The Sword and Laser discussion

Just finished Sausage Party: Foodtopia on Amazon. The series is a follow up to the movie from a few years ago.
Well... I enjoyed it but I'd have trouble recommending it to too many people. If you can be offended you will be offended. Constant foul language, extreme violence, graphic food on food sex, graphic food on human sex, cannibalism, making fun of certain politicians, it's got it all. It's good for what it is; Seth Rogen, frat boy humour.
It's set up for a second season.

Also just watched a documentary from 2019 on Amazon. Eye of the Beholder: The Art of Dungeons and Dragons. I've got several D&D art books and could flip through them all day. If you're not into fantasy art this would be pretty dry but it sure brought back a lot of memories for me.

Phil wrote: "Also just watched a documentary from 2019 on Amazon. Eye of the Beholder: The Art of Dungeons and Dragons. I've got several D&D art books and could flip through them all day. If you're not into fan..."

I looove SFF art.

Have you seen the Magic the Gathering art books? I just found out about them and bought them all.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DETt8Oet6...

Book flips:
https://youtu.be/WJbhmcNCH_Y
https://youtu.be/KJnTXMS248A
https://youtu.be/AvEvkocJ178
https://youtu.be/6pnc_rCPTRQ

I haven't seen those. My future empty bank account thanks you.

Phil wrote: "I haven't seen those. My future empty bank account thanks you."

Right? I know I had money like a minute ago.

Speaking of money, does anyone have a couple million bucks they can loan me?

https://youtu.be/3QmtlArqm7Y

Watched the finale of Skeleton Crew last night. Overall I thought it was just OK. To start with I probably wasn't the intended audience for it; if I saw this when I was 10 I would have loved it and it was partly a Goonies homage but I was never a big fan of that either.
On the one hand it was cool to see a suburban neighborhood in Star Wars for the first time and there a few other interesting locales that they visited.
On the other I found most of the kids and their parents pretty annoying and hard to root for and the pirates were just idiotic. Also, in the final episode, (view spoiler)[it was hard to swallow that a single thrust from a lightsaber would "kill" a house-sized droid and why did the pirates run in open air skiffs from the x-wings rather than take the townsfolk as hostages. (hide spoiler)]. The whole episode seemed rushed and unfinished.

Trike wrote: "Speaking of money, does anyone have a couple million bucks they can loan me?"

I mean...not yet, but soon! Just waiting on that sweet cash to come in from living in a cabin in the woods without TV for a month. Plus Beyonce's peeps gotta come through eventually with the money for agreeing to never hear her music again.

Watched a couple movies on Netflix.
Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning was typical of the series; Tom Cruise stunting, lots of action, Hayley Atwell charming. I've never been a huge fan of the series but it was fine.
Self Reliance starring and directed by Jake Johnson was a interesting premise. A man with a boring life is recruited for a dark web show where he will win a million dollars if he can survive for 30 days with bounty hunters trying to kill him. The loophole is they can't kill him if he's in the presence of other people. It was a fun show to watch.

I am watching Skeleton Crew on Disney Plus. I watched the first episode of the eight for Season One. Off to a good start.
The show I want to watch next is 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.
I may go back to watching Good Omens Season One and Two on Amazon Prime Video (Based on the novel Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett) They plan to finish the series with a TV movie in 2025.
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 was on 10-03-24, but I still haven’t finished it yet.

watching the magicians , all 5 seasons on Tubi . i'm on season 3.

I watched Saturday Night. Brings back memories. Dating myself, I may have watched the first Saturday Night Live when it first aired. I didn't know Johnny Carson was that mean.

Just finished watching Beacon 23. It was 2 seasons, 8 episodes each and apparently canceled now. Based on a Hugh Howey short story about a space lighthouse and the mysteries surrounding it.
I didn't like it very much. There was a lot of psychobabble and pseudoscience AI mumbo-jumbo that they didn't really clearly explain much. Each season had a couple flashback episodes that I enjoyed more than the rest because they were more complete unto themselves. If they had explained the background to this universe more fully I may have gotten into it.

I also finally watched Oppenheimer. I found it mildly interesting but long and slow. I'm glad I watched it at home where I could move around and do other things once in a while.

Same for me with both. Two DNFs.

Watched a NJ school on youtube put on a play version of Alien using old toys to make props. Sigourney Weaver was so impressed she introduced an encore showing of it, and the movie director financed the encore. The alien walks in the audience during the show.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5Gsi...

