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There's a vast difference between Chinese and Japanese rice though.
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# ? Dec 26, 2014 05:11 |
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# ? Apr 27, 2024 17:48 |
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So I've realized I treat this show the same way I imagine most (non-book readers) treat Game of Thrones. That is I know maybe two character names and the rest are just descriptions. Creepy Mantis Guy, Blind Monk, Blue Princess, Sexy Wrestler Chick, etc..
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# ? Dec 27, 2014 04:19 |
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Verisimilidude posted:So I've realized I treat this show the same way I imagine most (non-book readers) treat Game of Thrones. That is I know maybe two character names and the rest are just descriptions. Creepy Mantis Guy, Blind Monk, Blue Princess, Sexy Wrestler Chick, etc.. There's also Kublai's Brother, Guy Who Sexy Wrestler Chick Lets Win, Royal Prostitute, Royal Prostitute's Prostitute Friend, Muslim Guy, Persian Guy, and who could forget Little Boy and Little Girl?!
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# ? Dec 27, 2014 04:34 |
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The finale was really well done considering the TV budget they had to work with. Not just the big battle, but the fight between Hundred Eyes and Jio Siadao was awesome as well. I was hoping for a season of Xiangping under seige, though.
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# ? Dec 27, 2014 05:16 |
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PostNouveau posted:The finale was really well done considering the TV budget they had to work with. Not just the big battle, but the fight between Hundred Eyes and Jio Siadao was awesome as well. I was hoping for a season of Xiangping under seige, though. For the record, the season had a budget of $90 million. In contrast, Game of Thrones Season 1 had a budget of $50-60 million.
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# ? Dec 27, 2014 12:40 |
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They must have blown all that budget the setting because the scenery and costumes are amazing.
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# ? Dec 28, 2014 06:16 |
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Kublai looks like a pimp in virtually everything.
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# ? Dec 28, 2014 07:21 |
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Rocksicles posted:Kublai looks like a pimp in virtually everything. A stately pleasure-dome decree: Where Alph, the sacred river, ran Through caverns measureless to man Down to a sunless sea. So twice five miles of fertile ground With walls and towers were girdled round; And there were gardens bright with sinuous rills, Where blossomed many an incense-bearing tree; And here were forests ancient as the hills, Enfolding sunny spots of greenery.
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# ? Dec 28, 2014 11:25 |
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Must be hard to be a woman in Hollywood these days. Seems like every high budget HBO/netflix shows demand nudity. As for this show, I guess I have the same hookups as most. The mix of 'trying to be historically accurate drama'/kung fu action flick/soft porn is a bit weird. But yeah, it's enjoyable.
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# ? Dec 28, 2014 15:11 |
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Having finally watched the whole thing, I can only conclude that the entire budget went on Benedict Wong's prosthetic nose. <3 What a silly cliffhanger that was. Overall it was a mixed bag, but I'll definitely be watching series 2 when it lands.
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# ? Dec 28, 2014 16:09 |
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Man, Benedict Wong gained so much weight for this role. He basically disappears into being Kublai Khan--it took me several episodes to even realize who the actor was.
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# ? Dec 28, 2014 17:17 |
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enraged_camel posted:For the record, the season had a budget of $90 million. In contrast, Game of Thrones Season 1 had a budget of $50-60 million. Rome had a similar budget of around 50/60 million for the first season thanks to HBO's partnership with the BBC. After they pulled out in the second season the show got cancelled. Deadwood ran about the same amount since each episode cost around 5 million. By contrast Carnivale was a bargain at $2 million per episode.
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# ? Dec 28, 2014 18:02 |
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Steve2911 posted:Having finally watched the whole thing, I can only conclude that the entire budget went on Benedict Wong's prosthetic nose. <3 Is it really a prosthetic? I just thought he took to drink and food for a year to get into character. mrfart posted:Must be hard to be a woman in Hollywood these days. Yeah it's so difficult to take off your clothes. The nudity in this can be a little random, but equally It's hard to think of a way to dramatize a loving harem without it.
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# ? Dec 28, 2014 19:06 |
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wooger posted:Yeah it's so difficult to take off your clothes. I don't think that's the issue...
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# ? Dec 28, 2014 19:35 |
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"Common sense" dictates that you don't need to really entice women to watch scripted television, it's men that you need to worry about, hence the fact that most cable shows have a disproportionate amount of female frontal nudity over male frontal nudity.
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# ? Dec 28, 2014 19:40 |
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I just realised Kublai is played by the Asian fella from 15 Storey's High WTF
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# ? Dec 28, 2014 19:51 |
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Sober posted:"Common sense" dictates that you don't need to really entice women to watch scripted television, it's men that you need to worry about, hence the fact that most cable shows have a disproportionate amount of female frontal nudity over male frontal nudity. At least spartacus got around this moral problem by including lots of big penis and gay sex goodness.
