Watch, Watched, Watching : Series or Stand Alone? Home or Theater?

[Quijote Light]

Just finished watching CODA. I really enjoyed it. The cast was great; I enjoyed everyone’s performance. It was really interesting to watch a film where so many of the important performances and scenes were signed and almost purely physical. And man, Emilia Jones can sing really beautifully. 

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

Been watching a lot of old horror films lately and I found original Piranha for free on Prime. It was actually mildly entertaining, though not scary at all.

They sure do show a lot of kids getting killed in this movie.

[RhaenysBee]

I finished See season 2, the final episode was a train wreck. Everything I was sticking around for was just cut in half like Darth Maul. Nope, sorry, there’s no story here after all. (Though you know, around season 4, when they get desperate they might drag these backstories back from a junk yard and retcon the dead shit out of them) as much as I enjoyed season one, I wouldn’t rate this above 4/10

I watched You season 3, which albeit subjected to the Netflix political propaganda treatment still provided me with more entertainment than all the rest of the follow up seasons I’ve watched since June. That doesn’t give the show absolution for the absurdity and plot holes they piled up, but you know, there was stuff to counterbalance it. You season 3 was a solid 6.5/10 

I also watched Harry Potter 1-2-3 and after over a decade of making excuses for film 3, I can say that it’s objectively significantly poorer than the first two films. I must say though that the costume design of Harry Potter himself is the closest and most faithful to the novels in film 3, so kudos for that. 

 

 

[Heartofice]

Watched a couple of episodes of Season 3 of You and I think it has really improved on season 2. Where 2 was just eye rollingly stupid at times, it kind of feels like 3 has embraced the ridiculousness of the concept and just ran with it. Having them become parents actually added to the plot and moved it forward, which is actually pretty brave. 

 

3 hours ago, RhaenysBee said:

I also watched Harry Potter 1-2-3 and after over a decade of making excuses for film 3, I can say that it’s objectively significantly poorer than the first two films. I must say though that the costume design of Harry Potter himself is the closest and most faithful to the novels in film 3, so kudos for that. 

....

Azkaban is literally the best Harry Potter movie. Its the only one I'd rate above a 3 out of 5. 

[Ser Rodrigo Belmonte II]

9 hours ago, Heartofice said:

Watched a couple of episodes of Season 3 of You and I think it has really improved on season 2. Where 2 was just eye rollingly stupid at times, it kind of feels like 3 has embraced the ridiculousness of the concept and just ran with it. Having them become parents actually added to the plot and moved it forward, which is actually pretty brave. 

 

....

Azkaban is literally the best Harry Potter movie. Its the only one I'd rate above a 3 out of 5. 

Exactly lol… Azkaban is the best of the lot cause they took chances and got a great filmmaker  for it as well… it’s all downhill in the quality of the films post the first 3 actually. 

[dog-days]

I remember finding Azkaban the most stylish of the films by some distance - it was the first and maybe only one in the series to try and work as a film, not just an overly faithful adaptation of a book. That said, I think the end was rather incoherent and rushed. And - this isn't the fault of Cuaron, he worked with what he'd got - I've always thought that they made the older generation of characters way too old. The book equivalents are supposed to be in their thirties. (I'm in my thirties - I'm still allowed to be traumatised and behave badly because of experiences in my teens and early adulthood. People in their fifties should have moved on! *) 

I've been brightening my evenings up with S1 of Brooklyn 99. It's fluffy and daft and I enjoy it a lot. That said, it does feel distinctly Obama-era in terms of its optimism, and I think there's a cultural gulf between it and me in terms of the treatment of guns. I just wince through the casual way they're handled. I know that's part of the humour, but it does make me glad that I live in a country where that kind of joke isn't (currently) possible. 

* This comment will no longer be valid after 2037 

[DMC]

I think Azkaban tends to get overrated just because it was directed by Cuaron, but yeah I agree it's still the best Potter film.  I'd also add I enjoyed (most of) the later films more than Columbus' kid-oriented first two, but that's probably cuz I didn't start watching them until I was in my mid-20s.

[Darryk]

I loved Squid Game so much that I decided to look for some more South Korean stuff, so I checked out Train to Busan and damn that was good. Top notch horror.

[Nictarion]

1 hour ago, Darryk said:

I loved Squid Game so much that I decided to look for some more South Korean stuff, so I checked out Train to Busan and damn that was good. Top notch horror.

Some other good South Korean movies;

Parasite, The Wailing, I Saw the Devil, Oldboy, Memories of Murder, The Handmaiden, Mother

There’s tons more, but those are just off the top of my head. 

[Corvinus85]

1 hour ago, Darryk said:

I loved Squid Game so much that I decided to look for some more South Korean stuff, so I checked out Train to Busan and damn that was good. Top notch horror.

Another good Korean TV show on Netflix is Kingdom. Season 3 is coming next year. 

