On another red-level allergy day, I watched:

WE ARE THE 80'S

WE ARE THE 80'S

WE ARE THE 80'S

WE ARE THE 80'S

FRINGE:
HLN was playing a candid documentary about federal agents investigating weird
cases.

HOW THE UNIVERSE WORKS:
Several eps and a new one.

What did you watch?

--
Let's go Brandon!

On 2023-03-27 09:30:40 +0000, Ubiquitous said:

> What did you watch?

See How They Run (HBO... Comedy?) - I actually didn't understand the
point of this 2022 film. Was it supposed to be a "spoof" of murder
mystery films like this? (i.e. a spoof of Agatha Christie?). The ending
aped both the "play within the film" (Christie's "The Mousetrap") and
the fictious film based on the play (fun fact: despite 1 or 2 attempts,
"The Mousetrap" has never been adapted into an actually-produced film!).
Set in 1953, I also didn't care for how the film mixed IRL figures
(e.g. producer John Woolf, actors Richard Attenborough and two others,
Christie and her IRL husband, police Commissioner Harold Scott) with
fictious characters (esp. the American film director).
The film opens with a voiceover from Adrian Brody who plays the
obnoxious American film director. Of course, he ends up murdered. It
happens at the London theater, so everyone involved in the play is a
suspect. (See how this works?!)
The police arrive in the form of a perky, eager Irish widow police
constable (Saoirse Ronan - I'm not sure why Ronan was attracted to
playing this part, as she could do it in her sleep, and it wasn't much
of a challenge for her), and a cynical, somewhat dodering alcoholic
Inspector (not "Chief Inspector" he pointedly declares at one point)
played by Sam Rockwell - Rockwell was IMO the best part about this film
(by far!), though why they chose an American to play the part of a Brit
I coild not tell you!
They, esp. Ronan, go through several false starts in trying to track
down the killer. There's another murder. Eventually, they figure out
the ID of the killer. This ends with everyone - all of the suspects,
and eventually both cops - gathered together, at Agatha Christie's
house! (See how that works!)
This was OK entertainment, I guess. But I still don't see the point!

I also saw some of 2002's "The Importance of Being Ernest" which seemed
more... tedious.

soaps: GH - Thur's ep. Trina discovers Esme is now living with Laura
and Spencer! Gregory (Gonzo!) finally admits he is sick to Alexis,
after she hounds him, but he gives her no further details and swears
her to secrecy. (Sidenote: Notice how Kim Delaney's character has
completely disappeared now, and is never even referenced?!) In YA
injustice, lil' Lizzie gets off scot free for her part in Esme's
unlawful imprisonment!

March Madness - Last two Elite 8 games. San Diego State "wins ugly"
once again to manage to hold on to a last-second lead - but, of course,
the win was controversial!! In another upset, Miami (FL) gets by #2
seed Texas!
Three out of four Final Four teams this year have NEVER been in the
Final Four before! First time that has happened since 1970!!
(Unfortunately, this all favors UConn to win the whole thing... :/ )

The Blacklist (recorded) - "The Whaler" (ep. #10.2). A substantial
improvement on the season premiere - Red was back to being very
prominent in this episode, and it was actually mostly fun.
In this one, Red sends Ressler and Siya Malik into a series of
"private" Texas Hold 'Em tournaments to track down the Blacklister du
Jour, who is working with Wujing, for unclear goals.
Meanwhile, Agnes is being bullied at school, and Cooper tells Red to
stay out of it. (As IF!!) I do like how Cooper is the only person who
seems to be able to go toe-to-toe with Red, and generally emerge
unscathed.
Sidenote: I still am about 100% sure that Siya is a baddie plant -
she's either working with Wujing, or she's working independently to
take down Red in revenge for the death of her mother.

Home, Not Alone (Lifetime) - Pretty standard fare for Lifetime.
Hey! This is a Hybrid flick!!
I did like newcomer Maya Jenson as the sullen teen daughter.
Anyway, mom and daugther (Andrea Bogart and Jenson) buy a new house
in L.A. Immediately strange things start to happen. Is it her
ex-husband? The way too friendly former owner (Toby Huss - GH's
TempNikolas!!)? Is it the too eager real estate agent (it's Jamie
Bernadette!)?
The ending does sport somewhat of a twist?
Anyway, this was just OK.

--
"Who would ever do this to him!?" - HottCiara on DOOL (04-27-2020), asking
who would stab Victor Kirakis... How about ANYONE WHO'S EVER MET HIM??!!

