What are you binge watching?

[Palatine]

Black Mirror (Netflix, 7 seasons). This is the closest thing to the Twilight Zone that I have seen. There are sci-fi, horror, human drama and irony (or karma) elements in most of them, with a tiny splash or humor. They vary in duration from 45 minutes to movie length. Well known actors turn up in them. The seasons are short, seven seasons is only 20 or so episodes.

While it is largely an anthology series, the same technological devices are used in several and, at least, one episode is a sequel.
The quality is high end. The writing, story telling, production, editing and sound are very good. It's pretty easy to sample and figure out of you like it. I did. I watched all of them.

 

[HCCForever]

Land man, I would put into the category that it’s so bad that it’s good. Some of the dialogue is just borderline stupid squared and it’s just ridiculous. But at the same time, it can be entertaining to.

It is fairly entertaining, and I know some people who are big fans. The scenes with his young daughter (17 years old) can be cringeworthy although the actress is actually in her mid-20s. They just seem so unnecessary. It also cracks me up that Billy Bob plays such a badass with the cartel members. I can't imagine that a frail looking dude like him wouldn't get his butt kicked in real life.

I was also disappointed in the final season of "Bosch Legacy". I know that they were unaware that this was the last season until filming ended but I didn't enjoy this season as much as the prior ones.

 

[nwhoopfan]

On a recommendation from my brother, checked out a few episodes of "Still Standing' on Amazon Prime. Canadian comedian who grew up in Newfoundland. Travels around Canada to various small towns that have been hit hard economically. Sees the local sights, learns some of their history, meets the people. Then does a show at a local community center or other venue. The two I saw were really well done. He makes a bit of fun of the people and their town, but in a gentle way. His jokes appear to go over very well with the audience.

 

[UCan3]

It is fairly entertaining, and I know some people who are big fans. The scenes with his young daughter (17 years old) can be cringeworthy although the actress is actually in her mid-20s. They just seem so unnecessary. It also cracks me up that Billy Bob plays such a badass with the cartel members. I can't imagine that a frail looking dude like him wouldn't get his butt kicked in real life.

I was also disappointed in the final season of "Bosch Legacy". I know that they were unaware that this was the last season until filming ended but I didn't enjoy this season as much as the prior ones.

wow, I actually like the last season of Bosch. I thought that they went out on a relatively high note with the exception of last episode.

But that's the thing about shows sometimes it depends on the mood you're in - your expectations and a lot of other things but overall I really did like the series. So I'm not taking issue with your take on the show just that I liked it.

 

[UCan3]

I've had some good / some bad recently. Dumping them all here!

• Poker Face. It's okay. Natasha Lyonne is fun, but I think she's just playing parts like she switched bodies with George Burns in a strange Freaky Friday remake. Season 1 was really good, but Season 2 is just meandering. Russian Doll was probably better.
• Invincible. My son made us watch this. I would never have thought to watch it as it looks like 1980s animation. But it is pretty good and just about every voice is acted by someone great/strong. Gets me a bit of a violent anti-super hero fix waiting for The Boys.
• Yellowjackets. Watching it more for my wife. First couple seasons were somewhat intriguing, but I've lost most of my interest. I'm sure they have trauma, but they crossed a line so that I'm no longer rooting for any of them.
• Mythic Quest. I liked it, but then got bored with it after a season +. Maybe it's because I'm not a gamer and don't work in tech, but in the end I didn't really care enough to log back in.
• Agent / Spy shows. Here are some in order of preference.
  • Slow Horses. Took a few episodes to warm up a bit to Gary Oldman, but really like this one.
  • Black Doves. Slow Horses but more serious and better looking cast.
  • Reacher. Another one my wife refused to watch. Then she agreed to watch one episode and liked it. Looking forward to a Neely spin off.
  • Night Agent. Watch this after Slow Horses and you'll see how mediocre the acting is, but it was okay.
• Murder Mysteries.
  • The Residence. Strong cast, and interesting back drop of the White House residence.
  • Death and Other Details. Similar to The Residence with strong cast.
  • A Murder at the End of the World. Cool sets and interesting people.

yellow jackets lost interest wow. You can blame it for a lot of things, but it's definitely interesting. The last season was killer

 

[CL82]

Invincible. My son made us watch this. I would never have thought to watch it as it looks like 1980s animation. But it is pretty good and just about every voice is acted by someone great/strong. Gets me a bit of a violent anti-super hero fix waiting for The Boys

Invincible is surprisingly good.