Francis x wrote: "watching the magicians , all 5 seasons on Tubi . i'm on season 3."

I have finished the series last week ;just in time of the Super Bowl which is also on Tubi ( I did not watch).
I am watching the series, Enterprise NX01 on VUDU. season 2.

Just finished the new witcher animated movie (Siren of the Deep?) it's not bad.

Continuing Black Doves - the pacing is bit off by episode 3.

Francis x wrote: "watching the magicians , all 5 seasons on Tubi . i'm on season 3."

Francis x wrote: "Francis x wrote: "watching the magicians , all 5 seasons on Tubi . i'm on season 3."

I have finished the series last week ;just in time of the Super Bowl which is also on Tubi ( I did not watch). ..."

VUDU have an option of buying the bundle which I brought all four season Enterprise. also brought all season of Fragile Rock ,animated Beetlejuice.

I didn’t even know Fraggle Rock was available to stream anywhere.

Our new ridiculous-sized TV was delivered today and when the guys installed it and set it up for us, Captain America was on FX. It was funny how we all just sat there and watched the ending together. Sign of a good movie. Then they left and The Avengers came on, so I started watching that. Halfway through I was like, “Why am I watching this with commercials when I can stream it?” Doy. So I did. Also good still.

Then I switched over to Apple TV to watch The Gorge which just dropped yesterday. It’s not groundbreaking or anything but it’s solid Sci-Fi Horror directed by Scott Derrickson who wrote and directed Doctor Strange. The magic he pulled off here was getting me to enjoy a performance by Miles Teller for the first time. I didn’t remember from the trailer that Sigourney Weaver is also in it, but she’s only onscreen for like 5 minutes. Anya Taylor Joy was her usual excellent self.

A surprise treat was seeing Kobna Holdbrook-Smith show up. He was also in Dr. Strange as the physical therapist and superbly narrates the Rivers of London audiobooks. He again proved to be a great actor because he has all the heavy lifting of infodump exposition but he made it interesting. I don’t know why this guy isn’t famous yet.

Anyway, check out The Gorge if you want to see a competent action sci-fi flick. Solid 3 stars. Excellent effects, too.

Edit: I rewatched parts of Gorge to answer some questions I was thinking about and turns out it’s both dumber and funnier than I thought on first viewing. It doesn’t make any more sense, so I didn’t miss anything, but the first time through I didn’t realize she initiated the chess game and he started the drumming contest. Queen’s Gambit and Whiplash, respectively, the things that made them each famous. Duh and lol.

Watched the Witcher: Sirens of the Deep animated movie on Netflix. I thought it was pretty good although some of the accents of the voice actors were a little much and fewer musical numbers would have been good. The nods towards the Little Mermaid were interesting.
It was worth my 90 minutes.

Trike wrote: "A surprise treat was seeing Kobna Holdbrook-Smith show up."

I didn't pick up that that was him. In my defense, I mostly know him for his voice. He would be my favourite audiobook narrator.

I enjoyed The Gorge. It's a solid action popcorn flick and Anya is always a Joy (😉) to watch act.

3.5 stars sounds fair.

I just watched both Boom and Rogue from last season's Dr. Who, in a giant auditorium with live commentary from some of the writers. i highly recommend this method of re-watching.

John (Taloni) wrote: "I just watched both Boom and Rogue from last season's Dr. Who, in a giant auditorium with live commentary from some of the writers. i highly recommend this method of re-watching."

how do you watch with live commentary? is it available in D+?

I watched the animated Flow last night. It's pretty good, although I have questions. It's wordless, and some curious things aren't explained. Apparently it was made with Blender.

Tamahome wrote: "I watched the animated Flow last night. It's pretty good, although I have questions. It's wordless, and some curious things aren't explained. Apparently it was made with Blender."

I almost watched that the other night but now I’ve forgotten which streamer it’s on. Max?

Silvana wrote: "how do you watch with live commentary? is it available in D+?"

I was just being coy. It was at the Dr. Who convention "Gallifrey One in 35 Millimeter." They do themes for each year, this being the 35th, and it's always "Gallifrey One" after the planet.

Some conventions put their panels on youtube, but this one doesn't. I'm afraid you...had to be there.

