Discuss and Rate the Last Thing You Watched (non-movies)

[SckizoBoy]

Arcane

I agree for the most part. Taken as a TV series in its own right, it's good, if a bit off at times. But as a love song to fans of Riot Games, it succeeded in that capacity flawlessly (if with a bump up in classification). The insert music could be excessive at times (and it was kind of hit and miss to me), but then, Riot has acquired a reputation for being as much a music label as a games company, so I'm not surprised they stuffed the series to the gills with it.

OT:
Since my wife decided to get a Netflix sub (I'm surprised by how much C-drama there is), I went and binged a bit:

Arcane - as above
Queen's Gambit - still not sure how I feel about this series...
The Witcher - not bad
Shadow & Bone - fun ride, too kiddish for my liking at times though
Altered Carbon - yet to finish S1, but the best thing so far is the guy who played the Neo-Nazi gang member sleeve (I'm sure he had WAY too much fun as Abuella before flipping to Dimi), excellent work from him

 

[McElroy]

snip

The mix-up aesthetic is how Riot Games makes money. Simply the baseline includes just about everything from blonde hotties to a Cajun catfish, and then you add the cosmetic character skins where the real money is.

 

[SilentPony]

So I just watched the South Park Post-Covid Exclusive Event, and its...cute? Like its got this whole It Ch2 thing going on, but there's no Pennywise type characters. Like they do the whole all the kids are called back to South Park and one of them is dead and they meet at a restaurant, and yadda yadda. But then nothing happens. The scenes just kinda end.
It was kinda funny that everything in the future is now Max or Plus or Premium. The new Covid Delta Variant Premium Plus, Lamps Plus Plus, South Park Max.

Some things I thought were genuinely funny, like how Stan has a tough married life with his Alexa, who despite being a hologram, both seems to care about Stan but is also a put-upon burned out wife who gets mad at Stan for all his drinking(which very much like his dad Randy, Stan treats drinking as elegantly classy)
Scott Malkinson being someone none of the kids remember was pretty funny, and PC Principle is always fun.

Other stuff I'm not sure where they're going with it, and part of me knows the payoff isn't as clever or funny as they think it is. Like Cartman being a Rabii and with a full Jewish wife, kids and life. It reminds me of the Good Place in that there are only two ways to go with the premise, in South Parks case either he's not Jewish and the whole thing is a prank on Kyle 40 years in the making, or its not and is not. Either way whatever the eventual payoff is the set up of the joke spoils the punchline.
Speaking off, the running joke that Clyde as an adult doesn't want to get a vaccine because he's allergic to shellfish, and he heard that people who prepare the vaccine can get some shellfish residue into the vaccine bottles, and he doesn't want to get the vaccine out of a general sense of shellfish-ness was the best joke of the event, no question.
Also Wendy being married to just some dude, but also like a coke fiend and a flirt. Sure? Okay? Odd character trait.

Other things I feel are just unnecessary. Like Stan's mom Sharon and sister Shelly are dead. Sharon commits suicide and Shelly is killed in a house fire set by Stan, who has no remorse over it. That just felt like the voice actors for those characters weren't part of the Paramount+ contract.

Also some things just felt...off. Like this is a direct sequel to the last Covid special that saw the boys, Kyle, Stan, Kenny and Cartman break up as friends. Sure. But the way they all talk as adults, including with other friends from the same class, that break-up scene was the last time they all spoke. So a class of about 14 kids in a small town with only one school all stopped talking with one another in 4th grade, and presumably went all the way to 12th grade never once interacting with one another.
Like I know its South Park, but that part just felt, I dunno, unbelievable?

 

[Hawki]

Halo Legends (3/5)

Speaking from experience, the Halo fanbase has generally had a mixed relationship with Halo Legends - a collection of animated shorts done in anime style, or at least, by Japanese animation companies. Nothing wrong with that in of itself, but generally, it's tough to reconcile the shorts with the Halo canon given the creative liberties taken. As such, I'm going to go through each of the shorts and give a rating.

