What are you watching & why? (splain)

Catching up on my ongoing TV discussion with Blues Blues :

Blues said:
B Burke

Started "The Capture" last night and watched two episodes. Interesting...looking forward to seeing how it develops.

(Reminds me to some extent of a novel by Barry Eisler, "The God's Eye View", which centers on NSA's overreach, misuse and intrusion.)
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Blues said:
Finished "The Capture" on Peacock. Worth a watch because it's a thought provoking look into the potential misuse of technology by governments to support their narrative and construct of reality...at the expense of "truth" and "fair play".

Not a pretty picture.
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Glad you liked it, Season 1 and Season 2 were very different but I thought both were great.

If you haven't seen it - I suspect you would really enjoy Line of Duty which is the ur-British cop show.
Blues said:
We started watching "Mr. Inbetween" on Hulu. OMG, did I ever need this show. Hits all the right notes...violence, humor, loyalty, responsibility, consequences.

How did I miss hearing about this Aussie gem?

(BTW, I hate Hulu...but this is worth watching.)
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Started this based on your recommendation and loved it. Sad there are only 3 shortish seasons. Can't believe how it managed to merge funny stuff ("Does she know about your wee wee videos?") with violence with family and romantic relationships. Just so good. Wife liked it too, unusual we both like something so strongly.
Blues said:
"Under the Banner of Heaven". (Did I already mention this?)

Very good. (Hulu)

Strong recommendation.
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Burned out on this halfway through. Thought it was a little slow.

Blues said:
Going back to "Reservation Dogs" for a moment to say that the second half of the second season really seemed as if the writing was done by someone else and that it didn't live up to the excellence of the earlier episodes. So, I have to qualify my earlier enthusiasm.

What will be in, or if I'll even watch, a 3rd season is unknown.
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Really liked the first season and a half of this, stopped watching it midway through the second, I think just because we were watching it while episodes were coming out and got distracted by another show.
yoko said:
Black panther 2 is on Disney+ now

Watched it ... it's okay not my favorite
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Finally got around to watching this over the long weekend. Felt the same. First one was better. Couldn't really take the villain seriously with those tiny ankle wings.

Blues said:
They should have known better but they don't care. I don't know if it's laziness, lack of caring or plain not knowing any better. Regardless, Taylor Sheridan and company don't get a pass from me.
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I think those shows are printing money and so they're going to crank out as much as they can as fast as they can even if it's garbage. I found the role Taylor Sheridan gave himself in the first series extremely grating and douchey (like I think he thinks he looks really cool but he actually acts like an a-hole and ruins every episode he's in) and that along with the multiple ludicrous plot lines and inability to resolve any of them turned me off to the whole franchise.
NWFRS said:
Cool. I always forget about that one. Thanks for reminding me. I’ll try and watch it this week.

We watched The Menu (2022) this evening. What a trippy ride. Went into it with zero expectations. It just got more and more bizarre. I had no idea where it was going. The plot may have been a little weak but it was FUN. We both enjoyed it. Ralph Fiennes, Nicholas Hoult, and Anya Taylor-Joy star.

On the subject of food films, we watched Delicious (2021) a few months ago. French production. Really enjoyable film. Takes place on the eve of the French Revolution. Subtitled.
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Yeah went into The Menu not really knowing what to expect and liked it.
tokerblue said:
If you haven't watched Warrior, I highly recommend it. Great cast and some really good fight choreography.

Same with Peacemaker if you've watched Suicide Squad (2021). One of the funniest shows I've watched in a long time.
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Peacemaker was fantastic. It was fun, it was funny, it was even emotionally moving. Great soundtrack too.
Kirk Raptor said:
Just binged on "The Old Man" with Jeff Bridges. A bit slow here and there, but punctuated by some great and bloody fight scenes. Wheels turn within wheels as a tale of espionage and betrayal unwinds. Looks as if there will be another season in the offing.
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Was excited for this but then not super into it. I think we stopped watching while waiting for new episodes to come out...maybe will pick back up.
Smithhammer said:
Anyone else excited for "Cocaine Bear?" I know I am... 🤣

(NSFW)

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To be honest it doesn't look great. Willing to be proven wrong though.

Right now enjoying The Last of Us, Abbott Elementary, and The Witcher Blood Origin.
 
On season 3 episode 5 of titans on hbo max

I ended at season 2 that I purchased on another platform but now that a friend put hbomax on my TV figured I might as well catch up!

Next I'll move into other series recommend here!
 
