The Sword and Laser discussion

This is a cool cottage. The furnishings, woodwork and tile design are amazing.

HOBBIT HOUSE AT DRAGONFLY KNOLL
https://www.archerbuchanan.com/portfo...

Fell down the hobbit hole…
Step Inside a Hobbit Hole! Exploring Bagshot Row at Hobbiton
https://youtu.be/5Z3_6Cmavrk?si=I1XMr...

Trike wrote: "This is a cool cottage. The furnishings, woodwork and tile design are amazing.

HOBBIT HOUSE AT DRAGONFLY KNOLL
https://www.archerbuchanan.com/portfo...

Fell down..."

Wow, that’s beautiful. I especially like the reading corner with the chaise longue!

I am watching the first 3 new Episodes of the 2nd Season of Rings of Power. I enjoyed Season 1 but I know I am in the minority in liking it.

Stephen wrote: "I am watching the first 3 new Episodes of the 2nd Season of Rings of Power. I enjoyed Season 1 but I know I am in the minority in liking it."

I watched S1 as it dropped, which is rare for me, and I was in 2 minds about it.

I have just watched S2E1 and I enjoyed it.

I liked the beginning, and the end. But the middle was a bit rough for me. I will probably watch season 2 at some point, but it is not something I feel the need to rush out and watch.

Just finished Kaos on Netflix. It wasn't the comedy I thought it would be but it was pretty interesting. It takes place on an alternate, current day Earth where Greek mythology is true. Jeff Goldblum plays Zeus and the season ends set up for another. I won't give anything away but I think most of you would enjoy it.

Phil wrote: "Just finished Kaos on Netflix. It wasn't the comedy I thought it would be but it was pretty interesting. It takes place on an alternate, current day Earth where Greek mythology is true. Jeff Goldbl..."

I finished watching this last night. It was pretty good. It was darker than I was expecting but I'll watch a second season if it happens.

Watched Jurassic World Dominion this morning. It came out in 2022 but just hit Netflix yesterday.
It was mindless fun; neither better or worse than the last few and long as you don't care about logic or science. It was nice to see the cast from Jurassic Park back. Also, I noticed some plot similarities to the latest season of the animated Jurassic park series on Netflix which made it a little more interesting to me.

Watched season 1 of a British tech series, Stephen Fry: Gadget Man, from 2012. On the one hand, I could listen to Fry talk about anything, but on the other the "futuristic" gadgets he presented and tested rated a "hmm" at best. Also, there were only 6 episodes and the sixth, the Christmas special, was just clips of the previous 5.
There are 3 more seasons with Richard Ayoade instead of Fry and I'll get to them eventually but I'm in no hurry.

I watched Untold: Sign Stealer on Netflix, which is about the scandal of Michigan’s football team codebreaking the signs of opposing teams. I played football for like a minute but I pay zero attention to it or any other sport other than Curling, nevermind the college version of sports, but this documentary was fascinating.

It blew up in 2023 so it’s still ongoing, but even my extra-non-sports wife found it interesting. Mostly because it’s not about the game itself but rather the other aspects surrounding it.

Speaking of curling, have you already listened to this?
https://amp.cbc.ca/listen/cbc-podcast...

I aspire to curl, but there are no local curling clubs and just reached out to a curling club near me. Thanks for the nudge :)

Trike wrote: "I watched Untold: Sign Stealer on Netflix, which is about the scandal of Michigan’s football team codebreaking the signs of opposing teams.."

Isn't it the job of the opposition to try and guess what all the signs and hand signals etc mean?

Tassie Dave wrote: "Isn't it the job of the opposition to try and guess what all the signs and hand signals etc mean?."

That is exactly what I was thinking!

Tassie Dave wrote: "Trike wrote: "I watched Untold: Sign Stealer on Netflix, which is about the scandal of Michigan’s football team codebreaking the signs of opposing teams.."

Isn't it the job of the opposition to tr..."

Yes, but apparently there are rules, like you can’t go to a game and record them; you have to be either playing the team on the day or watch them on a broadcast. This is the heart of the scandal. The fact that the kid is so good at it and so obsessive about it made him the best and led to the accusations of cheating.

It’s really worth watching.

Just watched A Quiet Place: Day One. Really good, far better than I was anticipating. Of all the movies to turn into a franchise this is the most unexpected. Just goes to show that even the simplest ideas can be compelling when done right. 4 stars.