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# ? Dec 28, 2014 21:03 |
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WastedJoker posted:I just realised Kublai is played by the Asian fella from 15 Storey's High Holy poo poo that's the same guy?
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# ? Dec 28, 2014 21:35 |
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mrfart posted:Holy poo poo that's the same guy?
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# ? Dec 28, 2014 21:39 |
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WastedJoker posted:I just realised Kublai is played by the Asian fella from 15 Storey's High Yeah, he's one of those rare actors who is able to entirely disappear into his roles.
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# ? Dec 29, 2014 22:21 |
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He's really good, and one of the reasons I'm considering watching this show. However, the reviews are really terrible and it sounds kind of lovely, is that pretty much the consensus in here?
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# ? Dec 30, 2014 00:33 |
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So the last scene of this show was absolutely terrible. Does Ahmad actually have any claim on the throne of the Mongolian Empire? I thought he was "adopted" and not even a bastard like Byamba, does that count? Is he just planning on killing every Mongolian in the Khanate to take the throne? Or is he hoping that he will be the Jia Sidao to Jingim's young emperor because he's been ingratiating himself to Jingim the whole series? I was kind of willing to accept movie kung-fu as the setting's "magic" like in Game of Thrones and just take the series as fantasy. But the super-manipulator villain now having a painting of himself holding the decapitated head of the emperor on his wall is ridiculous. I hope the first scene of season two (if it ever exists) is his new friend Jingim showing up at his house, seeing the picture, and stuffing Ahmad into a rug.
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# ? Dec 30, 2014 00:49 |
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Paperhouse posted:He's really good, and one of the reasons I'm considering watching this show. However, the reviews are really terrible and it sounds kind of lovely, is that pretty much the consensus in here? I don't know the consensus but having gone in completely blind I will say that the show is mostly forgettable. It has some cool ideas that if utilized better could make a stronger second season, but mostly everything is kinda flat and bland. I "enjoyed" it for what it was, but mostly because I'm out of school right now rather than genuine interest and appeal. The costumes are nice, and the setting is neat, but the story is meh, the characters with a few exceptions are meh, and the set piece scenes with a few exceptions are meh. AngryBooch posted:So the last scene of this show was absolutely terrible. Does Ahmad actually have any claim on the throne of the Mongolian Empire? I thought he was "adopted" and not even a bastard like Byamba, does that count? Is he just planning on killing every Mongolian in the Khanate to take the throne? Or is he hoping that he will be the Jia Sidao to Jingim's young emperor because he's been ingratiating himself to Jingim the whole series? Speaking of magic, did they ever explain those horse guys in (I believe) the first episode who can surround themselves in sand? That was cool, but then they never show up again unless those were the hashashin, and even then it's not like they did anything noteworthy or mystical. Verisimilidude fucked around with this message at 00:52 on Dec 30, 2014 |
# ? Dec 30, 2014 00:50 |
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Paperhouse posted:He's really good, and one of the reasons I'm considering watching this show. However, the reviews are really terrible and it sounds kind of lovely, is that pretty much the consensus in here? I think the reviews are way off mark and I find Marco Polo to be a great replacement for Rome (but that's mostly because we're never getting another Rome). Check out the user reviews compared to the critic reviews, there's a huge gulf. While that normally might mean the show's schlocky poop like Big Bang Theory or something, it's really just a case of critics hopping on the bashing bandwagon with Marco Polo. If you want to watch a period piece about Marco Polo finding his way around the cosmopolitan mongol court, along the way getting up to some Wuxia antics, then this show is definitely for you.
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# ? Dec 30, 2014 01:22 |
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nutranurse posted:I think the reviews are way off mark and I find Marco Polo to be a great replacement for Rome (but that's mostly because we're never getting another Rome). Check out the user reviews compared to the critic reviews, there's a huge gulf. While that normally might mean the show's schlocky poop like Big Bang Theory or something, it's really just a case of critics hopping on the bashing bandwagon with Marco Polo. Its unfair to compare anything to Rome. Rome was something else entirely. The story/script, actors and visuals were amazing. Plus. those comparaisons are what leads to movies like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVvpzS8LD78
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# ? Dec 30, 2014 01:26 |
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I just watched Little Big Soldier and some naff movie about feudal China with Anakin Skywalker and Nicolas Cage. They both sucked pretty hard.
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# ? Dec 30, 2014 01:32 |
The biggest problem with it is the writing could be significantly better. It gets slagged on by people for a lot of other stuff, but all that stuff is genuinely pretty good. If the writing were better nobody would be complaining about them, but since the writing isn't particularly captivating, people lose their poo poo about every minor flaw. Hopefully they'll get a season two with a workable budget and find their stride.
