Movies and TV

[Mudcat]

Hm. I'll prolly check it out when my current triad of series end their seasons - which I don't think will be long now. Couple episodes left on all of them, I would guess.

 

[Mudcat]

Meanwhile coming out this weekend ----> Show me The Mummy. And whatnot.

Get it?

Yeah you get it.

 

[Mudcat]

And, just to be clear, when I say show me The Mummy, what I in fact mean is don't make me be anywhere near that rebooted, re-imagined dreck which is, by all accounts, a steaming pile of dogshit with extra flies.

 

[Mudcat]

Back to Midnight Cowboy, I finished it and I was curious if there were Oscar nominations for the acting - with Dustin Hoffman and particularly Jon Voight seeming worthy.

Yes, both nominated. They did not win though. Who did win that year? Who was awarded ahead of those excellent performances?

This belongs on my list of all-time Oscar travesties.

John Wayne.


:

 

[Blitty]

Master of None's Season 2 was a lot better than Season 1. Aziz has developed some writing and directing chops. I'm impressed.

8.4 Matty Rains out of a possible 10

That tinder episode is very accurate depiction of my life in NYC from 2010-14.

 

[Mudcat]

Dear Evan Hansen was the big winner at this year's Tony's. Which I guess is neither TV nor movies - but there it is.

Dear Evan Hansen.

 

[Matty]

Better Call Saul season finale was

 

[Mudcat]

I like Better Call Saul. It is well done, creative, stylish.

But where I keep landing is, there is a fundamental problem. I know too much about what is going to happen. It becomes, by definition, filler.

They make the journey as interesting as they possibly can - they're good - I really look forward to what the creative people will do next.

And I do like BCS.

But it has a problem and that problem is Breaking Bad.

 

[Matty]

I do think they're doing a phenomenal job with the constraints they have - like you said, they can't do much else but connect the dots to Breaking Bad.

Last night's episode was truly excellent. Chuck turning out to be the biggest asshole of the two McGills and Howard acquiring more shades of grey instead of just being the typical evil lawyer douche. Then the final scene. Damn.

Fantastic show. I did not expect it to be this good on its own merit.

 

[Mudcat]

Sorry to see that Daniel-Day-Lewis is retiring from acting. So his last movie will be another one with P.T. Anderson, Phantom Thread, coming out this Christmas.

Well, unless he unretires at some point. Which I kinda feel like he will. At some point down the line. Which will be nice if he does.

There is only one Daniel Day-Lewis.

 

[Mudcat]

Chuck turning out to be the biggest asshole of the two McGills

I was thinking about this today and I'm not feeling it. He's got his electricity disease - which is stupid no doubt - but he was not really bothering anyone with it. I don't see it as an asshole thing.

I feel like he was right on the money about Jimmy's fundamental weaseliness. The line about how Jimmy never mattered to him was rough - but I just saw it as a justifiable lashing out at the guy who has been an albatross around his neck his whole life - with a huge recent spike in toxicity.

Chuck, to me, is a smart decent man (with a hella stupid condition).

 

[roguejuror]

Saved Howard $9 million by offing himself.

 

[Mudcat]

So the 3 series I have been watching, in an odd bit of tidy coordination, ran their season finales on consecutive nights this week.


Better Call Saul (season 3) - as discussed, I am just a notch off from total commitment due to prequel issues. Very good though. 7.3 out of 10.

Genius (season 1) - this look at the life of Albert Einstein was just flat-out good. Interesting and educational - even a bit inspirational at times. I am very glad to know the great man better. Season 2 will be Pablo Picasso and I will be watching. 7.9 out of 10 for the Einstein series.

Fargo (season 3) - I liked it okay. I'd rank it as better than season 1 but not as good as 2. The brand is consistent - absurd but kinda fun. David Thewlis is a hoot. 6.3 out of 10.

 

[Mudcat]

After being a stood up - a couple times - to see it in the theater, I finally D/L'ed and watched T2: Trainspotting (2017)

It's good. Very good at times. But it surely ain't no Trainspotting.

The only way I can put it: where Trainspotting was so completely fresh, T2 has an overhanging fog of contrivance. So many things that don't quite feel organic. Almost but not quite.

But, while a comparison to Trainspotting is natural in this case, it is hardly a sin to not be as good as it. Most movies aren't. Some very good movies aren't. This is still an entertaining movie. It has style and heart. It was good to visit with the characters again. I will keep the file and rewatch it in 6 months or so.

7.1 out of 10.

 

[Mudcat]

or maybe this

 

[reno cool]

I tried downloading Trainspotting once, but it turned out to be in a different language. Didn't watch, but I'm gathering it has something to do with drugs.

 

[Tron]

I didn't much care for the season finale of Fargo but I'm definitely bummed it's over. The villain was the best kind of villain.

 

[Matty]

I finally watched Interstellar on the plane the other day. One of the best sci-fi movies I've ever seen, if you exclude the cheesy ending. I like how they made use of wormholes and black holes to slingshot across spacetime, instead of voodoo technology like
most subpar sci-fi does.

8.9 Matty Rains