What Have You Watched Recently?

[Spence]

Caught up on the K-Drama Search.  It is an ongoing series and I find myself waiting on the subtitles to catch up.

[Ternaugh]

Home Alone: It's been a while since I've watched this, and it was better than I remembered. (Disney+)

 

Home Alone 2: Lost in New York: Also enjoyable. (Disney+)

 

Tales of the Gold Monkey (Pilot): Essentially Justice, Inc the TV show, and I suspect it was the inspiration for Disney's Tale Spin. I'll be working my way through the rest of the episodes. (DVD)

[Spence]

Apparently Maine Cabin Masters is a great background show.  When I am doing something on the computer or reading I find myself tuning in Maine Cabin Masters and just letting it run.

[Pariah]

2 hours ago, Ternaugh said:

Home Alone: It's been a while since I've watched this, and it was better than I remembered. (Disney+)

 

A/K/A Die Hard for kids.

[Bazza]

2 hours ago, Pariah said:

 

A/K/A Die Hard for kids.

A/k/a John Hughes Die Hard 

[Starlord]

...and they're both Christmas movies.  

[Michael Hopcroft]

I found a bucket of concrete. Ho Ho Ho.

[death tribble]

Yes, Virginia, Death Tribble does watch things within a week.

 

Checkpoint This is a Stanley Baker film that I was not aware of. He plays an industrial espionage agent hired to seduce a designer from an Italian firm but whop fails at this and then tries to break into the Italian firm. This goes wrong with a guard and several policemen being killed with the firm burning down. Baker is hidden and a British driving team who employed him tries to get him out by using a race to smuggle him out as it goes from Florence to Locarno. It shows the dated style of racing in the 1950s and is good for seeing this. James Robertson Justice is also a co-star. 

 

Doctor in Love James Robertson Justice is also in this as Lancelot Spratt as he was in other Doctor films but Dirk Bogarde is not in it. Michael Craig and Leslie Phillips as Doctors Burke and Hare (named after the infamous bodysnatchers) replace him. Craig goes from the hospital into practice and his senior partner has to go away so he has to advertise for a replacement. At first Phillips helps him until an injury takes him out and Craig asks for another helper. A woman doctor helps him and he forms a relationship with her. Sadly two of the actresses Virginia Maskell, who played the woman doctor, and Carole Lesley, who played the new receptionist, both went on to commit suicide in their 30s. Liz Fraser and Joan Sims also star. It is a light comedy and passes the time.

 

The Fourth Protocol Had not seen this in a long while and the book is different to the film. Supposedly the Fourth Protocol was p[art of a treaty that said that neither side would ever detonate a nuclear weapon on another's territory through unconventional means thus smuggling and assembling a bomb qualifies. It stars Pierce Brosnan as a Russian agent who is to detonate a nuclear warhead in Britain to sway public opinion against the Americans (as it will be at an American airbase) and bring in a left wing government. Michael Caine is the agent after him fighting internal politics in his work. Joanna Cassidy is also in the cast

 

A Sunday in Hell This is a documentary about the 1976 Paris-Roubaix bicycle race. As some of you are aware I like the Grand Tours and this film about one of the Monument races which are over in a day piqued my interest. It is on Youtube and I thoroughly recommend it. It looks at the racers themselves, the spectators, mechanics and team directors. The documentary captures a protest which delays the race and thus TV coverage not only at the start of the race but midway through. The race finishes in the Velodrome but not before hitting the dread cobbles which are dusty in dry weather and slippery in wet. Two racers were particularly featured Eddy Merckx and Roger de Vlaeminck who had both won there before and the latter just missed out this time to Marc Demeyer. If you only see one documentary about cycling, see this one. I cannot emphasise this enough.

 

Wild Wings This is a 1960s documentary that won an Oscar. It looks at conservation work carried out by the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust. It was presented by Sr Peter Scott. It is a short and delightful film.

 

The Windmill Girls and Boys This is about the Windmill theatre in London and about the performers there, the girls who danced sometimes only with fans and the boys who were comedians. Quite a few of these went onto major success like Bob Monkhouse, Bruce Forsyth and Dick Emery.

