Poker Face

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cdnchris
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Re: TV of 2023

#2 Post by cdnchris » Tue Jan 31, 2023 3:48 pm

My daughter and I ended up watching the first four episodes of Rian Johnson's Poker Face on Peacock, and I'm finding it to be quite a bit of fun.

It's set up similarly to Columbo in that you see the murder and follow along as Natasha Lyonne's character tries to solve it. She's not a detective, but like Jessica Fletcher she happens to be in the right place at the right time, and the victim is someone she's friends with or just happens to meet in passing.

The gimmick of the show is that she knows when someone is lying (no explanation as to why she just senses it), but the show does use it cleverly and not as a lazy way to move the plot forward. In fact, the skill isn't used all that much other than it's what may push her to look into something suspicious. It's also used to good effect in the first episode where the murderer, who is aware of her skill, chooses his words wisely when talking to her.

The show is also very funny, and Lyonne is good. The third episode is my daughter's favorite so far, which involves a BBQ pit master who goes vegan (after watching Okja) and a dog that may be fascist.

It pays obvious homage to the Peter Falk show with its use of guest stars, and the opening credits are even styled after its credits. I'm easily pleased by murder mysteries, but I look forward to the upcoming episodes.

Edit: I should note the show isn't family friendly, and I knew it going in, but f-bombs are liberally dropped and the first episode has a plot point around dick pics and a bad guy involved in child porn.

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Re: TV of 2023

#3 Post by therewillbeblus » Tue Jan 31, 2023 5:23 pm

cdnchris wrote:
Tue Jan 31, 2023 3:48 pm
a dog that may be fascist
A nod to Eerie, Indiana?!

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cdnchris
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Re: TV of 2023

#4 Post by cdnchris » Thu Feb 02, 2023 11:32 am

therewillbeblus wrote:
cdnchris wrote:
Tue Jan 31, 2023 3:48 pm
a dog that may be fascist
A nod to Eerie, Indiana?!
Sadly, more than likely not.
SpoilerShow
The dog is overly aggressive and considered an "asshole" by everyone who crosses her. The only thing that calms her is when she listens to an alt-right radio commentator who spouts all sorts of nonsense that she happily responds to. In the end it may be something else that the dog finds appealing about the commentator.

There are a few funny gags around the dog in other areas, but she's essentially what gets Lyonne's character investigating the central murder.

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Re: TV of 2023

#5 Post by therewillbeblus » Wed Mar 29, 2023 12:31 pm

cdnchris wrote:
Tue Jan 31, 2023 3:48 pm
My daughter and I ended up watching the first four episodes of Rian Johnson's Poker Face on Peacock, and I'm finding it to be quite a bit of fun.

Edit: I should note the show isn't family friendly, and I knew it going in, but f-bombs are liberally dropped and the first episode has a plot point around dick pics and a bad guy involved in child porn.
Chris (or anybody), is the show excessively violent? Sex and language is fine, but I'm wondering if this is a show to watch on my own or with my partner. She loves the Knives Out movies but is pretty sensitive to gore etc.

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Re: TV of 2023

#6 Post by swo17 » Wed Mar 29, 2023 12:38 pm

IMDb Parents Guide says "Moderate" (characters shot and killed onscreen, heavy violence with point blank shootings, someone violently hit by a car)

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Roger Ryan
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Re: TV of 2023

#7 Post by Roger Ryan » Wed Mar 29, 2023 12:47 pm

therewillbeblus wrote:
Wed Mar 29, 2023 12:31 pm
cdnchris wrote:
Tue Jan 31, 2023 3:48 pm
My daughter and I ended up watching the first four episodes of Rian Johnson's Poker Face on Peacock, and I'm finding it to be quite a bit of fun.

Edit: I should note the show isn't family friendly, and I knew it going in, but f-bombs are liberally dropped and the first episode has a plot point around dick pics and a bad guy involved in child porn.
Chris (or anybody), is the show excessively violent? Sex and language is fine, but I'm wondering if this is a show to watch on my own or with my partner. She loves the Knives Out movies but is pretty sensitive to gore etc.
Despite the IMDb Parents Guide warning, I would say anyone who enjoys Knives Out will like Poker Face. I haven't found the violence to be gratuitous (neither has my wife who would likely divert her eyes if it was anything more graphic). I have found it quite appealing with Natasha Lyonne doing a charming 21st century Columbo. I had feared the "murder of the week" approach would grow repetitive, but the tone is varied enough throughout that the episodes work as distinct little movies, each with their own style and pace.
Last edited by Roger Ryan on Wed Mar 29, 2023 12:50 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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knives
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Re: TV of 2023

#8 Post by knives » Wed Mar 29, 2023 12:50 pm

Yeah, the violence isn’t much worse than an older television mystery show.

