The Other Worlds Shrine

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Your favorite band sucks, and you have terrible taste in movies.
 #164112  by Julius Seeker
 Mon Oct 27, 2014 6:33 am
I really like his self-deprecating style of humour. The beginning of this morning's clip made me laugh a lot louder than I really should have at 6-something AM.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/izUzqUrhbh0[/youtube]
 #164116  by Anarky
 Mon Oct 27, 2014 7:50 pm
Just finished the first season of American Horror Story with the wife. I had actually decided to start season 4 because she was out of town and didn't want to watch any of our shows while she was gone.

Pretty well done show and I like that the characters take new roles each season.

I think we might move on to season 2, or maybe I'll just catch her up on the current season.
 #164254  by Julius Seeker
 Mon Nov 24, 2014 7:19 am
Was hijacked and forced (although not really against my will) to watch a bunch of Disney movies this weekend.

After watching Aladdin and the Lion King, they just seemed so much more simplistic than I remember them being... But that's only in comparison to the newer ones, which make the Disney Renaissance seem a little overrated.

The three newer ones all had female leads, Tangled, Frozen, and Brave. Tangled and Brave are both fun movies, but Frozen was the one I liked the best of them. I liked how in Tangled they explicitly point out "Rapunzel's 18" whereas a lot of the others are actually supposed to be younger than you'd think.

Frozen is packed full of symbolism and, and it's probably the first Disney movie since Mulan to have a really catchy song in it. I wonder how many conservative parents saw the blatant closeted lesbian metaphor in the film? The villain in Frozen was about as slimy of a villain as I think Disney has ever had; I mean Scar, Jafar, Gaston, and Ursula were awesome - but this guy was clean cut, deceptive, and almost chopped a vulnerable girl in half. It may be a bit premature to say this is the best Disney film ever made; give me a few months, or a year.
Last edited by Julius Seeker on Mon Nov 24, 2014 9:48 pm, edited 1 time in total.
 #164256  by Shrinweck
 Mon Nov 24, 2014 11:01 am
Best Disney movie was a David Lynch movie called Straight Story :D

But seriously, out of those three even I've seen Frozen and it was quite impressive.
 #164290  by Replay
 Wed Dec 03, 2014 11:59 am
Lots of NCIS.

It may be as close to outright military-industrial propaganda as it gets...but it's also one of the best shows I'v ever seen. And it's intensely realistic for what it is.

Does a great job of describing the geopolitics of the world. For instance, you can't trust the See-Eye-Ayy, or the Moshad...just like real life. :> And like all the best police procedurals, the virtuous peacekeepers are routinely dogged by selfish corruption among their own kind.

It goes up there with Lost as television I consider cinema, and not just great TV.

 #164392  by Julius Seeker
 Wed Dec 10, 2014 6:43 am
South Park, since I mentioned it in another thread and a bunch of people here still seem to watch it.

I didn't particularly enjoy the last few seasons as much as I would have liked to. A large number of the episodes seemed to be based on concepts that had been previously shelved... but since they didn't have any better ideas they decided to use them. This season, so far, seems much more fresh, and ultimately much more funny. One particular difference is that they're going with a loose season-wide arc, particularly dealing with Randy and Lorde; some episodes more involved, others just brief mentions; it's funny.

I know Matt and Trey were doing something on Broadway recently, is that possibly why the quality dipped for a few seasons? Either way, this season seems to be back on track.
 #164417  by Shrinweck
 Fri Dec 12, 2014 4:25 pm
Just watched Gone Girl. Really fucking good. Went in ready to hate it, but damn. I got owned.
 #164499  by Julius Seeker
 Tue Dec 30, 2014 10:21 am
I watched Showgirls recently. It's a movie that is considered to be one of the worst ever made; only 19% of critics gave it a favourable review - undeservedly low. I thought it was a fairly good movie. it's a mix of satire on Hollywood and a lot of flashy scenes that were very often entertaining.

The acting is often a target in reviews, but the acting isn't exactly terrible. Reviewers never really bring up any evidence, they will just say "Elizabeth Berkley can't act, look at how she walks, and... and... and... her facial expressions!" It's bullshit, the movie isn't any worse in terms of acting than most movies out there - including many acclaimed ones. Targeting the acting is one of those excuses that reviewers with a bias will target since they never really have to quantify what they mean, and people will just buy it without question, and as soon as one critic mentions it, other critics will repeat it.

