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Post by Kimby on Feb 8, 2021 0:30:52 GMT
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Post by bixaorellana on Feb 8, 2021 1:27:51 GMT
Ooooo ~ thank you, Kimby!
You know, whoever thought to cast Jodie Comer in that role deserves a special award.
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Post by bixaorellana on Feb 12, 2021 3:36:46 GMT
I just watched the first episode of The Queen's Gambit and was riveted throughout. I believe several of you here have already seen it. I'm certainly looking forward to more. Probably everyone already knows this, but the book on which it was based was written by Walter Tevis.
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Post by casimira on Feb 12, 2021 15:47:32 GMT
I believe I posted my enthusiasm for the The Queen's Gambit earlier on. I loved it and found it so refreshing and such a unique story. ( I was not aware of the author you mention Bixa).
(I heard a report on NPR that said sales of chess boards quadrupled after the release of this brilliant movie). A nice departure from the more popular video gaming, mind numbing activities so prevalent in today's society.
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Post by kerouac2 on Feb 12, 2021 19:12:43 GMT
There are two new French series that might show up on the international services. They are both period pieces, which seems to be what attracts a lot of people.
Les aventures du jeune Voltaire
Paris police 1900
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Post by bixaorellana on Feb 12, 2021 23:53:38 GMT
I would really love to see the Voltaire one, which apparently is a mini series. It should contain a good bit of fact, but I need to wait for a subtitled or dubbed version.
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Post by lugg on Feb 13, 2021 18:59:08 GMT
The Queens Gambit is just great. Glad you enjoyed it Bixa and Kimby. I continue to consume "This Is Us" and the Pearson family .. it remains my go to for comfort and entertainment in these Covid times and allows a (sometimes) enjoyable cry. A little like a good British soap but, I think, much better. Anyway I am now at Season 4, Episode 1. At least I know that there are umpteen episodes and Series 5 to look forward to as well. Lots of spoilers here but if you do want to know more ... www.vulture.com/2019/09/this-is-us-season-4-episode-1-recap-strangers.html
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Post by kerouac2 on Feb 13, 2021 20:01:51 GMT
A French adaptation of "This Is Us" has just started. It's called "Je te promets." I might take a look at it, but since I could not find any appeal in the original series, I do not have high hopes. I am not an authority, though -- I doubt if I saw more than 45 minutes of it.
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Post by bixaorellana on Feb 13, 2021 21:43:30 GMT
I need to give This is Us another try. It was recommended to me by my landlord, indicating there must be a version dubbed in Spanish. I watched an episode or two and thought it was intriguing and well done, but not what I wanted at the time.
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Post by Kimby on Feb 14, 2021 2:56:55 GMT
I really like This is Us. We have seen three seasons, I think. Waiting for the library to get season 4.
Have yet to see The Queen’s Gambit, lugg. But it’s “on our list”.
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Post by kerouac2 on Feb 14, 2021 8:45:37 GMT
I was reading about the differences between the French version and the U.S. version.
Michaël (Kevin) is a football star who screwed up at the end of his career instead of being an actor. The French version uses different actors for the young and old versions of characters, unlike that American version which uses lots and lots of makeup. Mathis (Randall) was abandoned in a public restroom rather than a fire station. And his biological father is HIV positive instead of having cancer. Maud and Tanguy (Kate and Toby) meet while grocery shopping rather than in a support group. In the French version everybody lives in La Rochelle in the past and in Paris in the present rather than being spread around the country. Finally, the French version uses pop tunes on the soundtrack rather than instrumental music.
But apparently lots and lots of the scenes are carbon copies of the American version. The changes certainly come from the people doing the adaptation saying things like "we would never do/say that in France." As for the music, it might be just an artistic choice, but I tend to suspect that it costs much more to include pop music in the United States than in France.
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Post by lugg on Feb 14, 2021 9:45:29 GMT
Have yet to see The Queen’s Gambit, lugg Ah got you mixed up with Casimira ( sorry both) Thanks for the info re the French version K2. I am glad that it has not been changed two much. part of its success for me is the various twist and turns - they would have been difficult to replicate with more plot changes I watched another two episodes of Season 4 last night and now am hooked back in after the initially confusing start as the new characters were introduced.
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Post by kerouac2 on Feb 14, 2021 21:49:09 GMT
One of the channels here has been showing the ITV series Grantchester on Sunday nights. I have watched about four episodes, and it appears that Grantchester is a hotbed of homosexuality, paedophilia and extremely strained family relations due to the first two items. There is a hot vicar in the village, and it appears that the current vicar replaced another hot vicar who appeared in the first 3 seasons (what are the chances of that in rural England?). The current hot vicar struggles with his heterosexual needs and often succumbs to them, feeling guilty afterwards. His assistant is a gay curate while the vicar is the assistant to a police investigator, although I have not understood how this happened. And he is also involved in the boxing club, a place with a multitude of unclothed young men, who probably serve as fodder for the unhinged villagers who are always preying on somebody. There was even a fake convent to hide young lesbian women -- keeping in mind all of this takes place in the early 1950s. I don't know how the English continue to reproduce.
This trailer is for the changeover season so it shows both hot vicar #1 and hot vicar #2.
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Post by Kimby on Feb 14, 2021 22:04:32 GMT
K2, have you watched the first couple seasons? The Kimby’s found it quite enjoyable. Not as fond of the new vicar.
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Post by kerouac2 on Feb 14, 2021 22:17:00 GMT
No, I just started on season 4.
