What are you watching?

[Kchrpm]

So are EON going to be called racists if they don't hire him when there's some pressure to do so by people with an agenda?

No. People with an agenda will always act with an agenda, but EON will not be labeled racist just for choosing a different actor.

The problem comes from people saying that Bond, or many other characters, CAN'T be black, and that only characters who are written specifically to be black, should be black.

The problem comes from people who see Hunger Games and see a little girl that is murdered, and, because she's black, say they can't feel any sadness. When they read the book, they pictured a little white girl (or the story might have said she was white, but it's basically irrelevant to the character, I forget the details), but since the girl in the movie was black, they couldn't feel sorry for her or any sadness when she was murdered. Yes, that was a thing that people admitted to on the internet.

They also complained about Lenny Kravitz's character being black, despite being apparently described in the book with tanned skin and an afro of thick, black hair.

The problem is with people that think that, unless a character is black, that character can't be black.

Here's one for you: Will Smith almost played Neo in The Matrix. He, like others when they were pitched the first movie, turned down the role because he didn't get it, or how they would pull it off.

Neo's race is never mentioned, never important to any element of the story, and there are other races represented throughout (though the bad guys are almost all white). Think about how many other characters for whom that is true. Think about how many more major movie or television series could plug in a talented non-white actor or actress without having to change a single thing. And then ask yourself why it hasn't been done more.

[Blerpa]

For what is worth, Bond could be an afro woman, called Jamie "James" Bond and I couldn't care less.
Also, people have an agenda? Who. the. fuck. cares.
If you care that much... do not watch the movie.

And the Ghostbusters example is pretty stupid as... 4 retarded comedians do a comedic movie about ghosts and supernatural, all of them coming out of that boring snorefest called Saturday Night Live (I swear, only you americans can laugh at that show, it's 3 year old lame humour, even at the times of James Belushi and his legendary skits): females, males... who cares, they were abysmal idiots all the same. In one case it seemingly worked, in another it dit not (allegedly, I have not seen the new movie). Gender or race has fuck all nothing to do with it.

[MR2 Fan]

Maybe Willow Smith should play the young Han Solo in the prequel

[Freude am Fahren]

All the buzz around Elba has had nothing to do with him being black, and being PC or whatever, just about him being a British badass and a good actor.

It's only really been the backlash that's talked about race.

[thesameguy]

The problem comes from people who see Hunger Games and see a little girl that is murdered, and, because she's black, say they can't feel any sadness. When they read the book, they pictured a little white girl (or the story might have said she was white, but it's basically irrelevant to the character, I forget the details), but since the girl in the movie was black, they couldn't feel sorry for her or any sadness when she was murdered. Yes, that was a thing that people admitted to on the internet.

Man, I'd completely forgotten about that. What a damned clusterfuck. Never wanted to punch so many people in the face in my life.

[Leon]

All the buzz around Elba has had nothing to do with him being black, and being PC or whatever, just about him being a British badass and a good actor.

It's only really been the backlash that's talked about race.

Blacklash?

I'll get my coat ...

[overpowered]

And I'm not saying Idris Elba is too old, but if the studios are trying to hitch their wagon to someone for a decade or more, and the nature of the series is going for bigger physical stunts and close-combat fights, you'd think they'd skew younger in their goal.He's still a few years younger than Roger Moore was when he started, though admittedly, Moore always seemed too old for the role. I always preferred Connery, who retired from the role younger than Moore started it (Moore is three years older than Connery). Bond should ideally be in his early 30's to early 40's; old enough to have a lot of experience but young enough to still kick ass. Craig's a bit old for the role now. If they want someone to do a decade's worth of films, that person should start in the early 30's part of that range. Elba could be good for a film or two but it's kind of weird when Bond is in his 50's, as Moore showed.

I'm not against a black guy playing Bond, though I feel it probably should be a British actor. There seems to be plenty of black British actors.

[Leon]

Watching "Hail Caesar".

How does this crap get made?

[Kchrpm]

Maybe Willow Smith should play the young Han Solo in the prequel

"I don't have a realistic response, so I'll come up with an over-the-top example that has obvious logical flaws which differentiate it from the discussion."

James Bond = character that has been in 20+ films, portrayed by 6 actors (in the official ones)

Han Solo = character that has been in 3 films, portrayed by 1 actor

[Cam]

Where to Invade Next.

[speedpimp]

Watching "Hail Caesar".

How does this crap get made?

Coen Brothers.

[Cam]

Cars vs Bikes.

[overpowered]

Banshee: Final episode felt a bit rushed. They tied everything up with a bow, except for Proctor, though his end is almost certain.

We finally got to see Hood vs. Burton. Not much of a surprise there. Of course, he didn't kill Burton, and the one who did made the most sense.

We never did learn Hood's real name.

Calvin and Kurt's story was pretty much inevitable.

They did leave it open to possibly do more if they want in the future or maybe a movie, as most of the main characters are still alive.

Overall, decent ending for the series.

[speedpimp]

Finished it up nicely as far as I am concerned.

[GreatScawt]

My girlfriend and I have been pretty much binging Parks and Rec. It is quite *literally* the most amazing show we've ever seen. Honestly, to me it's the spiritual successor to The Office (US), but even better. The characters are amazing.

[Leon]

My girlfriend and I have been pretty much binging Parks and Rec. It is quite *literally* the most amazing show we've ever seen. Honestly, to me it's the spiritual successor to The Office (US), but even better. The characters are amazing.

Agree mostly.

First season was painfully bad, then got awesome :)

[GreatScawt]

Completely agree, that first season hit the awkward notes way too hard for my liking. The rest have been spot on :up:

[Cam]

Cars vs Bikes.

Err... I mean Bikes vs Cars.

[Alan P]

Last episode of this season's The Blacklist. Not quite the cliff-hanger they usually come up with.
Last episode of this season's NCIS. Now that's a send-off.
Last episode or Agents of Shield. Not quite the way I expected but I really wish the movies would stop treating the TV Universe like the ginger headed step child and at least acknowledge them at some point. The TV show makes plenty of reference to the MCU, the MCU should do the same.

[novicius]

Still working my way through 'Star Trek: Enterprise'. ;)

[Kchrpm]

The TV show makes plenty of reference to the MCU, the MCU should do the same.
At this point they're very much in passing and barely accurate to the story. Agent of Shield's version of the Sokovia Accords requires the registration of all powered people (like the list SHIELD used to have, and the comic version of Civil War). It's MCU function, as merely stating that the Avengers can only act at the behest of the UN, and that if they choose not to sign that they must retire, is completely different and never mentioned.

The functional difference between "sign this or you can't act as an Avenger" and "sign this if you have powers" are enormous and completely ignored by the TV show, likely because they weren't made aware of what the Sokovia Accords were going to be in the MCU (just like the writers of the movies have almost no idea what's going on in the TV show).

I think we need to accept the fact that, while they all claim to inhabit the same universe, any cross-reference between the Netflix shows, Agents of SHIELD and the movies in the future will be fan service at most.

[MR2 Fan]

I haven't watched Agents of SHIELD but isn't SHIELD basically known as being Hydra after The Winter Soldier movie? How are they working that out (if they are)

[Kchrpm]

Officially, as far as all the governments of the world and the Avengers know, SHIELD no longer exists in any form.

In Agents of SHIELD, we find out that Nick Fury handed the last remnants of SHIELD over to Phil Coulson to act as the new director, who spent approximately a season identifying and eliminating/detaining all of the Hydra agents within SHIELD. Hydra is also acting as its own separate entity wholly outside of SHIELD, with its own facilities and personnel who are no longer pretending to be part of SHIELD.