Ian J. Ball <IJBall@mac.invalid> wrote:

>See How They Run (HBO... Comedy?) - I actually didn't understand the
>point of this 2022 film. Was it supposed to be a "spoof" of murder
>mystery films like this? (i.e. a spoof of Agatha Christie?). The ending
>aped both the "play within the film" (Christie's "The Mousetrap") and
>the fictious film based on the play (fun fact: despite 1 or 2 attempts,
>"The Mousetrap" has never been adapted into an actually-produced film!).

I reviewed this some time back when HBO first showed it. Agatha Christie
never allowed a movie adaptation of The Mousetrap as long as it ran in
the East End. It's been running continuously. My theory was that this
movie's script was the closest they could come to adapting the play
without violating the provision.

>. . .

>I also saw some of 2002's "The Importance of Being Ernest" which seemed
>more... tedious.

I don't recall this movie. This is really something you need to see on
stage with a decent theater company.

On 3/27/2023 6:32 AM, Ian J. Ball wrote:
> On 2023-03-27 09:30:40 +0000, Ubiquitous said:
>
>> What did you watch?
>
> See How They Run (HBO... Comedy?) - I actually didn't understand the
> point of this 2022 film. Was it supposed to be a "spoof" of murder
> mystery films like this? (i.e. a spoof of Agatha Christie?). The ending
> aped both the "play within the film" (Christie's "The Mousetrap") and
> the fictious film based on the play (fun fact: despite 1 or 2 attempts,
> "The Mousetrap" has never been adapted into an actually-produced film!).
>   Set in 1953, I also didn't care for how the film mixed IRL figures
> (e.g. producer John Woolf, actors Richard Attenborough and two others,
> Christie and her IRL husband, police Commissioner Harold Scott) with
> fictious characters (esp. the American film director).
>   The film opens with a voiceover from Adrian Brody who plays the
> obnoxious American film director. Of course, he ends up murdered. It
> happens at the London theater, so everyone involved in the play is a
> suspect. (See how this works?!)
>   The police arrive in the form of a perky, eager Irish widow police
> constable (Saoirse Ronan - I'm not sure why Ronan was attracted to
> playing this part, as she could do it in her sleep, and it wasn't much
> of a challenge for her), and a cynical, somewhat dodering alcoholic
> Inspector (not "Chief Inspector" he pointedly declares at one point)
> played by Sam Rockwell - Rockwell was IMO the best part about this film
> (by far!), though why they chose an American to play the part of a Brit
> I coild not tell you!
>   They, esp. Ronan, go through several false starts in trying to track
> down the killer. There's another murder. Eventually, they figure out the
> ID of the killer. This ends with everyone - all of the suspects, and
> eventually both cops - gathered together, at Agatha Christie's house!
> (See how that works!)
>   This was OK entertainment, I guess. But I still don't see the point!
>

I don't think I've heard of this before. Netflix doesn't have it to
rent but if it's on HBO then I can watch it.

> I also saw some of 2002's "The Importance of Being Ernest" which seemed
> more... tedious.
>
> soaps: GH - Thur's ep. Trina discovers Esme is now living with Laura and
> Spencer! Gregory (Gonzo!) finally admits he is sick to Alexis, after she
> hounds him, but he gives her no further details and swears her to
> secrecy. (Sidenote: Notice how Kim Delaney's character has completely
> disappeared now, and is never even referenced?!) In YA injustice, lil'
> Lizzie gets off scot free for her part in Esme's unlawful imprisonment!
>
> March Madness - Last two Elite 8 games. San Diego State "wins ugly" once
> again to manage to hold on to a last-second lead - but, of course, the
> win was controversial!! In another upset, Miami (FL) gets by #2 seed Texas!
>   Three out of four Final Four teams this year have NEVER been in the
> Final Four before! First time that has happened since 1970!!
> (Unfortunately, this all favors UConn to win the whole thing... :/ )
>
> The Blacklist (recorded) - "The Whaler" (ep. #10.2). A substantial
> improvement on the season premiere - Red was back to being very
> prominent in this episode, and it was actually mostly fun.
>   In this one, Red sends Ressler and Siya Malik into a series of
> "private" Texas Hold 'Em tournaments to track down the Blacklister du
> Jour, who is working with Wujing, for unclear goals.
>   Meanwhile, Agnes is being bullied at school, and Cooper tells Red to
> stay out of it. (As IF!!) I do like how Cooper is the only person who
> seems to be able to go toe-to-toe with Red, and generally emerge unscathed.
>   Sidenote: I still am about 100% sure that Siya is a baddie plant -
> she's either working with Wujing, or she's working independently to take
> down Red in revenge for the death of her mother.
>
> Home, Not Alone (Lifetime) - Pretty standard fare for Lifetime.
>   Hey! This is a Hybrid flick!!
>   I did like newcomer Maya Jenson as the sullen teen daughter.
>   Anyway, mom and daugther (Andrea Bogart and Jenson) buy a new house
> in L.A. Immediately strange things start to happen. Is it her
> ex-husband? The way too friendly former owner (Toby Huss - GH's
> TempNikolas!!)? Is it the too eager real estate agent (it's Jamie
> Bernadette!)?
>   The ending does sport somewhat of a twist?
>   Anyway, this was just OK.
>
>

