What are you watching?

[SportWagon]

Oh yes. Wikipedia reminds me, not Rawhide, The Rifleman.

[George]

Right! Chuck was The Rifleman, and Clint was the tough young sidekick to the trail boss on Rawhide (for those who may not know).

http://images6.fanpop.com/image/photos/32600000/-Clint-as-Rowdy-Yates-clint-eastwood-32643744-500-375.jpg

Edited to add some trivia I just remembered, after again seeing the picture above of the rifleman with the extra-large lever on his rifle, so he could cock it by twirling it around in the air with one arm: somewhere I read they used that idea in Terminator 2, when... the Terminator and young John Connor are on the motorcycle. Arnold uses that same technique.

I thought of that again recently while watching Terminator 5. There's a scene in which...



...a bit of the liquid metal Terminator (like the one in T2) is stuck to a hinge of the back door of the truck that Arnold is driving. He whips out what looked like a sawed-off shotgun and blasts the bit of liquid metal away, but doesn't quite make the one-armed twirl. I rewound that scene once or twice and in my opinion, it looked like he tried but just couldn't make the spin, perhaps due to the confines of his driver's seat and surrounding interior. But it was just then that he delivered the line, [I am] "old, but not obsolete." I wondered if the failed twirl was supposed to show that. Nah, probably just my overactive imagination at work again.

[Leon]

You, Me and the Apocalypse

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4337894/

Man I love me some Brit comedy/drama stuff. This isn't as insane as Utopia by any stretch, but it is playing out quite nicely so far. Although the chick from The Office (USA) certainly seems to be the weak point in the acting.

[overpowered]

Jack is Back!

http://therealstanlee.com/jack-is-back

[George]

I happened upon the beginning of the 1966 TV episode of Star Trek called "The Menagerie Part 1" on MeTV tonight and sat spellbound for an hour (re-)watching it (for the zillionth time).

I've been a ST fan since it was on reruns in the early/mid 1970s every night at 7:00 PM, when I'd sit on the floor with my back leaning on the couch, probably too close to our black and white TV. I've seen 'em all a dozen times, or perhaps more.

Part 2 is pretty good, sort of as how The Godfather Part 2 is pretty good, but The Menagerie Part 1 is a fantastic show, even by today's standards.

See it, if you can. It explains who Captain Pike was/is, for those who perhaps didn't know who he was before the JJ Abrams movies started in 2009.

Seriously, it's a great drama, and those who would make fun of Shatner as being a hack should realize the guy actually did do some good work along the way. Nobody seems to doubt Nimoy, and this episode won't change that. He kicks ass, as always.

It's the best of the best of the original Star Trek.

[speedpimp]

I've never thought of Shatner as being a hack, over enthusiastic, yes, hack, no. Check out "The Intruder", it's an early 60's Roger Corman movie with Shatner in the lead. Really good movie.

[novicius]

The Shat has created several iconic characters over his career so obviously execs feel he's got star power.

[SportWagon]

Caught an episode of The Rifleman on Saturday morning. I noticed the large trigger loop. I'd never thought much before about how you could or couldn't twirl a rifle like that. Episode #88. The Illustrator. (Season 3). I think.

[overpowered]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IX2oZ6Kv_qo

[George]

^ Now, if that ain't Jack Reacher, I dunno who is. :D

Connors did it once, and that was cool. This guy overdoes it a bit, but I guess he had bigger problems.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9SpHLyZuP0

[Phil_SS]

George, thanks for the write up on Reacher. I had heard the that the big complaint on Cruise playing Reacher was because he wasn't 6'-5". I say who cares, I'd rather have the right actor and the right production. And I think it did, I wouldn't be surprised if Cruise is a fan of the books.

On that point, I sure wish someone could take what they did with Reacher and do the same with Dirk Pitt. They've tried and though Sahara was ok. There is just so much more depth to the character that I have always felt that each book could make an awesome 10 part HBO series. Each year do a different book.

I finished watching Narcos and I can't wait til Season 2.

[novicius]

"Electric Boogaloo: The Story of Cannon Films". :lol: :up:

Interesting only if you grew up on cheap-ass Cannon flicks like Bloodsport, Cyborg, Missing In Action, The Delta Force, Invasion USA, Lifeforce, a slew of terrible '80's ninja flicks including American Ninja, etc.

As well as Breakin' and Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo. ;)

[Phil_SS]

I must watch that.....

[neanderthal]

The Knick.

A medical drama set in New York at the turn f the 20th century. Clive Owen stars as the cocaine injecting chief of surgery in an era when surgery was still being invented.

[Kchrpm]

George-
Care to expand on the clues and the differences in Jack Reacher?

[George]

Okay, but I will be posting serious spoilers for those who haven't read the book and might in the future.

Just a warning, as I hate finding out things I'd rather not know about books and movies I would like to see.

[George]

Remember, you have been warned. Major spoilers about the novel "One Shot" are below, but I'll add additional spoiler tabs to hide the worst (or best, if you want to know) spoilers after setting the scene before spilling the beans.

I googled book vs. movie and I see there are a couple websites that do good comparisons and give away most of the book's ending, but not every exact detail. Here's one I liked: http://www.oberjuerge.com/http:/www.oberjuerge.com/jack-reacher-tom-cruise-and-the-book-vs-the-movie/

And this quote, from that site, made me chuckle.

The book also has him kill four guys pretty much with his bare hands, including a perhaps-fatal knife toss. As well as (I think) the only example in the 16 Reacher novels in which he hugs a guy to death. (I bet some Reacher Creature has counted how many people the character has killed, in 16 books. Has to be close to 100.)

That's funny, because it really is a believable number after 16 books. Now there are 20 books, BTW.

Well, I skimmed through that site, but these are my own words and how I remember the book after hearing it twice, probably a year or two apart, on audio CDs from the library. By the way, all but one of Reacher audiobooks are read by the same person, Dick Hill. He does a great job and has certainly become the voice of Reacher to me. Lee Child's writing style includes sentence fragments and other styles we were taught to avoid in school. These are noticeable on paper but when read aloud, they just sound like how people speak, instead of how they write. His narration and acting is riveting. I've always wanted to mention that about Dick Hill, in case anyone is considering trying a Reacher audio book.

Okay, so it's often mentioned in Reacher novels how much our hero loves coffee. Sometimes, during descriptions of a scene, we read about Reacher's impression of the cups his coffee is served in. Sometimes he gets a to-go cup, so he can split the scene quickly if necessary. Other times we hear his thoughts about heavy, thick-walled mugs that keep coffee warmer longer than inferior cups. Why does this matter?

Well, despite Reacher being a drifter, he is a graduate of West Point and is a worldly connoisseur in many ways. His mother is from Paris and he knows the finer things in life. In the book...

...when he arrives in town, he goes directly to the DA's office. He saw James Barr's name on the news, named as a mass shooter. Reacher has come here to tell what he knows, per the promise/threat he made to Barr many years ago. The DA's name on the door or wall or wherever is A. A. Rodin. Reacher wonders what the initials stand for. Now, not just anyone off the street can walk into a DA's office, but he gives his name, he is ushered in to the DA's office immediately, since the DA has just been briefed about him by the detective.

The DA greets Reacher warmly, seats him, and asks his secretary to serve them some coffee while they talk. Spoilers about Reacher's first visit with the DA follow.

The DA wants to know why Barr asked for him. The secretary brings in an elegant coffee service tray. You know the kind - fine china with little pitchers and bowls and saucers and silver spoons and all that jazz. Reacher notices this and thinks it is not typical for someone on a city employee's salary to have such extravagant furnishings in his office. He expected something like mismatched mugs with various logos on them, perhaps chipped from wear, etc.

He also notices the DA's perfectly tailored, expensive suit. This was mentioned in the movie. I forget the exact line, but I think Tom Cruise remarks "nice suit" or something to the DA's daughter about her father.

Reacher figures this guy must have some money. Family money, maybe. Nothing wrong with that, right?




More later.

[Alan P]

I like the way you read the books and Jack sees the signs and you don't until the big reveal at the end. Jack is a smart and very perceptive guy.

[George]

As we saw in the movie, after Reacher...

...meets with the DA, he meets her daughter, the defense attorney. This makes three people who know he's in town - the DA, the detective, and the defense attorney. However, we soon learn that...

...Reacher is being followed. Reacher is a well-traveled man, and has an uncanny sense of urban awareness. In the book, as Reacher walks around the city, he realizes a man in a suit is following him, on foot. Reacher notices his suit as well. The cut of it looks foreign. European, maybe. That is important because...

...the guy following him works for a Russian gang of criminals. Organized crime, you might say, but a small, private group, I think - not like the Mafia or anything. Just some entrepreneurs, you might say, who occasionally have to get tough to get their way. The are led by the Zec, an elderly man who was in the Gulag so long he forgot his own name. Zec means prisoner, and the last name he uses means human, so his name translates into Prisoner Man.

"The Zec", as he's called, did whatever it took to survive all those years. Around halfway through his time in prison, he met a younger man there and took him under his wing in the ways of survival and finding profit in a place of terror and suffering. The younger man - though not young; he might be 60 - is the man following Reacher, in the book. Like The Zec, he is mentally tough and no stranger to inflicting or suffering pain.

[George]

Another difference between book and movie, and something that I liked better about the movie:


How James Barr gets hurt after being arrested:


In the movie, we see other prisoners in a van beat up Barr. Possibly their motivation for doing this was...

...being asked to do so by someone in the correctional system in exchange for better treatment, a reduced charge or sentence, or something like that. This is important because...

...it helps show the involvement of the DA and/or the police detective. Perhaps having rock-solid evidence against Barr and then having him killed in jail so they could close the case quickly and with finality was the most desirable outcome.

In the book, I thought Barr's getting hurt seemed to be a problem for the DA and/or detective, because if they had framed him for the crime, presumably they would want him to be convicted and thereby freeing anyone who was paying him/them to frame Barr from suspicion.

