Whatcha Watchin'?

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Re: Whatcha Watchin'?

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hepcat wrote: Tue Feb 23, 2021 7:09 pm Catherine O'Hara steals every scene she's in though. :wub:
The way she pronounces baby slays me every time.
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Re: Whatcha Watchin'?

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There’s one episode in which she pushes herself into a charity event for removing asbestos from older schools...but she thinks it’s to put more asbestos into them for some reason. That had me laughing out loud more than once.

And of course her wine commercial. That one will always be great.
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Re: Whatcha Watchin'?

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Kraken wrote: Sun Feb 21, 2021 10:44 pm A movie called "I Care a Lot" (Rosamund Pike, Peter Dinklage) just debuted on Netflix. It's an OK story with some clever twists, if ultimately hard to believe. I give it 5 tentacles up. A house that features prominently near the beginning of the film makes it special for me. I pass that house on my daily walking route, and they were setting up to film one morning a couple of years ago as I walked past. The street was closed to traffic but not to pedestrians, and I walked right through the not-quite-ready set. Very cool to finally see it on screen.
I’m watching it right now. I’m interested in it because it involves predatory guardianship, something I read about a few years ago...and it disgusted me.
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Re: Whatcha Watchin'?

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hepcat wrote: Tue Feb 23, 2021 9:34 pm
Kraken wrote: Sun Feb 21, 2021 10:44 pm A movie called "I Care a Lot" (Rosamund Pike, Peter Dinklage) just debuted on Netflix. It's an OK story with some clever twists, if ultimately hard to believe. I give it 5 tentacles up. A house that features prominently near the beginning of the film makes it special for me. I pass that house on my daily walking route, and they were setting up to film one morning a couple of years ago as I walked past. The street was closed to traffic but not to pedestrians, and I walked right through the not-quite-ready set. Very cool to finally see it on screen.
I’m watching it right now. I’m interested in it because it involves predatory guardianship, something I read about a few years ago...and it disgusted me.
I read that New Yorker story, too, and enjoyed the movie until
Spoiler:
Rosamund transforms into an action hero and overcomes Russian mobsters. That crossed into absurdity.
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Re: Whatcha Watchin'?

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Sigh...what I WON'T be watching is a movie at my favorite theater in Evanston, Illinois. They just announced they're closing. :(

I loved the place because they had a great bar you could grab a drink at beforehand. It had giant classic movie posters on most of the walls. Oh, and frozen coke machines....which, as we know, are an essential part of any successful movie theater experience.

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Lawboy, Zarathud, Archinerd, Lawbeef, Hentzau...they've all been dragged out to that theater at some point over the last decade or two.

Darn it, now I have to find a new theater.
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Re: Whatcha Watchin'?

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Pretty sure that's where we all gathered to watch Serenity.
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Re: Whatcha Watchin'?

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ImLawBoy wrote: Wed Feb 24, 2021 10:46 am Pretty sure that's where we all gathered to watch Serenity.
Yup. A bittersweet memory as my old friend from back home Rick was with us. He passed away about a year ago and this theater closing also made me think of him. :cry:

I'd also drag folks to Rifftrax Live events at that place. I hope I can find something similar nearby.
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Re: Whatcha Watchin'?

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So I've finally been watching Star Wars stuff (spoilers for the pre-EPIV stuff). I've watched the original trilogy, which was fine (particularily Empire and Return) although I was never overly fond of the mixture of sci-fi and fantasy (I'm probably one of the few people that *liked* midichlorians being added into the mythos). I then watched the Phantom Menace and largely stayed away (though I did watch Rogue One and Episode 7). I've been watching largely chronologically:

Episode 2 somehow managed to be worse than Episode 1. There were plot holes, loose threads and illogical things.

The Clone Wars series was fairly good, though after the first season I tended to stick with the essential storylines. Many of the (typically 4 episode) storylines could have been 1-2 episode shorter and better off for it, and while none struck me as terrible (even the Jar Jar Binks stories seemed OK) they tended to get samey and, like I said, should have been cut by an episode or two. I did prefer the non-war storylines (the ones with more politics or intrigue or such over lots and lots of lightsaber duels). However, towards the end of the Season 5, the stories were much better, with some great stories (My favorite was the first arc Season 6 and the last arc of Season 7, but the last arc of 5 and pretty much all of Season 7 were excellent).