Why do this? It's a political thing. For the most part, the critics don't want to be caught praising a film that is not politically correct, and one that pushed a lot of buttons (especially back in the mid-90's), with elements including - but not limited to: lots of full frontal nudity, homosexuals, and rape. It's also a film that is a story about a woman who self-exploits her way to massive success - that is going to push buttons on both feminists and anti-feminists alike for different reasons. At the same time critics don't want to appear closed minded, so they don't necessarily even mention those elements; except if they're the Conservative type of film critic.

Even the rape scene, which is about the only part that I would have found objectionable on paper, is not handled in a way that seems at all depraved; it is portrayed as a violent and disgusting act. The perpetrator is immediately, and severely, punished with an extremely violent assault by Nomi (Elizabeth Berkeley) - Although she doesn't slit his throat with that blade of hers, it's not impossible that she did kill him with that curb stomp at the end of the assault.

Like all of Paul Verhoeven films, its a satire with a bunch of critics that missed it; like Starship Troopers, Basic Instinct, Robocop, and Total Recall.
 #164501  by Replay
 Tue Dec 30, 2014 10:37 am
I think the critics often don't know nearly as much about movies as they think they do. They panned Boondock Saints, and I still consider that my second favorite movie of all time. Problem with reviewers is that they think they're paid to be negative; when they're really getting paid to provide an honest and unbiased assessment of how moviegoers will like a film. Often you end up with some overpaid intellectual who craps on 75% of what he or she sees and thinks every movie should be Chinatown (which I love; but I don't think every film has to be highbrow noir, either.) Kenneth Turan in the LA Times was like that for YEARS, I could not deal with now negative that guy was.
 #164503  by Replay
 Wed Dec 31, 2014 9:24 am
Also everyone here ought to see Idiocracy. I bet you all have, or a majority of you, but holy shit, this is like a "Network" for our era wrapped in a lowbrow flavor. It is the warning bell for our society.

The three stages of watching Idiocracy:

1. "Ha ha, this is funny! But it could never happen."
2. "Ha, ha...hey, wait, is this already happening?"
3. "Oh, God, this is what's going on RIGHT NOW."

 #164649  by kali o.
 Fri Jan 16, 2015 10:12 pm
SineSwiper wrote:
Zeus wrote:I haven't seen True Blood. Didn't care to check it out 'til I found out it was Alan Ball. Now I at least have to try it
True Blood is actually really good. The latter seasons are starting to wane, but at least the first 3 seasons are excellent.
Typical of me, I blasted through all 7 seasons of True Blood now that its done (i hate the wait between eps/seasons). It was a decent series. A little silly and a general lack of focus...but otherwise enjoyable...until season 7.

I guess there can be such a thing as too much fan service...and that is all the last season was. The actual plot disappeared and in an effort to give every side story/character some closure, the show became nearly unwatchable. The finale was especially bad...nothing made sense (contextually) and it all led nowhere. Wasnt enough to ruin the whole series, imo, but it sure came close.

Give a nod to your fans...never write for them though.
 #164697  by Julius Seeker
 Sun Jan 18, 2015 11:26 am
I started watching Parks and Recreation.

Season 1, and the first 3 episodes of season 2 were kind of like "Yeah, I dig this"

Then the episode "Practice Date" hits, and it was with that episode that I was hooked.
 #164704  by Anarky
 Mon Jan 19, 2015 11:00 pm
Julius Seeker wrote:I started watching Parks and Recreation.

Season 1, and the first 3 episodes of season 2 were kind of like "Yeah, I dig this"

Then the episode "Practice Date" hits, and it was with that episode that I was hooked.
Season 1 was utter shit because it was trying so hard to be an American Office clone. Show got worlds better in season 2.
 #164741  by Shellie
 Thu Jan 22, 2015 6:10 pm
We've been watching various stuff on netflix. We don't have cable anymore. I quit my job at the cable company, and refused to pay those prices (we had service free for 14 years). I don't miss it at all.

I watched American Mary last night at the recommendation of my SIL. It was a decent bad "thriller", but I hated the ending. Surgeon student has a bad time at a party and takes revenge, and becomes a provider of extreme body mods.

We've been watching the anime Noragami. Pretty good, reminds me of Bleach though.

