Last Movie You Watched

[Stargazer]

On 8/1/2022 at 7:00 PM, Amulek said:

Also, Good Omens might be worth checking out.

I've seen a few clips from it on YouTube and I plan to buy the series at some point and watch it. It looks very entertaining.

Another one I was interested in is Lucifer, and I finally bought Season 1 online. It's not at all doctrinally correct ("Bored and unhappy as the Lord of Hell, the original fallen angel, Lucifer Morningstar, has resigned and retired to the City of Angels, where he teams up with an LAPD detective to solve crimes. Whether it's a suppressed desire to punish the wicked or something deeper, the very thought that he could care about a human being disturbs him). But it's quite entertaining.

[Amulek]

17 hours ago, Stargazer said:

I've seen a few clips from it on YouTube and I plan to buy the series at some point and watch it. It looks very entertaining.

I thought it was really enjoyable. Definitely a bit on the sacrilegious side, but not really over the top and never in a mean spirited kind of way.

 

17 hours ago, Stargazer said:

Another one I was interested in is Lucifer, and I finally bought Season 1 online. It's not at all doctrinally correct ("Bored and unhappy as the Lord of Hell, the original fallen angel, Lucifer Morningstar, has resigned and retired to the City of Angels, where he teams up with an LAPD detective to solve crimes. Whether it's a suppressed desire to punish the wicked or something deeper, the very thought that he could care about a human being disturbs him). But it's quite entertaining.

I usually like supernatural shows, but a lot of the devil-based ones tend to be disappointing so I never got around to checking that one out. I've heard positive things about it from a couple of places now, so maybe I should give it a try.

 

[Amulek]

On 8/1/2022 at 12:12 PM, Calm said:

Anyone watch British tv Humans?

I did. I found the first season to be quite enjoyable. It covers a lot of the same territory that gets explored throughout Westworld, only with fewer special effects and a lot less violence (plus zero nudity, which is nice).

The final season suffers from what one might call 'cancelled series / rushed ending syndrome.' So there ended up being a few more plot holes and unresolved loose ends than I would have liked, but overall I thought the show was pretty decent.

 

[Amulek]

On 8/18/2022 at 9:36 PM, Chum said:

Sandman was good. I'd put it up there with Good Omens.

Finished Sandman yesterday, and I'm going to have to disagree.

I thought Sandman was well made but, ultimately, kind of boring. Maybe if I was a fan of the graphic novel it was based upon I would have enjoyed it a lot more.

 

[Stargazer]

7 minutes ago, Amulek said:

I usually like supernatural shows, but a lot of the devil-based ones tend to be disappointing so I never got around to checking that one out. I've heard positive things about it from a couple of places now, so maybe I should give it a try.

I suspect I'll only watch the first season. It's been a fun romp so far, but it appears that in later seasons things get decidedly weird[er]. In one of the later seasons, 5th, I believe, God, played very well by Dennis Haysbert, decides to retire and to choose one of his angels to replace himself. They have a cookout (God of course is the chef -- "Who wants a hot dog?") where all this is announced and the angels act like a bunch of high-school kids arguing among themselves over who should succeed him. I only saw a short clip of this, but I didn't find it particularly charming. Although one charming incidental about this is that he moves to his wife's universe to live with her in retirement. She was apparently banished to a different universe because she was causing too many disasters on earth. 

The theology of the Lucifer series is really nuts.

[Chum]

39 minutes ago, Amulek said:

Finished Sandman yesterday, and I'm going to have to disagree.

I might revise my rating to say those two fall in the same broad range that includes Going Postal. I doubt I'd rewatch Sandman, however.

Above them is the group containing Watchmen and Over The Garden Wall.

[bluebell]

1 hour ago, Stargazer said:

I suspect I'll only watch the first season. It's been a fun romp so far, but it appears that in later seasons things get decidedly weird[er]. In one of the later seasons, 5th, I believe, God, played very well by Dennis Haysbert, decides to retire and to choose one of his angels to replace himself. They have a cookout (God of course is the chef -- "Who wants a hot dog?") where all this is announced and the angels act like a bunch of high-school kids arguing among themselves over who should succeed him. I only saw a short clip of this, but I didn't find it particularly charming. Although one charming incidental about this is that he moves to his wife's universe to live with her in retirement. She was apparently banished to a different universe because she was causing too many disasters on earth. 