I'll also add that I'm not a fan of the CGI (although it's better in the final season and especially in the last four episodes), and I'm not a fan of the unchronological order of the first few seasons.

Also, while I know they were introduced in TPM, am I the only one that doesn't understand why they would make comically stupid, incompetent and comic "roger roger" robots as the bad guys? Why would any army make it's robot soldiers try to be silly?

Episode 3 was also bad - not quite as bad as 1 and 2, but given how much it had to do, and how much potential it had, it was pretty disappointing. Anakin turning to the dark side was ham-fistedly done (as was the Emperor taking power). They really should have done a better job of making him skeptical of the jedi order (I thought they were on the road to that when they talk almost conspiratorially about a coup if Palpatine doesn't step down, but Anakin never hears about it). It could have been really powerful, but was wasted. Clone Wars tries to do some stuff in this area although it's not great (due to being heavily constrained). Also, Order 66 is wasted and confusing (I'm grateful for having watched the Clone War episodes about it first, which really does do a good job on it). I will say, though, that Obi-Wan is excellent in the prequel trilogy.

And now I've been watching Rebels. I'm enjoying it much more than much of Clone Wars overall (most episodes I've been enjoying), although it hasn't (yet) hit the highs of CW.
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Re: Whatcha Watchin'?

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ImLawBoy wrote: Tue Feb 23, 2021 5:45 pm
Holman wrote: Mon Feb 22, 2021 6:57 pm I've also just started Deutschland 83 (also on Hulu). It's about an East German soldier sent by the Stasi to impersonate an assistant to a West German general. The political drama involves Warsaw Pact fears of Reagan aggression, but the show does a great job of depicting the German 1980s on both sides of the Iron Curtain. Apparently the second season is Deutschland 86 and the third is Deutschland 89 (the year the Wall falls).
The wife and I watched 83 when it was first on (although I don't remember what network it aired on) and we enjoyed it. She only just found out that they made the other two seasons. Are they on Hulu as well? That's one service that we don't get.
And D89 just now appeared on Hulu.
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Re: Whatcha Watchin'?

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Anybody watching Mr Mayor?

Ted Danson and Holly Hunter play off of each other pretty well. I get a laugh or two out of each episode. But the supporting cast isn't doing it for me, and the scripts are mostly dumb and too sit-commy. I'm going to stick with it through the first season to see if it gels, but without enthusiasm.
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Re: Whatcha Watchin'?

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Just rented Color out of Space, based on the H.P. Lovecraft story. Nothing like a little Nicolas Cage freak out in a B horror movie!
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Re: Whatcha Watchin'?

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Not only that, but it’s directed by the equally strange Richard Stanley. The man who made it halfway through directing Marlon Brando and Val Kilmer in The Island of Dr. Moreau before disappearing into the jungle for months.

I love Color Out of Space though. It’s old school practical special effects were great.
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Re: Whatcha Watchin'?

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Rented Monsters on Prime Video:

I love me some Scoot McNairy.
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Re: Whatcha Watchin'?

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I've watched that a couple of times. I really like it. The sequel was less interesting. Not terrible. But lacking in something.

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Re: Whatcha Watchin'?

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I'm usually wary of mediocrely reviewed biopics and steer clear of them, but Vice deserves to be watched for the amazing acting and makeup, and the compelling story it weaves. I think the comedic elements raise the film above similar oscar fodder, though it's still very much a serious film first. And the score works very well, somewhat bringing Oliver Stone's Nixon to mind. Menacing, hinting at an epic tale of corrupt kings for modern times.

It's unfortunate it plays so loose with known facts, as a couple of articles I've read suggest I have no doubt the tone and conclusions of the film are largely correct, and I have no problem with creative license. But it makes the film a poor historical tool.



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Re: Whatcha Watchin'?

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99 Homes. Mesmerizing, heart-wrenching, and Michael Shannon. Though the ending, while appropriate, I found to be predictable and somewhat disappointing. As well, I wish the script had done more to humanize Shannon's character. As compelling as he is as the villain, there's only one noteworthy scene in which we find out how he got here, and I wanted more.



