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Post by bixaorellana on May 10, 2021 18:52:34 GMT
Just know that it won't cheer you up!
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Post by Biddy on May 16, 2021 15:56:18 GMT
I am watching a Flemish series on Netflix which I just love - Tabula Rasa. Its a very well done suspenseful mystery. Before that I watched Midnight Sun a French/Swedish production which I also enjoyed.
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Post by casimira on May 24, 2021 16:28:23 GMT
I am enjoying reading all the recommended shows to stream. Thanks everyone for your input and insight into what I may enjoy watching in the near future.
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Post by bixaorellana on May 24, 2021 18:37:17 GMT
What I've been watching & enjoying, in no particular order ~ The Nevers -- Uneven, but it has kept my interest because of the steampunk feel of it & because the actors are good. It is in the fantasy realm, for those of you who would avoid for that reason. Made for Love -- Unnecessarily bloody in the beginning, but sort of a wake-up call that it's not going to be strictly comedy. Billionaire geek imbeds chip in wife's brain. The Handmaid's Tale -- A strange season that really looked as if it were going to go completely off the rails, including an episode that was just straight up violence porn. The last episode redeemed the series for me & anyway, there is no way I could stop watching at this point. Mare of Easttown -- Do I need to say more than "Kate Winslet"? I almost gave this a pass because of thinking that I just wasn't in the mood for cop stuff. But hey ~ Kate Winslet! The Mosquito Coast -- This apparently has some bad or just blah reviews, but I am totally into it. Anyone who saw Justin Theroux in The Leftovers doesn't have to be convinced of how good he is, and he's certainly proving that again in this series. It's yet another (after the movie w/Harrison Ford, 1986) iteration of Paul Theroux's 1981 novel of an idealist who transplants his family to Central America. This series updates & takes off from that with some changes from the original plot. Paul Theroux is okay with that: www.townandcountrymag.com/leisure/arts-and-culture/a36309543/paul-justin-theroux-tv-adaptation-the-mosquito-coast-interview/Rosehaven -- delightful gentle sitcom from New Zealand.
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Post by Kimby on May 24, 2021 20:06:06 GMT
Tonite is the Season Finale of NBC’s DEBRIS.
The Kimbys stopped watching after 4 or 5 episodes, but the teaser in today’s TV section suggests it’s a must-watch conclusion to the search for the wreckage of an alien spaceship. I’m curious.
Update. It wasn’t much better than the previous episodes, AND it ended with a cliff-hanger, as if they think they’ll get another season. Very unsatisfying.
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Post by kerouac2 on May 25, 2021 16:58:45 GMT
That is a truly fascinating interview.
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Post by bixaorellana on May 25, 2021 23:55:46 GMT
He is a fascinating writer and observer and really, a fascinating reader. I love his attitude toward his own novel in terms of sort of setting it free to grow and expand into a quality tv series.
Even though I have been a big fan of Theroux my whole adult life, I was wary about reading Deep South and equally wary about "On the Plain of Snakes". Deep South blew me away with the subtlety and pinpoint accuracy of his observations. Except for an excerpt of his meeting with Francisco Toledo, I have not yet read On the Plain of Snakes, but am looking forward to it.
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Post by spaceneedle on May 26, 2021 8:48:36 GMT
I just started watching HACKS on HBO and it's fabulous.
Also watching the latest season of The Handmaid's Tale on Hulu.
Looking forward to the new season of The Kominsky Method on Netflix.
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Post by Biddy on May 27, 2021 16:32:04 GMT
I am watching Hacks also - good stuff. Also just watched Those Who Kill on Acorn (Danish Crime Drama) which was really well done.
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Post by bixaorellana on May 27, 2021 17:30:53 GMT
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Post by lugg on May 27, 2021 20:19:38 GMT
So many great recommendations but many I cannot view , much to my frustration. I guess that some will eventually make their way to Amazon , Netflix etc or at least I hope so.
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Post by lugg on May 27, 2021 20:21:56 GMT
I'm a few down into Series 3 of "Keeping Faith" which I think I have recommended in the past . This series is a real disappointment so far.
