Matrix Games Forums

ORIGINAL: warspite1
Still, given the dearth of WWII related documentaries at present, its a least something to watch on the subject.

Have you tried working your way through Drachinifel's expansive catalogue on YouTube. I'd rate his efforts as more accurate and informative than most military documentaries available via streaming channels. Then you could try other YouTubers like Military History Visualized and Armoured Carriers.

That should keep you busy for a few hours.

ORIGINAL: Buckrock

Have you tried working your way through Drachinifel's expansive catalogue on YouTube

I love that person's channel too. (Drachinifel) He covers
such a broad swathe of subjects in detail
that someone interested in naval history
is sure to latch onto and enjoy some the
subjects covered there.

He has a series that describes the cleanup
of Battleship Row that took place after the
initial Pearl Harbor attack.

He describes the divers searching sunken
compartments for the dead in zero visibility
waters.

What got me is how one of the best divers
described how he could "sense" a body
was near somehow, before touching it.
As if he had a kind of ESP that only functioned
at short ranges in the absence of ordinary senses.

ORIGINAL: warspite1

...

Guilt - Series 2 (BBC iplayer)

Following on from the surprise hit of 2019, this follow up maintains a similar theme - lots of characters whose stories become intertwinned as the series goes on. Excellent cast and fine story telling, only marginally not as good as series 1.

just got around to this and yep, excellent. Again short and focussed so every scene has to tell a part of the story.

2 complaints, both very localised. Its confusing that most of it was shot in Glasgow when its meant to be in Edinburgh. Erin's 'house' is a well known location up near the (Glasgow) Botanic Garden. Really this is a niche issue but it did mean quite often I was trying to work out why Max was in Glasgow when it seemed from the wider plot that he was in Edinburgh.

Some of the accents were (regionally) unexpected. I know there are social problems in the Outer Hebrides but it was a bit confusing when the big gangster baddy sports an impecable accent from Lewis. I was expecting him to go full on Presbyterian on Max at some points - and was disappointed when this exciting potential sub-plot went undeveloped (except in my own head)

but first rate TV series, short, well developed and leaves you wanting more

I just watched The Forgotten Battle thanks to the recommendations in this thread:

https://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.asp?m=5091371

A very watchable WWII movie - which is nice.

Wow. If you get the chance to watch Channel 4's Bismarck, 24 hours to doom, then I strongly advise you to not take that chance.

I watched this on the off chance that it may be interesting. It apparently shed new light on the last 24 hours of the Bismarck. I took that comment with a pinch of salt, but thought it might be good to watch a documentary on this interesting episode.

Sadly, not only was there nothing new (as expected) but moreover, the commentary was, in many places, just embarrassingly bad. If one watched this documentary without knowing much about the Battle of the Atlantic, one would come away believing the German surface fleet were responsible for starving the UK to the point of surrender... oh dear... and it didn't get much better.

A really, really poor effort and it must be difficult to put on a show that bad. Thoroughly not recommended.

https://www.channel4.com/programmes/bis ... rs-to-doom

ORIGINAL: warspite1

Watched 303 Squadron last night - about the Polish fighter squadron that fought so well in the Battle of Britain. There is a film about this squadron, which goes by a number of names, that was made in 2018 (same year this was made) and stars the actor that played Ramsay Bolton. I watched this film thinking it was that version.....

All I can say is, if you ever get the chance to watch this Polish version, then don't, give it a wide berth - it was pretty awful.....

The action shots were just about okay, the acting was okay but the dialogue was abysmal and the storyline disjointed, and not more than a little ridiculous.

Some M15 man was seemingly attached at the hip to an RAF officer who's sole contribution to the film seemed to be saying 'bloody Poles'. Working with the MI5 man was a female RAF officer who seemed to be acting as prostitute in chief - although it was never really clear why, or what her mission was except she was to get close to the Polish squadron leader(?) and not the pilot she did get close to and then dropped because he wouldn't accept the transfer she'd [X(] arranged to a training command so he wouldn't get killed.

Meanwhile there were another couple joined at the hip - this time two German fliers - one a Nazi and the other seemingly not, and who knew the Polish fliers from before the war and recognised one of the Poles during an air battle because he's the only pilot who flies that way!

Are you still with me?

There was also some nonsense about a fuel injection system not on the Spitfire that some Polish character (the wife? of one of the pilots) knows about but she's captured by Germans and then that storyline is forgotten...

Wow!

The men of 303 Squadron - and the Poles who fought for the Allies generally - need a better show case than this nonsense. Maybe the Ramsay Bolton version will be an improvement - it can't be worse.

Meanwhile a proper tribute to the Polish airmen. This is the Polish War Memorial in North London (shame the impressive eagle is masked somewhat by the trees).

warspite1

After all these years I finally got the chance to watch Hurricane. An altogether much better film than the awful dross I sat through a couple of years ago.

