• What Did You Watch? 2026-08-27 (Thursday)

    From Ubiquitous@3:633/10 to All on Fri Aug 28 04:30:41 2026
    After an arduous workout, I watched:

    Nothing.

    What did you watch?

    --
    Democrats and the liberal media hate President Trump more than they
    love this country.


    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.19
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From anim8rfsk@3:633/10 to All on Fri Aug 28 09:10:40 2026
    Ubiquitous <weberm@polaris.net> wrote:
    After an arduous workout, I watched:

    Nothing.

    What did you watch?


    Multi day, ketchup on the way

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

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.19
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Arthur Lipscomb@3:633/10 to All on Fri Aug 28 09:44:44 2026
    On 8/28/2026 9:10 AM, anim8rfsk wrote:
    Ubiquitous <weberm@polaris.net> wrote:
    After an arduous workout, I watched:

    Nothing.

    What did you watch?


    Multi day, ketchup on the way



    This is a multiday catch up. Over the last week I watched:

    Invaders From Mars (4K disc) 1953 movie about Invaders from Mars
    Attacking Earth which leads to a War of the Worlds. This movie really
    needs a commentary track.

    Invaders From Mars (blu-ray) 1986 remake directed by Tobe Hooper about Invaders from Mars Attacking Earth which leads to a War of the Worlds.

    War of the Worlds (4K disc) 1953 movie about Invaders from Mars
    Attacking Earth which leads to a War of the Worlds. I watched with a commentary track by Joe Dante. What does Joe Dante have to do with the
    1953 version of War of the Worlds? There's a clip from the movie in "Explorers." Good enough for me.

    War of the Worlds (4K disc) 2005 remake directed by Steven Spielberg
    about Invaders from Mars Attacking Earth which leads to a War of the
    Worlds. This is a frustrating movie. I really wish Spielberg had gone
    all out and more directly competed with Independence Day with this one.
    I *wanted* to see massive battles with modern day military against the
    Martian war machine but what I got instead was an annoying father (Tom
    Cruise) taking his annoying kids cross country.

    Mars Attacks (4K disc) 1996 movie directed by Tim Burton about Invaders
    from Mars Attacking Earth which leads to a War of the Worlds. This
    movie really needs a commentary track. Technically, I don't care much
    for this movie. It has too much body horror. But I broke down and
    decided to give the new 4K disc a shot and see if my opinion about it
    may have changed since the last time I watched it. I have to admit the
    new 4K sure does look nice.


    Robinson Crusoe on Mars (blu-ray) 1964 movie about a man (Paul Mantee) stranded on Mars. At first he thinks he's doomed to die but he figures
    out how to survive. This has a nice commentary track with the two leads talking about the making of the movie. Paul Mantee spoke a bit about
    thinking the movie would be a huge hit, but it flopped and messed with
    his career a bit.


    The Martian (3D blu-ray) 2015 movie about a man (Matt Damon) stranded on
    Mars. At first he thinks he's doomed to die but he figures out how to survive. And why is Matt Damon in so many movies? And why does he
    always need to be rescued from somewhere? I could do a day of Matt
    Damon needing to be rescued from somewhere movies starting with The
    Odyssey and working up from there to the space age.


    Doom (4K disc) 2005 movie about a group of space marines lead by "The
    Rock" who are transported to Mars. At first they think they are doomed
    to die thanks to the monsters trying to kill them, until they figure out
    how to survive.


    John Carter (3D blu-ray) 2012 movie about a man (Taylor Kitsch) who is transported to Mars. At first he thinks he's doomed to die thanks to
    the monsters trying to kill him, until he figures out how to survive.
    This is a great movie. It's a true shame it flopped at the box office.


