What shows/movies are you watching?

[Fabricant451]

And I also just read that his accent and performance was *purposefully awful* in an interview. And gosh golly gee that sure is convenient and identical sounding to someone who can't fucking act.

@SleepingSilence

Oscar Isaac is a great actor and the accent is literally meant to be bad because the character isn't really British and is in fact pretending. His performance is far from awful considering it's the best thing that show put forth.

[SleepingSilence]

Oscar Isaac is a great actor.

@Fabricant451

Please tell me what movie proves this. And don't say Dune. (And if its also a good movie on top of it, that be nice too.)

At this point, he reminds me of how many people claim Kristian Stewart is a good actor. Like, I know actors are only as good as their directors but...

I keep seeing him play himself. (I don't actually think he's paritcularly bad or anything. He's just the new Robert Patterson in pop culture. Where I always hear about his great acting in everything he's in, in comparison to where people originally saw them. And I (who admittedly watches few movies) hasn't seen it yet.

*But I'm just playing the rant up for kicks. I'm sure he's a nice guy.*

Plus, there's plenty more genuinely loathsome people in Marvel/Disney to pick from. And if anything, I'm only more sympathetic to actors nowadays. Because it seems Hollywood in general can't write a good script to save their soul.

[BangoSkank]

I feel largely the same about Oscar Isaaacs. He seems alright but I haven't seen him in anything yet to justify him being a draw.

I heard he's good in that movie where he's like a country singer and has a cat, but doesn't seem up my alley.

[Fabricant451]

<Snipped quote by Fabricant451>
Please tell me what movie proves this. And don't say Dune. (And if its also a good movie on top of it, that be nice too.)

@SleepingSilence

Why would I say Dune that movie sucked.

Anyway here are some movies and miniseries:

The Card Counter
Ex Machina
Inside Llewyn Davis
The Two Faces of January
A Most Violent Year
Triple Frontier
Scenes From A Marriage
Annihilation
Show Me A Hero

At this point, he reminds me of how many people claim Kristian Stewart is a good actor. Like, I know actors are only as good as their directors but...

I keep seeing him play himself. (I don't actually think he's paritcularly bad or anything. He's just the new Robert Patterson in pop culture. Where I always hear about his great acting in everything he's in, in comparison to where people originally saw them. And I (who admittedly watches few movies) hasn't seen it yet.

Both Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson are also good actors as evidenced by the fact that Kristen Stewart was literally nominated for acting this year and damn well should've won.

I heard he's good in that movie where he's like a country singer and has a cat, but doesn't seem up my alley.

@BangoSkank

Inside Llewyn Davis, one of the best movies of the 2010s and pretty much the last good thing the Coen Brothers did since No Country For Old Men

[BangoSkank]

Goddam No Country was good.

Being nominated, or even winning, doesn't necessarily mean shit. Award shows can be political, whether that's politics political or just show business political, and lots of studios do Oscar bait every season.

Like what's Kristen Stewart's breakout role where she is t playing Kristen Stewart. Ditto Pattinson. Batman maybe? It didn't look like much to me but maybe that?

Annihilation looked cool. A little pretentious but still cool.

[SleepingSilence]

@Fabricant451
Proves my point that I rarely watch movies. Since I've never even heard of half of these.

But I have watched Triple Frontier (or at least tried to) and uh...I had the same problem. Not that his acting is even in the top five problems of that one.

Though I've heard generally positive things about Ex-Machina. (As established, Sci-Fi has never really been my favorite genre.) And Annihilation didn't exactly strike me as a movie where male actors had much screen time. So, maybe I'll go watch that cat movie, because I'm obvious and was looking for something he'd play a major role in.

And despite my limited knowledge of both Twilight actors. I can easily see why people defended/sympathized with Robert Patterson so hard. And yes, I've seen him do better than the Twilight movies. (Much as that means.)

But in everything with Kristen Stewart that I've seen, or even seen by proxy through other people reviews; her acting was not one of the highlights. To put it mildly. Though who am I to write off the Oscars ability to pick nominees/winners?

The cat better not f*cking die.

[Fabricant451]

Like what's Kristen Stewart's breakout role where she is t playing Kristen Stewart. Ditto Pattinson. Batman maybe? It didn't look like much to me but maybe that?

@BangoSkank

I'd say Adventureland but that might not meet the criteria depending on who you ask, and then I'd say The Runaways. Post Twilight? I'd say Clouds of Sils Maria or Personal Shopper and then most recently Spencer. Cafe Society too but I hesitate to suggest anything directed by Woody Allen cuz fuck Woody Allen. She's great in Lizzie but Lizzie is not that good.

