Netflix Diary
a) The Wolfman
The wife was excited to see this one. It was alright, I enjoyed the visual atmosphere and the special effects, they did a pretty good job of doing something new with an old concept. But the story wasn't very involving and J.G. guessed the twist very early on, so I wasn't really on the edge of my seat.
b) Sherlock Holmes
I've always been pretty strongly disinterested in Guy Ritchie movies, but apparently if you give him a good star, a classic character and someone else's script, his stuff can be pretty fun and snappy, I really enjoyed this, kinda want them to do more of these.
c) A Serious Man
I have a lot of trust in and affection for the Coens, and this seemed like it had potential to be their best in a while, but I dunno, it didn't fully connect with me. I don't know if the more ambiguous or ineffable aspects just went over my head or what, but it just felt kind of incomplete, when it didn't feel like a less engaging re-do of Barton Fink. Maybe I could grow to really like this, though, but I don't think I'll ever love it.
d) Jennifer's Body
I totally understand why this flopped and it was probably always positioned very awkwardly on the twin houses of cards that are Diablo Cody and Megan Fox's careers, but taken for what it is and nothing more, it's a really entertaining and weird and goofy and gorey horror flick, would definitely recommend it.
e) "Damages," Season 2
As great as the first season was, it felt like such a self-contained story that I was apprehensive about them being able to create another season that was as good. I have to say, though, they really went the fuck in on this, I loved how they deepened the storylines continued from the first season while picking up a bunch of new threads, and fleshed out minor characters from season 1 and show how they were tangled up in ways you had no idea of at the time.
f) "Mad Men," Season 1
I feel like I'm treading on the same ground as the time I dissed "Friday Night Lights" and a commenter spazzed out on me, but honestly this show ain't all that. Maybe the stories and characters get a little deeper and more lived in in subsequent seasons, but so far for me it still feels like a Wikipedia entry come to life, way too much cramming context and historical commentary into the storytelling. The way people use "Oscar bait" as a pejorative, I gotta say this is serious Emmy bait, and sometimes I feel like I'm just watching the wardrobe and set design people earn their awards while the writers just kinda skate by.
g) "Slings & Arrows," Season 3
I messed up and put the 3rd season of this on my queue after watching the 1st, and got through a few episodes before I even realized it wasn't the 2nd season, although I should've suspected something by the way the chronology seemed to skip way forward. Great end to a really strong show, though, and now I have to go back and watch the middle that I missed.
h) "The West Wing," Season 6
I'm digging the Santos/Vinick stuff, like the direction they took with the election thing in the last couple seasons so far, had been looking forward to this once the post-Sorkin era got off to its rocky start. Now I'm feeling some good momentum to finish watching the series.
i) "The Shield," Season 1
This is kinda like "Mad Men" where I've always strongly suspected it's not my thing but decided to give it a chance since I've got plenty of time to try to get into shows on DVD these days. And while I respect that this show obviously laid the groundwork for a lot of the current FX shows I really like ("Damages," "Sons of Anarchy," "Justified"), I'm just not too into this, don't know if I'll finish the season. I kind of hate when shows set the bar so high for how dark and ugly they're willing to be right off the bat that there's really no shock value or anything, you're just immediately desensitized and it just becomes this parade of bad shit happening.
j) "Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist": The Complete Series
I watched this show a ton back in the day but hadn't seen it in a while, so I'm kinda going down memory lane with these old episodes now. I think "Home Movies" ultimately did something much better with the whole Squigglevision animation style and style of humor, though, so it pales in comparison to that now, and it really is kind of a clunky, imperfect show. Some classic bits that I've always remembered and am happy to see again, though.
The wife was excited to see this one. It was alright, I enjoyed the visual atmosphere and the special effects, they did a pretty good job of doing something new with an old concept. But the story wasn't very involving and J.G. guessed the twist very early on, so I wasn't really on the edge of my seat.
b) Sherlock Holmes
I've always been pretty strongly disinterested in Guy Ritchie movies, but apparently if you give him a good star, a classic character and someone else's script, his stuff can be pretty fun and snappy, I really enjoyed this, kinda want them to do more of these.
c) A Serious Man
I have a lot of trust in and affection for the Coens, and this seemed like it had potential to be their best in a while, but I dunno, it didn't fully connect with me. I don't know if the more ambiguous or ineffable aspects just went over my head or what, but it just felt kind of incomplete, when it didn't feel like a less engaging re-do of Barton Fink. Maybe I could grow to really like this, though, but I don't think I'll ever love it.
d) Jennifer's Body
I totally understand why this flopped and it was probably always positioned very awkwardly on the twin houses of cards that are Diablo Cody and Megan Fox's careers, but taken for what it is and nothing more, it's a really entertaining and weird and goofy and gorey horror flick, would definitely recommend it.
e) "Damages," Season 2
As great as the first season was, it felt like such a self-contained story that I was apprehensive about them being able to create another season that was as good. I have to say, though, they really went the fuck in on this, I loved how they deepened the storylines continued from the first season while picking up a bunch of new threads, and fleshed out minor characters from season 1 and show how they were tangled up in ways you had no idea of at the time.
f) "Mad Men," Season 1
I feel like I'm treading on the same ground as the time I dissed "Friday Night Lights" and a commenter spazzed out on me, but honestly this show ain't all that. Maybe the stories and characters get a little deeper and more lived in in subsequent seasons, but so far for me it still feels like a Wikipedia entry come to life, way too much cramming context and historical commentary into the storytelling. The way people use "Oscar bait" as a pejorative, I gotta say this is serious Emmy bait, and sometimes I feel like I'm just watching the wardrobe and set design people earn their awards while the writers just kinda skate by.
g) "Slings & Arrows," Season 3
I messed up and put the 3rd season of this on my queue after watching the 1st, and got through a few episodes before I even realized it wasn't the 2nd season, although I should've suspected something by the way the chronology seemed to skip way forward. Great end to a really strong show, though, and now I have to go back and watch the middle that I missed.
h) "The West Wing," Season 6
I'm digging the Santos/Vinick stuff, like the direction they took with the election thing in the last couple seasons so far, had been looking forward to this once the post-Sorkin era got off to its rocky start. Now I'm feeling some good momentum to finish watching the series.
i) "The Shield," Season 1
This is kinda like "Mad Men" where I've always strongly suspected it's not my thing but decided to give it a chance since I've got plenty of time to try to get into shows on DVD these days. And while I respect that this show obviously laid the groundwork for a lot of the current FX shows I really like ("Damages," "Sons of Anarchy," "Justified"), I'm just not too into this, don't know if I'll finish the season. I kind of hate when shows set the bar so high for how dark and ugly they're willing to be right off the bat that there's really no shock value or anything, you're just immediately desensitized and it just becomes this parade of bad shit happening.
j) "Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist": The Complete Series
I watched this show a ton back in the day but hadn't seen it in a while, so I'm kinda going down memory lane with these old episodes now. I think "Home Movies" ultimately did something much better with the whole Squigglevision animation style and style of humor, though, so it pales in comparison to that now, and it really is kind of a clunky, imperfect show. Some classic bits that I've always remembered and am happy to see again, though.
This entry was posted
on Monday, August 09, 2010 at 1:38 PM.
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Mad Men is the shit though!!