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Devs - new scifi miniseries by Alex Garland premieres today on Hulu
- Thread starter EviLore
- Start date
ResurrectedContrarian
Banned
Interesting. Not so sure about the casting... it's so hard not to see Ron Swanson. And the woman from Star Trek: Picard is a bit tainted by that series for me.
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Elektro Demon
Banned
Bastards.
Ballthyrm
Member
Same here, i guess they don't care about us foreigners
There is a cool interview of Alex Garland on the Artificial Intelligence podcast BTW.
Really interesting guy talking about his thought process, loads of spoilers on his previous films.
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JareBear: Remastered
Banned
I haven’t gotten around to watching Annihilation, it’s in my movie/TV backlog, but Ex Machina is one of my favorite sci-fi movies ever, so I’m down to check out anything from Garland
BlackOlivesMatter
Banned
Ex Machina 
Annihilation
Annihilation
Reptars Revenge
Member
But man did I love some parts of annihilation. Also props for writing the screenplay to Dredd and 28 days laterEx Machina
Annihilation
You'll need to use a VPN.
godhandiscen
There are millions of whiny 5-year olds on Earth, and I AM THEIR KING.
I'll try an episode. My fear with these shows is that they eventually pose a conflict that's so unrealistic for a software engineer that it breaks any suspension of belief.
This is why I love the original movie Hackers, I didn't know jack shit and it was very believable and fascinating to me.
#zerocool4ever.
Garland gives me hopes. He only failed me with The Fountain.
This is why I love the original movie Hackers, I didn't know jack shit and it was very believable and fascinating to me.
#zerocool4ever.
Garland gives me hopes. He only failed me with The Fountain.
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Rentahamster
Rodent Whores
Annihilation was coolEx Machina
Annihilation
Reptars Revenge
Member
Those first two episodes were great. I feel like high Elon Musk is going to love this
DeepEnigma
Gold Member
Lionel Richie
Member
Glad to hear it's cool, Alex Garland is just the man and I'll watch anything by him.
Kadayi
Banned
Watched the first 2 episodes. So far so good. Dialogue is a little off in places/heavy-handed and I'm not entirely convinced about some of the performances (Homeless dude for instance in EP2) but it's intriguing enough. I guess my main quibble would be the style over substance choice when it comes to things like the abject lack of on-hand minions for both Forest (aka Hippie Ron Swanson) as well as his Head of Security. I can perhaps understand direct involvement with the events relating to Sergei (keeping the loop of knowledge tight), but him tailing Lily didn't make a whole heap of sense, or him directly confronting Anton without any backup felt like on over-reliance on a known outcome which is never a good thing in terms of writing. Also, directorially that fight was terrible (should have gotten someone else in for that whole sequence who can do action effectively). I did enjoy Alison Pill doing her whole dead-eyed number 2 thing though.
Really cool effects, a great take on a lovecraftian style story , but its held back by poor casting and the writers didnt seem to really know what they wanted to do. And the end is just meh.
gunslikewhoa
Member
Decent show bit Lily just about ruined ep3 for me. She does not have the chops to pull off this inner turmoil.
Reptars Revenge
Member
No way the security guard doesn't catch on that shes faking being crazy, he's around every corner
mekes
Member
How funny I should see this now. My sister visited this evening and was talking about how much she enjoyed Annihilation so I told her about the books and other movies Garland was involved with. I had no idea this was a thing until I IMDB’d Garland about 2 hours ago. Did not know it was already out tho!
Absolutely something else to watch.
Absolutely something else to watch.
Kadayi
Banned
I don't know. I suspect he might do some digging, but the point is he's probably going to believe she's suppressed the information good and proper, plus Forest (terrible choice of name tbh) wants to try and keep things hands-off for now. From his perspective, her thinking dude got whacked by the KGB plays to his advantage. Now she knows the truth of things to some degree I'm curious to see what her next play is.
