Movies/Shows you're watching.

[Born In Planet Dust]

Had a Spidey double feature yesterday.

Far From Home was wonderful, very funny and very sweet.  Then, FINALLY saw Into The Spiderverse.  Fucking Fantastic (& best post credits scene EVER).

[satur8]

I can't say enough positive things about Into The Spiderverse. If anything, the marketing team didn't hit the right notes because I barely made an effort to see it in the theaters. Yet, it is uniquely the the best visual comic book adaption out there, and certainly the best Spider-Man film IMO. And I'm usually loyal to Peter. Uh, wait, that came out wrong...

[satur8]

I had a good time watching Stranger Things. Not as good as first season, but not bad. There are things that were 'OK, I'll let this pass' in it, but nothing that would spoil it for me.

Agreed. Season 1>Season 3>Season 2, but I found S3 to be overall enjoyable. I also won't spoil anything, but Robin was an excellent addition and I think the characters and universe developed logically as they would in that scenario. I also enjoyed the summer setting as compared to Halloween, which brings me to..

Spoiler

I thought they were ending after 3 seasons but it looks like they may give it one final go. My prediction. We will see a xmas 2020 release. The snow. The presents. The holiday break. All the foreshadowing is there.

[Bosco]

I've watched Blue Velvet as a kid and still remember how deeply disturbing it was, even years after.
I bet you would love it if you've watched it in 80's. It was singular movie experience then.
I have same problem with Star Wars. I've watched first episodes only in late 90's and was very unimpressed. I guess you had to watched it as a kid to fall in love with it.
I had a good time watching Stranger Things. Not as good as first season, but not bad. There are things that were 'OK, I'll let this pass' in it, but nothing that would spoil it for me.

You're probably right about 'Blue Velvet'. Although, it really should have been a easy film for me to enjoy regardless. Because style-wise, this is exactly type of movie I would enjoy. But for whatever reason I got bored with it, and I feel guilty, considering how many people praise it. I think being too conditioned and not seeing at the right time was a big factor.

The first episode of Season 3 stranger things was as bad if not worse than the Season 2 expose episode (at least it was somewhat original). In this season opener, they let vapid nostalgia cues fuel the entire episode, set up a superfluous character arc with Nancy getting a taste of sexism in the workplace, and continue on with some of the most awkward tween romance. It was eye-roll after eye-roll, with no substance.

That being said, I'm willing to move on and take on the rest of series 3 seeing that both you and Satur8 both enjoyed it. Hopefully my impression on the first episode doesn't linger.

[satur8]

Bosco - Here's the honest response, as spoiler free as possible.

The Nancy and Jonathan arc felt forced all the way to the end, but it evolves: I think they wanted something to do for the characters and they became tools for exposition. The tween romance is a central arc, but is an overall better fit in the central story. And the vapid nostalgia has been there since season 1, although it was probably more for the 80s in general than for the in-universe characters. There may even be one or two more annoying things as you go. If these are deal breakers, don't watch on my recommendation.

Here are the positives: an incredible new character, reshuffled dynamics, a mystery that is slowly unraveled like the first season, great character development, and a satisfying arc with genuine surprises. It's kinda dark, too, but believe it or not, this season has more incredibly funny moments than the others.

It's only 8 episodes. See if you can stomach a few more and maybe you'll want to finish it.

[Enjoyed]

an incredible new character

If you're talking about who I think you're talking about... I wouldn't go as far as saying incredible. Funny, and a good addition to the main "roster" - if you will. But I also thought a lot of the writing for

Spoiler

her

was not very good. Either that or the acting wasn't great.
Overall, I enjoyed this season. But I thought the dialogue and writing in general was much, much worse. Where as the first season kind of dipped in and out of the cheesy 80/90s kids sci-fi feel, this season plays WAY too much into the cheesiness. Lots of unnecessary one liners, dialogue that is supposed to "get you in the feels" but ultimately comes off as very forced.
At the end of the day, I love the world and the characters they've created, and the story was fun for this season. But I found myself spotting and criticising so many plot holes, inconsistencies and non-sensical behaviour throughout, which I can only really attribute to the writing not pulling me in enough to forgive them.

If you enjoy Hawkins and the characters, and can stomach the over reliance on nostalgia and an unfortunate need to go cheese or go home, then give the rest of the episodes a shot. The story does flow pretty nicely and I think the "monster" in this season was an interesting development from the previous seasons. But don't expect the concerns from the opening episode to disappear. They are legitimate and aren't going away any time soon.

[Bosco]

Yeah, I don't dispute they've been using nostalgia as a crutch from the get go. But it felt like we were bathing in it from the start of this season. I suppose it's difficult to be subtle about it once you introduce a shopping mall, so maybe I should slow my roll.

