Watch, Watched, Watching: No Dragons Allowed

[Zorral]

8 hours ago, Veltigar said:

Haven't seen it, but whoever is the inspiration 

  Reveal hidden contents

It's quite a noxious trope (evil cripple) so I wonder how the end-product will feel.

 

 

Spoiler

Talleyrand was also a club foot -- many other parallels between Larys's behaviors, particularly getting exiled / condemned, wiggling out, playing both sides, remaining a player no matter what -- this also brought Malkovich and Talleyrand immediately to mind.

 

[Larry of the Lawn]

Watched Memoria by Apitchatpong Weerasethakul.  Not much of a narrative, but a pretty immersive and ambiguous experience.  The sound was great, and the minimal dialogue and story suggested a lot of different possibilities.  Tilda Swinton was great.  

[Spockydog]

Abandoned Stephen Moffatt's new thriller, Inside Man, midway through episode two.

Nothing in this show feels remotely real or plausible. The Stanley Tucci scenario is completely bizarre. And none of the characters are behaving like actual human beings. The entire thing just screams FAKE!!!

Just as dreadful as late-run Sherlock. Ugh.

 

[Werthead]

Regarding Vince Gilligan, it's worth noting that he was not working day-to-day on Better Call Saul from somewhere in Season 2 to the end of Season 5, and was only closely involved in the first and last seasons. The day-to-day running of the show was down to Peter Gould.

On 9/23/2022 at 3:08 PM, Veltigar said:

So I need to know, why the dislike of Apple TV here? I haven't seen much of their stuff, but they did give us Ted Lasso which to me is the best television show of this decade so far, so surely not everything about them can be bad  

There's some good stuff on Apple TV+ but you can burn through it pretty quick. At the moment I'd say Ted Lasso, For All Mankind (despite a ropey third season) and Mythic Quest are all very good. Foundation is worth watching for the visuals and for Lee Pace's magnificent performance. I haven't seen Severance yet but heard good things. See is apparently okay if you like lots of Jason Momoa in furs looking stoically into the middle distance and then beating people up.

[TormundsWoman]

16 hours ago, Veltigar said:

Spoiler

I never got the physical impotence in those earlier scenes, but I know it was pointed out in the behind the episodes featurette. I thought they were going to run with that, but the fact that he know has two children who very clearly seem to be his, sort of muddle the waters.

I guess we are to assume that Daemon was psychologically blocked due to his marriage with Rhea (who knows what happened there during the wedding) and that he liberated himself by murdering her. It's quite an icky thought, but that's the only thing I see that explains what the writers are trying to set up.

I think it's just easier to ignore the impotence hints and just say that he didn't follow through with Rhaenyra because he cared for her and didn't want to put her into a bad position.

 

YES! Exactly the same reaction and conclusion I ended up with.

Initially due to reading what they said in the BTS I ended up thinking it was a physical issue because apparently he couldn’t perform in a couple scenes with different persons AND Rhea also took a shot at this issue (“couldn’t finish”) which ended up to be the line that killed her.

but yes, after last ep I concluded the same as you. 
 

You should post in the HotD threads!  I could at least read stuff like this! (not only Ser Yorick being mad that only morons like myself like the scenes that make no sense to him in HotD, you know )

[TormundsWoman]

Rewatched Buffy the entire thing last month and started Angel too. Incredible how well it held up. 

[Veltigar]

Watched the latest episode of Rick and Morty. Greatly enjoyed the John Carpenter vibe they were going for with this episode and I feel like we are about one episode away from saying that the show is on a hot streak. Two excellent episodes in a row  

16 hours ago, Ran said:

@Veltigar

I believe their 3-4 year plan is to end the show with the end of the Dance. Maybe The Hour of the Wolf feeds into that, but I do not expect much of the Regency to feature.

That seems a fair bet. It would be a bit anticlimactic for people after all the action that is to come.

I assumed there were going to be only three seasons, but you think there might be a fourth one in the cards?

15 hours ago, IFR said:

Yeah, I'm enjoying the show greatly (a few questionable writing decisions aside), and am glad that HBO is trying something quite different than Game of Thrones, which is not conventional when doing a spinoff.

