What are you watching?

[sandydandy]

Started watching the miniseries Wild Wild Country about an Indian god-man guru who "invaded" a tiny village in Oregon. Two episodes in and it's pretty good. I read about that whole ordeal on Wikipedia and it's pretty crazy what went down.

[speedpimp]

Only Murders in the Building.

First season completed. Knocked it out of the park I reckon.

Loved it and it sets them up for season two.

[Leon]

"Invasion" new series with Sam Neil in it, I've watched the first two of the three episodes.

Deathly dull is about the only way I can describe it. There has been to this point, one sighting of an actual alien (the ones that are the invasion). Painfully slow pacing, and totally uninteresting characters, none of which I'd be sad to see being killed by alien invaders to this point in time. They are going to have to seriously improve the pacing, or this is going to be an absolute dog of a series.

"Foundation" as a stand alone Sci Fi I think I'd be happy enough with. But as something using the Asimov Foundation books as a basis, this is completely disrespectful of the source material, to the point of directly contradicting the source material. In the books, everything is about the overwhelming number of the population of the Empire, and a form of mathematics that allows the "reading" of the future, because of the inevitable force of that number of people. In the TV series, suddenly there is a unique individual who can change the entire future, and individual people's futures being key (while trying to not spoiler anything).
To me, it makes this series nothing but a cynical attempt to cash in on the Asimov name. I'm quite pissed off to be frank.

[JoeW]

1st Dune movie was great.

Watched Shang Chi…one of the best MCU movies ever.

[Leon]

Agreed on the Dune movie. Visually pleasing, and they didn't try to bite off the whole book in one bite, which tactically was wise.

[drew]

I'm really surprised that HBO didn't make a play for Dune and make it the spacey GoT.

Or maybe I was hoping (am hoping) that happens?

[JoeW]

Maybe in the future? There are a ton of Dune books.

I’m excited about Wheel of Time coming on Amazon in November. I read all those books.

[sandydandy]

saw the new "The Batman" trailer....people seemed to love it, but to me it's just another Batman movie trailer...seems to re-tread things done already. I didn’t even bother watching the trailer. I have no interest in Batman outside of Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy. Though Joker was pretty good.

[JoeW]

I read they have already started a Dune prequel series about the rise of the Bene Geserit. So there you have it…more awesome to come.

[Yw-slayer]

Watched He Man Revelation over the weekend. Started watching the Gundam movies at 1.5x which is a godsend.

[sandydandy]

Watched Hypnotic last night. Was actually looking forward to it for a couple of weeks. It wasn't that great.

[MR2 Fan]

I didn’t even bother watching the trailer. I have no interest in Batman outside of Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy. Though Joker was pretty good.

Agreed I want to know what they're doing different.

The same could have been said for Spiderman and I think that's why the Marvel Studios/Sony agreement (at least for now) really opened up more possibilities. Really intrigued to see what "No Way Home" brings us. I guess I should re-watch the old Sony Spiderman movies before it comes out

[JoeW]

I watched the first 2 Invasion episodes and I quite liked it. It's a nice buildup thus far.

[Tom Servo]

Has anyone watched Ghosts? I wasn't too interested, but my parents tell me they're digging it and I loved iZombie so I'm already a Rose McIver fan.

[speedpimp]

Finished watching Kin, which is a series about a war between Irish crime families. It wasn't too bad.

[JoshInKC]

I watched the English version of ghosts - It was fun. But that has almost less than nothing to do with an american remake.
I do like Rose McIver, though I find her to be slightly wrong looking without the iZombie hair for some reason.

[Leon]

I watched the first 2 Invasion episodes and I quite liked it. It's a nice buildup thus far.

Interestingly, I got to the same point, and am deciding if I rage quit here or not, because I find the buildup to be (beyond) frustratingly slow! Funny how we can watch the same show, and get the opposite reaction.

[Dicknose]

Im up to date with Invasion. Enjoying it - the buildup is very slow.

And also enjoying Foundation.
Go Apple+

[JoeW]

Up to date with Invasion and Foundation. Love them both.

So far loving every Apple+ show I am watching...

See
Invasion
Foundation
Ted Lasso
For All Mankind
The Morning Show
Acapulco
Jon Stewart
Mythic Quest

And the specials I have seen...Beastie Boys, Long Way Up (all the Long Ways are great) and a few others.

[MR2 Fan]

I'm surprised how many people are actually watching Apple+ shows. I don't own any Apple products, so I thought you had to own an Apple TV, etc. to use it, I didn't even realize you can get it on other platforms.

Still don't have much free time to watch more shows though

[Dicknose]

I don't own any Apple products, so I thought you had to own an Apple TV, etc.
Its more that these people are exposed to Apple
Plus you get free subscription with a new apple product - get a phone/mac etc get 1 year free.

[Dicknose]

Up to date with Invasion and Foundation. Love them both.

So far loving every Apple+ show I am watching...

See
Invasion
Foundation
Ted Lasso
For All Mankind
The Morning Show
Acapulco
Jon Stewart
Mythic Quest


Really like Mythic Quest - yes its a bit over the top with the characters but its a silly comedy so why not.
For All Mankind - really good, love the concept, well done alt history.
Tried "See" but got thru just first or maybe 2nd ep, didn't grab me.
Haven't tried the others, but maybe Morning Show will appeal to others in the household.

[sandydandy]

Finally watched Spectre and am now ready for No Time To Die. It was pretty good. Not Casino Royale level, but definitely way better than Quantum of Solace.

Also watched Flint, starring Betsy Brandt and Queen Latifah. It was quite good. It’s about the Flint water crisis, (which may or may not be over yet. I don’t know). That whole thing was a crime against the people of Flint. The real reason for watching this was to see my friend’s wife, who was in the movie in a very small role. It was filmed in and around Toronto. She appeared near the end so I actually ended up watching the entire thing. It was a good movie.

[Leon]

I binge watched Mythic Quest, and really enjoyed it.

Reminded me of "the other side" of the old web series The Guild (which is still one of my most adored series, and resulted in me playing D&D again).

[JoeW]

New Netflix animated series called Arcane is pretty good so far.

[neanderthal]

Ready for the Yellowstone season premier tonight. Pity i'll be on a conference call.

[MR2 Fan]

Just saw Eternals and...thought it was just okay. It already had a major uphill battle with all new characters, a large ensemble cast and completely new storyline separate from the MCU and....well those issues were definitely felt.

I didn't hate the movie, however I did find myself comparing the feeling of it to Justice League and other DC stuff, partially because of the ensemble, characters, abilities, locations, and overall look of the film. even Marvel poked fun at themselves within the movie for the Icarus character as one kid thought he was Superman with the eye lasers and flying around (but no cape), which was at least a nice touch. Batman was also name dropped at one point.

I know Kevin Feige wanted to hype this movie up and also with best director winner Chloe Zhao at the helm, the length, pacing and act structure felt all over the place and lacked coherence. Kevin Feige thought this might be an oscar contender but unfortunately "this ain't it chief"

I'd give it a 2.5 out of 5 for my "just out of the theater" reaction.

[mk]

The Raincoat Killer: Chasing a Predator in Korea

[Dicknose]

I binge watched Mythic Quest, and really enjoyed it.

Watching Ted Lasso s2 again, noticed a reference to Rob McElhenney - they mention he bought a football team.

And watched some MQ again with some friends who hadn't seen it - had forgotten the TTP bit.

[George]

The Six Million Dollar Man.

Yes, really. :lol:

It is on TV when I'm getting ready for work lately and I've had to chuckle at what seemed like a really cool show when I was a kid and how bad some of it seems today.

I'm not catching full episodes, but just ten minutes here and fifteen minutes there, perhaps.

On Friday, some kids and a teacher were stuck on a gondola high above a canyon and there was a tornado coming. But wait, this wasn't your usual tornado. It was sort of lingering in the area and jumping around. They'd see it "over there" and then "now it's over that way" and then "I think it's turning to come back again!" I thought tornados followed fairly linear paths, but perhaps I'm sorely undereducated in how these things work. I think meteorologists would have needed a Spirograph to plot the course of this one.

This morning, Steve had infiltrated a group of Roller Derby players who were - get this - not only wearing roller skates for fast entry and exit of the crime scene, but also wearing Halloween costumes to conceal their identities! Steve was dressed up as Robin Hood, complete with a Lone Ranger-style mask to hide just enough of his face so that we could see who he was. The foursome brought a plywood ramp to help them enter the building, but we never got to see what they had to jump over, such as a loading dock, perhaps. Instead we saw each one jump and then another camera switched to show the landings from behind, but never the obstacle being jumped. I suspect the ramp was on a flat floor with nothing in the way.

