What Have You Watched Recently?

[Ternaugh]

Rollerball: In the Future (2018), Jonathan E. is the best Rollerball player in a world run by corporations. When he refuses to retire, the corporate managers make lethal changes to the game. The movie's been recently remastered for 4K, and it looks wonderful. My old Blu-ray copy would get banding in some of the darker scenes, but the HDR10/Dolby Vision on this version eliminates that. It's a good watch. (4K UHD Blu-ray)

 

Night of the Comet: A couple of valley girls survive the return of the comet that wiped out the dinosaurs, and must battle zombies and survivalist scientists.This has been remastered in 4K, and looks and sounds great. It's a good watch. (4K UHD Blu-ray)

[DShomshak]

5 hours ago, Pariah said:

Last night I watched the classic Star Trek episode "By Any Other Name". A quick internet search reveals that the shape into which the Kelvans transformed the Enterprise crew is called a cuboctahedron.

This was one of many TOS episodes where I wished TNG and other series' in that time period had shown what happened later. What became of the Kelvans-turned-humans? They were still formidable and knew technology beyond that of the Federation.

 

A few others:

 

Balok (Corbomite Maneuver) and the crewman who went off on cultural exchange.

 

The Iotians (A Piece of the Action). Did they ever demand a piece of the Federation's action?

(I imagine an Iotian security officer encountering one of those annoying immune-to-phasers monsters. He slaps his comm badge and says, "Computer: Implement program, 'Chicago Way.'" A fedora beams onto his head and a tommygun into his waiting arms. BRATATATAT. Monster go down.)

 

Eminiar and Vendikar (A Taste of Armageddon). Even if Kirk did in fact stop their simulated war (only the casualties were real), what did their people think of the Federation's means of doing so? (Leaders and common folk might have different views._

 

The Horta! (Devil in the Dark) I would so love to have seen the reborn species join the Federation, just to have more non-humanoids (and on a fairly low budget). One of my friends tells me a Horta junior officer appeared in one of the ST novels.

 

The Organians (Errand of Mercy). The Organian Peace Treaty was alluded to in Trouble with Tribbles, but I wonder what the effe de facto gods ng that there was a whole planet of de facto gods who could, if pushed hard enough, intervene. My guess is that the Organians would take their own "Prime Directive" approach and vanish, along with their whole planet, but I think it's a fair question.

 

(No interest in the Metrons from Arena. They were powerful, sure, but they were just preachy @$$holes. Rewatched it recently, and noticed that Kirk was probably correct about the Gorns planning invasion. The Gorns *faked a signal* to lure in the Enterprise. I'm left with the impression that Kirk sussed what the Metrons wanted to hear and gave it to them. I suspect the creative team for Strange New Worlds thinks the same way.)

 

And most of all, the Talosians (The Cage/The Menagerie). I/, told they reappeared in an ep of ST: Discovery, but I think TNG could have had a cool story arc about the Federation sending Picard to open negotiations with the Talosians, in hope of recruiting them and saving them from their addiction to illusion. The Federation would need some compelling reason to seek contact with such dangerous people (though holodecks show that the Keeper's fear of humans falling prey to living in illusion is, well, that ship has sailed.) I have a few thoughts, but I'll not derail the thread further.

 

I did like Lower Decks making a brief visit to Brekka and Ornara, the junkie and supplier planets from one of TNG's better episodes. But, sorry, TNG didn't introduce many other planets where I wanted to learn "what happened next."

 

Dean Shomshak

[Lord Liaden]

I was rather curious about the Aldeans, the humanoids on a planet hidden by very advanced technology, who had become sterile and kidnapped Enterprise D children to try to repopulate their world. Their tech had been so well made that it ran without supervision, so the Aldeans had lost knowledge of how it worked. When it started to malfunction (causing their sterility), they asked for Federation help to understand it. You'd expect something to have come from that.

 

OTOH both TOS and TNG had a tendency to introduce ultra-powerful, ultra-advanced aliens a little too carelessly. Once they're in the setting and have interfered in Federation affairs, it's tricky to explain why they don't continue to be a factor. To use your examples, Dean, the Organians were non-interventionist until the Feds and Klingons brought their conflict to the Organians' doorstep. They'd probably stay out in future as long as they were left alone. OTOH the First Federation obviously exists within the Milky Way, and  utterly dwarfs the power of any of our familiar Federation's rivals, except possibly the Borg. Keeping them in that universe begs the question of what becomes of their contact with less advanced races, particularly the aggressive ones.

