What Are You Watching?

Some 1970s - 90s Game Shows on buzzrtv (.com)

Catching up on episodes of Hot in Cleveland on PlutoTV. The whole ensemble is amazing but Betty White just kills with her timing. She's also in a fun duo in later seasons with Georgia Engel and they have their own capers. There are a couple behind-the-scenes episodes featuring interviews with the cast and the history of the show.

Just watched Barry Lyndon.  A masterpiece.

Emma. (2020).

Now free on IMDB TV (w/ basic U.S. amazon.com account). Watched this for the 2nd & 3rd time over weekend. The aesthetic is a painting of candy. The only thing I'd change (re: aesthetic, there were a couple of minor content things) was the schoolgirls all wearing same red capes... little distracting.

Verdict: Purchase 

It's never too late to discover Barry Lyndon! I thought I was a Kubrick fan but kept blowing that one off, and I couldn't have felt more foolish than when I discovered it's peak Kubrick.  Endlessly rewatchable as well, and stunning on Blu-ray.  Don't miss out, folks!

It's never too late to discover Barry Lyndon! I thought I was a Kubrick fan but kept blowing that one off, and I couldn't have felt more foolish than when I discovered it's peak Kubrick.  Endlessly rewatchable as well, and stunning on Blu-ray.  Don't miss out, folks!

The 1940s House (2001, reality limited-series)

Quite good. Tho @ only about 2.5 hours, perhaps too short.

Verdict: Streaming watch

Just watched the Ken Burns documentary on Ben Franklin. A lot that my history courses never mentioned.

Notable mentions in the last year-ish are Ozark, The Boys, The Peacemaker, Squid Game, Queen's Gambit, the Detectorists. 

Finally tracked down The Bob Newhart Show (without buying DVDs) so workin' on that.

Hi Derek,

All seasons of the Bob Newhart Show are available with a subscription to basic Hulu. You can watch on your phone, computer, or TV. Pretty good deal for about $7 a month and you can pause to take a break anytime. Lots of full series including Frasier, MTM Show, Golden Girls, Taxi. I love the Bob Newhart Show, I've been watching it too.

Kaye - Ya, thanks! That's where I'm watching it atm. There are a couple eps where I've been "eh..." (people drunk for "laughs", etc.) but most of it is pretty clean + great dry humor.

edit: spoke too soon. Movin' on. C'est la tv.

North & South (2004)

The first ep (of 4) led me to think this was gonna be kinda mediocre but it really took off after! Also, whoever played John Thornton was perfect for the role.

Verdict: Purchase

I was watching Oh My General, a mainland China historical drama with a gender twist, but tapped out at episode 22 of 60. For me, the cultural differences were fascinating.

@Kenneth I'm a big PBS junkie but ever since I moved to the UK it's gotten harder to access their documentaries. Still I'm going to find a way to access the Ken Burns Benjamin Franklin specials because that's a combo of two things I always need in my life.

I've been watching a lot of K-Dramas recently. Netflix has spoiled me with them and I got sucked into the cheesiness of it all. Two of my favorites are Twenty-five Twenty-one and Business Proposal. The latter I'd definitely recommend to hopeless romantics who don't mind subtitles. 

Watched all six episodes of season one of "Julia" on HBO. One word.....SCRUMPTIOUS!

@Elizabeth

I'm enjoying Julia too! New episode this Thursday, can't wait. Sarah Lancashire is wonderful.

PlutoTV now has a 24/7 Julia Child channel with The French Chef and Julia & Jacques Cooking at Home.

Also recently added on PlutoTV: a Perry Mason channel (the original series with Raymond Burr). Great casting and intriguing stories. The executive producer was Gail Patrick Jackson, one of the few powerful women in TV production in that era. She bought the rights to Erle Stanley Gardner's books and Gardner was closely involved in developing the scripts. As Gail Patrick she was a popular character actress in the 30s and 40s, known for films like My Man Godfrey and My Favorite Wife.

Hi Kaye, going by comments on Youtube,  many people feel Sarah Lancashire portrays Julia child even better than Meryl Streep. Both are wonderful actresses.

I just uninstalled Pluto in order to make room for IMBD tv. I wanted to watch Knives Out. Last night we bought Passport on PBS in order to watch Annika, with Nichola Walker. The writer is Nick Walker. No relation, just coincidence. 

