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Post by Rey Kahuka on Apr 3, 2024 17:30:27 GMT
I kinda forgot that I also watched 12 Mighty Orphans on that flight home. I know we all made fun of it several pages back, but it wasn't terrible. Just entirely average. Everything about it was pretty much exactly what you'd expect, and you can feel which parts of the story are actually true and which parts are just typical screenwritery moves for an 'inspirational' movie. Everyone grows and learns in all the ways you'd expect, the good guys get a favorable ruling in the most ludicrous way possible at exactly the right moment, the genteel and affable old guy with a drinking problem just decides to get sober during half time of the big game, the bad guy gets his comeuppance at the end, the team learns that they don't need anyone else and that they are now a surrogate family, and everything works out for everyone. It's shot entirely in sepia tone, everyone is very folksy, and all of the main boys' troubles and antics are essentially innocent. It's fine. It couldn't be more fine. It's nothing other than just fine. Good cast though, and Luke Wilson's accent isn't as bad as it seemed in the trailer... even though he's really not a good actor. I enjoyed seeing some of the legendary actors mixed with some less starry character actors like Vanessa Shaw and Newman (Wayne Knight) hamming it up as the bad guy, and then legendary comedian Ron White as the sheriff... I know he's done movies, but I don't ever recall seeing him act before. It's not much of a part, but it's just funny and very subversive to see a guy like that in a movie like this. But yeah. It's fine. There isn't another word to encapsulate how adequately unremarkable this movie is.... just.. fine. Haven't seen that one, but I had the same thoughts about The Boys in the Boat. It's a weird movie because other than establishing that it was the Great Depression, the team never faces any real adversity. The Varsity team gives them shit in one scene, other than that it's just a story about a team that beat everyone without too much difficulty. I think the 'low point' comes when the main character argues with the coach and quits the team, only to come back like one scene later. There isn't even any real conflict within the team itself, everyone just gets along and they kick everyone's ass. These movies are kind of cookie cutter now, fair enough. But the story doesn't contain any real hardship or tension. The only drama comes from the committee changing the rules and disallowing the team from going to the Olympics unless they can pay their own way (which of course, they can't). So they have to throw a last-ditch fundraiser and come up a few hundred bucks short-- but the coach of the team that would've gone in their place writes them a check that puts them over the top. That's great if it really happened that way, but the movie could've used a little more, I don't know, underdog desperation. Like you said, it's fine, you won't have a bad time watching it, I just don't know what the point was. (Also, the movie does this weird wraparound story consisting solely of one of the main characters as an old man talking to his grandson for a few minutes about rowing. No idea why they framed it that way, it added nothing at all to the story.)
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Post by sdm3 on Apr 3, 2024 18:42:36 GMT
I kinda forgot that I also watched 12 Mighty Orphans on that flight home. I know we all made fun of it several pages back, but it wasn't terrible. Just entirely average. Everything about it was pretty much exactly what you'd expect, and you can feel which parts of the story are actually true and which parts are just typical screenwritery moves for an 'inspirational' movie. Everyone grows and learns in all the ways you'd expect, the good guys get a favorable ruling in the most ludicrous way possible at exactly the right moment, the genteel and affable old guy with a drinking problem just decides to get sober during half time of the big game, the bad guy gets his comeuppance at the end, the team learns that they don't need anyone else and that they are now a surrogate family, and everything works out for everyone. It's shot entirely in sepia tone, everyone is very folksy, and all of the main boys' troubles and antics are essentially innocent. It's fine. It couldn't be more fine. It's nothing other than just fine. Good cast though, and Luke Wilson's accent isn't as bad as it seemed in the trailer... even though he's really not a good actor. I enjoyed seeing some of the legendary actors mixed with some less starry character actors like Vanessa Shaw and Newman (Wayne Knight) hamming it up as the bad guy, and then legendary comedian Ron White as the sheriff... I know he's done movies, but I don't ever recall seeing him act before. It's not much of a part, but it's just funny and very subversive to see a guy like that in a movie like this. But yeah. It's fine. There isn't another word to encapsulate how adequately unremarkable this movie is.... just.. fine. Haven't seen that one, but I had the same thoughts about The Boys in the Boat. It's a weird movie because other than establishing that it was the Great Depression, the team never faces any real adversity. The Varsity team gives them shit in one scene, other than that it's just a story about a team that beat everyone without too much difficulty. I think the 'low point' comes when the main character argues with the coach and quits the team, only to come back like one scene later. There isn't even any real conflict within the team itself, everyone just gets along and they kick everyone's ass. These movies are kind of cookie cutter now, fair enough. But the story doesn't contain any real hardship or tension. The only drama comes from the committee changing the rules and disallowing the team from going to the Olympics unless they can pay their own way (which of course, they can't). So they have to throw a last-ditch fundraiser and come up a few hundred bucks short-- but the coach of the team that would've gone in their place writes them a check that puts them over the top. That's great if it really happened that way, but the movie could've used a little more, I don't know, underdog desperation. Like you said, it's fine, you won't have a bad time watching it, I just don't know what the point was. (Also, the movie does this weird wraparound story consisting solely of one of the main characters as an old man talking to his grandson for a few minutes about rowing. No idea why they framed it that way, it added nothing at all to the story.) I saw The Boys in the Boat a while ago and had the same thoughts as you. Normally with these kinds of movies you'd expect them to start racing, win a few times, then face some adversity in the form of a problem they can't figure out/a team they can't beat before they come up with some strategy to improve. But nope... they just win, win, win by rowing harder than the other guys every single time.
