What are you watching now ? Movies and TV

[Redvers Ganderpoke]

The first series I watched, new episodes on Fridays, is Silo, and I love the concept, cast, along with the telling. Very rare I'm inspired to watch an episode of a show on the day it's released.

And I've watched the first two series of 'Foundation' which is based on the Asimov novel of the same name (which I am pretty sure I read over forty years ago). It, and Silo, come across as real big budget well-told tales, and I've already a watch list of a few more series I'm planning to try. - I did try the first episode of 'Invasion' and that wasn't as instantly grabbing as the other two, but I'll certainly attempt another episode or two.

I only watch it for football and F1..

Started watching Silo and Foundation and the former started well but became very slow, I just couldn't get into the latter. Slow Horses on the other hand is excellent.

To watch F1 I subscribe to Now Tv for £20 a month (not subscribed at the moment as I don't watch football.)

[Tamina]

Mufasa: The Lion King - Cinema
A prequel to the classic "The Lion King". Got a 55% by critics and 86% by viewers on Rotten Tomatoes currently. I am with the critics here, watching people leaving the cinema I tthink most people are.

Sometimes the critics are right..

[Gavrushka]

@Redvers, thanks for the heads up. I'll be sure to check out Now.

[burger1]

A Knights War - Was very Dark Souls like. Was kind of dark for my liking but was probably the most Dark Souls pc like movie I have seen.
6.5 /10 on imdb with 52 ratings. Like most movies could have skipped the first 30 minutes to get to a better part.

Section 31 - A Star Trek Discovery movie. Pretty much sums it up. 3.8/10 on imdb. Would rate it higher but it's still a Star Trek Discovery themed movie. Lots of action.

The Gorge (2025) - Didn't really like it but don't regret watching it. The gorge itself was cool but the rest was kind of the new age dark psycho stuff. Would have changed the story. 6.8/10 imdb rating.

Nosferatu (2024) - Was dark and twisted. imdb 7.3/10. Would have rated it lower.

Moana 2 - not bad but not as good as the first one. Might be coming to Disney Plus March 12, 2025. Might be US region? Uk region, etc... might be a different date?

Paddington in Peru - Was kind of dull with some funny parts. Kind of focused on family.

Zelensky was the voice of Paddington in a previous movie. https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-ente ... 24690.html

[chew-ie]

Babylon 5 - the transformation of the earth government into a dictatorship with all it's tools (total control of media / squealer / abuse of power) is highly topical when looking at the US / Russia / Germany.

[burger1]

In the Lost Lands. Wasn't bad in my opinion. Not a real brain teaser but kind of a low end action film. 4.9/10 on imdb. Looks like it failed at the box office. Maybe wait until it goes to a steaming service you already have?

Mickey 17. Liked the film. Was quirky. Had some annoying characters. Had underlying moral questions. 7.1/10 on imdb. If you like Mickey can maybe watch Space Sweepers. Not as funny but a bit quirky. Wouldn't pay to watch Space Sweepers but it's on netflix according to the justwatch website if not elsewhere.

[clakclak]

So I just started watching Star Wars The Acolyte, because I saw all the reviews and was in the mood for a dumpster fire of a show, you know something so bad that it is funny. Colour me suprised when I stared actually watching the show and realising that it is not actually that bad (at least not nearly as bad as the reviews made it out to be). Which once again reinforced my notion that Star Wars fans on average are looking for one thing and one thing only: Nostalgia. They are not so much interested in the universe itself, as they are in reliving their childhood memories, which is probably why Episode 7 and Episode 4, which are more or less the same movie, are the two highest grossing Star Wars movies (if adjusted for inflation), because "Look it has Chewbacca and Harris Ford! Cool! I clap! It has the same story. I know that story! I like that story. I don't want anything else."

[Redvers Ganderpoke]

To watch F1 I subscribe to Now Tv for £20 a month (not subscribed at the moment as I don't watch football.)

It's now £34.99 a month or £26 a month for 12 months ! It turns out the £34.99 is the cheapest to watch F1 - if you get your timing right with the cancellations.

Edit: cancel and get £20 for 6 months.

[euclid]

Finished Pantheon last night. Usually I'm not into animated movies/series but this one got me because of the story. The last two episodes of season 2 are mind blowing.

Cheers Euclid

[X2-Illuminatus]

So I just started watching Star Wars The Acolyte, because I saw all the reviews and was in the mood for a dumpster fire of a show, you know something so bad that it is funny. Colour me suprised when I stared actually watching the show and realising that it is not actually that bad (at least not nearly as bad as the reviews made it out to be). Which once again reinforced my notion that Star Wars fans on average are looking for one thing and one thing only: Nostalgia.

