What Are You Watching?

[Elegy he/him]

37 minutes ago, Eluvianii said:

I just watched Okja. In a lot of ways that movie was a lot different from what it seemed. To me it looked like a family movie, and while I wouldn't really hesitate showing it to children, there are a lot of scenes that are very clearly aimed at adults, and there's the fact that there are heroes and villains in the movie but none of the heroes are exactly clean and none of the villains can really be considered, say, evil. Selfish or misguided yes, but all of them are really easy to understand.

Actually overall it's a really unusual cast of characters because, aside from the protagonist, I found all of them both hard to love and hard to hate. It's kind of amazing really. 

Yep, I feel you. It's a quirky, pretty uneven movie. It wants to be fun yet have a serious message and convey it in an appropriate way, and I think that's a respectable goal, but it stumbles on the way because it doesn't really manage to blend these things together.

I liked it better than Snowpiercer, but worlds below Parasite (which I love).

[Eluvianii he/him]

17 minutes ago, Elegy said:

Yep, I feel you. It's a quirky, pretty uneven movie. It wants to be fun yet have a serious message and convey it in an appropriate way, and I think that's a respectable goal, but it stumbles on the way because it doesn't really manage to blend these things together.

I liked it better than Snowpiercer, but worlds below Parasite (which I love).

I liked it. It's not exactly a "Top 10 thought-provoking movies of all time" but I would watch it again.

Also, I really should watch Parasite.

[Draginon he/him]

Just watched both The Invisible Man (2020) and Onward. Both are pretty good.

For IM I pretty much figured out what he was planning to do to her when he first hit the kid, especially after hearing the terms of keeping the money. Even I figured out that because of how obsessive and manipulative he was that the only way she could be free is for him to die.

Onward is definitely a good film. Didn’t like hearing people diss it just because the main characters were guys. I mean it’s a fantasy version of a personal story the director experienced losing his own father for scud sake! And the way people go on about Pixar not having female led films obviously haven’t seen Brave, Finding Dory, Inside Out or Incredibles 2 since all were about women since the first was about a mother daughter relationship, the second about a forgetful female fish finding her family, the third about a young girl and her emotions going through a tough move and the final is a mother getting back into superhero work to show that supers are needed. Heck you could even arguments about the more male led films having female empowered stories inside them like Ratatouille with Collette’s “proving I can be just as good as the men” (especially when you consider she was the only staff member to give Remy and Linguine a chance after learning the truth) and Toy Story 4 with Bo’s way of showing there’s other ways to make a child happy.
Anyway the film was predictable but doesn’t make it bad since it was more about the relationship between the brothers than anything.

[Eluvianii he/him]

So I was trying to watch Alien last night and accidentally watched Poltergeist. I liked it, though some scenes are too intense to be horror, to the point it felt more like adventure. At other times though, it was really good at establishing an atmosphere but really bad at keeping it, like you would be in this really tense scene wondering if something will happen or not, and then the movie would drop a joke. They were good jokes, it made me laugh but there goes the atmosphere, and this kept happening until the climax of the movie, which is when it finally started feeling tense without interruptions.

Overall it was good, it was a fun concept and I liked the characters, but it really made me wonder if it was actually trying to be scary.

[Briar King]

Dark S3.

[urrutiap]

All day earlier today ive been watching John Carpenter's old Starman movie. Been a long long time since i saw it back in 1985 when it would be on HBO all the time

[aneonfoxtribute]

I'm speedrunning AoT Season 3 because Daniel Greene posted his review of it and I still have yet to watch it 

[Truthless of Shinovar he/him]

I watched Arrival for the second time last night. Storms, I had forgotten how much I loved that movie.

[Jaywalk he/him]

20 hours ago, Truthless of Shinovar said:

I watched Arrival for the second time last night. Storms, I had forgotten how much I loved that movie.

Arrival is so good!

[danex he/him]

8 minutes ago, Jaywalk said:

Arrival is so good!

I second this but if we’re talking about that kind of sci-fi vibe, nothing tops Interstellar, which I watched for the 3rd time yesterday.

[Truthless of Shinovar he/him]

1 hour ago, Jaywalk said:

Arrival is so good!

Yes! Another fan!! What’s your favorite part about it?

