Category: Good Watch

There’s far too much streaming content for me to absorb right now. There’s a ton I want to watch, and some I want to watch again (and again, and again). So how do I choose? There are several factors, but one of them is if someone I trust gives it a ringing endorsement. Sometimes it works (Ozark), and sometimes it doesn’t (the Witcher). These are ones that work. Generally, I’m discussing TV shows, but a short or small budget movie may get a nod.

Note well that these aren’t detailed reviews. Rather, I try to let you know *why* I liked it. Unlike professional influencers …. I mean, movie critics, I’m not going to scientifically break down the work. I’m not qualified, and my subjective opinion is no better than anyone else’s. Instead, if you understand *why* I like it (or don’t), then you’ll have a better idea as to whether *you* may like it.

Emotional Watch: The Midnight Sky. I Liked It, but You Probably Won’t. @midnightskymov @netflix #GoodWatch #MidnightSky

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When I provide my opinion of movies and TV shows, I try to explain why I liked them. That is, I share a personality trait or life experience that likely made me like or dislike it. If you and I share that trait or experience that the movie or show triggered, then you can reasonably rely on my review. Otherwise, my opinion shouldn’t mean anything to you.

For example, imagine you’re a professional food critic. You tell me that there’s this new product from Kraft called, let’s say, Cocktoasten. You tell me that the combination of herbs and spices are phenomenal and like nothing you’ve ever tasted. I should absolutely try it. The problem is that it’s simply a new form of mac and cheese, and I hate cheese. (I know, I know. That’s weird. Try to stay focused on my point.) It doesn’t matter how good the cheese is; it’s cheese, so I hate it. That’s true of any food. It’s all subjective and pretending that your critique is solely objective is dishonest to your audience and probably yourself.

Clearly, the same thing is true of movies and TV shows, though it’s anymore complex analysis. Certain themes draw some of us in that may leave others uninspired. These often override any objective measures of filmmaking (though these measures are still important). After all, I liked Green Lantern. Because movie and TV critics tend to arrogantly think that their opinions are objective truths, I never listen to them.

The Midnight Sky

This movie is getting hammered by the critics, and obliterated by the audience, and I understand why. It’s not good storytelling, bouncing between two stories that meet at the end in the most predictable of ways. Some people make some dumb decisions along the way. Nevertheless, I really liked it. Why? Because it hit a particularly strong chord with me. As predictable as the ending is, sharing this nature of this chord would be a massive spoiler. That demonstrates yet another reason why reviews should be taken with a grain of salt. The things that may turn you off or on may not be sharable.

I can’t expect anyone else to like this movie, but if there’s a lesson in this post, it’s that ultimately you must form your own opinions, which can vary wildly from the masses. Hence, the notion of guilty pleasures. Unfortunately, with all the content out there and limited time to watch, that can be frustrating.

Obviously, YMMV.

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Nostalgic Watch: Cobra Kai, Season 3 @CobraKaiSeries @Netflix #GoodWatch #CobraKai #NoMercy

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As you probably know, YouTube left the “original streaming content” business and sold Cobra Kai to Netflix. Season 3 dropped yesterday, and of course I watched all 5 hours of it immediately, even though it’s not all good.

First off, the good. These writers know how to appeal to the nostalgia, in part because the Karate Kid intellectual property was their favorite. Almost every moment with Daniel, Johnny, and the other characters from the movies hits old guys like me (52 years and counting) right in the gut. They also know how to write in general. The scripts flow brilliantly from one scene to the other. I hate flashbacks, but even that works here.

Now for the bad. As I said, I’m an old guy. The entire storyline surrounding the kids is uninteresting to me. I know why they’re doing it — that’s what the entire intellectual property is about — but I’ve never understood my fellow nerds’ obsession with child protagonists. Hunger Games, Harry Potter, Ender’s Game … none of those interest me. Our primary function as adults is to protect children, not to worship them or even place them as equals. It’s a dynamic I always found weird (and counterproductive), so as an old guy, I just don’t care about the conflict between the kids, and the unrealistic portrayal of what they can do.

