought Burn Notice had seen better days. This season certainly breathed new life into the series. I don't know how much longer the Burn Michael Weston conspiracy can thematically continue without become a farce, but I'm in for the ride.

 

Faith - Season 1, Ep1-5: A Korean fantasy series about a warrior who travels forward in time to grab up a doctor from the 21st century to save a princess/queen in his own time period. Only, he thinks he went to Heaven to gather the doctor. I like it, but a little bit goes a long way. The female doctor lead has a whiny voice that makes me cringe. Still, the story is good and the fight scenes are decently choreographed. I'm not familiar with Korean history all that well, but the story seems to make references to a period of time in Korean history. I looked up some of the information, but I would not even call myself a dabbler in Korean history at this point.

[death tribble]

Re: What Have You Watched Recently?

 

The Hunger Games. This is very good.

[megaplayboy]

Re: What Have You Watched Recently?

 

Iron Sky--hilarious AND offensive. There's a shoutout to "Downfall", use of Nazi propaganda in an American election campaign, and a bunch of other funny stuff in there. A good "C" movie.

[Bazza]

Re: What Have You Watched Recently?

 

[h=5]Currently watching the Beatles live performances on Ed Sullivan show -- the birth of the British Invasion. It seems appropriate that the first song was All My Loving, considering the lover affair that America had with British Invasion.[/h]

fun.

[Michael Hopcroft]

Re: What Have You Watched Recently?

 

[h=5]Currently watching the Beatles live performances on Ed Sullivan show -- the birth of the British Invasion. It seems appropriate that the first song was All My Loving' date=' considering the lover affair that America had with British Invasion.[/color'][/h]

 

Ed Sullivan can't have been comfortable with the integral role he ended up playing in the rock-and-roll revolution. He was fully bought in to the Establishment and was square as square can be. Yet he managed to bring both Elvis Presley and the Beatles to the public consciousness in indelible ways,despite notoriously filming Presley only from the waist up because his gyrating dance moves were considered scandalous and occasionally censoring the lyrics of artists who came on his show (like the Rolling Stones).

 

There were about half-a-dozen other acts on the episode where the Beatles debuted. I believe Frank Gorshin, who would go on to be the Riddler on Batman, was one of them as a comedian and impressionist. For these performers, who were ignored or worse by a studio audience only there to see the Fab Four, doing the show was a miserable experience and little help to their careers (musicians weren't the only ones trying to turn to Sullivan for a publicity boost).

[kahuna's bro]

Re: What Have You Watched Recently?

 

street fighter tas a new kind of evil

[lemming]

Re: What Have You Watched Recently?

 

Ed Sullivan can't have been comfortable with the integral role he ended up playing in the rock-and-roll revolution. He was fully bought in to the Establishment and was square as square can be. Yet he managed to bring both Elvis Presley and the Beatles to the public consciousness in indelible ways,despite notoriously filming Presley only from the waist up because his gyrating dance moves were considered scandalous and occasionally censoring the lyrics of artists who came on his show (like the Rolling Stones).

 

There were about half-a-dozen other acts on the episode where the Beatles debuted. I believe Frank Gorshin, who would go on to be the Riddler on Batman, was one of them as a comedian and impressionist. For these performers, who were ignored or worse by a studio audience only there to see the Fab Four, doing the show was a miserable experience and little help to their careers (musicians weren't the only ones trying to turn to Sullivan for a publicity boost).

 

Yea, that's why Sullivan had them on the show several times, and agreed to introduce them at Shea Stadium...

[Logan D. Hurricanes]

Re: What Have You Watched Recently?

 

Justice League: Doom.

 

Meh.

[death tribble]

Re: What Have You Watched Recently?

 

The Cabin in the Woods. A wonderful film.

[Lawnmower Boy]

Re: What Have You Watched Recently?

 

Ed Sullivan can't have been comfortable with the integral role he ended up playing in the rock-and-roll revolution. He was fully bought in to the Establishment and was square as square can be. Yet he managed to bring both Elvis Presley and the Beatles to the public consciousness in indelible ways,despite notoriously filming Presley only from the waist up because his gyrating dance moves were considered scandalous and occasionally censoring the lyrics of artists who came on his show (like the Rolling Stones).

 

There were about half-a-dozen other acts on the episode where the Beatles debuted. I believe Frank Gorshin, who would go on to be the Riddler on Batman, was one of them as a comedian and impressionist. For these performers, who were ignored or worse by a studio audience only there to see the Fab Four, doing the show was a miserable experience and little help to their careers (musicians weren't the only ones trying to turn to Sullivan for a publicity boost).