 

I have to disagree with Dean about the Talosians, though. Holographic fantasy is still physical tech. It takes up space, requires power, maintenance, a system and structure to support and control it outside the fantasy. The Talosian's illusions were purely mental, under the control of each individual. But they were also inflicted on the minds of other beings, not just an addiction, but a parasitism. Much more dangerous. Frankly, I would be willing to bet that by the era of TNG the Talosians were extinct. What became of the beings they enslaved for imaginations to feed on when the Talosians were gone, would be up for debate.

[csyphrett]

Three Charlie Chan movies on Youtube:

The Shanghai Cobra: A bank holding radium is targeted by a bank robber who poisons the employees.

The Chinese Cat: A falling out among thieves leads to murder

The Scarlet Claw: Something is going on at an office building housing a radio show and a lab working on the new Radar.

CES  

[Pariah]

14 hours ago, DShomshak said:

This was one of many TOS episodes where I wished TNG and other series' in that time period had shown what happened later. What became of the Kelvans-turned-humans? They were still formidable and knew technology beyond that of the Federation.

 

When the dark matter anomaly showed up in season 4 of Discovery, the Kelvans were mentioned as one of the species with sufficiently advanced technology to cause the problem. 

[Ternaugh]

Oppenheimer: It's a very good watch. Ostensibly, it's about the father of the atomic bomb, but the story's much more complicated. Highly recommended. (Peacock)

[Ternaugh]

Labyrinth: Fathom Events had it for two nights in theaters, tonight, and Sunday, March 10. While I've seen the movie multiple times, I'd never seen it on the big screen. It was a great watch. (Fathom Events at select theaters).

[Grailknight]

Just got back from Dune II and definitely enjoyed it. It's well acted and though it has some deviations from the original books, they actually improve the movie for me. It does end where the book ends but seems to leave a part 3 opening.

 

Good acting and SFX, tight story and a thankful lack of much of the mental dialog of the 80's Dune. Overall, 8 out of 10!

 

It's long though so don't buy a drink in the lobby.

Edited March 24 by Grailknight

[Pattern Ghost]

Yellowstone: Wish I'd known there was still half a season left, and that Costner may not come back for it. Some good, some bad, some stupid to it. Still managed to suck me in. It subverted my expectations and made the protagonists into a cowboy mafia, which was an interesting spin on a ranch family defending their legacy, the eponymous ranch that's adjacent to the park of the same name. It often struggles with trying to create sympathetic characters out of a bunch of dysfunctional, self-interested killers. Frequently suffers from godawful dialog. Has a few true soap opera level stupid situations. 

 

1883: Yellowstone prequel, one season mini-series. Tells the tale of the Dutton family's journey across the Oregon Trail that led them to the Yellowstone. I liked it quite a bit more than the original show. It did a good job of showing the sheer brutality of life on the Oregon Trail. Narration was annoying, though. 

 

1923: Best of the three. Set between World Wars, a mining baron (Timothy Dalton) is trying to take over the ranch. Big Damn Hero son is off in Africa dealing with his personal demons. He finds romance and adventure while trying to get back home. Waiting for season 2. 

 

The Americans: Almost through Season 2. Great Cold War spy show, with plenty of twists and turns. 

[mattingly]

The Americans is fantastic. 

[Scott Ruggels]

On 3/5/2024 at 9:45 PM, Ternaugh said:

Oppenheimer: It's a very good watch. Ostensibly, it's about the father of the atomic bomb, but the story's much more complicated. Highly recommended. (Peacock)

 Very complicated. Robert Downey Junior's performance was chilling, and all that drama was caused by a misunderstanding...  

