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Member Section => Down Range Cafe => Topic started by: Big Frank on December 07, 2024, 06:59:21 AM

Title: What are you watching?
Post by: Big Frank on December 07, 2024, 06:59:21 AM
I've been watching Hysteria! on Peacock.

Follows a struggling high school heavy metal band of outcasts who use the town's sudden interest in the occult to start a reputation as a Satanic metal band, until a strange series of events triggers a witch hunt that leads back to them.

These 3 outcasts in high school have a heavy metal band. When there's a kidnapping and a pentagram is drawn at the scene, everyone thinks it was satanists. They pretend to be satanists just to get people interested in the band and it works. They went from being nobodies to the most popular kids in school. Bruce Campbell plays the sheriff. He's originally from the Detroit area an so is Sam Raimi who made the Evil Dead movies starring Bruce Campbell.

The show takes place in the fictional location of Happy Hollow, Michigan. In one episode a TV station is about to go off air while Bruce Campbell's snoozing in a chair. It says something like this concludes our broadcast day, and the station signing off is WDIV. Before I had cable that's one of the stations I used to watch. It's channel 4 in Detroit. That's W, the same as all TV and radio stations east of the Mississippi, D as in Detroit, and IV, the Roman numeral 4. 8) It's one of those details that adds some realism to the show to people familiar with it.

In the preview at IMDB.com, one boy asks if there's any chance they were using authentic satanic verses. The girl replies that they found them in the public library, not a book bound in human flesh. :) That's in reference to the Necronomicon Ex-Mortis (Book of the Dead) in the Evil Dead movies, and TV series Ash vs Evil Dead that Bruce Campbell was in.  8)  Nice tidbit for fans of him and the movies. It has 7.1 out of 10 stars and halfway through the season, I like it.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt21493708/
Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: Big Frank on December 08, 2024, 08:54:53 PM
In last week's episode of Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon a group of people was walking through the Channel Tunnel (Chunnel) heading to England from France. There was lots of bat guano on the floor and they tried to avoid it. One person said that it can cause hallucinations, or psychosis, or whatever they said. Eventually they all started going nuts to one degree or another. They literally went bat$#!t crazy. :)
Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: Big Frank on December 11, 2024, 08:26:33 AM
I'm watching The Expanse on Amazon Prime. I saw the first 3 seasons (36 episodes) on SyFy before they cancelled it, then Amazon picked it up for 3 more seasons (26 episodes). It's based on a series of science fiction novels, related novellas and short stories by James S. A. Corey. That's the joint pen name of authors Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Expanse_(novel_series)

One of the lead characters is portrayed by Iranian and American actress Shohreh Aghdashloo. She's been n a lot of other TV shows and movies too. IMDb says her trademarks are Often plays well-educated, sophisticated professionals, and Seductive husky voice. To me she always sounded like one of those people who chain-smoked for years, and maybe got throat cancer. Seductive voice? Or repulsive? You be the judge. Would you like your significant other to whisper sweet nothings in your ear sounding like that? 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lr5JCRd-ceM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsoxJXcTX_g

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwKZw9Fxg_Q
Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: Big Frank on January 10, 2025, 09:14:14 AM
I just got done watching Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. I can't believe it took 36 years to make a sequel to the original movie. The first one was called Beetlejuice and the second one was Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. If they make a third movie, I think I know what the name will be, but I'm not saying it. ;)

They used the song MacArthur Park in the movie. It was sung by Richard Harris who had the lead role in the 1970 movie A Man Called Horse, and it's sequels The Return of a Man Called Horse (1976) and Triumphs of a Man Called Horse (1983). The Sioux Indians hung Horse by his chesticles, um, chest in the first movie.

"Weird Al" Yankovic had a song called Jurassic Park on his 1993 album Alapalooza. It was a parody song, based on MacArthur Park, of the Jurassic Park movie that came out 4 months earlier.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CoZqL9N6Rx4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=As-vKW4ZboU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FWnRrRWYoA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRwYQgk05DY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gh4zvQfDhi0
Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: alfsauve on January 10, 2025, 10:45:07 AM
Diplomat w/ Keri Russell is good.
Finished up the last 2 seasons of Great British Baking show, that BBC finally took off pay-for-view, which actually had some down-to-earth contestants.
Started Man on the Inside with Ted Dansen.  Okayish.
And BBC also took off of PFV the last two years of Midsomer Murders so they're now available.
Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: Big Frank on January 10, 2025, 11:20:32 AM
I forgot to mention I saw a few episodes of Space Precinct (1994-95) as I sorted ammo the other day. It's good to watch when you're looking at something else. It doesn't matter if your attention is divided, just look up when the major action happens. Ted Shackelford stars as a veteran 20 year NYPD detective who works in a different precinct now, the Demeter City police force on the planet Altor in the star system Epsilon Eridani. Don't ask me how he and his family got there. I used to watch that when it was on, and now it's on Amazon Prime. The series was created by Gerry Anderson, who made the Thunderbirds and other TV series using "Supermarionation". The characters were played by electronic marionettes with a moveable lower lip, which opened and closed in time with pre-recorded dialogue by means of a solenoid in the puppet's head or chest. He also made Space: 1999 from 1975 to 1977, starring Martin Landau and Barbara Bain. I remember watching that too, back when I was still in school. It was a good show for its time. Like all of Gerry Anderson's shows, Space Precinct has a lot of special effects consisting of miniature sets being blown up.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072564/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_3_tt_8_nm_0_in_0_q_Space%253A%25201999

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0108938/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0_tt_8_nm_0_in_0_q_Space%2520Precinct

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0057790/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_1_tt_8_nm_0_in_0_q_thunderbirds
Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: Big Frank on January 23, 2025, 09:46:12 PM
I just finished The Ipcress File, the TV Mini Series from 2022. Not the 1965 Michael Caine movie. The movie was rated 7.2 stars and the mini series was rated 7.3. I thought it said 7.4 a few minutes ago.  They were both based on Len Deighton's 1962 first novel of the same name. The first of a series of spy novels, several of which were made in movies starring Michael Caine as Harry Palmer.

The assassination weapon in the mini series is a joke. It's a 9mm broom-handle Mauser with a stock for enhanced accuracy. And a 3/4"(?) tube scope in super-tall see-through mounts. You could almost use the scope if you put your chin on the comb of the stock, but not even close with a proper cheek weld. I saw the first part of the mini series before, but this week I got to watch Acorn TV for free and watched all 6 parts.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13636038/

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0059319/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Len_Deighton

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acorn_TV
Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: Big Frank on March 14, 2025, 09:06:59 PM
I just watched Fatman (2020) with Mel Gibson. He looks a lot like Donald Sutherland to me in the movie poster. It's rated 5.9/10 at IMDb, 6.3/10 in the U.S. "A rowdy, unorthodox Santa Claus is fighting to save his declining business. Meanwhile, Billy, a neglected and precocious 12 year old, hires a hit man to kill Santa after receiving a lump of coal in his stocking." If that description and these pics don't make you want to see it, maybe you should anyway. :D I saw it for free at tubi.com.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10310140/?ref_=ttrt_ov

https://tubitv.com/movies/100032159/fatman
Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: alfsauve on March 14, 2025, 10:40:22 PM
Watching House of cards w/ Kevin Spacy and Robin Wright.  Wow. Good. Though they’re using gun control as a sub-plot in a couple of episodes.

Also did Zero Day, 6 episodes, is good.
Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: Big Frank on March 14, 2025, 10:56:00 PM
I heard House of Cards was good but never heard of Zero Day. I don't have Nexflix so I can't watch those. I have Xfinity plus Peacock Premium, but no paid premium channels. I pay for Amazon Prime, and Vet TV but that's it. Sometimes I watch free TV and movies at other places like Plex, Vudu, Tubi, and Roku, but not very often. I saw that Tubi has a couple of Matt Rife specials. Everything I've seen of his was really funny, so I'll watch them at some point. I don't think anyone does crowd work as well as he does. He can spend well over an hour interacting with the audience and it's better than most other comedian's best shows that they wrote and stuck to the script. He does use some foul language, so some people will be bothered by that. But it's nothing I haven't already said myself in the past half century, so it doesn't bother me.
Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: Jim Kennedy-ar154me on March 18, 2025, 12:11:31 PM
New series on Amazon Prime named "House of David".

