What Have You Watched Recently?

[Ternaugh]

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny: It's a serviceable story built around the search for the other half of the antikythera mechanism, and has a heap of nostalgia for the older films. Runtime of 154 minutes is a bit long, and some scenes drag. Overall, I liked it, and thought that it made a good final movie in the series. (4K UHD Blu-ray; also available on Disney+)

[mattingly]

21 hours ago, DShomshak said:

I recently saw Season 1 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.

Best episode IMO was the wackiest

Dean Shomshak

 

You are going to LOVE Season 2!

There's Vulcan charades, a crossover episode with the Lower Decks cartoon, and a musical episode!

 

[Pattern Ghost]

I hope we get more T'Pring next season. The T'Pring/Spock episodes are some of my favorites.

[csyphrett]

Watched disc one season two Breaking Bad. Walt's marriage is in trouble, and Jesse loses his house.

CES  

[Ternaugh]

I've caught up on the new Dr Who episodes on Disney+, and must say that I'm looking forward to when the main series starts.

 

I've also watched the first two episodes of What If? season 2 on Disney+, which I also enjoyed. Seven more episodes to go in this season.

[Steve]

Bingeing Blue Eye Samurai on a weekend sick on the couch. Only two episodes left for me to watch.

[Pariah]

Our family and my brother's family went to see Wonka a couple of days ago. Fantastic movie. Timothée Chalamet was a perfect mix of ernest, sympathetic, eccentric, and just a little bit over the top. The bit parts from Hugh Grant and Rowan Atkinson were fantastic as well.

[Rich McGee]

It being the last weekend of the year I dipped in to cable for the inevitable Twilight Zone marathon.  Managed to last one whole episode before the six commercial breaks in a half hour sent me back my advertising-free podcast roster.  For someone who grew up in the pre-cable days I've become extremely intolerant of ads as I've grown older, which you would think would be more of a young folks thing.

[Ternaugh]

49 minutes ago, Rich McGee said:

It being the last weekend of the year I dipped in to cable for the inevitable Twilight Zone marathon.  Managed to last one whole episode before the six commercial breaks in a half hour sent me back my advertising-free podcast roster.  For someone who grew up in the pre-cable days I've become extremely intolerant of ads as I've grown older, which you would think would be more of a young folks thing.

 

Paramount+ has them to stream, I'm on the no ads plan with them. Amazon also has the original series on Blu-ray for around $58. 

[Rich McGee]

Not enough of a fan that I'd ever pay to see them.  I saw them all in my youth, and my father used to make watching the annual marathons a tradition so I've caught many repeats over the years as well.  Frankly, I'd prefer going back to the Three Stooges for New Years, but it would also just be fleeting nostalgia - much like listening to Alice's Restaurant for Thanksgiving.

[Ternaugh]

Snow White: The first Disney feature film, cleaned up and on 4K UHD Blu-ray. The difference in the picture from the older DVD or Blu-ray release is stunning, with beautiful detail revealed in just about every scene. Highly recommended. (4K UHD Blu-ray)

 

Elemental: Pixar's latest story, about a fire being and a water being getting thrown together and falling in love, as they try to prevent a disaster. Like many recent Disney/Pixar films, there's no real villain, just some generational angst about parental expectations. I enjoyed it, but it's decidedly middle of the pack when compared to other Pixar releases. (4K UHD Blu-ray)

 

[Ternaugh]

Jurassic Park: This movie turned 30 this year, and it's still a very good watch. (4K UHD Blu-ray)

 

Serenity: The follow-up to the short-lived TV series, Firefly, it wraps up a number of plots from the series. It was absolutely brutal to watch it in the theater. It's a good watch. (4K UHD Blu-ray)

 

 

 

I've been playing a fair bit of Starfield, and watching Serenity again, I can see a fair bit of things borrowed for the game from it and Firefly.

[L. Marcus]

Where Eagles Dare. It's a classic actioner, innit.

[death tribble]

Here we go again covering the end of the year and the start of this year

 

Strange Invaders

This is a sci-fi film about aliens taking over a small town. A woman leaves her child with her ex-husband as she goes back to her home town for her mother's funeral. But then nothing. Her husband goes to find her and runs into aliens. People don't believe him. But the aliens come after him and try to grab the child as she is a hybrid. The man is working with a journalist. Louise Fletcher from One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is a government official. Avoid, it is not very good indeed.

 

Vengeance of She

This is a reworking of the film She only from the male perspective. The priest Kallikrates is waiting for Ayesha to be reborn and return to him instead of the other way round. This was also made by Hammer. However the lead actress Olinka Berova just is not very good. There are several faces that British audiences would recognise like George Sewell and Edward Judd. It is worth one look.

 

Carols from Kings

This is part of my regular Christmas viewing and it ain't Christmas until you have heard Hark the Herald Angels Sing and Silent Night.

