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Well... That's just wonderful :)

Oh, how I love this show. To anyone here who hasn't pushed yourself through season 1 of TLA, (TEAGUE!!!!)  please try to. It's just the best :)

I'm getting so many feelings at this hour. Oh man. Just... I have to sleep now. I'm just so happy :)

Protection and power are overrated. I think you are very wise to choose happiness and love. -Uncle Iroh

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I marathoned my way through Over The Garden Wall (not that it takes that long, as a 10 10 minute episode mini-series  watching back to back made for a nice film!)

And wow, I really enjoyed this cartoon a lot. A beautiful art style and engaging story that is very good at subverting expectations as well as a very unsettling grimm fairy tale-esque atmosphere along with a beautiful americano inspired score and songs. It feels almost timeless, like it's a fairy tale that people forgot about and was suddenly found and shown to a new audience.

Very rewatchable as well, lots of moments that suddenly have a second meaning or darker implications and such. Which I love. Go check it out! I'd recommend watching it in bulk.

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Tomahawk wrote:

a verison of Arietty, which, incidentally, is also "adapted" by British TV, (Borrowers), featuring Stephen Fry and Christopher Eccleston.

Just FYI, Arrietty is British (1952). The anime is the adaptation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Borrowers There was also an American adaptation on Saturday mornings when I was a kid.

I post because I care.
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"Feel free to flame me. I don't like Legends of Korra or Gravity, either."

Re: What Are You Watching - TV Edition

When I'm feeling down, I normally watch or play something that gives me a nice nostalgia blast to help cheer me up. Well... I've been watching Gladiators!
https://s.yimg.com/os/publish-images/tv/2014-04-16/825dd5c0-c575-11e3-8b0d-0f3af02c0852_gladiators-where-are-they-now-cover.jpg

One of the biggest UK gameshows of the 90s. Much bigger in production than American Gladiators and even had a few international seasons too! The later seasons start to lag a bit and eventually ended as it became obvious that the producers were running out of event ideas (a lot of the newer events weren't particularly good) and a lot of gladiators had to be pulled off due to injury (such as Nightshade and Jet)

It was (and still is) very cheesy but dagnabbit, I love it. (the attempted revival though was utter shite though..)

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Hahaha! Oh wow that takes me back. Saturday (?) nights: Gladiators, Blind Date, and The Generation Game. Nostalgia attack!

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I've not watched Gladiators since and I have no idea why. Wolf was always my guy.

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Now I must watch it big_smile

God loves you!

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Gosh! I am so glad that Better Call Saul has lived up to my expectations. Great stuff, already really excited to see the rest of the season big_smile

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Better Call Saul is good. I had serious reservations,  but they nailed it.

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We're only three episodes in, and Better Call Saul is every bit as good as a Breaking Bad prequel has any right to be. Seeing Vince Gilligan's amazing directing choices again feels just right. Gotta love visual storytelling.

Though I initially had doubts about a Saul Goodman centered spin-off, they're making it a great character. Bob Odenkirk makes him absolutely awesome.

Really excited about this.

Last edited by Saniss (2015-02-17 22:26:58)

Sébastien Fraud
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If y'all have Netflix, check out Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt!
It is charming and delightful, and refreshingly uncynical (though still finding time for occasional darkness). It's by Tina Fey & Robert Carlock, so if you're looking for something to fill that 30 Rock shaped hole, or just want something watchable and very funny, give it a go!

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Herc wrote:

If y'all have Netflix, check out Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt!
It is charming and delightful, and refreshingly uncynical (though still finding time for occasional darkness). It's by Tina Fey & Robert Carlock, so if you're looking for something to fill that 30 Rock shaped hole, or just want something watchable and very funny, give it a go!

http://i.imgur.com/7BSVd4g.jpg

It's a hilarious and delightful (and pretty inspiring) show. It's got the weird wit of 30 Rock mixed with the unapologetic optimism of Parks and Rec.

"The Doctor is Submarining through our brains." --Teague

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Is anybody else watching Justified?

It's been a really good season of tv, and last night's episode now has me thinking that this might achieve what (so far) only The Shield and Breaking Bad have done. I really think this last half-season is gonna do justice to the themes and style of the show, and are gonna be surprising, yet inevitable. I'm pretty excited about it.

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I'm watching it and loving this season as well. I recommend it to everyone, but no-one ever seems to bite!

Imagination will often carry us to worlds that never were. But without it we go nowhere. - Carl Sagan

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I just started (intermittently) binge-watching Justified, am about to watch the 1st season finale.  Enjoying it so far, and will likely continue working my way thru the seasons.   Got a very interesting tone to it,  the only other show I can think of that feels similar is Longmire, which I also like.

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American Horror Story.

Loving the hell out of the show.
For those of you not in the know, there are 4 seasons, "completely" unrelated to the last. All with new settings and new characters, with a lot of returning actors.

Latest one to air, as of writing this, was season 4, aka "Freak Show". Some very cool VFX in there as well.