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Post by Kimby on May 30, 2021 14:13:29 GMT
Wow. We are completely swept up in THE NEW POPE, a sequel to The Young Pope. Jude Law was great as the Young Pope but is replaced (at least temporarily) by John Malkovich as the New Pope. The sets are gorgeous, the writing is smart and eloquent, the plotting is full of twists and turns, and the characters are so well drawn and acted. We are halfway through and while the Young Pope hit a sort of doldrums mid-series (but recovered toward the end), The New Pope just keeps getting better. Mr. Kimby, a fallen-away Catholic is openly enthusiastic about the series. www.imdb.com/title/tt7157248/Note the first user review. No real spoilers but a well-written summary of what to love about The New Pope. Here it is, since it has disappeared from IMDB: User Reviews 27 April 2020 | tabledeckerer “10 | The New Pope, The Second Time The New Pope was worth a second watch as I still had questions about a number of things after having viewed it the first time. The second time, binging it all in three days as opposed to following the series from week to week, turned out to be a more enlightening way to enjoy the it because the details of previous episodes were still fresh. So here it is. What I loved: The incredible cinematography, lush and just gorgeous, pared with beautiful scenic-design and costumes. The writing. The dialogue is stylized, with an individual beauty and respect for the use of language and it pulls the viewer into a living novel that floats in and out of familiar and less familiar levels that most of us associate with reality. The twists and turns of the story are utterly impossible to predict. Sorrentino, whether by intention or not, holds up a mirror to the viewers, often giving them the opportunity to trigger themselves, if they are so inclined, into strong, knee-jerk, emotional interpretations and various thematically diverse expressions of righteous indignation in the early episodes, only to have the perspective completely turned around in the later episodes. It is therefore, usually quite easy to tell which authors judged the entire series without having seen all episodes. There is a certain poetic justice in this. The music. Voiello. Everything about Voiello An awakened Lenny Any scene with Leopold Essence Paolo Sorrentino introduces Federico Fellini to David Lynch and they get along famously Episode 9 What I loved less: The accent. Malkovich's character was given some of the greatest eloquence and most of the most beautiful verbal expressions in the entire series. I deeply respect John Malkovich as an actor. While many have come and gone, Malkovich, at his age, is right in the thick of things. He's in Billions, The New Pope and whatever else is next on his agenda. I wanted it all to work but I was pulled out of the story from time to time, asking myself just what accent that is actually supposed to be. Perhaps a back-story with an American nanny or some such would have helped. Wrapping it up: As you can tell, I was enchanted by The New Pope. It has an unadulteratedly unique voice which means that there is nothing even remotely like it that has ever appeared on a screen with the exception of The Young Pope. I, for one, am hopeful that HBO will continue in the tradition that has made the company legendary, producing excruciatingly high-quality content, by soon inviting Mr. Sorrentino in to discuss the particulars of his POPE WORLD PREQUEL.“ PS. While you COULD watch the New Pope without having watched the Young Pope, it is well worth watching both, as the characters are introduced in the first and you just have to figure out who they are in the second, and the idolatry inspired by Jude Law’s Pope is not explained at all in the sequel.
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Post by lugg on May 31, 2021 18:30:49 GMT
Thanks Kimby for that recommendation. Will see if I can get it here. Strangely ...I have no idea how, I now can see some Sky offerings via NOW TV. So I got half way through Friends Reunion, which my daughter really enjoyed but was wasted on me as I hardly ever watched an episode. BUT... now I find I can watch Mare Of Easttown, yeah. One down and really enjoying it just hope whatever glitch has allowed me access does not disappear.
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Post by bixaorellana on May 31, 2021 19:15:42 GMT
Ooooo ~ so happy you managed to get Mare of Easttown, Lugg. I watched the last episode last night & the show is time well spent.
Kimby, thanks for the reviews on the Young & the New Pope shows. I abandoned The Young Pope a good while back, but might give it a second chance since you say it's a good idea to watch it before The New Pope.
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Post by Kimby on Jun 1, 2021 0:04:57 GMT
Bixa, the middle part of The Young Pope is disappointing but it does get better. The New Pope so far is wonderful.
And I think I’m hearing about the director doing a Prequel next.
Update. Finished the New Pope tonite. Fairly satisfying ending, but leaving the door open for a follow up.
One minor complaint. There’s a surprising amount of sexiness, considering the characters are almost all priests or nuns. Some of the visual imagery seems gratuitously sexy, like the sisters dancing provocatively in diaphanous gowns at the start of most episodes, but toward the end being replaced with recurring imagery of the Pope wearing only a Speedo walking down a a beach filled with bikini clad women.... also Ester’s “ministry” to the poor young men with hideous disfigurements that kept them unloved.
