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

"The Twisters" (2024)

A bickering brother-and-sister pair of meteorologists must figure out how to stop a massive cluster of tornadoes from merging into a gigantic Mega-Nado with the potential to wipe out the entire Midwest and kill millions of people.
In case the title didn't give it away, this is The Asylum's cheese-and-crackers knock-off of this year's big summer blockbuster, "Twisters" (notice the "The" in the title, kids -- totally different movie!). As usual, it's full of gibberish pseudo-scientific dialogue, Z-list stunt casting ('80s pop tart Tiffany slums it for a quick paycheck as a buttoned-down military scientist) and cheap CGI effects (which are sweetened with actual stock footage of real storms and their resulting damage). This one's about average for the Asylum; your mileage may vary depending on your tolerance for their brand of schlock. They've done better, but they've also done far worse.

The X Files

AEW Rampage

"Knock Off" (1998)

This chaotic action comedy takes place in Hong Kong on the eve of its handover from British rule to the Chinese. Jean Claude van Damme and Rob "SNL" Schneider (talk about a dream team!) are a pair of dim bulb fashion importers who uncover a Russian terrorist plot to plant tiny bombs in counterfeit goods destined to be shipped to the USA.
If that sounds random, it is. The movie hits the ground running without taking the time to explain who any the characters are or why they're doing what they're doing. After a while I gave up trying to follow the utterly gibberish plot and just watched people punch each other while stuff crashed and exploded. Complete nonsense, a definite low point for JCVD.

"Back In Time" (2015)

A cool documentary about the enduring legacy of "Back to the Future" trilogy, which has amassed a large, loyal fan base that continues to grow, hold conventions, build their own DeLorean time machines, and more. Lots of cool behind the scenes footage and interviews with fans as well as cast members like Michael J. Fox, Lea Thompson, Christopher Lloyd, and director Robert Zemeckis. Watching this made me want to revisit the BTTF movies, it's been a while since I've seen them.

It Came From Aquarius. A documentary about the famous SF record store.

"Warrior of the Lost World" (1983)

In the post-apocalyptic future, a lone biker (Robert "The Exterminator" Ginty, rockin' a Chuck Norris beard) joins a resistance movement planning to overthrow the fascist new government, "The Omega" by eliminating its leader (Donald Pleasance).
A terribly slow moving Italian "Mad Max" wanna be with a couple of familiar faces to keep it somewhat interesting. Skip it unless you need to see every spaghetti knock-off flick ever made.

Took my old man last night to see:

Alien Romulus

The first 3rd - half of the movie is pretty solid.  A near return to form of sorts after the clunkers that were Prometheus and Alien Covenant. The backend of the movie...  ooof.  It utterly falls off a cliff.
The acting is serviceable for the most part, but mostly unexceptional (props to the actor that plays Andy, though, as he does a great job).  The film is too reliant on memberberries (member the pulse rifle? member Ash? member the most famous line from Aliens?). The characters are mostly cardboard cut-outs, and I found little reason to care what happened to them.

It's better than Alien Resurrection, Prometheus, and Alien Covenant.  Is it better than Alien 3?  Debatable...  While Alien 3 has its share of issues, it still had Sigourney Weaver.  There is no actor in Romulus that comes anywhere close to her talent level.

Only Murders In The Building

"Atomic Blonde" (2017)

In the waning days of the Cold War, a lady super spy (Charlize Theron) is sent into East Berlin to track down a defector with important information before the Russians find him first. Charlize kicks a TON of bad-guy ass in this very cool, action packed, stylish '80s period piece that features amazing stunt work and a great soundtrack of '80s Euro-pop including New Order, David Bowie, Peter Schilling, and Nena.

It's a little early for the annual Halloween Horror Hootenanny, but when this turned up on Tubi I couldn't resist:

"Halloween" (2018)

After 40 years, a PTSD-stricken Laurie Strode finally gets her chance at revenge on Michael Myers when he escapes from the asylum and begins a new Halloween night killing spree in Haddonfield.
Blumhouse's 2018 "reboot" erases everything from the series continuity except for the 1978 O.G., and it does a pretty nice job of picking up where Carpenter's film left off, with plenty of creepy October atmosphere and some impressive bits of ultra-violence. Unfortunately, the two follow ups that complete this trilogy, Halloween Kills and Halloween Ends, were pretty much both total poop. Oh well. At this time of year, you're almost required by law to watch at least one Halloween flick; Lord knows you can certainly do a lot worse than this one.

