AKenjiB
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Post by AKenjiB on Sept 22, 2017 4:07:54 GMT
Overall not off to a great start but each episode has been slightly better than the previous one. Not sure if there was any real necessity to making it set after the 2016 election. I guess we'll see if there's gonna be any biting political satire but at this point, it just feels like a lot of referencing rather than actually having anything meaningful to say, kinda like South Park's super disappointing season premiere.
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AKenjiB
Badass
Posts: 1,047
Likes: 653
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Post by AKenjiB on Sept 22, 2017 4:13:53 GMT
I think they almost always start out promising, but turn to shit before too long. Asylum had the longest streak of goodness (and it was legitimately good), but once Cromwell/Rabe were gone, it tanked hard. Coven had perhaps the most promising premise and a strong first half, but it got so utterly stupid in the second half. Freak Show is almost irredeemably bad save for Finn Wittrock's surprisingly great performance, and I got one episode into Hotel before realizing I had better things to do with my life and bailed on it. Haven't seen Roanoke. Murder House just plain sucked from start to finish, although I liked Suvari's guest spot. Roanoake is similar. Starts off really strong. It kinda abandoned its campiness and became more of a straight horror with some pretty genuinely disturbing moments. But after about five really strong episodes, it just seemed to get worse and worse, culminating in a boring and anti-climatic finale.
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Post by Johnny_Hellzapoppin on Sept 22, 2017 7:40:16 GMT
In Asylum you've seen its peak as a show, and in my opinion one of the great seasons of TV.
Coven: Good start, sloppy middle, sloppier conclusion. Freak Show: One of the worst TV Seasons I've seen. Hotel: Slightly better than Coven, I wouldn't ever call it a return to form, but after Freak Show anything looks good. Roanoke: I actually quite liked this. I'd comfortably consider it the second best of the bunch so far.
Aside from Freak Show, they all have lots to redeem them and are all worth watching.
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Post by MsMovieStar on Sept 22, 2017 8:29:57 GMT
Oh honey, the thing I like best about AHS is the historical layering and richness but they don't seem to be doing it with so much care and it has become sloppy. Sometimes it feels that characters are introduced solely for the purpose of increasing the body count in a cheap gratuitous horror way - I've noticed this more from Hotel onwards and it's at the expense of story and real plot development...
Asylum Murder House Freak Show - love the imagery in this. Coven - Kathy Bates! Hotel Roanoke - started good and then went totally over-kill Cult
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Post by theycallmemrfish on Sept 22, 2017 16:22:45 GMT
Don't watch, but I heard it's about as subtle as a freight train hitting a bus full of youtubers.
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Post by cheesecake on Sept 22, 2017 21:50:54 GMT
As if you'd give her chance anyhow You know when I watched episode 1 of this, one of the first things that came to mind was "Damn, good thing Allenism made that comparison thread when he did. He couldn't make it with a straight face after watching this shit". For the record, I like plenty of Sarah Paulson performances, and as a Deadwood/Sorkin fanatic have done so for about 12 years now. In fact her performance on Studio 60 made her one of my major celeb crushes, and then Ryan Murphy got his claws into her, and damn. Take away Asylum finale, Hotel, and the episodes built around her in OJ, and everything else has been a disaster. While I'm happy for Paulson's success, I really miss her Pre-Murphy days.
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Post by Johnny_Hellzapoppin on Sept 23, 2017 0:56:12 GMT
Episode 3 was an big improvement. It had some solid, dare I say astute writing and I'm now somewhat invested in this season. This show has often had the potential to give us truly great television, but unfortunately only managed it once in six rounds. Cult may have had a shaky couple of opening episodes, but I see some potential here.
Gotta ask opinions on this: Is it too obvious that Cheyenne Jackson is a villain here. I kinda hope they are playing us in some way...
