The finale. I stayed up all night watching the last five episodes, and at dawn I was lying in my bed crying like a little bitch with a skinned knee and shit, as Jay would say. Gods, that was hard, especially as I had no idea I was that invested in the damn thing. But as soon as it was clear Ethan was giving himself up, I started tearing up. I swear I was touching the screen and saying "Don't, don't, don't" over and over. Heartbreaking. That kind of heroics - not the shoot-'em-up kind, but the steadfast, self-sacrificing kind born of compassion and kindness - fucking hell, it kills me every time. And of course, there's the little matter of my not knowing until a couple of days ago that Josh can actually pull this shit off and destroy me now.
I know just what you mean. I was so sad that he gave himself up, though I expected it because that's the man he is. He can't live with the things he's done, and killing Sembene was the one thing that finally broke him. Josh has become such a fine actor, he completely pulled it off and made me believe it. Everything about the finale was perfect, every character staying true to who they are. I suffered right along with them. Ethan breaks my heart, but so did John Clare and Malcolm and Vanessa. I have less sympathy for Frankenstein, though I understood why he did the things he did.
My friend who also watches the show hasn't seen the finale yet, and we talked a bit about the last episode she watched, which was the penultimate episode. I had to bite my tongue to keep from spoiling her for the finale. She'll watch that tonight when she goes home, so we'll be able to talk about it next week. I'm dying to know what she thinks of it all.
Oh, John Clare kills me, too. It's like every time he shows up onscreen, you know things are going to get heartbreaking. I really, really like that they've gone with the creature as he was originally portrayed in Shelley's book, down to the details of his looks. It's so much more terrible when the creature is articulate and full of complex feeling. And yes, everyone is great in this series. (I'd still happily fuck Timothy Dalton, no hesitation at all.) I'm kicking myself for not having started it earlier, but the "fairy tale" sort of shows I've dipped into the last couple of years just didn't do it for me, so I didn't bother when this one came along. And who knows if it would have gotten to me last year the way it has now?
It is stunning how good Josh has gotten. Really, really subtle work at times. You can see thoughts flitting through his face, here and then gone without being expressed, yet you can read them anyway. Wonderful. Now that this is over, I'm going to dive into his film work over the last ten years and see what the fuck else I've been missing.
I loved him in Pearl Harbor and Bunraku. The latter is really stylized, and he plays a sort of cliched character, but it was great fun, and there's lots of action and a strong chemistry between him and Gakt,(not sure of the name) the Japanese actor who stars with him. The actor is very big in Japan, and I think he might have started out in music, but I never paid him any mind until I saw him with Josh in this movie. Another is "I Come With the Rain." It's set in Japan too, and my DvD is one I found at Amazon, released in Germany. It has no subtitles or dubbing, so I don't even understand the dialogue but I think his performance is good, and great gods, he has a scene shirtless that will make you lose your breath.
I don't care for any of the fairy tale shows either, but the premise of PD sounded right up my alley, and even I wasn't prepared for the power of the writing and directing, or the quality of the production values. I never read Frankenstein, so I had no idea of what the creature would be like. Rory Kinnear just blows me away. He's such a tragic monster. And Eva Green can do no wrong in my eyes. Just a great show with a great cast.
AHAHA, Pearl Harbor. What a cheesefest. Josh was very cute in that film, and I do love Ben Affleck, but sheesh. However, the commentary the two of them did on the special edition is FUCKING HILARIOUS. If you haven't heard it, you must pick up a copy. It goes quite cheap at Amazon, and is totally worth just to hear these two snarking all the way through it. (You'll fall over at the shit they say during the parachute scene.) Haven't seen Bunraku or I Come With the Rain, but I have them downloaded and will probably watch them this week sometime. Looking forward to him running around in samurai garb, which I've always found incredibly sexy. Shirtless, you say? Okay, THAT ONE'S NEXT.
(By the by, if you know how to do conversions from DVD to .avi or .mp4, you can pick up subtitles to almost any movie online. There are some excellent subtitle sites that I frequent because I get most of my movies through torrents, and often end up with stuff that needs them.)
Frankenstein is a really interesting book. It's a bit challenging for modern palates, but it's surprisingly deep and quite tragic. Kinnear does capture the Creature's personality with a great deal of depth and empathy. And this version works the original material really well, and manages to massage it into the main story in a way that doesn't betray the book. Quite a feat. There've been so many different film treatments of the story, many of them really good. One of my favorites was Frankenstein: The True Story, from the 70's, which ironically enough deviates from the book in some ways, the biggest of which is that the Creature is not ugly at all - he becomes ugly, bit by bit, so on top of everything else, you have the poor guy not understanding why everyone loved him at first - because they really, really did on account of him being really, really beautiful - but now scream at his approach and want him dead. It was very sad. And the cast was yummy: Leonard Whiting as the doctor, Michael Sarrazin as the Creature, Jane Seymour as the Bride, her first film role. Definitely worth checking out.
Okay, I just got the subtitles for I Come, and flipped through the film to make sure they worked. That looks like one seriously weird-ass movie. But Josh looks lovely, and I'm looking forward to seeing it. (If you'd like me to upload it with the subs for you, I'll be happy to do that. The one I have is original language, so English with some Japanese in there. Just let me know.)
