What Have You Watched Recently?

[Ternaugh]

Star Trek Prodigy, Season 2: This show is a delight! It features characters who embody what we love about older Trek; they are curious, compassionate, brave, and loyal. The story's technically aimed at children new to Trek, but it never talks down to its audience, and is entertaining even for long-time fans.This is an excellent watch, and highly recommended. Here's hoping for Season 3 and beyond. (Netflix)

[Pariah]

We had an impromptu movie night last night and watched Inside Out. It's not my favorite Pixar movie (that would be The Incredibles), but it might just be Pixar's best movie. And it really had an effect on our 10-year-old. Like his Dad, LBP sometimes struggles to show his 'negative' emotions, like sadness or anger. This movie does a great job of teaching that emotions aren't good or bad, they're all a part of what makes us, us, and they all need to be acknowledged and accepted.

 

We anticipate watching Inside Out 2 tonight.

[Old Man]

I thought Inside Out 2 was actually better--there are some adults I know who really need to see it.

[Lord Liaden]

On 8/2/2024 at 4:16 PM, csyphrett said:

Watched JLU as the Justice Guild die to save the world, Etrigan lends a hand against Morgan le Fay, Metamorpho is created by mutation, and the JL, Blackhawks, and Easy Company save the world from Vandal Savage.

CES 

 

Justice League Unlimited is IMHO the gold standard for animated superhero series. Its only rival is Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes.

Edited August 4 by Lord Liaden

[Pariah]

15 minutes ago, Lord Liaden said:

Justice League Unlimited is IMHO the gold standard for animated superhero series. Its only rival is Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes.

 

Agreed in all particulars. If Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes had featured Jeffrey Combs in a role, maybe it would be closer....

 

(In fairness, though, JLU had an amazing voice cast. Even the heroes who only showed up for one or two episodes were cast magnificently.)

[Lord Liaden]

3 hours ago, Pariah said:

 

Agreed in all particulars. If Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes had featured Jeffrey Combs in a role, maybe it would be closer....

 

 

I guess you didn't notice who voiced the Leader...

[Pariah]

I had forgotten about that. Oops. 

[csyphrett]

4 hours ago, Pariah said:

 

Agreed in all particulars. If Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes had featured Jeffrey Combs in a role, maybe it would be closer....

 

(In fairness, though, JLU had an amazing voice cast. Even the heroes who only showed up for one or two episodes were cast magnificently.)

I have seen Will Katt, Robert Picardo, Nathan Fillion and a few others in the credits.

CES 

[Ternaugh]

Deadpool and Wolverine: A good third installment in the franchise, with lots of cameos, f-bombs, and quirky humor. (In theaters)

[Lord Liaden]

2 hours ago, Ternaugh said:

Deadpool and Wolverine: A good third installment in the franchise, with lots of cameos, f-bombs, and quirky humor. (In theaters)

 

Don't forget the extreme violence and gore. Even for Deadpool it's on another level.

 

It's rampant fan service, but for the most part its respectful and affectionate fan service. Long-time fans of comic-book superheroes, and their movies, will probably love the legion of homages and in-jokes. There's even a fair amount of heart. The chemistry between Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds really carries the film. The plot is flimsy, mostly an excuse for everything else.

[Ternaugh]

2 hours ago, Lord Liaden said:

 

Don't forget the extreme violence and gore. Even for Deadpool it's on another level.

 

It's rampant fan service, but for the most part its respectful and affectionate fan service. Long-time fans of comic-book superheroes, and their movies, will probably love the legion of homages and in-jokes. There's even a fair amount of heart. The chemistry between Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds really carries the film. The plot is flimsy, mostly an excuse for everything else.

 

Yup. it's rated R for a reason. And I'd have to say that every Deadpool movie is rampant fan service--that's kind of the point.

 

Meanwhile, I'm several episodes in with Batman: Caped Crusader on Max Netflix Amazon Prime. It's aimed at an older audience than Batman:TAS with obvious violence and strong language, but I can't help but feel something was lost in that transition. 

[Pariah]

49 minutes ago, Ternaugh said:

... but I can't help but feel something was lost in that transition. 

 

Kevin Conroy, perhaps? 

[Ternaugh]

52 minutes ago, Pariah said:

 

Kevin Conroy, perhaps? 

 

When I was young, my father told me just the bad guys die
At the time just a little white lie
It was one of the first but it hurt me the most
And the truth stung like tears in my eye
That even the good guys must die
There's no reasoning no crimes and I never knew why
Even now it still makes me cry

 

[fdw3773]

Besides Deadpool & Wolverine with my daughter before she headed off to college? I re-watched Stephen King's Thinner out of nostalgia that featured Kari Wuhrer in one of her earliest roles and more notably, Joe Mantegna as Richie "the Hammer." Even though he dies in the book, he lives and wreaks havoc in the film...I wonder if his skilled acting and role on The Simpsons as "Fat Tony" had anything to do it that script change from the source material. 🤔

[csyphrett]

Another disc down for JLU as Vandal Savage gets married, Amazo evolves beyond a simple machine, Darkseid and Brainiac decide on a truce, and Dr Destiny learns the horror of Brother John.