Now that I think about it, the movie handled Barr's getting injured better than the book.

In the book, Barr's getting hurt seems to be his own fault and not a set-up. He is put into the general population, rather than being isolated. He accidentally bumps into a Mexican gang member, which apparently is not advisable under any circumstances, but then makes thing much worse by not only looking the man in the eye but also apologizing to him. I guess if you accidentally bump into a guy in the stony lonesome, you pretend it didn't happen. Not long after, Barr is given a savage beating by the Mexican gang, which puts him in a coma, and makes his prosecution questionable.

[Kchrpm]

So...

I'm guessing that, in the book, the DA is crooked rather than, or in addition to, the cop.

[George]

Moving along to a major difference between book and movie.



In the book, while in the government building where the DA's office is, Reacher shares an elevator with a local TV news reporter. I guess news folks visit City Hall and other gov't. buildings often, so it's believable that she might be there. Of course, she is attractive, and Reacher notices her. If not right then, soon he finds out who she is. Maybe he sees her on TV when he goes to the bar for dinner, or maybe he sees her get into a news van or something. I don't remember the details, but now Reacher at least knows the identity of one other person in town, even though she doesn't know him.



Yet.

[George]

To Kchrpm:

You guessed, it, not surprisingly.

Should I stop now?

[Kchrpm]

You know what they say.
Don't stop til ya get enough

[George]

Okay, here are my last comments. Read or not, as you wish, and I'll be done on this topic, which I'm sure many are tired of.


I like the way you read the books and Jack sees the signs and you don't until the big reveal at the end. Jack is a smart and very perceptive guy.

This is so true! And that's why deconstructing the mystery afterwards is easy - just list all the clues in order and there's the whole story. Reacher is seeing these clues the whole time, but readers aren't supposed to figure things out later, when we start thinking, "Oh! So that's how he knew about..."

Major book spoilers:



Reacher has been around the block enough times to know a setup when he sees one. He gives the girl in the bar the alias of Jimmy Reece not just because he's in the habit of using aliases, such as when paying cash for a cheap motel room, but because he can tell what's going on, knows he's being followed by then (I think), and wants to see her reaction when she hears a name different than she expects.

And if she knows his name, how did she get that information? Reacher has this figured out already, perhaps.



The Russian gang has friends in low places, and they use this girl's boyfriend, a drug dealer, to get at Reacher. This must have been done quickly because not much time has passed since Reacher arrived in town. The drug dealer gets the girl to get a reaction out of Reacher that his posse can be suitably offended at as her "brothers" so they can take him outside and hurt him. Badly, we must assume. And, what's more...

The police are obviously in on this, because they were right around the corner and ready to arrive as soon as the beating (of Reacher, they think) is over. Then they can take him to jail, where...

...the expert(s) in framing people can take over. But when he's unharmed and the local yoots are apparently too scared to press charges, and/or the DA and detective realize witnesses could say Reacher was fighting in self-defense, they have to come up with Plan B. Reacher unwittingly serves this to them on a silver platter when he is seen visiting the girl at the auto shop to find out who hired her and her "brothers".

So the Russians kill the girl, and Reacher seems an ideal suspect. And, we have experts in framing people and a prosecutor who has never lost a murder trial. To Alan's point, I think all this line of reasoning from the girl's initial contact with Reacher to her death may be apparent to Reacher, and he can see what's going to happen next, while this reader, at least, is just enjoying the action and not figuring out that all these events are related.

So, in the book, instead of leading the police on a merry chase in a classic muscle car, once he realizes he's wanted by the police (not an unusual position for him), he finds...

...the news reporter's car at the TV station parking lot, IIRC, breaks in, and waits for her. Unlike the reader, he has this whole thing figured out and realizes the only way he can prove himself innocent of murder is to expose the DA, and who better to help him than a TV reporter who wants to have the exclusive breaking news report when this conspiracy is finally exposed.

Somewhere along the way, from his daughter, I must assume, since I don't remember exactly, Reacher learns that turns out that the DA's initials A. A. stand for. But first, remember how the Russian gang got the drug dealer to go after Reacher? And the girl was expecting him to say his name was Jack Reacher?

How did the Russians know his name?

DA Rodin's initials were for something like Aleksandr Andreiovich. He has been involved with the Russian gang and has been trying to get Reacher out of the picture since he realized letting Reacher continue to investigate this case was a serious threat.

So the bottom line is that there was a Russian gang who, among other various nefarious activity, I'm sure, wanted to take over a contracting firm. The firm was owned by one of the murder victims who wouldn't sell, so she was killed in what appeared to be a random mass shooting. One might assume there were lucrative government contracts to be had - possibly another way the DA could be of service - so control of an existing contracting firm would be desirable, and they had the expertise and resources to kill anyone who got in their way and stay out of trouble while doing so.

Then Jack Reacher showed up.

The End.

~ whew ~

[Alan P]

Its been a long time since I read the book but Reacher knew the bar fight was a setup as he commented on the police response time. They'd already called the police before the fight started.

[overpowered]

Saw Mockingjay 2. Too long. Needs editing.

[speedpimp]

Ridiculous 6. A lot better than I thought it would be.

[Alan P]

Interesting as it's 'available' for download.

[thesameguy]

I liked it.

[Cam]

Stupid NBC isn't playing the last three episodes of Heroes Reborn until January. :mad:

[Phil_SS]

"Electric Boogaloo: The Story of Cannon Films". :lol: :up:

Just watched this and it is great.

Some of the movies they made are the greatest must see never awesome ridiculous movies I have never must see.

[JoshInKC]

My dad dated Lucinda Dickey, the star of Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo for awhile about 25 years ago. She's from my hometown.

[Phil_SS]

Lucinda Dickey was hot. Give your Dad a high five for me.

[novicius]

Noice! :D

::

Kevin's back! (https://youtu.be/yh7-wAy_8ss):lol:

[Alan P]

The Expanse. Quality, high end Sci-Fi from, well, SyFy. Really good effects and even some decent acting!

[speedpimp]

Comedian Bill Burr's new animated series, "F Is For Family", on Netflix. Funny show.

[Phil_SS]

Interstellar: I finally got to see this. It is free for people with Amazon Prime. I thought it was pretty decent. The space part was pretty damn good. Definitely the best part of the movie. The whole interdimension stuck in his kids wall stuff I think dragged the movie down a bit.

And at the end when his kid tells him to leave that she has her family there. I was like, but wait, isn't that his family too. And she is being fairly cold to not even introduce him to the family. He is supposed to be the one that gave her the key information to the 5th dimension and their ability to leave earth yet he is an afterthought. Just really fricken odd.

And wouldn't Anne Hatheway's character have been like 90 years old by the time he would have gotten to her planet? She would have been dead. She could have used the cryo chamber but why would she. She thinks he is dead and that everyone on earth is going to be dead. She needs to start repopulating the human race on the new planet.....

[thesameguy]

Comedian Bill Burr's new animated series, "F Is For Family", on Netflix. Funny show.

Been waiting to check this out. I like Bill Burr maybe too much.

[GreatScawt]

Ex Machina
Watch it. Right now. I can't get it out of my head.

[novicius]

And wouldn't Anne Hatheway's character have been like 90 years old by the time he would have gotten to her planet? She would have been dead. She could have used the cryo chamber but why would she. She thinks he is dead and that everyone on earth is going to be dead. She needs to start repopulating the human race on the new planet.....
Didn't Murphy say only ten years would have passed for her by the time Cooper is found? Damon's character slept for 30ish years by comparison, plenty of time to go get her, boink up a big family, build a farm and wait for the rest of Humanity to follow. ;)

[speedpimp]

Jurassic World. Don't see what all of the fuss is about.

[sandydandy]

Started watching Rectify, after a year and a half of it sitting in 'My List'. Three episodes in and I'm bored out of my mind. I'll give it one more episode before I drop it.

[speedpimp]

Watched Paul Blart 2. Another shit show. Maybe it's due to being housebound with pneumonia that makes me watch these shitty flicks.

[tigeraid]

Halfway through Jessica Jones now. Really digging it, though not as much as Daredevil. David Tennant is creepy as fuck as the Purple Man. I'd rather just watch 10 hours of him having conversations with D'nofrio's Kingpin.

[Phil_SS]

Didn't Murphy say only ten years would have passed for her by the time Cooper is found? Damon's character slept for 30ish years by comparison, plenty of time to go get her, boink up a big family, build a farm and wait for the rest of Humanity to follow. ;)

This is my analysis in Actual Age (Earth Age):

Cooper Left Earth: 40
Cooper Saturn wormhole, They stated it took them 2 years to get there but they used cryosleep: 40(42)
Cooper water planet, The guy on the spacecraft stated they were there for 23 years earth time but they had only aged a few hours: 40(65)
Cooper giant blackhole, They state he is 123 years old after he wakes up on the space station, thus he has aged 58 years compared to earth.: 40(123)

Brand Left Earth: 30 (Approximation)
Brand Saturn wormhole, They stated it took them 2 years to get to get there but they used cryosleep: 30(32)
Brand water planet, The guy on the spacecraft stated they were there for 23 years earth time but they had only aged a few hours: 30(55)
Brand didn't go in the giant blackhole, thus she would have been aging at the same rate of people on earth: 88(113)

Murphy (Cooper Left): 10
Murphy (Saturn wormhole): 12
Murphy (Water planet): 35
Murphy (Cooper return): 93

Thus, Cooper is 40 and Brand would be 88. Unless earth was able to communicate with her and tell her that they had figured it out and that they would be coming and that she should go into cryo sleep and wait for them. But that itself is dangerous. I think she would have started to repopulate in case they didn't make it or maybe have been told to do so.

I know I'm probably overthinking it. Like I said, I still enjoyed the movie greatly. The whole water planet thing was mind blowing unto itself and is worth seeing by itself because of the conditions around it.

