demagogue on 6/11/2019 at 09:15
You both have a point if you take it in context.
El Camino is not fit for being part of the finale to the show itself. The show ended with Jesse driving off in hysterics, and for the purposes of ending the show, that was a perfect ending for it. And anything more would have been gratuitous and muffed it up. But El Camino isn't really meant to stretch out the final episode. It's meant to be one of those side-stories like they're doing with Star Wars, where it tells this independent story about some of Jesse's experience during the show and what happened to him that came out 5 years after the show ended. It's in that context, for people that are still really into the world of that show and 5 years later would love to hear a little more from it, that the movie was welcome.
That's consistent IMO with someone watching it literally right after they've just watched the final episode and feeling like it was gratuitous. It was gratuitous in that sense. But if you'd watch the final episode and wait five years to watch El Camino, I'm pretty sure you'd also think it was a cool independent addition, nothing ground breaking but cool to see.
Thirith on 6/11/2019 at 09:30
For me it was pretty much the other way around. I enjoyed El Camino, but for me it made more sense as an extended coda and much less so as its own thing. It felt like I'd put away a book before reading the epilogue, picking up the book again several years later and realising that there were some pages I hadn't read. Seeing it seven years after Breaking Bad ended, it felt too much like "Why the long wait so we could see Jesse pretty much in the same place where the series ended?" It was well crafted, it was fun and tense, but with this much of a gap it doesn't feel like a coda, yet that's the only way it really works for me.
henke on 6/11/2019 at 16:28
Watched Eighth Grade the other night. It was very relatable, this tale of the quiet kid, Kayla. I was expecting it to be awkward, and it is, but it's also surprisingly funny and heartwarming. And then there's the soundtrack, check out this nervewracking scene where Kayla gets invited over to the cool kid's pool party.
[video=youtube;0nSxQdQ7U-U]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nSxQdQ7U-U[/video]
The music is "Nautilus" by Anna Meredith. She does the entire soundtrack, and it's all great. Overall, I loved this movie and will definitely watch it again.
Also watched:
Hereditary - yikes! Toni Collette is so good in this.
Prisoners - a 2013 thriller by Denis Villeneuve that I was surprised not to have heard of. Kind of a hard watch, but also has tons of great performances.
Heart Beats Loud - pretty generic indie dramedy where Nick Offerman and daughter form an indie band and end up on the Spotify Indie mix of the week but oh no the daughter has to go to college and also Nick has to close his indie record shop and indie INDIE InDiE iNdIE you call him doctor indie, doll!
Dolemite Is My Name - Eddie Murphy is great in this and overall it's a very fun watch.
Holmes And Watson - this Will Ferrell/John C. Reilly teamup got slaughtered by the critics and imdb crowd so I went in with significantly lowered expectations, and that's probably why I thought it was ok. A lot of what made Talladega Nights and Stepbrothers work is here as well and I thought there were a few decent laughs.
Captain Marvel - Didn't have high expectations of this one either, but it was ok. Has a "fish out of water" vibe to it that reminded me of 80's/90's actionmovies like The Last Actionhero and Suburban Commando. Not saying those are, y'know, good movies or anything, but it did give me an odd pleasant feeling of nostalgia.
Renault on 6/11/2019 at 17:00
I must really be in the minority, but I saw Joker last night and really didn't care too much for it. I usually like dark and gritty, but to me this was just sad and depressing. Maybe it's because I love Heath Ledger's joker character so much. This version of the Joker just seemed so simple to me, and I've always viewed him as being somewhat of a complex character, both intelligent and confident. One of the worst scenes I thought was the ending where he went on De Niro's talk show and killed him. The whole setup was just so implausible and farfetched to me, it just didn't make sense. I kept waiting for the revelation that it was all in his mind, just like his love interest storyline. Different strokes and all that, I guess, but this just wasn't my thing.
Renault on 7/11/2019 at 04:00
You may be right on that, but I think the only place where it's obvious is with anything related to the "girlfriend" (as I mentioned in my previous post). Other than that, what indications did you have that this was the case?
I was ready to believe the entire talk show portion was a hallucination too, but then it was mentioned on the news broadcast shortly after that scene.
Another point I agree with, that I read somewhere, is that there's no way this person could ever become some criminal mastermind. He just isn't that bright.
henke on 7/11/2019 at 05:10
Quote Posted by Brethren
The whole setup was just so implausible and farfetched to me, it just didn't make sense.
You mean the setup of him being allowed on the show? Not that farfetched, late night talk shows of that era brought on cranks all the time. Weirdos who they thought would make for good content, see Harvey Pekar.
zombe on 7/11/2019 at 10:32
Been watching Emergence ( (
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emergence_(TV_series)) ) enough to give an opinion.
It is a sci-fi show where the Fiction part goes deep into fantastical territory. Not a superhero show - but the fantastical part inevitably leans there (a'la Stranger Things).
While the sci-fi part is curiously interesting - it is kind of in the whatever category (Ahem, the show is titled Emergence. Don't expect anything intelligent.). What i find most compelling about the show is that all the main characters are likeable and act like decent normal human beings - which is very-very rare in TV shows. Drama that crops up is dealt admirably by not letting any problems grow to the point of actual drama - just bumps on the road of life to dodge or deal with.
I am strangely compelled to watch the show. Not sure why. Maybe because i have not seen actual humans depicted in a TV show. Usually it is a combination of overblown caricature of a mess and nonsensical writing (canonical example: drama caused by insufficient communication which is especially insulting when the sloppy communication is literally shown as starting a sentence and ending it after getting in a car and driving for SEVERAL hours ... x_x ... usually never actually getting to say the super important thing before some other bollocks in the script pops up to be dealt with).
Sulphur on 7/11/2019 at 11:29
Quote:
when the sloppy communication is literally shown as starting a sentence and ending it after getting in a car and driving for SEVERAL hours ... x_x ... usually never actually getting to say the super important thing before some other bollocks in the script pops up to be dealt with).
I'm going to steal this if I ever make a movie. It sounds like a great transitional sequence where a guy or gal is starting out of their house while saying something SUPER IMPORTANT and gets into a car while still talking, and ends the sentence when they arrive at their destination hours later. The next thing that happens is whoever their bemused partner is looks at them and goes, 'What?'
SubJeff on 9/11/2019 at 19:28
Edge of Tomorrow. Again.
Cripes, what a great sci-fi that is. Cruise chooses great vehicles and he does a great job in them. This doesn't need the sequel they keep talking about, its perfect as it is. I don't know what took me so long to watch it again.
We need more Cruise sci-fi!
Gray on 9/11/2019 at 23:36
You and I agree on many things. This is one where we do not.
More sci-fi? Yes. More Cruise. No. Much, much less Cruise.
On the topic of excellent sci-fi without Cruise, I've yet again started rewatching The Expanse, which has now moved from Netflix to Amazon Prime, the new season will be out shortly there and I feel I need to refresh my memory. I feel I can watch it over and over, there are so many details in it I keep missing.
Also, vaguely on topic, rewatching Futurama, also on Amazon, and only just realised I hadn't seen the final season, so hurray! More stuff to discover!