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Dragging Iler is all wrong. That is 100% how someone like AJ would behave, you’re supposed to want to dunk him in a toilet
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Nov 23, 2021 23:12
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That’s dicked up
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Nov 23, 2021 23:28
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Like the philosopher Niche said.
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Nov 24, 2021 00:04
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Ainsley McTree posted:Dragging Iler is all wrong. That is 100% how someone like AJ would behave, you’re supposed to want to dunk him in a pool
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Nov 24, 2021 20:11
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Right. I mean even Iler says he's not a great actor and admits that he was in WAY over his head on the show but he pulls off "spoiled bratty lazy rich kid" perfectly fine and even shows some actual chops in parts of the later seasons. He's a weak link if you're looking for one but he's surrounded by a ton of talent and bagging on him is like looking for the worst player on a championship baseball team or something. Sigler catches her fair share of poo poo too but I think she was good and she never took me out of a scene or anything. I can't think of any real moment where any problems with the show in general or a specific scene came down to an actor not delivering.
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Nov 24, 2021 20:40
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BiggerBoat posted:I can't think of any real moment where any problems with the show in general or a specific scene came down to an actor not delivering. Can we count Cleaver?
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Nov 24, 2021 20:42
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Iler also more than makes up for it with the pool scene.
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Nov 24, 2021 21:55
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stev posted:Can we count Cleaver? What, you gonna argue wit me now?
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Nov 24, 2021 21:58
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Anyone keeping up with the talking sopranos podcast? They’re on like the last three episodes. I’ve been mainlining the show nonstop because I thought they were going to review the finale earlier, I didn’t realize they did stand alone episodes where they don’t talk about the show at all and just talk with fans/guests/former costars. It’s kinda crazy hearing them talk with Alec Baldwin a few months before the tragedy that happened on the Rust set.
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Nov 24, 2021 22:00
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I recently finished their Moe & Joe episode, I listen to one every 2-3 weeks just because they're super-long (between 2-3 hours each) so I feel like they benefit from a bit of space between episodes.
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Nov 25, 2021 01:07
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ruddiger posted:Anyone keeping up with the talking sopranos podcast? They’re on like the last three episodes. I’ve been mainlining the show nonstop because I thought they were going to review the finale earlier, I didn’t realize they did stand alone episodes where they don’t talk about the show at all and just talk with fans/guests/former costars. I think they're trying to drag it out a little.
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Nov 25, 2021 01:16
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I’m kind of a baby who stopped listening because the interviews they do with actors/production always focus so little on the show and mostly on the people and I began to find it terribly boring. I’m thinking of picking up their book though - has anyone checked it out? Worth a buy?
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Nov 25, 2021 01:45
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A bunch of people say it's basically just the podcast in book form and if you've listened to them already there's nothing new in there.
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Nov 25, 2021 03:58
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Mike N Eich posted:I’m kind of a baby who stopped listening because the interviews they do with actors/production always focus so little on the show and mostly on the people and I began to find it terribly boring. It’s literally podcast transcripts. I guess that’s why there’s a third “author” because he just listened to episodes and typed it all out and got a credit. Seems like a big waste from the few minutes I flipped through it at a bookstore.
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Nov 25, 2021 03:58
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I just finished my latest rewatch and I'm starting to think that guy in the jacket wasn't entirely on the up-and-up. Weirdest moment of the episode has to be Tony telling Carmela that AJ wants to join the army, and her nonexistent reaction shot in the bath. It cuts away from her so quickly that you get whiplash. Also I noticed specifically in that episode that the colour grading is a hell of a lot more blue and cinematic. I know the general look and feel gets upgraded in the last couple of seasons but they went all out for it in some of those scenes.