Then, they rolled through the hallways of some kind of office/warehouse building before throwing darts into a box on the wall to turn off a switch like something from Mission Impossible. Soon after, one skater rolled down to an office, opened the door, and as the guards immediately reached for their pistols, he shot some kind of "nerve agent" from a tiny squirt bottle into the large room. Fortunately, the boss told him to hold his breath while doing this so he wouldn't get gassed also. I didn't see Steve do anything awesome this morning, but the tension was building. :lol:

I tell ya, this is much better than having the local news or the weather channel on in the mornings. :up:

[dodint]

I think I enjoy reading your version of it more than I would actually watching it. :lol:

[Leon]

Watched the Tom Hanks "Finch", and enjoyed the movie a lot.

[Tom Servo]

I think I enjoy reading your version of it more than I would actually watching it. :lol:

Yep, I'd pay for a Patreon of George just describing the episodes.

[George]

High praise. Thanks to you both.

If I could figure out a way to get paid for writing, I think I would enjoy it.

[SportWagon]

The Six Million Dollar Man.

Yes, really. :lol:

It is on TV when I'm getting ready for work lately and I've had to chuckle at what seemed like a really cool show when I was a kid and how bad some of it seems today.Here I've been able to catch episodes of Season 1 of Bonanza. Quite gritty at times. And you learn why it's called "Bonanza". Strange thing is, it's a show centred on a family negatively affected the silver bonanza of that time, and in occasional conflict with its exploiters.

And also in wikipedia, you learn how you need to rotate that map right ninety degrees.

But it's on at noon and watching it too often negatively affects the momentum of my work day.

[George]

I was always more of a Gunsmoke fan than a Bonanza fan, but I realize Bonanza was a serious show with good stories. I've seen many over the years but never really got into it on a regular basis. It seems like most of the episodes I've seen were mostly about a different son each time, which makes sense with a cast like that. I once heard a comedian describe Bonanza as a show about a 49-year-old father with his three 47-year-old sons, or something like that.

My wife was always more into Bonanza than I was. Just the other day I came home and the TV was on and I could see Little Joe and an older guy with a beard on the screen. "Bonanza, huh?" I said.

"Nope. Little House On The Prairie." She watched it as a kid but I always thought it was a girls' show. I watched stuff like Grizzly Adams instead.

[George]

And speaking of Grizzly Adams, it looks like the whole movie (that later became a TV series) is on YouTube, if anyone has an hour and a half to kill.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOYnDtO4H1w

Hey, it's gotta be better than The Last Chase from 1981 that dodint made us watch. :D

[SportWagon]

My wife was always more into Bonanza than I was. Just the other day I came home and the TV was on and I could see Little Joe and an older guy with a beard on the screen. "Bonanza, huh?" I said.

"Nope. Little House On The Prairie." She watched it as a kid but I always thought it was a girls' show. I watched stuff like Grizzly Adams instead.Also sounds like "Highway to Heaven".

[George]

True. That's a series I've never watched but I know the guy you're talking about.

The Six Million Dollar Man is on right now. This one looks pretty good. Steve is wearing a NASA jumpsuit and they've got him locked in a cell. A guard came to take him out of the cell and to the C.O.'s office, where there was conversation that made me think he's lost his memory and is trying to remember who he is. The guard is played by John de Lancie, who played Q on Star Trek.

Yesterday's guest star was Suzanne Somers.

It's fun to visit 1978 again.

[JoeW]

Took my 12yr old daughter to see Eternals. Not sure why all the hate. I loved it. Great movie.

[MR2 Fan]

I need to watch Eternals a second time to really confirm my thoughts on it (past what I posted already on this thread :p )

[JoeW]

Well keep in mind I am easily entertained :)

I liked that they explained everything really well. I enjoyed the premise, the action and the twists. I didn’t find it campy or stupid like WW84. And I really wanted to like the second WW.

I watched the theatrical version of Justice League (2hrs) with my daughter recently (I didn’t want to subject her to 3hrs extended cut or the 4hr Snyder cut) and you know what? I didn’t care that it didn’t have 2 extra hours. I was entertained for a couple hours and my day could continue on :)

[speedpimp]

Just a heads up if you have Disney+, Jungle Cruise, Shang Chi and a bunch of other stuff launched today.

[FaultyMario]

entertainment stuff

Yeah, Captain Marvel > WW84.

And I really wanted to hate Captain Marvel.

[MR2 Fan]

Yeah, Captain Marvel > WW84.

And I really wanted to hate Captain Marvel.

That's a REALLY low bar

[FaultyMario]

Dude, it's 2 hours worth of no problems. That's a respectably high bar.

[JoeW]

I liked Captain Marvel :)

Am I broken?

[MR2 Fan]

I thought Captain Marvel was fine, but it's still pretty low on my MCU list (Note: IMO The MCU has not made any BAD movies, just some of average quality)

I think ScreenCrush's Rewrite idea made a lot of sense


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZn8Vgw4WOI

[speedpimp]

I liked both Captain Marvel movies.

[sandydandy]

I liked Captain Marvel too (Marvel version). Not top 5 but definitely not bottom 5.

[drew]

We started watching Goliath on Prime a couple weeks ago, it's entertaining (I like BBT though).

[dodint]

That's on my list but haven't gotten to it yet.

[speedpimp]

Goliath is amazing, as is Bosch.

[MR2 Fan]

My conspiracy theory for Spiderman: No Way Home

The other two previous Spidermen are also in the movie, BUT two of them die....including Tom Holland's Spiderman! The only one remaining is Tobey Maguire's

I'm basing this on NO inside info whatsoever

[JoshInKC]

Is he going to do jazz hands like in his 3rd movie?

[FaultyMario]

Bosch from the cop books?

Kinda took a dive towards the end of Season 1, IMHO.

[George]

I was about an hour and a half later than usual getting to work this morning, thanks to The Six Million Dollar Man. :angry:

Lately I've been catching bits and pieces of episodes from the end of the series' run in 1978 when the show seemed to be more of a police show than anything else. Scripts could have been re-used from Emergency or Adam 12 or CHiPs. You know the schtick - two bad guys in a van (1970s TV bad guys always drove vans! :lol:) are up to no good and Steve Austin has to bring them to justice, while at the same time protecting innocent civilians. Okay, the bad guys on $6MM were often threatening national security by building rockets or super-computers and other high-level stuff rather than the roller-skating purse snatchers and car thieves that Ponch and Jon dealt with, but still...

Anyway, this morning, I was making breakfast with the kids in the kitchen but able to see the muted TV in the other room just as the first of two daily episodes started at 7:00 AM. Normally we don't turn on the TV before school, but I just wanted to see if it was a good one today from the opening act. I could tell it was something different right away. It started with a rocket going to the moon (with lots of re-used footage of the takeoff and mission control that we've all seen in other shows and movies) and an astronaut - Col. Austin, presumably - climbing down from the landing module to the surface of the moon.

The next time I looked up, Steve was on a runway at a military base surrounded with some pretty cool jets that looked real to me. He was wearing a red jumpsuit unzipped enough to show his hairy chest - a classic 1970s look - and had a toothpick cockily displayed in a corner of his mouth as he talked to some guys there about whatever was going on. Again, the TV was muted, but I could tell this was something different from the others. It looked like something I wanted to watch.

After the kids left for school, I pressed the Info button on the remote and saw I was watching Season One, Episode One! It was called "The Moon And The Desert". I missed the big crash but saw what was left of him in the hospital as some government dude with a cane was telling his doctor that he had carte blanche to rebuild Steve with all the prosthetic devices that the doctor was known for.

"But that could take millions of dollars," the doctor pointed out. I wondered how many millions. We may never know.

About this time, I turned up the volume and had a seat. This, for the first time since I've been sort of watching this show, seemed like real science fiction. When I saw To Be Continued at the end of the first episode, I knew I wasn't going to the office anytime soon.

When a summary of the first episode was shown as the introduction for the second, I could tell that the runway scene with the toothpick was the beginning of the famous "She's breaking up!" test flight that turned him into the first Terminator. I didn't think of that until I heard someone say "cybernetic organism" in the second episode and realized, for the first time, that James Cameron must have been been a fan of this show. Yes, I should have noticed that in 1984, a mere six years after the series ended, but I can be a little slow with these things.

As it turned out, I did leave for the office before the end of the second episode, but not before seeing a pretty cool plot for an "individual operator" or whatever the G-man called him when he explained to the doctor that the government needed a super-soldier to boldly go where larger groups couldn't and so forth.

"Oh, so you want an assassin?" the doctor demanded in the first episode.

"Er, um, well...maybe."

"Dammit Jim, I'm a doctor, not Roger Korby!"

Those may not be the actual lines, but that captures the gist of it.

So, after Steve had healed up from all the surgeries, demonstrated some of his new powers, and was deemed ready for action, there was a mission briefing complete with a dazzling array of 1973 fashion in a conference room. It was explained that a foreign power in the middle east was holding a hostage in the desert and they couldn't send in the A-Team or Bay Of Pigs alumni or the Oakland Raiders. No, this had to be on the down-low all the way.