So this is what he's been doing - working in strange indie films. Okay! I figured he had to be off doing not-Hollywood stuff, since I hadn't really heard much about him for a long while. Gotta respect him for that, hell yes. And it looks like he's been picky, too. His imdb list shows only about one movie every year or two. Always good to see actors who don't give a shit about big money or popularity.
If you wouldn't mind doing it, I would love to have a copy with subtitles. Thank you so much for offering to do that.
I respect him for doing what he wants to do and not buying into the Hollywood scene too. The movies he's done have been obscure, but you can tell he's benefited from working in Indies.
By the way, do you have a copy of HJSplit (PC) or MacHacha (Mac)? You'll need one of those to put the pieces together. They're both little bitty programs that split and join files. They're free online. :)
No, I don't have a copy. I have a PC, so I'd want the HJSplit, right? If I just type in the name into my address bar, should take me to the site to download it, I guess.
Download the five files into the same file folder. Open HJSplit and hit "join". The dialog box will only show you the file ending in .001. Click that file and hit start. Let it do its thing, it'll take about a minute or so. Then go to the folder and find the complete file, which is titled rain.abc. Rename the file "I Come With the Rain (2007).avi". (The media file and the subtitle file have to have exactly the same name for the subs to work.) Once the two files have the same name, it's done and you can watch the film.
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branchandroot
no subject
Date: Monday, July 6th, 2015 04:14 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Monday, July 6th, 2015 04:20 pm (UTC)I am exhausted.
no subject
Date: Monday, July 6th, 2015 05:12 pm (UTC)My friend who also watches the show hasn't seen the finale yet, and we talked a bit about the last episode she watched, which was the penultimate episode. I had to bite my tongue to keep from spoiling her for the finale. She'll watch that tonight when she goes home, so we'll be able to talk about it next week. I'm dying to know what she thinks of it all.
no subject
Date: Monday, July 6th, 2015 05:45 pm (UTC)It is stunning how good Josh has gotten. Really, really subtle work at times. You can see thoughts flitting through his face, here and then gone without being expressed, yet you can read them anyway. Wonderful. Now that this is over, I'm going to dive into his film work over the last ten years and see what the fuck else I've been missing.
no subject
Date: Monday, July 6th, 2015 07:52 pm (UTC)I don't care for any of the fairy tale shows either, but the premise of PD sounded right up my alley, and even I wasn't prepared for the power of the writing and directing, or the quality of the production values. I never read Frankenstein, so I had no idea of what the creature would be like. Rory Kinnear just blows me away. He's such a tragic monster. And Eva Green can do no wrong in my eyes. Just a great show with a great cast.
no subject
Date: Monday, July 6th, 2015 08:52 pm (UTC)(By the by, if you know how to do conversions from DVD to .avi or .mp4, you can pick up subtitles to almost any movie online. There are some excellent subtitle sites that I frequent because I get most of my movies through torrents, and often end up with stuff that needs them.)
Frankenstein is a really interesting book. It's a bit challenging for modern palates, but it's surprisingly deep and quite tragic. Kinnear does capture the Creature's personality with a great deal of depth and empathy. And this version works the original material really well, and manages to massage it into the main story in a way that doesn't betray the book. Quite a feat. There've been so many different film treatments of the story, many of them really good. One of my favorites was Frankenstein: The True Story, from the 70's, which ironically enough deviates from the book in some ways, the biggest of which is that the Creature is not ugly at all - he becomes ugly, bit by bit, so on top of everything else, you have the poor guy not understanding why everyone loved him at first - because they really, really did on account of him being really, really beautiful - but now scream at his approach and want him dead. It was very sad. And the cast was yummy: Leonard Whiting as the doctor, Michael Sarrazin as the Creature, Jane Seymour as the Bride, her first film role. Definitely worth checking out.
no subject
Date: Monday, July 6th, 2015 09:04 pm (UTC)So this is what he's been doing - working in strange indie films. Okay! I figured he had to be off doing not-Hollywood stuff, since I hadn't really heard much about him for a long while. Gotta respect him for that, hell yes. And it looks like he's been picky, too. His imdb list shows only about one movie every year or two. Always good to see actors who don't give a shit about big money or popularity.
no subject
Date: Monday, July 6th, 2015 10:14 pm (UTC)I respect him for doing what he wants to do and not buying into the Hollywood scene too. The movies he's done have been obscure, but you can tell he's benefited from working in Indies.
no subject
Date: Monday, July 6th, 2015 10:42 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Monday, July 6th, 2015 10:45 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Monday, July 6th, 2015 11:15 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Monday, July 6th, 2015 11:22 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Monday, July 6th, 2015 11:57 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Tuesday, July 7th, 2015 01:47 am (UTC)http://www.mediafire.com/?x71vnws9p9g38
Download the five files into the same file folder. Open HJSplit and hit "join". The dialog box will only show you the file ending in .001. Click that file and hit start. Let it do its thing, it'll take about a minute or so. Then go to the folder and find the complete file, which is titled rain.abc. Rename the file "I Come With the Rain (2007).avi". (The media file and the subtitle file have to have exactly the same name for the subs to work.) Once the two files have the same name, it's done and you can watch the film.
Enjoy!