Ask MetaFilter posts tagged with hbo

1980s preppy/punker short film

btmeacham — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 10:53:36 -0800

Trying to remember an early '80s (possibly Canadian) short film shown on HBO's Short Take (right after a video for the original "Don't Stand So Close to Me," which might place it around 1980/81, maybe later?) about a prep-school kid who spots a punk rock girl on a train and dreams that he's kissing her.

The 10 minute Sex and the City

bluefly — Wed, 28 May 2008 04:54:22 -0800

Can you point me towards a concise summary of the major events from the entire run of the Sex and the City show? My friend invited me to go to see the movie with her this weekend, but I think I've only seen 2 episodes of the show, and neither of them had "Mr. Big" in them, which I gather from the commercials is a rather major character. I tried reading the TWOP recaps, but they're just too long to get through by Saturday. Is there a summary somewhere which can fill me in on enough of the show to appreciate the film?

Help me understand jargon in "The Wire"

gwenzel — Fri, 16 May 2008 20:39:46 -0800

Where online can I find a list of vocabulary from "The Wire" and some plain-language definitions? Thanks to Metafilter, I've discovered HBO's "The Wire". Of course, I discover the show after five seasons have aired, but that just means I've got some DVDs to rent and some catching up to do.

I'm having a hard time deciphering the jargon used in the show, though. Having grown up in the Canadian suburbs, I never had much exposure to drug lingo. I can usually figure out the meanings of words via context, but not always...

There's gotta be a druglord on MeFi that can help out here...

Home Box Office my butt.

nougat — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 13:08:27 -0800

Are any of the cable pay channels (HBO, Showtime etc) worth paying for anymore? It seems like most of them just show the same movie or 2 movies over and over and over. I recently cancelled HBO due to this and turned on Showtime. In the last week there has not been a single time that I did not turn on my tv to see Last Holiday starring Queen Latifah on one and sometimes two Showtime channels. Why would I pay for this?
I'd like to have a channel that shows newer movies, but the same one over and over?
Should I just cancel the pay channel and stick to Netflix? I enjoy some of the "On Demand" features. At least I did with HBO.
Showtime has not changed their On Demand movies in over 2 months.

What was that song?

2bucksplus — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 19:46:39 -0800

Please help me identify this song from the HBO series "Flight of the Conchords". Please identify the acoustic song that appears in the 3rd episode "Mugged". It starts at about 19:50 minutes into the show on the DVD (when Bret makes Jermaine a pizza with the eggplant face) and is not "Think About It. Think, Think About It" or "Hip-Hopopotamus vs. The Rhymenoceros". I cannot find the particular bit of the show on Youtube or Google.

Is is a well know piece of music? An acoustic version of a different FotC song?

More Flight of the Conchords

brain_drain — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 06:45:30 -0800

Help me find more music like Flight of the Conchords and Tenacious D. I'm not a big music fan. Still, I got turned on to Flight of the Conchords and Tenacious D via their respective HBO shows. The shows are great, but I have bought the CDs as well, and I really like the music itself. The qualities I like are the catchy, sometimes genre-defying tunes, the clever and comprehensible lyrics, and of course the humor.

Are there other singers/bands/comics/whatever that are similar to the above and worth a listen?

Deadwood story arc question

hodyoaten — Sun, 02 Sep 2007 14:21:23 -0800

Deadwood TV series question -- my wife and I have reached critical mass in not understanding one of the story arcs. (Possible spoilers inside for those who haven't made it to the middle of Season 2) Here is the question: Please elaborate on the motives regarding the deal that Al Swearengen and Ms. Isringhausen are making. I understand Isringhausen is bribing Swearengen $50K to confess that he ordered the killing of Brom Garrett at Alma Garrett's request. But I don't understand the motives involved. Are we to believe Al is seeking the immunity and money? And are we to believe Isringhausen intends to use the confession to try taking down the Garrett gold claim? Why would Al agree to a deal with the devil that lets the Pinkertons get a foothold in town, if he hates them so much?

Please be aware I am only about 2/3rds of the way into Episode 21 so please try to withhold spoilers and just talk motives. We had to stop the DVD last night as the plot was running away from us.

I read the HBO Deadwood episode guide but it's mostly a verbatim description of the script without any analysis. I feel like I need a Cliff Notes for Deadwood to understand some of the story arcs. I'm trying to wrap my head around what is going on between Tolliver, the Hearsts, and the opium traders. Any such Cliff Notes?

What's the song used in the trailer for "Tell Me You Love Me"?

pants — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 12:52:58 -0800

What's this song: There is a sample of a frustratingly familiar song used in the trailer for the upcoming HBO show "Tell Me You Love Me". (Click here to watch). It plays for just a few seconds at the very end of the trailer, as the title comes onto the screen. It sounds so familiar - I feel like I've seen it in a movie, maybe Fight Club?

