Nolgroth Posted September 21, 2017 Report Share Posted September 21, 2017 Two more episodes in... Ok, I'm finishing it. Despite one of my pet peeves (ebil gubber-ment) ... hoping for a trope subversion on that. I'm with you on being tired of that one. But you couldn't really do an 80s homage without it. Since the whole series is a homage to Stephen King, you are really stuck with it. Big Government, Big Corporate, Big Religion, anything Big is BAAADDD. bigdamnhero 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nolgroth Posted September 21, 2017 Report Share Posted September 21, 2017 Finally picked up the Guardians of the Galaxy 2 Blu-Ray. Word to the wise, just because your TV can handle UHD, doesn't mean your Blu-Ray player can. Luckily there was a 1080p version in the box and my TV has a pretty good upscale algorithm. I had no problem with the graphical fidelity of the movie. As to the movie itself, I heard a lot of people claim that the humor was forced. The only place I saw this was the Pac Man reference. It sort of made sense within the context of the character but it was cheesy, especially for somebody who styles himself as "Starlord." I do think that the movie focused a little too much on the humor, but what was there was mostly solid. I think my biggest complaint is that the action was mostly reserved for ship-to-ship stuff with the more personal action relegated to a humorous dance routine in the beginning. mook whack-a-mole at the crash site, and a "let's show how bad ass Yondu is" scene that completely failed to be dramatic or show off how bad ass Yondu was. It showed me how incompetent his former goons were. Oh and there was the slow motion stride. The story was okay. The acting okay. I know that there is only so much that can be fit into a two-hour movie, which is why the introduction and culmination of a Celestial-centric plot in one movie was dumb. Kurt Russell deserved so much better material to work with. Honestly, I felt a little cheated. I probably set the bar too high on my expectations, what with the first being a damn fine movie. The focus on humor over drama (the first had both), the inept handling of the Celestial storyline and the damn gold paint people all really detracted from the experience. The actors are what made this movie enjoyable, simply because of the quality of the product they put out. I put it solidly next to Iron Man 3 in quality. That's not a horrible place to be, but it falls way short of any of the Avengers or the Captain America movies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DasBroot Posted September 21, 2017 Report Share Posted September 21, 2017 Finished S1 Stranger Things. Despite it being outside my wheelhouse I liked it overall - but thought the resolution to the government plot was the weakest point. They didn't do a good enough job of selling this Department of Energy lab as being rogue in some way - so as such both the 'deal' Jim made and the bloodbath at the school as the agents fought, and lost, to two monsters out of their league being swept under as part of said deal don't make sense. Still, the show was written well overall so I'm hopeful that's intentional and that we'll see more fallout from it in S2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Walsh Posted September 21, 2017 Report Share Posted September 21, 2017 Stranger Things is outside of my wheelhouse as well, and I enjoyed it, too. It's just good stuff! And just today, I found out S2 will come out in about a month! DasBroot and bigdamnhero 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L. Marcus Posted September 21, 2017 Report Share Posted September 21, 2017 ... Wheelhouse? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Walsh Posted September 21, 2017 Report Share Posted September 21, 2017 ... Wheelhouse? I didn't know it, but apparently this usage is US slang. Wheelhouse: a place or situation in which one is advantageously at ease. "As the campaign swings to the south, that should be right in his wheelhouse" DasBroot 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
death tribble Posted September 21, 2017 Report Share Posted September 21, 2017 Don't worry L Marcus we could always drop a load of Cockney Rhyming Slang on the Americans or Gaelic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L. Marcus Posted September 21, 2017 Report Share Posted September 21, 2017 I do use Swedish once in a great while. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bazza Posted September 21, 2017 Report Share Posted September 21, 2017 I do use Swedish once in a great while. Is that anything like Swedish Chef from the Muppets? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nolgroth Posted September 21, 2017 Report Share Posted September 21, 2017 ... Wheelhouse? Area of comfort or expertise. Slang. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigdamnhero Posted September 23, 2017 Report Share Posted September 23, 2017 Journey to the West: This is probably the best film attached to Steven Chow since Kung Fu Hustle. It's the story of of a buddhist monk who wants to be a demon hunter. Problem is that his methods are a bit too pacifist for the public at large. When a pig demon starts causing havoc, the monk goes on a quest to find the legendary Monkey King to help. The SPFX in this are pretty good and the leads are engaging enough to make the 140 minute run time go by fast. Recommended. Just watched it. Merciful Buddha, I can't remember the last time I laughed that hard! Also, Shu Qi is my new crush. Great recommendation! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slikmar Posted September 23, 2017 Report Share Posted September 23, 2017 Just watched it. Merciful Buddha, I can't remember the last time I laughed that hard! Also, Shu Qi is my new crush. Great recommendation! Sadly, I don't have the original, but am watching the sequel. Seems funny. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
