What else are you watching? Showing 1,201-1,250 of 2,084

[AndrewP]

If you have Amazon Prime you now have access to FreeVee for free (with minimal adds, about 1 every 20 mins).
A quick browse found a whole bunch of hard to find shows. S&L relevant ones I found include:
Farscape, Andromeda, LEXX, Beastmaster, Dresden Files, Batman, The Librarians, X-Files, Sanctuary, Alias, Lost, Highlander, The Lost World, Relic Hunter and Jerry Anderson favs - Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet, UFO and Space 1999

[Trike]

We saw Wakanda Forever today. It’s a solid entry for the MCU and a proper send-off for Chadwick Boseman.

They didn’t put Namor’s house in the hotspot shown on the map in Iron Man 2, but they weren’t exactly specific, either. Considering IM2 came out 12 years ago, it’s another example of Marvel’s long-term planning.

[Jennifer]

I watched The Northman. This received a lot of hate. I liked it. I like the mixture of the fantasy with the story. It made sense to me.

[John (Taloni)]

Watched the last season of the 6th Doctor. It was really kind of lame. The producers resurrected the "Trial of a Time Lord" concept as an season-long arc with three distinct episodes within.

The individual storylines seemed half-baked, perhaps why they needed the organizing principle of the trial. Mostly non-memorable silliness. Best part was the honor-obsessed warlord played by Brian Blessed. He's alternately played straight with rah rah sequences and then for dark humor as he fails to realize that people die around him but he comes out fine.

I was thoroughly turned off when Peri gets killed in a fast sequence. Seemed like poor writing and they ran out of time so just killed her off. At least that got retconned by the end of the season. And, the Timelords being played PG didn't fit that at all, as she dies as a direct result of their pulling the Doctor out of time for the trial as he was on his way to save her.

There's a final arc visiting the Matrix, which feels distinctly like the land of fiction visited by the second Doctor. Weird events abound. It doesn't even end on a regeneration, so apparently a next season was completely unplanned.

I find myself reminded obliquely of the later Godzilla movies, where they couldn't afford the effects any longer but went ahead with cheesy kid-friendly fare. The 6th Doctor's coat of many colors and the cheap sets / alien outfits were at least on point for the Doctor, a degradation but still in bounds.

[RJ - Slayer of Trolls]

I watched Jurassic World: Dominion which is the third film in the reboot series, or the sixth overall film in the man-made dinosaur series. This one is just awful, although to be fair I think all of the reboot films have been terrible and the third one in the original series was pretty bad too. It should have been called Jurassic World: Callback since just about every scene had some clever reference to the original series. The main bad guy Dodson (recognize that name from the first film?) has a special James Bond Villain lair and I kept waiting in vain for Doctor Evil to come strolling around a corner with Mini-Me. The special effects in these films are usually fairly good but I was surprised at a few scenes that just did not look convincing at all. Was it rushed to meet a release date? That would explain the apparent lack of a script....

[Phil]

Saw Wakanda Forever yesterday. It was understandably the most somber and serious of the phase 4 movies. The title card itself brought me to tears.
I thought the movie was well done and sets up a lot for the future although they've changed absolutely everything about Namor's background and Atlantis.

[Trike]

Phil wrote: "Saw Wakanda Forever yesterday. It was understandably the most somber and serious of the phase 4 movies. The title card itself brought me to tears.
I thought the movie was well done and sets up a lot for the future although they've changed absolutely everything about Namor's background and Atlantis..."

I was wondering what they would do vis a vis Atlantis since Aquaman was such a big hit, earning over a billion dollars. I think they found a good way around it, as well as laying the groundwork for the X-Men by having Namor plainly state, “I am a mutant.”

[John (Taloni)]

Namor's been a mutant since forever in the comics. My friend Google informs me it dates back to 1963 and Fantastic Four Annual #3.

As for giving up the Atlantis backstory, yeah, Aquaman owns that. Never bothered the comics crowd but filmgoers are a different group. There's plenty of people who confuse the two universes so being distinct makes sense.