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Re: TV of 2023

#9 Post by DarkImbecile » Wed Mar 29, 2023 1:12 pm

therewillbeblus wrote:
Mon Mar 27, 2023 12:16 am
Harrison Ford's arc was the best part as expected, genuinely bringing tears to my eyes. If he doesn't win an Emmy or whatever TV awards matter for this, it'll be criminal. I agree with Roger Ryan, but I'll go further and say this is handily Ford's best ever acting work, and I'm still baffled by how honest and raw his performance is
This is the first season of a new TV show I’ve watched in a couple of years, and I also found it generally enjoyable, but literally every episode I would have to pause the show to blurt out how great Ford was. I don’t know if I’d go so far as to say it’s his best work ever, but I am struggling to think of an alternative.

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Re: TV of 2023

#10 Post by therewillbeblus » Thu Mar 30, 2023 11:35 pm

cdnchris wrote:
Tue Jan 31, 2023 3:48 pm
My daughter and I ended up watching the first four episodes of Rian Johnson's Poker Face on Peacock, and I'm finding it to be quite a bit of fun.

The third episode is my daughter's favorite so far, which involves a BBQ pit master who goes vegan (after watching Okja) and a dog that may be fascist.
I’m liking this show okay. It’s fun that we rewind to see Lyonne pop in earlier than the murder, which helps integrate context rather than simply stumble upon something already in motion. Kinda like the pause-rewind context drops in the Knives Out movies. But… well, it’s kinda annoying to see the perpetrator and motive right out of the gate, and the twists or methods of revealing the killer are often very predictable
SpoilerShow
The absence of the gun - giving us a green metal detector as the bf was thrown out in ep 1 - took a long, long time with plenty of exposure to the ‘evidence’ throughout the episode for the show to finally wink and ‘cue us in’ by unveiling its significance - it was so insultingly obvious. And the voice announcer in ep 3 was clearly gonna be used for the sting
Part of what’s fun about Johnsons’s shtick is manipulating us with continual absurd and impossible-to-foresee reveals, but he doesn’t stimulate us here. So it’s enjoyable to watch Lyonne fuck with people and there are a few creative gotcha moments of cleverness in trapping people, but it’s basically like VMars without a full surrogate experience of mystery and reminds me how much I miss that approach

All that said, I laughed so hard at the Bong inspiration for the “life changing” death sentence. Of all the movies to choose as ‘inspiring’!

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knives
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Re: TV of 2023

#11 Post by knives » Fri Mar 31, 2023 12:16 am

In Columbo fashion I thinking making the killer’s motivations a little basic and just known helps with the fun as the pleasures of the show come in part from seeing Charlie mess with the villain of the week. It also seems to give them more leeway to mess around as the killer isn’t necessarily caught nor are all the relationships so clean. A few episodes are compelling for forcing Charlie to grapple with being friendly to the killer.

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therewillbeblus
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Re: TV of 2023

#12 Post by therewillbeblus » Fri Mar 31, 2023 12:35 am

Yeah, I get that, and I know I'm asking the show to be something that it's not trying to be - but given that Johnson has been having fun with his absurd unforeseeable reveals as of late (and seems to believe he's implementing them here based on when they're emphasized for Lyonne, sadly miles after they're plainly obvious to us), it would be interesting to switch it up for some eps. I'm still enjoying the show for what it is, about as much as I expected to and not quite as much as I hoped

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Re: TV of 2023

#13 Post by brundlefly » Fri Mar 31, 2023 1:41 am

therewillbeblus wrote:
Thu Mar 30, 2023 11:35 pm
I’m liking this show okay. It’s fun that we rewind to see Lyonne pop in earlier than the murder, which helps integrate context rather than simply stumble upon something already in motion. Kinda like the pause-rewind context drops in the Knives Out movies. But… well, it’s kinda annoying to see the perpetrator and motive right out of the gate, and the twists or methods of revealing the killer are often very predictable
Don't know how far along you are, but I think by the Lucky McKee episode they're already messing with that rewind. Not in redefining ways, but fun tweaks. As noted, it's very much a Friends/Enemies We Met Along the Way kind of show, and the way the plots are handled emphasize the joys are to be found elsewhere.