As a war film I'd say it is worth anyone's time. The CGI was the only major downer. I mean everytime an aircraft was hit, it exploded in a fireball and fell apart...... right..... But the script and acting were both decent enough and so is a much better showcase for what the brave Poles of 303 Squadron achieved during the BoB [&o]

ORIGINAL: warspite1

ORIGINAL: warspite1

Watched 303 Squadron last night - about the Polish fighter squadron that fought so well in the Battle of Britain. There is a film about this squadron, which goes by a number of names, that was made in 2018 (same year this was made) and stars the actor that played Ramsay Bolton. I watched this film thinking it was that version.....

All I can say is, if you ever get the chance to watch this Polish version, then don't, give it a wide berth - it was pretty awful.....

The action shots were just about okay, the acting was okay but the dialogue was abysmal and the storyline disjointed, and not more than a little ridiculous.

Some M15 man was seemingly attached at the hip to an RAF officer who's sole contribution to the film seemed to be saying 'bloody Poles'. Working with the MI5 man was a female RAF officer who seemed to be acting as prostitute in chief - although it was never really clear why, or what her mission was except she was to get close to the Polish squadron leader(?) and not the pilot she did get close to and then dropped because he wouldn't accept the transfer she'd [X(] arranged to a training command so he wouldn't get killed.

Meanwhile there were another couple joined at the hip - this time two German fliers - one a Nazi and the other seemingly not, and who knew the Polish fliers from before the war and recognised one of the Poles during an air battle because he's the only pilot who flies that way!

Are you still with me?

There was also some nonsense about a fuel injection system not on the Spitfire that some Polish character (the wife? of one of the pilots) knows about but she's captured by Germans and then that storyline is forgotten...

Wow!

The men of 303 Squadron - and the Poles who fought for the Allies generally - need a better show case than this nonsense. Maybe the Ramsay Bolton version will be an improvement - it can't be worse.

Meanwhile a proper tribute to the Polish airmen. This is the Polish War Memorial in North London (shame the impressive eagle is masked somewhat by the trees).

warspite1

After all these years I finally got the chance to watch Hurricane. An altogether much better film than the awful dross I sat through a couple of years ago.

As a war film I'd say it is worth anyone's time. The CGI was the only major downer. I mean everytime an aircraft was hit, it exploded in a fireball and fell apart...... right..... But the script and acting were both decent enough and so is a much better showcase for what the brave Poles of 303 Squadron achieved during the BoB [&o]

I did see that movie and I liked it. Here is a link to a Channel4 (BBC) documentary . . .

Bloody Foreigners-Untold Battle Of Britain

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjU67KLY1Tw

Bloody Foreigners (TV Series)
The Untold Battle of Britain (2010)
(With a rating of 9.4/10)

"Won Best Documentary at the Fly International Film Festival, Warsaw, Poland (2011)."

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1493244/tr ... tt_trv_trv

In my quest for watching old flicks I watched Big trouble. It gave me a couple of laughs, and I thought it better than its reputation.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Trouble_(2002_film)

ORIGINAL: BBfanboy

Haven't watched it in a while, but I really loved the performances and scope of the two mini-series: The Winds of War, and War and Remembrance, based on Herman Wouk's excellent books. Robert Mitchum plays the main character - 'Pug' Henry - a USN Captain. It follows his story as he is posted to diplomatic and intelligence posts in Germany before the US entered WWII. It then follows him into the Guadalcanal campaign where he loses his CA at Tassafaronga. And then he goes on to work on increasing production of amphib ships (where he bumps into competition from the Manhattan Project).

Meanwhile, his sons are involved by marriage with a Jewish family, and one of them serves as an SBD pilot at Midway. The Jewish family is caught up with trying to escape Germany during chaotic 1940. Some do, some don't. Some go to the camps. And Pug encounters a fine Australian lady named Pamela, played by a young Victoria Tennant. She alone is enough reason to watch ...

Going to watch this one next.

1959 Operation Petticoat

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqOhU3Eipzw

Based on real life incidents . . .

I Was A Male War Bride

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXeBoxbME9A

I've been watching a few decent series of late:

American Rust (Sky Atlantic) - panned by some as being no Mare of Easttown, but I really enjoyed it. A decent cast and a good storyline make this worth watching in my opinion. Only thing is, I can't ever see Jeff Daniels and not think of him in the brilliant Dumb and Dumber (the original that is and not the travesty that was the follow up... [:)]

The ending leaves numerous threads hanging that would allow a second series, and yet it takes little imagination to tie up those loose threads should they decide not to go down a series 2 path. So strangely it doesn't feel like an unsatisfying finish.