For Pattinson I'd say that Batman is only really his breakout role for people who know him still as "Sparkly vampire" which is probably a lot of people to be fair because both he and KStew tended to do indie stuff rather than big releases. But for him I'd say his breakout role post-Twilight was The Rover which was the first movie he did after Twilight ended and he's good in it. Then I'd say Good Time is arguably his best performance to date with The Lighthouse in strong contention as well. Cosmopolis was during Twilight but is also solid. I think The Devil All The Time is a bad movie but Pattinson stands out because he chews the scenery so much that it's a wonder no one told him to stop.

@Fabricant451
Proves my point that I rarely watch movies. Since I've never even heard of half of these.

But I have watched Triple Frontier (or at least tried to) and uh...I had the same problem. Not that his acting is even in the top five problems of that one.

@SleepingSilence

For what it's worth I didnt like it either but I liked him in it and that made me not turn it off so I have to mention it for that alone.

[BangoSkank]

I think part of it is I find Indie films often have a certain atmosphere I don't much care for. Of those movies only Runaways and Lighthouse sound even vaguely interesting. And that because I'm hoping Runaways is about the band and Lighthouse looks similar to this movie I saw called Cold Skin which was pretty cool.

[Fabricant451]

Runaways is indeed about the band. Kristen Stewart plays Joan Jett. And yeah I can understand the aversion to indie, artsy films they are definitely not for everyone which is precisely why Robert Pattinson got a lot of people going like "Damn, vampire guy legit" with The Batman while Kristen Stewart hasn't really had that with people because she doesn't really do big commercial movies other than like the Charlie's Angels reboot which I only liked because I am gay.

[Exit]

Oscar Isaac switching from deeply emotionally distraught to someone that is entirely oblivious to what his previous alter was feeling and is physically lost is burned into my brain.

Goddam No Country was good.

@BangoSkank

Yes.

As for myself, pickings are surprisingly slim lately. I'm finishing up Tokyo Vice which has been great. I'm also watching Superman & Louis season 2 and although the CGI isn't always the best, despite it being a CW show, it's not running into too many of the usual issues with writing I've seen in their other properties. It's a nice change of pace. I also really, really appreciate the family dynamic. I was worried in the first season how they would handle the brothers' relationship after one got powers and the other didn't, but they did a fine job and the chemistry between both Jordan and Jonathan feels very natural rather than contrived. Also lectures from one parent, only to sit around and wait for a lecture from the second.

Not really a spoiler but cast change

Actor for Jonathan is being recast for the third season and I'm a little devastated. I think those two actors in their roles were perfect and their chemistry (again) was amazing.

[BangoSkank]

I haven't seen the new Charlie's Angels movie but it looks turrible.

You pretty much just convinced me I need to see Inside Llewelyn Davis, Exit

[Exit]

You pretty much just convinced me I need to see Inside Llewelyn Davis, Exit

@BangoSkank

Just in case, to clarify, that was in Moon Knight. I will say though that I'm interested in seeing Inside Llewelyn Davis too now.

[Carlyle]

I've been watching the new TWD spinoff. No, not World Beyond. The new spinoff, Tales of the Walking Dead. Where they do one-off episodes about survivor stories.

Honestly, as much as I like zombie media, this franchise is beating a dead horse at this point. They should've made all these spinoffs and extra content when they were still at the hype of the show. The only reason why I'm probably still watching is because I have invested years into watching TWD and I need to see it at the end.

Anyway, spoilers below:

I WARNED YOU.

First episode was iffy, but "okay" enough. I saw them killing the dog a mile away before it even happened. And why the fuck would you leave a prepared fallout shelter that outlasted the fall of humanity? Because of "bad vibes" or some shit? Are you fucking insane? You can basically live forever there and now you're just gonna go back to risking your life without knowing when you're next meal is or if a zombie is going to munch your face off.

Second episode is just a can of what the fuck. I understood what they were trying to do, but it's not what TWD is supposed to be. Had it been some one-off movie script, it might've fared better, but why are we involving some deja vu ground hog day junk in TWD? I sincerely hope they consider it non-canon because it throws out all the lore of TWD out the window, if that makes any sense.

As for the third episode, I'll have to see it when it comes out this weekend. Apparently it involves the Whisperers (the zombie skin-wearing people from the main show), so I'm honestly interested in this one.

[SleepingSilence]

Now I'm questioning Adam Driver's ability to act instead.

Inside Llewyn Davis was alright. (If you like hearing folk music like me, and can tolerate the typical western movie stereotype of everyone being an asshole. John Goodman's performance was obnoxious. (And if you don't mind the lack of a plot.)

But, I'll admit. Despite not being a very well-rounded character. He did play his role pretty well, and I didn't know he was a singer until now. So I won't deny that he has talent, at least.

And the Rotten Tomatoes high 90 from critics, and the more reasonable 'seven out of ten means I like it' 70 from its audience, doesn't surprise me either.

Here's something from Reddit /Truefilm, if this is the right kind of movie for you. And I quote.

