The Gaming Den

Trust(1990) is a damn good movie on Netflix. The last few episodes of One Piece on Hulu, the ones detailing the history of Monteblanc Noland and Kolgara, are ridiculously amazing.

Been watching:
• Burn Notice
Pure, undiluted awesomeness.
• Castle
I could give two shits for the crimes/"mysteries"... sooooo formulaic it hurts, but I love watching Castle's antics. I even read "Heat Wave" (my parents have the 2nd book but I am only just recently wrapping up my xmas/bday books to start moving onto such delights.

Formerly watching:
• Human Target
Second season has turned so shitty that I stopped watching. I hate everything the Ilsa Pucci character and her resources bring to the show
• Lie To Me
Dunno why I stopped watching. I think I fell behind and didn't feel like catching back up on episodes.
• NCIS
Their crime mysteries were actually interesting, but their frequent "hacking", the incredibly annoying Abby, and evil Gibbs (he's unethical and a murderer who pretends to be a cop) were too much to stomach. I wish Tony had stayed team leader oh so long ago and Gibbs had stayed retired.
• House, MD.
I fell behind after hating a season or two. Episodes that I've seen lately were good, but I for some reason haven't gotten back into the show. Again, the medical "mysteries" are too formulaic. I wish there was a ton more clinic time because those short interactions had been hands-down my favorites.
• The Cape
I watched the first episode, and decided it was not for me. I don't mind impossible stuff, but I do mind stupid stuff. his training took like no time at all. his battle with scales was stupid. the midget's battle with scales likewise. I'm done.

Cancelled/ended, but I liked them:
• Caprica
• Defying Gravity
• Life
• SG-U


Been watching various movies on rental lately. I cannot warn enough that The American is a shitty movie.

My wife did our taxes during that movie and I wanted to turn it off, but couldn't turn away from the train wreck, hoping that, yes, eventually something entertaining was going to happen. But no. Never did. Ever.

Just watched Moon (finally!). Wife and I both liked it a lot. I was frustrated with the main character(s) that they were so slow to catch on to what was going on...

From the trailer, I was given the impression that the guy goes crazy... but once the clone went out to the wreck I saw that wasn't really the case. At that point onward I was grumbling at the TV. No, look you fools, that's a cleaner team coming to kill you clones! Plan your counter-attack, raise your clone army! I know, they couldn't have raised more than a few, tops, but still... take over the arriving ship, then find the other stations and begin the clone uprising.

I was surprised at the planned obsolescence built into the clones... didn't catch that until I saw him cough up blood in his suit.

I kind of forgive them their lack of immediate insight since they did have some physical and mental troubles of their own, *and* they didn't realize they were in a movie. I still imagine that I would have behaved quite differently if I were in such a situation.

Watching currently:

No Ordinary Family
Parks & Recreations
Community
The Office
30 Rock
Archer
G.I. Joe Renegades
Young Justice
Justified
Leverage
Lie to Me
Castle
Chopped
Rupaul's Drag Race
Portlandia
Onion News Network

I've also been watching an anime series lately called Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica. I'm not overly fond of anime...I think that majority of it is insipid garbage at best, and training for pedophiles at the worst. That said. this is the first series in a while that I've eagerly awaited each installment. From the outside, this looks like a bog-standard magical girl anime show...oh but it is far, far from that. This series is doing to magical girl shows what Evangelion did to giant super mecha shows. I don't want to spoil anything here, but if you're into anime then I highly recommend this series.

Madoka is fantastic so far.

Other than that I've been watching QI/Quite Interesting, an utterly hilarious quiz/panel show hosted by the amazing Stephen Fry. Absolutely hilarious show.

I went visiting yesterday. My aunt and her kids were watching the first Ghostbuster movie. I hadn't seen it in years.

And I can't hear the theme music without grinning.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCHFVTQKqdQ

Still watching Bleach and Naruto, although it looks like Bleach is going back to filler hell until the manga pulls away again. Naruto is mostly just because I have little else to watch.

Castle is a mainstay, although being deployed again I don't get to watch it anymore. (Not because I can't download it, but because it's a thing I do with my wife. Might have her send the episodes out here.) We fell off of Sanctuary, need to get caught up on that. Beyond that, there isn't anything else we watch regularly.

Otherwise, I'm stuck with whatever sports are on the American Forces Network at the office.

Started watching "Sons of Anarchy." `I like the show quite a bit. I just can't stand anything about the main character though. His walk, his swagger, everything.

Shazbot79 wrote: I've also been watching an anime series lately called Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica. I'm not overly fond of anime...I think that majority of it is insipid garbage at best, and training for pedophiles at the worst. That said. this is the first series in a while that I've eagerly awaited each installment. From the outside, this looks like a bog-standard magical girl anime show...oh but it is far, far from that. This series is doing to magical girl shows what Evangelion did to giant super mecha shows. I don't want to spoil anything here, but if you're into anime then I highly recommend this series.

Finally sat down and watched it last week. Holy fuck it's awesome.

Recently discovered the show "Being Human" (the brit version)...man, that's a good show. Currently watching the complete run via Netflix.

I loved the first season of Being Human but the second season opened with some pretty graphic stuff that scared the everliving crap out of my son, so we dropped it and forgot about it.