There are other involved parties, but that is a relatively spoiler-free synopsis of how they have dealt with the SHIELD/Hydra thing.

[Kchrpm]

Related to the discussion of "what if this character was __________?"

http://kotaku.com/uncharted-4-director-says-they-had-to-ask-one-sexist-fo-1778198178


When I’m introducing and describing a new character to our lead character concept artist, constantly she will ask, “What if it was a girl?” And I’m like, Oh, I didn’t think about that. Let me think, does that affect or change anything? No? Cool, that’s different. Yeah, let’s do it.

Initially, in the epilogue, it was Nate’s son. Something similar happened with the mansion they go into. That was an old English guy’s house. She asked, Well, what if it was a woman?

You have some sexist focus testers who were really upset by Nadine beating up Nate, and really upset at the end when it was Nate’s daughter. To the point where we had to ask one guy to leave. In his core, it just affected him. He was cursing, “Not you, too, Naughty Dog! Goddammit. I guess I’m done with Uncharted, if you guys ever make another one, with his daughter. This fucking bullshit.”

And I was like, Wow, why does that matter?

The idea being that characters are often empty vessels that are being created and filled as we go. Often the default, the characteristics that exist as an assumption before we make it important that they are something else, is that they are a white male in his 20s-40s. This is because most of the creative control and financial power in this world is held by white males in their 20s-40s (or at least who feel like that's where they are). It's not necessarily malicious, it's just the way society has developed.

[JoshInKC]

The main characters are established as sort of "secret good-guys who continued operating off-the-books with no official sanction" until midway through this season when they got rolled into some other governmental organization.
Regarding the differences between the sokovia accords - Thats entirely in keeping with the comics. I'm pretty sure the editorial/creative team behind the whole thing never bothered to actually lay out specifics; or if they did, they didn't bother to tell any other writers - In some books it's just let the gov't know your secret identity, in others, it's "You're now employed by the gov't and are not allowed to do any unauthorized heroing. If you do, we're going to imprison you in the negative zone."

[Kchrpm]

That's unfortunate. There's such a huge difference between having to register just because you were born different, and having your freelance police force become government regulated.

[Freude am Fahren]

This could be good:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_f1v0Nx5Sw

[George]

Today is the day the sixth episode of Star Trek Continues is released.

http://startrekcontinues.com/episodes.html

[speedpimp]

Adam Sandler's second Netflix movie, The Do Over, was released yesterday.

[Alan P]

This could be good:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_f1v0Nx5Sw

When does that start? Could be good and Kiefer usually does a decent job.

[Freude am Fahren]

Probably Fall season, no date set AFAIK.

[speedpimp]

Finished up The Night Manager. Very satisfying.

[Cam]

The Man Who Knew Infinity. Sad tale, but I enjoyed it.

[Cam]

Galaxy Quest.

[MR2 Fan]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CjlvGz5UoAI0GOG.jpg

[Leon]

new Top Gear.

Host is a cockhammock, on speed.

[Cam]

Started watching Agents of SHIELD after resisting for a long time. I'm only three episodes in, but I'm enjoying it despite the cheesy bits.

[Alan P]

Started watching Agents of SHIELD after resisting for a long time. I'm only three episodes in, but I'm enjoying it despite the cheesy bits.

From the beginning? I'd urge you to stick with it. It starts to get really good about 6 or 7 episodes in.

[Blerpa]

Re: Agents of SHIELD -I'd say it starts to get decent after episode 13 or 15 of Season 1. Till episode 10 is totally shite, IMHO.
But I've endured and I've watched it all so far. Good run.

FORGOT EDIT: New Top Gear - Le Blanc is surprisingly ok, the show misses a third host, the two celebrities in a rallycross car is overkill (just one is fine) and... Evans MUST DIE. Never seen a most annoying, boring, fake idiot. Just call Ramsay Bolton and let him do his stuff on him, right on telly.

[Cam]

:lol:

Me: I'm actively watching this show that I'm enjoying.
Others: OMG, don't quit you need to keep watching.
Me: But I am watching.
Others: I don't think you understand, you need to keep watching it. It gets good later.
Me: I like it now.
Others: It sucks right now, but keep watching.
Me: :lol: :rolleyes:

[Kchrpm]

But Cam, DON'T GIVE UP ON THE SHOW! You like it now, but it totally changes and you'll hate it later!

[Cam]

I'm pleasantly surprised to see Bill Paxton. He's great. I told myself I wouldn't binge-watch it, but here I am almost through season one. :lol:

[MR2 Fan]

re-watching Star Trek:TNG in HD on Netflix....they really are nicely remastered episodes, look like they were shot yesterday.

[JSGeneral]

Is anyone watching Preacher? The series is only 2 episodes old, and I'm liking what I'm seeing.

[Alan P]

Might give it a bash, heard good things elsewhere too.

[Blerpa]

I watched the first episode of Preacher... felt like a Disney PG-13 version of the original comic.
I'm giving it other 2 episodes to pick up, otherwise I'm going to quit it.

[Kchrpm]

Apparently I should have been watching John Oliver:
http://bgr.com/2016/06/06/john-oliver-last-week-tonight-debt-buying/


And putting his money where his mouth is, Oliver created a debt acquisition company called Central Asset Recovery Professionals (aka CARP, a hilarious reference to the bottom feeding fish) whereupon he bought nearly $15 million worth of medical debt (for about $60,000) and then swiftly forgave said debt, thus freeing approximately 9,000 people in Texas of onerous debt payments. In doing so, Oliver was responsible for the “largest one-time giveaway in television history.”

Take THAT, Oprah! I almost called you Opera, but then fixed it.

[Leon]

Episode #2 of new Top Gear.

Actually not bad :)

[MR2 Fan]

just watched "Now You See Me" 1, since I saw the trailer for the sequel and it looked intriguing...the first one was never on my radar so I decided to give it a go.

It starts out well enough, seemingly along the same lines as Ocean's 11, but then gets too clever for itself and jumps around too much. Also, they decided to forego actually plausible magic tricks for some of it, and used just hollywood effects instead....a missed opportunity.

The plot never seems to be centered and I never felt like I wanted to know more about what was going on...not enough substance.

[thesameguy]

Apparently I should have been watching John Oliver:
http://bgr.com/2016/06/06/john-oliver-last-week-tonight-debt-buying/



Take THAT, Oprah! I almost called you Opera, but then fixed it.

We need to kickstarter this.

[MR2 Fan]

Helen Mirren is going to be in Fast & Furious 8....wow

[overpowered]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpvcc9C8SbM

[Cam]

Overheard on Agents of SHIELD: "It's on Baffin Island, off the coast of Canada." :rolleyes: :lol: :rolleyes:

(Baffin Island is part of Canada.)

I like the show, but at least once an episode, I'm rolling my eyes at it. They like to stretch to boundaries of what is believable.

[Kchrpm]

Hmm. For future reference, what would be the proper way to say that? Off the coast of mainland Canada? I've never actually considered such situations.

[overpowered]

People say Catalina off the coast of California. Catalina is part of California. It's just another one of those weird language artifacts.

[Kchrpm]

Baffin Island is substantially larger than those, though. It's quite the landmass.

[Kchrpm]

They like to stretch to boundaries of what is believable.
That is definitely something they borrow from their comic book heritage.

