TODAY I WATCHED ... (TV, Movies, Sports, etc.) 2024

Onward we go into the pile of 50 cent and/or buck a pop pawn shop DVD purchases.

"10 Classic Crime Dramas: In The Shadows- Danger Death & Dames"
Disc One of Three...

"Trapped" (1949) Lloyd Bridges, Barbara Payton, and John Hoyt
A tale of a counterfeiter-vs-secret service agents playing cat and mouse trying to get possession of plates to make 20's. It was kewl to see San Francisco in that era, just after the war. Lots of twists & turns with a pretty dark ending.

"Fear In The Night" (1947) DeForest Kelley, Paul Kelly, and Robert Emmett Keane
A tale of mind manipulation & murder written with the perspective going from 1rst person narrative to that of an observer. The ending fit I suppose?. Considering how the rest of the tale was told, it made me go, "Hmm". Suppose that close to the end of WWII, a "hunky-dory" conclusion was an expectation for public consumption? For trivia minded individuals like myself, this was apparently "Dr. McCoy's" first film.

"Detour" (1945) Tom Neal, Ann Savage, and Claudia Drake
This tale is about a piano playing Barney with one of the most serious cases of buzzard luck ever. His best gal splits the east coast to hit the big time in Hollywood. He hitch hikes across the USA to reunite with blonde Betty and encounters brunette Betty with a connection to an earlier event on his trip.

"He Walked By Night" (1948) Richard Basehart, Scott Brady, and Roy Roberts
A tale based on real life events and done somewhat documentary style like the popular crime dramas on Satellite TV of today. I chuckled at the precept of bad Barney monitoring police radio to get a head's up on their activities and use it to his advantage. I did that as a pup, but only for research purposes.

So that was Disc 1 of 3 and more to come. So from a possible top rating of 5 Unicorns & Puppy Dogs, this disc gets a solid 2.5 or thereabouts. A couple of the flics near the 3 mark, but the last one had some wrinkles that even an industrial sized iron would have had issues giving remedy.

SideShowDisaSter wrote:

Road House (2024)

Jake Gyllenhaal plays an ex-UFC fighter who takes a gig as a bouncer at a bar in the Keys. Things aren't quite what they seem, and it's not long before a local rich asshat is gunning for him.

I'd classify this as more a re-imagining than a remake. It doesn't really resemble the original Patrick Swayze flick very much. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this one. UFC fighter Connor McGregor makes what I assume is his acting debut here, basically playing himself XD
Plenty of action, plenty of violence, and plenty of laughs. Not bad, if you're looking for a 2hr time sink.

Never knew about this flic. Might scope it out?

Fat Freddy wrote:

As the Sequel Trilogy comes to a close, Rey finally learns the truth about her origins

Wow, I recall watching this and totally spaced out on this little nugget of info. Who is she related to?

In the first movie with her, I figured she was the byproduct of Luke giving the old "skin-sabre" to some wench's "inner rim" while trekking the "Outer Rim".

James B. wrote:

Fat Freddy wrote:

As the Sequel Trilogy comes to a close, Rey finally learns the truth about her origins

Wow, I recall watching this and totally spaced out on this little nugget of info.  Who is she related to?

She's Emperor Palpatine's granddaughter.

...tho at the end of the movie she takes the last name "Skywalker" in honor of Luke and Leia.

"Kandyland" (1988)

Joni, a bored young beach bunny (former Playboy Playmate Kimberly Evenson) impulsively enters a bikini contest. One of her competitors is an exotic dancer (Sandahl Bergman, "Conan The Barbarian") who is impressed by Joni's moves and invites her to audition for a job at "Kandyland," the strip club she works at. Joni lands a regular gig at the club, despite her boyfriend/fiancee's disapproval of her new career choice. However, the longer Joni hangs around the Kandyland crew, the more she sees the dark side of the scene.
This strange, low budget B-movie tries to walk the line between sleazy T&A fest and gritty, heartfelt drama. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Kimberly Evenson (Miss September 1984) was my favorite Playmate ever, and she's cute as hell, though sadly she can't act worth a damn. There are a lot of other pretty girls in various states of undress as well. Therefore I was entertained.  Think of this as the missing link between "Flashdance" and "Showgirls."

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The Banana Splits In Hocus Pocus Park (1972)



A trip down nostalgia lane. We had the grand kids over and needed something to watch. I never knew this program existed until this week and figured this was a good chance to catch it. A mix of live-action and animation, the Splits attempt to rescue a young girl from a witch. Typical children's fare from the era but the kids enjoyed, so that's really all that matters.

@James

It's worth a look, IMO. I was expecting to hate it, as most remakes are atrocious and/or extremely unimaginative. I was pleasantly surprised.


Last night for me:

The Big Short

Michael Burry sifts through the numbers, and makes a call to short the housing industry. He called what came to be known as the Global Financial Crisis well in advance by doing what banks were supposed to do: actually look at the numbers and how sound the investments were.
A cast headed by Christian Bale, Ryan Gosling, and Steve Carell all turn in good performances. The movie covers the lead-up to, and the fallout from, the GFC. Banking giants got rich, the little man got shafted, and good old Uncle Sam bailed out the pricks that caused it all.

