At The Movies

Third Monday Movie Day: Anti-Binge

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You'd think I'd have more time to watch things right now, but I strangely don't. The whole of my pandemic viewing has been about 2.5 seasons of Brooklyn Nine-Nine (which, fine, it's hilarious). This isn't a lament or anything, just something that mildly surprised me when I thought about it.

Are you up or down in total consumption? And, of course, what are you consuming?

71 thoughts on “Third Monday Movie Day: Anti-Binge”

  1. Started watching Fargo. The first season was great. I'm 3 episodes into Season 2 and to be frank, pretty disappointed. Does it get better and worth powering through, or should I skip to season 3?

  2. As mentioned, my only new viewing is B99, but hot damn is that a great show. So many "laugh-out-loud-even-though-I'm-alone-in-a-dark-basement" moments.

  3. Season 2 of What We Do in the Shadows is picking up where last season left off. Lots of really funny stuff going on currently.

    Thought I'd do a little digging on IMDB, and found Your Name, an anime film sitting at #75 on the IMDB top 250. I was surprised to see it out-grossed Spirited Away at the box offices, and while a good movie, it's no Spirited Away (which at #28 on the top 250, that's consensus).

    Latest batch of Rick & Morty also have been really good.

    Sat down Mrs. Runner and we watched Gosford Park. I knew it would be in her roundhouse, but did not know it was the template around which Downton Abbey was built. Lots of great English actor appearances (and Bob Balaban).

  4. That is about the precise sum total of my pandemic viewing as well (just finished "Yippie Kayak").

    A few movies here and there, but nothing that was pandemic-caused viewing, just regular course of things:

    Cool Runnings - Watched this with the kids the other night. This was a staple of my childhood, and I was still able to quote about half of the movie after not seeing it for probably 20 years. The kids enjoyed it. I stupidly cried at all the teed up emotional moments. Something about bring back my childhood or something, I suppose. Maybe that was the pandemic getting to me. I dunno. For as absolutely inauthentic as this movie is, it is still done really really well.

    Jumanji: The Next Level - Probably exactly as much fun as the previous one, which is to say "a lot." I love Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart together. That duo is a real gift we've been given. The rest of the cast was great too. The plot was a little forced, but they didn't dwell on it, and they pivoted away from the most annoying bits before they became overwhelming, so I've really got no complaints.

    Blinded By The Light - The Pakistani-British kid discovers Bruce Springsteen and it shapes his life movie. It was good, but not quite as good as I thought it was going to be from previews. More of a family drama than a coming of age comedy, which is where I had thought it was heading.

    Airplane! - Philosofette had never seen this. Maybe I've seen it too many times, but it definitely wasn't as funny as I recalled. Still good, but the big laughs were fewer and further between that my memory of the movie.

      1. yeah it's kind of like Holy Grail in that way for me. I quote it a lot, but when I watch it I rarely laugh out loud anymore. Though Airplane does have some jokes that just don't translate anymore. I find the scene with the sick girl uncomfortable.

        1. To me, Holy Grail is head and shoulders above Airplane, but that's probably got a lot to do with the who/when of viewings. I think you're right that not all of Airplane translates any more - obviously it was much more of a reaction to the moment than Holy Grail.

      2. Airplane! quotes! I think it's a botched line, but have been known to use: "Fool don' want no help, fool don't GET da' help!"
        Also, "drinking problem"

        2. I picked the wrong week to quit sniffing glue.

          I also love the visual gag when one of the reporters says, "alright boys, lets get some pictures"

    2. Airplane is fine, but my go-to is The Naked Gun which still holds up so well. I was reminded of it when the story about the flush heard during the Supreme Court hearing happened.

  5. I may be watching slightly more as I get more work done at home since I'm not driving 3 hours per day.

    Finished Brooklyn 99. Noice!

    Superstore -- Got back to this, most of the way through Season 2. It's not B99, but I still laugh out loud at least once or twice per episode, which I'll take. Mark McKinney is just the best.

    Parasite -- Don't know what else to say. Brilliant.

    Kimmy Schmitt vs. The Reverend -- The CYOA legitimately works as it just feeds into the brazen oddity of the show anyway. Titus is great as always, and some of the more annoying minor characters get less time than usual.

    2. Once Philosofette is done with school we'll be watching Kimmy Schmitt vs. The Reverend. I enjoyed that show, and this just looks so delightfully absurd.

