What are you watching on netflix live?

[Lawrence]

 

I was so happy to see all of these on there. My roommate lost a couple of the disc awhile ago  I can always pick a random episode of this show, laugh, and then go to bed.

[Papercut]

I finally saw my first episode of FIREFLY the other night.



I have a troubling history with most of the popular "Nerd tested, Geek approved" television series over the last few decades...in other words, I haven't seen them even though I know they're right in my wheel house when it comes to serialized entertainment (I recall starting a thread on this topic a while back, so I'll forgo any exhaustive details here, especially the part that mentions that I've owned this series on DVD for years and never even opened them yet...  ).


So far the pilot was interesting, if not a bit predictable and rather slow paced, IMO. But it's a set-up show so I'll keep plodding along my journey to join in with the pop-cultural elite... 

[BurlIves]

So far the pilot was interesting, if not a bit predictable and rather slow paced, IMO. But it's a set-up show so I'll keep plodding along my journey to join in with the pop-cultural elite... 

You're not wrong.  I found the first few episodes good, but not great, and as you say, a little slow to hook me. But that character work does pay off.  By the time you get to "Out of Gas", things start clicking along nicely.  From "War Stories" onwards, I was hooked for the long haul (that was not to be).

[Papercut]

But that character work does pay off.  By the time you get to "Out of Gas", things start clicking along nicely.  From "War Stories" onwards, I was hooked for the long haul (that was not to be).

You were right on the money -- "Out of Gas" really cemented the entire series for me -- both story and character wise...    On to Episode 9!


EDIT: But the loopy, brain-tweaked sister plot thread is growing tired, IMO.

[Matt H.O.W.L.]

EDIT: But the loopy, brain-tweaked sister plot thread is growing tired, IMO.

Bugged me, too.

[Farrell]

EDIT: But the loopy, brain-tweaked sister plot thread is growing tired, IMO.

I thought it paid off well in Serenity,though, so it was worth it.  Have you already seen Serenity? 

I reserve the kind of love most people have for Star Wars or Star Trek for Firefly.    Too bad I only get to watch around 12 episodes and a movie over and over.

[Papercut]

Have you already seen Serenity? 

Nope -- only 1/2 way through episode 10.

It's in my queue though...


...and on DVD somewhere in my house.... 

I reserve the kind of love most people have for Star Wars or Star Trek for Firefly.    Too bad I only get to watch around 12 episodes and a movie over and over.

Quality over quantity though, right?

[Kenney]

I thought it paid off well in Serenity,though, so it was worth it.  Have you already seen Serenity? 

I reserve the kind of love most people have for Star Wars or Star Trek for Firefly.    Too bad I only get to watch around 12 episodes and a movie over and over.

I hate Serenity. It is a fine movie, no doubt. I went to see it at one of the early screenings, and Morenna Baccarin was there. She was making eyes at a brother, but I couldn't step to her -- I needed to get home cause it was late. Yup, that's what happened alright. 

But seriously, Serenity the movie just makes me realize how AMAZING that story would have been to watch playout over 2 or 3 seasons. I would take scaled down special effects in a heart beat just to see that plot progress a bit more naturally. Which really wouldn't be giving up all that much as Firefly's special effects were pretty damn great.

[Jeremy G]

X-Files season 1.

[Matt H.O.W.L.]

I thought it paid off well in Serenity,though, so it was worth it.  Have you already seen Serenity? 

Oh. See, I watched Serenity well before the series, so it's a dim memory. I'll have to check it out again.

I would have watched Firefly a lot sooner if someone had said, "It's a Western. I know lots of space operas are, structurally, Westerns, but this is really a Western set after the Civil War ended and the main character is a mercenary after fighting on the losing side of the war."

[Jeremy G]

I just watched one of those Netflix gems that you find. Its called Triangle.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/17XqBdCiHOI&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/17XqBdCiHOI&rel=1</a>

It may look like a cheesy b movie,but its not.If you like movies that make you think and try to figure out wtf is going on,check this out.You can watch it streaming.

[Kenney]

I watched Triangle, thanks to Taber's recommendation via the Crankcast, and it really is an awesome movie.

[DGoodhart]

So I came across this this week on Netflix Instant Play...



Well, being a HUGE John Carter of Mars fan, I just couldn't resist even though I had a feeling it probably wouldn't have been too good, at best, I was sorta hoping it would come close to what Amicus did with At the Earth's Core and the Land That Time Forgot but it doesn't even come that close.

I had no idea this disk even existed and it only came out recently (December 2009 on DVD and just this week on Instant Play) but still had to watch.

To it's credit, it does get some things right, which shows at least that it's writer/director Mark Atkins has at least read the book.  What it gets right is the basic structure and some of the episodic nature of the original book, plus a few details here and there.  It casts Antonio Sabato Jr. as a tatted-up John Carter and instead of setting this during the Civil War (Carter was a Confederate Captain), it's been re-set to a more contemporary time, with Carter now an elite operative working in Iraq or Afghanistan (I don't recall it being called) and it comes up with a cockamamie Avatar-esque way of getting Carter to Barsoom (they do refer to it in the film).  Sabato does the best he can with the material, but he's still woefully miscast.