Emotional reception wise, it reminds me a lot of how I felt about the first season of GoT. Not perfect, but given the practical nightmares involved they are doing as well as can be expected. A few things I would have adapted differently, but so far I think I see the reasoning behind most of the decisions they made. I might not always agree with it (although mostly I do), but the sum of the whole is definitely greater than its parts here.

15 hours ago, IFR said:

Most spinoffs are rehashes that try to restore the same formula of the original and count on the audience's nostalgia to carry it forward. Hot D is going another route, and I appreciate that.

It perhaps helps that I know where everything is headed, and have seen all the drama that has transpired so far to be a necessary foundation to deepen the impact of the craziness that will occur down the line. I think that while this first season is viewed by many as somewhat awkward as its own thing, viewed holistically as part of the overall series it will work very well.

But I see online and know people personally who are not pleased with how this series is structured thus far, particularly with the latest time jump and the change of cast.

It is my hope that by the season finale when things will finally shape a clear direction for the show (and certainly by season two when the show should be full bore), the skeptics will be won over and appreciate what this series is going for. 

I hope the show will be able to maintain at least this level of quality throughout. If it does that, the audience will come. The IP is too big for a good show to fail, although sadly enough it will probably never eclipse GoT in popularity.

17 minutes ago, TormundsWoman said:

You should post in the HotD threads!  I could at least read stuff like this! (not only Ser Yorick being mad that only morons like myself like the scenes that make no sense to him in HotD, you know )

Alas, I'll never venture to that forbidden zone. Too worried about GoT spoilers. I'd like to preserve as much surprise as possible for when the books are finally released 

2 hours ago, Werthead said:

There's some good stuff on Apple TV+ but you can burn through it pretty quick. At the moment I'd say Ted Lasso, For All Mankind (despite a ropey third season) and Mythic Quest are all very good. Foundation is worth watching for the visuals and for Lee Pace's magnificent performance. I haven't seen Severance yet but heard good things. See is apparently okay if you like lots of Jason Momoa in furs looking stoically into the middle distance and then beating people up.

Isn't that true for most of the streamers though? At least if you are interested in a certain degree of quality in what you watch  

[RumHam]

On 9/25/2022 at 8:14 AM, Tywin et al. said:

The Faculty

I'm only twenty minutes in to watching it for the first time in probably 10+ years but damn, the cast of this movie is amazing. Lots of great character actors from the 90's. You know everyone from somewhere. 

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

4 minutes ago, RumHam said:

I'm only twenty minutes in to watching it for the first time in probably 10+ years but damn, the cast of this movie is amazing. Lots of great character actors from the 90's. You know everyone from somewhere. 

The cast is nuts, and it's when so many of them were either just making their star turn or about to do so. The payroll five years later would have been a fortune. 

[VigoTheCarpathian]

2 hours ago, RumHam said:

I'm only twenty minutes in to watching it for the first time in probably 10+ years but damn, the cast of this movie is amazing. Lots of great character actors from the 90's. You know everyone from somewhere. 

Not a bad movie (I forgot Jon Stewart did more movies than just Half-baked!) - but the only thing I remember it for was the horrendous soundtrack.  Like the quality of the bands on it make how bad the overall album is exponentially worse in the 90s cringe.  

[Werthead]

8 hours ago, Veltigar said:

Isn't that true for most of the streamers though? At least if you are interested in a certain degree of quality in what you watch  

Depends. Services like Netflix and Amazon have tons of complete, older shows and have built up way more originals as well, so if you'd somehow never used Netflix before and got it today, there'd be an absurd amount more than Apple to watch. 

[Heartofice]

Also Netflix is just pumping out content at an extraordinary rate, ok a lot of it is garbage or 'ok' at best, but it's still doing it. I haven't renewed my Apple TV sub for months, and when I look on there I see literally zero new shows since I cancelled. I don't see that as a very enticing prospect.

[Deadlines? What Deadlines?]

I'm about half way through my Foundation rewatch. Definitely better the second time around. I'm looking forward to season 2. 

[Isis]

2 hours ago, Deadlines? What Deadlines? said:

I'm about half way through my Foundation rewatch. Definitely better the second time around. I'm looking forward to season 2. 

