Ozark- Netflix

[RPM 26317]

6 hours ago, Buzzrock said:

Yeah to just ignore the Blue Cat completely was weird. I know it has been turned into a commercial restaurant now on the lake here (Ozark is mostly shot in Georgia on lakes near Atlanta). 

What happened to the titty bar?

[Buzzrock 14903]

11 hours ago, MissingInAction said:

My only thought when she is on screen:

"Just show them  saddlebags, baby!"

Google is your friend. 

[Horn80 6114]

Got through episode 5 of season 3 and had a jump the shark moment.  Not believable.  No fucking way.

[Guest Lobo]

Which moment, out of curiosity, was your last straw?  I liked this season better than 2, but yeah---it was a lot to "accept."  The acting stepped up a notch this year, but the writing suffered.  

 

[Neonmoon 38129]

I thought season 3 was way better than 2. Maybe it was the acting. Ben and Wendy should get Emmy nods. 

[Kyle 207]

2 hours ago, Horn80 said:

Got through episode 5 of season 3 and had a jump the shark moment.  Not believable.  No fucking way.

Spoiler

Not sure if same one, but the Mexican cartel spraying the Snell's car with bullets from front and back and not killing either one comes to mind.

 

[MissingInAction 25013]

Need to rewatch the last two eps while not drunk. Not sure that is on the schedule.

[Horn80 6114]

2 hours ago, Kyle said:

  Reveal hidden contents

Not sure if same one, but the Mexican cartel spraying the Snell's car with bullets from front and back and not killing either one comes to mind.

Yes add that to a growing list of things but that didn’t make me want to puke.  Kinda like the Woody Harrelson scene in Kingpin.

 

[Kyle 207]

1 minute ago, Horn80 said:

 

What bugged you so much? I mean, it is basically a super hero movie in terms of required suspension of disbelief.

[henrygandorf 29189]

warning, this is some longform bitching, so i'm gonna spoiler it...

the main thing that bugs me in this series is the way the writing has set up the relationship between "problems" and "solutions".

this isn't entourage, where the same shit happens every week, and then somehow works out where vince gets the movie and everybody gets laid and then clinks their glasses together.  each season is supposed to be a long, 10-part story, with a lot of twists and turns.

but take season 1 for instance.  (i've only seen it once and way back when it aired, so i could be remembering it wrong) but the whole season seemed like such pressure to launder every dollar, and there was a ticking clock, and so much drama and pressure on whether they'd get it done, or get killed trying, and then at the end, it was like, "oh, hey, nice job with the laundering, here's some more millions, do this money too, kthx."  right then, i should've known something was up.

every show needs "stakes".  trust me when i say, whenever you're speaking to anyone on the development side, you won't get out of the meeting without addressing "the stakes", even if you're pitching an animated comedy.  but in this show, the stakes are obvious, because we're led to believe their lives are constantly on the line. 

but the buildup needs to (somewhat) mirror the resolution.  for examples of this, go watch breaking bad.  oh no, they may kill walter and replace him with gale.  high stakes.  i won't spoil how they dealt with gale, but the resolution was fucking intense, and costly.

now let's look at ozark.  it is absolutely imperative that we get this other casino.  and this other hotel.  to expand legit revenue streams and expand the business.  negotiations, counter offer, let's bring in helen, let's work the husband, let's set the competitor on fire - yay they're selling the casino.  crickets.  we need the hotel too.  yay they're selling us the hotel too.  then we never hear about it again.  same with the charity.  we're going legit!  let's have a big charity event!  hey, it's well attended, looks like a hit!  (next episode) "the charity thing did not go well".   ohhhh, ok.

the feds get a c.i. - which again, that storyline kinda disappeared for a couple episodes, but then reappears with a vague scene of the dude snooping around the byrde's house.  whatever.  so then he gets killed.  and the feds basically imply to everyone that ruth "was behind it".  one of bateman's best scenes was confronting the fed at the hospital.  then frank, jr beats her within an inch of her life.  a scene fitting to end an episode on.  then what?  do the cops question him?  brace him?  no.  do the feds?  no.  is there any mention of him?  no.  in fact, we don't even see him again until the shotgun to the nuts scene.  all we see is bateman threatening his dad (another great bateman scene, i wish there were more).  frank jr was never in any legal jeopardy after almost killing a woman. 