The theology of the Lucifer series is really nuts.

It can't be worse than the theology of the Supernatural universe.  In that one God is a crappy novelist named Chuck, who ultimately becomes the greatest villain of the entire 15 seasons.  

[Chum]

On 8/20/2022 at 2:45 PM, bluebell said:

Rented The Painted Veil on Prime and watched it again for the 3rd or 4th time. 

Works for me. Queued up. Looking forward to it.

On 8/20/2022 at 2:45 PM, bluebell said:

but it's not at all a 'chick flick'. 

I don't write off potential chick flicks. Poldark is an absolute, all time favorite - for both me and my gear-head son. And sister. And anyone else I know who saw it.

Edited August 24, 2022 by Chum

[bluebell]

23 minutes ago, Chum said:

Works for me. Queued up. Looking forward to it.

I don't write off potential chick flicks. Poldark is an absolute, all time favorite - for both me and my gear-head son. And sister. And anyone else I know who saw it.

I loved Poldark until the last season and then...........  

[Chum]

27 minutes ago, bluebell said:

I loved Poldark until the last season and then...........  

I thought it was okay. But then the series-ender for Longmire came about the same time. It set a pretty low bar for endings.

[Calm]

On 8/2/2022 at 3:59 PM, Stargazer said:

Yes, Nichelle Nicholls died, dang it. But she was suffering from dementia, and arguably it was all for the best.

On the other hand, Uhura lives.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/nichelle-nichols-ashes-going-to-space_n_630921d5e4b065bfc4aed5ab

[bluebell]

For anyone who likes period pieces, Brooklyn is a good movie.  It takes place in the 1950s (I think) and is about an Irish girl that moves to America, falls in love, and then suddenly has to return to Ireland because a family member died.  

[Raingirl]

12 hours ago, bluebell said:

For anyone who likes period pieces, Brooklyn is a good movie.  It takes place in the 1950s (I think) and is about an Irish girl that moves to America, falls in love, and then suddenly has to return to Ireland because a family member died.  

I’ve been wanting to see this movie, but haven’t yet had the opportunity. I love period pieces, and I love Irish movies. 

[bluebell]

40 minutes ago, Raingirl said:

I’ve been wanting to see this movie, but haven’t yet had the opportunity. I love period pieces, and I love Irish movies. 

It's really good.  You can rent it on Amazon Prime right now if you have it.

[bluebell]

Watched the new Persuasion on Netflix finally.  It's a take on one of Jane Austen's books.  Persuasion is not my favorite story but the movie is entertaining.  It takes some liberties with historical accuracies but they did a good job with it.  Plus its PG so something you can actually watch with your kids in the room.

Edited October 9, 2022 by bluebell

[Bernard Gui]

The Monkey King starring Donnie Yen, Chow Yun-Fat, and Aaron Kwok. If you like fantasy/ martial arts, I heartily recommend this movie that is based on parts of the old Buddhist/Chinese story Journey to the West. Even if you don’t, you might enjoy this.

Yen’s excellent acting skills as Monkey are phenomenal, and Chow Yun-Fat is great at everything he does. Aaron Kwok makes a great conflicted villain. In the sequel he plays the Monkey role. Special effects, story line, martial arts combat, costuming, cinematography are outstanding.

As a Latter-day Saint, I was intrigued by the similarities with our temple teachings. I would be interested in others’ observations. 

Edited October 10, 2022 by Bernard Gui

[Bernard Gui]

On 8/25/2022 at 2:37 AM, Chum said:

I thought it was okay. But then the series-ender for Longmire came about the same time. It set a pretty low bar for endings.

A great series with the most disappointing ending in TV history. As we suffered through the final episode, Sister Gui and I both shouted, “Noooooooo…!” I wanted to rip my eyes out. Such a waste!

Edited October 11, 2022 by Bernard Gui

[Bernard Gui]

On 8/25/2022 at 1:27 AM, Chum said:

I might revise my rating to say those two fall in the same broad range that includes Going Postal. I doubt I'd rewatch Sandman, however.

