I couldn’t find a pre-existing movies thread, so I thought I’d start one here.
Firstly, a new trailer for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever had dropped. Looks awesome.
Secondly, on Friday my wife and I went to see the horror movie, Smile. It’s the first horror film in a long while i can honestly say creeped me out. Quite similar in tone to It Follows, for those who have seen that. Great stuff. My wife spent most of it with her face buried in my arm. 
So what’s everyone else been watching?
We just finished Shaman King 2021
A reboot of my favorite childhood show, that has the canon ending this time [which wasn’t available at the time of the first series]
For new movies we watched Hocus Pocus 2, The Munsters and Bodies Bodies Bodies this weekend. As for older movies we watched Hocus Pocus and Transylvania 6-5000. Although we watch horror all year long, when October rolls around we gravitate toward Autumn and Halloween themed horror or the like.
For someone how isn’t a huge fan of Hocus Pocus I enjoyed Hocus Pocus 2 and was impressed with how the film made me feel. It’s not without its flaws but I had fun.
The Munsters was fun and very much in the spirit of the original. I think it didn’t benefit from being a film and the loss of classical TV sitcom elements like canned laughter which I tend to think can be a significant part of the experience of something like The Munsters. Despite this it’s clear they had a good time making it and that comes through.
Bodies Bodies Bodies was damn good fun. Funny and pack full of unlikable characters that are a joy to watch. All the performances were exceptional, the cluster phobic cinematography was superb and it’s just generally an entertaining twist on the murder mystery genre with a splash of horror.
Naturally we rewatched Hocus Pocus in preparation for the sequel. And we watched Transylvania 6-5000 because I haven’t seen it in ages. It’s written and directed by Rudy De Luca, a frequent Mel Brookes collaborator. Appropriately the best way to describe the film is a Brookes-esque outing that borrow a lot from Young Frankenstein but that still manages to have some enjoyable moments. If there’s only one reason to watch this film it’s Carol Kane’s comedic genius, and she plays exceptionally well off John Byner’s slapstick schtick.
Anyone watching House of the Dragon or Rings of Power? Despite each shows’ obvious quality, I just feel like the story takes too long to get anywhere.
For example, in ep 7 of HoD, I feel like all the important stuff could have been done in almost half the time. If you cut out all the “meaningful looks” characters give each other you’d reduce runtime by a third!
Maybe I’m just getting impatient in my old age, but I’m kinda sick of this “decompressed” story telling.
I need to finish this so I can cancel my Crunchyroll subscription, but I’ve been watching Cute High Earth Defense Club LOVE! That is very funny, and I strongly recommend it. Third season not so much, but the first two are hilarious kind-of-satire of magical girl (magical guy?) shows.
Otherwise, now that I think about it, I rarely watch new TV. Bob’s Burgers, The Great North, and RuPaul’s Drag Race, that’s about it. I am excited for the new Futurama. We’ve been watching 80s and 90s sitcoms from our childhood to see how it feels to experience them as adults. We were watching Who’s the Boss, but whatever we were streaming that on pulled the earlier seasons, so we switched to 227. Lol, what a weird assortment of shows.
@GlitchtheGameGremlin
This is honestly something I’ve been feeling with contemporary TV for several years at this point (and not just television, but video games and comic books as well). Netflix in particular is masterful in taking eight episodes to tell one episode’s worth of story.
Have you watched Netflix’s Sandman? Every episode feels like it’s own thing, but part of the larger whole. I was really impressed with just home much of the original story they were able to get in there, I felt for sure some stuff would have been left out, but nope. Pretty much every plot point from the books is there, even if it’s truncated a little. It’s actually really impressive.
Modern superhero shows for instance, want to spend an entire 24-episode season on a single plot.
I do wonder if the whole decompressed storytelling thing is very much an American thing as series from other countries don’t seem to do it as much. I do think the 24 episode format is a big reason as there is so much time to fill they have to stretch things out. Most UK shows are much shorter at 8-12 episodes, similar to many AU and Asian shows. Look at The Boys, Squid Game or (post-Chibnall) Doctor Who. All short-ish seasons, each episode packed with stuff that really pushes the stories along but still can be watched (mostly) on its own merit. In regards to superhero shows specifically, I think the Disney stuff has been really good in this regard with the possible exception of Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
In the comic book world this is called “writing for the trade.” As of the late 00s, it became common practice to use five or six issues to tell a story which would have previously been a one-and-done.
Oh man, did you read Bendis’ Ultimate Spider-Man when it game out? That bloke perfected the written-for-the-trade method. Didn’t help that every conversation went something like
“Oh, hey, yeah. So, like, this thing, like, happened, and it was, you know, a thing.”
“Yeah, I saw that thing. It certainly was thing. At first I didn’t think it was a thing, but the it turns out it was a thing. I even said, like, to my, like, friend, like ‘is that a thing?’ and there were, like, ‘yeah, I’m pretty sure that is, you know, a thing.’” SO frustrating.
(Having said that, I do own all the US-M trades and think it’s a great series, but it definitely reads better collected. Also, since leaving Australia for the UK I’ve gone 100% trade. Just easier.)
I’ve not watched any of the Star Wars shows as it’s not my thing but I have heard they are good. However, what you describe there is what pretty much every episode of the Doctor Who revival has done and I’ve loved it. When the show didn’t do that (first Chibnall season) I, and many others, found it incredibly boring.
This fall I’ll be watching the following anime:
And this year I fell behind with superhero stuff so I guess I’ll spend the following weeks watching a few Marvel’s shows, The Batman, The Sandman, The Boys, etc.
