TODAY I WATCHED... (Movies, TV, etc.) 2023

New Year, new thread.

What have you watched lately? Movies, TV shows, documentaries, porn, whatever.

P.S. we used to have a separate "What SPORTS did you watch today?" thread but it barely got any action so from here on, if you watched a game, you can tell us about it here.

"Ramones: The True Story" (2005)

The Ramones' early history (from their formation up to 1981's Pleasant Dreams album) is examined in this cheap looking documentary consisting of vintage live footage and commentary from original drummer Tommy Ramone, former road manager Monte Melnick, art director Arturo Vega, and CBGB owner Hilly Kristal. There's not much here that long time fans won't already know but it's an entertaining trip down memory lane, made especially poignant now that Tommy, Arturo, and Hilly are also gone.

The Rainbow. Documentary on the legendary LA club.

The Black Phone (2022)



In this supernatural thriller, a young teen is captured by a child abductor/murderer known as the Grabber. He soon discovers that he can communicate with the Grabbers former victims through a disconnected wall phone. Meanwhile, his younger sister, who also has psychic abilities, tries to locate her brother through her dreams. A really good film, based on a story by Joe Hill.

nevermore wrote:

The Rainbow. Documentary on the legendary LA club.

Is that on a streaming platform? I'd love to see it. Was lucky enough to have lunch there once about 12 years ago. We sat at the Dio booth and it was really freakin surreal sitting there knowing the bands that have passed thru those doors.

Been watching The Office for a couple hours.

Wrecked Neck wrote:

nevermore wrote:

The Rainbow. Documentary on the legendary LA club.

Is that on a streaming platform? I'd love to see it. Was lucky enough to have lunch there once about 12 years ago. We sat at the Dio booth and it was really freakin surreal sitting there knowing the bands that have passed thru those doors.

It's on YouTube.

"We're Not Even Supposed to Be Here Today: 3 Decades of Clerks" (2022)

Behind the scenes doc about the surprisingly deep history of  Kevin Smith's slacker trilogy, with Smith and most of the major players sharing memories of making the films.
This is apparently a bonus feature on the Blu-Ray of "Clerks III," which I have yet to see, but since somebody uploaded the doc to YouTube, I couldn't resist.

"Snowball Effect: The Story of Clerks" (2004)

More behind-the-scenes fun with Kevin Smith and the gang as they recount the long and difficult road to making the original "Clerks" in 1994. Originally a bonus feature on the 10th anniversary Clerks DVD. I've heard most of these stories before but I could listen to Kev tell them all day.

"Gas" (1981)

In this badly dated energy-crisis era comedy, an oil tycoon starts hoarding a city's gasoline supply in order to drive up gas prices, which leads to all kinds of slap-sticky chaos amongst its citizens. Donald Sutherland (who should've known better) is a radio DJ who comments on the events from above in the station's traffic copter.
This movie clearly wishes it was Airplane! --  it's constantly throwing random gags at the wall in hopes that something will stick, but not much does. Cars crash, people slap each other, things explode, Asian dudes use comical accents, fat guys do bad Three Stooges impressions, etc., etc. It's like watching a class full of ADHD kids trying to put on a show.
I was 11 years old when this was made; if I'd seen it back then I probably would've laughed my ass off, but now I spent most of the run time rolling my eyes or checking my watch.
My first "AVOID!" rating of 2023!

Went down a YouTube rabbit hole last night and watched some cool classic comic book documentaries:

"Secret Origin: The Story of DC Comics" (2010)

Ryan Reynolds narrates this documentary about the long, mostly proud, sometimes strange history of DC Comics, from its humble roots in the shady pulp-magazine industry of the '30s to the multi-media powerhouse it has become today. Lots of amazing artwork, vintage film clips, and commentaries from comics pros past and present. Tons of fun for comic nerds.

"Jack Kirby: Storyteller" (2005)

Engrossing hour-long doc (originally included on the 2005 Fantastic Four movie DVD as a bonus feature) on Jack "King" Kirby, the co-architect of the Marvel Universe whose instantly recognizable drawing style changed comics forever. More cool nerd stuff.

Wrongfully Accused (1998)



The late, great Leslie Neilsen stars as a concert violinist accused and convicted of a murder he didn't commit and is able to escape and go on the run to prove his innocence. Richard Crenna plays the marshal chasing after him. Much in the vein of Airplane (though pales in comparison) with puns, sight gags and movie parodies galore. Somewhat dated, but I still enjoyed it.

This is one of those obscure late 1980s action/war hybrid movies.

Its plot is somewhat reminiscent of Deadly Prey, quite possibly the most unintentionally funny action/war hybrid movie of the late 1980s, in the sense that we have a student vs. a teacher who is an army sergeant as the main plot point. This movie is more competently made than Deadly Prey, but it's not really unintentionally funny like Deadly Prey is.

