Ternaugh

From the new Steve Hackett album.

1 hour ago, unclevlad said:

 

Plausible, but can we blame the script for his constant pouting?  

 

That said, I think ALL the Star Wars movies get far less criticism than they deserve, because we so WANT to like it that we overlook the many faults.  Who doesn't want a lightsaber and a starfighter???  Who doesn't want to be super-cool Han?  Vader's WAY more cool as the Mysterious Villain than he is as the Fallen Savior.

 

 

We can blame the director for the constant pouting.

Sending. 

17 minutes ago, Christopher R Taylor said:

 

Well that's a big part of the issue isn't it?  They are spending so damned much on movies now that they have to make close to a half billion dollars just to break even.  That's a ridiculous ask, and lately its been a painful fail.  Yeah if you pull in a billion dollars, that 350 million dollars in delays, reshoots, and rewrites doesn't seem so bad.

 

But if you made the same movie for 50 million, then you made even more money and it doesn't need to make a half bill just to see green.  Famously now, Godzilla One cost a fraction what Hollywood movies do and made huge bank.  It cost fifteen million to make.  FifTEEN, not even 50 million.  And it made over 100 million.  When The Marvels made about that much, it was a catastrophic failure, because it costs so damned much to make.

I've been watching a bunch of older films lately (including a bunch of B movies), and I realized just how much I missed the smaller productions of the past. 1984's Night of the Comet, for example, was made for about $700,000 (about $2M in today's money), but grossed almost $14.5M during its 6 week run in theaters.

The first two episodes of the Fallout series on Amazon Prime. I'm enjoying it so far.

Singin' in the Rain: Classic musical about the birth of talkies, It's a very good watch. This is the 2022 UHD release, which has a beautiful picture* and an excellent 5.1 mix. (4K UHD Blu-ray)

The Land that Time Forgot: Doug McClure movie from the mid-seventies, based upon the Edgar Rice Burroughs book. This one I originally saw at the drive-in with my parents, back when it originally came out. Both of my parents liked SF/fantasy, so this is one that we'd watch whenever it was shown later on TV. The special effects are rough in a few places, including seeing a turnbuckle wire tensioner on the cables holding up a pterodactyl, but it's still an enjoyable, nostalgic watch. (DVD)

*For whatever reason, the disc uses HDR color, while the digital copy uses Dolby Vision. 

We were in a lockdown at work for a couple of hours because of what happened nearby this morning.

Smokey and the Bandit: The second-highest grossing movie of 1977, and it made enough of an impression on me as a child that I could remember all of the lyrics to the songs (I caught myself singing along to "Eastbound and Down"). It's a funny, nostalgic watch. (Netflix)

The Black Hole: Disney doing a darker movie, with the crew of the Palomino discovering a ship lost for 20 years on the edge of a black hole. The plot's a mix of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and Dante's Divine Comedy. I originally watched this in theaters with my parents, and it's remained a quirky favorite of mine over the years. (Disney+)

I lost faith with the temporal cold war plot. I called it quits when Archer pulled a Bobby Ewing, and stepped out of a shower to find it hadn't happened yet. The only thing missing was an, "Oh, boy!"

I only re-visited the show again when it was shown on Sci-Fi several years later. Any show that Jeffrey Combs was on as Commander Schram, and the mirror universe episodes in the 4th season were highlights for me.

1 hour ago, Cygnia said:

 

Roberto's for lunch sounds good.

The one near Pecos and Sunset has a big sign on the wall that says, "No Trans-fats", and then notes that they use highest quality lard. 😉

"Turn Up the Radio" - Autograph (1984)

"The Eve of War" had shuffled into my Plexamp player on the way home, and I decided to spend the evening listening to the entire album. I've bought it on CD and on hybrid SACD (with both stereo and 5.1 mixes on the SACD layer), and my late wife's LP should be somewhere in the house.

7 hours ago, Starlord said:

I would be good with that. Never did care for Krispy Kremes.

33 minutes ago, Pariah said:

The first two episodes of the third and final season of Star Trek:

 

"Spock's Brain" : Mother of Hades, this was a bad episode. 

 

"The Enterprise Incident" : As good as the previous episode was bad. Leonard Nimoy is brilliant as Spock seduces a female Romulan commander, while a surgically-altered Kirk sneaks around the Romulan ship, trying to steal their new cloaking device. 

I'm not fond of "The Empath", even though it premiered on the same night that I did.

7 Eleven sold insulated cups for their Big Gulps a few years ago with "Hello, My Name Is" name tags as the artwork. I have one in blue at work, with "Inigo Montoya" written in.

Frozen: A tale about Hans, Kristoff, Anna, Sven, and Elsa, the Snow Queen. A good watch. (4K UHD Blu-ray)

Wish: A king gathers the greatest wish from each of his subjects when they turn 18, and protects them in a tower, until a girl learns the secret. The movie had potential, but it's brought down by some lackluster songs. (Disney+)

3 hours ago, Sundog said:

 Betting that you remember this from the old channel 9 ads?

