Tuesday, August 22, 2017
Sunday, August 6, 2017
Handmaid's Tale season 1 (2017)
2017.08.06
Just finished watching season one. Read the book in the 80s, watched the movie in the 90s. I vaguely remember the book being OK, with a somewhat dissapointing ending, and the movie being unwatchable.
This tv series was better. They stretched it a bit, but it mostly held up. I remember things as the show went along. Other than the premise, not much of the original story was all that memorable. And even the premise is paper thin; if you are any kind of student of history and how power works, you know that you this kind of story in this short a timeline doesn't quite work that way. But there's the sci-fi premise of radical population decline, so that throws everything off.
This show feels like a prequel to Children of Men. At this point, there's still a little hope, there are still some viable mothers, still a few children. It feels like within a generation or two, we'll be in that other movie. It feels a bit pointless like why bother fighting this ridiculous theocracy, when the human populations is going to dwindle to nothing soon anyway.
Just finished watching season one. Read the book in the 80s, watched the movie in the 90s. I vaguely remember the book being OK, with a somewhat dissapointing ending, and the movie being unwatchable.
This tv series was better. They stretched it a bit, but it mostly held up. I remember things as the show went along. Other than the premise, not much of the original story was all that memorable. And even the premise is paper thin; if you are any kind of student of history and how power works, you know that you this kind of story in this short a timeline doesn't quite work that way. But there's the sci-fi premise of radical population decline, so that throws everything off.
This show feels like a prequel to Children of Men. At this point, there's still a little hope, there are still some viable mothers, still a few children. It feels like within a generation or two, we'll be in that other movie. It feels a bit pointless like why bother fighting this ridiculous theocracy, when the human populations is going to dwindle to nothing soon anyway.
Sunday, June 4, 2017
Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008)
Not bad.
I wasn't expecting a 2 hour movie - isn't this a series?
Reading... ah, there was an animated series that ran from 2003 - 2005, and another animated series that ran from 2008 - 2014. Maybe I will watch more. Or not. I notice that this feature expires in just a few days.
Checking http://expiringonnetflix.blogspot.com/... all six seasons expire on June 6. I could use a series to follow right now, and this might have worked. Maybe some other time.
I wasn't expecting a 2 hour movie - isn't this a series?
Reading... ah, there was an animated series that ran from 2003 - 2005, and another animated series that ran from 2008 - 2014. Maybe I will watch more. Or not. I notice that this feature expires in just a few days.
Checking http://expiringonnetflix.blogspot.com/... all six seasons expire on June 6. I could use a series to follow right now, and this might have worked. Maybe some other time.
Tuesday, April 11, 2017
Rick and Morty season 1, 2, 3 (2013-2017)
2017.04.11
Forget Futurama (though I'll probably still watch it some more) this is the cartoon I have been waiting for. I've only seen the pilot, so this may all change.
I like that it moves at breakneck speed, not slowing down to explain much, and forces you to pay attention. It doesn't feel like its dumbing anything down too much, it expects you to be able to keep up with it, which is difficult in a pilot which must by nature be expository. I like that nobody is likeable here, nobody is the good guy (except maybe the mom, but her flaw is accepting her jerk husband). I'm a little put off by the fact that Rick is a sociopath and a psychopath, but still comes off as somewhat likeable.
I'm no student of humor, but I think there's a few kinds of humor, and this one is using a lot of my least favorite type. There's a kind humor that makes you laugh on a mental or emotional level because you make a human connection with the comedian, writer, etc. through some effort or insight on their part into the human condition. And then there's this other kind of humor that requires no effort, intuition or empathy, but instead makes you cringe so hard that you laugh out of nervousness and disgust. This includes things like torture humor and puns.
I also take note of Rick constantly burping and make mistakes in his speech. It really conveys his carelessness and absent-mindedness, but it also can't help but make me think it sounds like mistakes in the line reads that were kept in for some reason, i.e. it doesn't always sound like its on purpose.
I like the hints of a rich world bubbling along under the surface. Rick is dragging Morty along on yet another adventure, as if they've been doing this for years. I really like how the portal gun ran out, or something, and they had to come back through interstellar customs.
I also like how they're not afraid to kill people - we'll see if that sticks.
Anyway, that's all the on surface. There's something else bubbling under the surface that I don't see any evidence yet to dismiss - none of this is really happening, and Morty is an abused child trying to escape to a fantasy. And my evidence is not just the absurdly on the nose shoving of large items into his rectum, its the overall pattern of neglect from everyone in Morty's life. Even taken at face value, Morty seems ignored and endangered constantly.
This show reminds me of Ren & Stimpy, good and bad. Lots of creativity, energy, and unexpected crazy humor. Lots of shitty cringe humor, and randomness. Maybe it will mellow out. I need to find out.