What is this late-night HBO movie based on a true story?

EduTek — Sun, 05 Aug 2007 14:46:34 -0800

In April (or May....or March) of this year, there was a movie on one of the expanded HBO channels around 2 or 3 in the morning. I don't think it was one of those type of movies, but it might be. The plot basically revolved around a group of high school kids from California who were into drugs and other nefarious activities, and ended up killing their good friend (more inside)... One of the boys in the group hated another guy in their group that was more successful in life (I believe he was also going into the Army). They were good friends growing up. The first boy ends up talking his friends into helping him kill the second boy. They kill him and dump his body into a lake or a swamp of some sort, and the body is later found and all of the kids are arrested and sent to prison. It was based on a true story, and the film was produced in the mid-late 90s/early 00s. I checked on HBO's movie catalogs, but they only show what is on the main channel. Please help!!

Seattle "Sopranos" June 10th viewing party?

tristeza — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 17:23:16 -0800

Know of anywhere in Seattle that's showing the series finale of "The Sopranos" on June 10th? There are 6 of us with no place to watch it (our cable-having pal is busy that night), and we're desperate to watch it that night to avoid the inevitable front-page-news the next day.

Why'd they [spoiler] in the last episode of Deadwood?

Bookhouse — Wed, 18 Apr 2007 13:09:09 -0800

Did I miss something in the last episode of Deadwood? (spoilers galore) I recently re-watched the third-season finale of Deadwood, and once again I found it one of the most frustrating episodes of a show I've ever watched. This isn't a sucks, amirite question, though. I really want to know if I missed something, or is this really what happened:

1. Trixie shoots Hearst
2. Hearst wants revenge
3. Al, Bullock and Star are afraid of Hearst, so out of cowardice they murder an innocent woman to play body double for Trixie, who they like.
4. Hearst buys it, so Al, Bullock and Star get to live another day without fighting -- hey, thanks woman they butchered!

Again, up until the third season Deadwood was one of my favorite shows, so this isn't a plea for you guys to agree with me -- I'd like someone to redeem the show for me. (I have a lot of other complaints about the season, but that's another story). I just really want to know if other people drew different interpretations of the event than I did. (I realize that there's moral ambiguity in the show, and that Al is very much an anti-hero, but I was just shocked that Bullock and Star went along with a plan that involved slitting the throat of an innocent woman. Even under high duress, it seemed very out of character).

Two questions about the 2004 Tsunami

np312 — Sat, 14 Apr 2007 10:40:45 -0800

Tsunami-filter: I have a two part question about the Boxing Day Tsunami of 2004. One involves the BBC/HBO miniseries "Tsunami: The Aftermath," and the other involves the guerilla warfare going on in Indonesia at the time. Okay, first question: In the BBC/HBO miniseries "Tsunami: The Aftermath" there is a scientist character named Dr. Pravat Meeko who supposedly wrote a report in 1993 which predicted the coastline's vulnerability to a tsunami, but his report was ignored due to developers' connections in office. Is this character based on a real person/real report? And if so, where can I find more information?

The second part of this question is: have there been any articles about the Free Aceh movement and the guerilla fighting/civil war in Indonesia who (at least temporarily) laid down their weapons following the Tsunami? I'm looking for in-depth articles about specific people involved, fighters, politicians, etc. My google-fu has failed me.

Any help would be much appreciated! Thanks.

The Wire locations

deadfather — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 21:26:52 -0800

Where does HBO's The Wire film? Baltimore, obviously, but where specifically? Having lived there, I'm curious about the exact locations. I've seen kottke's post on where Marlo hangs out, but I've just started watching Season 1 so I don't even know who Marlo is.

Right now, I'm most curious about where they filmed the "Franklin Terrace"/towers scenes. They say it's on the west side, but it sure looks like the east side to me. Is there some website I can't find that has tracked them down and linked out to Google Maps?

As for the unit, I know downtown fairly well so I can usually place them by the backdrop. But bonus points for where they get drunk (bars, train tracks, parking lots, et al.).

And if it's possible to avoid disclosing pivotal plot points, I'd be grateful.

Artist Hunt - HBO's ROME

Jujee — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 14:03:18 -0800

Does anyone know who the artist is that did the art in the opening credits of HBO's ROME? TIA!!!

[MovieFilter]: Leeeerrrrrrroyy... if that rings a bell- lend a hand

eleongonzales — Tue, 21 Nov 2006 10:56:46 -0800

[MovieFilter]: Movie from late 80s early 90s that used to air on HBO all the time involving martial arts and the main character's name was Leroy. And as always... LEEErrrroy, is the main thing I remember from this movie. A character named Show-naa (phonetic spelling) or something similar would say his name as he challenged him to a fight- he was the bad guy. Final fight scene Leroy catches a bullet in his teeth.