I saw a commercial on late night TV. It said, "Forget everything you know about slipcovers." So I did. And it was a load off my mind. Then the commercial tried to sell me slipcovers, and I didn't know what the hell they were. -- Mitch Hedberg
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Re: Whatcha Watchin'?

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Just saw "The Gods Must Be Crazy" for the first time since the mid-80s and realized that my memory was conflating it with "Luggage of the Gods," which came out around the same time. "Crazy" wasn't as good as I remembered; large parts of it were basically Crocodile Dundee in Africa. There's a good hour-long core story embedded in an hour of silly subplots. Now I need to see if any of my streaming sources have "Luggage." Doubtful, but I would like to see that one again, too.
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Re: Whatcha Watchin'?

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Kraken wrote: Mon Mar 22, 2021 10:00 pm Just saw "The Gods Must Be Crazy" for the first time since the mid-80s
I have an Aunt and Uncle who have had long careers as professional wildlife photographers, and they said it felt like it was based on their experiences. They've gotten into some crazy shit over several decades.
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Re: Whatcha Watchin'?

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Rumpy wrote: Tue Mar 23, 2021 12:18 am
Kraken wrote: Mon Mar 22, 2021 10:00 pm Just saw "The Gods Must Be Crazy" for the first time since the mid-80s
I have an Aunt and Uncle who have had long careers as professional wildlife photographers, and they said it felt like it was based on their experiences. They've gotten into some crazy shit over several decades.
They're talking about the core story that I said would make a good 1-hour movie. It's wrapped in a lot of hit-or-miss slapstick with some cringeworthy Crocodile Dundee misogyny (I think this movie did it first, fwiw).

Google says "Luggage of the Gods" isn't streaming anywhere. Bummer. Sometimes I'm tempted to switch Netflix back to DVDs, because they suck at flix on the streaming side.
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Re: Whatcha Watchin'?

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It's been ages since I've seen it (on VHS, I'm sure), but The Gods Must Be Crazy was mostly "miss" for me.
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Re: Whatcha Watchin'?

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I've been putting off seeing 2004's The Punisher with Thomas Jane and John Travolta for 17 years. I think I recall almost seeing it in theatres. On one hand, The Punisher. On the other, 29% on Rotten Tomatoes. One one hand, Thomas Jane. On the other hand, John Travolta.

Well, I'm surprised to come away with a marginally positive opinion. I never need to see this again in my life, but I enjoyed my time with it enough. For the record, I know the general beats of the character but haven't read more than a few pages of the comics. I think I've seen part of the 1989 film, but haven't seen the 2008 one. I watched any enjoyed the Netflix series with Jon Bernthal. He was a great Frank Castle, but the series itself (or perhaps each individual season) overstayed its welcome, much like the other Netflix Marvel series.

This movie opens with a very likable if familiar feeling trumpet theme. My first impression is that this does not seem like a 2004, post-Matrix action film. Rather, it often makes me think of the mediocre action films of the early 90s. Mind you, it's strange to consider this movie's age.. that's an era I still think of as being current. And while it certainly has its hallmarks, they don't stand out nearly as much as those of the 80s and 90s. This film is not the gritty gorefest you'd expect. The violence does get pretty brutal in the latter half, but it's still "Hollywood brutal". I guess the last two decades of premium/pay TV have desensitized me.

There's a lot of moderately corny dialogue and interactions here, but they seem appropriate if you view it through a comic book lens. But that's the problem, the film doesn't try to rise above the basic film and comic medium. That's what's made the MCU work; it's so strongly influenced by the comics obviously, but it turns the characters into real people. Iron Man (2008) was only four years later, but it feels like a generation of difference.

There's an initially annoying side plot with Castle's misfit neighbours (some pretty notable names--Rebecca Romijn, Ben Foster, and late comedian John Pinette) that actually winds up being endearing and one of the highlights of the movie. The romantic undertones with Romijn's character are a little overplayed and uncomfortable though, considering Castle's largely out of his mind with grief and anger. I don't think it should have been cut, just subdued. Other than that, a dinner scene between the four leads into a downright goofy fight with wrestler Kevin Nash wearing a laughably loud red-striped shirt. Google tells me this is a hallmark of his character, The Russian... but maybe they should have lost the shirt for the movie lol. Harry Heck, on the other hand, is captivating but done away with all too soon.

