Watch, Watched, Watching: The Workprint Prototype Version

[Kindly Old Man]

I watched Train to Busan. Wow, this was awesome. One of the best zombie movies I've seen, and easily one of my favorite films of the year.

[KiDisaster]

Yoga Hosers. Somehow managed to be even worse than Tusk. 

But I love Kevin Smith, so I'm still kinda glad it got made. 

[Theda Baratheon]

watched the first couple eps of merlin yesterday, not really sure what to think of it yet or whether to carry it on, i just needed to watch some FANTASY 

[Theda Baratheon]

6 hours ago, KiDisaster said:

Yoga Hosers. Somehow managed to be even worse than Tusk. 

But I love Kevin Smith, so I'm still kinda glad it got made. 

a friend in work told me the premise of tusk and i am genuinely disturbed for life because of it lmao 

[polishgenius]

27 minutes ago, Theda Baratheon said:

watched the first couple eps of merlin yesterday, not really sure what to think of it yet or whether to carry it on, i just needed to watch some FANTASY 

If you haven't watched Avatar: The Last Airbender, and you still want a fantasy kick, do that instead. It's the greatest thing. So many 'grown-up' tv shows could learn a thing or two from that show on how to do long-term story. I bet a million dollars it's better than Merlin, even though I haven't seen Merlin.  

Man, I really need to watch Legend of Korra.

[Theda Baratheon]

8 minutes ago, polishgenius said:

If you haven't watched Avatar: The Last Airbender, and you still want a fantasy kick, do that instead. It's the greatest thing. So many 'grown-up' tv shows could learn a thing or two from that show on how to do long-term story. I bet a million dollars it's better than Merlin, even though I haven't seen Merlin.  

Man, I really need to watch Legend of Korra.

i used to love it a a kid and i tried to watch a couple eps not long ago, i didn't stop because it was bad or anything, just had other stuff going on, so if it's still on netflix i'll try and watch it again....i genuinely loved it so much when i was younger and i have a few friends who are really into it so thanks for reminding me

[Ramsay B.]

13 hours ago, Kindly Old Man said:

I watched Train to Busan. Wow, this was awesome. One of the best zombie movies I've seen, and easily one of my favorite films of the year.

How did you watch this? I can't find it anywhere(I'm in the U.S.).

[Kindly Old Man]

1 hour ago, Ramsay Blow said:

How did you watch this? I can't find it anywhere(I'm in the U.S.).

If you're near NYC it's playing at the AMC in Times Square

[HexMachina]

2 hours ago, Theda Baratheon said:

watched the first couple eps of merlin yesterday, not really sure what to think of it yet or whether to carry it on, i just needed to watch some FANTASY 

I watched the whole series of Merlin. It never really got above trashy fantasy you can watch with tea kind of tv, but it was decent enough for that. I know you watched a bit of Beowulf, and I would place it above that at least

[Nictarion]

Luther S4 is finally up on Netflix if anyone is interested. 

[Theda Baratheon]

7 hours ago, HelenaExMachina said:

I watched the whole series of Merlin. It never really got above trashy fantasy you can watch with tea kind of tv, but it was decent enough for that. I know you watched a bit of Beowulf, and I would place it above that at least

Oh beowulf was crap haha Ibe been binge watching shanarra chronicles but there was only ten eps of that haha so I dont mind trashy fantasy as long as the characters are likeable and their relationships/development are well done 

[Veltigar]

13 hours ago, Theda Baratheon said:

watched the first couple eps of merlin yesterday, not really sure what to think of it yet or whether to carry it on, i just needed to watch some FANTASY 

I have seen the whole damn thing. Used to watch it every Saturday before going out. It's pleasantly forgettable in the first two or so seasons, although even then their are some flaws that drive me up the fucking wall (the amount of tomatoes the main characters consume is just maddening ).

It turns into pure shit towards the end though. It's very repetitive throughout, tonally inconsistent (It can never decide whether it wants to be a whacky comedy with Arthus as a doofus or a serious attempt at drama centered around the relationship of Merlin, Arthur and the others) the special effects are just north of Birdemic and the final season is one of the most disappointing wrap-ups of any show I have ever seen.

The way those last two seasons shit all over the Arthurian myth is just damn depressing. They tried to cram way to many elements of the classic mythos in there, but with poorly thought-out 'spins' put on each of them to unsuccesfully try to make their show edgy/cool. They end up wasting the few genuinely interesting things about their interpretation.