[Darryk]

49 minutes ago, Nictarion said:

Some other good South Korean movies;

Parasite, The Wailing, I Saw the Devil, Oldboy, Memories of Murder, The Handmaiden, Mother

There’s tons more, but those are just off the top of my head. 

Seen Oldboy and The Wailing, looking forward to checking out the rest, thanks 

[Maithanet]

3 hours ago, Darryk said:

I loved Squid Game so much that I decided to look for some more South Korean stuff, so I checked out Train to Busan and damn that was good. Top notch horror.

Did you notice that the main character in Train to Busan is the Salesman in SG?  And he only appears in a train station...

[Darryk]

31 minutes ago, Maithanet said:

Did you notice that the main character in Train to Busan is the Salesman in SG?  And he only appears in a train station...

 

I did indeed realize that after seeing Train to Busan 

[Derfel Cadarn]

18 hours ago, Heartofice said:

Watched a couple of episodes of Season 3 of You and I think it has really improved on season 2. Where 2 was just eye rollingly stupid at times, it kind of feels like 3 has embraced the ridiculousness of the concept and just ran with it. Having them become parents actually added to the plot and moved it forward, which is actually pretty brave. 

 

....

Azkaban is literally the best Harry Potter movie. Its the only one I'd rate above a 3 out of 5. 

Just started season 2. Not a huge fan of this show but my wife was recommended it.

I just hope the last episode ends with him thinking he got away with everything, only for a smiling Dexter Morgan to enter his shop…

[RhaenysBee]

18 hours ago, Heartofice said:

Watched a couple of episodes of Season 3 of You and I think it has really improved on season 2. Where 2 was just eye rollingly stupid at times, it kind of feels like 3 has embraced the ridiculousness of the concept and just ran with it. Having them become parents actually added to the plot and moved it forward, which is actually pretty brave. 

 

....

Azkaban is literally the best Harry Potter movie. Its the only one I'd rate above a 3 out of 5. 

Yes, that was a great decision, it added a lot to both characters and story. It saved them for repetition and it was in fact a pretty logical and realistic next stage of life for the characters to experience and the show to work with. It also added a lovable quirk to the absurdity of the story. 

 

I don’t quite agree with that. Azkaban is the best Harry Potter book, but nothing beats the first two films in my opinion. That still earns Azkaban the bronze medal per se, because it’s still great and lovely compared to the rest of the films. 

9 hours ago, Ser Rodrigo Belmonte II said:

Exactly lol… Azkaban is the best of the lot cause they took chances and got a great filmmaker  for it as well… it’s all downhill in the quality of the films post the first 3 actually. 

It is indeed all downhill from then on, but I don’t think Azkaban always made the right choices when taking those chances. Each to their own. 

3 hours ago, DMC said:

I think Azkaban tends to get overrated just because it was directed by Cuaron, but yeah I agree it's still the best Potter film.  I'd also add I enjoyed (most of) the later films more than Columbus' kid-oriented first two, but that's probably cuz I didn't start watching them until I was in my mid-20s.

I think nothing beats the first two films. Yes they are for children because the characters are children and book is for children. That’s perfectly okay, the films work perfectly as such. I think Azkaban stands out because it’s already an adult or at least young adult approach, which sets it apart from the first two films, and also miles better than any of the rest which sets it apart from the rest. Still, as a stand alone film and adaptation of the book, I never was particularly impressed.

9 hours ago, dog-days said:

remember finding Azkaban the most stylish of the films by some distance - it was the first and maybe only one in the series to try and work as a film, not just an overly faithful adaptation of a book. That said, I think the end was rather incoherent and rushed. And - this isn't the fault of Cuaron, he worked with what he'd got - I've always thought that they made the older generation of characters way too old. The book equivalents are supposed to be in their thirties. (I'm in my thirties - I'm still allowed to be traumatised and behave badly because of experiences in my teens and early adulthood. People in their fifties should have moved on! *) 

The style is not my cup of tea but that’s personal preference. I never felt that it resonated with the atmosphere of the Harry Potter world. My main issue with the film has always been butchering the older generation. Not just in terms of casting (all the actors are way too old to play their characters, just as you say, even Emma Thompson is a terribly trelawney, as much as I love her), but also in terms of characterization. The actors seem to be playing a caricature of their characters, the shrieking shack sequence is pitifully overacted, ridiculously rushed and the kids do more justice to their characters than the adult cast. This was and is very painful to me because that has always been my most favorite segment of the book.

There’s also too much time wasted on “creative choices” that add absolutely nothing to the story (the little head thingies, the werewolf attack in the forest, the fat lady and the bloody glass, the struggle with the monster book of monsters at the leaky cauldron, the snails they throw to intervene through time) - if you add up these minutes, the older generation would have had a better chance. 

