Are you saying you learneed from reading rather than hearing English? That sounds so difficult! Oh; maybe just reading as a reference. Anyway, your English seems great to me, at least reading it!
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I’ve been speaking the language for decades now. I don’t think that one would learn to speak by reading alone. I meant when I was doing my studies that I used the Oxford dictionary. I used to collect every new edition of the Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. Not sure where they are now.
My father belonged to the last generation that studied from the British at government schools in Sri Lanka. His English was much more closer to how the British speak I guess. But then we got “independence”. 
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The Fabulous Baron Munchausen (1962 - Karel Zeman)
Long before Terry Gilliam brought his own warped sense of style and fantasy to the old German hero (based at least in part on a real Russian Baron in the Russo-Turkish war of the late 1700’s), Czech director Karel Zeman created something that is every bit the proto-Gilliam, replete with special effects and animation closely resembling Gilliam’s own cut-out manipulations. The Baron, ever the gallant soldier of superior bravery and intellect, at least in his own mind, goes to the moon (meeting the men from George Mielles Voyage to the Moon and Cyrano DeBergerac), attempts to woo a princess, gets swallowed by a giant fish, and rides cannonballs across battlefields.
Compared to Gilliam’s maximalist style, Kamel takes direct inspiration from the etchings of Gustave Dore’, painting set flats and matte paintings in a lined, graphic style that lends an elegant, minimal feel to what might otherwise be an ornate and overstuffed rococo set. Zeman also keeps the satire of the original tales much more in tact, allowing the Baron to come off as rather foolish and full of himself. Gilliam turned what was originally a mild spoof of the old soldier spinning tall tales and turned it into a grand quest for the last hope of poetry and imagination. Both can be found in Zeman’s film, and apparently, Gilliam was largely unaware of Zeman’s version until he began research for his own version.
This was an absolutely fascinating film, both enjoyable in and of itself and as a window onto a story I didn’t know much history about, and as an example of the stylistic and technical innovations that were happening in places OTHER than Hollywood in the mid 20th century. Truthfully, the sets painted to look like etchings or woodcuts would fit right in with today’s trend in animation to bring in drawn or painted textures to 3D worlds, rather than strive slavishly towards photorealism.
Have I mentioned how much I love this theater? I really really do.
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Well, looks like Yellowstone is on hold for the time being. Nobody is talking/saying anything. Although we do have Matthew McConaughey all set to star in a sequel, and the word on the street is since he co starred with Cole Hauser 30 years ago in Dazed and Confused, he and Kelly Reilly (Rip & Beth) might be part of the cast. Not a bad idea imo. But there is also talk of 6666 starring Jimmy. C’mon TS, you’ve gotta stop somewhere.
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Finally watching the Jason Bourne movies, which are on Netflix this month. They are great fun.
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Definitely fun, but not a patch on the books. The Amazon Prime series is further watered down, but also entertaining.
I don’t know how I feel about Matthew McConaughey in it… no, I do, I really don’t like it!
I thought the Amazon Prime spy series was Jack Ryan, no? Or do they have a Bourne series as well that I don’t know about?
Amazon Prime also has a Jack Reacher series (only one season thus far) that’s quite a fun watch, and certainly does a better job with the material than the Tom Cruise movie.
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pretty funny, quite dark with great performances from the leads. i’m halfway through the series. i care less about the animating plot device (the beef) and more about just examining these characters lives. very carefully observed.
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Oh yeah, sorry. Same general idea, lol. But yes. (I couldn’t get into Reacher, too much muscle not enough mind).
Reacher provided entertainment from Alan Ritchson’s performance, the soundtrack, and passably decent writing.
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That’s about where I was with it. I find I often don’t care for a lot of the military-forward action stories because they often stray into jingoistic territory that I find distasteful, given the current political zeitgeist. Reacher, on the other had, was just big and dumb. Good guy good. Bad guy bad. See Good Guy blow up Bad Guy. Yay Good Guy! The story gives me permission to turn off my brain. Sometimes, that’s what you want.
Jack Reacher is like Batman for people who say they don’t like ‘stupid superhero movies’, when what they really mean is “I find the cape distracting.”
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I should have said spin-off, not sequel, if that makes a difference. I think MM would make a good long lost family member arch nemesis type. I suppose the reason everyone is staying so tight lipped at this point is because they don’t know how Yellowstone season 5 will pan out. Guess we’ll all just have to stay tuned.
The Mask of Zorro. - Good movie.
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Agreed! It’s a fun film, and has one of the best examples of combat-as-flirtation ever.
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Tales from the Darkside ~ Do Not Open This Box
Directed by a very young Jodie Foster
On TV this morning.
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Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves
Ok, ok. This is very silly. I mean, it’s a DnD movie. It’s going to be the most basic generic fantasy plot, with stock characters that you might as well have created in an RPG system, which is rather the point. No one is expecting Lord of the Rings. The fact that the film doesn’t fall into hate-watch or MST3K/RiffTrax territory is a huge, pleasant surprise. That it’s actually reasonably fun, with moments of humor, characters to root for, and and a satisfying arc is positively shocking.
If you were ever a tabletop RPG player any time from the late 70’s 'til today, there will be fun little easter eggs and nods to the quirks of the game. Stats-based targeting, old friends from the Monster Manual (Displacer beasts!! yay!!!), and even a couple of blink-and-you’ll-miss-it references to the old 80’s Dungeon Master cartoon. Chris Pine’s charisma manages to anchor everything and he advances another notch or two in the “best Chris” competition (now that Chris Pratt’s luster has worn off and Chris Evans is no longer “America’s ass”)
Do you need to rush out to see this lest you miss the cultural event of the year? No. You do not. But if you have happy memories of friend’s basements with soda and Doritos and lots of funny shaped dice and stacks of graph paper, you could find way worse ways to kill two hours.
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I just watched a couple of decent movies on netflix: a western called In a Valley of Violence with Ethan Hawke, and an action flick called The Last Stand with Arnold S.
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Watching Tin Star. A fairly violent yet corny thriller on Prime featuring a displaced British police officer acting as a police chief in the Canadian Rockies, set in a fictional town, filmed in High River, Alberta.
I don’t really like it that much.
