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PCF Shows (5 Viewers)

tommythecat said:
Watched Stranger Things over the course of 2 days. What an awesome show! Definitely a love letter to Spielberg, King, and Carpenter. The music choices were all top notch and the acting was amazing. Winona Ryder definitely knocked her part out of the park and the kids were excellent.
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I finished Stranger Things this weekend as well. Fantastic in every sense of the word. At first it was hard for me to tell whether it was just the comfort watching aspect of the show that made me love it. Practically every element is lifted from a childhood favorite of mine. That would normally risk annoying me more than drawing me in, but in this case the sum really is greater than the parts. Stephen King himself summed it up perfectly imo:

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Reading Stephen King from literally the time I learned to read is probably one of my most formative experiences and I felt exactly this way watching the show even though I didn't read the above tweet until I had finished it all and went looking for reviews.

I love Winona Ryder, but imo the most impressive thing about the casting is the chemistry among the kids who are all perfect. They even look like kids from 80s films when kids in movies looked totally average as opposed to today when a kid can hardly get cast as a main character without perfect hair and teeth.

manamongkids said:
show makes me sick with turturros feet, we get it...he has gross feet
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This is like complaining about Lady Macbeth washing her hands - totally integral to the character and the show imo. This and the cat sub(subsub)plot are exactly the types of things contributing to this being the best show on television.
 
Toby said:
Anyone watched Netflix's Stranger Things?

We've been enjoying the '80s styling and synth soundtrack.
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tommythecat said:
Watched Stranger Things over the course of 2 days. What an awesome show! Definitely a love letter to Spielberg, King, and Carpenter. The music choices were all top notch and the acting was amazing. Winona Ryder definitely knocked her part out of the park and the kids were excellent.
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I've also had the chance to binge on Stranger Things this weekend... Fantastic!

I felt I was inside one of the early-teen books I read decades ago and that the adaptation to screen was absolutely flawless... I can see the King reference but I feel the show is a bit more 'teen' than some of Kings books...

Characters were outstanding and acting was super strong all around, specially the little girl... Lots of fun watching it...
 
detroitdad said:
Anyone else catch Preacher? @ChaosRock did you ever start it? My son and I watched the season finale last night. For the most part the show had gotten better each week. I'm already looking forward to S2 (we plan on ordering the books as well).

B
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I'm watching the show and really enjoying it Bill... Two episode still to go though... It's really getting better as you said... I was a HUGE fan of the graphic novel series and the show to me hasn't quite hit the levels of the printed version (almost impossible imo) but it's a great effort nonetheless... Having a blast watching it and going back to the books...
 
ChaosRock said:
I felt I was inside one of the early-teen books I read decades ago and that the adaptation to screen was absolutely flawless... I can see the King reference but I feel the show is a bit more 'teen' than some of Kings books...
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I think I saw it as the depiction of the story from the kids' perspectives. One of King's strengths as a novelist is his ability to write outside the dialogue to give his characters heavy backstories, which is difficult to translate onto film. So I looked at this as what it would look like if someone just put the events onto film in a straightforward way.

Obviously the most direct analog is It, but I also felt a lot of Carrie, Firestarter, Christine, Pet Sematary, Dreamcatcher, and several short stories, the names of which escape me at the moment. (EDIT: How could I have forgotten The Body/Stand By Me? While it's not a horror novella/film, it captures so much of the conflicting nature of our memories of childhood.)

One thing that was certainly not King-esque was the soft treatment of the Steve character, but I have a feeling that's more to set-up a longer arc in case they do additional seasons.
 
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ChaosRock said:
I'm watching the show and really enjoying it Bill... Two episode still to go though... It's really getting better as you said... I was a HUGE fan of the graphic novel series and the show to me hasn't quite hit the levels of the printed version (almost impossible imo) but it's a great effort nonetheless... Having a blast watching it and going back to the books...
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I've been watching Preacher. Enjoy it but it's a bit chaotic. I think they're guilty to an extent of assuming the audience is up to speed on the comic's universe. I'm not - I have an awareness of it but haven't read any of the series. To this end I find the storytelling quite... Muddled.