I watched:

Super Mario Bros. (blu-ray) 1993 live action movie based on the popular
video game. In a plot that just barely resembles the game, Bob Hoskins
stars a Mario and John Leguizamo stars as his brother Luigi. The two
play plumbers who travel to an alternate dimension to rescue Luigi's
would be girlfriend Princess Daisy (Samantha Mathis) from King Koopa
(Dennis Hopper). This is a very frustrating movie. It's not
particularly good, but I still like watching it. What makes it so
frustrating is how it has little to do with the actual game it's based on.

Sonic the Hedgehog (4K disc) 2020 live action movie based on the popular
video game. Ben Schwartz voices a CGI Sonic who escapes to Earth and
lives the good life in hiding until he accidentally reveals himself by
using his powers prompting the government to send Dr. Robotnik (Jim
Carrey) after him. I saw this once in the theater and just thought it
was OK. I guess it's still just OK. Maybe I would have liked it more
if I was familiar with the game it's based on.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (4K disc) 2022 sequel which picks up where the last
movie ended with Sonic still living the good life on Earth and Dr.
Robotnik exiled to a mushroom planet. Robotnik manages to escape with
help from Sonic's sworn enemy Knuckles (voiced by Idris Elba) and the
two resume their battle against Sonic. This was a blind buy I picked up
with the first movie on sale. The reviews said it was supposed to be
pretty good. I've been waiting to watch it. To my pleasant surprise I
liked it more than the first one. This was much more action packed and
unlike the first movie the jokes were funny.

Dungeons & Dragons (DVD) 2000 live action movie based on the popular
video, I mean role playing game. This was pretty much pure background
noise with director's commentary track. This DVD is in desperate need
of an upgrade. That print has seen much better days and being blown up
on a large screen isn't doing it any favors!

On 3/27/2023 6:32 AM, Ian J. Ball wrote:
> On 2023-03-27 09:30:40 +0000, Ubiquitous said:
>
>> What did you watch?
>
> See How They Run (HBO... Comedy?) - I actually didn't understand the
> point of this 2022 film. Was it supposed to be a "spoof" of murder
> mystery films like this? (i.e. a spoof of Agatha Christie?). The ending
> aped both the "play within the film" (Christie's "The Mousetrap") and
> the fictious film based on the play (fun fact: despite 1 or 2 attempts,
> "The Mousetrap" has never been adapted into an actually-produced film!).
>   Set in 1953, I also didn't care for how the film mixed IRL figures
> (e.g. producer John Woolf, actors Richard Attenborough and two others,
> Christie and her IRL husband, police Commissioner Harold Scott) with
> fictious characters (esp. the American film director).
>   The film opens with a voiceover from Adrian Brody who plays the
> obnoxious American film director. Of course, he ends up murdered. It
> happens at the London theater, so everyone involved in the play is a
> suspect. (See how this works?!)
>   The police arrive in the form of a perky, eager Irish widow police
> constable (Saoirse Ronan - I'm not sure why Ronan was attracted to
> playing this part, as she could do it in her sleep, and it wasn't much
> of a challenge for her), and a cynical, somewhat dodering alcoholic
> Inspector (not "Chief Inspector" he pointedly declares at one point)
> played by Sam Rockwell - Rockwell was IMO the best part about this film
> (by far!), though why they chose an American to play the part of a Brit
> I coild not tell you!
>   They, esp. Ronan, go through several false starts in trying to track
> down the killer. There's another murder. Eventually, they figure out the
> ID of the killer. This ends with everyone - all of the suspects, and
> eventually both cops - gathered together, at Agatha Christie's house!
> (See how that works!)
>   This was OK entertainment, I guess. But I still don't see the point!
>
> I also saw some of 2002's "The Importance of Being Ernest" which seemed
> more... tedious.
>
> soaps: GH - Thur's ep. Trina discovers Esme is now living with Laura and
> Spencer! Gregory (Gonzo!) finally admits he is sick to Alexis, after she
> hounds him, but he gives her no further details and swears her to
> secrecy. (Sidenote: Notice how Kim Delaney's character has completely
> disappeared now, and is never even referenced?!) In YA injustice, lil'
> Lizzie gets off scot free for her part in Esme's unlawful imprisonment!
>
> March Madness - Last two Elite 8 games. San Diego State "wins ugly" once
> again to manage to hold on to a last-second lead - but, of course, the
> win was controversial!! In another upset, Miami (FL) gets by #2 seed Texas!
>   Three out of four Final Four teams this year have NEVER been in the
> Final Four before! First time that has happened since 1970!!
> (Unfortunately, this all favors UConn to win the whole thing... :/ )
>
Yeah, UConn almost always wins, every time.