[Freude am Fahren]

Tasmania, off the coast of Australia? Aleutian Islands, off the coast of Alaska? The Keys, off the coast of Florida? Nantucket or Martha's Vineyard, off the coast of Massachusetts? Madagascar, off the coast of Africa? Sicily, off the coast of Italy? Mykonos, off the coast of Greece? Meh, semantics IMO. There are plenty of issues to be had with the show, but that's a pretty lame on :D

[MR2 Fan]

Baffin Island, off the coast of Canuckistan

[Freude am Fahren]

We have a bit of a running joke in the control room at my station involving "Off Japan." I guess we had a story about something that happened off Japan, like a water rescue or something, and there was debate as to whether it was correct. Then it accidentally aired over some other story. But it's not wrong...

[Phil_SS]

Baffin Island is substantially larger than those, though. It's quite the landmass.

I wouldn't go so far as to call the brother a landmass, I mean he got a weight problem. What's the island gonna do? He's Canadian.

[speedpimp]

I wouldn't go so far as to call the brother a landmass, I mean he got a weight problem. What's the island gonna do? He's Canadian.

:up:

[overpowered]

:lol:

[Cam]

:lol:

[novicius]

:lol:

Y'know I'm kinda tired, I could use a foot massage myself.

[MR2 Fan]

Watching Battlebots Season 2 (well, season 2 on ABC)


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkB2X3lbnGc

[Kchrpm]

Top Gear US. It's better than Top Gear UK right now, and that's not damning with faint praise.

[Leon]

Yup, I'm enjoying US TG more, have been for a while.

They do some road trips in some very pretty places.

[speedpimp]

That and all the hosts are likeable, unlike Chris Evans.

[speedpimp]

Burned through the fourth season of OITNB in four days.

[Kchrpm]

I jinxed it :(

http://jalopnik.com/top-gear-usa-apparently-canceled-by-history-channel-1782663776

[overpowered]

I'm watching Ted 2 on HBO and Patrick Warburton shows up at Comic-con dressed as The Tick!

Am I the only one that laughed about that? (He played the Tick during the short live action TV series).

[Cam]

Midnight Special. I thought it was a compelling film. Too bad it bombed at the box office.
Anomalisa. I really wanted to enjoy this, as it did well at the festivals. Alas, it was so slow paced I shut it off 30 minutes in. Very nice animation though.
Deadpool. Meh. Good action. Jackass humor.
The Peanuts Movie. Nice animation, but I felt like they were just paying homage to Shulz without much story. Meh, should have been 2D animated.
Kung Fu Panda 3. Beautiful animation and action. Very predictable though.

[novicius]

I was lukewarm on Deadpool too -- but we're only going to see more like this.

I did go see The Nice Guys (Ryan Gosling, Russell Crowe, directed by Shane Black) the other week. A period piece set in the '70s, it's a decent flick. Not great writing (or direction for that matter) but Gosling & Crowe are charismatic enough to entertain.

Also serves as a tiny sliver of a (tawdry) homage to L.A. Confidential. :up:

[Alan P]

Bat Vs Supes extended edition. Makes much more sense with the added bits and it certainly improves the movie. From a 5/10 to a 6/10. It's still hellishly long though!

[Drachen596]

Isn't the entire point of Deadpool as a character to be super actiony but immature jackass humor?

Finally saw Mad Max Fury Road. good film, few bits I didn't really like. some bits seemed unnecessary beyond the writers trying to figure out how to do something.

[Kchrpm]

Am I the only one that laughed about that? (He played the Tick during the short live action TV series).

And his boyfriend was played by Michael Dorn, who dressed up as his character from Star Trek. I got a great laugh out of both.

[FaultyMario]

Went through a couple of American Crime episodes on Claro (Mr. Slim's streaming video platform). God, was that boring or what? It's like Homeland, if it was a direct-to-video release and all the characters were as annoying as Dana Brody.

[Freude am Fahren]

Almost done with the first season of Bloodline. Really good show.

[speedpimp]

On the third season of Murder In Paradise. Nice goofy show that isn't too hard on the brain.

Yes, Deadpool is supposed to be sophomoric humor. Wouldn't have it any other way.

[Leon]

I like Murder in Paradise :) Great little show, although I did prefer the original detective.

Watching "The Windsors", a UK pisstake of the royal family. Definitely has some good moments :)

[George]

Finally finished the documentary "Tom Petty: Runnin' Down A Dream". It's FOUR HOURS long. Wow. But, I'd say it was worth the several Netflix sessions it took me to finally get through it all.

[speedpimp]

I like Murder in Paradise :) Great little show, although I did prefer the original detective.


Same here.

[George]

Tonight the "MeTV" channel, which we get both on cable (I hope to end that monthly money drain soon) and via antenna is showing the third season (groan!) Star Trek episode "The Deadly Years".

Something has been bothering me about this episode for years - and I'm talkin' forty years, not just a couple - and that is this:

If you suddenly start aging at an accelerated rate, the hair on your head that you have already grown for the last days/weeks/months should not suddenly turn grey/white.

It seems to me that only new growth would be grey/white, sort of like how we see ladies with dyed hair develop "roots" if they don't visit the beauty parlor in time to hide the effects of different colored hair growing from their scalp between dye jobs.

Not that I'd have any knowledge of how ladies conceal grey hair, since my wife is so young.

(just in case she reads this) :D

[JoshInKC]

I spent most of June living in a nat'l parks service cabin while on a dig in the Ozarks. This cabin had a vcr and a selection of tapes which we watched a few of, most notably the Star Trek original series episode "The City on the Edge of Forever," which I don't think I've seen for 20 years. It was really great. We also watched "Top Gun" and "The Name of the Rose."

[MR2 Fan]

I watched Independence Day: Resurgence....firmly in "meh" territory as expected. The ending of the movie implied there's going to be a third one

[Freude am Fahren]

Chris Evans is leaving Top Gear after one season. So the question is, who will join Matt in studio?

[MR2 Fan]

Bring Tiff back!

[tigeraid]

I'm kinda hoping Harris just joins him in studio.

[Leon]

I'm kinda hoping Harris just joins him in studio.

I tend to agree there. I think that they have too many presenters at the moment, and they are under using Chris H.

[Freude am Fahren]

Yeah, Harris is definitely the best in car films. I think he'd be good in studio as well, especially if they bring back The News. I said in another thread, I think they need three hosts in studio, and eventually dump the "correspondents". Sabine would be great if she were more fluent in English, I think. But I don't know if Matt or Harris can carry the "Jeremy" role. You need a good villain/interviewer type. Three is best, so two can team up on the third.

[Drachen596]

They've said they're not adding anyone to the cast. We will see what happens in the future.

supposedly this last couple episodes had the lowest ratings the shows ever gotten.

[Leon]

Sabine is a good driver, but is a bit giggly / shrieky as a presenter.

Not unlike VBH from 5th Gear. Good driver, but a bit annoying.

[Alan P]

They've said they're not adding anyone to the cast. We will see what happens in the future.

supposedly this last couple episodes had the lowest ratings the shows ever gotten.

They were right up against some important football matches so the live figures don't surprise me. It's the overall figures after catch up and recorded viewings that are more relevant these days.

[speedpimp]

Rutledge Wood is between gigs at the moment.

[Phil_SS]

I think Chris Harris can play the villian. He was banned from driving Ferrari test cars for a few years because he called them out on stuff. I love his reviews on Drive and Chris Harris on Cars. He has the driving chops and a bit of the hoonery to be near a Jeremy. Honestly though, nobody can replace the Orangutan.

Can't wait for The Grand Tour though. And I'll actually get to see it. BBC should do a deal with Netflix to show the new episodes of Top Gear a day later. Might help their numbers as well.