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Mr Hyde
Gold Member
Alex Garland is one of the most interesting and talented directors working in the industry today, along with Denis Villeneuve and Gaspar Noe.
Ex Machina and Annihilation are some of his best work, but his collaboration with Danny Boyle was also excellent, as evidenced in 28 Days Later, Sunshine and The Beach (although the novel was way better). I also enjoyed his writing and input in video games, especially Enslaved.
It's unusual for an author to transition to movies in the way Garland has done, with the level of success he has reached as a screen writer and director. It proves his talents and understanding of the medium.
Sucks that this new show is exclusive to Hulu. I hope it comes out on DVD or Blu-ray in the future.
Ex Machina and Annihilation are some of his best work, but his collaboration with Danny Boyle was also excellent, as evidenced in 28 Days Later, Sunshine and The Beach (although the novel was way better). I also enjoyed his writing and input in video games, especially Enslaved.
It's unusual for an author to transition to movies in the way Garland has done, with the level of success he has reached as a screen writer and director. It proves his talents and understanding of the medium.
Sucks that this new show is exclusive to Hulu. I hope it comes out on DVD or Blu-ray in the future.
Hotty Botty
Member
The casting is fantastic. I used to only be able to see Nick Offerman as Ron Swanson. But in this show, he has completely transformed into another character. His delivery might sound the same, but instead of comedy and dry humor, his voice conveys something else entirely. His eyes are the eyes of a haunted, possibly psychotic man.
mango drank
Member
Man ... I wanted to like this. I'm a fan of Alex Garland the writer (28 Days Later, Never Let Me Go), but despite my best efforts, I haven't become a fan of Alex Garland the director. His stuff so far feels like a combination of mis-cast and mis-directed. And everything, from Ex Machina to Annihilation to Devs, has this weird "cheap" feel. Really hard to describe and hard to put a finger on, but it feels like the acting is half-hearted, and the sets are half-assed. It's like he's shooting for minimalism in tone and visual style, but he miscalculated and ended up with emptiness and a feeling of cheapness instead. Like everything and everyone is made of styrofoam.
I'll keep giving it a chance for a few more eps, but I'm guessing Garland's signature "blah" will wear me out.
I'll keep giving it a chance for a few more eps, but I'm guessing Garland's signature "blah" will wear me out.
mango drank
Member
Warming up to it more after the most recent episode. But it still feels too drawn-out and slow-paced. I'm getting the impression that this season will end up feeling like the plot could've worked nicely as a 2.5-hour movie, but instead was stretched out into an 8 episode miniseries that moves at a glacial pace. A lot of showrunners / money people still cling to the old template of stretching out show plots to be able to fit in ads and get dat sweet ad revenue (cough cough Lost), even in an age where there are no damn ads anymore. (Although I just remembered Hulu has an ad-supported tier too, hah.)
Still, looking forward to see how this plays out.
Still, looking forward to see how this plays out.
JareBear: Remastered
Banned
The show has a really great soundtrack. I’m enjoying listening to it as much as I am watching it
Kadayi
Banned
I was a bit unsure after episodes 1 & 2, (as expressed earlier) but 3 and 4 have been great. Also didn't realise until EP4 that Lyndon (the young Coder paired with Stewart the older guy) in the Devs team is a girl. I legit thought moody teenage boy.
Anyway actress playing Lily has been great, and Kenton is a legit cunt of the first order. Deep concerns about Jamie's well-being after that ending...Hobo dude could be our unlikely hero in this whole affair
I could be wrong, but I think it's done by a guy from Portishead
Anyway actress playing Lily has been great, and Kenton is a legit cunt of the first order. Deep concerns about Jamie's well-being after that ending...Hobo dude could be our unlikely hero in this whole affair
I could be wrong, but I think it's done by a guy from Portishead
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Swaganizonda
Banned
Is Hulu better than Netflix content wise?
