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That's what I hate about most streaming services, you binge watch a great show and then have to wait another year before finding out what happens next...
That's why I don't binge watch them. Even before certain services started dropping them weekly, I was spacing them out. Not on their schedule, but mine.
 
So, just finished season 2 of Witcher - only 8 episodes, dammit.

Without spoilers - way, way better than the first season. Obviously a bigger budget, hugely improved effects, but the overall story was way better - after the first episode they dropped the serial episodes approach of most of the first season and went in for longform storytelling that was paced really well.

They basically fixed every major issue I had with the first season except one - it still feels like it's taking place in a generic Western fantasy world, with the original Polish culture relegated to a few names. But, even so, it's still a really good story set in a Western fantasy world.
 
Watched The Princess Switch and The Princess Switch 2: Switched Again on Netflix. Both were cute, mildly entertaining Christmas rom-coms, which is exactly what I was expecting. Haven't watched the third one yet, but I probably will.
 
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Netflix has what appears to be the original Gundam film up now, so I took a look in. From what I can tell from the Wikipedia page, I think these Gundam films are a kind of shortened version of the TV series. I've never watched any mecha anime outside of Evangelion, so it was interesting to watch. Impressions:
  • Better storytelling than expected, although still basically a cartoon. The bad guys were less one dimensional than I thought they would be; I guess I've been watching too much Hollywood.
  • Having seen Amuro, I now understand what Evangelion's Shinji is ripping on.
  • Predates the big-eyes, small mouth era - the characters are quite visibly pudgy by anime standards.
  • Hokey giant robot physics, to be expected given the genre I suppose.
  • Some nice touches of hard sci-fi, such as the O'Neill habitats[1] and angsting about re-entry. Shades of Kerbal Space Program there.
  • Cartoon giant bases and dreadnoughts that seem to be incapable of inflicting damage on each other in spite of being armed to the teeth.
  • No real cringe factor. I can see why it got a fan base.
I've never been a Mecha fanboy, and I still have enough grasp of basic physics that I can't suspend disbelief about giant robots - supers are another genre that leaves me kinda lukewarm for similar reasons. I'd have been about 10 years old when this came out and I'd have enjoyed watching it, but I don't think I'd have fanboy'd as much as I did with Star Wars.

1 - O'Neill's book The High Frontier: Human Colonies in Space was fairly recent at the time, published a few years before the Gundam series was released.
 
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That's what I hate about most streaming services, you binge watch a great show and then have to wait another year before finding out what happens next...
The worst thing is, they make all the new seasons available around the same time.
 
Fangs on Shudder is the kind of rambling, incoherent film that only could have been produced in the 70s.

Anyone looking for a horror film, or an animal attacks film or anything that makes sense is probably going to be disappointed.

But is slowly becomes apparent that the story of 'Snakey' and his rampage after his buddy bows out of their Weds music night is actually an intentional black comedy.

Not a successful black comedy but definitely something unique and demented for trash film fans.

Can't find a trailer online but the print is near pristine.
 
Watched The Testament of Dr. Mabuse on TCM, Lang's last film in Germany that was banned by the Nazi regime.

Several brilliant set pieces, from an assasination in traffic to a room filling rapidly with water while a bomb ticks away, Lang was the greatest director of suspenese and action next to Keaton and Hitchcock in early film, I think.

 
I saw the beginning of Dragonslayer on broadcast on Saturday. If it had come on earlier I likely would have watched the whole thing—I only saw it up to Ralph Richardson’s death. I was somewhat chagrined that I could remember the film line-for-line, especially Richardson’s part.

In retrospect, it may be my favorite 80s fantasy film, though it has some strong competition.
 
I see James Burke has put Connections up on Odysee -

 
I think I mentioned it a while back as the pinnacle of human culture.

But all hyperbole aside, I think it’s a very good show. Great tone. Good chemistry between Clint and Kate. Enough mystery to keep you curious.

It has a much more grounded feel than most of the MCU stuff, which is nice. The scope of it is more human.

I’m digging it. About to watch the latest episode once the kids are asleep.

I'm surprised you haven't been posting in here about the show! It's great! And if they stick the landing, it will move to the top of my list of the D+ shows.

I am thoroughly the Hawkeye series. Only 3/4 through it but it has quickly turned into my favourite Marvel Disney shows. Renner's nice guy version of Hawkeye is very different from the mouthy, thin-skinned Hawkeye of the early Avengers comics, but right from Age of Ultron he's created a very warm, compelling character. But everything in that show is just beautifully judged and executed.
 
To switch a bit from female empowerment (Veronica Mars, Jessica Jones, Wonder Woman) I started on season 1 of DareDevil. It is very good.

