Spoiler Cupboard - sighs, screams, standing ovation

[kissmekate]

Thanks for clarifying the "making detective" gripe, GE2! Good to know they got that right after all.

[adina]

I'll Follow You Down

Don't read this post unless you saw the movie!!!







Go away, if you haven't seen the movie yet!!!







And now let's start to celebrate!

I have read the disappointed reviews (and some nice ones) - I enjoyed the story very much, and I loved Rufus, and I think this is a pretty good little film. My taste.
www.spectacularoptical.ca/2013/07/just-exactly-where-am-i-following-you-down-to/ This article is a conversation with Mehta. I find it very interesting.
"But when he comes back at the end, he even cracks a smile, and I look at that smile sometimes – because that was something Rufus [Sewell, who plays the father] did – to me, I look at that and I’m like, “Are you happy to be home or did you actually go see Einstein still?”
So what does that smile mean? Only Rufus knows?
I just love that the movie ends with a Rufus smile.



It was a tough travel, wasn't it?
I don't mind that the sci-fi gadget was as serious as young Erol's Lego ship, for me, the whole atmosphere was rather close to a theatre thingy, especially the Erol-Gabe scenes, you go for the illusion and not for seeing a fancy supermachine designed by Apple engineers. It was the job of the neighbour of Einstein to make the whole thing real!! And she was fantastic! Well, I like the door scene very very much.



I know a screencap can't catch the feeling, but come on, Gabe was knocking on Einstein's door!




"I wanted to see this. I wanted to see the fruits of your labour. The glorious unknown that you gave up everything for."

Ah! I love Rufus's acting. Well, I think all actors got good roles to act. And Gabe got more than I expected! Yummy!
Erol attacked him (with shiny eyes!) - and we go from this:







to this:



Well, it seems you can't talk your way out against twelve years of anger.





"safeguard"? Okay, I can't call this an oximoron, but Erol invented something, didn't he? Don't play chess with him, he might blow up his own king!

I like the structure of the film. The dream scene is good, isn't it?





And the kid asks his report card: "Can I see yours?"
"Yeah, all right."




I end my post with an airport picture





So, let's talk about the movie...

[barbicanbelle]

Adina - I haven't seen the film - where can I watch it? - but I COULD NOT RESIST READING YOUR POST!
Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwww sounds and looks good doesn't it!?!?!?!

thanks so much for posting

BarbicanBelle

[kygal]

Interesting info. Thanks. Cant wait to see it!

[kitty]

, really?? lol

[Rachel]

I've watched the movie twice now and what struck me the theme of how far a parent will go to protect his/her child. As much as Sal likes Gabe, his whole motivation in getting him back is to save Marika. Erol was more than willing to abandon the project (he even says it's because he needs to protect his own child) until he sees getting Gabe back as a way to prevent Grace's miscarriage. Then Erol uses this protective instinct to force Gabe to give up his plan and return.

One favorite bit - the look on Gabe's face after he makes the jump and is out on the street in Princeton. Sort of a "damn, I really did it" look. It's a tiny thing, but it fits his character perfectly.

[francesca]

Jan 19, 2014 2:20:40 GMT nell said:

How I saw ATTAM / TDG (I'd advise to watch the film at least once before reading)

I picked up from the start that Jonathan Parker wasn't exactly a saint That snide comment when the telephone rang in bed set the story straight. But I loved the way Rufus played Parker. Slightly less angelic than Aurelio Zen but basically sharing the same aim of trying to not get himself killed. But there the comparison ends.
When Sands met his demise we were momentarily as confused as Sands was. Very cleverly done. The ultimate betrayal itself was cleverly dealt with too. So many gangster movies would have had Parker cocking his pistol and swaggering out all gung ho. Instead he held Sands in his arms and soothed him. The tear in the eye and the devastated look Parker wore when he had to do the only thing he could to keep himself alive pulled at the heart strings. The words caught in his throat when he spun a tale about Sands and Dixon. The emotion was real and he cleverly used it to serve his own ends.
It was so fast pace it was easy to miss the little details on just 1 watching. A fair amount is left for you to work out, but eventually it all falls into place. It's not just the audience in the dark either. It emerges that Riley takes on "the job" because the buyer he has for the diamonds he stole gets killed (as it turns out by Joseph Corso). Parker uses Corso to get Riley to steal some bonds (by holding Corso's son on a drugs charge). It also turns out that Corso and Rileys late brother have history and Corso is suspected of killing Riley's brother (at least by his brothers late wife). The late wife is understandably upset at losing her husband due to a deal he was doing with Riley. Parker is keeping quite a few balls in the air at the same time. There's the bag man, that is just glimpsed going into the hotel. So Parker decided he'd go after the bag man alone. The reason soon becomes clear when the bag man hops into the car beside him. It's a world of who's cheating who and information being bought. Parker is balancing Corso, the Police Commissioner, his informants and his personal problems. Poor Parker (yeah I know he's a crooked cop) but he just made an unwise choice in his love life and all hell broke loose . I think I should write my own ending where the £5 million gets raised Parker legs it to sunny climes with a more suitable lady and they end their days sipping Mojito's on the beach (I have someone in mind....) . Apart from that my only critisism would be that some of the quick glimpses could have held the camera for a few more seconds, like the aforementioned bag man and the deceased diamond dealer, to allow the information to be absorbed. There are a couple of other bits they could have lingered over too.........

