BobO'Link

I've been watching the MCU films in a slightly modified "timeline" order (started a few months back and increased the pace this month) - a few are first time viewings. The first so far is Captain Marvel - though I watched it late in the "timeline" order as the list I'm using flags it as "not essential" so was waiting and watched it after Ant-Man (one of my favorites of the MCU movies). I'm familiar with the DC character but not so much the Marvel one. I know Carol Danvers is "Ms. Marvel" and little else until I read about her after watching the movie. Like is frequently done, her creation story is different in the movie and feels like one of those "modern updates" that's unnecessary but I think the main movie going audience won't know or care (I didn't before reading about the character - still don't really care as it worked in the movie). It was very slow starting and I was just about at the point of not caring when it *finally* turned into a more typical superhero movie. Even then I never worked up a "I care about these people and/or what's happening" all that much. It's "OK" but nothing I think I'll revisit that often, feeling more like a movie setting up the character so you'll know who she is when she enters the MCU proper later in the "Infinity Saga" story line that seems to be the main impetus for most of the MCU movies. Honestly, I've never been much of a Marvel comics fan due to how they run the majority of their comics (mainly the X-Men and Avengers franchises) with annual "major crossover world-changing story lines that reset all you know!" Basically annual "milk the fans with crossovers/stories that really don't do anything but drain pocketbooks while increasing corporate profits" so popular with *both* Marvel and DC these days, though Marvel really has it down to an art... OK... didn't mean for that to turn into a rant otherwise it'd be about DC instead... That said - I like the Marvel superhero movies better than what DC puts out in spite of preferring DC comics.

And I then watched Godzilla vs. Kong (2021) - the latest in that new crossover franchise series. That one absolutely comes off as a string of action and vfx sequences to tie together a half baked, and poorly written, story. I "get" that there's a certain amount of suspension of disbelief you need to watch such movies but this one stretched it to the breaking point with its "hollow earth" sequences/premise. For my money, the 1963 TOHO "King Kong vs. Godzilla" is the better of the two although the 2021 film isn't truly all that bad if you go into it in the right frame of mind. It *does* attempt to channel the TOHO Godzilla movies "toss a sympathetic kid into the mix" formula and mostly succeeds with that. Overall if you're just wanting some decent monster vs monster action and well done vfx sequences it works.

LJG765

Does anyone else have this problem where you can't figure out what to watch? I wanted to watch a movie last night, but wasn't sure what I wanted to actually watch. I wanted it to knocked some checks off the check list, but still not be super long and couldn't decide. It took almost as long to figure out what I wanted to watch as to watch it! I'm not sure if this means I had too many choices or what...I did end up watching La belle et la bête which I enjoy though it is not my favorite Beauty and the Beast retelling.

BobO'Link ; I have to admit that I never read the Marvel comics, so it doesn't bother me too much with crossovers or changes to the characters. I watch the films because they are entertaining. There are definitely some that are made better than others, but I do like how they eventually all tie in together and crossover between a lot of the universes. Growing up, I LOVED it the few rare times that shows crossed over with each other. It was rare enough to be something to look forward to. So maybe that love carried over to Marvel...

I do get why people are upset when they change things up...I hate when my favorite book (btw, think you're missing out on skipping young adult books!) is massacred when translated to the screen, but sometimes things change or have to change to get them from the page to the screen. That being said, there are quite a few times when it's impossible to understand why they've changed a character one way or another.

BobO'Link

Does a bee buzz?

Without a doubt! I've put on a old favorite and spent almost the entire running time weighing the pros and cons of what to watch next. I'll often pull out a half dozen or more for consideration and stack them up by my chair to think about them only to get a completely different film off the shelf at the last second. Selecting the "last film for the night" is particularly difficult as I don't typically want it to be something too challenging, too long (over 90 minutes or so), new/first viewing, or needing subtitles. I've gotten to where I keep a couple of qualifying TV series ready just in case so I can just use them to finish the day. If I take more than a couple of minutes to select that last film I just put on a TV series instead.

Since I started participating in the Horror Challenge, selecting titles for this one is more difficult as many SF titles also quality as Horror so it then becomes a "Watch now or save for the Horror challenge" proposition. I even sort them into groups like that so I know which are crossover titles. Sometimes it comes down to "How many unopened horror titles do I have compared to unopened SF titles."

