Watch, Watching, Watched -- Until the Sun Comes Up

[Zorral]

A friend sent the link to this interesting twitter thread re The King's Man -- at least he was right in thinking I'd find it interesting -- maybe others, not so much.  In any case Jeet Heer is almost always an interesting read regarding popular entertainment and history.

 

 

[RedEyedGhost]

On 3/8/2022 at 5:36 PM, Tywin et al. said:

Doesn't sound like you like any of it these days.

I definitely don't love any of it.  Seasons 1 and 4 are fine.  Can't imagine ever wanting to watch it again though.

 

On 3/9/2022 at 10:33 AM, Zorral said:

I re-watch it every once in a while too, as the producers gave me the dvds.  Don't care for McCullough either.  But it's not his fault the series keeps showing John and Abigail getting starkers in raging New England blizzards to get it on.  Man, I really can't believe that, you know?  As the producers actually live, or did then, in Boston, they have no excuses.

It goes well with Netflix's Turn: Washington's Spies.

I need to watch John Adams again.  I watched it just the once when it was originally released.  Turn is phenomenal.

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

3 hours ago, RedEyedGhost said:

I definitely don't love any of it.  Seasons 1 and 4 are fine.  Can't imagine ever wanting to watch it again though.

I can argue seasons 1, 2 and 4 are in my top 25 seasons of all time across any type of show. That's why the drop off, which wasn't that gradual, was so shocking. 

[briantw]

29 minutes ago, Tywin et al. said:

I can argue seasons 1, 2 and 4 are in my top 25 seasons of all time across any type of show. That's why the drop off, which wasn't that gradual, was so shocking. 

I thought season two was particularly brilliant with Dexter being the villain the cops were chasing the whole season, albeit unknowingly.  It was a nice inversion of the first season's storyline where Dexter was chasing the main killer.  The season is dragged down by Lila's character, who is just the fucking worst.

The main thing I noticed when rewatching Dexter's first four seasons recently, though, was how terrible so much of the relationship drama is.  Dexter and Rita have a relationship that's actually interesting, but I don't give a fuck about Deb and whoever she's dating in any given season, let alone any of the other cops.

The only time Deb had an interesting relationship was in season one for obvious reasons.  After that, every relationship arc she has is a huge waste of screen time.

[DMC]

2 minutes ago, briantw said:

Dexter and Rita have a relationship that's actually interesting, but I don't give a fuck about Deb and whoever she's dating in any given season, let alone any of the other cops.

Just in general, Batista, LaGuerta, Masuka and later Quinn are a pretty damn uninteresting supporting cast.  Lundy was interesting, but definitely not cuz he dated Deb.

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

15 minutes ago, briantw said:

I thought season two was particularly brilliant with Dexter being the villain the cops were chasing the whole season, albeit unknowingly.  It was a nice inversion of the first season's storyline where Dexter was chasing the main killer.  The season is dragged down by Lila's character, who is just the fucking worst.

Completely agree. I especially liked the cat and mouse game between Dexter and Doakes. Their dynamic in the first two seasons is easily one of my favorite parts of the series. And I think it was fitting that Dexter wasn't the one to take him down, which was Lila's only worthwhile contribution to the show. Well, that and her death scene. 

Quote

The main thing I noticed when rewatching Dexter's first four seasons recently, though, was how terrible so much of the relationship drama is.  Dexter and Rita have a relationship that's actually interesting, but I don't give a fuck about Deb and whoever she's dating in any given season, let alone any of the other cops.

Yeah, it stood out to me the first time through that the show just didn't write many strong romantic subplots. I didn't even like Dexter and Rita's dynamic, especially after her ex met his well deserved end. Funny that I wanted her to die and once that happened the show collapsed. Not sure if those two things are actually related, but it is what it is. 

And I'll always have a crush on Julie Benz though.

Quote

The only time Deb had an interesting relationship was in season one for obvious reasons.  After that, every relationship arc she has is a huge waste of screen time.

I found Deb to be annoying in general after the first season.

[A True Kaniggit]

35 minutes ago, Tywin et al. said:

And I'll always have a crush on Julie Benz though.

Careful. She’s a vampire.

She will suck you dry. 

