Discuss and Rate the Last Thing You Watched (non-movies)
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Naw I was just half asleep and those were the two that came to mind as having similar maze like Politics and schemes.
Handmaid’s Tale season five finale
Pretty good, especially compared to the previous season. At least June was able to salvage some humanity. All bets appear to be off with the Gilead zealotry now as they attempt to wreak havoc on anyone who knows better. Hopefully the final season can stick the landing and put them in their place.
Pretty good, especially compared to the previous season. At least June was able to salvage some humanity. All bets appear to be off with the Gilead zealotry now as they attempt to wreak havoc on anyone who knows better. Hopefully the final season can stick the landing and put them in their place.
The Boys: Season 3 (3/5)
The third and currently, final season of The Boys. And after three seasons, still not sure what to make of it.
I'd say season 3 is the best so far, which means that each season has been better than its predecessor. I'd call the series sattire, but really (and this isn't a criticism), the line between sattire and real-life events is pretty thin at this point. It isn't so much that the show is sattarizing superheroes as American politics, and in a sense, it's absolutely terrifying. Homelander is basically Donald Trump with laser eyes, and if you think that's a stretch, bear in mind that he spends a lot of time going on about making America great again, illegals coming over the border, and the lies of the mainstream media. Yeah, subtlety isn't this show's forte, but it's not like it's trying to be. Everyone (and literally, I mean 99% everyone) is a piece of shit in this world, where nothing changes, whether you work in the system or without. It's basically taking America's social and political ills and putting a faint veneer of allagory, when the allagory arguably isn't required. Something that's conveyed throughout is that Homelander can literally get away with murder, and his followers will cheer him for it.
Yet despite this, I can't say I'm fond of the show. Part of it might be due to the unrelenting grimness, but then, I love stuff like Game of Thrones, so I don't know if that's it. Rather, there's a kind of 'offness' to the directing and writing. It's hard to explain, but multiple scenes feel too long or too short, or are shot in an anemic manner. That, and I think each season might be too short, but that's neither here nor there. Overall, the Boys is kind of terrifying in a way, but I'll be honest, it's just not my thing.
...this is also a season where a giant dick literally greets people at the door of a house holding an orgy, so there's that too. 0_0
The third and currently, final season of The Boys. And after three seasons, still not sure what to make of it.
I'd say season 3 is the best so far, which means that each season has been better than its predecessor. I'd call the series sattire, but really (and this isn't a criticism), the line between sattire and real-life events is pretty thin at this point. It isn't so much that the show is sattarizing superheroes as American politics, and in a sense, it's absolutely terrifying. Homelander is basically Donald Trump with laser eyes, and if you think that's a stretch, bear in mind that he spends a lot of time going on about making America great again, illegals coming over the border, and the lies of the mainstream media. Yeah, subtlety isn't this show's forte, but it's not like it's trying to be. Everyone (and literally, I mean 99% everyone) is a piece of shit in this world, where nothing changes, whether you work in the system or without. It's basically taking America's social and political ills and putting a faint veneer of allagory, when the allagory arguably isn't required. Something that's conveyed throughout is that Homelander can literally get away with murder, and his followers will cheer him for it.
Yet despite this, I can't say I'm fond of the show. Part of it might be due to the unrelenting grimness, but then, I love stuff like Game of Thrones, so I don't know if that's it. Rather, there's a kind of 'offness' to the directing and writing. It's hard to explain, but multiple scenes feel too long or too short, or are shot in an anemic manner. That, and I think each season might be too short, but that's neither here nor there. Overall, the Boys is kind of terrifying in a way, but I'll be honest, it's just not my thing.
...this is also a season where a giant dick literally greets people at the door of a house holding an orgy, so there's that too. 0_0
It's based on a William Gibson novel. I dunno if his work is considered YA. YA books usually have teen characters, don't they? The main character in The Peripheral, Flynn, looks like the youngest of the bunch, and the character seems about the same age as the 25-yo actress (lookswise obviously, but the portrayal in general too). I agree with the other comment that it looks watchable for now. I've read a bit of Gibson (one third of Pattern Recognition) and he writes good characters. I assume some of that is present in the adaptation.
edit. Apparently the name is spelled Flynne
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Binge watched Andor. 9/10, I see what people said about the pacing but that wasn’t a big deal for me cos I love that sort of slow burn intrigue and spy shit.
Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities on Netflix.
8 Episodes. Horror anthology. Of the 8, all are 6s and a 5/10 except episode 3 which gets an 8/10 on IMDB.
These grades are pretty spot on. Just watch episode 3 if you are pressed for time. That one? Terrific!