Wings were a little big but overall worked well. I'm more amused that after body-exploiting Thor and for that matter showing off Captain America's butt, they did NOT go with a muscled guy for Namor. He's about the most bodybuilder-fit in the comics and there's an obvious reason for him to have a swimmer's body. Heck, all of the Talokans. But nope.

Ah, at least I got my biggest ask, (view spoiler)[ that Namor said Imperius Rex! (hide spoiler)]

[Trike]

John (Taloni) wrote: "Namor's been a mutant since forever in the comics. My friend Google informs me it dates back to 1963 and Fantastic Four Annual #3.

As for giving up the Atlantis backstory, yeah, Aquaman owns that...."

I can’t quote chapter and verse, but I’m pretty sure that Namor being a mutant is a fairly recent semi-retcon. I know that he allied with Magneto back in the early X-Men days, but it wasn’t because he was a mutant, just a powerful being Magneto wanted to co-opt for his own ends.

I think making the Sub-Mariner a mutant was one of the few times where a retcon actually makes sense and fits all the existing lore, which I am 100% sure was just a happy accident. When Stan Lee was writing X-Men, one of the things he added was that their powers often manifested as teenagers. It just so happens that sometime in the 1950s there was a comic explaining why Namor had wings on his feet. Turns out he manifested them during an emergency. Even weirder was that it was framed as “from the diary of Namor, age 14.” Underwater people have paper? But “teenager developing strange abilities” slots right into Marvel’s mutant mythos.

As for the movies, Marvel and DC comics constantly stole/continually steal from each other, and Aquaman was a direct rip-off of Namor back in the day, but in film the first one that makes a big splash (pun? me?) typically gets to own the idea. That’s why John Carter was seen as a rip-off of other movies which were based on Burroughs’ books: casual audiences don’t know the source material.

[John (Taloni)]

So I went and read FF Annual #3 and nope, Google is misinformed. No mention there. An amazing array of heroes and villains we're still reading today, the imagination displayed in the early days is incredible.

Anyhoo, on to Regular Source #2, Wikipedia, and there is a bundle in there. Marvel has always been loosy goosy about continuity with plenty of retcons, altho not near as bad as DC with a Crisis called every time they write themselves into a corner. So, Wikipedia's entry:

"Marvel's first mutant"
Marvel has repeatedly identified Namor as "Marvel's first mutant", which is accurate when describing first appearances in print. However, he is not the oldest mutant within the fictional Marvel Universe timeline. A number of mutants predate him, including Selene, Apocalypse, Exodus, Wolverine, Mystique, and Destiny.

In X-Men #6 (July 1964), X-Men leader Professor Xavier and antagonist Magneto each suspect Namor is a mutant and make efforts to recruit him. Later writers in the 1960s and 1970s described him as a hybrid, not a mutant, to distinguish him from the mutant X-Men.[129] When the series was revived in 1990, the series title logo carried the subtitle "Marvel's first and mightiest mutant!"

Namor is actually a hybrid of Atlantean and human physiology, although he has principal characteristics that neither Atlanteans (Homo mermanus) nor humans (Homo sapiens) possess. These include his ability to fly, and possibly his durability and strength (which is several times that of an Atlantean).

In the first issue of the five-part Illuminati miniseries, after being experimented on by the Skrulls, it was confirmed that Namor is not only an Atlantean/human hybrid but also a mutant.

So Namor's mutant status has been hinted at and confirmed...well, Illuminati was published in 2007. I wanted to say "recently" which I suppose it is for me. But it's long established by comics standards.

[Trike]

John (Taloni) wrote: "So I went and read FF Annual #3 and nope, Google is misinformed. No mention there. An amazing array of heroes and villains we're still reading today, the imagination displayed in the early days is ..."

Yeah, that all aligns with my memory. Making Namor in Wakanda Forever (view spoiler)[a mutant who is a few hundred years old might make him the MCU’s actual “first mutant”, depending on whether Apocalypse exists in this universe. If it were me, I’d relegate the X-Men to an alternate universe. Which it seems that they’re doing by putting Charles Xavier in a different universe in Dr. Strange 2.

