Whatcha Watchin'?

[hepcat]

Wow, a new hour long South Park special just showed up on Paramount streaming. The Post Covid show. It’s set in the future and once again they seem to take great joy in trying to mess with my Amazon echo.

[Jaymann]

A Fist Full of Dynamite (Duck You Sucker)

Directed by Sergio Leone
With Rod Steiger (doing an over the top "we don't need no steenking badges" accent)
and James Coburn

Now I know where they got Mesa Verde Bank in Better Call Saul.

[TheMix]

Started binging on The IT Crowd after noticing that the brilliant Richard Ayoade is in it. I became a fan of his after watching a bunch of episodes of The Big Fat Quiz. I had to chuckle when Matt Berry showed up (thanks hepcat!).

Doh! And I only just realized that Noel Fielding is Richmond. He is also fantastic on TBFQ. And it explains why the two have such a "long time friends" dynamic.

[telcta]

Started binging on The IT Crowd after noticing that the brilliant Richard Ayoade is in it. I became a fan of his after watching a bunch of episodes of The Big Fat Quiz. I had to chuckle when Matt Berry showed up (thanks hepcat!).

Doh! And I only just realized that Noel Fielding is Richmond. He is also fantastic on TBFQ. And it explains why the two have such a "long time friends" dynamic.

The IT Crowd is fantastic. A co-worker gifted me a cross-stitch picture she made by hand... I love it. Since you're binge watching you'll know some of the references.



Also, check out "Travel Man" with Richard Ayoade, you can find many seasons on Amazon Prime. Some people from the IT Crowd show up. I see links to Gadget Man on Amazon but I haven't dug into that series yet.

[TheMix]

Thanks. I recognize the red shoes and the 999 replacement. I've only watched two episodes with Matt Berry, so I don't recognize the jogging outfit reference. Not sure about Moss or Roy (unless that's the shirt Roy wore to the play - that episode was freakin' hysterical!).

Have you seen any of The Big Fat Quiz episodes? Well worth the watch.

[hepcat]

A Fist Full of Dynamite (Duck You Sucker)

Directed by Sergio Leone
With Rod Steiger (doing an over the top "we don't need no steenking badges" accent)
and James Coburn

Now I know where they got Mesa Verde Bank in Better Call Saul.

I got that on blu ray last Christmas and love it. James Coburn is great in anything he did.

[Jaymann]

A Fist Full of Dynamite (Duck You Sucker)

Directed by Sergio Leone
With Rod Steiger (doing an over the top "we don't need no steenking badges" accent)
and James Coburn

Now I know where they got Mesa Verde Bank in Better Call Saul.

I got that on blu ray last Christmas and love it. James Coburn is great in anything he did.

Some of the music parts are '70s hokey, (pure Leone) but overall it delivers. I was a little surprised when it took on a more serious tone after the near slapstick beginning.

[telcta]

Have you seen any of The Big Fat Quiz episodes? Well worth the watch.

I have not. I’ll add that to my list of shows to check out. Thank you.

Enjoy the rest of IT Crowd, then look for some of the outtakes on YouTube, they’re just as funny as the show.

[TheMix]

Have you seen any of The Big Fat Quiz episodes? Well worth the watch.

I have not. I’ll add that to my list of shows to check out. Thank you.

Enjoy the rest of IT Crowd, then look for some of the outtakes on YouTube, they’re just as funny as the show.

FYI, I watch TBFQ on Youtube. I don't know if it's available on any of the main streaming services.

[Rumpy]

Just watched Sheena for the first time today, and I hadn't heard of it before. For a movie from 1984, it's amazing how well it has aged compared to a lot of movies of the same period. Found it to be a lot of fun with a surprising amount of depth to it. Then I come to find out that it has a bad reputation and that some consider it to be a bad movie? Oh hell no, if people consider this a bad movie, then so is Crocodile Dundee, because I think I'd consider them both on a similar level of pure fun, and the scenery was beautiful, along with the scenes with animals. It was breathtaking at times. All in all, it was a pure joy to watch. Really surprised to hear people consider it to be a bad movie.

[hepcat]

The only Sheena I know of is that crappy 1984 movie with Tanya Roberts. I’ll have to look for the one you saw.

Spoiler:

[Rumpy]

That's the one. I just don't see it as bad as it's made out to be. Quite enjoyable and beautiful to look at, maybe even more beautiful now in HD. It really is quite striking at times. It's got some really gorgeous cinematography that looks stunning and which benefits of high resolution.

