What are you watching?

[Cam]

Binged Iron Fist, season two. It was much better than the first season. :up: Until the very last scene. :rolleyes:

[sandydandy]

Watched My Teacher, My Obsession. A largely silly and predictable movie, with a preposterous ending.

How the hell was Kyla not in jail at the end of the movie, considering she slashed the janitor's throat?

[Cam]

Watched Scott Pilgrim vs. The World again. I love that movie; so silly, yet so amazing. It's unlike any other movie.

[speedpimp]

Finished season two of Iron Fist, way better than the first.

[Blerpa]

Watched Black Panther. Good, but not so awesome as others have raved about. Very formulaic. Meh. Nice colours tho.
Also watched the first episode of Altered Carbon: I'm sold, and it's quite a feat for someone usually loathing sci-fi and similar in tv series (they usually look like bad cosplay to me).

[G'day Mate]

Just watched a YouTube series called "Don't Hug Me. I'm Scared"

It. Is. Awesome.

Six episodes - go watch it.

[tigeraid]

Also watched the first episode of Altered Carbon: I'm sold, and it's quite a feat for someone usually loathing sci-fi and similar in tv series (they usually look like bad cosplay to me).


The plot gets damn near incomprehensible about halfway through, then info-dumps and fixes everything at the end. But it's worth it for the visuals and the action scenes and the pretty ladies. There's also dong if you're interested.

I read and loved the books, and STILL had trouble making sense of the plot. But it didn't really take from my enjoyment.

[MR2 Fan]

The plot gets damn near incomprehensible about halfway through, then info-dumps and fixes everything at the end. But it's worth it for the visuals and the action scenes and the pretty ladies. There's also dong if you're interested.

I read and loved the books, and STILL had trouble making sense of the plot. But it didn't really take from my enjoyment.


Agreed 100%

[DelSolMan]

Watched Scott Pilgrim vs. The World again. I love that movie; so silly, yet so amazing. It's unlike any other movie.

I liked this video essay that confirms why I love the movie so much:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pij5lihbC6k

[sandydandy]

Watched The Endless. Kind of a mind fuck movie. I usually like these kinds of movies, but this one not so much.

[G'day Mate]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9C_HReR_McQ

[dodint]

http://nathangess.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/mister-r.jpg

They're shooting the Mister Rogers movie across the street from my house. They asked us not to mow the lawn or run power tools this week which might actually kill some of my neighbors that can't go more than three days without operating a mower.

They said they wouldn't block traffic longer than three minutes at a time. As you can see, they've opted to just block the road entirely rather than accommodate the people that live here. They also said they'd be doing some driving scenes so this circus will be going up and down the road at some point this week.

Drove past it yesterday when everything was put in place but not erected. They ordered a really sweet early/mid 80s Nissan Maxima and it was sitting at the curb. It looks showroom new. I never thought I'd say I drove a Delorean through a Tom Hanks movie set about Mr. Rogers, but here we are.

[speedpimp]

Take it out for a few more spins and they may ask to use it in a scene. You never know.

[Leon]

Good Cop (Tony Danza)

Maniac (Jonah Hill, Emma Stone)

Atypical (soooo good)

Argh, too much to watch, not enough time!

[SportWagon]

The nightly block of BUZZR (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buzzr) TV game shows from 1:00am to 3:30am has come to an end. No more 1975 Match Game (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Match_Game), etc.

I used to record Friday (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friday) nights to watch over the weekend, so I ended up recording the replacements instead.

Chicago Hope (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Hope), Doogie Howser (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doogie_Howser) and Highway to Heaven (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highway_to_Heaven).

Of those, Highway to Heaven (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highway_to_Heaven) is the only one I find barely watchable (nice car) which makes my late night (early morning) recorder adjusting a little more efficient.

Last Friday night I recorded an episode in which Jonathan Frakes (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Frakes) guest starred, about three years before ST:TNG (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Trek:_The_Next_Generation).

He was business man son to Ron Moody (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_Moody). Ron Moody (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_Moody), you may recall, was "Fagin" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fagin) in the 1968 movie classic "Oliver!" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliver!_(film)).

In this episode, Ron Moody played an elderly man named Arthur who had built his wife a castle (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castle) when younger, and subsequently deluded himself into believing he was King Arthur (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Arthur), causing the evil Jonathan Frakes to try to wrest control of the empire by declaring his father (i.e. Arthur, Sr; the Ron Moody character) insane.

So Little Joe (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonanza#Michael_Landon_%E2%80%93_Joseph_%22Little_ Joe%22_Cartwright) acted as Ron Moody's attorney and sorted everything out so everyone lived happily ever after.

[dodint]

I read your whole post and retained only the words "Doogie Howser", everything else was a blur.

[SportWagon]

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/2016/03/12/humans-have-shorter-attention-span-than-goldfish-thanks-to-smart/

[dodint]

Ehhh, not sure attention span has anything to do with not being able to put your super obscure television programs into context. Ron Moody? Really? :lol:

[speedpimp]

Loved Highway to Heaven. Landon and Victor French had really good chemistry.

[Phil_SS]

6/8 thru Jack Ryan and it has been pretty good. :up:

[SportWagon]

Loved Highway to Heaven. Landon and Victor French had really good chemistry.
Yeah, and the Ford LTD too...

[sandydandy]

I watched Terrifier the other day. I’m running an older version of Netflix on my Blu-ray player and the covers of each movie change frequently. This one changed a few times and always caught my eye, as the clown looked hilarious.

The movie itself was pure garbage. Utter brutality and gore. Not really my cup of tea these days. Don’t know how people can watch that shit.

[SportWagon]

I read your whole post and retained only the words "Doogie Howser", everything else was a blur.

Last night I was up in the middle of night, partly fiddling with recorders, and flipped around looking for things to watch. Time passes much more slowly if you watch something on TV which is not a game show. And that's probably a good thing.

I ended up watching the conclusion of Greased Lightning (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greased_Lightning) a 1977 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1977) biopic, starring Richard Pryor (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Pryor), loosely based on the true story of Wendell Scott (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wendell_Scott), the first African American (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_Americans) to win a major NASCAR (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASCAR) race.

[speedpimp]

I watched Terrifier the other day. I’m running an older version of Netflix on my Blu-ray player and the covers of each movie change frequently. This one changed a few times and always caught my eye, as the clown looked hilarious.

The movie itself was pure garbage. Utter brutality and gore. Not really my cup of tea these days. Don’t know how people can watch that shit.

Watched that one last night, bruv. Not much going for it.

[speedpimp]

Last night I was up in the middle of night, partly fiddling with recorders, and flipped around looking for things to watch. Time passes much more slowly if you watch something on TV which is not a game show. And that's probably a good thing.

I ended up watching the conclusion of Greased Lightning (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greased_Lightning) a 1977 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1977) biopic, starring Richard Pryor (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Pryor), loosely based on the true story of Wendell Scott (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wendell_Scott), the first African American (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_Americans) to win a major NASCAR (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASCAR) race.

I loved Greased Lightning. Probably my favorite racing movie ever. One of Pryor's best roles.

[SportWagon]

Fondly recalls Bruce Dern (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Dern) and the Lost Drive-In (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0286369/) . . .

[Cam]

I watched Dave Made a Maze. Lame.

[sandydandy]

Watched Shot Caller. Great film.

[George]

No more 1975 Match Game (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Match_Game), etc.

No more Match Game? Say it ain't so! :(

I watched that show as a kid and to this day, when someone says, "He was so __________..." (could be anything - fat, drunk, tired, hard-working, inventive, depressed, etc.), I want to shout out, as the audience did, "How __________ was he?!" :lol:

[sandydandy]

Started watching The Sinner, starring Jessica Biel and Bill Pullman. It’s unbelievably great so far. Watched 5/8 episodes last night, but couldn’t finish the rest because it was 1:30am.

Super addictive show.

[balki]

Stranger Things
Four episodes in and all I can say is ... meh

j/k, that shit is dooooooooope!

[speedpimp]

Mr. Inbetween. Aussie show about an ass kicker in recovery who kicks a lot of ass and has an Aussie accent. Great show.

[Leon]

"Kidding" bizarrely messed up, depressing, and still awesome Jim Carey TV show.

[sandydandy]

Finished watching the first season of The Sinner. It was so good. Best TV show I've watched in a while. I read that it received critical acclaim. Apparently there's a second season as well, which received even higher acclaim. Not on Netflix so I'll have to look elsewhere to watch it.

[Leon]

The Magnum PI re-imagining.