The other day my 7yo announced that he wanted to watch Star Wars (I should say this was entirely unprompted by me) so we watched A New Hope together. He spent much of the runtime literally jumping up and down and squealing with excitement and afterwards proclaimed it the “best movie ever”. So tonight we are going to watch The Empire Strikes Back. I think we’ll probably do the Machete Order (https://www.rodhilton.com/2011/11/11/...) as it seems to be the internet’s preferred way to introduce a newbie to the films, so after that it’ll be Attack of the Clones.

Ruth wrote: "The other day my 7yo announced that he wanted to watch Star Wars (I should say this was entirely unprompted by me) so we watched A New Hope together. He spent much of the runtime literally jumping ..."

OMG. How frackin' wonderful! I wish I could have been a fly on the wall to watch your boy.
Also, totally agree about Machete Order.

I'm very jealous. I also have a 7-year old and I asked him not long ago if any of his friends liked Star Wars. He shook his head and we continued our Pokemon conversation.

My 6 & 8-year-old were at their book club at the local library yesterday (they were discussing Where Is Walt Disney World?) and the librarian asked them if they had seen Star Wars.
This launched them into a mini-rant about how the fourth movie was first and the first movie was fourth and isn't that weird.

They are much more into Descendants these days than Star Wars, which is definitely not my jam.

Clyde wrote: "Ruth wrote: "The other day my 7yo announced that he wanted to watch Star Wars (I should say this was entirely unprompted by me) so we watched A New Hope together. He spent much of the runtime liter..."

OMG. How frackin' wonderful! I wish I could have been a fly on the wall to watch your boy.



It was very adorable!

Ruth wrote: "The other day my 7yo announced that he wanted to watch Star Wars (I should say this was entirely unprompted by me) so we watched A New Hope together. He spent much of the runtime literally jumping ..."

This is the first time I have heard of that order. When a group of my friends did a rewatch about 10 years ago we used this resource.

http://www.fanpop.com/clubs/star-wars...

We opted for "Method 3: The Prequels as Flashback" - which worked better than I expected.

I'm watching the Ring of Power; episode 4 , the stranger got his name by leader of the half foot -- "Grand Elf (Gandalf).

plus I am expect a mood ring up tick with the ring of power show.
search on amazon for the mood ring.

Trike wrote: "Yes, but apparently there are rules, like you can’t go to a game and record them; you have to be either playing the team on the day or watch them on a broadcast. This is the heart of the scandal. The fact that the kid is so good at it and so obsessive about it made him the best and led to the accusations of cheating.

It’s really worth watching."

I'll give it a watch.

Some of the signs they use in AFL (Aussie Rules) are quite amusing. Once you work out what they mean. Some are just downright weird.

I always assume they aren't overly cryptic. Footballers aren't that bright. 😜

Miyazaki’s The Boy and Heron on Max.

Finished watching Chuck. The series ran from 2007-2112, starring Zachary Levi as a nerd, working in a Best Buy type store, who accidently gets implanted with "The Intersect". The Intersect is a CIA database that the user can access by "flashing" and learning skills like Kung Fu.
There were low points, like Chuck's coworkers who should have been fired and arrested almost every episode, and high points, like all the cameos by genre stars like Scott Bakula, Linda Hamilton, and Brandon Routh amongst others.
Overall I really enjoyed this show.

Phil wrote: "Finished watching Chuck. The series ran from 2007-2112, starring Zachary Levi as a nerd, working in a Best Buy type store, who accidently gets implanted with "The Intersect". The Intersect is a CIA..."

I was just looking through the different discussions with recent activity and saw your comment. My brother, David, was the fight coordinator for all five seasons of that series. It was fun to watch and it's one he definitely enjoyed working on. Glad to hear people are still finding it!

I watched Chuck as it was coming out, and enjoyed it. Went back and rewatched about the first 2/3rds a few years ago. There was some things I really liked, and the fights were generally some of them. There were also some things I didn't like as much, lets just say the fan service was very much of the time. But overall the whole show was fun.

I watched Dune Part 2 and feh. Lord save me from "reinterpretations" of book properties.

I stumbled on Chuck on Max during the pandemic. It was a bit of a comfort watch when I was feeling down, really took me back to those early days just out of college when I first watched it. Definitely "of an era".

Watched The Fall Guy this morning. It’s a lot of fun, with plenty of meta jokes for movie buffs.