While it takes "some" liberties it the name of entertainment it does stay true to the Old Testament.

I really like it.

Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: Big Frank on March 19, 2025, 03:25:28 AM
I just came across a show tonight called Common Side Effects. It's an animated show that's streaming on Adult Swim from Cartoon Network. I haven't had Cartoon Network for a few years and never heard of it, but it was on Xfinity and I saw the first 5 episodes. It's rated 8.7/10 on IMDb, a lot higher than the average TV show. Follows former high school lab mates Marshall and Frances as they unravel a conspiracy involving big pharma and the government to suppress knowledge of a rare fungus secret that may contain the solution to cure all world's diseases. Who doesn't like a good conspiracy theory? ;)

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt28093628/?ref_=mv_close

BTW, House of David is rated 7.0/10, so it must be pretty good, but I don't think I'll be able to fit it into my schedule. Especially since I found several new shows I'm interested in at Tubi. The once-mighty King Saul falls victim to his own pride, as an outcast shepherd boy, David is anointed as the second king.
Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: alfsauve on March 19, 2025, 05:16:42 PM
If you’re a fan of Miley Bobby Brown (11 in stranger things and Enola Holmes) you might enjoy seeing her in The Electric State.  The script itself isn’t very great and they wasted $300million, yep million making it, but she, Chris Pratt and C Esposito where fun to watch.
Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: Rastus on March 19, 2025, 08:01:56 PM
The Adventure of Jim Bowie on Prime.  Two seasons starting in 1957.  Back when they 25-40 episodes a season and not the 8 or 10 you get now.
Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: Big Frank on March 19, 2025, 08:37:30 PM
I want to see The Electric State but so far it looks like it's only on Netflix. Maybe in a couple of months, or years, it will be somewhere I can watch it. I like Giancarlo Esposito. I haven't seen anything he was in I didn't like, even if I only got to see 1 episode of a show. I most recently saw him in the TV show The Boys and the movie Abigail. There are a lot of other good actors in the move too. I always wonder what Alan Tudyk's characters will sound like when he voices a new one. He plays Dr. Pentos and Mr. Flesh in Grimsburg. I think his normal voice is close to Mr. Flesh, but I'm not sure he even knows what his voice naturally sounds like. He played Wash on Firefly.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/XZktHxv4SpI
Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: Big Frank on April 11, 2025, 10:50:54 PM
I saw all 8 episodes of The Bondsman on Prime Video.

Murdered bounty hunter Hub Halloran is resurrected by the Devil to trap and send back demons that have escaped from the prison of Hell. By chasing down those demons with the help and hindrance of his estranged family, Hub learns how his own sins got his soul condemned - which pushes him to seek a second chance at life, love, and country music.

Resurrected bounty hunter, Hub Halloran, gets an unexpected second chance at life, love and his nearly forgotten musical career--only to find that his old job now has a demonic new twist.

It stars Kevin Bacon and is rated 7.1/10 on IMDb. Anytime the star of the show gets killed right at the beginning, you know you're in for something different.  https://www.imdb.com/title/tt28256288/
Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: Big Frank on April 12, 2025, 03:17:27 PM
The Substance. A fading celebrity takes a black-market drug: a cell-replicating substance that creates a younger, better version of herself. 7.3/10 om IMDb. If you like horror movies, especially the sub-genre body-horror, check it out. It a horror movie that just when you think it can't get any worse, gets even more horrible. It's the most blood-drenched movie I've ever seen.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt17526714/


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNlrGhBpYjc
Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: MikeBjerum on April 12, 2025, 08:22:52 PM
Right now - Life of Fire on the outdoor channel.

They did one season last spring, and they are rerunning it this spring. I hope they do another season. Actually, I hope they don't, because I no longer have the space to do a pit barbeque.

Several of the episodes have me dreaming of having a group of guys over for a day of shooting and cooking, then as evening comes all the families come and we enjoy basic slow cooked meats and sides.
Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: Big Frank on April 18, 2025, 06:30:08 PM
I just finished the last episode of Patriot on Amazon, rated 8.2/10 on IMDb. Follows the complicated life of intelligence officer John Tavner, whose latest assignment--to prevent Iran from going nuclear--requires him to forgo all safety nets and assume a perilous, non-official cover. An official cover operative is one who assumes a position in an organization with diplomatic ties to the government for which the operative works such as an embassy or consulate. This provides the agent with official diplomatic immunity. Operatives under non-official cover (NOC) are operatives without official ties to the government for which they work who assume covert roles in organizations. They don't have the safety net of diplomatic immunity, and if captured and charged as spies are subject to severe criminal punishments, up to and including execution. To prevent Iran from going nuclear, intelligence officer John Tavner must forgo all safety nets and assume a perilous non-official cover ("NOC") of a mid-level employee at a Milwaukee industrial piping firm. You won't believe what he does to get the job. He has a hard time learning the industrial piping industry lingo, like the 2 phrases in the picture of captions below. :D If you see watch a couple of the previews you'll probably be interested in the series. 

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4687882/?ref_=ttep_ov

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patriot_(TV_series)
Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: alfsauve on April 18, 2025, 07:37:55 PM
If you like Hurt Locker then BBC on Brit Box is a show called Trigger Point.  Unban  bomb squad in London.  Evidentially they call them EXPO, Explosive Officers.
Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: Big Frank on April 19, 2025, 04:00:26 AM
If you like Hurt Locker then BBC on Brit Box is a show called Trigger Point.  Unban  bomb squad in London.  Evidentially they call them EXPO, Explosive Officers.

I may be able to watch that on Prime. If you see them running, try to keep up! That's actually the motto for military EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal).

I'm watching Fugget About It for free on Tubi. Rated 6.9/10 at IMDb. If you go to Tubi and search "fugg" it comes right up. Ex-New York mobster Jimmy Falcone joins the Witness Protection Program, which relocates him and his family to Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. So far Jimmy has pronounced Regina correctly once, instead of calling it Vagina, Saskatchewan. He's not too bright, but Uncle Cheech is a complete moron. His pencil mustache reminds me of John Waters, but he's only gay by accident. :) Tubi's programming includes tens of thousands of movies and TV series for free, paid for by ads which seem very minimal compared to broadcast TV. They supposedly have the most on-demand video of anyone in the world. Sites like this are almost enough for me to give up cable.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1799834/

https://tubitv.com/
Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: Big Frank on May 02, 2025, 06:06:47 AM
I'm watching RoboDoc: The Creation of RoboCop, a 2023 four part TV documentary series on Amazon Prime. The movie RoboCop came out July 17, 1987. In one scene filmed in 1986, Clarence Boddicker plays a DVD from Dick Jones for Bob Morton. But the DVD was first released ten years later, on November 1, 1996, in Japan. When you see it, there's no mistaking it for anything other than a DVD. It's a 5" silver color disk with a hole in the middle that starts playing video as soon as it's inserted into the DVD player, which didn't exist until 10 years later. :o  My mind is blown, because I didn't even realize that until just now. Science fiction became reality, and I don't think most people noticed.

P.S. They also had Steve Minh, a member of Boddicker's gang, doing a one-handed shotgun pump 4 years before Sarah Connor did it in Terminator 2: Judgment Day.
Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: alfsauve on May 02, 2025, 07:53:02 AM
The Residence, about life at the White House.  Again  Giancarlo Esposito.  It’s Clue meets Knives Out, meets Columba, meets Inspector Clouseau.  A little drawn out.  Gives a view that the WH staff works for the institution and they tolerate the temporary guests who live there.

