I had no idea there was going to be one! I just found an article that says DC scrapped their idea for a movie and instead are going with a 13 episode tv show instead. Sadly it is another case of it being on their company-owned streaming service. So Disney is going to have a streaming service. DC is going to have one. What next, the HP Lovecraft streaming service? The Stars are Right and you will watch all Cthulhu for just $15 a month?

But anyway, heck yes I am interested. Batgirl is probably my favorite comic book character. She is smart, and dedicated, and still remembers to love life and just be fun. I love the whole Batgirl of Burnside era. It felt so modern and real (and so similar to what I see here in Detroit right now). I was sad to see them veer away from that recently. A lot of my Stormcrow fiction is directly inspired by Batgirl. Which is why I made the protagonist's mother a red-haired librarian named Barbara.

"BWAAAAAAAAH!!!!"



Bishme was sent home on Project Runway.

Living the Dream with the brilliant Philip Glenister (Mean Gene from Life on Mars).

Yorkshire family ups stakes to take over a "resort community" (*cough* dilapidated RV park *cough*) in Florida.

Oh, now that HAS to be funny!!!

I saw Godzilla: King of Monsters. It was good. Not great, but good. Unlike the previous 'Merican Godzilla movie, this one actually giant monsters in it, and they even fight!

There are lots of said monster battles, so if you like kaiju movies, you will be happy with this one. The 'little people' (i.e. humans) are better represented as well. But there were too many human actors in it, which sort of pulls your focus on them in too many directions. I would have not had Kyle Chandler, Vera Farminga, or Milly Bobby Brown. I hate to say that about MBB, because as Stranger Things has shown, she is an awesome actress. But she literally only does one thing in the movie. Either give her a real part, or don't waste her time and let her make a movie where she has a real role instead.

Speaking of which, Ken Watanabe is back as well, thankfully he has a bit more to do this time around. But like Millie Bobby Brown, he is criminally underused. Everything Kyle Chandler's character does, he could have done better. Which is why I would have cut Kyle Chandler. He does have one really shining scene about three quarters in which is worth it all though. No spoilers, but it is perfect for the character of Serizawa.

Speaking of which, there were a lot of homages to the original Gojira film (the purely Japanese one, not the American hack job with Aaron Burr). Ken Watanabe's scene above is a big one, really bringing things full circle from the ending of Gojira. There is also a device from that movie which makes an appearance, which I rather liked. It was completely out of left field, but it made sense, so I smiled. They even brought the music from Gojira back, which I really loved. Like the original Godzilla roar from that film, the music is powerful, iconic, and has never been equaled in a modern Godzilla film.

Gidorah really shines (or glows) as the big bad guy in this. There is an anti-christ comparison that really stands out. Where the other Titans (which is a much better term than Mutos) are creatures of Earth, they really bring home how Gidorah is alien. It is a Lovecraftian creature from Outside, imbued with Outside powers, obedient to Outside laws. It is not just intent upon conquering the Earth, but altering it to its own alien environment. It really is the end of all things. We see a bit of Mothra in this, and a bit of Rodan. Plus some glimpses and mentions of other Titans awakening around the globe. But the core of the movie is Godzilla vs. Gidorah.

Oh, and there are decapitations. Titan Decapitations!

Now watching Nemesis. A bad movie, with a lot of bad acting. But I still have a soft spot in my heart for it. At the time it came out (early 90s) cyberpunk movies were very few and far between. The entire thing has a really strong Shadowrun feel to it, which I was playing the time.

This time watching it I noticed something new. Or old. At one point Oliver Gruner's character Alex escapes from a hotel room by shooting his gun in a circle and blasting out the floor, dropping him down through the floor. It is exactly the same move that Kate Beckinsale does in Underworld. Only Nemesis was a decade earlier. So I guess this is the movie Underworld got that move from.

Finished watching Conan: The Barbarian on blu-ray. Still a fun movie after all this time! I was really struck with how quiet the fight scenes are, especially the one where they kidnap the princess, and the final battle among the barrows. There are no shouts or roars, no taunts, no quips or one liners. It is all just silent killing.

I also noted some real longswording in there, including parts where Arnold was half-swording. That was really nice.

Next up, Conan: The Destroyer. Not nearly as good a movie. But it came with the first movie.

Conan: The Barbarian was one of the first movies Khajiit bought for Blu-Ray! This one bought that and Hero with Jet Li at the same time.

The making of special for Conan is great. Arnold got his first stitches the first morning of the shoot. It was the scene where the wolves chased Conan into the tomb where he finds the Atlantean sword. He missed his step climbing up the rocks, and one of the 'wolves' (really a dog of course), bit the back of his shirt and pulled him down. That threw him into the rocks, and cut him up. Arnold got up and said "I'm bleeding!". So John Milius (the director) says "Great, don't touch it, it's great for the film!"