[novicius]

I don't see Brand staying awake for more than a year or two alone. :) #happyendings

[overpowered]

Last night I watched the original Total Recall movie. The computers and video phones really sucked. They were basically of their own era. Even Star Trek had figured out the tablet by then.

Creepy Michael Ironside got to make out with Sharon Stone in 1990, about two years before she was famous.

[Alan P]

Just watched one of the nominees, The Big Short. And it was very good. Recommended if you want something a bit more cerebral than your usual action fodder. And a good example of how 99% of bankers are wankers.

[Leon]

Just watched one of the nominees, The Big Short. And it was very good. Recommended if you want something a bit more cerebral than your usual action fodder. And a good example of how 99% of bankers are wankers.

This is amazingly good. Like, wow level good.

[MR2 Fan]

Last night I watched the original Total Recall movie. The computers and video phones really sucked. They were basically of their own era. Even Star Trek had figured out the tablet by then.

Creepy Michael Ironside got to make out with Sharon Stone in 1990, about two years before she was famous.

yeah, that movie really hasn't aged well. I also enjoyed the remake, but guess it wasn't very popular.

[thesameguy]

How sad am I? The only movies I buy are Fast & Furious movies. 7 just showed up, so I know how I am spending my downbeat NYE. It comes with an Ultraviolet copy, which I will never use. If you do, let me know and I can PM you the code.

[sandydandy]

Ugh, just saw that Human Centipede 3 has been added to Netflix. I haven't seen it but it's a safe bet that it'll be as disgusting as it's predecessors. If you're curious about this 'franchise' then watch the first one...but prepare to be utterly grossed out to the extreme, +1.

[Alan P]

This is amazingly good. Like, wow level good.

I especially thought the cast excellent. Even though they were very well known they played their characters very well indeed.

[George]

If any of you lazy layabouts has the day off today, like me, the SciFi cable channel in the USA is showing their annual Twilight Zone marathon today (New Years Day).

And yes, it is spelled differently than SciFi, but it used to be and still should be SciFi, instead of the dumbed-down and misspelled name they're using lately.

[speedpimp]

It's spelled Syfy. The day I moved in with a coworker in 1996 he happily informed me that we had the Sky-Fi Channel. Sigh-Fi.

[speedpimp]

Went and saw The Hateful 8. Great movie.

[Alan P]

I heard it was so they could trademark the name. No doubt Sci-Fi was too widely used so they changed to SyFy so they could.

[Cam]

Speaking of SyFy, I watched the first few episodes of Dark Matter. It was originally on SyFy, but I watched it on Netflix. I rarely watch TV. It's great to watch it without commercials. The last TV shows I regularly watched: Heroes Reborn, Firefly, Heroes. This should tell you how often I watch TV. I saw the description and thought it might be like Firefly. It is the same premise, but without the wit, unfortunately. It's a bit cheesy, as expected, but I'm interested so far. It's been renewed for a second season, so it must have done OK in ratings. I'll probably watch more.

[overpowered]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doaQC-S8de8

[Conman]

Watched the first season of Black Sails over the weekend. Pretty good. I bought the second season today. Third Season starts in March I think.

Not your typical parrots and arrrrggh matey pirate show. It is supposedly set 20 or so years before the events of Treasure Island.

[MR2 Fan]

watched The Shining for the first time since it's on Netflix now.

Very Kubrickian, lol.

The plot is nearly as scary as the interior design of the hotel. It's a good movie, but it owes a lot to its intense musical score.

I'll have to find some "meaning of" stuff online about the plot as it isn't really explained...things just happen.

[overpowered]

Am I the only one still watching the Simpsons and Family Guy? They've gotten lamer and lamer over the years. I think I'm ready to dump them.

[Cam]

Simpsons got lame after about season ten. Then, it got better when I was working on the show. ;) I haven't watched it since.

[thesameguy]

Yeah, I stopped watching the Simpsons around 7 or 8, but tuned back in once there was some incentive. ;) Once that incentive was gone, so was I.

Family Guy stopped updating on Netflix, so I haven't watched it in years.

[KillerB]

I stopped once I got rid of cable. With the Simpsons World website, I can watch any episode I want.

[GreatScawt]

Went and saw The Hateful 8. Great movie.

Was it 8/8 gr8, m8?

[speedpimp]

Was it 8/8 gr8, m8?

fkn str8.

[Yw-slayer]

5/7, even?

[speedpimp]

Nein.

[Phil_SS]

How sad am I? The only movies I buy are Fast & Furious movies. 7 just showed up, so I know how I am spending my downbeat NYE. It comes with an Ultraviolet copy, which I will never use. If you do, let me know and I can PM you the code.

Swordfish is now on Netflix. Am I wrong for liking it? I know it kinda sucks but it does have one of the best movie soundtracks ever.

[Yw-slayer]

No, it was a cool "bad movie", and the soundtrack is, indeed, great.

[Freude am Fahren]

Paul Okenfold (including Muse) soundtrack? Good
Halle Berry Titties? Good
TVR? Good
Don Cheadle, Hugh Jackman? Good
Looking back on what has highest of high tech in the early 2000's? Good

No really, it's a fun movie, I always liked it. I have the soundtrack in my collection too.


But speaking of bad movies, I cannot help but watch 2012 whenever it comes on TV.

[Freude am Fahren]

Also, Always Sunny is back!

[George]

http://thetango.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/TheTango-TImeWaster-01062016-06-620x450.jpg

[overpowered]

Needs a caption: "That boy ain't right"

[thesameguy]

I have never seen Swordfish. I guess I probably should!

On the subject of good soundtracks, "Stark Raving Mad" is a Seann William Scott movie that is not a comedy and the entire soundtrack is virtually one long Sasha & Digweed mix. If you like trance/house I'd recommend it.

[FaultyMario]

Can somebody post the URL for Netflix's Inspector Gadget, I'll see if i can then add to my list from a web browser.

[speedpimp]

Can somebody post the URL for Netflix's Inspector Gadget, I'll see if i can then add to my list from a web browser.

http://www.netflix.com/search/inspector?jbv=80025273&jbp=1&jbr=0

[speedpimp]

Also, Always Sunny is back!

YOU HAVE NO HONOR, YOU GOD DAMNED BITCH! YOU HAVE NO HONOR!

[Leon]

Rewatching Attack of the Clones.

Am reminded that Future Darth is an incredibly annoying whiny little biatch.

Yes, I know it was deliberate. However, it still makes large sections of the movie quite annoying to watch.

Natalie Portman is just unfair levels of hotness though, other than the OTT hair situation

[FaultyMario]

Thanks rich, I'll see if it shows up.

A lot of the algorithm's categories do not show up for Mexico. I've been typing some of these codes (http://ogres-crypt.com/public/NetFlix-Streaming-Genres.html), but not all of them work here.

edit: aaand it didn't work. It's just a blank page for "Show".

[speedpimp]

The Spoils Before Dying. New Netflix noir series with Will Ferrell, Michael Kenneth Williams(aka Omar Little) and Kristin Wiig.

[sandydandy]

Watched Ant-Man finally, and it was really great. Probably Michael Douglas' strongest performance in years. Looking forward to Ant-Man's further adventures in Captain America: Civil War and the Ant-Man and the Wasp film.

Started watching Making a Murderer on Netflix. I only watched one episode so far, and it's really powerful stuff. I kind of spoiled the rest for myself by Googling Steven Avery's name to see his current status. I'll still watch the rest of the episodes though. Really fucked up.

[novicius]

Really REALLY fucked up. :smh:

[tigeraid]

To anyone who's seen it, a question:

The wife (perhaps mistakenly) saw some posts around the interwebs saying Making a Murderer sucks, it leaves this out or that out, or it's inaccurate, or whatever, and that therefore we shouldn't watch it.

Without severe spoilers, is there any merit to that? Or should I just watch the damn thing alone.

[sandydandy]

If you like getting pissed off...then watch it!

[novicius]

To anyone who's seen it, a question:

The wife (perhaps mistakenly) saw some posts around the interwebs saying Making a Murderer sucks, it leaves this out or that out, or it's inaccurate, or whatever, and that therefore we shouldn't watch it.

Without severe spoilers, is there any merit to that? Or should I just watch the damn thing alone.
Nope. Those complaints are fucking dumb. :down:

[sandydandy]

Probably that cunt Nancy Grace complaining. She's got her fucked up opinion on Avery.

[tigeraid]

Understood.

[SportWagon]

Hey wow! Sometime between very early this morning and early this morning they flipped the switch and the only thing left to watch on analog cable in our area seems to be fishees on channel 3.

While arranging that I could conveniently leave the weather channel for my wife to watch, I gradually discovered one of the two power supplies for the two digital adaptors I had waiting to deploy was not working. Which is a much better situation than it could have been, I suppose.

Funny thing about the fishees, I don't think they're a digital offering at all.

Prior to today, the cable company would remove a few channels at a time, and were down to about a dozen or so left. Hmm. Channel 20 (Company information and sort of public service) might still be analog, I suppose. This last switch was not exactly "select channels" being changed. But then again, the prior switch had removed the TV Guide channel, a sign they were getting serious.

I tried to watch Mythbusters last weekend, but couldn't stand the meta-program about making their final season.

[overpowered]

I couldn't hang with the meta-program either. I hate anything where they tell me about what they're going to do. Just do it.

The first episode was decent, though I fast forwarded through a lot of the talk.

[sandydandy]

Three episodes into Making a Murderer and I don't think I can go any further. I'm going to puke.

[MR2 Fan]

was told about a Food Network show (also on Netflix) called Cutthroat Kitchen. Interesting, yet kinda silly concept...chefs basically compete to sabotage each other by bidding on horrible things the other chefs have to use, then a judge has to taste test each dish without knowing anything about what happened.

The more interesting ones I've seen so far are having to make mac and cheese from cheez-whiz, doritos and similar cheesy puffed snacks....having to make a pizza with an apple pie crust that already had apple pie in it...and having to use an assorted vegetable platter and a microwave to make cupcakes.

