What Did You Watch? 2017-07-08 (Saturday)

[Obveeus]

I watched:

LOGAN: A 2017 film that fits into the X-MEN series universe. The film
stars Hugh Jackman and Patrick Stewart as aging X-MEN on a mission to
buy a boat and head out onto the open ocean. Along the way, they get
side tracked by a girl (Dafne Kenn) and this turns into a road trip
movie. Overall, this was the best X-MEN film I have ever seen, but it
still had all kinds of stupid fight sequences and an endless supply of
bad guys with illogical motivations. Basically, this film was only good
when it was between fight scenes. Welcome guest stars included Eriq La
Salle (ER) and Elizabeth Rodriguez (ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK).

DEEP WATER: The first episode of this Australian crime procedural
series. I decided to sample this because it stars Yael Stone (ORANGE IS
THE NEW BLACK) and Noah Taylor (PEAKY BLINDERS, POWERS, and PREACHER).
Unfortunately, it was a weak effort in the already bland crime
procedural genre and it was topped off by a huge over immersion in LGBT
issues. Apparently, everyone in Australia is either gay or belongs to a
gang that goes out on weekends to hunt down gay guys. One and done for me.

CASTLEVANIA: The first episode of this Netflix animated series based
upon a 1980s Nintendo video game. This episode didn't do much aside
from introduce some characters, many of who died before the episode even
ended so that the entire thing seemed like a waste. The animation
looked like it was from a 1980s TV show. The bad guys appeared to be
the Catholic church. Dracula plays a role, but his powers seem to be
amped way up beyond any version of Dracula I have ever watched before.
Someone posted a review of this series that compared it with GAME OF
THRONES, but I saw no similarity at all, so don't fall for that bait.
One and done for me.

AUSTIN CITY LIMITS: An hour of Cyndi Lauper music, but she did some
other songs too, including the theme song for GRANITE FLATS.

What did you watch?

[Obveeus]

On 7/9/2017 9:46 AM, Obveeus wrote:
> I watched:
>
> LOGAN: A 2017 film that fits into the X-MEN series universe.
>

> DEEP WATER: The first episode of this Australian crime procedural
> series.
>

> CASTLEVANIA: The first episode of this Netflix animated series based
> upon a 1980s Nintendo video game.
>

> AUSTIN CITY LIMITS: An hour of Cyndi Lauper music, but she did some
> other songs too, including the theme song for GRANITE FLATS.
>
> What did you watch?

Forgot one...

LIFE: A 2017 sci-fi film starring Ryan Reynolds and Jake Gyllenhaal as
2 members of an astronaut team working to retrieve and analyze a soil
sample from MARS that appears to contain life. The sci-fi aspect of
this film is all but entirely abandoned in favor of a horror film theme
and as such this turns into nothing more than a very pale copy of ALIEN.
I wish the characters had been written a bit smarter than they were.

[Arthur Lipscomb]

On 7/9/2017 6:46 AM, Obveeus wrote:
> I watched:
>
> LOGAN: A 2017 film that fits into the X-MEN series universe. The film
> stars Hugh Jackman and Patrick Stewart as aging X-MEN on a mission to
> buy a boat and head out onto the open ocean. Along the way, they get
> side tracked by a girl (Dafne Kenn) and this turns into a road trip
> movie. Overall, this was the best X-MEN film I have ever seen, but it
> still had all kinds of stupid fight sequences and an endless supply of
> bad guys with illogical motivations. Basically, this film was only good
> when it was between fight scenes. Welcome guest stars included Eriq La
> Salle (ER) and Elizabeth Rodriguez (ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK).
>

Some of us have been waiting years for R-rated Wolverine fight scenes! :-P

> DEEP WATER: The first episode of this Australian crime procedural
> series. I decided to sample this because it stars Yael Stone (ORANGE IS
> THE NEW BLACK) and Noah Taylor (PEAKY BLINDERS, POWERS, and PREACHER).
> Unfortunately, it was a weak effort in the already bland crime
> procedural genre and it was topped off by a huge over immersion in LGBT
> issues. Apparently, everyone in Australia is either gay or belongs to a
> gang that goes out on weekends to hunt down gay guys. One and done for me.
>
> CASTLEVANIA: The first episode of this Netflix animated series based
> upon a 1980s Nintendo video game. This episode didn't do much aside
> from introduce some characters, many of who died before the episode even
> ended so that the entire thing seemed like a waste. The animation
> looked like it was from a 1980s TV show. The bad guys appeared to be
> the Catholic church. Dracula plays a role, but his powers seem to be
> amped way up beyond any version of Dracula I have ever watched before.
> Someone posted a review of this series that compared it with GAME OF
> THRONES, but I saw no similarity at all, so don't fall for that bait.
> One and done for me.
>

I didn't see any similarities to Game of Thrones. But it did strongly
remind me of "Vampire Hunter D." That came out in 1985, so that might
be it looked like it was from the 80s.

> AUSTIN CITY LIMITS: An hour of Cyndi Lauper music, but she did some
> other songs too, including the theme song for GRANITE FLATS.
>
> What did you watch?

Justice League Action - "Time Out" - Batman and Booster Gold fight an
alien that eats time. OK episode.


Degrassi (Netflix streaming) - I binged through a few more episodes.
Most, if not all, of the episodes this season have focused on Degrassi's
reaction to a terrorist attack in Belgium. This latest batch also
focused on a student learning she's gender fluid.


Rise of the Planet of the Apes (blu-ray) - Present day reboot of the
"Apes" series staring James Franco who takes home a young ape (Andy
Serkis) who thanks to the wonders of science is unusually smart. Pretty
good movie but I had it on mostly as background noise.

