Battlestar griping and a classic movie rec

[dangermousie]

Last night’s Battlestar Galactica ep was this season’s Black Market. BLAAAH.



I find Baltar boring and irritating and was cheering when Gaeta stabbed him. I live in hope they will permanently kill the character off, but it will never happen. A Baltar-centric ep where he shows off the Jesus beard and is submerged in water? My idea of awful.

The love quadrangle of doom? I don’t care. I am willing to buy that Lee wasn’t going to ditch Dee because he didn’t trust Kara’s new resolution. Fine. Blah. I don’t care. He is whiny and annoying and weak and is either clearly drinking or eating away his sorrows. If someone would have told me earlier I would have typed up these words about Lee Adama, by far my favorite character in S1 and 2, I would have laughed at them. Kudos to the writers for having no idea what to do with him and completely ruining anything interesting about him.

Dee? I don’t care. I’d believe that you ‘loved Lee so frakking much’ if the writers showed it. Their relationship got so little time, and the actors don’t have enough chemistry to compensate, so when the two of you are on screen, I want to take a nap.

Kara? At least you came straight. And I love that you talked with Anders. Actually, the only scenes I loved in the ep (and I loved them) were Kara/Anders which are just the kind of complicated angsty messed-up goodness I like, and if I didn’t love Anders before I would now. I think he is the only one who has risen in my esteem as a result of the quadrangle of emo. Lee has plummeted, Kara has slipped and Dee irritated. Anders? I love him now. I guess he is the new Lee in more ways than one. I only wish the writers spent half the effort on the old Lee.

Blah.


Think dramas have the dibs on angsty, doomed, glamorous romance? Think again.

Today’s movie recommendation is hard to find but very worth it 1932 gem One Way Passage.

Summary? See this:



Indeed.

I cried my eyes out with that one.

(It’s interesting to me, how these movies are, in a way, powerful advocates against death penalty: this one, Manhattan Melodrama, Doug Fairbanks Jr.’s movie about small time boxer, all those movies with Cagney, etc., but they don’t seem to realize they are. It’s sort of ‘well, he is sympathetic enough that you feel it’s bad he will be executed but we won’t even question the system.’ Which to me is odd).

Comments

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

Movie sounds cool, though it would result in a binge rewatch of Libeled Lady and the Thin Man movies.

Also? You should turn on scifi an hour earlier and watch watch Dresden Files. Though, the BSG promos I comstantly get subjected to(I think last night'd count was 5, not counting it showing up at the bottom of the screen a lot, which is about half the count from last week) are almost enough to make me swear off ever checking it out.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

First season I would have told you to run not walk to watch BSG. This season? Blah. Skip it. Watch Farscape instead.

Re: Dresden Files. I am a bit iffy on the premise but Mr. Mousie seems potentially intrigued so we might check it out next week.

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

That's actually the general consensus from what I've heard as far as BSG goes.

Dresden is cool. Like Supernatural=watch Dresden. Both scifi and iTunes had the first ep up for free(though last night's ep was better...and not just because my OTP was bickering and it had Harry vs technology jokes and Murphy scolding Harry like he was a bad puppy and OTP rescuing and...*does not maniacally ship Harry and Murphy. Nopenopenope.*) so you might be able to DL it, and last night, they reaired the first ep before the new one, so maybe they'll do it again.

[weissman.livejournal.com]

HI DM

"A Baltar-centric ep where he shows off the Jesus beard and is submerged in water? My idea of awful. "

I have to agree. I really got tired of Hearing Baltar yell. This was a dim comparison to last weeks Rapture. I would have rather scene Sharon and Helo change Hera's diapers.

Bob

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I am tired of Baltar period. Don't want to see anyone change diapers (NOT exciting :D) but surely there is a happy medium? Grrr. Hope next week's ep is better.

[weissman.livejournal.com]

Next week looks to ne somewhat Sharon and Helo centric, thats the definitino of good!

Look at it this way, this weeks was a bone to all the fearsome four shippers Kara/Lee/Dee/Sam

Bob

[kitsune714.livejournal.com]

The love quadrangle of doom? I don’t care. I am willing to buy that Lee wasn’t going to ditch Dee because he didn’t trust Kara’s new resolution. Fine. Blah. I don’t care. He is whiny and annoying and weak and is either clearly drinking or eating away his sorrows. If someone would have told me earlier I would have typed up these words about Lee Adama, by far my favorite character in S1 and 2, I would have laughed at them.

I agree with you 1000%! I don't know how or when this happened, but I think I just stopped 'shipping Lee/Kara. I know. I can't believe I am actually typing these words, but yes. I just don't really care about what happens with them and her "special destiny" anymore. They can't make up their minds about anything, and I know that they're supposed to be "dysfunctional" or whatever, but really, it just doesn't make them very palatable as an OTP anymore.

