OT: Let's talk about movies (and TV shows)... Part XX

[GoodKiwi]

WTH.

Pretty sure I saw both Argos and Tiger Cats uniforms. Seemed to be a TSN feed.

 

[Runner77]

It's standard with Netflix original series. They give you an option to watch a brief (few minutes long) recap of the previous season before the new one starts playing. This recap wasn't just scenes edited together, it was narrated by one of the characters in the show. I found it to be pretty cool.

I had forgotten it was standard. I was going to watch Season 1 again, but now, I'll just go for the recap.

 

[Runner77]

I've already finished the first 3 episodes. I've got to stop.

May we have your initial assessment?

 

[GoodKiwi]

How did we get from this:



To this:



I know. Spoilers.

Hopefully it picks up.

Oh, I did not intend to spoil anything, sorry. Just sharing my personal impressions as I'm watching season 2. My "hot takes" if you will.

And, it's possible to be slightly put off by a Monet painting after staring at a Picasso one for a while. Doesn't speak to the latter being disappointing, just that the height of emotions from the first canvas is still fresh in memory. episode one was just so damn good that my body wasn't ready for it.

I'm half way through season two and I'm not intending to stop until I see the whole thing. If that's not an indication of me liking this season, I don't know what is.

And, yes, it does pick up eventually.

 

[BehindTheTimes]

It can't be a Samsung plasma if you haven't had a problem with the power supply in less than 10 years

E-v-e-r-y-o-n-e I know who's had a Samsung, no matter if it was plasma, ACL, LED or OLED, has had the damn power supply malfunction.

The fact you don't have markings anywhere is pretty strange. Printing happens before assembly. If it was just the brand, I'd say they were for internal use, but with absolutely no printing on it, I'd say they were pre-production demos.

I've had my Sammy plasma for at least 11 years. No power supply problems on my end and I can tell you the quality of the picture is better than any of my newer TV's. When this baby dies, a part of me will die with it. The picture on this thing is remarkable, I go watch the game downstairs or in the bedroom so the wife can have the TV and I can't even enjoy it. I try to explain to her and she doesn't understand what I mean. I mean the past 3 years I haven't been able to really enjoy the games on any TV, but prior to dumb and dumber I could.

 

[BehindTheTimes]

I have an old ass samsung plasma 65 inch and its all good in the hood. The only issue I have is that before it gets hot, theres a fine pixel line down the middle, lasts about 10 minutes or so, and Im a god at shooter games for those 10 minutes. And when I say hot, I mean it. That **** could warm up a whole house in winter better than a wood stove.

Agreed, mine is so damn hot. Nice in the winter, not so much with the 30 degree summers,

 

[BehindTheTimes]

I run Civ6 on a Dell Latitude 6530 with a i5 core, 8gb of ram and a 1gb nvidia intergrated video card. It runs pretty smoothly, like most games.

I use a Cooler Master and run the laptop on my flatscreen in single display mode to give some of the workload up to the TV. The laptop did get pretty hot before I got the CM.

What's your Steam handle?

Still running Civ 5. Having a hard time moving on to 6, I always seem to lag a year or two behind, I was stuck on Beyond the sword for probably 2 years longer than I should have been lol. I have an ASUS Republic of Gamers laptop with I7, 16GB ram and 2 gb nvidia card, 256 SSD and she never ever gets warm. I had an HP and it would routinely run at 95-100 degrees.

 

[BehindTheTimes]

So, understandably, Ozark has slowed down after the riot of its opening episode. Still very good, but it's back to what the show I remembered was. To be honest I'm a little let down by the sharp drop-off.

Not me, can't get enough lol.

 

[Grate n Colorful Oz]

May we have your initial assessment?

I'm up to episide 5 now, couldn't stop. This should say it all. It's better than the first season. No need to set-up the characters.

 

[Grate n Colorful Oz]

I'm pretty sure I now saw twice CFL games played on TVs in Ozark.

Isn't Ozark close to Michigan Lake? People in Illinois do watch CFL.