At the beginning, it seems Will Patton's villain lieutenant is going to chew some scenery and be a joy to watch, but he's ultimately underutilized. Travolta... is Travolta. He's not hammy so much as he is unconvincing. Unfortunately, I think he winds up being a distraction. With Patton as the main villain, this could have been great. Eddie Jemison's Mickey Duka is written kind of horribly though, and I think the film would have been better without him. Thomas Jane doesn't do anything special, but does he have to? He's Thomas Jane! He's another actor I just love to watch work. Similar to Guy Pierce, I was always surprised when he didn't become a superstar.

Surprisingly, we do get to see The Punisher the manipulator here, as well as just The Punisher the vigilante. The final death scene is just confusing however, until you get it. And then it's just stupid lol.


The very 2004 trailer (which actually makes it look worse than it is):




There's plenty of brutal and horrific violence in the 2012 unofficial short Dirty Laundry in which Jane reprises the role, but I can't help finding the whole thing rather pointless. The bad guy is a little too evil, and not-Castle is a little too slow to wake up. Still, it would have been interesting to see a Jane film with that tone. I guess the Netflix series was pretty good though. Now I guess the question is whether I want to subject myself to the 2008 reboot that isn't supposed to be much better.

I saw a commercial on late night TV. It said, "Forget everything you know about slipcovers." So I did. And it was a load off my mind. Then the commercial tried to sell me slipcovers, and I didn't know what the hell they were. -- Mitch Hedberg
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Re: Whatcha Watchin'?

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Disturbing, poignant, and often hilarious, The Art of Self-Defense is in many ways the counterbalance to Fight Club's ultimately destructive hypermasculinity and nihilism. The trailer hints at darker elements, but still makes it look much more lighthearted than it is. After the halfway mark in particular, events take a surprisingly brutal turn, though it's still very much a black comedy. Some people dislike Jesse Eisenberg. I generally enjoy him. But even if you don't, this film is worth a look. One of its twists is blatantly telegraphed, but it's completely irrelevant as it's only an early stop on a deep dark rabbit hole. This is not a light dramedy with a romantic subplot.



I saw a commercial on late night TV. It said, "Forget everything you know about slipcovers." So I did. And it was a load off my mind. Then the commercial tried to sell me slipcovers, and I didn't know what the hell they were. -- Mitch Hedberg
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Re: Whatcha Watchin'?

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Oddly enough I saw that last weekend and thought it was quite odd. Karate Kid this ain't. Ironically enough, his love interest in this movie is Imogen Poots, which he also starred with in Vivarium that same year. It's like they've become this movie couple.
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Re: Whatcha Watchin'?

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I'd say it hardly progresses to love interest, and I'm very glad it didn't for once.

I saw a commercial on late night TV. It said, "Forget everything you know about slipcovers." So I did. And it was a load off my mind. Then the commercial tried to sell me slipcovers, and I didn't know what the hell they were. -- Mitch Hedberg
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Re: Whatcha Watchin'?

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I just found out Scrubs is back on Amazon Prime. Time for yet another binge.

Easily the best sitcom ever.
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Re: Whatcha Watchin'?

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Skinypupy wrote:I just found out Scrubs is back on Amazon Prime. Time for yet another binge.

Easily the best sitcom ever.
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Re: Whatcha Watchin'?

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I think the dramatic character is always going to win that contest. Watching Dr. Cox unfold as a dramatic character over nine seasons would have been insufferable. But then, watching House unfold as a dramatic character over eight seasons was insufferable. I loved some of the places House went in the latter seasons, but it never committed and always retreated to its procedural roots. As for Scrubs, I don't remember as many of the plotlines. There was definitely some great character development there, and it was captivating to watch Cox take the role he always derided. But comedies and dramadies are always held back by their need to generate laughs. Apples and oranges aside, think House wins... as perhaps not logging the most sarcastic screen time, but as being the most captivating character. Which is the answer to the question no one asked. :drool:


So, I finally saw the last two Pirates films. The series is my little sister's favourite. I'm kind of disgusted to say... I didn't hate them. Especially the fourth. I seem to recall finding the original trilogy concussively busy, but ultimately boring. I did appreciate the acing of Rush and Nighy, etc. but didn't care for the younger characters' plotlines and didn't really understand why everyone liked Depp in his role so much. In the early 2000s I was a Depp devotee and really enjoyed many of his 90s projects, but I lost interest when a mainstream cult emerged around him. But, I have to say the decision to focus the new movies more on him was a good one. Though they still insisted on inserting young characters that I found it hard to care about. One of the final ones actually wasn't bad, but the twist they pulled out of nowhere... felt like it came out of nowhere.

