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Been wondering about that.

does a great job of balancing the sex/comedy with the main character’s feminism & there are really good emotional beats … i am already crazy about jake johnson which helps obv but i think if you dont know him or anyone it would still be great going in cold
for real everyone in this is excellent - the writing is SO good

what is up with Adam Scott's face in it?

Nothing personal - but I’d be reluctant to do shrooms or acid with him… His shapeshifting face keeps giving me flashbacks of other actors including: Griffin Dunne in After Hours, the young Tom Cruise, Robin Stewart (Ross Newman in Aussie soap Sons & Daughters)… and there’s something about his pinched mouth that’s a bit disturbing.

jokes aside, I think his facial expressions and makeup are different between the inside/outside

I would like to not recommend Pieces of Her, which is a mess and only half-saved by Toni Collette.

i’m finally watching Lovecraft Country and it’s fucking incredible

Some amazing episodes. Still really upset it didn't get a second season

I’m amazed it got commissioned at all. More episodes would have been great but i’m grateful for what we got.

I didn’t think I would be blown away by a series so soon after Severance but wow, Pachinko. Beautiful acting and writing, visually gorgeous, and just the way the story jumps between the past and the future, intercutting between different locations and languages is incredible. it’s a delicate balancing act but it’s done so well.

I’ve not read the book but am tempted to pick it up now.

Somebody recommended the book to me but I never got around to it/pvmic

watching w/ my wife who read the book and pointed out two things that surprised her. 1 is that the book is more chronological, and I guess they couldn't do that with the TV version as it wouldn't have been as interesting? Maybe it'd been more epic but there's too much story. The other is that we've only seen the smallest smidgen, she said Solomon's story was like just a tiny bit.

Just starting WeCrashed and getting Tommy Wiseau vibes from Jordan Catalano.
I'm not too happy about everything on AppleTV getting released episode by episode on Fridays!

Yeah, I guess it's kind of a pileup if you are watching more than one.

I started Billions and watched a few eps in a row. I think it would be a largely mediocre show if not for the performances, esp the two leads, but they make it fun to watch and the writing has its moments in spite of all the cliches, and I like that they didn't dumb down the legal/financial stuff too much. I like a lot of the supporting characters at Axelrod's shop too, some feel very real. There's something a little bit samey about the female characters, like they all give off the same icy, calculating vibe.

The premise that the US Atty's wife not only works for Axelrod but is his confidant and the confidant of all his employees doesn't really sit right with me. I'm sure it's setting us up for all kinds of deep conflicts and plot twists, but why would Axelrod feel comfortable with her working there?

Tommy Wiseau vibes from Jordan Catalano.

A fair observation, but worth noting that the character is still quite naive in the first couple of episodes.

I'm liking WeCrashed so far, but I'm 3 episodes in, suddenly they have 10k 'members' at the summer camp and I'm a bit vague on what a member is, how many staff they have, what sort of money people are paying to rent the spaces, who those people are, x1 million (I haven't read much about the company in real life at all) - I'm assuming that's to come, and I understand that the show is about the personalities, but my brain needs some kind of businessy facts to hang onto!

the members are people who are paying for office space in their spaces; there are also employees of wework (they are not members, but I believe both groups were involved in those camps). this was pretty confusing to my wife as well.

Thanks, that's what I guessed, but also found it a bit confusing that so many people would go to a party held by the landlord of their office space - I guess if it's free and there's more t-shirt cannons and numerous opportunities to repeatedly yell "WORK!" in a huge crowd, you may as well?? Particularly at the 'Anne Hathaway Listens' session that was all about terrible employee issues that presumably the clients don't know/care about, and that made me wonder what contracts clients sign?
They were worried about it being reported in the NY Times or whatever it was but if that were my employees bringing up fuck closets I would not want my customers hearing about it either. Anyway I'm going to watch more now :)

i watched the first episode of acapulco on the plane and i couldn’t help loving it. voltaire by the numbers but it looks gorgeous and it’s cast very well by which i mainly mean the lead actor is sensationally handsome

xp I have some friends who work in a coworking space (not WeWork, but the trend definitely spread out around the time they were rolling) and it's a mix of small start-up type companies that need some space for working/meetings, some freelancers who need the same, and some remote workers who don't want to work alone in a home office all day.

I think it's definitely a switch-up from a traditional workspace in that there's both a social networking things when it comes to the start-up people and a genuine need for social connection from remote workers who want to go into an office and work around others. I think, depending on your situation, this is either a completely foreign or very relatable thing after the last couple years

has anyone tried Tokyo Vice yet? i'm intrigued bc of Michael Mann but haven't seen anyone talking about it at all and it does star charisma black hole Ansel Elgort

I like it. I'm hoping more episodes will be directed by Mann, who has only directed the premiere so far. My suspicion is that the finale might have him back in, but I'm not holding my breath.

Elgort's character is definitely lacking in charisma and it mostly plays as he's supposed to be this naive-ish idealistic american type who has great japanese language skills and overrates himself on every other aspect. I don't think they've quite sold the "goofy american makes inroads through dogged perseverance" angle, but if you accept that others are using his outsider status as a means to an end, it plays a bit better.

The rest of the cast is solid, imo. There are several overly demonstrative "you can't do that in japan, this is how it is!" scenes that are fine (for me) because the audience is randos watching HBO

Elgort's character is definitely lacking in charisma and it mostly plays as he's supposed to be this naive-ish idealistic american type who has great japanese language skills and overrates himself on every other aspect. I don't think they've quite sold the "goofy american makes inroads through dogged perseverance" angle, but if you accept that others are using his outsider status as a means to an end, it plays a bit better.

