Whatcha Been Watching?

[Alex79]

Has anyone been watching the Psychoddysssey documentary on youtube? It's a documentary charting the development of Psychonauts 2. It's been getting a lot of praise and was mentioned on the recent TCGS.

Yeah, been making my way through it slowly, only watched an episode every few days, I'm about 9 or 10 in I think. Interesting to watch, despite not overly enjoying the game (although I will give it another try at some point).

[Alex79]

I watched Fall on Netflix last night. I thought it was very good. Genuinely made my legs and stomach go funny during some of those scenes. And that thing that happens, I was not expecting that at all. Gave me shivers!

[Alex79]

I had never watched Curb Your Enthusiasm before, but catching up on an old Back Page Podcast where they listed the top TV shows of the 21st century I had a look at it last night. Ended up watching five episodes back to back and thinking it was brilliant. Only about 22 years late to the party...

I also finished my Breaking Bad rewatch. The show has aged terrifically, and although it's only a few years old now I was surprised how in to it I was, even on a third time through it. I followed that up with the El Camino movie, which is a nice bookend for the series, although doesn't necessarily work as a stand alone movie, but as an extended finale, it's perfect.

[Truk_Kurt]

I watched the first Fast & Furious film last night. A podcast I listen to called Modern Escapism has done a series where two of the hosts watch each of the films in the series for the first time so I thought I would give them a go. I have seen the first and fifth film in the franchise but it was as a kid I saw the first and barely remember it, so watching it again now felt fresh.

I really enjoyed it, it seemed to take itself seriously by just the right amount so that it didn't feel overly serious for a film about undercover cops infiltrating racing gangs but also not too silly. It has some really good stunts in it, not Mission Impossible level stunts but really good stunts done with no CGI which after watching so many Marvel films recently which overdo the CGI, it made me appreciate the real stunts in this even more. I thought the soundtrack was really good too, a great mix of rock and rap from that era. As a petrolhead I also appreciated the range of souped up cars on display. 3.5/5

[Alex79]

Heads up for anyone who's not watched The Last Of Us yet. I watched the first episode when it came out and thought it was amazing, but thought I'd wait till more were out before carrying on with it. I went to watch episode 2 today and noticed the series is only available on the Sky streaming app until 12th April. Assuming it's the same for Now TV, so if you've been holding off, better get it watched!

[Alex79]

Finished The Last Of Us tonight. I thought it was a very good series, and a really faithful adaption with just a few changes that only enhanced the story.

[Alex79]

Finally got around to watching the final season of Better Call Saul this week and finished it last night.

Last few episodes were brilliant, nice to see some old familiar faces, tying the two shows together and wrapped up in a neat ending.

Some spoiler stuff:

Spoiler: show

I was kind of disappointed that Saul eventually got his comeuppance and it was sad he and Kim went separate ways, although obviously she was never in Breaking Bad so we knew she wasn't staying on the scene. I thought it was quite bizarre, her flash forwards to this odd little twee life she was living which had shades of a 1950s American family show, but her story arc with coming forward with her confession was interesting.

I can't help wishing that the story had been stretched every so slightly longer and there was a little more meeting in the middle between Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, but ultimately I think this was really an excellent show that really picks up steam from Season 3 onwards and never really slows back down. The cinematography was lovely too, I think it was shot better than Breaking Bad. I'd still love to see more stories from this world though. I wonder if we'll get a Saul movie along the lines of El Camino was for Breaking Bad? Doubtful since it all wrapped up so neatly, but you never know.

[Angry_Kurt]

I get the impression that you still prefer Breaking bad then? For me it’s a tie as even though I think BB is more consistent, I think BCS has more standout episodes. Both shows are my favourites of all time though.

[Alex79]

I get the impression that you still prefer Breaking bad then? For me it’s a tie as even though I think BB is more consistent, I think BCS has more standout episodes. Both shows are my favourites of all time though.

I really enjoyed them both. Breaking Bad was a rollercoaster from episode one, but Better Call Saul took a lot longer to get going I think. Once the cartel stuff started coming in though it was more interesting. I really like Saul as a character, and Kim, and BCS had episodes that were as good as anything in BB, but overall I think Breaking Bad was a more exciting tale, and a really good portrayal of a man's descent in to utter deprativty.

[Truk_Kurt]

Two watches over Easter Weekend.

Super Mario Bros
Went to see it yesterday and thought it was decent. I thought the voice cast did an excellent job and it was well animated. I loved all the easter eggs and game references, it's because of this though that I think if you're an adult the only way you would get something out of this would be if you're a fan of the games, unlike a Disney Pixar film for example like Toy Story which I think can be enjoyed by adults and kids on its on terms. If you are a Mario fan though, I'd say go see it. I didn't really get why they put so much licensed music in it when you have a huge library of great music from the games to choose from. 2.5/5

2 Fast 2 Furious
I think I slightly preferred it to the first but there's not much in it tbh. The plot was pretty straight forward but I'm not looking for a complicated plot when it comes to this type of film. Sure it was pretty silly at times but I was entertained, it was fun watching all the stunts and tuned up cars. Did have a really weird change of tone in the scene with the rat in a bucket though. Would give it 2.5/5.