2017.05.04
I keep waiting for the quality level to plateau, or decline, but it keeps rising.
Just watched the late season 1 episode with alternate dimension TV. I was just starting to think this is finally the plateu I've been expecting, that the reset button is mostly hit every episode, and I am happily proven wrong when Marty brings up something from the previous show.
How high does the quality go? I'm on the edge of my seat.
I'm burning through these too fast. There are only two seasons, and one coming this summer. I guess I could just watch it all again.
2017.05.18
Caught up to end of Season 2 yesterday.
Great season ending episode, maybe even good enough for a show ender. Characters realize things and change, the world changes.
Some episodes felt like filler, but overall it just kept getting better, and I'm sad that it will be years until the next episodes... and just like time travel, I finish watching a 2015 show to find that new episodes are coming out now in 2017; first one's already up. Kind of takes the sting out of it.
Watched Season 3 Episode 1 on YouTube, in HD no less. Multiple copies are there, I guess Cartoon Network isn't bothered? Promo?
2017.06.19
Slowly rewatching, about an episode a day. Surprised all over again how quickly they just get into situations with hardly any exposition. Episodes that I thought were late in the season are right up front.
I love the ending of Rick Potion #9 (planet of the Cronenbergs) even more this time. I like it all the more now because I know its going to be referenced again later, and the effect on Morty really lasts.
I knew the end song was by Mazzy Star, but I haven't looked into why the creators chose such an old and somewhat obscure song. Oh... it was used in the Sopranos, during a loss of innocence moment. I like it better when I didn't know that.
2017.07.31
I think all the S3E1 have been taken down from YouTube. Don't know if and when S3 is coming to Hulu; its on Netflix but only outside the US. But I can watch on adultswim.com? I tried watching last night but it was too slow, I think it was just overloaded.
OK, nice, I can watch S3E1 (on adultswim.com) with no problem now. I don't care if it takes 9 more seasons 'til I get that sauce. That explains those McDonald's tweets about the last remaining gallons of Szechuan sauce. Nathan Fillion guest starred... who did he play? Interrogator bug?
Now how 'bout S3E2...
Wow. How does this show just keep getting better. That 20 minute episode felt like a movie.
This show is too meta. It's hard to imagine now anything every replacing it.
2017.09.13
I've been trying to catch the show late Sunday nights on Adult Swim, but that hasn't been working so I usually end up on some alternate stream, or watching it soon after on YouTube.
The show continues to be self-aware, breaking the 4th wall, etc. but the shine is a little bit off. I like how things continue to get more and more extra-dimensional and parallel world, and I really like how they show life continuing on The Citadel, and the return of a certain eyepatch Morty.
Forget Futurama (though I'll probably still watch it some more) this is the cartoon I have been waiting for. I've only seen the pilot, so this may all change.
I like that it moves at breakneck speed, not slowing down to explain much, and forces you to pay attention. It doesn't feel like its dumbing anything down too much, it expects you to be able to keep up with it, which is difficult in a pilot which must by nature be expository. I like that nobody is likeable here, nobody is the good guy (except maybe the mom, but her flaw is accepting her jerk husband). I'm a little put off by the fact that Rick is a sociopath and a psychopath, but still comes off as somewhat likeable.
I'm no student of humor, but I think there's a few kinds of humor, and this one is using a lot of my least favorite type. There's a kind humor that makes you laugh on a mental or emotional level because you make a human connection with the comedian, writer, etc. through some effort or insight on their part into the human condition. And then there's this other kind of humor that requires no effort, intuition or empathy, but instead makes you cringe so hard that you laugh out of nervousness and disgust. This includes things like torture humor and puns.
I also take note of Rick constantly burping and make mistakes in his speech. It really conveys his carelessness and absent-mindedness, but it also can't help but make me think it sounds like mistakes in the line reads that were kept in for some reason, i.e. it doesn't always sound like its on purpose.
I like the hints of a rich world bubbling along under the surface. Rick is dragging Morty along on yet another adventure, as if they've been doing this for years. I really like how the portal gun ran out, or something, and they had to come back through interstellar customs.
I also like how they're not afraid to kill people - we'll see if that sticks.
Anyway, that's all the on surface. There's something else bubbling under the surface that I don't see any evidence yet to dismiss - none of this is really happening, and Morty is an abused child trying to escape to a fantasy. And my evidence is not just the absurdly on the nose shoving of large items into his rectum, its the overall pattern of neglect from everyone in Morty's life. Even taken at face value, Morty seems ignored and endangered constantly.
This show reminds me of Ren & Stimpy, good and bad. Lots of creativity, energy, and unexpected crazy humor. Lots of shitty cringe humor, and randomness. Maybe it will mellow out. I need to find out.