As it turned out...



...the bad guys had a hideout in the desert reminiscent of The Flight Of The Phoenix set. They had a couple trucks, tents, stacks of sandbags, and an airplane. Steve Austin parachuted out of a plane and landed a very long way away and then ran over the sand dunes at high speed to get there. This was a pretty good story, I thought - it was perfect for his skills and no one would expect anyone to arrive there on foot.

He was wearing khaki trousers and a khaki shirt, which was convenient, since the bad guys were too. He silently took out one of the guards and donned his headgear which was what this ignorant American would call a turban with a face wrap. There's probably a proper name for that but I don't know it. Anyway, thus disguised, he was free to start roaming the camp and looking for the hostage.

By this time, there was only about ten minutes left and I figured it was safe to leave for work without missing anything too important. I assume Steve found his man and commandeered the airplane for their escape. I'm sure an astronaut can fly just about anything.


To summarize, these two episode were much better than the others I've seen recently. I am looking forward to as much of Episode Three as I can manage to see during the morning rush tomorrow over my wife's objections to the TV being on before school. Yeah, I agree with her about that usually, but she can't expect me to miss this kind of nail-biting action and adventure, can she? :p

[Tom Servo]

I am thoroughly disappointed it wasn't shot at Vasquez Rocks.

[dodint]

I haven't thought of Flight of the Phoenix in 10 years and now twice in 24 hours.

I happened to have watched this yesterday:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1e6uMDpYhI

[JoeW]

Cowboy Bepop on Netflix. The live action one….just don’t.

[dodint]

The Odyssey miniseries was on Comet today so I put it on in the background at work. I liked it a lot when it first came out and it still holds up pretty well for a TV miniseries from 1997.

[SportWagon]

I was always more of a Gunsmoke fan than a Bonanza fan, but I realize Bonanza was a serious show with good stories. I've seen many over the years but never really got into it on a regular basis. It seems like most of the episodes I've seen were mostly about a different son each time, which makes sense with a cast like that. I once heard a comedian describe Bonanza as a show about a 49-year-old father with his three 47-year-old sons, or something like that.
My wife was always more into Bonanza than I was. ...

Total series kills: Joe: 67, Hoss: 36, Ben: 35, Adam 28.
http://www.voy.com/75280/47704.html

[JoshInKC]

RE: Bonanza
This is a mural I've drunk coffee across from every summer for the past 3 years on the side of an art gallery in downtown Alpine, TX. Apparently Dan Blocker who played Hoss went to Sul Ross Teachers College (now Sul Ross State University) there in town.
3844

[JoeW]

I watched both of those and throw in a Big Valley, Rawhide, Rifleman, Virginian, Wild Wild West and a non Western that popped into my head…Sea Hunt.

[George]

I used to watch Big Valley reruns as a kid in the 1970s but haven't seen it since then. And Chuck Connors from Rawhide is pretty similar to the guy I imagine while listening to Jack Reacher audiobooks. I never got into The Wild Wild West. It was often on TV in years gone by but somehow the whole western/sci-fi/steampunk mixture didn't hold my interest.

I stumbled upon Thunderbolt and Lightfoot on Pluto TV night. Anyone who likes old TV and movies would like Pluto TV, and it's free. You have to download the app to your TV, but apparently not all TVs can get it. Our Samsung came with it installed but I can't figure out how to get it on the Sony.

Anyway, Eastwood was preaching and Bridges was car shopping and I asked my wife to at least check out the first five minutes of the movie to see how it gets started. She was sitting next to me and said, "I am not watching this." And I didn't plan to watch the whole thing either - I was just flipping channels for a few minutes.

She pretended to look at her phone for a while but when the movie was over, she admitted it was at least okay, which of course was a major victory for me, since it is not a "chick flick" at all. I've mentioned it before here but haven't actually seen it in many years so it was fun to see again.

And perhaps it was because I just had the first half of Django Unchained on TV Sunday afternoon while doing stuff around the house, but it occurred to me Tarantino probably watched T&L a time or two. There's some stuff in that movie that would fit right into one of his.

[JoeW]

Tried watching “The Fastest” on Netflix. If you know anything about cars or how to drive a car…just stay away. It’s embarrassing.

[speedpimp]

I just started watching Hit-Monkey. Animated tale about a snow monkey assassin. It's awesome. On Hulu.

Hoss' son plays Hitchcock on Brooklyn Nine-Nine.

I love Thunderbolt and Lightfoot. I always got a kick out of Rabbit Man.

[speedpimp]

You can get the Pluto TV app in the xBox store.

[MR2 Fan]

Watched the first 2 episodes of Hawkeye....I enjoyed it.... it's a bit silly, definitely low stakes so far, but that is kind of refreshing compared to some other recent MCU stuff. I'm ready for more plot development.

I give it a 3.5 out of 5 so far

[JoshInKC]

Yeah, Hawkguy is fun so far. Hailee Steinfeld is very fun as Kate, and I think Tony Dalton will be a good Swordsman.
Also, Lucky the Pizza Dog and tracksuit draculas.

[speedpimp]

How is Renner? He has has always been hit and miss for me. The only thing that I've loved him in was American Hustle.

[Tom Servo]

Finally started watching Ted Lasso as I was trying to think of something that none of us had seen over Thanksgiving and that I'd heard was good.

I love this show, and I'm mad that nobody told me that Giles from Buffy is in it.

My dad, who famously hates all TV and movies not made before 1965 loved it too.

[JoshInKC]

How is Renner? He has has always been hit and miss for me. The only thing that I've loved him in was American Hustle.

He's alright, working decently in his lane - kind of put upon and wry. Steinfeld is the real draw in my mind.

[JoeW]

Last season of Hanna was great. Wrapped it up quite nicely.

[FaultyMario]

I was not aware that Natalie Wood needed to be remade.

[George]

Speaking of remakes, I was at the library Sunday afternoon with my daughter and saw the movie Papillon in the DVD & Blu-Ray section. It was turned to face out so the cover showed as they do in libraries and bookstores to highlight certain titles, break up the wall of spines on every shelf, and/or to help fill empty shelf space.

I did a double-take because there were two young guys on the cover who looked a little like McQueen & Hoffman but something was off. Yup. New movie.

That said, I might just pick it up the next time I'm there. I read the book in the late '80s and I remember it being very good in an unpleasant and even gruesome kind of way, sort of like a Tarantino movie.

[Dicknose]

I love this show, and I'm mad that nobody told me that Giles from Buffy is in it.

Playing a character called... Rupert!!

He does play a great smarmy bastard.

[Tom Servo]

I know! I have to guess that somebody on the staff is a Buffy fan, and super happy to see him in something again.

[George]

The Six Million Dollar Man is killin' it this morning.

Minor commentary behind spoiler tags out of respect for those who don't want to read this crap.

In our first episode, William Shatner pretty much played the Gary Mitchell character in the second Star Trek pilot called "Where No Man Has Gone Before." It was a tour de force of Shatner's acting style, for better and for worse. Points of interest included Shatner's hairpiece, track suit, ability to communicate with dolphins, and Steve Austin going to a senior government official (not Oscar) to ask if Shatner's character, Steve's fellow astronaut and old friend, could be sent into space along with a dolphin.

I didn't watch every minute of the episode, but apparently the dolphins had some connection to space. Perhaps they had to reply to a probe from their home planet or something. The icing on the cake was modern-day William Shatner appearing during commercial breaks to advertise some kind of Medicare insurance scheme aimed at the elderly. "Get all the benefits you deserve. Call now. It's free!"

In the second episode, which I saw even less of, guest star George Takei and Steve parachuted into mountainous country where Steve's father had piloted a plane during WWII close to the Chinese border before crashing. A recent avalanche had allowed a "weather" (yeah, right) satellite to find the crash site, and Steve was sent in to recover important papers thought to be aboard and I assume to discover things about his father, whom he never knew.

Upon landing, the two were met with a squad of riders that the wardrobe department had dressed as Genghis P. Khan himself with his original posse. I wasn't able to see much of this one, but when I returned near the end, Steve was on foot fighting the horsemen who had swords but not the bows for which the Mongols are famous. More than one bionic flying leap was employed to dispatch he cavalry, who naturally all became unconscious immediately upon falling or being knocked off their horses. I wasn't sure if time travel was involved here, or if Chinese border guards in the 1970s preferred traditional accoutrements.

I wonder which Star Trek alumni might appear next. Within the last couple of weeks, I've seen Robert Walker Jr. ("Charlie X") and, speaking of Fu Manchu moustaches, John Colicos (https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/John_Colicos), who I just learned reprised his role as the first Klingon to appear in the original series in three episodes of Deep Space Nine.