Been out for a while and I’ve heard the first season was gritty and grim, so jump to season 2, but Black Mirror is modern version of Twilight Zone.  Stand alone stories in each episode.  No narrator.
Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: Big Frank on May 02, 2025, 11:12:47 PM
I've never seen Black Mirror but thought it sounded good. I had the 2018 movie, Black Mirror: Bandersnatch on one of my computers, but not this one or the new laptop. I hope I find it someday on one of the other computers so I can watch it. A young programmer starts to question reality when he adapts a mad writer's fantasy novel into a video game.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9495224/

I finished watch RoboDoc  and found out there's an 11' tall 2 1/2 ton RoboCop statue somewhere in Detroit, but can't figure out where. The idea for the statue originated with a 2011 exchange between Detroit mayor Dave Bing and a pseudonymous user on Twitter. In response to the suggestion that Detroit have a statue of RoboCop to rival Philadelphia's statue of Rocky, Bing replied that there were no plans to erect such a statue in the city. The exchange went viral and a subsequent Kickstarter campaign raised $67,436 to fund the construction of the statue. In early 2011, Detroit mayor Dave Bing and his communications team solicited suggestions on Twitter for improvements to the city. On February 7, 2011, User @MT responded "Philadelphia has a statue of Rocky & Robocop would kick Rocky's butt. He's a GREAT ambassador for Detroit." Bing replied to the tweet, writing "There are not any plans to erect a statue to Robocop. Thank you for the suggestion."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RoboCop_statue
Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: Big Frank on May 03, 2025, 12:53:30 AM
I forgot to post this pic earlier. He's somewhere in Detroit, but finding him is like a game of Where's Robo?
Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: Jim Kennedy-ar154me on May 07, 2025, 08:46:48 AM
I forgot to post this pic earlier. He's somewhere in Detroit, but finding him is like a game of Where's Robo?

I always got a laugh out of him twirling the auto pistol without it discharging!
Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: Big Frank on May 08, 2025, 04:42:09 AM
I always got a laugh out of him twirling the auto pistol without it discharging!

Wouldn't that work if the safety was on? During the making of the film, RoboCop's big robot finger wouldn't fit in the trigger guard of a Desert Eagle they wanted to use. Being filmed in Texas, you know someone would have a gun in their car, so one guy went out and got his Beretta 93R and said try this. That was the birth of the Auto 9.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPf5quy8_nM
Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: Big Frank on May 08, 2025, 05:16:36 AM
I recently rented the new movie, Becoming Led Zeppelin, and watched it twice. The film traces the journeys of the four members of the Stairway To Heaven rockers through the music scene of the 1960s and their meeting in the summer of 1968, culminating in 1970. The 2025 film is an independent production made with the full co-operation of the band - the first time they have participated in a biographical documentary.

Becoming Led Zeppelin traces the journeys of Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, John Bonham and Robert Plant through their childhoods in post-war Britain, the music scene of the 1960s including Shirley Bassey performing the Goldfinger theme with Zeppelin members playing on it, their meeting in the summer of 1968 and meteoric ascendancy throughout 1969, culminating in 1970 when they become the No. 1 band in the world. Suck it Beatles! ;D

The story is told by the band members with the late Bonham represented by archival audio interviews. The film features full, never-before-seen footage of the band's early American and British concerts and unseen material from the band's personal archives.

Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones were both session musicians who played with an incredible number of bands. Jimmy played with almost everyone back then except the Beatles. He played the guitar solo on Donovan's Sunshine Superman. John Bonham is still recognized as one of the best drummers ever. They didn't mention it in the movie but he did triple-kicks on the bass drum that not many people were ever capable of. John Paul Jones was the choirmaster and organist at a church when he was 14. He played bass more than the organ and said he was in love with John Bonham's right foot. JPJ would sometimes skip notes on the bass because he knew something of Bonzo's would come through and it would be good. Robert Plant was homeless and just wanted to sing. He didn't care what kind of band it was, and he tried different kinds of music.

Jimmy Page joined The Yardbirds in 1966, but the band broke up in 1968. They were still booked to do some concerts in Scandanavia, so Page formed a new group with vocalist Robert Plant, bassist John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham. They played under the name The New Yardbirds, who later renamed themselves Led Zeppelin.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10365912/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Becoming_Led_Zeppelin
Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: Jim Kennedy-ar154me on May 08, 2025, 08:26:12 AM
Wouldn't that work if the safety was on? During the making of the film, RoboCop's big robot finger wouldn't fit in the trigger guard of a Desert Eagle they wanted to use. Being filmed in Texas, you know someone would have a gun in their car, so one guy went out and got his Beretta 93R and said try this. That was the birth of the Auto 9.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPf5quy8_nM

Never test safetys when loaded with live ammo. IMHO.
Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: PegLeg45 on May 09, 2025, 08:17:01 PM
Gunsmoke.  8)
Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: MikeBjerum on May 09, 2025, 08:56:27 PM
Gunsmoke.  8)
When I was driving over the road for those couple years, I bought the box set of Have Gun Will Travel. I love the old western series. Wanted Dead or Alive, Lawman, Tombstone, Death Valley Days, Wells Fargo, ... I can lose hours in a hurry if I find a station running a Saturday of these.
Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: Big Frank on May 10, 2025, 12:26:41 AM
Gunsmoke.  8)

You know what else James Arness was famous for? The Thing in The Thing from Another World, 1951. He was 6'7" tall and made a good monster, but I much referred The Thing, 1982 with Kurt Russel as MacReady.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0044121/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Thing_from_Another_World

James Arness (born James King Aurness) was also the older brother of actor Peter Graves (born Peter Duesler Aurness). Graves was a maternal family name. I remember him playing Jim Phelps in the TV series Mission: Impossible. I watched that all the time.
Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: Big Frank on May 10, 2025, 12:43:41 AM
I watched the last episode of season 3 of Reacher last night. Reacher is a BIG dude. Actor Alan Ritchson is 6"3" and built like a brick outhouse. But this guy he was fighting, Paulie, is played by "The Dutch Giant" Olivier Richters who stands 7'2". He's built like a brick silo. No matter how you stack it, that's a lot of beef, and Big Paulie was mopping the floor with "Little" Jack Reacher.

SPOILER ALERT!!!

Reacher finally killed Paulie. Their was a BIG machine gun in the gate house at an arms dealer's house. It may have been a 12.7×108mm Soviet DShK, but I'm not sure. It may have been even bigger, a 14.5 × 114 mm. Anyway, Reacher fired off some rounds but didn't hit Paulie, then Paulie turned the gun on Reacher. When he fired the gun it backfired and he was fatally wounded. Before he died, Reacher told him he pulled a round out of the belt and plugged the barrel. Something like that, but no one saw it happen. And when the gun blew up it didn't explode in Reacher's face and kill him, it only blew up backwards and put a few holes in Paulie.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9288030/
Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: Big Frank on May 11, 2025, 04:23:50 AM
I saw Stargate Origins on Prime Video last week. It's a prequel to the other works in the franchise, taking place in 1939, some decades before the events of the 1994 Stargate film and its subsequent sequel series. It follows a young Catherine Langford (a minor character from the 1994 film and Stargate SG-1), who goes through the Stargate in a quest to save her father. The series consists of ten episodes, each 10 minutes in length. The episodes were concatenated together into a 104-minute-long standalone film, a "Feature Cut" entitled Stargate Origins: Catherine. Her father was played by Connor Trinneer, best known for his roles as Charles "Trip" Tucker III on Star Trek: Enterprise, and Michael on the series Stargate Atlantis. It was okay if you want to kill some time while you're doing something else, like cleaning your guns. The 4.0/10 rating at IMDb seems about right. Like most shows made in the last 20 years they had to have some homosexuals in it. Not that it has anything to do with advancing the plot or making it a better show. I would ding it one star just for that. I don't normally watch anything rated less than a 5/10, but I didn't check this first.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7161862/
Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: alfsauve on May 11, 2025, 10:18:19 AM
... I love the old western series. Wanted Dead or Alive, Lawman, Tombstone, Death Valley Days, Wells Fargo, ... I

Short lived, Yancy Derringer
Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: Majer on May 11, 2025, 04:48:18 PM
I was cleaning a corner in my spare room and found a 5 DVD set of Lonesome Dove the outlaw years and started watching that. It was a pretty good show that did a good job getting the guns and clothing right.



Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: Big Frank on May 12, 2025, 12:33:25 AM
Short lived, Yancy Derringer

I never heard of it. It was before my time but so were a lot of shows I saw reruns of when I was a kid. I just watched the latest episode of The Walking Dead: Dead City while I ate dinner.
Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: Diamondback on May 15, 2025, 12:08:39 AM
Moldy A-Team reruns. It's time to call it a night when Universal Action on Pluto cuts to even more "aged like milk" Knight Rider. (The only thing about that show that HASN'T aged poorly is KITT.)
Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: Big Frank on May 31, 2025, 01:31:05 AM
About a month ago I saw the first Jumanji movie from1981. I think I saw it years and years ago, but can't be sure. It was based on a 1981 fantasy children's picture book written and illustrated by American author Chris Van Allsburg. I found out the second book in the series was Zathura that came out in 2002, and the movie would be on TV in 2 weeks. So I set my DVR and watched the 2005 movie Zathura: A Space Adventure 2 weeks ago. Think Jumanji in Outer Space and you'll get the gist of it. I just watched the 2017 movie Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, and will probably watch the 2019 movie Jumanji: The Next Level tomorrow. There's going to be a 3rd movie in the modern series tentatively called Jumanji 3 coming out 2 weeks before Christmas next year. It was 24 years between the first 2 movies, 12 years until the 3rd, 2 years until the 4th, and it will be 7 years between the 4th and 5th. That's a span of 36 years between the first 2 Jumanji movies, and 45 years between the 1st and 4th Jumanji movie when it comes out next year!

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0113497/?ref_=fn_all_ttl_1

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0406375/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0_tt_4_nm_4_in_0_q_zathursa

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2283362/?ref_=fn_all_ttl_2

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7975244/?ref_=fn_all_ttl_3

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt26735127/?ref_=fn_all_ttl_4
Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: Big Frank on June 02, 2025, 04:16:42 AM
I just watched Crazy on the Outside, a 2010 comedy film starring and directed by Tim Allen. It was the only movie Tim Allen directed, and is notable for reuniting him with co-stars from many of his previous films (Sigourney Weaver from Galaxy Quest, Ray Liotta from Wild Hogs, Kelsey Grammer from Toy Story 2 and Julie Bowen from Joe Somebody). Jeanne Tripplehorn plays Angela Papadopolous, a single-mom parole officer whom Tommy (Allen) tries to date. J. K. Simmons is Ed, his sister Viki's' sarcastic, taunting husband. You may recognize Malcolm Goodwin as Rick and Jon Gries as Edgar, a couple of ex-cons who work with Tommy at Pirate Burger. Julie Bowen as the ex-girlfriend was looking good, as always.

Tim Allen financed the film himself, a choice taken by Kevin Costner on various films. Costner advised Allen "on how to direct it, how to put it out" into distribution. He also received directing advice from Barry Sonnenfeld and Francis Ford Coppola. Casting included friends he had previously worked with, including Sigourney Weaver and Ray Liotta. Weaver, Jeanne Tripplehorn, and J. K. Simmons were announced in April 2008. Production began that same month, with Weaver having just wrapped Avatar. Production wrapped at some point before October. I think there's a reason why Tim Allen never directed another movie. It's not bad, but it's not great, either. 5.5/10 at IMDb.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1196134/
Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: Big Frank on June 04, 2025, 02:03:26 AM
I just watched Love Hurts (2025) on Peacock for free. The lead actor is 53-year old Vietnamese-born Chinese-American actor Ke Huy Quan, as real estate agent Marvin Gable. In 2022 he played office worker Waymond Wang in Everything Everywhere All at Once, with Michelle Yeoh as his wife. But he's most famous for his first acting gig, Short Round in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984). He also played Data in The Goonies the next year. He took a 19-year acting hiatus from 2002-2021, during which he worked as a stunt choreographer and assistant director. Sean Astin, who had the starring role of his friend Mikey in The Goonies, stars as his boss in Love Hurts. He holds a second-degree black belt in taekwondo; he started taking classes after learning from a taekwondo instructor for his role in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. That and his stunt choreography work paid off in this movie.
Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: Big Frank on June 21, 2025, 06:27:40 PM
I watched Death of a Unicorn today. It's a dark fantasy comedy horror movie. It was dark, fantastic, funny, and horrible. :) I liked it a lot. I usually get to rent 1 $5.99 or less movie a month from Xfinity for $1. So I rented this and got a text thanking me for renting it for $0.00. I didn't realize I was getting a free movie this month. I thought it was $1 like usual. I didn't pay much attention when I clicked on the reward the other day.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt28443655/


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cMIarrxLGs
Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: alfsauve on June 22, 2025, 08:06:13 AM
Enjoying Foyle’s War, 2002 Brit detective series set during WW II.  A number of British actors make guest appearances including Rosamond Pike, David Tennant and Peter Capaldi.  Probably a number of other Brit actors I’m just not familiar with.  It stars Michael Kitchens and Honeysuckle Weeks.
Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: Big Frank on June 22, 2025, 10:55:25 PM
Rosamund Pike is a good actress. At least I liked her in some of the movies she played in. My movie rental expires tomorrow at 2:59pm, so I haven't missed the chance to re-watch it. The last show of season 2 of The Walking Dead: Dead City was on tonight. I don't know if there's going to be a season 3. There have only been 14 episode in 2 seasons, which is more like 1 season. I'll probably watch my movie first while I still can, then watch Dead City later, maybe tomorrow.
Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: red364 on July 23, 2025, 05:56:13 PM
If its horror I'm watching it! I just got rid of cable so I'm slumming with Samsung tv.  I'm watching Slumber party massacre, so terrible, it can't even be called a b move, but I love that old campy slasher stuff. I do have netflix and amazon but it takes so long to find stuff I haven't seen. Oooh look Fright is coming on next, old horrible British terror can't wait.  lol
Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: Big Frank on July 24, 2025, 07:48:43 PM
I saw Final Destination: Bloodlines 2 days ago. It's probably the bloodiest, goriest, most f***ed up movie in the whole series. I believe it was the sixth movie. And I liked it even more than I thought I would. I'm going to try to find someplace to download it so I can watch it again whenever I want to.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9619824/
Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: Majer on July 25, 2025, 02:36:33 PM
I've been watching "The Blacklist" pretty good series with a lot of twists and decent plots.
Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: Big Frank on July 25, 2025, 10:59:33 PM
I probably missed some episodes of The Blacklist over the years, but not by choice. I saw one episode of Star Trek: Discovery a few days ago, with Captain Pike before he became the handicapped person in the original series. I saw a couple other shows I can't remember, and I'm catching up on the episodes of Rick and Morty I can watch for free.
Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: Diamondback on July 29, 2025, 10:26:46 AM
Her Peevishness has become annoyingly obsessed with Patriot Games. "BUT I ALWAYS MISS DUH FEW SEKUNZ B4 DUH TYTULZ REEEEEEEEEEE!!!!"