I am watching [AMC] tv The Terror season1. https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the...

That’s based on the Dan “Hyperion” Simmons book. How is it?

Tamahome wrote: "That’s based on the Dan “Hyperion” Simmons book. How is it?"

I watched that when it first came out. I remember it being really interesting.

John wrote: "Ruth wrote: "The other day my 7yo announced that he wanted to watch Star Wars (I should say this was entirely unprompted by me) so we watched A New Hope together. He spent much of the runtime liter..."

The Machete order is basically the prequels-as-flashback, skipping over The Phantom Menace. I can see the logic behind watching the films in this order… however, as it happens, we got about 10 minutes in to Attack of the Clones before my little boy announced that “this film is boring” and we watched Return of the Jedi instead. So much for the Machete order! We’ve just watched the OG trilogy. Not sure if he’ll be up for more Star Wars movies or if we’ll be back to Disney next week.

I think that is something that can be lost by the Fandom of Star Wars at some point, is these are meant to be fun family movies, and mostly kid friendly. At least the original trilogy, and I'd even argue most of the prequels. And I do think even Phantom Menace does a decent job of that, it is actiony from within the first few minutes. And while it slows down a bit on Tattonine, I think kids are OK with that since it is after the action, and there is not too much of a break. I do think the Machete order probably works on adults who are more concerned about plot then just being in the moment of what the film is giving them, but I wouldn't avoid Phantom Menace for a kid either. But that is just my take.

I've said before that one of my earliest memories is my dad taking me to see Star Wars in the theater when it was released around the time of Empire. I was 3, but it fostered a life long love of this franchise, so I think they did something right with that film.

Ruth wrote: "we got about 10 minutes in to Attack of the Clones before my little boy announced that “this film is boring”"

Turns out even kids can tell when they’re being pandered to.

Francis x wrote: "I am watching [AMC] tv The Terror season1. https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the..."

Phil wrote: "Tamahome wrote: "That’s based on the Dan “Hyperion” Simmons book. How is it?"

I watched that when it first came out. I remember it being really interesting."

I just started reading The Ministry of Time, which is about grabbing people from the past just before they die and bringing them to our present. The main guy the book features is Graham Gore, who was on the Erebus and perished along with all the other men of that Arctic expedition, which is what The Terror is based on.

I didn’t realize she was going to use real people in the book, but it’s interesting so far. Introducing Commander Gore to modern life has had some amusing moments, such as this:

Gore wouldn't watch television. He seemed to find it a tasteless invention.
"You can send dioramas through the ether," he said, "and you've used it to show people at their most wretched."
"No one's forcing you to watch EastEnders."
"Any child or unmarried woman of virtue might engage the machine and be faced with lurid examples of criminal behavior."
"No one's making you watch Midsomer Murders either."
"Or deformed monstrosities against the will of God—"
"What?"
"Sesame Street," he said.

😂

Just finished a rewatch of the Center Seat docuseries that came out a couple years ago for Star Trek's 55th anniversary. It's fairly comprehensive and doesn't seem to sugarcoat things although the cutesy, quick cut editing gets a little old.
The thing that surprised me the most was the whole Gene Roddenberry story. On the one hand, everyone loved him for his creation and vision of the future, while on the other hand he was a control freak and became a raging coke head and the other producers and studio people kept him from having anything to do with any of the movies.
Over all I thought it was . . . fascinating.

I watched the 1st episode of The Penguin on HBO MAX. Colin Farrell is unrecognizable in the lead role. after one episode I have high hopes.

John (Nevets) wrote: "I think that is something that can be lost by the Fandom of Star Wars at some point, is these are meant to be fun family movies, and mostly kid friendly. At least the original trilogy, and I'd even..."

I remember the @Oh shit@ moment at the beginning of Star Wars when the Star Destroyer flies in..... On a really big screen that was damn impressive. Hooked from that moment

John (Nevets) wrote: "I think that is something that can be lost by the Fandom of Star Wars at some point, is these are meant to be fun family movies, and mostly kid friendly. At least the original trilogy, and I'd even..."

George Lucas talked about this in the earliest interviews he gave about Star Wars. I think it might’ve been in Time where he said that Disney had abandoned kids between 10-14, so that’s who Star Wars was for. I was 12 in ‘77, so exactly the target audience. (Later Disney bought Lucasfilm… oh, irony, I know it when I see it.)