1 hour ago, Danex said:

I second this but if we’re talking about that kind of sci-fi vibe, nothing tops Interstellar, which I watched for the 3rd time yesterday.

It’s been too long, I defiantly need to watch that one again.

[Jaywalk he/him]

16 hours ago, Truthless of Shinovar said:

Yes! Another fan!! What’s your favorite part about it?

It’s kind of a small thing, but I love the way they heightened tension about the world falling into chaos without actually showing much of it. They could have gone big, but they kept it small and centralized, which I think made it a better story in the end.

[DramaQueen]

I'm watching the anime Chihayafuru on recommendation from my brother. I am also watching Avatar: The Last Airbender. 

[Eluvianii he/him]

4 hours ago, DramaQueen said:

I'm watching the anime Chihayafuru on recommendation from my brother. I am also watching Avatar: The Last Airbender. 

Chihayafuru is brilliant. I would have never believed before it that a show about poetry in cards could be so intense.

[DramaQueen]

Just now, Eluvianii said:

Chihayafuru is brilliant. I would have never believed before it that a show about poetry in cards could be so intense.

I'm only on season 1 episode 7? Maybe 8?

But I like it so far!
My brother and I had a deal that if I watched the first season of Chihayafuru, he'd watch the first season of Miraculous Ladybug. (which I am shamelessly obsessed with.)

[Eluvianii he/him]

2 minutes ago, DramaQueen said:

I'm only on season 1 episode 7? Maybe 8?

But I like it so far!
My brother and I had a deal that if I watched the first season of Chihayafuru, he'd watch the first season of Miraculous Ladybug. (which I am shamelessly obsessed with.)

I can relate. I make similar deals with my sister all the time. 

I've been meaning to watch Ladybug but my to be watched list is massive.

[DramaQueen]

Just now, Eluvianii said:

I can relate. I make similar deals with my sister all the time. 

I've been meaning to watch Ladybug but my to be watched list is massive.

I highly strongly muchly recommend it. For the first while, the episodes are fairly repetitive, but it gets A LOT better. 

[Eluvianii he/him]

3 minutes ago, DramaQueen said:

I highly strongly muchly recommend it. For the first while, the episodes are fairly repetitive, but it gets A LOT better. 

I'll definitely check it out sometime, I just need to shorten that list a bit, but I hear a lot of good things about it.

[BreezeCauthon he/him]

Watching Merlin on Amazon Prime right now. A bit cheesy, but also hilarious, and the performances are usually pretty great.

[Kasimir he/him]

Rewatching Baran bo Odar's & Jantje Friese's 'Dark' with my friend. My second time, her first time. She's just insisted that we draw the timeline out, we're in Season 3 now

I can't begin to talk about how great it is to have a friend who watches the show. I've been poking her about it since 2017 because I was so thrilled to be able to watch something in German that wasn't a comedy or a Krimi

[BethOvermyer she/her]

On 7/24/2020 at 10:58 AM, BreezeCauthon said:

Watching Merlin on Amazon Prime right now. A bit cheesy, but also hilarious, and the performances are usually pretty great.

I LOVE Merlin. It is cheesy, but fun and entertaining. I have only watched up to the middle or end of season three.

Right now I'm on the third episode of that Netflix series Cursed. I don't know yet if I like it or not....

[Briar King]

Rewatching True Detective S1 and being blown away once again after 6 yrs have passed. Quality tv and based in my bayou backyard. The creator is from my area. I will rewatch S2 which isnt even close to the brilliance of S1 and then I will watch S3 for the 1st time aftwards.

[+Wax he/him]

5 hours ago, BethOvermyer said:

I LOVE Merlin. It is cheesy, but fun and entertaining. I have only watched up to the middle or end of season three.

Right now I'm on the third episode of that Netflix series Cursed. I don't know yet if I like it or not....

Let me know how you go with it.  I am just waiting for some honest reviews before I try it...

[BreezeCauthon he/him]

20 hours ago, Wax said:

Let me know how you go with it.  I am just waiting for some honest reviews before I try it...

It is cheesy, but it is also fun and entertaining. The performances are actually quite brilliant, which makes the sometimes stilted plot bearable. It's very funny. 

EDIT:
I just realized that it is far more likely you were referring to Cursed, which I have not seen and cannot vouch for either way. Oops.

