Sneaky Pete and other Streamables

Jen and I splurged and got a new television. LG OLED!

SHUT THE FRONT DOOR! WHAT?!

It’s true. And exploring the UltraHD television/movies has been joyously relaxing. Here are some of our recent watches:

  1. Westworld – HBO: Pretty good! A little weird. Like, why the western theme? If I were to build one of these, I think I’d build something that had different genres in different sectors. Then again, perhaps there’s a SouthWorld and NorthWorld that have Sci-fi or Horror themes that we haven’t learned about yet. There’s potential here HBO. Strong Potential. Sometimes the show feels like an over ambitious blend of Firefly and Battlestar Galactica. Everyone’s wearing cowboy getup, but look out! there are probably cylons amongst us.
  2. Sneaky Pete – Amazon Prime: DAAAAANG. So good.  Way better than I expected. I wasn’t a huge fan of Giovanni Ribisi, the lead actor, but now I consider myself converted. The acting is great and the storyline is rich. It has Bryan Cranston in it, so it’s probably not coincidental that the show has a strong Breaking Bad feel to it. Each episode feels like the characters keep adding Dominos to an already precariously long row of Dominos, eager to tumble. Two Mike D thumbs up.
  3. Zootopia – Netflix: Hilarious.
  4. Midnight special – HBO: Ehhhhhh, I was so excited for this movie! It seemed unique and different and mysterious. When it showed up on our HBO feed I begged Jen to add it to our watch list. But mostly it was just okay. It rides a fun concept, but wasn’t particularly riveting for me. Eh.

Any fun shows/movies you recommend we explore next?

3 thoughts on “Sneaky Pete and other Streamables

  • 1/30/2017 at 2:12 pm
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    The Americans. The show is on FX with Season 5 to debut in March, but the older seasons are on Amazon Prime. This is my favorite show. It’s about an “American” family (husband, wife, two kids) living in suburban DC in the early 1980’s. But the twist is that the parents are actually long-term undercover KGB spies. There’s a lot of conflict in the show (KGB vs. FBI, inner workings of the KGB, family drama, etc). What I love about the show is that it’s intense without it being over-the-top with shootouts and explosions and stuff (it’s realistic). It smolders. Great acting, great writing.

    Stranger Things. Netflix show heavy with 80’s nostalgia. It stars some junior high and high school kids, so it’s got some Goonies DNA, and there’s some weird supernatural stuff with government conspiracy stuff, so there’s some X-Files DNA in there, too. It’s also got some horror, so it’s scarier than you’d expect it to be. It’s really well put together.

    Reply
    • 1/31/2017 at 8:34 am
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      We loved Stranger things. So unique!

      My folks spoke highly of The Americans as well, though they said it faltered a bit into the second season. Are you the full five seasons in?
      I’ve also heard words of praise for The Travelers.

      Reply
      • 1/31/2017 at 5:39 pm
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        We’re all caught up on the Americans! I’ve liked the show more as it’s gone on, I think, as the characters have grown and the situations are more nuanced. I think the first season is my least favorite because it’s almost too exciting and I don’t know the character as well.

        We’ve also been watching these other Netflix shows: Black Mirror, The OA, and The Crown. Black Mirror isn’t a serial, but it’s been good (oftentimes a downer, though). We’re 5/8 of the way through the OA, and it kinda reminds me of LOST a little bit: stories told in present day and flashbacks, a team of diverse characters, trying to escape a place where experiments take place, and some supernatural/spiritual stuff.

        Reply

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