Tag: The Ultimatum Season 3

December 23, 2024

September 5: This new release written and directed by Swiss born Tim Fehlbahm. It speaks about the day when Palistinian terrorists infiltrated some of the Israeli rooms in the Olympic Village and demanded release of 200 political prisoners held in Israel. If you think you know this story, you likely do from the previous Steven Speilberg 2005 film Munich starring Eric Bana. The difference is that this movie focuses on the ABC Sports TV team who covered this story during the second week of the 1972 Munich Olympics. It also focuses on the production team at ABC for that 24 hour period from the initial hostage taking to the resolution that the local military airport. The movie interlaces archived coverage from the actual broadcast with host Jim McKay and the actors in the control room.

The team features in real life was Roone Arledge (played by Peter Sarsgaard), Geoff Mason his producer (played by John Magaro) and also Peter Jennings (played by Benjamin Walker). There are many others with various technical roles who contribute, along with a German technician who beomes more and more important as understanding the commincations among police orgaizations and news stations becomes more important.

For me with a son in the TV business now, I was fascinated at the processes taken to get a picture to the screen. We take for granted now all the computer graphics on the screen. These didn’t exist in 1972. There are satellite uplink times shared by numerous networks, hard tapes from large and heavy cameras which need to be developed, viewed and edited. Rotary dial telephones are needed to be patched into live feeds to allow the host to speak to a reporter in the field. All this gets created on the spot. Meanwhile, the unthinkable is happening with this unexpected attack by a radical group on the athletes with shots fired in the Village. The German police are inexperienced and with little training for a situation like this. It was not their finest hour. The situation continues with plenty of tension in the control room with plenty of external factors. No one seems to know just how important this series of events is playing out on the world stage.

We were at a showing where they had members of the cast and crew responding to questions from a moderator. Sarsgaard spoke about the human ability to compartmentalize, that even after watching something utterly horrific (like a man with a gun pointed at his head) we can shift back to a sporting event and cheer a good play. This ability has been honed especially these days with an inundation of news and stories, but it is shown for dramatic effect as the Olympics continued while the hostage taking was going on and competition still took place. The post script of the film talked about 900 million people watching the coverage of this. They make the argument that this is the first time the world had watched a news event live like this. I disagree. I think the shooting of Lee Harvey Oswald in November 1963 was one of the first times this occured and later in 1969 the world watched the moon landing. So in 1972, there were many times when this was happening. Part of the allure for the terrorists is knowing that there would be coverage. Overall, the was an engaging and entertaining film. 51 years prior to the atrocities of October 7, 2023 we replay a terrorist attack by Palestinians against Israel. I think is well worth watching, although I am not sure this is a big screen movie. Check it out.

The Ultimatum Season 3: On Wednesday, the final episode and the reunion show were dropped for this forgettable season. The final episode showed the remaining resolution for the four remaining couples out of six. Two as you recall had left early and left two other singles lingering without partners. I have to admit that I was surprised with two of the end decisions. It doesn’t matter which of the two it was.

One of those decisions was remedied in the Reunion show. Still this is a show where so many of those who participated appeared to be nowhere near ready to be married. But it’s really a wonder why such couples would want to put themselves and their relationship (which is clearly coming to a decision point) before the whole world to see. Sadly this group had a couple of people who were over-the-top troubled and it impacted not only their experience but also of those around them. The premise is flawed which I have talked about before, as it makes no sense to put strangers in a living situation for a Trial Marriage in order to assess their current relationship. So while this is mind candy and senseless TV for me, this is a season and a group of people that I didn’t need to spend time with.

December 9th, 2024

One Day (series): Netflix has released a 14-episode series based upon the book by the same name from writer David Nichols (unread by me) and is a retelling of the story from the 2011 film starring Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess (also not watched by me). I came into this series fresh, having no knowldge about it, which I think made it more impactful. The story is a romance set in the UK set over 20+ years as these two young people go through their lives, and how they intersect with one another from time to time.

The couple initially meet at an outdoor party in the main courtyard of their university in Edinburgh Scotland. They meet, they walk and talk with the conversation bringing them back to her apartment. They talk some more but are not intimate with one another. They part ways. Then the story, which has some episodes as short as 25 mins, becomes similar to the Neil Simon movie Same Time, Next Year, where we see where the two are each year. This carries on for twenty plus years.