Other honorable mentions of memory are: (and I use this only for description) main character and most other characters are black, there was a hot chick?, it involved goofy outfits (colored leather if i recall), and special effects where the two characters while fighting had red and blue auras, I think.

Not sure if this ever made it to theaters, I was pretty young at the time.

Theme song from The Wire, season 4?

xmutex — Fri, 17 Nov 2006 21:45:41 -0800

Anyone know who does the theme song on this season's (season 4) The Wire? Damn it's good.

What show came on AFTER Arliss on HBO?

super_not — Tue, 20 Jun 2006 23:57:03 -0800

There was a show on HBO that came on AFTER Arliss that I remember loving. I've been trying to figure out what this show was by searching the internet and asking around to see if anyone else remembers it. I remember it was a comedy, but I don't remember the name or anything about it! It wasn't:
Sherman Oaks
Mr. Show (although it kicked ass)
Larry Sanders

It was a show, when Arliss was in original production, that came on right after. I remember sitting through Arliss bored to watch this show. What the hell was it?!?!?!?!? Does anyone remember the HBO schedule or have any idea what I'm talking about? Thanks.

HBO On Demand Not Working - No Joy from Cable Company - Help!

bovious — Tue, 23 May 2006 13:59:14 -0800

My cable company offers On Demand movies and shows. The free content works fine. It also claims to offer premium channels' On Demand offerings, but those are not working. What can I do? Cable customer service knows about the problem and says it is system-wide, and claims they are working to fix it. However, it's been several months since I signed up with the company and I have seen no movement. They also claim that since this is a "free" part of the service, they are not going to adjust any bills.

I really like my cable otherwise, and don't want to play "I'm leaving" games with them. Is there a way to help the situation along? Have any Cable-Yanker MeFites dealt with this?

(This being MeFi, Countdown to first "Read a book instead" response: 10...9...8...)

me to things different sayin' everybody's

Radio7 — Sun, 26 Feb 2006 10:39:02 -0800

Songfilter: HBO is running a new commercial to promote their upcoming season of sopranos... The commercial also features clips of other HBO shows, all of which are run backwards, in a slo-mo kinda' way.
It's a cool ad; but what I really want to know is the artist and title of the song that plays in the background. It's a female voice, and the lyrics I can make out are: "Do you believe, what you see" and "Everybody's sayin' different things to me-different things to me".
I've searched around, and can't come up with any leads. Any mefites know what I'm talking about? Thanks!

Someone to ride back for me

codswallop — Mon, 13 Feb 2006 19:22:56 -0800

I'm looking for a childern's movie on HBO back in the early to mid 80s and I have almost nothing to go on. Its a longshot. This movie was set in the 30s and the main characters were a boy and a girl. The girl was kind of unconventional and shocked the school by sewing her school's letter on one of her socks.

The friends were very loyal to each other and made a big deal about having "someone who'd ride back for you". I think they were into westerns, maybe? I also think the girl's name was a double one (like something-May or similar).

Longshot, like I said. Ring any bells at all for anyone?

Remember those short films on cable?

Todd Lokken — Mon, 13 Feb 2006 13:28:49 -0800

Anyone remember the short films on HBO, Cinemax, etc. in the mid-80's? This one may be a bit out there, but it seems as though someone usually has an answer. HBO, Cinemax, and the other movie channels used to fill their in-between movie time with short films, and I'm trying to find out if anyone remembers some of the titles. I remember one called "Five Minutes for Fighting" (which was hilarious), and a cartoon flick that had a coke bottle starting evolution. If anyone knows where one could find these shorts, that would be great also!

Books about Roman Empire

captainscared — Tue, 06 Sep 2005 09:18:45 -0800

Like others I am watching HBO's Rome. Does anyone know of a good concise, non overtly academic history of this period? Secondly, I'm also looking for a similarly styled general overview of the empire. Thanks.

Smokivivs Maximvs!

WolfDaddy — Mon, 05 Sep 2005 19:39:19 -0800

This week on Rome: Did ancient Romans smoke? What did they smoke, by Jupiter? "I'm going to drink all the wine, smoke all the smoke, and fuck every whore in the city," so says (fictional) Titus Pullo in the second episode. The first and last part of that declaration I can understand. But what would he smoke? Not tobacco, that's for sure.

Getting an HBO documentary without getting HBO.

517 — Mon, 11 Jul 2005 11:53:11 -0800

In 2003 HBO made a documentary about the Chechen separatists taking over a Russian theater... called Terror in Moscow. I know it is still airing but I don't have HBO. I was wondering if there was any place that I could buy it or otherwise acquire it.

Song from the Wire

drezdn — Fri, 08 Oct 2004 08:57:54 -0800

At the end of the most recent episode of The Wire (episode 28- dead soldiers), what was the song they sang at the wake?