What are you watching in 2025?

[lawdog77]

I thought Uncharted was a fun popcorn movie and I had no idea it was affiliated to a video game until my kids informed me.

This! Sometimes people read too much into movies (which they have every right to, of course).

[JWags85]

I thought Uncharted was a fun popcorn movie and I had no idea it was affiliated to a video game until my kids informed me.

Ive only briefly played the video game, but otherwise I agree.  It wasn't an intense thriller, but it was fun, great action sequences, couple pretty humorous pieces of dialogue.  I know Wahlberg is polarizing, but he's really great in that sort of role.  It was a perfect plane movie

[jesmu84]

Avatar 2 was Avatar 1 with water dragons instead of sky dragons. But like you said, it was visually perfect and the action was fun. I hope they get a new storyline for the remaining movies.

It'll be interesting when the family visits the earth tribe then fire tribe before the ultimate showdown in the finale

James Cameron stole the whole thing from Nickelodeon

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

TLOU episode 2 was another great one. Nailed the clickers great camera work to build tension. Loved the added flashback at the beginning. Last line of the flashback was so unnerving. That kiss....was uncomfortable but I think I liked it and it made sense. Paschal continues to exude Joel, doing very well. I'm enjoying Ramsey but not as much as Paschal.

Excited for epispde 3. Multiple reviews have said its their favorite

[Vander Blue Man Group]

TLOU episode 2 was another great one. Nailed the clickers great camera work to build tension. Loved the added flashback at the beginning. Last line of the flashback was so unnerving. That kiss....was uncomfortable but I think I liked it and it made sense. Paschal continues to exude Joel, doing very well. I'm enjoying Ramsey but not as much as Paschal.

Excited for epispde 3. Multiple reviews have said its their favorite

+1

[YaBlueIt]

Excited for epispde 3. Multiple reviews have said its their favorite

If you've seen the preview for episode 3, we get to see some backstory unfold that wasn't part of the game. I'm excited to see how they handle it.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

If you've seen the preview for episode 3, we get to see some backstory unfold that wasn't part of the game. I'm excited to see how they handle it.

I have. On paper, Nick Offerman seems like the living embodiment of Bill, a no brainer casting decision. Very excited for his debut.

[CTWarrior]

Not a TV show or anything, but ison had me look at Ryan George's Funny Movie pitches on Youtube.  For me they are quite funny and addictive.  Link is for the first one I saw, pretty representative of what they are.  Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Inf5du8u7OE

[ZiggysFryBoy]

Stalone's Tulsa King on paramount+ is pretty entertaining.

[JWags85]

Stalone's Tulsa King on paramount+ is pretty entertaining.

I was very surprised it was only 30 minute episodes.  But otherwise its definitely entertaining and has a strong cast,

[Vander Blue Man Group]

In completely un-shocking but great news The Last of Us has been renewed for another season.

The 2nd game is so big it probably needs to span 2 seasons, IMO.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

In completely un-shocking but great news The Last of Us has been renewed for another season.

The 2nd game is so big it probably needs to span 2 seasons, IMO.

I really hope so.  Can't see the second game being reasonably done in 10 episodes

[Its DJOver]

Honestly felt like TLOU ep 3 was a bit to much of a filler episode.  I get that they wanted to dive more into Frank than the game did, and wanted to "de-neck-beard" Bill a little, but at the end of the day the story is about Joel and Ellie.  Come the end of the season, I think ep 3 will just end up being "that episode where Joel and Ellie got a car". All that being said, I thought Offerman and Bartlett were excellent.

[Vander Blue Man Group]

Honestly felt like TLOU ep 3 was a bit to much of a filler episode.  I get that they wanted to dive more into Frank than the game did, and wanted to "de-neck-beard" Bill a little, but at the end of the day the story is about Joel and Ellie.  Come the end of the season, I think ep 3 will just end up being "that episode where Joel and Ellie got a car". All that being said, I thought Offerman and Bartlett were excellent.