and after the informant died, wouldn't it have made sense to have the feds lean on frank, jr to gain some intel on ruth and the byrdes (the thing they spent the entire season doing)?  eh, let's just have the pregnant fed back in the office and harassing the dorky guy losing at craps (that sounds like a fun job).  and on that note - we never see the back-end of that transaction, so how could they arrest him?  shouldn't we have seen the byrdes back-funneling cash to this guy?  shouldn't that be the smoking gun?  of course it should be, but that wasn't the point of the scene.  it was to get the warrant extended, so why bother with the other scenes that should logically follow it?

and i'm not even going to go into detail of the dumbest one (the 1.5 episode arc of wendy just needing to steal the baby back, and then losing in court.  oh well nm lol).  or "hey, marty said he's gonna flip a fed in order to get himself freed from mexican horror-movie-basement", but then what he actually does is just offer some distraction cases.  he never tried to "flip her" at all.

i know this sounds like a lot of bitching, and it is.  and spare me the "dude, just turn off your brain and enjoy it, it's better than most other stuff on tv."  well, it could be, but it isn't.  tv is terrific right now everywhere you look.  and this has become a huge waste of one of my favorite stars and a now-talented director - jason fucking bateman.  this shit takes most of his year, so sorry if i expect more from it.

this is a story about a disjointed and stumbling american family thrown out of their comfort zone and forced to put their petty squabbling aside to band together for literal survival.  it was a situation they did not fully create (marty kinda did) but they are having to deal with it.  so they move to the ozarks.  awesome.  they start investing in businesses, cool.  they even have confidence enough to let their kids in on the secret - awesome.  that was one of my favorite narrative choices they made early on - the show wouldn't be nearly as good without that.  that scene in season 1 where marty had to get the cash back from the langmores by simply explaining his actual situation - that's what this show was and still should be.

season 2, marty started to break down, wendy took over, there was some back-stabbing, but mostly they stuck together for the greater good - survival. 

but season 3 was a merry-go-round of one person having an idea, the other not being on board, then the first person doing it anyway, then having to have the same conversation over and over.  the therapist offered some comic relief, but that whole situation was telegraphed.  there was no reason to even feature her after we find out she was a double agent. 

and then there's helen.  this cartel organization is so vast and powerful, involved in an international war, tens of millions of dollars, likely more, based out of a big city (chicago), so they're gonna send one of the most senior capo types (helen) to...the fucking ozarks to supervise a small-time laundering operation that has to nickel-and-dime their way to cleaning a few grand here and there?  that had to take weeks off because of the feds?  i understand when you keep killing off characters, you have to bring people in locally (helen) or invent new ones (ben) but the more you move away from "what the show is about" the less people will actually like it.

and the inconsistency of the writing feels like 10 different writers took outlines home for the weekend and came back with 10 independent scripts.  that's the only way to explain certain plotpoints just dying on the vine or getting explained away with a line or two of dialogue.

ok, that fired me up enough to finish my pilot today.  let's fucking go.

[Not a cat 5652]

Like horn80, I had a Kingpin flashback during a certain scene- I honestly had to turn it off and I'm not sure I'm going to be able to go back to it.

 

 

[4th&Five 41516]

Am I the only one that hates Ben?

Edited April 3, 2020 by 4th&Five

[Horn80 6114]

2 hours ago, Not a cat said:

Like horn80, I had a Kingpin flashback during a certain scene- I honestly had to turn it off and I'm not sure I'm going to be able to go back to it.

 

 

I didn’t want to turn it off but it did make me want to puke.

[Kyle 207]

1 hour ago, 4th&Five said:

Am I the only one that hates Ben?

I wanted Ben to die of Kung Flu.

