Translation: "Dude, wanna race?"

The second ones says "I'll give you a count to ten head start."

How adorable that one is!

I watched the first episode of DCs TV-verse Crisis on Infinite Earths. So far a lot of fun. I really liked the cameos - Burt Ward (Robin from the old 60s TV show), Robert Wuhl (from the first Keaton Batman), and even Wil Wheaton (who is of course Wil Wheaton).

I finished the last episode of Crisis on Infinite Earths. It was good, though a bit long, and somewhat confusing in a few places (mainly because I watched the last two episodes out of order for a while, until I figured out that I mixed them up).

I really liked the Supergirl/Batwoman scenes. I would love to see more crossovers of just the two of them. They really fit well together, in spite of the incredible differences in abilities. As people, Kate and Kara really mesh well.

There was a lots of great cameos. Kevin Conroy (who voices Batman in most animation) makes an appearance in the flesh as an older Batman from one of the alternate universes. Brandon Routh reprised his role as Superman from the Bryan Singer superman movie of 2006. While he also continued playing Ray Palmer (The Atom) on Legends of Tomorrow. Ezra Miller (The Flash from the new DC films) made an appearance with the TV version of The Flash. Speaking of which, the old Flash from the 90s TV show also made an appearance as well. Though he has been on the TV Flash for a long time. It was really neat having all these incarnations of the classic characters all being present. Even Lucifer (from the eponymous TV show) turns up.

Speaking of which, I was a little surprised at the ending.

So, I finished Spartacus and overall, it was a good show. I was disappointed in some parts of the ending. I knew not everyone was gonna live, but some of the deaths were just....

I am Spartacus!

“I’ve got this Pepsi for a guy named Spartacus.” *Every one claims to be Spartacus and the real Spartacus sheds a tear because he will get no Pepsi.*

Just watched an excellent 'old-style' discourse on J.R.R. Tolkien. A breath of fresh air. No unnecessary background music or misplaced dramatics. No visible 'host/commentator' as distracting focal point. Just straight-up reminiscences by people who matter, along with photos, illustrations, etc. Christopher Tolkien appears frequently, as do other Tolkien family members.

JRR TOLKIEN '1892-1973' - A Study Of The Maker Of Middle-earth

I watched the new Nic Cage version of Color Out Of Space today. It was good, much better than I expected. It is updated to the modern era, one of the kids is now female (and is a rather accurate depiction of a Witch for a change), and there are a few other changes. But it sticks mostly to the story. It even starts with a narration of the first paragraph of the story, and ends with the second from last one. I was even delighted to see one character reading The Willows, by Algernon Blackwood. Lovecraft loved that story. He cites it in Supernatural Horror In Literature.

It is a slow burn, psychological piece. Though it does get very John Carpenter Thingish at the end. The movie is filmed in color, and the eponymous Color is basically a purplish pink, rather than a color that does not exist. Because, duh, you cannot film a color that does not exist. But I liked how as the story went on, the farm becomes more brightly colored. Grass becomes purple. Bright red flowers start blooming up the sides of trees, etc...

If you are a Lovecraft fan, and appreciate low-key horror films, you will like it.

This seems the most appropriate thread to report the passing actor Kirik Douglas, age 103.

Aw, how long a life he had! Wow, I remember him as being old when I was young! I've actually seen more of his son in films than him; though.

I think the celebrity death I am dreading the most is Betty White.

Dang it wrong thread!

Kirk was one of the people who broke the black list by hiring Dalton Trumbo to write Spartacus.

I think the only movie I ever saw him in was some space thing with Farrah Fawcett (the one that was more famous for Farrah's left nipple showing for .25 of a second than it was for any of the acting, plot, or special effects).

Saturn 3! I saw that one in the theater! It was bad.

He was awesome in Spartacus. I loved him in this one movie with Burt Lancaster called Tough Guys, about two old ex-cons fresh out of prison who go on one last heist.

It was so bad that it actually got a cult following around the town I grew up in, every time Farrah's nipple came on screen the whole theater would hoot and cheer, lol.

