Vader's drawing Obi-Wan out by torturing and murdering citizens was epic. Well, IMO, anyway. My second-favorite Vader scene since the end of Rogue One.
Oh I'm not even talking about action or dialogue choices. I'm talking about the literal camera work and picture quality. in episode 1, there's a scene where he's walking in the desert at night and talks to another character. The lighting is horribly bad, like a show made 40 years ago would have looked like. And the camera man is stumbling around like he's drunk, with the screen moving all over the place. Most home videos are shot better. And then in Episode 2 as they're in the warehouse, the screen is really blurry and out of focus in sections for about a minute straight. Its really, really strange looking. There's no reason for any CGI or visual effects in the scene, but its almost as if someone messed up their only copy of that video and they used it anyways. Again, bizarre. Its slapped together like a student film that was turned in even though they knew there were problems. You can't have distracting mistakes like that in a top end show. The Mandalorian, Boba Fet and Moon Knight have all had shoots in the dark and in the desert as well, and they all came out fine. Its sad that this one wasn't handled as professionally.
It was a solid scene, but clashed with the motifs from earlier when Reva was essentially doing the same and was stopped by both the Grand dude and the Brother. I get that Vader answers to basically nobody and can do what he wants, but it seemed less about authority and more about excess or something. It felt weird when they forced Reva to curtail her actions before, and then to let Vader just run amok was ... off. It did a good job of conveying the menace he brings though, for sure. I was not very impressed with the actual fight though. And again, some random non-force using rebel is able to stymie and foil Vader? I think I know the issue - it feels very cartoon-y in terms of plot holes and elements. Cartoons like Rebels and Bad Batch and Clone Wars are fun and enjoyable, but definitely made for children and often they require a HEAVY dose of disbelief suspension to make it through. I'm fine with doing that for a cartoon, but for what was billed as perhaps the most impactful series of the whole universe? Meh. Yeah that's why the parkour stuff stood out, it was super amateurish, like a person filmed a cosplayer doing some parkour. Tons of sudden jumps and cuts that didn't really make sense. To go along with my comment to OO just above ... it gives it an amateurish and almost cartoonish feel.
Okay, so I watched the first episode of The Orville season 4. I'm probably in the minority, but that's literally one of my favorite TV shows. If it was actually in the Star Trek universe, it would be my favorite Star Trek show. Also, I began watching The Man Who Fell To Earth yesterday and I'm wondering why I wasn't previously interested in it. It's not going to be everybody's cup of tea, but it's definitely got my attention. I'm trying to figure out which of my friends and family to recommend it to and I can't think of anybody. Maybe my Mom will enjoy it.
I really enjoyed season one of the Orville, but the second went way off in weird directions that I didn't care for.
I thought the first episode of Ms. Marvel was pretty good. It wasn't perfect by any means. A lot of the drama felt forced to me. Like the mom getting upset and then giving a speech of "do you want to be a good girl or do you want to be a cosmic superhero?" Instead of a more realistic, "This is my house, you live under my rules, you are grounded for a month, and if I ever see hear you talk about the avengers one more time you are going to speak in bubbles because your mouth is going to be filled with so much soap!" I enjoy how it is shot. Pretty imaginative and while the dialog feels too "we need to set up the tension and get this origin over with" it didn't feel like it was a Iron Man 2008 like most Marvel movies and shows. It will not be for everyone, but so far, I enjoy it. I look forward to being disappointed by the finale.
I largely agree. However, the mom getting upset thing ... could that be a cultural representation? It's somewhat stereotypical, the idea that Asians focusing heavily on career/education and being doctors/lawyers or other 'high ranking' professions, so in that regard the mom is trying to get her Americanized daughter to think more about her future path? Just a thought. Much of the rest of the tension is just teenage hijinks which I think is somewhat stale to older viewers, but I suspect resonate with younger. It's kind of what made me regard the Holland Spider Man films (at least the first two) as weaker entries. It works better in the TV format imo. The other thing I need more of is the origin of this bangle, how it grants power and how it came to be hers. Otherwise it just feels a bit too McGuffinish for my liking. The 10 rings semi-suffered for that as well, but at least we got the idea that they were truly ancient via the montage of the father and we saw them being passed to Shang Chi. It's definitely the polar opposite of Moon Knight though. From dark and violent and largely self-contained to bright and cheery and packed to the gills with Avengers content. The callback to Captain America's *** was the best moment imo.
I get the mom being upset thing. It is more of her upset speech didn't sound like a mom upset but a mom giving a future super hero a pep talk.