[DeleteThisAccount]

I've not finished yet, (not even started technically,) but I've got plans for a complete rewatch of The Librarian, including the three films and the four season long sequel series The Librarians. Kind of like, Indiana Jones if he was James Bond. An omnidisciplinary genius gets the job of "the Librarian", the sole field agent of a secret society running an interdimension safe storage and study of magic, in the form of artefacts too dangerous for the world to know about. 

 

In the first, The Librarian And The Quest For The Spear, he is recruited and must go looking for the spear of Longinus before a cult of snake themed ninjas can find it.

 

In the second, The Librarian And The Return To King Solomon's Mines, he meets quite possibly the only person in the world who might have more education than him, and they team up, along with his estranged Uncle, to find the Key Of Solomon, an ancient mystical text.

 

In the third, The Librarian And The Curse Of The Judas Chalice, he goes on vacation to New Orleans, after dreaming of a woman there, only to realise that she summoned him through his dreams, as she is the guardian of the Judas Chalice, which is the Holy Grail for vampires. Someone has stolen Count Dracula's coffin with his corpse still inside it, and they may be searching for the Judas Chalice to bring him back to unlife!

 

Very fun, family friendly, pulp action adventure. The main character is like Indiana Jones but less action oriented and way more knowledge and intellect based, getting through his adventures with information and quick thinking. Great inspiration for a Pulp Hero game.

Edited November 25, 2020 by KingAdipose

[Dr. MID-Nite]

Ultraman Geed- The premise of this one is that the latest Ultraman is the son of one of the rare evil ultra beings...so a "nature vs nurture" theme is at the forefront. What can I say/ I like Ultraman shows.

[Pariah]

I just finished watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade with the kids. It was quite different without the cheering crowds, but still pretty cool. It was really interesting seeing the Rockettes fully clothed and masked, but I'll tell you what, the precision of their dance routine was immaculate.

[death tribble]

More watched down within a week

 

'71 This is about a soldier separated from his unit in Belfast during the Troubles and trying to work his way back to them. The separation is caused by two soldiers pursuing a boy who takes a rifle that has been dropped. Both are assaulted by locals and then one is shot dead by an IRA man. The surviving soldier runs and the IRA pursue. He comes out at night and is picked up by Protestants who take him to a pub. An undercover unit of the British army is trying to teach the locals how to make bombs and this goes wrong destroying the pub. The soldier then has to evade the IRA who are split between two factions. Quite gripping.

 

Pacific Rim Uprising The sequel sees drones replacing the pilots of the Jaegers. Until the drones are taken over by the Precursors and more Kaiju come through the breaches. Worth seeing once. The original had more heart.

 

Escape from DS3 This is a cheap sci-fi film about prisoners trying to escape from a satellite prison. Bearing in mind the technology of the time, it is not bad.

 

Under Suspicion An ex-police officer who is now a private detective arranges divorce evidence for couples gets sucked into a murder case, The film is set in 1959 when divorce had to have a cause like adultery and death by hanging was the penalty for murder. Liam Neeson stars. Interesting.

 

Svengali Taken from the book Trilby, the film tells the tale of a woman trained through hypnosis to become an opera singer. this takes her away from the man who loves her who tries to get her back. This is the 1954 version set at turn of the century Paris.

 

Westworld The holiday resort of the future. Richard Benjamin is taken to the resort by his friend to get over the former's divorce. You can do anything you like to the robots and they can't hurt you. But something is happening to the robots. The film is short, sharp and to the point. Yul Brynner plays the robot gunslinger, a role which was enhanced by his iconic role in The Magnificent Seven.

[death tribble]

Highly Dangerous A scientist has to infiltrate a foreign country to investigate insects. Marius Goring stars.

 

The Spider and the Fly A police inspector and a professional crook duel in pre WW1 France. This is from 1949.