[MR2 Fan]

I watched the extended Director's Cut of "Straight Outta Compton" last night...2 hours and 45 mins of it.

It was definitely good and clarified some of the storyline, though even being that long, it felt rushed in places. I think they should have spent more time on the rise and dominance of the group before the downfall which had a lot of drawn out contract stuff.

The other big omission was that they didn't say anything about "Dre Day"...Dre and Snoop's insane beef song against Eazy-E, and then E's reply song, "Real Muthafukkin G's"....thought that was important to the story.

The actors all were very similar to their real counterparts and the acting overall was superb.

[sandydandy]

Watching Homeland season 5. Best season yet.

[SportWagon]

Caught the end of some motorcycle restoration show just before Counting Cars which i halfed watched while playing a game. Didn't have enough time left to check the name of the show. It wasn't American Pickers, or old-style American Restoration. Might have been new-style American Restoration.

The interesting thing about the motorcycle restoration show was they seemed to have found a long-stored motorcycle which used to belong to Clara Wagner (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clara_Wagner). Unlike (much later, but still earlyish female) sidecar racer Inge Stoll (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inge_Stoll), Clara Wagner appears to have lived to 70 years old and died of presumably natural causes in 1961.

Edit... To be more clear perhaps. The show was also interesting to me because I learned who Clara Wagner was.

[Phil_SS]

What's in the Barn? That was a pretty cool show on Velocity hosted by Dale Walksler of the Wheels through Time museum. He was always hunting down some weird old motorcycle with a history lesson.

Not having cable has been great but I definitely miss Velocity. Loved watching Chasing Classic cars etc.

[Kchrpm]

Jessica Jones. Not what I expected, quite enjoyable.

Then Agent Carter started up again, and was REALLY weird for the first 20-30 minutes, then slowly worked its way back into the groove it had before. Not the best show on television by any stretch, but decent ins and outs and lots of Hayley Atwell.

[speedpimp]

Scrotal Recall on Netflix.

[Cam]

Heroes Reborn was depressing this week. Final episode next week?

[Alan P]

First episode of season 2 of Agent Carter. And it was really good. :)

[sandydandy]

Just watched Thor: The Dark World again for the first time since watching it in the theater. It's still the weakest of all the 'Phase 2' movies...but at least Darcy is still cute.

[tigeraid]

The Expanse is about as faithful to the books as it can be, and I'm fucking loving it. So nice to have some good, high-level sci-fi back on TV. Can't recommend it enough.

[Freude am Fahren]

I love that I never read comics. Whenever I hear someone say something like "this Marvel movie ruins this character" or something, I'm just like IDGAF and enjoy the movies/shows for what they are.

[Alan P]

The Expanse is about as faithful to the books as it can be, and I'm fucking loving it. So nice to have some good, high-level sci-fi back on TV. Can't recommend it enough.

Absolutely loving it too!! Great Sci-Fi!

And I also agree about Thor 2. The weakest of perhaps all the Marvel films. Save perhaps Ironman 2

[sandydandy]

Watched TEDTalks: Head Games #2 'Tony Robbins Asks Why We Do What We Do'. To say this man's presentation is phenomenal is a gross understatement.

The only episode of TEDTalks that I actually like. The rest are kind of shitty.

[Kchrpm]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdfMKnJ1y2o

[thesameguy]

Watching Amazon's Mad Dogs - it is perhaps artificially convoluted, but quite good. I'm enjoying it.

[thesameguy]

It was good enough to finish in two days. I think this review hits the nail *precisely* on the head:

http://www.hitfix.com/whats-alan-watching/review-how-long-can-the-nightmarish-vacation-of-amazons-mad-dogs-last

[JoshInKC]

I haven't watched it yet, but the original English series is batsh!t crazy, and very stressful to watch, at least according to my wife. I highly recommend looking it up if available.

[thesameguy]

Sounds like they are similar. A lot of edge-of-the-seat WTF IS HAPPENING moments.

[JoshInKC]

Yeah, it was flat-out bonkers and got progressively moreso with each new season.

[speedpimp]

Angie Tribeca. Show with Rashida Jones as an LAPD police detective. Show is very reminiscent of Ariplane and Naked Gun.

[thesameguy]

Intentionally?

[thesameguy]

Man, Rob Schneider's wife is smoking hot.

[speedpimp]

Intentionally?

Yup.

[speedpimp]

Got through the first three episodes of the new X-Files. Loving it so far, especially ep. 3.

[Alan P]

I can't decide if Ep 3 of the X-Files was knowing wink, self parody, comedy or semi-serious.

[thesameguy]

I watched Tomorrowland last night and then read a few critical reviews as I'd remembered hearing it got very bad reviews and I wasn't sure why. Every single negative review said roughly the same thing - "It's not structured like other movies." Things like, "It looks great, but who was the protagonist?" and "It ends on a Disney-like high note" and "Unexplained technology." WTactualF? The entire point of the movie was discussed in the first five minutes when young Frank Walker says, "Does everything have to have a point? Can't some things just be fun?" Two good actors go for a trip through some great scenery, some neat ideas, and some solid action sequences, and then everything works out ok. It's not going to change anyone's life, but that doesn't diminish it as good entertainment. Not everything needs to set out to change peoples' minds, some things can be genuine escapism. I like genuine escapism. That's is Disney.

The only review I read that I liked ended with, "It seems the biggest complaint about this movie from critics is that they don't know why they don't like it." I know why; they're shitty, angry people. :lol:

There is another movie (a short, really) on Netflix called "Land of Tomorrow" which is very dark and very depressing. Also, very much worth a watch.

[MR2 Fan]

I watched Tomorrowland last night and then read a few critical reviews as I'd remembered hearing it got very bad reviews and I wasn't sure why. Every single negative review said roughly the same thing - "It's not structured like other movies." Things like, "It looks great, but who was the protagonist?" and "It ends on a Disney-like high note" and "Unexplained technology." WTactualF? The entire point of the movie was discussed in the first five minutes when young Frank Walker says, "Does everything have to have a point? Can't some things just be fun?" Two good actors go for a trip through some great scenery, some neat ideas, and some solid action sequences, and then everything works out ok. It's not going to change anyone's life, but that doesn't diminish it as good entertainment. Not everything needs to set out to change peoples' minds, some things can be genuine escapism. I like genuine escapism. That's is Disney.

The only review I read that I liked ended with, "It seems the biggest complaint about this movie from critics is that they don't know why they don't like it." I know why; they're shitty, angry people. :lol:

I think that's part of it. It was definitely a very unique movie, but as expected from a Pixar alum, most of their movies are quite different than mainstream Hollywood (possibly another reason why critics didn't like it)

[thesameguy]

Totally - I think when a movie is CGI critics inherently suspend all their expectations about "what a movie should be," but when you make the same movie with a live cast they start fuming with unmet expectations. Idjits.

[overpowered]

I've been watching RWBY on Youtube. The initial trailer and first episode seemed promising but it devolved into too much teen crap. I was hoping for something a little smarter like Legend of Korra but it just wasn't. Got a little better in the third season. Two episodes yet to be released.

On one episode, Adblock Plus said that it had blocked around 250 ads for that page.

[mk]

Secrets of the Tribe.

[Phil_SS]

Got to finish up the last season of Mad Men and it just reaffirmed my opinion that Christina Hendricks is the hottest women on the planet. Though maybe that's because 60's-70's style is so much better than today. Especially Joan's wardrobe.

[overpowered]

Just realized that Rip Hunter is Rory Williams. How do I not notice these things?

[SportWagon]

My wife was watching the new X Files and there was constant narration, like the whole show was a recap.

Turns out the digital adaptor remotes have two languages; ENG and ENM. And she had pressed ENM some time without realizing, resulting in rather annoying viewing.

ENM turns on a "descriptive video" SAP. The E(N) does stand for English, not Emergency (Emergency Notification Message), because in the rare citation I found for it, http://www.cab-acr.ca/english/research/12/sub_nov1512_app1b.pdf refers to the alternative "FRM" for Français.

On the weather network it actually results in detailed spoken forecasts.

On the X Files, it was very annoying.

The boxes themselves don't provide CC, but digital TVs do that themselves.

[overpowered]

New Star Trek series.

http://www.ew.com/article/2016/02/09/star-trek-bryan-fuller

[thesameguy]

As much as I like the idea, I just can't see how it's going to be any good.

[novicius]

As much as I'm no J.J. Abrams fan, I'm amped. :up: :up:

Not crazy about changing the ship to the U.S.S. Reliant, tho'. I mean, I get it and obviously ST:Into Darkness is out of the bottle and nuTrek canon and all, might as well roll with it. But still... what's the connection? That this is the ship that Khan is going to hijack some 15 years in the future, hashtag winkie hashtag insidejoke? There is no other connection to the Reliant than that.

EDIT: Wait, Khan & Co were returned to cryosleep at the end of ST:ID, not released on Ceti Alpha V, therefore not to be rediscovered by the Reliant crew. But with Star Trek Beyond coming out in a few months from now (June 2016), perhaps there's a tie-in? #shrug

Captain Angela Bassett and First Officer Rosario Dawson tho'? Definitely down with that command crew! ;)

[George]

Not crazy about changing the ship to the U.S.S. Reliant, tho'...what's the connection?

Wild guess: nothing, other than re-using starship names in Star Trek TV series and movies has been done before, so why not give the fans something to wink and nod about?

I've mentioned it before, but www.startrekcontinues.com is fantastic. They quite literally pick up where the original series ended - at the end of the last episode and continue from there. It is superb, if you want more of the original series and don't mind different actors. The sixth full-length episode comes out this spring.

[George]

I took a vacation day from work today and worked around the house. I'm maxed (maxxed?) out on time, so was either use it or lose it. While folding three loads of laundry and just sitting and staring at the TV for part of the time - something I seldom have time to do - I watched three episodes of Longmire on Netflix. Wow! I had watched a couple episodes in the last week or two, and after today I'm convinced this show keeps getting better and better. I finished the first season this afternoon and just a few minutes ago completed Season 2, Episode 1, "Unquiet Mind." Superb. A+. I love this series, and all the unexpected things that keep happening.

