Recent Viewing Part IV

For me it's hard to call her an underdog if the only true antagonist she fought was herself.

Sounds interesting. Of course a first episode needs to capture you immediately or people don't continue, so let's hope it continues to wow you in the following episodes too

I watched the odd episode of LOIS & CLARK back in the 90s (always found it funny that it was scored by Jay Gruska - John "Superman" Williams' son-in-law at the time).

I might check out this new series too, but I'm kinda "superheroed out", as it were.

WandaVision

Overall, I enjoyed this though it was a bit of an unusual trajectory in terms of my enjoyment. The more the show became a 'superhero'-styled story the less I enjoyed it.

Although a lot of the references to 1950s/1960s US TV shows were lost on me, I did like the parodying of these shows and the little hints of superpowers that were included (a sort of Bewitched feel to it). But, as this feeling of parodying early shows was put to one side the less interested I was.

So, anyone watched any NON-superhero stuff lately?

Lots of things! But they tend to be either quiz shows (Pointless, University Challenge & Only Connect) or police shows Line of Duty, The Bay, Bloodlands (I've just finished catching up with Cardinal). I also loved things like Altered Carbon and The Expanse.

For those in the UK and who get the Horror Channel, David Cronenberg's THE DEAD ZONE is showing tonight at 9.00pm.

One of the better Stephen King adaptations IMO the emotional power is helped in no small part by Michael Kamen's excellent score. That album could do with a bit of an improvement of sound quality.

Andrew Davis is a fantastic director. He can make Steven Seagal watchable!

I've finished Vikings, and I must admit that it left me a bit Meh overall (wherever/Netflix).

We've seen Servant Season 2 and were very happy that the series gave some answers, though we're far from sure about what's really going on there. Certainly an improvement plotwise, though I still love season 1's creepy being-kept-on-the-dark storytelling (Apple TV+).

Watching Snowpiercer now, and boy, what a f*cked up asskick setting. I'm sure some clever people will point out endless plotholes, but we really LOVE it (wherever/Netflix).

Started watching Warrior Nun, and oh boy, these actors need help. I kind of low-level like Simon Barry's stuff (Continuum, Ghost Wars, Van Helsing), but I'm not sure I dig this Buffy goes to Spain series (Netflix).

Of course we've seen WandaVision and are now into F&WS, and we love them, but are Marvelfans in general (Disney+).

The Mandalorian has yet to really grip me, until now, I find it more or less... lukewarm (Disney+). I'm way more hyped for The Bad Batch (Disney +)

Talking Disney+, Raya was well worth its money. Such a fantastically made movie.

I loved some of the changes season 3 brought to Westworld, but find it a bit stalling (HBO).

Season 3 of Star Trek Discovery was a nice change of setting as well. We don't love it, but we like it (wherever/Netflix). I can't wait for the Pike-spinoff.

If you haven't watched Carnival Row, you might give that a look. It's pretty good (Prime).

If you've not seen The Witcher, you should change that, if only for its soundtrack alone (Netflix).

Strike is that mix of Crime drama and Soap you never knew you needed (Prime?).

The Expanse is still very good (Prime).

Morning Show was WAY better than I expected. Not on Newsroom level, but wow (Apple TV+).

The best thing I've seen in recent months, however, is Love, Death & Robots, an anthology of animated shorts that includes more hits than misses, and some absolutely brilliant stuff (Netflix).

I've highlighted all the shows we have watched (save for Westworld - I've always been curious to see if this would be worth my time but have not yet gotten around to watching it). Oh, and Snowpiercer - we've seen the movie and it was enjoyable enough but I have always avoided the TV show since I have assumed that, since they are 'trapped' on the train, that the show is just a soap-on-a-train.

As I mentioned elsewhere, I enjoyed WandaVision less and less as the show progressed because of its increasing emphasis of the superhero aspect of the show. And I do have to admit to wanting to switch it off after the first couple of minutes of the opening episode because it looked like it was going to be something I wasn't expecting. But once I realised what they were doing I quickly warmed to it.

The Mandalorian and The Expanse are both excellent and I have started watching them again. I do wonder if it's worth going and reading the source novels for The Expanse.

I enjoy Star Trek: Discovery. I think. I don't really like the Michael Burnham character and she's an important aspect of the show!

Strike is really enjoyable and another police show I forgot to mention the other day is Unforgotten, where detectives investigate long-passed crimes and suspects whose lives are a lot more complex than most of ours.

We're still in season one, and for now I'm quite happy with what they are capable of doing on board the train.

Thanks, Ralph, for taking the time to comment on my own comments.

The dislike of superhero movies and TV is really down to the style that is used for the more action-oriented moments; the throwing people through buildings and any other inanimate objects, the pummelling of each other with their superpowers. It all looks so false and obviously CGI (for the most part). The parts that actually tells the story is fine. A bit like The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Save for the opening 5-10 minutes it's been about the people rather than the abilities. And I love The Boys. With WandaVision, I had no idea how this show was going to develop when I started watching it. I hadn't really paid much attention to the Avengers films but I got caught up in the hype with that one.

It's funny but I have never thought of The Mandalorian as being a superhero show. Maybe the balance of the show is better for my tastes? The action certainly feels more believable. And it's in the Star Wars universe - which is a big bonus.

I don't often post in this thread, because I try to reserve my judgements of films I've seen to 'professional' settings (i.e. places I write for).

But I keep TWO updated lists on MUBI, in case anyone's interested. One is about new films of the year, the other is about ALL films I watch in a given year. For 2021, that would be these:

2021 premieres: https://mubi.com/lists/2021-films-ranked
ALL films watched in 2021: https://mubi.com/lists/all-feature-films-seen-in-2021

TV shows, however, is another thing. I don't usually write about those professionally (well sometimes on CT if they're part of a sountrack review, but that's it). I have these two lists at FSM that I also try to update periodically:

Paranormal/normal shows of interest: https://www.filmscoremonthly.com/board/ … ;archive=0
Sit-coms/comedy: https://www.filmscoremonthly.com/board/ … ;archive=0

SNOWPIERCER's second season ended yesterday. Other shows nearing the end of their season that I'm currently watching include BOB'S BURGERS, FAMILY GUY, FOR ALL MANKIND, INTO THE DARK and THE WALKING DEAD.

We overlap again, because I've rewatched all of those within the last two weeks. I watch all the JURASSIC PARK movies (especially the first three) every year, at least once. Which is why I've seen the first one probably close to 70 times by now.