5 minutes, then rage deleted it off the hard drive. So much cringe :) (sorry if this is a repeat)

[Freude am Fahren]

Just got a pleasant little alert that Man in the High Castle is back for season 3.

[neanderthal]

A Star Is Born, on the big screen.

Lady Gaga could be in the running for an Oscar.

[speedpimp]

Jodie Whittaker's debut as Doctor Who.

[sandydandy]

Watched Body of Deceit, with Kristanna Loken. Lots of 'uplifting' moments, but the story itself was meh.

Also watched Malevolent. Not bad.

[sandydandy]

Watched a bunch of movies this week.

Ant-Man and the Wasp - while not as good as the first one, it was still pretty awesome.

Annihilation - great buildup but unsatisfying ending. I’m generally not a fan of movies with ambiguous endings that require you to interpret your own. Sometimes it works, most of the time not. For this movie definitely not.

Seven in Heaven - it wasn’t that great. Actually it was terrible.

The Bye Bye Man - while genuinely frightening at times, overall it left me with a bit of a sick feeling.

Currently watching the second season of the Sinner. I found it on Showcase on demand, I think Showcase is Canadian. I can only watch it on the Bell Fibe TV app on my phone, because for some stupid reason they’ve disabled the rewind and fast forward function for this show in the box. Don’t know why. Luckily it works on the iPhone app.

[Alan P]

Manifest. Decent, but they need to cut out the family drama and get on with a bit more Sci-Fi stuff.

The Rookie. Actually quite fun so far. That's about it for new stuff although looking forward to SEAL team coming back.

[sandydandy]

Watched the second season of The Exorcist. Top quality show. Much improved over the first season. It features the actor who was Harold from Harold and Kumar.

Also watched Hold the Dark, which was alright. Had some really strong moments, but an ambiguous ending. I looked up some theories about the movie and one of the them is quite fucked up.

[Cam]

Half-way through season 3 of Daredevil and really enjoying it.

[dodint]

Watched Hold the Dark. Jeffrey Wright is awesome and deserves more exposure.

[Blerpa]

Watched Hilda, a tv series cartoon based on a graphic novel. Surprisingly sweet and engaging.

[Cam]

Finished watching Daredevil, season 3. I liked it a lot except for the origin stories of Karen and Dex. I thought those episodes were a bit slow-paced. Ultimately, they were important to the narrative; obviously necessary. Great series though.
At the end of the penultimate episode, I thought the season would end on a cliffhanger. The ending was satisfying. :D

[speedpimp]

Caught The Sisters Brothers yesterday afternoon. Great movie that is a lot more things than just a western. It is a co-productions between multiple companies, so many companies that when they are all listed it takes up the entire screen.

[MR2 Fan]

I watched Black Panther again....such a great James Bond movie :p

[sandydandy]

Finally got around to watching 2001: A Space Odyssey after many many attempts over the years. I know it's considered a classic epic film and all that shit, but man what a snore-fest. It was one of those movies I had to watch at least once in my lifetime, just to say I watched it. Will never watch it again.

I also watched The Beyond, it was decent.

[dodint]

I watched 2001 for the first time about two years ago and came away with the exact same impression.

[MR2 Fan]

2001 is definitely not a movie that would work today, but considering the era...it came out BEFORE we landed on the moon and it still holds up in many ways.

If I had a better computer and lots of free time, I'd love to make my own re-cut of it. I know a director did his own re-cut pet project a few years ago, but it got taken down due to copyright issues.

[Jason]

Finished two Netflix seasons recently:

- Haunting of Hill House - Absolutely fantastic suspense driven horror story. That being said, they probably could have tightened it up a bit in the middle.

- Daredevil Season 3 - Another strong season for Daredevil, but like a lot of the Defenders shows, it had some pacing issues. Probably could have told the story in a more dramatic fashion in 3-6 fewer episodes. That being said, it's still the best comic based television imo.

[Cam]

2001 is an art film. Not everyone appreciates art and that is OK.

[George]

It has been years since I've watched 2001, but I remember thinking the opening scene with the apes could have been its own short movie, and a damn good one, too.

I also remember thinking I liked 2010 better than the original.

[MR2 Fan]

2001 is an art film. Not everyone appreciates art and that is OK.

I definitely appreciate it, but I also realize that a lot of younger movie fans would not. I think it's possible to keep the essence of the movie with a proper re-cut if it means more people can appreciate it...just like you could keep the essence of the mona lisa even if some of it is cropped...I know not everyone shares that opinion.

[Freude am Fahren]

Just discovered The Good Place is amazing.

I remember seeing a preview for it before season1 and thinking, that looks good. Kristen Bell, can't go wrong. But I never really watched it until last week. I'm almost done with season 2 now. Maximum Derek.

[speedpimp]

Season one of Get Shorty is now on Netflix. So far, so good.

[Leon]

Season one of Get Shorty is now on Netflix. So far, so good.

In my opinion, it stays good. Very good :)

[George]

My son discovered Car Masters: Rust To Riches on Netflix and asked me to watch with him. We finished the short season (8 episodes) last night and I must say I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would.

Previously I've seen some episodes of other reality car shows such as Pimp My Ride, Unique Whips, and the motorcycle show with Paul and Paul Jr. This new show is similar and has some of the usual clichés, but it's fast-paced and has less drama and conflict between shop workers/owners than some of the others.

My only beef with shows like this is it's always a race to finish the car. I figure a lot of corners must get cut when there's such rush to meet a deadline...or perhaps some of the deadlines are made up to make the shows more interesting for some people.

Most-used word on the show, by far: "badass". Everything is badass this or badass that. It gets old. Or, maybe I'm old and not up on the current hip lingo.

Still, it's a fun show. My son and I are looking forward to Season 2.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNrk53FZcxY

[Freude am Fahren]

Just watched the last episode of season 13 of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (Mac Finds His Pride)

Wow. Quite a departure, but what a way to end a lackluster season.

[FaultyMario]

2001 is an art film. Not everyone appreciates art and that is OK.

I don't get most David Lynch or Werner Herzog.
I really enjoy Win Wenders, most of my friends don't.

[sandydandy]

2001 is an art film. Not everyone appreciates art and that is OK. I absolutely appreciate art. :)

But I also enjoy watching movies that are interesting and make sense...and keep me attentive.

[MR2 Fan]

Great review of either the worst or second worst video game movie ever made (Super Mario Bros. being the other one), quite funny and also they mention the Mortal Kombat Album...the techno soundtrack sold with the original arcade game which I owned. Simultaneously good music if you enjoy 90's era techno and VERY campy singing.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_K7T1AHcPc

[sandydandy]

That was a great 33 minutes.

I too remember how excited I was to see MK Annihilation at the time, and how big of a let-down it was. Ugh. Haven't watched it since, and never will. I do watch the first one every now and then. It was great.

[MR2 Fan]

Yeah, I think it was worse after the original was so...decent. It wasn't great but it felt like they actually tried. I also feel bad for the guy who played Liu Kang who came back for that disaster. He was the one seriously interesting character.

[mk]

The Cleaners

[Alan P]

Fringe. Only Ep 1 though so far! not much time in between BFV.

[JoshInKC]

Fringe took a little while to get its dramatic footing, but ended up being very worth it in the end. John Noble is amazing.

[dodint]

John Noble was one of the few bright spots in the otherwise disappointing Sleepy Hollow.

[MR2 Fan]

John Noble is an amazing actor. His portrayal of Denethor was so good in LOTR

[Cam]

Nothing soon. Lori just cancelled Netflix and Hulu. I encouraged her to when she got back from Antarctica. It only took her nine months to think about it. :lol:

[Leon]

Mars (2106) has suddenly arrived with Season 2, after two years. Much to my surprise and pleasure.

Cool format of talking to a bunch of current science / planetology types, in between scenes of a fictional future colonising Mars TV show. My nerd approves.

[George]

We saw Venom this weekend at the movie theatre, including a cameo by the late Stan Lee. My son and I enjoyed it very much, although he is getting tired of me sneaking up behind him and saying in a deep Venom voice, "I'M HUNGRY!"

Hee hee - this is almost as much fun as talking like Karl Childers, mmm-hmm.

I had read that fans said Venom was one of the worst Marvel movies. If so, I guess I'd better start catching up on them, because I thought Venom was a lot of fun. I can't remember the last Marvel movie I've seen - it might have been Spiderman with Tobey MacGuire.

