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The Boroughs Netflix series from the Stranger Things folks,
Top acting talent
Tired, predictable story
Zzzzzzzzzz
5/10
Please don't make a season 2.
ilovemusic:
The Boroughs Netflix series from the Stranger Things folks,
Top acting talent
Tired, predictable story
Zzzzzzzzzz
5/10
Please don't make a season 2.
Spider-Noir • Prime Video • Season 01: 8 Episodes. About 6 Hours Viewing Time.
Summary: Private investigator Ben Reilly is hired on a couple of straightforward cases... until mobsters, monsters, and a mysterious femme fatale spin a web that brings him face to face with his former life as New York's only superhero: The Spider.
I binge watched the full season over two days. I really enjoyed it.
There are two versions to watch; "Authentic Black & White" or "True-Hue Full Colour". I chose the colour version in Dolby Vision-Atmos, and it looked and sounded great. I did watch one episode in 4K HDR when my Apple TV 4K changed my settings for no apparent reason, and it was noticeably lesser quality than the DV offering.
I had skipped many of Nicolas Cage's recent films, as he seemed to be just going through the motions. Spider-Noir however, has reinstated my faith in him as an actor. Cage plays Ben Reilly/The Spider, a not very good Private Investigator who "retired" from his Superhero role after his girlfriend died and he couldn't save her. With an excellent supporting cast including Brendan Gleeson as "Silvermane" an Irish mob boss, who seemingly has New York's police and hierarchy in his pocket, and characters such as "Tombstone", "Sandman" and "Megawatt", Spider-Noir is a very enjoyable watch. 8/10
Prime Video is available with a 7-Day Trial Period, then a reasonable NZ$10.99 per month.
MAN CAVE: 2025 TCL C7K 75" QD Mini LED TV - Apple TV 4K 64gb Wi-Fi (3nd Gen) - Samsung HW Q990F Soundbar - Panasonic DP-UB820 4K Blu-ray Player - Apple Airpods Max - LIVING ROOM: 2021 Sony 75” X95J LCD/LED TV - Apple TV 4K Wi-Fi 32gb (2nd Gen) - 2 x Apple Homepods Gen.2 (paired) - TECH: iPhone 15 Plus, iPad Gen. 10, Apple Watch SE.
kingdragonfly: STEPHEN COLBERT—"ONLY IN MONROE" (MAY 22, 2026 FULL SHOW)
Utterly amazing and totally bonkers. Jack White was brilliant.
Generally known online as OpenMedia, now working for Red Hat APAC as a Technology Evangelist and Portfolio Architect. Still playing with MythTV and digital media on the side.
Still really liking Dutton Ranch. Different family dynamic with the 3 of them and a good story keeps me looking forward to each episode.
JayADee:
Still really liking Dutton Ranch. Different family dynamic with the 3 of them and a good story keeps me looking forward to each episode.
Do I need to have finished Yellowstone?
Nope, although I did love their characters while they were in that show. I started watching a TVNZ+ free online series called I think Under the Salt Marsh just to watch the lady who plays Beth. If you didn’t like Beth and Rip in Yellowstone you won’t like them in this either. The story is unrelated though, you could watch it standalone- but the characters are still Rip, Beth and Carter.
Star City ATV (8/10 so far)
It's from the "For All Mankind" universe (ie based on the alternate history premise that the USSR won the race to the moon)
How it differs from "For All Mankind":
-its from the Soviet perspective
-British actors
Two episodes in, I’m giving it an 8/10.
My only real gripe is that the lighting is predominantly dark and gloomy. Perhaps there was a light bulb shortage in the USSR -- or maybe I just need an OLED TV with better blacks.
I've started watching Spider Noir.
I am really enjoying it. It's a great alternative to the big budget modern Marvel epics we are so saturated with.
Handsome Dan Has Spoken.
Handsome Dan needs to stop adding three dots to every sentence...
Handsome Dan does not currently have a side hustle as the mascot for Yale
*Gladly accepting donations...
I'd somehow completely missed it when it first came out, but just watched Sandman Season 2.
Been a long time since I read the comics, but it seemed pretty faithful. However, it also felt like a lot was left out. Season 1 felt like a well-paced adaption of maybe the first quarter of the comic series, where Season 2 was racing to wrap it up.
Because of this they dropped a lot of the stuff where Morpheus (title character) wasn't in it. This was a bit problematic because, on the whole, he's not a terribly likeable character so taking a break from him more would have helped.
I think this needed to be minimum 3 seasons, and ideally 4. With just 2 it felt like the beginning of the story, the end of the story, but no middle.
A lot of people complained about Season 1 having lots of race and gender swaps, especially since it is from a comic series where the look of the characters had already been established. The same cast obviously continued into Season 2. But I thought these changes were fine and, overall, the cast did a good job (with the exception of Gwendoline Christie, who IMO was just the wrong actor for the role).
