Watch, Watched, Watching: The Shield lands on top

[williamjm]

15 hours ago, Deadlines? What Deadlines? said:

Rewatched Knives Out. A pretty good movie but somewhat over-praised in my view.

This makes no sense to me. I mean, good for them, but this crazy.

https://variety.com/2021/film/news/netflix-knives-out-daniel-craig-1234946414/

That is a mind-boggling amount of money.

I did really enjoy Knives Out and would happily watch a sequel, although Daniel Craig's character was only one part of the ensemble so there is a lot of work to do to add a supporting cast as interesting as in the first film.

[SpaceChampion]

19 hours ago, Mindwalker said:

Wow, Killing Eve must have been the shortest crush I ever had on a show. I'm almost hate-watching now. The season 2 plot is ridiculous, the heroine is a victim of her emotions... Sigh.

Here's the only moment from season 3 you need to watch:

You're welcome!

[Veltigar]

9 hours ago, Heartofice said:

I think BB hits its peak at around season 4? Can’t remember because they broke it up weirdly.

I tend to agree that Jesse is a bit irritating at first but that also the show was a little more slapstick and broad early on and gets darker, and those supporting characters tend to grow into it 

You know, I can actually see this already starting in season two. Jesse is now behaving less like a character from Weird Al Yankovic's White & Nerdy and more like an actual human being. There is some stuff in Walt's family that is also peaking my interest 

Spoiler

Although so far that is limited to Hank's PTSD. The rest of them are still the absolute worst.

 

11 hours ago, Mark Antony said:

I like Breaking Bad but watching it directly after watching The Shield definitely wouldn’t help me appreciate it more. The Shield is just better imo

 

4 hours ago, Relic said:

Ive never rewatched BB and never felt the needs. Def watched The Shield twice, maybe even three times?

I must admit that that does surprise me a little. If it wasn't for this board, I'm pretty sure I never would have gotten around to watching The Shield. It seems like it is less popular in the circles I move around in than Breaking Bad, which I really remember being a huge hype where I live. I think I'm one of the few people with an interest in movies/TV left that hasn't seen it yet.

The Shield is a bit older of course, but I do wonder why it hasn't gotten more coverage/love in Normalos. 

11 hours ago, DireWolfSpirit said:

Lol, I thought I was the only one that liked Walt better than his family. 

I never really cared for Skyler or the kid for that matter. Always hated how BrBa ended.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that if we put this to a vote, there would be few people voting against Walt right?

8 hours ago, Rippounet said:

I think it took me 4 or 5 years to finish Breaking Bad. The cinematography is great, but the plot is often way too slow.

Hmmm, that's a complaint I don't share so far. 

4 hours ago, WarGalley said:

I hope it works out for you but I'm a little surprised by the general reaction to Season 1 vs 2 and onwards. I quite enjoyed Season 1 and think it's one of the stronger ones though I've never done a complete episodes-in-sequence rewatch. Going forward, you will get more Heisenberg, but you'll also be getting more Jesse and Skylar too so... yeah.

We take the good with the bad I'm supposed  

[HexMachina]

34 minutes ago, SpaceChampion said:

Here's the only moment from season 3 you need to watch:

You're welcome!

I have watched that scene more than is good for me and still cackle at her reaction every time

[maarsen]

On 4/14/2021 at 2:27 AM, RumHam said:

Everyone shits on LOST for being a meandering piece of shit. and that's one of the things it was. but it was also a lot of fun and a changed network dramas in the US to be more serialized. 

The drama that changed American TV to become more serialized was Wiseguy from the late 80s. Hill Street Blues before that also made big changes in having an ensemble cast. Lost copied a lot from both of them. 

[DMC]

12 hours ago, Veltigar said:

I'm glued to the screen when Walter is in his Heisenberg persona and Jessie doesn't open his mouth. The home stuff and the criminal stuff when Jessie is talking that's what irritates me.

I can understand viewing First Season Jessie as an annoying caricature, but he grows into an outstanding character.  I guess that doesn't really become fully developed until season 3.

12 hours ago, Veltigar said:

I'll hang in there, but I feel like hating on Skyler must have been like a trendy thing to do back when this show was on air XD

Feel like it should be noted that the vitriol and backlash towards Skyler eventually led to the actress writing an op-ed in the NYT on such hatred (linked to an EW write up on it since NYT is paywalled).

Anyway, while I love BCS and it's certainly more..polished, BB is clearly the superior show IMO.  Also, if you're complaining about BB being too slow, it pales in comparison to BCS.

[WarGalley]

If @Veltigar doesn't take to Breaking Bad, I'd be very curious what the opinion of Better Call Saul would be. Like, I'm curious if anyone knows someone who watched Better Call Saul before Breaking Bad and what their opinion of BCS was.

[Cas Stark]

Yo. I will fight anyone who says Jesse Pinkman is not a great character.  Bitch. 

I thought the idea that not liking Sky is somehow sexist was unfortunate.  Her character was controlling and passive aggressive and does some actively bad things in later seasons.  Of course, she's no Walt.  But, I admit, if I Skyler and Mike were drowning and I could only save one, I would have saved Mike.

[divica]

15 minutes ago, Cas Stark said:

Yo. I will fight anyone who says Jesse Pinkman is not a great character.  Bitch. 

