[Streaming] Max (né HBO Max)

JCC · Post by **JCC** » Mon Feb 15, 2021 1:49 pm

I loved Danny the Street! I haven't gotten to Flex yet.

pr0ner · Post by **pr0ner** » Thu Feb 18, 2021 12:42 pm

Trailer for the new Mortal Kombat dropped today.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Thu Feb 18, 2021 1:15 pm

Looks like a good replacement for the live action Avatar film.

JCC · Post by **JCC** » Sun Feb 21, 2021 3:24 pm

(More on Doom Patrol)

I did like Flex.

I really liked the penultimate episode of season 1.

I really disliked the last episode of season 1.

I have just accepted this show is going to be love/hate for me, with me overall liking it while shaking my head at some bits.

On to season 2!

JCC · Post by **JCC** » Wed Feb 24, 2021 10:01 pm

Finished season 2 of Doom Patrol. Pretty unsatisfying ending - though I'm sure Covid caused that. Enjoy the show even though there are bits here and there that miss with me. Overall really good. Looking forward to the next season!

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Thu Feb 25, 2021 9:48 pm

Isgrimnur wrote: ↑Thu Feb 18, 2021 1:15 pm Looks like a good replacement for the live action Avatar film.

My favorite part of the trailer is when the girl has to explain what a birthmark is.

AWS260 · Post by **AWS260** » Sat Feb 27, 2021 10:43 pm

There's a very good 40-minute documentary about Studs Terkel on HBO Max.

Grifman · Post by **Grifman** » Sat Feb 27, 2021 11:46 pm

hitbyambulance wrote: ↑Tue Feb 09, 2021 6:39 pm
Formix wrote: ↑Sat Oct 17, 2020 9:44 am I’m in solely for studio Ghibli,
i found out the only way to see Earwig and the Witch is through this streaming service. that's too bad.

Seven day free trial is made for this.

hitbyambulance · Post by **hitbyambulance** » Mon Mar 01, 2021 5:55 pm

Grifman wrote: ↑Sat Feb 27, 2021 11:46 pm
hitbyambulance wrote: ↑Tue Feb 09, 2021 6:39 pm
Formix wrote: ↑Sat Oct 17, 2020 9:44 am I’m in solely for studio Ghibli,
i found out the only way to see Earwig and the Witch is through this streaming service. that's too bad.
Seven day free trial is made for this.

and the library juuuust ordered this DVD, so i am in line (i'm honestly not expecting this to be that good, tho)

Post by **ImLawBoy** » Mon Mar 01, 2021 6:27 pm

Been watching some of the new movies that they're releasing simultaneously on HBOmax and in theaters. It's funny, but this'll probably end up being the year I see the most new movies in a long time despite not going to theaters.

The Little Things was kind of an old school cop thriller starring Denzel Washington, Jared Leto, and Rami Malek. Big names and well made, but I left it feeling a bit let down. Denzel and Jared were really good, but Malek was miscast as a hot shot young cop. I think this was really hurt by being a traditional movie instead of a prestige TV series. I'm so used to seeing this type of story told in much more depth with time for character development that everything seemed a bit rushed.

Judas and the Black Messiah was fantastic. It's based on the true story of the FBI infiltrating the Black Panther party in Chicago, culminating in what sure looks like the government sanctioned execution of Fred Hampton. Daniel Kaluuya just won a Golden Globe for best supporting actor in the role of Hampton.

Finally, I actually watched Tom and Jerry over the weekend. The kids had seen a preview of it somehow, and they got all excited for it (even though they really don't even know who Tom and Jerry are). The wife and I agreed to a family watch party, and . . . it wasn't all that bad. It's benefitting from low expectations (I really expected it to be awful, particularly based on the trailer I saw), but it had some good laughs and the kids thought it was a riot. Tom and Jerry have moved to New York City and are living in a fancy hotel that is going to host the celebrity wedding of the century. Tom is hired to get rid of Jerry, and you know how that's going to turn out. All people and settings are live action, and all animals are animated. They really kept the relationship of T&J traditional with lots of absurd cartoon violence. The cast (Chloe Grace Moretz, Michael Pena, Ken Jeong) works really well - even Colin Jost. I wouldn't recommend it if you don't have kids, but if you do, you could do a lot worse.

I can't believe I wrote like three times as much about Tom and Jerry than I did about Judas and the Black Messiah, which is a better movie on every front (except, perhaps, kid friendliness), but there you have it.

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Wed Mar 03, 2021 10:03 pm

For fans of pulp novel style action shows with sleaze, violence, over the top villains...and the Amish, the insanely entertaining Banshee is now on HBO Max.

