[watching] What have you viewed recently? (II)

I watched The Electric State last night (Netflix). It nails the Simon Stålenhag visuals and some of the vibe brilliantly and it's generally well acted. However, I feel it's a little diminished as it does flesh out more of a backstory than I recall in the book, and the story that follows is pretty traditional Hollywood. I did enjoy it though.

Need to read the RPG now and see how close it comes to the book or the film. I've not that long ago read the Last Caravan, which is a similar roadtrip RPG, so I'm interested in the compare and contrast.
 
Like the Johnny Come Lately that I am, I have just been delving into Apple TV (thanks Barclays!)

For All Mankind had me in some sort of mental and emotional vice-like grip. I'd had it recommended before, but it was just the right blend of low-SF and alt-history to get me all hot under the collar. Amazing.

Foundation was, on the other extreme, that high concept SF that I normally bounce off, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.

The Morning Show feels like a spiritual successor to The Newsroom and as such was chomped through in rapid fashion. Stuff like this is my guilty pleasure.

I'm two episodes into Silo and its not disappointed. I think I have read Wool when it came out, but I simply cannot remember it. Feels a lot like Fallout, although I realise it's only a thematic similarity.

So far, I am very pleased with the Apple stuff.
 
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Neil Gow said:
For All Mankind had me in some sort of mental and emotional vice-like grip
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I was the same until a little way in to Season 4. For some reason I just stopped watching. Found that with quite a few shows, get 2 or 3 seasons in and lose interest. So probably more me that the show itself.

There was talk of a spinoff, Star City, focussing on the Russian side of things. Haven’t seen anything about it recently. It is listed on Ronald D Moore's IMBD page, so hopefully that means it happening. Says 2026.
 
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Havoc (Netflix) - Tom Hardy corrupt cop crime action flick. Above average, nicely stylish. At first I was thinking gosh, the chaos of the gun fights is a bit like 'Heat' but then I reconsidered. Heat felt realistic, this was something you'd run in Outgunned or Feng Shui.

Andor S2 (Disney+) - an excellent return to the gritty side of Star Wars. It does a good job of reminding you of the banality of the evil of the fascist state that the Empire is. Obviously, real life means this has even more resonances.

Trying Orphan Black again, as I failed to get past the first episode last time (it's back on Netflix).
 
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Oh do stick with Orphan Black!
 
Last night watched Blood and Gold on Netflix, perhaps best described as a WW2 Spaghetti Western. A lone German army deserter tangles with a platoon of SS men as they search for a stash of stolen gold in a small town in Germany circa 1945. The locals prove unwilling to give up their ill gotten gains and a three way battle develops. It's reminiscent of A Fistful of Dollars and its more brutish offspring like Django and Sartanna with lots of double crossing and violence. There are also a few similarities with Finnish film Sisu, notably in the depiction of the SS bad guys, but it's less cartoonish, and all the better for it (plus the hardware is more accurate as well). Extra marks awarded for inventive use of a Panzerfaust anti-tank rocket. Would watch director Peter Thorwath's other film Blood Red Sky on the strength of this.
 
Dom said:
Andor S2 (Disney+) - an excellent return to the gritty side of Star Wars. It does a good job of reminding you of the banality of the evil of the fascist state that the Empire is. Obviously, real life means this has even more resonances.
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So far, Andor S2 gets a chef kiss from me. The first three episodes were superb.
 
ltd said:
Last night watched Blood and Gold on Netflix, perhaps best described as a WW2 Spaghetti Western. A lone German army deserter tangles with a platoon of SS men as they search for a stash of stolen gold in a small town in Germany circa 1945. The locals prove unwilling to give up their ill gotten gains and a three way battle develops. It's reminiscent of A Fistful of Dollars and its more brutish offspring like Django and Sartanna with lots of double crossing and violence. There are also a few similarities with Finnish film Sisu, notably in the depiction of the SS bad guys, but it's less cartoonish, and all the better for it (plus the hardware is more accurate as well). Extra marks awarded for inventive use of a Panzerfaust anti-tank rocket. Would watch director Peter Thorwath's other film Blood Red Sky on the strength of this.
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I'd second Blood & Gold. They are sooo bigging up the Spaghetti Western tropes. Except instead of a tune like "Oh My Darling Clementine", they play German folk music!
 
Stronty Girl said:
I'd second Blood & Gold. They are sooo bigging up the Spaghetti Western tropes. Except instead of a tune like "Oh My Darling Clementine", they play German folk music!
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It certainly does - I can imagine the Pervitin popping SS Colonel being played by Jack Palance per his appearances in A Professional Gun and Companeros.

