TODAY I WATCHED (Movies, TV Shows) 2020

The penultimate episode of Supernatural

Binge-watched 3 episodes of Star Trek Discovery last night. I stumbled across this show a couple weeks ago and was impressed enough by the 30 minutes I saw that I decided to investigate further. I'm digging it.

Big Bang Theory

The Mandalorian season 2, episode 3

"Rush: The Rise of Kings" (2014)

British documentary on the legendary Canadian rock trio traces their formative years in late 60s Toronto to their mainstream breakthrough in the early 80s. Like most of these "unofficial" music docs, this flick is about a 50/50 mix of public-domain interview and performance footage (much of it coming from the archives of MuchMusic, the Canadian equivalent of MTV), and present-day commentary by the usual group of English music journalists you always see in these things.
Occasionally interesting, but obviously the far superior "Beyond the Lighted Stage" is the better Rush doc.

"Pixels" (2015)

Aliens invade Earth by taking the form of classic video game characters (don't ask), so the President (Kevin James) reunites his old childhood gang of arcade-game experts (Adam Sandler, Josh Gad, Peter Dinklage) in order to save the world.
If memory serves, this movie racked up quite a few Razzie Awards back when it was released, but I actually enjoyed it, despite the presence of Josh Gad (who I find immensely irritating). This is a fun mash up of "Ghostbusters," "Wreck It Ralph," and "Independence Day," with impressive special effects and a lot of fun gags. Underrated.

Batman: Hush

"Chris Claremont's X-Men" (2018)

Documentary about the writer who took over the under-performing X-Men comic series in the mid 70s, when it was on the verge of being cancelled, and turned it into one of Marvel's cornerstone titles over the next fifteen years. A cheap looking, but enlightening look behind-the-scenes at a major figure in comic book history.

Watched the latest episode of Star Trek Discovery so now I'm up to date.

Now watching Next. I will never have a "smart" anything in my home; it's bad enough I have a computer!

Binged season five of this show called 60 Days in. Based on regular people going into prisons or jails as actual convicts and agree to stay for sixty days. Only reason why I watched that particular season was because it was filmed in the Pinal County Sheriff's office prison in Florence, AZ. It's a prison I've actually made deliveries too several times, so it caught my attention. Pretty cool show for reality TV, might try and catch other seasons if they become available on Netflix.

Real Life Nightmare

A crime show centering on real unsolved cases, this last episode dealing with the disappearance of a Canadian tourist from an L.A. hotel, later to be found dead in the hotel's water supply tank on the roof.

Kolchak:The Night Stalker
Saw VI

Season 1 of Lore. It's on Amazon Prime. True stories of horror legend and folklore based on a podcast. Pretty interesting even if the narrator sounds like he's reading it in slo-mo.

Another episode of Real Life Nightmare

The series finale of Supernatural

"Cut and Run" (1985)

A lady journalist and her cameraman head into the jungles of Colombia to find a missing American, and end up caught in the middle of a battle between cocaine smugglers, a Jim Jones style religious cult leader, and hordes of angry natives in this muddled action/adventure flick from Ruggero "Cannibal Holocaust" Deodato.
"Cut and Run" has a few decent action sequences and a cast full of familiar faces (incl. Michael "The Hills Have Eyes" Berryman, Richard Lynch, Karen Black, and even Willie "Bibleman" Aames!) but due to the director's exploitation pedigree, I was expecting something much sleazier/nastier. Apparently the European cut of this film is heavier on the ultra-violence and gore; I wish I'd seen that version instead.

I watched a couple of episodes of Family Guy last night.

"Leggo My Meg-O" is a parody of Taken, with Brian and Stewie going to rescue Meg after she is abducted while in France.

"3 Acts of God" is an episode where Peter goes on a journey to find God, as he is angry at football players for thanking God every time they beat the New England Patriots, Peter's favorite football team.

The Mandalorian season 2 episode 4



Society (1989)



I've heard of this one but never saw it so I gave it a shot. A Beverly Hills teen ,always feeling different from the rest of his family, soon begins to suspect that there is something more ominous going on in this body horror film directed by Brian Yuzna. Pretty decent,if somewhat laughable, practical effects and plenty of hot 80s chicks in this one. I liked it.

I love Society. Another Brian Yuzna classic. That weird, gelatinous orgy scene and the giant hand are just too bizarre.

Watched a livestream concert of Demon Hunter last night.

"RoboCop 3" (1993)

Omni Consumer Products has been bought out by a Japanese corporation, who plan to bulldoze Old Detroit and build their gleaming new City of the Future. After RoboCop is wounded while protecting innocent citizens from OCP's mercenary "Rehab" soldiers,  he joins a street level resistance movement battling against the corporate creeps.
This third go-round is noticeably cheaper looking than the first two installments and there's a new guy in the Robo-Suit, but lots of stuff still gets shot and blown up real good, in spite of the PG-13 rating.
This flick tanked at the box office and is considered the worst of the series, but I've always enjoyed it, in a cartoonish sort of way... and it's still better than the 2014 remake.

Abbott And Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)



Universal classic that has Bud and Lou caught up in a plot where Dracula (Belated Lugosi ,in only his second time playing the Count) wants to have Lou's brain transplanted into the body of the Frankenstein monster (Glenn Strange). They're aided in their fight against Dracula by Larry Talbot, the Wolfman (Lon Chaney Jr.). I've seen this movie countless times and it never gets old. One of my all time favorites.

"Starring Adam West" (2014)

The actor looks back at the highs and lows of his long showbiz career, from the '60s "Batman" craze through the typecasting which led to some lean years afterwards, to his well deserved 21st century resurgence.

Meanwhile, behind the scenes Adam's family, friends, and fans are rallying together to nominate him for a long overdue star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

An engrossing profile of a genuinely cool cat who led an interesting life, loaded with tons of vintage clips, laugh-out-loud interviews, and photos. Lots of fun. I miss this guy!

Kolchak:The Night Stalker

Leatherface wrote:

Kolchak:The Night Stalker

I might watch that series again after I finish Gotham and watch the stockpile of movies I've accumulated. I have the whole series on DVD and haven't watched it in a long time. But I can still hear Simon Oakland yelling "Kolchak!!!!!"

I think someone should consider "re-imagining" that show; the writing was pretty good and did a fine job of straddling the line between campy comedy and mystery/horror which is not an easy feat. I bet with looser standards now then way back in the 70s a well-written revival of that show could be the next X-Files.