[CEF_Beasts]

Reacher has been renewed for season 2, just 3 days after releasing on Amazon Prime.

Amazon said that Reacher ranked in its top five most-watched series ever in the U.S. and globally over a 24-hour period – though it’s worth noting that all eight episodes of the series launched at once. The company added that it also was among its highest-rated original series, with subscribers giving it an average rating of 4.7 out of 5.

Link

[noopster]

Started watching an Arabic series, quirkily titled "Newton's Cradle", on Netflix recently. It's one season with 30 episodes of about an hour duration each. I'm about halfway through and quite like it overall. Good performances though the plot ebbs and flows a bit. Decent enough production as well though not up to the usual Netflix series standard. It's shot in some nice locales in Cairo and surroundings, and also in suburban LA. I recognized Glendale Mall from a visit we had made in 2008, so that added to the fun of watching!

I like to watch foreign series for the insights it gives into a new culture and this is no exception. Tackles social issues typical to the Arab/Muslim world but also quite relatable to the Indian context. I've visited Egypt for work a couple of times and found a lot of similarities in our cultures.

The story is about a middle-class Egyptian couple who decide to have their baby in the US so that he gets an American passport. An interesting premise that is handled competently for the most part. Am hoping this ends as well as it promises. Worth a watch!

[ABHI_1512]

The Great Indian Murder Disney Hotstar:

One directer I immensely admire is Tigmanshu Dhulia. I have been a long time admirer of his work and hence, was looking forward to the series on Hotstar. Wonderful starcast added to the intrigue but the series somewhat disappointed. The pace was excruciating slow to begin with and character build up was abysmal in respect to the whole series. Some characters like the one of Paoli Dam was nowhere to be seen after few episodes and some like Raghubir Yadav were introduced almost halfway through the series. A murder mystery deserves greater participation of the audience to be engaging, all in all, a decent watch but could have been better. The series leaves clues for a second season and I hope it improves on the first season.

Rating: 2.5/5 and special marks for Shashank Arora.

Rocket Boys SonyLiv :

One hell of a series and a brilliant one at that. Brilliant cast and equally brilliant acting makes the series an engaging watch. Jim Sarbh and Ishwaq Singh have absolutely nailed their roles. Such maturity of roles and such a magnificent story of the great minds of our country. Must watch and should be a mandatory watch for all to see what our history is, something that we have only fleetingly read in our school books.

Rating: 5/5

[harry10]

Binged 6 episodes of Peacemaker.

Easily the most fun I had in a superhero show. John Cena is tailor made for this role and his best part is he doesn't mind humiliating himself on camera unlike Rock. However the MVP is Vigilante. Some of his dialogues are pure Gold. Easily my favourite character in whole cast.*

[benbsb29]

The Last Dance - Netflix



I know i am late to the party on this one, but i am glad i watched this. Been a fan of Michael Jordan as a kid and the magic he brought to the Bulls. Scottie Pippen was another favourite and it felt amazing to see the history of how these individuals rose to their fame, as well as how the team got to the position of being worthy of being champions.

Surely a must watch for MJ fans.

[raksrules]

Originally Posted by ABHI_1512

Rocket Boys SonyLiv :

One hell of a series and a brilliant one at that. Brilliant cast and equally brilliant acting makes the series an engaging watch. Jim Sarbh and Ishwaq Singh have absolutely nailed their roles. Such maturity of roles and such a magnificent story of the great minds of our country. Must watch and should be a mandatory watch for all to see what our history is, something that we have only fleetingly read in our school books.

Rating: 5/5

Highly recommended series. I don't know why SonyLiv doesn't market their originals properly. Only after word of mouth does these shows gain traction and popularity. I guess same happened with Scam 1992. SonyLiv is making brilliant shows and Rocket Boys is one more in the list.
I even saw some youtube video which says there may be 2nd seasons as seems there were things that happened during 1965 and later. Not sure what though.

[amol4184]

Reacher on Amazon Prime : 2.5/5

Unpopular opinion. I am not a fan of this serial and failed to understand the hype.
My biggest gripe is the dialogue writing and generous garnishing of cheesy tropes. Every time protagonist (Reacher) meets a new person they are shown to be completely awed by his physique and build - understandably so but it is tiring.

Its not just his physique though. Mr. Reacher has IQ that bests Einstein, deduction skills that shame Sherlock Holmes, street smartness that make James Bond look like dummy, physical strength more than Giant from GoT. With such super human capabilities, you get the drift immediately how this is going to end.

Everything and everyone sort of fades around him and remaining characters play out their dumb roles to a T. Can't fault with the actor who plays Reacher, the director made him extremely larger than life and he does well at it.

Pacing is good, so is camera work and fancy cars in beautiful colors for us on tbhp. There are some moments that are funny too. I just wish they had taken more efforts to make things believable than borderline fantasy.

Warning: Has extremely gory violence scenes and NFSW dialogues to accompany
Definitely not something you will watch with parents without getting uncomfortable.

Looking back I much preferred Tom Cruise's Jack Reacher. To each their own I guess.

[dragonfire]

I watched Reacher after seeing all the praise people were showing on it and the 8.x rating on IMDB. I haven't read any of Lee Child's books, so I was having a virgin experience watching it.

First of all what I liked - It is well shot, a fantastic story thread and the picturesque Georgia rural provides a great backdrop.

But...

The characters look like caricatures -

The giant hero, is a hulk and a sherlock rolled into one. The fact that he can't act is no big deal as long as he walks and talks like a giant. And he can certainly act better than Stallone and Schwarz.

