It’s been awhile! For everything! We’re in the thick of the holidays so there’s a lot of slowdown. Great time to catch up on movies with TV on haitus but that ends next week.
It’s been some time since I’ve watched a movie I really liked. I’ve watched 3 this week and I’ll be doing quick hits of those this weekend. I plan on getting out to see Aquaman in January, which I’m looking forward to.
Netflix keeps putting out shows I like so a lot of my free time has been put there. Let’s go over some stuff.
Ink Master finished another season and this year was themed to a Grudge match. Cleen and Christian coached teams and overall it was a fun watch. The final 4 were tremendous talents but good lord
On SYFY I completely missed Nightflyers and the new season of Channel Zero. I’m halfway through Nightflyers (if you can use the SYFY app on a media device instead of their website. The video player on the site is not good). I like but do not love Nightflyer. It looks gorgeous, the cast is great but there’s something about it that doesn’t make me seek it out like other similar-ish shows like The Expanse. I don’t like most of the characters, I think that’s why. I’m hoping it all comes together. When I finish, I move on to Channel Zero. I think Happy! starts soon and the ads for Deadly Class are interesting so that’s two more for SYFY.
The final season of Gotham starts on the 4th!
I was fortunate enough for DC to gift me a year subscription to their new DC Universe service. That gave me access to the first season of Titans which I have been looking forward to. First and foremost, it isn’t Teen Titans which the fan base knows and loves the best. The tone of this show is much different and the only thing they really have in common (so far) are the main characters of Robin, Raven, Beast Boy, and Starfire. I think you need to drop the expectations for a live-action Teen show coming into this, that’s how much different they are (Titans is a very dark, adult take on the property). It’s a little slow to get going but overall I like it. Cliff hanger ending, but I think the casting is right on and they sell the story well. Robin is pretty fresh from leaving Batman behind due to (mostly) ethical reasons. Beast Boy has been living an isolated life so finding this group of misfits is the start of something great for him, even if it is dangerous and challenging. Raven’s powers are just starting so she has no idea what’s going on and that’s the main arc of the season. Starfire is the most different. We meet her “on the job” but she doesn’t know what that job is. She can’t remember what she’s here for only that she’s looking for Raven. Dressed as a prostitute, it means she’s been in some shady places trying to put things together. She’s comfortable on Earth, having no idea she’s not from here. Her childish and goofy charm isn’t part of this take which I don’t mind. I think her fish out of water mistakes/comments would have gotten old fast. It’s a short season so it moves at a good clip and teases a lot of DC tie-ins which I like so I’m invested in what happens. This is just the start of their original programming and there’s a great promise. Doom Patrol is next, the return of Young Justice should be fantastic (it never should have been canceled, it’s easily one of the best animated DC shows) and Swamp Thing is filming now. There’s more coming down the pipe but those shows are a ways off.
Now for Netflix. Voltron is finished and I liked it a lot. They put a lot of work into wrapping everything up and I think they did an admirable job. The timing of seasons coming out felt random so there is disjointed feeling I got from watching each chunk. There’s a lot I didn’t remember right away (I never went back to rewatch) but this show really scratches that sci-fi itch. Great characters, great animation, and some terrific sound design make it the total package. The ending had some serious weight to it, glad I watched it.
3Below: Tales of Arcadia. The spin-off series from Troll Hunters. I forgot all about this so when it popped up about a week ago, I dove right in. The tie-in to TH turned out great. Fun and inventive way to spin out this universe into another one about an alien prince and princess. It maintained the quality of animation and I really like Aja, Krel, and Varvatos Vex. The fish out of water stuff was often really funny, the writing on this show is really good. My only problem was with their pet, Luug. Why does this alien animal sound exactly like a dog? Sure you have to suspend your disbelief to make a lot of this show work (everyone speaks English, for example) but this doesn’t match the creativity put into the rest of the show.
I’ve been away from anime for a long time so I was happy to see a new batch of Seven Deadly Sins episodes. This show is basically a version of Dragon Ball Z but with way better pacing. All the problems are unsurprisingly still there though. Some really horrific dialog, which I think is mostly from directly translating Japanese to English so the syntax is all wrong. Another annoyance is when something happens on screen (like a monster getting cut with a sword) and a character will say exactly what happened. Nothing that ads context or background, but a literal replay in dialog form (“The sword cut the monster, it must be a sharp blade”). It’s the weirdest waste of time. The other problem is this show can get really uncomfortable to watch. The main character, Meliodas, gropes Elizabeth’s chest, looks up her skirt, and she does not like it. He basically ambushes her randomly and she recoils in horror every time. Saying it’s perverted is an understatement and it ruins every moment. Crazy costumes that exploit female bodies is a long staple of this genre but this stuff is mind-bogglingly stupid. I don’t know why they still do stuff like this. It serves no good purpose and is such a slam-on-the-breaks blight to an otherwise good show.
I can’t remember if I wrote about the second season of Castlevania, but I’ll say it’s totally worth watching. Some of the action is killer and the final fight is especially fantastic. The best choreography I’ve seen since the end of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles last year (the CG one).
I just started Sirus the Jaeger which has something to do with vampire hunters so I’m hoping it’ll be cool. I’m dying for some good anime, it’s been so long since I’ve seen a good one worth recommending.
I went through the entire The Great British Baking Show collection (except for Masterclass) in like 3 months and if you need something to kick back to, this is it. You can have it on the background while you do stuff and it’s just as enjoyable. One of my favorite competition shows, there’s a lot of jolly vibes in every episode.
I just started Sick Note which stars Rupert Grint and Nick Frost. I saw Rupert on the thumbnail and had to give it a try. Rupert plays Dennis, a 20 something shlub who is lazy and takes everything good in his life for granted. On his worst day ever. his girlfriend kicks him out, his job is threatened, and to top it off, he’s diagnosed with cancer. The hook is, due to stupid Dr. Glennis (Frost), Dennis is given the wrong info, he doesn’t have cancer. Dennis notices a rather nice upswing in his life when he told everyone he had cancer and instead of telling the truth, he doubles down to milk it for a few months and everything spirals from there. I’m on episode 2 (of 12, don’t know if there is more) and it’s great. It’s obviously a dark comedy and man, by the end of episode 1 they go to places I didn’t even think of.
When I’m done with Sick Note I’ll stay on that side of the pond with Derry Girls. That or the final season of A Series of Unfortunate Events. That drops on January 1st so I’m not sure which will pull me in first.