Episodes of Frazier and Married With Children.

"Sheena" (1984)

Orphaned in the African jungle when her parents die in a cave-in, a young girl is adopted by the Zambouli tribe and grows up to become Sheena (Tanya Roberts), the protector of their land. Sheena crosses paths with a dorky TV news reporter on assignment from New York, and together they have to stop an illegal mining operation on the tribe's sacred mountain. Soooo, yeah basically this is "Tarzan" in a bikini.
This notorious box office flop, based on the 1930s comic strip, is a very nice looking movie - it was filmed on location in Kenya on what was clearly a fairly large budget -- but it's dreadfully slow moving, with not much action till the last half hour. It's still worth sitting through for the gorgeous African scenery and of course, the eye candy. Tanya Roberts is captured here at her absolute peak of hottie perfection so she looks great in Sheena's plain brown wrapper, but God rest her, she never could act worth a damn.
A textbook example of a "so bad it's good" movie.

Episodes of Married With Children.

Carnival of Souls(1962)-after surviving a near fatal car accident a young woman takes a job in a new town as a church organist.  She suddenly becomes drawn to an abandoned carnival outside of town.  She also begins seeing a ghoulish man who seemingly following her around.  A pretty creepy and atmospheric film at times, although it can be a little dull in places and the acting is a little uneven.  Still, it's considered a horror classic by many and is said to have influenced other movies. There was a remake of this from the late 90s that I've seen, but I don't remember much about it. 2.5/5

Housebound (2014)



A girl is arrested after a robbery attempt and is assigned to house arrest at her estranged mother's house. The mom claims that the house is haunted, with strange noises, things moving, etc. The girl is at first skeptical until she starts to experience unexplained occurrences herself. The girl's probation officer, also an amateur paranormal investigator, lends his hand in getting to the bottom of what's going on in the house. They soon discover a bigger mystery than they had expected. This horror comedy from New Zealand is a very good film and keeps you interested to the very end.

"Sausage Party" (2016)

In this extremely adult animated comedy set in a supermarket, a humble, naive sausage (Seth Rogen) learns the terrible truth about what happens to food when it's purchased and taken out of the store into the "real" world. His efforts to warn the rest of his edible brethren of the danger leads to a revolt against the store's unlucky customers and lots of foul-mouthed animated mayhem. The impressive voice cast makes the most of the movie's one-joke premise. "Sausage Party" is dumb as hell, but it's also quite hilarious in a twisted way. Obviously it is NOT a cartoon for the kiddies!

The first 2 episodes of season 2 of Hunters on Amazon Prime

Episodes of Taxi

scottmitchell74 wrote:

Now THAT I have to see.

"The Blob" (1988)

High school students Kevin Dillon (sporting an epic mullet) and Shawnee Smith (later of "Saw") battle a carnivorous hunk of space goo that drops into their small Colorado town on a meteor.
Some of the rear-projection special effects have aged terribly, but aside from that this action-packed update of the 50s classic, directed by Chuck Russell ("Nightmare On Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors") and scripted by Frank "The Shawshank Redemption" Darabont, ranks as one of the better remakes of the era.

"Leonard Part 6" (1987)

A retired CIA super-spy (Bill Cosby) is called back to active duty to stop a vegetarian villainess who's training ordinary animals to become savage killers.
Cosby was at the peak of his TV sitcom powers when he made this painfully unfunny spy spoof, but he must have left his comic mojo on the small screen, because this train wreck didn't even make me laugh once.
"Cos" co-wrote and produced this notorious box office flop, then spent years trying to live it down. Simply awful.

"Terminal Exposure" (1987)

While taking photographs of girls on the beach, two Southern California slackers inadvertently capture a murder on film. When they try to unravel the mystery themselves, they befriend a stripper, narrowly avoid getting rubbed out by an inept hit man, and tangle with a bunch of mobsters looking for half a million dollars in stolen cash.
A silly but watchable "B" grade mystery/comedy that gets by mainly on the charms of its leading lady, former Playmate Hope Marie Carlton, and a healthy amount of T&A. Besides, after sitting through "Leonard Part 6," this one looked like solid gold.

Fat Freddy wrote:

"Leonard Part 6" (1987)

A retired CIA super-spy (Bill Cosby) is called back to active duty to stop a vegetarian villainess who's training ordinary animals to become savage killers.
Cosby was at the peak of his TV sitcom powers when he made this painfully unfunny spy spoof, but he must have left his comic mojo on the small screen, because this train wreck didn't even make me laugh once.
"Cos" co-wrote and produced this notorious box office flop, then spent years trying to live it down. Simply awful.

Look at the bright side, Cosby will never let his audience down this way ever again...right?

Required Fields wrote:

Look at the bright side, Cosby will never let his audience down this way ever again...right?

Bill showed more regret over this movie than he ever did over the sexual assault charges...