Few movies I’ve recently seen that I’d recommend:
Three Thousand Years of Longing - Very chill, lovely bittersweet story, it’s a movie about telling stories and how stories bring people together, Idris Elba is a djinn and he kills it. Definitely recommend.
Bodies, Bodies, Bodies - Everyone has made the “Among Us The Movie” joke and honestly, yeah, but it’s also a pretty good dissection of Gen Z and it offers tension and comedy is equal parts, well worth a watch.
X - This one’s a bit adult, you’re gonna see some body parts usually reserved for private moments, since the story is about a group of pornographers renting a farm house and trying to hide from the elderly couple who rented it to them what they’re doing down there. It get’s weird, it gets gory, it’s a lot of fun!
Started watching Silicon Valley for the first time. I’m enjoying all the techie/programming details they crammed in, and there’s usually a good laugh or two each episode.
Also watched Young Frankenstein for the first time. I was really impressed with how well they emulated the style of monster movies from the 30s and 40s.
I enjoyed Bodies, Bodies, Bodies and X. Really looking forward Pearl and MaXXXine, especially since they build on the story in X and because everything I’ve heard about Pearl says it’s even better than X.
Young Frankenstein is pure brilliance and a film that never stops being funny to me no matter how often I watch it.
ooooh yays movies ლ(╹◡╹ლ)I like to watch random things from time to time, so here are some favorites mixed with things I’ve seen recently:
Paper Moon: A comfort of mine. Just the most charming, watchable little adventure that never gets corny or cloying. Watch it with a group of friends to get the whole room grinnin’!
Barton Fink: A meticulously written tragicomedy where you wait for the punchline, but you just get really sad. Probably my favorite Coen brothers film. “A really good unboxing video”
Memories of Matsuko: Betchu 5 dollars you’ve never seen a like this before. Decadent and colorful and joyful and fun, those images will stick with you forever.
Castle of Cagliostro: It is hands down the best thing that old grumpy ass sonova bitch Miyazaki ever put out. I could watch it time and time again and never get bored. So full of joy and silliness, ya gotta give it a gander! You do! Promise me, you’ll see it! Dubbed! I’m serious!!
I suddenly remembered how much anime I’ve seen, and I gotta head out before the floodgates open. HYAAAAAAAAAAH!!!
Watched Halloween Ends. Pretty abysmal end to a disappointing trilogy. Quality special effects and decent gore aren’t enough to cover the cliche plot that borrows heavily from other, better films, without an understanding of why those films work. Frankly the most interesting scenes are clips from films like the The Thing playing in the background, or flashbacks to the original Halloween.
I’m really hyped that the third series for Derry Girls is on my country’s Netflix now, as well as Cobra Kai’s 5th season. I plan to watch Sandman at some point since my friend (and a lot of people) told me it was really good and followed well the comics (which I loved reading!).
Right now I’m watching Covert Affairs season 4.
Such a brilliant movie. My wife got me tickets to the musical production a few years back and it was utterly fantastic. Mel Brooks is a genius!
I’m really hyped that the third series for Derry Girls is on my country’s Netflix now
It’s soooooooo good, and a really great end to the series!
I recently watched Dave Made a Maze. It’s a indy comedy film about a guy who builds a cardboard maze and then he, and all his friends, get lost in it. It’s a bit uneven, but the creativity on display is wonderful. I’d recommend it for a lazy afternoon.
Also currently re-watching Peep Show. I forgot just how brilliant the series is. It’s so hilarious and painful to watch at the same time. I’m not sure how well it would translate for cultures that don’t do self deprecating humour, but if you like British comedy it’s well worth watching.
Loved the final of She-Hulk. It think it’s my favourite of the MCU series since Disney+ took over. Still kind of enjoying House of the Dragon, I just wish it would move a bit faster. Have given up on Rings of Power because I found I just wasn’t really caring about any of the characters apart from Elrond. Only enjoying one forth of a show doesn’t make it worth following IMO.
Just finished watching Severance and I really recommend it! For whatever that’s worth, haha!
It has a lot of commentary about work culture, CEO worship and meaningless work, while being very uncomfortable and tense. The filming techniques never let you settle in and it uses liminal space in such a cool and creative way. I don’t wanna say too much since the mystery is part of the fun, but it’s pretty cerebral and cool!
So, I’m watching Andor and I have to say, this is the first time I feel like Star Wars actually has something truly profound to say and I’m digging it. Andor doesn’t feel like a nostalgia trip, it feels like something with ideas so solid it could exist as its own Sci-Fi story separate from the SW universe.
Watched Jodie Whittaker’s last Doctor Who episode last night. It was one of the better ones of the Chibnal era, but all the best parts, apart from Sacha Dhawan’s Master, were callbacks to older episodes/ Doctors/ Companions.
I’m not sure how I feel about the regeneration, but I’m interested to see where things go. It’ll make a lot of fans very happy, but as with most things I don’t follow the trend in that regards.
As harsh as it is to say, I have to admit I’m glad this era of the show is done. It’s been pretty much a disaster, especially that first season. It slowly got better, but nowhere near the quality of previous New Who eras. Hopefully RTD will get things back on track.
I’m a pretty big fan of Ten so I think it’s fun, but I also think it’s good that it’s just a short run mini-series of sorts before the next regeneration.
I’m under no illusions that I’m in the minority of people in regards to my feelings on Tennant.
If they were to bring back any of the New Who Doctors I’d have picked Eccelston.