Still a strong show. Can't think of anywhere else you'll find a hard-drinking, pill-popping Irish vampire! :)
 
jbutler said:
I finished Stranger Things this weekend as well.
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Binge-watched it yesterday (except for time out to donate to the Chippy PLO8 tourney). Some of my local players had mentioned it. Really great. I wanted to slap WR in the early going (so much hysteria), but great cast and plot. Music fit perfectly and I slept with one eye open afterward.
 
ChaosRock said:
Having a blast watching it and going back to the books..
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after we watched the finale this morning he looked at me and said that he would take the books for Christmas lol. Win, win. I wouldn't mind reading them either.

Toby said:
I've been watching Preacher. Enjoy it but it's a bit chaotic. I think they're guilty to an extent of assuming the audience is up to speed on the comic's universe. I'm not - I have an awareness of it but haven't read any of the series. To this end I find the storytelling quite... Muddled.
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I didn't have knowledge whatsoever of the storyline/character/ect....of Preacher. I thought my ep6/7 it was starting to clear up a little. Well, as much as "Preacher" was going to clear up anyways.
 
The kid who plays Mike (Finn Wolfhard...sweet name) on Stranger Things will be one of the kids in the new It.

I started The Night Of today and am 2 episodes in so far. Another excellent show...I am trying to pay attention to every little detail to see how it all fits together, but all I have are questions at the moment.
 
Wils said:
Ah fukk now you've reminder me of the most genuinely creepy scene ever... Poor old Belch.

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Stranger Things pulled me full bore back into King's earlier stuff. I've watched the It miniseries again (lots of nostalgia to carry me through, but honestly it's not great) and I've plowed through a ton of It the book as well as rereading all of Christine. Gonna finish It and get through Carrie this week. No one does childhood/teenage angst better.
 
detroitdad said:
Anyone else catch Preacher? @ChaosRock did you ever start it? My son and I watched the season finale last night. For the most part the show had gotten better each week. I'm already looking forward to S2 (we plan on ordering the books as well).
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Upgrading my rating on Preacher to pure awesomeness, Bill!! ;)

I thought the last three episodes of the season were phenomenal. Although the show is definitely a tamer and warmer version of the comics, it's done flawlessly...

One of my favorite new shows for sure... Can't wait for the second season!
 
tommythecat said:
I am caught up on The Night Of now. This is a damn good show. Still lots of questions but I am really really liking it.
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I concur.

We also finished Stranger Things last night. Really enjoyed it a lot. Several scenes throughout the series would make me think of Fire Starter and E.T.
 
The Night Of continues to kill. Last night's episode may not have been the single best episode of the series, but it was definitely the most exciting. I didn't know that I even wanted the show to pick up the pace. Given the weight of the plot points, I was happy plodding along slowly, but it turns out a jolt can be a good thing.

Don't want to ruin anything for anyone who hasn't watched yet, so...

Anyone else get the impression that we're being tempted to think Nasir knows more or even had more involvement than he's let on to this point? Seems crazy to think so, but some of the music cues and editing gave the impression that it's not simply that John and Chandra are unsure of Nasir, but that we might ought to be, too.

I was envisioning a more dramatic chain of events leading toward John and Chandra teaming up. While I was kind of hoping for Chandra to draw a line in the sand and break from the firm, it's probably more realistic that it would have happened this way. Perhaps once she's deeper into the case she'd feel that kind of pull, but at this point in retrospect it would be out of line with her character to jump ship.

Not sure what to make of Duane Reade (lol) yet. Seems too obvious that he'd be the guy. Then again, in real life criminal situations like these, the most obvious guy is usually the guy. I still really like the actor playing the other witness from the night of the murder. Kind of reminds me of J.D. Williams who played Bodie on The Wire.
 
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jbutler said:
The Night Of continues to kill. Last night's episode may not have been the single best episode of the series, but it was definitely the most exciting. I didn't know that I even wanted the show to pick up the pace. Given the weight of the plot points, I was happy plodding along slowly, but it turns out a jolt can be a good thing.

