What Have You Watched Recently?

[Pattern Ghost]

18 hours ago, Spence said:

If the show has planned itself around the audience having for knowledge of some obscure run of comics they should have run a banner with "read these first".

 

It doesn't. It requires the audience to know that Vision is supposed to be dead, and have a passing familiarity with the characters from the movies. My wife can barely remember their movie story arcs, and has never read any comic with either character in it, and is following along just fine.

[Greywind]

Charlie Chan in Honolulu

Charlie Chan in Reno

Charlie Chan at Treasure Island

Charlie Chan in City in Darkness

[Spence]

8 hours ago, Pattern Ghost said:

 

It doesn't. It requires the audience to know that Vision is supposed to be dead, and have a passing familiarity with the characters from the movies. My wife can barely remember their movie story arcs, and has never read any comic with either character in it, and is following along just fine.

It's not as much following along as lacking.

I find it completely uninteresting. It doesn't even reach boring.

 

But YMMV.  Everybody likes different things.  Who knows, in a couple years I may find it fascinating.  Currently I am watching a lot of subtitles (Korean & German).

[Pattern Ghost]

5 minutes ago, Spence said:

I find it completely uninteresting.

 

That's completely fair. I didn't find the sitcom bits interesting either. It was a case of too much backdrop, not enough plot advancement in the first couple of episodes, as you wait for the clues to drop. I do think it's going to pick up the pace going forward starting with 4, but I can see how the first three, especially the first two, episodes are a chore to get through.

[Christopher R Taylor]

Been watching a Brit show called "The Repair Shop" in which patrons bring in broken or old family treasures for a museum repair shop to fix up for them.  Its very low key and prosaic and has a nice cozy feel, plus you get to see craftsmen working on amazing things and how they are repaired and renewed.

[Greywind]

Taking a break from Charlie Chan. Started watching Absentia.

[Pariah]

I just watched "Evolution", the first episode of season 3 of Star Trek: The Next Generation. The Enterprise takes someone looking (and acting) suspiciously like Scrubs' Dr. Bob Kelso to watch a Type Ia supernova. Meanwhile, Wesley Crusher falls asleep in the middle of an experiment involving nanotechnology, and two nanites escape and begin replicating and overriding the Enterprise's systems. It is discovered that the nanite descendants have formed a collective intelligence, and eventually they agree to be resettled to an available planet so the Enterprise can finish its research mission.

 

The hidden implication of the episode: There is a civilization of artificially intelligent nanites somewhere in Federation space who revere Wesley Crusher as their Creator. 

 

I can't help but feel that this will eventually come back and bite the Federation in the butt.

[Greywind]

8 hours ago, Pariah said:

I just watched "Evolution", the first episode of season 3 of Star Trek: The Next Generation. The Enterprise takes someone looking (and acting) suspiciously like Scrubs' Dr. Bob Kelso to watch a Type Ia supernova. Meanwhile, Wesley Crusher falls asleep in the middle of an experiment involving nanotechnology, and two nanites escape and begin replicating and overriding the Enterprise's systems. It is discovered that the nanite descendants have formed a collective intelligence, and eventually they agree to be resettled to an available planet so the Enterprise can finish its research mission.

 

The hidden implication of the episode: There is a civilization of artificially intelligent nanites somewhere in Federation space who revere Wesley Crusher as their Creator. 

 

I can't help but feel that this will eventually come back and bite the Federation in the butt.

 

They became time travelers and became the Borg.

[Bazza]

8 hours ago, Pariah said:

I just watched "Evolution", the first episode of season 3 of Star Trek: The Next Generation. The Enterprise takes someone looking (and acting) suspiciously like Scrubs' Dr. Bob Kelso to watch a Type Ia supernova. Meanwhile, Wesley Crusher falls asleep in the middle of an experiment involving nanotechnology, and two nanites escape and begin replicating and overriding the Enterprise's systems. It is discovered that the nanite descendants have formed a collective intelligence, and eventually they agree to be resettled to an available planet so the Enterprise can finish its research mission.

 

The hidden implication of the episode: There is a civilization of artificially intelligent nanites somewhere in Federation space who revere Wesley Crusher as their Creator. 

 

I can't help but feel that this will eventually come back and bite the Federation in the butt.

Replicators. 
 

ST TNG 3x1 aired 23 Sept 1989. 
Replicators was first mentioned on Stargate SG-1 S3 E3 “Fair Game”, 9 July 1999 and their first appearance was S3 E22 “Nemesis” 8 March 2000.

 

Coincidence? 

 

[Starlord]

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery?