 

Did Sullivan demand that Elvis be filmed from the waist up? It's more complicated than that. (Taken from http://www.elvis.com.au. No author credits that I can see).

 

Two weeks after Elvis' first RCA recording session, he made his first television appearance on Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey's weekly Stage Show. During the next eight weeks, he appeared on this variety series five more times, and each time the show received better ratings. The first show, however, was only moderately successful and was beaten in the ratings by The Perry Como Show. On Elvis' first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, he was introduced by Cleveland disc jockey Bill Randle, who was supposedly the first radio personality to play an Elvis record outside the South. Randle, however, would be the only person featured on any of Elvis' Stage Showappearances who had any connection with the young singer.

Stage Show was typical of television variety programs in the mid-1950s. Understanding the nature of these variety shows helps us to understand why Elvis created such a stir. With an hour-long format, Stage Showfeatured performances by a diverse group of entertainers, ranging from popular singers to animal acts to ballet dancers. Each week a guest host introduced some of the acts for that particular program.

The other hosts and guest stars who appeared with Elvis included jazz singers Sarah Vaughan and Ella Fitzgerald, stand-up comedians Joe E. Lewis and Henny Youngman, a chimpanzee act, an acrobatic team, and an 11-year-old organist. Compared to these types of entertainers -- who were considered suitable for family audiences -- Elvis' new, high-powered music and dynamic performing style seemed alien. The young singer's Beale Street clothing and ducktail haircut made him stand out even more.

On his first appearance, Elvis was visibly nervous. He sang 'Shake, Rattle, and Roll' and 'Heartbreak Hotel', doing a little shaking and shimmying, and then quickly moved offstage. By his final appearance, more of an interaction between Elvis and his audience took place as the young man worked hard to drive the girls in the crowd into a screaming frenzy. When he strummed the opening chord of 'Heartbreak Hotel' on his guitar, a burst of screams and applause broke out. Elvis hesitated for a moment, tantalizing the audience with anticipation. As he broke into song, he moved across the stage, shaking his shoulders and swinging his legs.

Certain moves were obviously designed to elicit emotional responses from the girls, and Elvis' smiles proved he was delighted at this explosive effect on his female fans. The interaction between Elvis and his fans was much like a game: He teased the women with his provocative moves; they screamed for more; he promised to go further; sometimes he did. In late spring of 1956, Elvis appeared on The Milton Berle Show for the first time. The show was broadcast from the USS Hancock, which was docked at the San Diego Naval Station. Despite the novel location, this television appearance is barely mentioned in biographies or other accounts of Elvis' career, because his second appearance on the Berle program has completely overshadowed it.

This appearance on June 5 fanned the flames of the nationwide controversy over his hip-swiveling performing style. Elvis sang 'Hound Dog' for the first time on television that spring night. When he began the song, no one knew what to expect, because the tune was new. But the audience responded immediately with enthusiasm. Elvis then went a bit further in his performance: He slowed down the final chorus of the song to a blues tempo, and he thrust his pelvis to the beat of the music in a particularly suggestive manner. The studio audience went wild with excitement. The next day, the press nicknamed him 'Elvis the Pelvis'. Many described his act by comparing it to a striptease. Jack Gould of The New York Times declared', Mr. Presley has no discernible singing ability', while John Crosby of the New York Herald Tribune called Elvis 'unspeakably untalented and vulgar'. The criticism prompted parents, religious groups from the North and South, and the Parent-Teacher Association to condemn Elvis and rock 'n' roll music by associating both with juvenile delinquency.

Elvis could not understand what all the fuss was about: 'It's only music. In a lot of papers, they say that rock 'n' roll is a big influence on juvenile delinquency. I don't think that it is. I don't see how music has anything to do with it at all....I've been blamed for just about everything wrong in this country'.

After The Milton Berle Show, Colonel Parker booked Elvis on The Steve Allen Show, a new variety program that aired at the same time as Ed Sullivan's immensely popular show. Allen hated rock 'n' roll, but he was aware of the high ratings Berle's show received when Elvis appeared. He was also aware of the controversy.

