WWWatching

[DMC]

So I just finished Americans.  Love how Dire Straits' "Brothers in Arms" is one of the main songs in the finale.  Between this and West Wing's "Two Cathedrals," it's developing quite a prestige TV resume.  OTOH, I will say one of my biggest faults with the final season is the reliance on "montage with everyone looking stressed while we listen to 80s music."  The season premiere was REALLY glaring in this regard -- like almost half the episode.  It's the end of the semester, and couldn't help but associate it with students who write papers that are, like, 40 percent quotations.

Oh, also, I LOVED how in the fifth season Armand's Pizza plays almost a starring role in an episode.  AND the original location.  I lived in Tenleytown for about 3 years in the early aughts, and them going over maps of the area was insanely nostalgic.  Sucked that location shut down in 2012, but the combination of Armand's with Angelico which was about a block away was like pizza heaven.  Been up and down the east coast my entire adult life and I can't find anywhere that can compare to that.

[RhaenysBee]

I’ve got back to Bones season 5 after the Last Kingdom detour. 

I’m quite pleased with my facial recognition and face memory as google promptly proved that the Russian villainess is, as I within 30 seconds of screentime thought, played by Jane the Virgin’s Justin Baldoni’s wife Emily Baldoni who went by a different surname at the time of Bones. 

Aside from that, 

Spoiler

Cherie, there are only so many fake out deaths you can play on Booth before nobody gives the faintest crap that he’s buried alive/shot/has a brain tumor/is in a coma/has amnesia. What is even the point? Why do you write a scene to reveal that Booth has amnesia, only to cut away and time jump 6 weeks ahead to the time he is fully healed from his amnesia. Why do you waste your energy on such? it’s so bizarre. Nobody believes that Booth’s amnesia is going to have any impact or consequence. Just don’t bother.

and the bragging. Bones got a Rolex from whoever. Who the anointed hell brings her Rolex to examine dead bodies so she can brag about it? I so want her to brag about it to Hodgins at this point, so Hodgins can nod politely then go home in the next scene to an entire drawer of watches from Omega to Patek Philippe. Because much like in real life, it’s never the rich that brag about their watch. Yes, Bones the character still makes me cringe. 

 

[Zorral]

51 minutes ago, DMC said:

Rose McGowan

Also the evil daughter sorceress in the Momoa 2011 Conan the Barbarian!  (I just rewatched it, which is the only reason I know this at this moment!  By next week, which is tomorrow, I'll have forgotten ...)

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

54 minutes ago, DMC said:

I dunno Rose McGowan had Charmed and Grindhouse in the aughts.  Then, ya know, lots of stuff happened.  But at least initially I'd say she was on par with those other three.  Plus, for the non-teeny-bobbers, there's fucking Liev Schreiber!  And I've always liked Neve Campbell more than any of the other young actors in either of those, but, yeah, always wondered why she didn't break out.

Anyway, always really enjoyed the original Scream trilogy.  Even the third one.  Still haven't seen the latest two.

Three now. 

And a lot of the cast became stars. Jamie Kennedy isn't my cup of tea, but he got a lot of work afterwards. So did Matthew Lillard, who is in one of my favorite movies of all time. The only one who didn't do anything else was the guy who played the main killer.

[DMC]

14 minutes ago, Tywin et al. said:

Three now. 

No, I meant the latest two.  I saw Scream 4.

[DMC]

Anyway, more spoiler-y thoughts on the end of The Americans...

Spoiler

I had pretty high expectations for the finale (and final season) after reading and hearing about it for years, and they were mostly met (other than the above complaint about too much 80s music montages).  The scene between Stan and the three in the parking garage is what makes television great.  I really liked how Paige decided to stay at the last minute.  Like how they left it open-ended on whether Laurie Holden was an illegal or not.  Also just the entire premise of the final season was perhaps intuitive, but expertly done in linking the characters to two internal factions in the lead-up to START.  Bringing Arkady back for that was industrious.

But poor Oleg, right?  I can't imagine in the real world he'd spend much time in prison just for picking up a dead drop.  Or at least I'd like to think so.  Really was hoping Margo Martindale would get her comeuppance.  Man did she do a great job making you hate that character in the last season.

 

[Nictarion]

4 hours ago, Tywin et al. said:

Three now. 

And a lot of the cast became stars. Jamie Kennedy isn't my cup of tea, but he got a lot of work afterwards. So did Matthew Lillard, who is in one of my favorite movies of all time. The only one who didn't do anything else was the guy who played the main killer.

SLC Punk? 

[Ramsay B.]

I got my money on She’s All That.

[DMC]

It's obviously Scooby-Doo.

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

8 hours ago, DMC said:

No, I meant the latest two.  I saw Scream 4.

Just watched Scream VI. It's fine. You need to watch the previous one for some context though.

