TODAY I WATCHED (Movies, TV series) 2014

While battling a terrible migrane, I've managed to get through:

MLP FiM
Seinfeld
Law & Order SVU

How was that "I, Frankenstein" DB? Most of the reviews I've read have been absolutely scathing.

Tonite: "My Bloody Valentine" (1981)
A small town's Valentine's Day celebration is marred by a wackjob in a miner's outfit with an axe to grind. An above average 80s slasher with a bigger mean streak than many of its contemporaries.

I initially wanted to see "I, Frankenstein" because Aaron Eckhart looks exactly like Ted Danson, and I thought Ted Danson was playing Frankenstein, and I would pay very good money to see Becker in such a role. Alas.

TNA Impact

Fat Freddy wrote:

How was that "I, Frankenstein" DB? Most of the reviews I've read have been absolutely scathing.

Tonite: "My Bloody Valentine" (1981)
A small town's Valentine's Day celebration is marred by a wackjob in a miner's outfit with an axe to grind. An above average 80s slasher with a bigger mean streak than many of its contemporaries.

It wasn't too bad. Decent fantasy/action film. Not an academy award winner by any means, but it wasn't a total waste of time.

Been watching:

Red Dwarf
Green Acres

Pawn Stars

MLP FiM
Law & Order Criminal Intent

This will be long. Been gone awhile for several reasons, have watched quite a bit of stuff:

-Silver Linings Playbook: by far the best romantic comedy of the 21st century so far. I haven't felt that sort of connection to a love story since I was a kid. Very old fashioned feel to it, sort of reminds me of Billy Wilder's work in different ways. Loved it, planning on owning it (which says a lot). Speaking of Russell...

-American Hustle. Russell, like Alexander Payne, really knows how to manage consistency. While I can't say it's as great as SLP, it's still a zippy watch with solid-as-F*ck characters. The period detail and music is a big plus, and holy shit is that Hawkeye actually ACTING as Mayor Carmine? I can't believe he's actually got chops! The only downside, if one wants to call it that, is the somewhat dense plot, but it's really not much to complain about since it really does take a back seat to character creation. A f*ckin' plus.

-Firefly/Serenity: decided to binge on the entirety of the greatest short-lived franchise of sci-fi. What's interesting here is my introduction to Firefly, and Whedon in general, was the Serenity film when it came out (I had nothing but hate in my heart for Joss due to not knowing his work beyond Alien Resurrection, and that was before I actually read his awesome yet studio-plundered script). I simply adored Serenity so then caught up with the Firefly episodes. It was really a pleasure to digest it all in two sittings, and funnily enough I find the show to be a mite better than the film. Truly a universe I hope he goes back to exploring after his stint with Marvel. Also, Nathan Fillion is the greatest American actor working today. Speaking of Fillion and Whedon...

-Much Ado About Nothing. One of my favorite Shakespeare plays (and my favorite reading to participate in) doesn't quite hit the mark that Branagh had set, but it comes close. I should be clear here that I'm not a fan of Shakespeare's works placed in a modern setting for a plethora of reasons. However, Whedon's company does an enjoyably plausible job of transcending the contemporary backdrop. Fillion is much better than Keaton at playing Dogberry, and Amy Acker actually kicks Emma Thompson's ass as Beatrice. Happy to see Firefly's Sean Maher play opposite to type as Don John, and some subtly sly references to some of the more awkward dialogue such as a "negro" reference and a weirdly non sequitur line in Borachio's arrest. Overall, very funny and feel-good.

-Pain & Gain: good shit, a Michael Bay movie I actually enjoyed! No joke, this is the only movie of his that actually WORKS. It's an incredibly true story about three truly stupid macho bodybuilders in mid-90's Florida who pull a heist-torture-attempted murder-scam-murder and just blow it at every move. The three principles are hilarious, and the whole movie is one hyperviolent riot. I can't believe I'm saying this about a Bay flick, but I recommend. It just goes to show that less is more with this guy.

-Lifepod: anyone remember this? Made-for-TV sci-fi based on Hitchcock's Lifeboat, directed by lead actor Ron Silver (RIP). Several people stranded on a lifepod in space, one of them is a killer. Though the twist is already obvious from the start (especially if you've seen Lifeboat), and some of the characters are pretty dense at times, the set design is winning along with the moderate-to-strong acting, and I can't help but love how nasty and full of contempt these people are for a TV movie. The script, which has some strong moments, was an early co-write for director Jay Roach (of Austin Powers fame).