[Ternaugh]

Time Bandits: A kid gets involved with a troupe of thieves with a map showing holes in spacetime. It's a quirky, good watch. (Max)

 

The Lost Boys: After moving to a new town, two brothers find out that there's a sinister reason people keep disappearing. It's a good watch. (4K UHD Blu-ray)

 

Atlantis: The Lost Empire: Animated film from Disney, a linguist leads the search for the lost city of Atlantis. This one's much better than I remembered from watching it in the theater. (Blu-ray)

[Michael Hopcroft]

I saw Raffles tonight with my mother (on Prime), from 1939. David Niven plays A.J. Raffles, a renowned society gent and famous cricketer who leads a second life as "The Amateur Cracksman", a jewel and art thief. He's fallen back in love with a girl from school days (a stunningly beautiful Olivia De Havilland), and is determined to give up crime -- until her brother confides that he needs to come up with a thousand pounds or go to prison. So Raffles reluctantly takes on one last robbery at a noble estate -- but the Scotland Yard inspector he's been taunting for years shows up just as he is about to perform the job, as has a not-so-gentlemanly thief looking for the same prize.

 

Niven would go on to play a very similar role in Blake Edwards' comedic caper masterpiece The Pink Panther. He was shocked when the sequels featured Peter Sellers' Inspector Clouseau and not his Phantom as he thought it would be. It didn't help that Sellers was the same screwed-up ass he always was, not getting along with anybody and antagonizing everyone involved.

[death tribble]

Not as many this time.

 

Spearhead series 1

This is from the late 70s and concerns a fictional army regiment and specifically 6 platoon. A non-com , Colour Sgt Jackson is put in charge of 6 platoon and has to cope with what the men and the officers think of him. Service in Northern Ireland and back in Britain going on leave, a soldier going AWOL to find his wife and his subsequent court martial, dealing with a thief and a soldier with an attitude comprise the season of 7 episodes.

 

The Brides in the Bath

Dramatised film of the Brides in the Bath killer George Joseph Smith who was tried for the murder of one wife and two other killings were attributed to him to show he had a system. Smith was a bigamist marrying 8 times in all. He was found guilty and executed. Martin Kemp of Spandau Ballet played him.

 

Bank Shot

George C Scott is a bank robber sprung from prison to rob a bank that is based in a mobile home. Joanna Cassidy plays the backer and Clifton James as the prison governor tracking Scott down. This is a comedy and a lot of fun.

 

Maigret

Maigret and the Minister. A report is stolen from a government minister which has bearing on a recent tragedy when a sanatorium is destroyed by a landslide. The report criticised the planned building as being unfit for purpose. The report is stolen but who by ? It will embarrass the government and several people end up dead. Maigret also has other police departments looking into it.

Maigret and the Mandman of Sainte Clotilde. This one has been adapted for different places on film and TV. Maigret observes someone jumping from a train and sets off after him but lands badly and ends up in hospital. A woman has recently been attacked so Maigret ends up staying to investigate. The solution is unusual as more than one person is involved.

 

The Fly

This is the original version of the film with David Hedison as the scientist who does the experiment and Vincent Price is his brother. It is cheap and cheerful and still works. 'Help me ! Help me !';

 

Mortuary

After the death of her father a woman is menaced by a strange figure. The explanation is actually quite simple but the twist is that there might be a cult involved. Christopher George and real life wife Linda Day George feature as does Bill Paxton in one of his first roles.

 

Deadly Instincts

This has the Isle of Man standing in for Boston. A meteorite crashes in the grounds of a school in Boston bringing an alien and a woman with it. The alien needs to breed and so kidnaps women to do so.

This is pretty bad. British actors trying to do American accents and failing. There are several plot holes like how did the woman end up with the alien to begin with. See once and despair. You will never complain about The Last Jedi ever again.

 

Wrestlemania 35

Several stand out matches on the card. The highlights are Kofi Kingston vs Daniel Bryan and the triple threat match between Charlotte Flair, Ronda Rousey and Becky Lymch. A J Styles had a singles match against Randy Orton and Roman Reigns returning from battling cancer faced Drew McIntyre. The Triple H vs Bautista match was a bit of a let down. Braun Strowman won the Andre the Giant memorial match with Carmella winning the Women's battle royal. The Miz vs Shane McMahon was alright. Samoa Joe took out Rey Mysterio pretty quickly in their title match. The Iiconics won the Women's tag team titles and Baron Corbin beat Kurt Angle in Angle's retirement match. The Usos retained their tag team itles and Demon Finn Balor beat Bobby Lashley for a title. Seth Rollins defeated Brock Lesner in the first official match. Raw the following night was also shown on the third disc.

