Reacher is only equalled in its action move absurdity by Matthew Reilly’s Shane Schofield novels. Those fuckers are like Michael Bay in novel form.
Discuss and Rate the Last Thing You Watched (non-movies)
- Thread starter Hawki
- Start date
Band of Brothers on Netflix (OG on HBO). 8.5/10.
OK, I'm late to this one. Came out in 2001.
The show follows real people in Easy Company in the European arena in WW2.
Each episode opens with old men reflecting upon the experience, then a dramatization of the events of WW2.
So many names involved.
Tom Hanks among the directors and writers.
Steven Spielberg has a producing credit.
Stars:
Scott Grimes
Damian Lewis
Ron Livingston
Donnie Wahlberg
Michael Fassbender
David Schwimmer
Simon Pegg
Colin Hanks
Dominic Cooper
Tom Hardy
And more.
It is just so eye opening to think of the courage and sacrifice these young men made in this horrifying war.
My major quibble: it is 10 hour long episodes and likely should have been 8 at the most. The last 3 - 4 episodes might have been shrunk to 1 or 2. By the end of the show, the war is largely over.
But, definitely worth watching.
OK, I'm late to this one. Came out in 2001.
The show follows real people in Easy Company in the European arena in WW2.
Each episode opens with old men reflecting upon the experience, then a dramatization of the events of WW2.
So many names involved.
Tom Hanks among the directors and writers.
Steven Spielberg has a producing credit.
Stars:
Scott Grimes
Damian Lewis
Ron Livingston
Donnie Wahlberg
Michael Fassbender
David Schwimmer
Simon Pegg
Colin Hanks
Dominic Cooper
Tom Hardy
And more.
It is just so eye opening to think of the courage and sacrifice these young men made in this horrifying war.
My major quibble: it is 10 hour long episodes and likely should have been 8 at the most. The last 3 - 4 episodes might have been shrunk to 1 or 2. By the end of the show, the war is largely over.
But, definitely worth watching.
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Was the inspiration to watch this one by any chance inspired by the recent Masters of Air? Sometimes I watch older things because something related newer comes out.
After Band of Brothers they made one set in Japan, and now last year one about the fighter pilots. I watched the Japan one back then and it's good but I think it's a kind of diminishing returns thing. Band of Brothers was quite something when it came out.
Netflix Syndrome. So many titles couldn't make up my mind. So settled for this. I have heard of both the Pacific theater series and Masters of the Air and I hear pretty much what you are writing about: diminishing returns. Again, BoB gets an 8.5 as it really stretches its ending out way too long. I can only imagine if the other 2 series are inferior. Looking for my next 9/10 binge.
So bit of background on this Clarkson has owned the farm for many years. I believe he owned it while he was still on Top Gear actually. He bought it and was basically like the farm Patron as such I think he explained it in Season 1. He had a farmer living in the farm running it day to day for him for many years. Eventually the guy decided he wanted to retire and so Clarkson figured as he'd been struggling to get a replacement to run the farm for him, he'd give it a go.
Well, he bought it for the land and the house that was on it. Lived there and commuted to Top Gear for a few years, but never got involved in the farm. Then with an already successful show on Amazon Prime, he basically had a blank check to make any show he wanted. And he realized a moron trying to "how hard could it be" his way into agriculture was the kind of train wreck people love to gawk at. And he wasn't wrong.
Fallout
(Prime video)
Rating: 6.5 / 10
Tagline: So many good parts, that somehow make something lesser than the sum of them.
Thoughts:
I am coming into this with a basic knowledge of Fallout not being a huge super fan and this show feels like it misses the mark both ways with references to events and lore than I'm sure some-one more into the series would love (or hate as I hear there have been some changes) but also works better with almost no knowledge of the games because the twists can be seen coming a way off the only thing that can't be guessed is the very specific nature of what said twist will be.
The Plot is Fallout 4 but with some find and replace done of the script and a bit more explanation to things initially which sees Lucy having to leave Vault 33 to try and track down her father who has been taken by raiders.