[RPM 26317]

I can't understand how that tiny riverboat casino is expected to launder millions monthly. It can't handle the girth.

[Nice Guy Eddie 13509]

I liked the season but it’s really only about the characters and not a story. Honestly I’m not entirely sure what they were trying to accomplish this season from a business/crime standpoint and it didn’t really matter.

[Buzzrock 14903]

No more 70 year olds in sex scenes please and thank you.

[Lat22 4010]

I’m ready for Wendy to die. She’s a terrible person.

[Nueces River Rat 5537]

9 hours ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

I liked the season but it’s really only about the characters and not a story. Honestly I’m not entirely sure what they were trying to accomplish this season from a business/crime standpoint and it didn’t really matter.

More like Narcos Mexico than a bunch of rednecks trying to knock off each other.  

[Horn80 6114]

1 hour ago, Lat22 said:

I’m ready for Wendy to die. She’s a terrible person.

Agree and she thinks she is smarter than everyone else and does what she wants often causing disastrous results.

[Mileslong 4728]

If everyone would just listen to Marty, like he is always telling everyone, everything would run much smoother.

He is playing 3D chess and everyone else there is playing checkers on a barrel in a feed store...

[Not a cat 5652]

20 minutes ago, Horn80 said:

Agree and she thinks she is smarter than everyone else and does what she wants often causing disastrous results.

We need to get Marty posting on the stupid shit wives do thread.  Mitchcumsteen has ruled the roost for long enough.

[Revolution512 1487]

I thought season 3 was great. Helen is like every wife, making messes her husband has to clean up. 
 

I was hoping for a different storyline for Ben as well. Season 4 is set up with great potential though. Hope we don’t have to wait a year.

[Pam Cummings 9639]

3 hours ago, Buzzrock said:

No more 70 year olds in sex scenes please and thank you.

For the love of god this. Not only is she old, she looks like a fucking tranny. Honest to god i couldn't tell which was which when they were.....doing that.

[Horn80 6114]

Darlene is a monkey woman.

[Guest Lobo]

The Ben character was completely culled, including mental illness and appearance, from David Foster Wallace 

[Dnaguy 11920]

3 hours ago, Pam Cummings said:

For the love of god this. Not only is she old, she looks like a fucking tranny. Honest to god i couldn't tell which was which when they were.....doing that.

Careful what you say dude.

She doesn’t fuck around.

I know it’s acting.... but that lady plays that character wayyyyyy to well.

 

Edited April 5, 2020 by Dnaguy

[Dnaguy 11920]

3 hours ago, Revolution512 said:

I thought season 3 was great. Helen is like every wife, making messes her husband has to clean up. 
 

I was hoping for a different storyline for Ben as well. Season 4 is set up with great potential though. Hope we don’t have to wait a year.

Frank Cosgrove Jr does not share your sentiment.

 

 

[Buzzrock 14903]

7 hours ago, Lat22 said:

I’m ready for Wendy to die. She’s a terrible person.

They are all terrible people. 

[Revolution512 1487]

5 hours ago, Dnaguy said:

Frank Cosgrove Jr does not share your sentiment.

 

 

Haha. I had higher hopes for him too after his character performance in the series Power

[Incredulity 11654]

I will be back for Season 4 it’s good enough.

If Ben hadn’t been killed I would probably be done.  His sobbing lasted about an episode too long.

 

[4th&Five 41516]

Last 2 episodes saved the season for me. They weren’t great but at least the story moved along. 

[llanoflash 151]

Wendy’s bro ain’t dead. 

[Scraps 13561]

Wyatt bruh wtf

[jeevsie 3733]

Every time she makes one of these faces:

Wife (no pics) wants to throw something at the tv

[Native Horn 3499]

11 hours ago, llanoflash said:

Wendy’s bro ain’t dead. 

That is thought-provoking, but it makes me wonder whose body they cremated then?

[Horn80 6114]

On 4/5/2020 at 1:53 PM, Dnaguy said:

Careful what you say dude.

