Yesterday I promised myself a 100% "work-free" day, which I kept to, and
so I slept in late, and mostly played my video game.

For TV, I watched:

soaps: DOOL - Two episodes from last week. Really not worth recapping as nothing important happened, except someone is clearly trying to kill
Alex (they want us to think it's Jeremy, but I am sure that's a red
herring - could Bobby Stein still be alive?!...).
B&B - I actually missed the episode. :|
Y&R - The "Thanksgiving" episode. Nothing actually happened, though
it looks like in the episodes I have skipped, Claire and Kyle got back together (why?!!).
Beyond the Gates - A rerun of the episode with the "Articulettes"
(huh?!!) reunion concert. Meh.

I only watched one movie yesterday:

The Hand That Rocks the Cradle (Hulu) - The 2025 remake.
The original film felt like lightning in a bottle - it was the
B-movie that somehow perfectly captured the zeitgeist of the early
1990s. It was probably my "THE guilty pleasure fave" at the time
(eventually replaced in that category by "Double Jeopardy" in the later 1990s).
Anyway... No remake could possible recapture that magic - So why
bother?!
And the entire time I was watching the remake, that is exactly what
I was thinking! In short: The movie is completely superfluous.
It's not that the performances are bad - they're not: Monroe and
Winstead are fine here, though nearly everyone else, except perhaps
child actress Mileiah Vega as Winstead's emotionally troubled tween
daughter, fail to register. The one thing I did like about this - the
one thing that kind of stood out to me - was Martin Starr as...
Winstead's "bestie". This could have used some more of him.
But pretty much every change that was made in this makes the remake inferior to the over-the-top original. Mistake #1 was trying the tackle
the subject matter "seriously", which is a big mistake for something
like this. If you want to do that, don't use the same title - just do a
new film with a similar premise, but a different take. But once you use
the same title, you are just going to end up getting compared,
unfavorably, to the original.
The ending lets this down even further - I recall the final face-off
in the original being better than this (though I did like the fate of
Monroe's character (gory!!) even if I didn't like how the rest of it
played out). But I have no idea what they were even trying to say with
the final scene - that the dumb tween daughter was in on it all along,
and now she's going to take revenge on Mommy?!?!! Honestly, the final
scenes should have been left on the cutting room floor.
Anyway, this isn't a horrible movie. But it compares unfavorably to
the original film in nearly every way, so again I ask ? What's the point?!


What did you watch?


--- PyGate Linux v1.5.1
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

On 11/27/2025 10:08 AM, Ian J. Ball wrote:

Yesterday I promised myself a 100% "work-free" day, which I kept to, and
so I slept in late, and mostly played my video game.

For TV, I watched:

soaps: DOOL - Two episodes from last week. Really not worth recapping as nothing important happened, except someone is clearly trying to kill
Alex (they want us to think it's Jeremy, but I am sure that's a red
herring - could Bobby Stein still be alive?!...).
ÿÿ B&B - I actually missed the episode.ÿ :|
ÿÿ Y&R - The "Thanksgiving" episode. Nothing actually happened, though
it looks like in the episodes I have skipped, Claire and Kyle got back together (why?!!).
ÿÿ Beyond the Gates - A rerun of the episode with the
"Articulettes" (huh?!!) reunion concert. Meh.

I only watched one movie yesterday:

The Hand That Rocks the Cradle (Hulu) - The 2025 remake.

Wasn't this a Lifetime movie? I think maybe I have it sitting on my DVR.

ÿÿ The original film felt like lightning in a bottle - it was the B-
movie that somehow perfectly captured the zeitgeist of the early 1990s.
It was probably my "THE guilty pleasure fave" at the time (eventually replaced in that category by "Double Jeopardy" in the later 1990s).
ÿÿ Anyway... No remake could possible recapture that magic - So why bother?!
ÿÿ And the entire time I was watching the remake, that is exactly what
I was thinking! In short: The movie is completely superfluous.
ÿÿ It's not that the performances are bad - they're not: Monroe and Winstead are fine here, though nearly everyone else, except perhaps
child actress Mileiah Vega as Winstead's emotionally troubled tween daughter, fail to register. The one thing I did like about this - the
one thing that kind of stood out to me - was Martin Starr as...
Winstead's "bestie". This could have used some more of him.
ÿÿ But pretty much every change that was made in this makes the remake inferior to the over-the-top original. Mistake #1 was trying the tackle
the subject matter "seriously", which is a big mistake for something
like this. If you want to do that, don't use the same title - just do a
new film with a similar premise, but a different take. But once you use
the same title, you are just going to end up getting compared,
unfavorably, to the original.
ÿÿ The ending lets this down even further - I recall the final face-off
in the original being better than this (though I did like the fate of Monroe's character (gory!!) even if I didn't like how the rest of it
played out). But I have no idea what they were even trying to say with
the final scene - that the dumb tween daughter was in on it all along,
and now she's going to take revenge on Mommy?!?!! Honestly, the final
scenes should have been left on the cutting room floor.
ÿÿ Anyway, this isn't a horrible movie. But it compares unfavorably to
the original film in nearly every way, so again I ask ? What's the point?!