It's amazing to think On Stranger Tides is still the most expensive film ever produced, ten years later. Also that it's an adaptation of a non-franchise novel from 1987 that also went on to inspire the Monkey Island franchise. I don't know where to fall on the Depp debate... the truth is that it's not possible to be sufficiently informed. But even though the franchise can and conceivably will continue without him (as he's been banned from future appearances), I really think they should just take this opportunity to let it die. But they won't, because it's worth too much. I guess the big question is, did I really enjoy these movies? Or are Ian McShane and Javier Bardem just on the list of actors I'd pay to watch paint a room? It might be the latter. Regardless, I was sufficiently distracted for 2+ hours and didn't feel the need to throw any objects across the room.


Also re-watched The Ghost Writer for the first time since release. Polanski, is a lot easier to damn. But judging the film on its merits, this is just a solid, solid thriller with a deliciously foreboding mood. It's not perfect, but it's far more memorable than most movies in this genre. It's also amazing to consider this was not shot in New England (for the Polanski reason), but the German-Polish island of Usedom in the Baltic sea. 8.5/10 and bound to stick around as one of my favourites.

There are a couple of plot elements that bug me though:
Spoiler:
From the dates provided, you would think Brosnan's character shouldn't be more than a few years older than Olivia Williams's. But she comes off as probably 10+ years his junior (as in real life), which makes the affair with the protagonist more believable. Not that you can't have an age difference, but McGregor's character felt considerably younger than Brosnan's--15-25 years. Also, the whole thing with the "truth" being hidden as the first word of each chapter of the manuscript felt like it would have been a stale idea in 1965. But it was still fun overall.)

And The Imitation Game. Very much worth it. I often postpone seeing biopics because they tend to be so formulaic, but this really is a fine one.

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Re: Whatcha Watchin'?

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Having watched every single House episode, and loving the vast majority of it, I never saw Scrubs. Will have to check it out.
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Re: Whatcha Watchin'?

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I watched all 3 Expendibles movies yesterday. It's like Cannonball Run for the mercenary bloodbath genre!
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Re: Whatcha Watchin'?

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I'm in the middle of Them (Amazon Prime). It is possibly the most disturbing thing I've seen ever, and I've watched a TON of disturbing crap. I don't know if I can really recommend it to anyone, but I have to say it is pretty compelling thus far.
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rittchard wrote: Tue Apr 13, 2021 12:36 pm I'm in the middle of Them (Amazon Prime). It is possibly the most disturbing thing I've seen ever, and I've watched a TON of disturbing crap. I don't know if I can really recommend it to anyone, but I have to say it is pretty compelling thus far.
Finished this last night. The ending was kind of disappointing but all in all it was a very compelling, yet incredibly disturbing, series. The ads I saw kind of made it look like a horror movie, and in many ways, the final episode concluded with a very "horror movie"-ish quality. The odd thing is that the rest of the series did not play that way, with bits of horror elements thrown in each episode. I think viewed as a whole, maybe it does kind of work as an extended supernatural horror movie/series. But it's the human/racist elements that actually leave an impact on you, so that's why it's difficult to define. Anyway I'm kind of just rambling now.

If you were a fan of Us and Get Out, throw in some Conjuring and you get an idea of what this is like. The acting and production are all top notch, with just a couple of questionable subplots that probably could have been cut.
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Re: Whatcha Watchin'?

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Jaymann wrote: Mon Apr 12, 2021 7:14 pm Having watched every single House episode, and loving the vast majority of it, I never saw Scrubs. Will have to check it out.
Scrubs starts off on 11 and then dials it back slowly over many many many seasons. Once you get past the Wizard of Oz episode ("My Yellow Brick Road"?) if you ever come to a point where you wonder if it's still worth watching, you can probably wrap it up. It think it's worth it all the way until you get to the next generation of interns, but your mileage may vary.

If you don't love the pilot episode, you probably won't enjoy the series. It is eloquent in what the show is at its best. 4th wall breaking and mixing fantasy with reality among the best of the unreliable narrator shticks.