LJG765

Same! I tend to like the shorter (less than 90 mins) films to wind down and so many times I'll be interested in a movie only to realize it's over 2 hours long and don't have the time/energy to watch it. I think the biggest issue is that I'm a mood watcher. I'm in the mood to watch something, but don't know what I'm in the mood to watch! I have also been doing the "watch now, watch next month for animation" dance this year. I have quite a few animated films that would qualify for both but trying to save for August.

LJG765

Okay, watching The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, a Ray Harryhausen film, and Sinbad is stuck in a wooden cage. He leans his full upper half outside of the bars. This includes his head and shoulders...yet can't escape from it. Um, if he can fit his shoulders and head through, he should be able to fit the rest of his body through...Oddly enough, out of everything else in the movie, that's the scene that's thrown me out of it!

popcorn

Yesterday I watched the sci-fi documentary, In Search of Tomorrow. It was five hours long. I figured if I could binge watch five episodes of something like Stranger Things, I could do that. The time flew by as they explored 80’s sci-fi movies and influence. I really enjoyed it and it inspired me to revisit some classics including E.T., The Terminator​​​​, Spaceballs, and Alien Nation (R.I.P. James Caan).

BobO'Link

It's the belt buckle - catches every time...

LJG765

Ahh....the infamous belt buckle! I'll have to remember that next time.

Gobear

We'll have to add Lenny von Dohlen to next year's death list. He will live forever in electric dreams

BobO'Link

My "late night" filler has been Space 1999. While I've enjoyed revisiting the series I'm reminded just how much better I like S1 than S2, for many reasons. The music/score for S2 is simply horrible and sounds like generic 70s cop/action show scores, and incredibly dated sounding scores at that, often used in absolutely inappropriate scenes. That score is not something that fits a "serious" SF series, though in S2 it's a bit less than "serious" due to a retooling supposedly to make it "better." It failed to do so, IMHO. They really went whole hog into "monster of the week" territory with S2, dumping the mystical/science stuff of S1. I still remember seeing the series some when it was in first run US syndication in the mid-70s and that I enjoyed S2 back then - but I'd also completely missed S1 during those airings so had nothing for comparison (it also didn't hurt that I had something of a crush on Catherine Schell). Barbara Bain is rather "stiff" in S1 but is even worse in S2, opening every episode with something like a log entry that she all but whispers. It doesn't work. Martin Landau isn't too bad but both feel miscast in a SF series like this. Still... it's an old favorite as long as I remember S1 is much better and stronger than S2, in spite of the wonky/incorrect science spouted frequently in S1 and that the whole premise of the series just can't work in real life (an explosion large enough to throw the moon out of its orbit would also destroy it and cause wide-spread destruction on the Earth - it would be an extinction level event).

shadokitty

I didn't get any watches in last night, due to a video call with a friend. However, she gave me ideas of a good show. We were watching clips from Princesses Of Power , and with it being a LGBTQ friendly show, it made me interested in checking it out.

LJG765

I've spent the last few days watching Ray Harryhausen films. It's amazing how talented the guy was. The animated creatures/animals are so well done. Sometimes in older films, I get thrown out of the illusion because of how dated it is, but Harryhausen's work does not do that for me. The creatures or skeletons or whatever he's animating, work really well. The fights scenes even, when swords connect or people have to dodge the creatures, it doesn't look like they've been pieced together, really. There are times I appreciate his animation more than I do modern CGI (Proxima from Jungle Cruise, I'm looking at you!)

shadokitty

As far as I know, only Mighty Joe Young might not be eligible. That one always struck me as more adventure than actual sci-fi.

Indy24LA

I am thoroughly enjoying the newest Kickstarter season of Mystery Science Theater 3000. I like how they are rotating host and even brought back my favorite, Joel. And I'm surprised how much I like the newest host, Emily. She fits in so effortlessly.

BobO'Link

When I was a kid I'd watch the Harryhausen films, and other heavy effect/creature films, wishing there was a way to make the creatures/effects look like they were truly part of the overall action rather than obviously added in layers. Today that can be done - and it's nowhere near as gratifying as watching the Harryhausen films, and others, with their practical effects. The new CGI efforts *look* quite good but are, IMHO, mostly unimpressive as "anyone" can take a computer, input a ray tracing, and have the computer turn out an impressive looking sequence. Outside creating the original art it really doesn't take much talent to pull off. On the other hand, practical effects *do* require talent and now impress me even more than they did in the past.

