Sense8

[Totenkindly]

New NetFlix series opening next week (all episodes), by the Wachowskis and J. Michael Straczynski.

It was kind of cool watching the trailer and seeing Naveen Andrews and Doona Bae, at least. Also, looks like Jamie Clayton is in the cast; not sure of her acting talent, she's trans and was a makeup artist and model when I ran across her name originally a few years back.

Critic response currently seems mixed -- sounds like they only released three episodes for review, and generally they think it's taking too long to build with eight different characters. So it remains to be seen whether there is payoff further into the series. However, knowing Straczynski, I think he's good -- he's got experience in TV and comics with multiple-character stories and typically does pay off decently once you get into whatever story he's been creating. I'm hoping his story sense might lend necessary structure and rationality to the Wachowski visuals since sometimes they can wander off the reservation...

http://www.slashfilm.com/sense8-reviews/

 

[Totenkindly]

Watched the first episode today.

It's... interesting. Pro's and Con's. Some segments are better than others. It's difficult to figure out who eight different people are at once when you're jumping around every few minutes; i think they might have done better by focusing on 2-3 to get them established (which they kind of settled into after awhile), versus the round robin for all of them.

Acting ability ranges from barely adequate to decent enough, with a few standouts (like Naveen and Doona). still haven't made my mind up about Clayton, she's more in the "low-end adequate..." category and not particularly commanding. She actually plays a transwoman character. My biggest issue with her segment is that it comes off too much like a PSA -- as a way to educate the audience about trans politics. You'll know what I mean if you see it. The highlight of that segment is the free-dance performance, it actually is good in itself. There's a kind of clumsy scene between Clayton and a TERF, which really just needed to be more natural... but the sad thing is that as bad as the scene was written, I knew exactly why the character was crying and I have been brought to tears a few time for the same reason before in the past.

The dialogue is still average overall -- better than bad shows, not really top-notch yet. I hope it improves once the show finds its voice. Some situations (like at the hospital) feel staged, although the nurse's final question to the cop was a good one. Once you figure out how the show is representing the mindlinkage, it's kind of cool and easier to follow.

I plan to keep watching, I'm just not yet sure how it will pan out.

 

[Qre:us]

I will have more to add to this, once I get caught up. I have started watching and scratching the surface, too early to form an opinion!

 

[Totenkindly]

I'm two episodes in (ten to go).

Things got better when at least there was some action near the end of episode 2. When all we had was the dialogue/drama to depend on, if it was lacking, it was hard to stay focused. But now there seems to be a direction at least.

 

[Z Buck McFate]

It's nice to see Chicago actually looking like Chicago. Usually either it's a caricature of Chicago character ("Da Bears") or lacking in Chicago character entirely. I think the Wachowski siblings are from the general area, though, so that would explain how they got it right. Even the show's opening credit shots of Chicago seem Chicago-y to me. [As an aside- the attitude that nurse had, about the gun shot victim and "how will you feel if we save this kid and he goes on to kill a cop?"- my mom's best friend was a nurse at Stroger Hospital for a long time and I've heard her go on similar tangents before. So it's a thing, apparently, to struggle with mixed feelings about it. At least near the South Side. I really don't know if the part about "ambulances won't come here" was true though.]

My first impression of the show is that they overreached with 8 storylines- in spite of the catchy title it enabled, there's too much going on to become invested in any of it. The whole first episode felt like a long trailer to advertise the series. It's taken until the fourth episode (just watched it tonight) for there to finally be enough familiarity with the characters that the bouncing around doesn't feel like too much of a distraction.

And holy hell- Joe Pantoliano- I didn't recognize him until he spoke.

 

[Totenkindly]

It's nice to see Chicago actually looking like Chicago. Usually either it's a caricature of Chicago character ("Da Bears") or lacking in Chicago character entirely. I think the Wachowski siblings are from the general area, though, so that would explain how they got it right. Even the show's opening credit shots of Chicago seem Chicago-y to me. [As an aside- the attitude that nurse had, about the gun shot victim and "how will you feel if we save this kid and he goes on to kill a cop?"- my mom's best friend was a nurse at Stroger Hospital for a long time and I've heard her go on similar tangents before. So it's a thing, apparently, to struggle with mixed feelings about it. At least near the South Side. I really don't know if the part about "ambulances won't come here" was true though.]

That's cool. I've only been in Chicago once and don't have much knowledge of the city. (I guess it's closer than Revolution's version?)

Yeah, the Wachowki's are from Chicago.