I'd put it on par with Parker Lewis Can't Lose

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Re: Whatcha Watchin'?

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LordMortis wrote: Wed Apr 14, 2021 1:02 pm Parker Lewis Can't Lose
The best Ferris Bueller series in existence.
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Re: Whatcha Watchin'?

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Isgrimnur wrote: Wed Apr 14, 2021 1:27 pm
LordMortis wrote: Wed Apr 14, 2021 1:02 pm Parker Lewis Can't Lose
The best Ferris Bueller series in existence.
I was almost going to refer to Scrubs as such...
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Re: Whatcha Watchin'?

Post by Skinypupy »

While it generally still holds up well overall, much of Scrubs has become a really uncomfortable watch in the #MeToo era. There's stuff in nearly every episode that is just creepy as hell, and is intended to be "cute" or funny. Not to mention it would get any doctor immediately thrown out of the hospital on their ass. It didn't hit my radar as much when I watched it all those years ago, but it's kinda glaring now.

I expect that's likely the case with most shows though.
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Sudy
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Re: Whatcha Watchin'?

Post by Sudy »

Avengement (2019) is 88 minutes of bad people hurting other bad people very badly. It's brutal, grimy, hard, and lean. I honestly don't know that I can remember seeing Scott Adkins in anything else (his resume is two decades of mostly smaller rolls, sequels, and direct-to-video action films), but he's got as much charisma as any of the other direct-to-video action leads and can carry a picture.

The trailer gives away most of the story (as well as misrepresenting it a little), but I don't think many are watching this expecting a lot of twists.




Currently on both Canadian and U.S. Netflix.

I saw a commercial on late night TV. It said, "Forget everything you know about slipcovers." So I did. And it was a load off my mind. Then the commercial tried to sell me slipcovers, and I didn't know what the hell they were. -- Mitch Hedberg
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Sudy
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Re: Whatcha Watchin'?

Post by Sudy »

Men in Black: International was a good idea. Unfortunately, it's a poorly written executed that doesn't expand upon its predecessors or even play to its strengths. I like most of the actors involved, but they're just not written very well. Not all of the beats and tropes are bad, there's just uninspired and over-telegraphed (the main "twist" in particular if you can even call it that). Such a wasted opportunity.

There are a few CGI effects that are just bad for this era.

I like Kumail Nanjiani, but his character has mascot-itis and is incredibly annoying. Only about 15% of the jokes land. (I'm guessing maybe he'd appeal to kid viewers.) Written better, it would have been fine.

I saw a commercial on late night TV. It said, "Forget everything you know about slipcovers." So I did. And it was a load off my mind. Then the commercial tried to sell me slipcovers, and I didn't know what the hell they were. -- Mitch Hedberg
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Re: Whatcha Watchin'?

Post by Blackhawk »

Nothing specific, but I have gone through all of my streaming services that include viewer profiles and created a new profile for each named 'Documentaries' (I still need to do HBO.) Guess what I filled them with? It gets the shows I actually watch the most often (er, documentaries) out of the traffic jam of various series I have bookmarked but not watched yet. It's still surprising how hard it is find decent documentaries on core streaming services. True crime, reality, and popumentaries, sure. But actual informative shows? Maybe one in twenty. Especially if nature shows aren't your thing.

Of course, there is also PBS. My local PBS site has about 90% of theirs behind a streaming subscription now, though. I may just have to lie about where I live.
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Re: Whatcha Watchin'?

Post by Jaymann »

During the pandemic I started watching The Tennis Channel, since it seemed to be the only sport still happening. Now Roger Federer is playing in the French Open, and won in the first round. He admits he has no chance as at nearly 40 he had more knee operations than match wins in the past year (2 vs. 1). And he would have to get past Nadal. Just like old times.
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Sudy
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Re: Whatcha Watchin'?

Post by Sudy »

Jaymann wrote: Tue Jun 01, 2021 11:04 am During the pandemic I started watching The Tennis Channel....
I'm so sorry man.... :cry:

I saw a commercial on late night TV. It said, "Forget everything you know about slipcovers." So I did. And it was a load off my mind. Then the commercial tried to sell me slipcovers, and I didn't know what the hell they were. -- Mitch Hedberg
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