[anim8rfsk]

In article <ojtbsj$rvq$1...@dont-email.me>, Obveeus <Obv...@aol.com>
wrote:

> I watched:
>
> LOGAN: A 2017 film that fits into the X-MEN series universe. The film
> stars Hugh Jackman and Patrick Stewart as aging X-MEN on a mission to
> buy a boat and head out onto the open ocean. Along the way, they get
> side tracked by a girl (Dafne Kenn) and this turns into a road trip
> movie. Overall, this was the best X-MEN film I have ever seen, but it
> still had all kinds of stupid fight sequences and an endless supply of
> bad guys with illogical motivations. Basically, this film was only good
> when it was between fight scenes. Welcome guest stars included Eriq La
> Salle (ER) and Elizabeth Rodriguez (ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK).
>
> DEEP WATER: The first episode of this Australian crime procedural
> series. I decided to sample this because it stars Yael Stone (ORANGE IS
> THE NEW BLACK) and Noah Taylor (PEAKY BLINDERS, POWERS, and PREACHER).
> Unfortunately, it was a weak effort in the already bland crime
> procedural genre and it was topped off by a huge over immersion in LGBT
> issues. Apparently, everyone in Australia is either gay or belongs to a
> gang that goes out on weekends to hunt down gay guys. One and done for me.

Agreed. Of course I was hoping for a SCUBA adventure, so I was even
more disappointed than you were.

> CASTLEVANIA: The first episode of this Netflix animated series based
> upon a 1980s Nintendo video game. This episode didn't do much aside
> from introduce some characters, many of who died before the episode even
> ended so that the entire thing seemed like a waste. The animation
> looked like it was from a 1980s TV show. The bad guys appeared to be
> the Catholic church. Dracula plays a role, but his powers seem to be
> amped way up beyond any version of Dracula I have ever watched before.
> Someone posted a review of this series that compared it with GAME OF
> THRONES, but I saw no similarity at all, so don't fall for that bait.
> One and done for me.

OMG The Netflix is trying to hard sell this to me. Emails, messages,
alerts, and every time I open the app, there it is. And you're exactly
right, it looks like 30 year old bad Japanese TV.
None and done for me.

> What did you watch?

Mostly retro stuff for me. ME-TV showed the origin of Paladin. There
was a Gunsmoke where they said the population of Dodge City was 1500,
which seems like about 10x too many for the one street of buildings they
always show ... LOL, according to The Wiki, Dodge City hadn't even been
staked out yet in the year Gunsmoke is set. That goes straight back to
the 'why do they always get everything wrong' thread!

Remember how I've complained about The Amazon Instant presenting stuff
in random order? I fell asleep watching Doctor Who season 7 part 2 (the
early Impossibly Cute Clara eps) and when it was done it tried to show
me (but lacked permission) a Rory and Amy season. When I clicked that
away it offers me the same damn season I just slept through, or a Martha
Smith season, or a Rose Tyler season - anything but, you know, Season 8.
WTH?

--
Join your old RAT friends at
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1688985234647266/

[anim8rfsk]

In article <ojtcf7$tm8$1...@dont-email.me>, Obveeus <Obv...@aol.com>
wrote:

No matter how smart you might write Ryan Reynolds, underneath it he's
still going to be Ryan Reynolds.

[icebreaker]

Orphan Black (BBC)

Degrassi (NF) -- couple more episodes

---
This email has been checked for viruses by AVG.
http://www.avg.com

[Ian J. Ball]

On 2017-07-09 13:46:34 +0000, Obveeus said:

> I watched:
>
> LOGAN: A 2017 film that fits into the X-MEN series universe.

Where did you watch this? Is it on The Netflix?!...

Ditto "Life"?...

> What did you watch?

13 Reasons Why (The Netflix) - Episode #5 of this was quite good, I
thought - maybe the first really "good" episode they'd done. Episode
#6, not so much. By Episode #7, the main character is starting to crack
up, so that episode ended with a proverbial "bang", so I decided to
"pause" at this point, halfway through the series, with a pretty decent
"cliffhanger" ending, and pick this up latter in the week once my
summer job has concluded.
However, I will say ep's #6 & #7 are starting to get pretty dang
"heavy" and downbeat - I'm not sure how they can make the last 6
episodes of this series palatable, at this rate...

Killjoys (recorded) - "A Skinner, Darkly". Mercifully, this episode was
an improvement on the season premiere, as this episode at least had a
"regular" Killjoys case (or so it seemed...). In the latter, Dutch and
D'av take three tech nerds (one of whom is played by "Continuum's" Erik
Knudsen) on a mission to find out if they will work as the "tech-ie
replacement" for Johnny. Meanwhile, Johnny and the new girl, Ollie,
investigate further into what happened to Clara... The last storyline
took what could have been a "jump the shark" moment, but mercifully
instead used it to basically wrap up this storyline, and return Johnny
to the team. (You'd guess the 3 nerds would be S.O.o.L., but it looks
like they turn up in the very next episode. Not sure why...)
Anyway, something weird happened here - the show obviously lost
Stephanie Leonidas, somehow, perhaps to some other project, and then
had to do a CYA-retcon on her storyline, but I would have thought they
would have done a better job securing her services... Not impressed by
this turn of events in the least. But, like I said, luckily, it looks
to be over.

Ouija (OnDemand/FXM) - This was very lackluster. I mean, I have a bias
against "PG-13 horror" films anyway (with horror, if it's not "hard-R",
don't even bother, IMO...), but even for a "PG-13" horror flick, this
was pretty bad.

Vampire Academy (The Netflix) - I come down much more on Fred's side on
this than Arthur's. In fact, of the various "tween lit" adaptations, I
think this one might have been one of the better ones (even if the
source material they used looks to be rubbish!!).
Anyway, the Number One virtue of this flick is that it *moved*, and
kept the story *moving*. (Contrast this with what I still rate to be
probably the worst of the "tween lit" adaptations, after the "Twilight"
flicks (of course!), "Beautiful Creatures", which felt like it moved
slow as molassas...) After a ricketty start outside said Vampire
Academy, the flick really picks up once they return our two erstwhile
"heroes" (Zoey Deutch and ASG's Lucy Fry) to the Academy... Anyway,
even though I surmised the true identities of the "bad guys" early on,
I still thought this was a pretty fun ride.
The ending, with Claire Foy, obviously was setting this up for a
sequel, but it looks like this bombed at the box office, so I wouldn't
expect a sequel here... (Still, this isn't nearly as bad as the
crashing-and-burning of the "Divergent" movie series!!...)

Wrecker (Siffy) - This was also quite good, for micro-budget horror
flick. I mean, don't get me wrong - it is pretty much a *straight
ripoff* of "Duel", except in place of Dennis Weaver we have a plucky
city gal ("Sparticus'" Anna Hutchison) and her slutty best friend. But,
hey - if you're going to rip something off, rip off the best! Anyway,
this was a pretty good suspense thriller, that wratchets up the
suspense as the film progresses. The ending was slightly disappointing,
though. But, on balance: thumbs up.


