Jump to content

What Have You Watched Recently?


Susano

Recommended Posts

Just finished watching Neon Genesis Evangelion on Netflix, a series which had been on my to-watch list since the nineties.  It was as brilliant as I had been told to expect.  Yes, it's about teenagers piloting giant robots to save Earth from aliens.  But it's actually about traumatized child soldiers.  But it's actually about abandonment, loneliness, grief, and acceptance.

 

Anime sometimes gets a little weird and by the end Evangelion is a lot weird.  Like 2001 weird.  In fact the concluding two episodes were so weird (happening entirely in the minds of psychologically damaged teenagers) that the producers had to rewrite them and release a movie version titled The End of Evangelion.  Which made a little more sense, but was still a lot weird.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

39 minutes ago, Old Man said:

Just finished watching Neon Genesis Evangelion on Netflix, a series which had been on my to-watch list since the nineties.  It was as brilliant as I had been told to expect.  Yes, it's about teenagers piloting giant robots to save Earth from aliens.  But it's actually about traumatized child soldiers.  But it's actually about abandonment, loneliness, grief, and acceptance.

 

Anime sometimes gets a little weird and by the end Evangelion is a lot weird.  Like 2001 weird.  In fact the concluding two episodes were so weird (happening entirely in the minds of psychologically damaged teenagers) that the producers had to rewrite them and release a movie version titled The End of Evangelion.  Which made a little more sense, but was still a lot weird.

The legend is that showrunner Hideki Anno was suffering severe depression when he storyboarded the final two episodes, and they were his was of making art out of his problems (and reactions from fans that did not meet his approval).

 

In honor of your discovery...

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Old Man said:

Just finished watching Neon Genesis Evangelion on Netflix, a series which had been on my to-watch list since the nineties.  It was as brilliant as I had been told to expect.  Yes, it's about teenagers piloting giant robots to save Earth from aliens.  But it's actually about traumatized child soldiers.  But it's actually about abandonment, loneliness, grief, and acceptance.

 

Anime sometimes gets a little weird and by the end Evangelion is a lot weird.  Like 2001 weird.  In fact the concluding two episodes were so weird (happening entirely in the minds of psychologically damaged teenagers) that the producers had to rewrite them and release a movie version titled The End of Evangelion.  Which made a little more sense, but was still a lot weird.

 

Eva is one of those series that is a must watch for anyone who has any appreciation of anime. Now go watch Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood and Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works if you haven't already. Oh, add Kill la Kill and Violet Evergarden also. I think all of those are on Netflix.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Zoo (Netflix) Seasons 1-3. Pretty bad, full of Hollywood-isms, but I kind of liked it anyway. Third and final season really jumped the shark, and also had a cliffhanger ending. I guess they didn't foresee their inevitable demise. Premise is animals evolving in unexpected ways, and turning on humanity, so it's a pretty good watch if you're nostalgic for killer animal movies from the 80s.

 

Umbrella Academy (Netflix) Season 2. Easier to follow than Season 1. Pretty decent, but the new has worn off compared to Season 1.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am convinced that tv series when they see the writing on the wall and are trying to avoid being cancelled specifically write cliffhanger endings so "fans" will demand another season. I prefer the shows that knew it was coming and wrote appropriately.  My favorite still being the end of Magnum P.I., which despite fan interest got another season, I thought had a perfect ending. I wish they had held out and not done the final season, not that it was bad, just I thought the ending prior was a perfect Magnum one.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I feel like this is a rerun of my last post here, but I just binge watched The Tick. Yes, I'm one of those guys who got talked into signing up for a full month of free Amazon Prime and haven't been bothered to cancel the subscription since. Unlike Cloak and Dagger Season 2, this wasn't unexpectedly good. I knew it had a good rating from the critics, but I was surprised at the way that it was good. One review talks about "likeable characters," and it is exactly that. 

 

Uhm, spoilerish.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 8/2/2020 at 10:06 PM, Old Man said:

Just finished watching Neon Genesis Evangelion on Netflix, a series which had been on my to-watch list since the nineties.  It was as brilliant as I had been told to expect.  Yes, it's about teenagers piloting giant robots to save Earth from aliens.  But it's actually about traumatized child soldiers.  But it's actually about abandonment, loneliness, grief, and acceptance.

 

Anime sometimes gets a little weird and by the end Evangelion is a lot weird.  Like 2001 weird.  In fact the concluding two episodes were so weird (happening entirely in the minds of psychologically damaged teenagers) that the producers had to rewrite them and release a movie version titled The End of Evangelion.  Which made a little more sense, but was still a lot weird.