 

This England An American journalist comes to a British village and learns of its history. A propaganda film from 1940

 

Too Many Crooks An inept bunch of crooks kidnaps the wife of a rich business man  The gang then finds out the business man will not ransom his wife. She finds out and helps the gang to take him for all his money in order to get revenge. The business man is played by Terry Thomas.

 

Never Love a Stranger An early Steve McQueen film where he plays a Assistant District Attorney trying to take down an Underworld kingpin who was a childhood friend.

 

Next of Kin 1942 This is about not talking about what you are doing during the war. German agents try to learn what an army unit is doing  

[Michael Hopcroft]

24 minutes ago, death tribble said:

Too Many Crooks An inept bunch of crooks kidnaps the wife of a rich business man  The gang then finds out the business man will not ransom his wife. She finds out and helps the gang to take him for all his money in order to get revenge. The business man is played by Terry Thomas.

I immediately thought of the '80s comedy Ruthless People when I saw that listing.

[csyphrett]

1 hour ago, Michael Hopcroft said:

I immediately thought of the '80s comedy Ruthless People when I saw that listing.

So did I, also the Ransom of Red Chief

CES

 

[Pariah]

I am now completely up to date on Star Trek: Discovery. A few thoughts (spoilered for verbosity and, well, spoilers):

 

Spoiler

 

* The first season was darker, more intense, and frankly harder to watch than anything else bearing the Star Trek name, before or since. But it was so well done that I couldn't not finish it.

 

* Season two lost a lot of the darkness, but none of the intensity. The integration of Spock and Pike into the story was handled very well. And after watching the whole season, I have to say I was impressed at how they tied the whole season into a complete, logically consistent single story. Every detail was accounted for, and that's not easy to do.

 

* Season three actually feels like Star Trek. That's a good thing.

 

* I feel like the whole mycelial network / spore drive thing is just an attempt by the show's producers to placate all their fans who are life science majors in college.

 

* Captain Lorca was a complicated and nuanced character, and Jason Isaacs knocked it out of the park with his portrayal.

 

* Captain Pike is probably my third favorite Trek Captain, behind Picard and Sisco and just half a hair ahead of Kirk. He's the guy who should be on Starfleet's recruiting posters.

 

* I initially had misgivings about Michael Burnham. But she is as solid and interesting a character as the franchise has ever produced.

 

* I could really have done without the graphic portrayal of the Voq -> Tyler transformation.

 

* Michelle Yeoh pretty much steals every single scene she's in, especially in the third season.

 

* Stamets and Reno might be my favorite Vitriolic Best Buddies since Londo and G'Kar.

 

* I'm glad Dr. Culver wasn't dead permanently.

 

* I'm glad Detmer is getting help. And I'm glad Control didn't kill her like it did Airiam.

 

* Tilly makes my heart happy.

 

* I really like Saru's character arc. The transformation from 'prey' to 'badass leader' has been remarkable.

 

* Oded Fehr as the chief Admiral of Starfleet is just about the most impressive thing ever.

 

* This series is parsecs better than Picard.

 

 

Now I just have to wait for the next episode...

[Spence]

19 hours ago, Pariah said:

I am now completely up to date on Star Trek: Discovery. A few thoughts (spoilered for verbosity and, well, spoilers):

 

So?  Skip to season 3?

[Pariah]

Season 1 is worth watching just for Jason Isaacs. Yeah, he was that good. Season 2 provides context without which season 3 won't make sense. So yeah, start at the beginning. Unlike other Trek series, this one is entirely serial without any real stand-alone episodes.

[Spence]

1 hour ago, Pariah said:

Season 1 is worth watching just for Jason Isaacs. Yeah, he was that good. Season 2 provides context without which season 3 won't make sense. So yeah, start at the beginning. Unlike other Trek series, this one is entirely serial without any real stand-alone episodes.

 

Well I wanted to give it a chance so I bought season one. 

I can't get past episode 3 (or is it 4?), it is so bad. 

 

I really like Trek, but there are some things that just kill a show.  A dead end officer that has stagnated as XO who commits armed mutiny directly against specific orders of not just the Captain of the ship, but the Admiral.  No one comes back from that, ever.  Period. 