    The Last House (Netflix) New movie about a family that wakes up one
    morning to find they and every house in their neighborhood is locked
    inside due to a mysterious force. The force also prevents just breaking
    a window or drilling a hole. The movie plays out what happens if a
    family is trapped in a house with no way out. This is a world wide
    phenomena so there is no rescue, and eventually they will run out of
    food. I don't want to get to deep into what happens, but overall, I
    liked the movie. But I was left with *many* questions about the
    logistics of how this worked. The movie was told from the perspective
    of the family, and they did not have internet or TV once the phenomenon started so we never saw what was happening in the outside world. We
    just knew it was happening everywhere. Except the family went to sleep
    and woke up not able to leave their house. What about everywhere else
    in the world where it was day time? What about people in cars, the cars
    were not locked. The overwhelming majority of people would probably
    have actually not been locked in a house or hotel or whatever. And even people who were inside, if an open door or open window or even a chimney
    (the chimney became a huge plot point later in the movie) were available
    then they could still leave. The movie completely glossed over these
    issues. It was an interesting concept movie, but I was left with so
    many unanswered questions.


    Train to Busan (4K disc) 2016 Korean movie directed by Yeon Sang-ho
    about a man taking a train with his little daughter when a zombie
    outbreak happens. The zombies are overrunning the cities along the
    train's route. But even the train is not safe because zombies have
    boarded the train too.


    Train to Busan Presents: Peninsula (4K disc) 2020 Korean movie directed
    by Yeon Sang-ho. This sequel to Train to Busan picks up a few years
    after the zombie outbreak with South Korea now quarantined from the rest
    of the world. A group of thieves decide to sneak into the country to
    steal all the valuables left behind. But things don't go according to plan.


    Colony (theatrical) Latest South Korean zombie movie directed by Yeon
    Sang-ho. Let's just be up front, this one rips off just about every
    zombie movie ever made. But it does so with loving care! This one has
    the fast moving hive mind zombies from "World War Z" Smart Zombies from "Return of the Living Dead" and it's basically set in a mall, like "Dawn
    of the Dead." But it adds several wrinkles and twists. The basic plot
    has this psycho bio terrorist who wants to get even with the world by unleashing a zombie plague on mankind. He develops and unleashes this
    virus at a corporate building (that also is basically a mall) that
    causes the infected to become hive mind zombies. But as the movie
    progresses, the hive mind gets smarter leading to a scene where
    fheivibef uvqvat va n ybpxrq ebbz trg n xabpx ng gur qbbe naq gur crbcyr
    ba gur bhgfvqr fnl gurl ner erfphref gurer gb rfpbeg gurz gb fnsrgl.
    Jura gur fheivibef bcra gur qbbe, vg gheaf bhg gb or gur mbzovrf. Guvf
    vf gur svefg gvzr va gur zbivr jura gur mbzovrf fcbxr. Fb hagvy gur
    qbbe bcrarq sbe gur erirny, rira gur nhqvrapr va gur gurngre qvq abg
    xabj vg jnf mbzovrf ba gur bhgfvqr bs gur qbbe.

    Another let's call it twist, is gur cflpub jub eryrnfrq gur ivehf pna
    pbageby gur mbzovr uvir zvaq. Bar ur frrf be xabjf gur mbzovrf frr naq
    xabj naq ivpr irefn.

    Overall, I would recommend checking this out if you are a fan of zombie movies. Although technically, they aren't "dead" so maybe it's more
    like the 28 Days later rage virus, but for all intents and purposes they behave just like zombies.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQAXT17Jz18

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.19
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Adam H. Kerman@3:633/10 to All on Fri Aug 28 17:46:21 2026
    Arthur Lipscomb <arthur@alum.calberkeley.org> wrote:

    John Carter (3D blu-ray) 2012 movie about a man (Taylor Kitsch) who is >transported to Mars. At first he thinks he's doomed to die thanks to
    the monsters trying to kill him, until he figures out how to survive.
    This is a great movie. It's a true shame it flopped at the box office.

    There is a reason no James Bond movie has been named for its hero. If
    the hero is deiberately given a bland name, it doesn't make a good
    title. The novel had a perfectly good title and should have been kept.

