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Debaser

Lost in Space

I watched the first episode of Netflix’s new Lost in Space series, and gotta say I was really impressed. That first episode feels like a movie more than a TV series (in terms of production values), and it sets things up quite nicely for what’s to follow (i.e. I really want to know where this thing is going to go). I was cautiously excited about the series following the first trailers, and I’m glad that it seems to be avoiding the sci-fi curse Netflix has these days (most of its sci-fi productions tend to be disappointing).

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Debaser

Everything Sucks

This has been described as Freaks & Geeks but set in the 90s, and that’s actually not a bad description. I’m 5-6 episodes in, and having a really good time watching it. The kids are great, the story is fun, and the soundtrack is, well, it’s pretty much all the stuff that I was listening to back then (or that I remember hearing a lot). I’m really happy that Netflix produced this.

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Debaser

Fred Armisen: Standup for Drummers

I quite enjoyed this standup special on Netflix. The gimmick is that the audience is entirely composed of drummers, and a lot of the material is drumming-related. I generally like Fred Armisen, always enjoyed him on SNL, and I really like him here. All of the jokes aren’t gold, but he just has a fun way of delivering stuff, and I like when he gets a bit surreal. I think the highlight isn’t even a funny bit, but rather when he runs through drum sets/styles from the past century.

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Debaser

The Cloverfield Paradox

So this popped up suddenly on Netflix, and everyone freaked out, and then the next day everyone one was saying it was shit. I liked the first Cloverfield movie fine, and really liked the second one, 10 Cloverfield Lane (would have liked Dan Trachtenberg to direct another one), and so I still wanted to check this one out. And you know what? I thought this was fine. Sure, not as good as the first two, but it wasn’t the pile of shit everyone seemed to be saying (and I do wish I could have gone into this with no expectations, instead of already expecting it to be bad). I didn’t really know where it was going with everything, liked the stuff it introduced in this “universe” (parallel universes, a possible origin for the monsters of this series, etc.) and it didn’t end in a clean way, which I can appreciate. And what a surprise to see Zhang Ziyi in it! I don’t know if it’s something I’d necessarily recommend to someone on its own, but as part of the series, if you like the other films, I think it’s worth taking in.

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Debaser

Altered Carbon

I’ve only watched the first episode so far, but from what I’ve seen, I think I’m going to enjoy this ride. First off, I crave cyberpunk-set stories, and so just that fact alone was enough to draw me in, but it also looks like they’ve got the look/visuals down. Hard to tell how good the story will be, and sure, it sorta feels a bit trashier than what we get in a Blade Runner movie, but there’s nothing wrong with that — I don’t need all my cyberpunk media to be contemplative like that. I just wanna have a fun series set in a cool world, and I’m hoping this will be just that.

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Debaser

The End of the Fucking World

I loved this series so damn much, and I think it’s easy to say that it’s now one of my favorite shows. Deliciously dark and funny, it zooms by (a short 8-episode season, with each episode about half an hour), and I was almost sad when it ended (although I liked how it ended). Can’t recommend this enough.

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Bright

Yes, I watched this (during the holiday break), and yes, it’s not very good. I watched it out of curiosity, and because even though it had bad buzz, I did think that the setting was an interesting one. Or that it could potentially have been interesting. I didn’t absolutely hate it, but it’s an ugly film to watch, and it’s a wonder that they spent so much money on something like this — and I’m also shocked that they’re doing a sequel. Oh well.

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Debaser

Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters

This is the first part of a trilogy of animated films about Godzilla produced for Netflix, and it’s fantastic. It’s produced by the studio behind Knights of Sidonia, Ajin, and Blame, and has the same CG-animated look — and although I really enjoyed Sidonia and Ajin, I was let down by the Blame movie. Unlike Blame though, this is a fascinating watch, setting up an interesting sci-fi setting that jumps thousands of years into the future. The CG-animated style works great here, and makes for a slick look throughout. Can’t wait for part 2.

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Debaser

My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman

I finally watched the first episode of this last night — with Obama as his first guest — and enjoyed it to bits. Obama truly comes off as a great, intelligent, reasonable, and funny man. The questions aren’t incisive, but Letterman is good at keeping the conversation going, and so I’m quite looking forward to the rest of the series — it’s on Netflix, and we’ll get a new episode every month.

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Debaser

The Toys That Made Us

This is a very enjoyable 4-part documentary series on Netflix about the toys from my youth — G.I. Joe, Star Wars, and He-Man (and although I didn’t play with Barbie dolls, I did find that episode interesting to watch). My favorite toy when I was a kid (not counting LEGO) was G.I. Joe, and so that’s the episode that I had the most fun watching, and loved that they included Larry Hama as part of the interviews — I loved his G.I. Joe comic, as well as the animated series (which he wasn’t involved in). Great fun if you’re around my age and these were the toys you played with back in the day.