In article <tvs5sj$381q8$1@dont-email.me>,
Ian J. Ball <IJBall@mac.invalid> wrote:

> March Madness - Last two Elite 8 games. San Diego State "wins ugly"
> once again to manage to hold on to a last-second lead - but, of course,
> the win was controversial!! In another upset, Miami (FL) gets by #2
> seed Texas!

I must insist you not exhibit such excitement at the defeat of my
Longhorns!

Showtime/TMC is having a free preview weekend so I saw:

Bandit (2022) - Based on a true story, devious dude holds up dozens of
Canadian banks after he escapes from a Michigan prison.

Old Henry (2021) - A gang of outlaws posing as lawmen tangle with what
appears to be a quiet farmer but actually a very famous former Western
outlaw himself (I won't spoil his identity).

Breaking (2022) - Dog Day Afternoon update set in Atlanta as a down on
his luck African-American veteran takes hostages in a bank after the VA
confiscates his disability check through a clerical error (also based on
a true story).

A few interesting ones I saw the previous day:

Small Town Wisconsin (2020) - A divorced father plagued by chronic
alcoholism struggles to be a good dad to his young son.

The Long Shadow (2019) - Small town African-American female deputy has a
lesbian lawyer lover who is fighting to stop a rail deal that threatens
to displace the town's poor, and turns up dead.

Uncut Gems (2019) - Character study of a successful NY gem dealer and
his feuds with local bookies and gangsters, (unexpected) fine dramatic
performance by Adam Sandler in the lead.

American Honey (2016) - Offbeat, overly long tale about a crew of
traveling student magazine subscription sellers, with Elvis'
grandaughter Riley Keough in a key role.

On 2023-03-27 15:07:00 +0000, suzeeq said:

> On 3/27/2023 6:32 AM, Ian J. Ball wrote:
>> On 2023-03-27 09:30:40 +0000, Ubiquitous said:
>>
>>> What did you watch?
>>
>> March Madness - Last two Elite 8 games. San Diego State "wins ugly"
>> once again to manage to hold on to a last-second lead - but, of course,
>> the win was controversial!! In another upset, Miami (FL) gets by #2
>> seed Texas!
>>   Three out of four Final Four teams this year have NEVER been in the
>> Final Four before! First time that has happened since 1970!!
>> (Unfortunately, this all favors UConn to win the whole thing... :/ )
>>
> Yeah, UConn almost always wins, every time.

I think San Diego St. may be the one team that can beat them, just by
virtue of how *ugly* SDSU plays and how punishing their defense has
been.

--
"Who would ever do this to him!?" - HottCiara on DOOL (04-27-2020), asking
who would stab Victor Kirakis... How about ANYONE WHO'S EVER MET HIM??!!

On 2023-03-27 14:52:24 +0000, Arthur Lipscomb said:

> I watched:
>
> Dungeons & Dragons (DVD) 2000 live action movie based on the popular
> video, I mean role playing game. This was pretty much pure background
> noise with director's commentary track. This DVD is in desperate need
> of an upgrade. That print has seen much better days and being blown up
> on a large screen isn't doing it any favors!

Now that I have a UHDTV, I find observations like this very interesting.

Unfortunately, I cannot verify on my end - the 2000 film is not
available for "free" on any of my streamers according to JustWatch,
just "for pay" on Apple TV or Amazon...

(Sidenote: I forgot that Zoe McLellan is in this movie!!)

Meanwhile, 2005's "Dungeons & Dragons: Wrath of the Dragon God" (which
I think I've seen... once?...) is not available *anywhere*, not even
for "pay"! Ditto 2012's "Dungeons & Dragons: The Book of Vile
Darkness", which not only have I never seen, but which I don't think I
even knew existed before!!

