I had it in 1080p full HD form before Netflix ever released it. Pirate. My
versions were better quality than the streaming Netflix versions, which is why
my friends came over to my place to binge-watch it. :-)
________________________________
From: Bhairitu <noozg...@sbcglobal.net>
To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Monday, February 17, 2014 6:17 PM
Subject: Re: [FairfieldLife] Internet TV review: House Of Cards
So you "binge" watched? Of course you didn't wear the eyepatch now that the
Netherlands has Netflix. Point of order though, watching on Netflix is not
"downloading" in the sense of it downloaded the whole show as one file.
Streamed content on Netflix (and most all streaming services) is done in small
segments played one after another.
Since I'm not a conformist I passed on watching the series as soon
as it was available on Friday. In fact I passed on watching ANY
Netflix all weekend because folks binge watching it would make for
bad network congestion and moments of fuzzy low-res video from
their usual 1080p SuperHD. Instead Friday night I watched
"Ender's Game" on Bluray.
AND last night I chose instead to watch a great movie much panned
and if I recall panned by you: "The Counselor." BUT I watched the
unrated director's cut which was 2 hours and 18 minutes long.
Can't imagine trimming the film down to less than 2 hours to
please theater owners. Every scene was like a small short story in
itself and very much reminded me of my favorite David Lynch film
"Wild at Heart" which was written by a local, Barry Gifford.
There is so much packed into the dialog that the film wouldn't
make much sense cut. I also chose to rent it from VUDU because
they were the only service that listed what audio format I would
get which was DD+. And it was all in stunning 1080p (what VUDU
calls HDX). There is certainly some great cinematography in the
film.
Additionally I was lukewarm about the first season of "House of
Cards" and indeed had watched the original many years ago when it
played on PBS (Masterpiece Theater). Production wise it is great
but we have much more thrilling, crazy and scarier political
intrigue just watching Washington, DC nowadays. I'll probably get
to season two later this week as the binge watchers are finished.
Remember we have the fascist telecoms here being pissy about
Netflix and throttling it. If Barack wasn't so in bed with them
(he's especially in bed with the Roberts family who run Comcast)
there might be some action on these miscreants. I wonder if
Hastings actually scheduled "House of Cards" as a volley shot
across Comcast owned NBC coverage of the Sochi Winter Games.
Also I have started watching the 4 episode UK series "Run" which
popped up on Hulu+. Another great import.
On 02/17/2014 12:30 AM, turquoi...@yahoo.com wrote:
>This weekend, while others on FFL argued about unprovable theoretical shit
>like the existence of God or tried to insult and demonize those who speak
>about actual spiritual experience when they can't because they've never had
>any :-), I, like millions of Americans and now others around the world, chose
>to focus on evil politicians guilty of murder and worse, government corruption
>so pervasive as to be taken for granted, and news media only interested in
>seeking viewers, not truth.
>
>And that was just the Nightly News. Oh, and I also
watched the second season of "House Of Cards." :-)
>
>Unlike most of these Netflixers (who were able to
download their flagship original series all at once
rather than have to wait a week between episodes and
thus were binge-watching like crazy), I have
actually seen the original UK series on which it is
based, and thus can appreciate the differences. In
this case, IMO the original was better, but the US
version has its charms, too, and is far more
accessible to an American audience.
>
>Part of the reason, of course, is Kevin Spacey. He
obviously delighted in being able to play one of the
most charmingly evil characters in film/TV history,
and does so with mucho flair. He's best in those
moments in which (using a trick stolen from the
original series) he "breaks character" in the middle
of a scene, turns directly to the camera, and speaks
to us in the audience, telling us what he's *really*
thinking, as opposed to what he's saying. It's a
cool trick, and is not overused in the series, so it
provides a kind of "subtitles" when watching the
machinations of one of the most evil politicians
since Machiavelli.
>
>Robin Wright is also great as his wife, equally evil
and self-serving in her own right. Kate Mara as a
reporter who knows how evil Spacey's character is
and is trying to prove it is good in a shorter role
than she played in the last season. Gerald McRaney
is tremendous as a 1% billionaire pulling all the
strings from the background, and Michael Kelly is
great as the Spacey character's loyal henchman and
head "fixer." In terms of "new faces," however, my
favorite is the extraordinary Molly Parker
("Deadwood"), who I would watch in a soap
commercial, much less in one of the major roles of a
major TV series. Color me happy with the casting
decisions. Other players are good, and the use of
real-life commentators like Rachel Maddow and Morley
Safer to present the "news" playing on TVs in the
background or to conduct interviews adds to the
impression of "realness."
>
>And, in another sense, the "realness" the creators
of this series achieve is effective, because it's
probably as close and as accurate a portrait of what
"politics as usual" really IS as anyone is likely to
ever see onscreen. While there are some critics (and
I am one of them) who feel that Netflix's *other*
major series ("Orange Is The New Black") is better
in many ways, still I commend them for this one.
It's easily as good as anything from HBO or
Showtime, and infinitely better than almost anything
on broadcast TV. Expect another round of nominations
and wins for the second season, and expect to do a
bit of binge-watching yourself if you succumb and
download this 13-episode season.
>
>My advice, however, is that if you didn't watch the
first season, double your binge-watching time and
start with it. I found myself having to go back and
re-watch parts of it, just to remind myself who and
what I was dealing with, and the evilnessitude they
had specialized in previously. And a good thing I
did, too, because I caught something I might not
have otherwise. You know how some TV shows create an
artificial "gap" between seasons, as if some
unspecified amount of time has passed? Well, as far
as I can tell the "gap" between season 1 of "House
Of Cards" and season 2 is about five minutes of
elapsed real time. So being "up to speed" on what
happened last season will help you appreciate what's
happening in this one even more.
>
>Good television. Not great television...that term is
reserved for series like "Deadwood" and "Breaking
Bad." But damned good, and very watchable. It's like
watching Lord and Lady Macbeth in the White House.
>
>