8 Episodes. Horror anthology. Of the 8, all are 6s and a 5/10 except episode 3 which gets an 8/10 on IMDB.
These grades are pretty spot on. Just watch episode 3 if you are pressed for time. That one? Terrific!
Yup, for the perceived production values that went into this, I found the series fairly lacking in anything that would take a show beyond mediocrity. The 4th reminded me of a Black Mirror episode that might’ve ended up on the cutting room floor. It was still pretty amusing though, and sadly one of the better episodes here.
The point of the show should have been to actually, well, pique the viewer’s curiosity, but that rarely happened and it felt too often like an uninspiring Tales From The Crypt knockoff.
Just started the second season and G. Esposito again adds so much to whatever he’s in. Was great seeing him knock Homelander down a few pegs. I’m sure he’ll turn out a possibly worse villain, but still.
The show really wants to drive the point home about how easy it is to manipulate and mislead the public, whether through politics or religion (or in the show’s case a combination thereof). I think “The Boys” being positioned as the resistance fees like an almost too hopeful illusion compared to real life but when it’s still just a show about normal people vs mostly evil superheros, any comparisons can pretty easily to be taken into context. There seem to be enough wildcards (Starlight especially) to keep the viewer guessing, at least where I’m at.
I think the important thing is it at least establishes some of the reasoning and motivations for these characters being the way they are. In that respect it feels more cathartic than anything we get from the real world counterparts it may be modeled after.
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Episodes 7 to 9 of Andor was the slow burn that 1, 2 and 4, 5 were trying to be. There were moments that gave me chills and made my eyes a little sweaty. Andy Serkis is absolutely fantastic. How the heck did Lucas manage to cast the perfect person to play Mon Mothma and not utilize her in any meaningful way? Woman waited nearly two decades before her role was treated as an actual character.
It's honestly great to be feeling optimistic about Star Wars again. Everything these past episodes has been topnotch, which really makes you wonder what the hell went into making Kenobi and Boba Fett.
It's honestly great to be feeling optimistic about Star Wars again. Everything these past episodes has been topnotch, which really makes you wonder what the hell went into making Kenobi and Boba Fett.
I'll avoid spoilers, but IMO, Stan Edgar is definitely not as bad as Homelander, or really, many of the antagonists.
Don't get me wrong, he's not a good person, but he at least keeps things together, and doesn't engage in unnecessary cruelty or destruction, whereas Homelander and most of the Seven are pieces of shit, or in the case of Homelander and
Stormfront
I definitely agree on the first point. As for the idea of the Boys being a resistance, again, without spoilers, but the ending of season 3 reinforces just how hopeless their efforts actually are. I really don't see a happy ending for anyone involved - regardless as to what happens to Homelander for instance, Vought will still be around, politicians will still be corrupt, the public will continue to treat supes as celebrities, etc.
Andor (EP 1-9)
The first two episodes are super slow and probably the hardest to sit through but it picks up a bit after that with Cassian getting recruited for the Rebels. I do kinda love this whole thing with him just being a petty thief who was in the wrong place at the wrong time that got him on someone's shit list and lead to him eventually becoming one of the key people invovled in taking down the Death Star. On a related note, Syril Karn, the corpo who always looks and acts like he's constipated, may be unwittingly the man who doomed the empire because he couldn't leave well enough alone and starting Cassian on his road to Scarif. Which is even more amusing because of what a fucking smuck he seems to be and the show seems to share that opinion since every other scene he's in portrays him as a butt monkey who can't seem to figure out when to stop.
I was a big fan of Rogue one because it did delve into some of the more morally grey aspects of the Rebellion and this is a lot more of that kind of cloak and dagger shit and I am totally here for it. I'm sure it's not a coincidence that the cell on Aldani resembles a bunch of terrorists(Packing Space AK-47's and everything) who just happen to be fighting a much greater evil in the form of the empire. The show still gives us plenty of the Empire being fascist and evil in the form of ISB agent Meero, who is a cold calculating ***** and possibly the most professional imperial officer we've seen yet whose name isn't Thrawn, GIdeon or Tarkin. And maybe there's something wrong with me but am I digging the bits with the ISB trying to track the rebels because that's the kind of shit I want to see them doing.