To switch a bit from big budget action blockbusters (James Bond, Shang-Chi, Spider-man and tomorrow the Matrix) I just went to see Spencer.
Kristen Steward really captures the look and mannerisms of lady Di, and the movie looks great. Also the dirge-like score underlines the paranoia and the madness that seems to beset Diana. The movie tells the story over three days (during a family holiday from hell), how she decides to divorce and chooses her freedom.
Tragic, both as a biopic and as a fable, as ,you already know how it's going to end.
I hope this movie does for Steward's career what the Lighthouse did for Patterson.
Also this is the first Christmas movie I saw this year. Ho ho ho!
 
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I've been enjoying two older British shows lately: Cadfael with Derek Jacobi, which I love and have seen before, and the Robin of Sherwood series from the mid-80s, which I found on DVD at my local library. My low expectations were vastly exceeded, this show is a real gem. Not perfect, but very well done and thoroughly entertaining.
 
The Matrix 4? Don't bother, unless you like to be stuck in a room with the Architect* for almost 2 hours.
There's some decent action (some repetitive, some derivative) but not nearly enough.
There are cool visuals. And there's a lot of self-referential nostalgia.
But in all I didn't enjoy it as much as having a wisdom tooth pulled; at least that doesn't last 2h30.

(*sometimes felt like the bargain basement Architect)
 
The Matrix 4? Don't bother, unless you like to be stuck in a room with the Architect* for almost 2 hours.
There's some decent action (some repetitive, some derivative) but not nearly enough.
There are cool visuals. And there's a lot of self-referential nostalgia.
But in all I didn't enjoy it as much as having a wisdom tooth pulled; at least that doesn't last 2h30.

(*sometimes felt like the bargain basement Architect)
I liked it. It helped explain a bit about the third movie, I liked the callbacks, and I liked the new cast.
 
Rewatched Gremlins 2: A New Batch and first watch of Elaine May's debut black comedy A New Leaf.

G2 is shaggy but fun. A New Leaf is really good of course as May is a genius and Walter Matthau is Walter Matthau, did he ever deliver a bad performance, even in mediocre films beneath his talent?



 
Trying to watch Season 2 of The Witcher, but between the holidays and my splitting headache, I'm not making much progress.
 
We're watching season 4 from Aggretsuko on Netflix.

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Watched No Time to Die last night. The best Bond since Casino Royale. Didn't realize this was directed by Cary Fukunaga, who did the first season of True Detective, Maniac and the excellent film adaptation of Beast of No Nation. He brings real visual style, breathing space for characterization and well paced action (no overlong fight scenes here) to this final installment.

 
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Finished watching a rewatch of Babylon 5, very enjoyable and every bit as good as I remember it.

Currently watching Blake's Seven, a blast from the past from my youth. It is pretty good, although the space scenes are a bit iffy. The characters, dialogue and plots are pretty good. I seemed to remember Blake only being in Season 1, but there he was all the way through Season 1 and 2. Vila and Avon are excellent, Jenna and Cally are really good and I even liked Gan, despite thinking that he was a bit of a waste of space first time round.
 
Completed a rewatch of White Collar. On to a rewatch of The Librarians and a first watch of The Rookie.
 
I've been enjoying two older British shows lately: Cadfael with Derek Jacobi, which I love and have seen before, and the Robin of Sherwood series from the mid-80s, which I found on DVD at my local library. My low expectations were vastly exceeded, this show is a real gem. Not perfect, but very well done and thoroughly entertaining.

Cadfael is also based on a series of books by Ellis Peters (actually a pseudonym for Edith Pargetter).

 
Watched Joe Bob Ruins Xmas, well the second half with Gatorbait, will go back to Jack Frost later.

GB is no lost masterpiece, with long airless sequences of people wandering a swamp but it has enough exploitation charm, a surprisingly strong ending and exploitation Queens Claudia Jennings and Janit Baldwin to satisfy fans of exploitation.




The bad movies Xmas kept on rolling with a viewing of Gatorbait's husband/wife team of Beverly and Ferd Sebastian's earlier The Hitchhikers from 72,' available on Tubi and Plex.




Gatorbait surprised with its strong, original hillbilly country soundtrack, which actually refers to the characters in the movie, something I love. And The Hitchhikers does it one better with an energetic country rock soundtrack that helps inject its long time-killing, pseudo-cinema verite montages with enough energy to give it an edge over GB.

It starts like it is going to be a cautionary Manson-rip-off but then settles into a very 70s comedy-of-sorts about a Jules and Jim triangle of highway robbers and scammers.

Beverly Sebastian is one of the few women writer/directors of classic exploitation (besides the great Doris Wishman and Roberta Findlay) and these films leave me intrigued enough to seek out more of her and Ferd's work.

Finished the night off with the MST3K episode of Hobgoblins, which I saw previously many, many years ago late at night and not to the end.

This round around I realized after the interminable opening that it is actually intentionally campy and it has some low budget, 80s pseudo-punk charm.

Not that it wouldn't be painful in the extreme to watch straight. It has recently been released in a pristine print by Vinegar Syndrome, who would want to experience this with the bots is a bit beyond me.

Apparently some horror fans are gluttons for punishment, although I guess as a fan of the likes of Nightkiller I shouldn't throw stones.

 
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