Watch, Watched, Watching: Anybody but Superman

[Isis]

On 4/19/2024 at 1:44 PM, Mr. Chatywin et al. said:

Holy fuck, The Beach is a book?!?!?!?!? I've always argued that's one of Leo's five best films. 

Yeah. It's good, you should read it. Personally I was pulling for Ewan McGregor in that role when I heard the film was being made. 

Watched See You Yesterday which is about two super smart kids in Flatbush who have made a time machine (time machines?) but when they finally get it to work they end up embroiled in a racist cop shooting and multiple timeloops ensue. Is it like Primer for disaffected teens? Not really. It's fine I guess but not life-changing. 

[Zorral]

1 hour ago, Werthead said:

For me it goes something like (nowhere near exhaustive):

I'd put Mindhunter on those lists somewhere.

~~~~

The Beach is an old book, which is why people may not know it. Written by Brit Alex Garland, published in 1996.  I read it when it came out.  This may have been peak  wanderjhar era for the prosperous Young of 'the West' to 'exotic' locations, post the dissolution of the Soviet Empire, before 9/11; they all wrote about their travels one way or another.  Or tried to.  Or like Ethan Hawke, made a film franchise even, starting with Before Sunrise (1995).

Edited April 20 by Zorral

[Nictarion]

On 4/5/2024 at 7:42 AM, Ramsay B. said:

I went and saw Late Night with the Devil yesterday. It was solid and fun but I was kind of expecting more, especially with all of the rave reviews it’s getting. I wish there was more horror madness or something. 

Dastmalchian did really nail the corny 70’s talk show host bit and glad to see him in a lead role. 

I watched this last night. I really dug it. It was actually even darker than I expected with the whole 

Spoiler

Bohemian Grove - wife sacrifice stuff. I thought he was just going to have a random possessed girl on the show. 

 

[Heartofice]

1 hour ago, Werthead said:

For me it goes something like (nowhere near exhaustive):

S-TIER

• The Wire
• a gap, then the rest are not far off par with one another
• Deadwood
• The Sopranos (from what I've seen, this is finally high on my list for a full watch)
• Band of Brothers
• Rome
• Halt & Catch Fire
• Edge of Darkness
• State of Play
• Andor (provisional, depends on Season 2)
• Better Call Saul
• Chernobyl

A-TIER

• Shogun (provisional)
• Manhunt (provisional)
• Game of Thrones (Seasons 1-4)
• True Detective (Season 1)
• Battlestar Galactica (Seasons 1-2, first few eps of Season 3)
• Breaking Bad
• Ultraviolet

There's a lot of shows that are personal favourites but are also highly variable in quality so I'd be dubious about putting them that high up in any kind of an attempt at an objective list despite their best episodes approaching A-tier or S-tier quality (i.e. Babylon 5, Doctor Who, most sitcoms, most Star Trek shows, though Deep Space Nine does flirt with the A-tier).

I haven't seen Twin Peaks since it first aired, so I'd need to rewatch to determine where to put it.

Think the list looks pretty much what I would put, probably how most people would place things. A few exceptions, like I really like Better Call Saul, but also felt like it was too meandering and indulgent at times for me to ever put it S tier.

I'm also not sure you should allowed to put in a show where only a quarter of the episodes were ever good (looking at you True Detective). Also I'd include comedies, but that might be a bit subjective. 

One notable exception here for me would be Mad Men, which is very much S tier and incredibly influential. Certainly it tailed off towards the end but I'd put it in top 5 shows myself.

[TheLastWolf]

36 minutes ago, Heartofice said:

I'm also not sure you should allowed to put in a show where only a quarter of the episodes were ever good (looking at you True Detective).

S1 deserves that spot even if they milk it to 10 seasons of diluted shit 

Andor and BCS did "spinoffs, but better" best

Edited April 20 by TheLastWolf

[Spockydog]

1 hour ago, Zorral said:

I'd put Mindhunter on those lists somewhere.

 

You're having a laugh. 

[polishgenius]

35 minutes ago, TheLastWolf said:

Andor and BCS did "spinoffs, but better" best

Technically The Simpsons is a spinoff. 

 

[Zorral]

40 minutes ago, Spockydog said:

You're having a laugh. 

  No. 

Edited April 20 by Zorral

[3CityApache]

4 hours ago, Werthead said:

