Big Blue Huddle

Those are great Lenn. Surprised as all get out that he played Frank Burns. Seems so out of character for him.

I loved him in Phenomenon as the town "Doc" - a really great movie that's kind of been lost over the years. Travolta should've gotten an Oscar for his role as he absolutely nailed it - a simple country small town man who works as a mechanic - nice guy, but not too bright. But after being visited by a strange light from the sky, immediately has an IQ well over 200 and is the smartest guy by miles in his hick town (and big cities and universities for that matter)

Robert Duvall "Doc" and Forrest Whitaker "Nate" are his only friends after the incident, and he has a fondness for Kyra Sedgwick "Lacy". Anyway, it's another movie that if you haven't seen, you're missing out on a wonderful movie

Here's one of the scenes with Duvall

I have a black and white 8x10 photo of him that he signed as Augustus McCrae from Lonesome Dove.

Bill

I am still into the new series Rings of Power and it does get better with each new episode. Just finished chapter 7 with the finale dropping next Friday.

Today I also watched a new movie on Netflix, 'Last Seen Alive' an action movie about a man whose wife disappears when they stop for gas. It has been done countless times, but here it is again. It got great reviews, but I wouldn't exactly call it great. Like so many movies and shows, it starts out very good, and then sort of dwindles into just a complete shoot-em-up, where this average guy, all of a sudden, becomes one of the Avengers and starts beating the living crap out of everyone, shooting all the bad guys, just to save the love of his life. Again, lots of action, not much plot, and a lot of silliness. I didn't dislike it, but it did have me rolling my eyes a few times.

So last night, me and the missus tried to find a movie that we both might enjoy (getting tougher these days). On looking at Netflix, I read about a new movie, a bit of a supernatural thing, by Steven King that might appeal to us. 'Mr. Harrington's Phone' was our choice.   

https://www.netflix.com/title/81288353

It starred a great Donald Southerland, as a very rich old man who wanted someone to read books to him. To me, a perfect part for Mr. Southerland is a miserly old man, who was ruthless in business, and had no family or friends but had this young man come in, reading books to him 3 times a week.
The story is basically about their relationship over the course of years until the older man passes away. Then, maybe, strange things start to happen with the use of a cell phone.
We both enjoyed the movie and would recommend it to anyone. It is typical of Steven King, as it takes place in a very rural town in Maine and the characters are typical of that setting. Where it veers a bit, is it isn't scary, no horror, just some pretty good suspense and story.
Not a bad way to spend a couple of hours.

Quote from: LennG on October 09, 2022, 12:59:22 PMSo last night, me and the missus tried to find a movie that we both might enjoy (getting tougher these days). On looking at Netflix, I read about a new movie, a bit of a supernatural thing, by Steven King that might appeal to us. 'Mr. Harrington's Phone' was our choice.   

https://www.netflix.com/title/81288353

It starred a great Donald Southerland, as a very rich old man who wanted someone to read books to him. To me, a perfect part for Mr. Southerland is a miserly old man, who was ruthless in business, and had no family or friends but had this young man come in, reading books to him 3 times a week.
The story is basically about their relationship over the course of years until the older man passes away. Then, maybe, strange things start to happen with the use of a cell phone.
We both enjoyed the movie and would recommend it to anyone. It is typical of Steven King, as it takes place in a very rural town in Maine and the characters are typical of that setting. Where it veers a bit, is it isn't scary, no horror, just some pretty good suspense and story.
Not a bad way to spend a couple of hours.

My father (who turns 80 in a few weeks) just recommended this one to me, and I usually agree with his taste in films. So your endorsement is a meaningful reinforcement. I'll definitely be watching this one. I love Sutherland, and I have always been a King fan. Looking forward to it.

Quote from: LennG on October 09, 2022, 12:59:22 PMSo last night, me and the missus tried to find a movie that we both might enjoy (getting tougher these days). On looking at Netflix, I read about a new movie, a bit of a supernatural thing, by Steven King that might appeal to us. 'Mr. Harrington's Phone' was our choice.   

https://www.netflix.com/title/81288353

It starred a great Donald Southerland, as a very rich old man who wanted someone to read books to him. To me, a perfect part for Mr. Southerland is a miserly old man, who was ruthless in business, and had no family or friends but had this young man come in, reading books to him 3 times a week.
The story is basically about their relationship over the course of years until the older man passes away. Then, maybe, strange things start to happen with the use of a cell phone.
We both enjoyed the movie and would recommend it to anyone. It is typical of Steven King, as it takes place in a very rural town in Maine and the characters are typical of that setting. Where it veers a bit, is it isn't scary, no horror, just some pretty good suspense and story.
Not a bad way to spend a couple of hours.

Got around to watching this movie last night. I agree that it was good. I'm not going to say it was exceptional or anything, but it's good storytelling and mostly good acting (Sutherland is always a treat). I agree that it's recommendable to anyone.