And yeah, the lead is Homelander.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Fri Mar 05, 2021 5:15 pm

Made for Love

naednek · Post by **naednek** » Sat Mar 06, 2021 1:49 am

hepcat wrote: ↑Wed Mar 03, 2021 10:03 pm For fans of pulp novel style action shows with sleaze, violence, over the top villains...and the Amish, the insanely entertaining Banshee is now on HBO Max.

And yeah, the lead is Homelander.

ok, until I had no idea the lead in Banshee is the same guy as Homelander. WOW. all this time and it never clicked. It all makes sense now.

I loved banshee.

stimpy · Post by **stimpy** » Sat Mar 06, 2021 1:55 am

A guy at work starting watching the Boys and said he had to stop because to him the guy playing Homelander will always be the guy from Banshee and he couldnt picture him as Homelander.

Sudy · Post by **Sudy** » Sat Mar 06, 2021 3:06 am

Yeah, I had the same problem when Han Solo showed up in The Moquito Coast.

Watched the first couple episodes of Succession. Yikes... like I needed more reasons to hate the rich?

Ralph-Wiggum · Post by **Ralph-Wiggum** » Sat Mar 06, 2021 8:49 am

Succession is very good, but there are almost no redeeming characters on the show.

Pyperkub · Post by **Pyperkub** » Sat Mar 06, 2021 1:02 pm

From the technical side, how far along is the 4k catalogue? Been contemplating this, but waiting.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Fri Mar 12, 2021 4:28 pm

CNBC

AT&T on Friday increased its subscriber forecast for HBO Max and HBO, projecting global subscribers of between 120 million and 150 million for HBO Max and HBO by the end of 2025. At the end of fiscal year 2020, global subscribers reached nearly 61 million for HBO Max and HBO and U.S. subscribers 41 million, aided by the Christmas Day release of “Wonder Woman 1984.”
...
The company is planning to launch HBO Max in Latin America and later Europe, he said. “Add to that the exciting development of bringing in an ad-supported option for customers [in June], which broadens the opportunity domestically in the United States to start attacking price points that we’ve been locked out of,” he said. “The team feels really good about their momentum. We haven’t seen our best days.”

AT&T’s new forecast comes as Netflix recently surpassed 200 million subscribers during the fourth quarter of 2020, and and Disney’s streaming service Disney+ surpassed 100 million subscribers just 16 months after its launch.

$iljanus · Post by **$iljanus** » Sun Mar 14, 2021 11:33 pm

hepcat wrote: ↑Wed Mar 03, 2021 10:03 pm For fans of pulp novel style action shows with sleaze, violence, over the top villains...and the Amish, the insanely entertaining Banshee is now on HBO Max.

And yeah, the lead is Homelander.

This show borders on the ridiculous...and I really love it.

pr0ner · Post by **pr0ner** » Mon Mar 15, 2021 9:04 am

Pyperkub wrote: ↑Sat Mar 06, 2021 1:02 pm From the technical side, how far along is the 4k catalogue? Been contemplating this, but waiting.

Not very far along at all, and most versions of their app don't support 4K or HDR right now either.

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Mon Mar 15, 2021 9:30 am

$iljanus wrote: ↑Sun Mar 14, 2021 11:33 pm
hepcat wrote: ↑Wed Mar 03, 2021 10:03 pm For fans of pulp novel style action shows with sleaze, violence, over the top villains...and the Amish, the insanely entertaining Banshee is now on HBO Max.

And yeah, the lead is Homelander.
This show borders on the ridiculous...and I really love it.

It’s over the top, but it knows that and tried to outdo itself at every turn. It really is just entertaining as all get out.

$iljanus · Post by **$iljanus** » Mon Mar 15, 2021 9:56 am

hepcat wrote: ↑Mon Mar 15, 2021 9:30 am
$iljanus wrote: ↑Sun Mar 14, 2021 11:33 pm
hepcat wrote: ↑Wed Mar 03, 2021 10:03 pm For fans of pulp novel style action shows with sleaze, violence, over the top villains...and the Amish, the insanely entertaining Banshee is now on HBO Max.

And yeah, the lead is Homelander.
This show borders on the ridiculous...and I really love it.
It’s over the top, but it knows that and tried to outdo itself at every turn. It really is just entertaining as all get out.

Job the badassed trans hacker, Kai the ex Amish crime lord with his martial arts workout using something out of the set of the 36th Chamber of Shaolin, the bow tie guy are just a few of the stand out characters. Not to mention that this started on Skinemax so sex scenes abound.

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Mon Mar 15, 2021 10:33 am

There's a fight scene using a limo as the backdrop in season 3 episode 3 that it is so ludicrously savage and ridiculous that I still watch it every few months to this day.

The show earned pretty strong reviews from critics, but never reached the big audience numbers it deserved.

One reviewer summed it up perfectly I thought:

The series is a pure pulp amalgam of They Live, the films of John Woo, half the Vertigo comics library, and every direct-to-home-video action flick ever.