death tribble Posted September 23, 2017 Report Share Posted September 23, 2017 There was a series called Monkey that ran in the 70s which is about Journey to the West. The monk was played by a woman. Sadly she developed cancer and died at a young age although the guys who played Monkey, Pigsy and Sandy were still alive last I heard Just watched Graham Hill Driven. This was about one of Britain's greatest Formula 1 racing drivers. He set the record by winning 5 Monaco Grand Prix. Uniquely among racing drivers he won the triple which was Formula 1 Grand Prix world championship or the Monaco Grand Prix, the Indianapolis 500 and the Le Mans 24 hour race. He was and remain the most recognisable of all acing drivers. He had a moustache akin to Dick Dasterdly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Hopcroft Posted September 23, 2017 Report Share Posted September 23, 2017 There's a really famous riff on Journey to the West that turned into a riff on the Superman mythos. You may have heard of it. It's called Dragonball. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cassandra Posted September 24, 2017 Report Share Posted September 24, 2017 Another Thin Man (1939) The third film in the Thin Man series. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grailknight Posted September 24, 2017 Report Share Posted September 24, 2017 Strong Girl Bong-Soon, A Korean super romcom on Netflix. Our heroine comes from an ancestral line of women who have super-strength as long as they use it for good and stay humble. its fun to see a 90-lb female slap gangs around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DShomshak Posted September 24, 2017 Report Share Posted September 24, 2017 Finally saw Heavy Metal. Wow, that's 90 minutes of my life wasted. Dean Shomshak Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigdamnhero Posted September 25, 2017 Report Share Posted September 25, 2017 Finally saw Heavy Metal. Wow, that's 90 minutes of my life wasted. It was awesome when I was 12. DasBroot, Joe Walsh and Pattern Ghost 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ternaugh Posted September 25, 2017 Report Share Posted September 25, 2017 Beauty and the Beast (2017): Surprisingly not horrible. The Beast was a little bit too CGI for my taste, as his expressions didn't always work right. Lots of extra songs pushes up the running time to over 2 hours, though I'm not really sure that most of them were needed. Watched on Netflix. Judge Dredd (1995): Not surprisingly, horrible. My local SF club received free passes to a special showing when this movie came out, and probably the best part of the whole thing was the writing pads that had a pale picture from the movie poster on it that were given away as free swag. In a role that will have you yearning for Jar Jar Binks, Rob Schneider stars as an annoying version of himself, with Sylvester Stallone playing his straight man as Judge Dredd. Armand Assante plays his "brother", and the plot involves a really large cloning facility inside the Statue of Liberty. Watched on Netflix, but mercifully, it was released by Hollywood Pictures/Disney, which means that it will most likely become "exclusive" content for the new Disney streaming service in 2019. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cygnia Posted September 26, 2017 Report Share Posted September 26, 2017 Gotten through about half of "American Vandal" on Netflix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nolgroth Posted September 26, 2017 Report Share Posted September 26, 2017 A bunch of documentaries about Old West figures like Wild Bill Hickock, Buffalo Bill Cody, Geronimo, Butch Cassidy and Jedediah Smith. Tomorrow I am going to resume with Women of the Old West. Shame that the documentary producers couldn't do a film dedicated to prominent women like Annie Oakley. That's what I get for doing research on the Lemat Cartridge pistol and carbine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattingly Posted September 26, 2017 Report Share Posted September 26, 2017 Mindhorn - an escaped killer will only talk an 80s TV cop, so the police bring in the washed-up actor for a reprise role Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ternaugh Posted September 27, 2017 Report Share Posted September 27, 2017 The Founder - Michael Keaton stars as Ray Kroc in a story based upon the rise of McDonald's. To be honest, it's a little too gentle with Kroc's image and many misdeeds, but is still an entertaining movie. Of course, what's now stuck in my head is Mark Knopfler's song based on the same events: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
death tribble Posted September 28, 2017 Report Share Posted September 28, 2017 Old episodes of The Bill from the late 80s. In one episode, the relief have to stay on as the British version of IAD turn up. Someone was issuing on the spot fines and pocketing the cash. Turns out it was a police mechanic and his girlfriend in a panda they borrowed. Quite sneaky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cassandra Posted September 28, 2017 Report Share Posted September 28, 2017 Knight of Justice, a filmed on video Superhero movie featuring Knight Watchman, Ultiman, Thunder Girl, and Masker from Big Bang Comics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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