Jang Yeong-Sil (K Drama)
Thunderbolt Fantasy
Baahubali 1 and 2

 

The BBC did some excellent adaptations of Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, and The City and the City a few years ago, both well worth checking out (JS&MN: set pre-, during and post-Napoleonic War, focusing on the last two English Magicians as they collaborate and feud over approaches to the magical arts; City&City: murder mystery set in a fictional east European city that occupies the same space as a different city in another dimension).

Wynonna Earp wasn't something I expected much from, but turned out to be really enjoyable; the titular character has to take up her ancestor's gun due to the family curse - namely, the 77 criminals that Wyatt Earp killed, who get resurrected every time a new Earp comes of age. Similar to Supernatural in tone, specifically the earlier series (I haven't seen the third series yet, so can't comment on that).

Russian Doll is a fantastic Netflix mini-series, about a woman trying to find out how and why she's got stuck in a timeloop starting the night of her birthday, and ending with her inevitable (if always different) death.

Timeless is about a history professor recruited by Homeland Security to assist when a terrorist steals a prototype time machine and vanishes into the past; she and her team follow him to make sure that he can't alter events too badly, and a conspiracy gradually comes to light. Another show that I haven't fully watched yet, about halfway through series two, but solid entertainment with some good chemistry between the cast.

 

@Quick Ben Gosh trying to think of ones that you wouldn't have seen. Erm...

Star Wars: Clone Wars
The Good Place
Rick and Morty
Deadly Class
Stranger Things
Hannibal
Atlanta
Death Note
Rome
Spartacus
Brittania
Turn
Marco Polo
Norsemen

 

Watched most of them except for Brittania and Turn, so I'll check those out after I am done watching Jack Ryan(which has been ok so far)

 

If you enjoy S1, don't watch S2. It's a mess. I love Jim Halpert as much as the next guy, but it's painful how much the writers can't seem to get out of their own ways.

 

So, the good place ended this Friday (or perhaps earlier, I don’t know where you are).

It was wonderful. Really hit the sorta emotional weightyness a show about everlasting afterlife should aspire to, and the moments they were ‘done’ really landed for me. Got a bit teary. Good cathartic finale.

 

I thought it was really, really good. I was kind of afraid of the finale, but it was such a rewarding experience. Lots of cool guest appearances and cameos, and the visual gags were, of course, up to the usual standard.

Spoiler: menu at Stupid Nick’s Wing Dump

The broad strokes of what the finale was going to be about were heavily foreshadowed, of course, but beautifully executed & acted all the same.

All in all, I’m really going to miss this show. Take it sleazy, folks.

Some of my favourite moments:

Spoiler

D’Arcy Carden wearing the J+J necklace on her wrist during the cast interview with Seth Meyers was a lovely touch.

Eleanor on the bridge might be the best thing Kristen Bell has ever done.

Biggest laughs of the episode probably went to “Chidi, wait up!” and Derek v151.000.000.

Also, Michael Realman.

 

HBO is making live-action Samurai Jack.


I am... conflicted.

 

Im sure they could make a great show out of the plot, but they won't recapture the style. All the best parts of Samurai Jack were linked pretty closely to it being animated.

 

Alex Rider was really solid. It definitely suffered from a lower budget at some points (namely some of the action scenes) and the main actor could be a bit more dynamic, but all in all, a solid 4/5 from me. A very good adaption and so much better than the terrible movies from a few years back.

 

So an Amazon TV series was just announced and it takes place in the Fallout universe

https://bethesda.net/en/article/22U...on-studios-to-develop-series-based-on-fallout

This really jingles the fuck out of my jangles, I can't lie. FINALLY, the Republic of Dave might be on the small screen!

 

Alex Rider was fun but at least in my eyes it suffered a bit from feeling a bit too much like a season long introduction rather than something that can truly stand on its own. And I found especially the last episode something of a mixed bag.
7/10

And since I had started with spy/action series I continued on with the second season of Hannah, the amazon original series, and while it wasn't bad I also would be hard pressed to recommend it for anybody not looking to waste some time and already having prime. I am not sure what it lacks but it is simply not as memorable as say early Nikita was, at least in my eyes.
6,5/10


Going even further back to my teenager days I also watched Warrior Nun and while not as campy as it my look at first glance it is still quite silly. That said I had a surprising bit of fun with it even if the portrayal of the catholic church and the crusades are more or less what I have come from American pop culture.
5/10


On to more serious work, I also watched the Condor and found it to be quite the enjoyable experience, it is a very solid spy series with cool action scenes that for once doesn't glorify the US or its intelligence agencies. And as somebody who loves psychotic, hot female agents, especially if they are in antagonist role, I of course had quite a bit of fun with season one. Sadly that character and storyline has disappeared in season two and the main character himself at times feels like he regressed in the time between the end of season 1 and 2 but at least most of the other cast is developed further and the storyline is interesting if not as radical as season one. So while perhaps not the perfect sequel it is at least not the total shitshow that Jack Ryan season two was in my eyes.
8/10

Lastly we get to something a but more exotic, The Pier (El embarcadero), which is a spanish production from I think the same guys that did Money heist (La casa de Pampel). It is very different from the standard US influenced stuff I mainly watch but I really enjoy it and its considerable more sensual cinematography.
8/10

 

Anyone else watching Cursed on Netlfix? The acting is atrocious, but I'm still somehow enjoying it.