Younger folk seem to remember Douglas as Spartacus, if they remember him at all. I prefer Paths of Glory, set during WW1. Here's a short video from a series on the work of Stanley Kubrick. As such, it features Paths, but is not Douglas-Centric.

Stanley Kubrick: Paths of Glory & Kirk Douglas Years (The Directors Series) - YouTube

I remember Paths of Glory. I thought it was a little heavy-handed with the message that war is bad. Yeah, I get it Stanley, you don't need to use a sledgehammer.

Finished watch this YouTube video a bit before my brother arrived:

The Burning Times: The History of Witches Part 1

If I remember, I'll watch Part 2 sometime tomorrow, or maybe right before bedtime tonight if my bro retires before me.

I dusted off my Monk dvds, and watched the first episode. Thanks to my 4k tv, I noticed something I never had before. In several scenes a person knocks on someone's front door, and they show it from the pov of the person inside looking out at the visitor. The street scenes of traffic and the like outside were all done green screen. I never noticed that on a regular tv, or even and HD tv. But in 4k, it is just so obvious. Another example of the downsides of 4k.

Isn't that odd! Since the show was made long before the 4K TV's, I guess they never realized that one day technology would unblur those scenes or something, lol. I've never yet seen the pilot; always seem to miss it whenever the cable channels around here run that series every year.

It is just a side effect of having such a high resolution. You see every tiny little thing, stuff that is invisible at lower resolutions like high definition or standard definition.

I have also been watching a BBC special about Charles I and the English Civil War. Every time they mention Parliament I keep thinking of this.

Amongst my (too?) many recent YouTube watchings, much of which is centered on the debacle that is the Democratic (party) primaries and their demonic 'coverage' by Mainstream Media, I took a break to see a charming Buster Keaton silent era comedy:

One Week (YouTube)

As it concerns a newlywed couple and a house, I suppose it could be labeled 'domestic comedy.' I'd not seen it before, except for a clip from the finale used in several compilation videos.

Am also watching most of Steve Donoghue's 'BookTube' episodes as they are released. How he finds time to put out multiple episodes a day while reading sometimes 100-plus books a month is incomprehensible to me. Even in my reading 'prime' a good year saw me read between 50 and 60 novel-length books. Nowadays 20 to 30 is more the norm, despite having practically unlimited reading time available. (Part of it is due to aches and pains while lying down, which is how I always 'seriously' read. Part of it finding it ever harder to retain focus any length of time.) Heck, if correct trends continue I might not hit 20 this year, considering we're nearly halfway through Feb and I've two finished books to my credit.

Been watching a lot of Netflix lately.

A couple of series of notes:

Prison Playbook, a Korean dramedy (or black comedy, if you prefer), about a star pitcher who is sentenced to a year in jail for excessive assault in apprehending a rapist who attacked his sister. It's about how he adjusted to life in prison, made friends, and generally did things for others. I really enjoyed the character development in this series - I really can't point to any one character and say yeah, that's a cardboard cutout. I learned a lot about writing secondary characters from this series. There were many moments that made me laugh out loud for their black humor, which I love and enjoy. I got really invested in the lives and choices of each prison mate, the guards closest to them, and their loved ones outside the prison.

Locke and Key, a supernatural drama I imagine is on the order of Stranger Things, which I haven't yet watched. It has elements of Poe, Stephen King and even a bit of Lovecraft mixed up in it. I especially liked how the different keys unlocked different gifts behind each respective door. The ending left me feeling like a setup for more, but that's okay.

Currently I'm watching Ragnarok, NOT the movie with Chris Helmsworth, but a Norwegian series set in a small fjord town called (are you ready?) Edda. Apparently, according to the stories, the gods all died in the mythical Ragnarok, but no one knows what happened to the Giants. Well, let me just say this: there's a strong element of environmental/Gaia evangelism going on here. I promised myself I would just watch one episode just to get a feeling for it, but ended up watching four and being up past midnight. Whew, that's more than half the series, I think!

