Oh those pesky typos when you write late at night — luckily I could fix them on the app (and the site), with the press of a button. Another reason to not just read the email version! So this is my reminder to either get the free app, which is great, or click over to the online site. (Which is, as another reminder: timgoodman.substack.com
I agree with you about "We Were the Lucky Ones," it did become cohesive and moving, I have one more episode to go. I can't help but think of it as the story of how the people ended up on the other side of the wall in "Zone of Interest," told in excruciating detail.
I loved Shogun. We are so used to a big battle putting an ending to a story about warfare but I thought the ending was so very appropriate to illuminating the Japanese culture.
I had a bit of a problem getting into Ripley, I found him such a cold fish and too old frankly for the role but it did win me over, not the least of which was because of the gorgeous cinematography. Each frame was exquisitely composed and the period production design was impeccable.
I really REALLY wanted to like Ripley. As compelling as the cast and the incredible visuals and cinematography are, it's just leaving me cold. I've made it through four episodes and, if I wasn't an OCD completist, I'd probably leave it behind.
Shōgun, on the other hand, was fantastic. I loved the pacing, the incredible attention to detail and the cultural/historical aspects that the original miniseries just didn't have. I didn't miss a big battle because it would have been superfluous, the book was really about strategy and political scheming. Cosmo Jarvis and Anna Sawai were truly great and I thought the romantic connection between them was actually more effective than in the book or the miniseries (I can still see Richard Chamberlain trying to convince us that he felt any attraction whatsoever to Yôko Shimada's Mariko and utterly failing).
Very excited to see if Under the Bridge is as good as I want it to be. Looking forward to starting We Were the Lucky Ones in a few days. Not sure why I feel so disinterested In Parish but I loved Monsieur Spade. Waiting to be in the mood for The Gentlemen.
I think everybody already knows my feelings on Fallout...
Ha. Great minds think alike. I just posted this, too. I didn’t say it in my original comment but I just prefer a good old broadcast (or USA blue sky) show over the “prestige” version of mid. I just think it’s more honest instead of pretending it’s a Very Important TV Show. So I am currently watching “Psych” and “The Vampire Diaries”. Why substitute when you can get the pure confection instead!
There are so many “it” shows I am not watching! I really got into 3 Body Problem but haven’t felt moved to try any of the other new shiny streaming shows people are talking about. I will be watching Shogun with family in a few weeks. So I at least have that one on the schedule! Looking forward to listening to your podcast when I finish that one.
Regarding “extra” streaming services like AMC+. I cancelled all of them in February. My new rule going forward is I subscribe to one at a time, and I don’t hit subscribe until I have a plan. While money is a factor, it’s also about feeling overwhelmed and also oddly guilty if I am not using a service. For example, I don’t plan to subscribe to AMC+ until all of Interview With the Vampire Season 2 has dropped. I also want to see Dark Winds Season 2. Maybe I will add one more show to watch but I think that’s enough. Otherwise I find myself subscribed for half a year while watching nothing (and feeling bad about it!). Ditto for BritBox and Acorn.
I have heard good things about Fallout but after my unhappy experience watching The Last of Us, I am skipping that show. This may break a critic’s heart but genre/taste matters. Even if a show is viewed as “the best” by critics, if it’s a genre I dislike, there’s a minimal chance I am going to enjoy it. This is an adult conclusion I have come to. That doesn’t mean I won’t occasionally be adventurous but I am through with apocalypse shows that aren’t called “Station Eleven” for the foreseeable future.
I put the streaming services' renewal dates on my Google Calendar so I can be sure to cancel them before I get charged for another month if I'm not currently watching anything, so I hear you! It's kind of remarkable how easy it is to cancel a streaming service vs. how impossible it used to be to cancel cable. SNL even did a sketch about it a few years ago. https://youtu.be/V5DeDLI8_IM?si=0_e8MBwFPUJOb_BM
I'm watching We Were the Lucky Ones and I'll see it through, but I'm still struggling with who's who. Is he a son, a son-in-law, a brother from another mother? If I was really invested, I'd have remedied that by rewinding and rewatching until I got it.
I'm loving A Gentleman in Moscow and wishing I could binge it. Ewan McGregor doesn't disappoint as a count who's gone from riches to rags. His character is an interesting mix of sophistication and a dangerous naivety.
I watched Baby Reindeer. I belong to a couple of TV groups on Facebook and I've yet to see a meh review. It seems that people either love or hate it. Same with Ripley.
And I'm watching A Spy Among Friends for the fourth time. I can't adequately explain my fascination. Maybe I'm the victim of some excellent spy craft.
