It's Thursday again which only means it's time for another episode of Thursday Movie Picks, the weekly series hosted by Wandering Through the Shelves where you share three movies to fit the theme of the week each Thursday.
And this is another television edition week, and the topic is superheroes. Believe it or not, it was very challenging for me. Not for the reason you're thinking, though. The problem is that I watch so many superhero tv series - I basically watch them all - I didn't know which to pick. So I decided to go all Netflix & Chill Marvel, my favourite pair. And the best thing is that they all are tied together.
Daredevil (2015- )
As a child Matt Murdock was blinded by a chemical spill which gave him superhuman senses. He a fully grown man now, an attorney at day, and a vigilante at night that uses his special abilities to take down the most powerful men and women in Hell's Kitchen. After the terrible film with Ben Affleck, the Daredevil finally got the treatment he deserved in this excellent adaptation of the comic books. And the villains are fantastic as well. Fisk is played by Vincent D'Onofrio after all.
Jessica Jones (2015- )
Jessica Jones is a retired superhero who fills her time drinking and trying to help people as a private investigator. But then a man from her past returns to New York, and she has to use her extraordinary abilities to get rid of him. I always loved the complexity of this character and this show was able to capture the suffering, pain and strength of her beautifully. As above, the villain is spectacular and David Tennant really shines as that sociopath. I meant Killgrave.
Luke Cage (2016- )
Given super strength and durability by an experiment, the wrongly accused Luke Cage escapes from prison and becomes a superhero for hire. I have to admit this one was a bit confused and unfocused, and it does take a while to take off, but it eventually improves. The villains though are not enough for Cage. They are just too weak. That's probably because there were all those villains. It's still worth the watch though.
I don't get netflix so I haven't seen any. Jessica sounds good to watch. I have a question, when I was in Vienna, we had British TV on at night and there was this hilarious British show about super heroes who are taken for granted for the most part and down in the dumps and can't find work. 2 Super Heros girls end up going to a basement apartment since they are for hire to attend shows. Now they can only get these gigs with loser nerds
ReplyDeleteI watched all of these too. Daredevil is by far my favorite. Luke Cage would be second and Jessica Jones last. I really wanted to like Jessica, but I hated how the show wasted so many good ideas. The fight choreography was atrocious and the near misses with Killgrave got annoying.
ReplyDeleteReally enjoyed Luke Cage, but in reverse order from what you did. I thought it was better and more focused early then lost its way, late. I need to watch the other two.
ReplyDeleteYaaaaas Netflix just rocks for superhero shows! I've seen Daredevil, and about half of Jessica Jones. Gawd, I'm so behind!
ReplyDeleteSonia, I didn't know Luke Cage is a superhero. I'll check this one out. Thanks for the recommendations!
ReplyDeleteAck! This was an killer week for me since I've never really been much of a superhero fan nor a weekly series viewer, I seem to be a curse to them-I start to watch a new series and almost invariably it will get cancelled within a year maybe two if I'm lucky!
ReplyDeleteThat said I haven't seen a single episode of any of your picks! :-( I do like Vincent D'Onofrio so I might have to check out Daredevil.
Referring back to my opening sentence I had to poke around and reach back to come up with just three that I would occasionally watch and enjoy. My second is an example of what I was talking about, I loved that show and it only made it a year!
The Tick (1994-1996)-Ridiculously amusing animated series about a somewhat thick superhero clad in a bright blue costume along with his moth costume wearing sidekick Arthur, who has a wry, patient attitude with his often lunk-headed compatriot fights the bad guys in “The City”. They blunder about but still somehow manage to say the day. What else is there to say about a superhero whose call to arms is “SPOON!”
The Flash (1990-1991)-When Barry Allen (John Wesley Shipp), a forensic police scientist, suffers a freak accident being struck by lightning and covered in chemicals at the same time a chain reaction occurs giving him super human powers and the ability to move at the speed of sound. While learning how to control his new found powers a calamity occurs which sets him on the path to be the protector of the good people of Central City. Short-lived series had a nice sense of humor mixed in with its action sequences.
The Greatest American Hero (1981-1983)-After a chance encounter with aliens in the desert late at night where he is gifted with a magical red suit high school teacher Ralph Hinkley (William Katt) along with fellow witness FBI man Bill Maxwell (Robert Culp) attempt to fight crime using the suit’s powers. A couple of problems present themselves right away, Ralph and Bill are a silk and sandpaper match and even more troubling the pair have lost the instructions for the suit so they have to puzzle out how it works as they go along leading to trouble and a lot of bruises for Ralph. Engagingly played by Katt & Culp along with Connie Sellecca as Ralph’s girlfriend Pam.