I have now watched ATTAM/TDG three times
It was only when I read Nell's spoiler that I completely ( well almost understood ) what it was all about.
I mean first time I got the bit about Corso/Riley. Then I got the bit about Corso /Riley / brother's widow/ Parker.
And of course I got the bit about Parker being a no good/amoral s**t ( of course, he's a Lovely no good amoral s**t.)
But I kept thinking that the two blokes in the posh club were two baddies, heads of another gang, until I read Nell's spoiler ( thanks for that Nell).
I suppose you could say that I was right anyway; the Police Commissioner and crony were a pair of amoral s**ts. difference being that Parker was a beautiful one.)

UM ,Nell Quote >> I think I should write my own ending where the £5 million gets raised Parker legs it to sunny climes with a more suitable lady and they end their days sipping Mojito's on the beach

After seeing Roof's interview on Youtube and hearing his alternative ending.I have started a FF .
Hope I am not stealing your thunder.

edit to say that I forgot to say I did enjoy it!

[kygal]

Hercules spoiler........................












Autolycus does not die in the end. Yay!

[rueful]

Regarding Man in the High Castle

Jul 14, 2015 19:51:19 GMT adina said:

Jul 12, 2015 16:01:34 GMT nell said:

And so you want to discuss huh?!

Yes, please! Maybe we should do it in the "Spoiler thread" where we don't have to be cautious. The last line, Inspector Kido's "Yes, I do", is the thing where I want to start! That bastard!!

B@stard is right! The line that Inspector Kido said just before that bothered me more: "I am not a monster." He said it with that voice clerks use when they are trying to calm down an "unreasonable" customer. And I'm sure he doesn't think he is a monster. Just a man following orders, doing his job the best way he knows how....

[kygal]

Does anyone else think Mrs. Smith is hiding something? She seemed very programed. May have to watch again...and again.

[artisanlibra]

Considering Mr Smith is now hiding something from her - because I imagine he didn't tell her about their son's diagnosis - I wouldn't be surprised if she has her own secrets.  We'll have to pray there's a second series, and that they'll delve a little deeper into the Smiths' home life.

Although, that subtle alteration from anger to sadness in Rufus' expression in the doctor's office, when he hears the news about his son, (I can't believe I'm going to type this about a Nazi) made me want to pull him in for a hug!  I think that's why they did it with him in the uniform; to play with those emotions & ideas.  Nazis have never really been seen as humans, because they never saw others outside of their federation as humans.  So, to see a man in a Nazi uniform learning & reacting to the news of his son's diagnosis is going to make you question things.  It's going to make you sympathise with someone, but question if you should be because of the uniform.  Although, I think in that instance, I paid not one bit of notice to the uniform; I was concentrating on Rufus' face for his reaction.  And, boy, what a reaction!