Your earlier comment about Sinbad going through the cage bars got me rather intrigued as I just didn't recall that particular scene fully, just that Sinbad does wear a belt with a huge buckle, so I pulled out The 7th Voyage of Sinbad to watch it again. It's a favorite so it's not anywhere close to a "chore" watching it again... I think you're seeing something that's not there - exactly. When Sinbad has his head outside the Cyclops' cage there's only a single shoulder outside and it's obvious his chest is too thick to make it much further through. What's always bother me is the miniature Princess Parisa pushing that *huge* locking pin out to free Sinbad and the other sailors. At her size it's the size of a redwood tree trunk! It'd be *far* to heavy for someone her size to even budge, much less push the equivalent of 10+ feet.

davidh777

My challenge got off to a rough start. I was going to continue my Star Trek journey only to find that DS9 has been yanked from Netflix (I figured it’d happen at some point after a few franchises were removed earlier this year. I still have the DVDs but just signed up for Paramount+ for $0.99/mo (two months only) on Prime Day. Not to decide whether to continue DS9 or jump to newer series only on that service.

LJG765

Yes! Thinking of how much time and effort it took to move a single part, film, move, film and then match it up with someone on the screen! As for Sinbad, he was pretty far out. If you can get your head and shoulders through, you can pretty much get the rest of you through (have you never seen a kid stuck in a railing before? lol! But I'll give him the benefit of the doubt. As for the Princess...maybe she's stronger because she's little. Think an ant...or even Ant-Man! They are little but strong considering their size.

Oh, I missed that. I would have grabbed a sub for a buck. Did you have to agree to stay for a certain amount of time? If you haven't seen it yet, the first season of Picard was really good and I also enjoyed the first 2 of Discovery (maybe only the first, but I'm pretty sure I watched 2 seasons). I haven't seen the 2nd of Picard but at some point, I'll sub for a month and catch up.

shadokitty

Yesterday I decided to look up Disney+ and felt like some Marvel. After a couple fits and starts trying to find what to watch, I settled on What If..., and watched the first two episodes. I wasn't sure if the show would live up to expectations, or fall short in my eyes, because growing up, that was one of my favorite comic books. I actually enjoyed the show so far. I also saw that IFC had a 3rd Rock From The Sun marathon, and I watched a couple episodes of that. I always enjoyed the show during its prime time run .

davidh777

No, I’m pretty sure it’s just month to month as it said I’d be billed the normal amount once this offer expires.

I started this journey back in January 2021 and have been a little slower this year (finished TOS TAS TNG last year) and I’ve seen several series drop off NF/Prime, but only after I’ve watched them. When this challenge started, I went to my Continue Watching queue looking for DS9 and… gone. I do have DS9-VOY-ENT on physical disc so I figured I could finish those before I had to up for P+ then this happened.

I think I saw one free episode of Discovery and liked it, but have heard so many good things about several of them. I guess it makes the most sense to binge those for now then return to my regularly scheduled programming.

BobO'Link

Yes - it's on a month-to-month basis. With that offer you got the first 2 for $.99/each and it jumps to $9.99/mo. after that. Cancel any time. I'll be cancelling as soon as I've burned through the Star Trek stuff I've not seen before (only the new series) and the newly remastered Director's Edition of TMP.

I, too, got suckered into that sub just to watch Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. I saw the first episode a few months back when Paramount had it streaming free and was grinning ear-to-ear the entire time it was on. It's the type of Star Trek series I've been waiting for since Enterprise was cancelled (yes, I like Enterprise - mostly, with the whole "temporal wars" story line being the main negative for me).

I watched S1 of Discovery during its original run and found very little to like (I absolutely do not like the character of Michael Burnham - horrible "hero" - and don't care for most of the other characters either) though I *did* purchase a copy of S1 and S2. Rewatching S1 proved I still didn't care for it. S2 was a *bit* better but still nothing I can see myself revisiting very often - probably about as frequently as the "Kelvin" movies which is every 3 or 4 years tops. The "season" length stories are also turn-offs for me and I can do with far less "character development" - let it happen but don't put it front and center (one of my beefs with TNG as well). BUT - now that I have a couple of months I'll watch the next 2 seasons just because.

I'm not much of a TNG fan but will watch Picard and the animated Lower Decks just because they're available. I've heard/read good things about Picard but he's not a character I really care that much about. Lower Decks sounds a bit too much like "modern adult comedy" type stuff I generally don't care for and I already know I don't care for the animation style so we'll see...