3 hours ago, Nictarion said:

SLC Punk? 

The Descendants. 

[VigoTheCarpathian]

8 hours ago, Tywin et al. said:

The Descendants. 

Lillard’s definitive role remains “Hackers” - peak 90s trash cinema.

[williamjm]

I watched Nobody, which I thought was a fun action film. It is perhaps even more John Wick-like than I expected, although he does apparently like cats more than dogs. Bob Odendirk was good in the lead role, and I also enjoyed Christopher Lloyd as his father.

15 hours ago, DMC said:

Anyway, more spoiler-y thoughts on the end of The Americans...

  Hide contents

I had pretty high expectations for the finale (and final season) after reading and hearing about it for years, and they were mostly met (other than the above complaint about too much 80s music montages).  The scene between Stan and the three in the parking garage is what makes television great.  I really liked how Paige decided to stay at the last minute.  Like how they left it open-ended on whether Laurie Holden was an illegal or not.  Also just the entire premise of the final season was perhaps intuitive, but expertly done in linking the characters to two internal factions in the lead-up to START.  Bringing Arkady back for that was industrious.

But poor Oleg, right?  I can't imagine in the real world he'd spend much time in prison just for picking up a dead drop.  Or at least I'd like to think so.  Really was hoping Margo Martindale would get her comeuppance.  Man did she do a great job making you hate that character in the last season.

 

Spoiler

I think Oleg was the most decent person in the show, so it was sad that he ends up with some of the worst consequences.

I was watching episodes as they came out each week so the frequency of the music montages perhaps wasn't quite as glaring as it might be binge-watching it.

 

[DMC]

Just now, williamjm said:

I was watching episodes as they came out each week so the frequency of the music montages perhaps wasn't quite as glaring as it might be binge-watching it.

Yeah I meant to mention this - binging definitely makes it more apparent.

[ljkeane]

I mainly just remember sequence set to Tusk in the first episode being really good.

[Zorral]

Really admiring the actors' delivery in the first three episodes of Love & Death (HBO), Toni Collette's, particularly.  They are all very good though.

Very much liking the NF Patients of Doctor Garcia, with this very large drawback, the fascist, narcissistic neighbor who is forcing herself on the Doctor.  I highly dislike the character and the actor, and I wish the writers hadn't put this in there.  Obviously they believe this is a great source for heightened drama/conflict, but it is infuriating -- and boring.  So far as I've watched, the two primary female character do not come off well: one's a fascist narcissist and the other's a clandestine German nazi, in a high up Spanish bureaucratic position.  This isn't to say such characters aren't believable or plausible, but they aren't written into the narrative in a way I'm finding believeable.

[Deadlines? What Deadlines?]

So after watching 3Below, I went back and watched Troll Hunters, the series that came before.

Funny, clever, great voice cast, and pretty good visuals. It’s just a really fun show.

Best I can tell, Arcadia Oaks is a bit like Hawkins in Stranger Things but with multiple gangs of kids getting into whacky adventures that occasionally intersect. 

[dbunting]

Watched  The Covenant  this weekend.  Pretty good movie broken into 3 parts. The actors all did pretty good jobs and it showed the shit side of war pretty well.

Forgot to mention how full the place was. Went to get popcorn and there were 40 people in line, that damn Super Mario movie is still killing it!  I actually went to my movie and came back after the previews were done so the line was gone. My theater was about 1/3 to 1/2 full for an afternoon matinee.

Edited May 1, 2023 by dbunting
Lines

[Spockydog]

Got a DVD of Russell T Davies' The Second Coming from ebay, because it's not available on any streaming service.

Brilliant stuff, and I absolutely loved Davies

Spoiler

killing God with rat poison. No less than he deserved. 

 

Edited May 1, 2023 by Spockydog

[Corvinus85]

Anyone watching Mrs. Davis on Peacock?

It's a ridiculous looking show based on the trailer. The main character is a nun, who has certain skills, who is tasked by a world-controlling AI that she hates to find the Holy Grail. I nearly gave up after 10 minutes because I thought what the hell is this show, but it got better and more interesting as it went along. There may be a powerful theme at the core of the show if they manage to do it right, so I'm curious enough to keep going. The show is 5 episodes in, I watched the first one last night.

Also finally saw Puss in Boots: The Law Wish which had a pretty solid story.

[WarGalley]

I watched Licorice Pizza on Amazon Prime. I really liked this movie despite being skeptical about a coming of age drama that focuses on the relationship between a sheltered 25 year old woman and a suave and confident 15 year old teenager. The movie really immerses you in 1972 San Fernando Valley and includes a couple of great character performances from the 2 leads and an excellent soundtrack. I totally bought into the culture of the era and into the possibility of this kind of relationship blossoming amid their unique lifestyles. I recommend.