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Post by Rey Kahuka on Apr 4, 2024 14:52:58 GMT
In the tradition of amazing WWII shows produced by Spielberg and Hanks with incredible intros, allow me to introduce Masters of the Air. It's the best thing Apple TV has produced to date, in my opinion. Based on the book of the same name (but collecting other stories not featured in the book), this is the story of the 100th Bomb Group of B-17 Flying Fortresses, known as the 'Bloody Hundredth' for their high casualty rate while performing highly dangerous daytime bombing runs over Nazi Germany during WWII. It debuted to mixed reactions (mostly by people complaining about what to me are trivial things, but I'll get to that), but is now after completing its full run a highly rated show, and deservedly so. MOTA features a talented ensemble cast and delves into several aspects of the war, beyond just the action in the skies. Of particular note is the time it spends with the ground crews who have to patch these things up and get them airworthy again, when they come back chewed up by flak and machine gun fire. It touches (albeit briefly) on the struggles of black pilots in the US Army Air Force during that time, as well as POW camps, resistance escape routes for downed pilots, and even the French Resistance. The show is expertly paced with tension and drama throughout, and set up in a way so as not to be repetitive bombing run after bombing run. New characters are introduced as you follow the exploits of the surviving characters from earlier episodes in their various harrowing circumstances, in the air and on the ground. And again, the visuals are just stunning. The complaints I mentioned earlier had a lot to do with the CGI not getting the plane movements quite right, that everything looked too glossy, etc. All I can say is they weren't going to recreate dogfights or bombing runs with live planes when the technology is there to do anything with CGI. It isn't perfect, but the effects are incredible, and I'm sure the glossy shine to the sky and the planes in some shots is a creative choice, and it looks fucking beautiful. As far as grit, watch the show. It depicts the million shitty ways you could die in the skies over Europe in WWII. It doesn't shy away from that stuff at all. More to the point, the action, no matter how incredibly filmed, no matter how true to life, should never be the main point of a war story. Name your favorite war movie. Now tell me why. It isn't just for the action, it's the reason for the action. Yes, the eye candy of cinematic battle helps sell the story, no doubt. I didn't start off my review with those intros for nothing. But the story only works if you give a shit about these guys. Why are these guys putting themselves through this hell? What are they willing to do for each other in the most impossible of circumstances? How do they live with the choices one must wake in wartime? That's what makes a great war story. The heroism that just becomes matter of fact once the bullets start flying. Now look, I can rave about this stuff all day, but I think your enjoyment of it depends on your appreciation for aviation and military (particularly WWII) stories. I'll never tire of either subject, so this was going to be a home run for me almost no matter what. (For what it's worth, my wife also loved the show, but her taste isn't that far from mine in most cases.) Like most of us, my grandfathers served in the war (both in the European theater), and the books, shows and movies always being released remind us of what that generation sacrificed to give us the world we live in today. I hope we never forget that. Not to end things on a preachy note, just enjoy the show for all that it has to offer. Superb acting, riveting plot, high production values, and truly arresting visuals. If you're remotely interested in the subject matter at all, you won't be disappointed.
