What Have You Been Recently Watching

[Sock Monkey]

I like Jude, especially in Gattaca, which is a fantastic movie. Bateman really rubs me the wrong way.

Regardless of that I will check this show out. I've avoided it because of Bateman but always willing to give something a try.

Gattaca is so good and still criminally underrated.

[Ben Staad]

I like Jude, especially in Gattaca, which is a fantastic movie. Bateman really rubs me the wrong way.

Regardless of that I will check this show out. I've avoided it because of Bateman but always willing to give something a try.

Both Law and Bateman are rather hit-or-miss for me

[Sock Monkey]

Watched a series called Black Rabbit on Netflix, starring Jude Law and Jason Bateman. The duo star as a pair of estranged brothers, one on the rise with a hip new restaurant and the other a recovering addict ne'er do well, whose lives intersect once more, initiating a series of events that threaten to unravel both of their worlds. My closest frame of reference would be something akin to the Matt Damon/Edward Norton film Rounders, though not set around poker. While the show pushes it to the edge with a few too many complications, I found this really entertaining. Both Law and Bateman are rather hit-or-miss for me, both do a great job. I'm not entirely sure it sticks the landing, but I did enjoy the ride.

[Sock Monkey]

I've fallen way behind in my Marvel shows...The movies have been so mediocre that I've kind of lost the will to watch the shows, especially since we have the ad tier of Disney, and they have so many that it saps my will to live. But I do love Kingsley's MCU character...he was the high spot of SHANG-CHI. I'll have to see if my wife is willing to give this a go with me.

I'd say give it a shot. If you go in looking for more of a character-driven piece with shades of the MCU, you'll probably enjoy it. And I agree the Marvel movies have struggled as of late. I think the problem with some of them (Shang-Chi, Captain America 4, and The Marvels) is they felt like half-formed ideas rather than full-meal movies. This might have worked way back in the early days where people were just happy to see superheroes on the screen, but that time has passed. It's a shame that Thunderbolts didn't do that well because I felt it was a return to form, much more so than Fantastic Four. Here's hoping the return to only 2-3 movies per year and squashing these television shows will help out with quality.

[dannyboy121070]

Checked out Wonder Man, the newest Marvel show on Disney+ and I thought it was pretty great. Replacing all the superhero fisticuffs for an intimate story of two acting misfits on the opposite end of their careers trying to land a big movie, Wonder Man easily rises above the majority of Marvel shows and really shines. Ben Kingsley always delivers an interesting performance, but Yahya Abdul Mateen II gives a standout performance as the insecure, anxiety-ridden Simon Williams. My only complaint is the last episode really needed another ten to fifteen minutes to fully develop the repercussions from the previous episode's finale. I don't know if this will convert non-Marvel watchers, but those still on board the Marvel train will have a lot to enjoy. Easily the best Marvel show so far.

I've fallen way behind in my Marvel shows...The movies have been so mediocre that I've kind of lost the will to watch the shows, especially since we have the ad tier of Disney, and they have so many that it saps my will to live. But I do love Kingsley's MCU character...he was the high spot of SHANG-CHI. I'll have to see if my wife is willing to give this a go with me.

[Sock Monkey]

Checked out Wonder Man, the newest Marvel show on Disney+ and I thought it was pretty great. Replacing all the superhero fisticuffs for an intimate story of two acting misfits on the opposite end of their careers trying to land a big movie, Wonder Man easily rises above the majority of Marvel shows and really shines. Ben Kingsley always delivers an interesting performance, but Yahya Abdul Mateen II gives a standout performance as the insecure, anxiety-ridden Simon Williams. My only complaint is the last episode really needed another ten to fifteen minutes to fully develop the repercussions from the previous episode's finale. I don't know if this will convert non-Marvel watchers, but those still on board the Marvel train will have a lot to enjoy. Easily the best Marvel show so far.

[Sock Monkey]

Yikes. I looked it up and Fallout 3 was released in October of 2008. The original was released for PC's in 1997. I feel really old seeing things like this as I hadn't heard of it before Amazon started advertising for the show.

I'm very much out of the video game loop. The last game I actively played was Diablo for Playstation which, according to Google, was released in 1998.

I try really hard not to do the math on when movies and stuff came out. It, more than anything else, makes me feel old. Looking at my favorite movies' release dates reminds me that decades, not years, have passed since their release. How the heck can Seven be over 30 years old?!

[Ben Staad]

Yikes. I looked it up and Fallout 3 was released in October of 2008. The original was released for PC's in 1997. I feel really old seeing things like this as I hadn't heard of it before Amazon started advertising for the show.

I'm very much out of the video game loop. The last game I actively played was Diablo for Playstation which, according to Google, was released in 1998.

I played Fallout 3 a hecka long time ago and enjoyed the game. I never went deep on the lore and whatnot so I, also, cannot compare it to the game. However, it was a lot more fun than I thought it would be. Looking forward to season two.

[Sock Monkey]

I enjoyed the first season of Fallout. I went into it knowing nothing about the franchise. I'm not a gamer or around that world so I had no expectations.

I played Fallout 3 a hecka long time ago and enjoyed the game. I never went deep on the lore and whatnot so I, also, cannot compare it to the game. However, it was a lot more fun than I thought it would be. Looking forward to season two.

[Ben Staad]

I enjoyed the first season of Fallout. I went into it knowing nothing about the franchise. I'm not a gamer or around that world so I had no expectations.

