JeffTheAlpaca

HBO

I liked it the first time but it was kind of dull the second time.

I will not buy it on Blu-ray even if De Niro is in it.

JeffTheAlpaca

Showtime



"After her parents' sudden divorce, teen artist Angie Chen turns to secret hookups with popular jock Liam. As Angie contends with her parents' divorce and her secret fling with Liam, she comes to discover what she wants -- and who she wants to be."

This was not bad and set in Texas and Emma Galbraith should be a rising star

DWilson

I was invested in "On The Line" and the twist really annoyed me. By the time I got to the end, I got over it, but I didn't really buy it. The one thing that bothered me in the film was the on-air cursing, which is generally a firing offence on Terrestrial radio in the US (though on Satellite you can say whatever you want). Of course, this was shot in France and they don't have the FCC.

DWilson

Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome Max 4K
Mel Gibson. Directed by George Miller and George Ogilvie. 1985
Max Rockatansky has his supplies stolen and must seek shelter there in a post-apocalypse world where all machines have begun to break down and barbarians hold what is left. He becomes involved in a power struggle, where he must first survive the town, survive the desert and then rescue the innocent children he has discovered.

I was going through the "Mad Max" films leading up to this weekend's "Furiosa", and I was going to skip "Thunderdome", but Max started streaming it in 4K this week and I wanted to check it out. "Thunderdome" was a bit of a let-down in '85. It had a PG-13 rating, and there were all those raggedy kids with their cutesy patois; it felt like one of those Spielberg productions that were big at the time. Not to say that it didn't have its moments, with "Master Blaster" and "Auntie Entity" and "Two Men Enter, One Man Leaves". But all these years later I still find it the weakest of the bunch, and I hope after this weekend I still feel this way.

OldBoy

Fast X: Part 1…definitely the weakest of the entire lot. Easily and not just because of Momoa.

gerrythedon

Finished the tv series yesterday, so watched this version for the first time on MAX. Originally saw the DC back when it came out on Blu ray and I borrowed it.

JeffTheAlpaca

AXS TV

A doc but the length of a movie

"Growing up in Lawrence, MA is rough. Violence, drugs, guns, gangs, poverty, and anxiety can eat you alive. But music saved Sully Erna and that salvation manifested itself into the formation of the seminal, multi-platinum rock band Godsmack"

I have not listed to Godsmack a lot since the aughts but have a urge to get out the CDs and play them again.

Boondock Saint

gerrythedon

Movie
Cree Cicchino was good
Isabela Merced was great

JeffTheAlpaca

Netflix

"Miranda Wells is a hardworking young widow who's struggling to raise three children on her own. A powerful storm soon brings a devastating challenge and a mysterious man, Bray Johnson, into her life. In just a few short days, Bray's presence reignites the family's spirit -- but he carries a secret that could change everything."

I thought it would be sappy or maybe a faith movie but it was not bad.

JeffTheAlpaca

Starz

L Everett Scott

Tully (2018)



This is my second Diablo Cody film and the first of her collaborations with Jason Reitman that I've seen. I tend to enjoy shows and movies where problems that come with motherhood get aren't glossed over so it's no surprise that I quite liked this. More observant people probably figured out the twist well in advance, but I didn't see it coming which added to my enjoyment. I've had the other Cody/Reitman films on my to-watch list forever and might have to move them up now.


The Silent House (2010)



It took a bit of doing, but I managed to track down this Uruguayan film which I was pleased about since I try to watch the original movie before the remake. Considering that it's a super low budget film from a director with limited experience, it's pretty impressive. I don't know of too many directors who'd try to make a 'one-take' film for their first feature.

While it's a great technical achievement, The Silent House has some glaring issues. After weird things start happening, lead actress Florencia Colucci spends a lot of time picking through junk in the house and it's not clear why she's doing it. You can tell that it's a single-location story because the efforts the movie makes to keep the girl in the house become pretty apparent and feel contrived. Then there's the big twist which is handled in a very clunky way and shows that the director has a ways to go as a storyteller.