When Phantom Menace came out, people were complaining that it was too much of a kiddie movie, and I pointed out Lucas’ intent from the get-go, noting that they were upset because they grew up but Star Wars didn’t. (I believe I said that very thing on Usenet back in 1999. It’s probably still out there somewhere.)

Of all the Star Wars content, I think only Rebels and Mandalorian have captured the same spirit as the original film in terms of the target audience, and I think Andor is the only true Star-Wars-for-grownups production. Andor remains the least-viewed SW series. Ahsoka has worse reviews but more people watched it.

Star Trek is the opposite, skewing more adult, which is why the kid-focused show Prodigy was the least-watched and earliest canceled. Even Lower Decks, despite being a goofy comedy, is more oriented toward adults than typical cartoons.

Iain wrote: "I remember the @Oh shit@ moment at the beginning of Star Wars when the Star Destroyer flies in..... On a really big screen that was damn impressive. Hooked from that moment"

I contend, and have long done so, that Star Wars has the greatest opening shot in cinema history. I’ve never heard another audience gasp and exclaim over an opening shot like that. Talk about throwing down the gauntlet.

Each subsequent SW film has tried to have as masterful an opener but no one has ever matched it. The only one that’s come close in my opinion is the opening for Rogue One, but it has an entirely different effect, namely of confusion, as it takes the entire opening scene to orient yourself. Which is the point of those shots, of course, to keep you guessing and off-kilter, which is the intent of the entire film. The Force Awakens almost does it, but it doesn’t hold the shot long enough to have the same impact.

Just watched the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles : Mutant Mayhem movie from last year. I thought it was really enjoyable with a cool animation style. I don't really know them other than from the 90's movies so I wasn't bothered by whatever changes in the mythology there might have been.
Overall a good kid's movie.

Finished the Mr. and Mrs. Smith series 1st season on Amazon. Overall I thought it was pretty bad. I'd give the final episode 4 out 5 stars (it was relatively funny and exciting) but all the others only 1 or 2. The show wasn't nearly as cool as they thought it was and the lead female character is completely unlikeable which we hear a reason for in the final episode. It's also way too focused on the love relationship between the 2 but they seem to have zero chemistry to me.
I don't recommend it although I may watch the beginning of the next season, if there is one, just to resolve the cliffhanger that season one ended on.

So they are no Brangelina 😜

We had a friend over for movie night last night to watch Pixar’s Inside Out 2, now streaming on Disney+. I liked it better than the first one, and I thought the portrayal of anxiety was dead on.

I finished watching the Terror Season 1 on Samsung Plus TV. The show was originally broadcast on AMC. It is based on the novel The Terror by Dan Simmons. The story is based on fact. It covers the lost Franklin expedition that sought the Northwest Passage in 1845. The novel and the TV show add a suspenseful fantasy element involving an Inuit legend. I enjoyed it very much.
The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power season 2 started on 08-29-24 on Amazon Prime Video. I’ve watched the first three episodes and there is a lot to like especially Elrond. The second season finale is on 10-03-24.
The shows that I want to watch next are Good Omens Season One and Two on Amazon Prime Video (Based on the novel Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett) and the Three-Body Problem on Netflix. (Based on the novel The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin)
Meanwhile MAX will adapt the first novella of the Dunk and Egg series. The story, The Hedge Knight can be found in the collection A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms by George R.R. Martin). The show named A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms will premiere sometime in 2025.

How Judy-Lynn del Rey shaped sci-fi and fantasy as we know it today

https://youtu.be/bO9oSyR-5UM

Just finished season 2 of Rings of Power. I found it pretty mediocre although it did pick up in the last 2 episodes. Maybe because I just wasn't that into it but I had trouble remembering who certain characters were and what their deal was and I found the acting was not quite right. I was reminded of the line from "Someone Who is Cool" by The Odds; "Close but kind of meatless, like actors who play Jesus in movies of the week."
(view spoiler)[ Also it's pretty cheesey that "Gandalf" is just a corruption of "Grand elf" like "Hodor" from "hold the door". (hide spoiler)]

Also just watched Renfield with Nicholas Hoult, Nicolas Cage, and Awkwafina. It was a goofy, bloody, action-comedy and I found it more amusing than I thought it would be. It's a good, light watch for the Halloween season but the over the top gore might turn some people off.