 

A Ghost Story for Christmas

'Stigma'. A family are moving into remote country house but there is a large stone that needs to be moved by workers. Unfortunately moving it releases something which causes the wife to start bleeding. The stone was housing the body of a witch.

'The Ice House'. A man is at a health spa and odd things happen including the disappearance of one of the people working there. The brother and sister that run it also seem odd. And a plant that grows on the Ice House seems to emit a powerful perfume.

'Whistle and I'll Come to You'. A man has to leave his wife in care as dementia has taken her and goes back to their old haunts. He finds a ring but then sees a figure on the beach that spooks him. He then hears noises in the night and sees the figure again causing him to try and run away. Alone again the man is menaced by a figure which turns out to be the spirit of his wife that can talk and move causing him to have a heart attack. The man is played by John Hurt.

'Number 13'. An academic researcher working at the local cathedral comes across papers from the Civil war and witch trials alluding to a devilish house in the city which is supposed to be the old bishop's house. He is staying in a hotel and has had to pay in advance as a previous academic fled without paying.  Noises in the night disturb him and there is no room 13. However during one night a door with 13 on it appears and when the academic tries to open the door something grabs him and tries to drag him inside. The staff break the door down and find the remains of the previous academic.

'The Signalman'. A railway worker at a signal box has been spooked by two previous appearances of a spectre and has begun getting a third visitation when he meets a gentleman who he tells about it. The two previous appearances led to a crash in a tunnel and a bride falling from a train. Does the third appearance mean anything. Denholm Elliot plays the railwayman.

'A View from a Hill' An archaeologist begins having odd experiences aftger borrowing field glasses. He sees an old Abbey as it would have looked before it fell into ruin. However the man who made the glasses was a little odd.

 

Maigret

Maigret and Inspector Cadaver. A judge asks Maigret to help his sister and her husband as a local man died near their house and they are being accused of murder. This is in Belgium so Maigret's visit is unofficial but slowly he uncovers the truth. He also sees an inspector he caused to be dismissed from the police who now works as a private detective. The pair dog each other's footsteps. The locals soon find out that they can trust him.

 

Bagdad Cafe

A German woman argues with her husband and leaves him close to the small roadside Bagdad Cafe. She stays there and eventually starts working there clashing occasionally with the owner who is played by CCH Pounder. It is an odd little film but it is charming.

 

Together Forever

This is about film maker Bryan Forbes and his wife Nanette Newman and covers their joint careers as he often cast her in things he was making. There are nice tales of Peter Sellars and elton John as well as anecdotes about the work of husband and wife.

 

Kong 2

This is a follow up to the 1976 King Kong film. Kong survived the fall off the Twin Towers but needs a heart transplant and a blood transfusion. A giant female ape is found in Borneo and brought to America. Kong is saved and escapes captivity to be with the female only for the army to hunt the apes down. They capture the female but it looks like they jhave killed Kong. The female ape is pregnant. And Kong comes back for her getting killed in the process but the army lose more than a few soldiers and their commanding officer because of said officer's stupidity. How on earth did Lind Hamilton make this after The Terminator ?

 

Jools Holland Hootenanny

This is how I see in the New Year watching the music showcased on this show. Rod Stewart made his first ever appearance on the show. P P Arnold also sang.

 

The Light at the Edge of the World

Kirk Douglas and Yul Brynner star in this film about pirates attacking a lighthouse at the bottom of South America. The film is set in 1865 before the Panama Canal is built. The pirates murder the chief keeper and young assistant while Douglas can only watch helpless. The pirates fail to catch him at first but sending the ship away lures him out and they grab him. Brynner plays the pirate captain. The pirates cause a ship to be wrecked and kill the survivors who get to shore. One woman is left alive for the captain. Douglas has escaped the pirates and saves the life of one of the ship's crew. Thy start to knock off the pirate crew and disrupt their activities. The woman does not want to be saved as she would be hunted across the rocks. The man who Douglas saved is caught by the pirates and tortured until Douglas shoots him dead. The captain leaves the woman to his crew as he tries to lure Douglas out again. Douglas uses cannon that have been brought ashore by the pirates to sink their ship and then has a final confrontation with Brynner. The film is rather nasty but never really gels.

 

New Year's Day Concert from Vienna

Another holiday tradition. This is just simply wonderful listening to classical music from Vienna. Strauss and contempories.

[Ternaugh]

Total Recall: The good one. (4K UHD Blu-Ray)

 

 

 

Apparently, some default settings on Sony 4K players sometimes cause some discs to skip or freeze. This disc was giving me grief a few days ago, and just would not play after the FBI warning. I found a video on Youtube, however, that told me to disable the upscaling, and to switch another picture setting from Auto to Video mode. Worked like a charm.

[death tribble]

Another lengthy one so buckle up and here we go.