[dodint]

https://c.tenor.com/2qno9yKA8EUAAAAd/hitchhikers-guide-to-the-galaxy-dont-panic.gif

[sandydandy]

Watched Season 4 of The Sinner, with Bill Pullman. Final episode was last night. This was actually the final season. I highly recommend the show if you're into exciting detective drama. The first two seasons were stellar. Third was a bit off, and the last was a little disappointing. Overall still worth watching.

[dodint]

Speaking of final seasons; F is for Family is now finished after five seasons. It was a fall staple for us and we really enjoyed it.

[JoshInKC]

Here you go, George:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSycMV-_Csw&feature=emb_title

[George]

Oh, man. Now that is Jack Reacher straight out of the first novel. He has mellowed with age now but that looks right for when he was in his thirties and fresh out of the Army. The other characters look right also - even the white-haired gent sitting in a chair on the sidewalk. :up:

Thanks for posting that, Josh. I had not seen it before now.

[MR2 Fan]

I finally watched "No Time to Die"....really loved it...4.5 out of 5 for me. There were only a couple of moments that seemed a bit slightly "off" but otherwise brilliant.

Regarding the plot, I do think the creators were getting some ideas from the MCU:

specifically Captain America Winter Soldier, major plot points and also the sequence mirrored almost exactly with the aston martin being hit by guns constantly until they react, very very similar to Nick Fury in the SUV

[Leon]

"Invasion".

Just don't watch it. They're on episode 9 of 10, and it is still garbage.

[JoeW]

Agree

[Tom Servo]

Not about a specific show, but I'm about to go on a trip for a few days and suddenly realizing that now that I've cut the cord, I can actually still watch everything I was going to watch as long as I can find an HDMI port on the TV at the hotel. Or on my phone.

I can watch my Chargers lose from just about anywhere in the world, and that is very exciting.

[dodint]

Yeah, I have a Fire Stick that I only use for travel. It's pretty nice.

[neanderthal]

Mid way through Red Notice (Netflix) and it's quite entertaining.

[neanderthal]

Mid way through Red Notice (Netflix) and it's quite entertaining.

I approve.

[Tom Servo]

Argh, I can't seem to get to an HDMI port on this TV. My wife is at her office while I'm hanging out in the hotel working, I guess that does give me some more time to poke at it.

The TV itself has Amazon Prime and Netflix on it, but of course it's Hulu and Youtube TV that I use the most.

[dodint]

I have a 6" flexible HDMI extension that I carry with me when I travel. Helps with those hotel TVs that are bracketed to stuff.

The worst is when you get a TV that blocks out input switching.

[sandydandy]

The TV itself has Amazon Prime and Netflix on it, but of course it's Hulu and Youtube TV that I use the most. Is the TV Bluetooth compatible? If so you might be able to screen mirror those apps off your phone.

Anyway, I watched Apartment 413 on Prime and thought it was quite decent.

[sandydandy]

Is the TV Bluetooth compatible? If so you might be able to screen mirror those apps off your phone. Actually I don't think it has anything to do with Bluetooth at all. You just need to be sharing the same Wi-Fi as the TV, and of course the TV needs to support the screen mirror function.

[Tom Servo]

I did actually track down an HDMI port and plugged a Chromecast into it. TV popped up a modal asking me if I wanted to enable HDMI 2 with a "Yes" and "No" button, but it looks like the hotel remote only works with the hotel's receiver and won't actually let you control the LG dialogs. So it knows its there and detects it, but I can't enable the HDMI port.

It's one of those TVs with a little joystick like dealy down at the bottom behind the screen, they appear to have also disabled that, which I'm surprised you can do. Oh well.

[sandydandy]

Watched a couple of ok films the other night.

The Postcard Killings, which was decent. Some unexpected twists. Overall not bad.

Also Demonic, which was largely stupid and a waste of time.

[George]

I figured out how to get Pluto TV on our Sony TV. It was in the Google Play section. I just had to find it and click Install.

The Wolf Of Wall Street movie was featured as popular in the On Demand section, so I clicked on it. I don't remember hearing about that movie when it came out but I like Leonardo DiCaprio well enough, so I gave it a try (when the kids weren't around - it's definitely NSFW).

I'm halfway through it, so I probably shouldn't say anything yet, but I can't help commenting on the plot of the movie so far.



Hasn't this movie been made a few times before?

It's like Wall Street (they even mentioned Gordon Gekko) meets Boiler Room and a host of other high-pressure sales/con-man movies like Tin Men and that one where the top salesman gets a Cadillac, second place gets a set of steak knives, and number three gets fired. And, the main character's marriage seems straight out of Casino, so far.

It's entertaining enough, I guess, but it just seems like it's been done so many times before. I'll finish it this weekend, hopefully. There's still about an hour and a half left, most likely because Pluto's On Demand movies apparently have even more and longer commercial breaks than the AMC channel on cable, which I didn't think was possible. But, it's free, so I can live with that.

[dodint]

It also has a 3 hour run time without commercials. :lol:

Pluto is awesome, though.

[George]

Oh, that explains why it seems like I watched it all morning long yesterday while working from home but only got through an hour and a half of actual movie. They must not list the REAL running time. Plus, I paused it several times when I had to answer emails, etc.

[dodint]

Every time I've started to watch it I ended up bailing out because it's so long. It's just under an hour longer than the original Wall Street. I watched Wall Street and it's recent sequel earlier this year but didn't follow through with WoWS.

[Rare White Ape]

Wolf of Wall Street is great. But you probably bail out of it because it has a typical Scorcese device where, when the going's good the music is rolling, then when the main character's world comes crashing down the music stops, so the last hour of the film is quite brutal for the character and hard to watch.

[Rare White Ape]

Now I've been watching Hawkeye and the last two episodes have been fantastic, especially the one that deals with deafness. I think it's the best MCU series to have come out. Also this bit gave me a good chuckle:

https://i.imgur.com/alYhGz6.jpg?1

[George]

I'd like to watch some Hawkeye, He seems like the most "normal" of the bunch.

And I finished The Wolf Of Wall Street today. RWA's comments are accurate. A lot of it - not just the end - was hard to watch. But, overall, I'd call it good art and certainly a feather in the cap of everyone involved.

[MR2 Fan]

I started watching Daredevil (Netflix Series), got up to season 2 so far....really enjoying it. I suppose it's inevitable that it feels a bit like Batman, as they have similar situations. It's also a bit over the top how much he can "see" without his eyes, but...comic book stuff, it's fine.

I know there may be important things that could be coming up VERY SOON regarding the characters in this show which is why I decided to start watching it.

[JoeW]

Yes I am looking forward to those developments.

[sandydandy]

Watched Unforgivable, w/Sandra Bullock. Pretty good movie.

[sandydandy]

Watched Spider-Man: No Way Home. My first time in a movie theater in two years. Holy shit it was awesome. Definitely top 2 MCU.

So glad that the appearances of the previous Spider-Men were not just cameos, but real and impactful roles. It really felt like Tom Holland’s Spider-Man was validated, as they were passing the torch to him.

Willem Dafoe was absolutely outstanding in his reprisal of the Green Goblin, and he stole the show as the main villain. Doc Ock and Electro were excellent as well. Lizard and Sandman felt like unnecessary filler, but it’s okay.

Aunt May’s death felt so real and piercing.

The ramifications to the multiverse from all this magical stuff sets up the next Doctor Strange film very nicely, as the teaser after the credits shows. That is going to be amazing.

[JoeW]

New Witcher season is amazing.

[George]

We watched It's A Wonderful Life starring Jimmy Stewart from 1946 last night with the kids. They made some remarks like "this is cringey" at times but they seemed to like it well enough overall. I think this was the longest show they've watched in black & white. The boy said that after a while, he forgot that it wasn't in color. :)

[dodint]

Let me guess...the part where she's standing outside naked and ole Jimmy won't give her the clothes back? :lol:

[JSGeneral]

Perhaps they were referring to the cheesy factor of the flick. Don't get me wrong, I love It's A Wonderful Life!!!!!... I like many of Frank Capra's movies (such as Mr. Smith Goes To Washington), however there is a general feel-goody-ness about those movies of his. Even when things are dire, they always turn out super positive. Hell, in IAWL, Mr. Potter actually gets away with stealing 5,000 dollars without any negative consequences to him whatsoever!

Anyhow, there's a term for Frank Capra movies like this: "Capra-corn"

[JoeW]

New Spider Man definitely worth my trip to the theater with my daughter. Great movie.

[MR2 Fan]

Saw the finale of Hawkeye....enjoyed it again. Still a flawed show in some ways, but overall it's just fun and did have a few heartfelt moments.