If anyone liked the S2 E1 show and would like to enjoy an expanded version of the same story (the one with the club sandwiches and the snow cat - need I say more?), read the book "Hell Is Empty" by Craig Johnson. They did a great job of adapting that novel to this series.

I can't wait to watch more Longmire. I'm sure I'll start another after we get the kids to bed tonight. Having no commercials is pretty cool also.

From an automotive standpoint, I was glad to see that Walt...

...got his Bronco fixed! :up:

[novicius]

Yep, I'm currently re-watching all of the Original Series (halfway through Season 3) and will finish up with Star Trek Continues. :up:

I'm just thinking that it would have been cooler to have another one of the classic TOS ship names like the Yorktown or Hood -- or maybe bring back one of the destroyed starships like the Constellation or Excalibur, see them in operation in the nuTrek timeline. :)

Also, check out the size difference between nuTrek & TOS starships:

http://www.ex-astris-scientia.org/articles/new_enterprise/enterprise-comparison-bluray.jpg


EDIT: Ah, here's a shot of the U.S.S. Armstrong from ST:ID -- based on the U.S.S. Reliant, obviously.

http://www.ex-astris-scientia.org/schematics/stxi-type1-screen.jpg


EDIT: Ah, the U.S.S. Mayflower would be the closest approximation to the Reliant. Here's a comparison chart from ships in the Abramsverse.

http://www.ex-astris-scientia.org/schematics/stxi-concept-chart.jpg

/nerd :)

[George]

/nerd :)

Nope. More Star Trek talk, please. :up:

I didn't know there was a size difference between the TOS Enterprise and the JJ Abrams Enterprise. I figured it was just different styling, just as the new uniforms are generally similar, but certainly not the same.

[novicius]

I'm just getting caught up so much of it is new to me. I'm sure The359 is rolling his eyes and dusting off his "Welcome to 2008" banner. :lol:

[George]

If you haven't already, don't forget to watch the first ST pilot episode, "The Cage". Welcome to 1964!

Much of it was recycled into first season episode "The Menagerie", but the entire hour-long episode of "The Cage" has been available at least since TOS came out on DVD.

[novicius]

Yup, I'm watching everything that's available on Netflix and that includes the standalone ep "The Cage". :up:

[MR2 Fan]

I watched Spectre again...2nd viewing overall and decided that it is extremely average :|

[overpowered]

Deadpool didn't suck, but most of the best gags are actually in the long trailers.

Ryan Reynolds did a lot better as Deadpool than as Green Lantern.
Morena Baccarin looked as hot as she ever has.

[tigeraid]

Better Call Saul returned this week. Just a reminder, because it contains the greatest character currently on TV, Mike Ehrmantraut.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jS6kAKj8R9o&feature=share



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYaXYPi2N4E

[thesameguy]

Morena Baccarin looked as hot as she ever has.

Yeah - she is (was?) in Gotham and had an amazingly small part in Spy - mostly looked great, then got shot in the face. Speaking of. Spy was pretty solid. I'm not a big Melissa McCarthy fan, but she & Jason Statham together was pretty darned funny.

[SportWagon]

Was up in the middle of the night playing an Android game and happened to catch about an hour or so of Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thirty_Seconds_Over_Tokyo).

Went back to bed just after their plane went down, setting up for the final part of the film. Its apparently only 138 minutes long. Don't recall what TCM was doing for commercial breaks, but the TV Guide channel appeared to show a very long time slot.

Turning on described video was mildly interesting, but only for little bursts as it got annoying. But they sure do put a lot of work into producing that. And it's interesting how the described video will refer to characters by name, whereas if you're just watching you probably don't remember most of the names.

[FaultyMario]

I really liked the more humane/philosophical take of the Thomas Harris characters under Fuller. So, let's hope it's at least as good as DS9.

[George]

Maybe it's just my imagination, or my tendency to over-analyze, but I watched a couple more Longmire episodes recently and I'm starting to think Henry is a bit less of the loyal friend he is in the books. On TV, he is starting to seem surly, resentful, and perhaps almost suspicious of Walt.

I'll have to watch more to find out. There is a lot more drama going on with each character on TV I was used to in the books. I suppose that's just how TV is these days.

[overpowered]

The Imitation Game was good. I've been a fan of Turing since I took an Automata Theory class in college as part of my computer science degree and the professor told stories about him since she was a big fan of his.

I think that they got a little loose with the history but that's just movies. Keira Knightly is a lot better looking than the real Joan Clarke was.

At the end, they said that the breaking of Enigma remained a secret for over 50 years. I'm pretty sure I learned about it in school in the 80's, which would have been maybe 40-something years after they broke it. Enigma was long obsolete by then. In the 80's the top encryption schemes were DES and RSA which were much stronger than Enigma (both obsolete now). Maybe I'm remembering it wrong and didn't learn about him breaking Enigma until later but I could swear it was when I was still in school.

[MR2 Fan]

I tried watching another episode of Top Gear U.S. after not having watched one for ages....its worse than I remembered.

It's like they're third rate replacements, pretending to do everything the old Top Gear UK crew did, and failing miserably (but you all knew that already).

[overpowered]

After googling a bit, it appears that the revelation that the allies had broken enigma was made public knowledge by the book "The Ultra Secret" in 1974, which makes sense because stronger encryption schemes were well known by then and enigma was almost certainly no longer in use by any government.

[speedpimp]

Still in love with "Baskets", Louie Anderson knocks it out of the park as Zach Galifinakis' mom.

[novicius]

https://youtu.be/0Y8iRvQdSGA

A little long-winded but still decent. ;)

[George]

More thoughts and a question about Longmire:

Sometimes Walt drives a black Dodge Ram pickup truck. Is it his personal vehicle? If so, why do we never see it parked at his cabin? Does he keep it stashed out of sight so he can use it as an undercover vehicle that nobody will instantly recognize? It doesn't seem important, but I'm curious.

If there's some big secret about that truck that is revealed in later episodes, please don't answer. I'm currently early in season 3, so fortunately I still have many more episodes to enjoy before I start anxiously tapping my fingers and waiting for season 5 to start. I've read online that will happen later this year, although I try not to read much about the show because every time I have, such as checking out a couple actors and actresses on IMDB, I've learned things I didn't want to know, such as how many episodes they appeared in, for example. That is more than I want to know at this point.

It's amazingly obvious that Dodge provides the vehicles for this show. I didn't really pick up on that until the something happened to one of the sheriff's department's vehicles and they replaced it with, of course, a brand new Dodge. Even the Sheriff of nearby Cumberland Country drives a marked Ram police truck with dual rear wheels. Now that is badass, although the actor who played him really, REALLY should have been driving a Dodge Charger instead. I can see why a Wyoming sheriff could need a dually, though - we've seen that a sheriff sometimes has to play repo man, and it's not unreasonable to assume they might also have to pull a horse trailer or a snowmobile trailer. I've seen the latter here in Colorado, and the county I live in has police horses that I'm sure they must use trailers to transport occasionally.

Speaking of guest stars, I continue to be impressed with some of actors who appear in this show. The actor who plays Lucian Connally does a great job and seems very authentic to the character in the books. I recently caught his name at the bottom of the screen at the director of an episode I saw recently. It had been bugging me where I've seen him before and then it finally hit me, when Lucian was speaking in a particularly menacing way - he is a Star Trek franchise alumnus/veteran.

I was also THRILLED to see someone from a Coen brothers movie in the show I saw last night. I won't mention who, so as not to spoil anything for anyone who might want to start this excellent series. Maybe I'm odd, but I don't even want to know what guest stars may appear in an episode in advance. Part of the fun is seeing them and then realizing, "Hey! That actor/actress was in such-and-such a show/movie!" There have been a few of those fun moments of recognition and realization before, and I hope to enjoy more.

Strange coincidence: In the show and in the books, Deputy Moretti is from Philadelphia. Recently I received a call at work from someone in Philadelphia with the last name of Moretti. Small world, eh?

[Cam]

Inglorious Basterds. Even more messed up than I anticipated. :eek:

[MR2 Fan]

Mythbusters had their final episode and also a retrospective episode with Kari, Grant and Tori....will definitely miss the show, but 14 years is a LONG time for any TV show.

They also got video thanks from James Cameron, Astronaut Chris Hadfield, Neil Degrasse Tyson and President Obama....pretty amazing what they've accomplished to get that kind of send-off

[George]

I caught most of Inglorious Basterds on cable TV on a Saturday afternoon a while back - I missed the first part but saw at least half of it, and the ending. Normally I would't watch a movie in that manner, but it wasn't one I cared about seeing, or I wouldn't have started after missing the beginning, and when not being able to give it my full attention.

I was prepared to be horrified based on comments I've heard about the movie, but either I missed the "messed up" parts or they were censored out for TV - probably the latter, as I've noticed when people say something is gruesome in the 21st century, it's usually very bad, as our society has had our standards of what's suitable for entertainment steadily lowered since they stopped showing separate beds in married couples' bedrooms on 1950s television.

Now we see coffins dug up and opened for cavity searches of the deceased (I saw that on Netflix this weekend) and people shot and then stabbed, repeatedly, with blood spattering everywhere, until our hero finally pulls out the knife and the camera holds on the blood dripping from the blade, as if there's any doubt of what happened (also on Netflix this weekend) and we cheer for more "entertainment".

I liked the actor who played the primary bad guy in Basterds, or at least that's who he seemed to be to me...

...the handsome gent who spoke at least three languages. He was quite likable, which I suppose was completely intentional. I don't think I've seen him (the actor) before. And where was Brad Pitt? I thought this was a BP movie, but it seemed like he was barely in it. Oh well. Overall,...


...given a choice of liked or disliked with no other conditions allowed, I'd have to say I liked Inglorious Basterds. Parts of it seemed as good as some of the classic 1960s WWII films.

