General Netflix Discussion-TV Shows

[Ben Staad]

Cool. I don't have the apple deal but I will check out Usher. I've always skipped over it with the thought at the back of mind that I would be underwhelmed.

My wife and I just finished watching all four seasons of FOR ALL MANKIND on Apple+, and I can't recommend it enough. It's an alternate history of NASA spinning out of the notion of Russia being first on the moon. It was a real "I hate to go to bed because I need to keep watching"  type of TV show. We're both bummed that we have to wait who-knows-how-long for season five.

We also watched Mike Flanagan's THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER on Netflix, which we both really enjoyed. It took a few episodes for me to get into, maybe because ALL of the characters are complete scumbags, but we ended up loving it.

 

[Sock Monkey]

Cool. I don't have the apple deal but I will check out Usher. I've always skipped over it with the thought at the back of mind that I would be underwhelmed.



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For what little it may be worth, I second the recommendation for Usher. The first two episodes were really hard for me to get through--the youngest brother of the Usher family and his entourage were completely insufferable--but there is a lot to enjoy in the show and ends particularly strong. If you've watched any other Mike Flanagan show (Hill House, Midnight Mass, etc.) you will most likely enjoy this one. It's even more fun if you have at least a passing knowledge of Poe's stories because the riffs on the stories are interesting, but there are a ton of interesting easter eggs.

[Sock Monkey]

My wife and I just finished watching all four seasons of FOR ALL MANKIND on Apple+, and I can't recommend it enough. It's an alternate history of NASA spinning out of the notion of Russia being first on the moon. It was a real "I hate to go to bed because I need to keep watching"Â type of TV show. We're both bummed that we have to wait who-knows-how-long for season five.

We also watched Mike Flanagan's THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER on Netflix, which we both really enjoyed. It took a few episodes for me to get into, maybe because ALL of the characters are complete scumbags, but we ended up loving it.

Apple+ flies under my radar for the most part. There is simply too many streaming services. But FOR ALL MANKIND did get on my radar in some way or another and I'm glad to hear another good review for it. My wife and I are always looking for good shows, but it seems to be more of a struggle now than in years past.

[dannyboy121070]

Apple+ flies under my radar for the most part. There is simply too many streaming services. But FOR ALL MANKIND did get on my radar in some way or another and I'm glad to hear another good review for it. My wife and I are always looking for good shows, but it seems to be more of a struggle now than in years past.

We got three fee months of Apple + that we took advantage of because my son and I wanted to watch MONARCH, but when the trial was up, I couldn't get rid of it. There's a deceptive amount of good stuff on there. There's a new show called MANHUNT, about the hunt for John Wilkes Booth, that looks excellent, I've had people rave to me about FOUNDATION, there's a Detective show starting soon with Colin Farrell and a Ben Franklin mini-series with Michael Douglas, and they had KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON and NAPOLEON fresh from theaters. Plus, we've slowly been making our way through the classic PEANUTS library. My wife also found a lot of chick-stuff that she loved, lol.

[Ben Staad]

Wrapped up Usher tonight. It was a solid show that I thought overplayed a few things. Jump scares and extreme depravity were pushed heavily. Overall I enjoyed it and had some great readings of Poe's work.

Only a few negatives with this show that I won't get into here. Revolving around societal and political commentary.

[dannyboy121070]

We wrapped up the Apple + series MANHUNT last night, about the chase to capture John Wilkes Booth after Lincoln's assassination. Not as good as Apple's phenomenal MASTER OF THE AIR, but a decent way to spend 7 episodes.

[Sock Monkey]

So the wife and I have been tearing through some series lately. Here are the good and the bad:

Bodies (NETFLIX): I don't like to be negative as there is just too much of it on the internet, but this has to be one of the most frustrating shows that I've seen in the last four to five years. Based on a comic book (which I have not read so I have no knowledge how much the show sticks to or deviates from the source material), it starts with the great premise of a naked body of a dead man shows up in four different time periods--1890, 1941, 2023, and 2053--but through some simply bad writing and hand-waving away of plot details--the investigation in 2023 learns about the 1890 investigation, through finding a concrete block with information linked to the 1890 investigation carved into by the that time period's lead investigator. As to why he does it, the show gives no clarification; he just simply does--leading to show just falling apart. I have a lot more issues with the show than just this one example, but suffice to say, I do not recommend it.

Murder at the End of the World (HULU): Another murder mystery show that had great potential--and a lot of buzz around it--but just missed the mark. Like Bodies, the show is set in two different timelines: one in the past where our lead protagonist and her boyfriend are tracking a serial killer, and one in the present where our lead protagonist is tasked with solving a murder at an elite, isolated "think tank"-type retreat. I read a review that stated that it was like watching a really good movie mashed together with its inferior sequel and I have to agree. The stuff in the past is so interesting and compelling, but the modern day stuff, along with protagonist, is so flat and boring. Two other pet peeves--the show's use of internet sleuths as a deus ex machina to solve any roadblock in the investigation gets rather stale, and the way the modern day stuff keeps talking about computer hacks makes it feel like we're back in the 90s--also bogged down my enjoyment. It was significantly better than Bodies, but just didn't work for me.

Fargo Season 5 (HULU): Noah Hawley's Fargo came and saved the day with another great outing. I've never been a huge fan of Juno Temple, but she absolutely kills it in this season about a woman trying to escape her past. Jon Hamm is great as Temple's abusive ex-husbandand show manages to maintain its quirky sensibilities and penchant for intermingling the weird or surreal elements with its crime drama. It makes me want to go back and finish Noah Hawley's show Legion since I never got around to watching the third season and it makes me impatient to see what he's gonna do in his Alien TV show. Highly recommended.

