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Stranger Things Season 3

+ Only 8 episodes. Keep it up, Netflix!
+ Maya Hawke as Robin is an awesome new addition. The entertaining trio of Dustin, Steve, and Robin are the highlight of the season for me.
+ No unnecessary detours like the second season. They stuck with the main characters and Hawkins.

* Every time I saw the Russian villain on screen, I could think of nothing other than 'Terminator'.
* Lot of nostalgia in there - "Back to the Future", "Neverending story", "Day of the dead", "The Thing" reference (While it is an irrefutable truth that 'The Thing' is the greatest re-make ever made, the way it was placed as a coke ad felt wrong)
* While I am always happy to see Cary Elwes, who is fun to watch as a slimy mayor, I only wish they had used him better.

-- I didn't like the first two episodes. I get it! Kids grow up and become teenagers, blah! blah! blah! But, those two hormonal episodes, where even characters like Harper become a caricature of themselves, felt too 'happy' to fit in a stranger things universe. Fortunately, the series gets back it's footing from Episode 3.
- The final episode is very cinematic, like the third act of a Hollywood monster movie, with all its strengths and pitfalls. While it was very entertaining, you feel like you have seen it somewhere, even within the same series. The twists and turns come and go as expected (Billy becomes "good" before he sacrifices his life, but all main characters survive; even Harper may not have died!).
- I get it! LGBTQ community needs a voice and Hollywood is that voice; so every movie and series has to have them! But do they HAVE to make Robin lesbian so that they could be 'represented' in this series? If you want to do it, do it like "Billions" or don't.

TL;DR;

The very enjoyable third season is better than Season 2. While many are calling it the 'best season' of the series, I would just call it the "most entertaining" of the three seasons. I still think the atmosphere, the setup and the freshness of the first season make it the best season of the three.

PS: While "Dark" was unfairly compared to "Stranger Things" when it came out, "Dark" has proved to be the superior offering (IMO).
 
Anurag Kashyap & Vikramaditya Motwane's "Sacred Games" season 2 trailer is out. Releasing on Aug 15. Looks as dark and gritty as the first season, with new cast additions including Pankaj Tripathi, Kalki Koechlin & Ranvir Shorey

 
Criminal justice superb!!
Tremendous acting hy jackie shroff, pankaj tripathi and especially dibyendu bhattacharya!
Must watch :)
 
Dunno what was the hype about Chernobyl ..Pretty lacklustre series.. hardly gripping
 
Criminal justice superb!!
Tremendous acting hy jackie shroff, pankaj tripathi and especially dibyendu bhattacharya!
Must watch :)


It was miles miles behind to the actual series it was inspired (copied) from called " The Night Off". India has its own talent and can come up with super series of their own like sacred games, Mirzapur or Made in Heaven, They dont need to copy IMHO ofcourse...
 
Hap and Leonard ... Enjoyed it, loved it especially the first season, se02 was not as good but still kept me interested. But SE01 was absolutely gripping, it starts off very lightly with light humorous tone, but after few episodes, it becomes a nail biting thriller, things go wrong survival kind of series and it delivers. I was feeling the fear and tension all the time. Highly recommended at least SE01. And it ends the story properly. SE02 is an entirely new adventure. ... 7.6/10 for this one

AVAilable on APV
 
mr. In between on hotstar, 6 small episodes, too cool, smooth acting and screenplay. black comedy, action
 
It’s a very long thread so mention must have been made of The Simpsons.
Homer or Bart , I am not sure , once called his belt a ‘detachable pant retainer’.
 
David Fincher's dark and unnerving crime thriller based on real events, "Mindhunter" with FBI agents Holden Ford and Bill Tench are returning for a chilling second season on Aug 16. Season 1 is arguably one of the best shows on Netflix.
 
David Fincher's dark and unnerving crime thriller based on real events, "Mindhunter" with FBI agents Holden Ford and Bill Tench are returning for a chilling second season on Aug 16. Season 1 is arguably one of the best shows on Netflix.
The official trailer is out. This time it's the Charles Manson murders from the late 60s. The production has the trademark David Fincher style, with dark lighting with yellow filters applied, people in shadows and extended and smooth tracking shots. This series reminds of his 2007 police procedural movie, "Zodiac" starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Mark Ruffalo, which too has it's story starting in late 60s.

 
Mindhunter is just fantabulous.. Have been eagerly awaiting Season 2.. Will restart Netflix, just for this !
 
The end of the F***ing word .... Oh Man, how should I describe this series. But first I LOVED IT, to end the suspense .... :) ok how should I describe it..... Witty, Funny, shocking, poignant, touching, cruel but most of it honest ...... plot is simple Two 17-year-old couple, one believes he is a psychopath and other alone, too moody. Both totally detached from the outer would, develop a connection and embark on a road trip to find solace in each other. Sound like another road trip genre, but don't be mistaken this is class, dark humour and has everything, weird romance, shocking moments, witty fun. I loved the characters and their performance was top notch. If anyone is looking for a "different" out league show, this is not to be missed................................7.5/10 for this one

Available on Netflix
 
Minhunter - Season 1 ... Mindhunter is the definition of slow burn, plot is simple "Two FBI agents are tasked with interviewing serial killers to solve open cases. " But boy oh boy the intrigue in the understanding of the psyche of the killers is shown, intrinsic, detailed, and to an extent fascinating if I may dare to say. First three/four episodes are super slow and just builds the underlying plot, from I think 4th or 5th episode the actual interviewing starts. After that its layer after layer of deep-rooted psyche of the killers. On the other hand, the drama of the department that is been created for this cause, its thinking tank, nothing is self-explanatory you have to really put your full intellect to understand. Its not fast/paced or nail-biting, but thought-provoking, intriguing. High on dialogue, very much like the movie Zodiac. No wonder it was also directed by David Fincher. 7.8/10 fo this one. Season 2 starts Aug 16. Aailable on Netflix
 
Dark Season 2

In my post about the first season, I noted that "I would wait for another season before forming a firm opinion". I am happy that they haven't screwed up the solid foundation laid in Season 1. It only got better.