I've heard complaints about certain things with....THAT guy

Fisk

but I didn't have a problem with it....other than the outfit

[Kchrpm]

Saw The Matrix: Resurrections. Am disappointed. It's fine as an action movie, but missed out on all of the creativity and artistic license that's expected to be taken in the series.

[Crazed_Insanity]

Aw man! That sucks.

[Tom Servo]

I'm seeing very, very mixed reviews of it. Trailer looked cool, but definitely not at the "I have to watch it today" level anymore.

[dodint]

First act sucked but the back end made up for it.

[Rare White Ape]

Saw the finale of Hawkeye....enjoyed it again. Still a flawed show in some ways, but overall it's just fun and did have a few heartfelt moments.

I've heard complaints about certain things with....THAT guy

Fisk

but I didn't have a problem with it....other than the outfit

I enjoyed it too. I am gradually loving the MCU more and more in the last few years. And being someone with no background in the old comics, I have no complaints at all.

Plus the actor who played THAT guy is a bit of a legend in my books. Yet another good actor brought in to represent another member in the huge tapestry of Marvel characters at their disposal.

[MR2 Fan]

Matrix: Resurrections: I was entertained...kinda...I guess?

[MR2 Fan]

"No Time To Die"....I watched it a second time...got a lot more out of a second viewing than the first...especially knowing what happens later, you really get clues. It MAY be my #1 movie of 2021 so far (again, I haven't seen Spiderman yet....too dang busy)

The emotion of the first part of the movie leading up to the brilliant title song is hard hitting and the acting of both Daniel Craig and Lea Seydoux are incredible. You really feel a connection that was lacking in Spectre.

The only part I didn't love was something to do with the first bar scene with Felix, something just didn't flow right with the dialogue or the volume...it just felt way wrong, but that's my only real complaint with the directing.

[Leon]

Don't Look Up.

Pretty decent satire, not the most cutting edge stuff I've seen, but toned down enough so that it is marketable.

[dodint]

The BBC version of Ghosts is fun.

[Tom Servo]

I haven't seen the BBC version, but I'm liking the US one. I'm a big Rose McIver fan, though, so I guess that's not surprising.

[JoshInKC]

"Moon-ah"

[Leon]

I haven't seen the BBC version, but I'm liking the US one. I'm a big Rose McIver fan, though, so I guess that's not surprising.

I'm torn. The British one is British, but the USA one has Rose McIver in it (Kiwi actress).

I will watch first couple of episodes of each.

[Leon]

Ah okay, one episode in, the UK version makes the US version look awfully awfully dumb.

[dodint]

That's how I heard about Ghosts. People complaining that the US version is a shot-for-shot remake of the UK version, but without the charm. I know the UK v. US show debate usually comes across with the same vibe as 'the book was better.' But, in this case, it seems to be true.

[Leon]

Yup, seems that the USA version in this case went for the easy laugh / lazy cliche remake approach. Aka: it wasn't broken, so let's fix it.

USA episodes now deleted unwatched.

In fact, in response to the wasn't broken let's fix it approach by Hollywood.... invisible hat tilt to the old TV show "Episodes", which I still rate as one of the best things to hit the small screen, and had the most satisfying plot arc I've ever encountered.

[dodint]

I've always heard that was good but I just can't take Matt LeBlanc seriously in any context. :lol:

[Leon]

I've always heard that was good but I just can't take Matt LeBlanc seriously in any context. :lol:

The great thing is, you're not supposed to take him seriously in Episodes :-). He plays a chaotic caricature of Matt LeBlanc, and it is wonderful.

[speedpimp]

I started Kevin Can F*** Himself. It's a weird mashup of a traditional sitcom and a drama. Speaking of Matt LeBlanc, the titular character looks like LeBlanc if he had let himself go.

[Rare White Ape]

I watched Don’t Look Up because it created a lot of chatter. Turns out it’s a really good film. Absolutely nails its message, even if it did leave subtlety at the front door.

It takes pot shots at everyone, including us. But it saves its biggest insults for those with power. Meryl Streep’s uncaring, vapid, narcissistic analogue of Donald Trump is perfect, right down to the idiot son she installs as a senior part of her staff.

I also love Cate Blanchett in basically everything she does. But for me the real star of the film was Timothée Chalamet. He stole the show.

[JoshInKC]

Wife and I started & caught up with Yellowjackets on showtime - It's really good so far.
Setup is that in 1996 a highschool girls soccer team is in a plane crash on the way to nationals somewhere in the canadian wilderness. Lord of the flies/cannibalism ensues. In the current day story line, a handful of the survivors are being blackmailed about the past. It has some really good performances, by both teens and the adults including Christina Ricci, Juliette Lewis, Melanie Lynskey, also the girl who played the daughter on Santa Clarita Diet.
Anyway, good show if you can handle some horror, 8 episodes of 10 are out now.

[George]

I have some sad news: the Cozi TV channel has taken the two daily episodes of The Six Million Dollar Man out of the 7:00 - 9:00 AM time slot on weekdays. :eek:

However, I discovered a different, but similar, channel recently - H&I, which stands for Heroes and Icons, I guess. I flipped it on late yesterday afternoon while cleaning up in the basement and saw a show I used to make fun of when it was new: Walker, Texas Ranger. :rawk:

When I tuned in, Walker and his partner were in a helicopter chasing four escaped convicts across a grassy field surrounded by woods. The four convicts were running in a straight line and all at the same speed.

Walker and his partner climbed out onto the skids of the chopper as it slowed to match the pace of the runners and lowered toward them. The same camera shot of Walker's face looking down as he planned his jump must have been shown four, if not five times. It was possibly the slowest helicopter chase in TV history.

At no time did the four escapees, all wearing matching white jumpsuits with PRISONER or something like that stenciled on them, break for the woods in four different directions. Nope, they just kept jogging along in a straight line, shoulder to shoulder, in the middle of the field.

Sure enough, Walker and partner jumped off the skids at just the right time. Each landed on the backs of two escapees, knocking them all down at the same time. That was about all I could stand before switching to something more entertaining such as Sassy Sewing or Gardening With Gertrude, but it occurred to me I may have found a suitable replacement for Lee Majors' slow-motion adventures.

And that, my friends, brings up the obvious question: who would win in a fight between USAF Colonel Steve Austin and Texas Ranger Sergeant Cordell Walker? :D

[dodint]

Hey, don't sleep on Gardening With Gertrude. She's a firecracker.

[George]

:up:

[speedpimp]

Wife and I started & caught up with Yellowjackets on showtime - It's really good so far.
Setup is that in 1996 a highschool girls soccer team is in a plane crash on the way to nationals somewhere in the canadian wilderness. Lord of the flies/cannibalism ensues. In the current day story line, a handful of the survivors are being blackmailed about the past. It has some really good performances, by both teens and the adults including Christina Ricci, Juliette Lewis, Melanie Lynskey, also the girl who played the daughter on Santa Clarita Diet.
Anyway, good show if you can handle some horror, 8 episodes of 10 are out now.
Loving the show. And the cast! I added Showtime and Paramount+ on Prime because they were running a .99/mo for two months special.

[Tom Servo]

We watched "Dancin': It's On!", a "From Justin to Kelly"-type vehicle for some of the people who have appeared on "So You Think You Can Dance?" Notably, it was written, directed, and features the guy who directed "Space Mutiny", one of my favorite MST3K episodes.

It was as bad as you might expect. Highly recommended.

[mk]

Guess Who's Coming To Dinner

[George]

^ Yeah. It might be a good weekend to watch In The Heat Of The Night again also.

[Kchrpm]

Katy Perry: Play

In person

With Kid and Shannon

[JoeW]

Peacemaker.

Instant classic…

[sandydandy]

I binge watched Devil Next Door. Fascinating story about a Nazi war criminal hiding in plain sight in Cleveland and deported to stand trial in Israel, suspected of being the notorious extermination guard known as “Ivan the Terrible”. It was really sad when they would show actual Holocaust footage in between. You can never get used to that, it’s really disturbing.

Been watching some Holocaust documentaries recently, it’s not popcorn viewing. Took an interest recently as I read the book Man’s Search For Meaning by Viktor Frankl. It’s powerful stuff that shakes you to the core.

[JoshInKC]

Last(?) episode of The Expanse dropped yesterday. Pretty good final(?) episode/season.
Drummer- who rules and is my favorite character by a huge margin, gets a win.
The reason I'm putting question marks all over is that there is a 20-some year gap in the novels' timeline which could take place at about this point in the story. The creators have made some comments about this being a "pause" rather than the end, so we'll see what happens - it seems like there would be an extremely high level of difficulty if they were were to try and reassemble the same cast 10 years down the line, and that's assuming that anyone gives a sh!t about the property. I'd say its more likely that in a year or two they try to get a fully recast sequel series off the ground.

[JoeW]

I heard they were in discussion for sequels.