I don’t recall if they mentioned exact dates, but given that Namor was born when the conquistadors ravaged Yucatán, that makes him almost exactly 500 years old. Apocalypse is something like 3,000 years old. I just read Kang the Conqueror: Only Myself Left to Conquer, which is quite good, and it gives an overview of the interaction between Kang and Apocalypse during Ancient Egypt’s heyday. Since Kang is the new big bad, that would be a good way to introduce more mutants into the MCU.

In the comics Apocalypse finds/is given ancient Celestial tech, but since everyone has already forgotten that The Eternals came out, it’s just as likely that vibranium caused his mutation in the MCU, same as Namor. The timing is right, anyway, based on the backstory given in both Black Panther films. I guess we’ll find out over the next couple years. (hide spoiler)]

Looking at upcoming MCU movies, I have no idea how any of these pieces will fit together. Kang and Namor could guest-star in several of them, but I don’t see them as good fits for most. It’s 2.5 years from now that Avengers: Kang Dynasty comes out, followed by part 2, Avengers: Secret Wars, in November 2025. By my count there are FOURTEEN confirmed Marvel movies and TV series debuting between now and then, with a possibility of 3 more on top of that.

I’m a huge MCU fan, but even I’m getting tired by all this. It feels like the proliferation of comics in the late 80s/early 90s that got out of hand.

[Phil]

Well, Kang is the bad guy in the next movie, Quantumania, and there is some speculation that the Thunderbolts movie might have them going after vibranium. You never know. Don't forget that Thanos was barely a background presence till the end of phase 3.

[Trike]

Phil wrote: "Well, Kang is the bad guy in the next movie, Quantumania, and there is some speculation that the Thunderbolts movie might have them going after vibranium. You never know. Don't forget that Thanos w..."

That’s true, but there was the connection of the Infinity Stones running through all of the MCU.

In Captain America: First Avenger the Macguffin the Red Skull was using was the tesseract, which also had a connection to Thor. Loki’s staff has a stone in The Avengers, where we see Thanos for the first time. Then in Thor: The Dark World there’s the aether, which becomes a stone (somehow). Followed by stones in Guardians of the Galaxy, Avengers: Age of Ultron, and Doctor Strange.

In the meantime, we’re getting introduced to characters left and right who eventually all get together.

So far Phase 4 hasn’t had those kinds of connections aside from the multiverse showing up in the Loki TV series, Spider-Man: No Way Home and Doctor Strange 2.

The only true connective bit running through these various projects has been Wong, who’s really just dropped into each to give exposition and say “Don’t touch that!” (Shang-Chi, Strange 2, She-Hulk, and Spider-Man: No Way Home.) I’m hoping they sharpen the focus a bit now that Phase 4 is done.

[AndrewP]

Trike wrote: "I’m a huge MCU fan, but even I’m getting tired by all this. It feels like the proliferation of comics in the late 80s/early 90s that got out of hand."

Following that trend it would not surprise me to see a special collectors edition/Directors cuts that you can only watch if you pay for it:)

[Phil]

Shang-Chi, Spiderman, Dr. Strange, Black Panther, WandaVision, Loki, What If?, Moon Knight, Ms. Marvel, and She-Hulk all featured alternate realities or dimensions. Several of them including Thor and The Eternals also featured gods and god-like beings. I think there is a very strong through-line developing.

[Tamahome]

They should have a Harper (with a cosmic radiation item) from Shining Girls vs She-Hulk in a crossover.

[Trike]

Phil wrote: "Shang-Chi, Spiderman, Dr. Strange, Black Panther, WandaVision, Loki, What If?, Moon Knight, Ms. Marvel, and She-Hulk all featured alternate realities or dimensions. Several of them including Thor a..."

I’m sure that Black Panther, She-Hulk and WandaVision don’t mention the multiverse. Wanda’s control of the town isn’t the same thing. I’m fairly sure Ms. Marvel didn’t mention it, either. Shang-Chi is an edge case, but they don’t mention the multiverse. Who knows what was going on in Moon Knight.

Almost every time the Infinity Stones were mentioned in a movie, the film comes to a stop for an infodump. That’s only happened a couple times when they talk about the multiverse.

Rumor has it that Avengers: Secret Wars will be bigger than Endgame, and every character will return, including Iron Man and Captain America. I’m of two minds about that, because on the one hand it would be pretty cool, but it also kind of diminishes the new characters. Either way, they really need to strengthen the interconnections between these various projects for that to pay off.