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Post by ibbi on Sept 23, 2017 22:52:17 GMT
You know when I watched episode 1 of this, one of the first things that came to mind was "Damn, good thing Allenism made that comparison thread when he did. He couldn't make it with a straight face after watching this shit". For the record, I like plenty of Sarah Paulson performances, and as a Deadwood/Sorkin fanatic have done so for about 12 years now. In fact her performance on Studio 60 made her one of my major celeb crushes, and then Ryan Murphy got his claws into her, and damn. Take away Asylum finale, Hotel, and the episodes built around her in OJ, and everything else has been a disaster. Damn, you even hate her film work?? I don't think there's much to malign in either her 12 Years a Slave or Carol performances even if there's nothing to rave about them, either. Nooooo, when I say 'everything else' I was just referring to everything else she's done under Murphy. Coven, Freak Show, Roanoke, this, Asylum up until the finale, the non-Marcia focused episodes of ACS where she seems to be playing a completely different character. Anyway, I'd agree with the general sentiment that episode 3 was a big improvement over the first two, but I think it also went for more obvious lolz which helped.
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Post by MsMovieStar on Sept 27, 2017 20:09:03 GMT
Ok honeys, I'm about to start watching episode 4... unless anyone would like to try and stop me... but it's with trepidation and a feeling of where the fuck is Frances Conroy? that I'm doing this. I've already learned that Lena Dunham doesn't appear until episode 7 as they didn't want everyone switching off too early.
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Post by MsMovieStar on Sept 27, 2017 21:32:13 GMT
Oh my God! Is anyone else thinking they may be brainwashing us into believing that this is really good? I'm loving it now. Totally hooked! I'm guessing Sarah Paulson got grounded for overacting and was told to sit this one out. People say acting can be masturbatory and clearly this one is Evan Peters turn. More drama and intrigue is unfolding and best of all... there's some great lines and humor. Billie Lourd shines. It's Election night!
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forksforest
Junior Member
Quit your shit-spitting
Posts: 491
Likes: 212
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Post by forksforest on Sept 28, 2017 2:28:28 GMT
I think they almost always start out promising, but turn to shit before too long. Asylum had the longest streak of goodness (and it was legitimately good), but once Cromwell/Rabe were gone, it tanked hard. Coven had perhaps the most promising premise and a strong first half, but it got so utterly stupid in the second half. Freak Show is almost irredeemably bad save for Finn Wittrock's surprisingly great performance, and I got one episode into Hotel before realizing I had better things to do with my life and bailed on it. Haven't seen Roanoke. Murder House just plain sucked from start to finish, although I liked Suvari's guest spot. I mostly agree with this but I loved Murder House and Hotel, the latter was a surprise bc i was about ready to quit the show after watching Freak Show. Im like one of the 3 people who thought it was one of the better AHS seasons purely for the aesthetic and tone of the season. Roanoke was on par with Freak Show in terms of being a hugeeee waste of time. Glad to say I'm finally out and the reviews for Cult aren't doing much to reel me back in.
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Post by Johnny_Hellzapoppin on Sept 28, 2017 7:48:01 GMT
I think they almost always start out promising, but turn to shit before too long. Asylum had the longest streak of goodness (and it was legitimately good), but once Cromwell/Rabe were gone, it tanked hard. Coven had perhaps the most promising premise and a strong first half, but it got so utterly stupid in the second half. Freak Show is almost irredeemably bad save for Finn Wittrock's surprisingly great performance, and I got one episode into Hotel before realizing I had better things to do with my life and bailed on it. Haven't seen Roanoke. Murder House just plain sucked from start to finish, although I liked Suvari's guest spot. I mostly agree with this but I loved Murder House and Hotel, the latter was a surprise bc i was about ready to quit the show after watching Freak Show. Im like one of the 3 people who thought it was one of the better AHS seasons purely for the aesthetic and tone of the season. Roanoke was on par with Freak Show in terms of being a hugeeee waste of time. Glad to say I'm finally out and the reviews for Cult aren't doing much to reel me back in. I'm kinda with you here. I too was going to quit the show after the mess of 'Freak Show', but I thought 'Hotel' was generally quite good and it got me hooked in again.