Eva, Akira, and Fooly Cooly is often seen as the "trinity" of "must see"...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I borrowed the Watchmen series on DVD from my library over the weekend, and got to "This Extraordinary Being" last night. It's been a long time since a show was so far up my alley—I'm torn between regretting not signing up for HBO to see it last year, and being grateful that I'm only seeing it in the wake of the George Floyd protests. Regina King, Tim Blake Nelson, and Jean Smart would each be a good enough reason to watch a show on their own, and all together with Jeremy Irons and a talented supporting cast they're phenomenal.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 8/3/2020 at 12:45 AM, Old Man said:

How many times do I have to watch the same series? ;)  I’ve started Fullmetal Alchemist at least. But I’m still decades behind. I haven’t even finished GitS:SAC yet, and I haven’t started Cowboy Bebop either. 

I'm trying to think of how to describe Bebop without spoilers. But it is one of best action series you'll see in any form.

 

But you've made a good start with EVA. And this may have been the better video to show off: it's an English translation of the iconic OP for Evangelion, "Cruel Angel's Thesis".

 

.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We finished Season 2 of Umbrella Academy.  I actually thought it was better than Season 1.  I enjoyed that the siblings seem to get along better this season.  Nearly every member of the family gets an interesting subplot to work through, except for 2 of them.  One of these two drives the main plot forward again, so they are fine, but the other gets slighted for the second straight season.  Hopefully they get treated better in Season 3.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Poltergeist: At its core, it's a movie about a  loving family struggling with powerful forces, Still holds up, even now. As an aside, I realized early on that I'd never seen the widescreen version before. Each previous watch was on TV, and the last time was probably on a rented VHS tape. (Netflix)

 

The Bourne Supremacy: Interesting follow-up to the first movie. (Peacock)

 

The Bourne Ultimatum: A satisfying conclusion to the first three movies in the series. (Peacock)

 

2010: The Year We Make Contact: This follow-up to 2001: A Space Odyssey concerns a mission to revisit the Discovery, which is in a decaying orbit around Jupiter. This is a favorite of mine, but it hasn't held up well in some places. (Blu-ray)

 

Columbo, Season 1: Classic detective series where Lt Columbo harasses the suspect until they relent and confess. Still enjoyable comfort viewing. (Peacock)

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

18 hours ago, Pariah said:

It's been a while--and to be honest I'm not sure I've ever watched the entire Series--so I've been watching Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

 

I rewatch it every year. Except last year, when I watched it twice.

 

I also recommend the documentary "What We Left Behind."

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm trying to avoid spoilers (since I'm not sure how to code them) but I will say that Infinity Train (that starts its new season today) is really, really good. Not to mention a sort of emotional roller-coaster. I made it through the first season today and will start on the second later today. (The series is described as an "anthology", with each season telling the story of a different protagonist trapped on the train.

 

I'd been waiting a while to see this series after several viewings of the pilot (which is repeated note for note -- but in the third episode, not the first), and it did not disappoint in the least.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 8/3/2020 at 2:45 AM, Old Man said:

How many times do I have to watch the same series? ;)  I’ve started Fullmetal Alchemist at least. But I’m still decades behind. I haven’t even finished GitS:SAC yet, and I haven’t started Cowboy Bebop either. 

 

Cowboy Bebop is really good. For me, anime has always been hard to get into, but for some reason Cowboy Bebop was just amazing. I would argue that it's the most non-anime anime ever. I have tried to watch several recommended anime series but couldn't get past the first 10 minutes. Ever. But then I heard that Firefly was basically stolen from Cowboy Bebop, so I gave it a try.

 

(I would say that Firefly did not steal from Cowboy Bebop, in my final analysis. But I am grateful that the accusations led me to this great series.)

 

I can't put my finger on what makes it special. I'd love for you to watch two episodes and post here what it is that makes it unique, cuz I haven't been able to puzzle that out. To me, it just feels like it knows what it's doing. Like, there's a confidence in the series and a genuine feeling of satisfaction from watching every episode. Plus, you grow to love the feeling of being in that universe--that elusive escapist experience definitely exists for me in Cowboy Bebop.

 

I also want to say that the characters seem very developed. I bet if you approached the writer and threw a hypothetical situation at him, he'd immediately just know how the characters would respond. The characters seem very well-drawn I guess is what I'm getting at.

 

It reminded me in some respects of Gatchaman/Battle of the Planets taken to the next level by a really smart writer.

 

The original Teen Titans series borrowed a lot from Cowboy Bebop, not directly but...aesthetically is what I think I mean. If you liked the original Teen Titans you'd probably love Cowboy Bebop.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...