There was a good scene in the most recent episode where he pretends his Japanese is much worse than it is in order to get an interview subject to loosen up and reveal things to him. It's pretty funny and well done.

first two eps of Tokyo Vice were solid but damn i wish it starred anyone other than Elgort, he's both a shitty actor and a shitty person. and his floppy hair is stupid.
also how many times will they do the scene where a Japanese character says something mean to Elgort and then there's a pause before they grin to show that it was just a joke. i swear they've done it like four times so far.

the running bit where his coworkers pretend they don't understand his jokes in order to mess with him usually lands

"jake-san, you had sex with my mother?! why would you do that?"

Slow Horses finally had a very strong episode with its penultimate episode. I’ve been finding it a bit uneven as a series and dragging in places, but this episode ratcheted up the tension very effectively.

Didn't realise that was the penultimate ep. I find AppleTV's interface incredibly annoying

Six episodes in and I keep getting more and more impressed with Halo, again to my real surprise. I'm still not calling it first tier as an sf series but it's absolutely top class of the level just below, and I absolutely did not expect this most recent episode to end with a sequence that felt like a live action Miyazaki film more than anything as well as a piece of music specifically composed and created by Colin Stetson.

Nice. Had also assumed it would be terrible so will now check it out.

Tons of layoffs today at Netflix, sounds like.

I had no idea they even had a writing wing. Maybe they should have promoted that site instead of just laying off the staff because people didn’t magically find it?

$30 million per episode of Stranger Things tho

Add me to the chorus of praise for Somebody Somewhere.

Prime is just the worst at promoting their shows. Second season of Undone out today but, despite watching the first season, not appearing anywhere on the front pages for me without actively searching it out.

Ah, thanks for the heads up, I loved the first season

Been watching some of the different region versions of a single concept on Amazon Prime: get ten comedians in a room for six hours, they have to try not to laugh, last one to laugh wins. It's called Last One Laughing in most versions, though the Japanese version is confusingly called Documental. It is also the best of the lot, with the worst one I've seen so far being the French one.

All the versions are kinda fascinating tho because seeing these people carry on insane conversations, clearly designed to make each other laugh, with these stone cold expressions, it ends up feeling like Beckett or something (one contestant in the Canadian version actually namedropped Waiting For Godot). And some ppl end up just shouting and screaming at everyone, or breaking into tears.

One thing that makes the Japanese version more fun is the conceit is that these comedians are each contributing money and the winner gets all, so you get interviews with participants talking about borrowing money from their families or "loan companies" (pretty sure they mean the yakuza!). In every other incarnation the money just goes to "a charity of your choice", ppl less likely to bring their A game. It's also the most hardcore about the rules, any hint of a smirk gets penalised.

In the Canadian one Caroline Rhea takes out some frankfurter sausages from the fridge, says "what could I do with this? oh, it's not that kind of show". Meanwhile by episode two of the Japanese version they're sticking each other's testicles in a vacuum cleaner.

Canadian version has some dumb gimmicks but Tom Green, Mae Martin, Colin Mochrie all in fine form and the humour is probably closest to my own.

German version is....ok.

French version absolutely the worst I've seen, horrible garish set, no effort made to enforce the rules, contestants all happy to see each other instead of close to having a nervous breakdown, terrible stuff all around.

Meanwhile by episode two of the Japanese version they're sticking each other's testicles in a vacuum cleaner.

and... they're trying to make each other laugh...?

I can't really speak for anyone else but anyone who comes near my testicles with a vacuum cleaner isn't getting a wry chuckle, they're getting some fast-flying knuckles

mr. ballsyflakes over here throwing hands

That's not the reaction I'd expect from someone named castanuts.

Squirrels to the castanuts.

I have to say...Life and Beth, the Amy Schumer series, is WAAAAAY better than you'd expect it to be. It's really good.

I've watched a few of the Last One Laughing family and the Australian one was easily my favourite. The Mexican one felt a bit too much like Big Brother or some other reality show.

The Japanese one descends into chaos very quickly and is a tough watch. Trying to make someone laugh by giving them a happy ending massage while putting on a funny voice, or by peeing in their drink while they watch doesn't travel the world well I don't think.

In every other incarnation the money just goes to "a charity of your choice", ppl less likely to bring their A game.

I’ve only seen the Australian version, but iirc the money went to the winner - at least, there was very pointed ribbing from eg mid-40s contestants who live in share houses against eg contestants on $500k+ pa who hid in the kitchen to try and skate through.

Good on Australia, need to check that one out then.

and... they're trying to make each other laugh...?

I'd think the objective there is to make the other eight people not directly involved laugh. It's that old Mel Brooks adage, tragedy is when I stub my toe, comedy is when you fall down a manhole cover.

The Japanese one descends into chaos very quickly and is a tough watch.

I agree it can be hard to watch but I enjoy that it's the version that comes closest to avante garde theatre. No luvvy nonsense or "so honoured to be in this competition with a true comedy legend" patter, everyone taking it 1000% seriously, almost feels like watching an athletic competition at times too.

A friend insisted I sign up for Apple TV+ and watch Severance (without reading anything about it first). I’m now two episodes in. Not sure why exactly he thought I would go for this particular series… If I’m not intrigued by this point, should I keep putting the time in?

The tone shifts a little but I don't think it would be for the better if you're not hooked after two.

It is well-liked on this board if that influences your decision. I think it picks up pace around episode 3/4 but I found it interesting from episode 1

It builds nicely

"I have to say...Life and Beth, the Amy Schumer series, is WAAAAAY better than you'd expect it to be. It's really good."

yeah it's excellent, one of the few things in recent memory we sat down and watched the entirety of in one sitting. feels like it didn't get the attention it deserved because people hate her for reasons that are generally bewildering to me. Also, the cooking show she did with her husband over quarantine was worth watching. The Michael Cera character is clearly based on him.