Agree. As for other faux band/roadie/groupie tv series goes the one that struck me as semi interesting was this one
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zoIFhON7eio.
Even tho the critics really panned it hard. The character actors in it were fun.
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I’ve read (listened) a few of the books and just finished the last one in the series. Really well written. They’re are 27 so lots of plot lines for the tv series.
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Loved the book and loved the series. LA in the 70’s is my jam. I’m old and I grew up in east Hollywood hills (Silverlake).
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My sister fully agrees with you. She really enjoyed the soundtrack. When she drives, the soundtrack is still playing.
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a really solid series. i think i’ve recommended it a few times in this thread, but its nice to see that it could find a new audience on a different streamer.
if you’re on the fence about watching, check out Season 1, ep. 5 (The Blood and the Sh-t). it’s essentially a standalone episode. should give a sense of whether it’s something you would appreciate.
We’ve been trying to get into the latest season of Couples Therapy, but keep falling asleep. I blame the super-annoying throuple 
first, our jet-lag second.
Eh.
Peter Robinson passed away Oct. 2022. I have read all of his books and watched the series. I will miss his books and wish they would make more episodes.
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I love most Tim Burton flicks, but Mars Attacks will forever remain one of my favorites. So many great scenes to choose from, but Jack Nicholson is just so very excellent in this particular scene.
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Whoa. What a wild ride this was! Dev Patel directs and stars in a revenge flick chock full of corrupt police, nasty rich people, a crew of formidable hijras, many (perhaps a few too many) very well choreographed fight scenes, and a memorable side kick.
It was an absolute thrill watching this. Pretty violent, so not for the faint of heart.
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I didn’t know that. Thanks for letting me know. So many people have passed away over the past 4 years.
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This was indeed EXCELLENT. I’ve heard it described as “The Indian ‘John Wick’” which is really a very shallow way to describe it, but one that nonetheless gets to the central appeal of the film: watching an unstoppable force trying to destroy an immovable object.
I’m the best of these sorts of films, the violence becomes a ritual, a ballet. It becomes a demonstration of physical and mental prowess. Sure, none of it is real, it’s not taking place real time like an athletic competition. But it FELLS that way.
Dev Patel has been knocking it out of the park lately. His AMAZING performance in Hereditary, then his turn in Pig, and now this. The man is going places. Can’t wait to see what’s next!
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MaXXXine (2024) - dir. Ti West
The previous two entries is the ‘Maxine’ series have been all about ‘homage’. X took its cues from 70’s exploitation, esp Texas Chainsaw Massacre. The prequel Pearl, was a riff on the Douglas Sirk melodramas and psychodramas of the 40’s. MaXXXine drops us into the mid-80’s, with bits of videocam aesthetic and lots of news footage running in the background of The Nightstalker terrorizing Los Angeles and nods to the whole ‘satanic panic’ of the time.
Like the last two, the proceedings are anchored by the fantastic Mia Goth playing Maxine. Maxine, having done away with the elderly, psychotic Pearl (also Goth) in X, is now in Hollywood, trying to move past her porn background and break into legit films, by way of a role in The Puritan II. But she’s being hounded by a sleazy P.I. named Labatt (Kevin Bacon chewing up ALL the scenery) and her friends and coworkers keep turning up dead.
Rather than pulling from 80’s slashers, this time West seems to be wanting to be Brian DePalma, circa Body Double or Dressed to Kill. And for the first time, West’s riffing falls flat. Though Goth turns in a truly great performance, the rest of the proceedings just don’t add up to much. The mystery of who’s going after Maxine is easy to guess by any fan of the series, and while there are some really neat ideas (a lot of meta-linking of the characters of Pearl and Maxine both being played by Goth), they’re not enough to sustain the 1:44 running time.
I liked it well enough, but I saw it on discount Tuesday, which felt appropriate. Folks invested in the series will want to catch it, but if you were on the fence about the previous two, you could probably skip this one.
