Watch, Watched, Watching: Festival Time!

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

5 minutes ago, Week said:

I adore Nope. Some may call parts of it flawed - but it landed 100% for me.

Ha, funny timing. I'm about to throw it on again and give it a second chance, thanks to Nic and Mex's team sucking so much.

[Spockydog]

Nope is definitely one I'm going to enjoy more each time I watch it.

The moment when we discover the source of all that weird screaming in the sky is one of my all time greatest horror moments.

 

[Isis]

Without knowing very much about it I watched Don't Look Up last weekend. I wouldn't say I loved it but I definitely liked it. The cast play to type and the plot is way too believable based on the horrible mess we are all in now. Did people find it to be too on the nose?

I also watched Anatomy of a Scandal, which was a mini-series focusing on an overprivileged Tory MP accused of rape. Again, a bit too on the nose? Way too believable. Sienna Miller was very good as the not-so-stupid wife of the MP. Good performances all round really.

Saw the first episode of Cabinet of Curiosities while waiting to be discharged from hospital. Overall, quite liked it. It gave me quite a strong Stephen King vibe. It remains to be seen whether that is a good or bad thing as I progress to the other episodes.

We have just watched Wendell & Wild, which was fine but I cannot imagine ever choosing to watch it again on purpose. There were a few good visual humour moments but there wasn't enough depth to it; it didn't have enough soul for me.

Yesterday we sat through a four hour documentary on 80's horror films on Shudder, which was brilliant (can't recall the name but it was something pedestrian). As a child of the 80's (I was born in 77) I had never really considered the sheer number of horror classics from the 80's. All those Freddy, Jason, Halloween sequels, Killer Clowns, Critters, Gremlins etc. All the stuff about what rating a film could have, how much more 'horror' stuff got cut from Gremlins to make it more like a kiddy dark comedy than an actual horror; how anything with sex or nudity was getting described as 'European'; the rise of the female protagonist in horror films... if you're into films, I really recommend this doc.

[Week]

1 hour ago, Spockydog said:

Nope is definitely one I'm going to enjoy more each time I watch it.

The moment when we discover the source of all that weird screaming in the sky is one of my all time greatest horror moments.

 

*All time greatest horror moments*

Yes.

[DMC]

1 hour ago, Isis said:

Without knowing very much about it I watched Don't Look Up last weekend. I wouldn't say I loved it but I definitely liked it. The cast play to type and the plot is way too believable based on the horrible mess we are all in now. Did people find it to be too on the nose?

I find it to be incredibly facile satire/social commentary that doesn't offer anything new to say.  But its far greater sin is the fact I didn't find it funny at all.

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

Don't Look Up is a well made movie, if that distinction from good makes sense, and I did think it was better a second time through, but yeah, it's not funny. 

[Ran]

Very briefly -- not had much time to watch stuff of late, so it's short:

Finished the 4th season of Cobra Kai, and it is starting to maybe be past its sell-by date. I saw someone remark that it's basically a live action anime, and I guess there's real truth to that, given how ridiculous the whole thing is. I think they've said they have a 7 or 9 season plan, but I'm not sure I see it.

Watched Athena, the Roman Gervais-directed film about an apartment bloc uprising following the death of a child at the hands of police. Absolutely amazing, kinetic first section, with a number of very long oners. The first one, in particular, is absolutely spectacular as it goes from a press conference to an invasion of a police station out to a moving vehicle which is then tracked and returned to -- no hidden cuts at all, just immaculate choreography. That said, the film substitutes its technical wizardry for a cohesive narrative and to me it fell flat at the end, all sound and fury signifying very little. Shame. But the Netflix video on the behind the scenes is worth watching just to see how Gervais and his crew managed to achieve what they did.

Still making our way through the latest season of What We Do In the Shadows. Just now finished the episode where Baby Colin Robinson is constantly causing problems, so they try to get him into a private school. Felt very apropos as little Lancelot is now also at that certain age for a puppy and is a real, real handful. 

Of course House of the Dragon was quite good. Not perfect, but as I've said elsewhere it took a really challenging approach to tell its story -- twenty years covered in a single season -- and I think it largely succeeded.

If you aren't watching Star Wars: Andor, you are really missing out on what may be the best show of the year.

[A True Kaniggit]

I watched the first episode of Season 4 of The Dragon Prince. 
 

I completely missed it was released early 4 days ago. 

[BigFatCoward]

What we do in the shadows season 4 finally drops tomorrow on disney+ in the UK. About fucking time. 

[Zorral]

FYI, "See How They Run" went up on HBO today, so I know what I'll be doing after dinner, while everybody else I know is doing  "Fèt Gede in Weimar America,"  the Haitian Day of the Dead celebrations.  It just goes way too late, has way too many people, and is way too loud for my o so delicate sensibilities!    At least when I have to get up at 6 AM.

 

[kissdbyfire]

On 10/27/2022 at 9:03 AM, Heartofice said:

Started The Watcher on Netflix. Clearly it's garbage but it has Naomi Watts in it so it can't be that terrible right?

