The Swamp

Posted: **Tue Apr 16, 2024 11:28 pm**

Saw the first two episodes of Sugar, an offbeat neo-noir starring Colin Farrell, on Apple. Very stylish. I like it.

Posted: **Wed Apr 17, 2024 9:23 am**

We are digging Sugar, as well. There are times when the noir of it all can be a little much or distracting. But Colin is very engaging and I'm definitely drawn in by the plot.

Posted: **Wed Apr 17, 2024 10:38 am**

Yeah, I’m not 100% sold on it yet either. But I’m going to keep watching. They go a little silly over the top on trying to present Colin Farrell‘s character as a good guy.

Posted: **Wed Apr 17, 2024 10:39 am**

Is it like a Swingers sort of vibe?

Posted: **Wed Apr 17, 2024 10:45 am**

Jerloma wrote: ↑Wed Apr 17, 2024 10:39 am Is it like a Swingers sort of vibe?

Not really. Farrell is a modern, empathetic but still tough, troubled private eye. It’s a noir-ish crime show on the surface, but a character study underneath.

Posted: **Wed Apr 17, 2024 11:10 am**

So, as an example, during the last episode, they kept splicing in scenes from Humphrey Bogart movies... It's stuff like that... It's more of a distraction than I would like and to SC's point, it's a little heavy handed (to me).

But, overall, Farrell carries the show enough to kind of allow for that stuff to the point that we are digging it.

Posted: **Wed Apr 17, 2024 12:58 pm**

I think Colin Ferrell is one of those actors who I've liked everything he's been in.

Posted: **Wed Apr 17, 2024 5:41 pm**

Travis Kelce to play the role of Mr. Peanutbutter in an Amazon Prime’s version of “Celebrities: What Do They Know? Do They Know Things? Let’s Find Out!”

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/399 ... -celebrity

Posted: **Wed Apr 17, 2024 11:24 pm**

Back to Sugar, it’s kind of fun to see actors from other shows show up, such as Holly Flax, Skylar White, and Rich Schweikart.

Posted: **Thu Apr 18, 2024 9:16 am**

I just finished Season 2 of The Wire last night. At this point you can put me in Team Wire for that argument between The Sopranos and The Wire. I think it just has a more compelling storyline than Sopranos, which didn't seem to have as much of a constant through line.

I'd still rate Breaking Bad and GOT (and maybe even BCS) above either of those, but they're all great.

Posted: **Thu Apr 18, 2024 9:47 am**

Shirley wrote: ↑Thu Apr 18, 2024 9:16 am I just finished Season 2 of The Wire last night. At this point you can put me in Team Wire for that argument between The Sopranos and The Wire. I think it just has a more compelling storyline than Sopranos, which didn't seem to have as much of a constant through line.

I'd still rate Breaking Bad and GOT (and maybe even BCS) above either of those, but they're all great.

Good analysis. Season 2 of The Wire was the one that got me hooked; I thought season 1 was good but didn’t totally grab me. I think Sopranos, Wire, Breaking Bad, and Mad Men are the Big Four in some order. GoT, while its highs were as high as any of the previous four, did seem to have seasons of only ok quality, while I think there wasn’t a single season of the Big Four that really left me underwhelmed. The only season of the Big Four that I was even slightly disappointed was the one year of Mad Men that took place in 1968, and that’s only because that particular year was so transformative that I was expecting the best season of tv ever, and it didn’t reach that.

Posted: **Thu Apr 18, 2024 9:49 am**

Sounds like it's time for my bi-yearly attempt to get into The Wire. I never make it past like episode 6, so I'll power through this time.

Posted: **Thu Apr 18, 2024 9:58 am**

As an addendum to my prior post, one other thing that the Big Four had was there were legit laugh out loud moments. Good drama has comic relief, and those four brought it in spades. The Pine Barrens. Layne Price beating up Pete Campbell with the Marquis of Queensberry stance. Taking notes on a criminal conspiracy. Badger and Skinny Pete. For me if there’s good humor that breaks the tension it adds to the experience.

Posted: **Sat Apr 27, 2024 10:38 pm**

Baby Reindeer on Netflix is crazy.

Posted: **Sun Apr 28, 2024 10:00 pm**

Giff wrote: ↑Sat Apr 27, 2024 10:38 pm Baby Reindeer on Netflix is crazy.

My wife and I powered through that last night. I wasn't a big fan of the episode centring on the guy he met at the Fringe, but otherwise very engaging.

Posted: **Mon Apr 29, 2024 7:00 pm**

We just finished Deadloch on Prime video. Australian comedic murder mystery series. Female showrunners and the main characters are a lesbian couple and an odd woman cop, so it’s fairly female-oriented. But even an old philistine such as myself enjoyed it. First couple episodes were a bit chaotic, with lots of different characters, but it got better as it progressed. Lots of good reviews.