Thanks for the encouragement. I've heard Weird Al (music I'm assuming) makes a spot on an episode, so I got that to look forward to!

also shout out to Jake Busey my favorite violinist ever

[Bosco]

I just powered through the last season. At first I hated it, then I hated it again, then it got ridiculous, and then I loved the ridiculous.

Welp, I suppose this is what happens when they realized they lost faith in themselves making a well structured drama. They completely switch the tone of the series, and rip-off every piece of 80's pop culture they could conjure. 0 points for creativeness, 100 points for unabashed effort. Once I absorbed the ridiculousness in a way that I could contextualize, I was thoroughly entertained.

Spoiler

Since this is a comedy now, I love Murray Bauman. We need to find this guy a protege or sidekick for the next season.

Also props for the use of Philip Glass music in one of the ends of the middling episodes for this season. Duffer Brothers boner for everything 80's goes deep.

[MIKL]

Stranger Things 3 was good. I did feel a little weirded out and disappointed at first with the cheesy romances going on as well but they are growing up at the same time. I actually got more annoyed with Hopper and Joyce bickering all the time that got old. Kind of forgave it because was thinking everyone was kind of going back to 'normal' thinking everything was OK again. The monster concept in this one was great and executed well. Some of the best effects better than some movies that get released in cinema first. They've still kept what they set up and started going into new territories with the characters and plots hinting some things we'll find out later when they get older I suspect.

I was thinking how will they do the next season but how they set it up towards the end it will be interesting because they will older again and could get more darker and adult which would be cool to see.

[sandelic]

It did move from story with mystical elements to more classical romance thing, but I was ok with that.
Duffer brothers could hardly keep that first season mystical and totally atmospheric fire going after we got familiar with upside-down and monster from D&D. And character had to change and grow, especially as they are/were kids, so more romance and feels.

But part of the plot that really had me laughing out loud was

Spoiler

Russians, in quite large numbers, buying land and making labs that are guarded by Russian speaking soldiers in US while cold war was still a thing. Wasn't that Red Dawn plot?

I've read somewhere Duffer brothers were always shooting for 4 to 5 season, so we'll get at least one more season. I like the fact they had (or so it seems) completely structured story since day one, as opposed to series that are milking their idea to death and only 'conclude' story-arc (if they bothered to do that at all) when series gets cancelled.

[satur8]

I'm not going to defend the overuse of 80s pop culture because I understand that it was a crutch, and combined with the constant comedy, it did change the tone from the first season. Conversely, the second season was similar in tone to the first and overall did not work, so I don't fault the change, either.

But all of that said, I know there are a few old heads with me on the forum, but I always assume most of you fall between your late 20 to early 40s. Me, I'm 48, uniquely putting me at about the same age as the characters in 1984/1985. I have to tell you...the culture of the day is pretty spot on. I can understand someone born in the 90's seeing this series as cliche, but seriously, all three seasons have nailed down the vibe of the time period pretty well. Sometimes you watch entertainment centered in the 70s or 80s and think, "Wow, they mixed up an entire decade's worth of trends just to fit them in". I don't think that is the case here: we are looking at America in 1985, and it's spot on.

If you're talking about who I think you're talking about... I wouldn't go as far as saying incredible. Funny, and a good addition to the main "roster" - if you will

Enjoyed - We'll have to agree to disagree on this one. I thought the character brought something new and interesting, and it was cool seeing someone that was an outsider on so many levels add to the story. I thought she was the standout this season. Love or hate the comedy, I think the three best performances from this season weren't even major players in the past.

Spoiler

Robin, Murray, and Erica

And maybe that in part is responsible for this season's lukewarm reception.

(And of course, IMO Harbour's Hopper was really good again. The stuff with Joyce got old, but his relationship with the kids was so perfectly awkward).

[Bosco]

Some of dialogue from kids/tweens to adults was really questionable. For the younger audience that watches this, some of the shit Erica and Mike said to adults would have ended in some serious reprimanding and it would be socially correct at that time. Feels like there is no consequences for kids.

"Fuck you, and your fun! You entitled little shits."

- my Uncle


Try and wrap up my final thought on this season...

It was good-bad. So many carelessly ignored plot-holes, but if you turn of your brain, take a liking to some of the characters, there is enough surface-fun to keep you entertained and keep you laughing.

[Enjoyed]

It was good-bad. So many carelessly ignored plot-holes, but if you turn of your brain, take a liking to some of the characters, there is enough surface-fun to keep you entertained and keep you laughing.

This.

