http://thenewstalkers.com/feed/group_discuss Mon, 09 Nov 2026 14:45:31 -0500 http://thenewstalkers.com/dig/group_discuss/15147/netflix-dont-look-up http://thenewstalkers.com/dig/group_discuss/15147

This was released in December, but I only watched it last night. Great flick! Impressive cast, too — Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, Meryl Streep, Cate Blanchett, Rob Morgan, Jonah Hill, Mark Rylance, Tyler Perry, Timothée Chalamet, Ron Perlman, Ariana Grande and Scott Mescudi. (list from Wikipedia)
You can find it on Netflix.
From Netflix:


Two astronomers go on a media tour to warn humankind of a planet-killing comet hurtling toward Earth. The response from a distracted world: Meh.



Official trailer:

]]> Thu, 27 Jan 2022 23:15:56 -0500 http://thenewstalkers.com/dig/group_discuss/12694/has-anyone-watched-chad http://thenewstalkers.com/john-russell/group_discuss/12694 Tue, 06 Apr 2021 21:00:54 -0400 http://thenewstalkers.com/dig/group_discuss/12249/nasa-perseverance-rover-mars-landing-how-to-watch-live-this-week-thursday http://thenewstalkers.com/dig/group_discuss/12249 Tue, 16 Feb 2021 17:28:49 -0500 http://thenewstalkers.com/dig/group_discuss/12071/golden-globe-award-nominations-announced http://thenewstalkers.com/john-russell/group_discuss/12071 Wed, 03 Feb 2021 11:19:51 -0500 http://thenewstalkers.com/dig/group_discuss/12049/nasas-perseverance-mars-rover-landing-will-be-must-see-tv http://thenewstalkers.com/dig/group_discuss/12049 Sun, 31 Jan 2021 17:08:44 -0500 http://thenewstalkers.com/dig/group_discuss/11686/what-was-your-favorite-television-show-of-2020 http://thenewstalkers.com/john-russell/group_discuss/11686
I don't watch a ton of scripted shows. I tend to watch movies, sports or the news. 
I am open to recommendations though. 
What are the best scripted shows on television, broadcast, cable or streaming ? 
The Queen's Gambit

]]> Tue, 29 Dec 2020 16:13:05 -0500 http://thenewstalkers.com/dig/group_discuss/11659/enola-holmes http://thenewstalkers.com/john-russell/group_discuss/11659 Sat, 26 Dec 2020 09:53:51 -0500 http://thenewstalkers.com/dig/group_discuss/11336/trial-of-the-chicago-7 http://thenewstalkers.com/john-russell/group_discuss/11336 Tue, 01 Dec 2020 22:45:41 -0500 http://thenewstalkers.com/dig/group_discuss/11315/capital-in-the-21st-century http://thenewstalkers.com/dig/group_discuss/11315
This is a documentary based on the 2013 book of the same name by French economist Thomas Piketty. I have a copy of it sitting on a bookshelf, but even if you've never read it you might recall the stir it made at the time, which was pretty impressive for a book about economics. In it, Piketty laid out an argument for the progressive taxation of global capital, rationalized by his research into economic history showing that capital grows faster than economies as a whole, giving the owners of it — the major economic players in the game of life (so to speak) — a built-in advantage over everyone else. One that, if left unchecked, inevitably results in astronomical inequalities in wealth and political power over time, which in the past have resulted in untold human suffering and even war.
Here's the official U.S. trailer:

The documentary is available on several streaming sites, including YouTube Movies for $4.99 (if you don't subscribe to any streaming services), but I'll just seed the Netflix page here.
]]> Sun, 29 Nov 2020 08:46:44 -0500 http://thenewstalkers.com/dig/group_discuss/11233/saints-strangers http://thenewstalkers.com/dig/group_discuss/11233
This year is the 400th anniversary of the Pilgrims' voyage to the New World (1620-2020). 
With Thanksgiving coming this week, there's no better time to revisit this 2-part 2015 miniseries than the present.
The title Saints & Strangers comes from the Puritan separatists referring to themselves as 'Saints', while 'Stranger' was their word for the other people (not one of the separatists) who signed up to accompany them to the New World.
It was originally produced by National Geographic, but Amazon is the only place I could find it available for streaming at the moment.
It's such a shame that the pandemic has hampered the marking of the big anniversary at Plimoth Plantation (Plimoth-Patuxet). They even have a life-size recreation of the original Mayflower on display -- the Mayflower II.
For what it's worth, because of differences in the Julian and Gregorian calendars (Bradford only used the Julian calendar in his journal), yesterday (November 21st) was the actual anniversary of the Mayflower's landing at Provincetown Harbor, and the signing of the Mayflower Compact, the first democratically-based governing document produced by Europeans in the New World.
They wouldn't cross the bay and land at what would become Plymouth Colony for another month, and wouldn't actually start trying to build anything until the 4th or 5th of January, 1621.
Yup, January. Talk about poor planning. Fully half of them would die that first winter. If not for the Patuxet native Tisquantum (Squanto), they rest may not have survived the following year.
It's quite an amazing story, and a fixture of Colonial American lore.
]]> Sun, 22 Nov 2020 18:36:22 -0500 http://thenewstalkers.com/dig/group_discuss/11131/ratched http://thenewstalkers.com/trout-giggles/group_discuss/11131 Mon, 16 Nov 2020 14:29:42 -0500 http://thenewstalkers.com/dig/group_discuss/11118/the-king http://thenewstalkers.com/john-russell/group_discuss/11118


