What's on your Daily Viewing List? (6 Viewers)

[Adam Lenhardt]

Beavis & Butt-Head Do the Universe
Originally Released: 06/23/2022
Watched: 07/06/2022
4K UHD digital streaming on Paramount+ app via Roku Ultra

Recommended?

Why? Over a quarter of a century and one short-lived TV revival since Beavis and Butt-Head did America, Mike Judge's iconic/moronic horny teenagers are back and as funny as ever.

A very unconventional path to NASA's space program and some sci-fi hijinks involving a black hole transport Beavis and Butt-Head from 1998 to 2022. In some ways, they are the ideal characters to serve as a mirror to society; they're always exactly the same, so they naturally highlight the ways everything else has changed.

In a post #MeToo world, do they still work? Yes, because they are fundamentally innocent. They're crass and moronic, and serenely amoral, but they lack any and all guile. As this movie made clear, they only have the vaguest idea of what sex even entails. They're uncouth, doltish agents of chaos that leave a trail of disasters in their wake, but at any given time they're just looking to get laid, get fed, or get in front of a TV.

This movie isn't as a good as Do America, but it's still an extremely solid outing. I laughed with my whole body multiple times, harder than I have in quite some time.

 

[Jake Lipson]

Remember back when the whole MCU was small enough that you could easily realistically rewatch everything in it prior to any new film? Since last weekend, I've been doing a more specifically targeted rewatch of the following prior to Thor: Love and Thunder:

Thor
The Avengers
Thor: The Dark World
Guardians of the Galaxy
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
Avengers: Age of Ultron
Thor: Ragnarok
Avengers: Infinity War
Avengers: Endgame

 

[Keith Cobby]

American Assassin (4k disc) - I spun this because having just watched the Maze Runner trilogy remembered that Dylan O'Brien was the lead. There isn't a single moment of originality in this film, but it's a really well acted and produced example of the genre. Plus Michael Keaton is great (as always).

 

[Thomas T]

 

[Keith Cobby]

Ronin (1998) - first time viewing in anticipation of its release on 4k disc. One of John Frankenheimer's best films (great action director). Watched it in SD on broadcast television!

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

The Black Phone
Originally Released: 06/24/2022
Watched: 07/08/2022
In theaters: 7:45 PM showing on Screen 4 at Regal Colonie Center 13 & RPX

The year is 1973, and young boys are going missing on the outskirts of Denver, Colorado. The police don't have any suspects, but the school children whisper about a sinister figure they call the Grabber.

Recommended?

Why? This supernatural thriller, adapted from Joe Hill's short story by horror filmmaker Scott Derrickson, has an unsentimental view of both childhood and human nature but has no patience for despair. The brother-sister duo of Finney and Gwen make for fierce protagonists worth rooting for. Ethan Hawke, as the Grabber, is by turns pathetic, menacing, and outright horrifying. He is aided by a series of seriously creepy masks that reflect his mode and intentions.

A few more of my thoughts (which may contain spoilers) are available here.

 

[Robin9]

Ronin (1998) - first time viewing in anticipation of its release on 4k disc. One of John Frankenheimer's best films (great action director). Watched it in SD on broadcast television!

The Blu-ray disc is excellent.

 

[Keith Cobby]

The Blu-ray disc is excellent.

The action (all in camera) was excellent and the car chases as good as in any other film, much better than most contemporary CGI laden efforts (Chris Nolan honourable exception). However I was disappointed with the ending.

Today it's Barbarella (Queen of the Galaxy). Finally got round to buying the blu ray (excellent cover art), haven't watched this for decades!

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Geostorm
Originally Released: 10/20/2017
Watched: 07/09/2022
1080P digital streaming on HBO Max, upscaled to 4K via Roku Ultra

Recommended?

Why Not? From 1992 through 2000, the filmmaking duo of Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin cranked out one crowdpleasing blockbuster after another.

In his directoral debut, Devlin tried to recapture the magic on his own but it just doesn't work. He understands the formula, but the movie sinks under the weight of its earnestness. These movies are complete nonsense, so you can't play them completely straight. Even as Roland Emmerich's solo projects have gotten more and more ludicrous, he's managed to keep the fun with plenty of quirky characters and funny one liners. Here, Devlin is content to settle for archetypes. The plot plays out exactly as you'd expect it to, and even the big disaster set pieces don't have the scope or sophistication of execution that Emmerich brings to the table.

There's probably an enjoyable movie to be made about a world where humanity has turned to technology to mitigate the effects of climate change, only for that technology to get weaponized against humanity. But this isn't it.

 

[DFurr]

Streamed Paramount + last night. The movie was Alpha Wolf. We had a few laughs during the movie. The werewolf looked almost silly!! I've seen worse though. Screen shot...1:85:1 Dolby.

