What are we watching now?

[laxu]

And this is making me reassess television in general. Maybe there's just a level of quality out there that I didn't know. I'm so damn curious to see what else could be hidden on television with quality as high as Breaking Bad, with great acting, directing, and writing.

I'd say I've enjoyed television way more than most movies that have come out in years. Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul are at the absolute top tier, but there's plenty of good stuff to enjoy.

In no particular order:

• Fargo
• Hannibal
• Black Mirror
• Narcos
• Tokyo Vice
• True Detective
• Severance
• Bojack Horseman
• Mindhunter
• Chernobyl. Mini series, very well done.

For comedy, nothing beats Arrested Development. Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt is by far my second favorite comedy available for streaming. Ted Lasso is also lovely.

 

[laxu]

We watched the original Beetlejuice last night. A few days before we went to see Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, the sequel, in theaters as a last minute date night thing to do.

Both movies are fun, but not necessarily great? Cult classic for sure. It was fun to see how well made the fx for the 1988 original are compared to the new movie's digital fx.

 

[Los-D]

but it gets good

Spoiler: Better Call Saul

 

[DrewJD82]

My son keeps telling me we should go through BB… we watched the first three episodes. Seems good but it really didn’t hook me. I need to give it a chance.

I did this 4-5x with both Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul and just couldn't get into them, then boom, once I was in, I was IN. And reading State's review I'll probably end up restarting it all tonight.

 

[State of Epicicity]

My son keeps telling me we should go through BB… we watched the first three episodes. Seems good but it really didn’t hook me. I need to give it a chance.

I tried it for the first time I think around a decade ago under the advice of a friend, but I didn't like it at all. For some reason Bryan Cranston seemed like a bad actor, and the whole thing seemed lowbrow and shitty to me then. This time around, my wife watched almost all of the series on her own while working, and she was so passionate about how good it is that I gave it another try. I found right away that I felt completely differently about the first episode, and that made me open to the rest of it. And I think it really is incredibly good throughout. To me the only danger is time, because the cliffhangers are so intense you never want to stop watching until you reach the end of the series.

 

[State of Epicicity]

I'd say I've enjoyed television way more than most movies that have come out in years. Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul are at the absolute top tier, but there's plenty of good stuff to enjoy.

In no particular order:

• Fargo
• Hannibal
• Black Mirror
• Narcos
• Tokyo Vice
• True Detective
• Severance
• Bojack Horseman
• Mindhunter
• Chernobyl. Mini series, very well done.

For comedy, nothing beats Arrested Development. Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt is by far my second favorite comedy available for streaming.

Man, you're right about the ones of those I've seen. I think True Detective (except season 2, which I refer to as the Tax Credit season) is a fucking masterpiece. And I always forget about Narcos; that was truly incredible.

We watched the first episode of Tokyo Vice just because it's Michael Mann, but it's modern Michael Mann, which always leaves me severely wanting, which is why I'm not at all hopeful for Heat 2. I feel like in his old age Mann is too detail oriented and forgets the reason people love drama. He leaves out the heart and instead just offers vignettes of extremely competent people haha.

Thanks for all these recommendations. I'll keep these in mind for the future. I've bookmarked your post.

 

[State of Epicicity]

I did this 4-5x with both Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul and just couldn't get into them, then boom, once I was in, I was IN. And reading State's review I'll probably end up restarting it all tonight.

Oh cool! Hope you enjoy it this time around haha! I'm very glad I gave Breaking Bad a second shot, and I'm curious to see how it hits you if you do try it again.

 

[DrewJD82]

Oh cool! Hope you enjoy it this time around haha! I'm very glad I gave Breaking Bad a second shot, and I'm curious to see how it hits you if you do try it again.

I've rewatched Breaking Bad probably 3x now, really just confirms why I love it so much each time. I haven't rewatched BCS yet, which is most deserving of a rewatch because watching it as it aired was a chore. There were gaps between seasons, I believe, before covid.

 

[State of Epicicity]

I've rewatched Breaking Bad probably 3x now, really just confirms why I love it so much each time. I haven't rewatched BCS yet, which is most deserving of a rewatch because watching it as it aired was a chore. There were gaps between seasons, I believe, before covid.