    I saw this in theater and enjoyed it. Tim Riggins never drank!

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.19
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From BTR1701@3:633/10 to All on Fri Aug 28 17:47:07 2026
    On Aug 28, 2026 at 9:44:44 AM PDT, "Arthur Lipscomb" <arthur@alum.calberkeley.org> wrote:
    The Last House (Netflix) New movie about a family that wakes up one
    morning to find they and every house in their neighborhood is locked
    inside due to a mysterious force. The force also prevents just breaking
    a window or drilling a hole. The movie plays out what happens if a
    family is trapped in a house with no way out. This is a world wide phenomena so there is no rescue, and eventually they will run out of
    food. I don't want to get to deep into what happens, but overall, I
    liked the movie. But I was left with *many* questions about the
    logistics of how this worked. The movie was told from the perspective
    of the family, and they did not have internet or TV once the phenomenon started so we never saw what was happening in the outside world. We
    just knew it was happening everywhere. Except the family went to sleep
    and woke up not able to leave their house. What about everywhere else
    in the world where it was day time? What about people in cars, the cars were not locked. The overwhelming majority of people would probably
    have actually not been locked in a house or hotel or whatever. And even people who were inside, if an open door or open window or even a chimney (the chimney became a huge plot point later in the movie) were available then they could still leave. The movie completely glossed over these
    issues. It was an interesting concept movie, but I was left with so
    many unanswered questions.

    I watched the Pitch Meeting about this movie:

    WRITER GUY: And then the mysterious force just kinda disappears and they're free.

    PRODUCER GUY: Why does that happen?

    WRITER GUY: Because.

    PRODUCER GUY: Well, okay then.



    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.19
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From The True Melissa@3:633/10 to All on Fri Aug 28 14:29:31 2026
    Ubiquitous wrote in article <UBI20260827@dont-email.me>:

    After an arduous workout, I watched:

    Nothing.

    What did you watch?

    I watched another The Patient -- still good. I also watched
    another Scream Queens, and I'm enjoying that the more of the two
    right now. A serial killer still stalks the campus, multiple
    people are dead, at least three students are known to own
    chainsaws for absurd reasons, and nobody has even suggested
    closing the school.

    --
    The meek shall inherit, we're told,
    But I'm not so easily sold.
    For supposing they should,
    It would do them no good --
    They'd lose it at once to the bold.

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.19
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From BTR1701@3:633/10 to All on Fri Aug 28 21:57:48 2026
    On Aug 28, 2026 at 11:29:31 AM PDT, "The True Melissa" <thetruemelissa@gmail.comNOSPAM> wrote:

    Ubiquitous wrote in article <UBI20260827@dont-email.me>:

    After an arduous workout, I watched:

    Nothing.

    What did you watch?

    I watched another The Patient -- still good. I also watched
    another Scream Queens, and I'm enjoying that the more of the two
    right now. A serial killer still stalks the campus, multiple
    people are dead, at least three students are known to own
    chainsaws for absurd reasons, and nobody has even suggested
    closing the school.

    One thing that always bugs me about horror shows and movies that go out of their way to make cell phones, computers, and social media into a major plot point is that at some point if I was in the characters' shoes and realized
    that every time my phone dinged or pinged or rang, really bad shit happened, I'd turn the damn thing off and throw it in a drawer. And if even one of the kids actually did that, it would really fuck with the killer's plans because the killer has designed his plans so heavily around this tech that without it, his entire scheme would all fall apart.

    Imagine the Ghostface killer in SCREAM constantly being sent to voicemail
    every time he called to taunt his next victim...



    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.19
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Ubiquitous@3:633/10 to All on Fri Aug 28 18:47:07 2026
    anim8rfsk@cox.net wrote:
    Ubiquitous <weberm@polaris.net> wrote:

    After an arduous workout, I watched:

    Nothing.

    What did you watch?

    Multi day, ketchup on the way

    I relish it.