The acting is on point throughout and while Goggins has been heavily praised by all as The Ghoul / Cooper Howard I have to give massive props to Ella Purnell as Lucy and Aaron Moten as Maximus who turn is really good performances too.
I enjoyed the character development and themes as Lucy has to come to terms with her idealism vs the reality of the wastelands and Maximus has to terms with how his life has been vs what his life could be. Both naïve in different ways and both complementing one another with Lucy seeming less capable in combat (not entirely helpless just less capable) vs Maximus but far better at most social interactions such that they feel very much like complementary characters. To repeat what I
I enjoyed the sets, and the costumes both were really on point.
What I didn't enjoy is this felt like maybe the first act and a half of a 3 act story and in an age where Amazon has allegedly killed of The Peripheral series despite it's success and doing well with people who became fans I do worry slightly we won't be getting a conclusion to this story.
What I also didn't enjoy is the show felt like it was missing some x factor maybe we needed stories from 2 vaults or maybe just Lucy having a story about exploring an previously abandoned vault or something and an actual explanation for what happened in Vault 32 wouldn't have been nice because even with the knowledge of what was going on Vault 32 still doesn't feel like it makes sense.
(Prime video)
Rating: 6.5 / 10
Tagline: So many good parts, that somehow make something lesser than the sum of them.
Thoughts:
I am coming into this with a basic knowledge of Fallout not being a huge super fan and this show feels like it misses the mark both ways with references to events and lore than I'm sure some-one more into the series would love (or hate as I hear there have been some changes) but also works better with almost no knowledge of the games because the twists can be seen coming a way off the only thing that can't be guessed is the very specific nature of what said twist will be.
The Plot is Fallout 4 but with some find and replace done of the script and a bit more explanation to things initially which sees Lucy having to leave Vault 33 to try and track down her father who has been taken by raiders.
The acting is on point throughout and while Goggins has been heavily praised by all as The Ghoul / Cooper Howard I have to give massive props to Ella Purnell as Lucy and Aaron Moten as Maximus who turn is really good performances too.
I enjoyed the character development and themes as Lucy has to come to terms with her idealism vs the reality of the wastelands and Maximus has to terms with how his life has been vs what his life could be. Both naïve in different ways and both complementing one another with Lucy seeming less capable in combat (not entirely helpless just less capable) vs Maximus but far better at most social interactions such that they feel very much like complementary characters. To repeat what I
I enjoyed the sets, and the costumes both were really on point.
What I didn't enjoy is this felt like maybe the first act and a half of a 3 act story and in an age where Amazon has allegedly killed of The Peripheral series despite it's success and doing well with people who became fans I do worry slightly we won't be getting a conclusion to this story.
What I also didn't enjoy is the show felt like it was missing some x factor maybe we needed stories from 2 vaults or maybe just Lucy having a story about exploring an previously abandoned vault or something and an actual explanation for what happened in Vault 32 wouldn't have been nice because even with the knowledge of what was going on Vault 32 still doesn't feel like it makes sense.
『僕の愛しい妖怪ガールフレンド』予告 (My Undead Yokai Girlfriend)
(Prime Video)
Rating: 9/10
Tagline of my thoughts: A show every time I thought about I watching I forgot how good it was all over and every time I started watching again I didn't want to stop.
Thoughts: So a supernatural comedy / drama from Japan as part of Amazon's originals thing. I found this purely by accident on youtube and well after how good Spanish Amazon Original El internardo Les Cumbres and German Amazon Original The Gryphon were I figured why not go for more from other countries and see what they have to offer. My Undead Yokai Girlfriend doesnt' disappoint. Just be warned this one is subbed not dubbed and there's a few rough edges on the translations.
