Current Watching

[Patrick Thistle]

I liked seeing Derek again.

But I'm beginning to think they should have ended it at the end of season 2.

[hobbes]

Well that was inevitable.

Heh. Typical. Have you unwrapped the disk?

[Diable Rouge]

Finally watched Roma on netflix last night. It’s beautifully filmed and reminded me of those old Italian neorealist movies. Probably deserves to be seen on the big screen. What I wasn’t so keen on was the chaotic noisy soundtrack assaulting my ears for much of the run-time. I suppose it was deliberate, but boy did it grate by the end.

Cuarón sensibly realises that the political theme is best addressed through atmospheric vignettes and personal experience, rather than labouring the message for his audience - Hollywood take note!

[Femme Folle]

Season 4 of The Magicians started last night and it's good. This will probably only be of interest to Hot Pepsi.

[Ginger Yellow]

Heh. Typical. Have you unwrapped the disk?

I've watched nearly all of them.

[Moonlight Shadow]

Well that was inevitable.

Excellent, I'll keep the membership for another month after my trial ends....

[WOM]

Murder Mountain on Netflix: 6 episodes about a town/county in NorCal where 80% of US weed is grown. Fascinating, engaging, yet ultimately unsatisfying. Even so, worth watching.

[MsD]

I finished Series 4 of Le Bureau Des Legendes, and it didn't disappoint. I've gone back to watch it from the beginning, partly for the language, but partly to savour it without the same tension.

One actor is a big surprise, and almost steals the show in the last episode. I won't spoil if for anyone. Really worth watching and sticking with during the few duller episodes; they're all sort of necessary to the plot.

I didn't appreciate a couple of "animals in peril" scenes and you may also need to skip through bits of Series 3 Ep 1 if you're as sensitive as I am. It's not THAT bad, but.

[WOM]

Trigger Warning with Killer Mike. One of the best things I've seen in a long while. Killer Mike from Run The Jewels takes a pseudo-reality look at being black in America. Heavy on set-up scenarios, but which have authentic results, it's funny and insightful. Can Mike go 72 hours living only on things grown/made/produced by black people? Can Mike convince black people that they should have a black messiah, instead of blue-eyed Jesus? That sort of thing.

6 eps, very worth watching. If you like Atlanta, I think you'll love this.

[Gerontophile]

I watched about 6 episodes of 'House' last night, having never really watched it before. A lot better than I'd hoped. And great fun playing "Oh, he/she was in...".

Oh, and everytime the theme tune played, I kept thinking it was going to break into "Teardrop" by Massive Attack.

[Femme Folle]

I tried to watch the Ted Bundy Tapes thing on NetFlix. It was so boring.

[slackster]

Having got to the point where we have exhausted the drama series we really wanted to see on Netflix, Amazon Prime & BBC iplayer, we decided to have a look at what’s on (UK) Channel 4 Walter Presents world drama. The recurring ads are a pain, but we’ve thoroughly enjoyed Night & Day (Catalan serial killer melodrama) and Valkyrian (Norwegian thriller set in the Oslo underground tunnels). Will try a few others.

[Sean of the Shed]

Seen Vanished by the Lake and Killer by the Lake on Walter Presents. French detective drama (Killer is a sequel to Vanished) which we enjoyed.

[Femme Folle]

I finally got around to starting True Detective last night. It's so good. I have two more episodes to go before I'm caught up, so I'm avoiding that TD thread, in case there are any spoilers in it.

[Hot Pepsi]

I finally got into The Good Place and now I think it’s one of my favorite shows ever. The first four or five episodes didn’t really draw me in. But then it becomes clear that it’s going somewhere and becomes interesting. I knocked out season one and two on Netflix and then paid for season 3 on Amazon.

I also watched all of Atypical.

I’m not really digging True Detective. I just want to know how the girl is still alive and what her deal is and it keeps meandering around with all kinds of deep and subtle subplots that I don’t care about.

[ad hoc]

Just watched a really good film following photographer Don McCullin round England. Recommended (it was on BBC4 so I assume it's on iPlayer)

There was a good piece on him in the Observer yesterday too https://www.theguardian.com/artandde...tate-interview

[Amor de Cosmos]

We finished Black Earth Rising on Netflix the other night.The most impressive series I've seen for some time. A complex story that, in other hands might well have slid into melodrama or gratuitous violence is told with enormous sensitivity. Written and directed by Hugo Blick An Honourable Woman, and featuring a predominately black cast it's worth eight hours of anyone's time. I note it was shown this time last year on BBC 2 but I don't remember any comments here, I'd be interested in other reactions.