 This week, if you have an AMEX card there is a deal where you can get a year of HBO Max for $104 and get a $50 statement credit, so it basically costs $55 for the year, and no commercials.

I have signed up and for the first time in a long time, I now have HBO and can't wait to start in on the prequel to Game Of Thrones, House of the Dragon. I was more than a huge fan of GOT, even if it did end poorly, but this has been on the radar for well over a year now, once they announced it was in production.

https://thestreamable.com/news/deal-alert-select-amex-cardholders-can-get-entire-year-of-hbo-max-ad-free-for-just-54-99-65-percent-off


So now that I do have this 'new toy' what should I be watching that I have been missing for a few years?
After the House of the Dragon, and Elvis (the movie) I want to watch The Wire. I have seen the first season and about 1/2 of the second but never was able to finish it.

Any other suggestions would be helpful.

Quote from: LennG on October 12, 2022, 12:32:53 PMThis week, if you have an AMEX card there is a deal where you can get a year of HBO Max for $104 and get a $50 statement credit, so it basically costs $55 for the year, and no commercials.

I have signed up and for the first time in a long time, I now have HBO and can't wait to start in on the prequel to Game Of Thrones, House of the Dragon. I was more than a huge fan of GOT, even if it did end poorly, but this has been on the radar for well over a year now, once they announced it was in production.

https://thestreamable.com/news/deal-alert-select-amex-cardholders-can-get-entire-year-of-hbo-max-ad-free-for-just-54-99-65-percent-off


So now that I do have this 'new toy' what should I be watching that I have been missing for a few years?
After the House of the Dragon, and Elvis (the movie) I want to watch The Wire. I have seen the first season and about 1/2 of the second but never was able to finish it.

Any other suggestions would be helpful.

HBO series I have really enjoyed in recent years:


Succession: Very warped but very entertaining show about a media mogul multi-billionaire and all his children and their families.

Mare of Easttown: Excellent one season series centered around a cop (Kate Winslet) in a small town trying to solve a murder.

The Undoing: Great one season series starring Hugh Grant, Nicole Kidman, Donald Sutherland and others about a well to do NYC man who is accused of murdering a woman who is a parent of one of his son's classmates at school. Excellent whodunnit that keeps you guessing right up until the end.

The Outsider: This one is a little strange, but it's a pretty good mystery about the murder of a young boy in a rural town. Has a supernatural angle to it.

Curb Your Enthusiasm: Very well known but I'm not sure if you have seen it. Easily my favorite comedy series of the past 15 years or so. Not even close. Side-splittingly funny.

Curb Your Enthusiasm would top my list. It's equal parts hysterical and cringe-worthy.

Quote from: Sem on October 12, 2022, 12:57:15 PMCurb Your Enthusiasm would top my list. It's equal parts hysterical and cringe-worthy.

Exactly. Just a brilliant show.

There are other great HBO series like "The Sopranos" which I didn't include here because they are so old.

Curb has been around for a while, but as of a year ago it was still going on, so it remains current.

Thanks, Dave, some of your suggestions sound like things I would definitely be interested in. I LOVE those mysteries.

As for Curb Your Enthusiasm, we have seen all except for the last season. Like the Sopranos, I originally watched it when it was on regular TV, but they cut so much out that it wasn't even worth viewing. We ended up taking out the DVDs from the library and watched both series the way they were broadcast. As said, Curb was so funny and Larry David makes the entire thing go.

Quote from: LennG on October 12, 2022, 04:11:29 PMThanks, Dave, some of your suggestions sound like things I would definitely be interested in. I LOVE those mysteries.

As for Curb Your Enthusiasm, we have seen all except for the last season. Like the Sopranos, I originally watched it when it was on regular TV, but they cut so much out that it wasn't even worth viewing. We ended up taking out the DVDs from the library and watched both series the way they were broadcast. As said, Curb was so funny and Larry David makes the entire thing go.

Understood Lenn.

BTW, another good HBO mystery type series that I liked was "The Night Of." It came out maybe five years ago. John Turturro is one of the main actors in it, and he's excellent as usual. This is about an NYC cab driver who ends up in bad with one of his female passengers and then the girl ends up dead. This happens right away in the show, and you don't know if the driver is guilty or not. The rest of the show is around the solving of this case. Turturro plays the public defender who represents the driver. I strongly recommend this one as well.

If I were doing a broad-based budget reduction where I was looking for expenses I could reduce or eliminate, HBO would not be high on my list. I think they consistently produce some of the best content out there, and that is not some recent thing. They have been great for a long time IMO.

As I said we would, we watched the new (maybe not so new anymore) 'Elvis' on HBO last nite.

Some background, we were, and still are, HUGE fans of Elvis. We have basically seen anything and everything that has ever been written, filmed and recorded about Elvis. We have done the Graceland trip and we just couldn't wait to see this new movie about him, his life, and his relationship with Col Parker. We read the reviews which weren't kind, but so many people we know have seen this movie and most said good things about it. So we settled in for a 2 1/2 hour trip to see Elvis in all his glory once again.