For some reason it has 'Based on a True Story' plastered at the front, but there is no way almost any of this is true except in the most tenuous way! So many of the events are totally batshit and bizarre, I refuse to believe it's even close to a 'True Story

Yeah, I thought it was rubbish. But there’s another upside besides Watts: Margo Martindale, who is always, always terrific - from Justified to The Americans and anything else she’s ever been on. Sadly here her role is quite small. 

[Heartofice]

17 minutes ago, kissdbyfire said:

Yeah, I thought it was rubbish. But there’s another upside besides Watts: Margo Martindale, who is always, always terrific - from Justified to The Americans and anything else she’s ever been on. Sadly here her role is quite small. 

Agree, she is a sign of quality in any show. Maybe not so much here but actually the cast in general is very good. I especially thought the detective lady was great in it, hadn’t seen her in anything before.

And I sadly don’t hate the show, it is low grade schlock but it’s almost enjoyable in a trash way. I guess that is what Ryan Murphy is known for.

[kissdbyfire]

1 minute ago, Heartofice said:

Agree, she is a sign of quality in any show. Maybe not so much here but actually the cast in general is very good. I especially thought the detective lady was great in it, hadn’t seen her in anything before.

And I sadly don’t hate the show, it is low grade schlock but it’s almost enjoyable in a trash way. I guess that is what Ryan Murphy is known for.

Agree, the cast is very good. And yes, that detective is excellent! She looks familiar but I can’t quite place her. I suppose from supporting roles n tv shows over the years?
 I don’t hate it either, but It is rubbish/trashy from a story perspective.  
 

Spoiler

Like, when the Theodora confesses, it’s totally obvious she’s confessing for exactly the reason she states later. 

Watchable, but keep expectations low type of thing. 

[Mindwalker]

4 hours ago, Ran said:

If you aren't watching Star Wars: Andor, you are really missing out on what may be the best show of the year.

For me, Severance is still no. 1, but Andor might well become no. 2.

[kissdbyfire]

I’m starting The Devil’s Hour tonight, really looking forward to it b/c Peter Capaldi. 
Anyone watched it yet?

[Derfel Cadarn]

14 minutes ago, kissdbyfire said:

I’m starting The Devil’s Hour tonight, really looking forward to it b/c Peter Capaldi. 
Anyone watched it yet?

Watched episode 1, pretty creepy. Good so far.

[kissdbyfire]

2 minutes ago, Derfel Cadarn said:

Watched episode 1, pretty creepy. Good so far.

Ooooooh creepy is good!

Now I’m looking forward to it even more! 

[dog-days]

Back from the local arts centre where I caught See How They Run. It was mildly funny throughout, and utterly unsurprising. It took no risks, and floated in a fantasy bubble of Agatha Christie-within-fifties-film-London, and that was fine. As long as you don't expect anything more, it's a good film to watch in dreary wet November. (Seriously, I'm running out of dry shoes. It's as if we're getting a whole year of rain within about a week.) 

Saoirse Ronan as Constable Stalker turned in the best performance as a winsome Irish policewoman who bounced nicely off pickled, depressed Sam Rockwell. Without her it would have been a two-star, not a three-star film. It was good to see Shirley Henderson again as well – I haven't spotted her in anything for ages. 

 

[Luzifer's right hand]

I stumbled upon Avenue 5 while exploring the content of Sky X(Sky is sadly the only legal option to get HotD here). 

Parts of it are fun. I will stick with it as I suspect it might get decent once it finds its legs. I hope they kill the billionaire character.

The running gag about Hugh Laurie switching between accents is really amusing to someone who only one knew him has House originally (I only saw some of his incredible funny earlier work later).

[Isis]

19 hours ago, DMC said:

I find it to be incredibly facile satire/social commentary that doesn't offer anything new to say.  But its far greater sin is the fact I didn't find it funny at all.

I found it to be...'darkly humourous' I guess. Not so much that it made me laugh, but that it made me sigh with a cynical recognition. It was a bit obvious, a bit two-dimensional, a bit pantomimey? I went in with zero expectations and it kept me entertained for a couple of hours. Also Cate Blanchett. <3

Ironically, I decided to finally watch Enola Holmes the other day - ironic because I didn't know until after watching that there is a sequel out this Friday and also because it was sad to look at Henry Cavill's face on the day we found out about him not being in The Witcher any more. The film reminded me a little of Lemony Snickett, because of the precocious all-talented get out of anything breaking-the-fourth wall protagnonist. I'm glad there is a sequel because I have a place in my heart for charming little adventure films.

Yesterday we watched The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window, which I had initially thought was i) a film and ii) going to be a flat out spoof which would be impossible to tolerate. So I thought I would stick it on for five minutes and see how it was, but unexpectedly we ended up watching all eight episodes in one go. Maybe we were just in the right mood for it or maybe they pitched the jokey elements just right, but it was actually fine?

ETA: Nearly forgot! Finished watching Nightflyers. Urgh. It got worse as it went on, but as we had the time we watched the last four episodes in one go. This did not need ten episodes! It could have been done in six episodes, maybe even four. It didn't have that much to say and it did not make me care that much (or at all!) for any of the characters. The ending was not satisfying. I don't want to spoil anyone so I won't get into details but I absolutely cannot recommend that anyone waste their time watching this show, it's just not very good.