The female lead is a diminutive damsel in distress cum cop. She can act better than the guy and she gets to take her clothes off.

Then we have the lead detective - a black guy in a suit from up north.

Then the evil mayor - a person who is trying to look his part but tries to overdo the acting part.

The bank employee who can move cash by punching at his keyboard in quick succession.

And those classic caricatures you see in every crime thriller - dirty cop, honest cop, misunderstood cop.

A remote rural town where people mouth words like "this is my town", "I run this town", "my family built this town" forms the backdrop - where people and cops get murdered in droves and yet the feds don't take notice.

I liked how the series started and episode 1 was great, then it started going downhill. Yes, there was action and tension and excitement, but towards episode 5-6 too many things were happening and it was so boring I dozed off a couple of times.

The last two episodes were somewhat redeeming, but the mystery that was slowly unfolding till then was laid threadbare in a 2 minute monologue by our giant cum sherlock. Surely not because they were in a hurry to wrap it up - cos this story actually needed a another 2 episodes to flesh it out well.

Definitely watch it if you like those leave-your-brain-at-home thrillers for some mindless action.

[harry10]

Originally Posted by amol4184

Reacher on Amazon Prime : 2.5/5

Unpopular opinion.

You aren't versed with the character of Reacher I believe. He is based on the books by Lee Child. Tom Cruise Reacher was absolutely inaccurate portrayal of his physique and character, though I thoroughly enjoyed his first Reacher movie. The series Reacher is absolutely accurate portrayal of him. He is quite tall, extremely well built and powerful, trained in all weapons and martial arts, emotionally detached, has a quirky sense of humor, ladies man but always a loner. In the opening episode when Ruscoe tells her boss his achievements and they also mention he investigated 150 cases for military and all were closed along with catching of all 20 fugitives. So, he is a brilliant investigator and has been portrayed the same. In fact they actually dumb him a bit down in series for viewing as in books he never loses a fight and his opponents always go down within seconds.

Not your fault as many people without any hint of books and how his character is supposed to be will take it as over the top and unrealistic. They actually nailed the casting for Reacher. It's the most popular show of Prime and with fans that within a day of its release Amazon renewed it for second season.

By the way most shows today can't be watched with Parents, including the Hindi ones, as explicit language and scenes are plenty and unavoidable for viewers. It's best to view them alone.



Mod Note : Please quote ONLY the relevant bits of a post. Quoting a full, long post inconveniences our mobile readers.

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[ValarMorghulis]

Originally Posted by amol4184

[b]...Looking back I much preferred Tom Cruise's Jack Reacher. To each their own I guess.

Originally Posted by dragonfire

...The characters look like caricatures -
....

Actually Jack Reacher in the original Lee Child books is actually a 250lbs 6'5" guy who is a retired Major with multiple medals/ honours to his name for doing the right thing.
This series is actually a much better depiction (closer to original) than the laughable characterization by Tom Cruise.
In the books Reacher solves most issues with his brain and does employ his bulk to good use. However, the books make his problems appear bigger than his size which, kinda, missed from the series.

[dragonfire]

Originally Posted by ValarMorghulis

Actually Jack Reacher in the original Lee Child books is actually a 250lbs 6'5" guy who is a retired Major with multiple medals/ honours to his name for doing the right thing.
This series is actually a much better depiction (closer to original) than the laughable characterization by Tom Cruise.
In the books Reacher solves most issues with his brain and does employ his bulk to good use. However, the books make his problems appear bigger than his size which, kinda, missed from the series.

See, I understand that they are trying to be faithful to the text - and fans would instantly love it. For non-fans it does not matter. For me, if its not a flaw in the series, then its is one in the book.

I see that the book was written in 1997, so that kind of characterization of a hero would have been fine 25 years ago, but not now. For some perspective, take one those bollywood heros of the 90s and try making a movie on similar lines now.

Here fans of Jack Reacher books would definitely like what they see on the screen, but others who do not have a picture set in their minds would find that characterization absurd.

[deathwalkr]

Damned if you stay faithful to the source material and damned if you don't! heh heh

When Mr Cruise was announced as Reacher, fans of Mr Lee Child's walking tree trunk were surprised as to how a 5.6/5.7 person of passable build would fit the role.

The movies were good because Cruise is a great actor but it just wasn't Reacher.

The books are good for a read on the train and is quite a good time passer and so is the series i reckon.

Me for one am excited to see what book they will use for Season 2

[ValarMorghulis]

Originally Posted by deathwalkr

Damned if you stay faithful to the source material and damned if you don't! heh heh
...
Me for one am excited to see what book they will use for Season 2

So true! When Peter Jackson butchered The Hobbit to make a 3-part series, book aficionadas puked a bit in their mouths.

That said, if Prime folks are following the books, Die Trying (#2) would be next.
I've read 6 Reacher books so far (#1, 2, 4, 21, 22, 23) and IMHO, Killing Floor (#1) was the best one. Fingers crossed

[Gannu_1]

Caught up with Reacher last weekend and I quite liked it. Never read the book so no clue how much the series stood true to it.

I couldn’t help but think this guy could have done justice to the titular character in The Punisher.

[hondafanboy]

I too watched Reacher last weekend and found it to be decent. Have not seen the movie or read any books about it but the main character is convincing and likeable.

About the last fighting scene and situation (not going to explain it in detail) I thought I had seen that (not exact but somewhat similar) in many Bollywood movies, especially 80s - early 90s. Weird, I know.