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Post by Ryan_MYeah on Sept 29, 2017 17:00:29 GMT
Finished with Coven, and boy did it crash and burn. Admittedly for the first eight or so episodes I was completely on board. Not completely, as I wasn't hooked from the first episode (more a symptom of my dislike of "pilots" than anything), but this season really comes into its own as it keeps moving along, establishing the ancient lore of the witches, but surprisingly one of my favorite parts was the Mean Girls cattiness between the Coven, and I shockingly wasn't annoyed by it. If anything, I think it's what gave the season soul, as the dysfunction slowly built up, and characters showed their true colors as tongue in cheek, or viciously willing to stab others in the back. Makes great use of the cast, too, with Bassett, Lange, and Roberts stealing the show. But man, did it tank. First of all, you're seriously going to emulate Murder House? Not just recreating the single worst aspect of characters being too stupid to see what's in front of them, but You're also gonna work spirits into the mix as well? Furthermore, what even is the continuity of that rule? Apparently Danny Huston can walk freely about the world. Can the Denis O'Hare butler do the same thing? If the Axeman died again in the house, would be be able to come back? If he went to the Papa Legma afterlife, why didn't he the first time? Why didn't the butler either? Is Madison gonna do the same? How the hell does the afterlife even work in this place? But above all, even Murder House didn't end on as chaotic a note as this. I know camp is a staple of the AHS seasons so far, but this took indulgence to a whole new level, taking some pretty laughable turns along the way, with resurrection being a huge Deus Ex Machina. I don't know why Cordelia was so upset. Misty'll just come back in another fifty years. Worse still the ending was like an unraveled ball of yarn, where all subplots don't come together to form a whole like in Asylum, but just run off in disparate directions fighting for attention. What started off seeming to place heavy focus on Taissa Farmiga broke off completely, until placing extensive attention on Paulson with pure lip service to build up until then. Hell, they try and get rid of Farmiga until Ryan Murphy remembers he needs to have her and Evan Peters (his worst season yet) in all 13 episodes. Not only that, but in an attempt to keep things interesting, the show constantly feels the need to pull plot points out of its ass, like the legion of Witch killers shoehorned into later episodes. Was the cattiness of the sisterhood really not enough substance for you? And the Stevie Nicks cameo was the most self-congratulatory, out of left-field inclusion imaginable. Was Murphy calling in favors from Glee? Anyway, enjoyed this season, up until the ending which can suck it. God, I'm not looking forward to Freak Show.
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Post by MsMovieStar on Sept 29, 2017 21:22:37 GMT
Finished with Coven, and boy did it crash and burn.
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Post by ibbi on Sept 30, 2017 10:04:09 GMT
The real American Horror Story will be your viewing experience from here on in.
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Post by ibbi on Sept 30, 2017 13:51:44 GMT
Oh my God! Is anyone else thinking they may be brainwashing us into believing that this is really good? I'm loving it now. Totally hooked! I'm guessing Sarah Paulson got grounded for overacting and was told to sit this one out. People say acting can be masturbatory and clearly this one is Evan Peters turn. More drama and intrigue is unfolding and best of all... there's some great lines and humor. Billie Lourd shines. It's Election night! Yep, that episode was easily the best one yet. All very obvious and on the nose, but that's the show. Great stuff. Might be my favourite episode of this thing for a while actually.
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Post by Johnny_Hellzapoppin on Oct 1, 2017 13:18:15 GMT
This season if starting to be genuinely great. I hope beyond hope they can hold their shit together and actually give us a great Season.
Evan Peters is seriously killing it. He's been such a servant to this show, always doing good and sometimes great work. It didn't matter if it was a lead, supporting of minor role, he was always there while others were given better roles to shine in. It's really nice to see him getting his moment in the sun and making the most of it.