When I get a change I'll have to see if I have this sitting on my DVR or
not, and delete it if it is.

What did you watch?

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.1
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

On 11/27/2025 10:08 AM, Ian J. Ball wrote:

Yesterday I promised myself a 100% "work-free" day, which I kept to, and
so I slept in late, and mostly played my video game.

snip

What did you watch?

I watched:

Pluribus (AppleTV+) "Got Milk" - SPOILERS!

Episode 5 picks up where 4 ended with Carol visiting Zosia at the
hospital after Carol's failed attempt to kidnap, drug, and interrogate
Zosia. In response the entire city packs up and leaves. Carol becomes
the only person left in the entire city, which at first she is cool
with, until the power goes out, the trash stops being picked up and wild animals show up in her neighborhood. Fortunately for her, the infected
humans are still willing to help her, although remotely. Carol uses her
time alone in the city to do a bit of investigating and records messages
which she has the infected send out to the last uninfected humans. The
entire episode is told from her point of view so it's unclear if anyone
is actually watching her videos. There is also a major revelation at
the end when Carol discovers something about the infected, but the way
it was filmed only Carol knows what that revelation is.

I'm guessing the uninfected guy from Paraguay will eventually see
Carol's videos and join forces to Carol.

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.1
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

In article <10ga439$1jc1v$1@dont-email.me>, ijball@mac.invalid wrote:

What did you watch?

In my hotel room (with better stations than the the previous night's Roku channels), I watched:

PCB | THANKSGIVING SPECIAL | WIZARD OF OZ PATRIARCHY? | REMAKES ARE KILLING H'WOOD | DEMOLITION MAN!:

Pop Culture Breakdown is BACK with a Thanksgiving Special! Tonight we'll discuss how Remakes, Reboots and Sequels are destroying Hollywood, how the Running Man remake is a bomb (and did it deserve to be?), how Predator: Badlands is doing...is it a hit or a miss? We'll discuss a ludicrous
article about how the original Wizard of Oz defeats the Patriarchy, how a recent Star Wars Visions may have been "inspired" by a fan short, along with some reviews, and a bit of reflection on the pop culture things from 2025
that we're thankful for! Our Movie of the Week is the prophetic "Demolition Man"!

0:01:17 Where in the World is Gary Ambrosia?
0:03:26 Special Guest: Troy Pacelli
0:06:48 THE BREAKDOWN
0:07:00 Variety writes, Why Does ?The Wizard of Oz? Still Cast Such a Wicked Spell? Because It?s the Movie That First Flipped the Patriarchy on Its Head ????
0:24:40 "Ministry of Truth"
0:34:57 "Right out of f?ing Road Warrior" ??
0:41:29 "Trial balloons"
0:42:31 Which Remakes, Reboots and Sequels Have Lost the Most in the Past 5 Years?
0:45:58 Current Box Office Totals of Predator: Badlands and The Running Man vs Their Budget & Marketing
1:08:11 SUPER CHATS
1:20:40 NOTE: Yes, Hunter ? Hunter is pronounced "hunter hunter"?just like all the Manga/Anime titles with a ??? (U+00D7, ?, MULTIPLICATION SIGN)
1:25:40 Sisu: Road to Revenge is welcomed!
1:26:17 THE BREAKDOWN continued | Welcome, Andy Masterson!
1:27:31 Star Wars: Visions Animation Accused of Ripping Off Fight Choreography from a Fan Film
1:41:24 Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon Jinn AI Video to Crush Disney? / Leslye Headland Calls YouTubers F?ists
1:44:08 What in Pop Culture Are You Thankful for in 2025?
2:04:49 SUPER CHATS
2:14:45 MOVIES WE LOVE ? Demolition Man (1993)
2:40:20 The remake ??
2:47:59 SUPER CHATS
2:48:09 Gremlins 3 in 2027
2:52:08 Sisu: Road to Revenge is welcomed some more!
2:53:12 R.i.P., Udo Kier (14 October 1944 ? 23 November 2025)
2:56:47 Actually good new remakes of old games
2:57:20 AVOID It: Welcome to Derry (HBO)
3:01:51 NOTE: Demolition Man was released on Blu-ray Disc by Warner Bros. in 2010,
and on 4k UHD (US + International Cuts) by Arrow Video on 17 Dec 2024?First
pressing includes a 60-page perfect bound collector's book (essays), limited
edition packaging featuring newly commissioned artwork, a double-sided fold-out
poster featuring both the original and the newly commissioned artwork, 6 postcard
sized artcards, and 'Three Seashells' and 'Edgar Friendly graffiti' stickers.
3:25:05 The Final Super Chat
3:25:37 The last second


--- PyGate Linux v1.5.1
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

Ian J. Ball <ijball@mac.invalid> wrote:

Yesterday I promised myself a 100% "work-free" day, which I kept to, and
so I slept in late, and mostly played my video game.

For TV, I watched:

Beyond the Gates - A rerun of the episode with the "Articulettes" (huh?!!) reunion concert. Meh.

I thought that was a documentary about McMuffin.

--
The last thing I want to do is hurt you, but it is still on my list.

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.1
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)