Recorded for later: Still Star-Crossed.


--
"His compassion killed him." - Dr. Sabine Lommers, in
"A Kingdom Divided Against Itself" (ep. #9), "Containment" (06-21-2016)

[anim8rfsk]

In article <ojtpdn$6j0$1...@dont-email.me>,

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

> On 2017-07-09 13:46:34 +0000, Obveeus said:
>
> > I watched:
> >
> > LOGAN: A 2017 film that fits into the X-MEN series universe.
>
> Where did you watch this? Is it on The Netflix?!...
>
> Ditto "Life"?...
>
> > What did you watch?
>

> Killjoys (recorded) - "A Skinner, Darkly". Mercifully, this episode was
> an improvement on the season premiere, as this episode at least had a
> "regular" Killjoys case (or so it seemed...). In the latter, Dutch and
> D'av take three tech nerds (one of whom is played by "Continuum's" Erik
> Knudsen) on a mission to find out if they will work as the "tech-ie
> replacement" for Johnny. Meanwhile, Johnny and the new girl, Ollie,
> investigate further into what happened to Clara... The last storyline
> took what could have been a "jump the shark" moment, but mercifully
> instead used it to basically wrap up this storyline, and return Johnny
> to the team. (You'd guess the 3 nerds would be S.O.o.L., but it looks
> like they turn up in the very next episode. Not sure why...)
> Anyway, something weird happened here - the show obviously lost
> Stephanie Leonidas, somehow, perhaps to some other project, and then
> had to do a CYA-retcon on her storyline, but I would have thought they
> would have done a better job securing her services... Not impressed by
> this turn of events in the least. But, like I said, luckily, it looks
> to be over.

But with irreparable damage done.

>
> Vampire Academy (The Netflix) - I come down much more on Fred's side on

Yay!

> this than Arthur's. In fact, of the various "tween lit" adaptations, I
> think this one might have been one of the better ones (even if the
> source material they used looks to be rubbish!!).
> Anyway, the Number One virtue of this flick is that it *moved*, and
> kept the story *moving*. (Contrast this with what I still rate to be
> probably the worst of the "tween lit" adaptations, after the "Twilight"
> flicks (of course!), "Beautiful Creatures", which felt like it moved
> slow as molassas...) After a ricketty start outside said Vampire
> Academy, the flick really picks up once they return our two erstwhile
> "heroes" (Zoey Deutch and ASG's Lucy Fry) to the Academy... Anyway,
> even though I surmised the true identities of the "bad guys" early on,
> I still thought this was a pretty fun ride.
> The ending, with Claire Foy, obviously was setting this up for a
> sequel, but it looks like this bombed at the box office, so I wouldn't
> expect a sequel here... (Still, this isn't nearly as bad as the
> crashing-and-burning of the "Divergent" movie series!!...)
>
> Wrecker (Siffy) - This was also quite good, for micro-budget horror
> flick. I mean, don't get me wrong - it is pretty much a *straight
> ripoff* of "Duel", except in place of Dennis Weaver we have a plucky
> city gal ("Sparticus'" Anna Hutchison)

I like her! That's why I'm watching UNDERBELLY. Hey, Wrecker is on
right now!

and her slutty best friend. But,
> hey - if you're going to rip something off, rip off the best! Anyway,
> this was a pretty good suspense thriller, that wratchets up the
> suspense as the film progresses. The ending was slightly disappointing,
> though. But, on balance: thumbs up.
>
>
> Recorded for later: Still Star-Crossed.

--

[Obveeus]

On 7/9/2017 12:01 PM, anim8rfsk wrote:
> In article <ojtbsj$rvq$1...@dont-email.me>, Obveeus <Obv...@aol.com>
> wrote:
>
>> DEEP WATER: The first episode of this Australian crime procedural
>> series. I decided to sample this because it stars Yael Stone (ORANGE IS
>> THE NEW BLACK) and Noah Taylor (PEAKY BLINDERS, POWERS, and PREACHER).
>> Unfortunately, it was a weak effort in the already bland crime
>> procedural genre and it was topped off by a huge over immersion in LGBT
>> issues. Apparently, everyone in Australia is either gay or belongs to a
>> gang that goes out on weekends to hunt down gay guys. One and done for me.
>
> Agreed. Of course I was hoping for a SCUBA adventure, so I was even
> more disappointed than you were.

In the premiere episode, the water really never got more than waist
deep. It seems like a really bad title (and, yes, I now remember you
pointing that out).

> Remember how I've complained about The Amazon Instant presenting stuff
> in random order? I fell asleep watching Doctor Who season 7 part 2 (the
> early Impossibly Cute Clara eps) and when it was done it tried to show
> me (but lacked permission) a Rory and Amy season. When I clicked that
> away it offers me the same damn season I just slept through, or a Martha
> Smith season, or a Rose Tyler season - anything but, you know, Season 8.
> WTH?

Do the recommendations for what to watch next correlate with the random
order that all the titles appear in on the tile screen of offerings? In
any case, I like Netflix's setup (organized by show with the seasons
broken down as a subheading within the show's title icon) much better.

[Obveeus]

On 7/9/2017 1:37 PM, Ian J. Ball wrote:
> On 2017-07-09 13:46:34 +0000, Obveeus said:
>
>> I watched:
>>
>> LOGAN: A 2017 film that fits into the X-MEN series universe.
>
> Where did you watch this? Is it on The Netflix?!...

Yes and no. I watched it via the Netflix DVD (snail mail delivery system).

> Ditto "Life"?...

Ditto LIFE.

>> What did you watch?
>
> 13 Reasons Why (The Netflix) - Episode #5 of this was quite good, I
> thought - maybe the first really "good" episode they'd done. Episode #6,
> not so much. By Episode #7, the main character is starting to crack up,
> so that episode ended with a proverbial "bang", so I decided to "pause"
> at this point, halfway through the series, with a pretty decent
> "cliffhanger" ending, and pick this up latter in the week once my summer
> job has concluded.
> However, I will say ep's #6 & #7 are starting to get pretty dang
> "heavy" and downbeat - I'm not sure how they can make the last 6
> episodes of this series palatable, at this rate...