My first impression of the show is that they overreached with 8 storylines- in spite of the catchy title it enabled, there's too much going on to become invested in any of it. The whole first episode felt like a long trailer to advertise the series. It's taken until the fourth episode (just watched it tonight) for there to finally be enough familiarity with the characters that the bouncing around doesn't feel like too much of a distraction.

I'll see if I can watch more of it this week. I'm willing, but some shows go by quickly and some just drag. For some reason, I keep looking at my watch during this, at least in the early part of the series. It might have been better just to focus on 2-3 and have the rest just blurry glimpses and expanding outwards as the series progresses.

And holy hell- Joe Pantoliano- I didn't recognize him until he spoke.

I know! I didn't recognize him either, then he spoke, and suddenly my head shot up. ("waaaaaaiiiiiiit a minute....!")

 

[Ivy]

J. Michael Straczynski of Babylon 5? Noah's going to be excited about this, though maybe not as excited as he was about the Bab5 movie news.

Thanks for the heads-up- I'll watch this!

 

[Qre:us]

I, too, have watched only the first episode.

I understand that the thrust of this story is about the inner workings of the mind of all the characters, and as such, there needs to be a bit of 'thinking out loud', but some of that bordered on ridiculous. Like the brown girl talking it out in front of Lord Ganesh. SMDH.

I know! I didn't recognize him either, then he spoke, and suddenly my head shot up. ("waaaaaaiiiiiiit a minute....!")

There's quite a few actors I recognized, from non-Hollywood movies with an LGBT bent. Which is....curious.

The Chicago cop was in War Boys and Hate Crime.

The German criminal was in Free Fall and Before the Fall.

Naveen Andrews, although he has hit mainstream, I remember my first introduction to him was in Kama Sutra: something something....acting opposite Indira Verma, the woman who plays Oberyn Martell's lover, Ellaria Sand, in Game of Thrones. And, in Bombay Boys.

The father of the Indian girl is a very well-known Bollywood actor, usually playing the role of.....surprisingly.....a father. Anupam Kher.

 

[Z Buck McFate]

The Chicago cop was in War Boys

The German criminal was in Free Fall

OMG! I knew both of them looked familiar. Good catch.


(Straight ladies who like independent gay romances party ova here.)

 

[Totenkindly]

Finished episode 3. Definitely an improvement -- there's at least some small bits of driving plot now, even if it's really unclear what holds it all together. Too bad that Jamie Clayton is really pretty much the weakest actor in the main cast. A few aren't memorable, but 4-5 of them are able to hold attention. Of course, Doona Bae is always a joy. Glad to see Tuppence Middleton again.

(I see the good actors as being able to hold your attention regardless of whether or not they're even talking and/or whether or not they have other actors to play off.)

Definitely this is a series that takes advantage of the "season dump" format. I think it would flop horribly if you had to wait a week for each episode, because it's taking so long to coalesce. There's no way you could watch it a week between episodes and keep a sense of what is happening, because until this episode 3 there wasn't much concrete and specific enough to really stick in your head -- just an occasional sequence that doesn't yet fit into the big picture. But since you can sit down and watch a few episodes at a time, it at least gives you a chance...

I still find the concept interesting, and how those scenes of "merging" are handled. So there's that.

Lito's twist with his costar is pretty funny too.

 

[Duffy]

I binged watch the whole show. I won't spoil anything and I'll just give general comments.

I thought the dialogue stayed pretty boring and stale from beginning to end. At times can coming across like a tumblr motivational quote. What kept me watching was the desire to see them come to terms with the phenomena and utilizing it in a creative way to solve problems. I guess you get some of that, but I can't say I'm satisfied. Also, as a 90's kid, I have to say I got some strong Captain Planet vibes from this show.

 

[Z Buck McFate]

Definitely this is a series that takes advantage of the "season dump" format. I think it would flop horribly if you had to wait a week for each episode, because it's taking so long to coalesce. There's no way you could watch it a week between episodes and keep a sense of what is happening, because until this episode 3 there wasn't much concrete and specific enough to really stick in your head -- just an occasional sequence that doesn't yet fit into the big picture. But since you can sit down and watch a few episodes at a time, it at least gives you a chance...

I was thinking about this comment, and it occurred to me that my biggest criticism of this series is that it feels like it was written more like an 8 hour movie than as an anthology series. (I totally agree with above quote. eta: I haven't finished watching in its entirety yet.)

 

[Edgar]

The dialogue is still average overall

Boy are you being generous....

Amanita: OMG, we were so high!
Nomi: We were!!!!