Origins (3/5)

This is basically Cortana summarizing the history of the Halo universe, from the Forerunner-Flood War, to the aftermath of Halo 3. Taking this literally, she's narrating to John while inside the Forward Unto Dawn. Not sure how she expects John to hear you while in cryo, not to mention that she's summarizing events that he'd already know about, but meh. This is the first short, and I'm guessing the reason why is to give a basic framework for people who watch Legends without being aware of the larger context. So on that note, it succeeds, at least.

On the other hand, what's iffy is the short's attempt to imbune deeper themes, namely human nature and the idea of war being integral to it. As a theme goes, it isn't out of place for the Halo series (even if it arguably runs counter to it), but it mostly comes off as an attempt at being deep rather than actually being deep.

The Duel (3/5)

Here we get the start of some silliness, and where the infusion of Japanese anime tropes starts to graft against the Halo paradigm. The story centres on a sangheili who turns against the Covenant. You'd be forgiven from the dialogue that this is early in the Covenant's history, but no, considering the presence of mgalekgolo, this would be fairly late (3rd millennium by the Gregorian calendar). The art style is pretty solid, with the images reminding me of water colours. If I was judging this solely on animation, this would rank near the top.

However, part of the short is our lone sangheili (an Arbiter) taking on an entire army and winning singlehandedly. While I was watching it, I thought it might be symbolic rather than literal, but as things go on...no, I don't think that's the case. So, we have one sangehili taking on an army that has Wraiths, Ghosts, and Hunters, and wins. Um, sure. Okay. That doesn't raise any kind of eyebrows at all. I know this guy is an Arbiter, but sheesh.

 

[Hawki]

Homecoming (4/5)

This may be the best short in the collection, rivalled only by another (which I'll get to later). Basically, it has a past and present section. Focusing on Daisy-023, it has her flee Reach with a number of other Spartan trainees, only to make it back to her old home, to find her flash clone living in her place. Realizing that there's no 'homecoming' for her, she returns to the program. In the present, she and marines are fighting for their lives against the Covenant. They try to escape, but they fail, and they all die, only for Daisy's body to be found by John later.

I really like this one. The concept is great, of not only a Spartan fleeing the program, but confronting their flash clone. Yes, technically that the clone is still alive at this point in the story is arguably a stretch (though the clone dies soon afterwards), but there's a kind of 'quiet horror' in Homecoming that runs through it. Here's Daisy, drawing a gun on her clone, who's physically the same, yet also different (long hair instead of short hair, wheelchair bound instead of being in peak human condition, etc.), and then simply walking away, only to die on a distant battlefield later. And again, you'd think that a Spartan could help save the marines, especially since she's briefly reunited with her friend (Ralph, who also fled, but also returned, but washed out, and ended up in the marines), but no. They die, and die horribly. This, coupled with the offhand remark of how two of the trainees who fled alongside Daisy and Ralph also made it to their flash clones, and committed suicide after discovering what the Spartan Program had replaced them with.

So, yeah. Dark story, good themes.

Odd One Out (2/5)

I absolutely detest this short. If I was ranking this purely on how I felt about it, I'd give it a 1/5. It only gets a 2 because what it does, it does okay. I just detest what it does.

OOO is a 'sattire' on Halo, but what it's actually parodying I have no idea. You can obviously do effective parodies of Halo (see Red vs. Blue for instance), but this...well, this stars Spartan-1337 (apparently the number is a reference to "Leet," or whatever), who falls out of a Pelican, and ends up on a planet with cave people, is nearly eaten by a T-Rex (the episode ends with him carried away by a pteradactyl), and fights a Brute in a DBZ-esque fight, alongside two human teenagers who are better than him in every way. Um...sure?

Again, I'm not sure what this is actually parodying, because to me, it's like the users just wanted to make a DBZ episode, but used Halo characters to do it. But the fighting isn't fun, the 'satire' isn't actually parodying anything, and it's ultimately just a waste of time. You had eight episodes to this collection, so why the hell would you waste time on one that not only wasn't canon, but doesn't even succeed on its own merits?