While Fallout I feel looking back was a bit of a mystery box show the mystery box element in My Undead Yokai Girlfriend doesn't feel like a mystery box but an organic part of the plot development. The Plot is simple enough Centuries ago 5 great clans joined together to form the 5 spears and rid the world killing them or banishing them from our world to a world of darkness. In the modern day nerdy University student Hachi and his best friend Tanuki (I think that's his name anyway) are E-sports players preparing for an upcoming small tournament, things start to unravel for Hachi and his long distance girlfriend whom he's never met but talks to mostly via texts etc he ends up decided to try a weird ritual in a book shown on a social media video by a fellow student whose recently gone missing. The ritual being one supposedly to find love. In doing so he accidentally summons Princess Izuna a fox spirit Yokai into this world. Now free Princess Izuna who gets given the name Izzy sets about initially trying to bond herself to the world before 24 hours are up and the spells effects wear off causing her to be pulled back into the dark world. While also trying to find the 5 descendants of the original 5 spears who now make up the 5 guardians through whom the spell sealing the Yokai from the human world remains in place.
What the show is, it's a reverse Isekai, instead of nerdy dude gets sucked into fantasy world and finds ways to build himself up to become a hero etc it's Nerdy dude summons already very capable warrior into our world and has to deal with their quest and the issues around it alongside trying to help them deal with the modern world and adapt and learn about it often to comedy effect. It's oddly a very broad kind of comedy that works well with a mix of slapstick and a surprising degree of cultural jokes that actually aren't limited to merely elements of Japanese culture but more international culture such as: Social media use, Catfishing and love scams, Live streaming culture and the degree of awkwardness in a lot of modern day dating expectations and elements.
What the show produces is a show with effect comparable if not better than a lot of older late 90's / Early 2000s shows and maybe on par with some of the not so great Marvel effects work as of late but also I'd argue batter shot and choregraphed fight scenes that give a sense of the kineticness of the fight while not just becoming barely comprehensible shakey cam work. E.G.
The plot is enjoyable with few moments where the butt clenching awkwardness gets too much (and that's for me who has a low tolerance for stuff where it becomes butt clenchingly awkward) and to not spoil too much it feels like both a complete arc but also a well done show progression / 1st arc while revealing the first arc to be just that with a teased escalation that really does make it feel like it's paying homage to the kind of anime that have likely helped inspire it and it's inversion of some tropes of Isekai anime shows. It's comedy also allows the more impactful moments to feel like they hit harder as the jokes stop and the more tender or heartfelt moments kick in.
The acting is pretty great across the board with credit to Ai Yoshikawa who plays the pretty tough role of Izzy who have to flip from being a hardened near emotionless almost mechanically efficient killer to suddenly being completely out of her depth and struggling when trying to deal with Hachi's kid sister and her fascination with Izzy, to some heart wrenching moments that come up to child like wonder and fascination over Ice-cream or waffles.
Themes and ideas:
Oh yes I'm doing one of these sections because it's amazing just how many themes it touches on and explores throughout the show: Love, loneliness, trying to be a good person, honour, family and generational divides. Social media and the how it's impacting society for better or ill and how much people use it with how much of a divide there is between generations. What it means to be friends. The idea of different subcultures in the general nerdom space exist and how they cross over but aren't as connected as people may think. The idea of family and tradition vs the modern world. The Idea of Duty vs family.
Go watch it, it's 8 episodes each about 40 minutes long and hopefully this will get a 2nd season greenlit because this feels like a show that shouldn't work but everything comes together to make it work far better than it has any right to. This deserves to stand among the greats shows of the past and be remembered alongside them fondly because it brings back that feeling of late 90s early 2000 TV be it Buffy or Charmed or Hercules or Xena, this show feels like it's bother a thoroughly modern show but also the spiritual successor of those kind of shows that were well made fun and a joy to watch.
(Prime Video)
Rating: 9/10
Tagline of my thoughts: A show every time I thought about I watching I forgot how good it was all over and every time I started watching again I didn't want to stop.
