What are you watching right now?

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Gerald

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Sep 8, 2011
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Finished Locke & Key.

I find it hard to formulate my feelings about it, but even though I liked some elements, I wasn't absolutely crazy about it. Maybe I expected it to be more horror, with all the references to horrorfilms and even Savini appearing in it. It's simply not horror - it's fantasy, imo. It's closer to a family-series for all ages, the horror element is very marginal. As such it's fairly enjoyable, even though I still had some problems with the way the story is told. The writing didn't feel very fluid to me from episode to episode. It's essentially a IT type story: a group of children shares a tragic secret that comes back to haunt them later in life. It's just told from the perspective of their children. Getting to hear the story from this secondary perspective makes it feel more muddled. It just doesn't work as well as getting to experience it from the people directly involved.
I also felt there is nothing special about the idea of magical keys opening secret doors, and it was confusing because you don't know exactly how many keys there are (more and more turn up, seemingly at random) and how they all look - there was sometimes little attention given to showing the keys clearly enough to tell them apart.
I wonder if this wouldn't have worked better as a theatrical film from a director like Tim Burton or Peter Jackson, instead of a complete series. There are moments when it feels like such a film, but it never quite gets there.
 

Gerald

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Sep 8, 2011
2,201
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I Am Not Okay With This

Although it's a series, there are so few episodes and they're so short, that it's easily watched in one go and feels more like a single movie.
When it was announced that Kimberly Peirce was doing the Carrie remake what I really hoped for was that it would be Carrie with an indie feel to it, as Boys Don't Cry felt like an indie movie to me and it seemed a great idea if that approach was used for Carrie. But she made a mainstream movie of course, which stuck closely to De Palma's version.
This series however felt like Carrie with an indie vibe. Although it only becomes horror at the very end and is mostly comedy/drama it still feels Carrie to me the whole way through. The King connection is emphasized of course by two of the actors from IT, Sophia Lillis and Wyatt Oleff. Oleff is even also called Stan in this.
I don't know the backstory of the making of this, or the comic on which it is based, but it's hard to imagine there was another inspiration than Carrie.

I thought it was genuinely funny and endearing. And the story adds some new twists to the basic Carrie theme. I highly recommend it.
 

Lina

Committed member
Jun 24, 2009
3,356
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Russia
I finished watching Fuller House. I am a little bit sad as it was so easy to watch it, and did not take much time as each episode lasts for only 20 minutes. And I just love this series, less than the original, but still.

Now I decided to go for some episodes of Black Mirror that I have not seen yet.
 

Lina

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Jun 24, 2009
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Russia
Watching I Am Not Okay With This. I like that it's short as I don't have much time for movies. I like that it's funny... I am curious if it is okay that it has so many things from Carrie in it? As far as I get it, SK has nothing to do with it. Still have 3 episodes left, so I will see where it goes. So far, I think it's okay, not great, just okay.
 

Neesy

#1 fan (Annie Wilkes cousin) 1st cousin Mom's side
May 24, 2012
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Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Watching I Am Not Okay With This. I like that it's short as I don't have much time for movies. I like that it's funny... I am curious if it is okay that it has so many things from Carrie in it? As far as I get it, SK has nothing to do with it. Still have 3 episodes left, so I will see where it goes. So far, I think it's okay, not great, just okay.
So "You ARE Okay with This"?

Oh wow - just looked it up and the actress from It Part I is in it! (Bev)
 

Lina

Committed member
Jun 24, 2009
3,356
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Russia
Finished I Am Not Okay With This. The ending was unexpected and shocking. Somehow I want to see the second season now.

Watching Netflix's The Haunting of Hill House now. That's creepy and very interesting to watch. I think it's not the first movie made about this mystery, though I am not sure. Anyway, this show is exciting.
 

Lina

Committed member
Jun 24, 2009
3,356
6,024
Russia
Finished watching The Haunting of Hill House, really liked it. I loved that it was not pure horror but more of a drama with elements of horror. The story is rreally exciting.

Now started to watch Bloodride. Probably, it's the first movie I am watching that is not originally in English (watching it in English, of course), a very interesting experience for me.
 

Gerald

Well-Known Member
Sep 8, 2011
2,201
7,168
The Netherlands
Having read the books (and being my normal behind the times self) Saturdays have been Game of Thrones binge watching.

I just finished the last season. It seems the last season and especially the last episode is absolutely hated by the fans. It didn't bother me too much, but I don't know the books. Overall I really enjoyed the last season.
 
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fljoe0

Cantre Member
Apr 5, 2008
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I finished Defending Jacob on Apple TV. I thought it was good but I think it was a couple of episodes too long.

It's about a family with a teenage boy that is accused of murdering a classmate. There is not any physical evidence against the boy but the circumstantial evidence is strong. The viewer doesn't know if the boy did this or not (and you probably will feel both ways at different points - even his mom questions his innocence at times). The show deals with the defense of Jacob and the toll this trial has on the family. Jacob is played by Jaeden Martell (he was in the It movies and Midnight Special with Michael Shannon).

This is based on a novel that I have not read but I read about the differences in the ending between the book and the series and I think a good choice was made to change the ending for the series. There is nothing wrong with the book ending but I think the change made works better for a TV series.
 

Edward John

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Aug 15, 2019
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I finished Defending Jacob on Apple TV. I thought it was good but I think it was a couple of episodes too long.

It's about a family with a teenage boy that is accused of murdering a classmate. There is not any physical evidence against the boy but the circumstantial evidence is strong. The viewer doesn't know if the boy did this or not (and you probably will feel both ways at different points - even his mom questions his innocence at times). The show deals with the defense of Jacob and the toll this trial has on the family. Jacob is played by Jaeden Martell (he was in the It movies and Midnight Special with Michael Shannon).

This is based on a novel that I have not read but I read about the differences in the ending between the book and the series and I think a good choice was made to change the ending for the series. There is nothing wrong with the book ending but I think the change made works better for a TV series.
They have their own streaming service, what's next? Microsoft?
 
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