[polishgenius]

5 hours ago, DMC said:

I think Azkaban tends to get overrated just because it was directed by Cuaron, but yeah I agree it's still the best Potter film.  I'd also add I enjoyed (most of) the later films more than Columbus' kid-oriented first two, but that's probably cuz I didn't start watching them until I was in my mid-20s.

 

I dunno, I'm a religious watcher of Doctor Who, even the bad episodes, and I think Columbus' kid-oriented films aren't as good because they're a bit shit, not because they're kid-oriented. Everything's just a bit wooden - filmed in a completely matter-of-fact, bread-and-butter way, he can't really get a performance out of any of the kids bar Emma Watson, and most annoyingly for me back when I liked Harry Potter his visual design of the magic was so drearily mechanical. Like the moving staircases being just big-ass rotating stairs wtf was that.

[Heartofice]

I recently rewatched them first 2 Harry Potter movies and I have to say they are much better than I remembered. I think because movies are now so airbrushed and bland, there was something very charming about Columbus’ movies. 
 

I still don’t think they are good, but they have a lot going for them.

Azkaban however basically took what had been laid out and ‘perfected’ it. Really just in terms of a director realising he can make something quite special in a long running kids movie series it’s pretty special. It’s all the little touches that seem like window dressing but show a level of attention to detail and craftsmanship. Things like the tree changing seasons and just incidental background shots really blew me away, and there are whole essays about the things he did on that movie. 
 

It’s just a shame that everything after it was so grey and bland

[Corvinus85]

Count me in among those who think The Prisoner of Azkaban is among the best HP films. It is the movie that piqued my interest in the HP universe enough so I went to see the Goblet of Fire in theaters. The first two movies didn't grab me. I think I saw the 2nd one late after its release. I liked Goblet of Fire initially as well, which made me read the books, then I liked it less. 

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

1. HBP

2. PoA

3. GoF

4. DH 1 & 2

5. CoS

6. PS

7. OotP*

 

*Didn't like the book either. 

[RhaenysBee]

2 hours ago, polishgenius said:

 

I dunno, I'm a religious watcher of Doctor Who, even the bad episodes, and I think Columbus' kid-oriented films aren't as good because they're a bit shit, not because they're kid-oriented. Everything's just a bit wooden - filmed in a completely matter-of-fact, bread-and-butter way, he can't really get a performance out of any of the kids bar Emma Watson, and most annoyingly for me back when I liked Harry Potter his visual design of the magic was so drearily mechanical. Like the moving staircases being just big-ass rotating stairs wtf was that.

I always thought Rupert and Tom Felton were the only kids with any level of aptitude for acting in the first film, Emma and Daniel struck me as awfully stiff. As for the magic… I’m trying to remember what I thought as a kid… I know I wasn’t impressed with the film at all because it was “not like the book” (that is not like how I imagined the book). I don’t suppose the magic ever bothered me, if anything I really appreciated that magic didn’t look like a light saber duel in the first films. 

1 hour ago, Heartofice said:

I recently rewatched them first 2 Harry Potter movies and I have to say they are much better than I remembered. I think because movies are now so airbrushed and bland, there was something very charming about Columbus’ movies. 
 

I still don’t think they are good, but they have a lot going for them.

Azkaban however basically took what had been laid out and ‘perfected’ it. Really just in terms of a director realising he can make something quite special in a long running kids movie series it’s pretty special. It’s all the little touches that seem like window dressing but show a level of attention to detail and craftsmanship. Things like the tree changing seasons and just incidental background shots really blew me away, and there are whole essays about the things he did on that movie. 
 

It’s just a shame that everything after it was so grey and bland

 Indeed that is one of the most captivating quality of early 2000 films. 

I will agree to disagree. Who knew this was going to be such an unpopular opinion?  anyway, we aren’t even actually in significant disagreement, I’d rank Azkaban 3rd, not last. I do appreciate its positive qualities. 

50 minutes ago, Corvinus85 said:

Count me in among those who think The Prisoner of Azkaban is among the best HP films. It is the movie that piqued my interest in the HP universe enough so I went to see the Goblet of Fire in theaters. The first two movies didn't grab me. I think I saw the 2nd one late after its release. I liked Goblet of Fire initially as well, which made me read the books, then I liked it less. 

I just finished Goblet of Fire. That film did one thing and only one thing right, capturing teenagers. And that it did far better than either the 3rd or 5th film. I’d say it portrays the characters closest to what a regular old 14 year old would be. It is the weakest year of acting for the young actors though, which is understandable, but still somewhat disappointing. Preserving The 2005 Boys’ Haircut for all future generations was a grave mistake as well. 

30 minutes ago, Tywin et al. said:

1. HBP

2. PoA

3. GoF

4. DH 1 & 2

5. CoS

6. PS

7. OotP*

 

*Didn't like the book either. 

For me it’s probably 2-1-3-6-7/2-7/1-4-5? 5-4? 4-5. OotP was my second favorite of the books and they butchered it.