There goes Luke Cage!

It was only a matter of time until Netflix cancelled Daredevil, what with Disney’s new pay service coming up soon:

https://www.cbr.com/daredevil-netflix-cancelled/

It was only a matter of time until Netflix cancelled Daredevil, what with Disney’s new pay service coming up soon:

https://www.cbr.com/daredevil-netflix-cancelled/ - Oak

OH HELL NO!!!

My best guess is the Marvel shows will likely end up on another streaming service, most likely Hulu since Disney will end up with majority ownership after the Fox deal is finalized. Bob Iger said he’ll invest quite a bit in content for Hulu and, just as important, bring it internationally (Hulu is US only for now). I just hope things work fast enough that the current stars are still on-board (especially Charlie Cox as DD) even if it takes years to come to fruition.

Disney will have its own streaming service, coming next summer I believe

Disney+ will be an all-ages thing, most likely. I’m also betting there will be a separate marquee for all the oddities, weird and violent things that they’ll inherit from Fox such as Aliens, Predator, Deadpool, etc. I’m always hoping everything will fall under a single streaming service, but I doubt we get to be that lucky and have to subscribe to at least a couple separate services.

Amazon Video is maddening. Must be a dozen sub streaming packages that they require for random video entries.

Anyone watch Black Mirror: Bandersnatch? Thoughts on the choose-your-own-adventure model?

I have it on my computer. I didn't have time to go through it, though.
I liked the series (most of the episodes) and hope the movie will be as good :)

Anyone watch Black Mirror: Bandersnatch? Thoughts on the choose-your-own-adventure model? - Oak

It's a little weird at first with me writing down which choices I made but after a while, it does go back to the other scenario.

I'm really curious now. I may have to watch this!

I don’t think what I’m about to say has any spoiler material, but just in case:

POSSIBLE SPOILER

I ended up liking both the story and the branching concept (though my wife hated both). Didn’t think I would at first because I thought you’d have to re-watch the entire movie again to get to the different endings (how painful would that be?). The approach the story engineers used to allow the viewer to experience the effects of each relevant choice after you finish the movie for the first time is very novel.

The choose-your-story approach is a fun gimmick to do once a year for a big movie, but I can see it getting tedious doing it more than that.

One of the gifts I was given this past Christmas is a subscription to Amazon Prime. The two shows I looked forward to watching from Prime Video is The Tick and American Gods. I watched the first episode of The Tick but couldn’t get into it, but I’ll get back around it one day. The real jewel however is American Gods:

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/american_gods/s01

American Gods is based off of the book by Neil Gaiman. For many comic book fans, Neil Gaiman is most famous for the critically acclaimed Sandman.

Sandman and American Gods share the same high level concept: The old gods walk amongst us and go through their angst from living in the modern age.

Like Sandman, the show is about drama rather than action. It is dialogue heavy and the best parts of the show are the interactions and character development. Unless you have good knowledge of the mythical gods from different cultures (Norse, Egyptian, Islam, Roman, Slavic, etc.), chances are you will be lost once or twice during the 8 episodes of the first season. Several “WTF did I just watch?” moments. I think a second viewing would benefit most viewers.

Highly recommended.

I’m looking forward to American Gods. The trailer at times looked like The Cell imagery.

I finished off the second season of Marvel’s The Punisher on Netflix:

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/marvel_s_the_punisher/s02

Overall I thought it was not bad. There are certain storylines that last the entire season and are so repetitive that it becomes tedious and a chore to watch. Some good action scenes, however. Probably the last season of the current Punisher cast, what with Netflix falling out with Marvel.

Finished episode 1, and got into 2 last night. Enjoying it so far, but I'm hoping the action scenes make up for the slow pace. It's the main draw anyway.

I'm a couple episodes in to season 2. I hope to finish it soon. I like it. The action is intense. The story line is slow to progress but you learn something every episode.

https://youtu.be/oMHwRal-AR8

Well, all the Marvel Netflix shows are officially cancelled:

https://www.cbr.com/punisher-jessica-jones-netflix-canceled/

Time to move it over to Hulu since there is interest in it on that platform, and they are starting 4 other Marvel aminated shows plus Runaways anyway:

https://winteriscoming.net/2019/02/14/sure-hulu-is-open-to-reviving-marvel-shows-like-daredevil/

As long as someone picks some of these shows up - it doesn't matter to me what platform they are on. Needing another subscription kinda stinks but I just want these shows to exist.

Wu Assassins is a new one on Netflix. It stars Iko Uwais (the main star from The Raid movies) in an English speaking role. First episode is a bit camp in parts, but it shows potential. I’m looking forward to seeing if he can carry a series:

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/wu_assassins/s01

Sounds like it's worth a shot. The Raid movies blew me away

With a lot of businesses closed up, no sports and social distancing, I find I have a lot of extra time on my hands. What better way to fill the time than to watch shows I’ve been meaning to see but just didn’t get around to. Netflix and chill these past couple weeks with the following:

Into the Badlands - seasons 1 to 3: Friends have been recommending this AMC show for years, even just for the action. It does indeed bring movie quality martial arts action/choreography to a North American TV show, which is impressive. Daniel Wu is a great lead, and Quinn is a very interesting villain. The show is what you get if you combine the world of Mad Max with Asian Martial Arts tropes and give it the aesthetic of The Walking Dead. A shame it was cancelled after the third season.

Locke & Key - season 1: This show is based on the comic book by Joe Hill. Joe Hill of course is Stephen King's son. I liked the comic more, but the show is decent even if a tad predictable.

The Witcher - season 1: I have never read The Witcher stories or played the video game, so this is my first exposure to its world. The show is ok. It meanders until the final episode of season 1, though the last episode was great. Overall, it really only feels like half a season; some of the major relationships that the season builds towards happens very late and you have to wait for the second season before you get any info (which won't come for a while due to the stoppage in filming due to COVID).

Also watched a few movies:

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country: I've watched this before and its pretty good, but the important thing is seeing the Oakley helmet. The helmet what makes the movie for me.

Contagion: This Soderbergh movie has been trending due to what's happening in the world today. And rightfully so. It's astonishing how well it predicted how a world-changing virus would start, spread and our eventual reaction to it.

Annihilation: Alex Garland is a fantastic sci fi director. I really liked this movie and the performances in it. I know the audience is split on it, but I thought it was compelling.

I've been meaning to watch Into the Badlands. I think I had most of them downloaded, but never got to it.

My Recommendations:

Project Blue Book - I'm just about finished. Luckily had all of last season to catch up on, and then season 2 was pretty much done by the time I got through it. If you liked X-Files, imagine it in the 1950's.

Cobra Kai - I never cared for the original Karate Kid movies, but this flips all of that around. It keeps you wondering who the good/bag guys are in all this, and then adds another layer once they have to train someone, and their influence plays a larger role in who their students become. I enjoyed the snowflake jabs, and it doubles as the 'frozen man' trope common in sci-fi movies. Plenty of 80's throwback, but in comedic contrast to the modern era.

The UnXplained - Starring William Shatner. Basically a retread of Sightings, Unsolved Mysteries, and In Search Of... but Shatner is so campy. Good for filler.

Crisis on Infinite Earths - Story was okay, I just enjoyed playing 'Spot the Cameo'

If you guys have access to HBO, The Outsider is fucking phenomenal! Originally written by Stephen King