If you are able to make it to a Gallifrey convention in Los Angeles, I highly recommend it. Panels with Doctors, Companions, writers, producers, Big Finish always shows, side stuff like Blake's 7, and the creativity of the attendees is amazing. Last year I went to the "Noble Family Reunion" and they did the long arms and one Donna did the teeth. (I was there as the "Doctor Wilf, Timelord/Santa Metacrisis since the theme was Miracle on 34th Street.) This year we had the usual assortment of amazing costumes: Gallifreyans with the huge headgear, the Sisters of Fire, more Doctors than you could imagine, and mashups like "The Aladdinth Doctor" complete with Abu companion doll (high quality) and a sonic lamp. It's an amazing experience.

John (Taloni) wrote: "Silvana wrote: "how do you watch with live commentary? is it available in D+?"

I was just being coy. It was at the Dr. Who convention "Gallifrey One in 35 Millimeter." They do themes for each year..."

So which Doctor is the best in your opinion?

Trike wrote: "Our new ridiculous-sized TV was delivered today and when the guys installed it and set it up for us, Captain America was on FX. It was funny how we all just sat there and watched the ending togethe..."

Just bought a new TV yesterday myself. Bit of an upgrade from my 14 year old one. I've also been rewatching a lot of my favorites, now in 4k HDR. 2001 is also on Max right now, and that first hour is possibly my favorite cinematic visual of all time. And the rest of the movie aint bad either.

Papaphilly wrote: "So which Doctor is the best in your opinion?"

I have been watching Doctor Who since I was a young boy in the 60s. I dropped off being an avid fan in the early 80s because of work, and chasing girls 😉 But I have been always been casual viewer since. I don't watch every episode, but I will watch a few episodes a season.

Tom Baker was my Doctor from age 12 to 18. So for me he is the definitive Doctor.

I also liked Jon Pertwee's Doctor. Of the Re-boots, my favourite was Peter Capaldi.

My favourite companions. Sarah Jane Smith (Elisabeth Sladen), Leela (Louise Jameson) & Clara Oswald (Jenna Coleman)

Yep. Flow is on Max. Actually, there's a lot of unexplained things in it.

I have been watching the TV series Milennium. broke out the DVDs. It is so good still.

Watching the Justified tv series. Headlined by Timothy Olyphant and Walton Goggins but with seriously stand-out performances by most all the cast.

Tamahome wrote: "Yep. Flow is on Max. Actually, there's a lot of unexplained things in it."

I watched it last night; quite good. Didn’t realize going in it was a Sci-Fi/Fantasy flick. The whale looked like it was from Avatar 2. (Which I then watched right afterward.) I thought Flow would just be one of those Incredible Journey/Homeward Bound type of flicks. Captain Capybara was pretty good at steering the boat.

I watched White Lotus Season 3 Episode 1 which is set in Thailand, my new home where I fled because of the Red Caps.

Watched The Blue Beetle, the DC superhero movie. It had some nice visuals but was otherwise pretty terrible. Picture the second Shazam movie and add bad racial stereotypes. Even Susan Sarandon was bad in this. Maybe kids under ten will like it.

^ I so wanted to like the second Shazam movie. Just...such a bad plot. And Helen Mirren phoned it in. Probably the best part was the original Billy Batson cameo and coy references to the van from the TV show.

Did an MCU hardmode yesterday. 11+ hours of superheroes. (Mrs. Trike is out of town.)

Captain America: The Winter Soldier 2:16 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Captain America: Civil War 2:27 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thor: Ragnarok 2:10 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Avengers: Infinity War 2:29 ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Avengers: Endgame 3:01 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

His fan-built B9:

How I Made the Lost in Space Robot
https://youtu.be/QNFgg3CaRgo

Finished season 1 of Those About To Die. It's a Roman Empire show trying to be Game of Thrones and failing. I thought it was pretty bad for the first couple episodes but then I eventually got into a couple of the story lines. There seems to be an obligatory naked breast scene in almost every episode and the green screen during the chariot races and the big vista shots is pretty bad but otherwise it looks good. I'd give it a 5 or 6 out of 10.

Doctor Who back April 12th. Excerpt from a silly Parade article and I'm linking it just to be complete, but I have yet to find an unsilly article that isn't full of objectionable cookie requirements. So see y'all on April 12th for more of the Doctah!

When will Doctor Who Season 2 premiere?
The newest season of Doctor Who will premiere on Saturday, April 12, 2025 on Disney+ where available and on BBC . The season technically kicked off with the Christmas Special on Dec. 25, 2024. Episodes will drop weekly.

https://parade.com/tv/doctor-who-disn...