And of course, there's the prison arc which is brutally effective and perhaps one of the best prison arcs I've seen in a long time. The prison is clean, sterile and utterly effective at breaking the inmates as well as seemingly inescapable. It also has Andy Sekris in a notable role and I'm shocked I didn't recognize him earlier. The irony that Cassian ended up there by yet again being in the wrong place at the wrong time because the Empire literally doesn't fucking care as opposed what he actually did is nicely done and shows just how fucking shitty the Empire is in how it treats "Criminals". The only thing that feels off is that the guys who arrest Cassian are called "Shoretroopers"(per the captions) and I just can't fucking take "Shoretrooper" seriously for some reason. It's very minor but I had to mention it.
Arguably the bits with Mon Mothma are a bit slower but I can see the value in them, showing some of the more high level politics in the Empire we rarely see and at least it shows how Luthen connects the rebel cells to the more influential power players in the Empire. In a way this feels like a really good companion show to Rebels, it's darker bigger brother series showing the rebellion getting it's act together prior to the battle of Yavin. Where Rebels was generally more kid friendly and focused on a quirky band of characters pulling missions for the rebellion, this a hell of a lot more gritty and showing just how dirty the rebels had to get in order to get anything accomplished.
So yeah, this might be the best SW show aside from the Mandalorian so far. While I have love for Clone Wars, Rebels and Bad Batch, the Live action side of the SW shows have been a lot more mixed, as I really couldn't get into Boba Fett(and I gave it a good try) and didn't even bother with Obi-Wan so I'm glad this is on the right track so far.
The first two episodes are super slow and probably the hardest to sit through but it picks up a bit after that with Cassian getting recruited for the Rebels. I do kinda love this whole thing with him just being a petty thief who was in the wrong place at the wrong time that got him on someone's shit list and lead to him eventually becoming one of the key people invovled in taking down the Death Star. On a related note, Syril Karn, the corpo who always looks and acts like he's constipated, may be unwittingly the man who doomed the empire because he couldn't leave well enough alone and starting Cassian on his road to Scarif. Which is even more amusing because of what a fucking smuck he seems to be and the show seems to share that opinion since every other scene he's in portrays him as a butt monkey who can't seem to figure out when to stop.
I was a big fan of Rogue one because it did delve into some of the more morally grey aspects of the Rebellion and this is a lot more of that kind of cloak and dagger shit and I am totally here for it. I'm sure it's not a coincidence that the cell on Aldani resembles a bunch of terrorists(Packing Space AK-47's and everything) who just happen to be fighting a much greater evil in the form of the empire. The show still gives us plenty of the Empire being fascist and evil in the form of ISB agent Meero, who is a cold calculating ***** and possibly the most professional imperial officer we've seen yet whose name isn't Thrawn, GIdeon or Tarkin. And maybe there's something wrong with me but am I digging the bits with the ISB trying to track the rebels because that's the kind of shit I want to see them doing.
And of course, there's the prison arc which is brutally effective and perhaps one of the best prison arcs I've seen in a long time. The prison is clean, sterile and utterly effective at breaking the inmates as well as seemingly inescapable. It also has Andy Sekris in a notable role and I'm shocked I didn't recognize him earlier. The irony that Cassian ended up there by yet again being in the wrong place at the wrong time because the Empire literally doesn't fucking care as opposed what he actually did is nicely done and shows just how fucking shitty the Empire is in how it treats "Criminals". The only thing that feels off is that the guys who arrest Cassian are called "Shoretroopers"(per the captions) and I just can't fucking take "Shoretrooper" seriously for some reason. It's very minor but I had to mention it.
Arguably the bits with Mon Mothma are a bit slower but I can see the value in them, showing some of the more high level politics in the Empire we rarely see and at least it shows how Luthen connects the rebel cells to the more influential power players in the Empire. In a way this feels like a really good companion show to Rebels, it's darker bigger brother series showing the rebellion getting it's act together prior to the battle of Yavin. Where Rebels was generally more kid friendly and focused on a quirky band of characters pulling missions for the rebellion, this a hell of a lot more gritty and showing just how dirty the rebels had to get in order to get anything accomplished.
So yeah, this might be the best SW show aside from the Mandalorian so far. While I have love for Clone Wars, Rebels and Bad Batch, the Live action side of the SW shows have been a lot more mixed, as I really couldn't get into Boba Fett(and I gave it a good try) and didn't even bother with Obi-Wan so I'm glad this is on the right track so far.
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I was thinking the American Horror Stories spinoff from American Horror Story. Last season was like, "imagine a situation set up where everyone is killing each other! Scary!"
Episode 4
I don't think the main character kills her husband as some kind of sacrifice. She's just pissed that he is un-supportive of her idea to change. Did I miss something? Cuz, then she could have just transformed by using a product. Period. So what? The very end, seems to suggest she is now just as vapid as the women she once admired. And perhaps they used the same product? Again, so what? I will write that the way the husband was chilling saying, "honey, I think something just fell on me".
