Quiara
Grade School
Posts: 775
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Post by Quiara on Oct 15, 2023 8:17:14 GMT -8
Netflix's Lupin remains very contrived -- Assane's on the cover of every newspaper in Paris, but somehow most civilians don't notice him walking around in public, even without a disguise -- but quite enjoyable in its third season. The cast is simply likeable, and the show is stylish and fun, as heist-related fiction generally tends to be. That is all. And I'm finally going to get around to watching Kieslowski's Dekalog in the next few weeks. Its purported heaviness has kept me at bay for a number of years: hopefully it doesn't feel too much like homework. (I love the director's Double Life of Veronique and Rouge, for the record). Yay! I think it's a meaty-heavy series, not a depressing-heavy one, personally.
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Post by ThirdMan on Oct 15, 2023 18:59:21 GMT -8
And I'm finally going to get around to watching Kieslowski's Dekalog in the next few weeks. Its purported heaviness has kept me at bay for a number of years: hopefully it doesn't feel too much like homework. (I love the director's Double Life of Veronique and Rouge, for the record). Yay! I think it's a meaty-heavy series, not a depressing-heavy one, personally. Yeah, based on the first episode (which I'm two-thirds of the way through), this does indeed seem to be the case. I'll probably work my way though the ten episodes in the next week-and-a-half. The only thing that might take me away from it next weekend is....the release of Super Mario Bros. Wonder. Because I'll be all over that game on Friday morning (when my pre-order unlocks on my Switch),
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Quiara
Grade School
Posts: 775
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Post by Quiara on Oct 15, 2023 23:05:09 GMT -8
A favorite CT memory is Jeremy's glee that the first episode(?) of Dekalog, which he thought might be kind of vegetable-ish in its merits, had a scene where a father quizzes his kid on math using a word problem about Kermit and Miss Piggy.
I really should watch the series in its entirety, as I was only able to watch I-IV back in the day and really really liked them (and would probably like them even more now as an honest-to-god adult rather than just a technically-an-adult).
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Post by Jeremy on Oct 16, 2023 5:25:26 GMT -8
A favorite CT memory is Jeremy's glee that the first episode(?) of Dekalog, which he thought might be kind of vegetable-ish in its merits, had a scene where a father quizzes his kid on math using a word problem about Kermit and Miss Piggy. Must be I'm getting old, because I genuinely don't remember this. But it does sound like something I would say back then (or even now, tbh). I should probably get around to finishing Dekalog as well; I didn't quite get into it when I watched the early episodes, but I like to think my tastes have (very slightly) matured since then. I do want to check out some of Kieslowski's other works as well; maybe the Three Colors trilogy, which is streaming on (HBO) Max.
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Post by Incandescence 112 on Oct 16, 2023 8:42:29 GMT -8
A favorite CT memory is Jeremy's glee that the first episode(?) of Dekalog, which he thought might be kind of vegetable-ish in its merits, had a scene where a father quizzes his kid on math using a word problem about Kermit and Miss Piggy. Must be I'm getting old, because I genuinely don't remember this. But it does sound like something I would say back then (or even now, tbh). I should probably get around to finishing Dekalog as well; I didn't quite get into it when I watched the early episodes, but I like to think my tastes have (very slightly) matured since then. I do want to check out some of Kieslowski's other works as well; maybe the Three Colors trilogy, which is streaming on (HBO) Max. I am also interested in checking out Dekalog at some point. The main reason being that I have seen the Three Colors trilogy, and I think Red is legitimately one of the best films ever made. Just perfect. Blue is great (but if you're not into slow European arthouse films it might not be for you) and White is an...acquired taste. But based on Red alone I'm interested in Kieslowski's other work. Obviously it is heavy and depressing, but not oppressively so.
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Post by otherscott on Oct 18, 2023 4:49:37 GMT -8
I'm on a bit of a string of shows that are just bad - Dear Child is a German netflix show that got a bit of hype, and after Dark I figured "what can go wrong?" It turns out the show is just basically seems like an SVU episode strung out over 6 hours. This may be just me, but Stockholm Syndrome is not an interesting thing to make a show about.
Even worse is the second season of Heartstopper. I remember the first season being somewhat light and cutesy, the second season is just an endless stream of teenage show cliches except somehow everyone they come across happens to be some version of LGBTQ. I'm not sure I'm going to make it through the season.
I've started Jury Duty, which I firmly believe will be better. I've only seen the first episode, but James Marsden improvisation skills are massively impressive is my first impression. I also like how they base entire plot points off of things that Ronald says.
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Post by guttersnipe on Oct 21, 2023 14:25:33 GMT -8
And I'm finally going to get around to watching Kieslowski's Dekalog in the next few weeks. Its purported heaviness has kept me at bay for a number of years: hopefully it doesn't feel too much like homework. (I love the director's Double Life of Veronique and Rouge, for the record). Oh wow, this is superb timing, because I'm about a week away from introducing this to my partner, and feel more than free to chip in on my reviews, which probably haven't been commented on for a few years now.
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Post by ThirdMan on Oct 23, 2023 9:23:22 GMT -8
I'm working longer hours at my job now, so I haven't been devoting as much time to shows and movies as I would like in the past while. For instance, I had meant to see the new Scorsese film on the weekend, but just couldn't decide on a showing that would be palatable, given my sleep patterns (I work an overnight shift).
Alas, I quite enjoyed the first episode of Dekalog, but wasn't grabbed by what I saw of the second episode, so I put it down for the moment. But I renewed the box set from my library for another three weeks, and will try to watch the remaining episodes by mid-November or so, whether some of the episodes feel like homework to me or not.