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Post by masterofallgoons on Apr 4, 2024 14:54:44 GMT
I kinda forgot that I also watched 12 Mighty Orphans on that flight home. I know we all made fun of it several pages back, but it wasn't terrible. Just entirely average. Everything about it was pretty much exactly what you'd expect, and you can feel which parts of the story are actually true and which parts are just typical screenwritery moves for an 'inspirational' movie. Everyone grows and learns in all the ways you'd expect, the good guys get a favorable ruling in the most ludicrous way possible at exactly the right moment, the genteel and affable old guy with a drinking problem just decides to get sober during half time of the big game, the bad guy gets his comeuppance at the end, the team learns that they don't need anyone else and that they are now a surrogate family, and everything works out for everyone. It's shot entirely in sepia tone, everyone is very folksy, and all of the main boys' troubles and antics are essentially innocent. It's fine. It couldn't be more fine. It's nothing other than just fine. Good cast though, and Luke Wilson's accent isn't as bad as it seemed in the trailer... even though he's really not a good actor. I enjoyed seeing some of the legendary actors mixed with some less starry character actors like Vanessa Shaw and Newman (Wayne Knight) hamming it up as the bad guy, and then legendary comedian Ron White as the sheriff... I know he's done movies, but I don't ever recall seeing him act before. It's not much of a part, but it's just funny and very subversive to see a guy like that in a movie like this. But yeah. It's fine. There isn't another word to encapsulate how adequately unremarkable this movie is.... just.. fine. Haven't seen that one, but I had the same thoughts about The Boys in the Boat. It's a weird movie because other than establishing that it was the Great Depression, the team never faces any real adversity. The Varsity team gives them shit in one scene, other than that it's just a story about a team that beat everyone without too much difficulty. I think the 'low point' comes when the main character argues with the coach and quits the team, only to come back like one scene later. There isn't even any real conflict within the team itself, everyone just gets along and they kick everyone's ass. These movies are kind of cookie cutter now, fair enough. But the story doesn't contain any real hardship or tension. The only drama comes from the committee changing the rules and disallowing the team from going to the Olympics unless they can pay their own way (which of course, they can't). So they have to throw a last-ditch fundraiser and come up a few hundred bucks short-- but the coach of the team that would've gone in their place writes them a check that puts them over the top. That's great if it really happened that way, but the movie could've used a little more, I don't know, underdog desperation. Like you said, it's fine, you won't have a bad time watching it, I just don't know what the point was. (Also, the movie does this weird wraparound story consisting solely of one of the main characters as an old man talking to his grandson for a few minutes about rowing. No idea why they framed it that way, it added nothing at all to the story.) 12 Mighty Orphans had kind of the opposite issue. They were faced with staggering adversity in every cliche way you could imagine, but everything was resolved neatly at every turn (and just in the nick of time), and yet winning seemed to come so easily to them. None of these boys had ever played the sport before, they barely had a ball to practice with, but then they immediately start competing with and then beating opponents because the coach invents the spread offense. The one star player can pretty much break any tackle and can just beat any block and level any ball carrier at will. They are hit with every roadblock and emotional problem, and every one overcomes it with barely a struggle.
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Post by masterofallgoons on Apr 4, 2024 18:22:55 GMT
In the tradition of amazing WWII shows produced by Spielberg and Hanks with incredible intros, allow me to introduce Masters of the Air. It's the best thing Apple TV has produced to date, in my opinion. Based on the book of the same name (but collecting other stories not featured in the book), this is the story of the 100th Bomb Group of B-17 Flying Fortresses, known as the 'Bloody Hundredth' for their high casualty rate while performing highly dangerous daytime bombing runs over Nazi Germany during WWII. It debuted to mixed reactions (mostly by people complaining about what to me are trivial things, but I'll get to that), but is now after completing its full run a highly rated show, and deservedly so. MOTA features a talented ensemble cast and delves into several aspects of the war, beyond just the action in the skies. Of particular note is the time it spends with the ground crews who have to patch these things up and get them airworthy again, when they come back chewed up by flak and machine gun fire. It touches (albeit briefly) on the struggles of black pilots in the US Army Air Force during that time, as well as POW camps, resistance escape routes for downed pilots, and even the French Resistance. The show is expertly paced with tension and drama throughout, and set up in a way so as not to be repetitive bombing run after bombing run. New characters are introduced as you follow the exploits of the surviving characters from earlier episodes in their various harrowing circumstances, in the air and on the ground. And again, the visuals are just stunning. The complaints I mentioned earlier had a lot to do with the CGI not getting the plane