[Freude am Fahren]

That's a good point on Harris being able to play the villain, at least towards the cars manufacturers, but he's too lovable for us to hate him :)

[Cam]

I started to watch the pilot for The Flash. I immediately shut it off when, with the flick of the steering wheel, the main character sent a Mustang for a flying flip through the air from smooth, dry pavement on a flat road. :erm: :rolleyes:

I thought Agents of SHIELD was pushing it when they flew the quinjet under water and into space, then had the audacity to have one of the characters claim that the quinjet was not designed to fly in space. :rolleyes:

[Kchrpm]

Saw Ghostbusters on Thursday. Fun movie, great use of 3D, like a lot of comedies has moments where it's trying a little too hard for the result you get and like a lot of big movies there are several scenes that don't hit like they should because you've seen them in trailers. But during the big climax, I kept thinking "man, I want to see this again." The people that want to hate the movie will be able to find stuff to harp on, but that was going to happen anyway.

Something I didn't even realize until just now: there's not a single forced girl power/feminist moment. There's no one questioning them because they're females or female scientists, it's always just because they're claiming ghosts exist.

[mk]

I watched Get The Gringo and Star Trek Into Darkness.

Finally had to FF the Trek, and in imdb it's 7,8.

[Drachen596]

watched a good number of movies lately. a fair amount including car chases.

Its irritating to watch a vehicle you KNOW has the higher speed, acceleration and handling get chased and even caught up to easily by whats basically a Yugo.
Mission Impossible Rouge Nation? BMW S1000RRs would disappear from the BMW that Tom Cruises character in a second.
Getaway? Really? a Ford GT500 can't escape some little 4 cylinder Soviet cars?

[JoshInKC]

Watched "Stranger Things" on netflix. - Really good show.
Imagine a combination of E.T., The Goonies, Firestarter, and It. All set in the early eighties.

[Drachen596]

Anyone else seen Hardcore Henry?

First time I have ever had motion sickness because of a movie.

[Kchrpm]

Yes. I did not get motion sick, I think I expected more but what was there was very good.

[Drachen596]

could be laptop screen plus headphones causing my issue.

Story line wasn't great but it was odd enough to keep my attention.

[MR2 Fan]

Not sure exactly the best place to put this.

I've been a fan of the youtube automotive news channel Fast Lane Daily, it's not the most incredible channel but it's fun and they covered a lot of info...a few months ago they were bought out by The Drive which is apparently owned by Time Warner....and they've just been told they are being shut down.

This is bullshit. I thought part of the benefits of being on youtube was to prevent issues like "ratings" and "competition" and just do the show you want to do, but now corporate entities are screwing that up for us also.

[Freude am Fahren]

Anybody watching Stranger Things on Netflix?

I'm 5 or 6 episodes in. Love it.

[Leon]

Anybody watching Stranger Things on Netflix?

I'm 5 or 6 episodes in. Love it.

Yup, charged through it in a couple of days. Sooooo good!

[dodint]

I'm not watching it at the moment (obvs), but I have the Ballers title song stuck in my head this morning. (Right Above It – Lil Wayne & Drake)

[novicius]

Anybody watching Stranger Things on Netflix?

I'm 5 or 6 episodes in. Love it.
Oh yeah, also very much a fan. :up: :up:

Season 2 has already been ordered by Netflix.

[tigeraid]

Just thought I'd mention that Preacher is fucking great, and highly recommended.

(Many differences to the comic though, so butt-hurt comic nerds may not like it as much.)

[speedpimp]

Preacher is great as is Outcast. Brent Spiner is in Outcast as the main villain.

[overpowered]

I had no idea that Disney and Salvador Dali ever worked together.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GFkN4deuZU

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Destino

[dodint]

Finally caught up on Blacklist last night.

Obvious twist happened in obvious way.

I might jump off now. Was a great show but they clearly have no respect for their audience if they thought that was clever.

[Alan P]

One of those things that script writers and TV studios aren't ballsy enough to pull off.

[speedpimp]

Vice Principals on HBO. Danny McBride and Walton Goggins as high school vice principals. Great stuff.

[overpowered]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHmaPj9J16s

[Leon]

Vice Principals on HBO. Danny McBride and Walton Goggins as high school vice principals. Great stuff.

I watched two episodes, but didn't even change expression during them. Must be sense of humour that doesn't work for me.

Watched Sharknado 4. Was worse than even I had imagined. So much worse.

[speedpimp]

I watched two episodes, but didn't even change expression during them. Must be sense of humour that doesn't work for me.


It's the darkness of the characters and the awkwardness that makes it watchable.

[Leon]

I was looking for funny though :)

[speedpimp]

The humor is in the same vein as his previous show, East Bound & Down.

[overpowered]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vm1QL1ssEfg

[overpowered]

A real drug crime investigator watches Breaking Bad

http://www.knowable.com/a/a-real-drug-crime-investigator-finally-got-around-to-watching-breaking-bad

[overpowered]

http://www.ew.com/article/2016/08/17/batman-adam-west-burt-ward-julie-newmar-animated

[novicius]

Caught Suicide Squad the other week.

I liked it better the first time around when it was called "48 Hours (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083511/?mode=desktop&ref_=m_ft_dsk)". :lol:

I've liked the director David Ayers' work in the past and this one certainly is in my wheelhouse with all the milspec operator action around the Supers. Very tasty, lots of gunplay, made me want to dust off "The Division" and play it again. :D

But honestly? Felt like the running time was longer than needed. Certainly some slow parts and lagging (and perhaps needless?) introspection. I would have preferred a more tidy cut.

Will Smith was really good IMO, put this cast and movie on his monster shoulders. DC's Deadpool. Margot Robbie was... actually really good too. I did NOT lIke this casting but she did really well with the tortured script. The costume designer should be fired but man does Robbie have the voice/action of Harley Quinn down -- hell, I just tried to ignore how she looked and watch how she acted. YMMV. #shrug

Lastly... The Joker. Leto (and ostensibly director Ayers) really poured on the campiness, to widely-mocked ill-effect. Completely throwing away any vestige of Heath Ledger's anarchist charisma. Just... shit. :thppt: :down:

So... B-? Nah, a C+ movie at best. Fun in parts. Should'a been shorter. :assclown:
Just for reference: Suicide Squad has raked in $572m worldwide (http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=dc2016.htm) and has been #1 at the box office for three weeks in a row.

[Kchrpm]

Odd, I thought Sausage Party beat it in week 2. I know it had a big drop off from week 1 to week 2, if I remember correctly it was steeper than the BvS drop-off.

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=4215&p=.htm

Ah, so it fell off, but was still #1.

[Fogelhund]

I'm watching, "The Night Of", on HBO.

So far, it's pretty good, lot's of twists and turns, and enjoying the metamorphis of the accused.

[novicius]

Odd, I thought Sausage Party beat it in week 2. I know it had a big drop off from week 1 to week 2, if I remember correctly it was steeper than the BvS drop-off.

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=4215&p=.htm

Ah, so it fell off, but was still #1.
Sure but for an absolute filler/B-team movie, $600+ mil is great! :D

So funny how WB and the DCEU can churn out such heavy-handed crap and still make bank. People want to see these characters even if the movies suck (as it were -- personally, I'm enjoying them more than not).

Here's hoping that Geoff Johns can pull the quality of the storytelling up to at least the DC TV level. :up:

[Freude am Fahren]

I'm watching, "The Night Of", on HBO.

So far, it's pretty good, lot's of twists and turns, and enjoying the metamorphis of the accused.

I haven't watched last night's episode, but I haven't figured out yet if it's really a metamorphosis or just an unveiling.

[George]

I saw Star Trek Beyond today. I'm glad I knew nothing about the movie before seeing it. My habit of avoiding trailers and discussions of movies I want to see paid off yet again.

