Sam's Thread of Chattin' w/ Jake & Other Robust Subjects

[Uncle Sam]

Noel Felding's brand of comedy has never been for me. Some people like it, obviously.

I forgot X liked horror. Garth Merenghi's Darkplace is a good shout. At any rate, there's only half a dozen episodes - not much to lose if you don't like it.

I'm thinking I'll try Black Books next. Sounds like it might have the kind of dry dark humor I'm seeking. Well after I check out Mitchell and Webb's sketch show.

Black Books has the same laugh track that all Graham Linehan shows have but I suppose it is somewhat drier. Maybe finish the trilogy off with Father Ted, though that's arguably the zaniest of the three.

Aside from a handful of sketches, many of which are probably quite Brit-centric, I thought That Mitchell and Webb Look was pretty bad. There are definitely hits but they're outnumbered by misses about two to one.

Unbearable eh? Was gonna check that one out but maybe not.

Jack Whitehall is pretty much unwatchable. He plays the same character in everything. Yeah, so did Woody Allen, but Woody Allen didn't play Annoying Cunt. In the absence of any other character who I didn't want to punch in the face, I couldn't stand it.

Four Lions and Magicians are in my queue, though I realize Magicians didn't get very great reviews.

Mitchell and Webb are great comedy actors but their strength isn't writing.

 

[nightmare]

I watched Black Books a while back, based off of someone here saying it was good. KB I think. It was pretty funny.


Not sure what to start next. Kind of in limbo at the moment due to the holiday break. Someone at work recommended Shameless, but they also said Knock Knock was a masterpiece & hated The Guest... so idk if I can trust their judgement considering The Guest was great and Knock Knock was not so much.

 

[Uncle Sam]

The First Annual Samcademy Awards because I was just listening to a film podcast and was reminded how incorrect the Oscars always are. Here are the correct results:

Best Director:
George Miller, Mad Max: Fury Road

Best Actor:
Charlize Theron, Mad Max: Fury Road

Best Supporting Actor:
JK Simmons, Whiplash

Best Editing:
Margaret Sixel, Mad Max: Fury Road

Best Visual Effects:
Mad Max: Fury Road

Best Score:
Junkie XL, Mad Max: Fury Road

Best Script:
Damien Chazelle, Whiplash

Most Overlooked:
The Good Dinosaur

Best Costume:
Carol

Best Make-Up and Hair:
Mad Max: Fury Road

 

[Y 2 Jake]

Is this in your calendar year? If so I largely agree.

The Good Dinosaur is rubbish though.

 

[Uncle Sam]

I'm going to let you in on a little secret: most overlooked isn't even a category, I made it up.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

You can make up whatever you like when there's no cause for awards to exist.

 

[Dowdsy McDowds]

3rd season of Boosh was pretty poor but the first 2 seasons have some good episodes. Matt Berry is in most if not all of the first season and sings Total Eclipse of the Heart in one episode which is definitely worth seeing.

Got a lot of love for Black Books even if the laugh-track is sometimes quite irritating.

X, have you seen League of Gentlemen? The guys involved have done some darker stuff since but as a balance between surreal and pitch-black humour, League is very hard to top.

 

[Uncle Sam]

Dave?

You seen any new films yet this year, Jakey? I've been mostly watching Columbo. It's excellent.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

1. In The Heart Of The Sea ★★★★
2. Snoopy And Charlie Brown: The Peanuts Movie ★

I have a soft spot for Ron Howard films. I actually wish it was longer.

The animation in the Peanuts movie was nice. And that's all I have to say about that.

Next week should throw up Joy, The Danish Girl, Carol and The Hateful 8. But then again, so was this week.

 

[Dowdsy McDowds]

Dave?

Exscood be?

I'll throw Nathan Barley's name into the mix of great British TV shows for our American cousins to check out. They're all on YouTube too.

 

[Uncle Sam]

I don't think either of Jake's films are 2016 releases, though I'm more envious of his having seen the Peanuts film than the whale film. Ron Howard can do one.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

I'm not checking dates on stuff. This is just shit I've seen at the cinema this year. It'll be March before I get an actual 2016 film.

 

[Uncle Sam]

I'm just concerned about the legitimacy of my nonexistent list. I'll likely die without having seen either of those films and I'm not really bothered.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

You shouldn't be.

 

[Uncle Sam]

The film pedant in me, which is most of me, wants to see The Hateful Eight in 70mm. I'll probably end up seeing it in some random Vue with my girlfriend. The cinema at which I'm a member is 70mm equipped but they're independent and I don't think they have the clout to get the film on its first run. Maybe I can bide my time with Creed and The Revenant and that Short Whatever that JGlass recommended.

 

[JGlass]

The Big Short. I'm not sure of I recommended it to you, though I did enjoy it myself.

 

[Uncle Sam]

£20 if I want to see The Hateful Eight on 70mm at Odeon Leicester Square. Um, nah, you're alright, thanks. Prince Charles Cinema f-f-for life.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

1. In The Heart Of The Sea ★★★★
2. The Hateful 8 ★★★
3. Joy ★★★
4. Snoopy And Charlie Brown: The Peanuts Movie ★

Sam, I forget if you're a shameless Tarantino supporter.

Joy took a while to become the average film I expected it to be.

 

[Uncle Sam]

I don't know about "shameless," though I do like Death Proof. So yeah, shameless.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

I like Death Proof. I wish TH8 was as long as Death Proof.

 

[JGlass]

Hateful Eight was good, but it definitely seemed like Tarantino took a nice long whiff of his own gym socks during this movie. That said, I also got that vibe in Inglorious Basterds, though I thought that was a bit better than H8. While I respect the crap out of Tarantino as a storyteller, I don't think of him as much of an artist cinematically speaking, and I think that's what he was trying to go for here.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

Too self indulgent to ever have a truly great film in my opinion.

 

[JGlass]

Too self indulgent to ever have a truly great film in my opinion.

I don't know, I think Pulp Fiction is a truly great film. It's very smart while still engrossing you with pure entertainment. It's a truly unique film that manages to be wildly fun without being pretentious.

 

[nightmare]

Hateful 8 was good, not great. Figuring out who was full of shit and who was not kept it interesting and the (for the most part) one setting was a nice touch that added to the tension. Walton Goggins was great however, but that may just be me trumping up the performance because I loved him in Justified and The Shield.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

I don't know, I think Pulp Fiction is a truly great film. It's very smart while still engrossing you with pure entertainment. It's a truly unique film that manages to be wildly fun without being pretentious.

It's definitely pretentious, man.