One critic said that removing some of the extraneous side stories could create a mini series of 5 really solid episodes. But it’s worth a watch for the sets, scenery, costumes and characters. Cardinal Voiello is fantastic!
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Post by spaceneedle on Jun 1, 2021 7:26:36 GMT
Kimby, both of the Pope series are great. Agree!
Also I just started MARE OF EAST TOWN on HBO and Kate Winslet is fantastic, including her perfect mastery of that Delco accent!!
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Post by lugg on Jun 6, 2021 19:54:51 GMT
Just finished mare of East Town... fabulous , new found respect for Kate Winslet ( previously only having seen her in that film , that I can remember) I do hope there is a series 2 , a couple of loose ends maybe >? including her perfect mastery of that Delco accent!! I was wondering about her accent and whether it was authentic enough for Pittsburgh? So very interested in your comment Spaceneedle re Delco accent, about which I have no idea.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jun 6, 2021 21:08:30 GMT
Lugg, that was a "limited series", as they're now called. I read an interview with Kate Winslet (one of the exec. producers) & apparently everyone concerned wanted it to be only as long as it was.
re: the accent ~ all the reviews comment on how well she got the accent. I guess we'd never know for sure unless we were from that area. Apparently the locals approved of her rendition.
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Post by lugg on Jun 7, 2021 20:57:32 GMT
Lugg, that was a "limited series", as they're now called. I read an interview with Kate Winslet (one of the exec. producers) & apparently everyone concerned wanted it to be only as long as it was Yes I've read that too in some of the UK reviews , maybe that it is good call but personally I would watch ( devour) another series Apparently the locals approved of her rendition. More kudos to Kate .
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Post by bixaorellana on Jun 7, 2021 22:00:32 GMT
I know this is not tv, but have you seen the movie Heavenly Creatures? Kate Winslet starred in it when she was still a teen, opposite Melanie Lynskey (Rose, in 2 1/2 Men). Both are excellent & it's based on a true story. The character Winslet portrays grew up to be Anne Perry, the mystery writer.
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Post by kerouac2 on Jun 8, 2021 5:44:45 GMT
In June, July and August, French television tends to flush whatever it has in stock that has been lying around. That's because television audiences drop considerably in the arm months and even more so now with the last traces of lockdown finally ending. So yesterday it came up with the British mini series Gold Digger from 2019. It is 6 episodes being shown in just 2 weeks, 3 episodes at a time when the usual tradition here is to two episodes for things in the one-hour format. Anyway, the title appears to give it all away, although the French title is more ambiguous: Le Doute.
A rich 60 year old woman (Julia Ormond) has just finalised her divorce and is seduced by a charming younger man who offers dazzling conversation and torrid sex. He is no more than 35 years old and assures her that the age difference is not a problem for him. She shows him off to her 3 grown children (the youngest son might be 18-20, and they are all horrified to varying degrees, as is her ex-husband when he finds out, and he is of course also jealous. They decide to prove that he is a crook and a scoundrel and have no trouble finding a lot of evidence against him. Or is it really evidence?
I guess I'll find out next week. The English title is so explicit that I can't believe that the denouement will be so simple. If it is, I will be greatly disappointed.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jun 13, 2021 4:54:29 GMT
Still watching The Handmaid's Tale. After a rocky start of this season four that left me thinking the series had nowhere left to go, it picked up its heavy red skirts and took off down the road. Wow. Not only have there been excellent plot twists and superb scripts, but also some wonderfully directed episodes, including numbers eight and nine, directed by Elisabeth Moss.
I finished season one of The Mosquito Coast, which has some great suspense, plus the two kid actors are great. Also great is Ian Hart, last seen as Father Beocca in The Last Kingdom. His portrayal of a slow-moving but deadly good ol' boy hired killer is chilling and fun to watch.
Last night and tonight I watched the first two episodes of HouseBroken, which is wonderfully silly fun. Anyone who can't appreciate Lisa Kudrow voicing a wanna-be therapist standard poodle is dead inside.
Tonight I watched the first episode of Sweet Tooth. I almost had to turn it off immediately as the scenes of the fictional plague were horrifyingly close to recent news images. Even though I really hate James Brolin's creaky old man narration (he is only 80, for heaven's sake, not 8000), I was completely into the first episode and can't wait to see more.
