70 thoughts on “Third Monday Movie Day”

  1. Has anyone else been watching The Americans? Last season was one of the year's best seasons and this season has been just as good. We're an episode behind now and with the final episode this week, I think we'll watch them on consecutive days to minimize any anxiety leading up to the finale.

    1. It's very high on my to-watch list. I'm actually really annoyed that Fox has stopped putting out Blu-rays of the show (and Louie). I have season 1 and will apparently not be able to finish the series that way. This annoys me a tremendous amount.

    2. I watch every week. Its so good! The last few weeks, I have literally gasped at what I am seeing on the screen (I'll shy away from spoilers)

      1. Agreed. We're big fans here. I guess we're going to have to watch it after the Wild game, but those 8:30 starts...

    3. I also missed last week's episode and will do double duty this week. Philip has been incredible this season.

  2. Obligatory Game of Thrones thread.

    I am intrigued by this season. Things are actually going to go past what the books have covered but in different ways. It is going to make reading the eventual six book interesting in that I know what to expect at the macro-level but not at the character level.

    1. And see, this is where I, as a book reader of this series, and not a show watcher, get frustrated.
      Surely if the show runners can write a script, prepare locations, hire actors, and film this story in the course of a year, George RR Martin can get off his fat butt, stop delving into so many side projects, and frakin' finish Winds of Winter.

      1. They do have multiple writers. Though, looks like the two showrunners did seven of the ten episodes last year with someone else doing two and GRRM doing the other. They also have the books to copy from. We'll have to see how many writers there are for season six for a better comparison.

      2. I can understand how a show can move faster in the writing process than a book (especially these books). Its the side projects that frustrate me, a fellow book reader/non-show watcher. (Disclaimer: I am only not watching the show because, at the moment, it is difficult for me to watch it with a good quality stream. If I had someone's HBO account info, I would be caught up.)

        I don't want to be one of "those fans" that think he should do things because I feel owed, but man, I really want to continue with this world.

        1. I don't want to be one of "those fans" that think he should do things because I feel owed, but man, I really want to continue with this world.
          This for me too.
          As for the show, there's so much happening in different ways than the books that I'm no longer an indispensable viewing companion for my wife. Well, that, and I have a terrible recall for details.

        2. There are now legal ways to watch HBO without a cable subscription using HBO Now and Sling TV. HBO Now requires an Apple device but Sling TV doesn't. Or you can wait until the season is over and get it from iTunes or Google Play.

  3. Just finished season 4 of Walking Dead. So that was amazing television minus the final line of the season.

    Only movie I saw was Snowpiercer. What a fascinating, bizarre film. Feels like a comic book brought to life. Unfortunately, pretty much devoid of pathos and character motivation is incredibly weak. Still, it was fun.

    1. See, I greatly disliked Season 4 of TWD. The first half was boring except for the last episode, which I thought was great. Then the second half was too splintered. Some good character studies, but other than that, I didn't get a lot of out of it. Season 5 was much better.

      1. The second half of season four is the closest they've come to making a really good show. Season five meandered and I can't think of any single episodes that have an identity, other than the Tyreese episode.

  4. So... Daredevil. I love it. I'm 4 or 5 episodes in. The pacing is fantastic, with us only getting glimpses of Wilson Fisk until the end of whatever episode it was that I just saw. I think the casting is fantastic, and I really like that it's pretty much all origin so far, without feeling too origin-story. Honestly, it's kind of like reading a comic, only watching it. Marvel + Netflix = brilliant.

    1. I just watched episode 8 last night, so I'm a little further in, but I completely agree with your take. To add, though, the fight scenes are also incredibly well done.

      1. Oh yes. The fight scenes. So much. The people all get really tired! And sore! It's about as believable as I could imagine.

    2. I watched the first two episodes and I think I am done. I can handle a little darker super heron but I can't get on board with a super hero that tortures anybody.

      Am I being too much of a prude? It seems like there should be a line there.

      1. There probably should be a line there. I considered that scene as a development in that line, not an open embrace of the villainy he wants to stop. He does try for non-lethal force, it seems, and I like that.

        1. He was also chastised for it later.

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            1. Character arcs!

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              1. Are you telling me not to give up too soon?

                I have to choose between this and The Americans. I can't have more than one show I don't watch with the wife or kids.

                1. I don't know anything about The Americans, so I can't offer the best advice. But I will say that, for the most part, the torture doesn't keep happening, at least through 8 episodes.