 

Any TV-fu used to bring them back is literally a criminal level of idiotic writing.   To be told the mutineer returns as a Starfleet Officer is simply to far for suspension of belief. 

 

Heck, the space orcs were easier to take.

[death tribble]

Did you miss me ?

 

No ?

 

Tough !

 

Dilemma A man comes hoem to find his wife ran out seconds before having screamed and then he finds a dead body. So he buries it in the house. An early 60s British film.

 

The Last Posse A posse returns after chasing three men into the desert. Four men are dead and the sheriff is dying. But what happened ? Interesting Western with Broderick Crawford and Charles Bickford

 

Paratroop Command American paratroopers in action in Italy. One of the group kills another by mistake and this haunts the unit

 

Privates Progress An upper class twit joins the army in 1943 but fails to make officer training. He is put in a holding unit and then his uncle picks him for a special mission. Comedy with Dennis Price, Richard Attenborough, Ian Carmichael and Terry Thomas. Essential viewing if you want to watch I'm Alright Jack with Peter Sellers as a number of characters recur

 

This is Your Life Laurel and Hardy This is a small look at the lives of Laurel and Hardy when the show first started in the 1950s. It did not do enough about their film careers

 

Captured This is a British film made for the military which was not shown to the public for decades. It was about Communist indoctrination of prisoners and was made in the late 50s. It is pretty good. Alan Dobie who went on to play Victorian police Detective Cribb is the star of this film

[death tribble]

And there's more !

 

Airport 79 the Concorde There is something lacking in the last of the Airport films. It has the star power in Robert Wagner and Alain Delon but it never really takes off if you know what I mean. It was the only one of the franchise not to make money.

 

Jack Reacher I had read the book and some years later I have finally seen the film. It is not that bad. The stupidity of some of the crooks is breath taking. Robert Duvall is a nice extra.

 

Let Me In This is the American version of Let The Right One In which was in Swedish. It is not bad but the original had more charm.

 

Mission to Death An American platoon attack a German radar installation behind enemy lines. Then they have to get away. This is not a B film. More a C or a D.

 

The Quiller Memorandum George Segal is agent Quiller who is dispatched to Berlin to track down the headquarters of a neo-Nazi organisation. Two previous agents have been killed. Alec Guiness is his control and Peter Carstein who usually plays a heavy is supposed to be helping him. Senta Berger and Max Von Sydow are also in the cast. This does not have shoot outs and an unusual tailing sequence which makes it more believable.

 

Survivor Milla Jovovich vs Pierce Brosnan. One is a security specialist at the US embassy in London while the other is a renowned assassin. When several recent visas to the US seem suspect, the assassin is called in to eliminate the problem only the security specialist escapes and must be tracked down and killed before a terrorist outrage is committed in New York. Worth a look 

[slikmar]

59 minutes ago, death tribble said:

Jack Reacher I had read the book and some years later I have finally seen the film. It is not that bad. The stupidity of some of the crooks is breath taking. Robert Duvall is a nice extra.

I am reading the series now. I like that the author explained that he set out to create a protagonist who always won. Reminded me of original Conan, in a way. Jack is the baddest man on the block. The movie wasn't bad, the story is from the 20th or so book in the series, from what I understand. Cruise is good in his way, but he isn't Jack Reacher (who is not only ex military police/ special forces, but is 6'3" and 240 pounds of muscle. the type of guy that if you are starting a bar fight, he is NOT the one you want to go against). Duvall was fun in it. 2nd movie is a lot of the same, except I feel like Colby Smulders in is giving us a glimpse of her if she had gotten to really play Maria Hill.

[death tribble]

One old one to get rid of and five newer ones shown this week or the week before

 

Momentum This has the girl from Quantum of Solace as a thief who with partners raids a South African bank. However they get more tan they bargained for and James Purefoy's assassin comes after them. There is some info which threatens Morgan Freeman's senator. I had seen bits and pieces of this but not the whole thing which is similar to another film in this list. It's worth at least a look for the bank raid at the beginning as it will give GMs ideas.