--
"Who would ever do this to him!?" - HottCiara on DOOL (04-27-2020), asking
who would stab Victor Kirakis... How about ANYONE WHO'S EVER MET HIM??!!

Well, no one asked but I watched....

The latest chapter in the saga of Neo's search for revenge on those who
killed his dog.
(AKA John Wick: Chapter 4)

I can't really give a review or synopsis of this, just some thoughts.

First, this is a masterpiece of the stunt-man's art. :D It deserves an
Oscar-level award for that work.
John Wick's secret is he is a Terminator. No other explanation.
I pity the person who does the body count trivia for IMDb.
Never mind why the police weren't responding to some of this, where the
hell was the /military/!
I knew there was a reason I use the elevator instead of taking the
stairs. Stairs are /not/ better for one's health in the Wickverse.
There actually is a deeper story here about "rules" versus "honor".
Why don't any of them shoot the hand that's holding up the ballistic suits?
Yes, The Table did learn a little bit and tried to have something better
than ballistic cloth suits on their heavy units. Not that it really
helped, of course. But at least they tried.
Even Hollywood's magical "never empty" magazines can't keep up with Wick.
The chain of vengeance never seems to end.

Stargate: SG-1 *whaps Anim*

S1E12 'Fire and Water'
O'Neill, Carter and Teal'c return to SGC early, soaking wet and in
shock. When asked where Jackson is they say he's dead, killed in a
"burst of fire". A formal memorial for Jackson is held and a wake but
the team seems to have conflicting feelings, both knowing Jackson is
dead and that he is alive. Any suggestion of returning to the planet
Jackson died on is met with immediate, knee-jerk opposition. Meanwhile
Jackson is being interrogated by an aquatic alien who wants to know what
happened to his mate when she was on Earth 4,000 years ago. SG-1 *whaps
Anim* and General Hammond agree that they need to go back to the planet
to find out what happened. The alien, with Jackson's permission, uses a
memory affecting device to help Jackson remember what he learned of
Babylon. He realizes that a gou'ald killed the alien's mate and tells
him. The rest of SG-1 *whaps Anim* arrive on planet and meet the alien.
Shortly afterwards Jackson escapes and meets up with everyone as well.
He suggest to the alien that Earth and his civilization help each
other against the gou'ald but the alien says maybe later. Its hard to
snark on a story when there is no story.

S1E07 'The Nox'
A Cabinet Secretary visits SGC and tells them the "current
administration" is not happy with their progress. Teal'c mentions a
planet with invisible creatures which the Secretary likes so off goes
SG-1 *whaps Anim*. Once there the Stargate and F.R.E.D. with all their
heavy equipment disappears. While looking for the Stargate they find
Apophis is hunting invisible snipes too. They plan an ambush but fail
to account for Apophis having a force field and O'Neill, Carter and
Jackson get killed. Just as Apophis is about to kill Teal'c he
disappears along with the bodies of the rest of SG-1 *whaps Anim*. The
dead team members wake up in a hut. Some small strange grass-haired
people have healed them. Eventually their hosts, the Nox, stoop to
speaking with Our Heroes. They are pacifists who have been the ones
"hiding" the critters Our Heroes and Apophis have been hunting. They
have healed the Jaffa that SG-1 *whaps Anim* killed when attacking
Apophis and disappeared the humans' weapons along with the "dead"
Jaffa's. The team tries to get the natives to agree to relations and
teach the humans but the natives just want SG-1 *whaps Anim* to go back
thru the 'Gate. The Jaffa escapes, killing one of the Nox. SG-1 *whaps
Anim* learn from this that the Nox can't hide and protect themselves
while they are "healing" the dead. Knowing the escaped Jaffa will lead
Apophis back to the Nox family our heroes try to fight to protect the
Nox who finally intervene. Apophis and his Jaffa are sent back thru the
'Gate. Before SG-1 *whaps Anim* is sent back as well they are told this
planet's Stargate will be buried and shown a city floating in the sky.
The Nox are more than capable of protecting themselves from the Gou'ald
and Our Heroes have blown their chance at regular contact with a
non-hostile high tech race.

The team really should have realized they were in trouble when the
father of the Nox family was Quark from DS9.

--
I've done good in this world. Now I'm tired and just want to be a cranky
dirty old man.

