Filtering by Tag: tv

I Finally Cancelled Netflix

Added on by C. Maoxian.

Netflix cost $25 a month (after tax) and I never watched it and my wife never watched it and even my kids never watched it, so I decided to cancel it. My buddy Dave recommended Ripley in a last ditch effort to get me to stay, but I hated the artificial digitized quality of it (I guess it’s a Showtime show, but still, it had that weird NFLX post-production look) and that sealed the deal for me. We’ll see if anyone misses it.

Had to click that last page many times before it finally went through, so it was more like cancel your membership in ten clicks.

TV Watched -- The Sinner S04 E01

Added on by C. Maoxian.

I loved the first season of The Sinner and tolerated seasons two and three, so I’ve just started on season four and here are my brief stream of consciousness bullet points on episode one (SPOILERS):

  • Bill Pullman still squinting and wincing full time, that’s called acting

  • PTSD panic attacks from previous seasons

  • Sonya has fat black buddy on island in Maine?!? Makes no sense but they’re ticking boxes

  • “Greta,” whom we later learn is a lesbian in addition to being fat and black (tick another box), has a million dollar house despite being a “broke artist” … don’t worry, we never see her again

  • Chinese invasion angle, threatening Maine lobster operations, again makes no sense

  • Bill off his anti-depressant zombie meds so the panic attacks are pretty bad

  • Angular faced Jewish hippie chick from Orange is the New Black appears (I couldn’t stand that show), she is 32 years old

  • Very awkward old folks sex scene (Bill Pullman is 68 and Jessica Hecht is 57!!) … That Ship Has Sailed, I don’t care that she’s on top, and what’s with the choking, egad

  • Going to heavy blue camera filter for anti-depressant withdrawal dream? sequence scenes

  • Ineffectual, slouching country sheriff, needs Big City Bill’s help

  • Crusty old angular face grandma, “she could get ya back to port in any storm!”

  • Why do none of these people have Maine accents?

  • Tokens left near suicide jump site, an air of mystery

  • Local dive bar has hottie singer with giant mouth (Jessica Marie Brown)

  • Neo-Nazi homesteader with neck tats looks like zombie, sort of collapses out of camper trailer but remains standing, an air of danger. “I likes just me and da posums out here in da quiet!”

  • NONE of the Muldoons sound like they are from Maine

  • Unabomber hoodie captured on CCTV footage

  • Bill explores weird wailing and moaning he hears from million dollar porch, Blue Filter alert

  • Oh my god, it’s a coven of naked witches! Led by Grandma Muldoon?!?

  • Tune in for episode two!

Find me, Bill!

Ozark S03 E10 Curse Count

Added on by C. Maoxian.

I tried to watch Ozark season one years ago and didn’t like it. Twitterers said season three was amazing, especially the last episode, so I just watched it and wasn’t thrilled … lots of portentous piano and violin music, capped off with an act of violence that made me flinch (wearing headphones didn’t help).

I thought I’d do a curse count for the episode, so here it is:

“fucking, fucking, fucked, fucking, fucked, fucking, fucking, fucking, fucking, fucked, shit, bullshit, fuck, fuck you, fucking, fucking, fucking, fucking, fucking, fucking, fucking, fuck, fucking bitch, fucking, fucking, fucking, fucking, fucking, fucking, fuck, fuck, fucking, bat-shit, fucked, fucking“

2020 Media Consumption Diary -- February

Added on by C. Maoxian.

2020 Media Consumption Diary -- January

Added on by C. Maoxian.

January

  • 2020.01.31 … Watched … Dark Passage (1947) | Delmer Daves

  • 2020.01.30 … Watched … He Walked By Night (1948) | Alfred Werker

  • 2020.01.28 … Watched … The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946) | Lewis Milestone

  • 2020.01.27 … Watched … Kiss of Death (1947) | Henry Hathaway

  • 2020.01.26 … Watched … My Darling Clementine (1955) | John Ford

  • 2020.01.25 … Watched … You (2019) | TV S2E10

  • 2020.01.24 … Watched … You (2019) | TV S2E9

  • 2020.01.23 … Watched … You (2019) | TV S2E8

  • 2020.01.22 … Watched … You (2019) | TV S2E7

  • 2020.01.21 … Watched … You (2019) | TV S2E6

  • 2020.01.21 … Read … Bomber’s Moon (2019) by Archer Mayor

  • 2020.01.20 … Watched … You (2019) | TV S2E5

  • 2020.01.20 … Watched … The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946) | Tay Garnett