For me it goes something like (nowhere near exhaustive):

S-TIER

• The Wire
• a gap, then the rest are not far off par with one another
• Deadwood
• The Sopranos (from what I've seen, this is finally high on my list for a full watch)
• Band of Brothers
• Rome
• Halt & Catch Fire
• Edge of Darkness
• State of Play
• Andor (provisional, depends on Season 2)
• Better Call Saul
• Chernobyl

A-TIER

• Shogun (provisional)
• Manhunt (provisional)
• Game of Thrones (Seasons 1-4)
• True Detective (Season 1)
• Battlestar Galactica (Seasons 1-2, first few eps of Season 3)
• Breaking Bad
• Ultraviolet

There's a lot of shows that are personal favourites but are also highly variable in quality so I'd be dubious about putting them that high up in any kind of an attempt at an objective list despite their best episodes approaching A-tier or S-tier quality (i.e. Babylon 5, Doctor Who, most sitcoms, most Star Trek shows, though Deep Space Nine does flirt with the A-tier).

I haven't seen Twin Peaks since it first aired, so I'd need to rewatch to determine where to put it.

What's missing from that list for me: Six Feet Under, The Shield and Justified at least. Perhaps a few more around A-Tier, like The Boys, Fargo or - hell - Fawlty Towers or even first four seasons of House.

Edited April 20 by 3CityApache

[Werthead]

On 4/19/2024 at 1:44 PM, Mr. Chatywin et al. said:

Holy fuck, The Beach is a book?!?!?!?!? I've always argued that's one of Leo's five best films. 

Written by Alex Garland, probably better known now as a film writer and director: he was behind current semi-controversial film Civil War, and Men, Annihilation and Ex Machina. He also wrote 28 Days Later and Sunshine for Danny Boyle. He also wrote Dredd.

6 minutes ago, 3CityApache said:

What's missing from that list for me: Six Feet Under, The Shield and Justified at least. Perhaps a few more around A-Tier, like The Boys, Fargo or - hell - Fawlty Towers or even first four seasons of House.

I've only seen the first season of Justified I fell off it hard in Season 2. I should try again. The Shield never clicked for me, but I was very young when I saw it so I'd probably appreciate it now. I did really like Six Feet Under to start with but fell off in the second or third season (I think a bunch of these shows suffered from the "Season 1 on regular TV but then it moves to expensive satellite TV from Season 3 and everyone in Britain stopped watching it," syndrome of the late 1990s to early 2010s).

The Boys is great fun but it's not that good. Fargo is S-tier (Season 1 anyway, 2 and 3 are not quite as tight). Fawlty Towers I've liked but not been super-fanatical about: it's mainly a string of absolute classic jokes and comic setpieces held together by some very unfunny jokes and meandering mehness inbetween.

[3CityApache]

30 minutes ago, Werthead said:

Justified I fell off it hard in Season 2. I should try again. 

You definitely should.

30 minutes ago, Werthead said:

The Shield never clicked for me, but I was very young when I saw it so I'd probably appreciate it now.

I'm positive you would.

30 minutes ago, Werthead said:

I did really like Six Feet Under to start with but fell off in the second or third season

So you weren't able to appreciate one of the boldest creative choices writers made few episodes before finale, and also one of the greatest series finale ever made.

What about House? First four seasons were great and double finale of fourth season: Wilson's Heart and House's Head are among the greatest moments of television I've ever experienced.

I would also rate The Expanse higher than Battlestar Galactica.

But to each their own, obviously.

Edited April 20 by 3CityApache

[polishgenius]

Obviously the actual best show on television is Taskmaster, but I know we're talking about narrative shows really.

 

 

 

[Zorral]

2 hours ago, Werthead said:

I've only seen the first season of Justified I fell off it hard in Season 2.

I love Justified, one of my all time favorites.  Most people thought Season 2 was the best season. Myself, I don't have a favorite season of the series.

As far as others so good, I'd put in the Brit series, New Tricks.  It was astonishingly high quality throughout all the seasons.  Black Sails and The Borgias as well.

As I mentioned above, re The Beach novel:

Quote