Posted: **Tue Apr 30, 2024 8:19 am**

Mentioned it in the cantaloupe thread, but Resident Alien is so much fun. It can be cheesy but the writing is good with so many plot twists. And Sheriff Mike is such a good character.

Posted: **Tue Apr 30, 2024 11:01 am**

EdRomero wrote: ↑Tue Apr 30, 2024 8:19 am Mentioned it in the cantaloupe thread, but Resident Alien is so much fun. It can be cheesy but the writing is good with so many plot twists. And Sheriff Mike is such a good character.

You do need a taste or at least a tolerance for goofiness.

If you have that, Alan Tudyk is a worthy successor to Robin Williams and Jim Carrey.

Posted: **Tue Apr 30, 2024 12:05 pm**

Alan Tudyk, Walton Goggins, and Gary Cole need to star in their own TV show together.

Posted: **Tue Apr 30, 2024 12:37 pm**

Johnnie wrote: ↑Tue Apr 30, 2024 12:05 pm Alan Tudyk, Walton Goggins, and Gary Cole need to star in their own TV show together.

I don’t care what it is about, I’m watching!

I started season 2, and I wasn’t liking the first 2 episodes nearly as much as season 1. Got too goofy and the alien became too much of a dick. Took a break, but it’ll stick with it and see if they pull up.

Posted: **Sat May 04, 2024 10:57 am**

The new season of Welcome to Wrexham premiered on Thursday.

Posted: **Mon May 06, 2024 4:45 pm**

Finished "Shogun" last night.

Whole lotta head chopping off going on in that show...which lead to the question: Does a head really just come off that easily? Does it depend on the technique? Sharpness of the blade?

Posted: **Mon May 06, 2024 4:56 pm**

DaveInSeattle wrote: ↑Mon May 06, 2024 4:45 pm Finished "Shogun" last night.

Whole lotta head chopping off going on in that show...which lead to the question: Does a head really just come off that easily? Does it depend on the technique? Sharpness of the blade?

I think katanas are actually quite good at that, with a little practice. My understanding is that in Europe, executions quite often failed to get heads off on the first try though.

Posted: **Mon May 06, 2024 5:25 pm**

I watched The Contestant on Hulu last night. It's a documentary about a game show contestant in Japan, and it's fucking WILD! In 1998, in what seemed like a live variety show, they had this guy living in a tiny windowless apartment, and he couldn't leave until he won $1 million Yen ($8,000) in sweepstakes giveaways. They stripped him naked and filmed him the entire time. He could only eat what he won (and the first few months they slipped him some crackers until he won food. Without giving much away, he lived in solitary confinement naked and on the verge of starvation for 15 months! And he went completely mental. The producer of the gameshow is interviewed throughout, and man is he a fucking sociopath at best. Lied to the contestant about just about everything. Well worth the watch, but it's a bit haunting.

Posted: **Mon May 06, 2024 5:33 pm**

The Sybian wrote: ↑Mon May 06, 2024 5:25 pm I watched The Contestant on Hulu last night. It's a documentary about a game show contestant in Japan, and it's fucking WILD! In 1998, in what seemed like a live variety show, they had this guy living in a tiny windowless apartment, and he couldn't leave until he won $1 million Yen ($8,000) in sweepstakes giveaways. They stripped him naked and filmed him the entire time. He could only eat what he won (and the first few months they slipped him some crackers until he won food. Without giving much away, he lived in solitary confinement naked and on the verge of starvation for 15 months! And he went completely mental. The producer of the gameshow is interviewed throughout, and man is he a fucking sociopath at best. Lied to the contestant about just about everything. Well worth the watch, but it's a bit haunting.

My GF heard a story about this on NPR a couple of weeks ago. Sounds absolutely crazy.

Posted: **Mon May 06, 2024 5:38 pm**

The Sybian wrote: ↑Mon May 06, 2024 5:25 pm I watched The Contestant on Hulu last night. It's a documentary about a game show contestant in Japan, and it's fucking WILD! In 1998, in what seemed like a live variety show, they had this guy living in a tiny windowless apartment, and he couldn't leave until he won $1 million Yen ($8,000) in sweepstakes giveaways. They stripped him naked and filmed him the entire time. He could only eat what he won (and the first few months they slipped him some crackers until he won food. Without giving much away, he lived in solitary confinement naked and on the verge of starvation for 15 months! And he went completely mental. The producer of the gameshow is interviewed throughout, and man is he a fucking sociopath at best. Lied to the contestant about just about everything. Well worth the watch, but it's a bit haunting.