Just finished the second season of American Horror Story. So much better than the first season!
 #164745  by kali o.
 Thu Jan 22, 2015 11:07 pm
Hmm...I have Mary on my backlog to watch. I was kind of looking forward to it, so I hope I enjoy it more than you did.

Saw Lucy today too. Terrible.
 #164746  by Shellie
 Fri Jan 23, 2015 12:30 am
Dont get me wrong, I enjoyed it, I hadn't heard of it, and it looked like a typical Netflix crappy horror film, so I didnt have any expectations. I was pleasantly surprised, but I didn't like the ending.
 #164748  by Julius Seeker
 Fri Jan 23, 2015 4:18 am
Anarky wrote:
Julius Seeker wrote: Season 1 was utter shit because it was trying so hard to be an American Office clone. Show got worlds better in season 2.
I've only seen the original version of the Office. I liked it quite a bit. I'm a huge fan of Gervais; although I couldn't handle Derek after just watching the Pilot.


As far as Netflix, iTunes and other such programs go. For me, it's not even about the money they save so much as no damn commercials or scheduled programming, plus you can watch everything anytime anyplace you have an Internet connection. They're just superior services.
 #164753  by Julius Seeker
 Fri Jan 23, 2015 9:56 pm
Been rewatching Neon Genesis since it took place in this time, 2014/2015.
 #164823  by Julius Seeker
 Tue Feb 03, 2015 7:53 am
Image

But the show is exactly what you would think, so bad that it's awesome! It's Archer meets Scooby Doo. They are putting out 11 minute segments on Netflix every week.
 #164828  by Eric
 Tue Feb 03, 2015 9:00 am
Julius Seeker wrote:Image

But the show is exactly what you would think, so bad that it's awesome! It's Archer meets Scooby Doo. They are putting out 11 minute segments on Netflix every week.
I got a more Venture Bros meets Scooby Doo vibe. :P
 #164969  by Julius Seeker
 Wed Feb 25, 2015 5:55 am
I just watched Gone Girl and Birdman.

Birdman I knew nothing about going into it, only that Michael Keaton was in it, so there were a lot of surprises there. It is one VERY unique film. I don't want to spoil it. Don't even watch a trailer.
Spoiler: show
All I'll say is that I mostly hate super hero films; Xmen alone gets a pass because of its allegories, interesting setting, and metaphorical approach to civil rights movements... Also that bad ass scene with young Magneto killing the Nazis at the beginning of First Class; that said about mostly hating super hero movies, Birdman struck a chord with me on that respect. The movie was a giant "fuck you" to critics and the general movie-going public alike.
Gone Girl was pretty much exactly what I expected for a David Fincher film starring Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike, these are three of my favourite actors in show business, it's pure gold! One of the best adaptations I have seen in years. Affleck had a bit of a Matt Dillon approach to this role.
 #165067  by Shrinweck
 Mon Mar 02, 2015 2:41 am
Last Week Tonight was brilliant this week (last week?). Hardest I've laughed in a while.
 #165120  by Julius Seeker
 Fri Mar 06, 2015 10:16 pm
So 5 shows I am currently watching:
1. The 100
2. Mike Tyson's Mysteries
3. Orange is the New Black
4. Parks and Recreation
5. Better Call Saul

They're all fairly fantastic in my opinion. This is about as good as I can recall TV being in the past 10 years simce usually there's 2 or fewer shows I am following.

For The 100, it was about the 100 for about the first 6 episodes. Now the show is about alliances and feuds between what will be 7 different factions.
Spoiler: show
* Octavia, Lincoln, and probably soon some followers.
* Abby and the Ark populace.
* The Grounders
* Clarke and the rest of the original 100 and their allies in Mt. weather who are looking more and more like a separate entity from the rest of the Ark people.
* Mt. Weather Nazis led by President Jean Ralphio (for those who also watch Parks and Rec).
* What's left of Jaha's group
* Whatever new season 3 faction Jaha finds.
* There are some people in the desert as well, I am unsure as to who they are really allied to at this point. Potentially an 8th faction, but I think they are just bands of grounder rejects who are unaffiliated to any important group
 #165215  by Don
 Fri Mar 13, 2015 9:47 pm
I'm still watching random bad Korean drama and I don't even know what the name of some of them are but they're hilariously bad. The one I'm following so there's this evil Korean mafia that talks about how soandso has been getting in the way for too long, but they can't kill him because he has connections, so the mafia boss is like "What if we trick him to go to Phillipines?" and his henchman is like: "He'll never come back (evil laugh)". Note that they're not trying to kill this guy in Phillipines. It's already established this guy is too well connected to try to kill him anywhere, and while Phillipines isn't a top tourist destination, it's not exactly somewhere you can't leave. I mean, if they want to be accurate it could be somewhere in the Middle East. If they want to be funny it should be like "We'll send him to Canada" or something. But Phillipines?