What channel are you watching on? I sort of meant to watch this and then it passed me by due to RL stuff.

[Deadlines? What Deadlines?]

3 hours ago, Isis said:

What channel are you watching on? I sort of meant to watch this and then it passed me by due to RL stuff.

It's on Apple TV+

[Veltigar]

6 hours ago, Werthead said:

Depends. Services like Netflix and Amazon have tons of complete, older shows and have built up way more originals as well, so if you'd somehow never used Netflix before and got it today, there'd be an absurd amount more than Apple to watch. 

Fair point in general I admit. Perhaps it's just me but I usually do find Netflix' content somewhat lackluster so there is little in their back catalogue I'd like to rewatch. Who knows what will happen in the future though. Apple has so much money, if they really want to they'd be able to catch up.

6 hours ago, Heartofice said:

Also Netflix is just pumping out content at an extraordinary rate, ok a lot of it is garbage or 'ok' at best, but it's still doing it. I haven't renewed my Apple TV sub for months, and when I look on there I see literally zero new shows since I cancelled. I don't see that as a very enticing prospect.

Ah, but isn't Apple cheaper?

[Deadlines? What Deadlines?]

Downsizing. 

Loved it. Funny. Original. Interesting take on environmentalism and consumerism. I have no idea why critics shat on it the way they did. I think they were expecting a different movie. 

[Heartofice]

56 minutes ago, Deadlines? What Deadlines? said:

Downsizing. 

Loved it. Funny. Original. Interesting take on environmentalism and consumerism. I have no idea why critics shat on it the way they did. I think they were expecting a different movie. 

I think because what started out as a pretty good and interesting movie really did not live up to that premise. Think the final third is actually quite bad. I was very disappointed with how that movie turned out.

 

4 hours ago, Veltigar said:

Ah, but isn't Apple cheaper?

Yeah it's basically half the price of a lot of other services. Does that justify its barebones catalogue though? Not really. I'm assuming that their plan is growth and over the next few years they will scale up their stock of movies and tv shows, whilst also upping their price. At the moment though it doesn't make sense to keep a subscription for it. I could watch everything worthwhile on there in a weekend. As I said, they haven't added anything new or interesting in months, that's shocking.

At least Disney+ always has the next big thing coming each month, even if they are slopping out a lot of runny turds mostly. There is the occasional gem in there though.. Andor for one.

[Raja]

On 9/27/2022 at 1:26 AM, briantw said:

I assume that, come season two, it'll be a more straightforward story from a timeline perspective.

I think there's something to be said about evaluating the show as it goes on, on an episode by episode basis as opposed to saying 'it'll get better or good next season etc'. I have no issues following story lines, as the show is fairly straightforward, but I think there are significant weaknesses when it comes to scenes just not landing at all as there has been basically no build up for them, particularly in this episode.

It's not become a 'can't miss show', partly because of weaknesses with the writing and how that lends itself to characterization. Both those weaknesses in the show have it on the good but not on a 'can't miss' level, at least for me. I don't particularly like comparing shows, but when you compare to the best tv shows, their episodes are stories in themselves and I just don't see that in HOTD, and whilst every show doesn't need to do that, you can excuse a show for not doing it if it's showing you something else that is compelling instead - ie some of it's characters, but besides Paddy Considine, Emma D'Arcy & Matt smith, I'm left a little cold by everyone else.

Of course, I know how the story etc ends, but that shouldn't stop the show's execution to be good, which I don't think it has.

[Deadlines? What Deadlines?]

6 hours ago, Heartofice said:

I think because what started out as a pretty good and interesting movie really did not live up to that premise. Think the final third is actually quite bad. I was very disappointed with how that movie turned out.

Why? Because Kirsten Whig...

Spoiler

...disappears at the end of the first act and never returns?

I was fine with the ending. I knew what the big revelation was going to be the moment they mentioned the "news story". in the middle of the film. I guess I don't read the same stuff as most Hollywood movie reviewers. 

I wish...

Spoiler

...more film makers had the guts to doom the human race. I have high hopes for the Avatar sequels.