I am watching season three of Reacher. It is much better than the season two rendition and is closer to the source material. I'm enjoying it.

For what it's worth, if I recall correctly, the "Paulie" character was not only huge, but also an experienced martial artist. Both of those things made him a formidable opponent for Reacher.

 

[ZooCougar]

Earnhardt on Prime. This is a four part docuseries probably made to couple with NASCAR coverage on Prime, which I haven't watched but I hear is actually pretty good. If you don't know who Dale Earnhardt is, then don't worry you don't need to like NASCAR to appreciate this.

If you're expecting 4 hours of people extolling his greatness then you'll be surprised. The man wasn't perfect and they cover that in great detail mostly by accounts from Dale Earnhardt Jr. Kelly and Kerry Earnhardt. Dale Jr's company actually produced the show with Ron Howard and Brian Grazer. The honesty was refreshing.

The first two episodes are as good as anything you will ever see. My only criticism is that it's too good of a show to be disrupted by ads and they couldn't help themselves. It's Ken Burns level stuff. Dale pretty much put everything on the line to make it and his personal life paid for it. In the process he emerges as this kind of anti-hero upsetting the status quo of some older drivers.

The footage of the races is extraordinary. There is so much footage and interviews that you likely have never seen.

By the end of the second episode he has 7 championships and he is the richest guy in the sport. Episode 3 is mostly about him and his kids and the business side probably diluted his driving. He also clearly didn't have cars that could keep up with Jeff Gordon every week (although his team should have) and he pushes himself even harder which impacts his physical well being. Episode 4 is about his death. Which is really kind of depressing.

Interesting that despite the fact that I watched the 2001 Daytona 500 and until I saw this I never knew that his hood suffered damage which cause him to spin out. I always thought he made contact with Marlin and then hit the wall. I will say that when I saw that wreck, I knew he was gone. It was one of the craziest endings to a race before that and it got worse. I really think that was the beginning of the end of NASCAR's prominence. They just never filled the void that he left.

 

[Deepster]

Black Mirror (Netflix, 7 seasons). This is the closest thing to the Twilight Zone that I have seen. There are sci-fi, horror, human drama and irony (or karma) elements in most of them, with a tiny splash or humor. They vary in duration from 45 minutes to movie length. Well known actors turn up in them. The seasons are short, seven seasons is only 20 or so episodes.

While it is largely an anthology series, the same technological devices are used in several and, at least, one episode is a sequel.
The quality is high end. The writing, story telling, production, editing and sound are very good. It's pretty easy to sample and figure out of you like it. I did. I watched all of them.

If you haven't, you need to go watch the previous seasons. Brilliant show. Some of the episodes had me thinking about them for a week after watching them.

 

[Deepster]

• Started season 2 of "The Last of Us" and made it 3 episodes in before I cut bait. Way to really destroy a great season 1. Heard they lost 50% of their viewing audience in season 2.
• Finished "Bad Thoughts". I gotta say. I am as crude as they come and I love dark humor and a couple of the stories had me wincing. To the point where I would see Tom Segura clips on stage or in a podcast and think "Jesus. This guy really is twisted". Wow.
• Started the first 3 episodes of "Tulsa King". I'm obsessed with the original Rocky and generally all things Stallone. I never had Paramount and just got it. It's "entertaining" so far. I've accepted he can beat up anyone he wants and smash into cars in the middle of broad daylight with no ramifications and I'm starting to get past his hairline and facial surgery.....