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Post by lugg on Jun 14, 2021 20:37:43 GMT
I know this is not tv, but have you seen the movie Heavenly Creatures? Kate Winslet starred in it when she was still a teen, opposite Melanie Lynskey (Rose, in 2 1/2 Men). Both are excellent & it's based on a true story. The character Winslet portrays grew up to be Anne Perry, the mystery writer No but will see if I can view it thank you Bixa. Sweet Tooth looks intriguing. . So yesterday it came up with the British mini series Gold Digger from 2019 I vaguely remember that K2 but cannot remember if I liked it or not .
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Post by lugg on Jun 14, 2021 20:38:37 GMT
Finished Series 5 of This Is Us - very satisfying. Roll on Series 6 although I am sure it will be a roller coaster of a finale
Time - just binged watched over the last few nights. Written by the great Jimmy McGovern, lead roles by Sean Bean and Stephen Graham... life inside a English prison ... utterly compelling, tragic, teeth clenching. No / or maybe little light relief. (BBC)
Next for me is " The Pact " also BBC. Some great actors in this so looking forward to it
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Post by patricklondon on Jun 15, 2021 4:27:17 GMT
Time - just binged watched over the last few nights. Written by the great Jimmy McGovern, lead roles by Sean Bean and Stephen Graham... life inside a English prison ... utterly compelling, tragic, teeth clenching. No / or maybe little light relief. (BBC) Next for me is also BBC. Some great actors in this so looking forward to it Seconded. I find it hard to stay detached watching Time: grim is hardly the word. As for The Pact, it blindsides you, starting as a "Will they get away with it" before morphing into a more traditional but still absorbing whodunnit. I thought the final tidying-up was a bit too simplistically neat, but I'll say no more.
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Post by lugg on Jun 15, 2021 19:24:25 GMT
Seconded. I find it hard to stay detached watching Time: grim is hardly the word. So true Patrick, I am still thinking about it several days later. I wonder if there will be a second series ? As for The Pact, it blindsides you, starting as a "Will they get away with it" before morphing into a more traditional but still absorbing whodunnit. I thought the final tidying-up was a bit too simplistically neat, but I'll say no more. Episode 3 for me later -
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Post by bixaorellana on Jun 17, 2021 23:58:23 GMT
Does anyone want to discuss yesterday's episode of Handmaid's Tale?
I found myself thinking about it on and off all day today and admitting to myself that I object to it as part of the plot and psychologically and logistically and I don't know what all else.
This whole season has swung back & forth from brilliant to iffy, from subtle to unnecessarily blunt. If anyone else wants to dissect it, we can make a separate thread so as not to leave spoilers in this thread.
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Post by Kimby on Jun 18, 2021 5:02:33 GMT
We are scraping the bottom of the barrel at the library, waiting for the stuff we really want to become available. So we’re giving MASTER OF NONE a try. Kind of reminds me of Curb Your Enthusiasm with a younger more diverse cast. Half hour episodes and each stands alone.
It was kind of fun to see “Carrie” and “Brody” from Homeland guest-starring as a married couple.
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Post by spaceneedle on Jun 18, 2021 8:08:43 GMT
RE: Mare of East Town, lugg, the Delco/Delphi accent is very unique to Philadelphia/Delaware. If you listen to Joe Biden, he also has a version of it, but it's less rough around the edges probably because he's from Scranton and been in DC for so long. For example, take the words 'mad, bad and glad.' Now pronounce each word like they're fused with the word 'yeah.' Another example is Philly English speakers pronounce words that have an 'O' sound such as 'home' or 'phone,' which ends up sounding like 'heom' or 'pheon.' The fact that KW was able to so subtly pull that off is impressive. She must have studied or immersed herself in that culture in order to pick it up as to make is sound so authentic. I had a boss for a few years from this area and got used to hearing this accent all day long. Some of the things he would say were so funny, we had a lot of fun teasing him as west coasters. He was a good sport about it all. One year we got him a custom made birthday cake which was a hoagie ETA: since it looks like maybe Bixa is fact checking, here's the source of the examples which illustrate the sound of the words. www.delawareonline.com/story/entertainment/2021/05/01/delco-kate-winslows-mare-easttown-accent-hbo-jawn/4887099001/
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