I watched the movie The King on Netflix the other day.  It is a historical epic drama about King Henry V of England, who in addition to being a real historical person is also one of the most well know characters of Shakespeare's historical plays. 
Henry V assumed the throne in 1413 upon the death of his father the king, and ruled until 1422 when he died of sudden illness at the relatively young age of 35. 
The movie stars Timothee Chamalet as Henry, Robert Pattinson as the French Dauphin, and Joel Edgerton as John Falstaff. 
This was a very good movie, although historically inaccurate in many of the details. But most viewers are more interested in an engaging story and good acting than they are in historical accuracy. 
As a younger man , a youth, Henry V had been a layabout, heavy drinker and carouser. He hung out a lot with Falstaff, and older man who was rather lazy, a blowhard , and occasionally would rob travelers between English towns and villages.  But when his father the king dies, Henry must take the throne and try and lead and inspire the English people. Times are tough, as England is wracked by internal strife related to revolts in Scotland and Wales.  Henry is led by advisers to consider war with France, as he eventually does and the intrigue and then war with that country takes up much of the plot of the film. 
It climaxes with the famous Battle of Agincourt in France where the outnumbered English army defeats the French, whose army largely consisted of knights on horseback who become bogged down in the mud on the battlefield. 
What makes The King standout the most is the performance of 24 year old Timothee Chalamet as Henry V. Chalamet does wonders with what seems to be just one facial expression , that of intense inner thought and conflict. Another plus is the intelligent script that keeps the viewer well informed of what the principals are thinking and planning. The movie is also well designed with the trappings of a early 15th century royal court appearing to be realistic if dreary. 
As the battle at Agincourt was about to happen, I wondered if this film would somehow refer to the well known scene in Shakespeare's play where Henry V delivers his famous "band of brothers" speech exhorting his troops to fight and die for each other.  The King doesnt have that, which was after all a Shakespeare invention, but it does have Chalamet give a shorter speech before the troops which covers the same sort of ground. 
Good movie, anyone can enjoy it, but those who are interested in history or in Shakespeare will probably appreciate it the most. 
]]> Sun, 15 Nov 2020 14:07:11 -0500 http://thenewstalkers.com/dig/group_discuss/11116/opinion-the-queens-gambit-is-the-alternate-universe-we-all-need-right-now-cnn http://thenewstalkers.com/perrie-halpern/group_discuss/11116 Sun, 15 Nov 2020 13:34:53 -0500 http://thenewstalkers.com/dig/group_discuss/11106/hitlers-circle-of-evil http://thenewstalkers.com/dig/group_discuss/11106
This is from 2017, but I only discovered it on Netflix last week. Consisting of 10 hour-long episodes, it runs the gamut from the very beginning of the Nazi Party to the end, and is positively loaded with details for history buffs.
It's a fantastic and highly informative chronology. I really enjoyed it.
Definitely worth watching.
]]> Sun, 15 Nov 2020 00:17:06 -0500 http://thenewstalkers.com/dig/group_discuss/11105/the-mandalorian http://thenewstalkers.com/dig/group_discuss/11105
Yeah, most people have probably already heard about this one, but I only started watching it a few weeks ago. Gotta say, it's pretty darn good.
Outstanding visual effects.
Baby Yoda (not really, but that's what everyone is calling it).
The Darksaber.
Season 2 is streaming now on Disney+.
]]> Sat, 14 Nov 2020 23:10:42 -0500 http://thenewstalkers.com/dig/group_discuss/11104/i-am-not-ok-with-this http://thenewstalkers.com/dig/group_discuss/11104
I'll kick off the new group with this.
I stumbled across this show by accident one night when I was bored and searching around for something new to watch.
It's on Netflix, and consists of just one season of 7 approximately half-hour episodes. It's already been cancelled, though. Something to do with the pandemic, but I don't know what. Other Netflix shows are still in production, so go figure.
I totally enjoyed this show. It's quirky, and has this weird 80s vibe even though I'm pretty sure it's supposed to be set in the present. The characters are fun, the story is fun, and the show has the best usage ever of Echo and the Bunnymen's song 'The Killing Moon' right at the end of the last episode.
You can certainly binge the whole show in a single day.
Someone really, really needs to take this one off the cancelled list and get to work on more episodes. My fingers are crossed that another network will buy it.
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