BobO'Link

I've now watched the first 8 episodes of Lower Decks. It's pretty much what I was expecting - a somewhat generic modern "adult" style cartoon with Trek trappings, frenetic dialog done in an over-the-top style, and action that reminds me quite a bit of the Teen Titans series (which I find to be "just OK" - my older grandkids seem to really like it and would probably like this one as well). In a way I can see the goings on of these people happening on a star ship - but it extends to the top level command crew as well in a way that takes me out of the story. There are frequent inside jokes and comments/visuals that are mostly Easter egg type things from all previous Trek series, which are the most Trek-like things on screen (outside the general design and hardware/dialog that's in all Trek series). The general stories fall into pure Saturday morning fare with the requisite half-baked attempts at humor (OK... I realize there are no more "Saturday morning cartoons" so think of what you'd have seen, story wise, from most animated SF series in the 60s/70s aimed at kids and what you found hilarious when you were ~10yo) and only rarely invoke a Trek feeling.

Honestly, it's not truly "bad" but it's also not very Trek feeling to me. It's better than many other animated series aimed at adults I've seen and is one I'd watch if I were channel surfing and it came up. I *do* like it much better than Discovery.

davidh777

Yeah, I’ve never really gotten into the adult animation TV genre via Fox or adult swim or whatever. I know some big fans of Lower Decks so I’ll probably try it in August.

I decided it didn’t make sense to have this sub just for the convenience of not using discs so I watched four episodes of Discovery yesterday. I get not liking the Burnham character, but the story has me interested. It’s been so long since I watched the first episode that I had no idea there were four seasons in the books.

BobO'Link

I'm a few episodes from the "finale" of Terra Nova and am finding it to be rather unremarkable. Based on what I've seen so far, for once Fox really didn't screw up with the early cancellation like they so often do with SF series. The visuals are quite good but are saddled with rather pedestrian scripts and average acting. I won't mention the very generic "sound track" which, like many modern movies/series, attempts to add suspense/tension/drama where none exists or intrudes into scenes where no music is needed. Oh... wait... I did mention it didn't I? Those types of half baked sound tracks are somewhat a pet peeve of mine and the one thing that'll often turn me off of a program before it's barely begun. It screams "We couldn't come up with really good scripts/dialog and are using this generic dramatic sound track so you won't notice."

The premise is it's the future (year 2145) and the atmosphere is so bad you have to wear breathing apparatus when you venture outside. A temporal rift has been discovered which creates a one-way path 85 million years back in time to the Cretaceous period. People are selected by the need for their specialization or survival ability to go back and start over. The son of the main camp leader is a scientist who's on the verge of creating a way to return to the present. He, and a specially selected group of mercenaries, is recruited by corporate industrialists to go back in time with the intention of fully realizing the process and then stripping the pre-historic world of resources, sending them to the future for capital gain. The leader of the main colonist camp just happens to be the dad of that scientist, setting up one of the main conflicts in the series. The "good guys" are organized in a more palatable form of a military dictatorship of the kind where the first guy who arrived took control and runs everything. At least he's not the typical tyrannical dictator type so it's all "OK".

The series had promise but failed to deliver by keeping the main colonists inside a huge encampment and never doing any kind of exploration of the outside world. A few kids go off doing the things kids to - get into trouble/stranded by "not following the rules" - and the "Sixers" (that corporate group trying to wreck everything) are in a camp close by, periodically attacking for apparently random reasons. Otherwise the stories are fairly mundane and could work just as well if the colonists had been sent to any remote island. It has everything you'd expect from a SF series with Steven Spielberg's name attached - generic family with a young child, very kid friendly stories that are more about family dynamics, teen angst, children adjusting to odd environments, and antagonists who just aren't all that threatening when it comes right down to it. Outside top notch visuals the rest plays like an average and cliche' "B" SF movie transported to television.

coyoteblue

If you haven't checked out Harley Quinn, it's pretty good or maybe Genndy Tartakovsky's Primal (yes, it's Adult Swim, but it's atypical).

LJG765

What If... is on my list of shows to watch. I'm fairly far behind though. I need to just sit down and have a Marvel marathon.

Thanks. I'll have to keep an eye out for something like this again so I can catch up on Trek!

Maybe I was in the minority but I didn't mind her character! At least the first couple seasons. I didn't know they had 4 seasons out either, thought it was still at two! But I've not really been following it all that much.