Thoughts: So a supernatural comedy / drama from Japan as part of Amazon's originals thing. I found this purely by accident on youtube and well after how good Spanish Amazon Original El internardo Les Cumbres and German Amazon Original The Gryphon were I figured why not go for more from other countries and see what they have to offer. My Undead Yokai Girlfriend doesnt' disappoint. Just be warned this one is subbed not dubbed and there's a few rough edges on the translations.
While Fallout I feel looking back was a bit of a mystery box show the mystery box element in My Undead Yokai Girlfriend doesn't feel like a mystery box but an organic part of the plot development. The Plot is simple enough Centuries ago 5 great clans joined together to form the 5 spears and rid the world killing them or banishing them from our world to a world of darkness. In the modern day nerdy University student Hachi and his best friend Tanuki (I think that's his name anyway) are E-sports players preparing for an upcoming small tournament, things start to unravel for Hachi and his long distance girlfriend whom he's never met but talks to mostly via texts etc he ends up decided to try a weird ritual in a book shown on a social media video by a fellow student whose recently gone missing. The ritual being one supposedly to find love. In doing so he accidentally summons Princess Izuna a fox spirit Yokai into this world. Now free Princess Izuna who gets given the name Izzy sets about initially trying to bond herself to the world before 24 hours are up and the spells effects wear off causing her to be pulled back into the dark world. While also trying to find the 5 descendants of the original 5 spears who now make up the 5 guardians through whom the spell sealing the Yokai from the human world remains in place.
What the show is, it's a reverse Isekai, instead of nerdy dude gets sucked into fantasy world and finds ways to build himself up to become a hero etc it's Nerdy dude summons already very capable warrior into our world and has to deal with their quest and the issues around it alongside trying to help them deal with the modern world and adapt and learn about it often to comedy effect. It's oddly a very broad kind of comedy that works well with a mix of slapstick and a surprising degree of cultural jokes that actually aren't limited to merely elements of Japanese culture but more international culture such as: Social media use, Catfishing and love scams, Live streaming culture and the degree of awkwardness in a lot of modern day dating expectations and elements.
What the show produces is a show with effect comparable if not better than a lot of older late 90's / Early 2000s shows and maybe on par with some of the not so great Marvel effects work as of late but also I'd argue batter shot and choregraphed fight scenes that give a sense of the kineticness of the fight while not just becoming barely comprehensible shakey cam work. E.G.
The plot is enjoyable with few moments where the butt clenching awkwardness gets too much (and that's for me who has a low tolerance for stuff where it becomes butt clenchingly awkward) and to not spoil too much it feels like both a complete arc but also a well done show progression / 1st arc while revealing the first arc to be just that with a teased escalation that really does make it feel like it's paying homage to the kind of anime that have likely helped inspire it and it's inversion of some tropes of Isekai anime shows. It's comedy also allows the more impactful moments to feel like they hit harder as the jokes stop and the more tender or heartfelt moments kick in.
The acting is pretty great across the board with credit to Ai Yoshikawa who plays the pretty tough role of Izzy who have to flip from being a hardened near emotionless almost mechanically efficient killer to suddenly being completely out of her depth and struggling when trying to deal with Hachi's kid sister and her fascination with Izzy, to some heart wrenching moments that come up to child like wonder and fascination over Ice-cream or waffles.
Themes and ideas:
Oh yes I'm doing one of these sections because it's amazing just how many themes it touches on and explores throughout the show: Love, loneliness, trying to be a good person, honour, family and generational divides. Social media and the how it's impacting society for better or ill and how much people use it with how much of a divide there is between generations. What it means to be friends. The idea of different subcultures in the general nerdom space exist and how they cross over but aren't as connected as people may think. The idea of family and tradition vs the modern world. The Idea of Duty vs family.
Go watch it, it's 8 episodes each about 40 minutes long and hopefully this will get a 2nd season greenlit because this feels like a show that shouldn't work but everything comes together to make it work far better than it has any right to. This deserves to stand among the greats shows of the past and be remembered alongside them fondly because it brings back that feeling of late 90s early 2000 TV be it Buffy or Charmed or Hercules or Xena, this show feels like it's bother a thoroughly modern show but also the spiritual successor of those kind of shows that were well made fun and a joy to watch.