It's kind of like how Gu Long poke fun of the tendency for Chinese martial arts fiction where guys go to Japan and come back with this scene:

A: "Have you heard? Someone saw soandso last month!"
B: "Impossible! He went to JAPAN!"
A: "Yeah, he came back from Japan, using the same boat that took him there."
B: "Impossible!"
 #165228  by Shellie
 Sat Mar 14, 2015 1:53 am
Sine and I have been watching The Blacklist. First season is fantastic so far. I love James Spader!
 #165243  by Zeus
 Sat Mar 14, 2015 2:45 pm
Shellie wrote:Sine and I have been watching The Blacklist. First season is fantastic so far. I love James Spader!
It's one of the few shows on network TV that ain't garbage (and I'm including AMC as a part of "network TV" now).
 #165442  by Replay
 Tue Apr 07, 2015 10:42 pm
Recommending Wolf Hall on PBS. It's a new Masterpiece Theatre production on PBS coming from the BBC - six-episode run, sadly it's not a series.

The pacing is so far perfect, the plot of priest and advisor Thomas Cromwell in Henry VIII's court trying to survive the tumult associated with the split of the Anglican Church from Rome - all of it is flawless so far; and the costuming and sets are historically based and brilliant. Sadly it's only a six-episode production but the raves it's getting are warranted and real.


http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/watch-online/

Image
 #165488  by Shrinweck
 Sat Apr 11, 2015 6:51 pm
Daredevil was pretty hashtag dope. Four out of five. Five out of five for superhero shit, but that's a pretty low bar.
 #165492  by kali o.
 Sat Apr 11, 2015 9:00 pm
Lately, I've been watching a lot of Jim Jefferies (comedian). He fucking cracks me up...

 #165494  by Shrinweck
 Sat Apr 11, 2015 9:10 pm
I watched most of season one of his sitcom Legit one afternoon. It was fun but I never went back and finished it.
 #165497  by Julius Seeker
 Sun Apr 12, 2015 7:09 am
I got in a couple of movies on Netflix last night, In Bruges and The Grand Budapest Hotel. Both movies I should have watched a while ago.

In Bruges is a dark comedy, and the less you know about the plot going in, the more interesting the first viewing will be.
Grand Budapest Hotel is a very-Wes Andersonish film; it that takes place mainly in a fictionalized Fascist country during the 1930s, but does flash to other later time periods.

Incidentally, both films have Ralph Fiennes in a prominent role, which came as a surprise for me. While he hams it up in both films, they are two vastly different roles.
 #165562  by Julius Seeker
 Mon Apr 20, 2015 10:02 am
Better Call Saul, that second last episode should have been the season finale, with a few tweets it would have been perfect. The episode after it may have worked well as a season premiere.
 #165563  by kali o.
 Mon Apr 20, 2015 12:59 pm
Catching up on Daredevil - up to episode 3 I guess. Pretty decent so far.
 #165578  by Julius Seeker
 Tue Apr 21, 2015 8:02 pm
Replay wrote:Recommending Wolf Hall on PBS. It's a new Masterpiece Theatre production on PBS coming from the BBC - six-episode run, sadly it's not a series.

The pacing is so far perfect, the plot of priest and advisor Thomas Cromwell in Henry VIII's court trying to survive the tumult associated with the split of the Anglican Church from Rome - all of it is flawless so far; and the costuming and sets are historically based and brilliant. Sadly it's only a six-episode production but the raves it's getting are warranted and real.


http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/watch-online/
You may want to give The Tudors a go. Despite Henry not looking like Henry, I felt John Rhys Meyers still really owned the part. It also gets into the battle between Henry VIII, Francis, and Emperor Charles V. Peter O'Toole played a really great Pope.
 #165591  by Replay
 Wed Apr 22, 2015 5:51 pm
I did indeed give The Tudors a go; it was everything I really did not love about that period, that I do love about Wolf Hall. It felt like it was trying too hard to be "Tudor Sex Tapes", or something. It's the court intrigue that challenges me as a viewer, not 16th-century sex scenes, but I do thank you for the recommendation.

