Rocky was nominated for 10 Oscars. He knows a thing or two about a thing or two…
OT: TMB TV/Streaming Shows Club: Thread for streaming/TV show discussion…
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Rocky was nominated for 10 Oscars. He knows a thing or two about a thing or two…
The Pale Blue Eye ... admittedly I'm a sucker for moody, atmospheric movies. I'm also a sucker for murder mysteries. So this film would have to be awful for me to not like it. It's tough for me to review it because of that. I enjoyed the hell out of it, as Bale is one of my favorites and Melling as Poe was phenomenal. The story, and storytelling itself was a bit lacking. On my personal scale, it's probably an 8.5/10 ... but on an objective scale, it's probably more like a 5 or 6.
Edit: I didn't know who Melling was before this movie ... and holy ****! He was Dudley in the Harry Potter movies. That's an insane transformation/revelation. I honestly thought he was just some quirky southern dude that exactly fit that part from casting. Remarkable acting.
Edit: I didn't know who Melling was before this movie ... and holy ****! He was Dudley in the Harry Potter movies. That's an insane transformation/revelation. I honestly thought he was just some quirky southern dude that exactly fit that part from casting. Remarkable acting.
Mayfair Witches began last night on AMC with board favorite Alexandra Daddario.
Just finished Wednesday series on Netflix. I wasn’t sure going in but really an entertaining watch.
I'm just really disappointed The Cramps didn't get the same bump that Kate Bush did for Stranger Things.
Watched Devotion last night on Prime. I liked it, might have been a tad too long but over all a good movie. Both Majors and Powell were very good.
I liked their relationship with one another.
Edit:....OOPs. it wa on Paramont+ not Prime. Sorry. Its still a very good movie.
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The Last of Us looks great. I don't have HBO Max but it might incentivize me to get it for a bit.
Season 2 of Your Honor (with Bryan Cranston) starts tomorrow on Showtime. I really liked season 1.
https://www.sho.com/your-honor
https://www.sho.com/your-honor
This is based on “Straight Man,” by Richard Russo, who taught at PSU Altoona. Given that the protagonist is an English professor, I suppose there might be some autobiographical elements. It’s the funniest book I’ve ever read, the one book I gift, I’ve done this maybe twenty times. I’m optimistic about the show.
I just checked: On my bookshelf I have seven novels by Russo. (His best is “Bridge of Sighs.”) There’s one significant book missing: “Straight Man.” I’d given it away.
More often than not I find film adaptions of cherished novels to be disappointing, but if Odenkirk and the writers make “Lucky Hank” work we might be seeing something special. And do get the novel, it’s really a very funny, very pleasant read.
There was a movie adaption of Russo’s “Nobody’s Fool,” with Paul Newman, and it was excellent. So there’s history here.
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Just finished Season 3 of Jack Ryan. IMO it was just as good as seasons 1 and 2. Had a little trouble following which Russians were the good or the bad guys, but it worked out in the end. I think Krasinski is a very good actor. He’s come a long way from his “Office” days.
I crammed in Season 1 and now onto Season 2. Brian Cranston is a terrific actor and really makes this series.
Binging "Barney Miller" on Prime. It really holds up.
Wow!
Russo is my favorite author. In the internet age, I maybe read five books a year, but always make time for his work! Hands down the funniest story teller I’ve ever read.
Most of his work seems set in NY or New England. I had no idea that he taught at PSU Altoona. Was Straight Man set in Altoona?
I don’t have Straight Man handy at the moment (I gave my copy away, as I said) but I remember asking myself the same question, is Straight Man set in Altoona, and the answer was could be. I’ve never been in Altoona, but Russo’s descriptions of the cities his stories take place in are always detailed and I suppose Altoona might be recognizable. The name of the school Hank Devereaux teaches at is West Central Pennsylvania University, in Railton, Pennsylvania, this from Wiki.
One of the charms of Russo’s novels is his settings in Rust Belt cities. Another is his constant sympathy for his characters, he doesn’t judge.
Straight Man: the funniest book I’ve ever read.
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Just for kicks, I checked Google maps and there’s a lake in the PSU Altoona campus. The lake and ducks are an important part of the plot of Straight Man.
Realize I'm late to the party on this but another plug for AppleTV's Black Bird. Not without flaws but remarkable acting, production & storytelling. "Inspired by a true story" tends to be a pretty significant Historical Accuracy Red Flag, but both the protagonist (James Keene) & antagonist (Larry Hall) are based on real people with Keene getting a producer credit.
Highly recommend. Definitely not for younger kids.
Highly recommend. Definitely not for younger kids.
Agree. If you haven't already, you should also check out For All Mankind on Apple.
Going to check out Shrinking today on Apple TV and also the new episode of Your Honor.
The quality is shockingly high. Very emotional. I've never played the game, you don't need to. Ep 1 goes from end of the world outbreak to posts apocalypse nightmare like a freight train. It's been a terrifying joy ride so far. But its haunting.
I've played the first game and am halfway through the second. The games won all sorts of awards, largely because the storytelling is emphasized more than a typical game and it's pretty well written. From the trailers I've seen for the show, it appears to be really closely aligned to the game. Most games turned movies either don't perform well in terms of viewers, or they stray far from the source material in an effort to make a better movie. Many are calling this the best adaptation of a game into TV, ever. That's probably because the game was so story driven to begin with, making it an easier transition. I won't spoil anything, but there are many gritty moments in the games that I expect the HBO series will take full advantage of. But yes, the very beginning scenes of the game throw you right into a crazy world and have some wild scenes and plot points, so I can only assume the show is doing the same. I'll probably wait until the full season airs before buying HBO max so I can binge it quickly. I also saw they've already announced they'll do a second season, which I assume will be based on the second game, unless they've decided to stretch out the plot of the first game across 2 seasons.
It's odd that I haven't played this game but it's clear it was different from the quality of story and writing that's coming to the show. It think you'll be very pleased based on two episodes ive seen.
They did get rid of spores in their air vector, which stinks but if they didnt poor Pedro would be in mask the whole show, AGAIN!
We are really enjoying Last of Us so far. For reality show The Traitors on Peacock is entertaining. Poker Face on Peacock has that old Rockford Files vibe so far it has been solid. We also as a family have really enjoyed Willow on Disney Plus. and so has my sisters family. Took a little bit to get all the characters but by the ep they went to the castle from the movie. Very entertaining thru the last ep. One of the better fantasy shows we have seen lately and it was fun to see Christian Slater chewing up scenery in a guest arc. The show doesn't taken itself too seriously and just has some fun. Also Let the Right one In on Showtime half way thru. I like the way they have taken the story. Solid show better than the movie IMHO. Also really enjoying season 2 Hunters. Jennifer Jason Leigh has been phenomenal so far about half way thru.
Played the game as well and while there are other games I’d love to see turned into a Netflix show/movie (Metal Gear, Destiny, Final Fantasy), Last of Us is very well done (it’s gameplay borrows heavily from MGS though). I haven’t started watching yet but will soon.
Metal Gear could use a screen adaptation just to make sense of the damn thing. I liked many of the games but the way Kojima tells stories is incredibly confusing. Never played Destiny. Have played a handful of the Final Fantasy games, I could see them doing an animated version for streaming but I think a live action one might be a big leap for fans of the games.
I think Wednesday is the best thing I've seen steaming for awhile.
Do not know anything about Last of Us (game wise) so I'm going to give that a shot.
Really looking forward to the Mandalorian.
Not a new show, but got around to Slow Horses on Apple TV the past week. It’s a slower paced spy type show, but I’ve really enjoyed it. Give it a few episodes to decide.
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