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Post by Jeremy on May 17, 2020 14:14:42 GMT -8
I recall watching the Broadchurch premiere with some friends back in 2013, and I thought it was a well-made and well-acted but ultimately uncompelling crime drama. That was not long after I watched the Orphan Black pilot, which had immediately hooked me. I tried getting my friends to watch Orphan Black that day, but they only lasted about ten minutes into the premiere. Sigh.
On that note, it looks like Grame Manson has another show premiering this week (a spinoff of Bong Joon-Ho's Snowpiercer). I'm half-tempted to check it out, but reviews haven't been great; guess the film isn't built for the TV treatment.
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Post by Jay on May 17, 2020 20:20:40 GMT -8
I recall watching the Broadchurch premiere with some friends back in 2013, and I thought it was a well-made and well-acted but ultimately uncompelling crime drama. That was not long after I watched the Orphan Black pilot, which had immediately hooked me. I tried getting my friends to watch Orphan Black that day, but they only lasted about ten minutes into the premiere. Sigh This can easily tie to an un-revolutionary theoretical apparatus, but I think that there are some things you view for the individual virtuosity and other things you view for form. I was prepared to watch Broadchurch primarily for form, and I don't think that's inherently a bad or demeaning thing. Form is fine. A fair amount of my engagement with manga and anime is purely formal and seeing how they translate this to that or adapt considering these constraints. But it's not something with widespread appeal and it demands a deeper knowledge of said form and its constraints. I know police procedurals well enough to say that I was comfortable with Broadchurch, but it lacked much interest to me outside of "let's see what variables they add to this." But my ma didn't respond, so we watch Doc Martin, and my response is mostly the same, appreciating the characters and the small scale execution of certain things (the second episode primarily focused on a useful foil to the main character as an A plot). I was thrilled with neither but can appreciate both.
Also on the Snowpiercer topic, saw the movie not long back, am interested in the series simply from the vantage of "WHAT'S JENNIFER CONNELLY BEEN UP TO?" but I feel like there's a high risk of it falling into a similar trap as did The Walking Dead because the story it wants to tell is too long for a single movie and too constricted for American TV's "manifest destiny" / indefinite expansion approaches to series, so the most appealing route, that of a limited, international series, isn't on the table.
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Post by Jeremy on May 18, 2020 5:34:29 GMT -8
I haven't seen the film (yet... it's gathering dust on my Netflix queue), but my understanding is that they've retooled it into something of a murder-of-the-week procedural (this is TNT, after all), with a larger arc developing in the background. Not my favorite kind of formula, and I expect that fans of the film will not take kindly to it. (Weirdly, it seems that the show is built for a more mainstream audience than the film - isn't it usually the opposite?)
Still, Jennifer Connelly is getting some praise, and it's good to see her get a starring role of TV; her more recent film roles haven't all been memorable. (Though she did voice the Spider-Man suit!)
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Post by Jeremy on May 25, 2020 20:32:27 GMT -8
Season Two of Homecoming benefits greatly from its cast. Julia Roberts may be out, but the new season has a great pair of leads in Janelle Monae (as the new focal point) and Hong Chau (who gets a much more detailed role than she did in S1). Chris Cooper and Joan Cusack are also very good, even if the latter isn't given a lot to do.
The downside is that... there isn't much happening in Season Two, at least not enough to fully justify it as an extension of S1. It's only seven episodes long, and over half those episodes are devoted to an extended flashback. So by the time we're all caught up, the story is practically over. There's also the issue of not having Sam Esmail in the director's chair. While the new season does have some visual flair, it never feels as innovative as S1, and the constant use of splitscreen can get distracting after a fashion.
It's a well-made, at times suspenseful season, and continues to push Monae's talents as an actress (very hyped for Antebellum), but it lacks the freshness of Season One, not to mention the sense of dramatic purpose.
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Post by otherscott on May 27, 2020 6:08:53 GMT -8
Had a bit of a username/ password kerfuffle which is why I haven't been in for a while.
A few quick hits:
Westworld: Too much of this show is about trying to satisfy the complaining fans, which is generally a bad tactic. They've neutralized their show into something completely different in order to make it less "confusing" and lost most of what was good about it in the first place.
Run: I never really jived with the main characters on this show, but it does some things well on the edges and isn't afraid to go weird. Performances of the leads is disappointing, considering both of them are usually terrific actors.
Unbelievable: Sad I missed this show at the time, it's really well done. Ending borders on being TOO satisfying but after the episodes upon episodes of frustration it was a very nice change of pace.
And the stuff I'm watching now:
The Magicians: Through 7 episodes of Season 1, it has decelerated the main plot too much for my liking. Season probably should have been 8 episodes, but I hear future seasons really start to improve.
Brockmire: Solid, but not the laugh riot for me that its biggest proponents claim. The penultimate episode of season 2 would have easily made a best episode of the year list for me. I'm about halfway through Season 3 of 4.
Insecure: Through 1 episode of Season 2, a tremendously underrated show. Covers issues in ways that are smart and nuanced and not hackneyed, with a focus on character. Doesn't aim really high but achieves all that I ask in a show.
I'm Not Okay With This: Maybe short episode lengths have come a bit too far? This is mostly a drama and the episodes are only 20 minutes long. Only through the pilot, not much to dig into yet.
