jakob
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Post by jakob on May 12, 2017 23:26:28 GMT
Three episodes in so far and it hasn't let me down yet! I loved the opening episode (and it being one big homage to The Bicycle Thieves), enjoyed the second, and loved the third. If the show holds up throughout the rest of its season, it may be, quality-wise, the best series on Netflix. It's definitely the best cure to the absence of Louie.
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Post by bobbystarks on May 15, 2017 16:37:54 GMT
I started watching the series on Thursday, not knowing that season 2 was premiering Friday. Such a pleasant surprise.
Season one was pretty great, though pretty messy in some parts, especially the acting. But the writing and the characters really made up for it.
Season two though? They took everything in season one and polished it tenfold. It's a damn near perfect season of television. Every episode was well done and resonated with me, and the whole thing was a homage to Italian film and it does it brilliantly. The episode 'Thanksgiving' was the standout for my favorite of the season, and probably my favorite of the year so far. The writing was ambitious, the style was ambitious, the performances were better, though a bit messy still (his parents are hilarious but not good actors). Also Bobby Cannavale was such a fun addition and Angela Basset gave my favorite performance of the whole show.
So yeah, I really enjoyed this show and I'm glad I joined in on the craze.
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Post by bobbystarks on May 15, 2017 16:50:02 GMT
Also Bobby Cannavale was such a fun addition and Angela Basset gave my favorite performance of the whole show. Holy shit, Bobby and Angela Bassett? Season 2 just went up my priority list. They're both great. Bassett's only in one episode but Cannavale is in a handful and he's so fun to watch.
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Post by theycallmemrfish on May 15, 2017 16:52:19 GMT
Holy shit, Bobby and Angela Bassett? Season 2 just went up my priority list. They're both great. Bassett's only in one episode but Cannavale is in a handful and he's so fun to watch. Awesomesauce. Luckily my Roku had a banner ad for S2, otherwise I wouldn't even know it was out yet.
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Post by Viced on May 17, 2017 1:49:28 GMT
The electric toothbrush up the ass is some of the funniest shit I've seen in a while.
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Post by Allenism on May 19, 2017 1:54:39 GMT
I'm only on episode 5, but it just keeps getting better with each one. The only episode that didn't really win me over was the Arnold/ex-girlfriend's wedding one...felt kind of labored.
Oh, and Alessandra Mastronardi is just utterly beguiling. I was felt like I was falling in love with her alongside Dev.
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Post by bobbystarks on May 19, 2017 3:53:38 GMT
I'm only on episode 5, but it just keeps getting better with each one. The only episode that didn't really win me over was the Arnold/ex-girlfriend's wedding one...felt kind of labored. Oh, and Alessandra Mastronardi is just utterly beguiling. I was felt like I was falling in love with her alongside Dev. It gets so much better dude. The second half is even stronger.
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Post by Mattsby on May 20, 2017 20:51:44 GMT
ep4 - terrific & hilarious deconstruction of modern online dating ep9 - very moving and well-done (should’ve ended the season) ep 6 — unexpected, standalone great ep ep1, ep2, e5, e8 — enjoyable but sometimes sort-of middling e3, e7, e10 — weaker eps in the writing/direction
Overall slightly better than S1, I think. S2 is more controlled and quite clever, even, in how some of the eps are designed. The DP (Mark Schwartzbard) shot every ep of the series and deserves a special mention for S2 - the images and compositions are sometimes striking and quite evocative, way more memorable here than S1.
Ansari continues to grow as an actor/writer/filmmaker. Alessandra Mastronardi has very lovely quality to her. Eric Wareheim - who I can def see turning people off - kinda cracks me up.... Don't forget to text your hicuties!
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matheusf
Junior Member
Posts: 306
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Post by matheusf on May 21, 2017 15:00:30 GMT
Haven't seen everything yet, but the New York, I Love You and the Tinder episodes are some of the best stuff I've seen all year
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Post by DeepArcher on May 26, 2017 22:06:47 GMT
Just finished the season earlier today. Whereas the first season painted its topical subject matter with broad, blatant brush strokes (which sounds like more of a criticism than it actually is), the second season hones in on the more minute and personal to address grander overarching themes. It's not just an improvement upon the first season, but a (near) perfection of it.
This season is also the pinnacle of total freedom of artistic expression and creativity in television (other than maybe the Twin Peaks revival, that is) as we see Aziz & his writing/directing/producing collaborators focus heavily on the arthouse influences. While the 'experimentation' didn't always stick the landing -- that final shot of "The Dinner Party", for example, was much better in concept than in execution, as the scene just ended up playing out until it was awkward, and then some -- there are many times when the filmmaking prowess shone through and really gave the season a certain magic. Take the entire "Amarsi Un Po" episode, for example. So simple in concept, yet there was something utterly beautiful and enchanting about that entire hour. And I'm not just talking about Alessandra Mastronardi, though she was certainly a big part of it. She and Aziz had such great chemistry, it exceeded plausibility; making the emotional toll of Dev's situation all the more effective.
