SubJeff on 13/7/2018 at 21:26
The Man from Uncle.
Not bad.
Sulphur on 22/7/2018 at 06:57
I've not posted anything about seasons two of Legion, Westworld, or The Handmaid's Tale in a while, because this is the year of the sophomore slump. And from experienced showrunners, no less. At least one thread winds through all three of these, and that's over-indulgence. Messy and simultaneously over- and under-cooked is the theme, and I'm not a fan of this sloping off into pretentiousness (Legion) or uninspired homage (Westworld) and running in circles towards a net loss in momentum (Handmaid's). There are good things in all of these, though, and of the lot, The Handmaid's Tale managed to maintain its decorum and consistency to a degree, even if it remains a tedious exercise in finding and losing hope. And speaking of that, let's hope season 3 of each learns from the successes of the past and the mistakes of the present and welds their lumbering structure into something more compelling.
Meanwhile, two shows that don't have that problem: The Expanse remains a fantastic watch and benchmark sci-fi TV for this age even if its arc this season is all crests and troughs (what crests, though!), and Atlanta was an amazing, surreal, razor-sharp work of comedy that cuts deep for what was supposed to be 'Twin Peaks with rappers'.
Gryzemuis on 22/7/2018 at 16:25
I watched 2-3 episodes of Elementary on TV. I thought it was a mediocre series. But I actually liked it better than I thought. It's not just Lucy Liu. So I downloaded series 1 - 5, to watch via my little media-player. That's 120 episodes. And in September/October, season 6 will be available.
For shorter series, I have a rule that I don't watch more than 1 episode per night. E.g. I did that when I watched Dark (German netflix series) or Stranger Things or Mr. Robot. I think binge-watching is dumb. But when a series has many episodes, I allow myself to watch 2 episodes per night. (A couple of years ago, I watched the original Law&Order series, seasons 1-12, that's 240 episodes). I don't watch TV every night. So even if I really like a series, I might be watching 5-10 episodes per week.
Elementary seasons 1 to 6 will have 141 episodes.
I'm set for the next 17 weeks !
I will not have to be be looking for something else to watch, until December. Nice.
Thriftweed on 22/7/2018 at 21:21
Started watching the handmaids tale. Its brilliant. Its like a cross between children of men and 1984.
Gray on 24/7/2018 at 02:49
Quote Posted by Thriftweed
the handmaids tale
Yes. I thoroughly enjoyed watching season one, perhaps because it was pandering to what I already believe, but nevertheless, very enjoyable. Not had the time yet to start season two, but I've recorded it, I just need a bit of spare time. I think there might be a reason it works so well in the current social/political climate, but I don't want to give any spoilers. Just watch it. Published in 1985. If you're old enough to remember that age, extrapolate in an awful direction.
Renzatic on 28/7/2018 at 22:08
The new Ducktales is rad, yall. RAD!
henke on 30/7/2018 at 06:44
GLOW Season 2 - Some of the drama early in the season felt a bit contrived and out of character just to set things up for later, but besides that a really solid season. Even better than the first one. Great performances by Allison Brie and Marc Maron.
The Dark Tower - Decent, but forgettable.
Altered States - William Hurt plays a scientist who uses mind-altering substances to alter his physiology and turn himself into an APEMAN! A weird, slow acid-trip of a movie.
Captain Phillips - Like a real-life Die Hard. Good stuff.
Logan Lucky - Wonderful performances and interesting characters. I liked Adam Driver more in this than in anything else he's done.
Kingsman: The Golden Circle - I watched this the day after seeing Logan Lucky, and BOTH MOVIES features characters who spontaneously start singing "Take me home, Country Roads"! I thought I was loosing my mind, man. Anyway, just as over-the-top and fun as the first Kingsman. Great actionscenes set to great music. Elton John is great as Elton John.
Batman: Gotham by Gaslight - It's steampunk Batman hunting Jack The Ripper. You'll never guess who the Ripper is. I did not see it coming.
American Honey - This is kind of an ambling plot-less thing that gets by on it's characters and performances. I liked it.
Thirith on 30/7/2018 at 07:35
I think I watched Altered States during a phase about twenty years ago when I suffered from insomnia, which got so bad that once or twice I had hallucinations (I was fully aware that they were hallucinations, but it was still worrying when I saw that giant spider on the wall with black-and-orange striped legs.) I'm still not sure whether that was the best time to watch Altered States or the worst - or both.
On a totally different note, yesterday I watched the Jane Austen adaptation Love and Friendship by Whit Stilman. Very funny and well performed; other Austen adaptations lean into the romance much more heavily, but this one is first and foremost satire/comedy, which works brilliantly. One of the characters is the funniest idiot I've seen in a comedy in a long, long time, pretty much stealing every scene he's in.
SubJeff on 31/7/2018 at 22:24
Yeah, it was quite good fun.
Saw How it Ends and Warcraft. They were okay. 3/5