Lost in Space
Decided to watch this on a whim last night. Two episodes in and I already dislike everyone, they're all wankers. They consistently make stupid decisions then bicker about it like 10 year olds. Should I keep watching or just save myself the bother and quit now?
I was not onboard after the first few episodes but I ended up really enjoying it. It’s cheesy as fuck, schmaltzy and often obvious and plotholey but I did like it. Even Smith grew on me, somewhat.
It’s no classic but I’m up for S3!
A man who could tell more truth and eat fewer pies.
I think the similarity with ME was quite well noted when it first came out. I watched the first few episodes and quickly bailed on the rest, bored the tits off me.
This was pretty good. It took me a few episodes to get into, but once it hooked me I didn't watch anything else until I'd finished. I think it left a poor first impression when so many of the superheroes on screen are just a bit too derivative, with an Obviously Superman and Obviously Batman and Obviously The Flash, in fact the entire major superhero team at the start of the series is just a massive rip off of the entire Justice League, and it leaves you wondering whether the series will lack original ideas. It definitely picks up though, with the series' major hook happening at the end of the first episode, and the story and characters are interesting. There wasn't a single part that I thought was filler.
I think it could have done with a bigger animation budget; the style is decent but the framerate of elements across even the same frame can vary distractingly, and it occasionally has what look like fill frames (which aren't as detailed as key frames) left on screen for noticeable periods leaving the occasional face of a major character looking like fanart. I will say that I'm pretty sure it had a soundtrack, though I can't for the life of me remember what style it even was, but at least the voice cast is good.
This was pretty good. It took me a few episodes to get into, but once it hooked me I didn't watch anything else until I'd finished. I think it left a poor first impression when so many of the superheroes on screen are just a bit too derivative, with an Obviously Superman and Obviously Batman and Obviously The Flash, in fact the entire major superhero team at the start of the series is just a massive rip off of the entire Justice League, and it leaves you wondering whether the series will lack original ideas. It definitely picks up though, with the series' major hook happening at the end of the first episode, and the story and characters are interesting. There wasn't a single part that I thought was filler.
I think it could have done with a bigger animation budget; the style is decent but the framerate of elements across even the same frame can vary distractingly, and it occasionally has what look like fill frames (which aren't as detailed as key frames) left on screen for noticeable periods leaving the occasional face of a major character looking like fanart. I will say that I'm pretty sure it had a soundtrack, though I can't for the life of me remember what style it even was, but at least the voice cast is good.
Maybe just me, but I'm pretty sure that analogy of existing superheroes is deliberate.
Yeah, it could be that the author wanted to give a bit of an emotional punch to the deaths of characters we'd just been introduced to, without needing to actually develop those characters. Using someone else's work just to immediately kill them felt a bit cheap; a little too much like a rip off rather than an homage, even if the intended effect is successful. Having Obviously The Flash literally snapping his own wrists to continue punching Omniman while having his skull crushed was absolutely brutal, and Obviously Batman went out every bit as quick as I would have imagined a non-superpowered man with a few gadgets would while fighting a god.
The Teen Team was I think a little fairer in regards to alluding to another's work while remaining distinct. There are parallels to the Teen Titans, but each character feels a bit more original, though as they were central characters this was clearly necessary.
The characters I think I most enjoyed though were the Mauler Twins, who to me were a really fun and original concept. The constant bickering over who was the original and who was the clone (and later we find out that they don't actually know, even though surely it would be obvious when one wakes up on the table that the clone was lying on before the mind copy), and the possibility of one betraying and sacrificing the other made for an interesting dynamic. They're introduced as generic bad guys, but they get built up over the course of the series, and I hope they make a return in the second season.
It's probably worth mentioning that I have no knowledge of the comic, which began in 2003 from my brief searching. 2003 feels like a very long time ago for the superhero genre given how incredibly popular its become in the cinema, so I do concede that this was probably written in a much different environment.
True, but although the characters in The Boys followed the same superpower archetypes, they were full characters that had individual development, with personalities that aren't really tied to their DC counterparts. I absolutely agree that Homelander is styled directly off of Superman, but the whole premise of The Boys makes it a more palatable use of the material to me. I think it's made pretty clear within two minutes of the start of The Boys that A-Train is not The Flash.
Spoiler
The original Guardians don't live long enough to become distinct. They were used for their association and then immediately discarded. It's not the fact that the superpowers matched, let's face it there are plenty of superheroes that share power sets, it's the fact that they were used in the manner they were.
Castlevania Season 3 is now on Netflix and is up to its usual gore soaked hilarity. Love it
Jupiters Legacy
Anyone taken a look at this yet? I honestly don't know what to make of it after 3 episodes. The costumes look laughably bad, the effects are pish and the action sequences suck balls. But, the flashback bits are very good and a much more interesting story than the main plot. Will keep at it and see how it pans out.
Excellent, I'll get stuck into Castlevania tonight
I've seen very mixed reviews of JL, so think it's one I may skip. TBH The Boys, Invincible and Umbrella Academy have set such a high bar for superhero shows over the past couple of years, I'm not sure I can watch something that's pretty ropey in comparison.
Jupiters Legacy
Anyone taken a look at this yet? I honestly don't know what to make of it after 3 episodes. The costumes look laughably bad, the effects are pish and the action sequences suck balls. But, the flashback bits are very good and a much more interesting story than the main plot. Will keep at it and see how it pans out.
Angry Joe hated it - gave it 5/10. It is not getting good feedback
FYI - Love, Death & Robots Season 2 (Netflix) is now available
Games playing : Bioshock (Remastered) / Total War Britannia / Dirt 4
Meh, pretty dull this time around unfortunately. Animation is top notch but some of the stories feel unfinished. Did like the Christmas and Snow in the Desert one
Meh, pretty dull this time around unfortunately. Animation is top notch but some of the stories feel unfinished. Did like the Christmas and Snow in the Desert one
I think I concur with this, but one thing I did feel was that the overall quality of the season was more even than the first. The best episodes don't quite reach the same heights, but the worst episodes aren't as bad either. It goes along at a steady 6-7.5 kinda pace, while for me anyway the first would go from a 4 or 5 to an 8 or 9.
Another thing I'd say is that the style of animation is far less varied than the first. With two exceptions - one going for a more Pixar style and the other looking more hand-drawn - the rest pretty much all opted for a hyper-realistic CGI type of animation. It was impressive, but also a shame there wasn't more variation across the series.