Jaws (1975)



The Spielberg classic about a huge great white shark that sets up it's hunting territory near a beach resort town, prompting it being hunted by the local sheriff, a fisherman, and an oceanographer consultant. This movie never gets old. It created quite a stir upon releases, being the highest grossest movie at the time and prompting numerous sequels and imitators.

SideShowDisaSter wrote:

@James

It's worth a look, IMO. I was expecting to hate it, as most remakes are atrocious and/or extremely unimaginative. I was pleasantly surprised.

Thanks Ben

Fat Freddy wrote:

She's Emperor Palpatine's granddaughter.

Thanks Keith

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Yesterday I watched college baseball between Georgia and Tennessee.

"Icons Unearthed: Star Wars" (2023)

Another 6-episode deep dive from VICE TV (streaming on Tubi), this time examining the history of the classic sci-fi franchise. I'm only two shows in thus far, but I'm totally nerding out on all the cool behind the scenes stories, photos, and interviews.

I had never heard of this series till I stumbled across the Simpsons one a week or so ago, but they apparently have several more "seasons" which delve into other famous franchises like James Bond, Marvel Comics, and Batman. Sounds cool, I'm hooked!

It Came From Outer Space (1953)



An amateur astronomer and his fiance witness a "meteorite" crash in the desert. Upon investigating, it's discovered that its really a spaceship, which is subsequently buried in a cave in. Reporting it to the authorities though proves fruitless, as the claims are met with skepticism and ridicule. Soon however, the truth is revealed, and it would appear that the aliens aren't quite belligerent as they often were in movies from the era. Good stuff

Taxi Driver (1976)



Suffering from insomnia, a mentally disturbed Vietnam vet (Robert De Niro) takes a job as a night time cab driver, becoming slowly further away from reality as he dreams of cleaning up the filthy streets. Thinking he can save the world, he comes up with some plans to save the world and rescue a 12 year old prostitute (Jodie Foster). A very good movie that garnered something like 4 Academy Award nominations.

Episodes of Taxi.

Last night:

The Gray Man

Ryan Gosling is a "plausible deniability" government operative. His head is put in the crosshairs after he is given some incriminating evidence on some powerful individuals. Chris Evans, Billy Bob Thornton, and Ana de Armas also star.
Gosling is solid, as always. Ana de Armas is easy on the eyes, and plays a good part. Billy Bob is also good value, as usual. I found Chris Evans to be... average. The guy just has no screen presence, IMO. He's not bad as an actor, but he just doesn't have the "it" factor to him.
Outside of that gripe, the movie is a solid bit of action and violence. Fun way to spend to 2 hours.

Abbott And Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)



The comedy duo as 2 porters that got caught up in a plot by Dracula (Bela Lugosi) to put the dim witted Costello's brain in the body of the Frankenstein monster (Glenn Strange) to make it easier to control. Aiding the duo is Larry Talbot, the Wolf Man (Lon Chaney Jr.). Classic horror comedy fun.

"Plastic Galaxy: The Story of Star Wars Toys" (2014)

In 1977 a small toy company called Kenner took a chance on the license for a new, upcoming science fiction movie called "Star Wars" that all of the big toy makers had passed on. When the movie became a phenomenon, Kenner suddenly became a major industry player overnight. A fun documentary featuring cool vintage clips and interviews with former Kenner employees as well as diehard toy collectors and fans. Guaranteed to bring back memories for children of the 70s and 80s.

The Church (1989)



In medieval times, a band of Teutonic Knights massacre a village of devil worshippers and bury them in a mass grave, followed by constructing a church of the grave to contain the evil within. In the present day, the church's new librarian and an artist hired to restore the church's frescoes, discover a parchment that leads them to accidentally unleash the evil lurking below and eventually trapping them and numerous other people inside, leading to the expected mayhem. A typical Italian horror film brought to us by Dario Argento, with the awkward dialogue, cheap gore and strange plot points.

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"Phenomena" (aka "Creepers," 1985)

An American girl (teenaged Jennifer Connelly) arrives at an exclusive private girls' school in Switzerland and soon learns that several of her classmates have been brutally murdered. Fortunately she has a psychic power that allows her to speak to and control insects, which comes in handy as she helps a criminologist (Donald Pleasance) track the murderer.
This truly odd mix of giallo murder mystery and straight up slasher horror from Spaghetti splatter icon Dario Argento is a very nice looking movie, but it's about as cohesive as a bag full of marbles, with typically Italian wooden acting, awkward dialogue, and random plot twists.
It's not one of Unca Dario's better movies, but it is weirdly watchable, even if I wouldn't exactly say it's "good."

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Last night:

Nefarious

A serial killer scheduled for execution claims to be possessed by a demon. A psychiatrist is brought in to interview him to determine if he's lucid and mentally fit for execution, or if he's batshit insane and a stay on said execution is issued.

The plot is nothing new, and the story beats probably won't surprise anyone. However, the sum is greater than the parts here. The acting is on point and it's paced perfectly. Sean Patrick Flanery really brings it as serial killer Edward Wayne Brady, with his twitches, laughs, crying, and overall creepiness. A really solid watch, and being only 97 minutes it doesn't overstay it's welcome with any filler and fluff.