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speeders
Based
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Post by speeders on Oct 4, 2017 10:05:18 GMT
I guess I'm the only one who thinks this season is a missed opportunity. It prioritizes cheap, gross-out shocks to actual suspense, ease and thrills unlike the first 2 seasons (and last season to some extent). It's neither entertaining nor does it have any depth. It's just... ugly. I would also say this is my far the poorest acted season yet. Lourd, Eichner and Grossman are okay -- the rest are pretty bad. Paulson has been toning it down thankfully but is still settled with an annoying character, Peters I think is just horrible and I'd be happy if I wouldn't have to see Alison Pill again. Adina Porter feels really miscast in the rare decent role this season, I don't think she makes a believable reporter (maybe just her speech patterns) and the "intense edge" feels very forced. I think Angela Bassett could've killed it but don't think Porter pulls it off, which is a shame, I thought she was a standout last season.
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Post by Ryan_MYeah on Oct 5, 2017 19:10:54 GMT
So Roanoke just landed on Netflix, and that’s the one I really need to give a watch (it’s part of a Horror Nights maze). Am I missing any callbacks or plot points by jumping straight to that, and coming back to Freak Show and Hotel at my own leisure?
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Post by MsMovieStar on Oct 5, 2017 19:51:42 GMT
I guess I'm the only one who thinks this season is a missed opportunity. It prioritizes cheap, gross-out shocks to actual suspense, ease and thrills unlike the first 2 seasons (and last season to some extent). It's neither entertaining nor does it have any depth. It's just... ugly. I would also say this is my far the poorest acted season yet. Lourd, Eichner and Grossman are okay -- the rest are pretty bad. Paulson has been toning it down thankfully but is still settled with an annoying character, Peters I think is just horrible and I'd be happy if I wouldn't have to see Alison Pill again. Adina Porter feels really miscast in the rare decent role this season, I don't think she makes a believable reporter (maybe just her speech patterns) and the "intense edge" feels very forced. I think Angela Bassett could've killed it but don't think Porter pulls it off, which is a shame, I thought she was a standout last season. Oh honey, I've been looking for you... or anyone like you....or anyone. I agree with you on so many points. It dipped again in this episode. Something is lacking and you are so right - it's depth. Watching Paulson shrieking and blubbering again (yes, she's back at it) made me realize how one dimensional the characterizations and acting is in this season. More scenes of gratuitous horror and very little plot development and advancement. It irritates me as it is easy to see it has potential to be something so great if everybody involved in this had more to work with... but fundamentally, it's the writing that flawed. There just isn't much there in comparison to the richness of previous seasons. ...and where the hell is Frances Conroy when you need her? Oh, my agent has just texted me to say that he's just signed me to something called Trapped Wind. Clearly this is the next big thing! The one that will sweep through the Oscars next year. I just need a breakthrough role that's gonna make a lot of noise...
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speeders
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Post by speeders on Oct 7, 2017 10:53:39 GMT
So Roanoke just landed on Netflix, and that’s the one I really need to give a watch (it’s part of a Horror Nights maze). Am I missing any callbacks or plot points by jumping straight to that, and coming back to Freak Show and Hotel at my own leisure? No definitely not. It's an anthology so they stand on their own. Also Roanoke is much better than those two.