[Wolkenkrabber]

John Wick 3, anyone? Looks like there'll be a No 4. I'd quite like that to be the last one and for them to really go for broke in the final installment. Perhaps once you start borrowing ideas from contemporary films it's time to consider calling it a day.

The Villainess (2017)
(If you want to watch all of The Villainess it might be worth stoppping after 30 secs or a minute, so that you can enjoy this clip within the context of the film.)

[Bosco]

^ no I haven't, but I know NBA player Boban Marjanovic has a part in that film (John Wick 3). And it's worth noting because not only is the guy tall, but has comically sized gigantic hands.

[Csar]

I've got to catch up with season 3 of ST. But I've got to admit, I also didn't quite get the hype that revolved around it. First season started out pretty interesting and mysterious but as soon as they revealed it's about demons/ monsters it kind of went downhill from there for me. I'm so tired of monsters in movies because they never really have a real motif but to destroy and just serve the purpose of cheap suspense in form of their ugly appearance and brutal behavior. Almost every fucking time it's got to be a monster of sorts. It's gotten to a point where I have to instantly laugh when they use monsters and their stereotypical roarings and jump-scare type of scenes.
Also, some of the characters got pretty annyoing, starting with Wynona Riders role. She did great as an actress and I loved to see her back on screen. But man, the constant hysterical crying and screaming wore off pretty quickly. Than Caleb McLaughlin's character came across as a bit selfish and annoying too sometimes and Finn Wolfhard's felt like he was the Know-it-all geek oftentimes. Dialogs often were pretty wooden or too on the nose.

It's quite different with Dark. Although accused of ripping off ST, which is entirely untrue, it has a totally different tone and story which focuses on the human nature in a fucked up small town and how people and time are intertwined. It's much more captivating to me than monsters. I've just started with the second season and it's so far pretty good. But I could also see that this could move into a direction where it might drag and become a little stale the more is revealed and the less mystery there is to uncover. Some scenes already were kind of predictable in the first couple of episodes I watched. Let's see where they're headed with this.

[Bosco]

I would say don't continue on with the series, Csar. It's only entertaining junk food for your brain at this point. And from what you wrote, I think you might be looking for something beyond that (which I initally was too) so you're more than likely gonna be left disappointed. But if your open to some tongue-in-cheek fun, go for it. At the very least, you can be part of the conversation then.

I'll still defend Season 1 though. I think the tropes they tackle in season 1, were blended extremely  well and kept the plot intriguing and secretive. The resolution at the end of season 1 might have been predictable, but we were left with multiple avenues for fans to interpret the show and a mysterious world to discover.

The acting... I liked Winona Rider's performance. But I'm also one of the people who thought Shelley Duval in 'The Shining' was pretty great. Frantic characters can get a bad wrap. I think Winona did really good for what they wanted for Joyce. Although, it just might be I have a high tolerance for these type of performances.


'Dark' is better than 'Stranger Things', It's just not as accessible and way too convoluted for the general populous. I would say it's worth the effort, but it does have the problem of being a bit repetitive, bleak, and not a lot of payoff. But on the plus side, it possibly could be one of the most beautiful looking programs out there, has magnificent dialogue, and a delightfully eerie soundtrack.

[satur8]

Are any of you watching Legion? If you're looking for something layered, beautiful, dark, and weird, I recommend it. Especially the first season.

[Conn6orsuper117]

Watched spiderman Far from home

Spoiler

Safety Spoiler

Spoiler

1) Mysterio was a Villan I was highly excited for, and Jake Gillenhal was a good choice. It was a cool twist to reveal that everyone that worked for him were former Stark Employees (especially the "I'm not Tony Stark" Scientist from the 1st Iron man). use of drones for mysterio's Illusions was a good choice, but Im kinda sad we only saw 2 hallucinations (not counting the elemental's fight scenes

2) I think the reveal with MJ knowing Peter is Spiderman would've been a really funny & great twist, if it wasnt spoiled in the trailers

3) JKSimmons is back, fuck yeah! as if I couldn't get sam raimi vibes enough from the MJ & Spiderman scene at the end.

4) the skrolls are back too, but does this mean Fury this whole time was up on the mothership during Endgame (and possibly never went to tony's funeral) or am I  over thinking this?

[Bosco]

Satur8, I will eventually get around to Legion. I think I mentioned this before, but I have inside interest because I know know the show is based around characters that artist Bill Sienkiewicz helped create. While I'm not necessarily a comic book nerd, I'm a big fan of his illustrations and artistic interpretation. I wish Chemical Brothers would somehow cross his path because I think he could provide some unbelievable artwork.

Here is his most recent work for Seth MacFarlane's new Jazz album:

http://twitter.com/sethmacfarlane/status/1119999514004164609