[death tribble]

The Firechasers

Chad Everett is an insurance investigator looking into suspicious fires in London after three happen in the same week with no obvious cause. A journalist and a photographer help him look into the case. Interesting.

 

Rough Cut

Burt Reynolds and Lesley Anne Down are jewel thieves with David Niven as a Scotland Yard detective using the latter to trap the former. It has footage of the start of the Borg Connors semi final at Wimbledon in 1979. The police plan to get Reynolds to attempt to rob a gem shipment from London to Antwerp. The detective needs to do this before he retires in under a week. It is tosh but it looks good.

 

The Great Smokey Roadblock

Henry Fonda is a trucker who escapes hospital to do one last run in his truck Eleanor which has been repossessed. As his truck is listed as stolen he cannot get a load. He picks up an old friend who runs a bordello. She has to leave town fast as the police want to press charges. So she and five girls including Susan Sarandon pack their possessions into the truck and flee the State. The police thus are chasing both. Robert Englund is also in the film.

 

The Silent Partner

A film set entirely in Canada which has Christopher Plummer as a psychotic robber who tries and fails to hold up a bank but then finds out that the teller, Elliot Gould,  stole the money instead. There then begins a battle of wits between the two men. This is worth worth looking up if you have not seen it. Plummer is really evil  but does it in a subtle way.

 

Crooks in Cloisters

After a gang pull off a train robbery the gang hide out in a monastery off the Cornish coast that they have purchased with the loot. They pretend to be monks despite the original monks who had to sell the place turning up and also tourists. The robbers adapt to the pastoral life but the police get wise to them as one has a gambling habit that the police are aware of and they come after them. A gentle comedy. Has Barbara Windsor and Bernard Cribbins in the cast.

 

The Plank (1967)

Eric Sykes and Tommy Cooper who need to get one last plank to finish the floor of a house. How they get the plank and the journey back is this short film populated with a cast of well known British acting and comedy talent (Hattie Jacques, Jimmy Edwards, Jim Dale, Stratford Johns, GrahamStark and Jimmy Tarbuck being the most recognisable) It is more like a silent film although it has some dialogue. There is another version 12 years later.

 

Superbowl 2021

This year's superbowl went quickly and was not boring if a trifle one sided. The Weeknd had an entertaining halftime show which had no guests because of the pandemic. I stay up for this into the early hours of the morning and yes it was worth it.

[mattingly]

The Firm (1993). One of the two Tom Cruise movies I like. I hadn't seen this one in 20 years or so. Still darned good.

 

[Pariah]

We watched Enola Holmes over the weekend. It was a lot of fun. Highly recommended.

[zslane]

Doom Patrol (HBO Max)

 

I can't say that I like this show very much. It leans way too heavily into its absurdist/surrealist/weird style for my tastes. Moreover, all the main characters are either unlikeable, uninteresting, or both. The only character I find interesting--Jane--is an angry, b*tchy loner who is really unpleasant to be around. And I have this personal rule in which I won't waste my time on a tv show with a cast of characters I wouldn't want to hang out with if they existed in real life.

[Pattern Ghost]

22 hours ago, zslane said:

And I have this personal rule in which I won't waste my time on a tv show with a cast of characters I wouldn't want to hang out with if they existed in real life.

 

If I had that rule, I'd have to stop watching TV. 😁

[death tribble]

The Desperadoes

A Western with Randolph Scott and Glen Ford as sheriff and outlaw friend. The local banker is up to no good and his alliance with outlaws unravels because the guy who should have done the job is Ford and he is pals with sheriff Scott. This is an early Ford film and is in colour. Worth a look.

 

The Wind and the Lion

Sean Connery is an Arab chieftain who kidnaps an American woman and her two children in 1904 Morocco. This cause Teddy Roosevelt to send in the marines to get them back as the European powers are trying to take over the country and the Arabs are playing one against the other. Worth a look.

 

Waterloo

How do you re-enact or recreate the Battle of Waterloo ? Simple ! Use the Soviet army. Rod Steiger is Napoleon and Christopher Plummer is Wellington. The battle is suitably epic with the Duke waiting for the Prussians to join him after battle at Ligny and Wavre. Wellington lets Napoleon do the bulk of the attacking as the French have to get rid of the Prussians and Wellington's army before the Russians turn up. I would say this is a must see.

 

Depeche Mode Live in Berlin

Concert footage of Depeche Mode which I enjoyed. If you like the band you will like this.

 

Muses Drones World Tour

Concert footage of Muse from the Drones World Tour. I like Muse so I loved this.

 

Muse Simulation Theory

This is concert footage of Muse but in the breajks is a concept about the nature of reality and technology. You might find it a tad pretentious but otherwise it is good.