I enjoyed it. I just wish there had been a lot more before it ended.
Citadel (S2) - Amazon Prime: 4/10
I watched S1 when it first came out and really enjoyed it. A show about a non-state spy agency called Citadel that gets taken down by a mole working for Manticore (a network of "bad" spies). It had some good casting - Richard Madden from Game of Thrones, Stanley Tucci, and Priyanka Chopra Jonas. It was a little over the top but really enjoyable with some not entirely unpredictable twists along the way.
So I was excited to see season 2 released a few weeks ago. I couldn't remember much of the detail from S1 having watched so long ago, so my partner and I re-watched S1 before S2. Sad to say, the quality of the show has taken a steep dive since the first season.
Firstly, the "over the top" stuff that was enjoyable in season 1 (memory erasures, and then "re-injecting" saved memories - go figure) has been dialled up to 11 but it's no longer enjoyable, just beyond credulity. Plot points established at the start get hand-waved away later on when they are inconvenient. Character motivations are all over the place and serve only to advance the plot. The subtle, dry humour that was rationed out carefully in the first season (usually by Tucci stealing the scene), has been smeared all over the screen like a coked-up bear with a pot of peanut butter. Some of it was funny, but it was tonally weird. A new character is added (actually several are added), played by Matt Berry (the boss from The IT Crowd). I normally love Matt Berry (see What We Do In The Shadows) but here his character seems strange and out of place, and his humour jars often with the more serious scenes being played out.
The plot has more holes in it than a cheap pair of socks from Kmart. With something that deals with fantastical spy stories you can forgive a certain amount of this, but it honestly feels like they wrote and filmed each episode independently and just made up the next episode based on whatever they could remember from the previous week. By the end of the 7-episode season I was just pleased it was over and doesn't leave me particularly interested in a season 3. Shame, because it had some potential for a cool spy show to run for a few more seasons.
Lizard1977:
Citadel (S2) - Amazon Prime: 4/10
I watched S1 when it first came out and really enjoyed it. A show about a non-state spy agency called Citadel that gets taken down by a mole working for Manticore (a network of "bad" spies). It had some good casting - Richard Madden from Game of Thrones, Stanley Tucci, and Priyanka Chopra Jonas. It was a little over the top but really enjoyable with some not entirely unpredictable twists along the way.
So I was excited to see season 2 released a few weeks ago. I couldn't remember much of the detail from S1 having watched so long ago, so my partner and I re-watched S1 before S2. Sad to say, the quality of the show has taken a steep dive since the first season.
Firstly, the "over the top" stuff that was enjoyable in season 1 (memory erasures, and then "re-injecting" saved memories - go figure) has been dialled up to 11 but it's no longer enjoyable, just beyond credulity. Plot points established at the start get hand-waved away later on when they are inconvenient. Character motivations are all over the place and serve only to advance the plot. The subtle, dry humour that was rationed out carefully in the first season (usually by Tucci stealing the scene), has been smeared all over the screen like a coked-up bear with a pot of peanut butter. Some of it was funny, but it was tonally weird. A new character is added (actually several are added), played by Matt Berry (the boss from The IT Crowd). I normally love Matt Berry (see What We Do In The Shadows) but here his character seems strange and out of place, and his humour jars often with the more serious scenes being played out.
The plot has more holes in it than a cheap pair of socks from Kmart. With something that deals with fantastical spy stories you can forgive a certain amount of this, but it honestly feels like they wrote and filmed each episode independently and just made up the next episode based on whatever they could remember from the previous week. By the end of the 7-episode season I was just pleased it was over and doesn't leave me particularly interested in a season 3. Shame, because it had some potential for a cool spy show to run for a few more seasons.
Handsome Dan Has Spoken.
Handsome Dan needs to stop adding three dots to every sentence...
Handsome Dan does not currently have a side hustle as the mascot for Yale
*Gladly accepting donations...
KrazyKid:
Legends via Netflicks 9/10
Really enjoyed this 6 part British series.
Set in the 80's - customs is tasked with investigating and infilrating drug smuglers.
But goven basically no money so they recruit untrains staff from with-in.
Sound like it is based onsome truth and a book written by one of the staff involved.
Enjoyable series regardless.
If you like British crime and/or police dramas well worth watching.
This is really good, thanks for suggesting it!
JayADee:
KrazyKid:
Legends via Netflicks 9/10
Really enjoyed this 6 part British series.
Set in the 80's - customs is tasked with investigating and infilrating drug smuglers.
But goven basically no money so they recruit untrains staff from with-in.
Sound like it is based onsome truth and a book written by one of the staff involved.
Enjoyable series regardless.
If you like British crime and/or police dramas well worth watching.
This is really good, thanks for suggesting it!
Yep - Legends is truly excellent - as is Dutton Ranch.
Sometimes I just sit and think. Other times I just sit.
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