South Park: The End Of Obesity: Nope / Great
After Cartman's insurance denies his claim for a weight loss drug, the boys concoct a plan to make the drug themselves and market it to those who can't afford the real stuff. Meanwhile, Randy (because of course "Randy") falls in with the local housewives who've been abusing the drug, and turn to violent crime when their supplies run out.
Simply not funny. The gag runs its course within minutes, but they run it into the ground over the course of nearly an hour. I’m still a fan of the show, but these last couple of specials have been probably the worst I’ve seen from them. Not even Randy could save this one for me.
After Cartman's insurance denies his claim for a weight loss drug, the boys concoct a plan to make the drug themselves and market it to those who can't afford the real stuff. Meanwhile, Randy (because of course "Randy") falls in with the local housewives who've been abusing the drug, and turn to violent crime when their supplies run out.
Simply not funny. The gag runs its course within minutes, but they run it into the ground over the course of nearly an hour. I’m still a fan of the show, but these last couple of specials have been probably the worst I’ve seen from them. Not even Randy could save this one for me.
Sometimes I remember a gag from the Simpsons, Family Guy, or South Park and reminisce over those old shows I loved.
Then I remember that technically they're still making them and I'm like... what lol
Thanks for putting this on my radar, looks like the kind of cute/fun show my wife might like. The trailer gives off Buffy the Vampire Slayer vibes, too.
Outer Range season 2 5/10
The positive 5 is the continued cast, production, and "vibes." The negative 5 is there's like no plot lol
This Amazon Prime show is about a time travel-inducing hole that appears on this ranch run by Josh Brolin's character. His kids, his enemy and his kids, and a mysterious wanderer staying with them get into all sorts of sci-fi and family dramas. Season 1 ends on a good reveal/cliff-hanger. Unfortunately this second season starts walking it back and then walks the walk-back back and yeah maybe that's a spoiler but if they show didn't have the self-respect to develop a plot why should I care?
It's still fun to watch if you like cowboy stuff, sci-fi nonsense, grumbly acting, and occassional pyschedelic trips.
The positive 5 is the continued cast, production, and "vibes." The negative 5 is there's like no plot lol
This Amazon Prime show is about a time travel-inducing hole that appears on this ranch run by Josh Brolin's character. His kids, his enemy and his kids, and a mysterious wanderer staying with them get into all sorts of sci-fi and family dramas. Season 1 ends on a good reveal/cliff-hanger. Unfortunately this second season starts walking it back and then walks the walk-back back and yeah maybe that's a spoiler but if they show didn't have the self-respect to develop a plot why should I care?
It's still fun to watch if you like cowboy stuff, sci-fi nonsense, grumbly acting, and occassional pyschedelic trips.
Eric (Netflix)
Benedict Cumberbatch plays a douchebag, alcoholic version of Jim Henson in the 1980s whose son goes missing one day in NYC on his way to school. It's Prisoners, with the show spending half the time with the dad who's falling down a berserk spiral of (self) destruction and the other half with the peculiar detective who's on the case while still haunted by a previous case. The twist being, the dad himself is haunted by "Eric", a cartoon monster straight out of Where the Wild Things Are (his son drew him and wanted the thing to appear in his dad's show). I dunno. Do you think Prisoners would've benefitted from Hugh Jackman bickering with Sully from Monster's Inc? You don't think it would clash with the themes of police corruption and the AIDS crisis or the scenes set in seedy nightclubs or the crackhead sewer system?
Benedict Cumberbatch plays a douchebag, alcoholic version of Jim Henson in the 1980s whose son goes missing one day in NYC on his way to school. It's Prisoners, with the show spending half the time with the dad who's falling down a berserk spiral of (self) destruction and the other half with the peculiar detective who's on the case while still haunted by a previous case. The twist being, the dad himself is haunted by "Eric", a cartoon monster straight out of Where the Wild Things Are (his son drew him and wanted the thing to appear in his dad's show). I dunno. Do you think Prisoners would've benefitted from Hugh Jackman bickering with Sully from Monster's Inc? You don't think it would clash with the themes of police corruption and the AIDS crisis or the scenes set in seedy nightclubs or the crackhead sewer system?