I actually thought that this episode was...not bad, considering the other ones this season. My big beef with season 3 thus far was that the cylons have been totally not creepy or scary at all, and that was one of the things I liked best about them in previous seasons. This episode, though, was totally weird and creepy, which is just how I like my sci-fi. I still thoroughly enjoy Gaius on the level of him being this squirrely, weird little man who may or may not have a chip in his brain that causes him to have hallucinations about a scantily dressed cylon.

The previews for the next episode look...well, I'm not sure what to think. Because apparently, Helo goes on a quest to stop a Dr. Kevorkian. I'm not sure how that fits in with the whole "and we must find earth ASAP" plan, but I'll run with it.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Helo goes on a quest to stop a Dr. Kevorkian

ROFL. Family values, Colonies' style.

Agreed. I used to love L/K so much and now I am just 'I don't care who you pick just get off my screen' and that is...ridiculous. At least kdramas do love quadrangles of doom well.

And speaking of that, have you progressed with Loveholic?

[kitsune714.livejournal.com]

I actually have progressed with "Loveholic", although since it's exam week, I'm not going to be able to sit down and mainline it the way I want to. I've seen the first half of episode two, and...is she like, narcoleptic? I mean, I just--that's just so...because, I am torn, you see, between bursting into tears or bursting into laughter, and this is just so kdrama, and I've been watching jdramas for the past few months so I had kind of forgotten the whole rhythm of kdrama, and if my run-on sentence has made any kind of sense to you so far, you can see that I'm totally loving this.

I mean, she's boarding in his grandmother's house? What are the odds? And his father gets hauled off to jail and as he's chasing the police car, HIS MOTHER GETS HIT BY A CAR. I...oh god, it's just so awful and horrible, and I can't not look, you know? XD

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

his father gets hauled off to jail and as he's chasing the police car, HIS MOTHER GETS HIT BY A CAR.

And his bad luck is just beginning :D Does his Dad get hauled off to jail? I am sort of unclear on that one. I wonder if it's one of those storylines that will be dropped like the random bit with the girl who liked Bokgu in ALTK's biological mother (the issue came up for one scene and that's it which was OK but left me wondering if it would come up again).

Yeah, she is narcoleptic, only in her case it's triggered by stress. Basically, it's 'kdrama' disease.

I confess that of the three, jdramas are my least fave. Not just because of cinematography but because I love my giddy crack and they are sort of more prosaic, generally.

[kitsune714.livejournal.com]

I love my giddy crack and they are sort of more prosaic, generally.

I know exactly what you mean. The type of drama that I'm watching at the moment depends on what mood I'm in. If I'm in the mood for realism and such, I go the jdrama route. If I want extreme crack, kdrama, all the way. And sometimes, there are some kdramas that surprise me, like "My Girl" or "Goong" that successfully blend BOTH, which is why they're in my Top 10 list. Taiwanese dramas are always special to me because those are the ones I watch with my mom and my sister and were probably my first exposure to the drama genre. Sure, some of it is kind of cheesy, but it's awesomely good! (My sister and I are waiting with bated breath for the premiere of Exchange Love, because oh my god, BODYSWITCHING.)

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I generally don't want too much realism as I have enough of it in RL. And oh twdrama! I have a special place in my heart for it.

[ulkis.livejournal.com]

Hi, I'm delurking because I was wondering if you could answer a movie question I have.

I read about a month or so ago your write-ups on different versions of La Boheme and I never knew there was a silent version. I looked around and I couldn't find it, so I was wondering if you found it someplace online or if it was just a matter of just haunting e-bay till someone is selling a video of it? Thanks. :)

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

It was released on vhs earlier, but I don't think it's available now unless through ebay. TCM (a channel in the States) showed it once or twice.

[scottishlass.livejournal.com]

You know, I never got that BSG craze! I loved the made for TV movie at the beginning but about 5 eps into the show I was like WTF? - Perhaps I loved Starbuck (Dirk Benedict) too much when I was a kid, but I could never shake the feeling that BSG just tried too hard. It wanted to have the cheeky sexiness and gritty desperation of Farscape (and failed) and the dark pilot tale a la Space: Above And Beyond (and failed). It did nothing for me - especially not the gratuitious sex scenes between Baltar and Six (or whatever her name is).

As for One Way Passage is - the whole death penalty issue apart - a beautiful movie, something that isn't made anymore in Hollywood but thank goodness such a theme is still very much done in Korea!! Most ppl might think it old-fashioned or just plain cheesy, but that movie is so much here and now, it is amazing :) (Oh, and of course the 30's/40's costumes and props are wonderful to behold)

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Farscape took risks and it worked. BSG? Not so much. They didn't seem to have a grand plan after all.