Bleh.

Prototype (3/5)

I mentioned at the start that Legends is a case of infusing anime into Halo. Prototype is arguably the installment that's right on the edge of getting as much 'anime' as possible without breaking the setting.

Our star is a marine called "Ghost," who, as you might guess, is a 'ghost' emotionally due to being hardened by constant war against the Covenant. In short, the anti-Johnson. Not an unexpected reaction, but dear god, the dialogue in this is terrible at times. Ridden with cliche, to the point that his self-destruct code is "be human." Gah. What saves it (sort of) is that his last stand involves taking control of a titular prototype combat suit, and wasting numerous Covenant before finally being downed.

Basically, the suit is a mech that wouldn't be out of place in mech anime (I think?). It kind of strains credulity, because in-universe, mech suits are extremely limited in their applications at this point in time. It's one thing for the Spartans to wear power armour, it's another to field actual mech suits in-universe, and while exceptions exist (e.g. the Cyclops), they are indeed exceptions, and this thing is like a mech fan's wet dream. That said, I can actually swallow it - it is, after all, a prototype, so I can buy that the UNSC developed it on this one planet, and never developed it again due to cost and/or resource constraints.

So, you have good action, with okay canon, with assinine dialogue. Hence, a 3/5.

 

[Hawki]

The Babysitter (4/5)

Similar to Homecoming, this is one of the best shorts. Not sure which one I'd give it to, but as I type this, I'd probably give Babysitter the top spot. It has problems, but I don't think they detract from it enough to drag it down too much.

So, anyway, a group of ODSTs are given a mission to assassinate a Prophet, only for their lead sniper to be given the backup position in place of a Spartan, Cal-143. This works as both a character dynamic, and a worldbuilding dynamic, since there was long-standing rivalry between the ODSTs and Spartan-IIs. What doesn't work so much as worldbuilding is the assassination of a Prophet. The UNSC shouldn't know about them at this point in time, and it contrasts with Operation Red Flag, when the Spartans were assigned to capture a Prophet and use him to broker a truce. But, sure. Let's just kill us a xenos.

There's also the question that the alien ruins look Japanese (broadly), but considering what we now know about humanity's ancient past in the setting, this is a case of the episode being made retroactively better.

Anyway, Babysitter is decent - decent characterization, with decent action, plus the twist that Cal is, shock, a girl! OMG, what a shock, what a twist that can only be achieved by Cal never saying anything in the entire mission. That totally makes sense.

It may seem I'm being harsh, but what works here, does work. We don't get to know Cal much, but her death does have some impact, and O'Brien (the protagonist who was assigned as "the babysitter" to the sniper) gets an arc of going from arsehole to someone more morose, and respectful to the person who saved his life twice, is decent. Like I said, Babysitter has more flaws than Homecoming, but it does a lot right as well.

The Package (3/5)

I have a feeling that this short is meant to be the crown jewel of Legends. It's the longest (I think), it has the highest production values (CGI vs. 2D animation), and has been saved for last. Okay, fair enough. However, this short is, well, boring. It's basically one giant action scene, and as action scenes go, it's not particuarly stellar. Over the top, sure, but nothing particularly interesting.

Anyway, a team of five Spartans (including John) are assigned to rescue a "package" from a Covenant fleet, later revealed to be Halsey. Two die (lots of Spartans die in Legends, to the extent that it singlehandedly retcons Halsey's comments in Fall of Reach), Halsey is saved, the end. The technology the UNSC is using is rediculusly advanced technology for this point in time, but that's kind of beside the point. More pressing is just how 'bland' the action is, with the Spartans doing insane feats (not as insane as 'The Duel,' but still well beyond what they should be capable of), and bland antagonists. There's a sangheili major who wants to regain his honour, and challenges John to a duel, but it goes nowhere.