On Mon, 27 Mar 2023 15:48:52 -0700, Dimensional Traveler
<dtravel@sonic.net> wrote:

>Well, no one asked but I watched....
>
>The latest chapter in the saga of Neo's search for revenge on those who
>killed his dog.
>(AKA John Wick: Chapter 4)
>
>I can't really give a review or synopsis of this, just some thoughts.
>
>First, this is a masterpiece of the stunt-man's art. :D It deserves an
>Oscar-level award for that work.
>John Wick's secret is he is a Terminator. No other explanation.
>I pity the person who does the body count trivia for IMDb.
>Never mind why the police weren't responding to some of this, where the
>hell was the /military/!

From the first movie it seems clear that the police are well aware of
Wick's previous job and of what goes on and they steer clear of
getting involved with the assassins doing their thing. Not sure when
or if the work of the Table ever crosses into something that the
police would take an active interest in.

>I knew there was a reason I use the elevator instead of taking the
>stairs. Stairs are /not/ better for one's health in the Wickverse.
>There actually is a deeper story here about "rules" versus "honor".
>Why don't any of them shoot the hand that's holding up the ballistic suits?
>Yes, The Table did learn a little bit and tried to have something better
>than ballistic cloth suits on their heavy units. Not that it really
>helped, of course. But at least they tried.
>Even Hollywood's magical "never empty" magazines can't keep up with Wick.

That's one thing I have to cheer for the production team on. While
most movies do go for the magical "never empty" guns that isn't the
case in the Wick universe. I haven't seen the 4th movie but at least
in the previous three Wick was constantly picking up new guns or
magazines as he fired off his current weapon so that he wasn't guilty
of playing into that "never empty" magazine meme.

>The chain of vengeance never seems to end.

Not until the money stops coming in or Reeves gets too old to do these
sorts of movies.
>
>Stargate: SG-1 *whaps Anim*
>
>S1E12 'Fire and Water'
>O'Neill, Carter and Teal'c return to SGC early, soaking wet and in
>shock. When asked where Jackson is they say he's dead, killed in a
>"burst of fire". A formal memorial for Jackson is held and a wake but
>the team seems to have conflicting feelings, both knowing Jackson is
>dead and that he is alive. Any suggestion of returning to the planet
>Jackson died on is met with immediate, knee-jerk opposition. Meanwhile
>Jackson is being interrogated by an aquatic alien who wants to know what
>happened to his mate when she was on Earth 4,000 years ago. SG-1 *whaps
>Anim* and General Hammond agree that they need to go back to the planet
>to find out what happened. The alien, with Jackson's permission, uses a
>memory affecting device to help Jackson remember what he learned of
>Babylon. He realizes that a gou'ald killed the alien's mate and tells
>him. The rest of SG-1 *whaps Anim* arrive on planet and meet the alien.
> Shortly afterwards Jackson escapes and meets up with everyone as well.
> He suggest to the alien that Earth and his civilization help each
>other against the gou'ald but the alien says maybe later. Its hard to
>snark on a story when there is no story.
>
>
>S1E07 'The Nox'
>A Cabinet Secretary visits SGC and tells them the "current
>administration" is not happy with their progress. Teal'c mentions a
>planet with invisible creatures which the Secretary likes so off goes
>SG-1 *whaps Anim*. Once there the Stargate and F.R.E.D. with all their
>heavy equipment disappears. While looking for the Stargate they find
>Apophis is hunting invisible snipes too. They plan an ambush but fail
>to account for Apophis having a force field and O'Neill, Carter and
>Jackson get killed. Just as Apophis is about to kill Teal'c he
>disappears along with the bodies of the rest of SG-1 *whaps Anim*. The
>dead team members wake up in a hut. Some small strange grass-haired
>people have healed them. Eventually their hosts, the Nox, stoop to
>speaking with Our Heroes. They are pacifists who have been the ones
>"hiding" the critters Our Heroes and Apophis have been hunting. They
>have healed the Jaffa that SG-1 *whaps Anim* killed when attacking
>Apophis and disappeared the humans' weapons along with the "dead"
>Jaffa's. The team tries to get the natives to agree to relations and
>teach the humans but the natives just want SG-1 *whaps Anim* to go back
>thru the 'Gate. The Jaffa escapes, killing one of the Nox. SG-1 *whaps
>Anim* learn from this that the Nox can't hide and protect themselves
>while they are "healing" the dead. Knowing the escaped Jaffa will lead
>Apophis back to the Nox family our heroes try to fight to protect the
>Nox who finally intervene. Apophis and his Jaffa are sent back thru the
>'Gate. Before SG-1 *whaps Anim* is sent back as well they are told this
>planet's Stargate will be buried and shown a city floating in the sky.
>The Nox are more than capable of protecting themselves from the Gou'ald
>and Our Heroes have blown their chance at regular contact with a
>non-hostile high tech race.
>
>The team really should have realized they were in trouble when the
>father of the Nox family was Quark from DS9.