While watching more Netflix than usual this weekend, as I was truly bedridden on Saturday with some kind of "can't move a muscle" flu-type misery, I was thinking of novicius saying Star Trek was on Netflix, and I started scrolling through all the choices but didn't see it. Then I found the Search function. Cool! I see the new(er) series Enterprise is on Netflix also. That's good. I started that on Hulu a while back and saw the first four or five episodes, but I noticed Hulu didn't have them all. I guess they want you to pay for Hulu Plus to get 'em all. I liked Enterprise, the humans' distrust and prejudice against Vulcans (well, it's hard to say one likes prejudice, but it was very believable as presented), and their attitude of "screw the potential danger - we're here to explore and that's what we're gonna do!". James T. Kirk would approve.

I started the episode "Tomorrow Is Yesterday" from the original series, just to see if Netflix is showing the remastered versions of the original series or the original original series. I have the originals on DVD and have only seen a handful of the remastered ones, so I may have to watch more, especially the ones with lots of space scenes (The Ultimate Computer and The Doomsday Machine come to mind).

The few remastered episodes I remember seeing from recent airings of ST on TV show the Enterprise handling more like a fighter plane rather than lumbering along in a straight line, which never bothered me before but looks a bit dated after seeing the JJ Abrams Enterprise do what it did at the beginning of Into Darkness - my favorite Enterprise exterior scene ever, without question!

I do remember seeing the "new and improved" clock at Sulu's station and being disappointed. They changed an old-school digital clock with the numbers on rotating wheels, which may have been cutting edge in its day, into a modern LED display as you'd see on a five dollar watch. Awesome space dogfights with the Enterprise climbing and twisting like a Fokker triplane instead of plowing straight ahead like a Zeppelin? Yes, please! But changing sixties icons like Sulu's clock and the wood-paneled console television set in Captain Pike's quarters? No way! Leave those alone, says I.


Mythbusters had their final episode and also a retrospective episode with Kari, Grant and Tori....will definitely miss the show

You can still see Grant on "TV" as Lt. Sulu at www.startrekcontinues.com.

http://www.startrekcontinues.com/images/cast05.jpg

[novicius]

To be fair, the remastered TOS eps really kick into high gear after the first six or so eps of Season 1. :up:

The planets through the main viewscreen look luscious, other alien effects have been redone, and the ship-to-ship combat didn't seem too Top Gun to me.

[speedpimp]

The "main badguy" is Christoph Waltz, he won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for this role and his role in Django Unchained. He was also the heavy in The Green Hornet.

Also it's a Quentin Tarantino movie, not a Brad Pitt movie.

[George]

Every few years, I go back and watch all the ST episodes. Maybe it's time again, minus the ones that are truly horrible. Of course, that eliminates most of Season Three :lol:, and I say that as someone who loves ST more than any other show, and always have.

Agreed about the remastered planets - those I've seen look incredible. The originals were like crayon drawn on wax paper and then held in front of a circular lamp. Mostly it's just Sulu's clock that annoyed me when I glimpsed it once on some episode in which he was doing another of his countdowns. His original digital clock was much cooler!

And I like the Top Gun dogfights, for sure! I don't know which episode it was, but in one, I saw the Enterprise roll over on its side to either escape or chase something, sort of like how you see fighter planes in a formation of four rolling off to the side one by one. I remember seeing that and thinking, oh man, this amazing! That was several years ago, I think, when the then-newly remastered ST debuted on the WB network, IIRC. Despite having seen all the episodes many times, I still feel compelled to have the TV on when they ST comes on regular TV, since for so long it wasn't on anywhere. Somehow ST on "live" TV with commercials and all is better than on DVD or Netflix.

All I'm asking here is for them to have read my mind and have made only the changes I would approve. That's not too much, is it?

[George]

Christoph Waltz, he won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for this role...

*checks IMDB*

Yeah, that's him. Thanks. He was charming.

[George]

Having Netflix on our bedroom TV is keeping me awake at night. Last night I watched Django. I had seen some of it before via pirate web sites, but I don't remember seeing the whole thing. Wow, that is one LONG movie.

I loved the music. But like the few Tarantino movies I've seen, I'm left with a feeling as if I've seen a parody of a movie, rather than an actual movie, if that makes sense. Maybe that's the point of his movies. Or maybe he just knows people will pay to see whatever he creates. I can't say I'm a true fan, yet I can certainly appreciate what he does. His movies are sort of like car wrecks or whatever the metaphor is that causes people to say "but I can't look away!"

Fans of Tarantino who haven't seen the 1970 movie "Kelly's Heroes", should. It's a great movie on its own, and one that I think Tarantino must have seen a time or twelve, based on how he presents his work - big stars, groovy music, cool titles/credits, the silly mixed with the serious, and plenty of violence.

[novicius]

Django Unchained is one of my favorite movies ever. I've probably watched it 3 times just this year. :up: :up:

[TheBenior]

I loved the music. But like the few Tarantino movies I've seen, I'm left with a feeling as if I've seen a parody of a movie, rather than an actual movie, if that makes sense. Maybe that's the point of his movies. Or maybe he just knows people will pay to see whatever he creates. I can't say I'm a true fan, yet I can certainly appreciate what he does. His movies are sort of like car wrecks or whatever the metaphor is that causes people to say "but I can't look away!"
Django is as much a commentary on classic Westerns (specifically, how they dodge the issue of slavery even when protagonists are former Confederates) as it is the self-contained plot.

[Phil_SS]

Fans of Tarantino who haven't seen the 1970 movie "Kelly's Heroes", should. It's a great movie on its own, and one that I think Tarantino must have seen a time or twelve, based on how he presents his work - big stars, groovy music, cool titles/credits, the silly mixed with the serious, and plenty of violence.

One of my all time favorite movies.

"What's with the negative waves?"
"There's no booze, no broads...theres no action."
"Nobody said anything bout Tigers"

[novicius]

Django is as much a commentary on classic Westerns (specifically, how they dodge the issue of slavery even when protagonists are former Confederates) as it is the self-contained plot.
As long as you're excluding 'The Outlaw Josie Wales' in this commentary, then sure. ;)

[SportWagon]

Fans of Tarantino who haven't seen the 1970 movie "Kelly's Heroes", should. It's a great movie on its own, and one that I think Tarantino must have seen a time or twelve, based on how he presents his work - big stars, groovy music, cool titles/credits, the silly mixed with the serious, and plenty of violence.

I seem to remember Kelly's Heroes was one of the favourite movies of my American-civil-war-fanatic high-school best friend who died prematurely in 2007.

[JoshInKC]

Daredevil season 2 is pretty decent so far (4 episodes in). It's no Jessica Jones, but it's about as good as the first season was.

[speedpimp]

Leaps and bounds above JJ. On ep. 7 now.

[overpowered]

https://vimeo.com/159011768

[George]

I finished Longmire on Netflix.

No actual spoilers, but a couple opinions below.


I thought they could and possibly should have ended it after Season 3.

But, despite a slow, strange, and "these aren't as good as before" few shows at the beginning of Season 4, it turned out okay, I guess. I especially liked the last couple of minutes of the final show.

I've read they're making a Season 5. I'll be watching, if so.

[pl8ster]

Duh, North Woods Law.

"We're gonna catch us a poach-ah tonight!"

[Freude am Fahren]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwXfv25xJUw

[overpowered]

My main exposure to Kanye West is SNL and he was on again tonight and yet again, he sucks.

[speedpimp]

That's just because you're old, bruh. You're too old to recognize his genius, bruh. You just don't get it, bruh.

[MR2 Fan]

News: Mythbusters is coming back....kinda. The Science Channel plans to make a new reality show to find "the next mythbusters"...judged by previous mythbusters (no info yet on who)....not sure how I feel about this.

[Freude am Fahren]

A reality/contest show? :rolleyes: FFS

[novicius]

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

Eh, their heart is in the right place. :)

[speedpimp]

Following George's reco and getting back in on Longmire. Watched the first season way back when and I think part of the third. Split the difference and started off with season two.

[Godson]

Royals baseball...

[overpowered]

Banshee is back.

[Drachen596]

I just watched the first 10 minutes or so of the 2014 TMNT movie.

I had to turn it off.

[George]

...getting back in on Longmire.

If you (or anyone) wants to try a Longmire book, I'm currently re-reading "Wait For Signs" and think it's a good one to get to know Walt and everyone else as they are in the books. It's a collection of short stories, which makes it less of a commitment than starting a novel.

Two things in that book so far have amused me, over and above the usual goodness that comes with Longmire stories:

1. A discussion of Merle Haggard, who recently died, of course

2. Mention of actor Robert Taylor, but not the actor Robert Taylor who plays Walt Longmire on TV, but instead this guy, I assume:

Another Robert Taylor (1911 - 1969) at imdb.com (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001791/)

In other Longmire TV news, rumors on google say that Season 5 will come out in September of this year. I also see the The Longmire Days Convention will be held in Buffalo, Wyoming on July 8 and 9. Hey, that's only about 400 miles from me. Dang, too bad it's not in Cheyenne. I might go for an afternoon if it was that close.

[George]

Oh, almost forgot - I'm watching Star Trek: Enterprise for real this time. I just arrived at Season Two, after picking up about halfway through the first season. Good stuff! A couple observations that aren't spoilers but...well, you guys know how I do!


It's neat how they say "July 31" or whatever the date is, and the year, instead of Stardate 3205.9 or whatever. I also think it's cool to see Admirals wearing neckties and a couple of the crew wearing baseball caps. I want to say I saw someone wearing blue jeans in an early episode, too. I watched the first few episodes of Season One some time ago, so I don't remember all the details.

I think they've done a good job making this seem like it's in between Kirk/Spock/McCoy and today. Sure, it's completely futuristic, but, there are still enough things that make it seem like it's not too terribly far in the future to comprehend. Sure, they have food and beverage synthesizers, but, characters have to reach into a cupboard to get their own coffee mugs first. I enjoy seeing the "primitive" things like that in the show.