2017.05.04
I keep waiting for the quality level to plateau, or decline, but it keeps rising.
Just watched the late season 1 episode with alternate dimension TV. I was just starting to think this is finally the plateu I've been expecting, that the reset button is mostly hit every episode, and I am happily proven wrong when Marty brings up something from the previous show.
How high does the quality go? I'm on the edge of my seat.
I'm burning through these too fast. There are only two seasons, and one coming this summer. I guess I could just watch it all again.
2017.05.18
Caught up to end of Season 2 yesterday.
Great season ending episode, maybe even good enough for a show ender. Characters realize things and change, the world changes.
Some episodes felt like filler, but overall it just kept getting better, and I'm sad that it will be years until the next episodes... and just like time travel, I finish watching a 2015 show to find that new episodes are coming out now in 2017; first one's already up. Kind of takes the sting out of it.
Watched Season 3 Episode 1 on YouTube, in HD no less. Multiple copies are there, I guess Cartoon Network isn't bothered? Promo?
2017.06.19
Slowly rewatching, about an episode a day. Surprised all over again how quickly they just get into situations with hardly any exposition. Episodes that I thought were late in the season are right up front.
I love the ending of Rick Potion #9 (planet of the Cronenbergs) even more this time. I like it all the more now because I know its going to be referenced again later, and the effect on Morty really lasts.
I knew the end song was by Mazzy Star, but I haven't looked into why the creators chose such an old and somewhat obscure song. Oh... it was used in the Sopranos, during a loss of innocence moment. I like it better when I didn't know that.
2017.07.31
I think all the S3E1 have been taken down from YouTube. Don't know if and when S3 is coming to Hulu; its on Netflix but only outside the US. But I can watch on adultswim.com? I tried watching last night but it was too slow, I think it was just overloaded.
OK, nice, I can watch S3E1 (on adultswim.com) with no problem now. I don't care if it takes 9 more seasons 'til I get that sauce. That explains those McDonald's tweets about the last remaining gallons of Szechuan sauce. Nathan Fillion guest starred... who did he play? Interrogator bug?
Now how 'bout S3E2...
Wow. How does this show just keep getting better. That 20 minute episode felt like a movie.
This show is too meta. It's hard to imagine now anything every replacing it.
2017.09.13
I've been trying to catch the show late Sunday nights on Adult Swim, but that hasn't been working so I usually end up on some alternate stream, or watching it soon after on YouTube.
The show continues to be self-aware, breaking the 4th wall, etc. but the shine is a little bit off. I like how things continue to get more and more extra-dimensional and parallel world, and I really like how they show life continuing on The Citadel, and the return of a certain eyepatch Morty.
Friday, April 7, 2017
Futurama (1999-2013)
2017.04.07
Watched the first 15 episodes, I feel nothing. I heard this was a good show, and it is, but at the end I'm left with nothing. Art should make you feel something, and maybe even change you, and while there is some art here, I am only marking time by watching this.
Does it get better? How much more do I need to invest to find out? Also, I might just not like sitcoms anymore. I watched a lot of them growing up, but now I just can't justify to myself why I watched. Futurama is enjoyable while watching it, but if I'm just going to press the fast forward button in life, I'd rather play video games.
2017.05.19
Stopped watching weeks ago. I will probably come back this way later.
Watched the first 15 episodes, I feel nothing. I heard this was a good show, and it is, but at the end I'm left with nothing. Art should make you feel something, and maybe even change you, and while there is some art here, I am only marking time by watching this.
Does it get better? How much more do I need to invest to find out? Also, I might just not like sitcoms anymore. I watched a lot of them growing up, but now I just can't justify to myself why I watched. Futurama is enjoyable while watching it, but if I'm just going to press the fast forward button in life, I'd rather play video games.
2017.05.19
Stopped watching weeks ago. I will probably come back this way later.
Thursday, September 22, 2016
Super 8 (2011)
Saw it in the theater, saw it again now because I want more 70s/80s nostalgia like Stranger Things. I was also curious why I didn't like the movie the first time, and I was reminded quickly and often that this movie has no soul. It is a well made automaton, much like J.J. Abrams reboots of Star Wars and Star Trek, but likewise feels hollow.
Lost was good, and it had soul, even though it increasingly ran off the rails, but since then, the magic is gone. If Abrams is following in the footsteps of Spielberg, he seems to be following the later sentimental and useless period (from The Color Purple and on), not the early stuff that was interesting (Jaws, Close Encounters, Raiders, E.T.).