And people bitch about MY autism...
Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: Big Frank on July 29, 2025, 08:38:30 PM
I'm halfway through the first season of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. I only get to see Season One on Prime Video because I'm not paying for Paramount Plus. Apple TV or Netflix either, for that matter.
Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: Big Frank on July 29, 2025, 10:58:40 PM
I watched The Gorge last night. "Two operatives are appointed to posts in guard towers on opposite sides of a classified gorge." 6.7/10. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13654226/

 I downloaded about 50 movies and will probably watch another one here shortly.
Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: PegLeg45 on July 30, 2025, 10:41:31 AM
Not TV series, but I watch a couple of Youtube channels that are a running series of car stuff.

Vice Grip Garage is a guy that finds old cars sitting up for years (some for decades) and revives them where they sit and tries to drive them back to his home base. He started in Minnesota but moved to Tennessee for better climate year-round. Good clean entertainment.

A similar themed channel, based in Texas, is Flying Sparks Garage. A husband and wife team works on various projects....cars, trucks, tractors, boats, planes ans a semi. They just finished a multi-episode series reviving an 80's era Peterbuilt rig and converted it to RV status instead of commercial so they could pull the 40' enclosed trailer (retired Red Cross blood drive trailer) they've been converting to a race car hauler/camper rig.

If you're a car guy, it's good stuff.
Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: alfsauve on July 30, 2025, 02:11:09 PM
If you're a Helen Mirren fan, pox on you if you're not, she did a dark TV detective series called Prime Suspect set in the 1990s.

Also, rather light hearted private eye genre, is the Jane Seymore series Harry Wild

Untamed, about murders in Yosemite Park, is a limited series, 6 episodes.  They could spin off short episodes with either the lead male or female character.
Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: Big Frank on July 30, 2025, 04:25:32 PM
I like the best of the year Real Mechanics React videos and Customer States videos by Just Rolled In on YouTube. They have videos all the time about cars that people bring in, customer states car has this problem, and holy crap, you wouldn't believe what's really wrong with it. Here are the latest videos from each channel. I haven't even watched them yet. I either watch a few at a time or just watch the best of the year.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGVspBnQMbY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdbNBq-z_OE
Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: Big Frank on July 30, 2025, 08:39:41 PM
War of the Worlds on Amazon Prime. It didn't have a rating at IMDb when I looked earlier today. Now it's at 3.4 and rising. If I knew it was that low I would have skipped it. I'm 15 minutes in and will kill the whole 2 hours of my time.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13186306/
Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: Big Frank on August 01, 2025, 04:52:21 AM
The War of the Worlds gets a big fat thumb down. I finished The Fantastic Four: First Steps (7.4/10) earlier after seeing half of it the day before. It was was okay, but not great, and I just watched Predator: Killer of Killers (7.5/10) which I thought was really good. It's an animated movie, so some people will be prejudiced against it. But it's the the sixth film in the Predator franchise, eighth overall counting the 2 Alien vs. Predator movies, and better than average.

The Fantastic Four movie took place on Earth-828, not Earth-616, AKA the "Sacred Timeline", the main universe depicted in the MCU. It's a retro-futuristic 1960s looking scene. They'll be back a week before Christmas 2026 in Avengers: Doomsday, when the Avengers, Wakandans, Fantastic Four, New Avengers (Thunderbolts), and the X-Men team up to face Doctor Doom. In that universe Tony Stark is Doctor Doom, not Iron Man. Confused yet? Join the crowd. I watched Thunderbolts* (7.3/10) a few days ago and liked it, but I like most of the Marvel superhero movies I see.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10676052/

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt36463894/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_5_tt_8_nm_0_in_0_q_Predator%2520

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt21357150/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0_tt_8_nm_0_in_0_q_avengers

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt20969586/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0_tt_6_nm_2_in_0_q_Thunderbolts*
Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: Rastus on August 01, 2025, 07:46:35 AM
This
Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: MikeBjerum on August 01, 2025, 09:10:14 PM
Sitting here this evening and thinking of the next few days. Two long days of gun training Saturday and Sunday, and then an interview for a volunteer position Monday evening. Thankfully, since I am in training for the weekend, I get Monday as a day off. So, I'm trying to just escape into a couple of movies this evening.

Bad news is that with two ways for sound editing to be done, the movies I was planning are done in a way that I consider unwatchable. The voice track is so low I can't understand anything, so I turn it up to a very low understandable, and then there is a sound effect of a slamming door, book drop, gunshot, squealing tires, etc, and it is so loud that it is unenjoyable, and it echos too loud to all corners of the house.

Does anyone understand what the purpose or draw there is for this style of movie making?

The movie I just turned off was "Olympus Has Fallen." Normally I will set our volume setting at 10-12. At that level the sound effects were perfect, but I had to turn it up to 18-22 to be able to understand the dialog. Can you imagine what the spinning and skidding limo sounded like at 20 on the volume setting?
Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: Big Frank on August 01, 2025, 09:31:16 PM
Actors used to "act" and project their voices so they could be heard, as if they were on a stage. Now they do "natural acting" where they talk like they're sitting next to you. Meanwhile, the movie companies aren't going to let that fancy 8-channel surround sound go to waste. So they blast everything so loud it's like you're in the middle of the action. If you can't hear Mr. Mumbles over the sound of the world ending, well, there must be something wrong with you, not the way they make the movies now. ::)  I watch almost everything with closed captions on if they're available. It doesn't always match up with what they're actually saying, but it's close enough. Especially if you hear most of it, and only need the CC to fill in the blanks. This isn't an old geezer problem either if anyone is thinking that. There are plenty of younger people asking WTF is wrong with movies these days? A YouTube video I watched about it attributed it to realism.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHYkEfIEhO4
Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: alfsauve on August 02, 2025, 07:32:52 AM
What Frank said. Edited for giga-channel movie theaters immersive sound.  I think they’re realizing the real money is in streaming where 2 channel Stereo reigns, so things are getting better. 

On the other hand, live event mixing drives me up the wall.  modern mixers have the ability to shape almost every aspect of each channel, including delay, on the fly.  So why did the guy’s voice singing the Nation Anthem at the NFL Hall of fame game look so bad?  Because the audio was about 33ms ahead of the video.  It’s not that they can’t do it, it’s that nobody in the whole chain of command cares.
Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: MikeBjerum on August 02, 2025, 04:11:05 PM
What I'm gathering from this is that we have tons of technology and a bunch of geeks trying to make a name for themselves at the Hollywood Pat Yourself On The Back Awards, and a few wanna-bees who don't know what their doing, and it is driving old fat dudes with hearing aids nuts.

A clear example of "Just because you can doesn't mean you should."
Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: Big Frank on August 03, 2025, 05:39:22 AM
It's slowly driving most of us nuts. I imagine it's many times worse with hearing aids. Maybe electronic stereo shooting muffs that cut out when the sound effects are too over the top would help. Maybe not, but it's all I can think of.

P.S. I watched Ballerina (From the world of John Wick) yesterday (7.0/10 stars) and I liked it. And I just started watching M3gan 2.0 (6.1/10 stars).

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7181546/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0_tt_8_nm_0_in_0_q_ballerina

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt26342662/
Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: Big Frank on August 05, 2025, 05:08:08 PM
I downloaded the last season and a half of Lucifer and re-watched season 5 episode 8, then watched episode 9 yesterday. The devil isn't such a bad guy in that show, he just has a bad reputation. Like the Jewish version of Samael, I guess. I think the Christians are the ones made him out to be a bad guy, but I don't know believe in organized religion or know much about it.
Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: Big Frank on August 06, 2025, 07:50:51 PM
Twisted Metal (7.3/10 stars) on Peacock. The first 3 episodes came out July 31st and the next 2 come out tomorrow. There will be 2 more per week every Thursday, until the final 3 of 12 episodes come out on the 28th.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14261112/
Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: PegLeg45 on August 08, 2025, 04:40:01 PM
Peacock dropped Longmire from its list of series before I could finish. I watch TV in on/off spells...no time to binge watch.
After a quick GTS, I found it's now available on Pluto for free......so, the show goes on.
I hear a new season is in the works.
Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: alfsauve on August 08, 2025, 09:22:36 PM
Longmire very good.  No sequel needed. At least that’s how the folks at the Chalet de San Souci and Continual Soirée feel.