Not quite sure what to say if that's what you took out of it.

[Its DJOver]

Not quite sure what to say if that's what you took out of it.

It's a fine story, but it doesn't move the main story at all.

The Joel Ellie dynamic is unique because when they meet Joel has seen the worst that the world has to offer and Ellie has been relatively sheltered in the QZ.  The effect of having the "short-term" companions that they do (Tess, Bill, others later), is that Ellie experiences the wide variety of how different people coped/reacted to the pandemic.  Bill is obviously on one of the extreme ends of that spectrum, so removing their direct interactions is a missed opportunity IMO.

Again, the Bill/Frank story is fine, and on it's own is well done, but it has zero effect on the Joel/Ellie dynamic that drives the show.  I would be shocked if any episode the remainder of the season has less Joel/Ellie, and that's the relationship that pushes everything.

[Vander Blue Man Group]

It's a fine story, but it doesn't move the main story at all.

The Joel Ellie dynamic is unique because when they meet Joel has seen the worst that the world has to offer and Ellie has been relatively sheltered in the QZ.  The effect of having the "short-term" companions that they do (Tess, Bill, others later), is that Ellie experiences the wide variety of how different people coped/reacted to the pandemic.  Bill is obviously on one of the extreme ends of that spectrum, so removing their direct interactions is a missed opportunity IMO.

Again, the Bill/Frank story is fine, and on it's own is well done, but it has zero effect on the Joel/Ellie dynamic that drives the show.  I would be shocked if any episode the remainder of the season has less Joel/Ellie, and that's the relationship that pushes everything.

The ending of the episode made very clear the impact that Bill will have on Joel and Ellie based on the letter that was left. 

"I used to hate the world and I was happy when everyone died. But I was wrong. Because there was one person worth saving. That's what I did: I saved him. And I protected him. That's why men like you and me are here: We have a job to do. And God help any motherf**kers who stand in our way."

[Its DJOver]

The ending of the episode made very clear the impact that Bill will have on Joel and Ellie based on the letter that was left. 

"I used to hate the world and I was happy when everyone died. But I was wrong. Because there was one person worth saving. That's what I did: I saved him. And I protected him. That's why men like you and me are here: We have a job to do. And God help any motherf**kers who stand in our way."

Disagree, the letter won't have any effect on Ellie at all because she had no relationship with Bill. 

And it hasn't really changed the way Joel feels about Ellie.  It's clear that (at least right now), Joel is bringing Ellie along because Tess wanted him to.  The flashback made it clear that even though Joel and Bill were willing to trade, Tess and Frank were the ones pushing that partnership, if it were up to Bill they wouldn't have had any relationship with the outside world because they were self sufficient.  Joel hadn't even seen Bill in years (evidence by him being unable to immediately find his stash at the way station).  The Joel/Bill relationship was always more of a mutual respect at each others ability to survive, whereas the Joel Tess relationship was much deeper. 

Bill telling Joel to protect Tess (because he had never even met Ellie), has much less of an effect that Tess telling Joel to protect Ellie IMO.

[Vander Blue Man Group]

Disagree, the letter won't have any effect on Ellie at all because she had no relationship with Bill. 

And it hasn't really changed the way Joel feels about Ellie.  It's clear that (at least right now), Joel is bringing Ellie along because Tess wanted him to.  The flashback made it clear that even though Joel and Bill were willing to trade, Tess and Frank were the ones pushing that partnership, if it were up to Bill they wouldn't have had any relationship with the outside world because they were self sufficient.  Joel hadn't even seen Bill in years (evidence by him being unable to immediately find his stash at the way station).  The Joel/Bill relationship was always more of a mutual respect at each others ability to survive, whereas the Joel Tess relationship was much deeper. 

Bill telling Joel to protect Tess (because he had never even met Ellie), has much less of an effect that Tess telling Joel to protect Ellie IMO.