On 3/27/2023 3:55 PM, shawn wrote:
> On Mon, 27 Mar 2023 15:48:52 -0700, Dimensional Traveler
> <dtravel@sonic.net> wrote:
>
>> Well, no one asked but I watched....
>>
>> The latest chapter in the saga of Neo's search for revenge on those who
>> killed his dog.
>> (AKA John Wick: Chapter 4)
>>
>> I can't really give a review or synopsis of this, just some thoughts.
>>
>> First, this is a masterpiece of the stunt-man's art. :D It deserves an
>> Oscar-level award for that work.

+1

>> John Wick's secret is he is a Terminator. No other explanation.
>> I pity the person who does the body count trivia for IMDb.
>> Never mind why the police weren't responding to some of this, where the
>> hell was the /military/!
>
> From the first movie it seems clear that the police are well aware of
> Wick's previous job and of what goes on and they steer clear of
> getting involved with the assassins doing their thing. Not sure when
> or if the work of the Table ever crosses into something that the
> police would take an active interest in.
>
>> I knew there was a reason I use the elevator instead of taking the
>> stairs. Stairs are /not/ better for one's health in the Wickverse.

I know! :-)

>> There actually is a deeper story here about "rules" versus "honor".
>> Why don't any of them shoot the hand that's holding up the ballistic suits?
>> Yes, The Table did learn a little bit and tried to have something better
>> than ballistic cloth suits on their heavy units. Not that it really
>> helped, of course. But at least they tried.
>> Even Hollywood's magical "never empty" magazines can't keep up with Wick.
>
> That's one thing I have to cheer for the production team on. While
> most movies do go for the magical "never empty" guns that isn't the
> case in the Wick universe. I haven't seen the 4th movie but at least
> in the previous three Wick was constantly picking up new guns or
> magazines as he fired off his current weapon so that he wasn't guilty
> of playing into that "never empty" magazine meme.
>
>> The chain of vengeance never seems to end.
>
> Not until the money stops coming in or Reeves gets too old to do these
> sorts of movies.
>>

The money is pouring in on this one. The studio is already begging for
a 5th one plus there are two spin offs already in the works. Lance
Reddick filmed his scenes for "Ballerina" before he died so he'll be in
one more Wick movie.

>> Stargate: SG-1 *whaps Anim*
>>
>> S1E12 'Fire and Water'
>> O'Neill, Carter and Teal'c return to SGC early, soaking wet and in
>> shock. When asked where Jackson is they say he's dead, killed in a
>> "burst of fire". A formal memorial for Jackson is held and a wake but
>> the team seems to have conflicting feelings, both knowing Jackson is
>> dead and that he is alive. Any suggestion of returning to the planet
>> Jackson died on is met with immediate, knee-jerk opposition. Meanwhile
>> Jackson is being interrogated by an aquatic alien who wants to know what
>> happened to his mate when she was on Earth 4,000 years ago. SG-1 *whaps
>> Anim* and General Hammond agree that they need to go back to the planet
>> to find out what happened. The alien, with Jackson's permission, uses a
>> memory affecting device to help Jackson remember what he learned of
>> Babylon. He realizes that a gou'ald killed the alien's mate and tells
>> him. The rest of SG-1 *whaps Anim* arrive on planet and meet the alien.
>> Shortly afterwards Jackson escapes and meets up with everyone as well.
>> He suggest to the alien that Earth and his civilization help each
>> other against the gou'ald but the alien says maybe later. Its hard to
>> snark on a story when there is no story.
>>
>>
>> S1E07 'The Nox'
>> A Cabinet Secretary visits SGC and tells them the "current
>> administration" is not happy with their progress. Teal'c mentions a
>> planet with invisible creatures which the Secretary likes so off goes
>> SG-1 *whaps Anim*. Once there the Stargate and F.R.E.D. with all their
>> heavy equipment disappears. While looking for the Stargate they find
>> Apophis is hunting invisible snipes too. They plan an ambush but fail
>> to account for Apophis having a force field and O'Neill, Carter and
>> Jackson get killed. Just as Apophis is about to kill Teal'c he
>> disappears along with the bodies of the rest of SG-1 *whaps Anim*. The
>> dead team members wake up in a hut. Some small strange grass-haired
>> people have healed them. Eventually their hosts, the Nox, stoop to
>> speaking with Our Heroes. They are pacifists who have been the ones
>> "hiding" the critters Our Heroes and Apophis have been hunting. They
>> have healed the Jaffa that SG-1 *whaps Anim* killed when attacking
>> Apophis and disappeared the humans' weapons along with the "dead"
>> Jaffa's. The team tries to get the natives to agree to relations and
>> teach the humans but the natives just want SG-1 *whaps Anim* to go back
>> thru the 'Gate. The Jaffa escapes, killing one of the Nox. SG-1 *whaps
>> Anim* learn from this that the Nox can't hide and protect themselves
>> while they are "healing" the dead. Knowing the escaped Jaffa will lead
>> Apophis back to the Nox family our heroes try to fight to protect the
>> Nox who finally intervene. Apophis and his Jaffa are sent back thru the
>> 'Gate. Before SG-1 *whaps Anim* is sent back as well they are told this
>> planet's Stargate will be buried and shown a city floating in the sky.
>> The Nox are more than capable of protecting themselves from the Gou'ald
>> and Our Heroes have blown their chance at regular contact with a
>> non-hostile high tech race.
>>
>> The team really should have realized they were in trouble when the
>> father of the Nox family was Quark from DS9.