Just finished watching the 1948 film adaptation of Oliver Twist. Hadn't seen it before. Very very impressive in every aspect. It appeared amongst today's YouTube recommendations. I clicked on it not knowing what to expect. Was immediately grabbed by its music score, which turns out to have been written by Sir Arnold Bax, a heavyweight 'classical' music composer of his day. By the time the credits revealed the composer's name (at their tail-end) I was sold.

OLIVER TWIST, 1948 (Movie, YouTube)

Found out earlier today that Diana Serra Cary, "Baby Peggy" passed away 24 Feb 2020 at age 101. Considering lack of general interest in old-time movie actors coverage of her demise is largely absent. Even YouTube has, at the moment, little about it. Of what there is, this brief video is about as good as any, better than some:

Baby Peggy Tribute - YouTube

One quibble with the above. The narrator calls her the last silent film star. This is either true or not true depending on usage of the word 'star.' Yes, she was the last silent era survivor with true 'star' stature, one of the big draws of day. On the other hand, if you mean star as 'actor' then no, she was not the last remaining silent era actor. Last I checked, there are now six verified living survivors, and a few uncertainties. All were, of course, baby/child actors during the silent era. It's been some years since the last 'adult' silent actor departed.

I never actually heard of her before; but did enjoy looking at her adorable baby pics!

Star Trek: Picard continues to be excellent. Finally had a reunion with Riker and Troi on this weeks episode.

I need this movie. Only, I'd like it at 1080p but don't own a Blu-ray player, believe it or not. I waited so long before taking plunge (from DVD) that while narrowing down which player I wanted (and could afford) 4k was announced. That led to another extended wait. Then my hearing tanked, negating the need for a high-end player supporting hi-def music formats. In any case, I do no plan to buy a 4k TV or monitor any time soon, if ever. I'll likely get it as a digital download viewable on PC. If I get it at all.

The First 9 Minutes of 1917 (the movie, not the year) - YouTube

I like that color is muted (if that the correct term) so that it has something of the quality of a colorized B&W film, or maybe 2-strip technicolor?

I watched all three vids showing cuts of the movie; and agree with you totally. This movie is the complete opposite of the type of movie I want to watch at all; yet I found myself completely riveted by it. This is a spectacular bit of film-making; really raw and gritty the way it was filmed = not at all "Hollywood" and that immediately makes it more desirable to me because it actually felt real; as if you were really going through it with Blake and Schofield = no special effects or drama, it just plain felt real.

They spent a lot more time in scenes like going through the trenches both before they left and when Schofield reached the place than was needed to get the point across; which made it that much more real; as did the ride in the truck to the front lines when all those boys were talking amongst themselves with all different accents/dialects/and vernacular and I could barely understand a word; but the gist of what they were saying was clear.

(and as a side note; those trenches in the early scenes gave me a nice nostalgic memory of the ones outside the Capital building that were held by the Super Mutants in Fallout 3, lol = they were fortified exactly the same!).

I've seen the official trailers for this one; but they didn't draw my interest in the slightest; where these vids absolutely did. I think this one will sweep the Awards this year based on what I saw here; really outstanding directing, acting, storyline = I hope you are able to see it in its entirety!

Listening to a Behind the Bastards episode on Basil Zaharoff inspired me to go back and re-watch Reilly: Ace of Spies, as Zaharoff is in the first half of the series. I am almost finished with it now.

It is nice to watch a drama about spies, showing what it was really like at the turn of the century, rather than the modern super-action spy movies like the Bond series. Sam Neill is of course, always awesome to watch.

What really strikes me this time through is the opening credits. It is a series of black and white photos from the early 1900s. Most are from Russia, and the revolution, but interspersed through them are pictures of the rest of Europe. It is how things were, before the Great War. It brings home how this series is not just about the modernization of the spy "industry". It is also the death of an era of European history that went back centuries. Not just of colonialism, but a much older period, when the great powers of European essentially played a great game of diplomacy and war between them all. By 1918 it wasn't a game anymore. By 1945 there weren't even any pieces left, except on other people's boards. It is basically Europe committing suicide.