Disagree.  While that letter doesn't carry weight for Joel in terms of his relationship with Ellie at that specific point it absolutely has that impact as their relationship grows.  It impacts Ellie through Joel and the connection they build. 

They didn't just throw in a bottle episode without it having a significant emotional impact on the larger story and focus of Joel and Ellie. 

[Its DJOver]

Disagree.  While that letter doesn't carry weight for Joel in terms of his relationship with Ellie at that specific point it absolutely has that impact as their relationship grows.  It impacts Ellie through Joel and the connection they build. 

They didn't just throw in a bottle episode without it having a significant emotional impact on the larger story and focus of Joel and Ellie.

Maybe, but I think it will be extremely minimal compared to the actual shared trauma that they have/will undergo together (watching someone you actually met and fought clickers with sacrifice themselves to save you vs reading a letter from a guy you never met/was a business partner).  If they had spent 15-20 minutes building the Bill/Frank backstory and actually had it develop the way it did in the game, it would have a much larger impact on Joel and Ellie both individually, as well as their relationship together.  The Bill/Frank dynamic wouldn't have been as strong, but it would have been worth it IMO to add another strong layer to the Joel/Ellie dynamic.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

I thought the episode was fantastic. It doesn't move the story much but not every episode has to. I think VBMG is correct that the letter is significant and it foreshadows things to come. The purpose of the episode is to help the audience with understanding Joel's motivation. Sure Tess is what got him to agree to take Ellie, but what's alluded to in that letter is what will drive him moving forward.

The episode was about different kinds of love. Frank represented affectionate love and Bill was protective love. Those themes are present through both games and will drive the main characters.

This was also the best Joel/Ellie episode. The characters are getting more comfortable with each other and the banter is being more authentic. How those actors portray that relationship is what will make or break the show and this episode was promising.

[MU82]

It was one of my favorite episodes of anything I've seen on TV in months.

[YaBlueIt]

Loved the episode. I do wish I got to see a little bit more - maybe Joel helping out Bill and Frank and during/after the attack and earning the "favor" that Bill owes him. Or Bill interacting with Joel and Ellie in present day.

Interesting that Bill from the game basically gives Joel the opposite message as he does in the show. In the game, his message is that in this world, opening yourself up to others and caring for people other than yourself only gets you killed. "You are not gonna make it" is the last thing he tells Joel. To his credit, he seemed to be doing just fine on his own, or at least that is all that he would let other's see - his emotional side was as impenetrable as his town. You only get a glimpse of it when the group finds Frank.

Maybe the show's writers felt that they needed to hammer home Joel's guilt for not being able to protect the people around him, which I understand. But I appreciated the different perspectives on this that Joel encounters throughout the game. I felt like gave him more to think about when he's making decisions later on.

[JWags85]

Don't mean to sidetrack the Last of Us discussion, but "You People" on Netflix is hysterical.  Nails absurdities and tropes, Eddie Murphy is understated but hilarious, Julia Louis-Dreyfus is fantastic, and Jonah Hill does a great grown up version of his awkward fish out of water humor.

[MU82]

Don't mean to sidetrack the Last of Us discussion, but "You People" on Netflix is hysterical.  Nails absurdities and tropes, Eddie Murphy is understated but hilarious, Julia Louis-Dreyfus is fantastic, and Jonah Hill does a great grown up version of his awkward fish out of water humor.

Thanks for the recommendation. JLD is the best comedic actress of the last couple generations, so anything with her piques my interest. And I like what you're saying about Murphy and Hill. I'll check it out!

[Jockey]

Don't mean to sidetrack the Last of Us discussion, but "You People" on Netflix is hysterical.  Nails absurdities and tropes, Eddie Murphy is understated but hilarious, Julia Louis-Dreyfus is fantastic, and Jonah Hill does a great grown up version of his awkward fish out of water humor.

Usually these kind of movies turn into parodies, but I agree completely with you on You People.