Edited August 9, 2020 by BreezeCauthon

[Use the Falchion]

Last week I was...informed of a way to watch Season 2 of Beast Morphers, and I've been mostly skimming the major episodes in order to see all of the fun crossovers and references. I'd say this season solidifies my earlier feelings on the show. Beast Morphers is a great first step in the Hasbro Era and a truer legacy season than Megaforce ever was. The characters are fresh, there are genuine romantic relationships, and the theme of "legacy" hits stronger than ever - there are Ranger history courses, the Morphin' Grid is seen as a clean energy source to power the future, and characters, costumes, and weapons from previous series all return. The three-part crossover and the second to the last episode are highlights of the season, with the latter possibly becoming my favorite in the entire Beast Morphers run due to what it does to and for the series.
This is a season older fans would regret missing out on and younger ones would probably enjoy. If someone was making a list of "necessary seasons" for Power Rangers, this would be the latest entry.

All of that said, I wouldn't recommend it as a first Power Rangers season. I'd say go with something like RPM or Dino Charge first. If one wanted to watch with kids now, I'd say RPM, Dino Charge, maybe a few episodes of MMPR and/or Dino Thunder to show them the history of Power Rangers, and THEN Beast Morphers. Alternatively, RPM, Season One of Beast Morphers, Dino Charge and the other things, and then Season Two when Beast Morphers hits Netflix.

Overall, I'm not sure I can categorize this season as great but the qualities in it are indeed great.

...heck I want to make that list right now!

1. Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers (skip the Alien Rangers stuff)
2. Power Rangers Zeo
3. Power Rangers Turbo (at least the passing of the mantle and season finale)
4. Power Rangers In Space
5. Power Rangers Lost Galaxy
6. Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue
7. Power Rangers Time Force
8. Power Rangers Ninja Storm
9. Power Rangers Dino Thunder (another great legacy season)
0. Power Rangers SPD (this one isn't as necessary, but it has two great team-ups and one of the best Red Rangers and Blue Rangers in the series history)
1. Power Rangers Jungle Fury (I'm not as sold on this one, but it's underrated apparently, so it can stay)
2. Power Rangers RPM
3. Power Rangers Megaforce (so you can see how a legacy show shouldn't be done)
4. Power Rangers Dino Charge/Dino Super Charge
5. Power Rangers Beast Morphers

The ones cut out: Wild Force, Mystic Force, Operation Overdrive, Samurai/Super Samurai, Super Megaforce, Ninja Steel/Ninja Super Steel.

Wild Force doesn't make the cut not because it's bad. On the contrary, it has many likeable things about it, and if someone wanted to add it back in I wouldn't disagree. But it needed to go because it's not really referenced again and it doesn't bring much to the table. If you've seen Power Rangers and Tarzan, you've seen Wild Force. ...but I will say that Wild Force does have some of my favorite Ranger suits in the entire franchise. The White Tiger Ranger costume is PHENOMENAL, and "Forever Red" is a contender for the best Ranger crossover in the series. If nothing else, watch that episode. 

Mystic Force is cut because the focus on the Red Ranger hampers the entire show. Rangers are a team; besides, it gets old after a while (the show and the focus on the Red Ranger). The magic aspect is interesting, but we need more than a good hook to stay invested.

Operation Overdrive is cut because it's somewhere between bad and forgettable. I know the Pink Ranger is one of the best in the franchise, and if one wants to meet her, go ahead. But Time Force and Dino Charge have better Pink Rangers, and the show isn't that good. The team-up sort of stinks too, which is really disappointing.

Samurai/Super Samurai are in the same boat. They're not bad, they're just not good enough to make the cut.

Super Megaforce. This might be the most disappointing season of Power Rangers to exist. The rangers had such cool costumes, and the premise of PIRATE RANGERS is such an awesome thing to work with. But the show bound itself in legacy and adorned itself in forgettable characters. It's become a disappointment, not a celebration.

Ninja Steel/Ninja Super Steel. From what I've seen of these two, there just isn't enough substance there to recommend it. The team is okay, but apparently they always forget the Aesop learned. The premise is okay, but it's a weird mashup of things that don't really match. Maybe if they made it so that ninjas were not created as assassins, but protectors of alien and supernatural threats...but it's fine. This show is skippable, so save your time and skip it.