So, understandably, Ozark has slowed down after the riot of its opening episode. Still very good, but it's back to what the show I remembered was. To be honest I'm a little let down by the sharp drop-off.

I though there was a lot of action around ep. 4 & 5, it picks up right about there.

 

[GoodKiwi]

I'm up to episide 5 now, couldn't stop. This should say it all. It's better than the first season. No need to set-up the characters.

I felt that there was a brief valley there, but it's long over and the show has spread its wings again. Seriously great stuff.

If you're a TV series fan and you're not watching this - you're making a big mistake. I find that the second season is just on another level compared to the first one (and I liked s1 a lot).

 

[GoodKiwi]

Isn't Ozark close to Michigan Lake? People in Illinois do watch CFL.



I though there was a lot of action around ep. 4 & 5, it picks up right about there.

It's Southern Missouri I believe, close to the Arkansas state line.

 

[Grate n Colorful Oz]

It's Southern Missouri I believe, close to the Arkansas state line.

Right, forgot. They're originally from Chicago, couldn't remember which state they were in.

 

[Redux91]

I felt that there was a brief valley there, but it's long over and the show has spread its wings again. Seriously great stuff.

If you're a TV series fan and you're not watching this - you're making a big mistake. I find that the second season is just on another level compared to the first one (and I liked s1 a lot).

Lol lots of back and forth there

 

[Grate n Colorful Oz]

Lol lots of back and forth there

Just watch the ***** show already

***** envious

 

[GoodKiwi]

Lol lots of back and forth there

Why is everyone taking that comment of mine as a negative one of the show? Isn't it possible for the scale to allow for some wiggle room?

Of the 6 episodes I've watched so far there were a couple that were good. The rest though? Fantastic! Episodes like these are the ones that have you check the time left in each, not because you're bored, but because you realize you don't want it too end so quickly. I keep doing this with Ozark. I've been savoring each and every minute and keep taking breaks to prolong the experience.

Again, very very surprised by s2. Hence the range of emotion I suppose. Heck, I now love Bateman in it. That's how nuts this journey has been so far.

 

[Grate n Colorful Oz]

Why is everyone taking that comment of mine as a negative one of the show? Isn't it possible for the scale to allow for some wiggle room?

Of the 6 episodes I've watched so far there were a couple that were good. The rest though? Fantastic! Episodes like these are the ones that have you check the time left in each, not because you're bored, but because you realize you don't want it too end so quickly. I keep doing this with Ozark.

Again, very very surprised by s2. Hence the range of emotion I suppose. Heck, I now love Bateman in it. That's how nuts this journey has been so far.

Love Bateman (although never liked him) in it too. Hate Agent Petty. And the Snails are just bat**** crazy.

 

[GoodKiwi]

Love Bateman (although never liked him) in it too. Hate Agent Petty. And the Snails are just bat**** crazy.

How about the score? One of many standouts of this season so far. It underscores the tone and events perfectly.

 

[Grate n Colorful Oz]

How about the score? One of many standouts of this season so far. It underscores the tone and events perfectly.

Better than last season

 

[GoodKiwi]

Better than last season

Everything is better in s2. Just across the board.

Spoiler: Read at your own risk

As tried and true that dramatic score is at times (we've heard it before), they make it feel fresh. That moment when Linney's character tries to escape and Mosley 's one captures her is the perfect example. I really love how the score during the scene is present throughout both up-close and distant camera takes. It makes it perfect capturing the emotion of it.

 

[GoodKiwi]

Finished season two of Ozark. Was floored by it.

It's true, the camera work doesn't stand out here, at least not when measured against the very best. But it never becomes a distraction, it's self-sufficient enough to hold its own weight.

The same can't be said about writing, video/sound editing, the soundtrack and acting overall. All of those aspects shine bright here.

I have gone to both RT and Metacritic and noticed a commonality between the two... The audience scores for season 2 are leaps and bounds above those of the critic ones. After reading most negative editorials I have noticed one frequent trend - a lot of blame is being placed at the slow pace of this season. I don't understand how that can be an accurate assessment. The season is anything but slow, not by a drama standards at least.

