Posted by: @wowbagger

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Adolescence ... I won't say more, except watch it.

Absolutely lives up to the hype ! And if you're avoiding it thinking it's too woke, then don't ... I actually thought it didn't go far enough that way, and certainly doesn't push anything down your throat. It also avoids many of the obvious scenes and clichés, by being 4 separate 1-hour vignettes of the whole story. A rare 9/10.

#1 = 9 ... clever Tarantino-esque start, quickly becomes fast moving & tense. Thankfully the shaky-cam is minimal.
#2 = 8 ... expertly filmed/choreographed again, but there are a few clumsy dialogue moments, and it feels a tad too staged than fly-on-wall.
#3 = 10 ... superbly crafted, completely gripping. Will be studied in acting schools for years.
#4 = 8 ... change of pace, with even more psychology on show. Slower paced, but the ending still packs a punch.

As a bonus, I hope this steers film-makers away from the need to have too many cuts and reverse shots, as they really distract from the moment (no need for everyone to go 1-shot, though!)

https://pca.st/episode/72c234ef-62c8-4226-9803-022db1d91f37

It did on occasion seem a bit clumsy, I agree - but I'm not complaining; too often pieces claiming to be 'one shot' are several scenes stitched together, but these are the real deal. When the copper is chasing the schoolboy they're very obviously not going flat out so as not to leave the camera behind!

First series of Arcane is incredible ... a rare 9/10 from me.

Just caught up with the second series ... not as good, but still a solid 8/10. Gorgeous visuals, great sound track and surround fx. The teenage angst that made the first series so compelling is diluted, and the extra characters are just not as interesting as the sisters.

Apparently, this is the final series, but there are already a couple of new series in development, set in the same world.

Warning: the last few eps are very trippy surreal ... what were they smoking ??

The Penguin (2024) - Late to the party here, but this is bl00dy great ! A solid 8/10 from me, and I only gave The Batman (2022) film a 7.

Visuals, acting, dialogue, soundtrack ... A few of the eps are absolute top-tier TV, and definitely rated 15+.

The plot is a bit contrived, but it kept surprising me (in a good way) right to the end. Farrell remains unrecognisable.

The Looming Tower (2018) - Very late to this one! Interesting, and not at all what I expected from a 9/11 drama.

It focuses on the relationship between the CIA/FBI in the years before, as well as activities in the Middle East. It is surprisingly nuanced and maybe even sympathetic to some of the 'bad guys, and when the day finally comes, it's relatively brief and unsentimental. But ... we didn't need to see so much of Jeff Daniels shagging ! 🙈 A solid 8/10

Let me know if you can recommend a good documentary on 9/11 (non-conspiracy) as it would be interesting to revisit the facts as to what actually happened.

Pluribus (sorry - Plur1bus). 'Vince Gilligan does sc-fi' was all I knew about this, but they had me at Vince Gilligan, so I dived in almost blind although there are only currently 2 of 9 episodes available. I've seen this commended for its originality, but invading Body Snatchers/Stepford Wives/Midwich Cuckoos, to name but 3, may have something to say about that... but it's early days.

Rhea Seehorn (so good in Better Call Saul) is great as the cynical grump (i.e., someone we like) who is immune to everything else going on. It's interesting from the start, then it grabs, and doesn't let up until the exposition dump at the end of the episode that had me thinking I knew where it was going, and preparing myself to lose interest. Episode 2 proved me wrong and I remain hooked. Like the show, I'm purposely not giving much away (all the above and more is in the trailer, which I watched later, and which is omitted from this post intentionally).  Highly recommended by me on the basis of these 2 episodes.

It was a slow burn at first, but I thought S4 was excellent 👍 so looking forward to the final S5 ... I'm gonna need a 'catchup' from youtube, though!

There's also gonna be a spinoff (same makers, new characters), and an animated spinoff.

The first four episodes of season five will be available in the US from 26 November,
with the next three arriving on Christmas Day, and the finale on New Year's Eve.

In the UK those releases will be a day later.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cj41g75pe20o

Late to the party, but we just watched S1 of Blue Lights on iPlayer. Wow. Highly recommended.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14466018/

Blue Lights is a great little show!

highly recommend All Her Fault.  Good murder mystery.