NWFRS said:
We watched The Menu (2022) this evening. What a trippy ride. Went into it with zero expectations. It just got more and more bizarre. I had no idea where it was going. The plot may have been a little weak but it was FUN. We both enjoyed it. Ralph Fiennes, Nicholas Hoult, and Anya Taylor-Joy star.
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Just watched "The Menu" on DVD tonight and found it "interesting." Didn't particularly like or hate it but I think I "got" it.

menu.jpg


It's a black comedy about a renowned chef who (has had "enough" of pandering to rich, pretentious and ungrateful customers, critics & financiers who pretend to know what cooking "great food" is about and/or who don't even remember what they ate of his before) who plans and executes his revenge by serving them "The Menu" with them as the final course.

However, there are a few twists. The chef wants to kill one of his customers -- an actor -- only because he watched one of the actor's movies on a day off that he thought was a poor effort and waste of his time. Kinda like Hannibal Lecter who killed Benjamin Raspail, a flutist, supposedly to "improve" the orchestra.

And, there was another character, Margot, who was an unexpected guest, who did not fit "The Menu" but was allowed to live after some chilling travails. However, all the rest of the customers, including the chef & his staff "had to" die because it was how "The Menu was planned.

Worth watching just to admire Ralph Fienne's channeling of Lord Voldemort (from "Harry Potter") and Hong Chau's icy portrayal of the Asian hostess which was in stark contrast to her role as the very feisty & talkative Vietnamese activist who became Matt Damon's love interest in "Downsizing."

I bet the entire cast broke into uncontrollable laughter when they were finally done shooting because they had to play their roles so straight and seriously in order to stay in character to make this dark and satirical movie work.

Like I said, I thought it was "interesting."
 
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Last night's selections made for some good ol' medieval fun.

The Princess, starring Joey King (Bullet Train) and Dominic Cooper. A good movie it was most certainly not but it was at least entertaining just so long as you didn't take it seriously. I suspect the intent was for the audience to watch with tongue planted firmly in cheek. Still, plenty of fun medieval violence and I was entertained - just be prepared to suspend your disbelief adequately should you choose to view it.



Medieval, starring Ben Foster and Michael Caine. This one is wonderful and BRUTAL. If you like straight up medieval brutality like Braveheart and Ironclad, this one will sate that appetite. Going a bit deeper though, this movie is a dramatized (and very paraphrased, if not outright fictionalized) account of Jan Žižka, a real figure from 15c history and a Czech national hero - seriously, this guy was a badass and I encourage you all to read a bit about him https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_Žižka

 
Pàdruig said:
Medieval, starring Ben Foster and Michael Caine. This one is wonderful and BRUTAL. If you like straight up medieval brutality like Braveheart and Ironclad, this one will sate that appetite. Going a bit deeper though, this movie is a dramatized (and very paraphrased, if not outright fictionalized) account of Jan Žižka, a real figure from 15c history and a Czech national hero - seriously, this guy was a badass and I encourage you all to read a bit about him https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_Žižka

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Good to hear. I was curious about this one and have it on my watch list. :thumbsup:
 
agreed.
no zombie story really makes any sense, but the whole mushroom man concept at least shows a little practical consideration
 
Just finished "Breeders" (3 seasons) on Hulu. Martin Freeman stars and is the creator. Wife and I both thought it was very good. Funny, sad, bittersweet...like life itself.
 
Just watched The Snowman (2017). Reminded us of several other Nordic crime dramas we’ve watched over the years. The plot wasn’t really something we could follow as much as it was something that just unfolded. We were merely along for the ride. Pieces fell into place very slowly. We still had questions after it was over. We found it entertaining because we generally like the genre.

The film has an abysmal rating. Almost everyone hated it. I enjoyed it but can’t really recommend it. Felt a bit like a Silence of the Lambs/Girl with the Dragon Tattoo mashup.
 
NWFRS said:
Just watched The Snowman (2017). Reminded us of several other Nordic crime dramas we’ve watched over the years. The plot wasn’t really something we could follow as much as it was something that just unfolded. We were merely along for the ride. Pieces fell into place very slowly. We still had questions after it was over. We found it entertaining because we generally like the genre.

The film has an abysmal rating. Almost everyone hated it. I enjoyed it but can’t really recommend it. Felt a bit like a Silence of the Lambs/Girl with the Dragon Tattoo mashup.
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I read several of the books from that series. Some were better than others, with fairly large eye rolls and suspension of belief required. Still not too bad overall.

We couldn't find anything we wanted to watch after the abysmal hockey game the Rangers put on...and started watching "Fleishman is in Trouble" on hulu. It's different...
 
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