I personally like Amos and Bobby :)

[Phil_SS]

Last(?) episode of The Expanse dropped yesterday. Pretty good final(?) episode/season.

The reason I'm putting question marks all over is that there is a 20-some year gap in the novels' timeline which could take place at about this point in the story. The creators have made some comments about this being a "pause" rather than the end, so we'll see what happens - it seems like there would be an extremely high level of difficulty if they were were to try and reassemble the same cast 10 years down the line, and that's assuming that anyone gives a sh!t about the property. I'd say its more likely that in a year or two they try to get a fully recast sequel series off the ground.


So, just like they have handled The Crown. The first two seasons was the same cast but the last two seasons have been a totally different cast. Just need the right cast, because the Crown pulled it off beautifully.

[Tom Servo]

Not really what I was intending to watch, but I pulled up a local channel on Youtube TV with mute on. It was on a commercial, I assume for some pharmaceutical.

All I saw was a small-print footnote saying "The perineum is the area between the anus and the genitals."

https://cdn.theatlantic.com/thumbor/Er7vK5JSdS1voeQg05sL1C09Kmw=/80x16:1280x916/1200x900/media/img/mt/2014/09/The_More_You_Know/original.png

[speedpimp]

Prisoners of the Ghostland. As insane as the trailer makes it out to be. It is way better than it has any right to be. Quite possibly Nic Cage's best role in a very long time.

[JoshInKC]

I liked him in Pig earlier this year, but nothing will ever beat live-action-Wile E. Coyote in Raising Arizona.

[dodint]

Pig was very good.

[Alan P]

Peacemaker. very chaotic but in a good way. Some very funny moments and Cena is really good in it. First three episodes are available now.

[sandydandy]

I watched Brazen on Netflix, only because Alyssa Milano was in it. She's old now but still passably hot. The movie itself however was hot garbage. Avoid it.

[Leon]

Ah dang, I was going to watch Brazen too.

I'm watching my way through about a 5 year old sitcom called Young & Hungry, basically solely because Emily Osment is very attractive. It's a passably decent sit com too, slightly smuttier than the average , which is a bit strange, as sitcoms are generally very very very very very "safe" so that they can be sold to more people.

[speedpimp]

Finished up the first season of Yellowjackets. Can't wait for the second season.
Watching Ray Donovan The Movie. Hopefully they tidy things up for the series finale.

[dodint]

The Cleaner on BritBox is pretty fun.

[JoshInKC]

Finished up the first season of Yellowjackets. Can't wait for the second season.
100%
The strongest 1st season I remember seeing for quite a while.

[GreatScawt]

We're watching Yellowstone and it's pretty good so far. I like it because I think everyone's an asshole and I don't care what happens to them. Especially that little piece of shit, Tate. Fucking dumbass.

[sandydandy]

Watched The Father. Saying it was really good is an understatement. Oscar performance, and probably the finest of Anthony Hopkins' already illustrious career.

[JoshInKC]

Saw The Tragedy of Macbeth. I'm weirdly conflicted about it - it was exactly as good as you might expect a straight Shakespeare adaptation starring Denzel and Frances McDormand to be, and subsequently kind of boring?
Like, it was amazing - but of course it was, it's Denzel doing MacBeth. I dunno if any of that makes sense, but I finished it feeling entirely "whelmed," neither over- or under-.

[George]

Is whelmed the same as gruntled?

[speedpimp]

Kind of surprising since it was written and directed by Joel Coen.

[JoshInKC]

Yeah, I love the Coen bros, and maybe that's part of the problem. I generally enjoy their films for the interesting characters and writing, while a standard Macbeth (no matter how cool the set design is) just isn't able to surprise me.

[Rare White Ape]

She's old now but still passably hot.

'Passably' hot? She's still a 69-out-of-10 on the Richter scale :lol:

Speaking of old actresses that would surely be past their prime, Angelina Jolie and Selma Hayek.

I heard from somewhere that Eternals was a series on Disney+, but I thought it was a movie. So yesterday I had some time to kill and sat down and fired up the Xbox, to find that it was indeed a film. Eh, why not watch an hour of it and get on with my life?

I ended up watching the whole thing. It wasn't amazing, but it wasn't shit. They're still setting up to provide the new continuation of the Marvel Cinematic Cash Cow so things are slow, but it has all the trappings of something that will lead to better stories down the track.

At the end of the day, Hayek and Jolie still look like they did 10 years ago. Schwing!

On the subject of MCU TV series, the first one, Loki, was fucking great. Like, really good. But the recent ones have been not-as-good. I enjoyed What If..? as a bit of fun (and I hope they do a Star Wars one too!) but Hawkeye could have been a lot better I think.

[MR2 Fan]

Eternals SHOULD have been a series IMO

[sandydandy]

'Passably' hot? She's still a 69-out-of-10 on the Richter scale :lol: I think you were in love with her as a young boy. It’s okay, I was too. But not that much. :P

[MR2 Fan]

Watched both Venom movies, hadn't seen them before...quite fun and enjoyable. The Venom character is quite silly which I think is great.

[sandydandy]

Watched Prisoners last night. Long ass movie, but really good. Keeps you engaged. Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal star in it. Some scenes made me feel like I was watching a Wolverine movie.

[speedpimp]

Mayor of Kingstown. The first episode was brutally slow, things picked up a hell of a lot from the second episode on. Jeremy Renner is the head of a family that has some sort of power in a Michigan town where the largest employer is the local prison. It's on Paramount+ if my brilliant synopsis has you curious about it.

[JoshInKC]

Oh yeah, I was going to look into that show when the season ended. Worth it?

[speedpimp]

It plays like an off brand Showtime series. Not bad. Has some decent gore as well.

[Cam]

Just felt like loafing on the sofa tonight, so I started Cobra Kai after a friend mentioned it. I was surprised to see it was rated 5 stars on Netflix. I thought it would be hokey, but I am enjoying it more than I thought I would.

[Yobbo NZ]

Just felt like loafing on the sofa tonight, so I started Cobra Kai after a friend mentioned it. I was surprised to see it was rated 5 stars on Netflix. I thought it would be hokey, but I am enjoying it more than I thought I would.

I mentioned on here last year that it's good.
Lots of nostalgia, some of the kids fights are a bit cheesy, but the whole show feels "right".
Although, I am a big KK fan of all 3 movies.

[Leon]

"Wolf Like Me"

I mean, talk about defying all the genre boxes. Widowed father meets a nice woman, who relates well to his troubled daughter. Nice woman, happens to be a werewolf.

It's funny, sad, thoughtful. Also, Isla Fisher nails it. Even if she is an Aussie, playing an American, in Aussie (series is set in Australia).

Binged the series (it's short) in one day. Went straight toward the pointy end of my favourite TV series ranking.

[sandydandy]

I watched Falling Down last night. One of Douglas' better performances. I'm surprised he didn't win an Oscar for it. Not sure if he was even nominated.

The best part for me was being able to instantly identify the Venice Beach area from playing GTA V, (Vespucci Beach).

[George]

Ooh, I'd like to see Falling Down again! I remember it from when it was new and probably saw it again on cable TV, but not for many years. I have thought of that guy when I'm having "one of those days". Michael Douglas is an interesting actor. I like his work, but I don't usually like the characters he plays.

I know I'd enjoy seeing Venice Beach in the movie too. I know it from GTA and two visits in person. A couple years ago, on a trip when we met Mr. and Mrs. Tom Servo, my son and I rented bicycles and rode around near where the mask shop is in GTA Online and where the bicycle rental shop is in single player mode. The first time was maybe twenty years earlier and we, or at least I, only knew that pier from Forrest Gump. My wife had been there before she met me, I'm pretty sure.

Oh, and our daughter made $20 cash on that pier, too. No, not "the hard way" as Rodney Dangerfield used to have a joke about. :lol:

We stopped to watch some performers on the pier who put on a dance show and then passed the hat around the crowd that had gathered. As they were encouraging passers-by to gather around and watch their performance, they asked for a volunteer for their act. They asked her to stand in a certain spot and do something like raise her hands or call out a word or whatever. Afterwards, they gave her a twenty dollar bill from their earnings. As I recall, she lorded that over her brother for the rest of the trip.

[Tom Servo]

Heh, we just recently watched it (Michele had never seen it). We had the same thing except it's all places we know from real life, so it's kinda funny to hear other people recognizing it from GTA instead.

[dodint]

I haven't watched the full movie in a while, though I have it on DVD. I did rewatch that golf course scene since Youtube sends me everything golf-related all day every day. :lol:

[sandydandy]

Michael Douglas is an interesting actor. I like his work, but I don't usually like the characters he plays. This was Michael Douglas in his prime. He always excelled in villainous roles. His career kind of went downhill a few films after Falling Down, though he was still commanding a huge salary. I’d say Traffic was his last really good role before he became stale.