CES  

[DShomshak]

A live event! The Hungarian folk ensemble Ti Ti Tabor gave a free half hour program of music and dance at the local Catholic camp. It was great fun. Hungarian folk dancing can be very athletic, lots of stomping, clapping, slapping thighs, and arms and legs waving every which way, sometimes with a large stick. Sort of part dance, part martial arts, part epileptic seizure.

 

The promotional video for their Hungarian Folk Camp doesn't do justice to the dance, but gives a nice taste of the music:

 

 

Dean Shomshak

[mattingly]

I caught up on the recent DC animated movies.

Justice League War World

Crisis on Infinite Earths Part One

Crisis on Infinite Earths Part Two

Crisis on Infinite Earths Part Three

 

They did a great job tying it together with previous movie continuity.

 

[Dr. MID-Nite]

3 hours ago, mattingly said:

I caught up on the recent DC animated movies.

Justice League War World

Crisis on Infinite Earths Part One

Crisis on Infinite Earths Part Two

Crisis on Infinite Earths Part Three

 

They did a great job tying it together with previous movie continuity.

 

 

How many of these Crisis movies are they making? I'd prefer to watch the whole thing at once.

[Bazza]

3. 

[csyphrett]

Another disc for JLU as the Flash briefly imitates Booster Gold, a version of the Crime Syndicate shows up, Despero gets turned into a tree, and the League interferes with Solomon Grundy trying to save the world.

CES

[Ternaugh]

Finished Batman: Caped Crusader on Amazon Prime. Mostly good, with a few missteps, looking forward to a second season.

[Old Man]

St. Elmo's Fire (1985).  Seven self destructive college graduates self destruct in the mid-1980s.  One of Joel Schumacher's eighties classics, he nails the ennui felt by all of young Gen X but does it with some deeply flawed, borderline unsympathetic characters.  Estevez' stalker and Lowe's borderline-SA deadbeat dad really wouldn't fly today, and of the rest of the group only Ally Sheedy's character actually has her stuff together.  The movie is like a really dark episode of Friends.  An uplifting if dysfunctional story of the power of friendship, and I'd forgotten just how hot Demi Moore and Ally Sheedy were back then. 

[death tribble]

It's another update from me so grab a drink and sit back, it's another long one.

 

The Pointing Finger

This is an old British film with no-one you would have heard of. A scheming nephew aims to become the next Earl by making sure his cousin does not return from his trip to darkest Africa. There is supposed to be a curse on the family, as the estate was taken from monks during Henry VIII's time. A painting of the abbot who was killed by the first earl has the pointing finger and the former was the one who cursed the family. The nephew sends an Irish guy with his cousin and he supposedly sees the cousin done in by a native attack. However when he returns to England the cousin is back although the earl as he died said it was not his son. The nephew and the Irish guy conspire to find out what went wrong when a guy turns up at the docks and this also looks like the cousin. The Earl had an affair in Africa and did not know he had a son there as well. He rescued his half brother and went back to England posing as the legitimate one. The real one is close to death after his ordeals and the nephew tries dressing up as the abbot in the painting in order to scare him to death. The Irish guy has changed sides and teams up with the rest of the family in order to stop the nephew. The real cousin dies and the half brother inherits. It's a bit creaky but the plot is ok.

 

The Lone Wolf Keeps a Date

The Lone Wolf gets a stamp in Cuba and then runs into a lady in trouble. Her fiance is in prison as a guy on the boat he had was killed when he was about to deliver a parcel. This is a ransom for a kidnapped banker. The Lone Wolf gets involved when the crooks try to grab the girl and when he stops them they take his stamp album instead. In trying to track down what is happening the Lone Wolf crosses paths with his old friends in the police as well as the local police. He also gets in with the crooks while his valet and the girl get the cops to follow them to where the banker is being held so they can arrest them. It is fun.

 

The Lone Wolf Meets a Lady

I saw this one a while back but missed including it in previous updates. The Lone Wolf and valet almost run over a young woman who is secretary to a rich guy and is about to marry his son. But then she is accused of murder. The Lone Wolf who is a reformed crook decides to help and ends up frustrating and aggravating his old enemies in the police. This one has some twists and turns before the real killer is unmasked and stopped by the police. Like the previous entry I would recommend this.

 

Someone at the Door

This is a short but sweet British film. A brother and sister start hearing ghostly noises in the house they are in but are not scared off. Jewel thieves are after a haul that was hidden in the house or the grounds. The brother is a journalist who thinks that a plot to frame himself for the murder of his sister will provide him with a great story and improve his career. However this is overblown in the performance. And then when the police turn up looking for the previous caretaker they find a dead body, said caretaker. Turns out he was part of the jewel thieves and was killed by someone that the thieves did not know about. When the brother and sister and her boyfriend find the loot and are confronted by the robbers, the killer tries to do in the robbers and outwit the normal people. However the brother has worked out that the Scotland Yard inspector is the culprit and he is captured. If you go in knowing that some of this is overblown, you might enjoy it.

