darrenm Posted July 28, 2016 Share Posted July 28, 2016 34 minutes ago, BOF said: Regarding Stranger Things. Hide contents Overall, I think it's getting a lot more kudos than it probably deserves. Maybe because the series came out of nowhere and was an unexpected treat. It's good, it's enjoyable, but it's hardly worthy of the accolades that I'm reading every day. It's basically the X-Files meets the Goonies. As villa4europe says above, the first 6 episodes pretty much break the back of the series. I'd say the first 5, and the last 2 are an especially predictable conclusion. It's gripping at the start, ramps up for a few and then - once you 'get' the whole gateway, alternate reality thingamejig - it loses its impact and everything goes strictly by the numbers after that. That undoubtedly makes it sound worse than it is. I just think its many hackneyed tropes make it quite 'meh' when all's said and done. The reactions online make me think I'm commenting on The Emperor's New Clothes. Sorry I see where you're coming from and I was slightly let down by the last 2 because the monster had been unmasked by that time. Once they got the girl in the home made sensory deprivation pool and all of the shock credits of the experiments had been used up, it lost its impact a bit. But, it was still fantastic. I think you're possibly doing it a bit of a disservice with 'meh'. It took inspiration from a lot of different sources but put them together extremely well. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villa4europe Posted July 28, 2016 Share Posted July 28, 2016 1 hour ago, BOF said: Regarding Stranger Things. Reveal hidden contents Overall, I think it's getting a lot more kudos than it probably deserves. Maybe because the series came out of nowhere and was an unexpected treat. It's good, it's enjoyable, but it's hardly worthy of the accolades that I'm reading every day. It's basically the X-Files meets the Goonies. As villa4europe says above, the first 6 episodes pretty much break the back of the series. I'd say the first 5, and the last 2 are an especially predictable conclusion. It's gripping at the start, ramps up for a few and then - once you 'get' the whole gateway, alternate reality thingamejig - it loses its impact and everything goes strictly by the numbers after that. That undoubtedly makes it sound worse than it is. I just think its many hackneyed tropes make it quite 'meh' when all's said and done. The reactions online make me think I'm commenting on The Emperor's New Clothes. Sorry Yeah I agree but like I said it could have been worse, could have been wasps... currently watching the first episode of the night of, very good, the English Asian lad from four lions is very good in it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOF Posted July 28, 2016 Moderator Share Posted July 28, 2016 10 minutes ago, villa4europe said: currently watching the first episode of the night of, very good, the English Asian lad from four lions is very good in it That's next on my list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Designer1 Posted July 28, 2016 VT Supporter Share Posted July 28, 2016 (edited) 17 minutes ago, villa4europe said: currently watching the first episode of the night of, very good, the English Asian lad from four lions is very good in it What are you watching that on? Is it on any of the usual streaming channels? Edited July 28, 2016 by Designer1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villa4europe Posted July 28, 2016 Share Posted July 28, 2016 Firestick 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dont_do_it_doug. Posted July 28, 2016 Share Posted July 28, 2016 5 hours ago, BOF said: Regarding Stranger Things. Reveal hidden contents Overall, I think it's getting a lot more kudos than it probably deserves. Maybe because the series came out of nowhere and was an unexpected treat. It's good, it's enjoyable, but it's hardly worthy of the accolades that I'm reading every day. It's basically the X-Files meets the Goonies. As villa4europe says above, the first 6 episodes pretty much break the back of the series. I'd say the first 5, and the last 2 are an especially predictable conclusion. It's gripping at the start, ramps up for a few and then - once you 'get' the whole gateway, alternate reality thingamejig - it loses its impact and everything goes strictly by the numbers after that. That undoubtedly makes it sound worse than it is. I just think its many hackneyed tropes make it quite 'meh' when all's said and done. The reactions online make me think I'm commenting on The Emperor's New Clothes. Sorry Spoiler I agree this happens to the best of them, take season 5 of The Wire for example. However, having binged on it over 2 days I can't say I feel the same regarding Stranger Things. Yes, it goes a little bit 'by the numbers', that is in itself an homage to 80's cinema. You might have seen it all before, that's kind of the point no? At the same time it is still developing characters in interesting and unexpected ways. The whole Hooper anti-hero thread, the mystery surrounding Eleven's origin/purpose, even the teen love triangle delivered an interesting dynamic. It still retains it's atmosphere, all of the constituent parts remain as engrossing as they had been. I felt it delivered a satisfying conclusion, much like S1 of True Detective. At the same time the final scenes deliver a neat little sucker punch too, whetting the appetite just the right amount. It's got miles this show I'm sure, but as a standalone piece I think calling this season a masterpiece isn't far wide of the mark. I was blown away by how balanced it is. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villa4europe Posted July 28, 2016 Share Posted July 28, 2016 I think by its very nature a show that builds up the tension and the whole what the **** is going on theme naturally dips once they've done the reveal, like I said fortitude nose dived, I don't think stranger things will dip that badly but at the same time I'm not expecting it to be better than episode 3, the suspense is part of what makes it so good Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darrenm Posted July 28, 2016 Share Posted July 28, 2016 I think episode 4 is my favourite of Stranger Things. Had my on the edge of my seat. Didnt get off until episode 6 though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dont_do_it_doug. Posted July 28, 2016 Share Posted July 28, 2016 5 minutes ago, villa4europe said: I think by its very nature a show that builds up the tension and the whole what the **** is going on theme naturally dips once they've done the reveal, like I said fortitude nose dived, I don't think stranger things will dip that badly but at the same time I'm not expecting it to be better than episode 3, the suspense is part of what makes it so good Episode 3 contains the most horror and it might well be the best episode of the series. Though 6 runs it close IMO. That the subsequent episodes don't quite hit the same heights shouldn't take away from the series as a whole. For example my favourite section of The Godfather is the middle act, but I never walk away from The Godfather feeling disappointed it couldn't keep up that pace. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowychap Posted July 28, 2016 Share Posted July 28, 2016 4 hours ago, villa4europe said: currently watching the first episode of the night of, very good, the English Asian lad from four lions is very good in it Riz Ahmed? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villa4europe Posted July 28, 2016 Share Posted July 28, 2016 Yeah that's him watched 3 episodes this afternoon (and 2 episodes of ballers...) it's very good, he kind of doesn't do much other than look shell shocked and wide eyed but he does it brilliantly, he's also in rogue one so not a bad year for him 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sexbelowsound Posted July 28, 2016 Share Posted July 28, 2016 Just finished the first season of Gommorah. Now that is some quality TV. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowychap Posted July 28, 2016 Share Posted July 28, 2016 3 hours ago, villa4europe said: Yeah that's him watched 3 episodes this afternoon (and 2 episodes of ballers...) it's very good, he kind of doesn't do much other than look shell shocked and wide eyed but he does it brilliantly, he's also in rogue one so not a bad year for him I liked him in The Reluctant Fundamentalist, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villa4europe Posted July 28, 2016 Share Posted July 28, 2016 Yeah I finished series 1 about his time last week I think, watched it in the space of 4 days, it's quality i loved that they had the same filming locations as the excellent film, it's almost pure bravado that they let people film in those shit hole gangster controlled flats the only thing I'd say the film does better than the TV show so far is showing it going up, the TV show is better at going down to the street level with the drugs but apart from the mayor stuff towards the end they haven't hit on the government contracts yet theres no Scarlett johanson moment in the TV show the film really is excellent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOF Posted July 28, 2016 Moderator Share Posted July 28, 2016 Hmm. Did not like episode 1 of The Night Of. May have to drop that one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOF Posted July 28, 2016 Moderator Share Posted July 28, 2016 5 hours ago, villa4europe said: Yeah that's him watched 3 episodes this afternoon (and 2 episodes of ballers...) it's very good, he kind of doesn't do much other than look shell shocked and wide eyed but he does it brilliantly, he's also in rogue one so not a bad year for him And the new Jason Bourne. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seat68 Posted July 29, 2016 Share Posted July 29, 2016 Gave the first episode of Vice Principals a go, due to my love of Eastbound and Down, unsure, will persist for a few episodes but it didnt immediately grab me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PieFacE Posted July 29, 2016 VT Supporter Share Posted July 29, 2016 5 minutes ago, Seat68 said: Gave the first episode of Vice Principals a go, due to my love of Eastbound and Down, unsure, will persist for a few episodes but it didnt immediately grab me. Hadn't heard of this til now, will definitely be getting on that, Loved Eastbound and Down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarewsEyebrowDesigner Posted July 29, 2016 Share Posted July 29, 2016 Enjoyed Stranger Things but it kind of reminded me of Ready Player One in that quite a lot of the enjoyment was from the references and riffs on other works which kind of makes you want to be watching or reading those things instead. I'm not sure if playing on nostalgia to that degree is a good way to go about things, especially when the plot itself isn't particularly original, and the characters arepretty meh. Overall it's a very fun but shallow ride that suffers greatly from the predictable trappings of having bad guys that are just bad, and having a quite literal representation of that kind of binary thinking was pretty on the nose and a poor choice. The music is fantastic and the acting is largely solid. There is a lot of fun to be had but as soon as it plays its hand it starts to feel like a poor imitation of better works rather than a heartfelt homage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOF Posted July 29, 2016 Moderator Share Posted July 29, 2016 I must be deaf to soundtracks in general. The only song I can recall right now from that show is Should I Stay Or Should I Go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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