What are we watching now?

[la szum]

Hollywood sucks balls! Nothing but regurgitated semen getting repackaged and put out over and over again.

I have grown to hate the entire process of watching movies. Oh yeah, how cool is that? Another 2 hours I just
flushed and will never get back.

 

[spawnofthesith]

Watched National Geographic's National Parks narrated by Garth Brooks with my dog and cat all day yesterday

 

[norminal]

I wanted to go see it in the movies but by the time I was aware of it, it had already been replaced. Hopefully it ends up on some streaming service soon.

It pulled on the heartstrings BIG TIME! I never cared for Brendan Fraser due to being typecasted in shitty movies, but man, did he NOT disappoint!

 

[norminal]

I started the first episode of the newest season and shut it off halfway through. I binged the other seasons last year and it shouldn’t feel as unfamiliar to me, but I felt like I was watching 30 minutes of a bunch of characters I couldn’t give a single f*ck about when watching that first episode, despite knowing their backstories. I’ll probably binge it all at some point though.

Yeah, the character development stopped after the first few episodes. I’m currently struggling through the last season.

See also “Billions”. Unwatchable douchebags.

That show went to shit after Damian Lewis left.

 

[laxu]

Apparently we bingewatched Severance and now are "Nooo! It ended up on such a juicy cliffhanger! I want more!"

At least What We Do In The Shadows season 4 and Foundation season 2 should start next month.

 

[norminal]

Foundation season 2 should start next month.

I’m definitely looking forward to this.

 

[mbenigni]

That show went to s**t after Damian Lewis left.

I didn’t last anywhere near that long.

 

[mbenigni]

I was actually just saying to my gf yesterday that Apple is ignoring its own human interface design guidelines with the way it works. It's really hard to see what is highlighted. Also if they stopped trying to push Platonic at me that would be nice because the trailer looks very unfunny.

In other news, Severance is excellent! Reveals something new every episode but still keeps you guessing.

Apple has surprisingly strong original shows now. Silo, Severence, Foundation, Ted Lasso are all really good stuff.

My first impressions of Apple TV content were uniformly negative. I have been enjoying some of their stuff more recently, though.

S1 and S2 of Ted Lasso were excellent in that “British Comedy Featuring Every Star Ever Where They All Hug In Improbably Shiny Airports And The Audience Who Will Never Be Half So Pretty Or Wealthy Shed Tears Of Joy In Spite Of Themselves” sort of way. But S3 has ridden this formula right over the shark. It tries so hard to be profoundly feel-good that it more often lands a cringy Hallmark after school special vibe. A couple of the characters keep me coming back, though.

 

[jellodog]

Can I watch John Wick: Chapter 4 without ever having seen the previous movies? Is it standalone enough?

I have a rough idea what they're about.

 

[norminal]

Can I watch John Wick: Chapter 4 without ever having seen the previous movies? Is it standalone enough?

I have a rough idea what they're about.

Yes, particularly Chapter 4. The others, you’d want to watch them in succession IMO.

 

[la szum]

Can I watch John Wick: Chapter 4 without ever having seen the previous movies? Is it standalone enough?

I have a rough idea what they're about.

In a sense they are all the same movie with the same dance moves. I'd suggest watching at least the
1st Wick movie so you can understand a bit of backstory as to why he is who he is.

 

[DrewJD82]

Yeah but if you don't watch the Chapter 3 you won't see where John goes to that therapy session where he realizes the real resolution to all the violence is via hugs and LSD. If anyone watched to the end of the credits, it flashed across a giant corkboard IE-

Where John was clearly working on a plan to dose the whole world and hug 4x as many people as he's killed in each previous movie, that's why it's called Chapter 4, duh.

 

[laxu]

My first impressions of Apple TV content were uniformly negative. I have been enjoying some of their stuff more recently, though.

S1 and S2 of Ted Lasso were excellent in that “British Comedy Featuring Every Star Ever Where Everybody Hugs In Improbably Shiny Airports And The Audience Who Will Never Be So Pretty Or Wealthy Shed Tears Of Joy In Spite Of Themselves” sort of way. But S3 has taken this formula right over the shark. It tries so hard to be profoundly feel-good that it more often lands a cringy Hallmark after school special vibe. A couple of the characters keep me coming back, though.

Yeah Apple has really ramped up the content when at first they didn't have anything worth watching.