[Alex79]

Watched the Super Mario Bros. Movie and it was exactly what I wanted it to be. It was great to see the characters come to life, the humour was just about right and there was enough of a plot to keep the film moving. I really don't know what the critics wanted from the film, but I don't think it could have ever been anything other than what it was. The film really was at its best when it was literally translating aspects of the games to the movie screen - Super Mario, Mario Kart and Smash Bros. were all represented in abundance, and there were enough nods to less well known things to keep 'game fans' happy, too.

My 6 and 7 year olds rated it 10/10 and 9/10 respectively. For me, it's an easy 9. Doesn't do anything unexpected, but for a translation of Mario on to the big screen it did it perfectly. I really enjoyed it.

[Truk_Kurt]

Watched the Super Mario Bros. Movie and it was exactly what I wanted it to be. It was great to see the characters come to life, the humour was just about right and there was enough of a plot to keep the film moving. I really don't know what the critics wanted from the film, but I don't think it could have ever been anything other than what it was. The film really was at its best when it was literally translating aspects of the games to the movie screen - Super Mario, Mario Kart and Smash Bros. were all represented in abundance, and there were enough nods to less well known things to keep 'game fans' happy, too.

My 6 and 7 year olds rated it 10/10 and 9/10 respectively. For me, it's an easy 9. Doesn't do anything unexpected, but for a translation of Mario on to the big screen it did it perfectly. I really enjoyed it.

I can understand the critics reactions if said critics aren't familiar with the games. Like you said, it's at its best when it is translatin aspects of the games into the movie. If you had no knowledge of the games it would mean nothing to you. Unlike something like a Pixar film which isn't relying on any kind of pre exisiting knowledge yet is still enjoyed by kids and adults alike. Maybe they should have got people in to review it for mainstream publications who were familiar with Mario games to give it a fairer assessment. I did notice that gaming websites gave higher scores that other 'general public' places like newspaper websites. However, with it requiring this game and character background knowledge to get something out of it for adults, I don't think it ends up being as successful as other family animated films. To riterate though, I still enjoyed it and look forward to the inevitable sequel.

[Truk_Kurt]

Fast and Furious Tokyo Drift.
This isn’t a very good film. Bad acting, boring plot which makes no sense, doesn’t take advantage of being set in Japan. Only good thing is the drifting stunts which I got a kick out of as it must take unbelievable skill to pull those stunts off. Oh and it did feature a PSP. 1/5

[Caligulas Horse]

Maybe they should have got people in to review it for mainstream publications who were familiar with Mario games to give it a fairer assessment.

That wouldn't be fairer at all. The opinions of reviewers who have never played Mario before are just as valid as those who have played every game in the franchise. And whether in deciding to watch it myself, or just as someone who is interested in film, I'd much rather be able to read/hear from both of those groups of people.

[Truk_Kurt]

Oh for sure, but I haven't seen any critic reviews representing the side who are familiar with the games, so it seems like only one side of the potential audience of non gamers has been represented.

[Caligulas Horse]

Oh for sure, but I haven't seen any critic reviews representing the side who are familiar with the games, so it seems like only one side of the potential audience of non gamers has been represented.

From what I've heard from critics, publications do tend to try and give assignments like this to people with some knowledge of the source material, but that isn't always possible.

That said, I'm not sure the reviews for this film are as unrepresentative as you think.

https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the- ... eview-2023

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/05/movi ... eview.html

https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/202 ... -fans-only

https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-ente ... 15217.html

These are all on the first page of a google search, and all of them seem pretty familiar with the series. And they all have quite similar reviews to your own.

[Truk_Kurt]

Cool, glad to see in chimed with some critics then.

[Truk_Kurt]

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

As a love letter to the period, I enjoyed this film and it had some great performances, but I felt it lacked the overall narrative for it to be up there as one of QTs best. I knew going in that the Manson murders played it a part but I was expecting that to tie into the plot a lot more than it did. It just seemed like a lot of build up to a admittedly fantastic ending scene but it just felt like it was disjointed from the rest of the film. Not up there with QTs best for me but still enjoyable. 4/5

[Alex79]

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

As a love letter to the period, I enjoyed this film and it had some great performances, but I felt it lacked the overall narrative for it to be up there as one of QTs best. I knew going in that the Manson murders played it a part but I was expecting that to tie into the plot a lot more than it did. It just seemed like a lot of build up to a admittedly fantastic ending scene but it just felt like it was disjointed from the rest of the film. Not up there with QTs best for me but still enjoyable. 4/5

This is the only QT film I've seen only once. Not been back since the first viewing and it probably ranks as my least favourite of his (and that's not saying I didn't enjoy it - I did) but I have been meaning to rewatch it for ages now.

[Truk_Kurt]

I don't think it is one I would watch again. If I wanted to watch a film that was a love letter to that era again it would be Liqorice Pizza.