While I agree that the "The Acolyte" isn't as bad as the reviews make it out to be, after having watched all of the Star Wars live action series (currently finishing Skeleton Crew, and not having started Andor season 2 yet). I have to say "The Acolyte" is definitely the worst one.* I like that they tried to do something new, the actors were okay and the lightsaber fights are worth watching. Still the characters feel shallow, the overall story is rather generic, the soundtrack is underwhelming, and the look and feel of the universe as well as the depiction of the Jedi are off. (An example for the latter are the martial arts fights mixed in with the force and the lightsabers). In summary, while I always felt interested enough to watch the next episode, I can't say I'm that disappointed in not seeing a second season.

*To be fair the Book of Boba Fett wasn't that great either.

[clakclak]

So I just started watching Star Wars The Acolyte, because I saw all the reviews and was in the mood for a dumpster fire of a show, you know something so bad that it is funny. Colour me suprised when I stared actually watching the show and realising that it is not actually that bad (at least not nearly as bad as the reviews made it out to be). Which once again reinforced my notion that Star Wars fans on average are looking for one thing and one thing only: Nostalgia.

While I agree that the "The Acolyte" isn't as bad as the reviews make it out to be, after having watched all of the Star Wars live action series (currently finishing Skeleton Crew, and not having started Andor season 2 yet). I have to say "The Acolyte" is definitely the worst one.* I like that they tried to do something new, the actors were okay and the lightsaber fights are worth watching. Still the characters feel shallow, the overall story is rather generic, the soundtrack is underwhelming, and the look and feel of the universe as well as the depiction of the Jedi are off. (An example for the latter are the martial arts fights mixed in with the force and the lightsabers). In summary, while I always felt interested enough to watch the next episode, I can't say I'm that disappointed in not seeing a second season.

*To be fair the Book of Boba Fett wasn't that great either.

All valid criticism. I personally think I would rank it higher than book of Boba Fett and maybe also Obi-Wan Kenobi, but that is mostly due to nothing in the Acolyte standing out to me as super bad, just pretty medicore all around (despite the fight coreography, which I personally, as long term martial artist and martial arts fan found to be really well done, especially given that apparently Amandla Stenberg, the main actress, did most of her own choreography. There was a scene where she missed a spinning heel kick and spun out of it with a level of control and balance that indicated that she must have trained pretty excessively for her role. Whoever came up with the coreography also clearly understood the assignment of having character traits reflect in the fighting style of the various characters. For example the Sith Lord is shown to be a deceptive character and his fighting style reflects that with manoeuvers like him turning of his lightsaber for a split second to move it past his opponents blade and then activating it again. In both Star Wars Legends and Disney canon it is also often indicated that Jedi and Sith train in hand to hand combat and the Star Wars universe knows multiple hand to hand fighting styles, like for example Teräs Käsi, so that did not stand out to me that much).

[Chips]

When it comes to anything Star Wars these days it's instantly forgettable. I can't remember a single character's name other than "Rey" from the new movies that didn't already exist (and I've seen all -- but I imagine it's mostly due to media attention on Daisy Ridley), and Pedro with the Mandalorian.

The only series I remember *anything* about are the Mandalorian and Ahsoka - but I grew bored of the Mandalorian.

I'm aware this is likely vastly influenced by a few things; mainly age, imagination, other distractions

I'm not looking for nostalgia personally, and fully realise the effects / settings are never going to be the mind blowing thing they were when originally watching (which may have influenced things) -- but the characters are just poor and stories insta-forgettable. I can even remember Ep 1-3 fairly accurately... and those are hilariously bad in dialog/acting/effects at time(s), but I *do* remember it.

I'll probably give a watch while I have a subscription still, but I can understand when things get panned despite "not as bad as it has been made to sound" views. Simple reason is - what's the motivation to *improve* if churning out by-numbers drivel is accepted.

[clakclak]

When it comes to anything Star Wars these days it's instantly forgettable. I can't remember a single character's name other than "Rey" from the new movies that didn't already exist (and I've seen all -- but I imagine it's mostly due to media attention on Daisy Ridley), and Pedro with the Mandalorian.

The only series I remember *anything* about are the Mandalorian and Ahsoka - but I grew bored of the Mandalorian.

I'm aware this is likely vastly influenced by a few things; mainly age, imagination, other distractions

I'm not looking for nostalgia personally, and fully realise the effects / settings are never going to be the mind blowing thing they were when originally watching (which may have influenced things) -- but the characters are just poor and stories insta-forgettable. I can even remember Ep 1-3 fairly accurately... and those are hilariously bad in dialog/acting/effects at time(s), but I *do* remember it.