Watch the last episode of Merrim’s Prime Suspect.  I ended my career just the same way her character did, though there was no stripper involved in mine.
Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: Majer on August 09, 2025, 02:23:45 PM
I ended my career just the same way her character did, though there was no stripper involved in mine.
   It's never to late to fix that oversight. ;)
Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: Rastus on August 10, 2025, 11:31:14 AM
That was funny Majer.  You get an A+ for that one.

What am I watching...well right now the computer screen but....

Last night we have the Perseids meteor shower heating up so stars and moon and well, I had to go in early.  It should peak on the night of the 12th-13th.  I saw a really bright nice one night before last when I was out chasing deer out of the garden.  This morning flowers and hummingbirds and other critters and flora. 
Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: Big Frank on August 13, 2025, 10:19:55 PM
Longmire very good.  No sequel needed. At least that’s how the folks at the Chalet de San Souci and Continual Soirée feel.

Watch the last episode of Merrim’s Prime Suspect.  I ended my career just the same way her character did, though there was no stripper involved in mine.

I have a friend who's retiring in a couple of weeks. I don't think there will be any strippers involved, but I think he will be really surprised by the retirement gift he gets from me on Labor Day weekend. No stripping will be involved in it.

I'm watching the last season of Lucifer. A bunch of stuff happened in the last episode of season 5, and there are 10 episodes in season 6 for everything to come to a final conclusion.
Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: PegLeg45 on August 15, 2025, 06:36:19 PM
I have a friend who's retiring in a couple of weeks. I don't think there will be any strippers involved, but I think he will be really surprised by the retirement gift he gets from me on Labor Day weekend. No stripping will be involved in it.

I'm watching the last season of Lucifer. A bunch of stuff happened in the last episode of season 5, and there are 10 episodes in season 6 for everything to come to a final conclusion.

To quote Majer's perfect quote: It's never to late to fix that oversight. ;) 

8)
Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: Rastus on August 16, 2025, 12:42:59 PM
Not now but last Tuesday on 12-AUG-25 we saw the Arianne 6 booster in polar orbit performing a propellant vent preparing for it's deorbit burn.  Here in Arkansas local time it started the vent at 21:33ish.  The thing looked like a regular satellite and then it flashed and quickly took on an hour glass appearance.  Diffuse at the ends and a bright spot in the middle and was orange tinted. When it went behind the tree line it was as wide as three thumb widths on an outstretched hand.
Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: Big Frank on August 16, 2025, 02:07:09 PM
Not now but last Tuesday on 12-AUG-25 we saw the Arianne 6 booster in polar orbit performing a propellant vent preparing for it's deorbit burn.  Here in Arkansas local time it started the vent at 21:33ish.  The thing looked like a regular satellite and then it flashed and quickly took on an hour glass appearance.  Diffuse at the ends and a bright spot in the middle and was orange tinted. When it went behind the tree line it was as wide as three thumb widths on an outstretched hand.

Wow! That's Yuge. All I saw in the sky was a moon so full last weekend that it was casting shadows on the ground where we stood. When my friend and I stood there and saw our shadows, I asked him if that meant we were going to have 6 more weeks of summer. :D  It makes sense that if a rodent can predict a long winter, maybe we could predict a long summer. BTW, it's 88 degrees but feels like 90 right now.
Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: Big Frank on August 16, 2025, 06:39:03 PM
If I can stay awake I'm going to watch the first episode or two of the new TV series Alien: Earth(7.9/10 stars) on FX and Hulu. When a mysterious space vessel crash-lands on Earth, a young woman and a ragtag group of tactical soldiers make a fateful discovery that puts them face-to-face with the planet's greatest threat. It's the first television series in the Alien franchise and is set two years before the events of the 1979 film Alien. Xenomorph XX121, the alien, is just one of 5 invasive alien species on the ship, and maybe not even the worst. :o  Mother Earth is expecting.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13623632/?ref_=fea_rvi_i_1

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alien:_Earth
Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: Big Frank on August 17, 2025, 01:04:09 AM
If Alien: Earth is any indication of reality, in the year 2120 the handle and blade of a guillotine trimmer for cutting paper will look EXACTLY like a Wakizashi sword. ::) That's a sword that's shorter than a Katana, but longer than a Tanto, with a blade approximately 1'-2' long. I've seen movies before where these were torn off the base of the paper trimmer and used like a machete, but to have one look like it came out of a sword factory is 10X more ridiculous.
Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: Big Frank on August 21, 2025, 11:39:28 PM
I just finished watching season 4 of Resident Alien. I didn't know it was the last show ever. Then I watched the first episode of Archives at Vet TV.

Hard drives die. Memories fade. And one day, the only record of our service will be government-funded history books. But those books won’t capture the best parts. The truth of what really happened in war, on ship, in the barracks, on the flight line, etc. We realized countless veterans are sitting on hard drives full of footage that will eventually fail, never to be seen by their kids or shared with the veteran community. That history will be lost. Our history. The way we remember it. So we dig it up, watch it with the veteran, and make sure their story outlives the busted laptop it’s trapped in.

I saw Escape Room a day or two ago, and Fantasy Island the day before that.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5886046/

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0983946/
Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: alfsauve on August 22, 2025, 08:05:04 AM
New Helen Mirren series on Netflix starts 8/31.  The Thursday Murder Club.
Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: Big Frank on August 22, 2025, 08:31:39 PM
A couple of episodes of Twisted Metal. I think I'll finish the season of Grimsburg before I return to Twisted Metal. There have been 26 episodes of Grimsburg so far, and it's coming back for a 3rd season.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt15791752/
Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: Big Frank on August 26, 2025, 05:41:15 AM
I just finished Season 1 of Peacemaker (8.3/10 stars). Picking up where The Suicide Squad (2021) left off, Peacemaker returns home after recovering from his encounter with Bloodsport - only to discover that his freedom comes at a price. It ran from January to February 2022, and Season 2 finally started last Thursday. I saw Episode 1 before, but I was able to watch the whole season now, because it's on TNT now too, not just HBO Max.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13146488/
Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: Rastus on August 26, 2025, 09:26:30 PM
Six or seven deer in the pasture that think they are invincible in the dark.  Thermal is the bomb...
Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: Big Frank on August 26, 2025, 10:57:26 PM
I saw the first of a 4 part series on MGM+, Psycho: The Lost Tapes of Ed Gein, including the only known recording of his voice, when he was interviewed after being arrested. Known as the Butcher of Plainfield, his story has had a lasting effect on American popular culture as evidenced by its numerous appearances in film, music and literature. The tale first came to widespread public attention in the fictionalized version presented by Robert Bloch in his 1959 suspense novel, Psycho. In addition to Alfred Hitchcock's 1960 film of Bloch's novel, Psycho, his story was loosely adapted into numerous films, including Deranged (1974), In the Light of the Moon (2000) (released in the United States and Australia as Ed Gein (2001)), Ed Gein: The Butcher of Plainfield (2007), Ed Gein, the Musical (2010), and the Rob Zombie film, House of 1000 Corpses, and its sequel, The Devil's Rejects. He served as the inspiration for myriad fictional serial killers, most notably Norman Bates (Psycho), Leatherface (The Texas Chain Saw Massacre), Buffalo Bill (The Silence of the Lambs), Garland Greene (Con Air), and the character of Dr. Oliver Thredson in the TV series American Horror Story: Asylum.