Have also just finished watching all five series of Being Human. Enjoyed its juxtaposition of the supernatural and humdrum everyday - even Werewolves and Vampires need jobs and a place to live. Found myself wondering how the hospital, Bristol police, Edwards Funeral Parlour, the Facility, Stoker Shipping, the Men in Grey, the Old Ones and Satan would fit into a Night's Black Agents/Dracula Dossier vampire conspyramid
 
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Saw Sinners at the cinema, The first half of the movie - life for black people in 1930s American South - is very good. Then the supernatural stuff starts and it goes from good to fricking awesome. I will be buying this when it comes out on DVD.

Watched seasons 1 and 2 of See (on DVD but it is an Apple TV series). It's sort of Mad Max meets Game of Thrones in a post apocalypse world where everyone is blind, except for Jason Momoa's kids. Season 1 was very good. Season 2 flagged a bit in the middle but then got good again. The aesthetic varies from well thought out for a world where everyone is blind (e.g. people with guide dogs lead the way when warriors are on the march, people have raised scars instead of tattoos) to things they forgot about (there must be an amazing blind hairdresser somewhere on the planet).

Jason Momoa still kicks arse like Duncan Idaho dialled up to 11!
 
Watched the first episode of Spy/Master [BBC iPLayer] last night: Disillusioned Romanian Securitate officer tries to defect to the US, but his colleagues are already closing in and the yanks don't seem inclined to move with any great alacrity.

Doesn't waste much time on exposition, you're dropped pretty much in the deep end with a fragmented timeline (I was reminded a bit of director Christopher Smith's mind bending sci-fi horror film Triangle) complete with flashbacks and repeated scenes shown from different angles. I kind of liked that though as it added to the paranoid feeling which I'm sure putative defectors must experience. Nice seventies ambience as well. I suspect the production designers have been taking lessons from Deutschland 83/86/89.
 
Black Doves (Netflix). Spy thriller with nicely-drawn characters, and a plot that twists and turns like a twisty turny thing until the last episode. It begins when the Chinese ambassador to London is murdered, but by whom, why, and where is his missing daughter? The central character (Keira Knightley), wife of the Secretary of State for Defence and more than she seems, is drawn swiftly deeper into the plot through murders and attempted murders.

Over the course of six episodes we are introduced to spies and assassins working for private companies, the CIA, MI5, Chinese intelligence, the Metropolitan Police, and two different organised crime syndicates. As well as resolving the inciting incident and fleshing out the main characters in flashback, the series explores themes of honour, loyalty, betrayal, and what kind of love life a spy or assassin can have. Although the plot of the first season is resolved, there is room for a second series with the same characters.

Highly recommended.
 
Sablemage said:
Black Doves (Netflix). Spy thriller with nicely-drawn characters, and a plot that twists and turns like a twisty turny thing until the last episode. It begins when the Chinese ambassador to London is murdered, but by whom, why, and where is his missing daughter? The central character (Keira Knightley), wife of the Secretary of State for Defence and more than she seems, is drawn swiftly deeper into the plot through murders and attempted murders.

Over the course of six episodes we are introduced to spies and assassins working for private companies, the CIA, MI5, Chinese intelligence, the Metropolitan Police, and two different organised crime syndicates. As well as resolving the inciting incident and fleshing out the main characters in flashback, the series explores themes of honour, loyalty, betrayal, and what kind of love life a spy or assassin can have. Although the plot of the first season is resolved, there is room for a second series with the same characters.

Highly recommended.
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I have to admit I preferred screenwriter Joe Barton's earlier Giri/Haji. For me the characters in that a lot were a lot more sympathetic than the glib killers of Black Doves - it is well made, with some excellent actors and dialogue (Helen's observations on the realities of childbirth made me laugh) but I found myself not really caring who lived or died.
 
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Thunderbolts* (Marvel, cinemas). The B-Team movie - what happens when the Avengers are no longer available. This moves the MCU timeline along from the last Captain America film by perhaps 2-3 years in total. One main plot line, and a pretty simple story of heroes that really aren't. We have Yelena (Black Widow's sister), Ghost, Red Guardian, US Agent (ex-Captain America) and the Winter Soldier all in action together. This picks up threads from several series and films and weaves them together. There are some fun interchanges (especially Yelena/Red Guardian) and some serious elements about mental health and coping. I enjoyed the film, but the ending was almost a surprise. It didn't necessarily go the way I wanted, but on reflection it did feel like it was more aligned with the characters. There are two end credit scenes, one for fun and the other setting up later movies.
 
Just finished Andor. Best Star Wars since Rogue One. Wonderfully done.
 
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