Saturday, September 24, 2022

Weekend Open Thread

18 comments:

  1. RIP Louise Fletcher, the best villain of all of Star Trek.

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    1. RIP. She was a great villain indeed. Weyoun is my personal favourite, especially since there were multiple clones of him! That was a great reveal.

      I only watched DS9 a couple years ago, then watched all of Voyager which I liked a whole lot! It was a bit "mission/alien of the week", but I thought it was super fun. Janeway is awesome.

      I'm in a bit of a pickle, because I don't know which series to watch next. Enterprise? I have a friend who said it was bad. The new trek series? I know lots of people hate them for bad reasons, but are they good (probably yes)? I'm thinking I should go back and watch the original series. I grew up on TNG, so the original is kind of unknown to me, although I've undoubtedly seen some of them. I've watched (and loved) all of the movies with the original cast, so watching the TV show seems right.

      BTW, one of my favourite podcasts is The Greatest Generation. They cover episode by episode Star Trek. TNG, DS9, and now they're doing Voyager. They're pretty funny, and both come from a background of "videography" so I like that there's sometimes discussion pertaining to the blocking/etc. (I don't know the lingo to describe it further, but basically the technical stuff that happens when filming something)

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    2. Star Trek Enterprise is fine, not the best, but definitely not that bad

      I absolutely love Star Trek Stange New Worlds

      Star Trek Lower Decks is very fun

      Also, you might want to look into The Orville, which is way better than it looks like, and got better every episode

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    3. As podcast go, you might want to check out The Delta Flyers. Hosted by the dudes who played Paris and Kim in Voyager. They started at the beginning of the pandemic and still going on

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    4. Thanks for the recommendations. I've seen a lot of buzz that Strange New Worlds was very good. Also Lower Decks. I think I'll hit up the original series, and then the new ones. Enterprise might have to wait.

      I've heard good things about The Orville, but I'm allergic to MacFarlane. I should give it a shot. I suspect I'll like more than I hoped I would.

      I had already subscribed to the Delta Flyers. I think I listened to a couple episodes. Unfortunately, I was already done watching Voyager. For "episode review" podcasts, It's really best to listen to them the day after you've watched it.

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    5. The Orville, everybody expected Family Guy-style Star Trek, but it's not. In fact, it's a better Star Trek than anything since TNG

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    6. I'll disagree, because DS9 topped TNG. But I should check The Orville out. It's on Disney+. Actually, I'm surprised that considering my viewing habits it hasn't recommended it yet.

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  2. First of all, I want to say I haven't been watching the Reserved Seating since it went to Youtube, but I watched a bunch the last week, and really enjoyed them. I'll admit I watched a bunch while doing other stuff and only paying half attention to the actual video. It's like a bonus podcast. Not to criticise either of yours on-screen manner. It's very enjoyable. I liked that they had Patrick and Mark as guests on several episodes.

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  3. Jeepers Creepers Reborn is the worst movie I've seen this year. Just awful. Not even it's so bad it's good fun. Avoid at all costs.

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    1. I'm going to continue to avoid everything that sick fuck makes.

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    2. I don't think Salva is involved in this project, although I'm sure he has some kind of financial stake in it. This one is directed by Timo Vuorensola. However, I will also avoid this, just because it looks bad.

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    3. Thanks for the clarification. Hopefully he doesn't see a cent. A quick Google suggests the rights for franchise were sold. Too bad it's not any good.

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  4. Good weekend everyone. There was a good variety of watches this week. I am getting my Scary Movie Month list put together. It should be another October of mainly films that I have not seen before.

    SPITE MARRIAGE (1929) – Buster Keaton’s last silent comedy is this tale of a theater actress who inadvertently marries an ordinary workingman (Buster Keaton). Through a series of plot coincidences Keaton gets a chance to prove his worth to the actress. Though the story is on the corny side, there are plenty of amusing comedic set-pieces to make Spite Marriage worthwhile. The many ways Keaton messes up a play is undoubtedly the highlight for me.

    BARQUERO (1970, dir. Gordon Douglas) on Prime – With the great Lee Van Cleef and personal favorite actor Warren Oates in the leads, I had greater expectations for this western than it can deliver. The plot is about a stand-off at a river crossing as a barge owner (Van Cleef) tries to thwart a bandit leader (Oates) and his men from getting across with their ill-gotten gains. Though the film undoubtedly entertains, the way it is put together fails to generate the tension that makes this kind of story gripping. There are too many sequences of characters staring at each other without much going on.

    SKI PATROL (1990) on Prime – So much neon clothing and silly 1980s humor. I must have seen this sometime in the '90s.

    SHADOW (2019, dir. Zhang Yimou) – Yimou is one of the few directors from Chinese cinema that I know about, and this was my first watch of his work. Shadow is well-done on every level. It basically is a story about power and honor as kingdoms clash. Though the political intrigue slows down the first half of the film, the conclusion is full of action. The CGI-generated backgrounds are nice to look at. The grey and white look of the film was apparently inspired by Chinese painting.

    QUEENS OF EVIL (1970, dir. Tonino Cervi) – A slice of Italian weirdness from the Mondo Macabro label. A hippie-ish young man (Ray Lovelock) wandering around on his motorcycle is lured into the isolated world of three unusual ladies. The various looks the actresses were given are very striking. It all feels like a grown-up fairy tale before the story veers towards something more sinister. Having a great fondness for the films of this period, I really had a good time with Queens of Evil. Worth a watch if you enjoy a little strangeness.

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    1. I have only seen a handful, but Warren Oates has been fantastic in everything I've seen him in. His role in Two-Lane Blacktop was an unexpected highlight of Junesploitation.

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    2. "The many ways Keaton messes up a play is undoubtedly the highlight for me" - stage play fiascos are MA FAVORITE.

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  5. I have not seen anything memorable lately. After a stressful workday a couple weeks ago, though, with a burning re-admission ticket in my pocket, I popped into see Bullet Train again before it left the theater by my house. Aaron Taylor Johnson, my love- he just doesn't disappoint. I giggled at every single word he said. Imagine that. Aaron Taylor Johnson. Funniest actor in. the. world. Who would've thought?

    Oh yeah, I saw several older movies with Michael Caine.

    SURRENDER (1987) - he's a wealthy novelist several times divorced, who's tired of paying hefty alimonies, so he wants a woman who definitely doesn't want him for his money. Sally Field is an artist who's taken the undignified job of reproducing generic hotel art (but it looks fun to me) and dating Steve Guttenburg for financial security. He pretends to be penniless, she falls in love with him. These are two of my favorite actors but it's a goofy rom-com and not one of the rare good ones IMO. Also, there's a really awkward scene in the beginning where they're tied together, naked. Ah, old movies.

    THE WHISTLEBLOWER (1986). Michael Caine searches for the killer of his son, who was a spy.

    THE EAGLE HAS LANDED (1976). So confused by this movie. It's the first movie I've seen where I think the audience is actually meant to root for nazi characters (like Michael Caine and Donald Sutherland).

    Anyway, I love Michael Caine, but not the majority of his films.

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