The Small Screen: TV
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tented
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I read that Jason Bateman was also the director, in addition to being the lead. That must be pretty tough to pull off, right?
Moxie
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He directed the opening episode and several others. Shows like that rely on a show runner to keep the consistency in scripts, casting, locations decisions, etc., then the directors rotate. He's far from the first actor to direct himself, but it seems like a lot to me! Did you finish it yet? I'm just starting season 2. Maybe if we rope in @tented, we can discuss.
Yes, I've finished all three seasons. I loved it. Plenty more to come I think. I think the actress Julia Garner who plays Ruth, is outstanding.
Moxie
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She is the stand-out. The cast/casting is uniformly great, though. I have the odd issue, but it definitely watches like a "page-turner."
Has anybody watched Yellowstone? It's kind of a bizarre mix of Deadwood and Dallas set in the modern-day. Kevin Costner stars.
don_fabio
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Ozark was good for the first 2 seasons, I never liked the 3rd, it was dragged with not much happening the most of the season. I've read that season 4 is going to be the last one.
@britbox I am planning to watch Yellowstone, have 2 seasons. Kevin Costner in a western drama series can't be bad, he was born to do that western stuff. Either that or movies about baseball, he starred in dozen of those.
Did anyone watch Babylon Berlin? German detective TV series set up in late 1920s. There is a lot of politics involved too and the rise of Nazis. 3 seasons so far, very well made.
@britbox I am planning to watch Yellowstone, have 2 seasons. Kevin Costner in a western drama series can't be bad, he was born to do that western stuff. Either that or movies about baseball, he starred in dozen of those.
Did anyone watch Babylon Berlin? German detective TV series set up in late 1920s. There is a lot of politics involved too and the rise of Nazis. 3 seasons so far, very well made.
I haven't watched it, but thanks for the recommendation. In recent times, I've realised that there are so many good movies/series in different languages that I've missed out on. I'm catching up on a few. I watched a pretty good apocalyptic Japanese move a couple of weeks ago "Last Train to Busan".
don_fabio
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Train to Busan was good, I liked it. I think it's South Korean, not Japanese. Anyway, it's so many TV series and movies around, it's hard to keep up, but I feel the quality overall is going down and need to pick the right ones to watch.
Yes, my bad. It is South Korean. It helped remind me how much good work there is out. I need to move outside the Anglosphere comfort zone more regularly. Babylon Berlin sounds good.
OMG my new guilty pleasure TV series is coming to Netflix this Friday. Cobra Kai. It’s cheesy, satirical and subversive all at once.
“Cobra Kai” picks up on the narrative 30+ years later of the original Karate Kid movie. Yes the original actors are the two same Karate antagonists; lets just say the story/character tropes has been turned on their heads , and Ralph Macchio has finally aged a bit.
“Cobra Kai” picks up on the narrative 30+ years later of the original Karate Kid movie. Yes the original actors are the two same Karate antagonists; lets just say the story/character tropes has been turned on their heads , and Ralph Macchio has finally aged a bit.
tented
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I finished season 1, and watched the first episode of the second season. It’s an intriguing show. The closest analogy is Breaking Bad, but this is very different. I do think Julia Garner and Jason Bateman are great, especially with the latter directing many episodes. I’ve always liked Laura Linney, too, so I’m happy to see her in a challenging role.
No spoilers, please! I just wanted to check in after watching the first season.
tented
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@Moxie @britbox @don_fabio
I finished all three seasons of Ozark. It was very good, but I agree with @don_fabio that the third season isn’t as good as the first two. It gets repetitive and predictable after a while. But it’s better than most series, so I’ll probably watch the fourth and final season.
It’s certainly the best work I’ve ever seen Jason Bateman do, especially with the inclusion of his directing. Julia Garner is also excellent as Ruth. Lisa Emery (Darlene Snell) is fantastic too — and she’s from Pittsburgh, which explains her ability to portray someone so crazy.
I finished all three seasons of Ozark. It was very good, but I agree with @don_fabio that the third season isn’t as good as the first two. It gets repetitive and predictable after a while. But it’s better than most series, so I’ll probably watch the fourth and final season.
It’s certainly the best work I’ve ever seen Jason Bateman do, especially with the inclusion of his directing. Julia Garner is also excellent as Ruth. Lisa Emery (Darlene Snell) is fantastic too — and she’s from Pittsburgh, which explains her ability to portray someone so crazy.
Ha, it was on Youtube Premium a while ago before it moved to Netflix. Glad it's getting some more mainstream viewing.
Totally agree with your summary... obviously the original movie painted Daniel as the good guy and Johnny and the Cobra Kai mob as the bad boys (good ole' traditional goodie v baddie stuff) but they've done a clever job of making it far more nuanced.
I felt myself more comfortable in the Johnny Lawrence camp in the sequels.
Good episode in Season 2 when the original Cobra Kai crew get back together for a road trip. Missing "Dutch" of course (the aggressive bleached blonde in the original movie), who I only just realised was Steve McQueen's real life son, and was busy with his racing team.
**Edit** Tommy Lawrence was a former Liverpool goalkeeper (my team) - meant Johnny Lawrence!
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Moxie
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I just finished watching "The Queen's Gambit," which I liked very much. For some of our chess fan friends here, the word is that they got it right. @brokenshoelace @DarthFed @britbox @Federberg
I'm not really involved with Chess other than knowing the rules and playing the odd game once in a while, but that one did come up on my suggestions. I'm watching Black Mirror at the moment, which is pretty good.
don_fabio
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Just finished watching Yellowstone and can't wait to watch more. It's good quality TV. One thing is for sure, you don't mess with John Dutton and his family, especially the daughter.
Another show I started to watch, but is not new, that's Better Call Saul. I can't explain why I avoided it for so long thinking it is some weak spin off version of Breaking Bad. Oh man was I so wrong, this show deserves to be right there next to the original. So well written, serious and funny. Very well balanced. Currently close to the end of S02 and there is 3 more seasons to watch so far. Lead actor for Saul character is doing an amazing job.
Moxie
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Someone put me onto "The Good Place." Better than I expected. Any comedy that can make a whole story out of ethical philosophy has to get a look.
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