What are we watching now?

[EOengineer]

I’ve been watching a show called Yellow Jackets with my wife. The show is meh but because it’s a mostly female cast and takes place in the early 90s the music kind of kicks ass. I forgot how much awesome, angsty, female alt-rock came out of that era.

It honestly inspired me a little bit, had me missing the counter culture vibe we had happening in alt music in the 90s, even if I didn’t love all of the music at the time.

 

[spawnofthesith]

I actually really enjoyed yellow jackets, I think there’s a season I haven’t seen yet

 

[JiveTurkey]

I liked S1 but it was one of those shows where I was actually fine with sticking with the 1 season I watched vs. slogging it out over 14 seasons of whatever else.

Speaking of show not normally in my wheelhouse. In a show hole and started watching this thing called School Spirits on Paramount. Set in a high school where a bunch of ghosts are waiting around, waiting to move on. One character in particular is the focus and her mystery so far is pretty damn good. Thought it was going to be some Riverdale turd but was actually pleasantly surprised. Pretty WB in it's own way but actually surprisingly good.

 

[Orvillain]

Good god, I love a bit of Sharpe!

 

[EOengineer]

This was making the rounds at work today. I must watch this one once or twice a year and it just always makes me laugh uncontrollably.

 

[Spaced Out Ace]

Found myself watching some old SNL again



woof


Everyone that says SNL stopped being funny in “19xx” need to go back and actually watch some full episodes from whatever era without cherry picking occasional high quality skits. It’s always been more miss than hit

MadTV >>>>>> all 50 years of SNL.

 

[spawnofthesith]

MadTV >>>>>> all 50 years of SNL.

The 100 reacc might be a bit of an exaggeration, but this is mostly correct tbh

 

[mbenigni]

The 100 reacc might be a bit of an exaggeration...

You could say that MadTV had a leg up by virtue of its being 100% comedy skits - no hipster monologuing, music acts, etc. It wasn't a "variety show". Either way, in terms of actual smart laughs per minute, Mad TV was 1000x better than SNL. Whenever I (accidentally) watch a few minutes of SNL, my immediate reaction is, "These are the best and brightest comedy talents New York City has to offer??" A bunch of half-wits grinning directly into the camera like they've forgotten their lines? (And who could blame them, when the writers (again, the best NYC has on offer? Seriously??) have handed them lazy scripts that go absolutely nowhere.) Honestly, the dudes I have around my house for beers are funnier than the lot of them.

Mad TV, Kids in the Hall, and the too short-lived but utterly brilliant Upright Citizens Brigade, all >> SNL.

 

[mbenigni]

We left off about halfway through the final episode of "Dune the Prophecy", and this morning my wife asked me whether we'd finished it yet. Just not sure who or what we're supposed to care about. You know how during a finale you sometimes think, "Man - how are they going to tie up all of these plotlines?" Dune's got about 45 minutes to think about starting some.

Meanwhile, Preacher is exactly the zany "based on a graphic novel" fare you'd expect. Pacing wobbles a bit, and the silly-o-meter peaks with certain characters more than I'd prefer, but overall I'm enjoying it. Well enough that I'm "cheating", by watching it even when I'm not on the treadmill LOL.

(Also watching as many "marbinmusic" videos as my little brain can absorb. Thanks @Eagle for putting this stuff on my radar.)

 

[JiveTurkey]

You could say that MadTV had a leg up by virtue of its being 100% comedy skits - no hipster monologuing, music acts, etc. Either way, in terms of actual smart laughs per minute, Mad TV was 1000x better than SNL. Whenever I (accidentally) watch a few minutes of SNL, my immediate reaction is, "These are the best and brightest comedy talents New York City has to offer??" A bunch of half-wits grinning directly into the camera like they've forgotten their lines? (And who could blame them, when the writers (again, the best NYC has on offer? Seriously??) have handed them lazy scripts that go absolutely nowhere.) Honestly, the dudes I have around my house for beers are funnier than the lot of them.

Mad TV, Kids in the Hall, and the too short-lived but utterly brilliant Upright Citizens Brigade, all >> SNL.

SNL has this weird combo of smug but dumb going on. It works in their favor sometimes but usually it's them being smug and with zero awareness of said smugness. I like some of the modern cast members and I really don't like some of the modern cast members. The same could absolutely be said about the older seasons. It has been on for ~50 years by now? The humor is going to get dated certainly.

MadTV had some hokey stuff but I will take it (and Living Color) by a landslide over most SNL.

 

[JiveTurkey]

Watched some rando stuff over the weekend.

Went to Heart Eyes. The title; absolute UGH. The execution; actually pretty enjoyable. If a rom-com slasher is your thing I didn't watch trailers and was expecting a dumb slasher and I could initially feel myself going numb when presented with a Reese Witherspoon Lifetime movie setup. But it evened out and the humor was good for a popcorn flick so general thumbs up. FFO Scream, Thanksgiving, things like that where there is humor at play.