Wolf Hall is on fire, though. It's beautiful and almost terrifying to watch; as any student of history knows before beginning that the series must end in profound tragedy.
 #165619  by Julius Seeker
 Sat Apr 25, 2015 2:35 pm
Been watching Miyazaki films. I must say, this guy does not seem to make anything less than masterful films. I can't decide which one I like best because they're all fairly different from each other, although you can always tell they're painted by the same artist's brush.
 #165671  by Julius Seeker
 Fri May 01, 2015 6:26 pm
Watched Avengers 2. To sum it up, it's a bunch of super random and disjointed scenes strung together, interspersed with cheesy Starwars Episode 1 trying-to-be-funny-at -inappropriate times style dialogue. Lots of random characters popping in that could have been interesting if they had more than 1 minute of time: like a robot who has some sort of weird jewel in his head and can lift Thor's hammer while no one else can, Don Cheadle in another Iron Man suit, Andy Serkis as some sort of adamantium dealer, and Samuel L Jackson with an eye-patch. The movie was super ADHD feeling.

For whatever reason, it got me in the mood to watch Lake Placid, which in turn got me in the mood of watching much lower budget horror films - Insidious is an interesting film, definitely worth a watch, very low budget feeling though; it does star Rose Byrne.
 #165679  by Zeus
 Sun May 03, 2015 1:00 am
kali o. wrote:Catching up on Daredevil - up to episode 3 I guess. Pretty decent so far.
The story takes off after that
 #165817  by Julius Seeker
 Sun May 10, 2015 6:10 am
I watched three Hitchcock films last night:

1. Rear Window (1956)
2. Rebecca (1940)
3. Notorious (1946)

Rear Window was probably the movie that Phone Booth got its inspiration from; except Rear Window is much better in my opinion. There was, also, an entire Simpsons episode based on the film. It's a dark comedy, with suspense elements, starring James Stewart a photographer With a broken leg. He is confined to his room during the heat of summer forcing everyone in the New York condo neighbourhood to have their windows wide open. He becomes a peeping Tom, involving himself in knowing everything that goes on in everyone's lives. Unlike Phone Booth, Rear Window is always entertaining: throughout the movie, there is always drinking going on, and people are always having fun; along with a lot of little plot threads taking place in each of the condos, that weave together in a very satisfying manner.

James Stewart's character is engaged to the Lisa, played by Grace Kelly - the same role done by Lisa Simpson on the Simpsons version. Then there is Stella, who is the nurse to James Stewart's character; played by Thelma Ritter, who does a fantastic job as the subtly comical character. Like the Simpsons version, there is frustration between James Stewart (Bart's character on the Simpsons) and Lisa, only instead of brother/sister, they are engaged. They develop a closer relationship over the course of the movie as they speculate about the disappearance of the wife of one of the residents in the condo across the street; and like the Simpsons, it is the upstanding gentleman who is not engaging in any of the crazy social antics of the neighbourhood. Like the Simpsons version, you're led to wonder whether the main character is on to something, or if he is going insane; due to the confinement while everyone is having fun, or the constant drinking.

The film is excellently acted, as actors are great at both expressiveness and dialogue delivery; making the characters very interesting. There's lots of subtle dark comedy mixed in with WTF moments. This movie is really a timeless classic, and has aged very well.


Rebecca, has me starting to notice a large trend in Hitchcock films. Hot blondes as the starring role. This one Joan Fontaine, hte actress being the younger sister of Olivia De Haviland (Marion). Thst family obviously had good genetics, because Joan Fontaine just died a year ago at the age of 96, and Olivia De Haviland is still alive at the age of 99 come July 1st. The films secondary star is Maxim, played by Laurence Olivier, who does a great job, and easily the basis for Ralph Fiennes's character in Grand Budapest Hotel in terms of appearance and mannerisms.