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Nov 27, 2021 14:21
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She's just not surprised by AJs poo poo any more. Still pissed but not gonna let it ruin her soak
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Nov 27, 2021 19:27
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SO I guess Lorraine Bracco didn't like her character's conclusion.Dr. Melfi posted:I remember being upset [with] the direction that David [Chase] was bringing Melfi. I just felt like he wanted me to get rid of [Tony]. I felt that he did it in a very abrupt way. I don’t think that she should have done it that way. I would have liked for it to have been more meaningful. I think she cared for Tony. Even though he was a gently caress-up and he was never going to really straighten out. But I think she really cared for him. You don’t spend seven years with someone and [then] discard them. I felt bad about that. https://screenrant.com/sopranos-dr-melfi-lorraine-bracco-exit-response/ Which I can see her point of view but it worked for me. It not only emphasized the "people never change" theme of the show, was another domino falling representing Tony's decreasing support network and gave Melfi some real agency, but it also lent an opportunity for a not so subtle callback to The Godfather with the closing of the door; only this time with the genders reversed
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Nov 29, 2021 16:49
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Plus Melfi at that point felt like a complete loving idiot. Her ex-husband and psychiatrist had both been telling her for years that he was a criminal that would never change. Unlike most therapists, she had her personal life directly affected by Tony. Being followed, Makazian assaulting her date, her car being stolen, having to go on the run several months, the alcoholism, the aftermath of the rape, etc, etc. Then Kupferberg put her on the spot in the middle of a dinner with colleagues and she was further embarrassed by assuming bigotry while trying to save face. It was one of the only times she ever acted out like that and it was completely understandable and justifiable.
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Nov 29, 2021 17:12
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Yeah the first time I saw it I thought 'that's it?' but it makes a lot of sense. It was her 'you can't say you haven't been told' moment and she (unlike pretty much every other character) took it and closed the door forever. It also gives us the great moment in the finale when Tony immediately and transparently tries the same con with AJ's therapist.
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Nov 29, 2021 17:24
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I also don't think that Melfi's actions are inconsistent with caring about him; imo it's the fact that she does care about him, and then realizes (accurately or not, it's not for me to say) that he's just been toying with her for 7 years and not really taking her seriously that would lead her to finally put her foot down and say "no more of this"
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Nov 29, 2021 17:41
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She's also much more aware of how much he'd been controlling sessions and the narrative in general, with how easily he retreated to "I've only missed two sessions since we had that heart-to-heart" and "unfortunately missing sessions is part of my condition" Melfi was already furious and then started seeing all that bullshit for exactly what it was.
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Nov 29, 2021 17:54
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If Talking Sopranos taught me anything it's don't look to actors for any kind of real meaningful insight or interpretation into their characters.
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Nov 29, 2021 18:04
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They broke up a couple of times. The last one is just the one that stuck.
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Nov 29, 2021 18:25
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ruddiger posted:They broke up a couple of times. The last one is just the one that stuck. I'd say it only stuck because he gets murdered. They'd probably be back together in a year or so if he'd lived.
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Nov 29, 2021 18:43
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Turns out it was Melfi that shot him in the diner.
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Nov 29, 2021 18:44
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Right? I think it was Melfi standing up to Tony and refusing to put up with any more of his manipulative bullshit, plain and simple, and salvaging her professional dignity. Or maybe just realizing her limitations? It's a stand that Carm never took, for instance.banned from Starbucks posted:If Talking Sopranos taught me anything it's don't look to actors for any kind of real meaningful insight or interpretation into their characters. Man, this is true. I enjoy the podcast here and there but you're right. I got more insight from this thread than really anything from the interviews they did, aside from a few "behind the scenes" things. Mike and Steve don't really add much of anything in the way of interpretation.
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Nov 29, 2021 19:24
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Tony did get more evil and depraved with every season( but I'm not sure Melfi was even aware of this). Definitely the right choice to cut him loose. She was pretty much an accomplice at the end. I'm kinda conflicted about AJ's fate. The only time he felt any real satisfaction with life was when he was with Blanca and had managed to establish some kind of identity outside of being the hosed up Soprano manchild. The army could have been a chance like that for him again. But then they just pull him back into the toxic swamp with the allure of money and an easy life. On the other hand, I would have given him 5 min in Iraq before he gets blown up trying to operate an espresso maker or drowns in the shower. They kinda saved his life.
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Nov 29, 2021 19:36
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GABA ghoul posted:Tony did get more evil and depraved with every season( but I'm not sure Melfi was even aware of this). Definitely the right choice to cut him loose. She was pretty much an accomplice at the end. His ambitions were to transition into either working for Trump or the CIA so he probably ended up a much better person under Little Carmine.