Besides being a murderer and grave robber, he was suspected of being a serial killer, cannibal, and necrophiliac. A sheriff's deputy discovered Plainfield hardware store owner Bernice Worden's decapitated body in a shed on Gein's property, hung upside down by her legs with a crossbar at her ankles and ropes at her wrists. The torso was "dressed out like a deer" and her vulva was removed. She had been shot with a .22-caliber rifle, and the mutilations were made after her death. Searching the house, authorities found:

    Whole human bones and fragments
    A wastebasket made of human skin
    Human skin covering several chairs
    Skulls on his bedposts
    Female skulls, some with the tops sawn off
    Bowls made from human skulls, which he ate from 
    A corset made from a female torso skinned from shoulders to waist
    Leggings made from human leg skin
    Masks made from the skin of female heads
    Mary Hogan's face mask in a paper bag
    Mary Hogan's skull in a box
    Bernice Worden's entire head in a burlap sack
    Bernice Worden's heart "in a plastic bag in front of Gein's potbelly stove"
    Nine vulvas in a shoe box
    A young girl's dress and "the vulvas of two females judged to have been about fifteen years old"
    A belt made from female human nipples
    Four noses
    A pair of lips on a window shade drawstring
    A lampshade made from the skin of a human face
    Fingernails from female fingers
    And a human heart cooking in a frying pan.
Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: Big Frank on August 31, 2025, 01:20:50 AM
I watched Phantasm: RaVager, the 5th of the Phantasm movies. I wasn't sure if I saw it on not, but after watching it awhile I realized I did. I watched it anyway, half a few days ago and half tonight. Here's a brief summary of all 5 movies. They kept going downhill until number 5 was less than 5/10 stars, but if you watch the first 4, you may as well se how it all ends.

Phantasm (1979) 6.6/10. The residents of a small town have begun dying under strange circumstances, leading young Mike Pearson to investigate. After discovering that the town's mortician, only known as the Tall Man, is killing and reanimating the dead as misshapen zombies, Mike seeks help from his older brother, Jody, and their friend Reggie, a local ice cream man. Working together, they try to lure out and destroy the Tall Man, all the while avoiding his minions and a deadly silver sphere.

Phantasm II (1988) 6.4/10. In Phantasm II, picking up exactly where the previous film leaves off, the Tall Man and his minions attempt to take Mike, but Reggie manages to save him by blowing up the house. Eight years later, Mike, now a mental patient, still has nightmares about the evil mortician, and is the only person to recall that dreadful night. Upon being released from the institution Mike, who's had a premonition about Reggie’s family, tries to warn his friend of the ensuing danger before an explosion murders the entire family. Convinced by Mike's futile warning, the two men set out to track the mysterious mortician down and rescue Liz Reynolds, a young woman, who has a psychic connection to both Mike and the Tall Man.

Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead (1994) 6.0/10. In Lord of the Dead, once more picking up exactly where the previous film leaves off, the Tall Man has infiltrated the minds of Mike and Reggie. The two friends embark on a journey to find and kill him, only to discover that he has destroyed town after town, leaving zombies in place of the living. Along the way, Mike and Reggie meet several characters who share their goal, including a murderous boy named Tim, and Rocky and Tanesha, two young women who are excellent fighters.

Phantasm IV: OblIVion (1998) 5.5/10. Taking off immediately where the last one ended, in this episode, Mike travels across dimensions and time fleeing from the Tall Man, at the same time he tries to find the origins of his enemy, and what happened the night that Jody died. Meanwhile, Reggie (accompanied by Jennifer, a beauty he picked up on the road) battles the spheres and the undead in a quest to find Mike before the Tall Man can complete his transformation.

Phantasm V: RaVager (2016) 4.9/10. In the series finale, Reggie continues in his quest to stop the evil, dimension-hopping schemes of The Tall Man and his armada of killer Sentinel Spheres. This time, the fight becomes a multi-dimensional battle across an alien planet, multiple timelines, and altered realities, where the fate of Earth is on the line.

Angus Scrimm played The Tall Man in all 5 movies, but was dead before the last one came out, so it was dedicated to him.

Reggie Bannister played Reggie in all 5 movies, and was the only person playing the same character in all of them. He was more than half bald, but still rocking the ponytail after 37 1/2 years. It was a LONG time between movies. Most of them were in different decades.

Michael Baldwin played Mike Pearson in all 5 except the 2nd one, where he played Young Mike.

And James LeGros played Mike Pearson in the 2nd one.

Bill Thornbury played Jody Pearson in all of them except the 2nd one.

Sometimes you just need to escape the hospital, grab your trusty 4-barrel shotgun, and take care of business.
Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: Rastus on August 31, 2025, 07:02:23 PM
My two Catahoula girls looking for a deer to chase....won't be long.  The stinking tick bag deer are everywhere around here.
Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: Big Frank on September 01, 2025, 12:42:43 AM
I remember that my dad and his friends had dogs that would hunt coons, coyotes, and almost anything they put them on the track of. And if they ever chased deer they got put down. Different state, different way to hunt. Using dogs to hunt deer has been illegal in Michigan for almost 140 years. It's considered unsporting by a lot of people.

If you are a tracker using a dog to locate wounded game, you must obtain a permit. If you are a hunter working with a dog tracker, the dog tracker must obtain the permit. Only the licensed hunter who wounded the game is allowed to kill and tag the wounded game. A licensed deer or elk hunter accompanying a dog tracker may not have a live round in the chamber, a cocked crossbow, or bow with nocked arrow, except at the time and point of kill. Handler must have dog complete a tracking test by a department approved organization (United Blood Trackers). Carry a valid Concealed Pistol License. Receive written authorization from DNR-LED. Tracker’s information and accompanying hunter’s license information must be provided to the DNR’s Communications Section prior to each tracking activity. Dogs must be on a lead. Only the licensed hunter may dispatch and tag the wounded deer, elk, or bear.
Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: Rastus on September 01, 2025, 11:23:15 AM
They won't chase it very far.  They lose interest after 1/4 mile or so...and start looking for something else to jump
Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: MAUSERMAN on September 04, 2025, 11:50:03 PM
I’ve been watching Star trek strange new worlds and it’s been surprisingly good. Unlike the last series that went woke, this series is more like the original but with amazing affects
Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: Jim Kennedy-ar154me on September 05, 2025, 07:53:30 AM
I’ve been watching Star trek strange new worlds and it’s been surprisingly good. Unlike the last series that went woke, this series is more like the original but with amazing affects

You and I will have to disagree on that one. Discovery did indeed go STUPID WOKE and became unwatchable, but I see Strange New Worlds starting down the same path. While not as woke, this season's episodes have been more comedy than Star Trek was (IMHO). The one with 4 crew members becoming Vulcan was really silly and did not entertain me. While I have started each episode this season, I have yet to be entertained enough to watch it all the way through.  If you get time, check out the crowd-funded movies available. The best are the Axanar shorts. Unfortunately, Paramount put an end to the complete movie by publishing "rules" that makers have to follow or be sued out of business. While the early ones are OK, the later crowdfunding stuff is really good with excellent effects. Axanar is about the Federation/Klingon war.
Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: Rastus on September 05, 2025, 08:52:43 AM
It did get a little bit ditsey after the first couple of episodes this season.
Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: Jim Kennedy-ar154me on September 05, 2025, 09:09:28 AM
It did get a little bit ditsey after the first couple of episodes this season.

Check out some of the free stuff on YouTube. You can start with:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFqAME7dx58

Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: alfsauve on September 05, 2025, 10:17:34 AM
I threw up when I saw Stacy Abrahams make a cameo in Discovery.
Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: Jim Kennedy-ar154me on September 05, 2025, 01:30:45 PM
I threw up when I saw Stacy Abrahams make a cameo in Discovery.