But even worse in the casting is Traci Lords as Dejah Thoris... oh maybe ten years ago for a low-budget version of A Princess of Mars, she might've been fine, but here, all that's missing are the tire treads on the body... let's just be kind and say she's looking a little "rough" for the part... I'd forgive the looks if she was even a little interesting here, but she tends to have a scowl on her face most of the time and just seems disinterested.

It does have Tharks in it, including Tars Tarkas... but are they 10-feet tall? No.  Are they four-armed? No.  Are they green? No.  Tars Tarkas is maybe a few inches taller than Sabato, and he's heavily costumed up so that the only make-up effects that need to be done around him are in the face and the hands.  they get the most right with that character though, and the actor playing him (Matt Lasky- spelling) probably does the best job of the piece.

Yeah, it's a bad movie, but at the same time, if you're a big John Carter of Mars fan, I'd still encourage at least viewing this at least once... primarily because we've just never seen Carter on-screen before and also probably more to make you look forward to what Disney/Pixar has coming down the road...

(oh yeah, almost forgot, with the exception of the DVD cover art, Edgar Rice Burroughs is never mentioned at all in the credits...)

[Mike Sims]

Watching "This Film is Not Yet Rated"

[Papercut]

I thought it paid off well in Serenity,though, so it was worth it.  Have you already seen Serenity? 

I reserve the kind of love most people have for Star Wars or Star Trek for Firefly.    Too bad I only get to watch around 12 episodes and a movie over and over.

But seriously, Serenity the movie just makes me realize how AMAZING that story would have been to watch playout over 2 or 3 seasons. I would take scaled down special effects in a heart beat just to see that plot progress a bit more naturally. Which really wouldn't be giving up all that much as Firefly's special effects were pretty damn great.

Got to the end of my FIREFLY journey by watching SERENITY on Friday...

Major spoilers ahead:

Damn.

That was excellent.

The payoff for River, the origin of the Reavers, and Mal's finding something to believe in tied in together very nicely -- even if it was awfully compressed. I did read that Whedon had planned for the series to go 7 seasons -- so to fit 6.5 years of the more important beats into 2 hours was going to be tough no matter how they tackled it.

But that being said, seeing the "end" of the series like this, you can't help but feel disappointed because you can really see how the story would have grown organically over those stolen years.

But this is all sentiments that have been rehashed to death several years ago, right? 


But regarding the actual film, the death of Shephard was a great narrative investment -- in that moment, I realized that no one was really safe. I guess I wasn't sure what to expect with SERENITY -- if the film was a continuation of the story with hopes of new life for the series via film or straight to DVD releases or really THE END -- so when he was killed, I knew s%$t was 'bout to get real.

They ratchet it up again with Wash and then even more when crew members start taking some real damage. The uncertainty made the experience, and for the most part, the ending was equally satisfying.  As heartbreaking as his death was, I thought the Wash/Zoe resolution felt slightly unfinished/hallow for some reason and left me wanting something more.

And what I come away with is that maybe I should start watching some of those other, highly regarded and semi-legendary TV series that I've completely passed by...BUFFY or BSG or hell, even LOST. 

[Farrell]

Got to the end of my FIREFLY journey by watching SERENITY on Friday...

All this talk about Firefly lately got me to pull out my DVD set and watch the "pilot" again (should have been, anyway, even if those idiots aired it last).  I got a lump in my throat at all the same places, my pulse raced at all the right places, and it was just generally like watching it the first time I love it so much.  It's weird; I'm barely a Buffy fan and I didn't even watch Angel, but Firefly is as close to perfect television for me as anybody has come.  It ALL works for me.  I'm sad and a little bitter that Fox killed it...but I'm grateful that it exists at all, and it feels like something I can revisit every few years for some time to come.

[Papercut]

All this talk about Firefly lately got me to pull out my DVD set...

I need to do this as well -- there here...somewhere. But I'd like to see the bonus material and hear the commentaries. I can understand your appreciation for the series -- count me in as new convert.

I know there's been comic miniseries adaptations for SERENITY -- was there any other FIREFLY stories in different mediums that are worth tracking down?

[Matt H.O.W.L.]

Paranormal Entity 

From the hacks who brought you Transmorphers and The Day the Earth Stopped, here's a low-budget (!) knock-off of Paranormal Activity. I disliked PA so much, I had to check this out. It's taken me about 3 runs at it to get through it. The scariest thing about this (and PA) is how tacky the average middle-class American house is. Apparently, everyone lives in particleboard McMansions and decorate their entire homes at Target and Home Depot. 

[Farrell]

I know there's been comic miniseries adaptations for SERENITY -- was there any other FIREFLY stories in different mediums that are worth tracking down?

Not that I know of.  I'm sure there's a bunch of Youtube re-enactments if you're desperate.   

Speaking of the comic books...it's nice that they've all been original stories rather than adaptations, and Whedon has even written at least one series, but I've been pretty disappointed by them so far.  The most recent series started out great and felt a lot like the show but just fell completely apart by the end, like three issues worth of plot development were jammed into the last twenty pages.  Hopefully the upcoming Wash story will be an improvement. 

[bean6344]

I watched
Brian De Palma's Sisters.  De Palma doing his Hitchcock thing.  It almost felt like a Cronenberg movie to me. 

Ondi Timoner's We Live In Public.  I liked Dig better but I still enjoyed this film.  It made me wish Exit Through the Gift Shop: A Banksy Film was available on netflix live.

Bean