Watched Wolfman yesterday. Um; they could have trimmed off quite a bit. And the family drama was a little too much. The two worlds viewpoint was neat but they should have cut that down to a single scene vs. let's revisit the POV from the "werewolf" eyes. It was ok all things considered. An hour long cut would be great. Glowing reviews today, indeed

 

[mbenigni]

SNL has this weird combo of smug but dumb going on. It works in their favor sometimes but usually it's them being smug and with zero awareness of said smugness. I like some of the modern cast members and I really don't like some of the modern cast members. The same could absolutely be said about the older seasons. It has been on for ~50 years by now? The humor is going to get dated certainly.

MadTV had some hokey stuff but I will take it (and Living Color) by a landslide over most SNL.

"Smug" is exactly the right word for it, and everything follows as a result. "I'm a 'star', and while I ought to be concerned that there's no discernable reason for that, I'm too hip to (outwardly) care. So I'll arrive at work high as a kite and waste all of America's time by staring off into space. If I really want to "put some work in", maybe I'll strum an acoustic guitar and sing a song about my cat or some shit, like I'm trying to put a toddler to bed."

In all fairness, the audience can't seem to get enough of it.

 

[Spaced Out Ace]

Watched some rando stuff over the weekend.

Went to Heart Eyes. The title; absolute UGH. The execution; actually pretty enjoyable. If a rom-com slasher is your thing I didn't watch trailers and was expecting a dumb slasher and I could initially feel myself going numb when presented with a Reese Witherspoon Lifetime movie setup. But it evened out and the humor was good for a popcorn flick so general thumbs up. FFO Scream, Thanksgiving, things like that where there is humor at play.

Watched Wolfman yesterday. Um; they could have trimmed off quite a bit. And the family drama was a little too much. The two worlds viewpoint was neat but they should have cut that down to a single scene vs. let's revisit the POV from the "werewolf" eyes. It was ok all things considered. An hour long cut would be great. Glowing reviews today, indeed

You mean the Wolfman remake? My girlfriend has zero interest in seeing this, just as she had zero interest in watching The Invisible Man remake, which if memory serves, was by the same bunch of clowns.

 

[JiveTurkey]

You mean the Wolfman remake? My girlfriend has zero interest in seeing this, just as she had zero interest in watching The Invisible Man remake, which if memory serves, was by the same bunch of clowns.

Leigh Whannell directed it. Same guy. Invisible Man was better I'd say. I liked it at the time but I haven't found myself wanting to revisit it. Upgrade is my favorite of his by a large margin.

 

[State of Epicicity]

We rewatched Narc from 2002 the other night. That film is just sheer brutality, and it's great. I love Jason Patric just for The Lost Boys, but here he's different, and it really works. Ray Liotta is good here, and I see similarities between what he did here and what Nick Nolte masterfully created in Q&A in 1990. This director, Joe Carnahan, also directed The Grey, so he apparently has no problem with the heights of brutality.

 

[JiveTurkey]

We rewatched Narc from 2002 the other night. That film is just sheer brutality, and it's great. I love Jason Patric just for The Lost Boys, but here he's different, and it really works. Ray Liotta is good here, and I see similarities between what he did here and what Nick Nolte masterfully created in Q&A in 1990. This director, Joe Carnahan, also directed The Grey, so he apparently has no problem with the heights of brutality.

I'd like to rewatch this one again. Along with Rush from the 90s that Patrick got a lot of good press on, iirc? The Grey I wanted to be about 1000x more brutal and less "let's get testosterone guys to start a cry circle". It was solid but maybe I was expecting a bit too much coming off Taken 1 that Liam was going to follow that same schtick

 

[State of Epicicity]

Last night we rewatched The Town from 2010. Who'd have thought that Ben Affleck was more talented than Matt Damon? Affleck is a mediocre actor, well, enough times he's just a bad actor, and to me Matt Damon became a boring actor after a while. But the hidden talent is that Affleck is one of the best directors I've seen. He's incredible. To me he's absolutely one of the best, and that is the very last thing in the world I'd have expected. Between The Town, Gone Baby Gone, and Argo, you have a trilogy of prodigious storytelling. This guy somehow knows how to direct actors, to get the very best performances he can out of them, in scene after scene. He doesn't let anything fall flat or unrefined or boring or inept. It's excellence all the way through. And on top of that, he's a thrilling action director too. The way he handles the utterly bonkers car chase in Little Italy is fucking insane. The man is fucking walking paradox.

 

[JiveTurkey]

Alan Arkin going "Argo F yourself" is one of the best lines ever

 

[spawnofthesith]

I really like the Town. Will have to watch Argo, I've always skipped over it because I thought it might be boring

 

[State of Epicicity]

I'd like to rewatch this one again. Along with Rush from the 90s that Patrick got a lot of good press on, iirc? The Grey I wanted to be about 1000x more brutal and less "let's get testosterone guys to start a cry circle". It was solid but maybe I was expecting a bit too much coming off Taken 1 that Liam was going to follow that same schtick

Yeah, I forgot to mention Rush! I barely remember that movie, and it's from 1991, so I really need to see it again, since it's not too long after The Lost Boys, and I only remember Rush being really really good.

I only saw The Grey once, and I just remember it kind of beating you down as it goes along. It was crazy. I don't remember much specifically except a couple of the characters' fates.