[Heartofice]

Got through about 30 mins of Inventing Anna on Netflix before I had to turn it off.

Lots of criticism of the accent, but as far as I know it’s a good interpretation of the real life accent, even if it sounds ridiculous.

My real issue with the series is that it was just so boring at least it’s opening. It made the narrative crime of focusing on the journalist who found the story and the lawyers on the case, rather than the one true interesting character in the show.

Im sure that will change as the show goes on, but as an entry point it’s a very bad choice. 

I find it such a tedious narrative device, making the story about the person writing it, rather than the subject. Sometimes I can work, I guess the Michael Lewis effect, but too often it just seems self indulgent. Journalists working in an office are not interesting outside of say.. Zodiac or something. 
Reminds me a bit of Hollywoods obsession with itself, making movies about movies and Hollywood. 

[Darryk]

The Batman (2022).

Was really hyped for it but in the end it was a mixed bag for me.

Some things I really liked, especially the way Gotham was portrayed, which I feel was the best in any Batman movie so far. (Christopher Nolan's version felt like a normal city while Tim Burton's was the opposite side of the extreme, too stylized).

But I felt the movie needed a good edit. Was no need for it to be 3 hours long and it lost focus quite a bit.

6/10 for me. Maybe my opinion on it will improve as times goes on.

[Darryk]

On 3/9/2022 at 7:31 AM, Nictarion said:

Taking a break from my X-Files rewatch, and decided to rewatch the HBO John Adams miniseries again. Think this is now my 3rd or 4th time through. The two leads (Giamatti & Linney) are so damn good in this. 

Huge fan of that miniseries, one of the best I've seen. The main score is epic.

[Annara Snow]

Finished Succession season 2. Much better than season 1, largely because it was much funnier and upped the level of almost absurdist comedy.

But I still don't understand how and why this show has won an Emmy for Best Drama - it definitely deserves an Emmy, but it definitely  should not be categorized as drama. Sure, it has dramatic moments (though less so than some shows that are categorized as a comedy - like Barry, which is fundamnetally very dark and tragic), but it is predominantly a hilarious satirical comedy about a bunch of awful super-rich people. I loved all the uncomfortable scenes where the people present are barely even trying to keep the mask of being polite and civilized. (On the other hand, it felt like the weird, grosss sex metaphors everyone on the show uses for business dealings were not as many as in season 1, but got even weirder on occasions when they sounded very incestuous. It's like, are you sure it's normal to use these metaphors for Roy siblings relationships with their dad even among you weirdos?)

Some of the most memorable lines:

"He can do whatever the f*** he wants. He's like a human Saudi Arabia."
"I'm a big fan of... all your money!"

In the finale, I saw what was coming with 

Spoiler

Logan trying to throw Kendall under the

bus pretty much from the beginning. But did not predict the ending itself until the scene was just starting. That was a really exciting and satisfying last scene.

[DireWolfSpirit]

For a Philly guy who previously had solid roles in Boston centric Mystic River, Black Mass and Patriots Day, what on earth has happened to Kevin Bacons clownish accent he uses for City on a Hill?

It's like he's devolving or getting shitty directorial guidance. He was fine in those previous roles.

[dbunting]

Finished S3 of Succession. Have to say I was pretty bored for about 7 episodes. It finished on a high note but getting there felt tedious.

Watch Don't Look Up this weekend, eh. Maybe I am too tired of the US political scene to like this movie.

[Heartofice]

2 minutes ago, dbunting said:

Finished S3 of Succession. Have to say I was pretty bored for about 7 episodes. It finished on a high note but getting there felt tedious.

There is an element of 'oh more of this!?' by season 3 where it just feels like the same things are happening over and over. A takeover, another takeover, more backbiting and backstabbing. Season 3 does lose focus a little and I don't think its especially tight. By the end it does seem to explode and become more satisfying, but I felt like the writers could have done some things differently to get to that place.

[dbunting]

2 hours ago, Heartofice said:

There is an element of 'oh more of this!?' by season 3 where it just feels like the same things are happening over and over. A takeover, another takeover, more backbiting and backstabbing. Season 3 does lose focus a little and I don't think its especially tight. By the end it does seem to explode and become more satisfying, but I felt like the writers could have done some things differently to get to that place.