      2. mmm, vigilantism. It's what's happening.

        modern film movie-making is replete with violence porn and revenge fantasies. I guess it would be nice to see a more nuanced take on super-hero vigilantism occasionally, where the film maker delves a bit deeper into the characters and the moral challenges of having "powers". (note: I've not seen DD yet, but probably will despite these warnings)

        not sure if this is a recent trend (post-911) or I'm just noticing it more. Of course there have always been films that featured vigilantism and often that glorified it.

        1. I feel like this has been more nuanced. DD offers the criminal legal drama for juxtaposition with the vigilantism, which is nice. There's also a media investigation arc that seems like it offers some hope for a contrast.

          1. cool. As a comic book geek of long standing, I'm looking forward to watching. If only to get the terrible taste of that Bennifer DD/Elektra tragevesty out of my mouth.

            1. Four episodes in, I haven't gotten the amount of the legal drama I hoped for, but what I have gotten has been satisfying.

    3. This may prevent me from following through on my plan to cancel our Netflix membership.

  5. Finished all eight seasons of Curb Your Enthusiasm. Wow, that was fun. I do believe I'll watch it again.

      1. Did you hear that Larry David has a new Broadway show (that he wrote and stars in)? Apparently, it has been pretty successful in a limited run and it's being extended. Larry's gonna end his participation at the end of the original run and will be replaced by....

        wait for it...

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        1. I didn't. That's fantastic. I'm really hoping we get another season of Curb at some point. I miss it quite a bit.

          The first night J & I were in LA in 2013, I got her Pinkberry and spent the entire time we were in there trying not to crack up.

          1. The Seinfeld Reunion was terrific.

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        2. My brother and s-i-l were in NYC last weekend and went to see a play. He thought about the Larry David play, but decided on Wicked because "he's heard good things about it." OTOH, I'm surprised he had even heard about the Larry David play, but OTOH, how do you not go?!

  6. Anyone besides me watch Vikings.

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  7. I went to Furious 7 on opening night, and it was basically what I expected: totally stupid and fun. I guess I'm going to start a viewing of all 7 movies starting back at the beginning with a couple of my friends shortly. I'm excited for this.

    The same friends and I went to Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter on Friday. I enjoyed it quite a bit.

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    I also finished the last bit of Avatar, The Last Airbender this month. I thought the show was good overall (I didn't particularly love Aang as a character, but the cast made up for it), and the ending was decent though I wish

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    I watched City of God for class this weekend for the first time. Pretty great movie. I was pretty wiped when I watched it so I don't have a ton more to add.

    And I finally blew through season 4 of Louie, along with the first couple episodes of the new season. I liked season 4 a decent amount, but not as much as the previous ones. I have a lot of feelings about the three "Pamela" episodes to end the season, not all of them good. Season 5's first couple of episodes seem a lot more like the first season of the show, in a really fun way. Which was a nice cleanser for the end of season 4.

    1. I should not love the Fast and Furious movies even half as much as I do. So, so dumb, but so, so fun. This, and not The Expendables, is the action movie series of choice these days.

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      My friend and I were giggling hysterically for pretty much the whole movie. It occures to me that most movies wouldn't be able to let this sort of insane "let's just completely ignore physics" madcap nonsense work, but F&F does.

      1. I absolutely lost it when...

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        1. Hahaha, yes. So wonderful. My wife isn't a fan of his, but he seems to have a perfect sense of when to ham it up and take a movie like this to the next level of absurd fun.

    2. I suppose I should watch some of the F&F movies at some point. I have only seen the first two and hated them with the passion of a thousand burning suns. I was also younger and hated things pretty easily. Though to be fair, the idea of watching Ludacris "act" is something that would fill me with dread.

      1. In fairness, I like them all, but Fast Five is where the series found what it was always meant to be about - big, dumb, fun* action heist movies that mock physics at every opportunity.

        * I feel like a lot of action movies forget that fun is a very important part of an action movie. A vast majority of them aren't saying anything of any import, so if they're not fun, then they're just soulless, lumbering VFX studio demo reels.

        1. I feel like a lot of action movies forget that fun is a very important part of an action movie.

          This might be the perfect summary for why I love Pacific Rim. (with an added point that its a movie about boss battles.)

          1. Yes. This is why I loved Pacific Rim entirely. It's a very stupid movie, but it knows fun when it sees it, and it sees it everywhere.