In fact, there are many problems with how the show deals with the law, and, sadly, martial arts itself, but as I’ve written about in other contexts, that’s almost always the case. Sometimes you have to beat the audience over the head with overstatement and extreme imagery in order for them to get your point. Ergo, we have Hollywood’s unofficial mantra: Never let the law, science, or common sense get in the way of a good story. Who am I to judge? I love the MCU. 🙂

Again, I don’t fault the writers. This is what the Karate Kid is all about, and they’re not just writing for me. I’ve just outgrown the original genre. But despite that, this show is still fantastic because, unlike many writers, these writers know how to write for multiple audiences. Based on what I’ve seen recently, that’s apparently not an easy feat.

There’s just too much in this show I love for me to be distracted by the things I don’t. I’m looking forward to season 4. As always, YMMV.

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Uncertain Watch: Replicas @replicas_movie @hbomax #GoodWatch #replica

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Replica is yet another movie addressing the nature of the human mind, and whether we could transplant human consciousness from one mind to another. There are a lot of problems with this movie. Disconnected writing, terrible special effects, and cheesy dialogue plague it. To make matters worse, the story needs to cover far more ground than it can in 1 hour and 45 minutes. As a result, characters accept without question revelations that should be mind-shattering. There’s no time for them to come to terms with this information.

All that said, I’ve learned to focus on the ideas that these movies raise rather than how they address them. Who cares if the movie doesn’t handle an issue thoroughly (or even correctly)? My brain does a pretty good job of considering those issues, at least to the extent of my own knowledge base. That works for me.

So, I guess that means I liked it. Replicas is streaming on HBO Max. As always, YMMV.

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Great Watch: Richard Jewell @hbomax #GoodWatch #RichardJewell

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I have a lot of streaming services. This week, I shifted back to HBO Max to watch a couple of movies. First up was Richard Jewell.

First off, this was a great movie about how the FBI railroaded a hero, Richard Jewell. Clint Eastwood knows how to tell a story, and the fact that this was true (more or less) makes it all the more impactful.

I don’t ever want to get political on this blog, but every so often it’s unavoidable. Being a cop is hard work, and being a good cop cuts against human nature. Only those people capable of living up to a heightened standard should become cops, and that occurs only with training. If you’re not capable of putting the public’s interest in catching the bad guys ahead of your own career goals, you aren’t living up to that standard. It’s frustrating knowing cops like that are out there, but it’s important to acknowledge and address it. It also makes for good storytelling.

But cops aren’t the only ones under the microscope in this movie. So are the rest of us.

Richard Jewell is streaming on HBO Max. As always, YMMV.

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Good Watch: The Last Six Episodes of Star Wars: The Clone Wars @StarWars @disneyplus #StarWars #Disney

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Some time ago, I watched the first couple of episodes of the Clone Wars and was bored to tears. With all the content I need to watch, I have no time for a show to “get good after a few seasons.” However, with the success of the Mandalorian and its apparent tie-ins to the Clone Wars, I was told to watch the last few episodes just to get some good context.

I really enjoyed those last few episodes, but not because of the tie in to the Mandalorian. Six episodes didn’t give me enough context to develop any connection to Ahsoka Tano nor to the Mandalorian, Bo-Katan Kryze. Instead, I loved that the show’s ending ran parallel with Revenge of the Sith — right down to the music — but managed to have its own ending. Unlike a large (or at least vocal) number of you that hated Revenge of the Sith, I thought it was one of the best of the films from all three trilogies (though none of them beat Rogue One as far as I’m concerned). It was as if I was watching an extended cut of that movie; same movie, but with new content. So, for an entirely different reason, it was a really good watch.

I still think bringing back Maul cheapens his (and everyone else’s) death. As always, YMMV.

