What’s good? #43

With so much stuff on Netflix, it can be a little overwhelming finding something to watch, especially when one scrolls through and half of what they see are foreign flicks and tv shows that they have absolutely no interest in. With that said, the purpose of these weekly posts is to share something that i watch on the service. Hopefully it will help someone find something new…or keep them from something they might have wasted their time with otherwise.

This week I’m going to cover…

Genre: Comedy,drama
Duration: 1 seasons (8 episodes; ~21-35 min each)
Cast: Paul Rudd, Aisling Bea, Alia Shawkat, Karen Pittman, Jon Glaser, Desmin Borges

A running joke around the interwebs is that Paul Rudd doesn’t age. Well, this show may show us the reason why, if it was based on a true story, that is. 

I put this off for a few from when it first popped up on Netflix and had almost forgotten about it until a couple of weeks ago. It can be debated if letting it “marinate” has affected my opinion of the series.

So, the premise is Miles, played by Paul Rudd, is in a rut with his life. Career, marriage, etc. are all stagnating, so he takes on a mysterious treatment that could improve his life. Something goes wrong and he ends up buried in the middle of a forest. Upon returning to civilization he finds out that he has been cloned. Comedy and confusion ensues.

People complain all the time about rehashing the same old stories over and over again. As far as I know, while this may or may not be original, this has not been done as show before. At least not as a more than an episode or two.

Paul Rudd is impressive in this role. He portrays Miles as a man beaten down by life and then his clone is the opposite. Almost as if he was all the good parts of the original. As a matter of fact, I think that is what the cloning company says their clones are. 

I have to mention the way they narrative is structured. One episode will be about events that happen to say, Miles. The next episode will then shift the point of view to the clone and the rest of the episode will focus on him. The last episode I watched focused on the wife. It is a little disorienting at first. I had to make sure I wasn’t rewatching the same episode a couple of time, but as the series progresses, you notice that it an interseting way to tell the story.

Personally, I would prefer this to be funnier, particularly with Rudd in the lead and Irish comedian Aisling Bea as his wife, but the showrunners seemed to want more of a dramatic feel, with a few jokes (mostly from the clone) thrown in for good measure.

Truthfully, there isn’t much to Living with Yourself. The cast consists of 3 or 4 people (including Rudd in a dual role). The setting, as far as I’ve seen so far, is only a few specific locations. As they say, “Elegance in its simplicity.” This could have very well been real heavy on the science. I’m not in love with this show, but I am looking forward to seeing where it leads.

Movie Review: Avengers: Endgame

PLOT: 

After the devastating events of Avengers: Infinity War (2018), the universe is in ruins due to the efforts of the Mad Titan, Thanos. With the help of remaining allies, the Avengers must assemble once more in order to undo Thanos’s actions and undo the chaos to the universe, no matter what consequences may be in store, and no matter who they face…

REVIEW:

What did I like?

Big payoff. 11 years. 22 movies. It has all been leading up to this epic confrontation between the Avengers and the Mad Titan, Thanos. Was it worth the wait? Some will say yes and some will say no. I am a member of team yes. While I would have liked a more direct confrontation with a Thanos that was more in line with the source material, I can’t complain with what we got. The stakes couldn’t have been any higher for this epic conclusion. Honestly, the MCU could end with this film and I don’t think anyone would complain.

Lighten up. With such high stakes, you would think this would be a very dark and serious film with little to no levity. In true Marvel fashion, there are plenty of moments that will make you chuckle and lighten the mood. Everything can’t be all gloom and doom, even in the face of utter destruction.

Tug on the heartstrings. I know that I am a little late with this review and the spoiler embargo and been lifted, but I still won’t put any in here, out of respect for those that have yet to watch this film, or may be reading this months or years from now and have forgotten what happened. With that said, if you are an emotional person, you might want to bring a box of tissues with you. The emotional arcs in this film regarding certain characters will surely move you. I have been referred to as a robot, due to my lack of emotion/compassion, but even I felt something for one of these characters’ storylines and how appropriately it was handled.

What didn’t I like?

Rules of time travel. There are numerous time travel myths out there. For me, I prefer the Back to the Future rules but, of course, this film took those rules and threw them out the window…Tony Stark even jokes about it with Ant-Man. It isn’t so much that this film uses different time travel rules, but more that it is a bit of a douche when mentioning the other universes that use time travel and making all the work that was put into developing said rules seem fruitless.

Girls, Girls, Girls. In the climactic battle, there is a scene where a character, who shall not be named, gather to protect them. This came out of nowhere, many of these women have had little to no interactions with each other. I know, I know…this was meant to be a reference to the A-Force from the comics, but it seemed more like a fan service moment and/or a cheap girl power attempt. No, I’m not being sexist. I just feel that if they were going to do this, at least give it some build up. There was no hint at this happening and all these women came from all over the battlefield to do this. It just felt forced.

Rescue me. In the comics, Pepper Potts is likable. In the MCU, she started out that way, but over the films, she became more of a nagging shrew. In Iron Man 3, she is given some temporary powers and outfitted in an exosuit to save the world. It was believed that was a one time thing, but lo and behold, here we see her in a suit that doesn’t even resemble her comic counterpart. On top of that, non-comic fans would be totally lost as to why she was wearing armor.

Final verdict:

Avengers: Endgame didn’t disappoint. Yes, there are some issues, like the hour or so that weighs down the middle half of the film, but overall this is a satisfying conclusion to this saga and I am looking forward to where the MCU goes in the future. I mentioned earlier that this would be a fitting end for the MCU. Not that I want it to, but how poetic would it be, with most of these characters having been created by Stan Lee to end with his death (this is his final cameo). That isn’t happening, though. Spider-Man: Far from Home is coming out this summer and following its release, we should know more about what the future holds. As far as this film goes, well, there is no reason to not see it multiple times. I also suggest watching Avengers: Infinity War beforehand to refresh your mind, though.

4 1/2 out of 5 stars