 

[Dave Moritz]

July 9th, 2022 Saturday

The Outpost
4K / Netflix
Dolby 5.1 upmixed to Auro 7.2

Based on a true story about one of our bases in Afghanistan. It is hard to believe that they would place our troops in a position like that thinking it was acceptable. Enjoyed the story about what these guys went trough.

July 10th, 2022 Sunday

The Bachelor And The Bobby-Soxer (1947)
HD Digital / TCM via the HBO Max app

Decided today to go into the TCM movies through the HBO Max app on my 4K Apple TV today. And came across this movie and recognized Cary Grant so I figured what the heck. Had never heard about this movie before so the title was a complete unknown to me. Found this movie to be very entertaining and well done and enjoyed all the characters in this film.

 

[DFurr]

Watched a movie tonight that was in theatres when I was in the 10th grade in high school........1963, The Haunting. I saw the remake several years ago and I was surprised at how much it followed the original. 2:35:1 and in b&w. Here's a couple of screen shots from the original The Haunting (of Hill House).

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

The Princess
Originally Released: 07/01/2022
Watched: 07/11/2022
4K digital streaming on Hulu via Roku Ultra

Recommended?

Why? Despite the fact that inverting the trope of the delicate princess trapped in a tower hasn't been really transgressive since Star Wars, this movie succeeds by quickly transitioning into Die Hard in a medieval castle. Joey King, in the title role, is surprisingly credible as a melee-fighting action hero. One of 20th Century Studios's first direct to Hulu offerings, it doesn't have quite the production values you'd expect from a theatrical release, but it does have significantly better production values than most of the direct to streaming movies made to date. Vietnamese-American martial arts filmmaker Le-Van Kiet brings some interesting modern touches to the backstory: Part of what the current king of this vaguely Western European kingdom has done to anger the other nobleman is welcome in ethnically Vietnamese refugees fleeing conflict in the East. This resonates with his own childhood, when his family was among the masses evacuated after the fall of Saigon. Among the kingdom's refugees are great warriors, who train the tomboy princess in their fighting styles. When the shit hits the fan, the Princess has literally been training for that moment for most of her life. The plot isn't anything new or inspiring, but there are a number of decent fight scenes and some nice cat and mouse subterfuge.

 

[Thomas T]

 

[Matt Hough]

Watched a movie tonight that was in theatres when I was in the 10th grade in high school........1963, The Haunting. I saw the remake several years ago and I was surprised at how much it followed the original. 2:35:1 and in b&w. Here's a couple of screen shots from the original The Haunting (of Hill House).

View attachment 144498 View attachment 144499

I watched it on the TCM app last week and enjoyed it all over again. Hard to believe it wasn't very popular during its original release.

 

[Robert Crawford]

I watched it on the TCM app last week and enjoyed it all over again. Hard to believe it wasn't very popular during its original release.

That movie scared the crap out of me back in the day.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Thor: Love and Thunder
Originally Released: 07/08/2022
Watched: 07/12/2022
In theaters: 6:00 PM Value Day showing on Screen 13 at Regal Colonie Center 13 & RPX

Recommended?

Why? While a letdown from Thor: Ragnorak, this fourth outing was still a lot of fun and benefits from a strong final act.

More of my thoughts (which may contain spoilers) are available here.

* * *​

Oxygène (Oxygen)
Originally Released: 05/12/2021
Watched: 07/12/2022
1080P HD digital streaming on Netflix, upscaled to 4K via Roku Ultra; French with English subtitles

A woman wakes up in a malfunctioning cryogenic chamber, and is warned that she only has 35% oxygen remaining. She must figure out who she is, how she got there, and how to stay alive before the oxygen runs out.

Recommended?

Why? This science fiction twist on the old buried alive plot is effective both for its ever-present feeling of claustrophobia and a thriller that derives all of its twists and turns from the sharply limited information available to its heroine (and the audience).

 

[Walter Kittel]

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.

 

[Keith Cobby]

Comes a Horseman (1978) - looking through the filmographies of Jane Fonda and the late James Caan, I realised I hadn't seen Comes a Horseman. It's a slow western set during WW2, an odd mix of cattle and cars (until the abrupt arrival of a small aeroplane). Then a neighbour starts to drill for oil and you have what could be a precursor to Dallas. Both film and tv show were from 1978 and the owner/manager of the neighbouring ranch (Jason Robards) is called JW Ewing. Also in the cast is Jim Davis whose most familiar role is, of course, Jock Ewing!

The ending is predictable and abrupt but worth watching for Jane Fonda.

 

[Jake Lipson]

Tonight: one of the best movies in my collection with the dullest cover art...