What Are You Watching?

CURB

re-watching DAREDEVIL and about to restart THE SOPRANOS ... even though I've got enough to catch up with to last me a year at 8-hours viewing a day (seriously, I watched season 1 of WESTWORLD, PREACHER and MR. ROBOT when they were on TV... I still need to watch season 3 and 4 of Preacher and I'm 2 episodes into season 2 of the others, this is why having a full time job sucks.)

My Salinger Year with Margaret Qualley and Sigourney Weaver. Tried too hard to be like Devil Wears Prada but just turned out somewhat drab and boring and seemed too choppy. Not sure where it was shot but missed on a feel for NYC, even scenes at what were supposed to be iconic settings like the Waldorf were dull. I usually love Sigourney Weaver but her character just seemed controlling and snippy to her underlings without being a force of nature like Meryl Streep in Prada. I didn't love everything about DWP  (especially the cop-out ending where Anne Hathaway renounces fashion when she was so close to success), but revealing Streep's insecurities added a dimension to her character. Something along those lines could have made Weaver a stronger character. 

Speaking of Hathaway, I really liked her in The Intern with Robert DeNiro. He's classy and supportive of her boss character and there's a nicely played, relaxed scene where they share a hotel room and exchange confidences. Very enjoyable watch.

Just binged 30 eps of 'Succession' over 4 days.

Most excellent.

I'm currently obsessed with this new show 'Yellowjackets' on Showtime with Christina Ricci. It's like survival show with predominantly female characters set both in 1996 and 2021 so it has that nostalgia factor I like. I think Amazon Prime had something with a very similar premise last year (forgotten the name of it) but I think this show did it better. 

Kobra Kai, I just started season 4 on Netflix. Kate Kid is such a classic 80s movies, when I started watching Cobra Kai, I honestly expected lameness. As it turns out, it's a surprisingly entertaining and well-written show. Middle-aged men having good fights. Daniel is all prim and proper. Johnny, his rival, is rude and crude. It's the perfect dynamic. Hysterical banter like this exchange.

Daniel: I can't teach my (Karate) students while you're shouting obscenities.
Johnny: Shouting obscenities? What kinda bullshit is that?

Me: Hahahaha...

I watched Karate Kid for the first time a few months ago and was on tenterhooks in that last scene. Gotta check out Cobra Kai but I guess I gotta tackle the sequel(s) first? 

CJ, that is SO cool!

Lucy, watching the sequels isn't mandatory. It's up to you. I believe they're all in Netflix. I didn't personally get the same feel from the sequels as what I got from the first movie,

Room (2015)

This one flew completely under my radar somehow. A little surprising in that while I don't watch a ton of new releases, I still tend to have a pretty good idea of what's all coming out. Brie Larson did a really good job & her young co-star was AMAZING @ acting given his age. I appreciate that they didn't exploit the subject matter (I'm aware of other authors/filmmakers that use the "man's inhumanity to man" bit as a flimsy excuse to revel in trash).

Def worth one watch, tho I probably wouldn't view again (given subject matter), unless it was with someone else who wanted to see it or the like.

Verdict: PAID RENTAL

The Tragedy of Macbeth (2021)

I'm glad they didn't modernize/dumb down the dialogue even if that meant relying on context sometimes. Denzel Washington is a national treasure, etc. The cinematography was good. I read a review where the witches were described as "terrifying", but I didn't think that particularly.

One character "Ross" didn't really have his motivations spelled out (that I noticed - could have been dense, and also missed bout 5 minutes due to large diet coke lol) and I had trouble understanding what his deal was exactly. Is he good? Evil? Opportunistic? Did he kill a main character or not? What is his agenda even? Sometimes a little ambiguity is fine, but sometimes it's just pointlessly confusing.

Oh... the part where Macbeth's arguing with the bird & everyone walks in and his wife's basically all "yeah, the king gets kinda nutso sometimes but it's harmless don't worry nothing to see here enjoy your steak" was HILARIOUS.

Verdict: PAID RENTAL       

Room is a masterpiece. It was filmed in Toronto. That's one movie I'd definitely recommend for those who can handle the subject matter. Room is a great example of an independent film that manages to show so much without showing anything at all, just by keeping everything from the point of view of a five-year-old boy. It's also on Netflix. I can handle the subject, but I get why only one viewing is the max for anyone. Though brilliant, it's very dark and at times heartbreaking.

I also liked how they didn't try to "explain" (excuse) Old Nick's actions in some kind of backstory. The dude was just being an evil, selfish creep.

That’s what makes it so brilliant. From the POV of a child, Old Nick seems like Santa Claus when we, the audience, know he's not.

Room is based on a novel of the same name, which is inspired by the true story of Elizabeth Fritzl. Knowing the details of that case, the movie could have been extreme. Instead, it's a simple story about a boy who grew up in Room.

Interestingly when googling "Old Nick" (to make certain I'd remembered the moniker correctly) I learned that's been a nickname for both Santa Claus and Satan.

Winter's Bone (2010)

Very good acting from Jennifer Lawrence. Fairly interesting as a "slice of life" film - tho no character really learns much over the runtime.

Verdict: STREAMING WATCH

Derek, you could say that Old Nick in Room is both Santa Claus and Satan.

There are a couple people in my circle that don't celebrate Christmas due to pagan origins, etc., etc. I don't really have a position on it - but I could hypothetically imagine God going "Santa? Satan? It's like two letters mixed around! How easy do I have to make things for y'all?!" LOL  

There are SO many memes based on that same joke lol.

I have taken to playing Wordle, so (in certain respects, not others) I am a rabbit of the people. lol

Nevermind. New York Times just bought Wordle, so there goes the fadborhood. :*(

Also

1776 (1972)

It generally takes more than a couple curse words for me to turn something off (or I'd never watch much of anything lol) but this one used some version of "My G-d" about what, 30 times during the first five minutes (?) (including in song) to the point I was thinking "Is casual blasphemy like -- a theme of this movie?" Another one of those I'm glad announced itself very early on cause it kept me from wasting 2.5 hours of life on it.

Verdict: SKIP  

Watched Season 1 of Cobra Kai with my brother.

Have mixed feelings about it (Just like Karate Kid, to be fair). No character really comes across as exemplary, or unredeemable I suppose.   

Diora Baird was super charismatic tho, so I could see casting her in something.

I think they did an awesome job of making Ralph Macchio look old.

I will admit that certain aspects required an initial, suspension of disbelief on my part.

Tho some of that may be that Macchio looked a deal younger than everyone else in "Karate Kid"... and my only experiences with him prior to the present I remember were that movie and "My Cousin Vinny" so the juxtaposition was initially a bit jarring.

That said, he looks younger in recent interviews than he did in first season of show to me so I dunno. Maybe it was fictional car-salesman vibes. LOL   

Also, no one alive in the 1980s can now be over 40.

Them's the rules. I didn't type it. LOL

"Free bonsai tree with every car!"

I was born in the late 70's. so, fyi.

Lily -

You're awesome (not grand) person'd in! ;)

D'awww, same to you, Derek.

Yukon River Run (TV, 2015)

Reality limited series. Three groups travel down Alaska's Yukon River on log rafts they build in order to sell firewood to remote villages before winter hits. If this sounds like something you'd be interested in or not you're probably right. I thought it was quite riveting.

Verdict: PAID RENTAL