[MR2 Fan]

I had read that fans said Venom was one of the worst Marvel movies. If so, I guess I'd better start catching up on them, because I thought Venom was a lot of fun. I can't remember the last Marvel movie I've seen - it might have been Spiderman with Tobey MacGuire.

wow, so you haven't seen ANY MCU movies?

[tigeraid]

Watching The Alienist on Netflix. Have the books but never got around to them yet. Enjoying it so far, despite some ham-fisted acting. I really hope the plot's going somewhere in terms of theme though, because while the storyline is a fun 1800s crime procedural, I have no idea where they're going with the characters.

[George]

wow, so you haven't seen ANY MCU movies?

Apparently not.

I just googled "MCU movies" and found this on wikepedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marvel_Cinematic_Universe

According to that, they started in 2008, which is when my wife had twins. Of course that put an end to most of our free time to do things like watching movies.

The first few years of their life is a blur in my memory now. Occasionally someone will talk about something that happened in 2009 or 2011 and I can only shrug and say I must have missed whatever that was.

I also fell behind with popular culture things like smart phones (finally got one in 2017), cars (I'm still driving the same old car as I was then), household projects/improvements, my former guitar hobby, and other things that there just wasn't time to pursue while being parents of babies/toddlers/little kids.

Now that the kids are older, we have a lot of movies in our future, both in the theatre and at home now that so much is available on Netflix and similar sources.

[MR2 Fan]

Apparently not.

I just googled "MCU movies" and found this on wikepedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marvel_Cinematic_Universe

According to that, they started in 2008, which is when my wife had twins. Of course that put an end to most of our free time to do things like watching movies.

The first few years of their life is a blur in my memory now. Occasionally someone will talk about something that happened in 2009 or 2011 and I can only shrug and say I must have missed whatever that was.

I also fell behind with popular culture things like smart phones (finally got one in 2017), cars (I'm still driving the same old car as I was then), household projects/improvements, my former guitar hobby, and other things that there just wasn't time to pursue while being parents of babies/toddlers/little kids.

Now that the kids are older, we have a lot of movies in our future, both in the theatre and at home now that so much is available on Netflix and similar sources.


Ok, let me tell you that I've never been a comics fan, never read comic books or watched TV shows or movies other than obscure ones...but the MCU are mostly brilliant movies that are suitable to a very wide audience, starting with Iron Man. I highly recommend checking them out if you have any interest at all :up:

[tigeraid]

If you read the comics as a kid, you will absolutely dive in with all the little trivia and minutia and lore. But if you didn't, you'll still enjoy them as really good popcorn movies with surprisingly deep character work.

I would say all three Iron Mans (2 is kinda meh), all three Captain Americas, Thor 1 and 3, all three Avengers (2 is kinda meh) and Black Panther are mandatory. The other ones vary from meh to excellent. I would say basically all of them are "worth watching" though.

[MR2 Fan]

don't forget Guardians of the Galaxy, both are excellent

[George]

Thanks for the recommendations. I imagine we'll get to most of them eventually. My wife has taken the kids to see Black Panther and Avengers Infinity War and said she (not just the kids) liked them. But then she hated Ready Player One, so I'm not sure if I can trust her judgement. :lol:

I went through a phase of reading Captain America and Daredevil comic books in the late '70s after we moved next door to a kid my age who was really into them. And I think every kid my age watched The Incredible Hulk with David Bixby and Lou Ferrigno on TV, although now I'm told The Hulk can leap tall buildings in a single bound. The guy on TV settled for knocking over stuff and making bad guys run away.

I can even still sing some of the '60s Marvel cartoon songs that I saw as reruns in the '70s...

:sing: "When Captain America throws his mighty shield...all those who chose to oppose his shield must yield!"

*zoom in to show bad guy's head snapping back as the shield ricochets off his chin*

Man, that was some lyrical genius right there! :lol:

[tigeraid]

Oops. I knew I'd end up forgetting one or two "important" ones. GoG is definitely in that list.

[sandydandy]

Re-watched all four Scream movies. First one is alright, second continues to be the best in the series. Third and fourth are utter garbage.

Re-watched the Scary Movie movies as well. First one still makes me laugh my ass off. It's a classic. It's all downhill after that.

[MR2 Fan]

Thanks for the recommendations. I imagine we'll get to most of them eventually. My wife has taken the kids to see Black Panther and Avengers Infinity War and said she (not just the kids) liked them. But then she hated Ready Player One, so I'm not sure if I can trust her judgement. :lol:

I went through a phase of reading Captain America and Daredevil comic books in the late '70s after we moved next door to a kid my age who was really into them. And I think every kid my age watched The Incredible Hulk with David Bixby and Lou Ferrigno on TV, although now I'm told The Hulk can leap tall buildings in a single bound. The guy on TV settled for knocking over stuff and making bad guys run away.

I can even still sing some of the '60s Marvel cartoon songs that I saw as reruns in the '70s...

:sing: "When Captain America throws his mighty shield...all those who chose to oppose his shield must yield!"

*zoom in to show bad guy's head snapping back as the shield ricochets off his chin*

Man, that was some lyrical genius right there! :lol:



yeah, also Captain America: Winter Soldier (the second in the Captain America series) is probably the best MCU movie in the franchise...it's very re-watchable

[speedpimp]

I have really been enjoying the new season of Patriot.

[SportWagon]

The other day they showed the episode where Lorne Greene guest-starred in the Michael Landon series Highway to Heaven. No horseback riding was worked into the plot. But my wife pointed out that Lorne Greene's gait seemed to indicate he was suffering from arthritis. This was a few years after Battlestar Galactica.


Edit: Would you believe that Victor French played Agent 44 in Get Smart?

[JoshInKC]

I have really been enjoying the new season of Patriot.

I didn't realize the second season was out - I'll have to jump on that this weekend. The first was weirdly amazing.

[George]

Edit: Would you believe that Victor French played Agent 44 in Get Smart?

I would. One of the neat things about older TV shows and movies is recognizing actors and actresses who would go on to become famous for other roles.

I always enjoy that about The Twilight Zone. Just when I think, "surely I've seen all of those episodes by now", the SciFi channel will do a weekend TZ marathon and I'll see episodes that I don't remember.

At the risk of hyperbole, everybody was on TZ in the 1960s.

Edited to add this trivial trivia: Stan Lee was older than Rod Serling.

[MR2 Fan]

The Twilight Zone is still a brilliant and relevant show.

I saw one recently that was about the owner of a business replacing everything including most of his employees with computers/robots, including key cards to allow employees to enter the building (sounds familiar).

[MR2 Fan]

:lol:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCf03KXyzIg

[MR2 Fan]

Rumors that the Avengers 4 trailer might be out this week and the name might be Avengers Annihilation (because that name worked so well for the Mortal Kombat movie sequel :p )

I really don't want to watch the trailer if I can avoid it, but figure I'm going to stumble upon it being discussed anyway....and the movie is still many months away.

[sandydandy]

Well there is actually a Marvel cosmic story from 2006 called Annihilation, which heavily featured Thanos. It was very well received, and is my favourite modern day cosmic epic.

A year later they did Annihilation: Conquest, which was just okay.

[speedpimp]

And Daredevil has been cancelled.

[sandydandy]

I’m going to cancel Netflix soon. Not because of Daredevil, but because there’s hardly anything good on it anymore, and they’re going to raise the price by $3/month soon.

I’ve been growing increasingly cranky with Netflix for months and months. The selection really sucks. At least here in Canada. They’re pushing mostly their own original material, and not enough good Hollywood stuff.

Not sure what other good streaming options we have in this country.

[neanderthal]

Poldark.

[dodint]

Yes, agreed, Netflix hawking their mostly shitty originals is lame. Hill House, Big Mouth, and Stranger Things have been good though. When I want to watch a good movie I seem to end up on Amazon Prime.

[tigeraid]

F is for Family is the funniest show on TV. And also one of the heaviest and darkest. Brings the feels.

[MR2 Fan]

I saw Wreck it Ralph 2....was pretty good. Interesting how they physically visualize the internet, I can imagine the kind of work that went into that! Also interesting how many actual company names are used.

I'm also sure the writers played a LOT of GTA 5 as one major part of the movie feels a lot like it. very minor spoiler:

they even have a random shark jumping out of the ground at one point, just like that insane mod someone made!

There's a third act which IMO drags on too long, and the movie felt longer than it actually was, but overall I enjoyed it.

[dodint]

F is for Family is the funniest show on TV. And also one of the heaviest and darkest. Brings the feels.

:up:

It is much celebrated in our household.