I confirm your Baby reindeer theory! I found it great! !
My sister, the more empathetic side of the two siblings, was devastated by the whole series and even threw up during episode 4 from the emotional charge.
Oh, and mark me down as all-in on ‘Ripley’. Luminous on the screen. The Ansel Adams worthy cinematography even levitates on an iPad, but you shouldn’t, I happened to be on the road and then waited until I got home to be enthralled by every single shot. It was too dour for my friends, who I think preferred the more sunny side up ambiguity of “The Talented Mr. Ripley”. Even though it’s a bit of a downer, real sociopaths ain’t bubbly folks, the script was taut and coherent. Took awhile to realize Dickie Greenleaf was Johnny Flynn. He didn’t have to do much but look like a weather beaten Calvin Klein model who survived the car wreck alongside Montgomery Clift, yet that was all it really took!
I hear you on “Monsieur Spade” - I even posted here that you should watch it. I struggled to care enough to finish the last few episodes. I eventually finished it but it was mostly something to play while doing something else.
I can’t, however, figure out why that is or what about it made me wane. Far from a hate watch but felt like it needed to be finished.
Just watched the first episode of ‘Fallout’. That’s an audacious beginning. Just when you thought it couldn’t get weirder…looking forward to more. The feeling was like seeing ‘Pulp Fiction’ on release - here’s something different and confident in its own skin.
‘WWTLOnes’ first episode made Poland seem like it’s Brooklyn adjacent. I wasn’t hooked, but I’ll try to get over the heavy hump.
Summoning up the vapors from an earlier played out concern, ‘True Detective: Half Baked Alaska’ surprisingly redeemed itself once they put the spooky aspect to rest. It was a good rendering of a cynical anti-social community holding on to a shred of dignity in the face of corruption at every level. (2¢)
Taking it slow with Shōgun, stretching it out like a bag of Halloween candy.
Oh those pesky typos when you write late at night — luckily I could fix them on the app (and the site), with the press of a button. Another reason to not just read the email version! So this is my reminder to either get the free app, which is great, or click over to the online site. (Which is, as another reminder: timgoodman.substack.com
I agree with you about "We Were the Lucky Ones," it did become cohesive and moving, I have one more episode to go. I can't help but think of it as the story of how the people ended up on the other side of the wall in "Zone of Interest," told in excruciating detail.
I loved Shogun. We are so used to a big battle putting an ending to a story about warfare but I thought the ending was so very appropriate to illuminating the Japanese culture.
I had a bit of a problem getting into Ripley, I found him such a cold fish and too old frankly for the role but it did win me over, not the least of which was because of the gorgeous cinematography. Each frame was exquisitely composed and the period production design was impeccable.
I really REALLY wanted to like Ripley. As compelling as the cast and the incredible visuals and cinematography are, it's just leaving me cold. I've made it through four episodes and, if I wasn't an OCD completist, I'd probably leave it behind.
Shōgun, on the other hand, was fantastic. I loved the pacing, the incredible attention to detail and the cultural/historical aspects that the original miniseries just didn't have. I didn't miss a big battle because it would have been superfluous, the book was really about strategy and political scheming. Cosmo Jarvis and Anna Sawai were truly great and I thought the romantic connection between them was actually more effective than in the book or the miniseries (I can still see Richard Chamberlain trying to convince us that he felt any attraction whatsoever to Yôko Shimada's Mariko and utterly failing).
Very excited to see if Under the Bridge is as good as I want it to be. Looking forward to starting We Were the Lucky Ones in a few days. Not sure why I feel so disinterested In Parish but I loved Monsieur Spade. Waiting to be in the mood for The Gentlemen.
I think everybody already knows my feelings on Fallout...
Hey Tim, I'm curious if you've read Jamies Poniewozik's article about "mid TV"? https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/27/arts/television/mid-tv.html?unlocked_article_code=1.nk0.vGZ8.r33IHaCrBxuQ&smid=url-share
Ha. Great minds think alike. I just posted this, too. I didn’t say it in my original comment but I just prefer a good old broadcast (or USA blue sky) show over the “prestige” version of mid. I just think it’s more honest instead of pretending it’s a Very Important TV Show. So I am currently watching “Psych” and “The Vampire Diaries”. Why substitute when you can get the pure confection instead!
There are so many “it” shows I am not watching! I really got into 3 Body Problem but haven’t felt moved to try any of the other new shiny streaming shows people are talking about. I will be watching Shogun with family in a few weeks. So I at least have that one on the schedule! Looking forward to listening to your podcast when I finish that one.