The whole movie is like this. It is great!

Of course that does not compare to Sandahl Bergman having a finger cut off during the Orgy fight. Thankfully it was reattached. Instead of being reassuring, Milius naturally said: "Valeria would never let that happen to her again."

Holy [censored]! Sandal lost a finger?!! Khajiit didn’t know this!

I started watching Cosmos again. Still love this show.

I watched another of the series on railways that Decrepit had linked recently, and re-discovered the London Necropolis Railway. When I lived in London, i passed the terminal regularly, and already knew about the history, but it was great to be reminded.

I thought I'd seen all three episodes this YouTube channel airs to completion. (Is three all there are?) I followed the link anyway. Glad I did. For whatever reason I stopped watching it with roughly 20m left to go. Lots of good stuff in those remaining 20m! The WWII railway disaster was especial interesting.

Otherwise I've stumbled on nothing new that jumps out and shouts, LINK ME.

Ffestiniog & Welsh Highland Railways - June 2019. A short video of heritage narrow-gauge steam trains traveling through idyllic landscapes.

Another recent video from Ffestiniog & Welsh Highland Railways.

Just finished watching Hard Boiled on blu ray. Even after all these years, that movie is still bat-s**t crazy!

Saw a movie yesterday called "Coherence". It was actually pretty good and was centered around a group of people in a house in the evening. Soon enough there was a blackout and weird things start to happen and everyone is trying to make sense of it. The movie was so good I didn't even bother to watch Family Guy which I meant to do!

Closest thing I can compare it to with regards to the underlying theme is a movie called eXistenZ. And yes, it's spelled that way

"GAAAAAAAAH!!!!"

Another good one from The History Guy: The Radium Girls and the Quest for Workplace Safety.

Ffestiniog Railway – Driver’s Eye View – Blaenau Ffestiniog to Porthmadog (Wales). An hour-long narrow-gauge steam train excursion through magnificent landscape. This is the sort of route I'd love to be able to reproduce in Transport Fever. An added bonus for me..it's filmed in the train-side view camera position I prefer to use in my TpF Scenic Excursions episodes. I'm sure some here will find this boring. Me, I eat it up.

That one brought back memories. When I rode on the Ffestiniog, it was only open up to Dduallt, because they hadn't done the Deviation yet. I was good to see the top end route, which I'd only seen on a bicycle before.

You're a lucky to have so much RL exposure to this sort of thing. Me, not so much. Born in 1951 I theoretically had a chance to witness steam in action as a lad. As luck would have it, the Cotton Belt Line that ran through our town was among the nation's first, if not THE first, to mothball its entire steam roster. I never saw a one. I did finally experience live steam in the early/mid seventies, during a brief (several days) stay in Southeast Asia early in my military career. Near the end of that career I was stationed in Japan and enjoyed traveling via their (then?) excellent rail commuter network. Lots of fun, but not steam.

Since it is 2019 - the year Bladerunner takes place - I am watching it again. This time I have The Final Cut, on 4k. The video quality is good, much better than I thought such an old movie would be after upscaling it to 4k. Of course you can still see where they used cgi. But it is not as glaring as most pre-4k movies are. In fact, the arcology shots still look really good. The scene where they first introduce Sean Young did have some visual blurriness however. Which is surprising, since there was no cg. Typically the ordinary stuff of people's faces and the like are what looks best in 4k.

The music is excellent. Vangelis, so no surprise.

I am not sure what else to say that has not already been said. It is a classic cyberpunk film. So much of it makes me think of Shadowrun. It is nice seeing it again.

2020 can't get here fast enough.

I am watching The Mist. A fun movie up until the ending. I have learned to just shut it off at that point. I liked the short story it was based on too. It is a good Weird Fiction/Horror tale. I think it falls in the Weird category because you never find out what created the mist, or where the monsters came from, or really what they are. It leaves you filled with questions and uncertainties.

This time out I am recognizing more people than ever before. Not just the leads like Thomas Jane and Andre Braugher and Lori Holden of course. Or even William Sadler or Frances Sternhagen. But this time I recognized Sam Witwer. And the guy who played The Shermanator from the American Pie movies. And Alexa Davalos. Oh, and Toby Jones (Dr. Zola!).

Spartacus.

Now I get why my beloved sidepiece DEe DEe the Gothic Loli is so inspired by all these well-oiled, muscular fighting men! The violence is so super hyper, reminiscent of 300; kinda unlearned in regards to some of the unarmed aspects but they do shine sometimes (triangle holds and flying armbars). The story is surprisingly hooking. The way they talk too is so ... archaically hilarious.