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Nov 29, 2021 19:55
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I sympathize with Bracco if only because Melfi's realization that she finally needs to cut Tony loose, permanently, is condensed to a B-plot in a single episode. That feels like a storyline that should've had a little more time to breathe and comes across as "checking off another box before we wrap this thing up."
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Nov 29, 2021 20:02
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GABA ghoul posted:Tony did get more evil and depraved with every season( but I'm not sure Melfi was even aware of this). Definitely the right choice to cut him loose. She was pretty much an accomplice at the end. She seems pretty clueless about his depravity. That conversation they have about Tony B makes it seem like she thinks the worst he ever does is beat someone up.
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Nov 29, 2021 20:09
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Steve Schirippa is a regular guy you could have a beer with, he could probably sell ice to the eskimos but it would be naïve to expect any kind of meaningful insight or reflection from him. Even reading the breakdowns just reeks of "lets get this done and over with" (couldn't tank you enough for doing this!). I'm disappointed to hear that their book is just an empty cash grab. Imperioli seems like a genius in comparison but in reality is anything but. He plays Steve like a piano a lot of the time and drops in some worthwhile tidbits but overall it could have been better with someone else doing it. He most definitely would never be a podcast guy, barring a token appearance on TS or the other actors' shows, but it would have been awesome to hear Jim's thoughts and experiences.
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Nov 29, 2021 20:13
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stev posted:His ambitions were to transition into either working for Trump or the CIA so he probably ended up a much better person under Little Carmine. I feel like that hosed up poo poo was coming from his Soprano identity. When he was with Blanca he had normal, realistic ambitions like being a restaurant manager and owning a club. My guess is that if he had ever managed to get away from all these lovely people he would have ended up learning a trade and being a happy normal lower middle class family man. The only Trump in his life would have been at the rallies(and maybe at the trial for participating in the January 6th insurrection)
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Nov 29, 2021 20:17
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codo27 posted:Steve Schirippa is a regular guy you could have a beer with, he could probably sell ice to the eskimos but it would be naïve to expect any kind of meaningful insight or reflection from him. Even reading the breakdowns just reeks of "lets get this done and over with" (couldn't tank you enough for doing this!). I'm disappointed to hear that their book is just an empty cash grab. I think Imperioli just kinda gave up early on or so because Steve kept hand waving away any interesting discussion that occasionally popped up. I've only seen maybe 1/3 of them throughout the run but by the end Michael just seems to be in "gently caress it I'll just troll this guy and plow through this" mode.
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Nov 29, 2021 20:34
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Schirippa is a lot more like Bobby than he'll ever admit.
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Nov 29, 2021 20:39
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if only he had gotten tony sirico to be his cohost
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Nov 29, 2021 21:00
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Stairmaster posted:if only he had gotten tony sirico to be his cohost https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjABs9poa3Y
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Nov 29, 2021 21:14
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JethroMcB posted:I sympathize with Bracco if only because Melfi's realization that she finally needs to cut Tony loose, permanently, is condensed to a B-plot in a single episode. That feels like a storyline that should've had a little more time to breathe and comes across as "checking off another box before we wrap this thing up." I can see that from her view but, on the other hand, some long drawn out dramatic exchange or multi episode subplot might have been kind of meandering and potentially eye rolling. As a viewer, I'd seen this unfold over 6 seasons and the abrupt finality of it landed for me but I can understand why she felt short changed. Not every character got a final operatic exit or final arc. EDIT Steve is just a regular guy/working actor who caught a break, not an intellectual. Imperiolli seems like a smart(er) guy and I like him in most things I've seen him in. His work on the show is loving excellent. Thing that cracks me up about him is how much of the "ghosts are real", UFO, JFK and other conspiracy poo poo he seems to actually believe. BiggerBoat fucked around with this message at 22:46 on Nov 29, 2021 |
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Nov 29, 2021 22:41
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There was a show called Celebrity Ghost Sightings or something that a lot of the cast showed up on at one point or another.
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Nov 29, 2021 23:00
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GABA ghoul posted:Tony did get more evil and depraved with every season( but I'm not sure Melfi was even aware of this). Definitely the right choice to cut him loose. She was pretty much an accomplice at the end. AJ would have been drummed out when things got hard and he started threatening self harm.
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Dec 1, 2021 07:45
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"Bush let Bin Laden escape!" *little bobby points* "OH!"
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Dec 1, 2021 16:19
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