I spent my day off yesterday watching Ip Man 4 and Call of the Wild - the 1935 Clark Gable version.
Ip Man 4 was great. It touched on racism, a little on Bruce Lee, and had some of the best martial arts choreography you'll ever see.
Call of the Wild was interesting to see because there are differences between the book, this film version, and the recent one with Harrison Ford. For example, in 1935 they gave the story a happier ending and added a woman to be Gable's love interest. In the recent version, well the dog was animated (although you could barely tell).
Both versions took out the part in the book about the attack by Indians, the made-up Yeehats.

There's a good version with Rutger Hauer from 1997. I think it was a made for tv movie, but it's available on DVD, and it's probably the closest in tone to the book. No forced happy ending there, and definitely no CG.

Thanks! I'll check it out. I just remembered a Disney made-for-tv show called Charlie the Lonesome Cougar. It was similar to Call of the Wild, but a tamer, kid-friendly sort of story. Very good though.

I recently watched the second season of The Boys. To me it seems, that whatever juice there was in the first place, was mostly based on the source material (and they're running out of it).
Many successful (or more than enough) series have been cancelled in the past for vague undisclosed corporate reasons. Someone decided that a certain show doesn't fit anymore in their 'new direction'.

So, no recommendation? For the show in general?

Well... I think the first season stood out. Not an all time classic, but very well done, and an idea you don't often see (most superheroes are the bad guys).
The second season isn't bad... just more of the same (which is a bit disappointing I thought). The "human drama" aspect was the worst - introducing cheap stereotypical sitcom elements.

All in all... if you like superheroes - but also a bit more 'depth' to it... watch the show! (just don't have TOO high hopes)

I don't know, the simple fact it's based on a comic by Garth Ennis is a big warning sign for me. Pretty much everything I ever read of his was juvenile and vulgar, like he realy thinks that simply having tons of excessive violence and gore will make his comics deep and smart, just because that way they get stand on the "adult" shelf :P

I loved Gotham, and The Umbrella Academy (currently reading the original comics - which are really something different). I also mostly liked the Netflix Marvel shows (sadly discontinued), especially Daredevil, Punisher and Jessica Jones.

I kind of have something going for broken, troubled, disturbed superheroes. That's why probably Superman never had any appeal to me, and Batman only after he turned really dark.

Did you avoid Kubrik's The Shining because Stephen King doesn't like it?
Did you avoid Stargate SG-1 because it was based on a mediocre action movie?
Did you avoid Bram Stoker's Dracula because vampire movies had become boring and predictable.
Did you avoid the X-Men movies because you can't take them seriously when not wearing spandex.
(maybe you find these analogies a bit weird, but I don't care - just call me mister Weird Analogy Maker - My superhero name :-P )

Anyway, I understand your reluctance. :-)

I liked watching all those that you mention... but none of them have a special place in my heart (sorry for the cheese).
The (recent) one that I like most is Doom Patrol (Season 1). I love the narrator (Mr. Nobody)!
I'll always have a love/hate relationship with the superhero genre. Best movies? Maybe the first 2 X-Men movies? Or Tim Burton's Batman movies? (I have the feeling that I'm forgetting something)

Weirdly enough, that's the only Kubrick movie I like (though to be fair I haven't seen many :P).

I actually like the movie more than I did the series. Blasphemy to most, I guess.

Seeing how many liberties everyone tends to take with Dracula, "predictable" is hardly the word :D

I think it's the other way around.

I do indeed :D

It was great at times, terrible at others. I mostly enjoyed it, but I was also very frustrated with how clearly it lacked any coherent vision for where it's going. What mostly kept it enjoyable were some great villains. Penguin, Riddler, I even liked how they had multiple people resembling multiple versions of the Joker from across the comic books.

Watchmen. And the Nolan Batman films. And Man of Steel - I don't care what anyone says, I love that film.

Ghost in the Shell 2.0 (2008) which was "free with ads" on Youtube as of a few days ago. I've also recently watched Johnny Mnemonic (1995) and Blade Runner (1982) as rentals from a local video rental store. Cyberpunk intensifies.

I guess you like my weird, quoting all of them ;-)

ps: maybe you're not boomer enough to take spandex seriously :-P

The last good movie that I watched was 'The Hurricane', which is based on the biography of Rubin, the hurricane carter, a man who was wrongfully imprisoned for life because of his race and his mental fortitude amidst a state of decadence.

As someone who quit his job recently and has been metaphorically 'down in the dumps, it was a movie that I could strongly resonate with. It's also a great example of stoicism on film.

I've never read any of his comics, but I enjoyed both The Boys and Preacher as TV shows, and I wouldn't be surprised to hear that they are superior or at least more fun than the source material. From what I hear the comics kind of take themselves seriously, while the TV shows don't. They aren't terribly deep either, of course, and there is quite a bit of splatter involved, in case that puts you off. I enjoyed them despite it and the occasional tastelessness, not because of it - I think the characters in the TV shows are actually great. Can't make any promises though that you would enjoy it, too, as it seems our tastes often differ. :D