I don't think the showrunners ever had a clear endgame in mind. I reckon they were planning to have more seasons, but for some reason decided to wrap things up in a neat little bow in five seasons.  What they should have done was continue along the lines of the first two or three seasons and gradually reveal certain things about all the main players in the series, without trying to go all the way with Arthur's final battle and the whole plot around that. They bit of a lot more than they could chew there.

It's a shame really, because despite the low budget, bad writers and poor vfx work, they had some good things going for them. The basic concept was neat, I really liked the young Merlin angel and their look on Arthur as a brat with the heart in the right place. They also had a pretty good cast, with the notable exception of perhaps the worst Guinevere performance I have ever had the displeasure of watching.

It might be centered around Merlin, but Katie McGrath is the star of that show though. I was always surprised that she did not go on to bigger and better things. Her Morgana was by far the best element of that show and I think you'll really like her. She kept me watching for way longer than I should. Their take on that character was much more complex than what we usually get. A shame the writers fucked it up in the last two seasons, but at least she kept trying. 

EDIT: I certainly support @polishgenius advice, just watch ATLA. That's storytelling of a much higher level and genuinely evolves into a great series. The Legend of Korra is also worth your time, despite the fact that Korra's story suffered from some conceptual flaws.

It was poorly structured overall, due to the way it was made (it was never intended to get more than ten episodes, the second season was plagued with money troubles, etc.) and the fact that it aired on Nickelodeon severely restricted the potential of it (it was a much more mature series, but it could never fully cash in on its promise). Especially that second season is dreadful (I'd advise anyone to just read the wikipedia summaries on that one). 

All in all though, it was a very bold and unique forray into the world of the Last Airbender, wonderfully different, with a great cast, beautiful animation (except season two), brilliant ideas and a great, bold ending. It never fulflled its potential, but it's nice enough as it is. Still, I would love a live-action remake of LoK. ATLA is perfect as it is and cannot be bettered, but a bold screenwriter with a large budget could make something awe-inspiring out of the bones of the story (step one: Cut out Mako, wipe the second season away, etc.).

 

[Martell Spy]

Going on a Penny Dreadful season 3 binge now that it's on Netflix. Very sad that this is the last of the show.

Going to try out Designated Survivor. Glad to see Sutherland in something where isn't torturing everyone. Going to try out the Good Place. Good to see Kristen Bell in something where she isn't eating brains. Ted Danson is awesome too.

Can't wait for Luke Cage.

 

[Theda Baratheon]

2 hours ago, Veltigar said:

I have seen the whole damn thing. Used to watch it every Saturday before going out. It's pleasantly forgettable in the first two or so seasons, although even then their are some flaws that drive me up the fucking wall (the amount of tomatoes the main characters consume is just maddening ).

It turns into pure shit towards the end though. It's very repetitive throughout, tonally inconsistent (It can never decide whether it wants to be a whacky comedy with Arthus as a doofus or a serious attempt at drama centered around the relationship of Merlin, Arthur and the others) the special effects are just north of Birdemic and the final season is one of the most disappointing wrap-ups of any show I have ever seen.

The way those last two seasons shit all over the Arthurian myth is just damn depressing. They tried to cram way to many elements of the classic mythos in there, but with poorly thought-out 'spins' put on each of them to unsuccesfully try to make their show edgy/cool. They end up wasting the few genuinely interesting things about their interpretation.

I don't think the showrunners ever had a clear endgame in mind. I reckon they were planning to have more seasons, but for some reason decided to wrap things up in a neat little bow in five seasons.  What they should have done was continue along the lines of the first two or three seasons and gradually reveal certain things about all the main players in the series, without trying to go all the way with Arthur's final battle and the whole plot around that. They bit of a lot more than they could chew there.

It's a shame really, because despite the low budget, bad writers and poor vfx work, they had some good things going for them. The basic concept was neat, I really liked the young Merlin angel and their look on Arthur as a brat with the heart in the right place. They also had a pretty good cast, with the notable exception of perhaps the worst Guinevere performance I have ever had the displeasure of watching.

It might be centered around Merlin, but Katie McGrath is the star of that show though. I was always surprised that she did not go on to bigger and better things. Her Morgana was by far the best element of that show and I think you'll really like her. She kept me watching for way longer than I should. Their take on that character was much more complex than what we usually get. A shame the writers fucked it up in the last two seasons, but at least she kept trying. 

EDIT: I certainly support @polishgenius advice, just watch ATLA. That's storytelling of a much higher level and genuinely evolves into a great series. The Legend of Korra is also worth your time, despite the fact that Korra's story suffered from some conceptual flaws.

