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After seeing it featured in reaction videos on You Tube, I decided to give the Netflix animated series Blue Eye Samurai a try earlier today. I viewed episode one and was almost instantly enthralled by the quality of the animation. Set in 17th century Japan it follows the title character on...

Viewed John Sayles' 1996 masterpiece Lone Star on Blu-Ray earlier this evening. I have not seen this feature in over a decade and was immediately drawn back into the film from the opening credits. What was strange about viewing the feature was just how much of an impression it had made on me...

Watched Extraction II on Netflix yesterday. Very solid and serviceable action thriller. Really excellent action choreography and some well done 'one shot' scenes where the camera stays focused on the action for extended sequences with no discernible cuts. (This is something that I have...

If this is your first viewing of The Expanse, then you are in for a treat. It just gets better and better. I'm currently in the middle of a third viewing of the series and I find it endlessly entertaining. - Walter.

First time viewing of the 2007 version of 3:10 to Yuma. The real attraction of the film was the pairing of Christian Bale (Dan Evans) and Russell Crowe (Ben Wade) Both actors were very compelling and the relationship that develops between them over the course of a matter of a few days is very...

I haven't seen the original version, so I can't offer any comparisons, but the Fincher version is solidly crafted and was an effective thriller. (I keep meaning to watch the original film, but there are a lot of viewing choices these days, so the backlog continues to back up. :) ) - Walter.

Basically wall to wall collegiate basketball the past three days in the NCAA Men's Tournament. Some great games and a few one-sided ones these past three days. Looking forward to seeing who makes it to the Sweet 16 on Sunday and then the next rounds of the tournament at the end of the week...

Today was a revisit of Paul Thomas Anderson's 2017 film Phantom Thread. This is a meticulously crafted film set in London of the 1950s. The film concerns fashion designer Reynolds Woodcock (Daniel Day-Lewis) and how his life is turned upside down by his interaction with his muse Alma (Vicky...

A friend recently told me about last week's episode of Nova: S49E10 - Ultimate Space Telescope. Pulled it up on demand earlier today and was really entertained by the presentation. I honestly can't say if there was material unique to this presentation but it covered the scope of the JWST from...

Viewed Oxygene a few months ago and enjoyed it quite a bit. Nice performance from Melanie Laurent, whom viewers might remember from Inglourious Basterds. I agree with Adam's recommendation and summation. - Walter.

Navalny (2022) I viewed the CNN Films documentary on Alexei Navalny earlier today. It was a pretty gripping film documenting the subject of the film and his family. We see footage from political events, footage prior to the attempt on his life, his recovery, the investigation into his...

Watched the first episode of Tokyo Vice earlier this evening. If I had not already known that Michael Mann was associated with the series, that would have been my first guess. The night sequences in Tokyo were a match aesthetically for Mann's previous works such as Heat and Miami Vice. Very...

I don't post about it often, but I've been continuing FX's Snowfall. It was recently announced that season six will be the show's final season. I am glad that the creative talent has a timeline to work with to bring the series to a proper close. Given the nature of the show, one of the...

Hey Dave, Thanks for the reply. Big time Trek fan here, so always curious what folks think about the various franchises in that universe. - Walter.

@Dave Moritz - First viewing, or a revisit? Just curious. - Walter.

Normally I wouldn't bother posting about late night television, but Jimmy Kimmel and Jimmy Fallon did something interesting for April 1st. They essentially swapped shows for the evening with each hosting the other's program. I thought that was pretty clever. I don't watch a lot of late...

Halo - S01E01 - "Contact" Caught the premiere episode on Paramount+ earlier today. It was a strong introduction to the series and did a good job of world building by establishing some aspects of its storylines and the series' overall aesthetic. I never really got into the game franchise that...

Watched episode one of Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty earlier today via HBO Max. I ˙have been following collegiate and NBA basketball for most of my life, so this was a very enjoyable viewing. I really enjoyed the 'time capsule' aspect of the series premiere and am looking...

Okay. I wasn't aware that it would be a limited run. I've got plenty to view, but ten hours isn't an onerous time commitment; so I'll probably see it through. (Thanks for the feedback, BTW.) - Walter.

Watched the return of CSI: Vegas on CBS earlier this evening (after the NL Wild Card game). It was okay, and kind of fun to see a few of the cast from the original show, but it was just okay. Nostalgia might keep me watching, but I think the new cast members will be the deciding factor on...

Caught the first episode of AMC's Ultra City Smiths on demand and I was really entertained. The show is a stop motion animated detective / noir / musical / comedy / murder mystery amalgam. Think Team America: World Police meets Sin City with musical numbers thrown in for good measure...

Netflix: Gunpowder Milkshake - Very strong female-centric action film. Reminiscent of the Kill Bill films in some ways and perhaps to a lesser extent the John Wick franchise (in terms of some plot elements.) Some gloriously over the top action and very cartoonish slapstick humor made this a...

Tonight: Archive via Amazon Prime - A surprisingly enjoyable science fiction feature that worked on multiple levels. Theo James was very effective in the film's lead role. Strong production design and cinematography combine to create a visually involving film. The story goes in some...

First time viewing of The Foreigner with Jackie Chan and Pierce Brosnan. Pretty solid action / thriller. Not terribly surprising (that it was well made) given that Bond veteran Martin Campbell directed the feature. Very effective and enjoyable. - Walter.

Watched CNN's Sunday evening special Jimmy Carter: Rock and Roll President. This was a nice trip down memory lane. Even though I was old enough during this period to have a decent level of awareness of national politics I don't remember this particular aspect of Carter's campaigning and...

Watched the two hour (S04E01 & S04E02) premiere of season four of Seal Team last night. Pretty solid return for what has been a reliable series for me. Looks like there are some changes in store for this season based upon the events of episodes 1 & 2. (The series does have an evolving...

Started bingeing season one of Britannia. For whatever reason it really did not grab me when I viewed the first episode some time back. Let it pile up on the DVR and decided to take another look. Really enjoying the early episodes upon a revisit. Go figure. :) Probably going to knock out...

Recently viewed The Way I See It a documentary by Pete Souza who served as an official White House photographer in the Reagan administration and documented Barack Obana's time as a senator and became the official White House photographer in 2008 during Obama's second term. It has a definite...

Last night, PBS had an Austin City Limits special remembering the late, great Stevie Ray Vaughan. The program featured his appearances in 1983 and 1989 and was a lot of fun to revisit. His performance of Hendrix's Voodoo Chile was pretty terrific. - Walter.

So Adam, have you read the novel The Martian by Andy Weir? I ask because while the film is pretty faithful to the novel in most respects, there are elements of the processes employed by Watney on Mars that were streamlined in the theatrical cut of the film. In particular the work of...