Changing gears slightly, are there any Star Trek Continues fans here?

*crickets chirping*

Okay, well, note to self...a new STC episode, their seventh, comes out this Saturday, September 3.

http://startrekcontinues.com/episodes.html

[novicius]

Hey I dig STC! :D Just haven’t been following religiously. ;)

Suicide Squad now at $635 mil global.That's currently $96 mil more than X-Men: Apocalypse but still trailing Deadpool's insurmountable $782 mil. So Marvel's 2nd tier still handily beats DC's.

Still, that is crazy-good for this 2nd tier flick. :up: :up:

[TheBenior]

If that's crazy good, WB had some really outlandish expectations given their estimated $325 million combined production and marketing costs.

The studio only gets about 50% of the US/Canada box office gross, and as low as 25% in foreign markets. Counting back-end revenue (digital streaming/TV rights, disc sales, etc), Suicide Squad will turn a profit, but it's going to take longer than WB planned.

[novicius]

$325 mil?? Link please.

[Kchrpm]

I can only find the non-official $175 million production budget, and that often the marketing budget is about the same as the production budget for movies. Considering the amount of ad time SS got, it doesn't seem like they skimped on it.

Edit: Considering all the budgets and the box office percentages, I'm seeing $750m needed to break even from a couple places. Who knows how much info those places have, though.

[Phil_SS]

OITNB: Quite a dark season. It feels like next season will be a bit more enlightening and then they should end it.

Mission Impossible Rogue Nation: Thought it was pretty good. And I think it had one of the better car chase scenes in the past few years.

Homeland Season 3: About five episodes in and it has been enthralling. Claire Danes is just so damn good.

Can't wait for Season 2 of Narcos. Plus I should be able watch the last season of Arrow pretty soon. And I hope Timeless lives up to the hype.

And of course, ANW. My daughter and I are huge fans.

[TheBenior]

$325 mil?? Link please.

New York Times (http://mobile.nytimes.com/2016/08/08/movies/making-suicide-squad-a-smash-despite-withering-reviews.html)
They don't list their methodology, and it's all guesswork, but as others have said, it's not a stab in the dark to say that WB spent a lot on marketing. Most estimates start at $100 million spent.

Some people also think that the actual production cost was closer to $200 million when you include rewrites and reshoots.

Even if we take the lower estimates of a $175 million production budget and $100 million on marketing, Suicide Squad has turned a slight profit (domestic $283Mx0.5 + foreign $354Mx0.4 = $283M haul for the studio), but we can presume that WB would like one quite a bit higher given the money spent.

[novicius]

The article is behind a paywall so I'll take your word for it.

[George]

Hey I dig STC! :D Just haven’t been following religiously. ;)

Yeah, I kinda thought you were in the cult too. :up:

As they only put out two or three episodes per year, you don't have to be overly obsessed to keep up. I just click on my STC bookmark once in a while and report the news here when I can.

[novicius]

Yep definitely continue posting updates -- although with the new rules from Paramount regarding fan shows, I wonder how much longer STC will be made?

[speedpimp]

Amazon Prime is having yet another Pilot Season. Up this time around is I Love Dick(w/Kevin Bacon), Jean Claude Van Johnson(starring The Muscles From Brussels as an undercover CIA operative) and The Tick. I liked but didn't love Dick. JCVJ is awesome. The Tick was meh.
Finished up the first season of Red Oaks. Really good show that's set at country club during the summer of '85.

[dodint]

I've heard that JCVJ is great but the premise will probably wear thin pretty quick.
Also heard The Tick blows. No Patrick Warburton? No thanks.

[Freude am Fahren]

I saw Ted 2 recently. Patrick Warburton's character dressing as the Tick at Comic-Con was funny.

Also just watched Demolition (Jake Gyllenhaal as a widower breaks shit). It was okay, but the video Drinking Out of Cups played a role, but was never explained in the movie. It was a fun little inside joke for people that know it.

[novicius]

Watched JCVJ and thought it was decent as a pilot -- but the writing had better keep raising the bar or it'll die like the one-trick pony it is.

[JoshInKC]

ATTN GEORGE:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kM4OPbDIpwc

[George]

Thanks Josh. I'm looking forward to that. Having never watched a new, current series on Netflix, it will be interesting to see if they give us one episode a week, like regular networks, or all the episodes at once.

Coincidentally, I'm currently listening to the very first Longmire book on CD, "Cold Dish". I've heard all the other novels and the compilation of short stories, but I never could find the first book at a library until last week. Like the others, it's good, and something I thought was on the TV show only - a deputy driving a Trans Am - is in this book. Hmm - I always wondered about that on TV, since a T/A isn't your usual law enforcement vehicle or a typical Wyoming car.

[George]

My non-plot-spoiler personal opinion about the latest two Star Trek Continues episodes, numbers 6 and 7, is below.



The nostalgia factor and overall execution of the duplicate sets, uniforms, music, sound effects, and so forth gets a 10 out of 10, and has since Episode 1.

But, to borrow a phrase from a friend, the writing had better keep raising the bar or it'll die like the one-trick pony it is. Some of the episodes were great, but these last two were, well...boring. This latest one had me saying, "wait...what?" way too often.

[FaultyMario]

Stranger Things.

Sfsg.

[speedpimp]

Elvis & Nixon. Kevin Spacey plays Nixon and Michael Shannon plays Tha Kang.

[Kchrpm]

Word from the new guys in charge of the DC movies, brought onboard after BvS and Suicide Squad were (at least mostly) completed: http://io9.gizmodo.com/geoff-johns-on-the-future-of-dc-movies-relax-were-cha-1786394751


“[I]n the past, I think the studio has said, ‘Oh, DC films are gritty and dark and that’s what makes them different.’ That couldn’t be more wrong,” Johns told The Wall Street Journal. “It’s a hopeful and optimistic view of life. Even Batman has a glimmer of that in him. If he didn’t think he’d make tomorrow better, he’d stop.”

The pair admitted many of those changes are first going to be first seen in Zack Snyder’s Justice League, which is almost done filming for a November 2017 release. Berg admitted after seeing the reactions to Batman v Superman, they “accelerated the [Justice League] story to get to the hope and optimism a little faster.”

That film will also “directly address Batman’s extreme actions in [Batman v Superman], such as torturing criminals and nearly killing the Man of Steel, rather than accept them as par for the course.”

[mk]

World Order, the document.

[Freude am Fahren]

Hopefully Justice league will actually be in color.

[novicius]

There is a LOT of gritty to undo in the Snyderverse -- good luck.

[dodint]

I am no longer watching anything. School is hard, my DVR is filling fast. :lol:

[Freude am Fahren]

One episode of Narcos left. Really good show, but it took me a while to get into it because I have to devote all my attention to it, which means not watching at work, and I don't like to watch one episode here and there. It's because of the subtitles. But this past weekend I had some free time and watched S1E5 through S2E9.

[21Kid]

I am no longer watching anything. School is hard, my DVR is filling fast. :lol:
LOL. Shannon and I tried waiting until she was home so we could watch them together. That didn't last too long.

[dodint]

That's part of it, actually. About 80% of what I watch, I watch with Ash. And she's working 8:30am-9pm for a while, so we're watching absolutely nothing together now.

[SportWagon]

So, in the new world order, I need to manually change the digital adapter going into my PVR so it will be on the channel I want. Sometimes if I'm awake in the middle of the night I do it then. Last night, when I changed to the channel which will have Jeopardy! tonight, it was playing an old 1950's What's My Line episode. So I just had to watch for two segments--a guy who market sunglasses for chickens, and a recently immigrated Italian woman working as an anesthetist in a New York hospital. The show was sponsored by Stopette, an early deodorant, and had the integrated sponsorship back then with "Stopette" featured prominently on the set. And they even showed the commercial segment. It had a female ballet-dancing mime performing choreographed to the voice-over, advocating the advantages of Stopette.