    --
    Democrats and the liberal media hate President Trump more than they
    love this country.


    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.19
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From The True Melissa@3:633/10 to All on Sat Aug 29 08:37:43 2026
    BTR1701 wrote in article <116t08r$2o80l$1@dont-email.me>:
    Imagine the Ghostface killer in SCREAM constantly being sent to voicemail every time he called to taunt his next victim...

    That legit sounds like something that might happen on Scream
    Queens.

    --
    The meek shall inherit, we're told,
    But I'm not so easily sold.
    For supposing they should,
    It would do them no good --
    They'd lose it at once to the bold.

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.19
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From anim8rfsk@3:633/10 to All on Mon Aug 31 17:39:05 2026
    Arthur Lipscomb <arthur@alum.calberkeley.org> wrote:
    On 8/28/2026 9:10 AM, anim8rfsk wrote:
    Ubiquitous <weberm@polaris.net> wrote:
    After an arduous workout, I watched:

    Nothing.

    What did you watch?


    Multi day, ketchup on the way


    Mars Attacks (4K disc) 1996 movie directed by Tim Burton about Invaders
    from Mars Attacking Earth which leads to a War of the Worlds. This
    movie really needs a commentary track. Technically, I don't care much
    for this movie. It has too much body horror. But I broke down and
    decided to give the new 4K disc a shot and see if my opinion about it
    may have changed since the last time I watched it. I have to admit the
    new 4K sure does look nice.

    Fun fact. The reason the sets are practical, and the Martians are CGI is
    that they actually built the whole thing for stop motion and then realized there was no way to animate the Martian faces inside their helmets.

    Fun fact, number two. They asked one of the producers why they wrote an original script and he said there was no story on the trading cards. They
    had never looked at the backside of the cards and seen that there was a complete storyline.

    Fun fact, number three. Despite Tim Burton saying I was to never watch one
    of his films again, I cheated and watched this one. Boy Howdy did I regret
    it


    Robinson Crusoe on Mars (blu-ray) 1964 movie about a man (Paul Mantee) stranded on Mars. At first he thinks he's doomed to die but he figures
    out how to survive. This has a nice commentary track with the two leads talking about the making of the movie. Paul Mantee spoke a bit about thinking the movie would be a huge hit, but it flopped and messed with
    his career a bit.

    One of my first special edition, laser discs. I was amazed and pleased that they singled this out for the deluxe treatment.

    I can?t believe you didn?t pair this with ENEMY MINE. They are the same
    damn movie!


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

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.19
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Arthur Lipscomb@3:633/10 to All on Mon Aug 31 17:54:19 2026
    On 8/31/2026 5:39 PM, anim8rfsk wrote:
    Arthur Lipscomb <arthur@alum.calberkeley.org> wrote:
    On 8/28/2026 9:10 AM, anim8rfsk wrote:
    Ubiquitous <weberm@polaris.net> wrote:
    After an arduous workout, I watched:

    Nothing.

    What did you watch?


    Multi day, ketchup on the way


    Mars Attacks (4K disc) 1996 movie directed by Tim Burton about Invaders
    from Mars Attacking Earth which leads to a War of the Worlds. This
    movie really needs a commentary track. Technically, I don't care much
    for this movie. It has too much body horror. But I broke down and
    decided to give the new 4K disc a shot and see if my opinion about it
    may have changed since the last time I watched it. I have to admit the
    new 4K sure does look nice.

    Fun fact. The reason the sets are practical, and the Martians are CGI is
    that they actually built the whole thing for stop motion and then realized there was no way to animate the Martian faces inside their helmets.


    Ridiculous. Do the Martians stop motion then when you cut to their faces animate those separately.

    And really why would the helmet matter anyway. Stop motion is shot one
    frame at a time. Whether there is a helmet or not, you still have to
    take one picture, adjust the Martian's face then take the picture again.
    The helmet doesn't really change that. All you have to do is raise
    and lower it between adjustments.