Started watching Van Helsing on Netflix, the TV series from 2016-2021. I vaguely recall seeing the pilot on SyFy back then. It’s surprisingly good. I watched the first 5 episodes last night and I’d put it up there with the original Walking Dead. It clearly has a well thought out world and story, with good old fashioned set-ups and payoffs.

Watched To Catch a Killer on Netflix. It was ok. Kind of Silence of the Lambs-y without the fava beans (also known as broad beans in America).

Trike wrote: "Started watching Van Helsing on Netflix, the TV series from 2016-2021."

Oh yeah. I watched the first season when it aired. I remember liking it. I should check out the later seasons.

Watched Violent Night today. Yes I know I'm behind the season but it just came on Netflix. It was a mash-up of the Santa Clause, Die Hard and Home Alone. I enjoyed it way more than I thought I would. Humour, action, and feelings; who could ask for anything more.

Watched Alien: Romulus and it’s *so close* to being great. It is equal parts really clever and really dumb, and it didn’t need to be the latter.

(view spoiler)[What really took me out of the movie was the “insta-alien” aspect. Because it’s a tight timeline they accelerated everything beyond reason: the facehugger implants the egg in one of the crew, they get it off of her a couple minutes later, and then literally less than 5 minutes later it’s chestburstin’ time. Within maybe 10 minutes there’s a full-size xenomorph hunting them. It was too much.

There were also too many callbacks that made no sense. The drinking bird toy at the beginning is a cute little Easter egg, but when Andy the Android shoots the alien and says, “Get away from her!” waits a beat, then calmly, “You bitch.” It was eye-rolling time. Out of character for him and just silly fanservice that doesn’t land.

I thought using the cryo chamber gas as a freezing spray was really clever. Where the other movies used fire, they used ice. I liked the CGI Bilbo Ash (Ian Holm), which I thought was effective. Calling him Rook, though, didn’t fit. That would’ve been better for a Bishop model. I would’ve gone with something like Cole as in Ash/coal.

Also clever: turning the artificial gravity on and off, with both the benefits and the problems manifesting. They can’t shoot the aliens because acid blood means explosive decompression, but turning off the gravity means the blood just floats around. Then they have to navigate through the floating pools of acid. Fun! That Rain uses the gun as propellant to avoid said blood was cool. Being able to turn off the gravity from any control panel is dumb, but I’ll allow it for expediency.

The ending was too reminiscent of Alien Resurrection for me, with yet another insta-alien hybrid, and then there’s the final sign-off from Rain, saying the exact same thing as Ripley from Alien with the “last survivor” bit.

These kids were unreasonably tough, too. The pregnant girl falling 20 feet into the cargo hold and bouncing twice off metal and landing on a metal grate should’ve crippled her. Instead she’s merely knocked unconscious. When she wakes up she’s barely hurt.

I did like the fact that to save her later the guy was going to inject her with the hybrid DNA compound Rook was protecting but Rain stops him because she doesn’t trust the company. That was the right call. Didn’t matter in the end, but solid moment. No idea how she ended up with a hybrid baby anyway.

The acting was really great. If only they hadn’t had the insta-alien junk I would’ve ranked this up there behind the first two films. (hide spoiler)]

Watched Puss in Boots The Last Wish. It was pretty good and kept me entertained. I thought the animation was good except they did a very stylized thing during the fight scenes that I didn't really appreciate. Overall I give the show a 7 or 8.

I was waxing philosophic about the new Daredevil series on Discord. Crosspost:

*Ahem* clears throat I have seen ep 1 of Daredevil: Born Again and my no-spoiler review is...

THAT IS THE WAY IT IS DONE!

Brooding, dark and ominous. Long, slow pans, beautiful use of the visual medium with lighting and locations. Pitch perfect TV adaptations of comics characters. D'Onofrio is an incredible master of the art. His mannerisms alone would make the character, and that's before his prodigious acting skill. I don't even care that he's 10 years too old for the part, he carries it off. Charlie Cox sets a high bar for character portrayal and D'Onofrio jumps right over it. This is what a dozen Batman movies aspire to be and have not reached. Forget the overglitzy formulaic movies that Marvel has become. This is the MCU. This is the best of Marvel.

John (Taloni) wrote: "I was waxing philosophic about the new Daredevil series on Discord. Crosspost:

*Ahem* clears throat I have seen ep 1 of Daredevil: Born Again and my no-spoiler review is...

THAT IS THE WAY IT IS ..."

But...
(view spoiler)[Foggy....why??? (hide spoiler)]