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I have to say I was left somewhat dissapointed with the majority of the Guillermo del Toro episodes, perhaps because I was expecting them to be really good. A couple were 7/10, the rest ranging from meh to positively boring.
 
I have to say I was left somewhat dissapointed with the majority of the Guillermo del Toro episodes, perhaps because I was expecting them to be really good. A couple were 7/10, the rest ranging from meh to positively boring.
How many are there?
How did you rate the first two? If they weren't some of the meh / positively boring ones then there is no point me carrying on.
I find it odd the show really puts a focus is put on the director of each episode, when to an extent they are not going to be able to morph a basically shite story into anything decent without a lot of deep thought and time.
 
With something like Cabinet of Curiosities the 45 to 60 length is tricky. It's not like a feature film where there is the time to develop characters and subplots and it's also not like the segments of an anthology film which are between 15 and 30 minutes and which can get away with coasting on one idea. The daddy of all of these type of shows The Twilight Zone worked better when its episodes where under half an hour, then when they extended the episodes to 55 minutes for one season. They quickly went back to the 30 minute format as it worked much better.

I've now watched the first two and the second one by Vincenzo Natali (Cube, Splice) is an improvement on the first episode, if still no great shakes. Both feel at once too long and too short. I will skip some of the more poorly regarded episodes but I will watch the ones by Jennifer Kent (The Babadook) and Panos Cosmatos (Beyond the Black Rainbow, Mandy)
 
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I now watched the first two and the second is an improvement on the first episode if still no great shakes. Both feel at once too long and too short. I will skip some of the more poorly regarded episodes but I will watch the ones by Jennifer Kent (The Babadook) and Panos Cosmatos (Beyond the Black Rainbow, Mandy)
Interesting. I would probably have just ditched it, but I'd like to see what Panos Cosmatos does. My own reaction on this answers what I said about a focus directors over writers.
 
How many are there?
How did you rate the first two? If they weren't some of the meh / positively boring ones then there is no point me carrying on.
I find it odd the show really puts a focus is put on the director of each episode, when to an extent they are not going to be able to morph a basically shite story into anything decent without a lot of deep thought and time.
Eight. The beauty of anthology series is that some episodes being really bad doesn’t mean others can be good, or great.

The two I enjoyed the most are The Autopsy, and Pickman’s Model. Worth watching imo, though you might still not like them. But they are better than the rest.
 
I saw the first one and it really could have been a 22 minuter like other better mystery anthology series. Quite liked the cast and production design, but often that’s all you get with Billy The Bull, as I like to call him.
Will still check out the others if I get round to it. Mind you, I said that about Sandman and haven’t gone back to watch the rest after enjoying the first. I’m not cut out for tv series anymore, it seems.
 
Mind you, I said that about Sandman and haven’t gone back to watch the rest after enjoying the first. I’m not cut out for tv series anymore, it seems.
Oh yeah, I said I would give that a decent chance too (only seen episode one and two). . . . but never went back.
 
Panos Cosmatos (Beyond the Black Rainbow, Mandy)
I watched this one today . . . . much better, but I think still suffered from the same sag you mentioned due to the length of each episode.
I'm glad you mentioned it, or I would have just ignored the rest of the series.
I think it basically looked and sounded much more interesting. Just as many unanswered questions in the writing as the other episodes I have seen but it worked far far better with the direction (there does appear to be basic formula - at least in the three that I have seen).
I might go as far to say that enjoyed this one. . . which is a bit leap from the first two.
 
Orang Utan & ATOMIC SUPLEX
The Sandman really is one series that deserves sticking with. Even if you watch the third episode and are still unimpressed, do carry on- and you’ll see very quickly that eps 4 & 5 are a completely different beast, with outstanding individual performances that alone are worth having given it the benefit of the doubt, as well as a superb setup and story that makes them feel like standalone plays.

Even if you subsequently get bored with the rest of the series and abandon it, I’d be surprised if you regretted having watched the two episodes with David Thewlis.
 
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Started The Playlist.

I'm a sucker for Scandinavian series but this is no murder / crime series.
Loosely based on the life of the creator of spotify...who starts from nothing much...no university degree...gets rejected by digital companies including his favoured one...decides to start up his own website despite having nothing.[spoiler/]
 
Bloody hell, Blockbuster is a huge pile of shite. I was expecting a real life story adaptation about flogging a dead horse, not Superstore with even less laughs.
 
