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Everything posted by krankydoodle
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Villain Era is a great song. Nida Manzoor is amazingly talented. I'm enjoying the conflict set up with the cover band and how Lady Parts are reacting to it. I'm also glad to see Amina so confident now--apart from wobbling a bit during her solo performance. Speaking of which, while I'm very invested in Amina and Ahsan, her duet with Billy was sweet.
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I just watched the first episode of After the Flood on BritBox. There are a lot of familiar faces from other British crime dramas which is nice, but the lead character makes such spectacularly poor decisions. Like why is she sharing all the details about an ongoing investigation with her mother, and how on earth did she think she could get away with stealing files and submitting a victim's DNA to a genealogy database? It would be one thing if the character was supposed to be a screwup, but she's presented as competent and her problem is that she just cares too much or something. It's too bad because I like the premise and the cast. And though I consider it more of a pleasant watch than a favorite, I was happy to see that McDonald & Dodds season 4 will be on BritBox starting May 23.
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FilmNight: Movies you watched recently
krankydoodle replied to Rushmoras's topic in Everything Else About Movies
I saw Abigail earlier this week and had a really good time. It's a shame the twist was spoiled--by the trailer no less--but it's probably the kind of thing that can't be kept secret in this day and age. The cast is great, especially Alisha Weir in the title role, and it was fun to see horror movie veterans Melissa Barrera and Kathryn Newton. And I love Dan Stevens, who picks such interesting roles. I wasn't sold on the choice of actor for Abigail's father, but maybe that had more to do with the execution/the way he was styled and because I was expecting something more out of left field. Anyway, I think if you liked Ready or Not, made by some of the same people, you'll probably enjoy this. -
It only came out at the end of last year, but I've hardly heard anything about it so I'm going to say Carol & the End of the World on Netflix. It took me a while to get used to the animation, tone, and the main character's voice, but I watched the whole thing last week and loved it though I recognize that it's not going to work for everyone. It's about a single, middle-aged woman named Carol and other people in her orbit dealing with an impending apocalypse. It's a non-violent, slow-moving end of the world scenario, so it's mostly about how people are spending their final months by finding meaning and purpose. Many are experimenting with new relationships, traveling, or engaging in bucket list-type activities. Carol, on the other hand, is a bit lost until she stumbles on an office that's still functioning even though it's not clear what anyone is actually working on. It definitely has funny moments, but I also found it surprisingly moving. Based on the last episode, it looks like the story was supposed to continue, but Netflix is billing it as a limited series so I guess one season is all we're going to get, sadly.
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I just finished the latest Harbinder Kaur mystery by Elly Griffiths, The Last Word. I gave up on the first book in the series, though I can't remember why now, but have liked the three subsequent books. The mysteries can get a bit convoluted (or maybe it just feels that way because there are so many characters to keep track of), but I really like the recurring characters. Strangely, the main character doesn't get as much page time as I'd have expected, especially in this last one, so it's kind of fitting that my library's copy has "A Ruth Galloway mystery" (her other detective series) erroneously printed on the title page.
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Beyond Paradise - General Discussion
krankydoodle replied to Door County Cherry's topic in Beyond Paradise
I seem to remember Martha's mom being kind of awful last season--especially to Humphrey--but I really don't like how the two of them are treating her this season. Spying on Anne and lecturing her about who she dates is annoying, but I hate how they're essentially forcing her to go along with their lie about living in her house. She did eventually say she might like living on the boat, but how much choice did she have at that point when Martha and Humphrey had already sold the story to the social worker and backtracking afterwards might result in them not getting approved. I have personal experience with family overstepping/outstaying their welcome, so this probably bothers me more than it does most. Ugh. Anyway, it's always good to see Peter Davison. He and Barbara Flynn have nice chemistry. -
FilmNight: Movies you watched recently
krankydoodle replied to Rushmoras's topic in Everything Else About Movies
I just watched Argylle on Apple TV+ and...kind of enjoyed it. I mean I wouldn't have paid to see it in the theater, the hairstyles for a few of the characters were truly unfortunate, and some of the action scenes were too cartoonish and dragged on too long, but Bryce Dallas Howard and Sam Rockwell made for a fun pairing and the ridiculous plot a good ride. I'm not bothered that this probably won't get the hinted-at sequels, but it wasn't as bad as I expected from all the negative reviews. -
Did anyone else watch Irish Wish on Netflix? I liked Ed Speleers and Lindsay Lohan seems to have gotten some of her old spark back, but I thought it was pretty bad otherwise. I'm fine with a 'magical' premise in a rom-com, but the dialogue was often terrible/nonsensical. During a discussion about how the wedding cake won't fit into the delivery van, Lohan suggests they just make the cake smaller and multiple people react as though that genuinely never would've occurred to them. It's bizarre. Also, Lohan's friends are kind of awful and Jane Seymour's role is pointless. Having said all that, I think Speleers, Lohan, and the beautiful scenery make it watchable enough. ETA: A harsh but hilarious review from Vulture: Netflix 'Irish Wish' is like AI-generated harbinger of doom
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I was excited about the new mystery How to Solve Your Own Murder by Kristen Perrin, but the main character refers to herself multiple times in the first few chapters as her great-aunt's benefactor when she means beneficiary. I think it's something that got missed in editing rather than a deliberate choice since she says this in front of various characters--including a lawyer--and no one corrects her. I'm just surprised something like that got missed.
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I couldn't find anything about a release date, just that it was happening. The most recent article I saw was dated Jan 2024 and said that they were currently filming the new season, so maybe we'll get it in the fall?
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Queens of Mystery is the one I've been waiting to hear about. Oh well, at least we know Dalgliesh is coming back for season 3.
