What Have You Watched Recently?

[mattingly]

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 1. Dang, this first season really worked.

 

[Lord Liaden]

IMO it started a little slow, but once it got to the big MCU twist reveal it really started to cook.

[Old Man]

Fast X Part I.  In my defense, I was quasi-kidnapped for this one.  As expected, Dom and the gang use their physics-breaking superpowers to try and save the day.  It's gotten to the point where I have trouble telling these movies apart in my mind.

 

There is a mid-credits scene after which I fled.  I can't wait for Part II and the spinoff with The Rock.  God I wish this franchise would die.

[mattingly]

Across the Spider-Verse. A very worthy sequel!

 

[Ternaugh]

I've finished season 3 of Star Trek: Picard, and it is much better than both seasons that came before. Part of that is a return of the Next Generation core characters, behaving in ways we expect (even if the details have changed). There's quite a bit of nostalgia at play, and this season as a whole seems amost like a continuation of the Next Generation movies, or even a throwback to some of the better Next Gen episodes. It's also fairly obvious that the actors enjoyed the chance to work with each other again in the Star Trek setting, and it's perhaps our last chance to see all of them together onscreen. 

 

 

[Joe Walsh]

Barry (S4). What a shame. Seasons 1-3 were fantastic. Season 4 was "meh" at best.

 

[Logan D. Hurricanes]

Villainous: max. Great little series of animated shorts about a supervillain support organization. It's dubbed (well) in English, but it was originally a Spanish production (Villanos). That makes it just a little weird with the credits and scenery all in Spanish, and the English subtitles are just a wee bit off. It was a Cartoon Network creation and some other characters make small cameos. I thought this was a lot of fun and I wish there were more. 

 

[Scott Ruggels]

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds was recently dropped on Youtube, and I spent Yesterday binge watching the whole first season (10 Episodes).  It's more li9ke Old Star Trek, than the excrable discovery, but the tone is a little off, a littl bt snarky around the edges, and the cast has a suspicious amount of women in it, but the stories in the broad strokes seemed very Star Trek, even if the details didn't. One of the Episodes, they redid a classic Star Trek Episode, and showed how a difference in approach lead to catastrophic consequences. Now it wan't as good as the Third Season of Picard, and there were echoes of Discovery in the first two episodes. The Smell of Michael Burnham had not yet oleft the room. Speaking of rooms, the sets were enormous!  this version of the Enterprise was gigantic on the inside, and the use of a Ski Resort firepit in the captain's cabin was a ludicrous touch of interior design.On tyhe whole, it's better than Discovery, but not as good at 3rd Season Picard.

[Lord Liaden]

On 6/3/2023 at 11:31 PM, Old Man said:

Fast X Part I.  In my defense, I was quasi-kidnapped for this one.  As expected, Dom and the gang use their physics-breaking superpowers to try and save the day.  It's gotten to the point where I have trouble telling these movies apart in my mind.

 

There is a mid-credits scene after which I fled.  I can't wait for Part II and the spinoff with The Rock.  God I wish this franchise would die.

 

What was your impression of Jason Momoa? This looked like a rather different role for him.

 

On 6/4/2023 at 11:57 AM, Ternaugh said:

I've finished season 3 of Star Trek: Picard, and it is much better than both seasons that came before. Part of that is a return of the Next Generation core characters, behaving in ways we expect (even if the details have changed). There's quite a bit of nostalgia at play, and this season as a whole seems amost like a continuation of the Next Generation movies, or even a throwback to some of the better Next Gen episodes. It's also fairly obvious that the actors enjoyed the chance to work with each other again in the Star Trek setting, and it's perhaps our last chance to see all of them together onscreen. 

 

 

 

No spoilers, but toward the end of the season we finally get to see the real Jean-Luc Picard back again. Long time coming, almost worth the wait.

Edited June 9, 2023 by Lord Liaden

[slikmar]

5 minutes ago, Lord Liaden said:

What was your impression of Jason Momoa? This looked like a rather different role for him.

I saw it also, and for what it is worth, he played totally over the top, as you would expect in a movie like this, but he came across as smart and psychopathic, so played the role well, to me.

 

On 6/4/2023 at 3:38 AM, mattingly said:

Across the Spider-Verse. A very worthy sequel!

 

Agree, saw it myself today, enjoyed it a lot. Warning, and not a spoiler really, but it is a part 1 of 2.

[Lord Liaden]

4 hours ago, Scott Ruggels said:

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds was recently dropped on Youtube, and I spent Yesterday binge watching the whole first season (10 Episodes).  It's more li9ke Old Star Trek, than the excrable discovery, but the tone is a little off, a littl bt snarky around the edges, and the cast has a suspicious amount of women in it, but the stories in the broad strokes seemed very Star Trek, even if the details didn't. One of the Episodes, they redid a classic Star Trek Episode, and showed how a difference in approach lead to catastrophic consequences. Now it wan't as good as the Third Season of Picard, and there were echoes of Discovery in the first two episodes. The Smell of Michael Burnham had not yet oleft the room. Speaking of rooms, the sets were enormous!  this version of the Enterprise was gigantic on the inside, and the use of a Ski Resort firepit in the captain's cabin was a ludicrous touch of interior design.On tyhe whole, it's better than Discovery, but not as good at 3rd Season Picard.

