As soon as i hookup my converter box I'll start waching.Originally Posted by slapout9
Until then...the seventh season of "The Shield"
As soon as i hookup my converter box I'll start waching.
Until then...the seventh season of "The Shield"
Just starting on the Rome series (DvD). I have a soft spot for NCIS too, but mainly have the History channel on most of the time. I'll pass on Bill Maher
How about Chinese Soldiers Dancing in the street by the 7-11
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbWun4cLEwM&NR=1
Some of my bookmarks...
-al-Jazeera English
-Fareed Zakaria GPS
-Mosaic - News form the Mideast
-This Week in Defense News
Already watch Fareed, I will try the others.
Also on the Rome series.Just starting on the Rome series (DvD). I have a soft spot for NCIS too, but mainly have the History channel on most of the time. I'll pass on Bill Maher
Currently finishing the last 2 seasons of lost. Non stop. Addicting
Glued to Mad Men
: x
Give ‘Homeland’ a try if you are a Showtime subscriber.
The Showtime series Homeland which premiered Sunday night has gotten a passel of reviews calling it the best new show of the 2011/12 television season. I watched the SFW online pre-release a couple of weekends ago and liked it so much I made it a point not to miss the unedited version Sunday.
There’s a nice trailer that gives the gist and the excerpt below from the NPR review does the same via text. If you count yourself as a fan of 24 and/or Band of Brothers, Homeland is executive produced by the pair who did the same for the former and stars the chap who played Richard Winters in the latter.* There are some did not do the research moments, of course, but fewer than I expected given the genre.
*For me, 24 is only worth watching from the peanut gallery to see the next implausibly stupid thing the writers create for Kim to do and the majority of the actors in Band of Brothers—Matthew Settle being a notable exception—played the atmosphere rather than a character (i.e., they played ‘a guy from the ‘40s’ rather than a human being in a story occurring in the ‘40s). I don’t think BoB was bad by any measure, but count me as one of the few who finds The Pacific to be the vastly superior of the two. And no, I do not kick puppies.One new show premiering Sunday, following Dexter on Showtime, has a narrative path all its own, one I’ve never seen before in a weekly TV series, and that’s saying something.
It’s called Homeland, and stars Claire Danes as Carrie Matheson, a CIA agent who becomes obsessed with Sgt. Nick Brody, an American POW located and rescued after years of brutal captivity in Iraq. Nick, played by Damian Lewis from Band of Brothers and NBC’s Life, is about to return home to a hero’s welcome. But Carrie, acting on a scrap of vague information, suspects Nick may have been turned while held prisoner, and is now a double agent for al-Qaida. Carrie takes her suspicions to one of her bosses—played by Mandy Patinkin, in a very welcome return to TV—but he’s not buying it.
If Carrie is right, she’s the real hero of this story. If not, Nick’s not only the victim—he’s the hero, too. For the first few episodes of Homeland, our loyalties are split, and we don’t know which character to root for, only that they’re both played by incredibly likable and sympathetic performers. And watching Carrie pursue Brody, without being certain of his true motives, puts a fascinating new twist on an otherwise familiar tale.
Eventually, we will discover the truth, and the series, and the drama, will continue from there. But for right now, Homeland is offering something unique to television. And when you’re talking about television, that’s a phrase you don’t hear very often.
Last edited by ganulv; 10-04-2011 at 09:16 PM. Reason: typo fix
If you don’t read the newspaper, you are uninformed; if you do read the newspaper, you are misinformed. – Mark Twain (attributed)
****Wrote the review before I logged on and saw ganulv's post****
Sunday night on Showtime was the premier of 'Homeland' by the producers of '24' and adapted from the Israeli series 'Hatufim' (Prisoners). The first episode is also available free online.
The series begins with a female CIA case officer receiving a death-bed tip from a source that an American POW has been turned as a double-agent by the terrorist mastermind Abu Nazir. Forward ten months later, a Marine Scout/Sniper – gone MIA eight years ago and presumed dead – is recovered after a raid on a terrorist safe house; now benched to an analysts desk at Langley, the CIA officer scrambles to reveal the double-agent and thwart Abu Nazir's plot.
This show has potential. It is also deliberately unsettling and very unlike '24'.
The CIA officer/analyst – played by Claire Danes – is a bipolar anti-heroine, consumed with Abu Nazir. She is manipulative, amoral, and generally unlikeable. The Marine – played by Damian Lewis – returns home to a world that has moved on without him and a wife that has been sleeping with his best friend. You feel sympathy for his situation, even though you know he has probably gone over to the other-side; like I said – unsettling.
“[S]omething in his tone now reminded her of his explanations of asymmetric warfare, a topic in which he had a keen and abiding interest. She remembered him telling her how terrorism was almost exclusively about branding, but only slightly less so about the psychology of lotteries…” - Zero History, William Gibson
I second that ! Chiklis does an excellent job of entertaining and in Estonia is affectionately referred to as Dirty Mackie (loosely translated).
If you want to blend in, take the bus
Watched Watchmen
As a fan of the comic/graphic novel I had initally stayed away from the movie version fearing the inevitable "Americanisation" syndrome that most treatments get (the creators were British and infused Watchmen with that cynicial sarcasm we are taught from an early age). Having already denounced Danny Cannon as a traiter for his abysmal Judge Dredd I feared the worst. I should not have. It was brilliant. As film adaptations go this is got to be one of the best. Watch it if you can and then re-watch it again. Now I hope Hollywood does the same with Dune (i.e, respect the material and honour the narrative). Although, that said, I have always been a fan of the David Lynch version! I also hear that Amtrak Wars is doing the rounds...here's hoping.
Don't know why...
but I've really got "into" Israeli films recently. I can recommend, for what it's worth, the following.
Close to Home (I think I have a soft spot for Naaama Schendar now)
Waltz with Bashir Truly mind-blowing.
Beaufort (Not entirely succesful IMO although that could have a lot to do with nuances being lost in translation. The way I approached it was to view it as a study of Israel as such rather than aparticular action/mission/unit.)
Good thread. My latest was:
Four Lions. Very funny, and approached some more meaningful issues (martyrdom) before going back to the laughs.
Going to rewatch Restrepo, Taxi to the Dark Side, and maybe Battle of Algiers in the near future to decide their suitability as platoon PME.
Recently finished rewatching the best television ever filmed in the U.S. - The Wire. The lessons for COIN, organizational dysfunction, the futility of applying tactics without strategy, etc. are myriad and well done.
Also bought the Criterion version of Ride with the Devil, an unappreciated Ang Lee film about Confederate guerrillas in Missouri during the Civil War. This one has it all for COIN study - the process of radicalization, the effects of civilian deaths, the relative importance of personal ties and group identity in a civil war context, the empowerment of radical elements over moderates - all in a well done story.
The wife and I are working our way through this as well (just started season 4). I can definitely see what you're talking about. FWIW, my wife works in a prison and claims that she can't watch The Wire during the week because "it feels like I'm back at work". Don't think you can get more authentic then that. Possibly my favorite TV show.
Also, started watching The Killing on A&E. If police dramas are your thing, it's worth a look. First one of those where I'm not sure I really like either of the detectives (no Lenny Briscoes or "Bushy Top" McNulty's here). Some pretty heartbreaking scenes in it, but good stuff so far.
I do it with a shotgun, you do it with a briefcase; but it's all in the game baby.
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