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I tried watching Anyone But You because I like Glen Powell but gave up about 15 minutes in. I don't get the Sydney Sweeney hype. I haven't seen her in anything else but didn't think she had much screen presence here and didn't see any chemistry with Powell. To be fair, the writing didn't do her any favors. I rolled my eyes when the first scene was her being too embarrassed to ask her coworkers where the restroom is so instead she heads to a coffee shop where she promptly soaks the front of her pants in a faucet mishap. Then their 'feud' kicks off because of stupid choices and bad timing. I hate plots like this. Maybe my expectations were too high because of how well the movie did, or maybe I'm just too old/cranky to tolerate movies that hinge on this kind of misunderstanding.
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I thought there would be at least 4 episodes this season. I still liked it, but Episode 3 felt a bit unfinished. I didn't understand why some characters acted the way they did, and the subplot with Joe's father didn't get as much time as I expected. It was nice of Vera to call and check on him, though, since she's generally bad at that sort of thing. The good news is that there will be a season 14, but it will only be 2 episodes: Vera season 14: Release date speculation and latest news.
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I really liked episode 2, especially the scenes between the team members like when Kenny and Joe discuss Vera or Joe giving Steph a chance to sit in on an interview. Vera's toothache was a nice callback to the early seasons and how much Joe used to worry about her health. I'm enjoying seeing how their relationship has changed. I laughed when Joe balked at buying someone a tea, so Vera grudgingly agreed to do it instead but still asked him for the money. The case was good too. There were a lot of suspects but it was easy to keep track of who was who and it kept my interest even though there weren't a lot of surprises.
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The Long Call is the adaptation of the Two Rivers book series. There's only one season. It's on Britbox in the US. I've been rewatching some of the early episodes of Vera and had forgotten that the lead from that show, Ben Aldridge, was in the Sundancers episode from season 2. It's also funny how quite a few of these episodes have other characters comment on how good looking Joe is.
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I just finished the first episode of season 13 and was surprised to see more cast changes than I expected. It's too bad because I liked the characters who left even though their roles were relatively minor. It is nice to have Joe back, though, and to see his history with Vera referenced. I don't love everything they did with his character, but I'm relieved he's still married so we don't have to deal with fallout from a divorce. I liked Aiden fine but much prefer Joe's relationship with Vera because he pushes back a bit more but does so with respect and affection.
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Death In Paradise - General Discussion
krankydoodle replied to Meredith Quill's topic in Death In Paradise
It was fun to see a character from the first episode come back. There's going to be another spinoff, this one set in Australia: ABC Gets Set for Captivating New Drama: Return to Paradise. -
I know Peacock isn't that popular, but I think it's become my favorite streaming service. It has interesting originals (Mrs. Davis, Poker Face, Dr. Death, the new Mike Judge show In the Know), great British shows (We are Lady Parts, Vigil, The Capture), and gets movies like The Holdovers and Oppenheimer first. And I haven't found the ads too intrusive. Speaking of ads, though, I watch Prime Video and Freevee through my Roku and have noticed that the sound of their shows is so low that I have to crank up the volume but then the ads are significantly louder so I have to rush to mute them. I didn't have any issues with the volume on Prime before ads were introduced. Is anyone else having this problem?
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I just watched Believer on Peacock and it wasn't good. It was close to 2 hours long but it seemed like scenes were missing. The climactic exorcism scene included some characters who only had a few lines and it wasn't clear why they were even there. I actually liked some of the first 30-40 minutes or so and there was one unsettling sequence near the end, but I don't know if I'll bother with the sequels--if they even go ahead with making them.
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I also thought the episode did a good job of sketching out the relationships between the various characters. I especially liked the scenes with Danvers and the younger cop Peter, though he's so earnest and has such a cute family that I suspect he's marked for death. I'm not sure what's going on with Hank other than he seems like kind of a creep. I wasn't sure why Danvers wasn't more forceful about asking him for the cold case file or why Peter was nervous about taking it. Maybe Hank was expecting to get the chief job so dragging his feet about retrieving the file was a power play on his part and Danvers was just trying to retrieve it without risking him becoming openly defiant? Although that didn't keep her from joking about his mail-order fiancee. The woman in the drunk tank had the most annoying wail. I couldn't have taken more than 10 minutes of that. ETA: I saw an article saying that Hank was Chief before Danvers. I wondered if that was the case. I may have missed it, but I don't think that was made explicit. Anyway, that whole dynamic still seems odd to me and I really want to know the backstory there.
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Astrid & Raphaëlle - General Discussion
krankydoodle replied to swissair100's topic in Astrid & Raphaëlle
I just watched season 3 through PBS Passport and really enjoyed it, but it's kind of a bummer that we'll probably have to wait another year for season 4 even though it's just aired in France. -
I started watching The House Across the Street starring Shirley Henderson on Britbox, but didn't make it very far. The lead character and the show's whole vibe made me so uncomfortable, which I know is the point, but I just couldn't--not even for Craig Parkinson. If anyone makes it through all 4 episodes, I'd be curious to know what you think. The reviews I saw didn't seem very positive.
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But I don't think Annie knew, did she? Isn't that one of the things Vera says in the confrontation at the end, that Annie's suffering was compounded because she blamed herself for the baby's death? It's possible I missed something because I was getting annoyed that Vera was yet again facing off with a killer by herself. I was so glad for the reveal that she wasn't.
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But wouldn't that make Sandy more likely to follow Tosh's orders instead of giving in to Ruth's requests? I don't know. I like seeing Tosh so capable and decisive. If the show continues, I wonder if we'll see her struggling with ceding the DI role to Ruth.