[hepcat]

I’m just teasing, I own a copy of The Postman, for Christ’s sake.

[Jeff V]

The only Sheena I know of is that crappy 1984 movie with Tanya Roberts. I’ll have to look for the one you saw.

But that was right up there with other classics of the day, such as Buckaroo Bonzai and the Perils of Gwendolyn in the Land of Yik Yak. I mean, come on, what the hell else were you watching on dollar Tuesday nights?

[hepcat]

Just a clarification: Buckaroo Banzai is actually a good film.

[Carpet_pissr]

Watched ‘King Richard’ on HBOMax last night. Highly, highly recommend it. It’s the story of the Serena sisters’ early development mainly focusing on their Dad.

Fantastic acting and writing. I fully expect this to be nominated and possibly win some Academy awards.

The only potential negative: as great as it was, it felt a little…glossed over maybe? I haven’t gone down the rabbit hole on what he was really like (as far as it’s possible to find that out), but as ‘complicated’ (boy that’s a loaded word) as I remember him being, he came off in this movie as a heroic father figure and an amazing, prescient businessman (as far as his daughters’ commercialization was concerned).

9/10 for me.

[hepcat]

There was an article from one of his daughters from the family he just left one day noting that they failed to mention this fact. I think he did right by his later kids, but heroic father? I'm having trouble seeing that in light of the family he just abandoned.

[TheMix]

Just a clarification: Buckaroo Banzai is actually a good film.

+1

I rolled my eyes, but figured engaging wasn't worth it. I applaud your dedication.

[Rumpy]

I’m just teasing, I own a copy of The Postman, for Christ’s sake.

It's Ok, your secret is safe with me

[hepcat]

It's become a running joke on my part at this point, so the secret is kind of out of the bag.

Watched Coming Home in the Dark on Netflix last night after reading some good reviews. I'm not sure it's as good as the critics make it out to be (although that is subjective, of course), but it is a very good film from a first time filmmaker.

It's basically a road movie...but in the vein of Straw Dogs or Blue Ruin (which, if you haven't seen the latter, you really should). A family in New Zealand on vacation stops for a picnic, only to encounter two really bad men. As things escalate, you learn the meeting wasn't by chance. It's not a twisty film as the secrets are doled out fairly early in a string of reveals, but it's done at a perfect pace. And the acting is top notch.

[Carpet_pissr]

There was an article from one of his daughters from the family he just left one day noting that they failed to mention this fact. I think he did right by his later kids, but heroic father? I'm having trouble seeing that in light of the family he just abandoned.

I think it was hinted at in the film: there was a scene where he and wife were arguing, and she mentioned someone claiming to be his son showing up out of the blue one day, looking for him (and then other kids).

[Jeff V]

Just a clarification: Buckaroo Banzai is actually a good film.

1. Your taste in movies is notoriously suspect, but who am I to judge?
2. I never said there was anything wrong with those movies...they were quite enjoyable stoned or drunk (I really can't recall which applied to which movie back then).
3. I'll let the Academy Awards earned speak for themselves.

[hepcat]

Just a clarification: Buckaroo Banzai is actually a good film.

1. Your taste in movies is notoriously suspect, but who am I to judge?

Says the guy who thinks Brian Herbert is a good writer.

P.S. check the critic reviews for Buckaroo Banzai. It’s considered a good science fiction parody film by most. Perils of Gwendolyn? Not so much.

[Jeff V]

Says the guy who thinks Brian Herbert is a good writer.

Your comments are void unless you actually read the books. I've already said they aren't masterpieces like the original Dune, but they are certainly on par with Frank's other books in the series.

[hepcat]

[Sudy]

Encounter (Riz Ahmed, Amazon Prime) is a surprisingly earnest thriller about a broken family, mental illness, and possibly alien parasites. The best way I can describe it in a single sentence is as Take Shelter, the road movie. I don't know when Riz Ahmed became a star, but it couldn't have happened soon enough.

Spoiler:

The arc is kind of the inverse of Take Shelter's which makes it less captivating IMO, and the predictability of the climax will annoy some viewers. While the themes are pretty familiar, the film is beautifully shot and the script and acting are heartfelt. The closing score/sequence also gives me Heat vibes. As such, I recommend it.

[Jaymann]

I went to LouisCK.com and paid $10 for his latest special. For the most part he delivers. I don't mind paying as much as a fast food run for some quality entertainment. I like the fact that he is going direct to consumers without a middleman. You can stream or you are given a an option to download the show within one year.

