Blancanieves

A modern retelling of Snow White only this time there are six bullfighting dwarves, and Snow White is a matador. Yes, seriously. This is all told in a black and white silent film. The black and white color is matched in the cold harsh repeatedly gut punching telling of the tale. The dwarves offer nearly all of the lighthearted nature that the film offers. The music changes throughout the film and is essentially never ending as it offers the film its voice. I almost kind of wished there were moments where it would pause to help aid in its impact. There is one plot line that gets started but never really develops far even though it is rather easy to see where it will go. Those and maybe some other minor issues I'm forgetting aside, this is definitely an under the radar film that's worth a watch. The story is familiar, but this is far from Disney. The characters are well developed and acted. Dialog is minimally written in text as the music and actors tell the tale vastly without words. I would put it in the 8ish range. I might not be against giving it a low 9.

Saw "Detachment" last night, from the director of American History X. Lots of big name stars in it, but it only grossed $760K in the states before being whisked off to Europe.

Absolutely loved it (though to say you "love" a movie like this is rough) - just a lot of harrowing experiences/relationships highlighting the toil of life.

Adrien Brody stars (and was great) as a substitute teacher in a Chicago school system. Great performances all around, and halfway through I checked to see how much time was left in the movie because I didn't want it to end.

I just finished Iron Sky. This was a good movie.
Its about the Nazis, who fled the Earth after WW2 and set up a settlement on the dark side of the Moon, are discovered in 2018 by a USA moon landing.
Its a really fun movie.

Watch it.

Just finished off the final season of Burn Notice.

Was a bit cinematic at the end (all that was missing was Bruce Willis providing a timely quip) but, hey, we love 'em so we want as many to pull through as possible.

On the whole I thought the final season was stronger than the 1-2 season's prior & had a couple of really strong episodes.

Hard to believe how long since we first met the characters, always kinda sad to me when a series ends.

IIRC I stopped watching after he killed Strickland(I think that was the dudes name).

I highly recommend the documentary The Summit that is currently on Netflix - it tells the story of the expedition to K2 where 11 people died in 2008. I found it incredibly well put together and moving. It does have some scenes that were re-created later based on survivors accounts, pictures, and video, but I feel these add a lot to it even knowing they aren't "real."

Been watching the UK original House of Cards - maybe not as compulsively watchable as the US version but still quite good. The second series is especially nice as you get to see quite a few scenes with Ian Richardson squaring off against Michael Kitchen in an acting battle royale.

Trailer Park Boys Seasons 8 and 9 Coming to Netflix this Fall


Pretty stoked for this.

Shameless plug for my friends and former coworkers: All 5 seasons plus 13 episodes of the un-aired 6th season of the Clone Wars, are now on Netflix as of today.

Might have to check this out. Never have.

I added it to my list. I was just reading about that story the other day.

I think the first two seasons are the weakest, but, it really gets into its own by the third season.

Comcast Subscribers Can Now Watch “House Of Cards” Without Netflix | TechCrunch

Looks like Netflix is losing its exclusive aspect to its shows.

I'm sure they are ok with it due to special treatment they'll get from Comcast in partnering up with them to deliver their service.

That's assuming anyone is dumb enough to sign up for Comcast services.

Yes, because no one lives in an area where Comcast is the only option.

Where would that be? Most areas are going to have satellite as a second option at a minimum.

Satellite has pretty low data caps, making it almost useless for frequent streaming. Not to mention that satellite internet is one of the biggest users of throttling.

Satellite internet is a bad joke.

"Oh hai...it's raining too hard...my internet connection just dropped out."

Are you fucking kidding me? Is this the 21st century or not!?!?!?

Sounds like most people are SOL then. We have no less than three wired providers in most neighborhoods in KC.

So are they SOL, dumb, or both?

I see - so "I've got mine, so fuck everybody else" then?

Presumably nobody's surprised by that being your attitude.

I just find it tremendously hard to believe that somehow KC is the only one with multiple wired options for TV/Internet services. Granted, KC does have a huge boom right now with tech companies moving to the area, so that may be directly related.

Just as an example, nearly every KC home has a cable provider and Uverse as options. Some of them have a secondary cable option as well. Is that something that only the lawmakers allow in this area? Are most major metro areas not this way? How many services are offered in your area?

I know kcchief19 could add a lot to this discussion as well.

I've got two where I am (Comcast and RCN - basically run on Comcast's network to avoid a monopoly) but in Cambridge, MA it's Comcast or satellite and no real chance to get satellite unless you own.

In the Metro Detroit area we have three wired options: Comcast, Wow Cable and AT&T Uverse.

While probably more expensive (I haven't really done a cost comparison), I still think Comcast is the best option. I have looked at Wow and AT&T before, but I've never been all that happy with their channel line-ups and I doubt their service and internet speeds are any better than Comcast.