Don't want to ruin anything for anyone who hasn't watched yet, so...

Anyone else get the impression that we're being tempted to think Nasir knows more or even had more involvement than he's let on to this point? Seems crazy to think so, but some of the music cues and editing gave the impression that it's not simply that John and Chandra are unsure of Nasir, but that we might ought to be, too.

I was envisioning a more dramatic chain of events leading toward John and Chandra teaming up. While I was kind of hoping for Chandra to draw a line in the sand and break from the firm, it's probably more realistic that it would have happened this way. Perhaps once she's deeper into the case she'd feel that kind of pull, but at this point in retrospect it would be out of line with her character to jump ship.

Not sure what to make of Duane Reade (lol) yet. Seems too obvious that he'd be the guy. Then again, in real life criminal situations like these, the most obvious guy is usually the guy. I still really like the actor playing the other witness from the night of the murder. Kind of reminds me of J.D. Williams who played Bodie on The Wire.
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My theories:

Andre's stepfather had something to do with it. Either he paid Duane Reed to kill Andrea, or he did it himself. He seemed unmoved by her death, but couldn't bring himself to look at her body. He had motive (jealous that Andrea inherited the Manhattan home, while he had to live in Queens, or maybe even jealous of all of Andrea's "many boyfriends." She was very attractive, and he was a younger guy, so maybe she rebuffed his advances. Anyway, I got major sketchy vibes from him. Then again, what were Reed and Trevor doing in that neighborhood in the first place?

My other theory is it could have been a jealous boyfriend/stalker she met at Invictus House, who saw Andre take a stranger into her house (probably not fo the first time), and in a jealous rage, killed her and fled while Nas was passed out.

Either way, I'm totally loving this show. I heard it might get renewed for a second season, even though it was just supposed to be the one. I hope if they do go another season they don't fuck it up.
 
The Night Of discussion...

I too am wondering about Naz being more involved but at this point it is looking more like a red herring to me. I think Duane is also. I think John really got under Box's skin when he told him that he doesn't think that he believes that Naz did it. I think we saw some glimpses of that when he was working out the timeline during the last episode. If this was still the slam dunk case he thinks it is he likely wouldn't waste his time going to all the locations (IMO).

Andrea's step-dad is definitely a wild card at this point, but I don't think he did it. He seems like the most obvious "not obvious" choice (I hope that makes sense).

I'm curious about the two extra glimpses into Naz's memory we got when he was telling his story to the D.A. a couple eps ago. I wonder if we will even get what really happened by the end of it. There are a few different directions the show can go and I wonder if "THE TRUTH" is the biggest red herring of them all.
 
Just started on The Night Of. Looks like a strong drama and lots or recommends itt. The guy who plays Box is great. Look forward to catching up on the other episodes...
 
Me and the wife just caught up on this season of Ray Donovan. Also finished Master of None on Netflix, which I can't recommend enough.

She wants to binge on our network TV watches like The Big Bang Theory and Brooklyn Nine Nine, but I'm insisting we catch up on The Night of first. She's fighting me because she says I control the TV watching, especially since we have to binge Marvel shows whenever they debut. Whatever. She didn't complain after they were over either...

Meanwhile, I just knocked out The Man in the High Castle on my bus rides to/from work.
 
Havent seen this mentioned yet. TILT, 2005. Worth watching?

 
I guess I'll just end up posting this every week, but again...anyone not watching The Night Of is fucking sane. By far the best show currently on television. As pointed out by @courage in our group text, it's a lot easier to be perfect when you only have 6 episodes under your belt - and he's absolutely right - but damn if those 6 episodes aren't amazing.

Honestly I think a ton of the credit goes to Richard Price, the writer. He wrote for The Wire and among his fantastic film adaptations and screenplays is Clockers directed by Spike Lee and, like The Night Of, starring John Turturro.

Anyway, only two episodes of The Night Of left and I can't wait.
 

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