Yes, downbeat. Were you expecting this to be an uplifting story?
The back half is even more down beat as the show tries to at least touch
upon every socially relevant / PC / hot button reason that a premise
such as this could be put into motion.

[Arthur Lipscomb]

On 7/9/2017 10:37 AM, Ian J. Ball wrote:
> On 2017-07-09 13:46:34 +0000, Obveeus said:
>
>> I watched:
>>
>> LOGAN: A 2017 film that fits into the X-MEN series universe.
>
> Where did you watch this? Is it on The Netflix?!...
>
> Ditto "Life"?...
>
>> What did you watch?
>

They are both on blu-ray/4K. I'm seriously toying with a X-Men series
marathon when I finally get around to watching Logan. Probably I'll do
it to coincide with the upcoming Dark Phoenix.

> 13 Reasons Why (The Netflix) - Episode #5 of this was quite good, I
> thought - maybe the first really "good" episode they'd done.

So if I decide to sample this, I'm supposed to wait until episode 5
before it gets really good. :-/

This is really not motivating me to finally finish this.

> Vampire Academy (The Netflix) - I come down much more on Fred's side on
> this than Arthur's. In fact, of the various "tween lit" adaptations, I
> think this one might have been one of the better ones (even if the
> source material they used looks to be rubbish!!).
> Anyway, the Number One virtue of this flick is that it *moved*, and
> kept the story *moving*. (Contrast this with what I still rate to be
> probably the worst of the "tween lit" adaptations, after the "Twilight"
> flicks (of course!), "Beautiful Creatures", which felt like it moved
> slow as molassas...) After a ricketty start outside said Vampire
> Academy, the flick really picks up once they return our two erstwhile
> "heroes" (Zoey Deutch and ASG's Lucy Fry) to the Academy... Anyway, even
> though I surmised the true identities of the "bad guys" early on, I
> still thought this was a pretty fun ride.
> The ending, with Claire Foy, obviously was setting this up for a
> sequel, but it looks like this bombed at the box office, so I wouldn't
> expect a sequel here... (Still, this isn't nearly as bad as the
> crashing-and-burning of the "Divergent" movie series!!...)
>

If I force myself to watch this again, I *better* enjoy it a lot more
than when I saw it in the theater...

[Obveeus]

On 7/9/2017 4:45 PM, Arthur Lipscomb wrote:
> On 7/9/2017 10:37 AM, Ian J. Ball wrote:

>> 13 Reasons Why (The Netflix) - Episode #5 of this was quite good, I
>> thought - maybe the first really "good" episode they'd done.
>
> So if I decide to sample this, I'm supposed to wait until episode 5
> before it gets really good. :-/

No. Every episode offers something and it just keeps building.
It is a good series, though I'm still not convinced that it will have
the intended effect and am somewhat convinced that it could have the
power to do just the opposite.

[Ian J. Ball]

I'm am seriously biased on this score (due to my love of the "genre"),
but I think this series would have worked a lot better if they had just
committed to making it a straight-up "revenge (REVENGE!!)" saga,
instead of trying to be (self-indulgently) "deep" here (see also the
film "Speak", which similarly failed at trying to be "deep"). But the
lead character of "13RW" is hard to get behind when he keeps
pussy-footing around, and outright failing, at what needs to be done
here.


Ian (Which brings to mind that the idea of a "teen revenge TV series",
or even "teen revenge flicks", is a genre that I don't think has really
been tapped yet...)

[Ian J. Ball]

On 2017-07-09 19:54:11 +0000, anim8rfsk said:

> In article <ojtpdn$6j0$1...@dont-email.me>,
> Ian J. Ball <IJB...@mac.invalid> wrote:
>
>> On 2017-07-09 13:46:34 +0000, Obveeus said:
>>
>>> What did you watch?
>>
>> Killjoys (recorded) - "A Skinner, Darkly". Mercifully, this episode was
>> an improvement on the season premiere, as this episode at least had a
>> "regular" Killjoys case (or so it seemed...). In the latter, Dutch and
>> D'av take three tech nerds (one of whom is played by "Continuum's" Erik
>> Knudsen) on a mission to find out if they will work as the "tech-ie
>> replacement" for Johnny. Meanwhile, Johnny and the new girl, Ollie,
>> investigate further into what happened to Clara... The last storyline
>> took what could have been a "jump the shark" moment, but mercifully
>> instead used it to basically wrap up this storyline, and return Johnny
>> to the team. (You'd guess the 3 nerds would be S.O.o.L., but it looks
>> like they turn up in the very next episode. Not sure why...)
>> Anyway, something weird happened here - the show obviously lost
>> Stephanie Leonidas, somehow, perhaps to some other project, and then
>> had to do a CYA-retcon on her storyline, but I would have thought they
>> would have done a better job securing her services... Not impressed by
>> this turn of events in the least. But, like I said, luckily, it looks
>> to be over.
>
> But with irreparable damage done.

I need to go back and look at Friday's WDYW? thread now...

>> Wrecker (Siffy) - This was also quite good, for micro-budget horror
>> flick. I mean, don't get me wrong - it is pretty much a *straight
>> ripoff* of "Duel", except in place of Dennis Weaver we have a plucky
>> city gal ("Sparticus'" Anna Hutchison)
>
> I like her! That's why I'm watching UNDERBELLY. Hey, Wrecker is on
> right now!

I like her too. Now that The Netflix gives me access to the
"uncensored"(a-HEM!) versions of "Spartacus", I may need to go back and
look at some episodes now... ;p

> > and her slutty best friend. But,
>> hey - if you're going to rip something off, rip off the best! Anyway,
>> this was a pretty good suspense thriller, that wratchets up the
>> suspense as the film progresses. The ending was slightly disappointing,
>> though. But, on balance: thumbs up.

[Obveeus]

On 7/9/2017 5:24 PM, Ian J. Ball wrote:
> Ian (Which brings to mind that the idea of a "teen revenge TV series",
> or even "teen revenge flicks", is a genre that I don't think has really
> been tapped yet...)

Can we hope that it stays that way?