Started The Playlist.

I'm a sucker for Scandinavian series but this is no murder / crime series.
Loosely based on the life of the creator of spotify...who starts from nothing much...no university degree...gets rejected by digital companies including his favoured one...decides to start up his own website despite having nothing.[spoiler/]


This was actually good.
 
How are negative laughs possible?
I was going to make a joke about it being so bad that it disproved mathematics or something, but it got me thinking . . . Superstore is really bad isn't it. . there really are no laughs. I have watched it accidentally when the TV has just been on, it just rolls on with some weak unrealistic story and characters which it likes to think is comedy in itself. Maybe it's just low level backgound TV, the equivalent like lift music.

. . . anyway blockbuster is worse.

Annoying, because there is probably an interesting real life story there to mine. Instead it is inexplicably in a contemporary setting long after anything interesting is happening. They mention modern films that make me want to ask more questions - where do they get stock? As the last shop where do they get their branding supplies, why do they have six staff working the daytime shift all at once? I want to hear more about their interaction with corporate as the whole thing goes down.

Instead they have gone for an entirely made up story (for instance that's not how live TV works). Very strange.
 
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I really liked Superstore so I might give Blockbuster a go.
I somehow had never heard of Superstore before, until I noticed it being mentioned ITT in the last couple of days. But seeing as it achieves the holy trinity of film & TV reviews (widely acclaimed by professional critics and audiences, and being profoundly disliked by Atomic Suplex), how can it be anything other than brilliant? Will be my next thing to watch :)
 
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You are kidding?

It's not Mrs Browns boys, but it's not very good.
Well, obviously my comment about your negative opinion being being an indispensable sign was tongue in cheek, but I was not kidding regarding the reviews/ratings by both critics and laymen. They really are pretty glowing across the board, if not universal of course.

As I said I have not seen it yet, so I can’t express an opinion of it yet, but when I’m undecided on what to try out next, and there’s consensus among highbrow critics and audiences about a given series, it seems a no-brainer to give it a try, and even stick with it for a bit longer than you’d normally do if the first few episodes aren’t doing it for you.

The first seasons of Community or Parks and Recreation weren’t terrible, but neither were particularly good or funny. If it hadn’t been for the excellent reviews across the board, I would have certainly not persevered past the first couple of episodes, and missed two superb comedy series I love.
 
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Just finished Enola Holmes 2. Brilliantly entertaining, better than the first one, and thoroughly recommended.

Not really kiddies or even teenage film even if it might theoretically be classed as one- grownups will enjoy it as much as younger audiences. Running time might initially seem a bit long, though it moves quickly enough.

Mostly good to very favourable reviews and good entertainment at the least. Anyone who might think it is crap would unfortunately have to be added to my ‘po-faced cunt’ list of shame.

A few outlets like the Telegraph have given it a bad review, but without giving anything away, I can exactly see why a woke-obsessed right wing outlet would.
 
Deadwind
Series 3.

Didnt spot it til today.
Great Scandi series.

I was disappointed by the first series. It all felt too shoe horned. Decent performances by the leads but something about the writing didn't work for me

Maybe it improves
 
I was disappointed by the first series. It all felt too shoe horned. Decent performances by the leads but something about the writing didn't work for me

Maybe it improves


I may not be impartial.
I love Scandi series
And series 2 was great imo.
Series 3 a little disjointed...or else I fell asleep.. (a distinct possibllity).
 
Felon - surprisingly watchable prison punch up drama with a beardy Val Kilmer and Stephen Dorff. I wasn't expecting much tbh but it's pacey and largely well-acted.

Based broadly on real events at Corcoran State Prison:

Staged fights, betting guards, gunfire and death for the gladiators​

US jail brutality: 'Cockfights' and shootings investigated by FBI​





Though predictably:

 
I watched another Cabinets of Curiosity episode which was just as tedious as the rest and that's it for me. Instead I started watching a Norwegian Netflix horror anthology series called Bloodride which two episodes in is great fun. These are under half an hour and more like Tales of the Unexpected in that they are psychological horror shorts with a plot twist, rather than 40 minutes of tedium to wheel out a monster.
 
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