There's also the question of Halsey herself. She uses lines verbatim from Halo 2 (e.g. "don't make a girl a promise if you know you can't keep it"). Now, that she says this stuff is understandable in of herself, since Cortana was made from a Halsey flash clone, but the lines feel forced in here. As in, uttered in a context that doesn't quite work. And it ends with John declaring in the end "I have to be stronger," as if this is part of some deeper theme. FFS Halo Legends, if you want to do themes for your stories, do it well, or don't do it at all.

CONCLUSIONS

Overall, my feelings on Halo Legends are scarce different from when I saw the shorts a decade ago - they're a mixed bag, hence, an average rating. I don't think the format is a bad idea. I don't even think the choice of studios and influence was a bad idea. But the result is still two good shorts, one bad one, and four average ones. That's not the best record in the world.

Anyway, for shits and giggles, my final ranking would be:

7: Odd One Out
6: The Duel
5: The Package
4: Origins
3: Prototype
2: Homecoming
1: The Babysitter

 

[Xprimentyl]

Midnight Mass
There's a scene towards the end that I can imagine some people just shutting off the show because its so painful to watch, not due to gore or anything like that, but by the shear stomach churning tragedy of it. The show is amazing, but man be ready to be really really really depressed.

Let me guess, the scene where Erin cradles the head of the vampire as he's killing her so she can slash his wings? That part made me extremely uncomfortable, not unlike the scene in the movie Splice at the end where the female doctor is raped by her creation.

 

[Casual Shinji]

Arcane

I would agree with this from episode 3 onward. The first three episodes paint a remarkably grounded picture of the characters and the world; Vi being the headstrong fighter being confronted by how powerless she really is against the system, Vander constantly trying keep the undercity together as it tries to drift apart, and Powder... well, you know what happens there.

It's after those first three episodes when the 'rule of cool' comes crashing in and everyone starts to look and act like an anime/video game character. I started off being totally enthralled by this show, but then with the following 6 episodes that bled away quite rapidly. Though this doesn't change the fact that the first 3 episodes are pretty freaking brilliant.

 

[Piscian]

Let me guess, the scene where Erin cradles the head of the vampire as he's killing her so she can slash his wings? That part made me extremely uncomfortable, not unlike the scene in the movie Splice at the end where the female doctor is raped by her creation.

Jesus no, I was talking about boat scene.

 

[Xprimentyl]

Jesus no, I was talking about boat scene.

Oh, meh. I was far more affected by the scene I mentioned.

 

[gorfias]

Hawkeye on Disney+
So, they're doing their next Marvel TV Miniseries. This time it is Hawkeye.
Episode 1 and 2 are available now.


Very middle brow. They're not doing anything to make me thrilled to be watching this show. They've done some major cringe things. ( A scene at a stage musical).
Few leaps in logic

Spoiler

why did she know her mom's boyfriend could fight better than he pretends? Also, this show does not seem to think much of 1st responders.

So far, it gets a C. It needs to do better.

 

[Bob_McMillan]

Yeah I thought Hawkeye was pretty boring. Which sucks. I absolutely hated Loki, but at least I cared enough about it to talk about it. This is just... eh. I like the actors involved but this just feels cheap.

The Netflix MCU stuff were farrrr from perfect, but no Disney+ MCU show had anything that even came close to a Daredevil hallway scene. At the end of the day all I want is superheroes punching each other, and so far all I've gotten were CW show level action scenes.

 

[gorfias]

Yeah I thought Hawkeye was pretty boring. Which sucks. I absolutely hated Loki, but at least I cared enough about it to talk about it. This is just... eh. I like the actors involved but this just feels cheap.

The Netflix MCU stuff were farrrr from perfect, but no Disney+ MCU show had anything that even came close to a Daredevil hallway scene. At the end of the day all I want is superheroes punching each other, and so far all I've gotten were CW show level action scenes.

Oddest thing. On 1st run, I cringed non-stop during this musical feature. I can try to analyze what is wrong with it (that it doesn't fit and goes on too long and is so goofy) and yet, others have clipped it for youtube as, by itself, it is kinda cute and funny. Mostly that they took a catch phrase and used it well.