[sholloman81]

Finished two "new" seasons of shows. First up is Alien: Earth. I had started watching this a while back, but my wife tapped out after a few episodes and then my school schedule got in the way. I decided to restart it over the winter break and found it to be a mixed bag. I didn't find the kids-in-adult-bodies aspect to be as annoying on rewatch and the show does a good job expanding the world. However, there are a couple of things that I really did not like. I'll put these in spoilers to be safe.

Spoiler!

First up is the "good" Xenomorph storyline. I thought that Chris Pratt making friends with raptors in Jurassic World was stupid and I think Wendy's ability to communicate/control a Xenomorph is equally as dumb. I also really hate how powerful they make Wendy. When there is a reveal about a person being a synth and a possible fight was about to start between Wendy and that person, I was pretty excited...and then Wendy can just freeze them because "they're on the network." It just feels like lazy writing.

These things being said, I'm still willing to give the second season a shot. I think I would have enjoyed the show better if it followed the format of Noah Hawley's other series Fargo and was more of an anthology, but Hawley seems to have a long-term plan in the works and I'm willing to give him a little more rope.

The other show as the first season of Fallout. I originally tapped out after the first episode, but decided to give it another shot and wound up liking it quite a bit by the time the final episode of the season rolled around. I wish there was some more breathing room in some of the plot twists, but Walter Goggins absolutely kills it in his "dual" roles of The Ghoul and Cooper Howard. Looking forward to catching up with season two once it finishes up.

I don't stream, so I haven't seen Alien Earth but I really want to at some point. Hopefully, there will be a physical release up the road. I did see the first season of Fallout. It did take a few episodes to grow on me, but by the end, I really loved it.

[Sock Monkey]

Finished two "new" seasons of shows. First up is Alien: Earth. I had started watching this a while back, but my wife tapped out after a few episodes and then my school schedule got in the way. I decided to restart it over the winter break and found it to be a mixed bag. I didn't find the kids-in-adult-bodies aspect to be as annoying on rewatch and the show does a good job expanding the world. However, there are a couple of things that I really did not like. I'll put these in spoilers to be safe.

Spoiler!

First up is the "good" Xenomorph storyline. I thought that Chris Pratt making friends with raptors in Jurassic World was stupid and I think Wendy's ability to communicate/control a Xenomorph is equally as dumb. I also really hate how powerful they make Wendy. When there is a reveal about a person being a synth and a possible fight was about to start between Wendy and that person, I was pretty excited...and then Wendy can just freeze them because "they're on the network." It just feels like lazy writing.

These things being said, I'm still willing to give the second season a shot. I think I would have enjoyed the show better if it followed the format of Noah Hawley's other series Fargo and was more of an anthology, but Hawley seems to have a long-term plan in the works and I'm willing to give him a little more rope.

The other show as the first season of Fallout. I originally tapped out after the first episode, but decided to give it another shot and wound up liking it quite a bit by the time the final episode of the season rolled around. I wish there was some more breathing room in some of the plot twists, but Walter Goggins absolutely kills it in his "dual" roles of The Ghoul and Cooper Howard. Looking forward to catching up with season two once it finishes up.

[Ben Staad]

Agreed. She was great in Saul from start to finish.

Pluribus is definitely worth a watch. Critically, the show is being lauded, but seems to be divisive with the general public. I'd suggest going in with tempered expectations and the mindset the show is more character study than sci-fi thriller. Rhea Seehorn is fantastic in it and deserves the recognition she is getting. How she didn't win an award for Better Call Saul is beyond me.

[Sock Monkey]

Pluribus: I'm looking forward to trying this show in the future. I'm glad you didn't think it is a mess. Love BB, Saul, and so many of the actors from those shows.

I wasn't able to engage with Stranger Things. I really tried and it just didn't work for me. I think season 2 was my last watch.

Pluribus is definitely worth a watch. Critically, the show is being lauded, but seems to be divisive with the general public. I'd suggest going in with tempered expectations and the mindset the show is more character study than sci-fi thriller. Rhea Seehorn is fantastic in it and deserves the recognition she is getting. How she didn't win an award for Better Call Saul is beyond me.

[Ben Staad]

Pluribus: I'm looking forward to trying this show in the future. I'm glad you didn't think it is a mess. Love BB, Saul, and so many of the actors from those shows.

I wasn't able to engage with Stranger Things. I really tried and it just didn't work for me. I think season 2 was my last watch.

Finished two shows. First up is Pluribus from Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan. Taking a hard right from crime dramas and into science fiction, Pluribus details an alien invasion where every person on the planet is joined to a hive mind save one woman named Carol played by Rhea Seehorn. After a fantastic first episode, the series kind of meandered a bit for me during the next few episodes and I thought about ditching it. However, the last half of the season picked up the pace and I wound up enjoying it. I'm not quite sold on the show as I was with Breaking Bad, but Better Call Saul had a slow start and wound up being a fantastic show, so I'm willing to continue on when the next season comes around. I mean, Gilligan deserves a little leeway considering he ended the Breaking Bad universe THREE times and nailed each one. Also, I loved Seehorn in Better Call Saul and it's great to see hear take the lead in a new series.

Finally got around to watching the final season of Stranger Things. I know there is a lot of love for this show at there, but looking back over it's five season run, I feel there's been a whole lot more misses than hits. I think I'm in the minority because I thought the first half of the season was incredibly bad. The acting was stilted, the writing was awkward, and plot contrivances multiplied like bunnies. The second half was a step in the right direction and I applaud the show for trying to be epic. Despite these issues and others (but I don't want to get into spoilers), the final season was okay and wrapped up everything nicely. I'm curious as to what the show's legacy is going to be and how it will be reevaluated down the line.