If I had one complaint about that last two episode arch, it would be that the Francesca storyline did get a bit repetitive by the finale, and some of the dialogue could be sappy. That ending though was a total subversion of expectation, and it should be fascinating to see how that's picked up on in season three. Surely, though, I can't forget to address the always-magnificent Bobby Cannavale and the Chef Jeff storyline. I found it a bit frustrating through most of the season that there was absolutely no conflict with Dev and Chef Jeff, and then the finale came along and totally shook things up in all the right ways. It also seems that this may pour into the next season a bit, which I'll be looking forward to.
Aside from the already-mentioned penultimate episode, "The Thief", "First Date", and especially "Thanksgiving" were all standout episodes for me. Though, really, this entire season was firing on all cylinders. The first season was great entertainment, but the second took it to a whole other level of ambition, experimentation, humor, character development, realism, etc. I'll be surprised if this doesn't go down as one of my favorite TV seasons of the year.
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Post by pacinoyes on May 27, 2017 11:05:19 GMT
Caught up to episode 9 (episode 10 tonight!) and loved it and agree this has topped season 1. I like how the shows style doesn't seem like it's straining too hard which is difficult for a show that has that much on its mind. A lot of the best parts of each episode seem off the cuff, or casual but all the while are part of structure......
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 30, 2017 17:38:41 GMT
I thought it was so fucking good. Aziz really captures this nuanced, slice-of-life feel with the show. I thought it was a significant improvement over the first season, and I loved Cannavale and Bassett's roles too. My favorite episode had to have been "New York, I Love You", especially the whole segment with the deaf woman and her boyfriend.
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Post by Allenism on May 31, 2017 19:55:52 GMT
Okay, finished the whole thing.
I think overall this was a step up from Season 1, but not by a lot. I appreciated the superior production values and just how cinematic the show felt during some stretches. The writing for the most part was still honest, insightful, and buoyantly funny. On the negative side, I sort of wish that supporting characters like Brian and Denise were more seamlessly incorporated into the storylines (though I totally appreciate the latter getting her own episode, which was one of best of the season). I also have a few issues with Dev's predicament with Francesca. As enchanting and screen-sparkling as Alessandra Mastronardi is, she is also, frankly, far too movie star-beautiful to be playing that character. I just don't buy someone like that being in Dev's orbit so casually. The "will they, won't they" trajectory of their relationship was also a bit formulaic, although "Amarsi Un Po" was admittedly a beautifully crafted episode.
Best episodes: Thanksgiving, Amarsi Un Po, New York I Love You, The Dinner Party (that ending, ugggh), and First Date.
Angela Bassett and Bobby Cannavale were both fantastic additions to the season, as expected. And even though I generally feel like Raven-Symone should go away forever, her bit was pretty funny, too.
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forksforest
Junior Member
Quit your shit-spitting
Posts: 492
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Post by forksforest on Jun 1, 2017 3:24:47 GMT
Really enjoyed it. Ansari is a promising director (and honestly, I'm still surprised this show was created by Tom Haverford). Also, whoever did the cinematography for the last few episodes has my allegiance, holy shit. Every scene with Francesca was elevated with those gorgeous backdrops (and I normally dislike NYC as a setting). I don't think anything beats "Parents" for me, but "Thankgiving" is certainly up there in its attempt to be balanced but still give a sincere experience of a black girl coming out. First Date, New York I Love You, and Religion were in the top tier too. I can't say I loved the romance in the second half, despite finding the actress super charming, absolutely gorgeous, and very natural...I wasn't feeling the narrative. I appreciate that the cliche has never (?) been done with a brown male lead, but I did find myself ready for the storyline to end already lol. I think the things I love best about the show are when it deals with non-romantic subplots or handles romance in a brief and one-off/conclusive way like The Thief, First Date or Hot Ticket. I'm also not that big on Arnold or his sense of humor. I liked having equal amounts of one-on-one time with Denise and Brian like we did last season. But whatever, these are minor complaints...the season as a whole was refreshing; it managed to bring up new topics like religion and coming out, and take the same nuanced but genuine approach that worked so well last season.
As long as this show ends on a highnote and doesn't overstay its welcome, I can see it being my favorite of the Netflix Originals. I'd say it has a few more seasons, but nothing too long running where the themes get repetitive and it starts feeling like a Shonda Rhimes show when it comes to topics about immigration or racism/the minority experience.