Tokyo Vice Season 1 and Season 2: People seem to be sleeping on this series and I really think that it deserves more attention than its getting. With Michael Mann directing the first episode and featuring Ken Watanabe (who I think is so underrated), this has been on my radar for a while. Set in Tokyo during the late 90s, the show follows the interweaving story of the first American reporter for the newspaper The Meicho, a young up-and-comer in a yakuza gang, a grizzled police detective struggling to maintain the peace between rival gangs, and hostess in a club. The show isn't perfect, including some pacing issues in Season 1 which may have turned people off to returning for the second season. I would highly recommend watching both season back to back and just consider it one long story, instead of considering Season 1 in and of itself. Each episodes runtime of a roughly an hour and its measured pace makes binging difficult, but combining the last two episodes of Season 2 together is also recommended. Like I said, the show isn't perfect and I felt at the end of every episode that it was walking a tightrope between failing miserably and soaring, but it definitely pulls all of its plotlines together in a satisfying conclusion while still leaving things open for possible third season. Also highly recommended.

[Sock Monkey]

Three episodes into Shogun on Hulu and I'm really liking it so far. I've never read the book and only having a passing memory of the hullabaloo surrounding the original mini-series when it aired, so I have no context as to how this adaptation fairs in comparison. I'm happy to see Hiroyuki Sanada get such a meaty role to play, but Nestor Carbonell steals every scene he's in as Vasco Rodrigues. It's such a far cry from what I know him mostly for in Lost and he absolutely kills it.

[Ben Staad]

Watched both seasons of Mindhunter on Netflix. Solid show.

[Sock Monkey]

Watched both seasons of Mindhunter on Netflix. Solid show.

I really liked Mindhunter, especially season two. Too bad I heard the show's pretty much dead in the water as Fincher has moved on to other things. I would have enjoyed at least one more season to create a more satisfying conclusion.

[dannyboy121070]

We watched REBEL MOON: THE SCARGIVER last night. The first one was fun, in a goofy way...I'm a sucker for a "Getting the band together" montahe, which is basically what the whole movie was. The sequel was a boring CGI slog that was half talkfest, half endless, pointless battle. My wife liked it more than I did. It was one of these really expensive streaming movies that make absolutely zero impression, and you forget completely by the next day. My wife remarked "How much money does Netfilx HAVE...?", which is a good question. And if they have enough money to crank out shit like this, spend a little on a decent screenwriter! This was like something a child would cobble together after watching STAR WARS and THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN. Completely devoid of a single original thought.

[Sock Monkey]

We watched REBEL MOON: THE SCARGIVER last night. The first one was fun, in a goofy way...I'm a sucker for a "Getting the band together" montahe, which is basically what the whole movie was. The sequel was a boring CGI slog that was half talkfest, half endless, pointless battle. My wife liked it more than I did. It was one of these really expensive streaming movies that make absolutely zero impression, and you forget completely by the next day. My wife remarked "How much money does Netfilx HAVE...?", which is a good question. And if they have enough money to crank out shit like this, spend a little on a decent screenwriter! This was like something a child would cobble together after watching STAR WARS and THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN. Completely devoid of a single original thought.

I really struggle with Zach Snyder's films. On one hand, he definitely has a great style and he fills his movies with things that should be awesome on paper--for example, Sucker Punch being this weird mash-up of steampunk, fantasy, and anime influences with the young actresses kicking all kinds of butt should be amazing; his Watchmen is very reverent of the source material, which should give it a narrative leg up--but both, like a lot of his films, feel so hollow. It's surface gloss. To be fair, I do think his Batman Vs Superman and Justice League movies were kneecapped by editing decisions that impacted the stories. The director's cut of Batman Vs Superman is so much better than the theatrical release, though, to be honest, it's still not a great film. Same goes with the mini-series version of Justice League versus its movie version: better, but still not amazing. Ultimately, I just kind of stay away from his films unless I've decided going in that it will be the cinematic equivalent of cotton candy.

[dannyboy121070]

Snyder went a long way on the goodwill he generated with his exceptional DAWN OF THE DEAD remake, but these days I attribute what was good in that film to screenwriter James Gunn. As a huge fan of the source material, I was very impressed with his WATCHMEN, despite some really bad casting (Rorschach and The Comedian were perfect, everyone else...? Not so much.), but everything since has been all downhill. I was unimpressed with his DC work, but I mostly blame the suits at Warner Bros. for that. His JUSTICE LEAGUE cut was better than Whedon's version, but nothing to write home about. SUCKER PUNCH remains the only time I have ever felt embarrassed about taking my wife to a movie that I picked. Sure, she doesn't like a lot of what I choose, but that film was cringe-inducing. I felt as if I had taken her to two hours of ogling scantily-clad young girls acting out video-game-nerd fantasies.I understand he's trying to get a Director's cut of that film done, too. And don't get me started on his idiotic ARMY OF THE DEAD.....

My wife subscribes to Netflix so she can endlessly watch GRAY'S ANATOMY, but to me, the name Netflix is synonymous with garbage. For every NYAD, there are 100 RED NOTICEs.

[Ben Staad]

Good to know that this is dead. I assumed it was based on the release date but I did have a small hope for more of this.

I actually liked season one a little more than two. Season two started using terms which were not from that time period and were inserted as buzz words. This kicks me out of the narrative a bit when things like that occur.

I really liked Mindhunter, especially season two. Too bad I heard the show's pretty much dead in the water as Fincher has moved on to other things. I would have enjoyed at least one more season to create a more satisfying conclusion.

 

[Ben Staad]

Probably my age but I try and avoid all movies and shows which have endless CGI fights. They typically put me to sleep.

I've found I love a dialogue driven show/movie, for the most part, these days.

The sequel was a boring CGI slog that was half talkfest, half endless, pointless battle.