John Wick

Reddit seemed to explode when news of John Wick 2 surfaced, then the original, this one, showed up on Netflix so I rode the hype train and watched it.  I'd heard about it in depth recently on the Giant Bombcast where Dan Ryckert was gushing about it, so I knew what I was getting into.  Ready for the plot?  An ex hitman's dog is killed and he's out for revenge.  The rest consists of a bunch of action sequences which I may have preferred to be a little more over the top, don't get me wrong, the action sequences are good, but not "HOLY S**T" good.  Know what I mean?  Anyways, it was a decent way to spend a cloudy afternoon, but far from a must see.  Pass.

Top 10 of 2016

It's still 2016, so I guess it's not too late to make a "Best Of" list.  Here are the top 10 things I watched last year.  Each film/show is linked to my original thoughts on the project.

• 10) Making a Murderer
• 9) Whiplash
• 8) Birdman
• 7) Her
• 6) Wolf of Wall Street
• 5) Derek
• 4) Ex Machina
• 3) 10 Cloverfield Lane
• 2) Seinfeld
• 1) Stranger Things

None of these are family friendly

The OA

Another Netflix original series I'd heard quite a bit of buzz about recently.  I was spoiled somewhat about the end which soured me a bit, but it didn't stop me from burning through this 8 episode series in a matter of a couple days.  Marathoning a TV show just doesn't happen in my life, this is as close as it gets.  

This show is weird, captivating, strange, thrilling, odd and exciting.  It's difficult to describe.  A blind girl returns to her home town after 7 years with her sight restored.  Sounds neat right?  Well that's only 1/100th of what's going on here.  This show deals much more with the afterlife, angels, and portals to other dimensions.  The subject matter is captivating, and it [mostly] succeeds in its ambitions.  The show is from the same creators of a movie I really enjoyed called "Another Earth", and while I feel that movie succeeded more in what it was trying to say, this show (which features the same lead actress) is very similar in tone.  It's a tough recommend giving how strange it is, but I can't stop think thinking about it, so with that credit alone, I'd have say ... recommend.

Fuller House: Season 1&2

Fuller House, I just realized I failed to review the first season, so consider this a joint review.  I think the show is brilliant.  It knows exactly what it is, and it’s the level of self-awareness that makes the show so great. The cast knows and crew know that this is a nostalgia piece, and makes plenty of jokes about it, often with winks and nods directly into the camera.  The cast has been rounded out well with additions to the original cast who are probably better actors at this point than the grown up child actors.  Jodie Sweetin (Stephanie) seems like she holds up today, but I find DJ and Kimmy quite annoying.  If you’re a fan of the original, surely you’ll find something to like here, if you’ve never seen it, you’ll likely want to pass.  I however, recommend. 

Seinfeld: Season 6

I have to recommend all of these seasons, reviewing them is all but pointless.  Some great characters make their debut this season including David Putty and J. Peterman (although not until the sesason finale).  We also lose Mr. Pitt who was only in the show for a brief time, but I really enjoyed his character.   Some memorable episodes this season include "The Big Salad", "The Jimmy" and "The Face Painter".

Schindler's List

A movie I should have seen a long time ago, but finally got around to seeing some 23 years after release after it and a number of other Spielberg movies showed up on Netflix last week.  It’s an iconic movie and I’ve known a lot about it just from it’s impact on other films etc.   Everyone knows about the girl in the red coat right?  With a 3 and a half hour runtime, I watched it in 2 parts (which is how I watch the majority of my movies these days) and can honestly say I feel for those who sat in uncomfortable movie theatre seats back in the early 90’s to watch this movie.  It’s not that it’s bad by any means, it’s just not exactly very “fast”.  I was over an hour in before Schindler turns “good” for lack of a better term.  It’s  a part of movie history, a film everyone should watch even just to educate themselves a little bit more about the holocaust.  Recommend.

Captain America: Civil War

Captain America movies continue to excel.  I really enjoyed this one, however after re-reading my review of the Winter Soldier, I'm going to have to guess maybe not as much as the previous....and I guess that's the problem with this Marvel cinematic universe, they all start to blend together?   The origin stories were cool and memorable, but with multiple characters making appearances, it's hard to keep them all straight.  Anyways, seeing Spiderman was nice, I feel like he's cast well. You know what you're getting into if you put this on.  Recommend.