JareBear: Remastered
Banned
just my personal opinion. I would say no. Hulu has a few great shows but I think Netflix overall has it covered
Again just imo
Kadayi
Banned
There's definitely a style over substance issue to it. Some have likened it to Black Mirror in that regard. I think it's essential to apply a bit of suspension of disbelief to matters and not necessarily view it as a Drama per se, versus an examination of a concept.
Kadayi
Banned
Fellow Devs Team
Seems Gamespot Universe have an Interview with Show Creator/Writer-Director Alex Garland : -
Where not only does he talk about the show, but also fits in a little 'Praise the Sun' about Dark Souls (Garland is a confirmed gamer).
Also, Gamespot Universe has a couple of quite good recap videos up (I'll post recap 4 when it lands).
Pretty good overall and worth a watch.
Seems Gamespot Universe have an Interview with Show Creator/Writer-Director Alex Garland : -
Where not only does he talk about the show, but also fits in a little 'Praise the Sun' about Dark Souls (Garland is a confirmed gamer).
Also, Gamespot Universe has a couple of quite good recap videos up (I'll post recap 4 when it lands).
Pretty good overall and worth a watch.
Kadayi
Banned
It's really good. (firm thumbs up) I would advise watching the first 2 episodes at least before watching the Interview I posted with Garland, however, but I did find the interview insightful in terms of being able to now appreciate certain deliberate choices he made when it came to the characters, the world setting etc.
DragoonKain
Neighbours from Hell
I watched 3 episode and don't know if I should stick with it. Lily is the worst main character I've seen in any show in quite a while. Just bland, boring, lacks personality, and I don't know the name of the actor, but she is absolutely terrible. I watched because Garland made one of my all time favorite movies ever in Ex Machina, but something about this show isn't working for me. I just wish one character would jump out and capture me when I'm on screen, but I find none of the performances or characters the least bit interesting at all. The mystery behind the plot is all it has going for it right now IMO.
Kadayi
Banned
Watch the interview I posted. Garland gets into some deliberate choices he made around the show.
TyphoonStruggle
Member
Why would someone have to watch an interview to enjoy the show? The fuk?
Kadayi
Banned
His issue was to do with the actress, but the truth is the director wanted her to play her character in a particular way. She's not meant to be a likeable character. It's a deliberate choice on his part versus her being a bad actress. As the show progresses we learnt more about her.
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Revolutionary
Member
I'm not sure I like this show. I put up with the bad acting in the first few episodes because the mystery was intriguing but once that mystery was gone, it just feels like it's treading water.
Also, elderly security dude with zero muscle mass is not threatening in any way. Dude in the tub literally just had to punch him in any part of his body and he would have shattered a bone. And that neck-breaking scene in the parking lot was one of the dumbest things I've seen on television... and this is someone who watched the entirety of Star Trek Picard (against my better judgment).
Also, elderly security dude with zero muscle mass is not threatening in any way. Dude in the tub literally just had to punch him in any part of his body and he would have shattered a bone. And that neck-breaking scene in the parking lot was one of the dumbest things I've seen on television... and this is someone who watched the entirety of Star Trek Picard (against my better judgment).
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Episode 6 brought a quasi-denouement, but it's just telling us what we already know from episode 1: that they have a deterministic universe and a computer that can observe position/velocity of all particles and simulate backward and forward in time. We have an event horizon of some sort coming up involving vocal fry Japanese girl, and they withheld one detail, and that's supposed to carry us through the final two episodes.
I'm struggling to care, but I'll see it through to the end.
I'm struggling to care, but I'll see it through to the end.
TyphoonStruggle
Member
Kadayi
Banned
My Boy Jamie done dirty in that game of Dark Souls: San Franciso edition for sure. My boy Lynton done wrong also
. (FU Katie you lying POS) I like to think at the end Kenton went out realising who killed him ( FU you Kenton) I bet when Pete went to Russian Spy School he didn't expect his assignment would be living like a Hobo for about a year. I hope he had some nice place to bunk down in upon occasion. Actor playing Stewart is boss and I'm really looking forward to him in the upcoming Dune remake.
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