Though he kind of rejuvenated himself with the Ant-Man films.

[George]

I managed to finish this whole movie while working this week. It's free on YT, with ads, of course.

It's just the thing for those who can't get enough Smokey And The Bandit-style entertainment. :lol:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FNzjrls0WA

[Phil_SS]

You gotta watch Gator next.

And another underrated Reynolds film is Hooper. Great cast and with great theme music.

[sandydandy]

I watched Predestination. Psychologically mind-bending, mind-twisting and mind-fucking thriller. Literally fucks with your mind from 11 different angles by the time it's done. Really good.

[George]

You gotta watch Gator next.

I'm not sure I can stand much more of that, but maybe. :lol:

While looking for Gator (which is free on YT with ads right now), I stumbled upon this, which I just might try to watch again. I saw it when it was new at a drive-in movie with my parents but remember not understanding what was going on. I think there was too much else to see at the drive-in to keep my young mind focused on a complicated movie. I've seen bits and pieces of it on TV over the years but have never sat down and tried to watch the whole thing.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8IQQ6EGzh8

[sandydandy]

Watched the six part series How to Become a Tyrant. Watched it all in one sitting, around three hours. I was exhausted at the end. Interesting show.

[Leon]

Tindler Swindler.

Doco rather than a movie, although it's movie length. Mid watch now. So good.

[JoeW]

Reacher…awesome.

[JoeW]

Also Raised by Wolves S2 great so far.

[sandydandy]

Tindler Swindler.

Doco rather than a movie, although it's movie length. Mid watch now. So good. I've very intrigued by Tinder Swindler, and have it in My List. Will watch in the next couple of days.

In the meantime I watched Profile, which was inspired by true events. About a journalist woman trying to infiltrate ISIS by creating a fake social media persona, in order to figure out their recruitment process for UK women. Pretty diabolical stuff.

[speedpimp]

Reacher…awesome.

Really enjoying this.

[Tom Servo]

Just watched Reno 911: The Hunt for QAnon. Was better than I expected - I normally like Reno 911, but a movie-length one I didn't have a ton of high hopes for. Got a good bunch of laughs out of it.

[JoeW]

Rewatching Game of Thrones. I forgot how good this show was.

[Leon]

Critical Role / Legend of Vox Machina.

My favourite nerd show, now a very sweary smutty animation.

[JSGeneral]

Critical Role / Legend of Vox Machina.

My favourite nerd show, now a very sweary smutty animation.

This is a very satisfying show that I'm enjoying a lot! I never followed (or knew about) the role playing sessions that they broadcast over the years, but this end result is a fantastic piece of storytelling.

[Leon]

I got back into playing D&D from watching Critical Role. Thanks to them, I'm now playing 4 different games, with a couple of different groups. Having not played for something like 30 years.

[Phil_SS]

Rewatching Game of Thrones. I forgot how good this show was.

Agreed, especially the first 3-4 seasons. But it is too soon for me. I will remember most of what happens.

I did restart The Sopranos. I remember stuff but most of it I do not, especially the specific episode stories. The late 90's is such a strange period, everything looks so dated but it was only 22 years ago.

[JoshInKC]

I rewatched the sopranos a few months ago and kept going "oh, that doesn't exist anymore, I forgot about that." Things like cingular cell phones, or the terrible clothes

[dodint]

The Lexus LS400 Christopher drives in the first episode always makes me laugh.

[speedpimp]

Finally finishing up 1883(which is a prequel series to Yellowstone). It's on Paramount+. It's worth a watch if you like Westerns. Sam Elliott is really good(as usual), but the really big surprise was how good Tim McGraw and Faith Hill are.

[Cam]

Don’t Look Up. Scathing satire. It made me sad and angry. Could have been paced better, I think.

[Kchrpm]

Watching Murderville. Great fun.

[speedpimp]

I finally got around to watching the first episode of Yellowstone. Fucking ponderous. I liked it better the first time around when it was called Dallas.

Currently watching the new Texas Chainsaw Massacre movie on Netflix. It's a well made movie but pretty boring. Good thing it's only 1hr15mins.

[JoshInKC]

It is very much dallas, only with swearing and a drastically higher body count.

[George]

I finished Reacher yesterday, after dragging it out as long as possible to prolong the enjoyment.

As a huge fan of the book(s), I thought there were a couple "cringey" moments when Reacher did or said things he probably wouldn't have in the books, and I noticed a few things they didn't mention or sped up from the book.

But, overall, it was fantastic. The actors they cast were very accurate for the most part and the story had just enough changes from the original story to surprise me a couple times. They really did their homework on this series, and I was pleased to see that Lee Child was one of the executive producers. The flashback scenes came from other Reacher books, which was fun, and they made a good story better.

Some silly stuff I just can't avoid mentioning:

Spoiler 1: "Agent P"

FBI agent Picard is described as even taller, heavier, and stronger than Reacher in the book. The actor they got was excellent, but could have been bigger. Yes, I'm nit-picking mercilessly here. :D

Spoiler 2: Finlay

Like Picard, I thought they got a great actor for this role. I enjoyed every scene with Finlay and some of the changes they made to his backstory. However, he didn't look quite like I imagined him. I always pictured this guy in my mind. :lol:

https://dygtyjqp7pi0m.cloudfront.net/i/21084/22736120_4.jpg?v=8D28034736AE020

Spoiler 3: the uniform

The scene in which Joe and Jack visit their mother came from another book. It was a flashback story that took place before the events of Killing Floor. When I saw Reacher in his dress blues and several days of stubble on his face, at first I thought of cheesy TV shows and some movies in which actors playing soldiers don't have military haircuts.

But then, I remembered in the book in which this visit occurred, Reacher was still an MP and was working undercover. Part of that was growing his hair out and not shaving so he could pass as a civilian while investigating a crime against an Army officer in a town near an Army base. In that book, Reacher's commanding office even starts to chew him out for his slovenly appearance before laughing and complimenting his relatively long hair and need of a shave at that time.

Just thought I should mention that in case anyone saw it and wondered why a West Point graduate would be in uniform without a clean shave and a fresh haircut. That detail was too authentic from the books for the average TV viewer.

Spoiler 4: Neagley

Even though she wasn't in Killing Floor, she does appear in some of the other books. She was perfect.

Spoiler 5: Lee Child

...was the guy who says "excuse me" to Reacher as he's leaving the diner in the final episode. He had cameos in both of the Tom Cruise movies, also.

Spoiler 6: Blind Blake

Read the book if you want to know what Reacher learned about him while in Margrave. :cool:

Bring on Season Two!

[speedpimp]

It is very much dallas, only with swearing and a drastically higher body count.

And that's pretty much where I'll leave it. I loved 1883, but Yellowstone just didn't do it for me. Kevin Costner is no Sam Elliott or Tim McGraw.

[speedpimp]

Having watched Reacher at the same time I was watching Peacemaker I could see John Cena playing both roles, but the guy playing Reacher couldn't play Peacemaker.

[JoeW]

Watched Free Guy. I liked it a lot. Very entertaining with a lot of gaming references. My daughter instantly recognized all the real life gamers in it. Lots of great cameos.

[Leon]

Binged the second season of Space Force.
Stupid, but not terrible.

[sandydandy]

Watched the Clovehitch Killer earlier in the week. Not a bad movie. Kind of fucked up.

[Cam]

The Paper Tigers. Silly, fun martial arts flick.

[Leon]

Binge watched "Upload"

Rather good, and improves as the series goes on, next season coming out in a week or so I think.

[speedpimp]

The Protégé. Michael Keaton, Maqqie Q. and Samuel L. Jackson.
Great movie. On Prime.

[Kchrpm]

Twenty minutes into the first episode of Reacher and I'm already loving it.

[Kchrpm]

Update: binging the whole thing, this show is wild.

[sandydandy]

Watched a Simple Favor. Sort of a comedy mystery. It was quite decent.

[JoshInKC]

Finally finishing up 1883(which is a prequel series to Yellowstone). It's on Paramount+. It's worth a watch if you like Westerns. Sam Elliott is really good(as usual), but the really big surprise was how good Tim McGraw and Faith Hill are.

Melissa and I started 1883 a few days ago (just finished episode 4 (when they cross the brazos)). It's pretty okay - Sam Elliot is obviously great, and I'm pretty impressed with Tim McGraw. The voice over by the daughter is pretty bad - Taylor Sheridan apparently decided he wanted to show off his "poetic" side or something and it's just purple and doesn't work.

I do spend roughly half of each episode wondering what exactly is going on in a real-world, historic sense - It works okay as a tv drama, but the reality of what everybody is trying to do is just confusing if not completely deranged.