During the assassination attempt on Ronald Reagan, one of his bodyguards knocked him to the ground out of the line of fire, and then they quickly bundled him into the car and told the driver to go to the hospital. Reagan said he was alright, but his guards just took him to the hospital just in case, one of them checking him for injuries in the car on the way. It later turned out that what he thought was a minor injury from being knocked to the ground was a bullet that had ricocheted off something and ended close to his heart and he nearly died. If his guards had listened to him saying he was ok and hadn't taken him to hospital against his wishes, he wouldn't have made it.
(Totally random bit of trivia, by complete coincidence, in the UK, their GCHQ was disrupted due to industrial action, and there had been a lot more activity than usual by the Soviet military than usual (which turned out to be totally unrelated major exercises going on). Serious concern that this was the prelude to WW3, when the Soviets found out what happened they canceled the exercise and told vehicle crews to get out and walk away from their vehicles so they could be seen not preparing for a major war)
Atlanta, season 4 (finale)
My favorite, or at least one of my favorite, shows ends its run on a high note.
Atlanta is my favorite type of show because I never know what in the heck will happen in any given episode. Black Mirror, Twin Peaks, Louis, The Simpsons, The Twilight Zone, any of the Treks at their best- you are there for the ride. Sure season 3 might have taken that a little too far by having entire episodes be more like little films completely lacking any of the regular characters (though I still enjoyed it), but season 4 brings it back home (literally as season 3 was not actually in Atlanta).
The finale is basically just another quirky episode with Darius being Darius and an issue-du-jour that black Americans are wrestling with (intra-community trust through the lens of cuisine). The only thing that distinguishes it as a finale is a vague "leave it to the viewer's interpretation" ending, which is more humorous than serious like the Sopranos.
There's a lot of talk about diversity in media. Atlanta got deserved praise for being a show where the driving creative force especially writers and producers are black so it's more than just "representation." But what I love is that it's also nerdy and quirky and occasionally avant-garde and silly and whatever- so it is "diversity" within and throughout a cultural point of view.
Atlanta is probably going to replace The Wire as the show that annoying white liberals like me go around not shutting up about how much they love it but it is what it is, it's great and if you haven't seen it do check it out. I think even if you're not in the US and don't get some of the references (like in a recent episode that revolves around why many black people love A Goofy Movie), you can always Google it or whatever.
My favorite, or at least one of my favorite, shows ends its run on a high note.
Atlanta is my favorite type of show because I never know what in the heck will happen in any given episode. Black Mirror, Twin Peaks, Louis, The Simpsons, The Twilight Zone, any of the Treks at their best- you are there for the ride. Sure season 3 might have taken that a little too far by having entire episodes be more like little films completely lacking any of the regular characters (though I still enjoyed it), but season 4 brings it back home (literally as season 3 was not actually in Atlanta).
The finale is basically just another quirky episode with Darius being Darius and an issue-du-jour that black Americans are wrestling with (intra-community trust through the lens of cuisine). The only thing that distinguishes it as a finale is a vague "leave it to the viewer's interpretation" ending, which is more humorous than serious like the Sopranos.
There's a lot of talk about diversity in media. Atlanta got deserved praise for being a show where the driving creative force especially writers and producers are black so it's more than just "representation." But what I love is that it's also nerdy and quirky and occasionally avant-garde and silly and whatever- so it is "diversity" within and throughout a cultural point of view.
Atlanta is probably going to replace The Wire as the show that annoying white liberals like me go around not shutting up about how much they love it but it is what it is, it's great and if you haven't seen it do check it out. I think even if you're not in the US and don't get some of the references (like in a recent episode that revolves around why many black people love A Goofy Movie), you can always Google it or whatever.
About half way through The Old Man and enjoying it. Jeff Bridges is in good shape for a man his age, and I had no idea he was related to Beau Bridges (because I did not know Beau Bridges' name).
John Lithgow has great range as an actor. He was that funny man in 3rd Rock, but here he's quite serious.
John Lithgow has great range as an actor. He was that funny man in 3rd Rock, but here he's quite serious.
Chernobyl (2019)... not entirely sure what I can express about it. One of the few shows to leave me pretty drained by the end.
1899 Netflix: Episode 1
It's OK. Black box sorta show. Episode 1 sets the table. Lots of questions for which we will want answers.
$60 million German show (sometimes looks dubbed: likely is) most expensive German TV show ever.
It has an ensemble of characters on a cross Atlantic trip on a ship during this period. It gets a signal with coordinates and nothing else from a ship that disappeared 4 months ago.
It just dropped today. IMDB gives it 9.6 so far. Maybe like some other very expensive properties, someone feels this must not fail.
Most annoying thing for me so far? Inappropriate needle drops. "White Rabbit" is about recreational drug use that can be a harmful past time. It plays over a scene that has nothing to do with that. A well. I'll keep watching.
It's OK. Black box sorta show. Episode 1 sets the table. Lots of questions for which we will want answers.
$60 million German show (sometimes looks dubbed: likely is) most expensive German TV show ever.
It has an ensemble of characters on a cross Atlantic trip on a ship during this period. It gets a signal with coordinates and nothing else from a ship that disappeared 4 months ago.
Ship appears completely abandoned when they find it except for one affect-less boy they find ala Newt in Aliens. He was locked in a cabinet. So, he's a bad guy?
It just dropped today. IMDB gives it 9.6 so far. Maybe like some other very expensive properties, someone feels this must not fail.
Most annoying thing for me so far? Inappropriate needle drops. "White Rabbit" is about recreational drug use that can be a harmful past time. It plays over a scene that has nothing to do with that. A well. I'll keep watching.
Obi-Wan Kenobi - 8/10
Opinions are like butt-holes; we all have them and we're almost always convinced our own smell of roses. The majority opinion about Kenobi I'd been seeing was that it was tonally inconsistent and weird. With the greatest respect, I must ask if these people were fucking high when they watched it.
Okay to expand; the mini series is imperfect; I fully agree that the kidnapping scene needed like twenty more go overs, and the later episodes require you to watch it in a dark room because they really go all in on the weird natural darkness, and Fifth Brother is a really hard disconnect from his appearance in Rebels. Also I don't know if its just me, but something about Moses Ingram's accent just pulls me out of the experience. And its a shame because otherwise she's one of the best things in the show.
Other than that, I dug it. I actually kind of liked that Obi-Wan used the Force very sparingly. The do over they called on Order 66 at the Jedi Temple was really, really good; horrifying but good. And then you see Temuera Morrison actually BE a clone in a full costume.....and he's the homeless begger who is obviously suffering. Thanks Palpatine! Third Sister is a great primary bad guy and I kind of hope she gets some peace at the end of it.
However the show also made me take back every bad thing I said about Hayden Christiansen. But also kind of made me feel vindicated in feeling that he should have been Anakin from day one and not Jake Lloyd. Under competent direction, and with a few more acting gigs and experience under his belt, he was a great choice for the role and his chemistry with Ewan McGreggor really was good. He sells the physical acting and presence for Vader, while allowing (an apparently AI generated) James Earl Jones to give the villain his iconic voice. Fight scenes are good but see above note about lighting. Also goddamn Owen Lars has fucking balls of steel in this show; him and Beru both in fact.
Opinions are like butt-holes; we all have them and we're almost always convinced our own smell of roses. The majority opinion about Kenobi I'd been seeing was that it was tonally inconsistent and weird. With the greatest respect, I must ask if these people were fucking high when they watched it.
Okay to expand; the mini series is imperfect; I fully agree that the kidnapping scene needed like twenty more go overs, and the later episodes require you to watch it in a dark room because they really go all in on the weird natural darkness, and Fifth Brother is a really hard disconnect from his appearance in Rebels. Also I don't know if its just me, but something about Moses Ingram's accent just pulls me out of the experience. And its a shame because otherwise she's one of the best things in the show.
Other than that, I dug it. I actually kind of liked that Obi-Wan used the Force very sparingly. The do over they called on Order 66 at the Jedi Temple was really, really good; horrifying but good. And then you see Temuera Morrison actually BE a clone in a full costume.....and he's the homeless begger who is obviously suffering. Thanks Palpatine! Third Sister is a great primary bad guy and I kind of hope she gets some peace at the end of it.
However the show also made me take back every bad thing I said about Hayden Christiansen. But also kind of made me feel vindicated in feeling that he should have been Anakin from day one and not Jake Lloyd. Under competent direction, and with a few more acting gigs and experience under his belt, he was a great choice for the role and his chemistry with Ewan McGreggor really was good. He sells the physical acting and presence for Vader, while allowing (an apparently AI generated) James Earl Jones to give the villain his iconic voice. Fight scenes are good but see above note about lighting. Also goddamn Owen Lars has fucking balls of steel in this show; him and Beru both in fact.