There's a lot of good TV content nowadays. I know a lot of you didn't like Obi-Wan Kenobi, but I really enjoyed it. Especially the finale, which was the most Star Warsy content I've seen in a live action Star Wars feature since the original trilogy. The confrontation was perfect and Hayden Christenson more than redeemed his performance as Anakin in one shot. The smile chilled me more than anything else since Vader struck down Ben in the halls of the Death Star. Not a perfect show by a long shot, but they landed it better than any of the Disney+ MCU shows have been able to. I'm loving Ms. Marvel. Her mom is my favorite MCU Disney+ character since Isaiah Bradley in Falcon & the Winter Soldier. There isn't a single character that I don't like. I got into The Man Who Fell To Earth late and I'm really digging it. It's one of those that I can't recommend because I can't explain what makes it great without making it sound boring. But I wish someone had recommended I watch it sooner. Stranger Things season 4 is fantastic. I didn't expect them to go full-on horror and it was a great decision. I didn't think the Duffers could put emotional content into the show, but the finale got me. Glad I watched it alone. Jamie Campbell Bower is fantastic and Vecna is the best villain in a mainstream horror property that I can recall. The only problem was with Hopper, Murray, and Joyce, which took away from the rest of the season with an unnecessary adventure that didn't tie into the story at all. I read where From was renewed and I can't wait for it to come back. Again, another primo horror series. Invasion got a second season, too. I'm in the small minority of people that appreciated the first season and I want to see what comes next.
I made it to episode four of season one of Stranger Things, and it was too much full-on horror in my book, so I stopped watching. Everyone was making it out to be some fun 80s show like The Goonies, and hell no it was not. I noped out and didn't look back.
Respect. It was always an adult mix of horror and Goonies-style retro kid adventure. It became kind of a parody of itself by the end of season 2 and most ardent fans were less than optimistic about season 4. They dropped 90% of the fun stuff and went straight toward Freddy Krueger/Jason/Michael Myers-style violence, if not quite that level of gore. If I had kids, there's no way I'd allow them to watch season 1, and season 4 is intense enough to scare most adults I know, IMO. I'll probably start watching it again in the next couple of days. Trust me when I say that if you stopped for the reasons you listed, you most definitely should not watch again because it's been upping the adult factor ever since (not nudity, but violence and disturbing themes).
Yeah, I want no part of any of it. Its difficult for me to even understand how people enjoy that stuff, but to each their own.
BTW: I'm also watching season 4 of The Orville. It's a shame that Seth McFarlane's Star Trek homage series is the best show at embracing the original's spirit than everything that followed. Yeah, it's almost as much comedy as it is space drama, but it goes out of its way to make you (a)laugh, (b)think, and (c)uncomfortable. I wish more people appreciated it.
I enjoyed the first season a lot. The second made me far too uncomfortable and I quit watching. It really changed tone and wasn't what I was interested in watching.
It's built its themes based on the second season. It's not political in tone, but it has no problem making you consider your stances on social issues. And it also does a great job of putting its characters through the wringer emotionally, and that might be the best thing about it.
Wow, I completely get Goonies vibes from it. The first few seasons were pretty good, season three was okay and then season four was simply incredible. However, like others said, season 4 is a horror movie and Vecna is basically Freddie Kruger in the best possible way. I loved every minute of it.
I found it to be incredibly dark, both in the theme/aesthetic, and literally as in hard to see due to low levels of light. Now, the show absolutely nailed the mid 80s in a small town to a tee. The look, the feel, was so on. Wynona Ryder's character could have been the mom of one of my friends, it was so true to life. But man, it just got really disturbing and hard to watch, and I couldn't do it. I just take no joy in anything in that direction.
I'm watching Paper Girls and The Old Man. Both are good, IMO. Paper Girls might not be everybody's cup of tea, but the four leads are good actors and their characters' plight is compelling. It has hard sci-fi concepts without the exposition most hard sci-fi projects use to explain themselves. Down to the last couple of episodes. The Old Man is surprisingly good because I don't know anyone else who is watching it. Jeff Bridges is fantastic, as always. It's amazing that the best shows on TV are all streaming. And it's not even close.
Agreed, I've read about 2/3rds of the 27 or 28 books in that series and a massive amount is based on brute force, tactical skills and intimidation. For a season based on avenging the death of his brother and destroying the corruption in a small town (which is basically what Killing Floor is about iirc) it was a good start to the series. They easily could have made that the conclusion for entertainment purposes but I'm glad they're keeping it sequential with the books they're going to use so far. If the rumors are correct, Bad Luck and Trouble will be what series 2 is based on in the 2nd half of 2023
I finished the third and final season of Lost In Space and enjoyed it. Due to real life issues with the pandemic, its not quite up to par with the first two seasons, unfortunately. But its still very professional and it feels like they worked hard to do the best that they could with more limited resources and such. Its a good show. Well acted, written, shot, and the first two seasons are on par with any mid tier Hollywood blockbuster movie in their look and scope. Its as high end as they come. The third is more of the level of a typical good TV show in its production quality. Now that I've finished that, I'm going to move onto the new season of The Dragon Prince.
wanna real recomendation, Mr In between man.your welcome Matthew. cold blooded and beutifully touching..incredibly well done series.