[speedpimp]

Enterprise is the only ST series I haven't seen an episode of.


Really enjoying the new season of Banshee. The HNIC villain looks like a young, jacked Pee Wee Herman.

[SportWagon]

Happened last night on the History Channel to catch the episode of M*A*S*H where Harry Morgan, long before playing Col. Sherman Potter, plays lunatic General Bartford Hamilton Steele...

When the sun goes down, the tide goes out,
The people gather 'round and they all begin to shout,

[Leon]

I wonder how many people remembered that :) I certainly did, and it struck me as being a bit odd that the recycled the actor ... however he absolutely nailed the Sherman Potter character!

[JoshInKC]

For some reason I really like it when tv shows have the balls to do that - NYPD Blue, Hill Street Blues, and Deadwood all do that.

[JoshInKC]

Been watching Longmire off and on when my wife wasn't around over the past few weeks on George's rec. Just finished the one with the Native kids in foster care - It was really good. In fact, I'm generally pretty damn impressed with the show's treatment of the Native people and communities.

[overpowered]

Happened last night on the History Channel to catch the episode of M*A*S*H where Harry Morgan, long before playing Col. Sherman Potter, plays lunatic General Bartford Hamilton Steele...

When the sun goes down, the tide goes out,
The people gather 'round and they all begin to shout,Yep. I remember that episode. I couldn't believe the name of the black character, even back then.

[speedpimp]

The Irish are terrible Indian fighters.

[MR2 Fan]

Irony: Captain America: Civil War is released already in several countries...just NOT in the U.S.....an "America" movie comes out late in America

[JoshInKC]

Yeah, international release schedules in the modern era have always been kind of interesting to me. Movies - I somewhat understand, because it allows the studios to do press and premiers in stages, though the strategies behind which countries come first is pretty opaque to me. I think maybe it has to do with piracy? Who knows.
Books, OTOH, I don't get at all - I read several UK-based authors and for some reason, there'll be 6 or 8 month gaps between the UK & American releases. It's really weird and I can't figure out the purpose of the delay.

[Freude am Fahren]

It's especially odd when you think about the fact that the movie needs to be subtitled (or even dubbed) before being released in many countries. Unless they just release in English at first? Or that is happening while the movie in in final production stages.

Anyway, it's probably mostly due to schedules of other movies and local "big weekends" like holidays and such. Also many movies are financed by foreign money in the end, so they can get preferential treatment.

[overpowered]

Banshee: I did not see Calvin doing that at the end.

[speedpimp]

Calvin is the one who looks like a young, ripped Pee Wee Herman.

[speedpimp]

Went and saw Keanu. Really good movie. I hope Key & Peele keep making movies. There were only three of us in the theater.

[novicius]

Cool, I'm looking forward to seeing it. :up:

Been watching Aaron Paul's new show, The Path.

Eh, it's borderline decent -- but I feel like unless you're kind of the personality who is always in danger of falling for magnetic David Koresh/Jim Jones types, you're just going to be saying to your TV "Hey Aaron, yeah this guy is feeding you an L. Ron Hubbard-sized pile of horseshit along with psychotropic drugs in the camp's water supply, y0."

But this is TV so maybe the Rapture really will occur at the end of Season 1? :lol:

[Cam]

He Never Died. I enjoyed it.

[Kchrpm]

Captain America: Civil War. Very good, quite enjoyable, might see again in theaters.

[Freude am Fahren]

This is brilliant. (Though, the broadcast version is slightly different, doesn't say erection, but "anything")


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYw4Gg2vw5c

[overpowered]

Banshee: Oh shit!

[Phil_SS]

Just finished watching 11.22.63.

Pretty damn good.

[George]

*jaw on floor*

I read the book and was amazed. I had no idea there was a movie.

I just googled and I'm sort of hopeful, yet somewhat skeptical. I hope this isn't some cheesy SciFi-channel-type lowest possible quality movie, yet if JJ Abrams made it, well, it might be okay. I need to google him and figure out how it is he cranks out all these movies so quickly. Perhaps JJ Abrams is a company instead of a guy? No, I don't mean that literally, but maybe some know what I mean.

Nonetheless, I shall attempt to watch it. Thanks for the recommendation, Phil!

Yes, I actually do get all of my news here at this forum.

[speedpimp]

Abrams was just the producer.

[novicius]

Captain America: Civil War. Very good, quite enjoyable, might see again in theaters.
Yep caught this last night. Decent but a little rushed -- I'd say that the Russo Bros had a lot of story to pack in but then this movie looked nothing like the comic storyline so they could have just written it shorter.

Also for all of its four-color battles, it's surprisingly heavy and dark. Probably good that we should see Loki again soon. :lol:

[Kchrpm]

I did end up going to see it again, and did enjoy it again :up:

[SportWagon]

Happened last night on the History Channel to catch the episode of M*A*S*H where Harry Morgan, long before playing Col. Sherman Potter, plays lunatic General Bartford Hamilton Steele...

And last night I happened to see one (apparently the first of two) in which Robert Alda appeared.

[speedpimp]

Anybody besides me watching The Night Manager? Bueller? Bueller?
It sums up like this Loki is an undercover agent trying to bring down International Arms Dealer, Dr. House.

[JoshInKC]

Yeah, unaware of its coming availability in the US, I downloaded it when it aired in the UK. I enjoyed it a lot, they did a really good and interesting job of updating and adapting the book to 2016 from 1991(?). The performances are really great and they manage to pull a very compelling miniseries out of a somewhat lesser LeCarre novel.
Also, the opening credits are great.

[speedpimp]

Last night was ep. 4. It airs on Tuesdays on AMC.

[speedpimp]

And Burton does it again.

[overpowered]

Yeah. When he takes off his glasses, the best strategy tends to be to run.

Interestingly, he hasn't fought Hood yet that I can recall. Would have liked to have seen him go up against Chayton.

It felt like they rushed the wrap up of the satanic cult thing. Does Proctor go after the survivors in prison?

"You have no idea how insignificant you are."
"That makes two of us."

Brock's just going to let Veronica go after watching her execute Declan? I guess. Maybe.

Calvin walks through the office like that? What....the....fuck?!

What's Brock going to do now that he knows the truth about Hood?

Job's revenge was cool.

[speedpimp]

I recall Calvin(aka young buff Peewee Herman) daydreaming about killing that same guy in an earlier episode.

[overpowered]

Well yeah. His motive was obvious but walking through the office covered in blood? He didn't even try to hide what he had done.

[speedpimp]

He is just one of a bunch of interesting characters. Two of them were just one appearance wonders:imitation Jason Statham because they couldn't afford real Jason Statham and William Conrad In A Wheel Chair Criminal Mastermind In A Semi.

[overpowered]

Gotham: Bruce and Lucius show up at Arkham in an Avanti.

[MR2 Fan]

Here it is everyone...the single worst movie idea ever:

http://collider.com/tetris-movie-in-development/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=collidersocial

[Kchrpm]

The plan is to film in China and other locations in 2017 with Chinese cast featured in the ensemble pic that’s billed as a sci-fi thriller.”

Well that explains everything.

[MR2 Fan]

well it was made in Communist Russia, so keeping the Communist ties I guess

[MR2 Fan]

Daniel Craig has turned down $100 million to play in the next 2 Bond movies....so naturally the media starts jumping on the Idris Elba bandwagon, because of course the next James Bond has to be black for Political Correctness, right?

Why can't they have another 00 agent play that role?

[novicius]

Why are you making it about race? ;)

Idris Elba is a British man, Bond is a British man -- what else matters?

(Besides, that's an *ancient* rumor -- FB feeds are saying that Tom Hiddleston has been flirted with about the role.)

[Kchrpm]

He's British, he's buff, he's manly, women seem to find him attractive, he's a great actor, all fantastic reasons for him to be the next Bond.

He might be too old to position as the helm of a major action franchise for the next 10-15 years, though.

[MR2 Fan]

Why are you making it about race? ;)

Idris Elba is a British man, Bond is a British man -- what else matters?

(Besides, that's an *ancient* rumor -- FB feeds are saying that Tom Hiddleston has been flirted with about the role.)

Yes, it's an ancient rumor, but since the news today, a lot of news places are saying him again.

I know Tom Hiddleston really wants it...I think he would be good.

[Freude am Fahren]

He's British, he's buff, he's manly, women seem to find him attractive, he's a great actor, all fantastic reasons for him to be the next Bond.

He might be too old to position as the helm of a major action franchise for the next 10-15 years, though.

Maybe too buff for Bond. Also, tell the second point to Connery. :)

I really like Elba, but he's already got The Gunsliger, does he really need two franchises at once?

[Blerpa]

Why are you making it about race? ;)

Idris Elba is a British man, Bond is a British man -- what else matters?

(Besides, that's an *ancient* rumor -- FB feeds are saying that Tom Hiddleston has been flirted with about the role.)

Fuck Hiddleston on a stick.
On the matter of faithfulness... fuck all of the actors since like forever in Bond movies. They aren't much similar to the Bond in the books, and if we wanna talk about "genuine" Bond matters then all the movies should be based in the '30s.
Craig's mood and ruthless attitude is a bit close, Lazenby's got a little close too in the looks, all the others had nothing to do with original Bond (especially those horrible series of flicks with Roger Moore); so Elba can be Bond as much as Sean Fucking Connery...

[novicius]

Unfortunately books have little to no bearing on the movies made from them.

[Kchrpm]

The books were just Ian Fleming writing a character that was him, and expanding from there.

Sean Connery didn't need to be buff, and neither does Bond necessarily, but with the physicality that the movies are taking on now, with lots of brutal hand-to-hand combat, and Bond never being known as a master martial artist, it makes more sense for him to appear physically capable.