And that scene when he visits Wegener in the interrogation room; I was absolutely terrified of Smith in that moment.  We've seen him interrogate others (the man in the pilot, and the other given the 'oceanic experience' or whatever it was in the 3rd episode), but we'd never seen him betrayed by someone he considered a friend (I almost thought that Raeder would be the one behind the attack, but then why would he get himself caught up in it - unless it was a 'way-out' of punishment...).  We got that build-up, and a bit of their backstory, with the VA day episode; the two of them reminiscing over whisky, until the 'camps' were mentioned, and telling stories over dinner.  But then, he suddenly turns and darkens intensely (the bit about asking Joe about taking a friend into the woods - a bit of foreshadowing, perhaps, in relation to how Smith's own story-arc comes to a close...  )

But, there's also the scene on top of the Nazi HQ, with Captain Connolly.  I had an idea what would happen there, when they kept showing where they were.  I just didn't realise how ruthlessly quick & sudden it would be.  One minute they're talking, and the next Smith just shoves Connolly over the edge!!  The most intense scene was the one in the cabin, though, at the end of his story-arc...and, Rufus speaking German was something I did not know I wanted until now!


Definitely worth another couple of viewing sessions, to see if there was anything I missed.  Obviously, this is biased; the other actors were mostly great throughout - Burn Gorman as the Marshal; not so much, the character didn't fit the actor - but Rupert Evans, Luke Kleintank, and Alexa Davalos were superb leads.  Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa & Joel de la Fuente were also good.  But, for obvious reasons, of course I'm going to say that Rufus' was the oustanding performance.

[kygal]

I don't think he told her about their son. He does seem to tell her about his suspicions though. I thought she acted odd at VA day but maybe that was because of what he told her.

Rufus has a way of making you sympathize with characters you normally wouldn't.

Very interesting ending. Was he dreaming or seeing another future. I imagine there will be another season since the reviews are so positive.

[Rachel]

! Finally finished TMITHC, it was amazing, disturbing, and thought provoking. What I found most interesting was that the three so-called "leads" Juliana, Frank, and Joe were the least interesting characters. Frankly, I found Juliana irritating. Give that girl a decision to make and she unerringly made the wrong one. From first to last she never considered the consequences of her actions. Frank seemed so one dimensional, he spent most of his time in a state of panic. Joe was a bit more interesting, yes, he did seem to be attracted to Juliana, but he still was trying to please Smith. He wanted to have his cake and eat it to. Mr. Tagomi, Inspector Kido and John Smith were much more complex characters. Kido and Smith did terrible things, in some ways they were monsters, but they still managed to make you sympathize with them.

Am I the only one to think during the VA party at the Smith residence that Joe had a passing resemblance to Smith? Joe makes a passing comment that his father didn't have much to do with him, but nothing more. You have to wonder why Smith took such an interest in him, gave him a second chance. And what were those pills Mrs. Smith was taking? Tranquilizers to deal with the stress of being Mrs. Obergrupperfuhrer Smith? Or something else?

The ending was a total shock and opens up loads of possibilities for a second season.

[francesca]

I have now watched TMITHC twice.
indeed!
Both times, it finished with me holding my breath .
This is quite an outstanding series deserving all the plaudits it gets.
There are a few niggles though.
I agree with you Rachel; I thought the three young leads needed more, both in their parts and in their acting. At first I put the second down to inexperience but then I remembered a young Rufus in Twentyone, MiddleMarch and Dark City stealing scenes from some of the cream of acting.
I thought the Bounty Hunter was totally unnecessary and a complete waste of the Talent of Burn Gorman, (Bleak House ,Torchwood).

I thought the four senior leads,Mr Tagomi , Inspector Kido,Mr Wegener and of course Rufus were brilliant.
Some of the scenes involving them were shocking, cruel , gentle tender ; sometimes all in the same scene. The doctor scene was heart rending
The scene with Smith and Captain Connolly was so sharp and fast that it left me feeling as though i were punched in the stomach.

these four characters were as Rueful says "just following orders in the best way they can.
With John Smith, and Wegener you can add a blind unswerving faith in the Fuehrer
It reminds me of the old saying
" there is no black and white .
Only shades of grey.'


I know what you mean about Mrs Smith, Kygal, She reminded me of a 'Stepford Wife" Just a little bit too perfect.
Now! About Joe...
He said his father did not bother to marry his mother and he did not know him.
Yet, Smith implies at least twice that he knows Joe's father and that he would be proud of him!
So,yes,Rachel! why is Smith so interested in Joe? overlooking his mistakes, the searching of his home , confiding in him about Wegener??

There really must be a second series.

[kygal]

I didn't put two and two together about Joe and John Smith. Will be interesting to see how this plays out. I guess I must watch again, what a chore.