She doesn’t fuck around.

I know it’s acting.... but that lady plays that character wayyyyyy to well.

 

I bet if Wyatt didn’t get her off, she would haven bitten his balls off.  Monkey woman.

 

[RPM 26317]

5 hours ago, Native Horn said:

That is thought-provoking, but it makes me wonder whose body they cremated then?

Random cartel gunman?

[sidis 9823]

season was utterly retarded and generally pointless, if not silly.

oh well.

[llanoflash 151]

I think Marty got to Nelson somehow and dipshit brother got committed somewhere. Helen was getting whacked anyway. I’m sure these assholes could find a body if they needed it

[Guest Lobo]

^

yep, word had already come down from Navarro that Helen was to be whacked on Mexican soil so as to avoid legal entanglements back in Chicago/Missouri.  Now she'll just get chalked up as missing and it seems the husband isn't smart enough/inquisitive enough to go looking for her.  The only person Ben really sold out was Helen and it was just to her daughter who can very easily be neutralized at a moment's notice/used to get her mom's assets back for cartel use (between Navarro, Nelson, and Marty---they can retrieve whatever cash/hard assets she had hidden around---it's not about that small amount to Navarro, but can certainly be used as carrot-n-stick to somebody else).  Ben also gives something new and interesting for Navarro to lorde over the Byrdes.  

But the fun part is thinking back when Helen hung up in haste and asked Nelson in the truck that if the time came, he'd give her a heads up before he whacked her.  He said he would.  It was around that time that Navarro already set the plan in motion to fly her down and kill her.  But Navarro didn't know it'd be for the re-baptism of his youngest son.  So there's still fresh wounds of emotion around that event, Helen is just a casualty of it.  But the Byrdes brought the legal/military hammer down on his rival cartel.  That was always going to trump anything else.  That the Linney, not Bateman, sprung that trap will mean a world of difference in Season 4.  Which is hopefully the last season.  It's a clever show with great acting, but it really does that time-honored Surly tradition of insisting upon itself.  It's gonna launch a lot of big careers when all is said and done.  

[Dilligas 666]

1 hour ago, sidis said:

season was utterly retarded and generally pointless, if not silly.

oh well.

My thinking exactly

[Patricio Swayze 17058]

I think Marty got to Nelson somehow and dipshit brother got committed somewhere. Helen was getting whacked anyway. I’m sure these assholes could find a body if they needed it

Ok, but why?

[F250 28764]

3 hours ago, Patricio Swayze said:

Ok, but why?

And why keep it a secret?

[Scraps 13561]

Ben fucking sucks

[BurdineBandit 815]

Finished last night. Fun, stupid ride. Everything surrounding Ben was stupid and pointless and regarded. Ruth falling in love with him and turning into his ride or die after 2 fuck sessions is regarded. Wyatt sleeping with the ugliest 70 year old in Missouri is regarded. Linney's face is regarded. 

 

I'll be watching Season 4. 

[Kyle 207]

47 minutes ago, BurdineBandit said:

Finished last night. Fun, stupid ride. Everything surrounding Ben was stupid and pointless and regarded. Ruth falling in love with him and turning into his ride or die after 2 fuck sessions is regarded. Wyatt sleeping with the ugliest 70 year old in Missouri is regarded. Linney's face is regarded. 

I'll be watching Season 4. 

We lived in rural Missouri - basically John Lithgow's Footloose town. Darlene is the craziest, but I assure you not the ugliest, 70-year-old in Missouri.

[Nice Guy Eddie 13509]

The brother is dead. Helen had no reason to spare him. It's not like the brother was the money laundering specialist or anything of use.  He had zero value to the cartel. They purposely showed him being unreliable to everyone: calling Helen to apologize, telling strangers about the story, buying a phone and hiding it from Wendy.

[Lat22 4010]

Ben is dead.  There's no way Marty didn't take a peek at the corpse.  But, it is a TV show.

[4th&Five 41516]

I doubt they've even decided whether he's dead or not.  That's why they didn't show the killing or the body.