I found that this started off slowly, but the viewer is richly rewarded for the payoff in the last couple episodes where the emotional groundwork has been laid. It seems that this couple is living the Blue Rodeo song Bad Timing, where they are just off. The performances by both of the leads is compelling. We see two people who are real, authentic and flawed. They both spend time trying to find a direction for their lives, with troubles, challenges with families, friends and each other as well as other romantic relationships. It is all very real. The writing is good. I like how despite being separated emotionally and geographically at times, they manage to find a way to connect. They also have direct impact on shaping the life of the other, bringing forth their own observations about their friendship and the person. They both have an ebb and flow in their lives. One can be struggling while the other is finding their stride but then life happens and things change.

The last couple of episodes definitely make the early episodes worth it, with an emotional connection coming forward that was a surprise. Having no knowledge of the story or prior movie, this benefitted me. What I can say is that I think that this is worth a second viewing for me. I think that I will see more, knowing the arc of the story. Ambika Mod and Leo Woodall as the stars have done an excellent job in showing range and growth with these two characters. I expect that there is more work coming from the both of them. Definitely worth your time.

The Day of the Jackal: In 1973, the cerebral British actor Edward Fox starred in the movie based upon the best selling book by Frederick Forsyth. This is a remake of that, and an updating of the story with a cat and mouse game, with a rogue unaffiliated assassin (independent and not part of KGB, CIA, MI6 etc) being tracked by a UK investigative service. The original movie surrounded a plot to kill French President Charles de Gaulle. This effort updates this to a German industrialist looking to be the Chancellor, and later an internet guru with a new tool that is meant to show transparently where money is being hidden throughout the world. Think of it as a target like an Elon Musk who is changing the financial world with a tool soon to be fully released.

Eddie Redmayne plays the Jackal, who leads two lives. In one he is a secretive, known assassin earning millions of dollars for each target. In the other, he is a quiet married man with a young child living in a small town in Spain. He travels a lot and is away from home plenty. His wife isn’t happy at his frequent need to be away during family events. There are many pressures on the Jackal, including a client who is refusing to pay him for the work accomplished.

Redmayne is a master of disguise in many ways like the earlier episodes of Mission Impossible. He researches, he emulates his targets and finds way to get close to his targets. He also has managed to obtain a rifle which allows him to make long distance shots that are unparalleled in history.

These long distance shots are the beginnings of tracking him down by British Intelligence, who are concerned that a rifle like this to allow the shots could be manufactured in Britain. Lashana Lynch plays Bianca, who was in the latest James Bond film No Time to Die. There were rumours back in 2021 that she might actually take on the Bond role, and was actually named 007 in that film with Daniel Craig.

I have finished the first three episodes that have been released. So far I like it. I think that they do a good job at showing the tightening noose for the Jackal. Circumstance seems to find a way to bring the Jackal out of his comfort zone, but the money offered ($100M) is just too rich to pass up. It is early in this series, but it is compelling enough for me to keep watching.

The Ultimatum Season 3: This was just dropped on Netflix and they have not released all of the episodes. This is another buuble gum season of quasi-reality TV where a number of young couples put their romantic relationships on display for all to see and scrutinize. One member of the couple has given an ultimatum to the other; marry me or move on.

The results are predictable with plenty of tears and drama. Of course the flaw in this experiment, is that you have couples who at times have been together for two or three years. They head to this show, and then are expected to split, quickly date others only in this small circle, and then match up in a “new trial marriage” complete with meeting friends and family. How odd? Why get parents and friends involved? They barely know these new people, and they are expected to be living with them. Some aren’t even living with their current partner! The difference in this season is that we have a number of participants who decide quite suddenly that they are not prepared to participate any longer. This leaves a couple of the newly paired people to be on their own, stewing in their own juices. One of those people is a 38yo artist Nick who gave the ultimatum to his 27yo girlfriend Sandy. Sandy is embracing her “new marriage” and this sets Nick tailspinning out of control. Seems he “never expected” that this would be the result. He’s the only one! So this drama continues and further episodes aree to be dropped later this week.