[tigeraid]

:up:

It is much celebrated in our household.


Does it hit you right in the family nostalgia too? Fuck. Only difference is my parents only had two kids.

[dodint]

It's a little closer for Ash, I think. But I enjoy it as a sitcom that doesn't have cell phones and computers. I was born in 1982 and can completely identify with that.

We went and saw Bill Burr live in Pittsburgh recently. He opened the set by trashing local and deceased hero Mr. Rogers. :lol: Was a good set.

[MR2 Fan]

Captain Marvel trailer 2:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VuHV5Pm_ZE


Not being a comic book fan, but a fan of the MCU and I know she's going to be an integral part of Avengers 4, I have to see this movie, but so far it looks just ok.

[sandydandy]

I don't doubt the movie will be great, being based on the Kree-Skrull War. But the trailers have done nothing for me. Will still watch it.

[MR2 Fan]

well Marvel Studios is so genius to pretty much force anyone who wants to know the full story leading to Avengers 4 to have to watch it! It's like the most clever built-in promo.

Also, I've re-watched Infinity War, am I the only one who noticed that during the one pivotal moment on Titan against Thanos, that Nebula stood there and did nothing? (I may have missed something)

[Yobbo NZ]

Finally got around to watch the McLaren film/documentary.
Nice story, which most in NZ would know if they have anything to do with motorsport.
Very very moving towards the end, which is well documented as to what happened, but to see the guys who were there, break down some 50+ years later recounting the day, was hard to watch without getting teary eyed. Even my wife who has no real idea of who he was or achieved, was crying at that point.

[tigeraid]

It's a little closer for Ash, I think. But I enjoy it as a sitcom that doesn't have cell phones and computers. I was born in 1982 and can completely identify with that.

We went and saw Bill Burr live in Pittsburgh recently. He opened the set by trashing local and deceased hero Mr. Rogers. :lol: Was a good set.


Holy shit that last scene with Chet this season. How can I laugh so hard at a show and then damn near cry in the same episode? Bill Burr is an amazing comedian but he might be an even better writer.

[MR2 Fan]

I have a feeling that Mortal Engines might flop....the only thing saving it is that there's not a lot of other movies besides Aquaman this holiday season that seem intriguing

[MR2 Fan]

Avengers 4 Trailer just dropped...I just watched it...not really any spoilers (thankfully)

https://twitter.com/Russo_Brothers/status/1071026457701314565

[Blerpa]

Avengers 4 Trailer just dropped...I just watched it...not really any spoilers (thankfully)

https://twitter.com/Russo_Brothers/status/1071026457701314565

There is one, but it is noticeable only to people that know the comics.

[MR2 Fan]

There is one, but it is noticeable only to people that know the comics.

That rules me out

Anyway, there might be minor spoilers for some people but nothing major

[Cam]

Saw Ralph Breaks the Internet last night. It was entertaining and fun, but could not help having mixed feelings about it. There were several contrived scenes and weak attempts at humour. There was also a weird intro by the producers that threw me off right away. It was crazy how much the movie took the piss on their own properties, yet shamelessly promoted them at the same time.

[sandydandy]

Avengers 4 Trailer just dropped...I just watched it...not really any spoilers (thankfully)

https://twitter.com/Russo_Brothers/status/1071026457701314565 Saw it this morning. Three minutes after the Russo's posted it. It was a little too vague for me. Not a big fan of the title. I was hoping for Annihilation.


There is one, but it is noticeable only to people that know the comics. Are you talking about: The Scarecrow?

[MR2 Fan]

I like the title...it ties back to a few times that phrase was mentioned, including in the previous film.

[dodint]

The Christmas Chronicles is pretty great for a Netflix original. It really is like they say, an 80's/90's style Christmas movie that just aims to be fun. The only downside was the elves. They were clearly and blatantly mimicking Minions to the point that they should probably be sued unless it was done by the same studio.

[JoshInKC]

Saw it this morning. Three minutes after the Russo's posted it. It was a little too vague for me. Not a big fan of the title. I was hoping for Annihilation.

Are you talking about: The Scarecrow?
I was assuming he was talking about
Hawkguy as Ronin

[sandydandy]

I was assuming he was talking about
Hawkguy as Ronin I noticed that too.

[Blerpa]

Yup, it seems that

Clint (Hawkeye) is Ronin

[MR2 Fan]

I have some thoughts on Infinity War and the next movie. I'm just going to put it in spoilers in case people don't want to read it


There's a scene in Infinity War where Thanos discusses knowing Tony Stark and that he's not the only one cursed with extra knowledge. For some reason, I have the feeling that Pepper Potts is pregnant already and Thanos somehow knows this due to having the soul stone? I could be waaay off base.

Anyway, I think Cap is going to get his old shield back in the next one.

I wonder if Nebula will sacrifice herself for Tony if he can build parts from her to get home.

Someone said that maybe if they do time travel, would Cap want to go back in time to be with Agent Carter again.

[Freude am Fahren]

So a friend of mine posted the trailer for a new Netflix movie with the caption, "Exactly how much money does Netflix have?"


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fo3yRLLrXQA&ab_channel=Netflix

It got me thinking about something I've thought about before. How does Netflix value stuff like this?? This looks like a p[retty damn high budget film. My thoughts as posted on facbeook:


I wonder about this all the time. If you consider a movie like this probably would have to make gross at least $100M to be considered successful (random number, but for arguments sake). So in theaters/home sales, that's easy to quantify. But let's just say they figure that between new subs and keeping people about to cancel, that's where it has its value Even if you argue it's worth a year of subs, you'd need to affect about a million people at that figure. Is one movie really going to make that much of an impact?

[dodint]

I've noticed Netflix Originals are starting to pop up on regular television. Maybe they have a back end built into the model.

[MR2 Fan]

I believe Netflix is doing their best to create their own sustainable model that isn't affected by the other hollywood companies they have to deal with.

[sandydandy]

Eventually Netflix Originals will be all that’s left.

[Alan P]

So from what I was reading about Netflix (unfortunately I can't remember where) they more or less look at subscriber numbers as a litmus test for their content. If they get more sign ups or re-subscribers when a particular show starts or comes back then they class that show as a success and it'll likely get another series. If however there's very few new signups or subscriber numbers even go down then the show isn't worth their effort and gets dropped. it's that reactionary.

[Freude am Fahren]

They probably break it down even further. They probably can actually see what a subscriber was watching before leaving, or what a new subscriber watches.

And I get that, make sense, I guess I'm just underestimating how many subscribers they have/get new over time. Especially when it comes to movies, I don't see how a single movie can make Netflix hundreds of millions of dollars.

[dodint]

For the curious, I found this article interesting: https://www.businessinsider.com/netflix-explains-why-it-canceled-everything-sucks-2018-6

It's granular to the point that if you don't finish watching the first episode of a show it may doom it to not be renewed even if it has a following.

[JoshInKC]

And I get that, make sense, I guess I'm just underestimating how many subscribers they have/get new over time. Especially when it comes to movies, I don't see how a single movie can make Netflix hundreds of millions of dollars.
I think that part of this is that netflix is probably way overvalued in the market, & they're trying to stay ahead of the curve by putting out bigger and bigger stuff before the (probably inevitable) correction. At a certain point, they're going to run out of potential subscribers and overhead cash, and then they'll have to shift somehow to stay on top of the market cap (likely by increasing subscription costs in exchange for greater perceived value (ie. Bigger, even more expensive-seeming series and movies). Otherwise, they'll crash and have to sell out to someone else who's at a different part of the curve.

[Freude am Fahren]

Yeah, I was thinking that. They're in kind of a similar situation to Facebook early on. Valued at billions while not really making nay money. Obviously Netflix makes a lot money, but I think they're value is mostly imagined or whatever. Stock market nonsense.

[dodint]

When the start slipping in ads we're out. It's the reason we won't do Hulu.

[MR2 Fan]

Annoying, I was watching a youtube promo video featuring the new Audi E-Tron and had Robert Downey Jr. in it. He gave away a bit of a minor spoiler about Avengers 4 (that wasn't in the trailer), so be warned.

[JoshInKC]

I have really been enjoying the new season of Patriot.

I finally got around to starting season 2 the other night. God, that show is weird and good - I can't imagine that many people like/watch it, but I want it to go on for as long as possible.
The French Gun song alone is worth the price of admission.

[MR2 Fan]

I have a feeling that Mortal Engines might flop....



CALLED IT! lol. $7 million opening weekend, potential to be the worst flop of 2018

[sandydandy]

Started watching Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Seriously hilarious.