This film is fairly fast paced in regards to the events that occur; as it keeps jumping ahead in time. Storywise, I felt this one was the best of the three I watched. Of the three films, it also had the biggest WTF moment
Spoiler: show
When Maxim describes the honeymoon he is planning for Joan Fontaine's character, he says "We should be on a beach at sunset, a violin playing in the background, while we violently make love behind a palm tree." Keep in mind, this was 1940!
The movie does a great job at sucking the viewers into the situation of the main character post-marriage, who is very isolated in her new world among the wealthy. Jealous people plotting to humiliate her. Her husband Maxim, is also very cold now, and often absent; and Hitchcock always seems to shoot Olivier with shadows on him - it seems no one is happy. Everyone is always talking about how wonderful Maxim's last wife Rebecca was. And... unfortunately I can't really go any further, because this is when the plot really starts to get great, and I think you all should see it without having the last half spoiled in any way.
Spoiler: show
The movie is an early example of a plot twisty thriller, where character motivations and behaviour are not at all what the viewer is led to believe through the first half of the movie.

Notorious we saved until last because of its reputation as being one of the greatest movies ever made; and also starring Ingrid Bergman who was an incredible actress; already one of my favourites for Casablanca alone. Although, Notorious doesn't hold up in my opinion. It is an easy film to watch due to the excellent direction and acting; but the story is the basic framework for almost every Bond film ever made; and all sorts of similar style action films - and Notorious is completely lacking in the way of action, it's purely a suspense/spy movie, not even a punch thrown. I found I was unable to appreciate all of the implied scenes that occurred; where a film like Bond leaves much less to the imagination.

I don't really want to deprive everyone of an enjoyable movie just because it wasn't my cup of tea. If you're a big film geek, this film will be like candy for you. It might even be your second favourite next to Citizen Kane; another highly regarded film that wasn't my thing. If I were to describe the movie in detail, the camera work, the acting, the story; it would sound fantastic, but I still didn't enjoy it.

To watch the moviem knowing a bit about WW2, particularly the events around the end of it, will be a great benefit. This film takes place right then, Ingrid Bergman's father is charged with treason, and she gets honey-potted by Cary Grant to become an American Agent to uncover a Nazi plot in South America. Since the film came out in 1946, everyone in the world is familiar with what happened in Germany and Japan. In addition, knowing what was ahead in the Cold War makes this movie a bit prophetic; Hitchcock only got the nationalities wrong, considering the film came out just before the anticipation of the Cold War began.

I'll watch this one again, and re-evaluate.

SUNDAY

Just one movie this evening:
Vertigo - Without spoiling too much, it's a bit of a Phoenix Wright style plot. It again stars James Stewart as the main character. He is investigating a woman name Madeleine, who is the wife of Stewart's former Police Chief boss. Madeleine is believed to have been possessed by the spirit of a woman who died 100 years earlier. Eventually, Stewart catches up to her, and begins falling in love with her. He investigates the woman who died 100 years earlier in order to find more details. Here I will stop, as I really don't want to spoil the plot for anyone who hasn't seen it.

Thematically, the movie really draws the viewer in to the obsessions of its characters, and pulls them through a very scenic set of locations. Hitchcock does some really great work with lighting here, giving the film a very atmospheric feeling. The second half of the movie picks up quite a bit from the earlier half, and is probably some of the best film I have ever seen.
 #165922  by Shrinweck
 Mon May 18, 2015 2:41 am
Mad Men finale happened and it took me ten minutes of thinking about it to come to the conclusion that I loved it. Weiner pulled a Soprano's again in that there are multiple ways to potentially view what happened at the end. I think that there are possibly three major ways to take the ending:
Spoiler: show
The fuck hippies ending, wherein you don't really care - the fact that the finale leaned on hippies for Don's ending makes it suck. And if this is how you want to look at it - you are completely correct. This finale sucked.

The cynics ending. To be honest, this is 100% what I saw when I finished the episode. My first thought when I saw him meditating was "Shit, this is where it went?" The implication, that he found what he needed for a commercial for Coke and went back to be swallowed by business and money once again, just perpetuating the loop of misery we've seen for basically the entire series.

The happy ending. This is the ending that I'm going to think of when I look back at the series in the future. Yes, he goes back to work for advertising but he does it with a measure of peace. We all go through life trying to plug a hole inside of ourselves - some of us acquire vast wealth, some of us find ourselves in relationships, the building of a career, and others do it by building themselves a family. He tried all of these things and never found what he wanted.

