The TV and Streaming Thread: That's Entertainment!

[Zoraptor]

Chernobyl is a great series so long as you don't think it's a documentary. Because every time there was a choice between accuracy and D R A M A they went option 2. Which also wouldn't be a problem, except you can't really do that with impunity when your tag line is "what is the price of lies?". If that's your tagline you need to be scrupulously accurate.

(eg the 'bridge of death' is debunked, completely, which the writers obviously knew since they had an incredibly mealy mouthed disclaimer about it in the end slides; Dyatlov got radiation poisoning directing the firefighting efforts and never thought the core hadn't breached, the three waste water volunteers were not volunteers, easy to tell when their names were something like Akmetov, Apraxin and Barametov; and Legasov had no problems covering everything up for years in reality. Plus a load of other minor things, like the historical minister of coal at the time being an ex miner not some apparatchik. Makes for good tele him being an MBA type instead though)

[bugarup]

I don't think tag line has to be scrupulously accurate because obviously a non-documentary series would sacrifice some elements of accuracy for drama and someone who embellishes or, well, "lies" with the tag line absolutely can call out those elephantine lies that were the primary building material of Sovietistan. Like, I knew the bridge was fictional but it was both concise and hauntingly beautiful way to show how poorly informed people were. I didn't quite like how they done Dyatlov dirty because IRL he was nothing like that, but maybe they cast Paul Ritter and then went "Hey, he will make an excellent villain"?

 

Of authenticity, interiors were recreated with incredible accuracy, the power plant who "played" in the series was the sister of Chernobyl's, and exteriors were more or less accurate though much cleaner.

I still rewatch episode one regularly, it's one of my favorite horror films. That reactor maw is scarier than any Lovecraftian monstrosity.

[LadyCrimson]

Squid Game, season 2, 1st episode

Gong Yoo is the best. would probably watch him play a man whose job is to dress up as a carrot in front of a grocery and that's all he does for most of the show. He made the 1st episode of SG2 great. I probably don't have to watch any more.

...although I might, eventually.

[majestic]

Commando Ninja (2018)

To quote the synopsis from imdb:

Quote

John Hunter is Vietnam Green Beret Veteran, Half Commando, Half Ninja, whose daughter has been abducted by a secret Ninja Organization, led by a Central-American dictator, who wants to create a new-world order... through time. Unfortunately for them, she is the only thing he would kill again for.

It's a goofy homage to 80ies classics, similar to Kung Fury, but different insofar as where Kung Fury relied mostly on digital effects, Commando Ninja has pratical ones - and the they are hilariously bad at times, and silly at their best. The biggest problem of Commando Ninja is funnily enough also a source of much amusement - it certainly feels more like a parody at times than a mere over the top homage, from directly copying scenes from Predator to having a Terminator style time travel arrival (sans the male nudity, what a missed opportunity).

At only a bit more than an hour of runtime, it's well worth checking out for a laugh or two. Very, very much in the so bad its good territory. Since this was a Kickstarter project (like Kung Fury) it is freely available on YouTube - the link is in the title. Anyway, and I can't believe I am writing this, what differentiates Kung Fury from Commando Ninja the most is its originality. Where Kung Fury is an actual homage and an "original" story told in the over the top way of 80ies cannon films, Commando Ninja consists of heartfelt and well-meaning (parody) copies of scenes from other films strung together.

As such Kung Fury works as a short film with only a (passing) familiarity of 80ies cinema and B-movies, while Commando Ninja requires much more specific knowledge.

The film is also so full of anachronisms they had to be intentional. "Present day" is in 1986, but there are movie posters of Predator and Bloodsport and John's daughter is playing NES games that released in 1989 while her mother uses a 90ies VCR, and a bunch of criminals buy weapons with dollar bills from the 90ies.

As it stands, if anyone wants to watch an homage to 80ies films that is actually also a really good movie on its own, go and watch Turbo Kid. Turbo Kid is awesome.