She has a tendency to do that to a lot of people!
Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: Rastus on September 05, 2025, 09:10:52 PM
Stacy what?  Oh hell no.  I never saw that.  I tried to watch STD (Star Track Discovery not Sexually Transmitted Disease) but after the 2nd show I threw in the towel....
Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: Big Frank on October 19, 2025, 05:25:33 PM
I watched Pan's Labyrinth(2006) yesterday. I didn't know it was in Spanish until after I rented it, but it was a free rental to Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, so I'm not going to bitch about it. Much. It's rated 8.2/10 at IMDb, but I didn't think it was THAT good. Maybe if I could just watch the movie and not have to read all the dialog, I would have have enjoyed it. It's a 48 hour rental but I don't know if I'll watch it again. Doug Jones played 2 parts, Fauno (Pan) and Hombre Palido (Pale Man). He's the most famous actor you've never seen, since he's nearly always in costume with lots of prosthetics. He's 6'4" tall and only weighs 140 pounds, so he doesn't have a strangely bulky appearance a normally proportioned person would under all of that. He was in Shape of Water and a couple Hellboy movies too, among his 200+ acting roles.

Later I watched was the first 2 episodes of season 3 of Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon. I'll probably watch more tonight.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0457430/
Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: Big Frank on October 21, 2025, 04:58:03 PM
The new Dr. Pimple Popper series on Lifetime. It's the first show I ever watched there.
Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: alfsauve on October 21, 2025, 06:04:22 PM
New season of Beyond Paradise has hit.

Plus the creator has filmed an Australian version of Death In Paradise.  Same reluctant detective, beachside cottage, cast of characters, final reveal at the end.

BBC has a series called Karen Pirie which is good, too.
Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: Big Frank on November 29, 2025, 09:43:38 PM
I watched Good Boy over the weekend, a horror movie made from a dog's point of view. The star of the movie was a cute little dog named Indy. He's the director's Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever. Instead of trying to to make the dog do what he wanted him to on command, he spent 3 years filming the dog until it eventually did everything he needed it to. A loyal dog moves to a rural family home with his owner, only to discover supernatural forces lurking in the shadows. As dark entities threaten his human companion, the brave pup must fight to protect the one he loves most. 6.2/10 stars. I recommend everyone watch it when they can see it free, and not pay to see it.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt35521922/


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4-CRkd_74g
Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: alfsauve on November 30, 2025, 02:11:11 PM
If you’re a Death in Paradise fan here’s a crossover plot I think would be good.

In Beyond Paradise, the supporting DS Esther Williams, Zahra Ahmadi, is in line someday to be promoted to DI, and the character is having some personal issues.  What If.  What IF, she gets promoted tomDI and gets transferred to St.Marie?
Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: Diamondback on December 02, 2025, 11:13:33 PM
Horizon: Extreme Dinosaurs on Dinos 24-7 streaming. Interesting discussion of tyrannosaurs as social creatures and pack hunters...

Surprised they just no-shit completely ripped off David Arnold's entire score from Stargate to provide music. No credit and I bet no royalties paid either...
Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: Big Frank on December 03, 2025, 04:29:44 AM
I remember there was one dinosaur that was supposed to have a great big fin on its back, as evidenced by the long spiky vertebrae. Then someone else came along and said it had a big humped back and muscles were anchored to those bones, all the way to the end. :-\  Too bad we can't watch living dinosaurs and find out what they were really like. They were the closest things there were to monsters that most people know about. No wonder so many kids love them.
Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: alfsauve on December 03, 2025, 08:57:15 AM
Another BBC detective series, Shakespeare and Hathaway.  Not too serious, but a fun cast of characters and situations.
Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: Rastus on December 03, 2025, 12:47:32 PM
Bluey
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEtqeF5bCNg (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEtqeF5bCNg)
Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: Diamondback on December 03, 2025, 04:47:52 PM
I remember there was one dinosaur that was supposed to have a great big fin on its back, as evidenced by the long spiky vertebrae. Then someone else came along and said it had a big humped back and muscles were anchored to those bones, all the way to the end. :-\  Too bad we can't watch living dinosaurs and find out what they were really like. They were the closest things there were to monsters that most people know about. No wonder so many kids love them.
Sounds like Acrocanthosaurus or Altispinax... on a related note, then you have everyone reconstructing Spinosaurus like its relatives Baryonyx and Suchomimus only to turn out that it's basically a giant, longer-limbed crocodile in overall layout.

Not just for kids... hell, I'm a grown-ass man at 45 (once a geek forever a geek though) and I STILL wanna work a dig and help pull a rex out of the ground someday. (As if the toothy little bundle of trouble in my av didn't already tell you that...)
Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: Big Frank on December 05, 2025, 02:56:08 AM
I've been binging The Unbelievable with Dan Aykroyd.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt27053309/

I don't know if we have dinosaur skeletons around here but the skeletal remains of a woolly mammoth, which died between 11,000 and 15,000 years ago, were discovered by a farmer in his wheat field 10 years ago in Chelsea, MI. Smithsonian Magazine had an article about it. They've been digging up Michigan mastodons and mammoths since at least 1901. I remember hearing about a leg(?) of one being dug up in Davison, on the east side of my county.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MISJj7-CEYk
Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: Rastus on December 05, 2025, 08:21:40 PM
More youtubey stuff on building a Beverage antenna.
Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: Majer on December 06, 2025, 07:52:19 AM
Started watching Workshop Wednesday on YT, It a show about the Australian Armour museums restoration shop. They do some amazing work restoring mostly WW2 armor.

https://www.youtube.com/@ausarmour
Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: alfsauve on December 06, 2025, 11:09:25 AM
Will Trent is filming nearby over the next couple of days.  If it weren't so chilly I'd go be an extra.  The show has grown on Miss Kitty and I.  Not everybody's cup of tea.  Love seeing local landscapes in the background.

<As Aside>  Years ago, in my job as a dog robber for a corporate VP, I got to go to Fox Studios(LA) and meet, briefly, very briefly with execs there.  Afterwards, sort of as a pat on the head, they had a PR person give me a personal tour.  The lot was not open to public tours so this was special.  As we were walking down one of the side streets I recognized a Police Precinct building for a new NYC based crime show that was featured in a lot of shots.  The tour guide explained it was very expensive shooting all the outside shots in NYC so they had just completed this replica so all filming could be done in LA.  I got to chat with the craftsmen and give input on how their replica looked vs pictures of the actual building...   Very cool.   Also got to tour the set of Pickett Fences and talk with a couple of the actors.   They were in hiatus for that week because somebody left several take-out fish and chip dinners in the fridge on the previous Friday and the electricians had shut all power off during the long four day weekend.  The whole sound stage smelled pretty ripe.  It was neat seeing how the sets were intertwined to save space.  The exit the back door of the police department and you would be in the kitchen of the lead character's house.  Saw the Star's Bungalows when they lived on the property during shooting back in the old days.   Don't think they were being used anymore.  When the guide pointed out where Marilyn Monroe stayed I asked if there was a reserved parking for JFK.  She didn't think that was funny.
Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: Rastus on December 06, 2025, 08:37:25 PM
<snip> I asked if there was a reserved parking for JFK.  She didn't think that was funny.

I think that was a hysterically funny question.  Some people can't take a joke.....
Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: Big Frank on December 08, 2025, 12:20:18 AM
I'm about 3/4 of the way through Green Lantern. It's the extended version with 10 extra minutes. I saw the original version a decade or so ago.

Reckless test pilot Hal Jordan (Ryan Reynolds) is granted an alien ring that bestows him with otherworldly powers that inducts him into an intergalactic police force, the Green Lantern Corps. Rated 5.5/10 stars.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1133985/
Title: Re: What are you watching?
Post by: Big Frank on December 21, 2025, 02:29:46 PM
Beetle Bailey, free on Plex. They have 20 of the 50 6 minute episodes from 1963, playing as 5 24 minute episodes. Not great, but nostalgic for anyone who read the comic in the newspaper.

There's also a 47 minute Beetle Bailey TV movie from 1990 that I haven't seen yet. 7.1/10 stars at IMDb. How have I not heard of this before? It must have been on cable, and that was before I had cable.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0306532/