Watched a "Top-10 best movie dance sequences" (not its exact title) video at YouTube (where else?) this morning. It was quite well done as these things go. Pretty much all entries deserved mention, and weren't always the 'obvious' popular choices one might expect. Their top pick blew me away. It's from an older film. I had heard of neither film nor dancers prior to the video. Those two gentlemen had talent out the wazoo, legs/nerves of steel, and an obvious love for their craft. Rather than link the entire video I tracked down a separate video devoted solely to that one dance routine. Here it is:

Nicholas Brothers: The greatest dance sequence (YouTube video)

Wow! Those guys are incredible! And all those splits! Ouch!

I just watched Spenser Confidential on Netflix. It is a standalone movie, at least so far, rebooting the old Spenser For Hire tv show. It was good, mostly a crime drama, but with enough action to keep things exciting and interesting. The place most of it revolves around - Wonderland - is Easy City Downs from Fallout 4! Which was a fun little thing for me to recognize.

Just watched the first episode of "Samurai Cat" on Prime. (Note- it is not related to the Mark Rogers novels of the same name.)

This is a true Japanese import, and therefore requires some adjustment- biggest example is the extended... intermissions?... that occurred a couple of times in this episode.

Samurai Cat

In any event, the premise is that a masterless samurai takes on a job to kill a "goblin cat" that is believed to be harming its owner. But... something else happens.

For those of us who like things that are Japanese- especially samurai sorts of things- AND cats, this is a treat.

I just finished watching the second Jumanji movie. Well, the third. The most recent one. It was a ton of fun! They added Danny Devito, Danny Glover, Awkwafina, and did a lot of body swapping between players and characters. The Rock doing Danny Devito was hilarious. Askwafina doing him was even better. Like the other more recent Jumanji movie, it has a really good heart. Like watching a John Hughes movie. By the end you have a warm fuzzy feeling, because you have learned and grown as a person.

I'm working on a paper for my Philosophy of Mathematics class and I remembered this episode of Nova called The Great Math Mystery. It deals with the discussion on whether math is an invention or a discovery (I think its a discovery). It's a cool concept and it was the whole reason I took this particular class. I'm sad half the time it was utter clownery, but maybe with it being online now the clownery will be reduced.

I'll disagree. It's an invention - the tool you use to make the discoveries. You can use mathematics to describe hypothetical situations that can't exist, e.g. hyperspaces with extra dimensions, or abstract concepts like Riemann surfaces that are hard to map to anything real.

Extra credit for proving me wrong.

Lol I can send a copy of my paper once I'm done

Though your opinion reminded me of a quote I really like from the episode:



Mario Livio, author of Is God a Mathematician

I have been having a sort of Morgan Freeman-athon. A few days ago I watched Kiss the Girls. I liked it, and Liked Ashley Judd in it.

In any case I next did Along Came A Spider. I liked most of it except for the two twists at the end. No spoilers, but one really made me incredulous, and the other I just did not like.

Today I watched Shawshank Redemption. That was a really good movie. But really sad.

I am not sure what is next. Maybe I will look to see what other Morgan Freeman movies are out there. I watched Glory relatively recently so that one is out.

Shawshank Redemption is one of my all time favorite movies; I watch it every time it is on. Morgan Freeman is one of those actors that becomes totally believable in every role he takes on; he was amazing in that one.

I didn't ever hear about the actresses that turned Harvey Weinstein down or lost future rolls because of it = I only ever heard about the ones that went the "Casting Couch" route and sued him a few years ago over it.

Truthfully = I always just assumed he used that pressure as a pseudo bribe to lure wanna-be actresses into his bed trying to get roles; I never realized he actually meted out punishments to any women who wouldn't jump into his bed.

It is hard to believe that could carry weight with other studios making movies that would have been technically his competitors for any actress that would have brought in money to them; though he could have not used her in any of his own studio's films.

Has there been any confirmation about that being more than just an accusation for these two women?

Thank you for that info; that is something I didn't know anything about. If there are any women who actually genuinely lost valid careers because they refused to bed someone for a role = I would most def make sure I supported what work they did have published so they could get the residuals for them.