^^ I've seen "Lifepod," it's on a DVD collection of cheesy sci-fi movies I picked up awhile ago. Pretty good from what I remember.

Fat Freddy wrote:

^^ I've seen "Lifepod," it's on a DVD collection of cheesy sci-fi movies I picked up awhile ago. Pretty good from what I remember.

You know, now that I think about it, I think I mentioned it way back when I first came on board. Oh well. Yeah it's one of my favorite network TV movies. Just grim and nihilistic.

corplhicks wrote:

Fat Freddy wrote:

^^ I've seen "Lifepod," it's on a DVD collection of cheesy sci-fi movies I picked up awhile ago. Pretty good from what I remember.

You know, now that I think about it, I think I mentioned it way back when I first came on board. Oh well. Yeah it's one of my favorite network TV movies. Just grim and nihilistic.

You know what other short-lived TV series is pretty grim and nihilistic?  Max Headroom on ABC.  And it foretold the explosion of TV channels and how they'd all do anything to get ratings.  I have the series on DVD.  Keep in mind this is from the late 80s.

tohostudios wrote:

corplhicks wrote:

Fat Freddy wrote:

^^ I've seen "Lifepod," it's on a DVD collection of cheesy sci-fi movies I picked up awhile ago. Pretty good from what I remember.

You know, now that I think about it, I think I mentioned it way back when I first came on board. Oh well. Yeah it's one of my favorite network TV movies. Just grim and nihilistic.

You know what other short-lived TV series is pretty grim and nihilistic?  Max Headroom on ABC.  And it foretold the explosion of TV channels and how they'd all do anything to get ratings.  I have the series on DVD.  Keep in mind this is from the late 80s.

YES. I had to sneak that one in and it messed with me so bad. I'll never forget the blood farming episode.

That show was so far ahead of its time IMO.  And a lot of the stuff they forecasted we take as "normal" today.  The word "visionary" comes to mind.

Mob City - this mobster series by awesome director Frank Darabont (the Green Mile, Shawshank Redemption) is just fun to watch! I just watched the pilot and it got me hooked! The series was unfortunately cancelled after just 6 episodes, but I'm betting they won't disappoint.

tohostudios wrote:

corplhicks wrote:

Fat Freddy wrote:

^^ I've seen "Lifepod," it's on a DVD collection of cheesy sci-fi movies I picked up awhile ago. Pretty good from what I remember.

You know, now that I think about it, I think I mentioned it way back when I first came on board. Oh well. Yeah it's one of my favorite network TV movies. Just grim and nihilistic.

You know what other short-lived TV series is pretty grim and nihilistic?  Max Headroom on ABC.  And it foretold the explosion of TV channels and how they'd all do anything to get ratings.  I have the series on DVD.  Keep in mind this is from the late 80s.

I always found Max Headroom extremely annoying back then so I never had any desire to watch that show. Maybe one of these days I'll catch it to see what I missed.

007 wrote:

tohostudios wrote:

corplhicks wrote:

Fat Freddy wrote:

^^ I've seen "Lifepod," it's on a DVD collection of cheesy sci-fi movies I picked up awhile ago. Pretty good from what I remember.

You know, now that I think about it, I think I mentioned it way back when I first came on board. Oh well. Yeah it's one of my favorite network TV movies. Just grim and nihilistic.

You know what other short-lived TV series is pretty grim and nihilistic?  Max Headroom on ABC.  And it foretold the explosion of TV channels and how they'd all do anything to get ratings.  I have the series on DVD.  Keep in mind this is from the late 80s.

I always found Max Headroom extremely annoying back then so I never had any desire to watch that show. Maybe one of these days I'll catch it to see what I missed.

I just remember the Coke commercials.

Watching World's Deadliest on National Geographic Wild. Nothing like watching wild animals maul people.

DallasBlack wrote:

Nothing like watching wild animals maul people.

It could be something like this :

Goldfinger (1964) : one of the better James Bond flicks (Connery's third appearance as Bond) that serves as a "template" for future films to come-the gadgets,the villains cool henchman,the car, etc. And who can forget the image of a nude Shirley Eaton painted gold laying on the bed deceased? Tons of fun.I can watch these flicks over and over.

24

Hard to believe that Goldfinger is 50 years old this year. It still holds up extremely well.

Smackdown

Snapped

Continuum

Jeeves and Wooster - Season 3