Oh sorry, I realize I misread what you had written earlier. Man, I don't know how good Better Call Saul is compared to Breaking Bad, but I just can't imagine having to wait between episodes. Actually, now that I think of it, I did do that with True Detective season 4.

 

[DrewJD82]

Oh sorry, I realize I misread what you had written earlier. Man, I don't know how good Better Call Saul is compared to Breaking Bad, but I just can't imagine having to wait between episodes. Actually, now that I think of it, I did do that with True Detective season 4.

The recaps were certainly a necessity. I can't remember when the gaps came in and how long they were, I want to say there was a good 2 years between a couple seasons around the pandemic, but it definitely made it a challenge to watch. You forget all the little details of why you love certain characters. I know at several points I felt BCS was just as good and at some points, better than BB, it's definitely a treat of a show.

 

[likitlikeyoulikeit]

Anyone here a fan of the Shogun tv series remake in FX? Love that show so much.

 

[Byrdman]

Bad Monkey on Apple TV. Silly Florida Comedy. Read the book many years ago and so far it's been pretty good.

 

[LeftyLoungeLizard]

 

[Achilles]

Breaking Bad fans, check this out.
Takes a bit but some pretty mind-blowing stuff Gilligan hid right in front of everyone.

 

[LeftyLoungeLizard]

 

[LeftyLoungeLizard]

 

[laxu]

I've got a lengthy backlog of TV shows piled up so we started watching True Detective: Night Country last night. It's got a similar eerie vibe and setting to Fortitude. So far pretty decent.

 

[State of Epicicity]

I've got a lengthy backlog of TV shows piled up so we started watching True Detective: Night Country last night. It's got a similar eerie vibe and setting to Fortitude. So far pretty decent.

To me True Detective: Night Country is as good as the first season. I couldn't even watch season two, but I thought season three was great. To me those three seasons are each like a fantastic movie, where every element is world class.

 

[State of Epicicity]

Last night we started watching And Justice For All from 1979. I saw it years ago during a run of films that have same name as songs and albums I love. During that run I saw Somewhere In Time (because I love that whole album by Iron Maiden), Eye Of The Beholder (because I love the Metallica song), and And Justice For All (same reason).

I remembered hating the film, with the music being terrible and poorly mixed. After so long, my memory about the music was right; it's by Dave Grusin, and to me it sounds like the worst low budget bullshit no effort TV music for a terrible show. I can't stand any score by that guy. And for some reason, any time the score kicks in it's twice as loud as the dialogue, and I feel like I'm going to go deaf unless I race to reduce the volume right away. Jarring is the word for it.

My first impression is that it's so good to see Al Pacino again. I love everything about his acting style. His mannerisms, everything, just convey the best of acting in my book, tons of personality, 100% in the moment and present to what's happening around him, much like Meryl Streep, total competence, and total intelligence. I love seeing a great actor work. By that I mean I love seeing them work hard rather than just coast through a performance, saying "I can't believe some schmuck is paying me so much just to show up!. Now how little work can I get away with?"

Anyway, we're in the middle of it, so I'll see how it feels overall, but I find the comedic parts to fall completely flat. To me it takes truly great writing and directing to insert comedy into tragedy, or to pull off satire well. This is like amateur hour in those regards.

One huge standout: Robert Christian. This guy's performance is the reason I like to watch film and plays. When an actor is working so hard to create a world and can pull you in, creating layers of their inner thought, just present on the surface for you to get pulled into.

I'm curious to see where it goes from here for me this time around, but just seeing the best of the best in acting makes it worth aspects that really turn me off.

 

[mbenigni]

Trying to watch S2 of Rings of Power. Trying. My biggest pet peeve with TV and film used to be audio where the music and sound FX were 100db louder than the dialog, so you can't watch without subtitles and/or having the neighbors call the police. My new biggest pet peeve is scene/ lighting design that's so goddamned dark you wouldn't know your TV is on if you turned the volume down. Every scene in Mordor and and half of the rest is basically my wife and I staring at a black rectangle on the wall. It's ridiculous.