[Ian J. Ball]

On 2017-07-09 20:45:21 +0000, Arthur Lipscomb said:

> On 7/9/2017 10:37 AM, Ian J. Ball wrote:
>> On 2017-07-09 13:46:34 +0000, Obveeus said:
>>
>> Vampire Academy (The Netflix) - I come down much more on Fred's side on
>> this than Arthur's. In fact, of the various "tween lit" adaptations, I
>> think this one might have been one of the better ones (even if the
>> source material they used looks to be rubbish!!).
>> Anyway, the Number One virtue of this flick is that it *moved*, and
>> kept the story *moving*. (Contrast this with what I still rate to be
>> probably the worst of the "tween lit" adaptations, after the "Twilight"
>> flicks (of course!), "Beautiful Creatures", which felt like it moved
>> slow as molassas...) After a ricketty start outside said Vampire
>> Academy, the flick really picks up once they return our two erstwhile
>> "heroes" (Zoey Deutch and ASG's Lucy Fry) to the Academy... Anyway,
>> even though I surmised the true identities of the "bad guys" early on,
>> I still thought this was a pretty fun ride.
>> The ending, with Claire Foy, obviously was setting this up for a
>> sequel, but it looks like this bombed at the box office, so I wouldn't
>> expect a sequel here... (Still, this isn't nearly as bad as the
>> crashing-and-burning of the "Divergent" movie series!!...)
>
> If I force myself to watch this again, I *better* enjoy it a lot more
> than when I saw it in the theater...

You and I don't agree a significant amount of the time, so just because
I thought this was one of the better "tween lit" adaptations doesn't
mean you will....


Ian (For example, I think you and I also disagreed about "The Host",
which I liked more than you did IIRC... (And which is on The Netflix,
so I will probably try to watch "The Host" again at some point...))

[Obveeus]

On 7/9/2017 5:26 PM, Ian J. Ball wrote:
> On 2017-07-09 19:54:11 +0000, anim8rfsk said:
>
>> In article <ojtpdn$6j0$1...@dont-email.me>,
>> Ian J. Ball <IJB...@mac.invalid> wrote:

>>> Wrecker (Siffy) - This was also quite good, for micro-budget horror
>>> flick. I mean, don't get me wrong - it is pretty much a *straight
>>> ripoff* of "Duel", except in place of Dennis Weaver we have a plucky
>>> city gal ("Sparticus'" Anna Hutchison)
>>
>> I like her! That's why I'm watching UNDERBELLY. Hey, Wrecker is on
>> right now!
>
> I like her too. Now that The Netflix gives me access to the
> "uncensored"(a-HEM!) versions of "Spartacus", I may need to go back and
> look at some episodes now... ;p

Ian can finally see!

[anim8rfsk]

In article <oju6qr$jmm$1...@dont-email.me>,

Welcome to the dark side of the stream!

[anim8rfsk]

In article <oju4dr$c3u$1...@dont-email.me>,

Arthur Lipscomb <art...@alum.calberkeley.org> wrote:

> On 7/9/2017 10:37 AM, Ian J. Ball wrote:
> > On 2017-07-09 13:46:34 +0000, Obveeus said:
> >
> >> I watched:
> >>
> >> LOGAN: A 2017 film that fits into the X-MEN series universe.
> >
> > Where did you watch this? Is it on The Netflix?!...
> >
> > Ditto "Life"?...
> >
> >> What did you watch?
> >
>
> They are both on blu-ray/4K. I'm seriously toying with a X-Men series
> marathon when I finally get around to watching Logan. Probably I'll do
> it to coincide with the upcoming Dark Phoenix.
>
> > 13 Reasons Why (The Netflix) - Episode #5 of this was quite good, I
> > thought - maybe the first really "good" episode they'd done.
>
> So if I decide to sample this, I'm supposed to wait until episode 5
> before it gets really good. :-/

I'm still waiting for POWERLESS to show their first good episode.

I'm starting to think Natalie lied to us.

[anim8rfsk]

In article <oju3qq$a88$1...@dont-email.me>, Obveeus <Obv...@aol.com>
wrote:

It all seems to randomize every time you change screens.

> any case, I like Netflix's setup (organized by show with the seasons
> broken down as a subheading within the show's title icon) much better.

Yeah, Amazon doesn't do that because it wants you to buy shit, so
everything is sorted groups you can purchase. But it's still idiotic to
not put the seasons of a show in order!

[anim8rfsk]

In article <oju74n$kh7$2...@dont-email.me>, Obveeus <Obv...@aol.com>
wrote:

And he's picked a cutie pie to start with.

[Ian J. Ball]

No!!!

:p

[Arthur Lipscomb]

Yeah, I have a tendency to defer to Obveeus on things I haven't seen but
he has, even though I tend to like stuff he doesn't. But there are only
so many hours in the day and once something has a bad review I'm not
inclined to seek it out.

> Ian (For example, I think you and I also disagreed about "The Host",
> which I liked more than you did IIRC... (And which is on The Netflix, so
> I will probably try to watch "The Host" again at some point...))
>

I don't think it's scientifically possible to actually like "The Host."
Sure you can tolerate its' existence. And you can even have fun mocking
it. But to say you actually "like" it, that's a bridge to far.

[Ubiquitous]

On Sunday, July 9, 2017 at 9:46:38 AM UTC-4, Obveeus wrote:

> What did you watch?

The day a thunderstorm discombobulated my desktop, I watched:

CHEATERS
CHEATERS
CHEATERS

TOUR DE FRANCE

THE WILD WILD WEST:
"The Night of the Arrow". President Grant tasks West and Gordon with an important mission. Major General Titus Baldwin is a national hero after killing many Cheyenne Indians in battle. To keep the general from attaining the fame which would propel him to the presidency and the slaughter of all the Indian tribes, West and Gordon must keep the peace between the general and Chief Strong Bear's tribe, but when a small party of Indians attacks a cavalry function, it appears those hungry for war on both sides may have all the provocation they need to start a war. West rides to meet Chief Strong Bear in an attempt to persuade him to keep the peace. Meanwhile, Gordon goes undercover in General Baldwin's cavalry to investigate the Indian attack.

CHEATERS

GHOST ADVENTURES

SVENGHOULIE:
"The Car". When a mysterious, driverless black sedan begins running people down in a small Southwestern town, new sheriff Wade Parent (Hey, it's the most hen-pecked man in the world!) must find out who -- or what -- is behind the killings. Hey, it's Captain Jerico!