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# ? Dec 30, 2014 01:33 |
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Dalael posted:Its unfair to compare anything to Rome. Rome was something else entirely. The story/script, actors and visuals were amazing. Plus. those comparaisons are what leads to movies like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVvpzS8LD78 Did they really just refer to Adrian Brody as Brody? e: This plot: Wiki posted:Huo An (Chan), the commander of the Protection Squad of the Western Regions, was framed by evil forces and becomes enslaved. On the other hand, a Roman general escapes to China after rescuing the Prince. The heroic duo meet in the Western Desert and a thrilling story unfolds It's gonna be a bad movie, isn't it.
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# ? Dec 30, 2014 01:35 |
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I have few gripes about it, people got all bent out of shape expecting some GoT/Crouching Tiger. It got a pass mark for me, it wasn't great by any stretch, but it sure didn't suck. Some of it was loving amazing.
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# ? Dec 30, 2014 01:42 |
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I don,t think Marco Polo is as bad as people say, in all seriousness. People say it has bad writing, and it kinda does.. But I have seen so many shows that were worst and received good reviews. Case and point, Spartacus. The show's script was terrible in all seasons except for some moments. But it still ended up being entertaining which in the end, is why we watch shows isn't it? As for budget, I hear Marco Polo isn't lacking. Something along the tune of 80 to 90 million I think? Isn't that close to GoT and Rome?
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# ? Dec 30, 2014 01:55 |
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Dalael posted:As for budget, I hear Marco Polo isn't lacking. Something along the tune of 80 to 90 million I think? Isn't that close to GoT and Rome? It's way more than any season of GoT has cost.
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# ? Dec 30, 2014 02:00 |
It does have a huge budget, which is what has me worried. And yes, I found Spartacus's dialog in particular to be grating beyond belief and can't stand that 300-like stylized CG stuff but it made for reasonably entertaining stuff to watch on my other screen.
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# ? Dec 30, 2014 02:01 |
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qbert posted:It's way more than any season of GoT has cost. Although google states this: ¨Netflix Series 'Marco Polo' Is Not Too Big To Fail. It's Just Too Big. With a budget of $90 million, the newest Netflix NFLX -0.61% original series Marco Polo is its priciest production to date, and reportedly the second most expensive television series in existence, after HBO's Game of Thrones.¨ According to wikipedia, you would be right. Apparently GoT's budget was between 5 and 10 million for the first episode and about a total of 50 to 60 million for the first season. One thing is for sure, Marco Polo could have afforded better writers.
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# ? Dec 30, 2014 02:07 |
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Dalael posted:I don,t think Marco Polo is as bad as people say, in all seriousness. People say it has bad writing, and it kinda does.. But I have seen so many shows that were worst and received good reviews.
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# ? Dec 30, 2014 02:12 |
Right, by all means, call it out for the writing, but having a cow about ~ahistoricity~ is a little un-called for when overall it does quite well.
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# ? Dec 30, 2014 02:15 |
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Paperhouse posted:He's really good, and one of the reasons I'm considering watching this show. However, the reviews are really terrible and it sounds kind of lovely, is that pretty much the consensus in here? Eh, it's alright.
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# ? Dec 30, 2014 02:36 |
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Dalael posted:Although google states this: ¨Netflix Series 'Marco Polo' Is Not Too Big To Fail. It's Just Too Big. With a budget of $90 million, the newest Netflix NFLX -0.61% original series Marco Polo is its priciest production to date, and reportedly the second most expensive television series in existence, after HBO's Game of Thrones.¨ It's the Springtime for Hitler concept, except with extra helping of tits. Paperhouse posted:He's really good, and one of the reasons I'm considering watching this show. However, the reviews are really terrible and it sounds kind of lovely, is that pretty much the consensus in here? It's worth watching despite all the weaker elements.
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# ? Dec 30, 2014 03:51 |
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etalian posted:It's the Springtime for Hitler concept I'm sorry, I am not familiar with this concept. Would you enlighten me?
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# ? Dec 30, 2014 03:59 |
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Dalael posted:I'm sorry, I am not familiar with this concept. Would you enlighten me? You release a failed production and then run-off with the investment money.
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# ? Dec 30, 2014 04:30 |
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# ? Apr 27, 2024 17:48 |
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Spartacus writing may have been bad, but it was bad in a way that made it, on many occasionas, amazing and it was always aware of how melodramatic and completely ridiculous everything was. Marco Polo, not so much, I'm not saying it took itself seriously (wall painting was great, I don't care what people say) but just that it didn't do what it could or should have done. That's my biggest complaint here, the show could have better and had a lot of opportunities to do so, but choose not to.
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# ? Dec 30, 2014 04:46 |