 

[ZooCougar]

• Started season 2 of "The Last of Us" and made it 3 episodes in before I cut bait. Way to really destroy a great season 1. Heard they lost 50% of their viewing audience in season 2.
• Finished "Bad Thoughts". I gotta say. I am as crude as they come and I love dark humor and a couple of the stories had me wincing. To the point where I would see Tom Segura clips on stage or in a podcast and think "Jesus. This guy really is twisted". Wow.
• Started the first 3 episodes of "Tulsa King". I'm obsessed with the original Rocky and generally all things Stallone. I never had Paramount and just got it. It's "entertaining" so far. I've accepted he can beat up anyone he wants and smash into cars in the middle of broad daylight with no ramifications and I'm starting to get past his hairline and facial surgery.....

Last of Us went off a cliff. What were they thinking?

 

[UCan3]

Last of Us: I feel bad for the special effects crew who has created this incredible apocalyptic landscape - well done and bravo - and I feel bad that the storyline has gone way, way off course. That main character isn’t all that interesting or compelling. Maybe she’s gone now - we can only hope so.

And Pascal’s character, too brooding, downtrodden, glad he’s gone too.

And, now who to root for? This new lady that tortured someone earlier this season?

Please writers give us a story that we can root for someone. And we know it's a video game but we need a story somewhere in there.

And the same goes for Reacher... That show I like but where in the books do we have Reacher indiscrimately murdering his adversaries by shooting them while they are defenseless and not a threat to him?

These writers have forgotten the rule - you've got to care about the main characters or at the very least empathize with their position to some degree. Like Sopranos or BBad...

I blame the writing mostly.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

I like it too, but honestly, there are times when I laugh out loud at how terrible the dialogue is and how crummy the storyline is as well. It may be so bad that it’s good? But it certainly is not a serious drama. But there’s a place for that in my streaming lineup too…

I get that some people may not like Mobland, but this review is a bit over the top.

 

[ZooCougar]

Last of Us: I feel bad for the special effects crew who has created this incredible apocalyptic landscape - well done and bravo - and I feel bad that the storyline has gone way, way off course. That main character isn’t all that interesting or compelling. Maybe she’s gone now - we can only hope so.

And Pascal’s character, too brooding, downtrodden, glad he’s gone too.

And, now who to root for? This new lady that tortured someone earlier this season?

Please writers give us a story that we can root for someone. And we know it's a video game but we need a story somewhere in there.

And the same goes for Reacher... That show I like but where in the books do we have Reacher indiscrimately murdering his adversaries by shooting them while they are defenseless and not a threat to him?

These writers have forgotten the rule - you've got to care about the main characters or at the very least empathize with their position to some degree. Like Sopranos or BBad...

I blame the writing mostly.

Once the killed off Pascal they lost the 30+ year old female audience.

Also losing that character unmoored the story. Joel was in no way an even an anti hero. He wanted to protect his daughter and then Ellie.

Nobody cares if he shot a doctor in the face. The doctor was ghoul.

The third season is about Abby? Why bother?

 

[Deepster]

Once the killed off Pascal they lost the 30+ year old female audience.

Also losing that character unmoored the story. Joel was in no way an even an anti hero. He wanted to protect his daughter and then Ellie.

Nobody cares if he shot a doctor in the face. The doctor was ghoul.

The third season is about Abby? Why bother?

LOL. Well, I cut bait after S2E3. I guess I don't need to watch the rest knowing Pascal is dead.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

@ZooCougar Ever heard of Spoiler Alert?

 

[ZooCougar]

@ZooCougar Ever heard of Spoiler Alert?

Don’t care. The show sucks. I deliberately performed a public service.

 

[ZooCougar]

LOL. Well, I cut bait after S2E3. I guess I don't need to watch the rest knowing Pascal is dead.

You don’t have to thank me.

 

[UCan3]

Once the killed off Pascal they lost the 30+ year old female audience.

Also losing that character unmoored the story. Joel was in no way an even an anti hero. He wanted to protect his daughter and then Ellie.

Nobody cares if he shot a doctor in the face. The doctor was ghoul.

The third season is about Abby? Why bother?

So true, brother - you nailed it!