[Sits]

Always been a bit intimidated by the size of this thread but read the last four pages so hopefully that's enough.

Glad to see some outside Oz have enjoyed Rake where Richard Roxburgh is wonderful. Nice to see Sydney used as so much drama is set in Melbourne. Have to admit it's tailed off since its early peak but the characters are likeable enough to hold us.

Other recommendations recently;

Billions on STAN which is the local sreamer for Showtime I assume - excellent leads from Damien Lewis, Paul Giamatti and Maggie Siff as the only likeable character in the thing.

The Affair (also Showtime via STAN). Good series, good performances of flawed/unpleasant characters except a sympathetic Maura Tierney. Probably a bit more sex than necessary. And it's not often I'd say that.

Berln Station on SBS a local channel but it's syndicated. If you can handle Richard Armitage's American accent it's great fun.

Just started Marcella and The Cry. Too early to judge.

[ad hoc]

Just watched a really good film following photographer Don McCullin round England. Recommended (it was on BBC4 so I assume it's on iPlayer)

There was a good piece on him in the Observer yesterday too https://www.theguardian.com/artandde...tate-interview

And a review of his exhibition at the Tate in today's paper https://www.theguardian.com/artandde...pective-review

[Patrick Thistle]

I finally got into The Good Place and now I think it’s one of my favorite shows ever. The first four or five episodes didn’t really draw me in. But then it becomes clear that it’s going somewhere and becomes interesting. I knocked out season one and two on Netflix and then paid for season 3 on Amazon.

I also watched all of Atypical.

What were your thoughts on Atypical?

I really like The Good Place and the way it deconstructs ethics and morality in a fun way.

[Ray de Galles]

I watched Vice at the cinema yesterday. The first half is very entertaining (although who knows how truthful), but the stretch from the start of the Iraq War onwards just tells us what we already knew, drags on, and seems way too kind about George W.

You can see the thread that connects the Big Short through to it, but it's not half as good.

I saw it tonight and found it very enjoyable. I don't think people can be reminded enough about the chicanery around the Iraq war, especially given that this film has a much wider potential reach than the documentaries that have previously covered the subject. It's also useful as a warning about the widening of concepts like the Unitary Executive Theory.

Bale and Adams were great but very surprised that Rockwell got an Oscar nomination for supporting actor over Carell - who I presume suffered from being in too many Oscar hopeful movies.

[Nocturnal Submission]

I've been watching Inside Europe: Ten Years Of Turmoil, a three-part series on BBC2 focussing on the major crises affecting the EU in the last decade. First up was Brexit, last night was the Eurozone problems, with Greece in particular under the spotlight, and the final one will centre on the migrant surge.

There's nothing particularly revelatory about the narratives, although one or two suspicions are confirmed, but it's a useful refresher and does the drama and incidents well. Last night had the German interior minister, out for a Sunday stroll with his wife, being told to leg it to Brussels (I think) by Merkel because Schaeuble was there but too ill to attend the meeting that was trying to avert another global financial panic."Why me?" he complained. "Stop moaning and just get on the fucking plane!" she replied, or words to that effect.

Lots of the main political players have been interviewed. I'm sure that this won't shock anyone but Tusk comes across very well, whereas Sarcozy seems just a teensy bit pompous, if unafraid of plain talking and taking on the big decisions.

[Hot Pepsi]

What were your thoughts on Atypical?

I really like The Good Place and the way it deconstructs ethics and morality in a fun way.

I really like Atypical and look forward to future seasons. I don't know how typical Sam is of kids with ASD - most of his challenges are relatively benign and I know that's not always the case. But of course, it's not just about him. It's about his sister, parents, etc.

[E10 Rifle]

Has anyone been watching Sex Education? Starts off with the feel of an absurdist comedy - and with a US-style multi-racial High School plonked into a rural British setting – but is also rather warm and poignant as it progresses. Enjoyed it a lot, anyhows.

[Simon G]

I've finally gotten into Peaky Blinders in the past couple of weeks. I was flicking through Netflix last week and couldn't find anything so thought sod it, a lot of people I know rave about it so why not.

Fair to say I'm bloody hooked - I'm not halfway through series 2 and can't wait to finish work today so I can watch a couple of episodes this evening.