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Wow! That sure was a wild ride. If you liked Monkey Man I think you will also like The Beekeeper on Amazon Prime.
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See, I’d disagree.
The Beekeeper (2024) - dir. David Ayer
We’ve all seen this movie. The Equalizer, John Wick, and a dozens and dozens more just like it. It has roots in the macho Arnie and Sly 80’s and the grungy, Charles Bronson 70’s.
An unstoppable, unaccountable govt assassin has retired, seeking only the small simple pleasures of life. But then somone close to him is wronged, and the system will not help them. So back in he (almost but not always: he) goes, ruthlessly killing his way to the top of the evil food chain until justice, or vengeance, is served.
And it’s a good formula. The violence can be raw and visceral (Monkey Man is a good example) or a kind of ballet of its own *(John Wick) or just laugh out loud funny (Deadpool).
But man does The Beekeeper blow it. We have Jason Statham as the killing machine, a “Beekeeper” meant to ensure the safety of the hive, a metaphor that is beaten to death throughout the runtime. Phylicia Rashad is the wronged party in a glorified cameo. Minnie Driver and Jeremy Irons somehow got roped into this and are utterly wasted. The plot proceeds in heavy, thudding footfalls, each exposition point delivered with the subtlety of a sledgehammer. The make Statham’s character a ‘man of few words’, wasting his excellent comic timing. Even the big payoff sequences as he blows up scam call centers don’t rate more than a glance, mostly to marvel at how terribly they’re lit. Almost as if having a wall-sized screensaver was only there for the movie camera.
Despite an obvious budget, this is some low tier writing and phone-it in-directing and performing.
Go rewatch one of the Bourne movies. Way better.
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I never said it was Oscar worthy, or anything original 
I just thought it was mindless fun to watch in the summer when nothing else was on.
It also hit a little close to home because last year someone hacked into my Zelle account and stole $852 which the bank refused to reimburse me for. I had to close my checking account of 42 years and open a new one (and go through the hassle of cancelling and re-setting up around 30 EFTs for various bill payments and direct deposits). I wish I had a Jason Statham to find the bastard that stole my money, and blow him up
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As a mindless bit of fluff to have on while you fold laundry, Beekeeper is an adequate and appropriate choice.
But I do like to get into the weeds about this stuff, esp genre films. And folks like different things!! There are some deeply weird and rather outré films that I love, but completely understand they are not everyone’s cup of fish.
Thank goodness for diversity of taste.
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I just found the original short film Scavengers. Which served as the basis for Scavengers Reign, currently on Netflix.
Its creators are the same pair responsible for the series.
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Stumbled onto “Why Women Kill” and was surprised I had not come across it yet given the great cast.
S1 was quite good (and clever) but dragged in parts. I wonder if that was because I was bingeing it, and it would have been smoothed out by an-episode-a-week format.
S2 also has a great cast (eg Allison Tolman of Fargo) and a different premise. I’m halfway through.
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Just because no one else has posted it yet:
https://apnews.com/article/shelley-duvall-dead-obit-2827626ebde75ac3bdfa163668e9c99c
She was incredible in The Shining, yes. But her work with Altman is what should be at the top of her resume. 3 Women, in particular, is a rivetting performance.
And of course, the fantastic Fairy Tale Theater and dozens and dozens more roles, like the best friend in Roxanne.
She might as well have been created in a lab specifically to play Olive Oyl in Altman’s Popeye, which remains a weird and curious an entry in cinema history, just as it’s sets remain in Malta, for tourists to stroll around.
RIP
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We recently started the 3rd season of Only Murders in the Building. We weren’t sure if we would, as we found the second season to be dragging, too cutesy, too… blah.
But Meryl flippin’ Streep upgrades pretty much anything she’s involved with, and Matthew Broderick adds nicely to the mix as well. Better than the last season, for sure.
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