The Silent House has good atmosphere and its technical aspects are pretty solid, but the direction and writing have room for improvement.

Nesbit

Withnail and I - Really enjoyed it but may have had it overhyped a bit. Will watch again for sure and probably enjoy it more when I haven’t gone from not knowing it existed to hearing from multiple sources that it was one of the funniest pictures ever the 48 hours beforehand.

JANK

Mad Max: Fury Road

Prep for "Furiosa"

Theron was/is amazing.

kahuna

Atlas (2924) - Netflix

DWilson

Atlas Netflix
Jennifer Lopez. Directed by Brad Peyton. 2024
Counter-terrorism expert Atlas Shepherd realizes working with A.I. might be her only hope when a mission to capture a robot goes awry.

This an expensive-looking SF Action film, judging by all the CGI battle-suits, otherworldly places, and high-tech things. I did find the CGI a bit too clean, -like the art on an Action Figure package, -rather than the more lived in look of something like "The Creator". Of course, "Atlas" boils down to yet another "Man vs Robot" movie and doesn't add anything particularly new to the mix.

That being said, I appreciated it in a Bill Mantlo/Sal Buscema Comic Book sort of way. Brad Peyton also directed "San Andreas" (with Dwayne Johnson and Carla Gugino) which was another big dumb cheeseburger of a movie that I was entertained by.

kahuna

The Beach Boys (Documentary) - Disney+
I grew up in HI loving the Beach Boys music. Especially when they were really hot in the 1960's. Boy did Brian Wilson's Dad screw them over.

DeFan

Slowly working through the original series. Overdone warning about Peace through Power and religion. James Gregory has a great voice for the Gorilla general. Linda Harrison is quite good at playing uncomprehending which is harder than it looks. Nice integration with the original. Charlton Heston was serious about no more sequels. I found it amusing that Dr. Zaius says "The forbidden zone was once a paradise". I personally like NYC but I don't think anyone would call it a paradise.

DWilson

I missed the original in theaters, but I got to go see "Beneath" at a matinee. I was a kid but even I knew it was a bit of a discount store version of the original, since James Franciscus is no Heston, and there was a more generic actor in the Roddy McDowell role. Being a kid, though, I loved those damned dirty apes, particularly James Gregory with his "The only good Human, is a dead Human!" I also loved John Chambers's make-up for the Mutants, and I loved them worshipping The Atomic Bomb and its' "Holy Fallout". When we got to that final scene of the film, my jaw was on the floor.

JeffTheAlpaca

Netflix

Based on a truish story.

"A successful British van salesman decides to open a bank that uses local money to fund local enterprises. However, he soon fights an uphill battle as he tries to convince the elite London-based financial authorities to grant him a new bank license."

Rory Kinnear could belt the shit out of a Whitesnake song doing karaoke.

Phoebe Dynevor is a smokeshow and the reason I decided to check it out.

JeffTheAlpaca

I think it is better to just watch these with subtitles since the dubbed English is so ridiculous.

OldBoy

Reign of Fire
Grandma’s Boy (UR)

DWilson

A Day at the Races Warner Bros. Archive Blu-Ray
The Marx Brothers. Directed by Sam Wood. 1937
A veterinarian posing as a doctor teams with a singer and his friends as they struggle to save an upstate New York sanitarium with the help of a misfit racehorse.

Warners does an excellent job of presenting the film, -it looks great, -though watching it again after many years, it's not exactly a favorite. The Marx Brothers comedy routines are fun, but Producer Irving Thalberg adds too many songs and production numbers that endlessly pad out the plot. I've never enjoyed Harpo's required harp solos, though I've always been amused by Chico's eccentric piano playing.

andicus

Ender's Game - I don't think I've seen this since it came out. Didn't realize that Ender was Otis from Sex Education.

DeFan

American Masters: Edward Hopper on PBS. I always liked his portraits of isolation and it was interesting to see how he got there. Overbearing mother and wife, clinical depression, sexual repression. I always think of his paintings as being from the 50s but most are earlier. Fairly light on the biography but heavy on showing the paintings.