Some of it was just over the top and silly

Spoiler

The scene where the doughnuts arrive and they actually wonder if they are poisoned and no one eats them, the scene where Kendall and the father have a meal and the father feeds the cheese to Kendall's son, as if to see if it was poisoned...and then in the final scene in the room when all together the father says all you had to do was trust me! Really? 

I'd be ok with the next season being the last if this stuff continues.

[Jaxom 1974]

Season 4 of Maisel...a little uneven...maybe? But if Luke Kirby doesn't get another Emmy for his Lenny Bruce...that finale...Jesus. 

[Heartofice]

Finally got to see Spider-Man: No Way Home. 
 

It was goodish, feels like the best bits were all the nostalgia berries floating about the movie. That was kinda powerful, maybe dulled by seeing similar stuff in Spider Verse. 
 

Not sure it quite lived up to the hype I was hearing, the whole movie kind of hanging on the audiences ability to not get too annoyed at 2 incredibly stupid choices by characters, but there was a lot to like about it. Holland gave a really strong, emotional performance and i can clearly say he’s the best Spider-Man now.

[Ran]

Haven't posted in awhile, as for some reason one day I was needing something to watch for an hour and couldn't find anything new, so I figured I'd watch Mad Men and "The Suitcase" episode... and that led me to just rewatching all seven seasons, start to  finish, which I think has been my third or possibly fourth complete rewatch. I think this makes it the show I've rewatched the most, as well. The writing, the performances, the time period -- everything just works for me.

But I have watched a couple of new things. Been continuing with The Gilded Age, which has been ... fine? It's another Downton-style period soap, very lushly costumed, lightly amusing and not challenging in any way. Tried The Cuphead Show! on Netflix, due to its origins as a well-regarded game as well as the art style, and it's a bit too obvious -- fine to put kids in front of, but doesn't have enough of the humor that'll put it in Looney Tunes territory.

And then, staying on Netflix, I just finished Adi Shankhar's The Guardians of Justice. How to describe it? Have you seen Kung Fury? Did you like it? If you did, this is right up your alley, as it's a bonkers, gory retro 80's low-budget, synth-drenched superhero flick broken up across seven episodes. Its characters are mostly thinly veiled copies of DC's Justice League, and basically follows the aftermath of the death of one of them and the investigation and turmoil that follows. The lead investigator, a Batman-like character called Knight Hawk (played by -- get this -- Diamond Dallas Page!), begins to delve into who was behind it and why it happened, and things take many turns. I actually was surprised by a couple of the twists of the story near the end.

But it's not just film that it parodies and homages. Fight scenes sometimes have health bars, and a voice booms, "FINISH HIM!" on occasion. It's mixed media too -- segments are animated (2D, claymation, CGI), seemingly at random. And there are what I expect are deliberate inconsistencies (for example, a Lois Lane/Lana Lang type, played by Denise Richards, is named both Laura Lois and Lara Lang at various points; or one Captain Marvel-esque character called Awesome Man, is variously said to have the powers of seven gods or six gods...) to maintain the vision of it as some Troma-level low-budget shlock.

(The Kung Fury thing is deliberate. Shankar released a series of videos citing influences -- Mortal Kombat, the films of John Carpenter, The Animatrix, the films of Paul Verhoven, pro wrestling, etc. -- and had one dedicated specifically to his appreciation for Kung Fury. There's at least one very deliberate reference to it in the first or second episode:

)

I'm not saying it's good in the way that... I don't know, The Boys is good. It very deliberately leans into something much more primal, much more low-brow, but it does it with a genuine love of the subject its treating. If you had told me it was adapting a specific 80's-era comic book storyline, I would have believed it, not least because there are strong Watchmen vibes.

[Ramsay B.]

I watched season 1 of The Righteous Gemstones. The finale was funny as hell. Judy’s story to BJ about her first “boyfriend” was insanity, and of course it swayed BJ. Keefe is great too. He’s so awkward. 

Excited for season 2 and some Baby Billy wildness.

Eta: It would be good to get the name of the show right

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

It's a bit of a bummer that in 2022 you still run into movies you want to see, but aren't available to stream anywhere.