We’re moving to the end of December and that has some returning streaming shows but a serious winding down of a lot of properties. Even still, there’s way too much stuff out and coming up to dig into. It’s still very much a golden age of great content for me and I’m enjoying a lot of shows, though finding the time to really sit down and watch continues to be the hardest thing. We’re in a bit of a transitional state as all the shows that we were doing reviews for have ended. It was a solid fall season with what we had and Star Wars: Andor really delivered. A lot of the new shows we’re going to be reviewing aren’t starting until closer to the new year though. But, a few things make it into our queue.
This week was focused mostly on the holiday and the fact that there’s little new out there in general. I’ve not felt the Christmas rom-com thing much since I’m way too single at the moment and that sense of hope just isn’t there. So what did I end up watching?
Prime Video has been rolling out a show called Three Pines, which I checked out based on Alfred Molina being the lead in it. It is essentially another crime/murder drama thing with a larger plot mixed into it but there were hooks that helped it to be more interesting. It’s set essentially as four two-episode blocks and it weaves the cast well in the small town where things happen. It has that slightly quirky near-Twin Peaks aspect to it but is just a little too obvious in some ways that diminish it. A little too for-the-laughs approach. But I also liked that it was set in Montreal and elsewhere there so it had some new flavor for me. And the episode structure of basically being four movies with connective tissue helped a lot too. It’s not fantastic, I think Molina most definitely deserves better, but it was a decent way to spend four nights taking it in.
I did have my kids for a few hours on Christmas Eve and that meant a lot of fun with things like Uno, ordering in some Chinese, and enjoying some presents and great time talking. And in the background for part of that was the classic A Christmas Story. I haven’t seen the sequel and I know plenty of people dislike this movie because of how often it’s on and pushed, but I’ve enjoyed it since it first came out back in the early 80s and became “the thing” through premium cable networks way back when, similar to Highlander in it becoming a cult classic that grew to something more. It’s still utterly charming and really does capture a particular slice of a time and place in a way that can be hard to do. It’s able to do it with the sheen of Christmas and reconstructed child’s memories but it delivers something that, at least for my Gen X self, captures that two very different worlds aspect we grew up with.
House of the Dragon is another complicated part of the larger Game of Thrones property and one that worked pretty well for me. It adheres to a lot of things Game of Thrones did in a way, which with it bringing over a number of creative folks from that project to here makes sense, but it’s also looking to establish its own narrative. It can be fun to try and connect things to what comes but you lose the story in front of you while doing that. And this is a strong story of family and power and the huge pitfalls that come from it for both them and people in general. The 4K and Blu-ray release is a very good set, especially with the steelbook which has a design that I really like. The show looks fantastic with all of its details in set and costume design and comes with a great set of extras that expands your understanding of what went into the show. It’s one definitely worth having if you have an interest in revisiting it at your leisure and taking the experience in a new way. Easily recommended.
Check out our full review.
The other big set I had was the fourth and now final season of Westworld. Westworld is the kind of series that really delivered for me with each season. There are variables to each of them and things that work and don’t work, but as a whole, this is a very strong series for me. This season delves into a lot of things that I liked with past seasons while not feeling like it was just spinning its wheels. It taps into some of the aspects of science fiction novels that I’ve loved for decades by questioning what is humanity, a soul, and existence while trying to move forward in a way as a species. The cast here is fantastic throughout and it’s a season that’s strong in very different ways when you watch it weekly and can converse about it and a season where you can binge just this one and look at it from a different perspective. I’m definitely someone disappointed that we didn’t get one more season to explore things just a bit more but there’s also a very definitive end to what’s here and it feels complete. I’m looking forward to being able to revisit all four seasons as an experience in the next couple of years with this collection and prior ones.
Check out our full review.
In catching up on older things that I’ve got in my collection that I’ve revisited while working while trying to avoid streaming so as to not use up my data cap, it’s an odd mix this week. Over the course of the week, I’ve background watched:
- The backlist has been made up of a lot of Cities: Skylines live streams.
Movie reviews:
- Mobile Suit Gundam Cucuruz Doan’s Island
- Clerks III Review
- Luck Review
- Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
- Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko
- Hustle Review
- Top Gun: Maverick Review
- The Bob’s Burgers Movie Review
- Chip n’ Dale: Rescue Rangers Review
- Stu’s Show Review
- Star Trek: The Motion Picture – The Director’s Edition Review
- Bubble Anime Review
- Ryoma! The Prince of Tennis Anime Review
- Sonic the Hedgehog 2 Review
- Turning Red Review
- The Batman Review
- Belle Review
- Drive My Car Review
- The Power of the Dog Review
- Robin Robin Review
- BoxBallet Review
- Bestia Review
- Eternals Review
- Encanto Review
- 8-Bit Christmas Review
- Music Box: Jagged Review
- Ghostbusters: Afterlife Review
- Tick, Tick…BOOM! Review
- Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings Review
- Free Guy Review
- My Hero Academia: World Heroes’ Mission Review
- Dune (2021) Review
- Black Widow
- Jungle Cruise Review
- As the Village Sleeps Review
- Space Jam: A New Legacy Review
- A Quiet Place Part II Review
- Knots: A Forced Marriage Story Review
- School-Live! The Movie Blu-ray Review
- In the Heights Review
- Over the Moon Review
- Feeling Through Review
- Two Distant Strangers review
- Yes-People Review
- A Love Song for Latasha Review
- If Anything Happens I Love You Review
- Burrow Review
- Godzilla vs Kong
- Happy Happy Joy Joy: The Ren & Stimpy Story Review
- Kamp Koral: SpongeBob’s Under Years Preview
- Raya and the Last Dragon Review
- The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run Review
- The Little Things Review
- In Other Words Review
- Earwig and the Witch Review
What did you watch this past week?