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Post by theycallmemrfish on Jul 3, 2017 20:50:35 GMT
Finished it last week and let it marinate since. I definitely didn't like it as much as I did S1. It's not nearly as funny, the whole relationship dynamic felt so unnatural, and I felt like each episode had some PBS Kid's message to teach me... Overall, a disappointing second season after such a great first.
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Post by idioticbunny on Jul 3, 2017 21:16:49 GMT
Finished it last week and let it marinate since. I definitely didn't like it as much as I did S1. It's not nearly as funny, the whole relationship dynamic felt so unnatural, and I felt like each episode had some PBS Kid's message to teach me... Overall, a disappointing second season after such a great first. Damn, I feel like we watched completely different shows... I wonder if you could offer an example of a "PBS Kid's message"? Haha.
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Post by theycallmemrfish on Jul 3, 2017 21:30:05 GMT
Finished it last week and let it marinate since. I definitely didn't like it as much as I did S1. It's not nearly as funny, the whole relationship dynamic felt so unnatural, and I felt like each episode had some PBS Kid's message to teach me... Overall, a disappointing second season after such a great first. I wonder if you could offer an example of a "PBS Kid's message"? Haha. It was a bit of an exaggeration but at the end of episodes I felt like there was always a little thing that lingered like "don't keep 'em inside, share your feelings!", "don't be a bigot!", "if your boyfriend talks about his job at the bar while you're in NYC doing absolutely nothing, he's a giant jerk!"
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Post by DeepArcher on Jul 3, 2017 21:46:32 GMT
Finished it last week and let it marinate since. I definitely didn't like it as much as I did S1. It's not nearly as funny, the whole relationship dynamic felt so unnatural, and I felt like each episode had some PBS Kid's message to teach me... Overall, a disappointing second season after such a great first. That's interesting. One of the biggest things that set apart the second season from the first for me is that Dev's romance with Francesca felt so much more authentic and endearing than what he had with Rachel.
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Post by Viced on Jul 3, 2017 22:15:35 GMT
Finished it last week and let it marinate since. I definitely didn't like it as much as I did S1. It's not nearly as funny, the whole relationship dynamic felt so unnatural, and I felt like each episode had some PBS Kid's message to teach me... Overall, a disappointing second season after such a great first. I'm glad you said this. Episode 9 was flaming dogshit and I'm surprised I finished it without gauging my eyes out. I was more interested in his relationship with the girl in episode 1 whose phone number he lost.
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Post by idioticbunny on Jul 3, 2017 22:52:17 GMT
I wonder if you could offer an example of a "PBS Kid's message"? Haha. It was a bit of an exaggeration but at the end of episodes I felt like there was always a little thing that lingered like "don't keep 'em inside, share your feelings!", "don't be a bigot!", "if your boyfriend talks about his job at the bar while you're in NYC doing absolutely nothing, he's a giant jerk!" I suppose I could see how you feel that way about it, but I felt like the episodes earned those moments. My one quarrel might be how we know so little about the boyfriend, so just labeling as a jerk simply because all he ever talks about are tiles is a bit of a misstep (though if you consider it from the point of view I talk about below, it makes some sense), but the rest I could get behind because they spent the whole episode actually building to that point. However, they never felt on-the-nose or anything, not tying it all up in a pretty bow the way a lot of television shows do, which I admired. They just felt like slice-of-life set pieces that happened to tell a story, even if a minor one. Also I'm reluctant to agree with DeepArcher , as it seems this is such a divisive subject when talking about the show. Half of the people preferred Rachel in season 1 and half of the people preferred Francesca, but I rarely see any middle of the road opinions. I've mentioned this before, but figured it's worth mentioning again, that I loved Rachel and Dev in the first season, and I thought their romance was so well-told and realized, that when they introduced a new angle in the second season, I thought "oh boy, this is going to be a pretty lame one. Trying to top Rachel seems impossible." But as the season progressed, I realized that was exactly how Aziz must have wanted us to look at it as. Seeing this develop through Dev's eyes. How she only ever lingers in the background during the first few episodes, but as soon as he realizes her potential, she's suddenly so glorified - even gets a whole hour long episode dedicated to her. Even if she might not be the one - as possibly the appearance of Rachel in the finale might suggest - there's such great chemistry there between them and you want it to work out, just as Dev does. Then again, I'm a die-hard romantic in life and in film, so when I see it done well, I like.
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Post by Mattsby on Jan 19, 2021 22:35:17 GMT
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Post by Mattsby on Jun 23, 2021 19:39:27 GMT
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Post by Allenism on Jul 24, 2021 15:44:13 GMT
Season 3 takes a big step away from the prior two seasons, but I enjoyed it very much. Beautifully observed portrayal of two lives diverging.
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