Why are the immigrants together as a group - there's germans(maybe volga germans? unclear), italians, roma, and some sort of slavs at least. None of them seem to care much for each other. And how did they end up starting at Fort Worth?
Assuming they're fresh off the boat (which the show seems to think), Where was the boat? New Orleans was *the* major port for immigration in the gulf by a huge margin - How did they get to Ft Worth, and why? it'd be easier, probably cheaper, and actually sane to head up to Kansas City and get on the *actual* Oregon trail.
Why are the Duttons starting at fort worth? They're from Tennessee, again - KC and the real trail makes a lot more sense.



Of course, the answer to all these questions (and more) is that Sheridan just didn't know/care and he seems to be at least a little bit of one of "those" texans if you know what I mean.

[speedpimp]

Never finished the season. The Paramount+ special I got on Prime ended before I watched the episode.

[Leon]

Watched a Simple Favor. Sort of a comedy mystery. It was quite decent.

I snagged & watched that on this recommendation. Agreed, decent enough.

I thought that it was 20 minutes too long, but the payoff was worth it.

[speedpimp]

Starting Doom Patrol. Between this, Peacemaker and Suicide Squad I have renewed hope for DC series/movies(minus Superman).

[JoshInKC]

Doom Patrol is a lot of fun.

[speedpimp]

Doom Patrol is a lot of fun.

Yes it is.

Saw a headline today that no season two of 1883 as Taylor Sheridan said it was only intended to be a limited series(plus he's got three more spinoffs in the works).

[JoeW]

I watched Doom Patrol up through about halfway through the latest season and lost interest. Fraser's character saying fuck as many times as possible in a sentence...every sentence...just wore me out.

[Leon]

I watched three hours of livestream of camp covid being broken up by riot police, outside Wellington's house of government. Including every alt right lunatic known to mankind. Fires, bricks being thrown, more fires, and to my astonishment the police didn't even baton charge the little fuckers.
In other news, there now isn't camp covid, aka Flu Trucks Clan camped outside parliament any more.

[JoeW]

Ok I’ve had enough! I have wracked my brains on this and can’t figure it out.

On the Super Bowl commercial with Guy Fieri going to Flavortown with Bud Light Seltzer…there are two guys in the beginning, a white guy and a black guy. I swear I recognize the black actor from some show or movie a long time ago when he wore a younger man’s face. But I can’t find any info online and it’s driving me crazy so I need to vent here and hope someone else is with me or I’m going crazy…

[Tom Servo]

Nice try, Mr. Fieri, but I'm not watching that commercial again.

[dodint]

Lucius Baston.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChQueI2p_7y8rDoJAGms0XQ

[JoeW]

Nice! He’s been in several shows I’ve seen. No wonder I recognized him :)

I can now sleep easy tonight.

[dodint]

Your well-being is priority one for me. ;)

I only figured out who he was because I pulled up the commercial on Youtube and he was one of the commentators. :lol:

[JoeW]

Not sure why it was bothering me but I knew his face from somewhere. I looked up "commercial casts", "flavortown commercial cast"...all kinds of shit to no avail.

[Rare White Ape]

I watched three hours of livestream of camp covid being broken up by riot police, outside Wellington's house of government. Including every alt right lunatic known to mankind. Fires, bricks being thrown, more fires, and to my astonishment the police didn't even baton charge the little fuckers.
In other news, there now isn't camp covid, aka Flu Trucks Clan camped outside parliament any more.

Must’ve been entertaining :lol:

[MR2 Fan]

... he wore a younger man’s face.

Texas Chainsaw Massacre? :p

[JoeW]

Billy Joel

[MR2 Fan]

Watched "The Batman"...was very good...very long though. The Batmobile was amazing...probably my favorite since the 1989 version

The bad thing was the school group of what seemed like 5th graders who also happened to be in the theater at the time. They were making a lot of noise right up to when the movie started, then some random person yelled "Shut the fuck up!"....to children. It's one thing to tell them to "Please be quiet!" but that was overdone and glad things didn't escalate.

This is why I don't go to movie theaters much anymore unless it's a "must see". This one happened to be one my friend really wanted to see and I hadn't been out for a bit.

[dodint]

Yup. It's coming to HBO Max in 45 days. Good enough for me.

[sandydandy]

Watched "The Batman"...was very good...very long though. The Batmobile was amazing...probably my favorite since the 1990 version

The bad thing was the school group of what seemed like 5th graders who also happened to be in the theater at the time. They were making a lot of noise right up to when the movie started, then some random person yelled "Shut the fuck up!"....to children. It's one thing to tell them to "Please be quiet!" but that was overdone and glad things didn't escalate.

This is why I don't go to movie theaters much anymore unless it's a "must see". This one happened to be one my friend really wanted to see and I hadn't been out for a bit. My friend did that once to a group of…not children, but teens who were talking throughout American Gangster. It was satisfying and funny at the same time. They all left shortly after.

As for the Batman, I have no interest and won’t watch it. My kids went on opening night and thought it was underwhelming. I see it’s rated pretty high, but I still struggle to find interest.

I’m not a DC guy in general, aside from Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy. Only Marvel for me.

[Kchrpm]

I liked The Batman. It was very much its own thing, not trying to fit into MCU or DCEU or really any other similar movie styles. I was not planning on going to see it until I saw a lot of positive reviews online and got a couple people in real life giving positive feedback.

It's a mostly more reserved, smart/mystery-solving take than they've done in the movies, and it will take its time to show off a cool design/shot/idea, rather than trying to keep the pace up. It also doesn't treat Batman or really anyone as an infallible character.

While I love the style and tone of the MCU movies, I definitely have room in my life for stuff like this.

[dodint]

Nice. Initially I hadn't planned to watch it but will go ahead when it comes to HBO Max.

[MR2 Fan]

I often do things when I see a movie about...what I might have done differently.

This Batman movie didn't have much I would change, however I do think they could have taken 15-20 mins off, just by cutting off a minute or two from several of the loooong drawn out moments. Yes, there is sometimes where lingering on shots helps to show the emotional impact, but sometimes it can be more cleaned up.

Also, if anyone cares, I don't think this was better than The Dark Knight...I don't know if any Batman movie will beat that one

[JoeW]

Our Flag Means Death. Another Taika Waititi fun series. Enjoying it so far.

[Tom Servo]

Watched the first episode. If it wasn't Taika Waititi and Rhys Darby, I probably would be stopping there, but I'm holding out hope it picks up some steam.

[Yobbo NZ]

As a kiwi, can I please disown Rhys Darby? The guy is so one dimensional, same character, same voice, same mannerisms in everything he "acts" in.
I first saw him maybe 30 years ago on a live comedy show on TV, he was the same then too.
But! He does suit this bumbling character well though.

[JoeW]

Preview for the next episodes look to feature Taikas Blackbeard character heavily so I am looking forward to that.

[Cam]

Check out Making Fun on Netflix. I kind of know the guys on the show and we all follow each other on social media. I've hung out with them in person and Paul was even in My Garage once. The only one I have not met is Pat, but he's a funny guy. I have not watched yet, but all my maker friends are saying the show is funny and fun for the whole family.

[speedpimp]

Just starting Our Flag. The first time I started it the playback was super muddy. It's finally normal. The HBOMax app can be really glitchy sometimes.

[JoeW]

Taika features heavily after the 3rd episode. Getting a little better...jury still out.

[Tom Servo]

Just starting Our Flag. The first time I started it the playback was super muddy. It's finally normal. The HBOMax app can be really glitchy sometimes.

Which blows me away. This is at least their third app, I know of HBO Now and HBO Go previously. If you can't make a decent app, just be a channel on Amazon Prime, ffs.

[dodint]

On which platform, Rich? We use it on FireStick and it hasn't been glitchy, other than asking for a reauthorization pretty often. No audio/video problems that I can recall.

HBO Now and HBO Go were parallel services. One was for subscribers of HBO directly and the other was for those logging in through other cable systems. One thing HBO Max did was streamline that branding.

I'm not a schill for HBO, just haven't had much of an issue with their apps over the years.

[Tom Servo]

I know you asked Rich, but I'm on a Roku Ultra. It's very slow, crashes, has iffy search and occasionally just fails to start showing a program, it'll take more than one try. My other regularly used apps are Hulu, Youtube TV, Netflix, and Amazon Prime and it's easily the dodgiest of the bunch.

[JoeW]

I agree re HBO app. It’s the only app on my Apple TV that I’ve had to delete and reinstall just to get working again. And I’ve had to do it a few times.

[dodint]

Fire TV Stick is Android-based. I think the issue is pretty clear. ;)

[sandydandy]

Anyone watch Love is Blind?

I don't watch it...but the wife and kids were watching the other day on Netflix, and wouldn't let me change it. I guess it was a reunion episode from season 2. It was quite ridiculous to watch. Especially that guy Shake - a complete pig as far as I can tell. FFS what a total embarrassment to the rest of us brown guys. :down: