As I mentioned in the Cup the other day, I managed to get caught up with and watch the Ted Lasso series finale the day it was released. That's just big for me, since I haven't seen a finale on the day of release in a long time. I was a little ways behind on Game of Thrones and The Good Place, and other than that, we probably have to go back a decade. For some reason, I really wanted to do that with Ted - I think because, at least in my little middle-aged white male bubble, this show really seems to have been so much of an antidote to the current zeitgeist.
It was a show about connection in a time when we were all distanced from each other. A show about people from all over the world coming together when so many are caught up in nationalism. A show about forgiveness when so many are quick to judge and condemn.
I saw a number of headlines/first paragraphs of articles as this season was going that made it clear the trendy thing to do was to be upset with this season. And, admittedly, there were a few problems (namely the bloated episode length - a little bit of editing would have gone a long way). But those problems weren't the main thrust of these articles - they were hating on Ted Lasso because they were Nathan Shelley at the end of Season 2. This show made them feel everything warm and happy, even when bad things were happening, they just felt so spoken to. But Season 3? It didn't start that way. It was messy and followed lots of other people and things weren't so great, and then Zava shows up, and we don't care about that guy at all, and wasn't Ted going to work his magic on Zava, but no, that's not the way it really works. It wasn't what we wanted it to be.
At least, not yet. And maybe it was just hearing that this was the end of the series, but for some reason - even with my little complaints - I trusted the writers. And the criticism really bothered me. Ultimately, I feel like the writers knew what they were doing. Wandering around for a little while really helped those last 3 or 4 episodes nail what Ted had been and could be. I left feeling very satisfied. And I appreciated that they left most characters at a beginning, not an end. Yes, a few things got left on the table (couldn't you just see Ted wishing he had been able to help Rupert? Man, that would be some juicy conflict!). But in the end, I think the writers brought it home.
Trust the writers. Or, rather... believe.
* I thought the Ted Lasso finale worked. I felt that the season overall was a little overly scattered, and I wasn't a fan of a few of the storylines they chose to pursue, but overall, it didn't diminish the overall quality of the series. I'd say that 1>2>3, but none of the steps down were particularly severe.
* The Super Mario movie was almost exactly what I expected it to be. It was fun, had the music baked in correctly, had a few chuckles and a few "ah, remember that?" references, and left essentially no impression of its own.
* I'm watching Fast X tonight. I expect very silly fun that takes place in a universe where the basic laws of physics do not apply.
I agree with everything in your spoiler. I didn't hate any part of season three but I was bored with a chunk of it as they focused too much on characters that I didn't care about.
And I agree with everything as well. Really wish Roy Kent had more to do in Season 3. He was our favorite character.
My hope for Roy was that we would have seen players added, one-by-one, to his Jamie training routine. Keep up that coaching growth.
I did enjoy all the Roy and Jamie stuff this season though. That was one of my favorite pairings.
Absolutely. Jamie was my favorite character of season 3. His and Roy's little diversion in the "out on the town" episode was one of the highlights of the season.
While I'm at it, that episode was pretty good, as opposed to season 2's "Coach's Dark Night of the Soul" episode, which didn't resonate with me at ALL.
Watch the movie After Hours, then watch the Beard episode. It's actually pretty brilliant.
Saw that in the theaters when it came out.
Yeah, that was on my mind when I posted that.
That Beard episode was terrible (guess I missed After Hours).
It didn't resonate with me but I couldn't look away
Anyone notice the super deep cut reference to Cheers?
That is awesome.
And I missed that!
Agreed on all points for the Super Mario movie. I don't know what the hell Pratt was trying to do with that accent though.
I really want to get this shirt for the boy.
I watched John Wick 4 last weekend and, if you liked the other JW movies you'll like this one.
Did anyone watch Barry? I liked the first two seasons much more than the last two. It was better as a comedy.
I recently saw the trailer for Barbie and it actually looks good! A cross between A Very Brady Sequel and Pleasantville.
I watched Air on Amazon prime last weekend. It was pretty good. Reminded me of Money Ball.