[Phil]

This is getting a little pedantic but even though they don't all specifically mention "The Multiverse", in Black Panther, Moon Knight, and Thor they (view spoiler)[ go to an alternate dimension aka the afterlife. In WandaVision she creates another reality. In Ms. Marvel they create a gate to the Djinn's dimension. In Shang-Chi they open a gate to the dragon's dimension. In She-Hulk they open a gate to hell and she comes into another Earth via the "fourth wall". (hide spoiler)] You're correct that they may not all exactly fit the idea we get in Loki but they're all playing with the same concept.

[Fresno Bob]

Jennifer wrote: "I watched The Northman. This received a lot of hate. I liked it. I like the mixture of the fantasy with the story. It made sense to me."

I commented to my wife that I felt that it didn't really advance "the viking revenge movie genre", which is really kinda pedantic in hindsight, nice cinematography though, and alexander saarsgard is quite the physical specimen....

[Trike]

Back to things we’re watching…

I can’t get enough of this music video by The Correspondents from almost exactly 9 years ago. I just discovered it about 2 weeks ago and I’ve watched it at least 100 times. No foolin’.

It’s a brilliant use of the multicamera setup they used to make “bullet time” in The Matrix, but taking it in a new, unique direction. It deservedly won some awards back in 2014.

It doesn’t hurt that the song is A) clever and 2) a banger.

https://youtu.be/ABS-mlep5rY

[Jennifer]

Fresno Bob wrote: "Jennifer wrote: "I watched The Northman. This received a lot of hate. I liked it. I like the mixture of the fantasy with the story. It made sense to me."

I commented to my wife that I felt that it..."

I guess I didn't go in to watch a viking revenge story...but I knew what it was...but also, that scene with Nicole Kidman and the reality check...that was wow. That upped the whole revenge thing for sure !

[Trike]

I was disappointed in the Northman. It never showed the boat he towed behind his boat that held his gym and trainers.

[Minsta]

Trike wrote: "Back to things we’re watching…

I can’t get enough of this music video by The Correspondents from almost exactly 9 years ago. I just discovered it about 2 weeks ago and I’ve watched it at least 100..."

This!!! Thanks Trike!

[AndrewP]

The Northman also perpetuates one of my pet peeves. The nonsense idea that you can stand around/jump over molten lava for more than a couple of seconds without the radiant heat burning you and your clothes.

[Trike]

A Christmas Story Christmas is fine. Ralphie all grown up and having to take over Christmas because… spoiler reasons, is okay. Kinda hits the same notes as A Christmas Story, just not quite as well. Still, worth your time. HBO Max.
3 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️

However, Spirited on Apple TV+ is an absolute hoot-and-a-half. I didn’t realize it from the trailers but it’s a full-on musical, and it’s terrific. The songs are by the same guys who did Dear Evan Hansen and The Greatest Showman, and they have that same clever wordplay as well as the compulsive toe-tapping rhythm.
5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[HeyT]

Is that the one with Ryan Reynolds?

[Trike]

HeyT wrote: "Is that the one with Ryan Reynolds?"

Yes.

[Jennifer]

AndrewP wrote: "The Northman also perpetuates one of my pet peeves. The nonsense idea that you can stand around/jump over molten lava for more than a couple of seconds without the radiant heat burning you and your..."

I don't know, yes absolutely , but wasn't this fantasy ? Thats what I decided.

[Jennifer]

I watched the Last Night in Soho. Not what I thought it was going to be. It was good.

[Francis x]

I just watched the Netflix show called "Inside Job". and "Love, Death + Deaths".

[Tassie Dave, S&L Historian]

I preferred it when it had Robots 😉

[Rick]

Tassie Dave wrote: "I preferred it when it had Robots 😉"

"Robots, Death + Death"? Isn't that just reality?

[Oaken]

I'm a couple of episodes into "1899" on Netflix. Its a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma. But an interesting one. I especially like that, appropriate to a ship of immigrants, it features a wide range of non-English speaking actors and a lot of characters who can't understand one another because of it. Excited to see if the multi-layered tortilla of inscrutability pays off or leads nowhere.

