I don’t know how you do it LB. Most movies put me to sleep unless they really grab me early. Everything has been PGed to death to appeal to the largest audience. Takes me two tries to get through most.
Wellp, when I watch a movie, I intentionally shift my brain to neutral and coast. So I’m easily entertained.
Those movies which grab me early are a special treat… unless they have a sucky ending.
Of interest for anyone fishing for a definition?
welp:
nonstandard spelling of well, representing a pronunciation (typically used to convey resignation or disappointment).
Also, if Lightbringer says something regarding hundreds or thousands of lemons, he's (probably) talking about lumens. 
It’s his Irish brogue.
I know people who actually add the ‘p’ sound when “well” starts the sentence like that.
Just like some people say “Warshington” or “sherbert”, when there aren’t any (extra) ’r’s to be found.
just finished
“The Tax Collector”
not the best crime movie, acceptable if you are a fan of the genre. Lots of violence, shootings and blood.
kind of “snakebit” recently.
the movies i’ve seen this week
are not very good or just plain awful.
here are three examples:
1. In The Blood.
2. Across 110th Street.
3. My Beautiful Laundrette.
(and i like Daniel Day-Lewis)
maybe my luck will change next week.
well, it should since i get to remove my sling.
Two good’uns tonight!
First was a nice little doc, “Amazing Africe”, a just-under-an-hour documentary about wildlife in Africa. The importance of watering-holes for, well, everyone, and the interplay between zebras trying to get a drink and crocs trying to get a meal, etc. Predator, prey, scavengers, bystanders, everyone has their place. Some circle-of-life clips, if you know what I mean, but that’s what life is like in the Dark Continent.
Quite good. Definitely worth the watch.
Next up, a shocker I hadn’t heard anything about before, at all: “The Phoenix Incident”. Holy Crap! Talk about grabbing you by the collar and not letting you go ’til after the end credits finish!
I know/remember the Phoenix Lights incident, but not a thing about the 4 missing hikers. I didn’t even look at the imdb entry under “trivia” or anything yet, so who knows. Either way, the “based on real incidents” flick was just f’n amazing. Documentary, interviews, found-footage, all stitched together seamlessly to tell a rather fantastic story. Of course, you have to suspend disbelief for a good part of the story, but you get so immersed in it that it’s really easy to do, even to consider it real found-footage.
And speaking of found-footage, the interplay between the soon-to-be-missing hikers as a group, and with one’s gf, etc., was so realistic. The goofball crap they pull on each other, the personal tension (one’s career choice and others being drifters through life, etc.) was something I could imagine real people doing. No “acting” sense at all, no forced dialogue, etc. Gotta give lots of credit where it’s due.
First impressions, I’d seriously give it a 10.
I saw Wolf Creek (2005).
This is a pretty boring horror film.
Most of the time, not much happens in the movie.
When things actually happens, it's not that interesting or entertaining.
The acting is okay, as is the music.
I didn't really care about any of the characters in the film.
I say skip this one.
I’ll try the Phoenix Incident and see if it grabs me. Sounds like something I can get into.
Interesting one. watchable.
When a pill that gives its users unpredictable superpowers for five minutes hits the streets of New Orleans, a teenage dealer and a local cop must team with an ex-soldier to take down the group responsible for its creation.
I was really (pleasantly) surprised by that. I hesitate to call it a “mockumentary” (“mock” as in fake, okay, but “mock” as in poke fun of or spoof, no, eg, “This Is Spinal Tap”).
Czech out the found-footage, especially. The guys act like jerks, just like some real friends do. One does a handstand and another hits him in the nuts, I mean, I can totally picture some people I know doing just that. So it works really hard to get that suspension of belief, as it almost hits you in the face with realism.
And the interviewees, totally. The detective that was interviewed could have been taken right out of those Real Crime shows. Throw in clips from McCain, Symington (Arizona gov), and Barwood (Phoenix vice-mayor?), and it tickles that “Holy crap, can this be for real??” bone.
And a 3-name nutjob that could be your typical serial-killer… perfect. :laughing:
To me, this hit all the right notes. Really well done.
Wow, don’t get me too psyched.
Okay, well, then once there’s “contact” and you see the aliens, it’s a little harder to suspend belief (ie, the gift’s unwrapped, so no more guessing), but hey, that’s what the movie leads into.
My only complaint is the ever-present Stupid Decision that someone makes. So, you’re in a creepy dark haunted house in the middle of a raging thunderstorm and all your friends are being picked off and horribly butchered one by one, and one idiot wants to go down to The Basement and try fidgeting with the fusebox. LET HIM. Otherwise, you’ll end up hanging upside-down on a meathook right next to him, too, y’know?
Me? I’d be like totally, “Dewd, you’re on your own. I’m getting the Hell outta here.” Better wet than dead.
So it was in TPI. Instead of 4 dead/missing, there would’ve only been 1.
On the bright (haha) side, they all had decent flashlights.
I’ll give it a look next week and see if it passes my nap test. If it does you will be my go to movie critic from now on. Reminds me a little of Fire in the Sky.
eliminating the Stupid Decisions in movies would eliminate most movies.
especially the best one this millennium:
The Hangover.
The Hateful Eight extended version on Netflix
Don’t think that movie could be made today, but damn it’s long and good.
Need to watch again to pick up little clues.
Wellp, saw “Tesla” tonight… what a weird flick. And I’m a huge Tesla fan (the inventor, not the company/car), so that makes it rather bittersweet.
I was expecting something of a bio, but it was punctuated with narration by the chick who played Anne Morgan (daughter of JP), and had invented flashbacks that were immediately contradicted (“That didn’t happen, of course, but…”).
Worst was that so many scenes were set in front of a huge backdrop that was quite obviously (and presumably intentionally) a painting or video. Like leaning on a railing, soaking wet, looking at a picture of Niagara Falls. The worst was a video screen of a horse and foal frolicking in a field, and Tesla holding out an apple for one/both to take. Wtf?? Who came up with that? Neil Breen? Seriously, it was like the Neal-and-AstroEagle scene. :person_facepalming:
And the ice-cream-cone fight between Tesla and Edison?? I $#|+ you not… instead of bitch-slapping each other they jam ice-cream cones into each others’ chests, then chins, then faces. “That didn’t happen, of course, but…”
And the anachronisms… ay-yi-yi. Edison taking a seat at a bar and whipping out a smartphone was bad enough, but the end when Tesla grabbed a mike and started belting out “Everybody Wants To Rule The World”?!? If they were dead, Orzabal and Smith would be rolling over in their graves.
Seriously, I am not making this up.
There were a lot of good parts, though, like the huge eponymous Tesla coil that blew out a nearby town’s generator, being swindled by Jim Gaffigan (only not very funny), the ongoing war between Tesla and Edison, and other ways where he shows his technical genius but business naïveté.
Dunno, at 1¾ hrs long, I was expecting something more serious, and frankly, more of a tribute to the man.
It’s worth a look, but I was more than a bit disappointed.
I am forced to be a Hallmark movie fan, so I thought sharing this one is appropriate. This one is around Lake Tahoe, one of my favorite places in the US! nice scenery.
2020 is a bit thin on Hallmark movies due to various reasons, so this is an average-good movie to watch. Hoping for more hallmark classics in the fall.