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sg90
New Member
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Post by sg90 on Oct 7, 2017 18:11:20 GMT
I guess I'm the only one who thinks this season is a missed opportunity. It prioritizes cheap, gross-out shocks to actual suspense, ease and thrills unlike the first 2 seasons (and last season to some extent). It's neither entertaining nor does it have any depth. It's just... ugly. I would also say this is my far the poorest acted season yet. Lourd, Eichner and Grossman are okay -- the rest are pretty bad. Paulson has been toning it down thankfully but is still settled with an annoying character, Peters I think is just horrible and I'd be happy if I wouldn't have to see Alison Pill again. Adina Porter feels really miscast in the rare decent role this season, I don't think she makes a believable reporter (maybe just her speech patterns) and the "intense edge" feels very forced. I think Angela Bassett could've killed it but don't think Porter pulls it off, which is a shame, I thought she was a standout last season. No you're not. I have no idea why they've turned it into a poor man's Scream Queens, when that show was taken off the air for a reason. The acting is poor and the show is not funny at all, maybe in a 'Showgirls-so-bad-it's-hilarious' kind of way. Never really got the big deal with Paulson and she's poor here and Peters is quite limited too, he can't play a good villain. The replacements brought in for this season are dreadful and annoying, especially the male next door neighbour. Carrie Fisher's daughter is probably the best. It does seem a lightyear away from the days of Lange, Bates, Bassett, O'Hare etc, but I guess this is the direction the show will go in from now on. I don't think Murphy is that bothered anymore either, Feud and ACS have taken more prominence.
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speeders
Based
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Post by speeders on Oct 7, 2017 19:44:15 GMT
I guess I'm the only one who thinks this season is a missed opportunity. It prioritizes cheap, gross-out shocks to actual suspense, ease and thrills unlike the first 2 seasons (and last season to some extent). It's neither entertaining nor does it have any depth. It's just... ugly. I would also say this is my far the poorest acted season yet. Lourd, Eichner and Grossman are okay -- the rest are pretty bad. Paulson has been toning it down thankfully but is still settled with an annoying character, Peters I think is just horrible and I'd be happy if I wouldn't have to see Alison Pill again. Adina Porter feels really miscast in the rare decent role this season, I don't think she makes a believable reporter (maybe just her speech patterns) and the "intense edge" feels very forced. I think Angela Bassett could've killed it but don't think Porter pulls it off, which is a shame, I thought she was a standout last season. No you're not. I have no idea why they've turned it into a poor man's Scream Queens, when that show was taken off the air for a reason. The acting is poor and the show is not funny at all, maybe in a 'Showgirls-so-bad-it's-hilarious' kind of way. Never really got the big deal with Paulson and she's poor here and Peters is quite limited too, he can't play a good villain. The replacements brought in for this season are dreadful and annoying, especially the male next door neighbour. Carrie Fisher's daughter is probably the best. It does seem a lightyear away from the days of Lange, Bates, Bassett, O'Hare etc, but I guess this is the direction the show will go in from now on. I don't think Murphy is that bothered anymore either, Feud and ACS have taken more prominence. You're absolutely right and actually put things in perspective. I hadn't even thought about that (Scream Queens-lite) and lack of dramatic heavy weights (Lange, Bassett, Bates, Cromwell etc.). The show has always been borderline trashy but now trash is all it is. I agree that Lourd (Carrie Fischer's daughter) is the best and the only saving grace on the acting front. The show definitely feels like it stopped trying.
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sg90
New Member
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Post by sg90 on Oct 8, 2017 20:51:51 GMT
You're absolutely right and actually put things in perspective. I hadn't even thought about that (Scream Queens-lite) and lack of dramatic heavy weights (Lange, Bassett, Bates, Cromwell etc.). The show has always been borderline trashy but now trash is all it is. I agree that Lourd (Carrie Fischer's daughter) is the best and the only saving grace on the acting front. The show definitely feels like it stopped trying. That's a trend with All Murphy shows honestly. Nip/Tuck and Scream Queens kind of went off the rails quickly. AHS is the only show of his I've watched tbf. ACS I did, but he didn't write it, and Feud I've yet to see. Although the second seasons of those two shows don't interest me in the slightest.
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Post by Johnny_Hellzapoppin on Oct 9, 2017 12:20:10 GMT
I still think its ticking along nicely. Episode 5 was definitely not as strong as 3 & 4 were, but it was still a lot better than episodes 1 & 2. I'll reserve judgement on this Season until it is over and done with, as this show has a terrible habit of falling apart in the later stages of a Season.
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