[Tassie Dave, S&L Historian]

Oaken wrote: "I'm a couple of episodes into "1899" on Netflix. Its a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma. But an interesting one. I especially like that, appropriate to a ship of immigrants, it featur..."

It is from the same team that created "Dark", so I have it queued up for that reason alone. "Dark" was great. I hope "1899" is less complicated. 😉

Rick wrote: "Tassie Dave wrote: "I preferred it when it had Robots 😉"

"Robots, Death + Death"? Isn't that just reality?"

That word has lost all meaning since "Reality" TV became a thing 😉

"Love, Death + Deaths" is reality also. In an emo sort of way. 😉

[Gary]

I finally watched the last episode of Season Four of Stranger Things on Netflix. I like the show’s mix of nostalgia, sci-fi, and horror. It was a great episode and I am looking forward to watching Season Five, the last season of Stanger Things, in a year or so when it comes out.
I’m thinking about watching Season Four of West World on HBO next. I’m disappointed that they will not make a fifth and final season of the show. I’ll revisit that thought after I finish watching Season Four.
There are a lot of shows that are on my, to be watched list. I’m also looking at The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power Season One, Andor Season One, and Sandman Season One, and American Gods Season Three.

[Rick]

Finished Wednesday on Netflix and it's a ton of fun. Ortega nails Wednesday and the story was twisty enough to satisfy without being silly. If Netflix has any sense, they'll greenlight a S2 quickly.

[Chris K.]

Rick wrote: "Finished Wednesday on Netflix and it's a ton of fun. Ortega nails Wednesday and the story was twisty enough to satisfy without being silly. If Netflix has any sense, they'll greenlight a S2 quickly."

Totally agree. I was pleasantly surprised by this series. In addition to Ortega, Emma Myers was great as Enid.

[Rick]

Chris K. wrote: "Totally agree. I was pleasantly surprised by this series. In addition to Ortega, Emma Myers was great as Enid.
..."

Absolutely. And this was her first role of any real note which is even more impressive.

[Trike]

Watched Disenchanted on Disney+. It’s fine, but not nearly as good as Enchanted. It does have one terrific musical number among the pedestrian ones, plus a couple amusing moments. (The Little Mermaid splash during Morgan’s song was cute.)

[Chris K.]

Trike wrote: "Watched Disenchanted on Disney+. It’s fine, but not nearly as good as Enchanted. It does have one terrific musical number among the pedestrian ones, plus a couple amusing moments. (The Little Merma..."

I agree with this too. Was the song "Badder"? That was the only one I really liked.

[Trike]

Chris K. wrote: "I agree with this too. Was the song "Badder"? That was the only one I really liked. "

Yep. It’s a real old-fashioned showstopper.

For those without D+: https://youtu.be/BsbO9Bk_Z1A

You can claim you’re bad
But I’m a better badder
Nothing you’ve got up your sleeve’ll
Ever equal me as a mistress of evil
I’m the heart and brains
And you, you’re just the bladder
How can you believe you’re badder
Than I?
😆

[John (Nevets)]

Due to Trikes post I just had an odd thought about myself, and I’m not sure what to think about it. I’ve never been a big fan of musicals. I do enjoy some, but they are the exception not the rule. Hamilton definitely being one, and some of the Disney animated ones as well, but not even all of those. And that’s fine, not everything has to be for everyone, and I appreciate that others really do enjoy the format.

The odd thing though is I do really enjoy music itself that tells stories. Weather it be folk, country, rap, or pop, I tend to enjoy the picture being painted by the lyrics. So, isn’t that exactly what the songs in musicals do? So why don’t I enjoy them more, and find that they tend to get in the way of the rest of the story? I’m going to have to think on this more. Is it just my own bias? Or is there something more there?

A first take at rationalizing it, is the songs in musicals tell me the things I wish they showed me instead, where stories told in music are closer to written storytelling, in that they tell the whole story. Just an idea, and only for me. Once again I’m very glad that others really enjoy musicals, and by no means want to take anything away from that. Just trying to understand my own preferences.