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Re: Poker Face

#14 Post by cdnchris » Fri Mar 31, 2023 2:08 am

My daughter and I were watching this every week so we finished the season (and she went back to watch them again) and we're happy to hear they're renewing it. (She's also now a big Lyonne fan.)

Not sure how far in you are, twbb, but the later episodes do play with expectations a bit, almost like it gets you settled into the formula with the first few episodes (and especially if you're familiar with Columbo) only to then use your expectations against you to have a bit of fun. As mentioned the Lucky McKee episode plays around a bit with the flashbacks and such, and then a couple of others make it seem things are going one way only to go another. The ninth episode is another good one.

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Re: Poker Face

#15 Post by therewillbeblus » Fri Mar 31, 2023 2:18 am

That’s good to hear! I’ve only gotten through the first three so far. Also very cool that Lucky McKee did one!

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Re: Poker Face

#16 Post by brundlefly » Fri Mar 31, 2023 3:37 am

And Janicza Bravo did the finale. Fun to see what friends/inspirations the producers have brought in and guess what they thought they might add.

(I groaned when I saw Ali Abbasi's name open the The Last of Us finale; I've yet to see his films, but he'd also done the penultimate episode I hated and suspected we'd be in for more overkill. Jasmila Žbanić of Quo Vadis, Aida? did the Jackson, Wyoming ep.)

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Re: TV of 2023

#17 Post by therewillbeblus » Fri Mar 31, 2023 10:32 pm

brundlefly wrote:
Fri Mar 31, 2023 1:41 am
I think by the Lucky McKee episode they're already messing with that rewind. Not in redefining ways, but fun tweaks.
This was the best episode so far by a country mile, a blast from start to finish. It’s odd that Rian Johnson has no writing credit here, since this is the episode that most resembles Knives Out and particularly Glass Onion’s ultra-manipulative use of elisions, almost a carbon copy of the last film’s structure and approach to reveals. It’s amazing to me that anyone could emulate the beats and style so strongly - I would’ve bet this was Johnson’s directed ep in a Pepsi challenge 10/10 times. Also, it’s heartening to see little-known-to-me Judith Light and S. Epatha Merkerson thrive as the series’ crowning players thus far after a little run of ‘just-fine’ big-name guest stars

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Re: Poker Face

#18 Post by knives » Sat Apr 01, 2023 10:18 pm

I think it’s the next episode with Tim Meadows that I’ve liked best so far. It’s just so vicious. Definitely shows Meadows as a greater actor than he’s been given opportunity to show before.

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Re: Poker Face

#19 Post by therewillbeblus » Sun Apr 02, 2023 1:15 am

I didn't love that episode, but I appreciated aspects of it - which seems to be how I feel about most of them. The Meadows/Barkin duo is an inspired one, and whoever decided to cast those two opposite each other deserves props just for the thought, but I thought the story and characters were dull enough to mute the strength of the performances (and frankly, Audrey Corsa upstaged them both as the standout perf). Though I did appreciate how the idea of literal stage blocking was creatively utilized to facilitate the action playing out, since blocking is a keen interest for Johnson in manipulating his film grammar but also feeding into the layers of structure that requires meticulous awareness of where the chess pieces are and when for his reveals. The race car episode was similarly bland to watch, but conceptually I thought it crafted a compelling legal case, before diffusing the value in that and allowing the real stimulation to rest in a complex moral space where one's antisocial psychology v capacity for empathy and willingness to own behavior matters more than the palpable action.

Episode 9 rivals 5 as the best. A real pleasure to watch unfold - though man, I would've totally guessed McKee directed 9 and Johnson 5, not the other way around!

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Re: TV of 2023

#20 Post by brundlefly » Mon Apr 03, 2023 8:45 pm

therewillbeblus wrote:
Fri Mar 31, 2023 10:32 pm
It’s odd that Rian Johnson has no writing credit here, since this is the episode that most resembles Knives Out and particularly Glass Onion’s ultra-manipulative use of elisions, almost a carbon copy of the last film’s structure and approach to reveals. It’s amazing to me that anyone could emulate the beats and style so strongly - I would’ve bet this was Johnson’s directed ep in a Pepsi challenge 10/10 times.
I was curious about his and Lyonne's approach to the show, because I think he's only directed TV episodes and she's done the whole thing, and it looks like for their retro TV show they went the full TV route. In interviews he sings the praises of using showrunners and a writer's room and it sounds like they used the process to a T, that they managed to keep her voice and his manner as a guiding principle, leaned on a few tropes so they could mess around with others. So while they're not credited writers on all the episodes, they and the room were part of the process on all of them.

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