 

[UCan3]

I get that some people may not like Mobland, but this review is a bit over the top.

Over the top?

Comon, seriously…. I am not saying I don’t like it BTW but it borders on ridiculous and i do laugh out loud.

Okay you want some examples…. Okay the older couple there…. One line after the mom sets up her half daughter to be knocked off with her son…

The dad proclaims “Bring back my babies”:

Okay dude if that isn’t LOL funny and cringeworthy I don’t know what it is.

That older couple has some of the worst back and forth dialogue I’ve ever heard.

And the whole premise that they knock off their adversaries teenage son for NO REASON — cold blood of a kid that wasn’t even in the “game” - and now were supposed to root for this family. That was dumb writing. The adversaries are technically in the right IMO - and the protagonist have no moral code whatsoever.

Even Tony Soprano has some basic rules LOL.

Now, I do like some of other characters and again, I like the show but yes there are times it’s so bad, it’s good IMO.

 

[Palatine]

And the whole premise that they knock off their adversaries teenage son for NO REASON — cold blood of a kid that wasn’t even in the “game” - and now were supposed to root for this family. That was dumb writing. The adversaries are technically in the right IMO - and the protagonist have no moral code whatsoever.

I'm enjoying Mobland. Tom Hardy is right in his kitchen and he makes the whole thing work. Brosnan is good as the old man clinging to his position. In fact, most of the cast is spot on especially Geoff Bell as the bad guy in hall of bad guys.

Not incidentally, the teenage son was following the the orders of the matriarch Maeve, who is a functional psychopath. She plays all sides of the fence and is the cause of virtually all the trouble.

Besides that, it is all first rate, the writing, the production, editing, sound, the special effects are so good you don't even notice them (except the car bomb). Like I said, I'm enjoying it.

 

[UCan3]

I'm enjoying Mobland. Tom Hardy is right in his kitchen and he makes the whole thing work. Brosnan is good as the old man clinging to his position. In fact, most of the cast is spot on especially Geoff Bell as the bad guy in hall of bad guys.

Not incidentally, the teenage son was following the the orders of the matriarch Maeve, who is a functional psychopath. She plays all sides of the fence and is the cause of virtually all the trouble.

Besides that, it is all first rate, the writing, the production, editing, sound, the special effects are so good you don't even notice them (except the car bomb). Like I said, I'm enjoying it.

Palatine, we agree - I am enjoying it to.

Even my comments on the writing - those are just an opinion - just glad to have something fun to watch in the summer!

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Over the top?

Comon, seriously…. I am not saying I don’t like it BTW but it borders on ridiculous and i do laugh out loud.

Okay you want some examples…. Okay the older couple there…. One line after the mom sets up her half daughter to be knocked off with her son…

The dad proclaims “Bring back my babies”:

Okay dude if that isn’t LOL funny and cringeworthy I don’t know what it is.

That older couple has some of the worst back and forth dialogue I’ve ever heard.

And the whole premise that they knock off their adversaries teenage son for NO REASON — cold blood of a kid that wasn’t even in the “game” - and now were supposed to root for this family. That was dumb writing. The adversaries are technically in the right IMO - and the protagonist have no moral code whatsoever.

Even Tony Soprano has some basic rules LOL.

Now, I do like some of other characters and again, I like the show but yes there are times it’s so bad, it’s good IMO.

I flagged the plot hole about the teenage son early, and wondered why they didn’t just kill him. Maeve having ordered it, apparently with Conrad’s blessing, was explained about halfway through the season. It wasn’t much of a reveal so I don’t know why it was held back, but it was explained.

Read about many of the mob bosses throughout history, and they are more Conrad Harrigan, lunatic who rules through terror and force of personality more than brains, than Tony Soprano, 130 IQ corporate executive who moves seemlessly between golf clubs and complicated white collar scams when he isn’t executing his friends.

I actually liked that the Conrad character was not that smart because it made the plot more interesting. I really liked the last few episodes of the Sopranos, but was there any question that Tony would win? He was so much smarter than Phil that it would have been silly if he didn’t win. Conrad on the other hand, kept screwing up. Brosnan did a great job with the character, because playing a not-that-bright but still credible as a leader character is not easy.