Smackdown
AEW Rampage
The X Files

The Jeffersons

Episode 1 of Nothin' But A Good Time.

Monday Night Raw
NXT

Been watching season 2 of From to get geared up for the season 3 premiere on Sunday

"Ready Or Not" (2017)

On the night of her wedding into an uber-wealthy family, a bride (Samara Weaving) finds herself on the run from her new in-laws, who are suddenly trying to kill her in order to fulfill a family prophecy. A sharp, black-as-coal ultra-violent horror comedy that finds just the right balance between laughs and carnage. Sick, twisted, and lots of fun!

Finished the second season of From

Smackdown
AEW Rampage
The X Files

Episodes of Becker

From season 3 premiere

Agatha All Along series premiere

Only Murders In The Building

"Special Mission Lady Chaplin" (1966)

Third and final film in the series of Spanish/Italian 007 knock-offs starring American bit player Ken Clark as super spy Dirk Malloy, aka "agent 077" (eye roll), who's on the trail of a payload of nuclear missiles stolen from a sunken U.S. submarine. Former Bond babe Daniela Bianchi of "From Russia With Love" fame is the title villainess, a fashion designer who also dabbles in illegal arms dealing on the side.
Most of these Sixties "Euro-spy" Bond wanna-be's suck, but this is one of the better ones. Cheesy but enjoyable low budget cloak-and-dagger junk.

Deadly Blessing (1981)



After the mysterious death of her husband, a widow becomes increasingly suspicious of the neighboring religious Amish-like community, who wants the land to be returned to them. Add in her 2 visiting friends, and soon the body count starts to increase. This Wes Craven directed slasher is pretty good, albeit rather bloodless, with an excellent cast, including Ernest Borgnine and a really young Sharon Stone (part of the trio of eye candy friends) and also heavy with many familiar 80s television actors. Somehow I missed this over the years but am glad to finally catch it.

"The Taking of Pelham One Two Three" (1974)

An armed gang of criminals (led by the great Robert Shaw) take over a New York City subway train, threatening to kill the hostages unless they're given a $1 million ransom (that kind of money went a lot farther in 1974, haha). A Transit Police officer (Walter Matthau) and his team race against time to save the kidnapped passengers.
This is one of the great '70s thriller films, it hits the ground running and never lets up. The 1970s New York location shots are a real time capsule, too. An excellent film all around. It was remade in the early 2000s with Denzel Washington and John Travolta, but the O.G. is definitely the better pick.

"The Omega Code" (1999)

A journalist (Casper van Dien) covering the rise of a billionaire (Michael York) to global prominence soon realizes that the man is using a secret code hidden in the Bible for nefarious purposes in order to gain power and take over the world. Hmmm, could he beeeee.... SATAN?
Tedious Christian prophecy nonsense disguised as an action thriller. This flick was funded by televangelist Paul Crouch and his Trinity Broadcasting TV network. They obviously put some work into Omega Code - it's a nice looking movie, with plenty of exotic foreign locations, and the always welcome Michael Ironside appears as a murderous heavy, but the movie is mostly a pointless slog. But hey, at least there's no Kirk Cameron in this one.
Followed in 2001 by a sequel "Megiddo: Omega Code 2," which I will probably watch soon because I'm a glutton for punishment.

Scream (1981)



A group of friends on a rafting trip down a river decide to stop and spend the night at a ghost town. Not long after dark, three of the rafters are murdered. The group waits until sunrise to leave but finds their rafts missing. Over 30 miles from the nearest ranch, they decide to wait out until help arrives, leading to more trouble. That's pretty much the plot right there. A rather tedious movie, with the kills pretty much all off camera and not much in the way of explanations in what is going on.