Watching the second season of Snowpiercer on Netflix. (My review of Season 1 here.) Pretty good so far. It looks like they got more money for visual effects this time. More exterior shots of the train than I remember from Season 1. And a great addition to the cast: Sean Bean!
I'm also rewatching all seasons of The Americans, and I didn't realize until now that the actress who played Martha in that one is the same who plays Ruth in Snowpiercer: Alison Wright. (She colored her hair.) She's outstanding in both.
Watching The Little Drummer Girl. Set in the 1970s, involving Israeli spies and Palestinian terrorists. Based on a Le Carré novel, so that's almost* a guarantee it will be good. Also: directed by Park Chan-wook of Snowpiercer fame.
* The Russia House was kinda disappointing. I don't think Sean Connery was a good fit for that one.
Still watching Snowpiercer, but it's only one new episode per week.
Also found the second season of Occupied with subtitles. It's about a Russian occupation of Norway in the present day. So far, I'm not terribly impressed. The first season was a lot better. The second season is almost entirely about the people who are collaborating with the Russians - in government, the security services, and business. It gets a little tiring (to me anyway) to constantly see people compromise and make the same mistakes.
Finished Season 2 of Snowpiercer, which is still going strong! Looking forward to the third season.
I found Season 2 of Occupied disappointing. The incredible premise of the first season -- Russia invades Norway at the behest of the EU -- plays an even more important role in this season, which makes the whole story hard to believe. As I mentioned earlier, the show's emphasis on the collaborators, as opposed to the resistance, is also tiring. I don't think I'll bother with the third, and final, season.
I have it on my Netflix watchlist for a re-watch. Loved it!
There's rumors of a sequel, but presumably without Armie Kammer (who played Soviet agent Illya Kuryakin), who has been accused by several women of sexual abuse.
Watched the first episode of Halston on Netflix. It's kinda fun!
Also watching Showtime's The Reagans, currently on episode 3 out of 4. It's terribly one-sided, making Ronald Reagan out to be the tool of racist plutocrats and Nancy a tone-defeat socialite.
Finally found a version of Deutschland 89 with English subtitles! It's the third and last season of the show, and it's taking place around the time of the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Kim's Convenience is on Netflix in the Netherlands! I had great great things about this series, and so far so good. It's really funny and heartfelt. I watched 5 episodes in a row yesterday.
Also watched Army of Shadows, the 1969 classic about the French Resistance. Review coming to Never Was soon.
After Army of Shadows, I watched two more French movies:
Le Cercle Rouge (The Red Circle), by the same director - Jean-Pierre Melville. It's excellent. Slow burner, but worth it.
Is Paris Burning? an American-French co-production. It's so-so. It has some great visuals, and an impressive cast, but the dialogue is at times ridiculous.
I watched Is Paris Burning? some months ago and loved it. There is such pathos in so many scenes - like when the French tanks come rolling into Paris for the first time in years.
Watched Melville's Le Samouraï. Even better than Le Cercle Rouge, I highly recommend it, especially if you're a fan of film noir. (Although it is in color.)
Saw Free Guy, starring Ryan Reynolds and Jodie Comer. It's fun! I knew Comer from Killing Eve. She plays a completely different character here. Quite impressive!
Finally had a chance to watch Loki, which is great. Saw influences of Counterpart, which I think is the most underrated sci-fi show of recent years, as well as the Fallout video games.
Saw Hitchcock's Rear Window this week, which had been on my watchlist forever. Good fun! Very... suspenseful.
Also saw a good Italian movie on Netflix: Romanzo di una strage, released internationally as Piazza Fontana: The Italian Conspiracy. It's about the country's infamous "Years of Lead". I'm writing a review for the blog.
Saw Dune in the cinema, which was excellent, but I didn't realize it was going to be the first of two parts. Gorgeously done, though. I definitely recommend seeing it on the big screen.
No Time to Die next, but the cinema's almost fully booked all week!
I'm rewatching The Closer, starring Kyra Sedgwick - my favorite police series.
Also watching a little Star Trek on the side, hence the recent updates to Forgotten Trek. I'm waiting the remastered/restored version of The Motion Picture to come out. I haven't been able to find a release date, but when the project was announced in July 2021, they said it would take "6 to 8 months".
Comments
Watching the second season of Snowpiercer on Netflix. (My review of Season 1 here.) Pretty good so far. It looks like they got more money for visual effects this time. More exterior shots of the train than I remember from Season 1. And a great addition to the cast: Sean Bean!
I'm also rewatching all seasons of The Americans, and I didn't realize until now that the actress who played Martha in that one is the same who plays Ruth in Snowpiercer: Alison Wright. (She colored her hair.) She's outstanding in both.