 

I agree with your assessment. To be fair, it usually takes a little while for a new series to find its legs and its voice. We'll see what season 2 brings.

 

Although in the defense of SNW as opposed to Picard S3, in the former at least there's enough light to see what's happening.

[Old Man]

1 hour ago, Lord Liaden said:

 

What was your impression of Jason Momoa? This looked like a rather different role for him.

 

He was a bright spot in an otherwise awful film.  I can't say he saved it, but he did make the movie less bad.

[slikmar]

The Show - The description of the movie is "A man's search for a stolen artifact leads him to the haunted town filled with Voodoo gangsters, masked adventurers, Depression-era private eyes and violent chiaroscuro women." That does not do the weirdness of this movie justice and I highly recommend it. It is possibly the strangest, though not necessarily in a bad way, movie I have seen behind Everything, Everywhere all at Once.

There is a lot to like about the movie, but my favorite part may be the Noir Detectives. The movie isn't high drama, seems to not take itself too seriously and made my wife and I laugh at some of the dark humor in it.

[Ternaugh]

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever: A friend of mine had tickets to an employee movie night at her work, so this one was shown in the Encore Theater at the Wynn. It was fun to see it with friends.

 

The Three Amigos: Three silent film actors are mistaken for the heroes that they play, and are recruited to defend a small village from a bandit gang. This movie has a plethora of enjoyable moments. It's a good watch. (Max)

 

Victor/Victoria: Blake Edwards comedy starring Julie Andrews as a woman playing a man playing a woman. A nostalgia watch. (Max)

[Logan D. Hurricanes]

7 hours ago, Ternaugh said:

Victor/Victoria: Blake Edwards comedy starring Julie Andrews as a woman playing a man playing a woman. A nostalgia watch. (Max)

 

Banned in Florida. 

[Bazza]

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

Ant Man 3

Super Mario Bros

D&D Honor* Amongst Thieves. *Thieves stole the "u" and thus have no honour. 

[Ternaugh]

3 hours ago, Logan D. Hurricanes said:

 

Banned in Florida. 

 

Now, yes. My first time watching Victor/Victoria was during its theatrical run at the old Athens Theatre in DeLand, Florida.

[Dr. MID-Nite]

4 hours ago, Logan D. Hurricanes said:

 

Banned in Florida. 

Okay...what kind of country bans Julie Andrews?  Just....no.

[Lord Liaden]

Deleted for possibly being too political. (Simon scares me.)

Edited June 12, 2023 by Lord Liaden

[Old Man]

Spider-Man Across the Spider-Verse (no spoilers).  Just as spectacular as the first one.  Be advised that this movie has no ending; it is the first of two parts.  Long for an animated film at around two hours and 15 minutes.  No mid- or post-credits scenes.  Man does web-swinging look like fun.

[Logan D. Hurricanes]

The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent: Nick Cage playing an exaggerated version of Nick Cage in a somewhat silly action/comedy. I would have liked it to go even more absurd, personally. Every time they were approaching something great I felt they pulled back. Still, a fun watch, just not as good as I hoped. 

 

Nope: A good creepy horror from Jordan Peele. I didn't like any of the protagonists, though. (OJ was miserable and passive (for most of it) and his sister Em was just an awful human being. The geek that joins them was an unlikeable conspiracy nut and nerd stereotype.)  Awesome visuals, interesting story, creative monster, worth a watch. 

[Old Man]

The Grey (2011): Liam Neeson leads a group of plane crash survivors through the wilderness to safety, while being menaced by a pack of wolves.  A well written allegory with great performances by the cast.  On blu-ray, which was cheaper than renting it on streaming.  One brief post-credits scene.

[death tribble]

Men of Sherwood Forest

This is a Robin Hood film and is instantly forgettable. King Richard is coming back to England in secret and there are those who would kill him so that his brother could take the throne instead. Robin is brought in and is almost captured and killed before the final showdown.

 

Criterium du Dauphine 2023

Jonas Vingegaard of Jumbo Visma was the one to watch after supporting Primoz Roglic the previous year. With the absence of Tadej Pogacar, it remained to be seen who would challenge Vingegaard. Pogacar's team did but there was no visible threat from Ineos. Vingegaard ended up winning after a poor display (by his standards) at the time trial.

