Posted on 04/28/2022 12:35:28 AM PDT by DallasBiff
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(Excerpt) Read more at imdb.com ...
Interracial marriage not an issue I see. I guess that is the issue. Great acting and a touching presentation of some of the more trashy aspects of the culture. Imagine what sort of film it would have been if the writers had actually worked instead of using culture hot buttons to form a plot.
The Secacus Seven was the film that the big chill copied.
Lots of good John Sayles films
Even TV series studios and producers adopted the dark style because they realized that this could build audience loyalty and Nielsen numbers -- assuming that a well-crafted show got network promotion and schedule support and a large enough audience to justify the critical early renewals.
X-Files, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, and Supernatural made the neo-noir sci-fi/fantasy style and story formula work and enjoyed long runs, while Farscape and Firefly could not and failed to last long enough to develop their full potential.
There are limits and drawbacks of course to a dark visual style and themes. A counter trend is also evident, especially on AMC. Their crime shows Burn Notice and White Collar enjoyed long runs with an upbeat mood and bright, often sunlit sets and outdoor locations. Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul offered a contrast between sunny Albuquerque, often attractive personalities, and appalling criminal conduct.
All of which bears out that TV now enjoys sophisticated writers and producers, lots of cash, and an educated audience that makes for a true golden age of popular entertainment.
To me Blade Runner was a bit too dark. Maybe because it was the first time I had seen a movie that darkly lit. But it put me off at first, not enough that I didn’t enjoy the movie, but enough that I thought it could have been better.
In the X-Files and Supernatural most of the action took place at night or in places that it wasn’t surprising were dimly lit, basements, forests, caverns, etc.
From what I understand Farscape was too expensive for a show that was shot in Australia, reportedly $1.4 million per episode.
Firefly was sabotaged by interfering suits who were constantly demanding more sexual sizzle, more action, more anything except storyline. They even went as far as airing the episodes out of order. The episode that was supposed to air as the #2 wasn’t aired until near the end and then only because it had already been shot. It showed how Malcolm Reynolds came to have Serenity and how the crew came together.
Kind of hard to build a following when that crap happens.
I’m watching Burn Notice now on IMDB TV.
Good scripts, tight storytelling and good acting. Plus.... MIAMI!!
A bad boy spin on Miami Vice. Only better.
I haven’t seen White Collar but it’s on my list.
And as a fan of Raymond Chandler's detective novels, the story line of Blade Runner was intuitively appealing to me with its theme of an honest detective dealing with danger rooted in corruption, thuggish and indifferent cops, and a femme fatale. The scene at the police HQ and line from Police Captain Bryant (M. Emmet Walsh) to Deckert (Harrison Ford) -- "you're not cop, you're little people!" -- could easily have come from Chandler.
The dark lighting, exteriors, and palates of X-Files and Supernatural were due not just to story matter but also to both being filmed and produced in Vancouver. Although a glorious place, Vancouver is not known for sunny days.
Farscape would have survived for another couple of seasons if it had a larger audience or better financial backing. As it was, Farscape's 88 episodes fall just short of the 100 episodes that are seen as the minimum for syndicated reruns. The result is that an innovative sci-fi series disappeared without a trace in reruns. Somewhere, an entertainment industry accountant must sigh from time to time over the revenue forfeited for lack of an extra season or two.
Fox's treatment of Firefly was sad and stupid. For me, Burn Notice had special appeal in that it began its run not long after the death of a friend who had spent years as a deep cover US intelligence operative. The buoyant and glib manner of the main character even reminded me of my old friend.
Then it would have been a drama instead of a comedy. Sounds like you were expecting a Christmas movie, but it was ubër secular, basically a "holiday" movie, with "Christmas" only used for the time frame and the plot hooks, like the children's pageant, the office party, and the "betrayal by gift." My take is that they wanted to push the more ludicrous edge of all the hot buttons, with the only serious moments being the mentally ill brother and the aforementioned betrayal. Can you tell that we've watched it every year since we spent Christmas in London?
Reminded me of the sort of comedy in The IT Crowd, which if you haven't seen, is absolutely hilarious. They take on race, disability, class, homosexuality, mental illness, the fatuousness of most corporate culture—you name it, they make politically incorrect fun of it. Probably couldn't make it these days.
This Is Spinal Tap probably deserves a mention. I’m not sure a full length parody documentary had ever been done before.
The Mission with Robert De Niro and Jeremy Irons was a beautiful movie.
Airplane in 1980.
My faves are probably Blade Runner, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and Brazil.
I will look for it on britbox. I spent time with it people. Might be interesting.
I am not sure love actually would have to be a drama to be any good.
I have found the some of the most innovative comedy is the comedy that does not rely on
Took my dad and mom to see “The Natural,” after having seen it with someone. He loved it, commenting about the rarity of cursing. He had the heart attack the next morning that ended up killing him.
I’ll always love that movie and be glad to have that memory of making him happy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1Qywfbm45E
"The Repo Man is alwways intense."
(Plate of shrimp.......)
Gag me with a spoon.
Raising Arizona
Ruthless People
Gotcha!
Top Secret!
Hollywood Shuffle
I’m Gonna Git You, Sucka
Back to School
Airplane!
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
Blade Runner is spectacular.