    Fun fact, number two. They asked one of the producers why they wrote an original script and he said there was no story on the trading cards. They
    had never looked at the backside of the cards and seen that there was a complete storyline.


    Good grief!
    It couldn't have been worse than the story we got. They couldn't decide
    if they wanted to make a comedy or a serious film, so they tried to mix
    it with both and neither worked all that well.


    Fun fact, number three. Despite Tim Burton saying I was to never watch one
    of his films again, I cheated and watched this one. Boy Howdy did I regret
    it


    Robinson Crusoe on Mars (blu-ray) 1964 movie about a man (Paul Mantee)
    stranded on Mars. At first he thinks he's doomed to die but he figures
    out how to survive. This has a nice commentary track with the two leads
    talking about the making of the movie. Paul Mantee spoke a bit about
    thinking the movie would be a huge hit, but it flopped and messed with
    his career a bit.

    One of my first special edition, laser discs. I was amazed and pleased that they singled this out for the deluxe treatment.

    I can?t believe you didn?t pair this with ENEMY MINE. They are the same
    damn movie!



    I'm not sure if I've ever paired them before. But now that you mention
    it, they could pair well.

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.19
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From anim8rfsk@3:633/10 to All on Mon Aug 31 21:01:31 2026
    Arthur Lipscomb <arthur@alum.calberkeley.org> wrote:
    On 8/31/2026 5:39 PM, anim8rfsk wrote:
    Arthur Lipscomb <arthur@alum.calberkeley.org> wrote:
    On 8/28/2026 9:10 AM, anim8rfsk wrote:
    Ubiquitous <weberm@polaris.net> wrote:
    After an arduous workout, I watched:

    Nothing.

    What did you watch?


    Multi day, ketchup on the way


    Mars Attacks (4K disc) 1996 movie directed by Tim Burton about Invaders
    from Mars Attacking Earth which leads to a War of the Worlds. This
    movie really needs a commentary track. Technically, I don't care much
    for this movie. It has too much body horror. But I broke down and
    decided to give the new 4K disc a shot and see if my opinion about it
    may have changed since the last time I watched it. I have to admit the
    new 4K sure does look nice.

    Fun fact. The reason the sets are practical, and the Martians are CGI is
    that they actually built the whole thing for stop motion and then realized >> there was no way to animate the Martian faces inside their helmets.


    Ridiculous. Do the Martians stop motion then when you cut to their faces animate those separately.

    And really why would the helmet matter anyway. Stop motion is shot one frame at a time. Whether there is a helmet or not, you still have to
    take one picture, adjust the Martian's face then take the picture again.
    The helmet doesn't really change that. All you have to do is raise
    and lower it between adjustments.

    No matter how careful you are, the reflections would flicker


    Fun fact, number two. They asked one of the producers why they wrote an
    original script and he said there was no story on the trading cards. They
    had never looked at the backside of the cards and seen that there was a
    complete storyline.


    Good grief!
    It couldn't have been worse than the story we got. They couldn't decide
    if they wanted to make a comedy or a serious film, so they tried to mix
    it with both and neither worked all that well.


    Fun fact, number three. Despite Tim Burton saying I was to never watch one >> of his films again, I cheated and watched this one. Boy Howdy did I regret >> it


    Robinson Crusoe on Mars (blu-ray) 1964 movie about a man (Paul Mantee)
    stranded on Mars. At first he thinks he's doomed to die but he figures
    out how to survive. This has a nice commentary track with the two leads >>> talking about the making of the movie. Paul Mantee spoke a bit about
    thinking the movie would be a huge hit, but it flopped and messed with
    his career a bit.

    One of my first special edition, laser discs. I was amazed and pleased that >> they singled this out for the deluxe treatment.

    I can?t believe you didn?t pair this with ENEMY MINE. They are the same
    damn movie!



    I'm not sure if I've ever paired them before. But now that you mention
    it, they could pair well.




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

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.19
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)