 

Lucifer Season 3

Suddenly noticed that season 3 was being repeated early in the morning so I ended up binge watching it. It starts with Lucifer not having his demon face and having his wings back. His brother Amenadiel has lost his wings and tries to find out what test he must do to come back into God's favour. A new lieutenant takes over at the precinct and a new mastermind called the Sinnerman is mentioned. Maze becomes a bounty hunter. Charlotte Richards who was the human host of Lucifer's mother spends the series trying to come to terms with what happened to her in season 2. The main villain of the series is the first murderer Cain. I found it entertaining.

 

Lucifer Season 1

Finally got round to finishing season 1 (after season 3 naturally). The Devil has left Hell and has a nightclub in Los Angeles. He starts working with the LAPD with a detective who has a bad rap with her colleagues. His brother Amenadiel is trying to get him to return to Hell and recruits a cop who was on life support to kill Lucifer but this does not end up well. This is a lot of fun. If you don't like the first series you won't like the rest.

 

Maigret

Maigret's Mistake. This is the French series from the early 90s with Bruno Cremer playing the detective. Here he is investigating the death of a young woman who was being kept in an apartment. A number of women are protecting a doctor but is he worth protecting ? After the death of the killer in an accident Maigret allows the killer's sister and the killer's son to escape. It is difficult to se what Maigret's actual mistake is.

Maigret and the Old Lady. A maid dies after taking poison meant for her mistress and Maigret is asked by the mistress and her son a prominent MP to investigate. The investigation eventually turns up the reason for the murder which was not a mistake, the right person was killed. And Maigret confronts the killer after they kill a second time.

 

Year of the Gun

This is set in 1970s Italy at the time of violence by the Red Brigades leading to the kidnap of Aldo Moro. A journalist is working on a fictional book and hits on the idea of kidnapping a prominent politician which is exactly what the Red Brigades are planning. A photo journalist played by Sharon Stone is also looking for stories in Italy and becomes convinced that the journalist is up to something. I have been waiting to see this film for a while when it suddenly came on.  

[death tribble]

The Lone Wolf Takes a Chance

The reformed thief takes a bet that he can stay out of trouble for 24 hours but then finds himself dragged into a plot to use counterfeit money by kidnapping the inventor of a new security system that is on a train car. This is one of Lloyd Bridges earliest films.

 

The Lone Wolf Keeps a Date

Returning from Cuba where he has just completed his Cuban collection the Lone Wolf comes to the aid of a woman whose boyfriend has been arrested for murder. A banker has been kidnapped and the Lone Wolf must keep the kidnappers from the ransom money while finding proof to exonerate the boyfriend whilst thwarting the usually dumb police.

 

Mystery Junction

A woman recognises an author on a train and asks him to explain his craft. This turns into an investigation after a scream is heard outside the train. A murderer is being taken to jail but some people want to spring him while someone else wants him dead. It ends up that the author is inventing the story on the fly to show the woman how he works.

 

Jacktown

A boy gets sent down for being with an underage girl and becomes friendly with the warden's daughter. Unpopular with the other inmates because of his crime, the warden has him sent out a s a driver until a prisoner attacks his guard but is killed in his escape attempt. The boy flees but is persuade to turn himself him by the girl.

 

Falstaff: Chimes at Midnight

Orson Welles directed and starred in this film playing Falstaff with John Gielgud playing Henry IV. The film covered Henry IV parts 1 and 2, Henry V and the Merrie Wives of Windsor. It is very good but I would say you have to like Shakespeare in order to appreciate it.

 

Crazy Days

Early film work including one of Buster Keaton's first films. Interesting history collection made in the 1960s.

 

San Ferry An

A number of well known British figures in a silent film made in the 1960s go to Calais on holiday. David Lodge, Barbara Windsor and Joan Sims are the familiar faces to a British audience.

[Pariah]

So last night I watched "The Broken Circle", the second-season premiere of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. Without (many) spoilers, here are a few impressions:

 

Peck Spock is not Nimoy Spock. Not yet, anyway. But I can see him moving in that direction.

 

Okay, one spoiler: Spock gets a slap on the wrist (and a hangover) for stealing the Enterprise and a stern warning from Starfleet that there will be dire consequences if he ever does it again (wink wink, nudge nudge). 

 

Anson Mount was barely in the episode; same with Rebecca Romijn. (I presume the next one will feature them heavily.) Captain Pike had so little screen time, I don't even remember what his hair looked like. 

 

The Klingons are starting to look more like Klingons and less like whatever the heck was in Discovery.

 

Carol Kane as the (presumed) new chief engineer was as quirky as you'd expect Carol Kane to be. She was basically Valerie (from The Princess Bride) in a red uniform. She made me laugh out loud a couple of times.

 

Spock had perhaps the cheesiest line I've ever heard in Star Trek, though in fairness I've never watched Lower Decks.

 

Overall, I thought it was good. Not great, but good. I hate to invoke "sophomore slump" one episode in, but I didn't think the writing was as solid as the first season episodes were. But I have faith this was just a bump in the road. I expect subsequent episodes to be better.