[speedpimp]

That is a great show.

[FaultyMario]

The resident seven year old loves it.

[Freude am Fahren]

I am so confused by this Mortal Engines movie. Like is it based on some book series, or did someone really just write up some screenplay about mobile cities? And the most dangerous one are on wheels? Really, not the flying ones?

[MR2 Fan]

I am so confused by this Mortal Engines movie. Like is it based on some book series, or did someone really just write up some screenplay about mobile cities? And the most dangerous one are on wheels? Really, not the flying ones?

It's based on a book series.

In other news, a new trailer for MIB International is out, and I was starting to wonder...if all MIB agents have a single letter designation, does that mean there's only 26 total agents in the world?

[dodint]

If it's anything like Joint Tactical Air Requests they'll cycle around and start using AA. ;)

[sandydandy]

That is a great show. It is indeed. Andy Samberg is a funny dude. He even looks funny. I had no idea, until recently, that he sang the threw it on the ground song. The video for that cracks me up every single time.

[Alan P]

If anyone is looking for a great movie to see, Spiderman into the Spiderverse is quite possibly the BEST Spiderman movie ever to grace the screen. It's head and shoulders above any of the Maguire/Raimi movies and even better than the Garfield movies (which aren't actually that bad) and better still than Homecoming which I've found doesn't really stand up to repeat viewing. Some of the 'camera' work in it is amazing and it fair zips along with great pacing and some really funny moments too. A Superb film.

[Blerpa]

I am so confused by this Mortal Engines movie. Like is it based on some book series, or did someone really just write up some screenplay about mobile cities? And the most dangerous one are on wheels? Really, not the flying ones?

Series of books.
And from the trailer it looks quite boring and lame.
So far it has bombed at the box office, probably the fiasco of the year.
Retiring time for Peter Jackson, if you ask me (but that has been since a decade or more, IMHO).

[tigeraid]

I may have mentioned it before, but I generally loathe sitcoms, and it's nice when a quick-and-easy half hour of comedy on TV actually makes me laugh. The Office was obviously a good example. These days, on regular TV anyway, my only choice is Superstore, which I was shocked to realize is now on Season 4 (starting to catch up), and is consistently hilarious.

[Freude am Fahren]

You should stick around for The Good Place, which comes on after it. Though jumping in now might not be the best idea without catching up.

Watched Venom last night. Wasn't as bad as I heard it was going to be, but obviously not great. Probably one of the worst Marvel movies, but still better than most of the DC crap post Nolan. The "Venom" character itself was kinda lame. But I think the thing that bothered me the most was

Venom "died" in the fire and then was just there again, with no explanation at all.

[speedpimp]

First two seasons of Good Place are up on Netflix.

[sandydandy]

Watched American Dream/American Knightmare. A documentary about the controversial and chaotic life of rap mogul Marion ‘Suge’ Knight.

Got mixed feelings about it.

[MR2 Fan]

Just a reminder that Infinity War will be on Netflix starting tomorrow (Christmas day) :D

[sandydandy]

My copy of Infinity War is still sitting in the Blu-ray player. It’s been in there since August. I watch a few scenes every now and then.

[MR2 Fan]

Watched Infinity War again last night....one more theory I have


I noticed that Red Skull said he was cursed with the knowledge of the dead being the keeper of the soul stone......THEN when Thanos is talking to Tony Stark, Tony is surprised that Thanos knows about him, and Thanos said he's not the only one cursed with knowledge. I think that line has something to do with Pepper or maybe Pepper is/was pregnant and Thanos knows something about that

[JoeW]

Saw Ready Player One on HBO today. What an awesome movie. Definitely recommend just for all the 80’s and 90’s references.

[sandydandy]

Watched Bird Box recently after falling into the hype. It was alright. Didn’t love it though. Maybe my expectations were too high.

Also watched Ghost Stories, which was actually pretty awesome.

Lastly, I finally started watching Game of Thrones. My sisters had been hounding me for years. I watched the first two episodes of the first season. I have to say it’s quite good so far. Never thought I’d like it. Looking forward to getting caught up on all 7 seasons.

[speedpimp]

I tore through Sick Note in two days. Rupert Grint, Nick Frost and Don Johnson head an awesome cast. Johnson is such a fucking asshole.

[MR2 Fan]

Saw Episode 1 of The Orville Season 2....good episode, as long as Seth MacFarlane's type of humor is kept in check (I enjoy his brand of humor in other shows but it can feel out of place here sometimes)

[Leon]

I saw that The Orville was back, but I reached "meh" point during first season. Should have been funnier, but ended up for me being a bit average (humour being subjective and all that).

[MR2 Fan]

The last few episodes of the first season were the best ones and more what we think of as Star Trek like, IMO

[MR2 Fan]

Saw a youtube video recently about the AFI (American Film Institute) about their Top 10 Sci-Fi movies of all time. The list came out in 2008, but thought I'd share it for comments.

1. 2001: A Space Odyssey
2. Star Wars: A New Hope
3. A Clockwork Orange
4. E.T.
5. The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)
6. Blade Runner
7. Alien
8. Terminator 2
9. Invasion of the Body Snatchers
10. Back to the Future


Overall I think it's a good list. It was mentioned that The Matrix should be on the list, which I 100% agree with. I also think the original War of the Worlds movie deserves a place.

Note: I've never watched A Clockwork Orange, The Day the Earth Stood Still or Invasion of the Body Snatchers.

There was some discussion about how "sci-fi" some of these films really are. It's a difficult distinction, some are definitely more sci-fi than others.

[George]

I think the original Terminator should be on that list instead of T2.

I do not like "A New Hope" added to the title of "Star Wars". It was "Star Wars" for a generation. Leave it alone.

I thought I had seen Body Snatchers, but a quick trip to IMDB says I must have been thinking of some other movie - a black & white film in which people run from a cemetery into an old house and start boarding up the doors and windows to keep the baddies out, if I remember correctly.

Have not seen A Clockwork Orange, Blade Runner, or Alien, but I'd like to see Blade Runner sometime. The other two don't interest me.

One of these days I'll see The Matrix also. Like Blade Runner, I've just never been in the right place at the right time.

One of my co-workers would insist that The Fifth Element belongs on this list, but that's another I haven't seen.

Forbidden Planet from 1956 deserves an honorable mention. Forget the different uniforms and actors for a minute and you have a good Star Trek episode with cool visual effects.

Other sentimental favorites, and who cares what the critics say...

Mad Max
The Road Warrior
Running Man
Escape From New York
Flash Gordon (the 1980 film with the rockin' Queen soundtrack) :rawk:
Ready Player One (and now I want to read the book)

[MR2 Fan]

I thought A New Hope was added when Empire came out? or was that just the Episode IV designation?

[George]

Many here know Star Wars better than I do, but I think it was many years after the original three movies were released.

IIRC, they added some new and/or previously unreleased footage with Jabba the Hut and renamed the movie at that time, perhaps for a DVD release or a new batch of movies with Jar-Jar Binks and Jules Winnfield and all that.

[dodint]

Hot take: 2001 is a slog and not good.

[MR2 Fan]

Hot take: 2001 is a slog and not good.

2001 is a slog......that doesn't mean it isn't good :p

I mentioned a long time ago that I would like to do a cut version that's more acceptable for modern tastes. That would be fun, but another (real) director did that recently and it was taken down almost immediately due to copyright claims by the studio.

At least Lucas seem to be more lenient on this (even with Disney somehow)

[balki]

Another vote for the original Terminator and the Matrix.
Would absolutely put Predator on there as well.

I think I have George beat: haven't seen ET or Star Wars.

[tigeraid]

I would personally replace E.T. with Close Encounters of the Third Kind (one is infinitely better as SCIENCE FICTION), and add Arrival to the list, while removing Invasion of the Body Snatchers (good, but wtf).

[FaultyMario]

Agree with George's coworker, the fifth element deserves an honorable mention, although that I'd classify it as a comedy in a futuristic setting. So I guess that's back to square one or, the "what is SciFi" question.

[dodint]

I was surprised that BTTF made the cut since it's not really science focused. Time travel happens but other than the early screen time at Twin Pines Mall the rest of the story is basically a strange rom-com.

[MR2 Fan]

I agree with Close Encounters being a better fit than E.T., as both show first contact with peaceful aliens.