And I'm not saying Idris Elba is too old, but if the studios are trying to hitch their wagon to someone for a decade or more, and the nature of the series is going for bigger physical stunts and close-combat fights, you'd think they'd skew younger in their goal. There are likely several actors that would do an awesome job as the next James Bond as far as the studios and most audiences are concerned, each with their own pros and cons. No one will be "perfect" because the stories and scenes can be written/directed around whatever strengths and weaknesses they have (Connery was AFAIK wearing a toupee in every Bond movie, for instance).

[Leon]

Idris Elba. Is he the guy who was in Luther? That dude is awesome :)

[Kchrpm]

Yep!

http://www.clutchmagonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/5495480ea3668.jpg

http://www.clutchmagonline.com/2015/09/this-james-bond-trailer-starring-idris-elba-is-amazing/

[MR2 Fan]

Look, if Idris Elba is the only good actor that's available to play James Bond, then fine...I'm just a bit tired of some mis-guided efforts by "hollywood" (I realize the Pinewood studios are a bit different) to diversify for the sake of it (see Ghostbusters reboot)....then on the other hand, as we've seen recently, still won't cast asian actors for asian based movies.

[Kchrpm]

Look, if Idris Elba is the only good actor that's available to play James Bond, then fine
He isn't but that doesn't mean he won't be one of the best options. And they're going to not pick him why, just because he's black? It's a fictional character first seen in a novel over 60 years ago, whom didn't even have a Scottish background or a sense of humor until Fleming saw Dr No, liked it and Sean Connery, and added both to the literary character.

Why does it matter that he's white? Is the character any less believable if he's not white? Do the stories not work if he's white? Do the love interest not work? Do the action beats not work? Why does he have to be white?

They should pick who they think will be best. If it's a virtual tie, they should pick whoever they can get the best deal with. Black, white, Asian, whatever. As long as he's a Brit, or can sufficiently fake it.

Edit: and I understand this isn't a race thing. People were complaining about Daniel Craig being cast as Bond because he was blonde and couldn't drive a manual transmission. But why do we need to be so damn picky about a fictional character that has already been played by so many people and has shown to be somewhat malleable? It's not like he's on one long, unbroken timeline of consistency from the beginning to now.

[MR2 Fan]

Short story...I worked as a contractor at Disney World about a decade ago, and my job was to work with the outdoor food vendors, ice cream, sodas, etc.

I got to be good friends with most of the cast members (aka employees). One girl was a very nice, sweet black girl who happened to also have a crush on me, but she was 16 (DANGER).

Anyway, she said once she was hoping Disney will make a movie with a black princess (this was before The Princess and the Frog) and I said it depends on why and how...I explained I don't want Disney to make one, just for the fact of making one...I want them to make a story that's made for a black princess, not to just do it because they want to check off something on a list to make people like them more. She understood and agreed.

[Kchrpm]

But when you're writing your own stories (or stealing/repurposing your own stories/fables, depending on who you ask), you get to make whatever story you want. The idea that a story has to be about a black person, but any old story can have white people, is part of the problem.

Name for me a single Disney story set in a fantasy land where it doesn't work if the characters are black, and tell me why.

[novicius]

That... wut... I don't even... :erm:

MR2 Fan, you are coming dangerously close to saying something Dockonomical.

[Kchrpm]

By the way, when people talk about subtle or institutionalized racism, that's what they're talking about. The idea that something has to be made specifically for a black person in order for it to make sense for a black person to be right for it or like it.

You don't need a "black" version of things. You need to understand that black people are not that different from white people, we just get treated a whole lot differently because of it.

[MR2 Fan]

But when you're writing your own stories (or stealing/repurposing your own stories/fables, depending on who you ask), you get to make whatever story you want. The idea that a story has to be about a black person, but any old story can have white people, is part of the problem.

Name for me a single Disney story set in a fantasy land where it doesn't work if the characters are black, and tell me why.

Mulan, Pocahontas, Brave....of course those aren't strictly "fantasy land" stories, but they're designed around the common culture of Chinese, Native American and Irish.

I was just saying the same thing should be done with Black (or African-American) princess story if they want it to be done properly, and I think they succeeded when they did come out with The Princess and the Frog.

Edit: I'm just saying they don't need to shoehorn someone into a story that's black just to appease some people, then completely ignore another race in the circumstance where it SHOULD be based on that race, but that's how hollywood seems to operate.

[MR2 Fan]

Here's a useful article about what I mean:

http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/16/opinions/john-cho-asian-american-actors-yang/

[thesameguy]

Count me in as an Idris Elba fan and 100% on board with change in Bond. I think they've well established Bond is a position and not a person, so they can throw a disabled native American female veteran in there and I'd go for it. However, for that reason, I'm a little hung up on the age thing. It seems like Bond is a prestigious position, the thing you attain after a lifetime of work. Seems like Bond kinda has to be an older guy based on what they've established thus far. Seems like a really physical old Bond is exactly right for that universe. I can't quite wrap my head around why that's a problem - there have been a lot of older badasses in movies these days... Hell, Red is one of my favorite movies! (But I might have a thing for Helen Mirren with a giant gun. Maybe.)

[JoshInKC]

I would like to hereby co-sign everything kchrpm has said in this conversation.

...diversify for the sake of it (see Ghostbusters reboot)....
Why are people so angry about the ghostbusters thing? Diversity for the sake of it doesn't make any sense. Much more likely, someone at the studio saw bridesmaids and its success and said, "Hey, we could probably make some money with another female-centric comedy." And seriously, it's not like its going to "ruin" ghostbusters. If that were possible, it already happened in 1989 with the sequel.
Is it just because it's not aimed specifically at you?

[novicius]

I would like to hereby co-sign everything kchrpm has said in this conversation.
Agreed!

[Drachen596]

fwiw.. i'm really tired of Hollywood remakes/reboots. They're doing a new Jumanji film with The Rock, Jack Black and Kevin Hart. why?

Idris Elba would make an awesome Bond. I believe every character I've seen him play has been a bad ass in one way or another.

I don't see MR2s point as being Dockonomical. Are you saying he's wrong for wanting a black Disney Princess to have a unique story rather than just remaking a current one and swapping the characters skin colors?

[novicius]

No, I am saying he's on his way to saying something so stupid he can't live it down.

[Kchrpm]

Mulan, Pocahontas, Brave....of course those aren't strictly "fantasy land" stories, but they're designed around the common culture of Chinese, Native American and Irish.

Those are stories about real people/cultures/situations, where the culture clash is important, as opposed to Cinderella, Snow White, Frozen, etc. So yes, keep the cultures.

But when no specific culture is mentioned or important to the story, why must the characters be white? Why is white the default, and anything other than white must be justified?

[Drachen596]

Because the ones you listed all take place in northern Europe during medieval times?

[Freude am Fahren]

What was the last blockbuster that wasn't a roboot, sequel or adaptation? The only one that comes to mind is Inception.

[Drachen596]

Are you counting Avengers as a sequel?

Edit- yeah adapation.. nevermind.

[George]

Yep!

http://www.clutchmagonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/5495480ea3668.jpg

Looks like James Bond to me, except for one thing: Bond knows how to dress, right?

Where's his belt?

(and don't say he's wearing suspenders - that dude's thin enough that we'd see 'em with is jacket open that much)

Signed,

The Master of the Trivial :)

[Freude am Fahren]

Are you counting Avengers as a sequel?


All the Marvel movies I consider "Adaptations" of popular works. And they're all kinda sequels of Iron Man.

I mean completely original movie from an original screenplay based off an original idea. Doesn't have to be unique, just original. Like Independence Day wasn't very unique being an alien invasion movie, but it was an original work.

[Drachen596]

Django Unchained was a pretty big hit though. Interstellar, Wreck it Ralph?

there's a bunch of stuff i didn't realize was based on a book like The Revenant

[George]

Daniel Craig has turned down $100 million to play in the next 2 Bond movies...

Wait, WHAT?! Sorry, I don't get out much, and yes I do get much of my news from this site, but who turns down $100 million?! (rhetorical question - not soliciting answers to this; just commenting)


Daniel Craig...couldn't drive a manual transmission.

Okay, now you guys are just making stuff up... (same disclaimer as above)

I think I'm "over" James Bond movies anyway, as I haven't seen the last who-knows-how-many, yet I adore the early couple dozen, except Moonraker, of course, but I guess I really don't care about him. I'd rather see more Jack Reacher movies. :lol:

[Kchrpm]

Because the ones you listed all take place in northern Europe during medieval times?

But they're relatively universal stories that aren't really related to the culture of that time or place. You could make all the characters in those stories of African descent, Asian descent, Latino descent, whatever; you could change the timeline or location and it would barely change the story at all.

[Blerpa]

But why do we need to be so damn picky about a fictional character that has already been played by so many people and has shown to be somewhat malleable? It's not like he's on one long, unbroken timeline of consistency from the beginning to now.

This.

[MR2 Fan]

Well technically the Spectre movie was going to be half of a 2-part series.....it would be like the Mortal Kombat movie to Mortal Kombat Annihilation movie all over again...they take place story-wise back to back, but half of the actors changed. :p

It's funny to me that no one has mentioned Money Penny...she's black, but she's just now introduced in the new Bond timeline that started with Craig...everything's on a new timeline and things are different and I don't recall any media coverage saying "OMG the next Money Penny has to be black because reasons", the creators just happened to find someone that went well with the role.

Don't you see the difference? It's not the how, it's the why. I've already said I'm fine with Idris Elba if he's the best person for the role, but not just to fill some people's agenda that the next one has to be black for reasons. So are EON going to be called racists if they don't hire him when there's some pressure to do so by people with an agenda?

Now Disney is being pressured to make Elsa a lesbian in the Frozen sequel.

Yes, there's ABSOLUTELY valid reasons to have more inclusion and diversity in a number of roles for everything, I believe everyone has equal rights to everything, but I also know there's people who are trying to push certain agendas that aren't really warranted or necessary in the places they are asking.

So maybe I'm barking up the wrong tree with the Bond franchise. I also think there's a difference in perception from Americans and British for this kind of situation.