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http://i.lv3.hbo.com/assets/images/documentaries/going-clear/going-clear-1024.jpg

GOING CLEAR - SCIENTOLOGY AND THE PRISON OF BELIEF

Another good documentary from Alex Gibney. Well worth a look.
Scientology is no wackier than any other religion. It's just that we can study its foundation in modern times.

Thankfully, it's on the decline, with falling membership (but rising tax-free property assets). You'd think in the age of the internet with everything out there, these cults would disappear quickly. So it's more a study into human psychology than specifically into Scientology. What makes people stay? To continue to be exploited for their labour, money, to voluntarily imprison themselves, etc? Stability? Isolation?

This church must have destroyed thousands of families.

I'm finding it hard to reconcile Tom Cruise the actor and the utterly deluded nutjob that uses the 'Church' as some sort of concubine pimping agency. There was plenty of eye-opening stuff on the Nicole years, but nothing on Penelope or Katie.

The current leader, David Miscavigne seems an even more evil megalomaniac than Hubbard. I'm sure the dirt that Gibney dug up is just the tip of the iceberg. Amazing how the Church was able to bully the IRS into giving it tax-exempt status and all the slavery, etc is shielded from the law because it's a Church.

Religion gets a free pass. It's a bit like the Catholic Church offering to deal with its child abuse allegations internally.

Great business model - in charging for endless levels in their courses. Like a Freemium game for the gullible. And what a reinforcement mechanism. All the dirt dug up in the course of auditing is held against you if you ever try to leave. Poor old John Travolta is trapped. He's their bitch for life.

not long to go now...

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For me, Going Clear doesn't pass the "Is It More Interesting Than Reading The Wikipedia Page For The Same Topic?" test. But Gibney's always had that problem.

Also, am I the only one who found the film super mean-spirited and unfairly invasive at times?

"The Doctor is Submarining through our brains." --Teague

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I didn't find it mean spirited.  When you lay the facts bare, they're pretty damning.  I think Gibney...is Ginney.  Which is TJ. Say, he's technically masterful but essentially one note.  He's never quite hit the high mark of Enron and while this film is solid, it's got a very solid book as framework.  What works best here is all the footage of Scientology meetings that do more damage than anything Marty Rathbun can.

Eddie Doty

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The film is actually pretty good at capturing the pith of Wright's book, which is quite comprehensive. But yeah, Gibney isn't exactly Steve James. Gibney docs do kind of come off as fact sheets on the topic. The film does take a more morally outraged tone than Wright does in print. Wright is pretty mild, even when he's describing how the Scientology legal team showed up to the New Yorker offices (one of the funnier bits in the book).

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Oh my god. Justified. Ladies and gentlemen, Justified is gonna stick the landing. I can feel it in my bones. Oh my god.

(I mean, uh, yes, this week's episode was certainly a watchable piece of televisual fiction.)

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Just started watching this and I am blown away by it. It certainly has excellent production values and the acting is an interesting mix of drama and comedy. Not 100% sold on Foggy but his interaction with Murdock is great chemistry.

Also, and please bear in mind I am only two episodes in, the slow reveal of the villains is an interesting build up to the threat. I have found the character building and action to be incredibly well done for a TV show, and very engaging.

I'm curious to see how this season unveils itself, and have no problem with the lack of the "classic" Daredevil look, yet. I see different hints as to what leads in to the costume, and that is enough for me, right now.

It definitely as an extended "Batman Begins" vibe that feels like it is allowing the character to organically grow in to his super hero persona without all the fanfare. I'm quite surprised by the layering of this show, from nods to the first Avengers film, to all the world building of the criminal underground and the main characters starting from the beginning.

I don't enjoy the flashbacks to Matt with his dad, but still well done, especially as far as child actors go.

I was surprised but enjoyed the grittier feel of the film, and the more realistic feel to the combat, even for a comic book adaptation. Murdock bleeds quite a bit as he develops his fight style, and we see a lot of brutal, bone breaking, moves.

Very interesting, and if you have not seen it, I hope you get the chance too.

God loves you!

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Indeed!

I'm 8 episodes in and am very impressed. As television, it stands on its own as good television. And as a superhero thing, it really doesn't feel like it's treading over the same ground. So thumbs up smile

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Every once in a while I catch something newer on the TV box. This past week, I got to watch an episode of "The Goldbergs" which is a show that riffs every 80s childhood cliche.  This week involved the Princess Bride and yentas and fencing.

Having grown up with the Princess Bride and wanting to sword fight, it was kind of like my childhood, only without the fast paced jokes or my mom trying to fix up everyone. I think a lot of you guys would enjoy it.

Secondly, if you have Netflix, try out Daredevil. I just finished it up and was impressed by the way they build this world. It isn't all black and white either. The villain has a fascinating backstory and point to his efforts, even as he engages in his criminal behavior.

Its a bit darker, more grittier, and definitely doesn't feel like most Marvel productions out right now. Even if you're not a fan of comic book adaptations, it might still be enjoyable.

God loves you!

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I just wanna say: I'm sure everyone's bored of hearing things described as "gritty" all the damn time, but one of the most pleasant surprises about Daredevil is that Matt Murdock is almost constantly smiling. It's nice.

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