It's sappy as hell, but I think in the end he found what essentially everyone is looking for - a reason to love himself. He built himself so many ways for other people to love him which is what I think he has typically been going for for most of the series. Pete kind of summed up the series in the penultimate episode, saying something along the lines of "I tried all these things and I thought they felt good, but they didn't." I think in the end the show was about finding your place in life and learning how to be happy with it.
 #166138  by Shrinweck
 Sat Jun 06, 2015 5:04 pm
I watched Parallels and Sense8 - Netflix's latest attempt at entering sci-fi television. Both of them fell pretty flat with me.

Parallels is like a 90 minute Sci-Fi television series pilot (in that it literally was, Netflix took it up after it was abandoned and turned it into a movie), so it has all the things that are easy to hate about sci-fi television with next to no pay off.

Sense8 has a good premise and the acting is top notch, but this first season was mostly told by way of eight mostly independent human interest stories. But most of the characters side stories were pretty uninteresting and acted only as a means for the telepathic premise to be introduced.. A second season could have promise, but as it is... meh.
 #166139  by Julius Seeker
 Sun Jun 07, 2015 6:19 pm
Archer season 6 on Netflix. Then I'll probably do a full rewatching of the first five seasons.
 #166143  by kali o.
 Tue Jun 09, 2015 12:32 am
Too much to watch, but I am planning the following:

New (to me): Peaky Blinders S2 and True Detective S1.
Rewatching: Star Trek TNG (S1-7) (Just started Far Point...it kinda sucks but was just the pilot)
 #166200  by Julius Seeker
 Sat Jun 13, 2015 10:02 am
Orange is the New Black season 3. It seems the series has drifted off into being more like a light hearted dark-comedy. It's drifted away from the book completely now, and is its own thing. I'm not saying it is necessarily bad, but it may turn some people off; the heavy-drama hooks that got them into the first season are pretty much gone at this point. Perhaps the biggest change, Piper is no longer the main character, it's transitioned completely into an ensemble cast show. I do think people who are fans of the characters will like this season even more than the previous two.
 #166201  by Shrinweck
 Sat Jun 13, 2015 11:50 am
I was having the same conversation with Tessian about the show. It seems more like a show about the zany adventures of female inmates now rather than making any kind of point about incarceration and the way we treat our prisoners. I have trouble calling this a comedy. It keeps getting billed as such come awards season, but it just isn't funny. The jokes about Judaism were on point but weren't ha-ha funny and all the other comedic moments just seemed to be screaming "This is a ridiculous moment, isn't it?" and trying way too hard.

I could see watching this for one more season but unless they start trying to tell some kind of worthwhile story again I'll probably be done with it. The elimination of Jason Biggs as a regular cast member has basically killed Piper's worthwhile interactions with the real world. There's still some unresolved issues with her family but they haven't given us a reason to care about that. I just wasn't given any real reason to care about just about any of the characters this season - and the two prisoners that I did kind of like were pushed out and ignored for the rest of the season.
 #166254  by Julius Seeker
 Mon Jun 22, 2015 7:14 am
Putting Orange is the New Black on hold for now. Been rewatching Archer instead.
 #166260  by Shrinweck
 Tue Jun 23, 2015 5:05 pm
True Detective season two had an interesting first episode. Doesn't live up to the first season so far, but nothing could. It could definitely still end up going somewhere worthwhile, though. Hard not to be a doubter about Vince Vaugn, but at least he isn't in a buddy cop role.
 #166287  by Replay
 Thu Jun 25, 2015 8:41 am
I know I'm two years late to the party on this, but I finally caught Star Trek: Into Darkness last night on Flix.

I thought Cumberbatch NAILED the updating of Khan Noonien Singh for a new generation. He makes the pain of the character palpable - the betrayal that this genetically enhanced superman undergoes, again and again, engineered as a tool for peace, but turned into a weapon of war in two separate centuries because of his superior athletics and intelligence, and never once treated like an actual human being...eventually turning him into the worst fascist war criminal in the Star Trek continuity.

The "You should have let me sleep" scene between him and Admiral Marcus - I really would call it a masterpiece of modern cinema.

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 #166393  by Julius Seeker
 Sun Jul 12, 2015 4:32 pm
Fargo season 1... Whoah!

This show is really well done. Without giving much away, it's a dark comedy with season 1 being based on the same universe as the film; and if you haven't seen either, watch the series first. Each season is set to be its own independent story with different characters. This, in my opinion, is a really awesome way to go. TV series wind on for too long, and this way it's always fresh.
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