 

The Man from Laramie James Stewart is a man who is looking for the man, or men, who caused his brother's death by selling repeating rifles to the Indians. He is assaulted and his goods destroyed and this brings him into conflict with the local land owner as well. This is a well put together 50s Western. Definitely worth a look.

 

The Missing Tommy Lee Jones and Cate Blanchett star in this modern Western. An Apache renegade is stealing women to sell in Mexico. But one of the girls is Blanchett's daughter and she and her estranged father go looking for the renegade and his followers.

 

Faster The Rock gets out of prison and is really put out. Somebody killed his brother and almost did for him. Bad idea. If you don't kill Dwayne he'll get mad and this shows how bad it can be. Billy Bob Thornton also stars. This is compact and has car chases and gun fights.

 

Paper Tiger The one I finally got around to finishing and which I had for well over a year. David Niven is the tutor to the Japanese ambassador's son in Indonesia or Malaysia. Niven is a fantasist and the boy laps it up. But there are terrorists who want change and so they kidnap the boy and the tutor. Can the old man do anything to save the boy ? Hardy Kruger and Toshiro Mifune also star.

 

The Unforgiven This is a Burt Lancaster film in which he stars with Aubrey Hepburn, Audie Murphy and Doug McClure. The Kiowa want a baby back that was taken by whites years earlier. An insane cowboy spreads the news that the girl is on Lancaster's ranch which stirs up the Kiowa and causes the other ranchers to desert them.

[Pattern Ghost]

Finished Hannibal the other day. A lot better than I'd expected. Made me hungry.

[death tribble]

I return to you at the turn of the remote

 

Dad's Army (2016) This is the second film of the beloved British sitcom of the 60s and 70s. Based around the exploits of the Home Guard protecting Walmington-on-Sea. The Home Guard were made up of old men and those of the young who were of age but who had been rejected by the Services. The cast were basically mimicing the original cast who apart from two had all passed on. Surprisingly the gentleman playing the vicar is the same actor. The major difference was that women are given a more prominent role in the film. It is not bad but the original TV series is better.

 

The Death of Stalin This film is about the power struggle between Beria and Khrushchev following the unexpected death of Joseph Stalin. Round ups that were the order of the day which were mainly Beria's prerogative. But he seems to have underestimated Zhukov the Army Field Marshal who Khrushchev brings onside and they depose Beria and eliminate him. This is mostly a British film with Steve Buscemi playing Khrushchev. The film is banned in Russia. I wonder why ?

 

Girl on a Motorcycle And now for something utterly pretentious that can only have come out of the 60s. Marianne Faithful sets off on her bike which was a wedding present to see her lover in Germany. She's been married for two weeks. The lover is played by Alain Delon. And she is only wearing her motorcycle leathers. The film got the first X rating in the US. The film ends when she crashed into the back of a lorry and is catapulted through a car windscreen. And that really is the highpoint.

 

Killing Eve season 2. The assassin Villanelle is back first recovering from her wound that Eve inflicted on her and is then brought to work with British Intelligence as they go after an amoral businessman. If you liked season 1, you might find this was not as good. Still entertaining in a dark fashion such as Villanelle killing a woman teacher who has taken an interest in Eve's husband. The series ends with Villanelle shooting Eve in Rome. I still have season 3 to watch.

 

Prisoners of the Casbah The Emir is killed in a botched kidnapping while his daughter and the head of the Palace Guards flee into the lawless Casbah. Cesar Romero plays the villainous Vizir. It passes the time.

 

The Shape of Water This picture won the Best Oscar and is an unusual story. A cleaner (janitor not assassin) who works at a secret government facility falls in love with an aquatic humanoid which is being held there. Said cleaner is a mute. The film is set in 1962 and the scientists and their army superiors want to find out if their prisoner can help them in the space race. When the high ups decide to vivisect the creature the cleaner hatches a plan to free it. She is helped by a friend and one of the scientists who is a Russian agent. The film is wonderful and worth an in depth look (no pun intended).