Perhaps it is the novelty of not being bashed over the head with "I'm a strong woman" scenes in a female-centric fantasy show. They don't need to tell you Nimue is a badass. She just does badassery.

 

Just watched The Haunting of Hill House.

First of all, despite what the trailer may show, this is NOT primarily a Horror Show. Calling it a Supernatural or Horror TV Series is like calling Iron Man 2 a "Political" movie just because there's politics involved. Yes, there are some jump scares (Like, a total of 3) and the main problems stem from the house being haunted.

But the show is a Family Drama. It's about relationships, about siblings, about love and loss and pain and reconciliation.

The show is ridiculously good. First episode is a bit slow and the timelines jump around a fair bit (Not as bad as The Witcher) but I would give this series a strong 8/10. Not sure what it could have done to get a ten but only rating it a 8 for now cause I don't think it's the kind of thing DLP would like.

Ideally, this show is best watched with family (Preferably siblings), just to get in the mood of it.

My favourite was probably Episode 6 where there were several scenes with no cuts (I think there's only like 4/5 cuts throughout the whole episode).

 

https://deadline.com/2020/06/cobra-kai-moves-netflix-youtube-season-3-1202965551/

Cobra Kai moving from Youtube Red to Netflix. Considering it's the only reason anyone ever watched Youtube Red, seems like a good decision for everyone involved. The cast has also said that it's been waiting for the move to premiere S3, which has been done for a while, so hopefully that'll launch soon.

 

Cobra Kai was so good. But they need to start to resolve some of the drama before it gets tedious.

 

The Umbrella Academy's second season dropped a few days ago.

They learned from some of the mistakes they made in season one, but the finale was more of the same shit, quite literally. In the end, there was a lot of buildup and foreshadowing for the next season, and I suspect that'll also fail to deliver, after which Netflix will cancel the show.

What works:
- the directing
- atmosphere
- fight sequences
- banter (sometimes)

What sucks:
- plot

Spoiler

It's written like it's a regular superhero comic book adaptation when it shouldn't have. This is a deconstruction of the genre. After binging the new season, I checked out the comics, and as is often the case, the source material is better. In the show, the focus is on the mystery surrounding Five and the people after him etc and the "big bad", when really all of this is a vehicle to explore the dynamics of brilliant mutants who were raised by an overachieving alien. This is the opposite of the X-Men, or at least it looks like it was meant to be.

- character development

The characters are whatever the shitty plot needs them to be. It's always the hint of substance, and that's also a larger criticism for the show itself. The characters aren't quite cardboard cutouts, but in the end the show gave me similar levels of enjoyment as The Order, when it could've been a hell of a lot better.
​

It didn't quite reach the levels of crap that Sabrina did, but hey at least The Order knows it's a cheeseburger in a sea of cheeseburgers. Also kind of a gripe with a lot of content lately that's just a notch above the bare requirements of "acceptable entertainment". Even "edgy" stuff isn't really "edgy" anymore. Replace "edgy" with anything else really and it's like being sold a Beyond Meat Burger when you ordered a medium-rare veal-lamb burger.

 

@Villanelle I would agree with what your saying. Should prolly spoil stuff t hough since this is not a specific thread for Umbrella Academy

Spoiler

I think my biggest issue with the series is that the main character's are all...ultimately, miserable people. None of them are really worth rooting for and they never really grow beyond their hang ups. Even when there seems to be character growth...it's shown off screen.

Don't get me wrong, these are some very solid actors. Can't fault the actors, but the plot they've been given is terrible.

 

Most streaming TV today is replacing substance with glamour. And they don't even all look pretty. Sure, they've got CGI and drone shots, but they use them poorly. And the rare good things like Mindhunter (with David Fincher directing episodes) get cancelled after 2 seasons just like deluge of mediocrity surrounding them.

The only show I honestly look forward to now is The Good Fight, but its 4th season was cut down cause of corona, so I've been rewatching The Good Wife instead.

 

Anyone else enjoying Muppets Now as much as I am?

Basically, it's the original Muppet Show format, but instead of a troupe of entertainers putting on a variety show, they're a bunch of social influencers doing YouTube videos for their subscription channel.

It's a nice return to form, and has reminded me how much I enjoy this type of over the top humor. Piggy getting slapped for her beauty routine had me howling.