[Jennifer]

I watched The Menu tonight. I enjoyed this. I will never eat out at a fancy restraunt again.

[Silvana]

Currently enjoying Wednesday. I adore The Thing :)

[Trike]

John (Nevets) wrote: "The odd thing though is I do really enjoy music itself that tells stories. Weather it be folk, country, rap, or pop, I tend to enjoy the picture being painted by the lyrics. So, isn’t that exactly what the songs in musicals do? So why don’t I enjoy them more, and find that they tend to get in the way of the rest of the story? I’m going to have to think on this more. Is it just my own bias? Or is there something more there?"

I suspect it’s because some musicals are better at incorporating the “telling the story” aspect. Other musicals primarily use the songs to underscore (no pun intended) the characters’ emotions. Really good ones do both at the same time, but most musicals alternate the story-songs and emotion-songs for a sort of hybrid approach.

Hamilton is a perfect example of doing both at the same time, in that almost the entire tale is told through song, so Lin-Manuel Miranda has to hit on both story and emotion simultaneously. Legally Blonde: The Musical and The Book of Mormon adopt a hybrid approach. Some songs are pure story while others are a mix of story and emotion. The recent Spirited is also a good example of a hybrid, as is Hairspray and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. Come From Away is more like Hamilton, while Hedwig and the Angry Inch and Rent are solidly in the “emphasize emotion” camp.

It’s similar to how some songs tell straightforward stories while other songs use voices as yet another instrument. I like both approaches but I really enjoy it when songs do both. Throw in a bit a semi-vague poetry that the listener can interpret any way they choose and you’ve got the perfect song.

Semi-related side rant:

Singin’ in the Rain is probably most people’s go-to for favorite musical but it’s one I really don’t like because it barely touches on either the movie’s story *or* the characters’ emotions. That’s because it’s enormously self-indulgent on one hand while being a naked cash-grab/rip-off on the other.

Few people are aware that most of the songs in SitR are from the producers’ back catalog, only employed so they wouldn’t lose the copyright to them. The only decent song, the title song, actually comes from an older film called Hollywood Revue of 1929 in a sequence about Noah and the Flood, where the soon-to-drown populace are defiantly “singin’ in the rain” in a version that’s demented and dark given the premise: https://youtu.be/Mh0hqXBXL00

Most of the other songs are only tangentially related to the story at all, and the one original song “Make ‘Em Laugh” is a straight steal of “Be A Clown”. It’s literally the same song! Then there’s the bizarre Broadway Ballet (“Gotta Dance”) sequence that has nothing to do with anything. It’s a 12-minute movie dropped into the middle of the film.

The A plot of SitR is that talkies are supplanting silents, while the B plot is the romantic relationship between Gene Kelly and Debbie Reynolds. Yet few of the songs even come close to addressing either aspect. It’s the rarest of musicals where the music isn’t about the story they’re purportedly telling.

At least when Baz Luhrman repurposed pop songs for Moulin Rouge, he used ones that were thematically relevant.

[Steve]

Wow. I wonder if Eric Idle was aware this when he wrote Always Look on the Bright Side of Life?

Trike wrote: "The only decent song, the title song, actually comes from an older film called Hollywood Revue of 1929 in a sequence about Noah and the Flood, where the soon-to-drown populace are defiantly “singin’ in the rain”..."

[Stephen]

I watched Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special on Disney + and it was special, fantastic and a hoot. I will re-watch until I learn " I Don't Know What Christmas Is (But Christmas is Here)" by heart.

[Fresno Bob]

I'm not a racing fan, but I've found myself captivated by the Netflix F1 Series "Drive to Survive", I've binged through 2 seasons already this thanksgiving holiday

[Trike]

Wednesday didn’t do it for me. The girl playing her is terrific, but it’s not tickling my funny bone at all. I like Luis Guzman but he is horribly miscast as Gomez Addams. Getting strong Willow from Buffy vibes from Enid the roommate, but it’s not enough to keep me interested. Moving on.

[Jennifer]

Stephen wrote: "I watched Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special on Disney + and it was special, fantastic and a hoot. I will re-watch until I learn " I Don't Know What Christmas Is (But Christmas is Here)" by he..."

I loved it ! It was a great song !