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Post by stephen on Dec 10, 2022 21:07:46 GMT
Watched the first half of the series. I think everyone who survived the first 70 minutes of the second episode deserves some kind of a trophy. In fact, that trophy might as well be the concluding 25 minutes of the same episode because they're awesome. But it sure is hard to get to them because the bulk of the second installment is almost completely anti-audience, so much so that one is actually inclined to kinda respect Refn for going so hard on the slowness, the tedium and the boredom. The real gem is the fifth part which works on just about every level. The other episodes felt like Refn in slow-mo, this one felt like Refn proper. I want the remaining five chunks of this "story" to stay in the same vein but I suspect we're gonna go back to a more meditative pace. And I do find some enjoyment in that pace. But so far it's only the fifth episode that felt genuinely special to me. Episodes 4 and 5 are my favourite (specifically everything involving James Urbaniak, who legitimately gives one of the most terrifying performances I've ever seen), and the show does ramp up very nicely in the last two episodes near to that level. I'm very interested to know how you feel about it when all's said and done.
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Post by JangoB on Dec 11, 2022 21:03:34 GMT
Watched the first half of the series. I think everyone who survived the first 70 minutes of the second episode deserves some kind of a trophy. In fact, that trophy might as well be the concluding 25 minutes of the same episode because they're awesome. But it sure is hard to get to them because the bulk of the second installment is almost completely anti-audience, so much so that one is actually inclined to kinda respect Refn for going so hard on the slowness, the tedium and the boredom. The real gem is the fifth part which works on just about every level. The other episodes felt like Refn in slow-mo, this one felt like Refn proper. I want the remaining five chunks of this "story" to stay in the same vein but I suspect we're gonna go back to a more meditative pace. And I do find some enjoyment in that pace. But so far it's only the fifth episode that felt genuinely special to me. Episodes 4 and 5 are my favourite (specifically everything involving James Urbaniak, who legitimately gives one of the most terrifying performances I've ever seen), and the show does ramp up very nicely in the last two episodes near to that level. I'm very interested to know how you feel about it when all's said and done. All's said and done With the complete experience behind me I gotta say that I really dug this. I won't lie - some bits of it were akin to an endurance test and I honestly don't know if Refn was genuine with them or simply wanted to fuck with the viewers. Whatever the case may be, I can at least respect his audacity and Amazon's willingness to allow him to do what he wants. Would the show have been better without the unnecessary ballast of extra long pauses between sentences or some of those endless camera pans? Maybe. But we still have a rather unique piece of filmmaking here which may annoy you with a scene and then make you hard with the very next one. And those moments of ecstasy are truly worth it. And it's not like everything aside from those moments is a slog - for the most part it's just an atmospheric and visually compelling slowburn ride. It just happens to dabble in extremes, mostly for better but sometimes for worse. The second half of the show really clicked nicely for me, pretty much everything about it worked. When the Oedipal and the esoteric stuff (which felt fully related to Only God Forgives... and I happen to love that one) kicked in, I was fully on board. So yeah, this is definitely not for everybody but if you're on NWR's wavelength, you'll probably find a great deal to appreciate and even love about this. I know I did! Can't fucking wait for Copenhagen Cowboy now. The trailers make it look even more fantastic visually, and it's only 6 episodes so it's bound to be tighter. Hoping for greatness.
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Post by stephen on Dec 11, 2022 21:07:27 GMT
Episodes 4 and 5 are my favourite (specifically everything involving James Urbaniak, who legitimately gives one of the most terrifying performances I've ever seen), and the show does ramp up very nicely in the last two episodes near to that level. I'm very interested to know how you feel about it when all's said and done. All's said and done With the complete experience behind me I gotta say that I really dug this. I won't lie - some bits of it were akin to an endurance test and I honestly don't know if Refn was genuine with them or simply wanted to fuck with the viewers. Whatever the case may be, I can at least respect his audacity and Amazon's willingness to allow him to do what he wants. Would the show have been better without the unnecessary ballast of extra long pauses between sentences or some of those endless camera pans? Maybe. But we still have a rather unique piece of filmmaking here which may annoy you with a scene and then make you hard with the very next one. And those moments of ecstasy are truly worth it. And it's not like everything aside from those moments is a slog - for the most part it's just an atmospheric and visually compelling slowburn ride. It just happens to dabble in extremes, mostly for better but sometimes for worse. The second half of the show really clicked nicely for me, pretty much everything about it worked. When the Oedipal and the esoteric stuff (which felt fully related to Only God Forgives... and I happen to love that one) kicked in, I was fully on board. So yeah, this is definitely not for everybody but if you're on NWR's wavelength, you'll probably find a great deal to appreciate and even love about this. I know I did! Can't fucking wait for Copenhagen Cowboy now. The trailers make it look even more fantastic visually, and it's only 6 episodes so it's bound to be tighter. Hoping for greatness. I have considered doing a recut of Too Old to Die Young to feature-length that focuses on John Hawkes's Viggo. I think it would be a fun challenge.
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Post by JangoB on Dec 11, 2022 21:49:56 GMT
All's said and done With the complete experience behind me I gotta say that I really dug this. I won't lie - some bits of it were akin to an endurance test and I honestly don't know if Refn was genuine with them or simply wanted to fuck with the viewers. Whatever the case may be, I can at least respect his audacity and Amazon's willingness to allow him to do what he wants. Would the show have been better without the unnecessary ballast of extra long pauses between sentences or some of those endless camera pans? Maybe. But we still have a rather unique piece of filmmaking here which may annoy you with a scene and then make you hard with the very next one. And those moments of ecstasy are truly worth it. And it's not like everything aside from those moments is a slog - for the most part it's just an atmospheric and visually compelling slowburn ride. It just happens to dabble in extremes, mostly for better but sometimes for worse. The second half of the show really clicked nicely for me, pretty much everything about it worked. When the Oedipal and the esoteric stuff (which felt fully related to Only God Forgives... and I happen to love that one) kicked in, I was fully on board. So yeah, this is definitely not for everybody but if you're on NWR's wavelength, you'll probably find a great deal to appreciate and even love about this. I know I did! Can't fucking wait for Copenhagen Cowboy now. The trailers make it look even more fantastic visually, and it's only 6 episodes so it's bound to be tighter. Hoping for greatness. I have considered doing a recut of Too Old to Die Young to feature-length that focuses on John Hawkes's Viggo. I think it would be a fun challenge. A fun challenge - yes. But you'd lose pretty much all of the neon! Sacrilege!
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Post by stephen on Dec 11, 2022 21:51:18 GMT
I have considered doing a recut of Too Old to Die Young to feature-length that focuses on John Hawkes's Viggo. I think it would be a fun challenge. A fun challenge - yes. But you'd lose pretty much all of the neon! Sacrilege! Very true: Too Old to Die Young: The Neon-Less Cut.
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Post by JangoB on Dec 11, 2022 21:53:04 GMT
A fun challenge - yes. But you'd lose pretty much all of the neon! Sacrilege! Very true: Too Old to Die Young: The Neon-Less Cut. That'd be so perverse that I'm surprised NWR hasn't done it himself.
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