I liked Ashley Judd in the "Divergent" series of movies; though her role in the two she was in was very small. She gave a good/acceptable performance as a support character; but I didn't see anything in those two films that would have lead me to believe she could have been a huge star if not for outside circumstances. I haven't seen the two movies she won awards for; but may try to find them on Netflix and watch them for a better look at her abilities.

Looking over her career; it looks like she has done pretty well despite any interference Weinstein may have given her; so I am glad she didn't suffer too much at his hands = and proud of her for standing up for herself when too many women didn't and regretted it later.

You might try "Lucky Slevin"....

I actually edited that out of my original post, because I didn't want to get negative. But maybe I should have left it in there after all. Peter Jackson did admit to not even considering both Mira Sorvino and Ashley Judd for the Lord of the Rings because Weinstein told him they were trouble. The Weinstein's were producers on the LOTR movies, so what he said carried a lot of weight.

I did see that Ashley Judd was in other movies, and still is. So Weinstein did not completely shut her down. But he clearly did keep her from major roles, that probably would have catapulted her career into a much higher realm that it turned out to be. This is one of the reasons why so many people keep quiet about people like Weinstein and Les Moonves and all the other creeps. Not just their direct victims, but the other people who knew, like Ben Affleck or Quentin Tarantino. Their futures really were on the line too. It took a lot for someone like Brad Pitt to tell Weinstein that if he ever came near Gwyneth Paltrow again he'd kill him (Weinstein had been sexually harassing her too). I will always admire Brad Pitt for that.


Thanks. I'll look for that on Netflix. I have Driving Miss Daisy lined up next, since I have somehow never seen it.

Morgan Freeman is one of my favorite actors. He brings both a gravitas to everything he does, but also a down-to-earth personability. He is like your favorite uncle, a guy you just like and trust. That is probably why he is usually cast as either God or the President. Sadly, he tends to only get supporting character roles. That is what I liked about Kiss the Girls and Spider. He got to be the protagonist in those. While technically he was not the protagonist in Shawshank, he was the pov character, who narrated the movie. So the was still central to it all.

On Ashley Judd and Mira Sorvino = anyone who took the hard road rather than give in to slime like Weinstein will always have my loyal patronage; so I'm really glad you told me about that = I didn't know about that happening to them. Also didn't know about Brad Pitt defending that sweet Gwyneth Paltrow!!!! That has me so tickled that I'm going to go watch "Legends of the Fall" for the hundreth time = this time to thank Brad Pitt for standing up for her!

I know there were a few child actor suicides based directly on what they suffered (sexually) at the hands of some of Hollywood's "finest."

Another possibility for your Freeman-a-thon is "10 Items or Less". Reviews are pretty mixed, but our memory was that it was light and... uplifting.

I watched Driving Miss Daisy yesterday. It was really good. It deserves all the praise it gets. Though again, rather bittersweet. But maybe I am just prone to seeing things that way given current circumstances.

I started watching 1917 last night. It is good, with solid characterizations of the two main characters. The way it is filmed to look like one continuous shot leaves me kind of ambivalent, and slightly weirded out. It kind of feels like a video game to me, and not real. I think it is safe to say it goes into the Uncanny Valley, which I don't think is really a plus.

I did some looking, and found it isn't really one continuous shot. They used little cheats to make it look that way. Though it was a lot of continuous shots put together. It makes me wonder why the director wanted it filmed that way? Is he just trying to show off? I don't know.

I am only about half way through. As I said, the characters are well done. The movie really does a great job of building tension in the beginning, going through no-man's land, then the abandoned German trench. The action is not glorified or made to look 'cool'. It all seems quite terrifying.

I have been going through my backlog of Batwoman episodes this week. I just started one, and it has a flashback to when Kate and her sister turned 13, and Kate looks down at a card for their "Bat Mints-Vah"

While the subject of movies with Morgan Freeman in them is still fairly fresh, one of Khajiit’s favorites is a film called Lucky Number Slevin. It’s a quirky crime flik with many other big names in it like Bruce Willis, Ben Kingsley, Josh Hartnett, and Lucy Liu. This one thought it was fun!