TODAY I WATCHED... (Movies, TV) 2021

I watched the new episode of Family Guy tonight.

Over the weekend I found out that TUBI (free streaming channel) has the original "Battlestar Galactica" TV series from 1978, which was my absolute favorite show as a kid, so I'm going down memory lane.

I'm almost done with the original three-part pilot film (which was eventually edited down to a two hour movie for theatrical release) and while it hasn't aged as well as it's obvious inspiration "Star Wars," it's still tons of cheesy laser blastin' fun.

If memory serves, after the initial "epic" film, the quality of episodes took a pretty big dive, but I'll probably sit through them all anyway. My inner 9 year old is very happy right now.

The Walking Dead

Yesterday, 'School of Rock' and one episode of Incredible Hulk (season 4) and Friends (season 1)

Today 'Juno'

Two more episodes of "Battlestar Galactica 1978," the "Lost Planet of the Gods" saga

Finished Ken Burns' "Prohibition" documentary this morning on the elliptical. Things I learned from this doc:

- Federal income tax is directly attributable to prohibition passing. The government needed to recoup all the money they lost on liquor taxes and some bureaucratic genius came up with the income tax idea

- While generally thought of as a radical conservative movement, prohibition actually began as a concept of progressive liberals

- Al "Scarface" Capone rose to power mainly by buying up distilleries and breweries during prohibition and buying off all the politicians and police to "look the other way".

- Women played an enormous role in finally getting Amendment 18 repealed. A wealthy, New York socialite founded an organization for women who were against prohibition. This group eventually grew to include over 1 million women across the country which added significant pressure to getting the amendment repealed.


In summary, yet another fascinating docu-movie by Ken Burns; nobody can touch this guy for making fascinating documentaries.

Started the 4th season of Banshee

Godzilla Vs Kong (2021)



In this much anticipated film by kaiju fans, the two titans square off to see who exactly is the alpha monster, with the fate of the world possibly hanging in the balance. Some returning characters, along with new faces, attempt to find a way to halt the wanton destruction. Plenty of monster action and great visual effects (the battle in Hong Kong is fantastic), but unfortunately, its rather predictable.

Aliens (1986)



57 years after expelling the dangerous xenomorph into the void of space, Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) is asked by her company to return to the planet where her doomed ship first encountered the xenomorph, in an attempt to discover what had happened to a colony set in place while she was lost in space. Naturally, something horrible did happen and Ripley and the Marines she arrives with are in for the fight of their lives. Excellent action packed film and the last in the Alien franchise worth watching,as far as I'm concerned.

Yesterday watched 'Footloose' the 1984 original, and episode of season 1 of 'Friends' and season 4 of 'The Incredible Hulk'

Now that I finished the Ken Burns' doc it's time to start a new marathon series while I'm on the elliptical.  Today I decided to start watching all 5 seasons of The Twilight Zone.  I've done this once before but with so many episodes it's almost impossible to recall them all.

The very first episode was "Where Is Everybody?" which I very vaguely remembered.  I sort of remembered what the twist at the end is but it was still a fun watch because I didn't remember it well enough.  

I think what I really enjoy about this series is the way each episode develops its characters before getting to the final "punch line".  The classic "To Serve Man" is a prime example.  It's basically a one-trick pony with the trick coming at the very end but the way it builds to that point is classic filmmaking.  And most of these episodes do that.

Godzilla Vs Kong

tohostudios wrote:

Now that I finished the Ken Burns' doc it's time to start a new marathon series while I'm on the elliptical.  Today I decided to start watching all 5 seasons of The Twilight Zone.  I've done this once before but with so many episodes it's almost impossible to recall them all.

The very first episode was "Where Is Everybody?" which I very vaguely remembered.  I sort of remembered what the twist at the end is but it was still a fun watch because I didn't remember it well enough.  

I think what I really enjoy about this series is the way each episode develops its characters before getting to the final "punch line".  The classic "To Serve Man" is a prime example.  It's basically a one-trick pony with the trick coming at the very end but the way it builds to that point is classic filmmaking.  And most of these episodes do that.

I recently watched a ton of those episodes too. It's odd that the hour long episodes from season 4 are not on Netflix or Prime.

I think the hour long episodes are the series low points. Stretching the "punch line" out over 60 minutes is just too drawn out.

Mallrats

Godzilla vs Kong

"Freaky" (2020)

In a horrific twist on the old "Freaky Friday" formula, a nerdy high school girl (Katherine Newton) swaps bodies with a serial killer (Vince Vaughn) thanks to an ancient dagger with magical properties. Now she's only got 24 hours to switch them back before she's stuck in the killer's body forever.
A fast-moving, fun horror comedy from Blumhouse that works mainly due to the performances of its two leads -- Vaughn is a hoot when he's "playing" the teenage heroine --  and there's some legit moments of slasher-movie carnage too. A decent time waster for a quiet Sunday afternoon.

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
and one episode from Friends season one and the Incredible Hulk season 4

Finished up the Banshee series

These early Twilight Zone episodes always end with Rod Serling telling us what the next episode is about so I know that today on the elliptical I'll be seeing the classic "Time Enough At Last" starring Burgess Meredith.  One that has always bothered me about this episode though.  At the end, why doesn't he just wander around raiding optometry shops until he finds glasses that work for him? Or even walk into people's homes looking for a pair. As someone with extremely poor eyesight I know that any correction that's even close to my prescription is better than nothing.

Walker

Paranormal Caught On Camera

Detroit Rock City

Bring Me the Head of Charlie Brown.

"Clerks II" (2006)

After a fire claims the Quick Stop, Dante and Randall find equally soul crushing minimum wage jobs at a fast food joint. Dante's about to get married and move to Florida, so Randall plans a send off for his buddy which (naturally) spirals out of control. (Two words: "Donkey Show.")
Kevin Smith's gleefully vulgar sequel to his 1994 indie classic features the same rapid fire, profane gags and dialogue yet it still manages to have a sweet side. It's not as gut bustingly hilarious as the original (of course) but it's still a ton of filthy fun.

I've seen the original Clerks many times (I own it on DVD) and it's still hilarious but it will never be as gut-bustingly, can't-catch-your-breath funny as the very first time I saw it. So many quotable (and a lot of relatable) lines in it. I never gave the sequel a shot because I figured I'd surely be disappointed.