Sudy · Post by **Sudy** » Mon Mar 15, 2021 11:06 am

Ralph-Wiggum wrote: ↑Sat Mar 06, 2021 8:49 am Succession is very good, but there are almost no redeeming characters on the show.

I just finished the first season and I'm very impressed. I'd liken it to a more believable House of Cards, albeit primarily in a corporate setting rather than a political one. Or in a similar vein, Veep as a drama. There's a lot of incredible acting from the serious leads. The more comedically oriented ones can be over the top at times (Ruck even more than Culkin), but are somehow also completely believable as types of people that exist in this warped world.

I've never much cared for Brian Cox despite respecting his talent, but I really like him in this. It's very confusing to hear Matthew Macfadyen with an American accent. I think I might find his character the most compelling and abhorrent of them all. To anyone more powerful than him he's supplicant. But to those beneath him he's a bully to the point of abuse. Ironically, Greg himself is so horrid that it's easy to laugh at the ridiculous ways Tom torments him.

Jag · Post by **Jag** » Mon Mar 15, 2021 1:06 pm

Sudy wrote: ↑Mon Mar 15, 2021 11:06 am
Ralph-Wiggum wrote: ↑Sat Mar 06, 2021 8:49 am Succession is very good, but there are almost no redeeming characters on the show.
I just finished the first season and I'm very impressed. I'd liken it to a more believable House of Cards, albeit primarily in a corporate setting rather than a political one. Or in a similar vein, Veep as a drama. There's a lot of incredible acting from the serious leads. The more comedically oriented ones can be over the top at times (Ruck even more than Culkin), but are somehow also completely believable as types of people that exist in this warped world.

I've never much cared for Brian Cox despite respecting his talent, but I really like him in this. It's very confusing to hear Matthew Macfadyen with an American accent. I think I might find his character the most compelling and abhorrent of them all. To anyone more powerful than him he's supplicant. But to those beneath him he's a bully to the point of abuse. Ironically, Greg himself is so horrid that it's easy to laugh at the ridiculous ways Tom torments him.

Succession is one of my favorite shows right now. It truly is an ensemble cast. It takes about 3-4 episodes to power up, but then it just keeps going.

Also recommend Barry on HBO Max. Great story, great cast. Just a really great show.

stimpy · Post by **stimpy** » Thu Mar 18, 2021 8:46 am

Where's the reviews for the recut Justice League??????
You nerds ought to be ashamed of yourselves if you didn't stay up until Midnight and binge all 4 hours!!!
(This nerd cant even make it past 10 p.m. these days).

Sudy · Post by **Sudy** » Thu Mar 18, 2021 11:38 am

I've watched the first hour so far. It's... mind numbing. Disclosure: I don't think I can be objective for this one. It's just too boring... I can't push the sarcastic thoughts out of my head. Even though I didn't see the original cut until a year or two ago (and I think I enjoyed it more than I thought I would), I have a very poor recollection of it. I'm sure many of my complaints apply to the original/BvS/Snyder's work in general as well.

Random musings, first hour only:

- Do you like the constant use of slow motion, from the very first frame? This is the film for you!
- Why the fuck is this 4:3? OK, I looked it up. But... why the fuck is this 4:3?
- What happened in BvS again? I guess Superman died fighting a random villain no one cared about? So sad.
- This is all so backwards. It's like if Iron Man bought it at the end of Iron Man 2. Though even then, I still cared about those characters tons more than I do these ones. (I've always been critical of some of the underwhelming and repetitive elements of MCU storytelling, but I've generally not had a problem with the characters.)
- I just don't think I can accept Affleck as Batman. His only mode is pensive.
- The first hour is allll setup. In a four-hour team-up movie that may be appropriate, but it's just... exhausting. IMO the only interesting tale is Aquaman's.
- Aquaman's shirt budget has to be out of control if he's just going to rip them off and toss them away each time he wanders into the sea. Literally twice in the first hour.
- So many pointless interludes. It's like a never-ending music video.
- The hero worship is just gagful. Is that a word? If not, I'm making it a word. It's laughable and repellant to see the in-universe normies fawning over these characters I don't give a shit about.
- The Themyscira action scene goes on and on and on meaninglessly. In the bank scene, the extreme violence of MoS and BvS continues... is Wonder Woman trying to kill the henchmen?
- A lot of the moment-to-moment minor character reactions just don't seem warranted or to make sense. E.g. the field trip gasping when the terrorist opens the briefcase... it didn't seem like they should have been able to see what was inside. The fishing village being quite so pissy toward Bruce. I get they're trying to protect Aquaman, but it's silly. The single amazon approaching and pointing a sword at the rattling mother box, WTF? Lol. I guess it's the only tool and defensive reaction she has, but it brings to mind a caveman seeing fire for the first time trying to beat it with a club. They've been guarding this thing for how long? Don't they have a protocol in place for when it starts to do "stuff"?
- The colour is so agonizingly washed out. The plains of Themyscira look like they belong in a before-and-after carpet cleaning ad.
- Some of the green-screening is so distracting. I get that it's a stylistic choice, but some of the CGI backgrounds and colours are so unnatural it yanks you out of the film.