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Post by guttersnipe on Nov 9, 2023 14:25:30 GMT -8
How are you getting along with Dekalog now? My partner and I are starting it tonight, and I'm super excited to share it!
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Post by ThirdMan on Nov 10, 2023 8:29:58 GMT -8
No progress to report. I just keep putting it off, because I fall asleep so easily when watching stuff these days, especially when the content is of a (psychologically) dark yet restrained nature.
At any rate, I hope your partner enjoys it as much as you do. I'll get around to it eventually (i can renew it for another three weeks, and nobody has a hold on it at my library).
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Post by Jeremy on Nov 12, 2023 8:10:10 GMT -8
Was pleasantly surprised by Season Two of The Afterparty, once I got past the obvious hurdle. Yes, it's structurally a retread of Season One (with a mostly new cast, albeit with the three central figures of S1 returning), to the point that it needs to contrive a new reason to maintain the show's title. But it really goes big, both in style and tone, with each episode feeling fresh and creative in the ways it emulates styles ranging from romantic comedy to film noir, and paying homage to directors from Alfred Hitchcock to Wes Anderson. (There's even one episode largely shot on a smartphone.) Stylistically speaking, it's one of the most ambitious shows of the year.
It also works quite well on a script level, as a meticulous Rashomon-style whodunit, with the story more complex and layered than the first season. This could prove the show's undoing (as, to some extent, it did with S2 of Veronica Mars), but the writers keep a firm grip on the story, doling out clues at a measured pace and keeping the audience guessing till the finale.
(And... now they choose to cancel it. Oh well.)
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Post by ThirdMan on Nov 12, 2023 11:28:08 GMT -8
CityTV got the rights to air Poker Face at some point, so I'm working through that season On Demand (minimal station commercials) right now. Natasha Lyonne remains very scrappy and engaging, it's got sharp visual style, and they do a good job of giving the guest characters some dimension and colour before her character arrives on the scene. It's an easy watch.
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Post by ThirdMan on Dec 1, 2023 23:53:03 GMT -8
Juno Temple is tremendous in the new season of Fargo. Though I'm sure the series will never again quite reach the heights of Season 2, I've very much enjoyed the first three episodes of Season 5. Though stylistically, the third episode in particular feels more influenced by the work of John Carpenter than the Coens (for obvious enough reasons).
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Post by ThirdMan on Dec 16, 2023 1:44:12 GMT -8
How are you getting along with Dekalog now? My partner and I are starting it tonight, and I'm super excited to share it! Just completed Episode 10 in the last few days. It's interesting that the final episode has a somewhat lighter tone, given how most of the series is pretty serious in nature. I think my favourite episode of the run was the one about the disillusioned young man who kills a taxi driver, and is defended by the young lawyer who doesn't believe in the death penalty. It very effectively established the landscape of a section of a city and its inhabitants, and felt a bit more structurally ambitious than some of the other, smaller-scale episodes which featured only a couple of characters. I also really liked the episode about the young man who was spying on the woman in another apartment building, as anything that invokes Rear Window usually evokes some interest from me. My least-favourite was probably the one about the impotent, self-destructive husband: I struggled to stay awake during that one. The series is certainly varied in nature, despite having a heavy tone overall. The reason I initially stalled out on Episode 2 is because I thought the series might be devoted almost entirely to sullen, depressed old people with little or no personality (not that the acting was poor in that episode, or anything). Fortunately, it was more diverse than that.
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Post by Jeremy on Dec 28, 2023 17:41:06 GMT -8
I finished the sixth and final season of The Crown, which deals with the last days of Princess Diana and brings Queen Liz and co. into the 21st century. It's not particularly good (and feels redundant both within itself and coupled with the fact that Peter Morgan already covered some of this ground with The Queen), but it's interesting in spots and reflects the difficulties of trying to tell a story that grows increasingly familiar to audiences with each season.
The thing about The Crown is that had only one really good season - the first - and everything after that has been a mixed bag, with occasionally brilliant episodes peppered among a lot of unengaging storylines. (I appreciate how the show is typically more episodic than most Netflix dramas, but the last couple of seasons have still occasionally suffered from streaming bloat.) Part of the issue is that the first season was the only one with something fresh or interesting to say about Queen Liz - what with her assuming the throne at a time when the monarchy was still fairly popular, and at such a young age - and later seasons have had to turn more focus on Philip, Charles, Diana, et al. for personal drama. The other issue is that the further the show goes along, the closer it gets to contemporary times, and the antsier the showrunners become about getting too critical of the monarchy for a viewing audience that (mostly, I assume) approves of it. These last two seasons, which span the '90s and early '00s, have particularly suffered in this regard.
Anyway, there were things to appreciate here - Elizabeth Debicki's portrayal of Diana was quite good, even if the show doesn't explore her relationship with the media* nearly as delicately as it could have. Dominic West feels slightly off as Charles, somehow, and Imelda Staunton is fine as Elizabeth, even though she doesn't get much to do. (There is one very good episode late in the season that deals with the anachronisms of the Royal Palace at the turn of the century, and it's really funny to watch her react to discovering all the random useless positions that British taxpayers pay for.) Can't say it's a great series, but it's certainly one of the more interesting Emmy-bait shows of recent memory.
Seasons ranked: 1>4>2>3>6>5
*As a weird coincidence, I watched Amélie today, and that film does a more interesting job of exploring the fallout from Diana's death than The Crown does.
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