Ted Lasso is a mostly well written show with a whole lot of heart and good actor performances all around. I feel we need more of that sort of stuff when most shows involve crime, violence etc.

I feel for the 3rd season, knowing it was the last, they had to rush a lot of plotlines that could have been developed better over one more season.

 

[mbenigni]

I feel for the 3rd season, knowing it was the last, they had to rush a lot of plotlines that could have been developed better over one more season.

I didn't realize this was to be the last season. I'd heard about some off-screen drama with Jason Sudeikis that threatened to cast a pallor over the too-good-to-be-true Ted character. It's hard to tell whether this has taken a toll - either on Sudeikis' performance, or on my subconscious ability to appreciate same - or whether the quality of writing has legitimately gone downhill. It does frequently feel like characters spit out overstated, "character affirming" one-liners a little too often, as if the writers are terrified you might forget how much you used to love them. It's... not effective.

As for having to rush plotlines... I'm not sure what to make of this. It feels like they're throwing in superfluous new threads and characters in equal measure. I just assumed some of these would be revisited in future seasons. Otherwise, just as well omitted altogether. I just got done with the Amsterdam episode, and yet another too-good-to-be-true character in Rebecca's romantic interest on a houseboat. Because sure, why not? Right after she falls in a canal and doesn't get hepatitis or anything. And right before she hugs someone in a shiny airport, presumably. Throw in another character being randomly pulled out of an audience to perform with the house band in his fave club (mainly as a result of acting like a complete dork), the two tough guys showing their soft underbellies (again), a messy pillow fight in a hotel lobby which the staff seem happy about, a kid getting laid... Woot! I think we've just filled up our Hallmark special Bingo card.

Cringe?


P.S. WTF are they doing to poor "Beard"?? His stoic demeanor/ delivery was one of my favorite parts of S1 and S2. Now they're painting the "whimsy" on so thick I don't recognize him. Watching him "sing" Three Little Birds in a "Piggy Stardust" costume put the nails in that character's coffin.

Honestly, I think the only character I still like watching is Nathan Shelley - simply because he's such an emotional disaster area.

 

[JiveTurkey]

^Thanks for the spoiler text! I have 6(?) espisodes to go? I don't follow sports at all. But I have never seen a team so good at getting rushed to the forefront for 2 games of wtfever it is to get put back in last place in almost the blink of an eye. Jesus christ

 

[Whizzinby]

We started Succession last night. First episode was good, but like most of these shows you miss the first time around, I don’t know if I’ll be able to commit to multiple seasons. Will try another episode tonight.

 

[norminal]

Reluctantly finished Succession last night. I should have stopped after the first few episodes as the entire series is just a rehash of them.

 

[Whizzinby]

Reluctantly finished Succession last night. I should have stopped after the first few episodes as the entire series is just a rehash of them.

Yeah I’ve watched only the first episode and I feel like the only question is what order will everyone get backstabbed over the next 37 episodes.

 

[norminal]

Yeah I’ve watched only the first episode and I feel like the only question is what order will everyone get backstabbed over the next 37 episodes.

That is literally the entire series. They could have developed the characters, but sadly didn’t over course of four seasons. Nearly every character is one-dimensional.

 

[JiveTurkey]

I didn't realize this was to be the last season. I'd heard about some off-screen drama with Jason Sudeikis that threatened to cast a pallor over the too-good-to-be-true Ted character. It's hard to tell whether this has taken a toll - either on Sudeikis' performance, or on my subconscious ability to appreciate same - or whether the quality of writing has legitimately gone downhill. It does frequently feel like characters spit out overstated, "character affirming" one-liners a little too often, as if the writers are terrified you might forget how much you used to love them. It's... not effective.

snipped for spoiler tag that isn't doing it's job

Finished up Lasso last night after getting home. There was a LOT of THICK pile-on of the feel good this season. And Lasso lackadaisical coaching style as well as the most back and forth team in sports history was at it's most evident. I think there were probably 2 seasons of material crammed into a single season. Which seems weird as I am assuming Lasso had enough of a following to finish up proper? I still generally enjoyed it a bit more than you it sounds like. If something is a little more light and not focused on being gritty or edgy yet I still enjoy watching the characters and their stories; I kind of like that. I feel like I need a bit more of that in my entertainment queue?

Beard was definitely weird. Not only the Stardust bit but also the bit where he was doing an awkward Snoop bit in the locker room. Jamey's accent went worse for some strange reason. And I continue to think it's got to hurt when Roy talks