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Post by bixaorellana on Feb 14, 2021 22:31:58 GMT
It is DEADLY with the new vicar. I had to stop watching. James Norton was really good as Sidney, although he did get kind of whiney towards the end of his tenure, and Al Weaver was loveable and relatable as Leonard. Tom Brittney is the very definition of bland and Robson Green seems to be only going through the motions now.
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Post by bixaorellana on Feb 15, 2021 3:06:39 GMT
Line from The Queen's Gambit: "I've never been to Oaxaca, but I imagine it resembles Denver."
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Post by mickthecactus on Feb 15, 2021 8:05:03 GMT
Line from The Queen's Gambit: "I've never been to Oaxaca, but I imagine it resembles Denver." And does it? Not that I know what Denver looks like.
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Post by bixaorellana on Feb 15, 2021 16:02:11 GMT
As you can see, they are practically identical ~ Denver:Oaxaca:
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Post by kerouac2 on Feb 15, 2021 16:23:49 GMT
Would the remark have been about the similarity of cities when you spend all of your time in a windowless competition room?
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Post by Kimby on Feb 15, 2021 18:40:38 GMT
(Most photos of Denver DO have mountains in the (distant) background. This photograper must be facing East.
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Post by bixaorellana on Feb 15, 2021 18:51:21 GMT
No, but a good guess. I think I understand the comment, but am putting it in a spoiler so as not to give away any plot. {Spoiler}In the show the protagonist's adoptive mother is left by her husband. Before, though, the husband keeps going off on business trips. At one point he goes off to Denver, but calls home a couple of times to say he has been detained. Finally the woman announces to her daughter that the man is not coming back from Denver. Later on, mother & daughter are in Mexico City because the girl is playing in a tournament. The mother is having a fun fling with an old pen pal & going out day and night. One evening Mother is out on the hotel balcony in her housecoat. Daughter asks if she's not going out. Mother says pen pal boyfriend had to go to Oaxaca on business. Daughter asks when will he be back. Mother smiles sadly and says, not before we leave. Right after that she makes the Oaxaca/Denver remark. Aren't you glad you asked?
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Post by lugg on Feb 15, 2021 21:00:16 GMT
As you can see, they are practically identical ~ and thanks too for the spoiler too to link the images
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Post by questa on Feb 19, 2021 0:13:37 GMT
An excellent summary of the Denver remark. I am watching the series now and loving it, in a way. My 2nd son was the team leader at his high school, but I could never think more than the next move, let alone mentally mapping out a complete sequence of moves.
The men in Bali all play chess. You see them squatting on the sidewalks, each player having a small group of onlookers suggesting moves. They play a fast game and can't understand why Westerners take so long to make a move. Their method is when you get really stuck just clear the board and start again.
Little kids start about 3 years just moving pieces on the board, then the grandfathers teach them the rules and strategies, like the janitor in the series.
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Post by bixaorellana on Feb 19, 2021 1:13:19 GMT
That's fascinating about all the men in Bali playing chess. Are any of the little kids being taught chess girls?
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Post by lugg on Feb 19, 2021 20:38:50 GMT
I am 2 episodes into a new ( at least to the UK ) Netflix series . Not sure what to think yet, (actually scratch that: I know what I think already but the blurb tells me I will be wrong.) Anyway I am going to continue watching. " Behind her Eyes " www.netflix.com/gb/title/80244630
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Post by Kimby on Feb 19, 2021 20:55:20 GMT
Knocked off two 10th seasons during our Florida working vacation: Larry David’s Curb Your Enthusiasm, and William H. Macy in Shameless.
Despite the very different socioeconomic classes portrayed, both leading men are shameless. And lacking filters that normal people have.
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Post by questa on Feb 19, 2021 23:28:32 GMT
Bali, and Indonesia generally, has the unwritten rules of "Fit in to the society, don't stand out as an individual" and "These are females' activities and these are males". Stick to your own gender."
Therefore the team activities are where the people do well and solo sports not madly encouraged. The chess playing boys have their team of onlookers while the girls follow the game. They seem to know the rules and moves and call out suggestions but I have not seen any actually playing.
The badminton Olympic medals are often won by Indonesians but the news doesn't get much attention...it is too individual-focussed. Their National Day is marked by very competitive marching competitions between schools. For 6 weeks before the Day the kids are out at dawn practising. On the Day there are games on the soccer field, village v village. One game has a tall pole with crosspieces near the top holding gifts from sponsors. The object is to form a human ladder to reach the top and goodies, meanwhile grabbing the minor gifts as they could. After the winners are down the major prize is auctioned off (A TV set)and the cash goes into the village funds account. Teamwork.
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Post by bixaorellana on Feb 20, 2021 6:20:50 GMT
Thanks, Questa -- fascinating peek at the workings of another culture! Tonight I watched the first episode of Mad Men again. I was an avid fan of the series when it first aired, and watched it all the way through. Watching that first episode tonight was really a revelation. Being free of the tension of having to follow the plot let me soak up the brilliance of the production. And one level, I think the fact that I know what all is going to happen made this viewing even more enjoyable. This particular episode is exactly like a perfect John Cheever short story. It is complete in itself, and completely satisfying even if one never goes on to watch the rest of the series.
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Post by casimira on Feb 20, 2021 15:00:29 GMT
I couldn't agree with you more about Mad Men Bixa. Most especially the analogy you make about John Cheever's short stories. There were many episodes where I knew something rang a bell and couldn't initially make the connection but, at a certain point, one episode in particular, it hit me. From then on I found myself seeing the connection more and more. It was as though Cheever was a co-writer or consultant. (knowing full well that he had died in 1982).
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