  • 2020.01.19 … Watched … You (2019) | TV S2E4

  • 2020.01.18 … Watched … You (2019) | TV S2E3

  • 2020.01.18 … Watched … Shane (1953) | George Stevens

  • 2020.01.17 … Watched … Detour (1945) | Edgar Ulmer

  • 2020.01.17 … Watched … You (2019) | TV S2E2

  • 2020.01.17 … Read … Good Girl, Bad Girl (2019) by Michael Robotham

  • 2020.01.16 … Watched … You (2019) | TV S2E1

  • 2020.01.13 … Watched … Booksmart (2019) | Olivia Wilde

  • 2020.01.12 … Watched … The Stranger (1946) | Orson Welles

  • 2020.01.10 … Watched … Double Indemnity (1944) | Billy Wilder

  • 2020.01.09 … Watched … High Noon (1952) | Fred Zinnemann

  • 2020.01.09 … Read … The First Rule (2010) by Robert Crais

  • 2020.01.08 … Watched … I Wake Up Screaming (1941) | Bruce Humberstone 

  • 2020.01.07 … Read … Suspect (2013) by Robert Crais

  • 2020.01.06 … Watched … Blow Out (1981) | Brian De Palma

  • 2020.01.05 … Read … The Wanted (2017) by Robert Crais

  • 2020.01.04 … Watched … Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954) | Jack Arnold

  • 2020.01.03 … Read … Taken (2012) by Robert Crais

  • 2020.01.02 … Watched … The Marriage Circle (1924) | Ernst Lubitsch

  • 2020.01.01 … Watched … Hustlers (2019) | Lorene Scafaria

  • 2020.01.01 … Read … The Sentry (2011) by Robert Crais

TV Shows Watched -- Prime Suspect (1991)

Added on by C. Maoxian.

Around 3.5 hour running time … I re-watched the original season of Prime Suspect that aired nearly 30 years ago now, and it stands the test of time, largely because of Helen Mirren’s performance … interesting to see younger Tom WIlkinson and a very young Ralph Fiennes … the rented garage with the clamps on the wall has long scarred my memory … deservedly considered a classic; see it if you haven’t. I don’t think I’ve seen one of the later seasons.

Someone at the Guardian said it well: “Bleak, brutal and beautifully rendered, this was British crime drama at its absolute best.“

George has always been a bit of a lad.

George has always been a bit of a lad.

Evil Genius

Added on by C. Maoxian.

Watched this four episode Netflix documentary about a bank robbery in Erie, PA ... it was disturbing ... this group of lowlife misfits, led by a mentally ill woman, planned a bank robbery which was done by a simpleton pizza delivery guy ... they put a locking collar holding a bomb around the guy's neck ... he told the police a group of black guys had done it do him (because that's what the masterminds told him to say -- he must have been semi-retarded, they didn't explain this fact well).

They show the footage of the bomb going off, which was really nasty ... I wasn't prepared for that. He bled to death, but I can see why they didn't approach him right away after the bomb went off.

Law enforcement does not come across well in this series ... local law enforcement doesn't communicate well with the Feds (FBI, ATF) ... no one seems super competent. It took years and years to solve this thing, when it should have taken a couple of days. Erie's a small city. Sad, tragic stuff, but see it if you're interested in "true crime" shows.

Bosch -- Season Four

Added on by C. Maoxian.

I watched the fourth season of Bosch more or less in a binge. Ten episodes, around an hour a piece. It's good TV, not great TV. It's above average TV. Streaming on Amazon Prime. My screencaps with comments below: 

TV Shows Watched -- Peaky Blinders

Added on by C. Maoxian.

Watched season one and enjoyed it. 

TV Shows Watched -- Shooter

Added on by C. Maoxian.

A Twitterer appreciated my recommendation of "Fauda" and tried to return the favor by recommending that I check out "Shooter." I watched the first episode from the first season and wasn't thrilled for the following reasons:

  • War Porn
  • Fetishizes guns (and I'm a pro-gun guy)
  • Fetishizes violence, including political assassination
  • Token black characters (but don't worry, one is immediately killed off)
  • Weak acting
  • Lame made-for-commercial-TV vibe
  • Dumb story

I won't continue to watch this one and don't recommend it.

Practice Pumpkins (though not filled with red food coloring)

Practice Pumpkins (though not filled with red food coloring)