[MR2 Fan]

I watched Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV

Good: CG is great...uncanny valley is still there, mostly during dialogue but it's not bad. LOTS of action, most of the movie is action oriented it seems like.

Bad: The plot is cumbersome and confusing, plus the names of things and people are not easy to remember or keep up with.

Badass: the magical power of teleporting wherever you throw your knife to

[Cam]

Snowden. Oliver Stone film. I enjoyed it.

[Leon]

First episode of Big Bang new season.

Hrrmmmmm. Okay, that kind of sucked.

[speedpimp]

Finished the first season of Vice Principals. Hell of a way to end it.

[dodint]

I forgot all about that show.

Wonder if there is a new Ballers I haven't seen.

[speedpimp]

New season is either in progress or starting soon.

[dodint]

Yeah, it's already 9 episodes in. I just watch it on the HBOGo App and sometimes forget about it. That's how I lost track of Vice Principals. That and it's a mediocre show, it's just missing something.

[George]

Longmire, Season 5, on Netflix started last night. I saw episode 1 after getting the kids to bed. It's as good as ever.

And, I'm going to see Longmire author Craig Johnson at a bookstore near my office this coming Wednesday evening. He's on a book tour for the latest novel, which is nicely timed with the start of season 5 of the TV show, too. I assume he will be autographing books, and if so, I'm going to get one signed for my brother-in-law and send it to him back east. He's the one who suggested I might like the Longmire mysteries. Actually, some of you might have as well, but he's the one I listened to. :)

[JoshInKC]

Yeah, I've managed to watch through episode 7 of the new season while reviewing papers this weekend.
Still pretty damn good. Though I am beginning to get real annoyed at Walt for the way he treats Nighthorse and Matthias like @ssholes who couldn't possibly be on the side of right.

[speedpimp]

I'm on vacation until next Weds. Yesterday I watched Hail, Caesar! and The Revenant. Today it was The Nice Guys.

[novicius]

Very nice! You're on a roll, Rich! :D

[Leon]

First episode of Lethal Weapon.

Well, okay, make that the first 16 minutes of Lethal Weapon.

*So* bad that it invoked the stop / delete from hard drive combo.

[speedpimp]

Yesterday was Sicario, good flick. Turns out they are doing a sequel based around Benicio Del Toro's character.

[Alan P]

Loved the cinematography in Sicario.

Designated Survivor. Decent enough so far.
MAoS. Has potential, even though it seems to be Ghost Driver, not Ghost Rider.

[speedpimp]

The landscape shot when they were flying near the beginning was very nice.

[21Kid]

Season 6 of The Walking Dead... finally.

/spoiler - people die.

[dodint]

I'm done with TWD. Same shit, different season. I watched it so I could talk about it with my Dad, and I'm kind of mad at him for wasting my time.

;)

[21Kid]

:lol:

Isn't most television a waste of time? ;)

[speedpimp]

Caught an episode of Kevin Can Wait last night. Fucking horrible.

[Blerpa]

I'm done with TWD. Same shit, different season. I watched it so I could talk about it with my Dad, and I'm kind of mad at him for wasting my time.

;)

I think I'll watch to see what Neegan is about but after that I'll be probably quitting: exactly same shit rehashed zillion times. Nothing really interesting pushes the story forward anymore since one or two season, at best.

[speedpimp]

Digging into the new Longmire. Luke Cage drops tomorrow.

[Cam]

Watched a few episodes of Luke Cage. I'm interested.

[JSGeneral]

Westworld. Holy Shit! :up:

[novicius]

Luke Cage. I gotta say that while I'm enjoying the setting/dialog/acting, the direction has been very hit-or-miss. :|

The show has definitely had more highs than lows tho'! :up:

[Freude am Fahren]

Westworld. Holy Shit! :up:

Can't wait to watch this!

High Maintenecne is great. I've just started watching the old webisodes from before HBO picked it up. They're just little like vignettes, but still pretty funny. The latest HBO episode about the dog was great.

[Cam]

Watched the first episode of Daredevil. I'm interested, but I think the guy that plays Foggy is questionable.

[21Kid]

Watched the first episode of Daredevil. I'm interested, but I think the guy that plays Foggy is questionable.
I think he matches his character...

Initially, Foggy was portrayed as a deeply conflicted character, continuously caught between his strong vocational disagreements with Matt, their rivalry for the affections of Karen Page, and his loyalty to his friend. Despite being a highly successful lawyer, he is also tormented by feelings of inferiority to his law partner. However, since the early 1980s he has often been reduced to comic relief, and his down-to-earth, everyman lifestyle acts as a contrast to his grim superhero colleague, who in the early decades of the series was the happy-go-lucky element of the team.

[21Kid]

Westworld. Holy Shit! :up:

I meant to watch that. I take this response that I probably should.

Luke Cage. :up: I'm kind of surprised that they got right to his powers. There wasn't much build up like there was with Daredevil or Jessica Jones.

[tigeraid]

Westworld's premiere was fucking OUTSTANDING. So much confusion and unanswered questions though, I think it's one of those shows you have to reeeeeally tough it out for the whole damn season to get an idea of what's going on.

The score is spectacular though, and it looks amazing.

[21Kid]

As long as it's not like Lost. I couldn't stand that crap.

[speedpimp]

Have never seen an episode of Lost.

[JSGeneral]

As long as it's not like Lost. I couldn't stand that crap.

I'd say it's not like Lost. But I am biased. Westworld has me hooked. I have so many theories from the first episode, and some questions that have no theories... yet. The premier promised that this seems like a show that is gonna give the viewers grisly action, suspense, engaging characters, and philosophical challenges. All this takes place in a stark blend of two locals: An old western landscape that is beautiful, sunny, and bright but with dark atrocities happening there... And a tech building running the attraction that tends to be full of glass, concrete, and clean lines... but is still somehow dark, ugly, and fluorescent lit at the same time. Also, it could be argued that even darker atrocities are happening at this control facility.

The acting is incredible.

All of this was displayed in the first show and this "new comer" (or is it "host") is ready to ride this train to the destination.

And even if it is exactly like Lost (which it gave no indication of being true)... Wouldn't you be interested in seeing Lost with Anthony Hopkins, Ed Harris, and a whole lot of hot naked chicks? If you like that kind of philosophical challenge, then this is the show for you. ;)

[novicius]

Luke Cage. I gotta say that while I'm enjoying the setting/dialog/acting, the direction has been very hit-or-miss. :|

The show has definitely had more highs than lows tho'! :up:
Finally finished up Luke Cage. :cool:

The acting is *great* in parts, the direction is *great* in parts, the writing is incredibly strong throughout (no pun intended) -- but there are long scenes that are kinda mediocre and the blame starts with Mike Colter himself. He's actually kinda nerdy (IMO). :lol:

Maharshala Ali, Alfre Woodard and even Theo Rossi ("Juice" from Sons of Anarchy) are magnetic. Relative newcomer Simeon Misseck does a really good job with a seriously meaty dramatic role.

But Colter? Just seems to have one note, kind of on par with Erik LaRey Harvey's performance. Eh, I'm nitpicking -- the true star is Harlem and the music. Top-notch, brilliantly selected and as educational as it is entertaining. :up: :up:

Will be interesting to see where Marvel goes from here with Luke Cage... ;)

[speedpimp]

Finished up Longmire. With so many loose ends they are pretty much guaranteed a sixth season to tie it all up.