Above them is the group containing Watchmen and Over The Garden Wall.

Any Terry Pratchett book would make an excellent series or movie. 

[Calm]

1 hour ago, Bernard Gui said:

The Monkey King starring Donnie Yen, Chow Yun-Fat, and Aaron Kwok. If you like fantasy/ martial arts, I heartily recommend this movie that is based on parts of the old Buddhist/Chinese story Journey to the West. Even if you don’t, you might enjoy this.

Yen’s excellent acting skills as Monkey are phenomenal, and Chow Yun-Fat is great at everything he does. Aaron Kwok makes a great conflicted villain. In the sequel he plays the Monkey role. Special effects, story line, martial arts combat, costuming, cinematography are outstanding.

As a Latter-day Saint, I was intrigued at the similarities with our temple teachings. I would be interested in others’ observations. 

Are you familiar with Journey To the West epic?  There are tons of adaptations in Asian media.  Monkey King is a very popular figure.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Journey_to_the_West

[Bernard Gui]

7 hours ago, Calm said:

Are you familiar with Journey To the West epic?  There are tons of adaptations in Asian media.  Monkey King is a very popular figure.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Journey_to_the_West

Yes. I’ve been reading it. Very long. We first encountered Monkey in a Japanese serial on  Australian TV in 1990…called “Monkey Magic”. It was hilarious. Whenever he summoned a cloud to carry him, sometimes it was actually a cotton ball bearing a tiny toy monkey! The whole family loved it.

 I’m not too thrilled with the new TV series.

 

 

 

Edited October 10, 2022 by Bernard Gui

[Chum]

21 hours ago, Bernard Gui said:

A great series with the most  disappointing ending in TV history. As we suffered through the final episode, Sister Gui and I both shouted, Noooooooo…” I wanted to rip my eyes out. Such a waste!

There isn't enough balding self-adoration - in any mid-life crisis - to make me appreciate that ending.

[Chum]

On 8/20/2022 at 2:45 PM, bluebell said:

Rented The Painted Veil on Prime and watched it again for the 3rd or 4th time. 

Me and gear-head watched this a couple of months back. The affair made me think it was going to be another betrayal/revenge trope but it went great places after that. We both really enjoyed it.

[Amulek]

Hocus Pocus 2

Only available on Disney+ (not in theaters).

Based on the trailer, I went into this sequel with pretty low expectations. That likely contributed to my overall feeling about the film.

I ended up thinking it was certainly better than the trailers made it out to be, but (unfortunately) it was still noticeably worse than the original.

Not unwatchable or anything, but certainly not one that I anticipate returning to regularly in future years. Still, it was kind of fun to see the Sanderson sisters milling around Salem again. And they left the ending open for another film...though I doubt Bette Midler can afford to wait another 30 years for one more round (unless she really is a witch).

 

[bluebell]

1 hour ago, Amulek said:

Hocus Pocus 2

Only available on Disney+ (not in theaters).

Based on the trailer, I went into this sequel with pretty low expectations. That likely contributed to my overall feeling about the film.

I ended up thinking it was certainly better than the trailers made it out to be, but (unfortunately) it was still noticeably worse than the original.

Not unwatchable or anything, but certainly not one that I anticipate returning to regularly in future years. Still, it was kind of fun to see the Sanderson sisters milling around Salem again. And they left the ending open for another film...though I doubt Bette Midler can afford to wait another 30 years for one more round (unless she really is a witch).

 

I really love the original and I have put off watching the sequel because (with the exception of Maverik) they always ruin the story.  After reading your review I think I'll continue to pass it by.

[Chum]

I'm really liking Peripheral. Solid plot and good acting. Chloë Moretz could be a Jodie Foster protege. Took me forever to remember where I saw her before. Stop judging me.

And then there's Moonhaven. I do not have to tools to figure out if I like it. It might have been created by Minecraft architects[1] that serially binged The Expanse[2] all thru detention at a Rainbow Gathering. Beware the Chakra Police.

[1] The set design is a dead ringer for really good Minecraft builds I've seen. Foremost were ones by this girl staff on a MC server I inherited. Amazing talent.

[2] The Expanse crafted dialects better than any show I've ever seen.

Edited October 28, 2022 by Chum