Watching The Little Drummer Girl. Set in the 1970s, involving Israeli spies and Palestinian terrorists. Based on a Le Carré novel, so that's almost* a guarantee it will be good. Also: directed by Park Chan-wook of Snowpiercer fame.
* The Russia House was kinda disappointing. I don't think Sean Connery was a good fit for that one.
The Little Drummer Girl was good! I recommend it.
Still watching Snowpiercer, but it's only one new episode per week.
Also found the second season of Occupied with subtitles. It's about a Russian occupation of Norway in the present day. So far, I'm not terribly impressed. The first season was a lot better. The second season is almost entirely about the people who are collaborating with the Russians - in government, the security services, and business. It gets a little tiring (to me anyway) to constantly see people compromise and make the same mistakes.
Finished Season 2 of Snowpiercer, which is still going strong! Looking forward to the third season.
I found Season 2 of Occupied disappointing. The incredible premise of the first season -- Russia invades Norway at the behest of the EU -- plays an even more important role in this season, which makes the whole story hard to believe. As I mentioned earlier, the show's emphasis on the collaborators, as opposed to the resistance, is also tiring. I don't think I'll bother with the third, and final, season.
Started watching a documentary series on Amazon Prime: The Challenge: ETA.
Last night I watched the 2015 version of The Man From U.N.C.L.E, which was quite enjoyable - I watched it partially on this site's prompting.
I have it on my Netflix watchlist for a re-watch. Loved it!
There's rumors of a sequel, but presumably without Armie Kammer (who played Soviet agent Illya Kuryakin), who has been accused by several women of sexual abuse.
Watched the first episode of Halston on Netflix. It's kinda fun!
Also watching Showtime's The Reagans, currently on episode 3 out of 4. It's terribly one-sided, making Ronald Reagan out to be the tool of racist plutocrats and Nancy a tone-defeat socialite.
Finally found a version of Deutschland 89 with English subtitles! It's the third and last season of the show, and it's taking place around the time of the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Watched the second season of Lupin, on Netflix. Not as good as the first one, but still enjoyable.
Kim's Convenience is on Netflix in the Netherlands! I had great great things about this series, and so far so good. It's really funny and heartfelt. I watched 5 episodes in a row yesterday.
Also watched Army of Shadows, the 1969 classic about the French Resistance. Review coming to Never Was soon.
After Army of Shadows, I watched two more French movies:
I watched Is Paris Burning? some months ago and loved it. There is such pathos in so many scenes - like when the French tanks come rolling into Paris for the first time in years.
The soundtrack is also gorgeous.
True! The soundtrack was good. And it does have good shots. Maybe the dialogue is better in the French version.
Here's my review of Army of Shadows.
Watched Melville's Le Samouraï. Even better than Le Cercle Rouge, I highly recommend it, especially if you're a fan of film noir. (Although it is in color.)
Watched all five seasons of Kim's Convenience. Great show! Now I feel a little sad there isn't more.
Any recommendations for what to watch next?
Watched Judas and the Black Messiah tonight - a brutal yet deeply necessary film. Enthralling the whole way through.
Saw Jungle Cruise in the cinema. It's a fun movie! Review on the blog:
Also started watching Miami Vice. It's been on my watchlist for years.
Saw Free Guy, starring Ryan Reynolds and Jodie Comer. It's fun! I knew Comer from Killing Eve. She plays a completely different character here. Quite impressive!
Finally had a chance to watch Loki, which is great. Saw influences of Counterpart, which I think is the most underrated sci-fi show of recent years, as well as the Fallout video games.
Saw Hitchcock's Rear Window this week, which had been on my watchlist forever. Good fun! Very... suspenseful.
Also saw a good Italian movie on Netflix: Romanzo di una strage, released internationally as Piazza Fontana: The Italian Conspiracy. It's about the country's infamous "Years of Lead". I'm writing a review for the blog.
Saw Dune in the cinema, which was excellent, but I didn't realize it was going to be the first of two parts. Gorgeously done, though. I definitely recommend seeing it on the big screen.
No Time to Die next, but the cinema's almost fully booked all week!
Saw No Time to Die. Not bad, not great. I think Craig peaked in Skyfall. Curious what will happen to the franchise next, though. Another reboot?
Also watched a couple of Hitchcock classics recently: Strangers on a Train, which I didn't enjoy very much, and Rear Window, which is very good.
Saw The French Dispatch. A lot of fun, but I agree with the reviewers it's not Wes Anderson's best. The Grand Budapest Hotel is still my favorite.
I'm rewatching The Closer, starring Kyra Sedgwick - my favorite police series.
Also watching a little Star Trek on the side, hence the recent updates to Forgotten Trek. I'm waiting the remastered/restored version of The Motion Picture to come out. I haven't been able to find a release date, but when the project was announced in July 2021, they said it would take "6 to 8 months".