Yeah, I get that as well. Mind you, there is still some funny stuff...made by weird fans on facebook doing references to classic episodes.
Hah, I can't tell if you actually liked it. Which is cool.
I'm only half done binging the show but I think it's a comfortable B+ with a chance of B- depending on the inevitable twist.
We were actually between this and the second Outer Range but Eric won I think because Outer Ranger felt more like homework. Like we'll get to it but having to remind ourselves what was it about and why we liked it in the first place was a bit of a buzzkill.
Under the Bridge
True crime mini series about a fourteen yr old Indian girl who got the shit beat out of her by *mostly* other girls and a boy or two, then walked away from it, but was ultimately drowned to death by the worst of them when that wasn’t enough. Not spoilered since the viewer knows the gist going in by the description alone. Not something to watch if you don’t want your day soured thinking about it, but it gets the point across about what mis(un)guided youth are capable of. Speaking of, considering the true story aspect what surprised me more is where it took place (Victoria, BC), and how it was apparently “one of those towns” where something like this would be unfathomable. Yet, these “Bic girls” as they’re called (because if they get lost no one cares I guess) were portrayed as all but commonplace victims of their rich/degenerate/absentee/etc. parents.
There were a couple other narrative threads running parallel to this involving a former resident-turned journalist and her now-cop/ex lover bestie that found somewhat less impactful resolution, but I think being tied into the main thread added some weight to them. The cop in particular I felt bad for, more-so because it toed the “you couldn’t make this stuff up” line, literally.
The tone and subject matter vaguely reminded me of the show Thirteen Reasons Why, but is decidedly darker and far less melodramatic, which to me was a plus. There are bits of The Lost Boys (but mostly girls here) and True Detective as well (maybe even Fargo but that’s stretching it), through oddly enough the show runner’s larger inspiration was apparently Truman Capote.
True crime mini series about a fourteen yr old Indian girl who got the shit beat out of her by *mostly* other girls and a boy or two, then walked away from it, but was ultimately drowned to death by the worst of them when that wasn’t enough. Not spoilered since the viewer knows the gist going in by the description alone. Not something to watch if you don’t want your day soured thinking about it, but it gets the point across about what mis(un)guided youth are capable of. Speaking of, considering the true story aspect what surprised me more is where it took place (Victoria, BC), and how it was apparently “one of those towns” where something like this would be unfathomable. Yet, these “Bic girls” as they’re called (because if they get lost no one cares I guess) were portrayed as all but commonplace victims of their rich/degenerate/absentee/etc. parents.
There were a couple other narrative threads running parallel to this involving a former resident-turned journalist and her now-cop/ex lover bestie that found somewhat less impactful resolution, but I think being tied into the main thread added some weight to them. The cop in particular I felt bad for, more-so because it toed the “you couldn’t make this stuff up” line, literally.
The tone and subject matter vaguely reminded me of the show Thirteen Reasons Why, but is decidedly darker and far less melodramatic, which to me was a plus. There are bits of The Lost Boys (but mostly girls here) and True Detective as well (maybe even Fargo but that’s stretching it), through oddly enough the show runner’s larger inspiration was apparently Truman Capote.
honestly don't bother.. Outer Range is really not good. I just watched it 'cause I can vibe with almost any western.
Similarly I started season 2 of Reacher and it's still stupid but so fun.
Reacher 2 is the definition of stupid fun, though I think Reacher 1 was more fun and less stupid, more like goofy for embracing action flick conventions so unabashedly.
Also if you take a shot every time you hear the phrases "In an investigation, details matter", "You do no mess with the special investigators" and "I ever tell you how smart you are?" you will go legally blind before the finale.