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Great Watch: The Queen’s Gambit @anyataylorjoy @SangsterThomas @netflix

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Stop what you’re doing right now and watch this. Don’t argue; just do it.

The Queen’s Gambit is a fictional account of an orphan who grows up to be a chess grandmaster. That doesn’t sound exciting, but it is. The limited series, 7 episodes of less than an hour each, started very strong, dragged in the middle a bit, then finished remarkably. It was very well done and worth your watch.

This show is worth the hype you’ve heard. As always, YMMV.

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Stale Watch: The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel @MaiselTV @PrimeVideo

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My Amazon Prime has now led me to season 1 of the Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. Sometimes I don’t like what everyone else does, but at least I get why. Here, I don’t understand it. This is the most overrated show I’ve ever seen. It’s a show about a stand-up comic, and three episodes in, and I haven’t laughed once. Not a single joke was funny, and I laugh at everything.

“Two lips; three lipsticks.”

Why is everyone laughing at this?

Even Tony Shaloub and Kevin Pollak, who have been great in everything they’ve ever done before, fell flat in this. I haven’t got even up yet, but this is yet another reason I won’t be renewing my Amazon Prime subscription.

Clearly, I’m alone on this hill, but I can’t figure out why. As always, YMMV.

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Good Watch: Catastrophe @SharonHorgan @robdelaney @PrimeVideo

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Running through Amazon Prime has brought me to season 1 of the Expanse and Bosch, and all of Man in the High Castle and the Boys. My latest watch is Catastrophe, which like the Boys before it was too good to stop watching.

It’s an easy watch. Each of the four season are only six episodes of less than 25 minutes each. The story centers around a one-week stand in London between and American man and an Irish woman. It results in an unplanned pregnancy, which in turn leads to a marriage. The humor, and how it’s delivered, are right up my alley.

Eventually, it takes on a completely different tone. The humor suffers a bit as a result, but it didn’t disappear, and I still really liked it where the show went. I say that despite not being able to relate to the story in a significant way. I’ve never been married, and this show is in large part about problems that arose in a marriage.

I also have to say that it was a pleasant surprise to see Carrie Fisher one last time. As always, YMMV.

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Good Watch: The Boys @KarlUrban @JackQuaid92 @antonystarr @ErinMoriarty_ @KarenFukuhara @chacecrawford @lazofficial @The_JessieT @TheBoysTV @PrimeVideo

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I had until November 25, to finish watching everything Amazon Prime has to offer. I ran out of time, but not before finishing both seasons of the Boys. My plan was to watch season one of as many shows as possible, but the Boys was so good that I couldn’t stop.

The show was part comedy, part drama (more drama) in which superheroes are real but are as flawed as the rest of us. Think about how screwed up you’d behave if there were no consequences. Pretty ugly, huh? Well, these guys are worse, or at least what we hope is worse.

It was good enough that I decided to pay Amazon Prime for another month.

Up next are Catastrophe and Carnival Road. As always, YMMV.

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Good Watch: Bosch, Season One @welliver_titus @JamieHector @lancereddick @aquino_amy @BoschAmazon @PrimeVideo

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I have until November 25, to finish watching everything Amazon Prime has to offer. Due to the conflicting advice I’ve gotten, I’ve decided to watch season 1 of as many shows as possible. I just finished season one of Bosch.

Bosch was good, but not great. It’s not because of the acting — I love Lance Riddick in everything he does — or the writing. I think it’s a matter of the genre. Despite my love of The Shield, I’m not into cop shows. Many people think that The Wire was one of the greatest, if not the greatest, show ever to hit television. I couldn’t make it through the first season. I was bored.

I mean something *else* on TV.

Despite my ho-hum approach to cop shows, I still liked it, so if you’re into the genre, you may very well love it. Also, as I said, I liked the cast, and the story was reasonably compelling. It’s just not enough to get me to extend my Amazon Prime subscription.

Up next, season one of The Boys. As always, YMMV.

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