I'll probably give a watch while I have a subscription still, but I can understand when things get panned despite "not as bad as it has been made to sound" views. Simple reason is - what's the motivation to *improve* if churning out by-numbers drivel is accepted.

Honestly that is all perfectly understandable. The one show I would hands down recommand to anyone who has at least a bit of a soft spot for Star Wars is Andor. Out of all the things to come out of Disney's Star Wars takeover it quite simply stand above the rest of the movies and shows.

[grapedog]

When it comes to anything Star Wars these days it's instantly forgettable. I can't remember a single character's name other than "Rey" from the new movies that didn't already exist (and I've seen all -- but I imagine it's mostly due to media attention on Daisy Ridley), and Pedro with the Mandalorian.

The only series I remember *anything* about are the Mandalorian and Ahsoka - but I grew bored of the Mandalorian.

I'm aware this is likely vastly influenced by a few things; mainly age, imagination, other distractions

I'm not looking for nostalgia personally, and fully realise the effects / settings are never going to be the mind blowing thing they were when originally watching (which may have influenced things) -- but the characters are just poor and stories insta-forgettable. I can even remember Ep 1-3 fairly accurately... and those are hilariously bad in dialog/acting/effects at time(s), but I *do* remember it.

I'll probably give a watch while I have a subscription still, but I can understand when things get panned despite "not as bad as it has been made to sound" views. Simple reason is - what's the motivation to *improve* if churning out by-numbers drivel is accepted.

I know Grogu was popular, but they needed to let him go for a while. I feel like that character is dragging the series sideways.

Andor season 1 was pretty good... Book of Boba Fett was not good... though how you screw up a show with Star Wars arguably most well known and popular character aside from the trinity of Han Solo, Luke, and Vader... how you mess up Boba Fett so badly, I don't understand. I'm looking forward to Andor season 2....

Star Wars has this MASSIVE world to play in, and they keep trying to drag up the same old characters and stories. Rogue One was fantastic, and it was based off of one throw away sentence in the movies... they could do so much more with the IP. I think The Mandalorian was a good idea, but it's execution lately has been lacking. Andor has been good... Ashoka I'm mixed about.

It's a shame, because it's potential to tell some awesome sci-fi stories is there... but it's so poorly utilized.

[burger1]

Andor season 2 will be it's last season. People are leaving the US and tariffs on the Canadian film industry which does Lucas films stuff.

https://thedirect.com/article/andor-season-2-star-wars

Ashoka season 2 has started filming.

Doctor Who season 2 (15?) is more of the same of season 1. Season 3 might be delayed.

[grapedog]

Andor season 2 will be it's last season. People are leaving the US and tariffs on the Canadian film industry which does Lucas films stuff.

https://thedirect.com/article/andor-season-2-star-wars

Ashoka season 2 has started filming.

Doctor Who season 2 (15?) is more of the same of season 1. Season 3 might be delayed.

I've just started rewatching Andor season 1 to get familiar with it again, looking forward to season 2 which has apparently been getting STELLAR reviews.

Sad to hear it's the last season... a few of their shows have been good, plenty have been mid.

[mr.WHO]

I've just started rewatching Andor season 1 to get familiar with it again, looking forward to season 2 which has apparently been getting STELLAR reviews.

Season 2 is good, albeit with a bit of drag on in the middle.

I also endorse watching Rogue One again after finishing season 2 - it really adds a lot of good contexts to many scenes and dialogues.

[grapedog]

I've just started rewatching Andor season 1 to get familiar with it again, looking forward to season 2 which has apparently been getting STELLAR reviews.

Season 2 is good, albeit with a bit of drag on in the middle.

I also endorse watching Rogue One again after finishing season 2 - it really adds a lot of good contexts to many scenes and dialogues.

does it kick right in, roughly, to Rogue One?

I understand they were trying to do 4 or 5 seasons originally. Did they wrap it up with season 2 in a satisfactory way?

[mr.WHO]

I understand they were trying to do 4 or 5 seasons originally. Did they wrap it up with season 2 in a satisfactory way?

Season 2 ends at the moment of Rogue One start almost literally.
It does good job wrapping up the story and connecting it to Rogue One - it's not the greatest thing ever, but very solid 9/10.
As I mention Andor provide very good context addition Rogue One, to the point you're amazed Rogue One was first, rather than sequel.

I also don't know where the rumors of more season comes from?
I was observing Andor pretty much all the time - all I got was that it was always intended as 2 season story - no milking and watering down the story and writing.

I have a lot to complain about Disney, especially in regards writing, but Andor + Rogue One?
Chefs Kiss.

[Golden_Gonads]

It was always stated to be a two season show, with them stating before the first season launched that the last episode segues directly into the film.

There are rumours that they may do a different series in a similar vein with Mon Mothma et al, but nothing official has been said.