The Beach is an old book, which is why people may not know it. Written by Brit Alex Garland, published in 1996.  I read it when it came out.  This may have been peak  wanderjhar era for the prosperous Young of 'the West' to 'exotic' locations, post the dissolution of the Soviet Empire, before 9/11; they all wrote about their travels one way or another.  Or tried to.  Or like Ethan Hawke, made a film franchise even, starting with Before Sunrise (1995).

 

Edited April 20 by Zorral

[williamjm]

20 hours ago, Werthead said:

Checked out Ford vs. Ferrari and very solid, great performances from Christian Bale and Matt Damon. Unlike some other recent-ish racing movies (like the otherwise solid Rush), the blending of real racing and CGI is faultless.

I liked it, even if it felt slightly odd to have an underdog story where the underdog is the Ford Motor Company.

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

7 hours ago, Isis said:

Yeah. It's good, you should read it. Personally I was pulling for Ewan McGregor in that role when I heard the film was being made. 

I feel like I've been ordering two, reading one for far too long, but I want to get it. It's pretty short so seems easy to bang out on a rainy day.

And McGregor would have been a good casting as well. 

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

8 hours ago, Werthead said:

For me it goes something like (nowhere near exhaustive):

S-TIER

• The Wire
• a gap, then the rest are not far off par with one another
• Deadwood
• The Sopranos (from what I've seen, this is finally high on my list for a full watch)
• Band of Brothers
• Rome
• Halt & Catch Fire
• Edge of Darkness
• State of Play
• Andor (provisional, depends on Season 2)
• Better Call Saul
• Chernobyl

A-TIER

• Shogun (provisional)
• Manhunt (provisional)
• Game of Thrones (Seasons 1-4)
• True Detective (Season 1)
• Battlestar Galactica (Seasons 1-2, first few eps of Season 3)
• Breaking Bad
• Ultraviolet

There's a lot of shows that are personal favourites but are also highly variable in quality so I'd be dubious about putting them that high up in any kind of an attempt at an objective list despite their best episodes approaching A-tier or S-tier quality (i.e. Babylon 5, Doctor Who, most sitcoms, most Star Trek shows, though Deep Space Nine does flirt with the A-tier).

I haven't seen Twin Peaks since it first aired, so I'd need to rewatch to determine where to put it.

If you're picking stretches of a show and not the show as a whole, Dexter has to make the A-Tier list. The second half of the series shouldn't take away from how great the first half was. 

[Ramsay B.]

I finally watched Saltburn. What a ride.
 

Spoiler

Keoghan is something else. The way he can portray an awkward nerd then turn on a dime to a dominating, seductive manipulator is quite impressive. Add in his unique look and these type of roles are just absolutely perfect for him.

Always fun to watch vapid rich people playing games upon games, especially when the whole cast is on point too.

And so are we to believe that Olly took the check from the dad and got a house close by waiting for an opportunity, and capitalize with the mom after a “random” encounter? I mean that’s crazy patience. 16 years. Or maybe he just read the obit then made his move? 

 

[DMC]

For me Breaking Bad improves on rewatches.  Do you recognize the flaws more - particularly the first two seasons?  Sure. But I also appreciate the highs (no pun intended) more too.  It’s up there with Sopranos and Wire for me.

As others have mentioned, Mad Men would be in my S-tier.  Justified should be in the A-tier objectively.  It’s in my personal S-tier.  I’d put BCS in the A-tier.  Dexter…yeah I guess?  If we’re putting GoT in there based on the first four seasons and ignoring the rest, only fair to do that with Dexter too.  And the first four seasons were pretty great.

One that hasn’t been mentioned that I think objectively belongs in the S-tier - West Wing.  It’s got the hardware at least.  And they had to do ~23 episode seasons.

ETA:  Oh, The Americans in the A-tier.

Edited April 20 by DMC

[Corvinus85]

So I watched this SyFy channel movie, Rebel Moon, on Netflix. Really brought me back to 2004. Maybe I'll watch Part 2 when the nostalgia hits me again.

[TheLastWolf]

8 hours ago, polishgenius said:

Obviously the actual best show on television is Taskmaster, but I know we're talking about narrative shows really.

 

 

 

Takeshi's Castle then