I need to finish it. I might start tonight. The last episode of season 2 is one of the best sci fi shows that I've seen. I can only speak for myself, but it was one of the few episodes of a television show that I can say took my breath away. Ranks right up there with the death of Joe Coffey on Hill Street Blues, the end of the first episode of Lost, and every other episode of the Sopranos as far as the "WHOA!!" factor is concerned.
Well, the good news is that season 3 will be coming out mid-2023...the bad news is that Cavill is getting replaced for season 4. Liam Hemsworth will be replacing him as Geralt. It's not been a good month for Cavill, with him also not returning as Superman, following his cameo in Black Adam. Something going on there! In the meantime, The Witcher: Blood Origin is coming to Netflix next week. It's a prequel set 1000+ years in the past and covers the creation of the first Witcher.
Yeah, apparently Cavil, who cares a great deal about the source material, had it out with the showrunner and writers of The Witcher series for straying too far from what its supposed to be, and so they parted ways. I really like and admire the guy. Yet again, we have something awesome that fans love, and the people that they hire to turn it into a show get bored with it and want it to be different. I'm curious about Blood Origin and will certainly watch. We'll see how they did with it. I also need to watch the Dragon Age animated show as well. Now that he's free from DC, I'm crossing my fingers that Marvel finds a good recurring role for Henry within the MCU. People love him and it would be great.
I don't think he will be in MCU... He will be a star in new Warhammer 40,000 series on Prime. He love playing Warhammer since he was a kid and earlier this year, he took a tour in Games Workshop’s Warhammer World. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/henry-cavill-warhammer-40000-amazon-1235283251/ "The actor — who on Wednesday officially hung up his Man of Steel costume after Warner Bros. announced it is going in a new Superman direction under new DC Studio heads James Gunn and Peter Safran — is attached to star in and executive produce a series adaptation of Warhammer 40,000, the popular science fiction fantasy miniature war game that is set up at Amazon." https://kotaku.com/henry-cavill-warhammer-40k-witcher-actor-fans-selfies-t-1848569621
Well, he can certainly do both. He's had multiple projects going on at the same time for a few years.
White Lotus... both season 1 and season 2 were fantastic. I love how the show starts at the end with a scene that gets you thinking throughout the whole season.
Finished it. Great show. Really great to binge bc the episodes are so short. Couldnt imagine watching that on a weekly basis. Really great cast. His daughter is going to be some star.
I watched The Peripheral on Prime, sci-fi show starring Chloe Grace Moritz (who's extremely hot now she's all grown up!). Enjoyed it, but the last episode confused the hell out of me. Not hugely surprising considering it's a time travel-ish show, but I had to Google an explanation of what happened to figure it out! Also watched The English on the BBC, but also available on Prime in the US and elsewhere. Great looking Western and has some outstanding performances in it. It's about an English gentrified lady that goes to the US for revenge and meets up with a Pawnee ex-scout from the US Army. There were parts of it, especially in the middle section, that were a bit slow with too much dialogue, but decent watch overall. It's a mini-series, so all wrapped up in 6 one hour episodes. I've watched a few of the producer/director, Hugo Blick's, shows and they're always interesting stories and stunning to look at.
I just finished The Rings of Power LOTR series Season One on Amazon Prime, and its very good. As the most expensive series ever made, you'd expect that all of the production values would be very high, and they absolutely are. Each of the eight episodes are like 70 minute Hollywood movies in just about every way. The acting is generally very good, and there have rarely been moments where I felt that they did a poor job or should have handled things differently. It does a really good job of taking all of Tolkien's original source material for a time period set thousands of years before the events in The Hobbit, and expanding on them in creative, logical and largely satisfying ways. The look and feel is inspired by, and seemingly tries to stay in step with Peter Jackson's movies, but isn't directly connected to them. This season had as many as six different storylines playing out, some of which overlap and others that do not, but which set the groundwork to do so in later seasons. Some of the characters are new creations used to flesh out the story, which is necessary when you're taking some things that are essentially outlines with notes and making it into a world on screen. Others are ones well known to anyone familiar with the material. If you're a fan of the books and/or Jackson's movies, I highly recommend it. There are supposed to be at least five seasons all told, and perhaps more.
I don't know why I never got around to watching it at the time, as I remember being interested from the trailers a few years ago, but finally started watching Patriot on Prime at the weekend, and it's brilliant. Two seasons were made and both are on Prime. It's a dark comedy thriller about a CIA agent that goes undercover and stars Michael Dorman, who I recognised from something else and looked it up to see he'd also been great in For All Mankind as Gordo Stevens. Well worth a watch if you've not seen it before. Hard to describe what it's like, but it reminds me a little of Fargo in its weirdness.
Hope everyone (who has HBO) is watching the Last of Us. Not only is it the greatest story told in video game, the show is amazing. My favorite game of all time. Craig Mazin brings the same incredible creativity he put into Chernobyl. Episode 3 was really really good.