I saw him do an interview where he was asked, aren't you worried that people will pirate your content? His attitude is if people are that desperate to steal his shit, let 'em.

[Isgrimnur]

Related - apparently another season was given the greenlight back in February, The Toast of Tinseltown - focused in America.

inews

Now, finally, Toast has gone to Hollywood. Under the mistaken impression that he has landed a leading role in a Star Wars movie, he has moved (after a seven-year hiatus) both to BBC Two from Channel 4 and across the Atlantic for the deliriously surreal new series, Toast of Tinseltown.
...
‘Toast of Tinseltown’ starts on Tuesday 4 January at 10pm on BBC Two

[Smoove_B]

Awesome. Still makes me giggle.

[Jaymann]

Last Flag Flying with Steve Carell (playing it straight), Laurence Fishburne (who finds God) and Bryan Cranston (over the top) as 3 Vietnam vets reunited after 20 years. Powerful stuff.

[Kraken]

I've never re-watched a TV series before (beyond scattered reruns) but I'm halfway through the second season of Buffy, and when we get to S4 I'm going to start Angel again, too, and you can't stop me. Both are free with Prime.

[Sudy]

I regret taking seven years to see Whiplash. You think it's going to be the fairly predictable (but fantastically executed) first two thirds of the film. But then the final third carries you beyond the archetypes and really makes you question motive and perspective. The film's narrative is fairly stylized (and somewhat unbelievable in its extremity), but it works because it starts out familiar. It doesn't hit you over the head with a moral or the absence of one the way you expect it to. It walks into convention but then seamlessly sheds it.

[AWS260]

Over the holidays I watched A Karate Christmas Miracle. It is the worst movie I have ever seen, which is saying something.

The lighting and cinematography is adult-film-level. Low-budget adult film.

The acting is atrocious. I don't like to pick on kids, but the child actor in this movie... oof.

The direction and pacing is non-existent.

Best/worst of all, there are dream sequences that are very clearly leftover footage from other B-movies. They make absolutely zero sense - none at all - and are clearly only there because they let the producers put Eric Roberts and Martin Kove (the Karate Kid bad guy) on their poster.

If, after all that, you still want to watch A Karate Christmas Miracle, have at it:

[Smoove_B]

As mentioned by El Guapo, I figured maybe I'd try Station Eleven, despite a potential for overload.



I have to say I'm really enjoying it. The storytelling takes a bit to adjust to - there is quite a bit of timeline jumping. But they're pretty clear on what's happening and to whom. I like the style of storytelling the most I think - a series of characters that initially seem unconnected but as it turns out, we're watching a story unfold between them all.

And while it's about an apocalyptic pandemic the tone is quite different than what I was expecting. Dare I say it's hopeful? I'm not sure. Other than a really dark scene (that I'm still processing) in the second episode, overall I'm finding it quite interesting - the relationships and the questions that are being teased.

Regardless, definitely going to read the book when I'm done here, but this show has been a treat (I'm almost 1/2 finished).

[Kraken]

Watched the first episode. Wife fell asleep halfway through so I can't proceed to the next one until she repeats the first. Eventually I'll get tired of waiting for her and watch it myself...probably after I finish S3 of Doom Patrol.

[Smoove_B]

It's definitely a bit slow and if you happen to nod-off for a minute or two you might miss a key story element as they're jumping around in the timeline.

[Smoove_B]

As mentioned by El Guapo, I figured maybe I'd try Station Eleven, despite a potential for overload.

The season (series?) ended last night and somehow I magically timed it so I finished Ep9 and Ep10 was available. Absolutely loved (loved) this show. The writing (to me, at least) was really, really good. It reminded me of a few of the AMC shows I also loved - character driven dramas that are about the relationships between people. Shows like Lodge 49 or Dispatches from Elsewhere that have a hint of spirituality or philosophy as an undercurrent.

The way all the stories were intertwined - how each of the characters related to or influenced each other (directly, or indirectly and unknowingly) was just so well done.

A++

[hepcat]

You finished just in time to start Peacemaker. Nice.

[Smoove_B]

Yeah, indeed. I need to watch the new Suicide Squad first, but Peacemaker is on deck!

I need to update my TV show spreadsheet again, that's for sure.

[hepcat]

Peacemaker is Harley Quinn animated level comedy. Trust me. Cena should never play anything else.