Its actually kind of impressive how well produced Super 8 is, and how close it is to E.T., and yet is as life-like as a mannequin. There are so many people, in front of and behind the camera, trying so hard, and you can't help but root for them, and want them to succeed. Unfortunately by the end its like being the senior medical technician looking down at your rookie partner, tirelessly doing CPR on a corpse, and you almost don't have the heart to tap them on the shoulder and say, OK kid, you did good, but you can stop now.
Lost was good, and it had soul, even though it increasingly ran off the rails, but since then, the magic is gone. If Abrams is following in the footsteps of Spielberg, he seems to be following the later sentimental and useless period (from The Color Purple and on), not the early stuff that was interesting (Jaws, Close Encounters, Raiders, E.T.).
Its actually kind of impressive how well produced Super 8 is, and how close it is to E.T., and yet is as life-like as a mannequin. There are so many people, in front of and behind the camera, trying so hard, and you can't help but root for them, and want them to succeed. Unfortunately by the end its like being the senior medical technician looking down at your rookie partner, tirelessly doing CPR on a corpse, and you almost don't have the heart to tap them on the shoulder and say, OK kid, you did good, but you can stop now.
Wednesday, September 7, 2016
10 Cloverfield Lane (2016)
I want to rate the movie, but there's no good rating scale. Its not enough to just say how much I liked it, but also whether or not its worth seeing. It is worth seeing, but it is also good. This rating scale, or scales, needs work.
J.J. Abrams, like his idol/mentor/whatever-you-call-it Spielberg, is now a name brand unto himself. That's probably been the case for years and I'm late to the party, but I'm understanding this now. Whether you like his work or not, you're getting a certain quality level, and some values, and you know that going in.
[edit 2016.09.22 Abrams produced, but others wrote and directed]
The movie keeps feels like its going to go too long, but it doesn't. Your patience is rewarded with plot advances great and small.
I remember the initial hype, thinking who needs a Cloverfield sequel, or a one-room play, but I kept hearing good things from various sources. I'm glad I avoided spoilers. If you haven't seen it, and are going to, go see it and come back. OK?
Spoilers.
I like how the movie commits. As we approach the end, I'm ready for some bullshit non-commitment level, where we never get to find out who was right, and whether it was safe to go topside or not.
Sometimes you want that ambiguity, that mystery, because that's art. And sometimes you just want someone to draw a line in the dirt and say I'm on this side of the line, and I'm fighting to the death over it. I am most impressed that this movie commits to one actual story at the end, and not only that, it goes all the way. Whatever most of the movie is, the ending is all Aliens. Our hero is not only in control at the end, she actively seeks the fight. Humanity is already gaining ground, and you know she's going to help turn the tide. Its quite a nice positive message to roll credits on.
I watched all the featurettes. I can't believe how much work goes into movies like this. Its like a moon mission. They're clearly proud of their work, and they deserve to be. The net effect is curiously humbling. There are so many talents and disciplines giving their all, and they all know they are but part of the whole. A good piece of art should stand for itself, letting you know all about its authors. Yet the featurettes about the effects, music, editing, etc. do communicate a little extra dimensionality to the art, and that's worth hearing too.
J.J. Abrams, like his idol/mentor/whatever-you-call-it Spielberg, is now a name brand unto himself. That's probably been the case for years and I'm late to the party, but I'm understanding this now. Whether you like his work or not, you're getting a certain quality level, and some values, and you know that going in.
[edit 2016.09.22 Abrams produced, but others wrote and directed]
The movie keeps feels like its going to go too long, but it doesn't. Your patience is rewarded with plot advances great and small.
I remember the initial hype, thinking who needs a Cloverfield sequel, or a one-room play, but I kept hearing good things from various sources. I'm glad I avoided spoilers. If you haven't seen it, and are going to, go see it and come back. OK?
Spoilers.
I like how the movie commits. As we approach the end, I'm ready for some bullshit non-commitment level, where we never get to find out who was right, and whether it was safe to go topside or not.
Sometimes you want that ambiguity, that mystery, because that's art. And sometimes you just want someone to draw a line in the dirt and say I'm on this side of the line, and I'm fighting to the death over it. I am most impressed that this movie commits to one actual story at the end, and not only that, it goes all the way. Whatever most of the movie is, the ending is all Aliens. Our hero is not only in control at the end, she actively seeks the fight. Humanity is already gaining ground, and you know she's going to help turn the tide. Its quite a nice positive message to roll credits on.
I watched all the featurettes. I can't believe how much work goes into movies like this. Its like a moon mission. They're clearly proud of their work, and they deserve to be. The net effect is curiously humbling. There are so many talents and disciplines giving their all, and they all know they are but part of the whole. A good piece of art should stand for itself, letting you know all about its authors. Yet the featurettes about the effects, music, editing, etc. do communicate a little extra dimensionality to the art, and that's worth hearing too.
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