What did you watch?

[A Friend]

In article <4512d6ed-46fe-454c...@googlegroups.com>,

Ubiquitous <web...@polaris.net> wrote:

> SVENGHOULIE:
> "The Car". When a mysterious, driverless black sedan begins running people
> down in a small Southwestern town, new sheriff Wade Parent (Hey, it's the
> most hen-pecked man in the world!) must find out who -- or what -- is behind
> the killings. Hey, it's Captain Jerico!

One of the worst movies I've ever seen. Best bit: when one or the
other of the characters calls out a warning: "Look out! The CAR is in
the GARAGE!!!"

[Obveeus]

Hee hee...you just defined Ian's entertainment tastes as scientifically
impossible.

[Jim G.]

Ian J. Ball sent the following on 07/09/2017 at 04:28 PM:

> On 2017-07-09 20:45:21 +0000, Arthur Lipscomb said:
>
>> On 7/9/2017 10:37 AM, Ian J. Ball wrote:
>>> On 2017-07-09 13:46:34 +0000, Obveeus said:
>>>
>>> Vampire Academy (The Netflix) - I come down much more on Fred's side on
>>> this than Arthur's. In fact, of the various "tween lit" adaptations, I
>>> think this one might have been one of the better ones (even if the
>>> source material they used looks to be rubbish!!).
>>> Anyway, the Number One virtue of this flick is that it *moved*, and
>>> kept the story *moving*. (Contrast this with what I still rate to be
>>> probably the worst of the "tween lit" adaptations, after the "Twilight"
>>> flicks (of course!), "Beautiful Creatures", which felt like it moved
>>> slow as molassas...) After a ricketty start outside said Vampire
>>> Academy, the flick really picks up once they return our two erstwhile
>>> "heroes" (Zoey Deutch and ASG's Lucy Fry) to the Academy... Anyway,
>>> even though I surmised the true identities of the "bad guys" early on,
>>> I still thought this was a pretty fun ride.
>>> The ending, with Claire Foy, obviously was setting this up for a
>>> sequel, but it looks like this bombed at the box office, so I wouldn't
>>> expect a sequel here... (Still, this isn't nearly as bad as the
>>> crashing-and-burning of the "Divergent" movie series!!...)
>>
>> If I force myself to watch this again, I *better* enjoy it a lot more
>> than when I saw it in the theater...
>
> You and I don't agree a significant amount of the time,

Why are you sucking up to Arthur like this? :)

--
Jim G. | A fan of the good and the bad, but not the mediocre
“It smells like bad beer and worse choices. I'll make it work.” – Rosita
Bustillos, WYNONNA EARP

[Jim G.]

Ubiquitous sent the following on 07/10/2017 at 06:37 AM:

> On Sunday, July 9, 2017 at 9:46:38 AM UTC-4, Obveeus wrote:
>
>> What did you watch?
>
> The day a thunderstorm discombobulated my desktop, I watched:

Did your surge protection fail or was it non-existent?

[anim8rfsk]

In article <ok0m51$nbn$3...@dont-email.me>,

"Jim G." <jimg...@geemail.com.invalid> wrote:

> Ubiquitous sent the following on 07/10/2017 at 06:37 AM:
> > On Sunday, July 9, 2017 at 9:46:38 AM UTC-4, Obveeus wrote:
> >
> >> What did you watch?
> >
> > The day a thunderstorm discombobulated my desktop, I watched:
>
> Did your surge protection fail or was it non-existent?

Hmm. For some reason I don't see Ubi's posts any more. :(

[Obveeus]

On 7/10/2017 5:02 PM, anim8rfsk wrote:
> In article <ok0m51$nbn$3...@dont-email.me>,
> "Jim G." <jimg...@geemail.com.invalid> wrote:
>
>> Ubiquitous sent the following on 07/10/2017 at 06:37 AM:
>>> On Sunday, July 9, 2017 at 9:46:38 AM UTC-4, Obveeus wrote:
>>>
>>>> What did you watch?
>>>
>>> The day a thunderstorm discombobulated my desktop, I watched:
>>
>> Did your surge protection fail or was it non-existent?
>
> Hmm. For some reason I don't see Ubi's posts any more. :(

That was a very intense storm.

[suzeeq]

anim8rfsk wrote:
> In article <ok0m51$nbn$3...@dont-email.me>,
> "Jim G." <jimg...@geemail.com.invalid> wrote:
>
>> Ubiquitous sent the following on 07/10/2017 at 06:37 AM:
>>> On Sunday, July 9, 2017 at 9:46:38 AM UTC-4, Obveeus wrote:
>>>
>>>> What did you watch?
>>> The day a thunderstorm discombobulated my desktop, I watched:
>> Did your surge protection fail or was it non-existent?
>
> Hmm. For some reason I don't see Ubi's posts any more. :(
>

I saw one from last night. Maybe his server is down again.

[Dimensional Traveler]

I kill filed him after an especially annoying spate of asshole posts he
made.

--
Inquiring minds want to know while minds with a self-preservation
instinct are running screaming.

[shawn]

On Mon, 10 Jul 2017 14:02:50 -0700, anim8rfsk <anim...@cox.net>
wrote:

>In article <ok0m51$nbn$3...@dont-email.me>,
> "Jim G." <jimg...@geemail.com.invalid> wrote:
>
>> Ubiquitous sent the following on 07/10/2017 at 06:37 AM:
>> > On Sunday, July 9, 2017 at 9:46:38 AM UTC-4, Obveeus wrote:
>> >
>> >> What did you watch?
>> >
>> > The day a thunderstorm discombobulated my desktop, I watched:
>>
>> Did your surge protection fail or was it non-existent?
>
>Hmm. For some reason I don't see Ubi's posts any more. :(

My guess is you are blocking Google Group posts. He looks to be using
GG for the last message he posted.

[anim8rfsk]

In article <5a68mchihj00vigi8...@4ax.com>,

Ah, thanks. I guess I need an exception for him ...

[suzeeq]

Maybe google is down today. I saw a post from him at 4:30 pacific this
morning, nothing else since then.

[anim8rfsk]

In article <ok1ai8$pud$1...@news.albasani.net>, suzeeq <su...@imbris.com>
wrote:

And I didn't even see that one ...