[21Kid]

Westworld. Holy Shit! :up:Finally got around to watching it. :D :up: I love the music.
Great premise and leaves a lot of possibilities. And the acting is top notch! I look forward to seeing where they go with it.

Watching Luke Cage as well. About 1/2 in, but I think it's great so far. The music has been great. I'm still on the fence about Maharshala Ali. I loved him in House of Cards. But he doesn't come off as a strong bad buy, like Vincent D'Onofrio did as Kingpin. And while I loved Theo Rossi in SoA, I get the same feeling from him. :|
Maybe it's because the cast otherwise is soooo amazing, that someone who's just pretty good, stands out more. Everyone in DD, JJ, and the rest of the actors in Luke Cage are 10/10. Or, maybe it's just me. :D
The music is great. :cool:

[novicius]

Eh, I'm nitpicking -- the true star is Harlem and the music. Top-notch, brilliantly selected and as educational as it is entertaining. :up: :up:
Luke Cage brought me here. #mmm-mm


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADrWgBZeXqY

:up: :up:

[21Kid]

The Luke Cage Playlist on Spotify (https://play.spotify.com/user/marvel_music_/playlist/0f5Amxafaiq8N0120Y5s8A)

[Freude am Fahren]

BTW, Westworld episode two is has been available for streaming early on HBOGo.

[George]

Finished up Longmire. With so many loose ends they are pretty much guaranteed a sixth season to tie it all up.

Good to know. I'm creeping through them at a snail's pace to make them last - and because I don't have lots of time for TV watching. I last stopped about five minutes into episode 4 (season 5), I think...the one that starts out with...

...a badge on the highway.

[speedpimp]

Matter of fact they've got more than enough storylines/plot points for two more seasons. Keep an eye on the red head nurse and pay attention to the questions she asks Ferg when they go on a trip. That could be nothing or it could be a major storyline for next season.

[George]

Hmm, interesting. I've noticed that she has become a semi-regular. I'll pay attention.

Turns out I'm in episode 6, not 4. I watched more of it yesterday and, in it, she uses Ferg's first name for what I think must be the first time in this series, and she calls him Archie.

I was surprised, since in the books, the Ferg's first name is Jim.

But I should be used to differences between the books and the TV show by now.

Speaking of that, when I saw Craig Johnson at a book signing recently, the differences between the two came up - not surprisingly - and he took some questions about why certain people in the books aren't in the TV show. He said a couple of them were going to be in the future. That's another hopeful sign, along with enough storylines/plot points for two more seasons, for lots more Longmire.

[21Kid]

Mo, I forgot you aren't on bookface any more. Isn't this the show that you suggested?

http://www.hulu.com/underground-wgn

[George]

[RE: Longmire] Keep an eye on the red head nurse and pay attention to the questions she asks Ferg when they go on a trip. That could be nothing or it could be a major storyline for next season.

I've seen that episode now and kept waiting for her to say something interesting, but I confess I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. I will go back and fast-forward to their scenes in that episodes (#6, I think) and try again.

I "accidentally" finished Longmire a couple days ago, because I didn't know there were only ten episodes. That's not a season! I demand my money back! :lol:

I thought there would around twice that many, but looking back at Seasons 1 - 4, I see the number has been pretty consistent. I guess the difference was when I first got Netflix and/or started watching Longmire, all four seasons were available, so it seemed like there were tons of episodes.

Last night after getting the kids to bed, I flipped on the TV and chose something I've heard good things about here: Luke Cage. It was an easy choice, since they're promoting it is the first thing you (or at least I) see after logging in. Before I knew it, the first two episodes were over and I was starting the third, way, WAY past my bedtime.

Cool show. I look forward to more.

And I know nothing about this guy. I didn't even realize it was going to be a Marvel super-hero show. Interesting that they've given us almost none of his back-story. You know, like they show Bruce Banner being blasted with gamma rays, or Peter Parker being bitten by a spider. What's up with this dude? Does he take two spoons of cement mix with his coffee or something? If he liked coffee, that is. ;)

Shh! Don't tell me. I don't wanna know, so it will be a surprise when (I assume) they get into his past in the TV show.

[SportWagon]

I quite regularly watch a religious channel for its retro drawcards (now for Jeopardy!). If I've left it on and look in the middle of the night they have old Goodson/Todman game shows. (Packaged by/as Buzzr). Actually from the early sixties but with production values from the middle-to-late fifties. Including heavily integrated commercials.

So Johnny Carson spent some time as a panelist on To Tell the Truth? As did Tom Poston, never a superstar, but recognizable as a younger, much more suave version of the handyman from Newhart.

Peachtree (WPCH) is showing repackaged Pawn Stars. (No more "Depending on who you ask"). Is Pawn Stars going to move off History?

[MR2 Fan]

binge-watching Parks and Recreation...yes I'm about 7 years late

[novicius]

Still a great show -- my wife & I will pop on an Ep from time to time. :up:

The sight of Andy swinging on his crutches with no pants is high-larious. :lol: #censored

[21Kid]

Same here. We put it, or Scrubs, on sometimes when we want a quick laugh.

[MR2 Fan]

I also have a thing for Aubrey Plaza

[Freude am Fahren]

Who doesn't, right?

[George]

This is silly, but I just clicked into the Epic Fails thread and saw this GIF again. However, having watched the first two episodes of Luke Cage, I did a double- , if not an actual triple-take when I saw this:

https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--1t2Rc-Tg--/c_scale,fl_progressive,q_80,w_800/pcgodzrzz4kvqnmlexfj.gif

People who haven't seen Luke Cage will have no idea what I'm talking about, and that's okay.

[neanderthal]

Luke Cage.

[speedpimp]

Pawn Stars[/b]. (No more "Depending on who you ask"). Is Pawn Stars going to move off History?

Highly doubt it. Thing is they have enough episodes to go into syndication and they might as well strike while that iron is hot.

[speedpimp]

Finished up Goliath. Well into the second season of Ash Vs. Evil Dead. Just started on Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency.

[dodint]

The Andy Griffith Show.

It holds up.

No wonder conservatives are so upset, seems like early 60s were a pretty great place.

[Cam]

I was at the Subaru dealership yesterday getting my car serviced. There is a TV in the waiting area. It was on, but muted, thankfully. Let's Make A Deal was on when I got there, then The Price Is Right came on after. I would look up once in a while from playing games on my phone to be disturbed by what I saw. First of all, I was surprised to see Drew Carey hosting TPIR. Everyone, including the audience, must be prompted to look happy and smile all the time. The contestants look like they're hamming up their reactions for the camera; so melodramatic. :lol: Then, there were the commercials. :rolleyes: It all reminds me why I do not watch TV.

[Phil_SS]

Drew Carey has been hosting The Price is Right for 9 years. And The Price is Right has been the same show for 40 years. It's always been about hamming it up and being excited when you get picked and asking the audience for answers when you don't know them and jumping around when you win etc.

Stop acting like you've been offended by it.

[dodint]

:lol:

[TheBenior]

:lol:

[Cam]

:rolleyes:

[George]

In this important election year, I urge my fellow GTXF citizens to vote for Cam for Curmudgeon!

[MR2 Fan]

Just a quick note...I've been here in Manila for a few days, my gf has to work so I got to watch a bit of TV (I don't have cable at home).