I have had Comcast for 8 years. I've never really had an issue. When there has been a disruption in service, which hasn't happened often, the folks I've talked to or came by the house were all very helpful and knowledgeable.

My brother, who lives in the same area, switched from Comcast to AT&T about a year ago or so. He switched by in less than a month.

Sorry, H_B. MBBF has deemed you and your brother stupid.

I think my area has Comcast and AT&T Uverse (though that is new). Comcast is, from what I've heard in comparison (I have Comcast internet), a far better option and it rarely goes down.

In NKY we have 1 wired option for TV, that being Time Warner. We have 2 wired options for internet, Time Warner and Cincinnati Bell. It's a fairly major market, but we are sorely lacking for quality options. So cost becomes a seller's market and we are stuck.

And I'd agree that it varies from place to place. But at least you have options there as I suspect most do.

I've used Comcast in three different locations. Two cities in the Midwest and one on the East Coast. They've all been horrible experiences.

And yet your stance is still in favor of enabling them to inflict that horrible experience upon more people who don't have a viable alternative?

Hypocrisy thy name is MBBF

My stance is that choice is better and if you're in a place where that's not an option, you need to get on your politician's ass and ask why they continue to allow near-monopolies. If you need examples, feel free to point to KC and say, "How the hell can that city do so many things right in regards to providers and our city/state which is supposedly more progressive can't?!?!?!".

Rural situations are obviously a different beast, but there's some big metro areas that are stuck in the 1980s as far as provider options go.

Where I live, my mom can't even get regular high speed internet. Her only option is satellite.

I am fortunate enough to live close enough to town to have access to our one cable internet provider, I am sure everyone has heard of them, Zito Media.

For true coax cable, Kansas City still has a monopoly with Time Warner. AT&T and Google are setting up their own infrastructure, which is usually around $1,000 per household. That isn't a fast growth model, and the main reason why Verizon has put FIOS expansion on hold. Most locations have franchise agreements that limit the offerings to a single company.

Choice is much better, agreed.

Yeah, good luck with getting the politicians to go against the monopoly providers who line their pockets and reelection campaigns.

I don't care how much they pay. I want options, plain and simple.

Google has laid out a basic plan on their blog for any communities interested in getting fiber in their area. The fantastic part is that they are creating infrastructure that allows other companies to run fiber in the same conduit should they choose to do so. They aren't just laying out infrastructure for their company. They're laying it out to allow competitors to quickly and cheaply enter the market using the same utility conduit.

Any location that limits it to a single company has the same ability to open it up.

One internet option where I live, not counting satellite. Uverse stops about 2 miles from our house (even though the nicer neighborhoods are on my side) and have repeatedly said they don't plan to expand. I can't even get DSL.

We have unlimited data on our smartphones, but our home is literally at the edge of 4g coverage. So I'm lucky to get one bar in my house with 1/10 the speed of my cable modem . However, less than a mile away at the Target, I get 4 bars and almost double the speed of my cable modem. If I could get 4g at home, I'd just get a mifi and slip in my SIM card.

That being said, Rectify was recently added to Netflix. Definitely worth a watch.

Yes. Yes, it is.

Satellite internet is a legitimate competitor? That's some funny ass shit right there.

Rectify was awesome.

Do you guys all use wireless connections with Netflix? I'm wondering if I'll notice any difference if I hook my Roku up with a wired connection across the room.

It depends on how old your wireless router is (ie. which 802.11 spec you are using), how many other wireless devices you have active, and how much interference you have in the wireless frequency range you are using. But a general rule of thumb is that a wired connection is going to provide a higher sustained bit rate for streaming than a wireless connection.

Yeah, I made sure to plug my Roku into an ethernet wire. However, my Chromecast goes over wireless, and I don't really notice any slowdown (I do have an 802.11ac router though).

Also, another season of Archer was added.

I stream Netflix through my Smart TV which is wired, since the connection is right there. We also stream it through a Sony Blu-ray player in the bedroom wirelessly...when it plays, the quality is just as good, but we've had issues with it freezing and repeatedly saying "Loading..." on screen.

I think that's an app issue, because I never have the same problem streaming Netflix over wireless on my phone from the same room. But I have no idea how to potentially fix those stock apps on a Blu-ray player, if anyone has an idea...

Evidently Sony routes Netflix traffic from their devices to their data center first before sending it to Netflix.

Sony Netflix streaming, choppy by proxy? - Download Linux Free

Yep that's exactly what happens. Fucking pricks. It didn't use to happen...maybe the past 6 months or so.

That explains why my Google TV is so shitty to watch Netflix on.

Watched this tonight on your review. In a word, it's "heavy." So much real life, so much emotion. Very artistic, philosophical and gritty. I was very surprised at the actors/actresses in it. Solid movie.