[A Friend]

In article <anim8rfsk-20F33...@news.easynews.com>,

anim8rfsk <anim...@cox.net> wrote:

> In article <5a68mchihj00vigi8...@4ax.com>,
> shawn <nanof...@notformailgmail.com> wrote:
>
> > On Mon, 10 Jul 2017 14:02:50 -0700, anim8rfsk <anim...@cox.net>
> > wrote:
> >
> > >In article <ok0m51$nbn$3...@dont-email.me>,
> > > "Jim G." <jimg...@geemail.com.invalid> wrote:
> > >
> > >> Ubiquitous sent the following on 07/10/2017 at 06:37 AM:
> > >> > On Sunday, July 9, 2017 at 9:46:38 AM UTC-4, Obveeus wrote:
> > >> >
> > >> >> What did you watch?
> > >> >
> > >> > The day a thunderstorm discombobulated my desktop, I watched:
> > >>
> > >> Did your surge protection fail or was it non-existent?
> > >
> > >Hmm. For some reason I don't see Ubi's posts any more. :(
> >
> > My guess is you are blocking Google Group posts. He looks to be using
> > GG for the last message he posted.
>
> Ah, thanks. I guess I need an exception for him ...

I don't have Ubi blocked, and I'm not seeing anything from him, either.

[David Barnett]

I did post what I saw on Saturday, but I can't see it
here.
SO here it is again:

On Sat Jul 8 I watched:

OUTLANDER: The Fox's Lair; Je Suis Prest
I was bored by these 2 episodes

VIKINGS: Blood Eagle
This was gruesome.
Recently a man here was stabbed in the back once &
died soon after.
Here in this episode we have multiple wounds to the back.
That Viking sure was tough.

FATHER BROWN: The Eagle and the Daw
My pet peeve again, namely a main character in a show is
wrongly accused.


--
David Barnett

[anim8rfsk]

In article <MPG.33cee70...@news.eternal-september.org>,

David Barnett <dbar...@bigpond.net.au> wrote:

> I did post what I saw on Saturday, but I can't see it
> here.
> SO here it is again:
>
> On Sat Jul 8 I watched:
>
> OUTLANDER: The Fox's Lair; Je Suis Prest
> I was bored by these 2 episodes
>
> VIKINGS: Blood Eagle
> This was gruesome.
> Recently a man here was stabbed in the back once &
> died soon after.
> Here in this episode we have multiple wounds to the back.
> That Viking sure was tough.

Ian: VIKES!!1!!11!! :)

[Ian J. Ball]

On Monday, July 10, 2017 at 8:14:13 PM UTC-7, anim8rfsk wrote:

> In article <MPG.33cee70...@news.eternal-september.org>,
> David Barnett <dbar...@bigpond.net.au> wrote:
>
> > I did post what I saw on Saturday, but I can't see it
> > here.
> > SO here it is again:
> >
> > On Sat Jul 8 I watched:
> >
> > OUTLANDER: The Fox's Lair; Je Suis Prest
> > I was bored by these 2 episodes
> >
> > VIKINGS: Blood Eagle
> > This was gruesome.
> > Recently a man here was stabbed in the back once &
> > died soon after.
> > Here in this episode we have multiple wounds to the back.
> > That Viking sure was tough.
>
> Ian: VIKES!!1!!11!! :)

The episode David is referring to was entirely unbelievable, unfortunately...

:(

[anim8rfsk]

In article <7ff40644-0882-418c...@googlegroups.com>,

I thought you were all in favor of the backstabbing?

[Ubiquitous]

http://southpark.cc.com/clips/154175/crazy-old-drivers

[Ubiquitous]

jimg...@geemail.com.invalid wrote:
>Ubiquitous sent the following on 07/10/2017 at 06:37 AM:

>> The day a thunderstorm discombobulated my desktop, I watched:
>
>Did your surge protection fail or was it non-existent?

Neither.

The power went out, around the time Avast was updating. When it came
back on, it locked up during reboot or while loading Avast. It
eventually reloaded Win 7 and all 4K or so updates and eventually
began working again.


--
Dems & the media want Trump to be more like Obama, but then he'd
have to audit liberals & wire tap reporters' phones.

[Ubiquitous]

On Sunday, July 9, 2017 at 9:46:38 AM UTC-4, Obveeus wrote:

> What did you watch?

The day a thunderstorm discombobulated my desktop, I watched:

CHEATERS:
"Renee Trudgett". OMG, this was the ep in which Joey got stabbed on
a boat! In the followup segment, Tracy George talked about how
later, the other woman and her friends showed up at her job, ready
to rumble, but her friends scared them away, adding that if that
ever happens again, it will be the 2nd time she is arrested for
assault.

CHEATERS:
"Dave Hauser". In this case, Dave caught his girlfriend cheating in
a park with another man, who he chases into a port-potty before
tipping it over. Hmm, I could have sworn there was footage of the
man having to use a car wash to remove the filth off himself.

CHEATERS:
"Rene Locke". in this case, Rene catches her husband cheating with
his boss's fat daughter. He was kicked out of the house and
subsequently fired by the unsuspecting daughter.

TOUR DE FRANCE:
Stage seven.

THE WILD WILD WEST:
Ulysses S. Grant personally orders Jim and Artie to a remote fort
commanded by Gen. Titus Baldwin. Baldwin is a hero in a past Indian
war and very popular among the people. He is also an ambitious sort
who ha designs on the White House and thinks he can get there on a
river of Indian blood. Towards that end, several of his subordinates
have dressed up like Indians and attack targets in order to stir up
conflict. The plan gets changed to murdering the local Indian chief,
Strong Bear, and blaming it on Jim, which works until Arty, posing
as the resurrected Strong Bear, advises them that going on the
warpath is a bad idea. The Native Americans come across as a savage,
dumb, and superstitious lot and Baldwin is painted as a racist for
his views on Indians, but I suppose it is consistant, since everyone
on the frontier is made out to be a stereotype. This ep was
recycled from before in previous episodes. Baldwin turns out to be
an oblivious cream puff controlled by his lieutenant and daughter,
who wants to be the belle of the White House enough to help spark
off a war to get there. The episode ends in a big fistfight with it
mentioned in passing that everyone was arrested and Baldwin resigned
because of his subordinates’ actions under his nose.

