Recommendations for Watching While Waiting for Season 3

[DeerMeadowRadio]

I just watched the first episode of Penny Dreadful and thought it was a mixed bag... does it get better?

[LostInTheMovies]

Super 8 is a vastly inferior carbon copy of the Amblin/Spielberg/Stephen King '80s, IMO. Like most JJ Abrams properties it's all breathless sizzle reel and no steak. ST is absolutely a pastiche work but unlike that film, it has a lot of heart.

Yeah I thought the first half was a charming tribute to Goonies/E.T./etc but the second half got way off-track. Exactly as with Star Wars, Abrams shows he knows how to ape the feel without touching the soul beneath it. In Super 8's case he mashed up two very different types of Spielberg films: the slightly misanthropic thrill rides and the heartwarming sentiment. And so we get a movie in which Jaws eats everyone but just wants to "phone home." (To be fair, Spielberg goofed up this formula once too, with The Lost World - his most cynical movie.)

[LostInTheMovies]

Just finished Top of the Lake, which I enjoyed. Kept a viewing diary which will go up on my site eventually. Any thoughts on that from anyone here (I've seen it mentioned a few times, but not going into any detail). Without spoilers of course.

[douglasb]

I just watched the first episode of Penny Dreadful and thought it was a mixed bag... does it get better?

The first two seasons are excellent. The third is a little disappointing. Proper old school gothic horror. Depends whether you like that kind of thing or not.

[Panapaok]

Top of the Lake is great. A bit slow but it pays off wonderfully at the end. Elizabeth Moss is fantastic.

[DeerMeadowRadio]

I do like that sort of thing but was off-put by the frenetic style and pace, which don't feel right with gothic horror to me. I'll stick with it for a bit and see how it plays out.

Still incredible how good television is these days..

I just watched the first episode of Penny Dreadful and thought it was a mixed bag... does it get better?

The first two seasons are excellent. The third is a little disappointing. Proper old school gothic horror. Depends whether you like that kind of thing or not.

[asmahan]

"The Night Of" on HBO is pretty good so far.

[N. Needleman]

Exactly as with Star Wars, Abrams shows he knows how to ape the feel without touching the soul beneath it. In Super 8's case he mashed up two very different types of Spielberg films: the slightly misanthropic thrill rides and the heartwarming sentiment. And so we get a movie in which Jaws eats everyone but just wants to "phone home." (To be fair, Spielberg goofed up this formula once too, with The Lost World - his most cynical movie.)

I agree on Super 8. But I think all Abrams needed to do on TFA was ape and follow what was mostly someone else's script, which is why I felt the film worked. He is a competent director, but a very lackadaisical storyteller and a mostly derivative and ADHD creative personality. Fortunately it wasn't really his story or framework, so TFA clicked. But YMMV

[mtwentz]

Exactly as with Star Wars, Abrams shows he knows how to ape the feel without touching the soul beneath it. In Super 8's case he mashed up two very different types of Spielberg films: the slightly misanthropic thrill rides and the heartwarming sentiment. And so we get a movie in which Jaws eats everyone but just wants to "phone home." (To be fair, Spielberg goofed up this formula once too, with The Lost World - his most cynical movie.)

I agree on Super 8. But I think all Abrams needed to do on TFA was ape and follow what was mostly someone else's script, which is why I felt the film worked. He is a competent director, but a very lackadaisical storyteller and a mostly derivative and ADHD creative personality. Fortunately it wasn't really his story or framework, so TFA clicked. But YMMV

The Force Awakens did not work for me at all. Iit was exactly what I pray Twin Peaks won't end up being: a pure nostalgia trip, with very little that was new or creative. It's perhaps a preview of what would have happened to Twin Peaks if it had gone forward without Lynch's participation. Twin Peaks without Lynch is like Star Wars without Lucas .

[krishnanspace]

Stranger things. New series from Netflix.
Small town like twin peaks,the main plot is a boys disappearance, weird stuff happening around, very good music. Definitely recommend it.

[krishnanspace]

"The Night Of" on HBO is pretty good so far.

It's very good. Waiting for the last 2 two epidodes

[krishnanspace]

Here are some good mystery movies :
Old boy (korean)
Donnie darko
Predestination
Shattered

[Rudagger]

I didn't read all the posts, but, has anyone recommended the Leftovers yet?

One of the most underrated shows on television right now (well, perhaps underviewed, rather than underrated), and it stars Justin Theroux (from Mulholland Drive/Inland Empire). He's absolutely fantastic in it (and has made me even more bummed that he seems not to be in the new Twin Peaks).

The one-liner is essentially: 2% of the world's population vanishes and we see how characters move on after 'the Rapture'.

It's only two 10-episode seasons (with a third/final season still to come), so, it's not a huge time sink.

[LostInTheMovies]

I didn't read all the posts, but, has anyone recommended the Leftovers yet?

One of the most underrated shows on television right now (well, perhaps underviewed, rather than underrated), and it stars Justin Theroux (from Mulholland Drive/Inland Empire). He's absolutely fantastic in it (and has made me even more bummed that he seems not to be in the new Twin Peaks).

The one-liner is essentially: 2% of the world's population vanishes and we see how characters move on after 'the Rapture'.

It's only two 10-episode seasons (with a third/final season still to come), so, it's not a huge time sink.

By coincidence, I tuned in for the hotel episode. It was so uncanny see Theroux seemingly reprise his role in MD (more the situation than the character), combined with the "resort" dream of Tony Soprano. Of all the episodes to stumble across!

[Agent Sam Stanley]

Just finished this one. Don't know if someone already mentioned it here but I'll reinforce it. S1 has only 8 eps. Pretty dark thriller with great characters and some very nice twists. Recommended.