  8. My wife and I went to see Insurgent (aka Divergent 2) yesterday. She has read the books. I have not. We agreed that the movie was really bad.

    Bad acting, bad casting (for the most part), bad story, no fun. But at least we got to rip it to shreds as we drove the hour back to our house from the closest movie theater.

      1. Yes. I thought Divergent was "whatever", but this was anger-inducing badness.

        According to my wife, the movie diverged (eh?) from the book pretty radically, and not for the better.

    1. Linds had read the first book when she watched the first movie. I had not. I disliked that movie quite a bit. It was bad, but in such a bland way.

      I don't know if I'll be forced to sit through the second.

  9. Predestination : This was one screwy movie. I like films about time travel, but this went deeper and deeper into the wormhole and lost me in the end.
    Into The Woods : Didn't know this was basically a musical, but I really liked it. Lots of fun had by the actors and story was pretty well-imagined, but the last 30+ minutes felt tacked on.
    X-Men: Days of Future Past : This was fun.
    Fury : I was expecting a film approaching Saving Private Ryan in terms of tone (or at least something along those lines) but ended up seeing something that felt closer to U-571 or Windtalkers: a war movie with all the familiar tropes.
    Deadwood: Pilot Episode : Excited to see more of this series.
    John Wick : Thanks for pointing this one out fellas, I really enjoyed it.
    Guardians of the Galaxy : This was fun.
    Draft Day : I guess I was hoping for Any Given Sunday and ended up with a football version of For Love of the Game. That's not terrible...not great, but not bad either.
    The Fugitive : I still really enjoy this movie and I think it's held up well.
    Game of Thrones: Season 5, Episode 1 & 2 : See above.

    1. Oh, and
      The Place Beyond the Pines : This was pretty good, nothing ground breaking, but good performances all around and a "happy" ending that I didn't expect based on what had transpired for the characters.
      Harry Potter: Years 1 - 4 : These movies get progressively better, though Prisoner of Azkaban isn't my favorite title in the series.

    2. Deadwood: Pilot Episode : Excited to see more of this series.

      Goodness, you should be.

      Where did you see John Wick, if I may ask? I've heard loads about it, but haven't found it anywhere I don't have to pay extra to see it.

      1. I rented it from a Redbox kiosk. I can handle $1.65 (and I think I may have had a discount code).

        As for Deadwood, we've only had HBO for a couple of months, otherwise I was waiting for it to come up in my Netflix queue... there's a lot of stuff in our Netflix queue.

      2. I have a digital copy that came with the Blu-ray I'll never use, I'll send that to you and you can check it out. Just drop me an email and I'll send you the code when I get home tonight.

        zmoney at google's email. (I'm fairly sure I have your email, but this is both a just in case and a reminder to myself)

    3. It'll take you about 6 episodes of Deadwood for you to even understand what they're saying. Like, The Wire, it was way better the second time.

      1. Never finished The Wire. Started watching it when Kernel was in utero and didn't get back to it after her arrival. That's nearly 4 years ago now. Another one of those things I'd like to remedy.

  10. Furious 7: my thoughts are in Zack's thread. It's awesome. It keeps one-upping itself in balls out insanity, which is a trend that I wholeheartedly approve of.

    Earth to Echo: Watched with my niece. Fun, but a little hollow.

  11. Fullmetal Alchemist: I'm absolutely in love. Somewhere around episode 15 the opening and closing credits changed and I much prefer the original.
    Friday Night Lights: EAR's newest series. It's pretty good. We're almost done with season 2.

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      1. My wife and I are on Season 1 of FNL. As the father of 14 and 12 y.o. girls, I really enjoy the coach and his wife dealing with a teenage daughter.

  12. Is anyone watching the Nightly Show? Early on it exceeded my expectations because I didn't think Larry Wilmore was very funny on the Daily Show, but he was pretty good and I thought the format was interesting. After a few weeks I feel like it's steadily gone down hill. A lot of the segments feel forced and don't go over very well.

  13. Oh yes, who else made it through the end of Justified? Nice to see Raylon Givens get some closure in a way that Seth Bullock never did. My only complaint is that they didn't figure out a way to cast Ian McShane somehow (since they brought in so many others from Deadwood), but Sam Elliott was fantastic this last season in the role that I suppose would have gone to him.

    1. I'm still not sure how I feel about the conclusion. More thoughts to come when I'm not in my phone.

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