The US ABC Network used it in the late 70s for promos and bumpers, and their affiliate in Orlando was WFTV channel 9, so yes.

Ghostbusters: The original and still the best. (4K UHD Blu-ray)

Ghostbusters II: This time it's a threat from a river of slime and a demonic portrait ("This isn't Gainsborough's Blue Boy, eh?"). Entertaining. (Digital copy)

Ghostbusters: Answer the Call: I made it 15 minutes, before the comedy workshop nature of the film got to me, and I quit. The reason that the original held up so well is that it was essentially a horror movie with comedic elements. This one's an extended SNL sketch with better special effects. Oh, there are parts that are good, but there's so much dreck to get through. (Digital copy)

Ghostbusters: Afterlife: The nostalgia's powerful with this one. Gozer gets another go, but that's essentially a chance for us to be introduced to a new generation. I liked it. (4K UHD Blu-ray)

Zorro: The Gay Blade: Two brothers inherit the mantle of Zorro after their father dies, one has a fierce fashion sense. (DVD)

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire: Newest entry in the series, this one finds us back in the Firehouse in New York, with the Spengler family from Afterlife. After an orb containing an ancient evil is found, Ghostbusters, old and new, must unite to prevent New York from freezing solid. We liked it. (In Theaters)

4 hours ago, slikmar said:

I recently have been watching the Zorro series on Prime. Done in spanish, but dubbed English. Some minor changes to the story but I have enjoyed the first 9 or so episodes and the changes work so far. Recommend it for fans of Zorro.

Two bits, four bits, six bits, a peso. All for Zorro, stand up and say so!

Batman: Mask of the Phantasm: Animated film in the Batman: TAS setting. A mysterious figure is targeting gangsters, and the world's greatest detective investigates. It's a good watch. (Blu-ray)

The Warriors: Until recently, the only version of this movie that was commonly available on DVD/Blu-ray was the Director's cut, which added comic book-style bumpers between scenes, and a lengthy introduction connecting it to the ancient Greek story, Anabasis. This release restores the original Theatrical cut, which flows much better. My copy is on Blu-ray; I couldn't justify $50 for the 4K version. Overall, the transfer is very good, and the sound mix has the choice of mono, stereo, or Atmos. It's a good watch. (Blu-ray)

A Haunting in Venice: A retired Poirot is lured out to attend a seance at a crumbling, haunted palazzo, and must investigate several deaths while everyone is trapped by a storm. I enjoyed it. (Blu-ray)

28 minutes ago, Lord Liaden said:

I'm truly saddened to hear that.

 

For my part, if there's a choice between laughing or crying, laughing generally leaves me feeling more positive.

 

American right-wing politics is a clown show right now, but not all clowns have to be Emmet Kelly.

Not all clowns have to be the Joker, either. 😉

I've watched the first two episodes of X-Men '97, and I'm looking forward to more. (Disney+)

The Ten Commandments: It's been a tradition to watch this movie around Easter/Passover since I was a kid. A few years back, Paramount released it on 4K UHD, and it generally looks and sounds great. It's a good watch. (4K UHD Blu-ray)

Paint Your Wagon: This was the favorite movie of one of my bosses, some 25 years ago. I'll admit, the movie's grown on me. It's based on the Lerner and Loewe stage musical, modified a bit for the screen. It's essentially a Comedy-Musical-Western, with Lee Marvin, Clint Eastwood, and Jean Seberg in the lead roles. Lee Marvin's singing voice was described by Seberg as "like rain gurgling down a rusty pipe". Kino Lorber released a 4K UHD version today. Picture is much improved over the older DVD copy I have had, and there's the choice of 2.0 or 5.1 sound. (4K UHD Blu-ray)

From the 2018 album, Smalls Change, by Derek Smalls of Spinal Tap. Probably NSFW.

Who Done It: the Clue Documentary: A documentary about the movie, Clue, with interviews with some of the cast. It would have been a great 30-minute Youtube video; unfortunately, it's 11 minutes longer than the movie it is discussing. I recommend skipping, and just watching the original movie again. (Amazon Prime)

Highlander: A battle of immortals for the Prize. I'd wish for a sequel, but "There can be only one." It's a good watch. (Amazon Prime)

58 minutes ago, unclevlad said:

 

Hey, no dissing on the shrooms, man!

 

Hmmmmmmmmmmm.......(goes to pantry, pulls out the dried shrooms)  Realized I've got an extra heirloom tomato as I was getting the salad for tonight.  OK...toss it into some eggs for a frittata...with mushrooms, yeah.....

 

No dissing the shrooms.  IQ of a package of Peeps.  MUCH, MUCH lower.

So long as the mushrooms don't start singing, "A Whiter Shade of Pale".

True Lies: A spy thinks that his wife is having an affair, and the couple accidentally get captured by terrorists. This is the recent 4K release, and it looked fine. It's a good watch. (4K UHD Blu-ray)