I tried watching the remake of Perry Mason a while back, but didn't cotton to it. I think I read somewhere that Raymond Burr didn't actually need the wheelchair in the original show, it was just a gimmick. 

Happy Viewing!

Elizabeth -  There's a unique quality in Lancashire's performance in Julia, she seems to convey both Child's inner life and her madcap personality. She's very touching and joyous. Though I'm not sure if I totally buy how easy-peasy the recipes were for the "average" housewife that the series keeps affirming. I've tried a couple and they're a bit tricky, haven't had much success yet! More fun to watch her tackling things like tripe and bouillabaisse on the original French Chef.

Lancashire was in a lauded series in UK TV, Happy Valley, which streams free on Crackle. 

If you opt for Pluto again sometime, two enjoyable series are Blandings and the Irish sitcom Bridget and Eamon.

Hi Kaye, I'm no cook and apart from the meat and offal recipes I think I'd enjoy eating Julia's dishes since she adores butter and uses it generously. 

I like David Hyde Pierce as her long suffering but very loving hubby.

Thanks for your recommendations. I enjoy Irish humor.

A very fine drama series on Tubi you might like is "Moving On". There are 10 seasons so lots of episodes to get your teeth into. Created by Jimmy McGovern, the writing and acting is first class. Very relatable stories, nothing cringeworthy.  

Elizabeth

We've Forgotten More Than We Ever Knew, truly unique, haunting, enigmatic, small cast, low budget, unforgettable.

Directed by Thomas Woodrow. With Doug Jones, Louisa Krause, Aaron Stanford. A Man and a Woman wander through a hostile wilderness in a far-away world. One day, they stumble upon a mysterious set of Structures, which will complicate their lives both for good and ill.

The Perfect Storm

I think I heard a creaking sound when I opened this thread...4 months since the last post? Everything seems so much quieter lately.

Anyway I recently watched The White Lotus limited series and really enjoyed it. Thematically so interesting, wonderful pov on Hawaii (where I've lived), and great performances by Jennifer Coolidge and others. Murray Bartlett deserved the Emmy. Then I found an earlier series from writer-director Mike White, Enlightened with Laura Dern, and it's so original and provocative. Here's a recent interview with Mike White in the New Yorker:

https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-new-yorker-interview/mike-white-on...

Hi Kaye, I loved Enlightened and am a big fan of Laura Dern. She was great in Big Little Lies. Just read the Mike White article and it seems HBO might be more enlightened about giving Enlightened another chance.  Thanks for the link.

Elizabeth

Orbiter 9. It's on Netflix. A fascinating and surprisingly sweet Spanish sci-fi film. I'm really impressed how much story and intense emotion they managed to pack into a film with such a low budget.

Watched both seasons of The Comeback with Lisa Kudrow, a mock reality show about a once-popular sitcom actress trying to claw her way back into the spotlight. Very sly and clever satire. Loved it, especially the surprising season 2 which was made a decade after the first season.

I went to see The Banshees of Inishirin and enjoyed it immensely. It's dark humor, so sensitive types and children should probably miss it.

Also, liked the cinematography. The landscapes were gorgeous, with the fields and the stone walls between them. I kept thinking of the labor that went into building them, probably over centuries.

I am new here. Just wrote my bio - parts of it fits here. And hi to you all :-)

Currently watching:

The White Lotus. I love the character design and tone.

Twin Peaks - Actually explained. 4 hour video on YouTube. Take out: Everything stems from a single idea.

Danish movies you should watch.

Riders of Justice - perfect combination of different tones.

Klovn - danish copy of Curb, the movie version. This is how rowdy popular danish movies can be.

Checkered Ninja - This is how rowdy popular danish children's movie can be!

If you're stuck on Netflix not knowing what to stream - check 'em out. Tell me what you think.

"The Founder" (2016) probably isn't my #1 favorite movie of all time - but with like 8 viewings I think it may be my most watched. It usually happens to be on one of the free-streaming options and I often find myself "Well, I haven't seen this in four months so why not?" lol 

"Passengers" (2016)

AKA "I Shouldn't Have Paid Any Attention To The Internet: Part 5,231"

Also, it's a morality play with a Sci-Fi backdrop. Yes, if you are watching for "plot holes" you'll find them. Don't worry about it.

Verdict: 4/5 Paid Rental.