movements quite right, that everything looked too glossy, etc. All I can say is they weren't going to recreate dogfights or bombing runs with live planes when the technology is there to do anything with CGI. It isn't perfect, but the effects are incredible, and I'm sure the glossy shine to the sky and the planes in some shots is a creative choice, and it looks fucking beautiful. As far as grit, watch the show. It depicts the million shitty ways you could die in the skies over Europe in WWII. It doesn't shy away from that stuff at all. More to the point, the action, no matter how incredibly filmed, no matter how true to life, should never be the main point of a war story. Name your favorite war movie. Now tell me why. It isn't just for the action, it's the reason for the action. Yes, the eye candy of cinematic battle helps sell the story, no doubt. I didn't start off my review with those intros for nothing. But the story only works if you give a shit about these guys. Why are these guys putting themselves through this hell? What are they willing to do for each other in the most impossible of circumstances? How do they live with the choices one must wake in wartime? That's what makes a great war story. The heroism that just becomes matter of fact once the bullets start flying. Now look, I can rave about this stuff all day, but I think your enjoyment of it depends on your appreciation for aviation and military (particularly WWII) stories. I'll never tire of either subject, so this was going to be a home run for me almost no matter what. (For what it's worth, my wife also loved the show, but her taste isn't that far from mine in most cases.) Like most of us, my grandfathers served in the war (both in the European theater), and the books, shows and movies always being released remind us of what that generation sacrificed to give us the world we live in today. I hope we never forget that. Not to end things on a preachy note, just enjoy the show for all that it has to offer. Superb acting, riveting plot, high production values, and truly arresting visuals. If you're remotely interested in the subject matter at all, you won't be disappointed. I've heard decent things about it. From the trailers it looked pretty tacky and all of the CGI flying scenes looked very much like CGI flying scenes, which makes things a little hard to take seriously when it has such a serious tone (the George Lucas produced Red Tails comes to mind) ... but people seem to think highly of it. What is hard to understand though is how Apple justifies spending 250 million dollars on something like this when evidently nobody is watching. I know they've had a hit or two and a few well regarded productions in both series and film, but of the major streamers it has by far the lowest subscriber base. They spend somewhere around 6 billion dollars a year on that service, and the generate way less in revenue, growth has apparently flat lined, and there seems to be a serious doubt that Apple can ever see any profit out of this service. I know there are different metrics, and often mysterious metrics, and there are some abstract concepts about the value of such things; but to me and to so many people who analyze such things, it really just doesn't make much sense.
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Post by Rey Kahuka on Apr 4, 2024 19:44:32 GMT
In the tradition of amazing WWII shows produced by Spielberg and Hanks with incredible intros, allow me to introduce Masters of the Air. It's the best thing Apple TV has produced to date, in my opinion. Based on the book of the same name (but collecting other stories not featured in the book), this is the story of the 100th Bomb Group of B-17 Flying Fortresses, known as the 'Bloody Hundredth' for their high casualty rate while performing highly dangerous daytime bombing runs over Nazi Germany during WWII. It debuted to mixed reactions (mostly by people complaining about what to me are trivial things, but I'll get to that), but is now after completing its full run a highly rated show, and deservedly so. MOTA features a talented ensemble cast and delves into several aspects of the war, beyond just the action in the skies. Of particular note is the time it spends with the ground crews who have to patch these things up and get them airworthy again, when they come back chewed up by flak and machine gun fire. It touches (albeit briefly) on the struggles of black pilots in the US Army Air Force during that time, as well as POW camps, resistance escape routes for downed pilots, and even the French Resistance. The show is expertly paced with tension and drama throughout, and set up in a way so as not to be repetitive bombing run after bombing run. New characters are introduced as you follow the exploits of the surviving characters from earlier episodes in their various harrowing circumstances, in the air and on the ground. And again, the visuals are just stunning. The complaints I mentioned earlier had a lot to do with the CGI not getting the plane movements quite right, that everything looked too glossy, etc. All I can say is they weren't going to recreate dogfights or bombing runs with live planes when the technology is there to do anything with CGI. It isn't perfect, but the effects are incredible, and I'm sure the glossy shine to the sky and the planes in some shots is a creative choice, and it looks fucking beautiful. As far as grit, watch the show. It depicts the million shitty ways you could die in the skies over Europe in WWII. It doesn't shy away from that stuff at all. More to the point, the action, no matter how incredibly filmed, no matter how true to life, should never be the main point of a war story. Name your favorite war movie. Now tell me why. It isn't just for the action, it's the reason