 

Go West

Buster Keaton becomes a cowboy in this silent and gets attached to a cow which is rather sweet. The train stunt and the then the cows in the town stunts are good.

 

The Diamond Conspiracy

This is a dated film about two sets of crooks. One is making diamonds and the others stole money and then killed a federal agent. Another federal agent is sent to London to work with Scotland Yard as the crooks are supposed to come to Britain and one is British. The dead federal agent had a diamond in his mouth which turns out to be synthetic. The whole diamond trade could be ruined. The idea is that the diamonds will be swapped for cash. The crooks in Britain have the guy who invented the process working for them (unwillingly). One of the people advising Scotland Yard also turns out to be in on it. The police trace the inventor and corner the gang in an abandoned castle. The gang turns in on itself and the chief villain dies in an explosion with all the stolen cash but as it was newly minted this is as good as recovery.

 

The Creature Walks Among Us

This is the last of the Creature From the Black Lagoon films. One of the guys in charge of the expedition is a control freak including his wife. The creature is caught and has to have surgery in order to live. While being kept in a cage it sees the guy kill another man who he thought was after his wife. It then breaks out and kills the guy before heading off towards the ocean which will now probably now kill it. The other two films about it are better.

 

The Boy Who Caught a Crook

This film is about a crook who throws a case of money out of his car during a police pursuit. A boy who is working at the time finds the case and his friendship with a tramp leads both of them to be chased by the crook. The case seems to be empty. The crook threatens to kill the boy's mother if he does not get the money back. And the police also get involved.

 

Tarzan and the Trappers

This was originally TV episodes but was made into a film. Gordon Scott plays Tarzan an lashes with two sets of trappers. One is illegally hunting animals for a Dutch zoo and will sneak back across the border before he is caught. The brother of the trapper in the first part goes after Tarzan and is led into an abandoned city where Tarzan traps them.

 

The Gamma People

Two journalists get separated from their train and end up in a small kingdom where a scientist is changing children either into a genius or a subhuman. Interesting to see Leslie Phillips in a no-comic part

 

Echoes of Diana

Have seen this before but not recorded it here. A man is killed in a plane crash but might have been trying to defect. His wife is contacted by a foreign embassey and arrangements are made for her to defect as her husband is still alive. But the police are also trying to track her down as the foreign agents may be up to no good.

 

Yellow Sky

This is a 40s Western with Gregory Peck and Richard Widmark. Both are members of a gang that hits a bank and are then chase onto Salt Flats by the army. They find a ghost town and try to take the gold of a man and his granddaughter. It is not bad and the gang falls apart because of the gold and having to share it with the old man and the girl.. 

[Ternaugh]

The Court Jester: This one's a favorite of mine, and I rewatched it tonight because I heard about the death of actress Glynis Johns yesterday, at the age of 100.  (Vudu)

 

 

https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/04/entertainment/glynis-johns-dead/index.html

[mattingly]

Hadn't heard about the death of Glynis. Thanks for the news, and the reminder to watch The Court Jester again.

[csyphrett]

Disc two Season two Breaking Bad. Walt fronts Jesse money to get set up again and they recruit Jesse's friends to sell their meth. The boy was like poor turtle after what happened in the desert

CES  

[Old Man]

Godzilla Minus One.  This movie is entirely in Japanese, with subtitles.  It's also really good--Skull Island good.  As most movies do, it fails a bit when it comes to the physics.  But that's not the point of the movie at all.

[mattingly]

Every New Year's Eve, I watch The Hudsucker Proxy.

 

 

 

 

 

[Old Man]

The first episode of Echo on Disney+ was not bad.  About 45 minutes of origin story and just the barest beginnings of the actual story arc.  Casting a deaf amputee as the lead isn't holding the story back at all so far.

 

Btw this series is not for kids.

[Ternaugh]

Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome: The third installment of the Mad Max franchise, with the first half associated with Max trying to get his stolen goods back at Bartertown, while the second has max run out of town, and rescued from the desert wasteland by a tribe of children who survived a crash landing of a 747 and developed a kind of cargo cult. A good watch.

 

It's been quite a while since I last watched this (on DVD, I believe), and this is a new 4K transfer. Picture quality is greatly improved, and the sound mix is very clear. (4K UHD Blu-ray)

[Bazza]

 

[DShomshak]

Star Trek: Lower Decks Season One came in at the library. Smarter and funnier than it has any right to be, and some of the best Trek I've seen since Next Gen and DS(. The people who make this aren't just Star Trek fans: They are perceptive Star Trek fans, who aren't afraid to poke fun at the tropes while still loving them. And occasionally calling out places where the franchise genuinely has fallen down, or at least where attitudes have, one hopes, evolved -- such as treating all members of a particular alien species as one-note stereotypes.

 

I look forward to Season Two, on hold at my library.

 

Dean Shomshak

Edited January 14 by DShomshak