  6. I also have not watched a whole lot during this thing, mostly because of video games. Its always "should I watch something or see if anyone wants to hit the open seas in Sea of Thieves?"

    I did watch Sonic the Hedgehog and it kind of rules. There were a bunch of genuinely funny moments, Jim Carey clearly had a blast playing Ace Ventura again (but without the problematic stuff). It's a good, fun, family friendly flick.

  7. Our consumption is probably up slightly, easier to stay up an extra 30-60 minutes when you don't have to worry about getting a kid ready for the bus at a specific time.

    Here's what we've been watching lately

    Schitt's Creek: We are loving it and the short run time makes it easy to sneak in an extra episode

    Ford v Ferrari: As a racing fan, I never would guess that Ken Miles would be the subject of an award-winning movie

    Rush: Noticed this was on HBO Now/Go late Saturday night and decided to watch it again. I love this era of motorsports and Ron Howard did a great job of authentically telling the story, hard to believe I hadn't watched since the first run in theaters

  8. We've been watching the most recent season of Bosch.

    I'm sure I've mentioned going through the BBC's 100 Greatest Comedies. In the last month, we've watched Ninotchka (the original fish out of water), Love and Death (Woody Allen with almost a Mel Brooksesque movie set in a Tolstoy novel), In the Loop (VEEP, the less funny movie!), The Royal Tenenbaums (aged really well and way more enjoyable than when I last watched it in college), and Trading Places (Senator Franken with simulated gorilla action!). It's been a worthwhile endeavor, especially to see the roots and evolution of some types of comedy.

    Also, in honor of the incomparable Fred Willard, I watched Mascots last night. Not as good as the other Christopher Guest mockumentaries, but some laughs nonetheless.

    1. Royal Tenenbaums is one of my favorite movies. I love Wes Anderson flicks, but this one transcends that Wes Anderson thing for me.

  9. Continuing the quarantine homework movies...

    Aguirre, the Wrath of God - I don’t know what I was expecting, but now I know it was a low budget movie with quite a history behind it. I don’t think I liked it, but laughed out loud at a couple black humor bits. I think some people don’t believe there was any humor in it? Also, not sure how Herzog got the final shot. Also, my first Herzog

    Once Upon a Time in the West - I liked it. Chewed on itself more than necessary, but there are some killer lines. I think it was my first Leone.

    Planning to watch Once Upon a Time in Hollywood soon as a follow up.

    1. Oh, and The Wife and I are getting our way through Veronica Mars. Also taking longer than I ever would have thought given pandemic.

    2. Have you never watched any Herzog documentaries?
      The one about Antarctica* is so great; I'm not sure if it should be rated G or R. (No language, nudity, violence or anything. But it does contain implied spheniscid suicide.)
      I'm equally amused and queasy about the thought that some parents probably brought young children to the theatres thinking it was like "March of the Penguins".
      *Encounters at the End of the World, more accurately about the people who live on Antarctica.
      Grizzly Man?

      I've never seen Aguirre, the only two non-documentary Herzog films I've watched are the two starring Nicole Kidman, Queen of the Desert and Salt and Fire.
      The prior was good but seemed too traditional for Herzog's skills.
      The latter was more like Herzog, but seemed almost more suited for a documentary. Like he had ideas from the place but couldn't find the right angle for a documentary subject to hang his thoughts on, so Michael Shannon delivers them.

      1. I mis-remembered. Salt and Fire does not star Nicole Kidman, but Veronica Ferres.

      3. My longtime avatar at Canis Hoopus is the "insane penguin" from Encounters at the End of the World .

        My friend Jill did costume design on Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans. Said Werner was a wonderfully odd and sweet man, and she'd love to work with him again. As for the movie, it's worth seeing for Nic Cage's weird Jimmy Stewart as a drug addict performance alone.

  10. we finished all the available episodes of The Good Place. The Mrs then picked Never Have I Ever. Cute, sometimes uncomfortable. For a smart girl, the lead character isn't all that smart in her behavior. Like a real teenager, I guess.

    Last night we watched an episode that featured guest-star Atticus Shaffer (Brick from The Middle).

    Also, I am starting to catch up on this season's episodes of Dr. Who. Mixed reviews at best. Three companions seems like overkill. I like Jodi Whitaker just fine, but she's not been given a lot to work with so far. Last night, the episode that featured a weird-ish cameo by Captain Jack Harkness. The episode had potential, but seemed mostly setup for future episodes and not very well self-contained.