Raiders is pure entertainment.
Road Warrior was the perfect blend of bare bones budget and grittiness.
Aliens was a excellent ensemble war flick.
Bull Durham is funny in a way comedies aren’t anymore. (Sarandon is a nut, but I didn’t know it at the time.)
Oh that’s right - The Road Warrior is another great one. And Aliens too. Somehow I managed to never see Bull Durham all the way through.
I don’t remember the movies from that era. They didn’t get shown on any of the three TV stations we could pick up when I was young.
Alien was dark, but Blade Runner was almost TOO dark for my taste. Even now I wish they had lightened up just a bit.
My reading ran more to history, science fiction and Louis Lamour. Most of the time the difference between good and evil was clear and stark.
I kind of figured Supernatural was filmed in Canada, but I didn’t know X-Files was. Vancouver huh?
If the place has such a dearth of sunlight its a wonder everyone there isn’t suicidally depressed! It must be like Seattle with it’s 9 months of darkness (cloud cover).
The SyFy channel has run Farscape along with the movie a couple of times so I did get to watch it once on rerun. Amazon Prime has it in their streaming lineup but as a pay option.
Sadly the world just wasn’t ready for Farscape.
Burn Notice... what’s not to like!
I particularly like the cast, even Sharon Gless as Mrs Westen, although the 1/4th Indian Gabrielle Anwar is a bit of a stretch as an IRA bomber. Given that, she was great in the show, wonderful foil for the Michael Westen character. Burn Notice also did a great job of having interesting guest stars on the show. Tim Matheson, Tricia Helfer and Moon Bloodgood were three of my favorites. I also like the way the show is narrated by Jeff Donovan. It adds to the show.
Another thing is the special effects aren’t over the top. The narration explains why shooting a propane gas cylinder doesn’t create an explosion and that something needs to be added.
Overall I think Burn Notice was probably one of the best TV shows made.
Trivia: In the week leading up to his casting call for the show Jeff Donovan hurt his mouth in a lobster eating contest. As a result he didn’t have full use of his mouth, resulting in a clenched jaw delivery. He apologized to the casting director but the director LOVED his delivery and highly suggested to Donovan and the studio that the Westen character have that type of delivery.
History was made and a star was born.
You knew a spook?!!?
How cool.
Sorry to hear your friend passed away.
After Season Five, X-Files was filmed in LA at David Duchovny's insistence, which made for a brighter aesthetic and more varied locations than were possible in Vancouver.
Like Michael in Burn Notice, when overseas on duty, my spy friend was in non-official cover as a businessman, which meant that he could not claim diplomatic status if he was caught by foreign authorities. Spies in NOC have to be especially canny about people and circumstances and ready to improvise and change plans. Burn Notice did a good job of carrying those traits over to Michael in his Miami sojourn.
I hadn’t realized X-Files was filmed in Canada, but I was still a fan. I guess I was so engrossed in the characters that I didn’t notice the change in shooting locations.
One of the reasons Burn Notice was so successful in the spy craft was they had Michael Wilson, a former intelligence officer as a consulting executive producer. Matt Nix, the creator, said Wilson was a great help in the what and how departments.
It also helped the show that he gathered a group of writers that loved the spy business and had read a lot of the history.
Nix originally wanted Burn Notice to be shot in a gritty town in New Jersey. The USA network talked him out of it. Thank God!
After watching Alien and Blade Runner and comparing them to Star Wars they do make Star Wars look like bubble gum pop compared to heavy metal.
I assumed that Burn Notice benefitted from writers and producers knowledgeable about spy craft. Thanks for confirming that. And yes, Miami was a natural fit as the setting for Burn Notice. After all, Miami is sometimes referred to as America's Casablanca due to its surfeit of emigres, spies, and criminals of all flavors -- and with bright skies and a subtropical climate to boot.
Star Wars captured audience desire for an escape from the gritty movies that dominated the 70's. The dark and pessimistic Alien and Blade Runner, which had been languishing in development for years, were then green lit for the sake of having entries in the suddenly hot sci-fi genre.
In spite of major story departures, a dying Philip K. Dick is said to have been pleased when he was shown an early cut of scenes from Blade Runner. In the end, although Star Wars made vast sums of money and spawned a franchise beloved of kids, Blade Runner is more influential.
X-Files lost nothing in the move to LA. The series kept the same tone and “flavor” that it began with. If they had changed it the series would have ended quick.
Nix originally wanted Burn Notice to be shot or take place in Newark, NJ. He said he wanted the down and out grittiness of such a place, like a Hill Street Blues for spies. In an interview between seasons 3 and 4 he said that the network talking him into Miami was the best thing the network could have done. He could let the grittiness and pain come from the characters. In truth it was brilliant. A burned spy with lots of issues against the beautiful backdrop of sunny Miami was perfect. And kept the writers on their toes.
He also related that when the show became a hit the entire Intelligence community was calling and writing with ideas and helpfully critical comments. Many of which were incorporated into the show.
I really enjoyed the first two Star Wars movies, they appealed to the bright eyed kid in me. Alien and Blade Runner appealed to my more mature side. Star Wars I have to be in a mood to watch. Blade Runner I can watch anytime.
Room with a view (1986)
Chariots of Fire (1982)
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