If the team had followed the Rules of Acquisition they would have been
able to make a new trading partner.

On 3/27/2023 11:12 AM, super70s wrote:
> Showtime/TMC is having a free preview weekend so I saw:
>
> Bandit (2022) - Based on a true story, devious dude holds up dozens of
> Canadian banks after he escapes from a Michigan prison.
>
> Old Henry (2021) - A gang of outlaws posing as lawmen tangle with what
> appears to be a quiet farmer but actually a very famous former Western
> outlaw himself (I won't spoil his identity).
>
> Breaking (2022) - Dog Day Afternoon update set in Atlanta as a down on
> his luck African-American veteran takes hostages in a bank after the VA
> confiscates his disability check through a clerical error (also based on
> a true story).
>
I forgot about this. I guess I need to get around to watching it.

> A few interesting ones I saw the previous day:
>
> Small Town Wisconsin (2020) - A divorced father plagued by chronic
> alcoholism struggles to be a good dad to his young son.
>
> The Long Shadow (2019) - Small town African-American female deputy has a
> lesbian lawyer lover who is fighting to stop a rail deal that threatens
> to displace the town's poor, and turns up dead.
>
> Uncut Gems (2019) - Character study of a successful NY gem dealer and
> his feuds with local bookies and gangsters, (unexpected) fine dramatic
> performance by Adam Sandler in the lead.
>
Agreed.

> American Honey (2016) - Offbeat, overly long tale about a crew of
> traveling student magazine subscription sellers, with Elvis'
> grandaughter Riley Keough in a key role.

It's almost 3 hours long and Shia LaBeouf is in it. those are not good
signs!

In <tvttuu$3k4qu$1@dont-email.me> Arthur Lipscomb <arthur@alum.calberkeley.org> writes:

>On 3/27/2023 11:12 AM, super70s wrote:
[snip]
>> Old Henry (2021) - A gang of outlaws posing as lawmen tangle with what
>> appears to be a quiet farmer but actually a very famous former Western
>> outlaw himself (I won't spoil his identity).

Len "Magnum's Dad" Cariou?

--
_____________________________________________________
Knowledge may be power, but communications is the key
dannyb@panix.com
[to foil spammers, my address has been double rot-13 encoded]

In article <tvtu74$eap$1@reader2.panix.com>,
danny burstein <dannyb@panix.com> wrote:

> In <tvttuu$3k4qu$1@dont-email.me> Arthur Lipscomb
> <arthur@alum.calberkeley.org> writes:
>
> >On 3/27/2023 11:12 AM, super70s wrote:
> [snip]
> >> Old Henry (2021) - A gang of outlaws posing as lawmen tangle with what
> >> appears to be a quiet farmer but actually a very famous former Western
> >> outlaw himself (I won't spoil his identity).
>
> Len "Magnum's Dad" Cariou?

It's Tim Blake Nelson (Incredible Hulk, O Brother Where Art Thou) in the
lead and I think he also produced.

In article <tvsajf$38ssi$1@dont-email.me>, arthur@alum.calberkeley.org wrote:

>Dungeons & Dragons (DVD) 2000 live action movie based on the popular
>video, I mean role playing game. This was pretty much pure background
>noise with director's commentary track. This DVD is in desperate need
>of an upgrade. That print has seen much better days and being blown up
>on a large screen isn't doing it any favors!

If memory serves, it was a pretty crappy movie, so why bother?

You should have waited to watch this when the new one comes out this week.

--
Let's go Brandon!