for the action. Yes, the eye candy of cinematic battle helps sell the story, no doubt. I didn't start off my review with those intros for nothing. But the story only works if you give a shit about these guys. Why are these guys putting themselves through this hell? What are they willing to do for each other in the most impossible of circumstances? How do they live with the choices one must wake in wartime? That's what makes a great war story. The heroism that just becomes matter of fact once the bullets start flying. Now look, I can rave about this stuff all day, but I think your enjoyment of it depends on your appreciation for aviation and military (particularly WWII) stories. I'll never tire of either subject, so this was going to be a home run for me almost no matter what. (For what it's worth, my wife also loved the show, but her taste isn't that far from mine in most cases.) Like most of us, my grandfathers served in the war (both in the European theater), and the books, shows and movies always being released remind us of what that generation sacrificed to give us the world we live in today. I hope we never forget that. Not to end things on a preachy note, just enjoy the show for all that it has to offer. Superb acting, riveting plot, high production values, and truly arresting visuals. If you're remotely interested in the subject matter at all, you won't be disappointed. I've heard decent things about it. From the trailers it looked pretty tacky and all of the CGI flying scenes looked very much like CGI flying scenes, which makes things a little hard to take seriously when it has such a serious tone (the George Lucas produced Red Tails comes to mind) ... but people seem to think highly of it. What is hard to understand though is how Apple justifies spending 250 million dollars on something like this when evidently nobody is watching. I know they've had a hit or two and a few well regarded productions in both series and film, but of the major streamers it has by far the lowest subscriber base. They spend somewhere around 6 billion dollars a year on that service, and the generate way less in revenue, growth has apparently flat lined, and there seems to be a serious doubt that Apple can ever see any profit out of this service. I know there are different metrics, and often mysterious metrics, and there are some abstract concepts about the value of such things; but to me and to so many people who analyze such things, it really just doesn't make much sense. You're not wrong about the CGI, and the more aircraft on the screen at once, the more it almost feels like an AI fever dream of what a WWII battle would've looked like. But the majority of the action takes place inside the cockpit, anyway. If they want to augment the human drama unfolding with less than perfect visual accents, I'm fine with that. If it's a slightly surrealist take, so be it, so long as they represent the people and their story properly. Though it's funny how that stuff bothers me less, as someone involved in the aerospace industry. The same comments were made about Midway (2019), another movie I love-- which admittedly is another masterclass in CGI. I just appreciate that they're able to bring so many aspects of this story to the screen now in ways they never did before. Despite the hefty price tag, I still consider it substance over style. As opposed to Top Gun Maverick, which I also find highly enjoyable and while I have an enormous appreciation for its commitment to genuine maneuvers flown by real pilots in real aircraft, it doesn't pull me in emotionally in the same way. As incredible as the stunt work is in that movie, it never feels like anything is at stake. Regarding Apple TV, I guess it's like our conversation about advertising; brand recognition is paramount (not to be confused with Paramount+). As long as it's getting headlines and drawing people to your company (which for most of these streamers consists of various other financial ventures), it's worth the cost. The streaming service itself is literally an ad for your corporate conglomerate, whether the service generates revenue on its own or not. Time will tell if Frogs had it right. "We're in the news, people are talking about us. That's a success."
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Post by Horselover Fat on Apr 6, 2024 0:40:26 GMT
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Post by Horselover Fat on Apr 6, 2024 2:18:19 GMT
observationdeck2.blogspot.com/2024/04/dark-city-1998.htmlDirected by Alex Proyas. Found on Tubi and I also have the Director Cut DVD. Rufus Sewell, Jennifer Connelly, Keifer Sutherland, William Hurt. Because I can never choose a movie while browsing Tubi or my own DVD/Blu-ray shelves, I have found it much easier to start with a list. Pick a genre, certain era, 70s/80s, etc. Sometimes it is a certain director, or actor. Recently I did 80s/90s crime comedies, cop comedies, and then buddy cops. Today I made a list of stuff that was available on the free Youtube channel and Tubi. Quite a few were on both. Both have a lot of good movies.
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Post by Winston Wolfe on Apr 8, 2024 13:58:48 GMT
Curb Your Enthusiasm ended it’s 24 year-yet-somehow-only-12 season run last night. Without giving away too much — or anything really — I thought it was a satisfying enough conclusion. It wasn’t too different from what you'd expect from a finale, full of callbacks to earlier seasons/episodes and surprise guest appearances.
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Post by masterofallgoons on Apr 8, 2024 18:27:35 GMT
The eclipse!
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Post by Rey Kahuka on Apr 8, 2024 18:41:05 GMT
Using the goofy glasses from the front porch here at work.