rittchard · Post by **rittchard** » Thu Mar 18, 2021 12:15 pm

LOL Sudy, that review sounds promising for me. I fell asleep in the middle of the original, so now I can plan to sleep through 4 hours worth! Should I break it up into 6 sittings (I read there are 6 chapters) to get 6 separate naps, or go for two sessions with longer deeper naps?

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Thu Mar 18, 2021 12:23 pm

FWIW, I saw the original in the theater, but have never gotten myself to rewatch it despite owning it on BluRay.

JCC · Post by **JCC** » Thu Mar 18, 2021 12:26 pm

I assume I will at least try to watch this at some point. I actally didn't mind MoS or BvS - in fact there were parts of BvS that I thought were great. And, I really like Batfleck unlike the entire rest of the world. But JL dragged out to *4* hours and (especially) the 4:3 thing REALLY worry me.

(I thought JL the Whedon cut was OK.)

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Thu Mar 18, 2021 12:31 pm

I also liked Batfleck. Actually, I think he was one of the best Batmans we've ever had. He just didn't have great scripts. Keaton might be the only one to give him a run for his money (Bale made great Batman films, but his character wasn't all that great of a Batman.)

Sudy · Post by **Sudy** » Thu Mar 18, 2021 12:36 pm

I'm a MoS apologist, but that's largely probably because of my love of Michael Shannon. I also thought showcasing the horrific violence and collateral destruction was a fresh take (for film, anyway). The Boys before we had The Boys.

I think I've wavered on Batfleck. I may feel differently after I complete the film. I don't recall BvS very well. I want to see an older Batman, just probably not Snyder's version. I'm not an Affleck fan, but I've definitely enjoyed his better work.

YellowKing · Post by **YellowKing** » Thu Mar 18, 2021 12:47 pm

Sudy wrote: Why the fuck is this 4:3? OK, I looked it up. But... why the fuck is this 4:3?

When the banner came up saying this was 4:3 I seriously just turned it off.

I'm going to have to settle my nerves and come to peace with this for a bit before I turn it back on. I'm no videophile that demands absolute perfection in my media, but dammit I do live in 2021.

Post by **ImLawBoy** » Thu Mar 18, 2021 1:23 pm

If you were a purist who demanded widescreen instead of pan-and-scan back in the days of 4:3 TVs, then you should be consistent and be a purist who demands 4:3 on this movie since that's how it was made. If you were to go widescreen on this, you'd have a vertical pan-and-scan.

Sudy · Post by **Sudy** » Thu Mar 18, 2021 2:08 pm

I'm fine with 4:3 in modern film as an artistic choice (e.g. The Artist, The Lighthouse); it's just an odd/unexpected choice in this case. This is a modern superhero movie. It's not trying to mimic a bygone era or invoke a feeling of claustrophobia. You expect most media to make use of the available real estate of the screens it's going to be shown on, and for the majority of theatre projections, home televisions and monitors, and even smartphones, that's widescreen.

YellowKing · Post by **YellowKing** » Thu Mar 18, 2021 2:21 pm

Yeah, I understand that's Snyder's vision, I just don't like it. <shakes fist at sky>

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Thu Mar 18, 2021 4:02 pm

It's not that it's in 4:3. I watch plenty of stuff in 4:3. It's that in 2021 it is in 4:3 intentionally without any real reason save for Snyder's whim.

Post by **ImLawBoy** » Thu Mar 18, 2021 4:43 pm

I think you can dislike the decision, but I don't think you can say it's without any real reason. He wanted to fill IMAX screens, which are closer to 4:3. That's a real reason, whether you like it or not.

Sudy · Post by **Sudy** » Thu Mar 18, 2021 4:49 pm

OK, "stupid" reason then. He said something about "superheroes being more vertical than horizontal except Superman when he's flying". That's a stupid reason. "People" are more vertical that horizontal when they're standing up. We've been shooting people (and superheroes) in widescreen for a while now and it's been fine.

pr0ner · Post by **pr0ner** » Thu Mar 18, 2021 4:52 pm

Blackhawk wrote: ↑Thu Mar 18, 2021 4:02 pm It's not that it's in 4:3. I watch plenty of stuff in 4:3. It's that in 2021 it is in 4:3 intentionally without any real reason save for Snyder's whim.

I don't know if it's really a whim but more that it's how he framed the shots after falling in love with IMAX during BvS.