[Matt the Bruins]

On 2/3/2021 at 6:46 AM, mattingly said:

 

WandaVision episode 3 gives us several indications that something is very wrong, and episode 4 is the Big Reveal.

 

More like the Fair-to-Middling Reveal, if you've seen the ones in episodes 5 and 7.

 

I am astounded that I still have the theme song from the end of the latter running on a loop in my brain on the 6th day after viewing. ABBA Gold and the Xanadu soundtrack are two of the CDs I have in my car to listen to on roadtrips, so it's not as if I normally have trouble getting catchy tunes out of my head!

[mattingly]

True, but I wrote that before episode 5. Each episode reveals more.

[death tribble]

On 2/12/2021 at 1:15 AM, mattingly said:

The Firm (1993). One of the two Tom Cruise movies I like. I hadn't seen this one in 20 years or so. Still darned good.

I read the book and was disappointed in the film. The book ending is way better.

 

Cup Fever

A local kids team are doing well in a cup competition but lose their pitch due to a councillor whose son is in a rival team. The boys have to practice in the street and avoid the police for doing so. They also have to put up with the councillor and his son trying to sabotage them from getting to the final. A police officer knows people at Manchester United and the kids get to train with them before the Cup Final. This was a Children's Film Foundation film.

 

Hornet's Nest

A robber hides stolen jewellery on a barge before the police arrest him. However the barge is let to two models amongst others as the letting agency is a scam. The robbers accomplices try to get the stuff back but run into problems.

 

School for Secrets

Scientists assist in the development of radar and try to counter the Germans radar. Ralph Richardson and David Tomlinson star although a British audience would also recognise other members of the cast. Written and directed by Peter Ustinov.

 

Theirs is the Glory

Re-enactment of part of Operation Market Garden specifically the attempt to take and hold the bridge at Arnhem.

 

Dressed to Kill

One of the last Basil Rathbone Sherlock Holmes stories. Three music boxes hold the key to stolen 5 pound sterling plates. Holmes must retrieve them. A woman criminal is part of the gang and she is dressed to kill. Nowhere near as good as other Holmes films.

 

Fighting Man of the Plains

Randolph Scott is Jim Dancer who followed Quantrill in the Civil War. He kills a man in Lawrence Kansas who killed his brother. He finds out the man he killed was the brother of the man he should have killed. He is pursued by the law and particularly a specific detective agency as the brother of the man he killed wants him found and hanged out of vested self interest. The detective captures him but is killed by a kick to the head from a horse during a river crossing on a ferry. A stagecoach finds Jim and the detective still chained together and they have to cut the hand of the detective off. Jim pretends to be the detective so that he can flee. He joins a gang working on the railroad after quitting the detective agency and meeting the man he meant to kill in the first place. After cowboys run riot in the town which the railroad has now joined Jim saves the life of a woman who is the daughter of the man he killed. In doing so he fights off a cowboy who is trying to molest her. Challenged to get a gun he kills the cowboy in a duel which alerts two of the passengers on the stagecoach that he is Dancer. They agree to keep his secret and Jim becomes the new sheriff as the old one quit rather than face cowboys. The town is in the pocket of the man Dancer wants dead and he is trying to control everything which means bringing in barb wire, jacking up rents and forcing the cattle drives to go around the town to the stockyards for pickup. A new deputy is also appointed who works not for Dancer but his opponent. Dancer also has problems as another of Quantrill's men who has a grudge against him turs up working for the opponent. Fortunately Dancer does have another friend, Jesse James. The film is good and worth repeated viewings. 

[Greywind]

Absentia s1

Stargate Universe s1-2

Charlie Chan in Panama

Charlie Chan's Murder Cruise

[TheNaga]

The latest episode of Last Man Standing.

[Old Man]

Goodfellas, because I’d never seen it and it gets dropped off Netflix at the end of the month. Great performances. Very little plot. Why must gangster movies always be so long?

[Starlord]

Count me in among those who do not bow at the feet of Goodfellas as many seem to do.  It was good but not great.

[Greywind]

1 hour ago, Old Man said:

Goodfellas, because I’d never seen it and it gets dropped off Netflix at the end of the month. Great performances. Very little plot. Why must gangster movies always be so long?

 

They're stealing your time.

[Cancer]

I trimmed out 90 seconds of my recorded morning Zoom lecture when Spike decided he had to be on my shoulders as I talked.  Sadly, I can never make this public for FERPA reasons.  I think the students' reactions are funnier than me dealing with a good-sized cat on my shoulders while I'm talking, but others might think otherwise.  My wife laughs at the whole thing.