In the meantime, I've been rewatching the first season of Stripperella on Netflix, and remembering why the show sent me into such fits of hysteria. It makes fun of everything, including itself.

What was really awesome, though, was when my son changed from Blue's Clues to Stripperella while some church people were visiting. Truly class.

Robin Hood the British TV series (streams on Netflix) is well worth watching. I came to that show at the beginning of the third season and we're watching it from the beginning.

I'm also a huge fan of The Tudors. And I wish that Rome was available for streaming because I adored that series.

Archer. Gloriously fucked up.

CatharzGodfoot wrote:Archer. Gloriously fucked up.

This. I just finished the first season a couple of days ago. That show is so funny, mostly because everyone on it is such a complete asshole. And I really enjoy the animationstyle as well.

I'm looking forward to watching the Burn Notice prequel movie later this month.

I managed to catch the first episode of Game Of Thrones on HBO last night.

Honestly, I don't recommend it to people who haven't read the books, at least currently. The episode is incredibly information-dense and confusing. It's a well done hour-long exposition session, but it's still an hour-long exposition session attempting to cram in two-three hours worth of exposition. It is interspersed with even more nudity and sex than the books themselves. The producers need some sort of medal for that.

Also, the pups need more screentime. I know "Never work with children or animals" is a saying for a reason, but given that they'll probably need to CGI them once they've exceeded the size that modern canines actually reach anyway, they might as well get started early.

Yeah, I would have to basically echo what name_here is saying.

I have read all of the books multiple times, so I knew what was happening pretty much at all times. But, as for the people with whom I watched it, those who had never read aGoT got lost with distressing frequency.

Maybe I would emend the judgment to "Watch it if you haven't read the books only if you have someone with you who has."


That being said, I am finding the show to be a fantastic visualization of GRRM's world. The vast majority of the visual aesthetics present are just there in a way that really screams "Westeros!" to me.

As for the nudity and shit, I imagine the writers are doing what happened with Rome, where the first couple of episodes have a lot of it to try and hook more watchers in those early stages of the show's life.

name_here wrote:Game Of Thrones

I'd be interested in hearing what some of the TGD female posters thought of Game of Thrones.

echo

Currently watching via Netflix:
- Doctor Who
- The Boondocks
- Breaking Bad
- Caprica
- Dollhouse
- Family Guy
- Futurama
- Justified
- Mad Men
- Sons of Anarchy
- Torchwood
- True Blood
- The Walking Dead

Finished watching via Netflix:
- Battlestar Galactica
- The Tudors

echoVanguard wrote:

name_here wrote:Game Of Thrones

I'd be interested in hearing what some of the TGD female posters thought of Game of Thrones.

echo

The show or the books?

PS: Why women specifically? I mean, what are you expecting, I've never met a woman who likes fantasy who didn't like Song of Ice and Fire, what are you expecting "Wha, sexist!"

Yeah, it's trying to relatively true to historical cultures, which were sexist, and there's a real current of "PS, all that sexism is actually wrong, and the female characters are strong kickass people too." I mean, yeah Cersei sort of ends up being the generic butt of the series towards the end of Crow, where everyone is a character you like, who you can sort of sympathize with, who is obviously trying to do something sorta worthwhile where you can respect them, except Cersei, who is terrible. But the only reason the same thing doesn't apply to a male character is because:

Joffery is dead.

I've been in bed for the last two weeks (when I wasn't moving) because of backpain.

During this period I saw "The other guys" and it's a pretty hit or miss movie. But the thing that surprised me was the closing credits. They give actual information about the current stock market and the different ponzi schemes and the amount of money in T.A.R.P bailouts and stuff. That's pretty awesome.

Yeah, I liked the credits on that flick, too.

Agreed.

On a whim, I watched the first part of Tin Man.

I am honestly surprised at how into it I am. Some of the dialog is on the cheesy side, and some of the special effects (especially the ones of those weird spider creatures) are not good at all, but, overall, I am finding it to be a very welldone miniseries (so far).

The fact that Zooey Deschanel remains as beautiful as ever in it certainly does not hurt it at all, either.

Kaelik wrote:

echoVanguard wrote:I'd be interested in hearing what some of the TGD female posters thought of Game of Thrones.

echo

The show or the books?

PS: Why women specifically?

The show.

I saw an interesting article on io9 claiming that "HBO's Game of Thrones is a show for girls" based on the argument that it was all about interpersonal relationships and steamy unmentionables. Since a large percentage of tabletop gamers are GRRM readers in my experience, I was curious if any members of TGD's "girl squadron" had an opinion which I could compare with that of the article.

Kaelik wrote:stuff about the books

I think it's pretty well accepted that the books do a lot to investigate gender equality/identity issues. Brienne of Tarth, Melisandre of Asshai, and the Sansa/Arya dichotomy are several good examples.

echo

I saw that article. It actually said, "Fantasy only appeals to men, and they decided to try making it appeal to women by adding gratuitous female nudity."

No, really.

Yeah, I remember reading a review of that review on Escapist. Bottom line people need to accept that fantasy is a genre of literature and film, not a boys only club. And that article is further from realizing this than anyone else in the world.