So, our opinion, and this goes for myself and my wife, the reviews were correct, it just wasn't good. How they can make a bad movie about Elvis is beyond me, but this movie never seemed to settle into any sort of groove. It was like watching a jumble on top of another jumble on top of still another jumble of scenes that were supposed to help us understand him and his relationships. It had so many facts wrong (maybe they thought people wouldn't notice), basically skipped over so many important details of his life, and though Tom Hanks was great as Col Parker, he was made out to be a fool most of the time. (I never knew he had such a huge foreign accent).

The movie also made me feel it has racial overtones. It showed a very young Elvis in a revival meeting, joining it, they made it seem he was a good friend of Martin Luther King, when he was assassinated, I fully understand that a lot of Elvis's music was based on Gospel but this movie took it into a different realm. Like when he was starting out and they thought he was Black because his early songs sounded that way and when they heard he was White, they emphasized that so much, 'He is White', just simply silly.

Still, the man who played Elvis was very good and the music, well it IS Elvis, so all was not lost, but 2 stars is about what this movie is worth.
 If you are a huge fan as we are, maybe add a star if you can overlook all the negative stuff.

Quote from: LennG on October 15, 2022, 11:54:02 AMAs I said we would, we watched the new (maybe not so new anymore) 'Elvis' on HBO last nite.

Some background, we were, and still are, HUGE fans of Elvis. We have basically seen anything and everything that has ever been written, filmed and recorded about Elvis. We have done the Graceland trip and we just couldn't wait to see this new movie about him, his life, and his relationship with Col Parker. We read the reviews which weren't kind, but so many people we know have seen this movie and most said good things about it. So we settled in for a 2 1/2 hour trip to see Elvis in all his glory once again.

So, our opinion, and this goes for myself and my wife, the reviews were correct, it just wasn't good. How they can make a bad movie about Elvis is beyond me, but this movie never seemed to settle into any sort of groove. It was like watching a jumble on top of another jumble on top of still another jumble of scenes that were supposed to help us understand him and his relationships. It had so many facts wrong (maybe they thought people wouldn't notice), basically skipped over so many important details of his life, and though Tom Hanks was great as Col Parker, he was made out to be a fool most of the time. (I never knew he had such a huge foreign accent).

The movie also made me feel it has racial overtones. It showed a very young Elvis in a revival meeting, joining it, they made it seem he was a good friend of Martin Luther King, when he was assassinated, I fully understand that a lot of Elvis's music was based on Gospel but this movie took it into a different realm. Like when he was starting out and they thought he was Black because his early songs sounded that way and when they heard he was White, they emphasized that so much, 'He is White', just simply silly.

Still, the man who played Elvis was very good and the music, well it IS Elvis, so all was not lost, but 2 stars is about what this movie is worth.
 If you are a huge fan as we are, maybe add a star if you can overlook all the negative stuff.

Thanks for this review, as I was wondering about this movie and had heard from a friend it wasn't worth it.

I have to say, generally speaking (not always), I have found that the biopic genre is not a great one for movies. Way too often these types of movies are way too long, slow, and just not that good. You often get a major actor playing the lead role, and if he/she is playing a major historical figure, then obviously the movie is going to get some buzz. But too often these types of movies are just not that good at the end of the day. They're usually around three hours long and are just a snooze-fest. Obviously the Monroe movie is a very recent example but there have been others like Ray, the DiCaprio movie about J Edgar Hoover, and the Josh Brolin movie about W Bush that all fit my criticism. Plenty of others too. It's a disappointing genre overall.

Quote from: DaveBrown74 on October 15, 2022, 12:03:57 PMThanks for this review, as I was wondering about this movie and had heard from a friend it wasn't worth it.

I have to say, generally speaking (not always), I have found that the biopic genre is not a great one for movies. Way too often these types of movies are way too long, slow, and just not that good. You often get a major actor playing the lead role, and if he/she is playing a major historical figure, then obviously the movie is going to get some buzz. But too often these types of movies are just not that good at the end of the day. They're usually around three hours long and are just a snooze-fest. Obviously the Monroe movie is a very recent example but there have been others like Ray, the DiCaprio movie about J Edgar Hoover, and the Josh Brolin movie about W Bush that all fit my criticism. Plenty of others too. It's a disappointing genre overall.

I do thank you for your review of the Monroe movie, so I didn't have to waste any time on that.

From this Elvis movie, and it seems many others, it is hard to get into a good storyline. Movies today are usually made for a 'younger' type audience, and I call them the Se seme Street era, where they simply cannot concentrate on things for longer than a minute or two. That is why they need a sort of rapid-fire scene all the time. In Elvis, you notice it right from the beginning, no particular scene lasts for more than a few minutes. It continually is jumpy, going from one to another in a blink of an eye. Myself, since I am hard of hearing and have to use captions when I watch, I am trying to read and the scenes just keep changing. I just find this a common thread in many 'newer' type movies and have to appeal to that part of the movie going audience.