I saw a bit of the game show "Minute to Win It"....what's interesting is that they TOTALLY borrowed a ton of feel/design from the Wip3out video games. I even posted on The Designer's Republic FB group to see if they had any input because it's SOOO similar, fonts, graphics, voiceovers


I also watched Doctor Strange, another very good MARVEL Movie. The effects are just unreal and happen frequently throughout the movie. The kind of work that had to go into it must have been insane...or they just had computer algorithms make the work easier? I'm really hoping for an in-depth "behind the scenes" offering on the Blu-Ray

Edited to add, Doctor Strange does feel a bit like The Matrix as well

[mk]

Requiem for the American Dream

[George]

I saw the new Jack Reacher movie today, "Never Go Back".

I liked it, and felt like I was watching Jack Reacher on the screen, not a guy auditioning for the role of Reacher. I was among the many who thought Tom Cruise was the wrong guy for the role when the first movie came out, but I'm over that now. He does a fine job.

In other Reacher news, the 21st novel, "Night School", will be released in book stores in the USA tomorrow, November 7.

[Kchrpm]

As I sat through the whole movie, I wondered what your opinion would be on it. I was disappointed for various reasons, I'm just not as ready to suspend my disbelief with Jack Reacher as I am with James Bond.

[George]

Oh, there were certainly some moments when I decided not to worry about things and just enjoy myself. See, part of my fun is getting away from weekend family duties and household chores and all that stuff and getting to go sit in a theatre for a couple of hours,

I'm sure as time goes by, I'll read some reviews and commentary, now that I will allow myself to do so, and I'll say, "Yeah! That was messed up!". But for now, I'm happy.

I will say that every scene involving one person had me thinking, "wait...what?!"

The lifer colonel defense lawyer...especially the second time we saw him with Reacher, outdoors. I felt like I had dozed off and missed twenty minutes of the movie or something.

[speedpimp]

Finishing up Quarry on Cinemax. It's your basic Marine returns to Memphis from Vietnam and becomes a hit man show. Lots of good music in the show. Definitely not as over the top as Banshee.

[novicius]

duplicate

[novicius]

Caught Doctor Strange yesterday -- much to my surprise I sincerely liked it! :up: :up:

I say that after having really disliked the casting of Benedict Cumberbatch, but yeah, he did great. Very watchable, very insufferable, really groveled for the jokes and played the part of fallen rich guy to the fullest. Nice work.

Regarding the discussions about whitewashing:

Personally I was also not thrilled about the casting of Tilda Swinton as 'The Ancient One'. She is a great actress and it's arguably better to cast a non-Asian in a role best described as "inscrutable" so as not to reinforce stereotypes at best (or risk appearing racist at worst!). Nonetheless I am a firm believe that it is entirely possible to write a strong Asian woman character that breaks the label of "Dragon Lady". Would have much preferred to see Michelle Yeoh / Joan Chen / other Asian woman over 40 in the role. $0.02.
The CGI was of course amazing -- definitely see this in 3D. The plot was (perhaps predictably) the weakest aspect but the solutions and additions to the basic origin story routine was enjoyable, especially the final battle. :lol:

[21Kid]

As I sat through the whole movie, I wondered what your opinion would be on it. I was disappointed for various reasons, I'm just not as ready to suspend my disbelief with Jack Reacher as I am with James Bond.
I just watched the last Mission Impossible movie... whatever it was called, from last year. And they are just getting ridiculous.
I have yet to watch the last Bond movie... Spectre I think? But I don't think it can be nearly as impossible to believe.

[speedpimp]

Spectre is the next to weakest of the Daniel Craig batch. It's on Amazon Prime.

[George]

I read some Jack reacher movie reviews today.

Okay, I won't disagree, but I like the character and it's great to see him do his thing.

"Look, he's drinking coffee! Yup. That's Jack Reacher, alright. Great writing and acting!" :lol:

[Blerpa]

Spectre is the next to weakest of the Daniel Craig batch. It's on Amazon Prime.

Agreed, sorely disappointed, especially since I liked the idea behind the story...

[21Kid]

I started watching Spectre on Amazon Prime and fell asleep. :lol: Not sure if I want to try again.

[MR2 Fan]

I started watching Spectre on Amazon Prime and fell asleep. :lol: Not sure if I want to try again.

Definitely not as good as Skyfall

[G'day Mate]

Black Mirror

[Alan P]

I started watching Spectre on Amazon Prime and fell asleep. :lol: Not sure if I want to try again.

Sleeping was more exciting, believe me.

[Kchrpm]

Blerpa: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4300480/

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BYThmMGNhYWMtYzkwMy00YTU0LWI0OWYtMzJiMjMzMWQwNT NhXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTc0MzMwMTc@._V1_SY1000_CR0,0,70 0,1000_AL_.jpg


Giulia is a young promise of GT racing. When her life falls apart, her only hope is her brother, a drug addict and former rally champion.

Tell us more, please.

[Blerpa]

See it if you can, it is the story a honest poor divided family has to overcome their own demons to get the younger talent (the girl) to shine.
There are the usual mix: real italian GT sequences, Porsche Cup, some urban shenanigans and some illegal fast n furious style night race (with a Pug T16 from Group B, no less!). It was quite ok, my girlfriend liked it a lot.

[Blerpa]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBye1KgIblk

[Kchrpm]

I couldn't find it on any of the streaming or video purchasing services I have access to, may have to do some shenanigans.

[Yw-slayer]

Hey, that trailer looks awesome!! I DON'T KNOW HOW THE STORY WILL PROGRESS OR END :? :? :? but the driving scenes look good. There's also an 86 and a WRX, so...

[FaultyMario]

Just finished watching season 4 of Orphan black.

[Leon]

Crazyhead (UK).

Kind of has a Buffy vibe about it, but with a very English spin.

[neanderthal]

The Crown. Netflix.

[speedpimp]

Finishing up the third season of Peaky Blinders. Tried watching the first episodes when the show debuted a few years ago and got sidetracked. Been catching up since last weekend. Really good show.

[JoshInKC]

Yeah, that's a fun one. I can't get enough of the Tom Hardy character.

[Alan P]

Watched two episodes of Shooter. I can't really work out why they'd redo the movie, only changing a couple of points, over a series. There are plenty of other books out there that they could have redone. I'd love to see an Amazon/Netflix/HBO effort of, say, Clancy's Rainbow Six or Without Remorse.

Sorry, should have said, it's actually decent, just an almost complete retread of the movie.

[Leon]

Second episode of The Grand Tour (Clarkson etc).

So boring and unoriginal that I stopped watching it.

Gosh a pretend military base. We've never seen that before (other than on every car show ever made).

[speedpimp]

Watched Star Wars The Force Awakens. Total waste of two and a half hours. I guess that things we enjoyed as kids become quite unenjoyable as adults.

[Blerpa]

The Grand Tour first episode: oh, ok. Where are the automative news and the celebrities? The hypercar segment lead to a dumb end. Half-assed. OTOH, I don't know why I should care anymore to watch any future Top Gear shows when I've the gibbon and the two other stooges on The GT. BBC better close the show down and save some money.
The Young Pope tv series: mesmerizing.
Gave up on Westworld: boring glossy tripe.
Fantastic Animals and bla bla: terrible acting, awful screenwriting, totally unsympathetic white main characters, zero love chemistry, gorgeous monsters. Oh, Jacob is the best and Grindenwald is right, while the "good ones" are damn idiots.

[Freude am Fahren]

I'm looking forward to The Young Pope. Doesn't start here until January.

[Cam]

Season 4 of Agents of SHIELD seems hokey.

[Leon]

I'm getting to the scratching my head stage with Westworld. Trying to work out what is future or past in the robot memories is starting to try my patience, which isn't good, considering I think that is ultimately going to be the endgame / plot twist / reveal.

Watched episode 2 of The Grand Tour. Boring, and has been done by every other car TV show already.