Beef on Netflix is intense

Yes I’m very late to the game as the show premiered almost 2 years ago

But dang I’m glad I finally watched it — having run out of anime and more high-concept content

Highly recommend if you haven’t yet, and enjoy dark, intense, genre-spanning TV. Clocks in at 10 episodes and the last half is a real gripper

Great cast — Ali Wong was perfectly cast for the role, her creative tension with Steven Yeun was great, David Choe gave an outstanding performance he just feels like a natural actor, many well written characters with rich stories and motivations

Addressed multiple important themes without being heavy handed, from class to modern relationships to cross-cultural to inter-generational

The really heavy stuff is in all the character flaws and how those flaws underpinned so many of their actions and resulting life problems

Excellent writing, although I would have preferred a sprinkle more humor and lightness, it got uncomfortable it did but I did have at least one intense dream

The ending felt just right, one of those rare Netflix shows which got better as the season progressed, and wasn’t stuffed with 3-5 episodes of filler

Recent tv and movies: Interior Chinatown, Dead Dead Demons, Megalopolis, Beef

Interior Chinatown — mystery drama about Chinatown life starring a very committed Jimmy Yang, but the show soon becomes much more than that; lots of meta wackiness ensues which is super original, but sometimes originality at the cost of central plot and narrative momentum (I was often reminded of Everything Everywhere); Ronny Chieng’s character really stands out; I generally enjoy anything with Taika Waititi’s imprint

Gannibal — Japanese mystery horror show; concept had potential, but the vfx were kinda hokey and first episode didn’t hook me to continue

Dead Dead Demons — charming weird subtly funny anime about a dystopian near-future where a giant alien spaceship appears above the skies of Tokyo; the story is less about the alien invaders and more about society’s complex and layered reaction its appearance; the core characters are two high school girls and the people who are closest to them; the characters are really well done, lots of nuance, lots of subtle humor, great dialogue; a standout

Tale of Two Sisters — a solid Korean horror film with good acting, atmosphere, and story development; the tension was kept high, but I found the “horror logic” (the explanation of how and especially why the horror occurred) to be 20% too confusing and vaguely implied; would have preferred more exposition and more linear storytelling

Megalopolis — the set design / themes / cinematography are compelling, as is Adam Driver’s acting and the very A-list cast, but sorry the story is just weird and not relatable, the dialogue too stylized, the stakes too artificial and 1%-ey

In the Land of Saints and Sinners — I learned from this movie that Jackie Gleason is a really underrated actor, I finally saw someone other than Joffrey; loved the old Irish setting + tough IRA female lead + the small town vibes; good container for Liam Neeson to do Liam Neeson things

AfrAId — AI concept thriller starring John Cho; story and characters were cliche (a mix of Devs + Ex Machina, a kind of Alex Garland-lite). But the AI tech was well done — it felt quite realistic in our near (5-10 year) future, even eventually probable

Beef — finally started to watch it, am 4-5 episodes in; everything about it is well done — the evolving darkly humorous story, the excellent performances from Steven Yeun and Ali Wong, the great supporting cast including David Choe injecting needed lightness and absurdity and humor; the vibes are continually heavy and kinda depressing though, not sure if the story will brighten up in later episodes