Inspiration for Oldboy?

Posted: **Mon May 06, 2024 5:47 pm**

DaveInSeattle wrote: ↑Mon May 06, 2024 5:33 pm
The Sybian wrote: ↑Mon May 06, 2024 5:25 pm I watched The Contestant on Hulu last night. It's a documentary about a game show contestant in Japan, and it's fucking WILD! In 1998, in what seemed like a live variety show, they had this guy living in a tiny windowless apartment, and he couldn't leave until he won $1 million Yen ($8,000) in sweepstakes giveaways. They stripped him naked and filmed him the entire time. He could only eat what he won (and the first few months they slipped him some crackers until he won food. Without giving much away, he lived in solitary confinement naked and on the verge of starvation for 15 months! And he went completely mental. The producer of the gameshow is interviewed throughout, and man is he a fucking sociopath at best. Lied to the contestant about just about everything. Well worth the watch, but it's a bit haunting.
My GF heard a story about this on NPR a couple of weeks ago. Sounds absolutely crazy.

It was a segment of a repeated episode of "This American Life" from last week.

Posted: **Mon May 06, 2024 7:06 pm**

Google News suggested this Polygon article about it to me today. I haven't read it yet, but I will when I have a minute.

https://www.polygon.com/reviews/2414844 ... ubi-review

Posted: **Mon May 06, 2024 7:30 pm**

Johnnie wrote: ↑Mon May 06, 2024 7:06 pm Google News suggested this Polygon article about it to me today. I haven't read it yet, but I will when I have a minute.

https://www.polygon.com/reviews/2414844 ... ubi-review

This article perfectly summed up a couple of my thoughts on the documentary. They did kind of present it as factual and a little wacky and didn't really delve into how insanely fucked up the entire contest was. I was really annoyed at the lack of pressing the producer on what he did and how he can fucking live with himself. I'd love a few trauma experts weighing in on several issues of what occurred, but the doc didn't do any of that. Just, "wow, this was a weird show." The way they ended the contest was infuriating, like watching a live audience and millions of TV viewers taunting and laughing at a victim of extreme torture. And no comment on that at all from the documentary.

Posted: **Tue May 07, 2024 10:21 am**

Johnnie wrote: ↑Mon May 06, 2024 7:06 pm Google News suggested this Polygon article about it to me today. I haven't read it yet, but I will when I have a minute.

https://www.polygon.com/reviews/2414844 ... ubi-review

Ha, that article starts off with the same Oldboy thought I expressed above.

Posted: **Tue May 07, 2024 11:28 am**

Shirley wrote: ↑Tue May 07, 2024 10:21 am
Johnnie wrote: ↑Mon May 06, 2024 7:06 pm Google News suggested this Polygon article about it to me today. I haven't read it yet, but I will when I have a minute.

https://www.polygon.com/reviews/2414844 ... ubi-review
Ha, that article starts off with the same Oldboy thought I expressed above.

I really need to see that movie.

Posted: **Wed May 08, 2024 2:15 pm**

Shirley wrote: ↑Mon May 06, 2024 4:56 pm
DaveInSeattle wrote: ↑Mon May 06, 2024 4:45 pm Finished "Shogun" last night.

Whole lotta head chopping off going on in that show...which lead to the question: Does a head really just come off that easily? Does it depend on the technique? Sharpness of the blade?
I think katanas are actually quite good at that, with a little practice. My understanding is that in Europe, executions quite often failed to get heads off on the first try though.

I was wondering this too.

I guess they all have lots of practice?

Posted: **Wed May 08, 2024 3:37 pm**

Technique is, apparently, important, but from what I've read... Yes, a katana in a skilled person's hands could absolutely decapitate.

Posted: **Wed May 08, 2024 3:39 pm**

Did you people learn nothing from game of thrones?

Posted: **Wed May 08, 2024 3:56 pm**

I did a fair amount of "research" when the Kill Bill movies came out. Katanas are pretty flipping amazing.

Posted: **Wed May 08, 2024 3:57 pm**

Off to search unsolved decapitation murders in southern Maryland/DC area.

Posted: **Wed May 08, 2024 4:11 pm**

Posted: **Wed May 08, 2024 4:16 pm**

Do you remember me telling you guys about this?

Posted: **Wed May 08, 2024 4:27 pm**

So how close is "almost decapitate"?

Posted: **Wed May 08, 2024 4:31 pm**

Steve of phpBB wrote: ↑Wed May 08, 2024 4:27 pm So how close is "almost decapitate"?

I'm guessing that means the head is just hanging on like a jack-in-the-box head.

The Swamp

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