Another criticism I kept reading about is character development. I buy that to some extent, agreeing that some characters in the show feel half-baked. Is it a deterrent to one's enjoyment here though? Not by a long shot IMO. More-so, the latest season builds a lot of that fabric up.

Linney steals the season once again IMO. She pushes her character into a new territory. She's no longer "the wife".

 

[Grate n Colorful Oz]

Finished season two of Ozark. Was floored by it.

It's true, the camera work doesn't stand out here, at least not when measured against the very best. But it never becomes a distraction, it's self-sufficient enough to hold its own weight.

The same can't be said about writing, video/sound editing, the soundtrack and acting overall. All of those aspects shine bright here.

I have gone to both RT and Metacritic and noticed a commonality between the two... The audience scores for season 2 are leaps and bounds above those of the critic ones. After reading most negative editorials I have noticed one frequent tread - a lot of blame is being placed at the slow pace of this season. I don't understand how that can be an accurate assessment. The season is anything but slow, not by a drama standards at least.

Another criticism I kept reading about is character development. I buy that to some extent, agreeing that some characters in the show feel half-baked. Is it a deterrent to one's enjoyment here though? Not by a long shot IMO. More-so, the latest season builds a lot of that fabric up.

Linney steals the season once again IMO. She pushes her character into a new territory. She's no longer "the wife".

Spoiler

The Mason bit was annoying. Kinda felt like a filler moment, although it had to happen. This is one of those characters the critics probably harped about being half baked. I know some people cannot be reasoned with when they're in a certain state of mind, still, that part was a bit over the top. I know Marty and Wendy were just trying to get out of it, but seriously, in the state he was in, I would make sure to pull the baby back once Wendy would be secure, otherwise, they're just as crazy thinking of leaving the baby with him.

Darlene is also a bit over the top. Snails wouldn't have lasted that long in the heroin biz with that kind of trigger happy crackerjack.

 

[GoodKiwi]

Spoiler

The Mason bit was annoying. Kinda felt like a filler moment, although it had to happen. This is one of those characters the critics probably harped about being half baked. I know some people cannot be reasoned with when they're in a certain state of mind, still, that part was a bit over the top. I know Marty and Wendy were just trying to get out of it, but seriously, in the state he was in, I would make sure to pull the baby back once Wendy would be secure, otherwise, they're just as crazy thinking of leaving the baby with him.

Darlene is also a bit over the top. Snails wouldn't have lasted that long in the heroin biz with that kind of trigger happy crackerjack.

Spoiler

I didn't mind either to be honest. Mason provided something we haven't seen before with Wendy - fear. He acted as a backdrop, at least to me, when it came to casting her in that light.

I also love the Snell's. They are there to break up the monotony of the "business-oriented" that encompasses the entire show. At least when it comes to the characters that really matter. They stand for something, agree or disagree, but that much is clear.

Have you noticed Marty's evolution? I gave him the benefit of the doubt in s1, but I think the writers are trying to show us the heartlessness of his this time around. It's rather subtle, but it's definitely there.

 

[BehindTheTimes]

Spoiler

The Mason bit was annoying. Kinda felt like a filler moment, although it had to happen. This is one of those characters the critics probably harped about being half baked. I know some people cannot be reasoned with when they're in a certain state of mind, still, that part was a bit over the top. I know Marty and Wendy were just trying to get out of it, but seriously, in the state he was in, I would make sure to pull the baby back once Wendy would be secure, otherwise, they're just as crazy thinking of leaving the baby with him.

Darlene is also a bit over the top. Snails wouldn't have lasted that long in the heroin biz with that kind of trigger happy crackerjack.

For me, Ozark is the best TV I've seen in awhile. Lol

 

[GoodKiwi]

For me, Ozark is the best TV I've seen in awhile. Lol

I'd put season two up against anything else released this year as the very best we've seen so far in 2018.