+ Only 8 episodes - the opposite of the usual Netflix bloat.
+ No hand-holding the viewer. The different timelines are captioned only in a few instances. Sometimes it takes a few moments to figure out which year it is. The good thing is, as a viewer, you are engaged and constantly playing detective.
+ Instead of "What happens next?", we are left wondering "How did it get to point B from point A?" and "Why?" a lot of the time. It is a very clever show, but not really manipulative. If you have watched movies about time travel, some of these arcs would look very familiar. But, the narrative here is so dense and layered that you do not have time to sit and process; you are always moving from one thing to the next.

I had forgotten all about the intricacies of the show barring the broad strokes. In the case of a few minor characters, I could not remember how they are related and what they did in the first season. I should have re-watched the first season :(. Instead, I chose to read an article right after S02E01, which detailed the often confusing relationships between characters. Sadly, it also included two very major spoilers for the second season. But to the credit of their story-telling prowess, even when I knew what was going to happen, I was interested in knowing how it got there. As one of the co-directors put it



I am very much looking forward to the third and final season.
Hi Santhosh, this show was on my watch list for a while, but I never saw it. Based on your positive feedback I ended up watching both the seasons back to back. It has been a remarkable feat in terms of weaving a complex web of characters and timelines, I have never seen anything like this before nor have been so confused by the storytelling :)

The usual Netflix formula so far has been (barring a few exceptions), put together 4-5 good episodes, make it a hit, then keep improvising till no one watches it anymore :) The story, I guess, is never written beforehand, but they keep evolving based on user interest. I was expecting something similar for this series too but as far as Season 1 & 2 go, it has been written beforehand (there's no other way to improvise in this manner :)), all the shots filmed and edited later on. There are several footage of the younger versions of the actors in S2 which proves this fact.

On the story, I found the creepy lines similar to how Stephen King bases most of his plots on, an unnamed, unknown dread.

On the film making style, I found similarities with Stanley Kubrick's "The Shining" (slow unfolding dread with common place objects), Paul Anderson's "Magnolia" (the bizarre intermixed with the ordinary) and M.Night Shyamalan's "The Village" (stark scenery, unknown dread, lying village elders)

Thanks for the recommendation, I hope S3 is as good as the first two!
 
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I had forgotten all about the intricacies of the show barring the broad strokes. In the case of a few minor characters, I could not remember how they are related and what they did in the first season.
I just found out that Netflix had put together an interactive webpage for this purpose. It's filled with spoilers, but will clear any doubts the viewer might have regarding the confusing maze of characters and their relationships!
 
Where are Sacred Games fans? Didn't see any review or comment on Season 2. Are we going to see Sacred Games 3?
I don't think there will be a S3 as the train of events which led to the final episode, has been quite conclusive and we know what could be the outcome. They can definitely go for a prequel with Shahid Khan and Sartaj as a possible choice.
On the plot, if taken at a literal level it does look far fetched, I think it's more of a metaphorical tale. We can see the dichotomy of annihilation and preservation: in an individual, nation as well as the planet. They've incorporated the same into the story as well. Sartaj's constant struggle to choose sides also supports this view. The way Khan and Sartaj share a blood line hints at how the nation, it's people (and their ideologies) got divided in 1947.
The good thing with the show was that it was a cohesive whole, and not improvised upon. Where it falters is with the casting, there are more than a few unnecessary characters, some one-dimensional ones and some are miscast. The language used also was a major irritant for me, with the foul and abusive language interspersed with crude references in every other scene accentuates this fact. The story is bold and quite original, but the show does suffer from flaw in execution. I'm not a fan of the show, just a curious observer and all these are IMO :)
 
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The Boys - Season 1 .. this show was a total surprise, but with IMDB rating an 8+ I gave it a try and I was not disappointed. The premise is very unique. What if our superheroes, you know the usual superman or Aquaman or others with superpowers are not humble people, but totally corrupt. Not just corrupt, but just downright bad, so much so you can call them obnoxious. But outwardly they play nice coz of the social media, fame, politics behind that corporate war and whatnot. And in this chaos comes a group of vigilantes who set out to expose these so-called superheroes (called sups). I loved the concept and the execution was even better. But mind you this is not for kids (thank god), it has violence, language, but appropriately fit into the flow of the series. I could stop myself from watching it. Finished the season in 3 days. Highly looking forward to SE02. Its a 7.8/10 for this one.

Available on APV,
 
For excellent sound that won't break the bank, the 5 Star Award Winning Wharfedale Diamond 12.1 Bookshelf Speakers is the one to consider!
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