So, if I was making my own Top 10 list...until I remember the sci-fi movies I can't think of right now:

1. 2001: A Space Odyssey - The grand-daddy of realistic sci-fi in space, can't argue with the special effects and realistic life in space feel
2. The Matrix - One of the most thought-provoking movies of all time, while still being a very "cool" looking film
3. Alien
4. Metropolis - The first proper sci-fi movie?
5. Close Encounters
6. War of the Worlds (1953) - Still holds up in many ways to this day IMO, and the alien ships just look cool
7. Star Wars - not really sci-fi, but close enough?
8. Terminator
9. Blade Runner- Don't be a Repli-can't, be a Repli-can
10. Back to the Future - mostly based on popularity and the one universally recognized time travel movie

[George]

Would absolutely put Predator on there as well.

Oh, yeah! I haven't seen that film in ages.

https://media.giphy.com/media/TRCVFz9W05RQY/giphy.gif

[tigeraid]

Well look, if you're going for HARD sci-fi, you limit the choices big time. Uuuuh....

1. 2001
2. Close Encounters of the Third Kind
3. Arrival
4. Minority Report (ooh, forgot that one on my list!)
5. The Martian
6. Ex Machina
7. Interstellar

Blade Runner is accurate enough in its environment to probably qualify. Maybe Gattica, too.

[FaultyMario]

That one was fucking slow, though.

[dodint]

Is Jurassic Park not sci-fi? Legit question, not being snarky. Seems like a lot of people equate sci-fi with space and overlook other fantastical achievements in other kinds of science. As a fan of Micheal Crichton's brand of sci-fi I was always most interested in the things that *could* or *will* be possible rather than the things so out of touch with any kind of reality that they're rendered meaningless. I'd posit that JP is better and more plausible than Minority Report which relied on carved wooden balls that dropped from the visions of three floating oracles.

[Crazed_Insanity]

I agree.

I'll make my own list based on how each sci-fi film impacted me... based on enjoyment and memorability. So totally old films that's older than me won't be included! :p

1) Star Wars New Hope
2) Matrix
3) Blade runner, AI, I-robot, Wall-E, Short Circuit (I rate them similarly because they're similarly intriguing to me.)
4) Interstellar
5) Back to the Future, Terminator 2 (Again similar level of time traveling BS, but I did enjoy a lot!)
6) Jurassic Park, Alien, Predator, Event Horizon (similar scared me shitless movies but really enjoyed.)
7) Avatar
8) Total Recall, Fifth Element

I'm sure I've forgotten something, but can't remember anymore for now... if I can't remember them, guess they just weren't memorable enough so they should be rightly off the list... :p

BTW, honorable mention to Star Trek TNG. I don't particularly love any of the TNG movies... I guess I could put them down at #9, but I love the TV shows much much more. If it weren't for the TV shows, not sure I'd like the movies that much.

[George]

Sure, Jurassic Park is sci-fi, at least to me. But then if you take that ball and run with it, what about Godzilla? King Kong? Superman?

And all the Marvel guys - Iron Man, Spiderman, etc.

Is Captain America "retro sci-fi"?

I don't have the answers - just stirring the pot.

And I thought of two more honorable mentions:

Planet Of The Apes (and sequels)
Logan's Run

[Crazed_Insanity]

Yeah, I think those superheros and X-men can be considered as scifi too. If ET is considered as one, surely Superman can be too! :D

[tigeraid]

"Hard" sci-fi is generally considered fiction that:

1) tries its BEST to adhere to either 100% correct scientific principles (2001), or principles and hypotheses that already have pretty solid support in the sciences (Intersteller).
2) is consistent within its own story/lore about its science (Minority Report.)

An example of very soft sci-fi is Star Trek, which not only has wildly outlandish science, but frequently contradicts the science throughout, sometimes even from episode to episode.

[MR2 Fan]

Star Trek is an odd one, because some of the things made in the show were designed for budget issues, like the transporter system. Supposedly they didn't have the budget to build a shuttlecraft set, so they invented the transporter to save money....and the rest is history.

It is interesting that we do get some things that Star Trek created like flip phones based on the original communicators, 3D printers are like a VERY early version of replicators, and VR/AR experiences are getting closer to holodecks all the time.

So I'm going to disagree a bit that it's soft Sci-fi....it's definitely a lot harder sci-fi than Star Wars!

[SportWagon]

Oct 22, 2006. The Brazilian Grand Prix. Michael Schumacher's last race. (Canadian TSN) Found on my PVR and transferred to DVD and HDD.

[Dicknose]

Have not seen A Clockwork Orange, Blade Runner, or Alien, but I'd like to see Blade Runner sometime. The other two don't interest me.

Alien is one of my favourite movies.
Its far more horror than sci-fi. Yes its set in future in space, but its very much a "trapped with danger".



One of my co-workers would insist that The Fifth Element belongs on this list, but that's another I haven't seen.

Wow - you have lots of great movies you havent seen!
Its good - but almost a 2 piece movie, the first part is quite sci-fi, the later part almost becomes more comical action.




Mad Max
The Road Warrior
Escape From New York

See I dont see those at sci-fi, certainly not the Mad Max ones. Just setting it in the future doesnt make it sci-fi.
They certainly dont make any use of the science component!
Dystopian action - yes!

[Dicknose]

Is Jurassic Park not sci-fi? Legit question, not being snarky.
Definitely sci-fi, even if he messed up some very basic science (the amphibian dna is sooo wrong - use chicken, heck even human dna would be closer)
The issue is more that the premise is based on sci-fi, but the plot is basic horror/action.
Does it ask questions like "is the ethics of bringing back extinct creatures ok?" - not really, the dangers was pointy teeth, not any real ethical issues.

[Dicknose]

Planet Of The Apes (and sequels)
Logan's Run

Yeah both interesting sci-fi.
I think good sci-fi allows us to address issues/ideas by showing them from a completely different angle. Both do that well. Planet of the Apes also gets to throw in a nice twist that makes it interesting.

[Dicknose]

"Hard" sci-fi is generally considered fiction that:

1) tries its BEST to adhere to either 100% correct scientific principles (2001), or principles and hypotheses that already have pretty solid support in the sciences (Intersteller).
2) is consistent within its own story/lore about its science (Minority Report.)

An example of very soft sci-fi is Star Trek, which not only has wildly outlandish science, but frequently contradicts the science throughout, sometimes even from episode to episode.

And I think its important to distinguish the hard/soft from ones that arent even core sci-fi, but simply are set in a futuristic setting. As I mentioned previously Mad Max/Road Warrior is set in a dystopian future, but doesnt really have any sci-fi elements.

The hard/soft balance is more about accuracy and consistency, but I think it almost needs a "lite/heavy" scale to cover how much the sci-fi element is used or is important.
Star Trek is "soft heavy" - uses lots of sci-fi, but it is soft in its consistency (plus suffers from a lot of deus ex machina, in their world "phase invert the deflector shield)

[Dicknose]

As to what Im watching (after a dozen comments on others posts)... Travellers.
Yes its sci-fi, not sure if they are being consistent, especially after watching their ground-hog day episode.
Its kind of fun, explored a few interesting ideas (the "transporter paradox" - is it you, a copy, killing the original, especially if there is a time delay in between)

[Freude am Fahren]

So I had to put away Bird Box about 20 minutes from the end over the weekend. Finally got around to watching the end. Probably should have just left it where it was.

[mk]

MIB
District 9
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

Pitch Black

Contact

Twelve Monkeys

[George]

Mad Max
The Road Warrior
Escape From New York


See I dont see those at sci-fi, certainly not the Mad Max ones. Just setting it in the future doesnt make it sci-fi.
They certainly dont make any use of the science component!
Dystopian action - yes!

Okay. As this thread has developed and as I've thought a little more about it, I agree with you. Running Man would be in this category as well. And Rollerball, which is a similar movie in some ways.


Planet of the Apes also gets to throw in a nice twist that makes it interesting.

I was pleasantly surprised to learn just few years ago that Rod Serling wrote the screenplay and the ending. Of course!

[dodint]

Ohhh, Contact. Nice.

I almost said Running Man but it takes place in the future but doesn't rely on any fantastical science. A future setting doesn't equal sci-fi automatically, to me.

[JSGeneral]

My sci-fi list is a bit eclectic, but I dig it just the same. Some of these have been mentioned, but I'm surprised others have not. In no particular order:

Gattaca
Dredd (Karl Urban version)
Robocop
Starship Troopers
Explorers
Aliens
The Last Starfighter
(John Carpenter's) The Thing
Buckaroo Banzai

[MR2 Fan]

Contact is a good one, so is Gattaca

[George]

Star Trek is an odd one, because some of the things made in the show were designed for budget issues, like the transporter system. Supposedly they didn't have the budget to build a shuttlecraft set, so they invented the transporter to save money....and the rest is history.