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Post by TheGoodMan19 on Apr 8, 2024 18:44:50 GMT
Been cloudy all morning but the Sun acts like it wants to come out
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Post by masterofallgoons on Apr 8, 2024 19:11:06 GMT
Using the goofy glasses from the front porch here at work. I'm shoeboxing it at the moment. It's oddly dark now.. Such an odd sensation.
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Post by Rey Kahuka on Apr 8, 2024 19:46:34 GMT
Using the goofy glasses from the front porch here at work. I'm shoeboxing it at the moment. It's oddly dark now.. Such an odd sensation. Wait until the aliens show up.
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Post by masterofallgoons on Apr 8, 2024 19:49:03 GMT
I'm shoeboxing it at the moment. It's oddly dark now.. Such an odd sensation. Wait until the aliens show up. Any minute now...
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Post by klawrencio79 on Apr 8, 2024 20:11:58 GMT
Sunny skies here on LI...
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Post by masterofallgoons on Apr 8, 2024 21:08:44 GMT
So, that was cool. Didn't get the experience of 'totality' but it did get eerily dark with a clear blue sky overhead, and noticeably cool and breezy. The shoe box thing and paper glasses thing both worked pretty well. I remember a few years ago when there was another semi-significant eclipse some girl in the park let me borrow her lens she had from a welding mask. That was cool too.
Someone in the distance was playing the last few tracks from Dark Side of the Moon. Felt appropriate.
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Post by masterofallgoons on Apr 9, 2024 1:58:13 GMT
Curb Your Enthusiasm ended it’s 24 year-yet-somehow-only-12 season run last night. Without giving away too much — or anything really — I thought it was a satisfying enough conclusion. It wasn’t too different from what you'd expect from a finale, full of callbacks to earlier seasons/episodes and surprise guest appearances. Pretty much what I expected, but I did fall for the misdirect. It was pretty enjoyable, and more or less like another episode, not super finale-ish...even though it was. The later seasons were a little overproduced, overly written, and too elaborately silly, but it was still always one of the most enjoyable shows on TV whenever it was on. I started watching from the beginning again, and it's just so great... never gets old.
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Post by klawrencio79 on Apr 9, 2024 14:41:24 GMT
Curb Your Enthusiasm ended it’s 24 year-yet-somehow-only-12 season run last night. Without giving away too much — or anything really — I thought it was a satisfying enough conclusion. It wasn’t too different from what you'd expect from a finale, full of callbacks to earlier seasons/episodes and surprise guest appearances. Pretty much what I expected, but I did fall for the misdirect. It was pretty enjoyable, and more or less like another episode, not super finale-ish...even though it was. The later seasons were a little overproduced, overly written, and too elaborately silly, but it was still always one of the most enjoyable shows on TV whenever it was on. I started watching from the beginning again, and it's just so great... never gets old. This was a show I had skipped over. I loved Seinfeld but with Curb, I just found Larry David impossibly annoying. I had seen a handful of episodes over the years, all of which were great, but I had never watched it through. Well, finally, a few months ago my friend convinced me to just bite the bullet and dive in and I have to say, what a rewarding experience. Yeah, Larry is annoying, but the show is consistently funny as hell. I'm up to Season 5 and I am so happy that I still have a boatload of episodes to go!
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Post by sdm3 on Apr 10, 2024 12:46:19 GMT
I recently finished rewatching The Shield for the first time in a decade or so. Outstanding television; it seems to be more of a cult classic now, but was beloved and lauded by critics at the time. I'm saddened that it remains relatively underrated and still hasn't had that cultural re-examination that, say, The Sopranos received. For me, the only people who don't have The Shield in their top 10 never saw it because it absolutely belongs with those heavyweights of the 00s, the aforementioned Sopranos, The Wire, Deadwood etc. I firmly believe that The Shield helped pave the way for stuff like Breaking Bad - and had it aired in the era of social media it would be recognized at a similar level. Chiklis as Vic Mackey was iconic and Walton Goggins delivered one of the all-time TV performances as Shane Vendrell, one of the best-written characters I can name. Anthony Anderson and Forest Whitaker come in later and they're unforgettable - Anderson in particular totally goes against type with terrifying results. Not to mention that it boasts perhaps the greatest series finale ever aired.
There are a few aspects that haven't aged well (one character grapples with his closeted homosexuality and ends up undertaking "conversion therapy") but overall, the plotting and character dynamics were positively Shakespearean by the end (a descriptor that often rings false but definitely applies in this case). I'd highly recommend visiting The Shield if you've never seen it.
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