I just didn’t like or care about all the characters. At all. It was filmed on my friend’s street in Greenpoint and I feel like the caricatures of the people I knew and saw were just unsympathetic.
Precisely. I did not foresee being invested in their success or happiness.
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It’s so funny how we see characters differently. Samantha to me was predominantly for comic relief, with her almost grotesquely exaggerated sexual bravado. But each one was a “phenotype”— evidenced by the many ‘personality’ tests at the time à la “Which SATC character are you?”
I always found Carrie to be annoyingly self-centered, whiny and exasperating 
Perhaps the voice-overs made her seem more so.
She had her moments of realizing the world didn’t revolve around her, otherwise it would’ve been unwatchable.
It was epic. Wasn’t expecting the PSA endorsement and almost choked laughing.
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We were looking forward to watching it after my show last night — well, I more so than my PIC, who thought it couldn’t possibly live up to the hype, and then I got a txt from a buddy en route home from the venue asking if we had Paramount+. I immediately assumed she wanted to see the episode, so we had her over for a screening 
Loved it. Very much looking forward to the rest of the season, and the following 49 PSAs 
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I’m glad you’re discovering it. It’s one of my favourites. But everyone who competes has to choose their “outfit” (which is to be worn, maintained, and cleaned for the days of shooting). Some people come up with outlandish outfits, but Nick is the first to come in full fancy dress.
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Oh, we discovered it a while ago & have watched every single season available. I guess I never paid that much attention to the outfits for the challenges — 'cept for Mohammeds bc it was so glaringly obvious.
Double feature at casa lingua last night. First up, Novocaine with Jack Quaid (a spitting image of his mom more so than his dad, we thought), a reasonably entertaining action flick about a guy who feels no pain, and a bank robbery gone awry. His affliction seemed to be mostly an excuse for a lot of fight scenes and torture. You could probably skip this one.
Up next was Cleaner, another action flick with about 2 seconds of Clive Owen 
. Slightly more interesting plot.
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Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025) - dir. Matt Shakman
This is the 37th MCU movie. That, plus the various D+ series, specials, ad one-offs means that unless you’re a committed fanboy (guilty!) you’ve probably let your MCU viewership slide. The once unstoppable Juggernaut was churning out installments that leaned SO heavily into the formulaic structure they’d establish that it all began to run together. Recent entries like the frankly shrug-worthy Captain America: Brave New World began dragging down even the better entries, like The Thunderbolts. Mostly, it seemed to hang on simply by NOT being the dour, joyless world of the DC Snyderverse.
But in what surely isn’t coicidence, both companies decided that this summer would be a revamp. DC, of course, started over almost completely with Gunn’s Superman, giving us something that thoroughly embraced much of the silly SIlver Age comic-book-ness and a brighter, more optimistic universe. Marvel decided to go a slightly different route. With this new Fantastic Four, we have left the main “Earth 616” world of the MCU, the place where Tony Stark was Robert Downey Jr. Chris Evans was Capt. America, etc. Instead, we are told we are now on “Earth 828” (8/28 is the birthday of Jack Kirby, famed comic artist and co-creator (along w/ Stan Lee) of The Fantastic Four back in 1961). In this alternate, awesomely retro-futuristic 1965, the Fantastic Four have ushered in a new age of peace and prosperity. Most of the world has disbanded their military forces. We have hover-bot dog walkers and Syd Mead style jet age towers and monorails. Monitor screens and furniture all have a fabulous mid-century modern roundness and streamlined look. So our heroes, in their bright matching blue jumpsuits, no longer look goofy or out of place (an issue that’s been a drag on every FF film right out of the gate 'til now). This world is right at home with a flying Fantasti-car, or the cute little robot, H.E.R.B.I.E. (originally created for a cheap 70’s tv version of the team). Like Superman, the film handwaves away the usual origin story for some quick exposition (with a bunch of nerdy easter eggs for the long-time fans) and plunking us right into the main plot: husband and wife Sue “Invisible Woman” Storm and Reed “Mr. Fantastic” Richards are gonna have a baby after years thinking they couldn’t. And just as this happy news hits, comes the Silver Surfer, letting this Earth know that they will soon by devoured by Galactus, a planet consuming celestial entity. So Sue and Reed, along with Johnny (the Human Torch) and Ben (the Thing), must save the world, and their family.