Regarding “extra” streaming services like AMC+. I cancelled all of them in February. My new rule going forward is I subscribe to one at a time, and I don’t hit subscribe until I have a plan. While money is a factor, it’s also about feeling overwhelmed and also oddly guilty if I am not using a service. For example, I don’t plan to subscribe to AMC+ until all of Interview With the Vampire Season 2 has dropped. I also want to see Dark Winds Season 2. Maybe I will add one more show to watch but I think that’s enough. Otherwise I find myself subscribed for half a year while watching nothing (and feeling bad about it!). Ditto for BritBox and Acorn.
I have heard good things about Fallout but after my unhappy experience watching The Last of Us, I am skipping that show. This may break a critic’s heart but genre/taste matters. Even if a show is viewed as “the best” by critics, if it’s a genre I dislike, there’s a minimal chance I am going to enjoy it. This is an adult conclusion I have come to. That doesn’t mean I won’t occasionally be adventurous but I am through with apocalypse shows that aren’t called “Station Eleven” for the foreseeable future.
I put the streaming services' renewal dates on my Google Calendar so I can be sure to cancel them before I get charged for another month if I'm not currently watching anything, so I hear you! It's kind of remarkable how easy it is to cancel a streaming service vs. how impossible it used to be to cancel cable. SNL even did a sketch about it a few years ago. https://youtu.be/V5DeDLI8_IM?si=0_e8MBwFPUJOb_BM
Ah, Tim. It seems James P feels the same way as you. For everyone: gift link:
“The Comfortable Problem of Mid TV
It’s got a great cast. It looks cinematic. It’s, um … fine. And it’s everywhere.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/27/arts/television/mid-tv.html?unlocked_article_code=1.nk0.HfUu.VhBzM59_P_60&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare&sgrp=c-cb
Heh, I just posted that link a few moments ago! It summed up a lot of my own feelings of just wishing a lot of shows were better.
I'm watching We Were the Lucky Ones and I'll see it through, but I'm still struggling with who's who. Is he a son, a son-in-law, a brother from another mother? If I was really invested, I'd have remedied that by rewinding and rewatching until I got it.
I'm loving A Gentleman in Moscow and wishing I could binge it. Ewan McGregor doesn't disappoint as a count who's gone from riches to rags. His character is an interesting mix of sophistication and a dangerous naivety.
I watched Baby Reindeer. I belong to a couple of TV groups on Facebook and I've yet to see a meh review. It seems that people either love or hate it. Same with Ripley.
And I'm watching A Spy Among Friends for the fourth time. I can't adequately explain my fascination. Maybe I'm the victim of some excellent spy craft.
I confirm your Baby reindeer theory! I found it great! !
My sister, the more empathetic side of the two siblings, was devastated by the whole series and even threw up during episode 4 from the emotional charge.
Oh, and mark me down as all-in on ‘Ripley’. Luminous on the screen. The Ansel Adams worthy cinematography even levitates on an iPad, but you shouldn’t, I happened to be on the road and then waited until I got home to be enthralled by every single shot. It was too dour for my friends, who I think preferred the more sunny side up ambiguity of “The Talented Mr. Ripley”. Even though it’s a bit of a downer, real sociopaths ain’t bubbly folks, the script was taut and coherent. Took awhile to realize Dickie Greenleaf was Johnny Flynn. He didn’t have to do much but look like a weather beaten Calvin Klein model who survived the car wreck alongside Montgomery Clift, yet that was all it really took!
I hear you on “Monsieur Spade” - I even posted here that you should watch it. I struggled to care enough to finish the last few episodes. I eventually finished it but it was mostly something to play while doing something else.
I can’t, however, figure out why that is or what about it made me wane. Far from a hate watch but felt like it needed to be finished.
Just watched the first episode of ‘Fallout’. That’s an audacious beginning. Just when you thought it couldn’t get weirder…looking forward to more. The feeling was like seeing ‘Pulp Fiction’ on release - here’s something different and confident in its own skin.
‘WWTLOnes’ first episode made Poland seem like it’s Brooklyn adjacent. I wasn’t hooked, but I’ll try to get over the heavy hump.
Summoning up the vapors from an earlier played out concern, ‘True Detective: Half Baked Alaska’ surprisingly redeemed itself once they put the spooky aspect to rest. It was a good rendering of a cynical anti-social community holding on to a shred of dignity in the face of corruption at every level. (2¢)
Taking it slow with Shōgun, stretching it out like a bag of Halloween candy.
I tend to watch most things with IMDB open to enhance my experience of shows. Prime has something kind of what your suggesting but I never use it.