 

[Xprimentyl]

Hellbound: S1:Ep1-6

Korean series about people being visited by ominous angels who tell them the exact date and time they're going to die and that they're going to hell (they call this a decree,) and when that time comes, three demonic ogres show up, beat the people and burn them alive (a demonstration.) A radical cult forms around these occurrences with the ostensible goal of alleviating sin from the world.

This is an odd one. I can't call it good, but it is intriguing. I'm going to finish it, but I don't expect to be wowed.

Also, there's more masked "VIPs" that show up to witness these demonstrations, not unlike the masked VIPs from Squid Game. Is this a cultural thing in Korea?

 

[Bob_McMillan]

Also, there's more masked "VIPs" that show up to witness these demonstrations, not unlike the masked VIPs from Squid Game. Is this a cultural thing in Korea?

Maybe this has always been a cultural thing, but also I wonder if Parasite and Squid Game's success has led to social commentary being the hot new trend in Korea. Like any Asian country they sure are big on hierarchy, wouldn't be surprised if people are getting tired of it all.

Anyway, my girlfriend said it was like Death Note but worse, so I might as well just watch that.

 

[PsychedelicDiamond]

Also, there's more masked "VIPs" that show up to witness these demonstrations, not unlike the masked VIPs from Squid Game. Is this a cultural thing in Korea?

No, I think it's older and much more universal than that. Think of Stanley Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut or the finale of The Prisoner.

 

[Xprimentyl]

No, I think it's older and much more universal than that. Think of Stanley Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut or the finale of The Prisoner.

Yeah, I know it's not necessarily unique to Korea, I just sort of stuck out to me in that in two successive Korean series I've watched, masked VIPs are featured watching horrific violence. I was curious if it's more prominent or if it has some unique significance in Korea.

 

[gorfias]

Is South Park Anime or just non-movies? I first saw Season 1 right after having a newborn.

Season 24, and they're still pretty dang funny! 9/10

 

[Xprimentyl]

The Morning Show: S1:Ep1-3

A morning news show finds itself unsettled by a scandal involving its male anchor, and damage control threatens the job of the female co-host and the viability of the entire network. Then Drama.

Extremely poignant given my recent sentiments shared in the Shower Thoughts thread:

It's the cynic in me. It's like the Today Show; my girlfriend watches it every morning, and my eyes roll so hard, I'm surprised they haven't stuck that way yet. Something about it just feels so phony and put on, the relationship between Hoda, Savannah, Al and Craig; I just can't respect it. Does that make me a bad person? I mean, I'm not anti-happiness; it's just needs to be more real and down-to-Earth for me.

See, I think the events of this series, while highly dramatized, are probably closer to the truth of television versus the wholesome “one big happy family” vibe shit like the Today Show puts on, and it’s sickening. I’m not an angry person, I just respect realness. When I’m sold a bill of goods by a bunch of adults so disgustingly “happy” over the lighting of a giant Christmas tree who I know go back to their trailers, pour a drink, light a cigarette and proceeded to cuss each other out, why should I be satisfied with that to feel "normal?"

OT, the show so far is good. I will keep watching if only to see how the various comeuppances pan out. Recommend.

EDIT: Now through Ep.4, and it's clear the parallels between this fiction and the actual Today Show's drama with Matt Lauer are undeniable. Not saying it's a point-for-point dramatic re-telling, but to deny it's not representative in many ways would be naïve.

 

[Hawki]

Doctor Who: The Faceless Ones (4/5)

Contrary to my expectation, this didn't deal with C'thulu-esque monstrosities. Boo. Still, the serial is good. Has a good mystery, and slowly ramps up. Main gripe is that of the Doctor (Two), and three companions (Jamie, Polly, and Ben), only Jamie and the Doctor really get anything to do. Similar to the problems Chibnall's had, I think this is a case of the Doctor having too many companions. One's fine, two can work, three's a crowd.

Anyway, it's a good serial.