Lately I've been checking out what's on broadcast TV in my area with a new digital antenna plugged into a TV in the basement. There are quite a few channels running old TV shows and I’ve enjoyed having something on in the background down there.

I've caught a couple episodes of Space: 1999 recently, a show I heard about back in the seventies but never was able to see before now. From what little I’ve seen so far, it's a lot of like Star Trek. The uniforms even remind me of the ones in Star Trek: The Motion Picture from 1979. They seem to get torn pretty easily too, just like Kirk's shirts did.

But, unlike Star Trek, they seem to make a point of showing the ship taking off and landing quite often. That's something we never saw in the original Star Trek series (before the "remastered" versions of the shuttlecraft bay, anyway). The episode "The Galileo Seven" was about as close as we got. It's possible it's all the same takeoff and landing scene over and over in Space: 1999, but shot from different angles. Or maybe I just haven't seen enough episodes to notice any variety. It seems like a fun show so far, but nothing I'd take very seriously.

[Kchrpm]

Watched Infinity War again last night....one more theory I have


I noticed that Red Skull said he was cursed with the knowledge of the dead being the keeper of the soul stone......THEN when Thanos is talking to Tony Stark, Tony is surprised that Thanos knows about him, and Thanos said he's not the only one cursed with knowledge. I think that line has something to do with Pepper or maybe Pepper is/was pregnant and Thanos knows something about that


I don't see that, personally. I think Thanos was simply referring to Tony, who his armies/spies/etc would have told him about after the Battle of New York. He may also be referring to their shared vision of their planets being ruined because they weren't able to save them (Thanos in the past, Tony in the future).

[Crazed_Insanity]

Robocop
Starship Troopers


Oh yeah, I'd like to add these 2 violent scifi movies to my list. I think I blocked my memory because I was too traumatized by them! :D

[Dicknose]

Okay. As this thread has developed and as I've thought a little more about it, I agree with you. Running Man would be in this category as well. And Rollerball, which is a similar movie in some ways.

I was pleasantly surprised to learn just few years ago that Rod Serling wrote the screenplay and the ending. Of course!
Didnt know Sterling was involved - cool!

And I do love those movies you mentioned. Snake Plisken - I thought you were dead!

Definitely any of the Philip K Dick based movies would fall into sci-fi, even if they are made into more of an action blockbuster!

[Dicknose]

I've caught a couple episodes of Space: 1999 recently

Try and check out "UFO" - it was what the creators of Space 1999 did before that but after Thunderbirds. It was probably a bit too sci-fi to be successful.
I much prefer it over Space 1999.

[Phil_SS]

Saw Ready Player One on HBO today. What an awesome movie. Definitely recommend just for all the 80’s and 90’s references.

I saw it as well and I did enjoy it. My wife and daughter enjoyed it as well.

That being said, It is a shell of itself compared to the book. I know that is a cliche and I totally get it but I think the movie really ruined some of the key moments of the story.

Would be better if HBO picked it up and made it a 8 part series.

[dodint]

I love RPO and agree with you completely.

[Ashie]

I thought I had seen Body Snatchers, but a quick trip to IMDB says I must have been thinking of some other movie - a black & white film in which people run from a cemetery into an old house and start boarding up the doors and windows to keep the baddies out, if I remember correctly

Are you referring to "Night of the Living Dead?"

[speedpimp]

Has to be.

[sandydandy]

Halfway through season two of Game of Thrones. Things heating up.

But I spoiled myself big time when I......looked at Sean Bean's filmography and saw that he returns in season five. Fuck I wish I didn't see that. I'm thinking he'll be a zombie or something.

[Freude am Fahren]

Spoiler about your spoiler if you wish to have it spoiled.

Not sure where you saw that. I don't think he's credited at all past season 1. Ned's Dead.

[tigeraid]

A flashback possibly? Struggling to remember if there was one.

[dodint]

The last one would be my guess.

[sandydandy]

It says guest appearance. So yeah probably flashback or retcon.

[George]

Are you referring to "Night of the Living Dead?"

Yes, that's it. Thanks.

http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQepSwd73NK9hRkE508z_W31HmbDASXo 84PeyIa3-S_gUrKuINh

[dodint]

Fun and sad fact about NotLD. They originally shot it and had a title screen with a copyright notice on it. Then they redid the title screen in a different font and someone forgot to put the copyright notice back on. The film released into the public domain and Romero and Co. make very little off of their breakout hit. They did not make the same mistake with the subsequent films.

[Freude am Fahren]

That's odd. As far as I knew copyrights are implied as soon as you release a work, and unless you specifically relinquish them, they're yours regardless of how you print things up?

But now looking in to it, it seems that only took effect in America in 1989!

[speedpimp]

Don't lose your head over Sean Bean.

[G'day Mate]

To me, Sci-Fi must at least contain some prominent element of technology, so Jurassic Park qualifies but not Godzilla. Specific Rim would qualify.

I don't think A Clockwork Orange is Sci-Fi.

The Matrix and District 9 could both easily be added to the list.

[sandydandy]

Just finished the third season of GoT and all I have to say is......holy fuck what a slaughter!

[Drachen596]

My sci-fi list is a bit eclectic, but I dig it just the same. Some of these have been mentioned, but I'm surprised others have not. In no particular order:

Gattaca
Dredd (Karl Urban version)
Robocop
Starship Troopers
Explorers
Aliens
The Last Starfighter
(John Carpenter's) The Thing
Buckaroo Banzai



There had been rumors of more Dredd coming. Either a movie or a tv series.

Also if you like Urban he was in the Sci Fi series Almost Human. Another series that seemed to be doing well enough that Fox killed. They apparently expected CSI ratings for it.

[JoeW]

My sci-fi list is a bit eclectic, but I dig it just the same. Some of these have been mentioned, but I'm surprised others have not. In no particular order:

Gattaca
Dredd (Karl Urban version)
Robocop
Starship Troopers
Explorers
Aliens
The Last Starfighter
(John Carpenter's) The Thing
Buckaroo Banzai



Oh man I haven’t heard mention of the Last Starfighter in ages. That movie was one of my favorites for a few years. In fact, the last four on your list I have seen so many times it’s ridiculous. You’re probably my age I’d guess. I just turned 50 this year :)

[MR2 Fan]

there was talk of a Last Starfighter remake or sequel in the past year or so....which I'd ordinarily be against, but it was from Gary Whitta who co-wrote Rogue One and The Book of Eli, and is also a pretty cool guy. He used to be on Tested.com's podcasts weekly for a while.

[mk]

Once Upon a Time in the West

[SportWagon]

Loved Highway to Heaven. Landon and Victor French had really good chemistry.

The other day I think I saw your favourite episode. Ghost Rider (Season 3, Episode 24, April 1, 1987). Starring yet-again Didi Conn (most famous as Frenchie in the movie Grease). She purchased a red Aston Martin convertible (they identified it as DB4, but I think it might have been later), and they actually followed up on it with several clear shots. The car previously belonged to a spy named Bolt. Roger Bolt. And he had left documents in it which bad guys needed to retrieve. Michael helped Didi to win the car at auction by blowing up the bad guy's (huge) mobile phone.

Actually, at my age, I'm surprised how many younger people actually do remember that series if I happen to mention it.

I can't find any online images of the Aston Martin in question, however.

[G'day Mate]

Just finished the third season of GoT and all I have to say is......holy fuck what a slaughter!

:lol:

How long now until the final season?

[sandydandy]

:lol:

How long now until the final season? Season 6 almost done.

[Freude am Fahren]

April 14.

(Teaser Trailer for the last season in spoiler, because spoilers.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wA38GCX4Tb0&ab_channel=GameofThrones

[JoeW]

I loves me some GOT!

In addition I would like to express my delight over the superior quality of Star Trek Discovery. The first episode of the new season was great. I am definitely enamored by this series.

Watched the Passage pilot. TWas pretty good. I’ll continue until further notice.

Vikings continues to impress as well.

[tigeraid]

New True Detective is tremendous, so far.

[Blerpa]

Ant Man and Wasp: Meh. Worse than the first one.
Wonder Woman: Meh. Expected better. The fights are nice tho. She has almost convinced as Diana, and I was among the skeptical ones.
Split: Actually liked it. And James McAvoy was superb. Looking forward to Glass.
God Friended Me: not my usual cup of tea, I casually started watched this series and kept going, intrigued by the feel good vibe and positive, mellow message. Weird.