CHEATERS

GHOST ADVENTURES

SVENGHOULIE:
"The Car". When a mysterious, driverless black sedan begins running
people down in a small Southwestern town, new sheriff Wade Parent
(Hey, it's the most hen-pecked man in the world!) must find out
who -- or what -- is behind the killings. Hey, it's Captain Jerico!

What did you watch?

[anim8rfsk]

In article <okao4v$2lh$2...@dont-email.me>,

No LOVE BOAT? It was particularly perverse this week.

[Jim G.]

Ubiquitous sent the following on 07/14/2017 at 04:51 AM:

> jimg...@geemail.com.invalid wrote:
>> Ubiquitous sent the following on 07/10/2017 at 06:37 AM:
>
>>> The day a thunderstorm discombobulated my desktop, I watched:
>>
>> Did your surge protection fail or was it non-existent?
>
> Neither.
>
> The power went out, around the time Avast was updating. When it came
> back on, it locked up during reboot or while loading Avast. It
> eventually reloaded Win 7 and all 4K or so updates and eventually
> began working again.

Ah, so you need to put a power backup on your Christmas list. In any
case, my own fondness for avast has been waning for a while now, and I
didn't even have a problem like yours. I just can't help noticing that
it's getting bloatier and bloatier even as it removes good features and
dumbs things down in other key areas. If I were using Windows all of the
time, I would dump it. But since I spend 95% of my time in Linux, the
motivation just isn't there to look for a better alternative. Yet.

[Ubiquitous]

jimg...@geemail.com.invalid wrote:
>Ubiquitous sent the following on 07/14/2017 at 04:51 AM:
>> jimg...@geemail.com.invalid wrote:
>>> Ubiquitous sent the following on 07/10/2017 at 06:37 AM:

>>>> The day a thunderstorm discombobulated my desktop, I watched:
>>>
>>> Did your surge protection fail or was it non-existent?
>>
>> Neither.
>>
>> The power went out, around the time Avast was updating. When it came
>> back on, it locked up during reboot or while loading Avast. It
>> eventually reloaded Win 7 and all 4K or so updates and eventually
>> began working again.
>
>Ah, so you need to put a power backup on your Christmas list. In any
>case, my own fondness for avast has been waning for a while now, and I
>didn't even have a problem like yours. I just can't help noticing that
>it's getting bloatier and bloatier even as it removes good features and
>dumbs things down in other key areas. If I were using Windows all of the
>time, I would dump it. But since I spend 95% of my time in Linux, the
>motivation just isn't there to look for a better alternative. Yet.

Yeah, I noticed the same.

On the positive side, reloading Win 7 seems to have fixed my problems
with IE11. *fingers crossed*

[Ubiquitous]

anim...@cox.net wrote:

>No LOVE BOAT? It was particularly perverse this week.

That's on Sundays.

[Jim G.]

Ubiquitous sent the following on 07/14/2017 at 09:10 PM:

I'm pretty sure that I haven't used IE in at least ten years.

[Ubiquitous]

jimg...@geemail.com.invalid wrote:
>Ubiquitous sent the following on 07/14/2017 at 09:10 PM:
>> jimg...@geemail.com.invalid wrote:
>>> Ubiquitous sent the following on 07/14/2017 at 04:51 AM:
>>>> jimg...@geemail.com.invalid wrote:
>>>>> Ubiquitous sent the following on 07/10/2017 at 06:37 AM:

>>>>>> The day a thunderstorm discombobulated my desktop, I watched:
>>>>>
>>>>> Did your surge protection fail or was it non-existent?
>>>>
>>>> Neither.
>>>>
>>>> The power went out, around the time Avast was updating. When it came
>>>> back on, it locked up during reboot or while loading Avast. It
>>>> eventually reloaded Win 7 and all 4K or so updates and eventually
>>>> began working again.
>>>
>>> Ah, so you need to put a power backup on your Christmas list. In any
>>> case, my own fondness for avast has been waning for a while now, and I
>>> didn't even have a problem like yours. I just can't help noticing that
>>> it's getting bloatier and bloatier even as it removes good features and
>>> dumbs things down in other key areas. If I were using Windows all of the
>>> time, I would dump it. But since I spend 95% of my time in Linux, the
>>> motivation just isn't there to look for a better alternative. Yet.
>>
>> Yeah, I noticed the same.
>>
>> On the positive side, reloading Win 7 seems to have fixed my problems
>> with IE11. *fingers crossed*
>
>I'm pretty sure that I haven't used IE in at least ten years.

Old habits die hard. :-D

[David Barnett]

In article <okbs7v$hod$1...@dont-email.me>,
jimg...@geemail.com.invalid says...

>
> Ubiquitous sent the following on 07/14/2017 at 09:10 PM:
> > jimg...@geemail.com.invalid wrote:
> >> Ubiquitous sent the following on 07/14/2017 at 04:51 AM:
> >>> jimg...@geemail.com.invalid wrote:
> >>>> Ubiquitous sent the following on 07/10/2017 at 06:37 AM:
> >
> >>>>> The day a thunderstorm discombobulated my desktop, I watched:
> >>>>
> >>>> Did your surge protection fail or was it non-existent?
> >>>
> >>> Neither.
> >>>
> >>> The power went out, around the time Avast was updating. When it came
> >>> back on, it locked up during reboot or while loading Avast. It
> >>> eventually reloaded Win 7 and all 4K or so updates and eventually
> >>> began working again.
> >>
> >> Ah, so you need to put a power backup on your Christmas list. In any
> >> case, my own fondness for avast has been waning for a while now, and I
> >> didn't even have a problem like yours. I just can't help noticing that
> >> it's getting bloatier and bloatier even as it removes good features and
> >> dumbs things down in other key areas. If I were using Windows all of the
> >> time, I would dump it. But since I spend 95% of my time in Linux, the
> >> motivation just isn't there to look for a better alternative. Yet.
> >
> > Yeah, I noticed the same.
> >
> > On the positive side, reloading Win 7 seems to have fixed my problems
> > with IE11. *fingers crossed*
>
> I'm pretty sure that I haven't used IE in at least ten years.

I am still using IE in spite of one recent nasty virus
infection.
I have had Much more trouble with Chrome & Firefox in the
past.

--
David Barnett