And yay! Someone who's seen One Way Passage. So beautiful. Reading your write-up on Maundy Thursday actually is what made me think of it again.

[scottishlass.livejournal.com]

They didn't seem to have a grand plan after all
So true. I didn't see an over all story arc other than the same old *we flee to Earth* thing.

I also thought about One Way Passage when I watched Maundy Thursday, but for the life of me I couldn't remember its name. I only have it on tape with the wonderful title W.Powell vids (rolls eyes - yeah I was a bad video tape keeper before DVDs).

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I think that is why I loved Farscape: so consistent until the end and with well integrated story.

I found the ending of Maundy Thursday on youtube and whoa. I don't know if I'll be able to watch the entire movie.

Btw, do you know about the new Kang Dong Won drama that's airing right now? Is it any good?

[scottishlass.livejournal.com]

Yeah Farscape was so good - I actually watched it with a 24 hrs delay when it still aired. Even once with Jewish subs as Israeli TV made a mistake and aired two eps before SciFi did :) Gosh, that was the time :)

The ending is sad and I don't know if they included his confession to the ending on youtube, because with it the ending even has more impact. You should watch the movie. Kang Dong-won is fantastic in it, at first you feel disgusted and angry, then pity and at last you feel nothing because you love his character and you bawl your eyes out.

Do you mean Voice of The Murderer? I haven't heard much about the movie yet, only that he plays a real life kidnapper who torments the parents of the kidnappee with phone calls. IIRC you don't see him much on screen, but you hear his voice talking in Korean and English. It will premiere on 1st February, I think.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Do you mean Voice of The Murderer?

No. He is in a kdrama, entitled The Person I love (or "I'll not love") with Han Eun Jung, Jo Dong Hyuk, Park Eun Hye and Hwang Jung Eum. It's airing now and there is kissing and angst and up through ep 10 is on youtube. Not sure how much is subbed as I was going to wait until all eps are out. Are you a soompi member? They have a thread on this.

Plot: Kim Dong Won will be playing a producer who abandons his wife, Sang Hee (Han Eun Jung) to attain success. Jo Dong Hyuk will be an owner of a film company and a new film director who will be his rival in work and love for Sang Hee. Park Eun Hye will be playing the third in five siblings who has lost their dad at a young age who went through hardships and to become a successful architect.

Re: MT. Yeah, I know, I'll definitely watch. Steel myself first though.

[scottishlass.livejournal.com]

Oh I didn't know .. from an interview from last year I had expected him to move into movies full time as he said something about not liking doing dramas (as in series) so much as movies, and with three movies still in the making for him I didn't expect him to do drama too. But I guess bills have to be paid ;-)
I will look up the thread at soompi. I'm not a regular visitor there but I will make an effort for Dong-won :)

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I like soompi because it's like talkbollywood for korean stuff. A lot of 'omg he is so hot' posts, but if there is news on something, it's bound to be there.

Isn't KDW going into the Army soon? Maybe he is trying to get the acting bug out of the way for two years :)

[scottishlass.livejournal.com]

Are you sure it is a new drama with KANG Dong-won? They all say the guy in the lead is Kim Dong-wan?!

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

OK, am idiot. Can't read. Why does everybody have similar names anyway. I wouldn't have this problem if his name was Boris Lidexter or similar :D

[scottishlass.livejournal.com]

Isn't KDW going into the Army soon? Maybe he is trying to get the acting bug out of the way for two years :)
Yeah, him and Lee Junki have to do their military services... three years ... three years without any of those two ... will be tough.

Am off to bed now ... 2:35 AM and I should be in bed, coughing and sneezing and keeping hubby awake (evil grin) Poetic justice, that :)

[lyssie.livejournal.com]

It was not. Black Market was at least entertaining. And if I could cut out Kara and Sam's scenes, I'd pretend this episode DOES NOT EXIST. Except for the end with Mom and Dad clearly about to have sex.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

True. BM was sort of 'cheesy scifi show of the week' thing. This had long shots of Baltar in the pool. And no Zarek.

Yup, I'd be happy to take out K/A scenes and graft them onto a different ep. Indeed.

Also, scenes went on for forever and ever and ever. Like when Lee lost the ring. We get it. Maybe the ennoui I felt watching this was supposed to convey the ennoui of the characters, in which case, they succeeded.

here via galacticanews

[thirdblindmouse.livejournal.com]

I thought Hero was this season's Blackmarket, complete with angsty out-of-nowhere back story that's never referenced again.

Word on the Lee stuff, though. I think they should not portray him at all except when he's doing things that are actually relevant to the fleet, because his emoness is not worth this show's time.

Re: here via galacticanews

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Oh Gosh. Hero. I think I blocked this ep from my memory because of sheer awfulness. And agree entirely on Lee.