[speedpimp]

Mowing through the new season of The Punisher. So damned good and not really all that violent.
Plowed through Sex Education, Cuckoo and Derry Girls and meandered through F is for Family. They went way dark in a few places.

[JoshInKC]

I really liked the 3 episodes of Sex Education I saw before snowy branches took my home internet out.
Derry girls was a lot of fun and reminded me alot of a show called Raised by Wolves from a few years ago. I think it's on hulu now, highly recommended if you like Derry girls.

[JoeW]

I hope you guys watched The Inbetweeners?

[balki]

That British show from 10 years ago?
Yes, it was quite good (never got around to the movie, didn't even know that it had a sequel)

[MR2 Fan]

Black Panther is nominated for Best Picture...which I'm fine with....yes, people can dissect the reasoning all they want to.

My thoughts on this.....this is why the Oscars wanted their "fan" award category or whatever they called it. They were probably going to put Black Panther in that category, but when lots of people criticized the idea of that award category, they decided to just add it as Best Picture nominee and cancel that award category (for now). It also helped that the Golden Globes already nominated it as well.

[FaultyMario]

Privileged mexicans got their knickers in a twist now that Yalitza was nominated for Cuaróns Roma. She is not an actress, they say.

[dodint]

Melissa McCarthy was nominated as best lead actress for both an Academy Award and a Razzie.

[Freude am Fahren]

Different roles, I presume?

Sandra Bullock did that once too. 2010, won an Oscar for Blind Side the day after winning a Razzie for All About Steve. Never heard of the latter, but I remember it being newsworthy that she won both at once, and even accepted the Razzie in person, which is rare.

[dodint]

Lead Actress:
Yalitza Aparicio, “Roma”
Glenn Close, “The Wife”
Olivia Colman, “The Favourite”
Lady Gaga, “A Star Is Born”
Melissa McCarthy, “Can You Ever Forgive Me?”

Worst Actress:
Jennifer Garner, Peppermint
Amber Heard, London Fields
Melissa McCarthy, The Happytime Murders and Life Of The Party
Helen Mirren, Winchester
Amanda Seyfried, The Clapper

[tigeraid]

Happy to see Black Panther nominated (though The Winter Soldier should've easily been "first superhero movie nominated for Best Picture"), but I can't be the only one thinking it only happened because of the current political climate, as opposed to "because it's a great movie." :|

[Blerpa]

Black Panther is not even close to be Academy Award material. But then again, Shakespeare in Love was not too.

[sandydandy]

Finally finished Season 7 of GoT and...

- I knew Cersei would reneg. I didn’t believe her stupid pledge to help the North for a second. She’s a ruthless and conniving bitch, and I’m glad Jaime finally turned his back on her.

- Glad Littlefinger got what was coming to him. It was brilliantly executed.

- Night King is a badass motherfucker, and now he has a dragon.

- Gotta love Jon Snow. The dude is the total package. Strongest character on the show by far, and the one and only true heir to the Iron Throne. Nice to see him boning Danaerys, even though she’s technically his auntie. LOL. Given the incest already prevalent in the Capitol, this shouldn’t be a big deal if it continues.
Rewatched the first episode of Season 1, and damn the kids look tiny. Gonna rewatch the first couple of seasons to refamiliarize myself with some of the locations and characters that I missed the first time around.

Can’t wait till April!

[speedpimp]

I hope you guys watched The Inbetweeners?
Watched that years ago. Burned through Bad Education as well.

[Alan P]

Different roles, I presume?

Sandra Bullock did that once too. 2010, won an Oscar for Blind Side the day after winning a Razzie for All About Steve. Never heard of the latter, but I remember it being newsworthy that she won both at once, and even accepted the Razzie in person, which is rare.

I believe she accepted her Razzie by bringing her Oscar with her and bringing it on stage.

[JoeW]

Damn the latest season of Punisher was great. Just finished it today...wow.

[speedpimp]

I caught Serenity this morning in a nearly empty theater. Great movie for what it is.

[JoeW]

What it is is a great movie :)

[speedpimp]

Yes it is.

[MR2 Fan]

Ant Man and the Wasp is on Netflix....it's good, not great.

[JoeW]

Yup. Just watched it last night. Entertaining and lighthearted fun.

[sandydandy]

First Ant Man was much better.

[speedpimp]

Burned through both seasons of Future Man in four days.

[sandydandy]

Just watched Alt-Right: Age of Rage. An informative and thought provoking documentary, showing how polarizing and thoroughly fucked up America has become.

But the saddest part for me was watching Richard Spencer himself. It’s sad to see a clearly intelligent and bright individual dedicate his life to such a vile and despicable cause. Formally educated and very articulate, just imagine where he would be in life if he put his talents towards something useful and constructive. Instead he chose the life of a glorified cockroach. Such a waste. :|

[Dicknose]

The Good Place
nice to have a comedy thats a bit different, a bit forked up.
Just started season 3, which is suppose to be in Australia and the accents are killing me. Please - never get a non-aussie to do our accent. Doesnt matter if they are british or south african, they will fail badly.
And my only other complaint is that they literally say literally several times an episode. If it was just a quirk of one character I could understand, but its most of them. And while it is used correctly, which is literally a miracle, it just jumps out and I literally squirm everytime they use it.

Janet is a highlight! A great part played really well.
Ted Danson rocks

[speedpimp]

I watched Abducted In Plain Sight last night. Very fucking grim subject matter and what are possibly the stupidest parents ever.

[JoeW]

OMG I watched that too. The whole time my wife and I are thinking this family is so fucked up to let this shit happen. There were so many red flags they ignored that my mind was blown.

[Leon]

The Good Place
nice to have a comedy thats a bit different, a bit forked up.
Just started season 3, which is suppose to be in Australia and the accents are killing me. Please - never get a non-aussie to do our accent. Doesnt matter if they are british or south african, they will fail badly.
And my only other complaint is that they literally say literally several times an episode. If it was just a quirk of one character I could understand, but its most of them. And while it is used correctly, which is literally a miracle, it just jumps out and I literally squirm everytime they use it.

Janet is a highlight! A great part played really well.
Ted Danson rocks

All of this. All of it.

[Freude am Fahren]

The Good Place
nice to have a comedy thats a bit different, a bit forked up.
Just started season 3, which is suppose to be in Australia and the accents are killing me. Please - never get a non-aussie to do our accent. Doesnt matter if they are british or south african, they will fail badly.
Now you know how we feel during every Russell Crowe/Nicole Kidman/Sam Worthington/(various) Hemsworths movie :D


Janet is a highlight! A great part played really well.
Just wait for "Janet(s)" :)

If I wasn't so in love with Kristen Bell, Janet would be the absolute highlight of the show.

[JoeW]

My wife and I watched the first few episodes and it just didn’t hold our interest. Maybe we were hoping for more funny but it just didn’t hit us the right way.

[speedpimp]

OMG I watched that too. The whole time my wife and I are thinking this family is so fucked up to let this shit happen. There were so many red flags they ignored that my mind was blown.

The very first one should've been when the father and B were having that convo in the car.

[JoeW]

Exactly. I’d be walking home at that point and telling him to stay the fuck away from my family.

[Dicknose]

Now you know how we feel during every Russell Crowe/Nicole Kidman/Sam Worthington/(various) Hemsworths movie :D

Aussies are usually "ok" at pulling off a US accent, at least there is a large range of accents and you can fall in the "its somewhere in there"
Id hate to see them do a Boston accent!

I did think the guy in The Good Place in red boots managed a vaguely acceptable NZ accent. Not sure if thats what he was aiming for, but he came across as Kiwi to me (feel to free to chime in our "ditch brothers")

[JoshInKC]

Just finishing Russian Doll on netflix. It is very good.

[sandydandy]

Went to the movies and saw Cold Pursuit. Wasn’t really that great. Felt like a dark comedy at times rather than an action thriller. Plenty of groans and sighs were heard from the audience throughout.

[Yobbo NZ]

Aussies are usually "ok" at pulling off a US accent, at least there is a large range of accents and you can fall in the "its somewhere in there"
Id hate to see them do a Boston accent!

I did think the guy in The Good Place in red boots managed a vaguely acceptable NZ accent. Not sure if thats what he was aiming for, but he came across as Kiwi to me (feel to free to chime in our "ditch brothers")

Don't remember that part, can't have been that convincing.