 

The Way of the World

This is a short about a director reminiscing about his career showing extracts of silent films. All the time the guy he is talking to really wants permission to marry the woman who he is the guardian of.

 

Meet Simon Cherry

A reverend on holiday ends up at a house after his car breaks down and there is a storm brewing. One of the occupants who is an invalid dies during the night but they rang the alarm for help after they were dead. How ? All the household give differing accounts of the invalid and one who is a guest accuses her husband of killing her. However the woman was a schemer who deprived her sister of the man she loved. The husband realised his mistake on the honeymoon but on return to Britain there was an accident which invalided his wife. The reverend puts together that someone did try to kill the invalid and this was one of the family retainers but the milk he put in an overdose of pills was spilled and leaked into the carpet eventually causing a short circuit that rang the bell. The invalid actually died of natural causes which a doctor testifies to. This was interesting as an almost done it.

 

Bulldog Drummond's Peril

Drummond and Phyllis are finally about to marry in Switzerland but a Swiss detective guarding their presents is murdered and one of the presents a synthetic diamond stolen. One of the wedding guests represents a diamond syndicate and his colleague killed the detective. The diamond is a gift from the father of Drummond's friend's Algy wife. Drummond returns to England to find the diamond and to catch the syndicate man. Things get complicated when Drummond is refused landing permission in Britain after they catch up with the fleeing diamond people on the train to Britain and both sets of people take to the air. The father refuses to help the diamond people but decides to speak to a long term rival for help in making another diamond. While the police hang on to Drummond, the father is killed in an explosion at his house. However this is the work of the rival and the colleague of the diamond syndicate head who was disguised as the rival was the one killed in the explosion. Drummond and girlfriend independently find the rival and are captured although Drummond escaped. He goes back when he finds out his girlfriend trailed him.

Both Drummond and the Lone Wolf have a love/hate relationship with the police although I prefer Drummond's over the Lone Wolf's.

 

The Crooked Sky

This is about a counterfeiting ring which are using aircraft radio operators to bring in the crooked currency and then distribute the funny money through an illegal gambling club. The sister of one of the operators and a detective from America try to solve the case following the murder of one operator who was on the verge of going to the police. And then another operator is killed near the airport. The police raid the gambling den and brawl with the hoods while the detective and the head battle on a plane. The brother who is piloting the plane saves the detective as the head goes for a skydive.

 

Room to Let

Two men invite an old man who used to be a journalist to tell them the tale of an old locked room murder. The challenge for one of them is to prove how it happened as it is unexplained. The tale is that of a fire that hit a sanitorium and then did one of the inmates escape. A man called himself Dr Fell becomes a lodger at a house and takes over the lives of the people in the house insisting that the curtains are drawn, the gas turned down and who the people in the house can see. But is he Jack the Ripper ? Dr Fell himself becomes the victim but the only person in the house was the lady of the house who was in a wheelchair and when police got there she was crawling on the floor with Dr Fell locked in his room shot dead with the bolt thrown on the inside. The solution makes sense and this was intriguing. Valentine Dyall made a suitably sinister Dr Fell.

 

Third Party Risk

Lloyd Bridges plays a gut down on his luck who ruins into an old war friend and they go off to Spain. However the friend gets called back urgently to London and asks Bridges to bring the car back and collect a parcel for him. On the way back from the airport Bridges is beaten up. He tells the police, collects the parcel and travels to London but he finds his friend dead in his photographic studio. Said friend is up to no good and has a new chemical process documented in photographic negatives which are in the parcel. Bridges tries to find out who is behind it before the police work out his involvement.

 

The Lady in the Fog

Cesar Romero (the Joker in the 60s Batman) is a writer trying to return to America but is fog bound. He runs into a lady whose brother has just been killed in a road accident. He helps her to try and find out what happened as the police believe it was an accident. However it is more involved as the brother was up to no good and was trying to blackmail someone. They find this out by back tracing the brothers movements and life. This ties into a night club, film studio, a man in an asylum and the death of an inventor in a garage fire years earlier. After the man in the asylum is run down by a car, the writer and the lady end up in the film studio where the inventor's ex-wife and her new husband try to kill them to cover their tracks but end up getting killed themselves. This was quiet neat with the running joke of the travel agent trying to get the writer back to the USA.

[Tech]

Watching the animated series "Prince Valiant"

[DShomshak]

The Boy and the Heron. Miyazaki's last film. Utterly beautiful like the other Studio Ghibli animation I've seen from him, but it seemed incoherent, like two or three partial movies jumbled together. But some of the bits are fairly amazing and could inspire your Fantasy worldbuilding.

 

Dean Shomshak