At the beguining he was a great character. However in the movie and after all he went through he still was a whinning little bitch. I expected some growth.

[Cas Stark]

3 minutes ago, divica said:

At the beguining he was a great character. However in the movie and after all he went through he still was a whinning little bitch. I expected some growth.

The movie was underwhelming.  I enjoyed it, it didn't really add anything to BB's legacy, in terms of character or story or anything.

[DMC]

18 minutes ago, Cas Stark said:

I thought the idea that not liking Sky is somehow sexist was unfortunate.

I don't think anyone ever said disliking Skyler was sexist.  As is acknowledged by Gunn, the show sets her up as Walt's antagonist so some of that is inherent.  The intensity of that dislike-to-hatred, however, often being rooted in misogyny was rather apparent.

[Wall Flower]

41 minutes ago, DMC said:

I don't think anyone ever said disliking Skyler was sexist.  As is acknowledged by Gunn, the show sets her up as Walt's antagonist so some of that is inherent.  The intensity of that dislike-to-hatred, however, often being rooted in misogyny was rather apparent.

I guess there might be something about the wife being set up to be a nagging killjoy to the male anti-hero that could be seen as playing into sexist tropes?

I thought Walt was a compelling character but I never sympathised with him, except maybe about the cancer. Basically, he was always just a middle aged guy who saw himself as a tragically unrecognised genius destined for greatness with a gigantic chip on his shoulder because he had to settle for boring but comfortable suburbia instead. Boo fucking hoo.

I am Skyler, I think, as I basically just wanted to slap Walt, tell him to talk to his wife (an adult and actual accountant) and work out a financial plan. Of course, that wouldn't have made for much of a story.

[DMC]

4 minutes ago, Wall Flower said:

I guess there might be something about the wife being set up to be a nagging killjoy to the male anti-hero that could be seen as playing into sexist tropes?

I wouldn't necessarily put it on Gilligan/the writers.  But yeah, Carmela Soprano and Betty Draper are other examples.

[Cas Stark]

6 minutes ago, Wall Flower said:

I guess there might be something about the wife being set up to be a nagging killjoy to the male anti-hero that could be seen as playing into sexist tropes?

I thought Walt was a compelling character but I never sympathised with him, except maybe about the cancer. Basically, he was always just a middle aged guy who saw himself as a tragically unrecognised genius destined for greatness with a gigantic chip on his shoulder because he had to settle for boring but comfortable suburbia instead. Boo fucking hoo.

I am Skyler, I think, as I basically just wanted to slap Walt, tell him to talk to his wife (an adult and actual accountant) and work out a financial plan. Of course, that wouldn't have made for much of a story.

Walt was always an asshole, but I think he was supposed to be a genius, but his assholeness caused him to be unable to deal w/his peers, which is why he ultimately ended up a HS teacher, not a billionaire or millionaire until meth that is.

[Deadlines? What Deadlines?]

3 hours ago, williamjm said:

That is a mind-boggling amount of money.

I did really enjoy Knives Out and would happily watch a sequel, although Daniel Craig's character was only one part of the ensemble so there is a lot of work to do to add a supporting cast as interesting as in the first film.

I liked it but the sheer amount of praise it got seemed out of proportion to me. I guess it just didn't resonate with me the way it did with most people. Critics seem to like Rian Johnson for some reason. I don't know.

Supposedly these films will also get a theatrical release.

If I had to guess, maybe Netflix plans to use the theatrical run as a loss leader.  Maybe they have plans for merchandising as well. 

In the end, they get exclusive streaming content. It's still a crazy deal.

[Mindwalker]

20 hours ago, RedEyedGhost said:

  You were warned to stop at the end of season 1.

 

16 hours ago, BigFatCoward said:

I didn't even try S2, everyone said it got shit and I quite liked the ambiguity of where it ended. 

Well, I was warned it "peaked in season 1", I didn't realize it would go down in flames! I'll probably finish s2, because I'm a sucker for punishment, but that'll be it.

Which ofc mens I'm looking for a show I'll like.. .again.

On the bright side, even s5 of OITNB doesn't seem as bad in comparison. (Not that I'd ever watch it again.)

The Flat Earth scene is funny.

[Iskaral Pust]

I tried a rewatch of BB a couple of years ago and could not stomach it.  I enjoyed it the first time, but without the suspense it was tough to watch the nagging and resentment and horribly bad decisions.

But I enjoyed The Wire and Band Of Brothers on every rewatch.  Some shows are just timeless.

I still need to try The Shield.

[Zorral]

@Veltigar  -- Thanks so much for the heads up on McDonald & Dodds.  I've watched first episode, which was enjoyable in all the escapist ways one wishes, including, of course -- Bath architecture.

 

[Mexal]

Nobody... excellent movie for what it is.

Spoiler

Bob Odenkirk killing a shitload of Russians

 

[dbunting]

58 minutes ago, Mexal said:

Nobody... excellent movie for what it is.

  Hide contents

Bob Odenkirk killing a shitload of Russians

 

Couldn't agree more. I had zero expectations and it was pretty enjoyable. Feels like middle aged/soccer dad John Wick.

The difference this time is I did go see it at the theater with popcorn so that alone put it above Godzilla-Kong!