To tone down Elvis' sexy performance, Allen insisted that he wear a tuxedo during his segment, and he introduced him as 'the new Elvis Presley'. Elvis sang one of his latest singles, a slow but hard-driving ballad called 'I Want You, I Need You, I Love You'. Immediately after that number, the curtain opened to reveal a cuddly basset hound sitting on top of a tall wooden stool. Elvis sang 'Hound Dog' to the docile creature, which upstaged the singer with his sad-eyed expressions. Allen used humor to cool down Elvis' sensual performing style, prohibiting him from moving around much on stage and even preventing him from wearing his trademark Beale Street clothes. The fans were furious, and they picketed NBC-TV studios the next morning with placards that read', We want the gyratin' Elvis'. Later in the program, Elvis joined Allen, Imogene Coca, and fellow Southerner Andy Griffith in a comedy sketch that satirized country-western programs, not unlike Louisiana Hayride. Many of the jokes were condescending toward Southern culture. Allen's presentation of Elvis singing to a dog plus the appearance of the 'hayseed' sketch actually ridiculed Elvis. Steve Allen was the real winner that night, because his show beat Sullivan in the ratings. Elvis had established himself as an entertainer who could attract a large television audience and boost ratings, so it's not surprising that after many rejections, the Colonel finally arranged for Elvis to appear on The Ed Sullivan Show, a highly rated, prime-time variety program.

Sullivan, who was a powerful figure in the industry, had stated publicly that he would not allow Elvis to appear on his show because it was a family program. But ratings speak louder than scruples, and Sullivan backed down from this stance after The Steve Allen Show was so successful. Elvis was paid an unprecedented fee of $50,000 for three appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show. This was a lot more than the $5,000 per show Colonel Parker had asked for only a few weeks earlier when Sullivan turned him down.

Elvis' performance on The Ed Sullivan Show is cemented in the annals of rock music history because of the censors' decision to shoot the volatile young singer only from the waist up.

However, contrary to popular belief, this decision was not made until his third appearance.

Actor Charles Laughton served as substitute host the night of Elvis' first appearance because Sullivan was recuperating from an auto accident. In kinescopes and video footage of that performance, Elvis can be seen in full figure, crooning 'Love Me Tender' and 'Don't Be Cruel', then later belting out 'Hound Dog' and 'Ready Teddy'.

Elvis' third and final appearance on Sullivan's show on January 6, 1957, contains the legendary moments when the CBS censors would not allow his entire body to be shown. Seen only from the waist up, Elvis still put on an exciting show, singing seven songs in three segments. In one segment, Elvis and the Jordanaires sang 'Peace in the Valley', which Elvis dedicated to the earthquake victims of Eastern Europe.

But it was his rendition of such Presley hits as 'Heartbreak Hotel' and 'Hound Dog' that stirred up the studio audience. Their screams and applause clued the television viewers in to what Elvis was doing out of camera range, almost subverting the censors' intent. Once again, the interaction between Elvis and the studio audience added to the power of his performance. After Elvis' final number, Sullivan declared him to be 'a real decent, fine boy' -- a rather hypocritical statement considering what he and the censors had just done to Elvis' act. For years people have wondered why Elvis was censored during his third appearance on Sullivan's show. The simplest and most probable explanation is that Sullivan received negative criticism about Elvis' earlier appearances. Other, more outrageous explanations include the theory that the Colonel forced Sullivan to apologize publicly for remarks he'd made about Elvis to the press the previous summer, and the waist-up-only order was Sullivan's way of getting back at Parker. The wildest explanation was offered by a former director ofThe Ed Sullivan Show, who said that during his second appearance, Elvis put a cardboard tube down the front of his trousers and manipulated it to make the studio audience scream. To avoid a repeated occurrence of that behavior, Sullivan supposedly insisted on the above-the-waist coverage for Elvis' final appearance. None of these explanations offers any real insight into Sullivan's motivations but all add to the folklore surrounding this event, thereby enhancing Elvis' image as a notorious rock 'n' roller.

[Susano]

Re: What Have You Watched Recently?

 

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides -- While not the best Pirates movie, it was a fun romp. However, Ian McShane just didn't click as Blackbeard for me. He's not physically bog enough and his performance sounded too much like he was simply replicating his character of Al Swearengen from Deadwood.

[kahuna's bro]

Re: What Have You Watched Recently?

 

america ninja 5

[kahuna's bro]

Re: What Have You Watched Recently?

 

the AVENGERS

[Dr. MID-Nite]

Re: What Have You Watched Recently?

 

The Hunger Games: I thought this was seriously overated. Too silly as a drama....too tame as an action flick. "shrugs"

 

The Cabin in the Woods- Now THIS was good...the blu ray extras are interesting as well.