“The gods spread cheeks for further ramming!�

RIP to the first boi who played Spartacus in the first seasons tho.

The new pup has yet to prove chops of acting ability to convince heart.

This has to be the best revue of a movie I've ever seen!!!

Remove laugh from mouth and watch the show with me.

Very much agreed. For being a Stephen King movie it's really good, even though it has the classic King stereotypes like the Bible nut (who I wanted to punch in the face SO HARD). Extra fun for me is recognizing the crack shot who also played the sometimes occuring coroner in Midsomer Murders

Another railway ride-along from me. Continental rather than British, not steam. The latter matters little as we're inside the 'cab,' thus don't see any of the loco.

Driver's Eye View - Horná Štubňa to Prievidza

SubRosa mentions Bladerunner several posts ago. That's another film, in some sense akin to Brazil, I saw decades ago and was not overly impressed by. (I believe this was when you could still rent movies on Laser Disc.) I recall it's suffered a number of 'edits' during its life. Might research this 'Final Cut' and acquire it depending on the outcome. Maybe it'll totally revise my opinion, as is the case with Brazil?????

I just finished with The Hobbit trilogy. This time around I was struck by the inspiration that Tolkien obviously took from the Volsung Saga, specifically from the cursed Rhinegold therin. Or should I say, thorin?

Next up, maybe I will delve into the appendices. Or go straight to LOTR.

I watched some of the appendices for the Hobbit trilogy. Then I dove into LOTR. I just finished Fellowship. I have seen this movie a thousand times now, and even know some of the dialogue word for word. But it is still enjoyable. It is like slipping into an old comfy shirt.

I just watched the first episode of The Outpost. The acting was weak, the sets were cheap, the story derivative, and the fight scenes really poorly choreographed. In other words, I found it absolutely delightful, I can't wait to see more.

It is a fantasy adventure story. I don't know why, but I instantly got the vibe that it is like the Shannara books, in that it is set in the distant, post apocalyptic future, that turned into a fantasy world after thousands of years. But I could be completely wrong about that. I do like the world they built, it is a fun place.

I also really like the protagonist. Jessica Green has a really exotic look, with cheekbones higher than the Statue of Liberty, and eyes like blue scimitars. Her hair is an awesome array of braids. Only Senua's, from Senua's Sacrifice looked better. She is a really fun person, and I love watching her on screen.

I saw someone describe the show as a classic D&D adventure. That is spot on. The protagonist is clearly a Rogue. But it looks like she is multi-classing as a cleric or some kind of summoner. It reminds me a lot of the web series/movie Dragon Age Redemption, that Felicia Day did.

HD remastered battle scene from 'Sacrifice of Angels':

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbO2MqWPoQM

I haven't had the chance to catch the 'What We Left Behind' documentary yet, but I'm looking forward to seeing more DS9 in HD.

A most interesting video on 'cardboard' and related matters in the Lugosi "Dracula." I gotta admit, I, like the presenter, never noticed said cardboard until it was brought to my attention.

I have seen that movie about a dozen times, and I never noticed it either! I went and pulled out my dvd, and there it is!

It is like the naked man who walks across the screen in the opening titles of Watchmen. I never noticed it the first 3 or 4 times I saw the movie. But once I did, I wonder how I ever missed it!

I'll have to look for it on Netflix or something, lol.






It is amazing to me that in my memory this was the greatest Dracula movie ever made; and that I never even noticed the continuity errors, the cardboard, the wolfbane, the terrible overdone makeup and facial expressions, etc,

Was I a sucker or was the writing of that one just that good?

I first saw the Lugosi version Dracula when I was wee lass myself, and it remains my favorite of all the zillion or so Draculas. I think a lot of it is just nostalgia. Lets face it, as kids we set the bar pretty low for most things in life, movies especially. But we build up fond memories of them. Then when we think of them later it brings back all those good feelings, even if the movie really was not that good after all. It still gives us the Feels. I loved all the Universal horror films when I was a child, so they still have a special place in my heart. Even if they are really not that great.

In other news, today I watched Mythica: A Quest For Heroes. It is a by the numbers D&D movie, with a wizard, a cleric, a fighter, and a thief going on a quest against an evil ogre. It was extremely low budget. The sets were rather cheap, some of the acting on the poor side, and the cgi terrible. But I loved the characters, and the costumes were awesome. Plus, nostalgia for all those gaming years of playing fantasy role playing games like D&D and Earthdawn. And of course all the CRPGs like Baldur's Gate and Neverwinter Nights.

I recommend it to all fantasy nerds (which I imagine should be everyone here). Go into it with low expectations, and you will be entertained. There are two more Mythica movies, so I moved them up in my Netflix queue.