I also watched The Queen's Gambit (Netflix). This had an unusual subject as its core - an orphan who becomes a chess prodigy with a dependency issue, but it really worked as a drama. It was really good to see the Soviets not depicted as simple caricatures (which is rare).

Well worth a look - and all neatly wrapped up in one series so no time vampire.

I finally got around to watching Breaking Bad (Netflix)

Was it worth the effort of 62 episodes over 5 seasons? Yes I definitely think so, although given the reviews, I was perhaps expecting something a little more. Maybe that is being picky though.

Perhaps Walter's descent from mild mannered school teacher to meth maker extraordinaire could have been more gradual. Why did he belatedly take up the offer to go with his brother in law to the drugs bust? Was it in his mind then? After all the fact that one of his pupils was there was a complete surprise. I don't know, but that unanswered question kept nagging away through the remaining episodes. I also thought that Walter would be more of a sympathetic, likeable character (career choice notwithstanding) that was constantly battling with good vs evil, but he simply wasn't like that.

Glad I've finally seen it though and the time commitment was worth it.

The Great Escape (Channel 5)

I wasn't expecting too much from this, but thought I'd record it anyway and so if it was any good. I have to say that this 3-parter was extremely good.

It told the story of the true events - and the escape by 74 Allied airmen from Stalag Luft III - that spawned the excellent 1963 film. Those of us who know the film well will hear some surprising stories. This is well worth a look and thoroughly recommended.

member can also use this forum to discuss more about.

I made the mistake of watching the new Matrix movie and the parallelisms with the new Matrix course ("No more Australian Beauties for you, Mr.Anderson") is strong: i.e. it sucks. Hard.

The only part where I felt something was the beginning. It was rather obviously a self-reflection of a director (only Lana this time) who actually made a single hit - the original Matrix - and that hit is two decades into the past. The meeting where they discuss "the need of doing a fourth Matrix videogame!" (published by Warner Bros.!) made me wonder if it was a middle finger to the real meeting that launched this movie (and there is the prop of a middle finger visible shortly before).

I also felt for Neo as an avatar of the director: rich but burned out, unable to recapture his past creativity, trapped "in the Matrix" forever. Of all things, the beginning of "The Matrix: ReWOKEning" reminded me of that part of "The Aviator" when Howard Hughes is closed in a room, alone and burned out, with his early cinematic successes being projected over and over on a giant wall (a scene that this movie, factually, recreates).

The rest of the movie is a metaphor of "I don't want to do this movie" perfectly executed. The philosophy is diluted and recycled while the plot holes are gigantic. The fights pale both if confronted with the original and what even modern good streaming shows give us. When a Matrix movie apes movies strongly inspired by the original (was it really necessary to copy the corridor fight from "Inception"?) it only reminds me of a faded performer who points to a younger one and says "See? I was like that before that - which only induces sadness.

I like Carrie-Anne Moss, but here she can only do what she is given to do. No other character is memorable. I do not pretend for Hugo Weaving and Laurence Fishburne to return, but at least pull out some actors of the same calibre (I didn't knew Hugo Weaving back in 1999 and I was stunned by the performance of this "who the heck is this??" actor. No joy here). What you get is a LF wannabe, a stunningly vapid Agent Smith and a forgettable "Nu-grrrl power" grrrl warrior with, of course, blue hair (why blue and not red in a Matrix movie, BTW??). And, no, I have nothing against strong female characters - strong like, just saying, Trinity in black leather back in 1999.

Avoid. "The Matrix: Recycled" is boring, sad in not a good way and a pale shadow of the original. The only merit is that this does seem to be exactly what Lana Wachowski intended for it to be.

Currently working my way through Game of Thrones. I regularly revisit this fine series - I think this is the first time I've done this since the series came to an end.

I really love the intricate and interwoven plots. Took me many watches before I understood exactly what part Littlefinger (and Lysa Arryn) had in getting Lannister and Stark to fight each other. I love that it wasn't his actions directly that caused this, but a series of events that his actions was the catalyst for. Brilliant. It's good being slow, it means one can watch repeats more often without necessarily spoiling the ending....[:D]

ORIGINAL: warspite1

Currently working my way through Game of Thrones. I regularly revisit this fine series - I think this is the first time I've done this since the series came to an end.

You inspired me to begin re-watching this fine series.

This time I might even make it to the end. Have yet to see the two final seasons.

ORIGINAL: Orm

ORIGINAL: warspite1

Currently working my way through Game of Thrones. I regularly revisit this fine series - I think this is the first time I've done this since the series came to an end.

You inspired me to begin re-watching this fine series.

This time I might even make it to the end. Have yet to see the two final seasons.

warspite1

I've finished Season 7. There was a discernible drop off in quality in Season 7. Without providing any spoilers, the whole Euron Greyjoy thing is really disappointing - I mean how long does it take to build a ship?

The drop off in story telling in Season 8 really hits.....