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Quiara
Grade School
Posts: 775
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Post by Quiara on May 27, 2020 10:58:24 GMT -8
Boo! Sorry, I've been busy. But I have watched some TV
Avenue 5: Kind of interesting. It's decidedly not VEEP... IN SPACE! I'm finding it extremely compelling in large part because it's glossy and farcical at the same time (weird combo). Most shockingly, Josh Gad plays a manchild billionaire who's half Donald Trump and half Elon Musk - and he's actually funny!
Slings & Arrows: Canadian comedy from the oughties about a financially struggling theater company. Basically a perfect show which I'm angry never came on my radar before this: the entire run is eighteen episodes, but it feels like much more happens than that, and yet it never feels rushed; they do a great job marrying over-the-top satire of both corporate culture and "high art" with subtler character-driven comedy; there's like twenty people in the cast and all of them are great. Best of all, it may be the best case for the brilliance of Shakespeare ever put to film - you thought Romeo and Juliet or Hamlet were hackneyed? This show makes them feel alive. Massively recommended to everyone.
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Post by Jeremy on May 27, 2020 14:32:44 GMT -8
Slings & Arrows has been on my radar for ages. I rented the DVD a few years back, but never got to watching it. Someday.
Scott, Unbelievable is excellent, but it's also one of the most depressing TV shows I've ever watched. Genuinely hard to sit through at times, which is why the ending feels so liberating.
And I watched the first season of Brockmire when it aired, but wasn't that enamored by it, despite my love for Hank Azaria.
As for stuff I've been watching lately:
Killing Eve: I'm an episode or two behind, but still chugging away. This show has generally run out of steam, and I'm mostly just watching for the cast at this point.
Mrs. America: Might have longer thoughts after I watch the finale, but I've really liked a lot of this show. It undoubtedly has a leftward bias and is at times heavy-handed, but the characters are all depicted with care and nuance, and the show makes great use of POV storytelling and 1970s music without feeling self-indulgent. And the cast is utterly phenomenal.
After Life: Dark comedy from Ricky Gervais that deals with the topics of loss and remembrance. The drama is quite effective, so much so that the humor can feel uncomfortable rather than funny (though I expect that's part of the point).
Harley Quinn: Violent and profane but often strikingly funny series which turns multiple popular DC characters on their heads. And Kaley Cuoco is clearly having a blast.
Never Have I Ever: Pretty traditional high school dramedy, except it centers on an Indian girl, and the show has fun exploring how her heritage conflicts with her adolescent life. Comedy is a bit broad (see: John McEnroe's narration), but the show has enough charm to keep things entertaining.
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Post by ThirdMan on May 27, 2020 19:33:50 GMT -8
I didn't even realize a second season of Harley Quinn was ongoing. Will have to get caught up. Will there be a more significant break between "Seasons" 2 and 3?
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Post by Jeremy on May 28, 2020 6:25:52 GMT -8
Most likely, as Season 3 hasn't even been ordered yet.
It's interesting that DC started airing the second season so soon after the first. Reminds me of the time Season 2 of Justice League Unlimited premiered on Cartoon Network one week after the first ended. Why even bother calling it a new season, especially since they were ordered together?
Anyway, I'm watching Harley Quinn on the SyFy network, which has been airing S1. Don't think they have the rights to S2, which is only on DC Universe.
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Post by ThirdMan on May 28, 2020 23:24:41 GMT -8
Haha. The opening of the fifth episode of Season 2 of Harley Quinn mocks two nerdy dudebros, sitting on a couch, wearing "Release The Snyder Cut" and "The Last Jedi Isn't Canon" t-shirts. It's like they took every negative comment ever said about female-centered media on toxic-fanboy message boards, and threw it back in these clowns' faces. In a side-story episode that didn't feature either Harley or Poison Ivy, no less. I'll post a link to the clip here, but I'll warn that it does spoil some plot elements from late-Season 1 and early-Season 2. www.youtube.com/watch?v=ushXzJaJDvE
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Post by guttersnipe on May 28, 2020 23:58:29 GMT -8
Slings & Arrows: Canadian comedy from the oughties I think the only Canadian series I've watched are Due South and Twitch City, and amusingly both Paul Gross and Don McKellar are in this. For a massive country, the arts scene seems pretty localised.
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Post by ThirdMan on May 29, 2020 0:19:23 GMT -8
Well, to be fair, a rather high percentage of American film and television productions are shot in British Columbia and Ontario, with mostly-Canadian crews.
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Post by guttersnipe on May 29, 2020 0:55:31 GMT -8
I remember somebody once saying that it was impossible to move around Totonto in the 90s without bumping into McKellar or Atom Egoyan, who often seemed to be in several places at once.
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Quiara
Grade School
Posts: 775
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Post by Quiara on Jun 8, 2020 21:01:38 GMT -8
Slings & Arrows: Canadian comedy from the oughties I think the only Canadian series I've watched are Due South and Twitch City, and amusingly both Paul Gross and Don McKellar are in this. For a massive country, the arts scene seems pretty localised. That's how I feel about "British telly" - same twelve actors in everything. Also, I finished Slings & Arrows and it's legitimately one of the best series I've ever seen. So, so good. On the topic of beloved three-season dramas from the oughties, I started Veronica Mars last week. It's quite good - but it's soooo 2000-and-late. Especially when they talk about, like, cybercafes. Also, I can't tell all these moody white hunks apart.
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Post by Jeremy on Jun 9, 2020 6:26:36 GMT -8
Ah, I was wondering when you'd finally get around to Veronica Mars. The technology and cultural references are pretty dated, but that sometimes feels like part of the charm. (The new season is probably going to feel just as old-fashioned a decade down the line.)
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