So, does this manage to revitalize Marvel as much as Superman? Mmmmmm… almost. The bright, sunny, optimistic tone isn’t QUITE as big a departure for Marvel as it was for DC. But the MCU was nearly the opposite problem. It was always winking at the audience, subtly apologizing for all these ridiculous people running around in silly costumes. This new Earth no such qualms. Moleman tried to steal a building by sucking it into the earth, and that’s just a thing that happened. The film also isn’t afraid to lean into the family drama that has always been the FF bread and butter. A close, loving, but lightly dysfunctional family on wacky sci-fi adventures. And they even manage two things that have plagued every other FF attempt: Reed’s stretchy powers don’t look ridiculous, and Galactus, with his outsized helmet and purple armour, actually works on screen.
At a decently paced 2 hours, the movie clips along, even if the finale contains a few rather tired tropes (“Mom’s love for child = enormous power”) the surrounding fun balances it out. Although, I will say, I can happily wait 'til FF rolls onto D+ to see it again. I kinda want to see Superman again in a theater.
I could recommend Superman even to folks who don’t care much for comics, but WOULD like a Superman movie. I’m not sure such a customer exists for FF. But, if you HAD been a fan of the MCU and let your interest wane, this might be a nice way back in.
3.5 out of 5 really well-done references to to past media adaptations of the team, including old animated shows and even cameos from all the original actors of the infamous 1994 Roger Corman version.
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Just started watching the first episode season 4 of The Great American Recipe on PBS. Home cooks from around the country with diverse cultural backgrounds cook family recipes and compete. Great judges and I love that they don’t send someone home every week. In past seasons everyone stays and cooks until final epsiode.
Also just finished Great American Bake Off with Paul and Prue as judges and filmed in the tent in England but with American bakers. It’s on Roku.
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Well, we were about to start watching Ballard when I mentioned that it was a spin-off of Bosch.
So we started watching Bosch, thinking a 7 season series would keep us busy for a while Watched 2 episodes we liked enough to keep going, and it seems popular with this crowd (not to mention its staggering 97% rating on Rotten Tomatoes).
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We’ve watched 4 episodes and are enjoying it. I love the cameos from Bosch tv series and how the two worlds intersect.
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We finished season two of Yellowjackets, and I have now lost all faith in humanity. Well, what I had left, which wasn’t all that much, tbh.
János vitéz (Johnny Corncob) (1973) - dir. Marcell Jankovics
Based on the epic 1845 poem of the same name by Hungarian poet Sándor Petőfi, this simple fable of a shepherd trying to win his way back home to his love is elevated beyond its rudimentary folk story via absolutely stunning animation, inspired very directly by 1968’s Yellow Submarine, as well as Hungarian folk art. It was commissioned by the Hungarian govt. as a celebration of Petőfi’s 150th birthday. It is also the first ever Hungarian animated film.
This is an absolute wonder to behold. The simple, rounded designs of people and flowers transition via flashing spirals and twisting fractal-like branches. Note how elegantly a few simple blobs of color suggest a face and shadow and a level of detail that isn’t actually there. Jankovics would continue his work as an animated filmmaker, with his absolutely STUNNING masterpiece (and I don’t use that work lightly) Son of the White Mare in 1981, a fantastic psychedelic telling of Hungarian folk tales.
Johnny Corncob is a beautiful film and notable achievement. It’s astonishing at all the fabulous stuff that was going on behind the iron curtain back in the Cold War days that is only in the last few years starting to be made available to a worldwide audience. I can’t wait to see what other undiscovered treasures exist.
4 out of 5 flashing mandalas and at least a few characters that are clearly relatives of the Blue Meanies.
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Finished watching both seasons of Severance, very good and hopefully they’ll do another season.
Also finished Murderbot which was a fun show, again hoping that they do a second season.
I’m digging my free 3 month trial for Apple + TV and I’ll probably keep the subscription after it expires.
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Both shows have been renewed.
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Nice 
Bosch was excellent, the final season was the weakest in my opinion. I might watch Ballard, but I can’t handle all the stupid commercials that they force me to watch. I ruins my vibe 
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Yeah, that sucked indeed. I couldn’t forever figure out where I’d seen the main actor before. Took scrolling thru imdb to realize it was from Deadwood.
Which actor are you talking about?