Black Mass is Johnny Depp’s last good movie, and it is a very accurate portrayal of Whitey Bulger. I knew a family member of one of Bulger’s victims whose murder was covered up by Boston FBI agents. Bulger was a lot more Conrad Harrigan than Tony Soprano.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Earnhardt on Prime. This is a four part docuseries probably made to couple with NASCAR coverage on Prime, which I haven't watched but I hear is actually pretty good. If you don't know who Dale Earnhardt is, then don't worry you don't need to like NASCAR to appreciate this.

If you're expecting 4 hours of people extolling his greatness then you'll be surprised. The man wasn't perfect and they cover that in great detail mostly by accounts from Dale Earnhardt Jr. Kelly and Kerry Earnhardt. Dale Jr's company actually produced the show with Ron Howard and Brian Grazer. The honesty was refreshing.

The first two episodes are as good as anything you will ever see. My only criticism is that it's too good of a show to be disrupted by ads and they couldn't help themselves. It's Ken Burns level stuff. Dale pretty much put everything on the line to make it and his personal life paid for it. In the process he emerges as this kind of anti-hero upsetting the status quo of some older drivers.

The footage of the races is extraordinary. There is so much footage and interviews that you likely have never seen.

By the end of the second episode he has 7 championships and he is the richest guy in the sport. Episode 3 is mostly about him and his kids and the business side probably diluted his driving. He also clearly didn't have cars that could keep up with Jeff Gordon every week (although his team should have) and he pushes himself even harder which impacts his physical well being. Episode 4 is about his death. Which is really kind of depressing.

Interesting that despite the fact that I watched the 2001 Daytona 500 and until I saw this I never knew that his hood suffered damage which cause him to spin out. I always thought he made contact with Marlin and then hit the wall. I will say that when I saw that wreck, I knew he was gone. It was one of the craziest endings to a race before that and it got worse. I really think that was the beginning of the end of NASCAR's prominence. They just never filled the void that he left.

I've been watching as well and was about to post but you covered everything.

I was originally a Cale Yarborough guy then when the "new guard" arrived didn't really have a favorite. I liked Elliott and some others because I usually rooted for the Fords. Didn't know about Dale's relationship with Neil Bonnet and I think they did a fantastic job with that, his family and everything. Really a lot of footage of the family and personal time, plus at the track. He's definitely hard to like early on and a hypocrite as he spins out Bodine over and over then gets pissed when his own teammate does it to him.

Once that happens, Neil dies and his youngest daughter is born he really matures and becomes a much more likable figure.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Landman. Finished the season. Some great acting in this from everyone really and what a huge cast. Billy Bob's Tommy Norris is just absolute Nails. Incredible character. Ali Larter is gorgeous and so funny. Michelle Randolph is good as the distracting daughter and is making a living off of Taylor Sheridan shows. I think Paulina Chavez is fantastic and is super attractive as Ariana, does a good job with a tough role. I'd be smitten too if I were Cooper Norris with those terrible teeth. How did his wealth parents not get him braces?

It is a very interesting picture of West Texas. Some judge filed a bizarre "For What It's Worth Advisory" not long ago and it was straight out of Landman. The cartels are evidently plugged in to a LOT of what goes on out there.

 

[ZooCougar]

I've been watching as well and was about to post but you covered everything.

I was originally a Cale Yarborough guy then when the "new guard" arrived didn't really have a favorite. I liked Elliott and some others because I usually rooted for the Fords. Didn't know about Dale's relationship with Neil Bonnet and I think they did a fantastic job with that, his family and everything. Really a lot of footage of the family and personal time, plus at the track. He's definitely hard to like early on and a hypocrite as he spins out Bodine over and over then gets pissed when his own teammate does it to him.

Once that happens, Neil dies and his youngest daughter is born he really matures and becomes a much more likable figure.

Having Hank Parker on there so much was the Chef’s Kiss.