[mattingly]

It was my wife's first time seeing these. She liked the both.

 

The Monuments Men. George Clooney, Matt Damon, Bill Murray, John Goodman, and others are artists and historians during WWII that try to keep masterpieces from being blown up.

 

Pushing Daisies. Before he was in a dance-off with Chris Pratt to save the galaxy, Lee Pace owned a pie shop and brought people back to life.

 

[BoloOfEarth]

17 hours ago, death tribble said:

Bank Shot

George C Scott is a bank robber sprung from prison to rob a bank that is based in a mobile home. Joanna Cassidy plays the backer and Clifton James as the prison governor tracking Scott down. This is a comedy and a lot of fun.

 

Is the main character named Dortmunder?  Your description sounds familiar, I think it was based on a book by Donald Westlake.  His books are a lot of fun, though another one that was turned into a movie (The Hot Rock) wasn't nearly as fun to watch as it was to read.  

Edited March 14 by BoloOfEarth

[death tribble]

The film is based on the book by Westlake but there is no-one called Dortmunder in it

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bank_Shot

[csyphrett]

Charlie Chan: Black Magic. Chan and his assistants have to deal with a murderous magician after a fake seance.

CES

 

[Ternaugh]

Liar Liar: A comedy about a lying lawyer who is forced to tell the truth for 24 hours when his son makes a birthday wish. I enjoyed it. (Movies Anywhere)

 

Toys: After the death of its founder, a toy company is taken over by a general, and proceeds to make weapons. The children of the founder must find a way to stop him. It's a polarizing Robin Williams film, that bombed at the box office. The design is best described as surreal and quirky. It's a movie that I like enough to have tracked down a 2003 DVD copy, which is long out of print. The movie's never been released on Blu-ray, can't be found for digital rental or purchase, and only occasionally shows up on streaming. (DVD)

 

Rona Jaffe's Mazes and Monsters: Rona Jaffe wrote the book that this TV movie was based on in only a few days, and its production was rushed to release without any real editing. It was loosely inspired by the reports of the disappearance of James Dallas Egbert III from Michigan State University, and blending in some of the tropes from BADD (Bothered About Dungeons and Dragons--part of the "satanic panic" of the early 80s). The movie's not much better, though it does star a young Tom Hanks. The streaming copy I watched looked very much like it had been captured from an old VHS tape, complete with some of the chromatic dropouts near edges of objects, and a certain blurriness familiar to anyone who used a VCR to time-shift. It's a bit of a nostalgia watch, but I can't really say that the movie is good. (Amazon Prime Video)

 

 

 

 

[Bazza]

YouTube. 

[Ternaugh]

The Thirteenth Floor: A computer scientist is accused of murder, and the clues lead to a VR simulation. I enjoyed it, but found certain plot points to be predictable. (Bravia Core)

 

Dune, part one: Detailed adaptation of the novel about messiahs rising in the desert, a good watch. (Max)

 

Dune: This is the version with a soundtrack by Toto. Sets and costumes are very detailed in many of the scenes. Acting, not so much. A nostalgic watch. (Max)

[csyphrett]

Charlie Chan Dead Men Tell. Lt Chan of the HPD investigates murder among treasure hunters before they even set sail.

CES 

[csyphrett]

Season Four for Breaking Bad. Bill Burr as a tough guy is a bright spot. Tyrus got what he deserved for his rudeness.

CES

[Pariah]

Tangentially related to my recent viewings of Star Trek (the original series): Someone online asked why the Romulans seemed so angry all the time. My favorite response went something like this:

 

"So you've got the Vulcans, whose intelligence and scientific achievements are rivaled only by their smug superiority in the same.

 

"You've got the Andorians, a militaristic society who's spent years / decades / centuries fighting with the Vulcans.

 

"You've got the Tellarites, who have raised belligerence and antagonism to the level of a racial stereotype. 

 

"And now you have humans, these self-righteous little space monkeys who can barely find their way around a warp core but who have, nevertheless, managed to make the other three all play nice with each other. 

 

"So if I'm the Romulan Star Empire and I wake up with these guys at my doorstep every morning, I'm probably gonna be cranky too."

[Starlord]

Or maybe they're not angry, it's just they're eyebrows are drawn that way