It was poorly structured overall, due to the way it was made (it was never intended to get more than ten episodes, the second season was plagued with money troubles, etc.) and the fact that it aired on Nickelodeon severely restricted the potential of it (it was a much more mature series, but it could never fully cash in on its promise). Especially that second season is dreadful (I'd advise anyone to just read the wikipedia summaries on that one). 

All in all though, it was a very bold and unique forray into the world of the Last Airbender, wonderfully different, with a great cast, beautiful animation (except season two), brilliant ideas and a great, bold ending. It never fulflled its potential, but it's nice enough as it is. Still, I would love a live-action remake of LoK. ATLA is perfect as it is and cannot be bettered, but a bold screenwriter with a large budget could make something awe-inspiring out of the bones of the story (step one: Cut out Mako, wipe the second season away, etc.).

 

It's the Morgana that actually made me start the show. Had seen some clips/screenshots of her and really liked the look of her. 

[Astromech]

Finally saw The Revenant. The acting and cinematography were wonderful, as was the scenery. However, I was bored in parts and the film was an hour too long. Felt like Terrence Malick at times.

[First of My Name]

19 hours ago, polishgenius said:

If you haven't watched Avatar: The Last Airbender, and you still want a fantasy kick, do that instead. It's the greatest thing. So many 'grown-up' tv shows could learn a thing or two from that show on how to do long-term story. I bet a million dollars it's better than Merlin, even though I haven't seen Merlin.  

Man, I really need to watch Legend of Korra.

I've rewatched ATLA twice in the last year and now I love it even more than I did as a kid. It might be the only show I know that gets better and better with each season, and also with age, in my case.

And yes, definitely watch Korra.

6 hours ago, Veltigar said:

EDIT: I certainly support @polishgenius advice, just watch ATLA. That's storytelling of a much higher level and genuinely evolves into a great series. The Legend of Korra is also worth your time, despite the fact that Korra's story suffered from some conceptual flaws.

It was poorly structured overall, due to the way it was made (it was never intended to get more than ten episodes, the second season was plagued with money troubles, etc.) and the fact that it aired on Nickelodeon severely restricted the potential of it (it was a much more mature series, but it could never fully cash in on its promise). Especially that second season is dreadful (I'd advise anyone to just read the wikipedia summaries on that one). 

All in all though, it was a very bold and unique forray into the world of the Last Airbender, wonderfully different, with a great cast, beautiful animation (except season two), brilliant ideas and a great, bold ending. It never fulflled its potential, but it's nice enough as it is. Still, I would love a live-action remake of LoK. ATLA is perfect as it is and cannot be bettered, but a bold screenwriter with a large budget could make something awe-inspiring out of the bones of the story (step one: Cut out Mako, wipe the second season away, etc.).

Completely agree, except that I think Korra's flaws lie more in the execution than the concept. Mako and Bolin never really evolve as characters (at least we had Tenzin and the Beifongs), and yeah, season two was a disaster, except for the two flashback episodes. I devoured the other seasons, though, and as a whole it still does the trick for me spectacularly.

So Korra is a flawed gem to me. Aang had the better side characters, but Korra is the more interesting protagonist. I love what the creators aimed for with her story.

[Veltigar]

40 minutes ago, First of My Name said:

Completely agree, except that I think Korra's flaws lie more in the execution than the concept. Mako and Bolin never really evolve as characters (at least we had Tenzin and the Beifongs), 

A lot of that was due to the way it was made though. Mako for instance was a very poor sidecharacter, but he sort of fitted into that first season. They were stuck with him after they had to create more content. If I had to remake Korra, I'd probably cut him out completely and alot his screentime to Bolin, who was a bit more fun as a character.

40 minutes ago, First of My Name said:

and yeah, season two was a disaster, except for the two flashback episodes.

Oh, I hated those as well. They were better made than the other trash episodes, but they shat all over the lore. They made the classic SW prequel mistake of overexplaining things that should have been left vague and mysterious.

40 minutes ago, First of My Name said:

 I devoured the other seasons, though, and as a whole it still does the trick for me spectacularly.

The third season in particular is brilliant. The penultimate and ultimate episodes sort of waste a lot of the season's build-up (due to the fact that they were still on Nickelodeon), but I'd still rate that third season as near perfect. 

40 minutes ago, First of My Name said:

So Korra is a flawed gem to me. Aang had the better side characters, but Korra is the more interesting protagonist. I love what the creators aimed for with her story.

Yeah, Korra's ending in particular was really beautiful. Although I wouldn't necessarily agree that LoK has the better protagonist. I have always felt that ATLA is just as much Zuko's story as it is Angs and Zuko is a much stronger character. The lack of Zuko was one of the things that pissed me of a little in LoK  I wanted him to go full Iro style in LoK

4 hours ago, Theda Baratheon said:

It's the Morgana that actually made me start the show. Had seen some clips/screenshots of her and really liked the look of her. 