"I don't know whether anyone can fully get Llewyn's character without understanding his grief firsthand. Not saying someone can't 'get' the movie or sympathize with him, but that grief is the window into him, and understanding it is less about intellect than about emotion."

In other news, my god Redditors are pretentious.

[BangoSkank]

What a roller coaster! Now I don't want to see Llewelyn Davis.

Can't stand Redditor types. Ruin so many websites

I'll have to see Moon Knight instead. Looks slightly creepy and I have t seen any Marvel shit for awhile.

[SleepingSilence]

I'll have to see Moon Knight instead. Looks slightly creepy and I haven't seen any Marvel shit for awhile.

@BangoSkank

The only thing terrifying about it is Disney's special effects, and the sheer amount of money they spend per episode.

If you can handle a well-directed character study with no plot. I'd take that, versus a poorly shot clusterfuck plot. Where the main draw of both is "this director made it/and these actors are in it". But, I suppose everyone has different tastes.

Because where I was starting to feel the artsy movie drag, after about 50 minutes. I knew from the very start of Moon Knight, that I was getting a mystery box bullshit show. That also has very little of consequence in it, and an ending that even the vast majority of its own fanbase doesn't seem to like...

Go watch Primal instead, it kicks ass.

Though for most new Marvel shows, regardless of the potential quality in each, I've seen a general consensus and pattern in nearly all of them thus far. Where the beginning is the best bit you're going to get...and it only goes downhill from there.

That, and the title & main character of the show, is rarely ever the focus of it. With Moon Knight being no exception.

[BangoSkank]

That's largely why I stopped watching Marvel shit.

It went downhill hard after End Game.

I think Black Panther was the first indicator they were running on fumes. Chadwick Bozeman was great in it, and Michael B Jordan too, but the writing was bad and sometimes BAAAD and it seemed like an undeveloped idea rushed out to get something out there. That and some Scorpion King level CGI that was just utterly baffling.

Captain Marvel was confirmation that they're just going to put shit movies out because they will sell so long as they have a puzzle piece of the necessary viewing for a Marvel Stage series. What's her face was terrible. Story was nonsensical. Just bad. And Nick Fury's scar...really. Really though. That's what you're going with.

Since then I don't think I've seen any of the movies. I saw Falcon/Winter Soldier, modern political garbage and otherwise kinda meh. I liked the Loki show ok. Wasn't a huge fan of 3/4ths of it shitting on Loki but I liked that female Loki character and the whole TVA/Multiverse/Kang thing.

In summary...Marvel has all the potential in the world but they're squandering it in a truly impressive way.

Oh I lied. I saw Shang Chi. Less martial arts than I expected. More bad CGI and mythological beasts battling in the sky. Ass.

[Leophael]

Movies:

Nope - Just saw this one today. It's as fantastic as it was hyped to be. Jordan Peele is just way too talented.

Samaritan - Sylvester Stallone's attempt at an independent superhero movie. It's largely forgettable, very formulaic and absolutely predictable. It might be a fair way to pass time for free. I would avoid paying any money to see it.

Me Time - Kevin Hart and Mark Wahlberg movie on Netflix. Decent popcorn flick but, again, very strict to formula and very predictable.

TV Shows:

Little Demon - Hulu original animated show starring Aubrey Plaza, Danny DeVito and Lucy DeVito. Lucy plays the 13 year old female antichrist with spooky powers. Danny plays Satan. Aubrey plays the mother, who is a warrior witch. THIS IS NOT AN ANIMATED SHOW FOR KIDS. Blood, gore, cursing, nudity (full frontal), etc. I found the first two episodes absolutely entertaining. Looking forward to more.

60 Days In - Reality show where people volunteer to go undercover as prisoners in a real jail to uncover illegal practices and offer suggestions as to how to improve the jail's performance and effectiveness. Cool little insight into how life in prison really looks. Typically very drama filled. The new season started recently and shows how certain jails had to deal with the effects of the pandemic, which is just leading all the inmates to go apeshit in isolation so far.

The Resort - Cool little mystery show on Peacock starring William Jackson Harper (The Good Place) and Cristin Milioti (How I Met Your Mother, Palm Springs) as a married couple on vacation at a holiday resort for their 10th anniversary, where they are drawn into a mystery that took place fifteen years before. In the first half of the season, it seemed like a marraige on the rocks and an odd missing persons mystery at the center. Not things are getting weird and, potentially, a little more sci-fi as they dig into the mystery deeper. Great writing, great acting. Highly recommend.

[SleepingSilence]

Bullet Train is 100% worth watching for a pure fun good time. Have no notable complaints that could be easily fixed, and its not giving everything away in its trailers.

Also the critics gave it a thrashing, so you know that its actually one of the better things that's come out this year.

[Carlyle]

Since the cinema thread died awhile back:

In the next few days you'll be able to go to the movies for only $3 a ticket, a bunch of theaters are participating for National Cinema Day. Just gotta make sure if your theater will be participating in it.