Wife and daughters out of town this weekend so I might find an 80s or 90s movie too watch with the boy.
I'm wandering through some shows with Mrs Runner (Poker Face, etc) and Runner daughter (Severance, etc), but I've quietly enjoyed the new Electric Mayhem series. There's not much to it, but there have been some great casual callbacks popping up, and some cool cameos, including Cheech & Chong*
*Chong: "Hey, man, you got a dime for the payphone?" (Zoot hands a dime) "Hey, thanks Dave!" -- I'm not the only one who immediately thought "DAVE'S NOT HERE, MAN"
I knew nothing about Severance going in, and I think that was the way to do it. I have a feeling though they're not going to match the quality of the first season as they're going to have to start explaining everything.
I'm treating it like LOST -- just go along for the ride and don't overthink it, or you're going to probably be disappointed.
My expectations are even lower given all the behinds the scenes drama that's delaying Season 2
We started watching Silo, almost caught up. The music is kind of annoying, but so far I'm digging the world-building.
Fast X is a welcome return to form after the kind of dour 9th movie.
Vin Diesel still seems to be the only person who doesn't know what these movies are, and Jason Momoa seems to be the only person who knows what these movies REALLY are.
My wife and I watched Ticket to Paradise, the rom-com with George Clooney and Julia Roberts. Those two have good chemistry and they were obviously having fun making the film (which itself seemed a pretty blatant way for them to have a reason to go to the beach. Which, great work if you can get it).
I mean we visited Kaui'i and my dad's pretty sure he saw her on the beach. That evening we looked up "where stars live" and she had a house on said beach. So…
I have also now finally seen Everything, Everywhere, All At Once. It was okay. Felt like it needed to be cleaned up a little bit. Yeoh was good, but after seeing The Fablemans I think Michelle Williams probably should have gotten it. Ke Hey Quan's I got. He was beyond brilliant to me.
The Fablemans was so good. Just a straight-forward story, told and shot brilliantly, well-paced, really... just technically perfect. Let's face it, Spielberg knows what he's doing.
I watched Fabelmans on an airplane last week. You're right, it was just so good. I don't know enough about movie making to explain it, but it just nailed what it was. I thought Williams was excellent, but was also amazed by Dano. Her role was more showy, but the expressions on Dano's face were so subtle and powerful. Outstanding!
Watched Belfast on the way back, which I thought was a good two-fer. I didn't enjoy it as much as Fabelmans, but still thought it was quite well done. Many of the shots were like Wes Anderson shots, including two people talking in a window - yet the movie was black and white and very not Wes Anderson. A vast majority of the shots really made me think of literal moving pictures - a still camera with just a little movement in the frame.
Both movies were high-end family dramas. Both were incredibly well made and cared for. Each provided a fictional family to tell a true story about their directors lives. Each movie was written or co-written by their directors. Good airplane serendipity!
I watched Belfast about a year ago. I don't know that I would have ever thought to put the two together that way, but they really do fit. And both were just really good.
I haven't seen Fabelmans yet, but as for great directors' love letters to film, it made me think immediately of Scorsese's Hugo, which I loved.
Cinema Paradiso came to mind
Are there any Succession people here? I have thoughts.
I watched the series. I liked it but not as much as others. I wouldn't put it in my top five or anywhere near.
Watched Across The Spiderverse over the weekend. If you liked Into The Spiderverse you'll enjoy this follow up. Amazing visuals and a great story. My only beef
Wordle 721 3/6*
The Afterparty ended up being really funny, but also a solid murder mystery with a fun blend of genres and a lot of good performances (and a great one by Tiffany Haddish). I don't know what I was expecting, but it surpassed expectations.
Dungeons and Dragons was a very enjoyable romp, with all sorts of really excellent references to the game's world, without being heavy handed. No experience necessary to enjoy it. Chris Pine is his usual delightful self (and now I want to watch Star Trek again), and everyone else is really good too. Maybe I wanted more interaction with Hugh Grant?
Ultimately it felt a lot like the first Gaurdians of the Galaxy. Maybe not quite as good, but not far off.
And now I want to play D&D again...