I knew you would  in many ways she's a perfect Lyanna template in that first season. And she grows more interesting over time. Heck, this show would have been a lot better if it had transitioned into the adventures of Morgana instead of Merlin.

 

52 minutes ago, Astromech said:

Finally saw The Revenant. The acting and cinematography were wonderful, as was the scenery. However, I was bored in parts and the film was an hour too long. Felt like Terrence Malick at times.

Very overrated film imo. I have read a bit about the real story of Hugh Glass and The Revenant made his epic adventure way more pedestrian and boring.

40 minutes ago, First of My Name said:

I've rewatched ATLA twice in the last year and now I love it even more than I did as a kid. It might be the only show I know that gets better and better with each season, and also with age, in my case.

Yeah, I agree. It just so poignant. Brave little soldier boy still gets me every time 

[PetyrPunkinhead]

I finally finished South Park S19 (So I could keep up with S20, which I'm hoping has some big events.), and it was great. The return of Jimmy and Nathan as his foil was perfectly done. (Classie!) Great nod to Ex-Machina in the end with Jimmy and Leslie, too. And I love how they're worked in an overarching storyline throughout the entire season, which it looks like they plan on doing with S20, too. Speaking of which, JJ Abrams' new national anthem was genius. And the member berries turing "sour" was a hilarious moment.

Member Chewbacca again? Memberrrr.

35 minutes ago, First of My Name said:

...So Korra is a flawed gem to me. Aang had the better side characters, but Korra is the more interesting protagonist. I love what the creators aimed for with her story.

Agreed. I loved that show's whole aesthetic too. The kind of Chinese influenced steam-punkiness of it with a 1920/30s gangster movie vibe really worked.  

[HexMachina]

Yeah Morgana was certainly the best thing about Merlin. I agree with Veltigar that they lost it towards the end. And the plots did feel very repetitive towards the end, even with Morgana.

Mordred was the worst part for me. Guinevere was bad, but I think it was the writing rather than the actress that was badly done. And also, absolutely zero chemistry with the actor who played Arthur, and a totally unbelievable formation of their relationship. 

[First of My Name]

2 minutes ago, Veltigar said:

A lot of that was due to the way it was made though. Mako for instance was a very poor sidecharacter, but he sort of fitted into that first season. They were stuck with him after they had to create more content. If I had to remake Korra, I'd probably cut him out completely and alot his screentime to Bolin, who was a bit more fun as a character.

Oh, I hated those as well. They were better made than the other trash episodes, but they shat all over the lore. They made the classic SW prequel mistake of overexplaining things that should have been left vague and mysterious.

The third season in particular is brilliant. The penultimate and ultimate episodes sort of waste a lot of the season's build-up (due to the fact that they were still on Nickelodeon), but I'd still rate that third season as near perfect. 

Yeah, Korra's ending in particular was really beautiful. Although I wouldn't necessarily agree that LoK has the better protagonist. I have always felt that ATLA is just as much Zuko's story as it is Angs and Zuko is a much stronger character. The lack of Zuko was one of the things that pissed me of a little in LoK  I wanted him to go full Iro style in LoK

Yeah, I agree. It just so poignant. Brave little soldier boy still gets me every time 

Bolin was way more fun than Mako but never really developed beyond Sokka 2.0, so while I wouldn't give him all or most of Mako's screentime, I'd make significant changes to Mako's character, as he never really did anything for between season 1 and the very last episode.

I loved how they explained the lore. The lion turtles, the aesthetic, Wan's story and even the evil flying kite drew me in completely. I don't mind at all that they went into detail on the Avatar's history.

Season three is my favorite too, I'd rate it on par with the second and third season of ATLA. Zaheer is a wonderful villain and the story itself is a breath of fresh air after season 2 (just not for the Earth Queen ). I never noticed any wasted build-up though, what do you refer to by that?

I'd count Zuko as deuteragonist, if that's the right word. He's not quite as important to the story as Aang (in fact, he was one of the last characters added the story before production started) but the fact that he has his ow storyline does sort of make him more important than Sokka and Katara.

What I wanted more than anything in LoK was

Spoiler

A reunion between Zuko and Iroh in the spirit world. But sadly that was not to be  

2 minutes ago, PetyrPunkinhead said:

Agreed. I loved that show's whole aesthetic too. The kind of Chinese influenced steam-punkiness of it with a 1920/30s gangster movie vibe really worked.  

They mostly left the gangster aspect behind after season 1, but yeah, I thought it looked terrific too.