    3. Pretty much agree on Doctor Who. This season was better than the one before it--at least it wasn't boring, for the most part--but it certainly could be better.

      1. the eco-politics have been pretty ham-handed, IMO. ZOMG, plasticks!

        I mean, I'm pretty eco-friendly, as boring, econ-adjacent, white-guy social scientists go. But come on.

        1. Yes. They could have made eco-friendly points without beating people over the head with them.

  12. Way more since I don’t have to set my alarm for 5am anymore.

    Watched the entirety of Foyle’s War which I enjoyed immensely. Beautifully done mysteries with a top notch cast

    Plowed through Barry in about a week. Laugh out loud funny despite it’s seriously dark premise. Henry Winkler is golden as the acting coach.

    Also finished season 2 of Succession. My goodness. I don’t know that there’s a better show on television. It’s a credit to the marvelous cast that even that I feel even the smallest bit of empathy for these despicable characters.

    1. I just started Succession. Part of me loves it but another part loathes the characters do much that I might not be able to stick with it.

      1. Stick with it. I kind of felt the same way after the first couple episodes, but I'm so happy I didn't bail.

  13. Philosofette is in her last couple weeks of teaching, and so is very very busy. That meant I needed to find something to watch on my own last night. I started The Great on Hulu, and found it completely entertaining.

  14. This is amazingly thorough and on the nose:

  15. So, I started watching Commmunity (after The Office failed to hook me). I'm really digging it. I've heard a lot of good things about the show, and I'm starting to see why.

  16. Our tv consumption has gone up a bit this last two weeks, but prior to that it was way, way down.

    I'm about half way through season 4 of the wire again, watching as I cook. That show is endlessly entertaining and tragic to me. The arcs are so wonderfully written, and this time around I really came to a new appreciation of how much power the ministers have in the politics of the show.

    We're half way through The Great on HULU, and I'm hooked. Great visuals, great acting, great script. Not your typical period piece.

    We've also started watching the Marvel movies in order as total escapism. Man, some of these movies aren't that good......

    I watched Into the Spiderverse, and, who boy, is that one great movie. I had heard over and over (probably from folks here) that it was great. I had resisted the hype until I was in need of something different and gave it a shot. What a thing. Absolutely the best of the spiderman movies.

    Finished Letterkenny. I'ms prettys sads abouts that.

    3. Saw Spiderverse last night. A little overwhelming at times, but yes, probably my favorite superhero movie (not that I've seen a lot)

  17. It looks like all the old HBO shows just got removed from Prime. I had to sessions left of Six Feet Under. I liked the first two seasons. Not so much on seasons 3&4. I've heard they had a great finally so wanted to stick with it but I doubt I'll pay extra.

    1. The finale is great, cathartic, etc. The show ran out of steam in the last couple of seasons, for sure. But, I'm glad I stuck around till the end.

      1. That's why I'm torn. I've seen that everyone loved the finale. I may have to subscribe to HBO to finish it up.

      2. I should finish that series one of these days. I stopped watching after that episode. Not for any particular reason, just never picked it up again.

        1. It had a big enough drop off that I looked up whether it was during the writer's strike. (It wasn't.)

  18. Normal People (Hulu) Wow. Did this one hit me in the feels. Two young Irish students fall in lust and then proceed to say and do all the wrong things over the next four years because that’s what young and naive people do. Seriously, so much of this rung true, including the sex scenes, which are plentiful (and sexy and awkward, just like first loves often are.) And the chemistry between Daisy Edgar-Jones and Paul Mescal as Maryanne and Connell is incredible. Based on the novel of the same name by Sally Rooney, I can heartily recommend this beautifully made series to anyone in search of good romance that doesn’t succumb to maudlin sentimentality. Plus it handles both depression and class issues with equal aplomb. It’s gorgeously shot and wonderfully acted. Definitely for mature audiences and most certainly not for those squeamish about nudity and sex.

    1. Another little grace note that I really liked about Normal People was how often the characters were shown reading books. At least once an episode an establishing shot of as much as 8-10 seconds would linger on someone quietly perusing a book.

  19. Anyone watch The Plot Against America on HBO? Only six episodes so easy to get through. Although based on the Philip Roth novel, it's an obvious allegory for today's politics.

    It's starts off pretty slow but really ratchets up the tension, much like what it must have been like for the Jews in the story. Also ambiguous ending which is really cool imho. And oh, I think Winona Ryder is just fine generally but that last few episodes was not her finest moments acting wise.

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