Interesting thing I have been noticing of late, is that when I watch fantasy movies and tv shows that have been recently made, I see less ridiculous-looking weapons and armor. In shows like this and The Outpost, the armor looks real, not overtly stylized. The same with the swords, bows, and other weapons. The swords especially are almost always RL arming swords or longswords.

I wonder if this is an influence from Game Of Thrones? One thing I did appreciate about it is that all weapons and armor were realistic, rather than over-the-top. Perhaps its popularity has led other creators to go with normal equipment, rather than the really wild stuff?

Batiatus stole season 1 and the prequel for me. He was a scumbag but he was a hilarious one.

“What, the gods haven’t pissed on me enough for one day? But nooo let’s add piss to the [censored]!�

I like the way they talk in the show. If I’m not mistaken someone in production said Latin was phrased as such. Plus, the muscular fighting oiled men was there to attract views obviously. Women liked them, and guys hit the gym! Though historically speaking wasn’t it said the gladiators back then were strong and built, but not as muscular as a freaking Greek statue. I was under the impression they were a bit on the heavier side.

The violence was a bit over-the-top. Gods of the Arena had more grounded visuals and effects compared to the other seasons. War of the Damned and Vengeance was just meh when it came to the overwhelming shots of slow-motion. As a matter of fact I think every battle in those later seasons and a slow-mo sequence.

RIP Andy! He was the BEST Spartacus. Fantastic actor, and a very humble person.

Khajiit stopped watching part way through the third season. This one liked the first season and Gods of the Arena, but just lost interest after that.

RIP Andy indeed. He was sorely missed in what little this one saw of the third season.

From what Khajiit has read, they tended to like gladiators to have a nice layer of fatty tissue. This allowed for more blood to be spilled with less chance of serious injury. Romans loved blood you know. That said, this one is sure it probably varied between individuals.

I do think my bar was set low as a child; I remember being mesmerized by the Wizard of Oz for decades! Lol. But with horror movies especially; since I was never allowed to watch horror movies (so half the thrill of watching them was in doing something forbidden) - which may have helped me overlook poor makeup or over acting, lol.

I did think GoT did a fantastic job on armor and weapons too, they felt realistic and that really did help with the immersive-ness of the show!

It was the source material that dictated that the arms and armor were realistic in GoT. If you read the books, it was clear that GRRM was wanting to build a medieval fantasy world that was more realism heavy with some supernatural and fantasy elements sprinkled in for flavor. A shame he has seemingly abandoned ASoI&F. The show’s ending was [censored] and didn’t fit the build up the books were leading to. The thought that it is probably the only ending we are going to get for this series is almost heartbreaking.

I'm sure some of it is prop department economics. If the arms and armour are realistic, they can be re-used for non-fantasy films and shows. But there's also a benefit from separating the magical aspects, as it makes them more conspicuous as additional features rather than built-in.

I just finished season two of Black Lightning. It was good, another solid season of a good show. Bill Duke joins the cast this season. He is like a thousand years old by now, and a shriveled old man. A far cry from his old bodybuilder self from the days of Predator. But his acting, well that is much better. He is really good in this. He gives off a seriously creepy, ominous spy guy vibe.

James Remar has been really cool too. He is older now too. But again, like Bill Duke, he has really bloomed as an actor. He is way better than he was back when he was a young stud. He has been really cool throughout seasons 1 and 2.

I started watching the Battlestar Galactica 2003 mini series. It is really powerful, end of the world stuff. It is really amazing seeing all the actors looking so young again, especially Katee Sackhoff. I am so used to having seen her more recently in Longmire and some Netflix movies she did recently. She practically looks like a child in this!

Sadly the special effects were all cgi, and are now quite dated.

As Treydoggie would say: QFT

I agree 100% with everything you said here; especially the last sentence.

I saw It Chapter 2 on Thursday. Its possibly the funniest movie I've seen in ages. Luckily the funny parts are written to be that way intentionally. It had it's scary parts too, as well as some very sad parts.

I loved it. I'm gonna buy it the moment it comes out on DVD.

I just finished watching Dark Phoenix. It was pretty meh. Not terrible. Not great. It was really just kind of bland. The story was based on the old Dark Phoenix storyline from the comics of course, but massaged quite a bit to fit into the X-Film universe. There was nothing remarkable about it. I kind of saw this coming when I saw they had Sophie Turner playing Jean Grey a few movies back. She is just not a very good actress. She is not a bad one either. Like the movie, she is just... adequate.

Sadly, I think the most notable thing about it was that it was the only time I have ever seen a male character with prehensile hair. And well done too.

Die Hard!!!!! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT !!!!

But it isn't Christmas yet!

That’s ok, DieHard is enjoyable anytime of the year!