Could have used a few more ghosts
1 Like
I was thinking we could put NCFOM on either Saturday or pick it up next Friday. Two movies in a row is a lot for my tired mind.
I was on team Walt the first time I watched it. On my second round I was firmly not and quite horrified at myself that I ever had been.
3 Likes
The Crown starts in a few days!
1 Like
Eh, I guess that depends on if you root for him in a way thatâs morally reflective of you. I rooted for him to get out of whatever crazy mess he got himself into, even as it became increasingly clear what a bottomless pit of a human being he was. But I never thought he was a cool dude who was held back by his wet blanket bitch wife or anything like that. (That said, they could have written Skyler better-- she was always in a weird spot where she was supposed to be the moral counterpoint to Walt, but she couldnât be so moral as to just straight-up leave him, which is what she should have done.)
The most interesting moment for me in regard to Waltâs character might have been in the S5 premiere-- with Gus gone and Walt unchallenged as a kingpin, he is⌠completely at peace with himself in a way he never was before. That was really telling.
2 Likes
Did your first watch go a step further than Team Walter and escalate into seeing Skylar as an antagonist?
I think the appeal was similar to House of Cards. We love seeing a person take decisive action to get themselves out of catastrophes. Anyone who stands in the way of that process is the enemy.
Itâs similarly what I loved about All is Lost and Castaway, even though those movies feature only one character on screen for virtually the entire time. As long as that character is taking decisive action to resolve a crisis, Iâm glued to the screen.
1 Like
I was thinking about this some time ago, in regards to the Discourse about all the âtoxic white male antiheroâ types that people love but are Problematic. I think you nailed exactly why theyâre popular-- they take decisive action, and thatâs always appealing to see. Especially, I suspect, for people living in a world where they feel like decisively changing their lives in any way is functionally impossible.
(Personally, this also explains why I canât stand so many Prestige Shows that essentially amount to letting good actors emote about how sad they are.)
1 Like
But whereâs the fun in that?
Oh on my first watch I hated Skylar with a passion. So annoying lol.
1 Like
Verdict on Billions: A upscaled Suits
3 Likes
Man I am trying so hard to give Fargo a shot.
Way behind on this thread but the best 3 minutes of Norm McDonald ever imo is the mangrate commercial on his internet show pre-Netflix w/Nick Swardson
It appears to not be on youtube so fast forward to 36:15 of this:
The rest of the episode is incredible also.
3 Likes
How far have you gotten? Iâm current and there are parts I really like, but I canât deny that there are a lot of misfires too.
The base story is great and Iâm loving the period production more than any other season. I am far less sold on the try-hard quirkiness and it just seems like an unnecessary distraction.
I gave Jamestown a try because I like historical stuff but gave up after an episode. It just looked a bit lame and very broad strokes etc.
Itâs that, and Chris Rock.
There is (or was) a compilation of some of his Mangrate commercials (intercut with a lot of Nick Swardson cracking up in this one) on YouTube; I just remember it ended with Norm announcing âWe are no longer sponsored by the MANGRATE.â
I kinda found this a problem with the whole series tbh. That and the vacillation between not understanding the source material and blatantly ripping scenes straight from it.
I just remember hating Norm for a lot longer than was fair when he took over as host on High Stakes Poker
1 Like
My recollection is that in season 1 and maybe season 2 I found myself rooting for Walt as a sort of antihero. I donât think I really turned against Walt until things were becoming obviously super bad for Jesse. I havenât seen it in years so I may be retconning this to some extent.
The real hero of the show was Walter Jr
Heroic consumption of bacon and eggs.