Posts

My Projector and Bedroom Movie setup

Image
 So Its been a little while. Lots of people in my life and in my friends lives dying unexpectedly, and sudden job drama. People going nuts about politics, and people going nuts in general. Its really been awful lately. and now we are heading into a shitstorm of a possible second wave and a possible fraudulent election. Fuck all that shit. We have to help each other through this time for however long it takes, and its going to be a while still. I got this projector last month and I may be late to the party on these I have wanted one forever and its seriously awesome. VIVIMAGE Explore 3 Projector for Outdoor Movies, 6800 Lux Full HD 300" Native 1080P Projector 60Hz Compatible TV Stick, 2 HDMI, VGA, Smartphone, PC, TV Box, PS4, ±40° Electronic Keystone Correction I have a 4k 55 inch Vizio with light panels that are broken. usually, there is just a blotch of darkness on the top left of the screen but every so often the Two-Thirds of the screen craps out and I have to turn the whole th
Post a Comment
Read more

KobraStrike Monday 5 4 2020 Is this thing on?

Image
Post a Comment
Read more

RIP Joey Nitro

Image
Edit Update: I spoke with a family member and it looks like Joey passed as a result of substance abuse. There is a go fund me page to help out Joey's family especially his dad, who obviously are beyond destroyed right now. Please help out if you can  here https://www.gofundme.com/f/tribute-to-joey-rogers?utm_source=customer&utm_medium=copy_link-tip&utm_campaign=p_cp+share-sheet I lost one of my dearest friends in the world today. Joey Nitro. He was only 30. His real name is Joey Rodriguez, but you know I knew him through comedy doing open mics in Alameda where he was from along with Mean Dave, Nina G and Justin Harrison, OJ, Duat and Chris. Joey and Mean Dave and I had a podcast and he was like 14 years younger than me, one of the great things about doing comedy is you get to make friends (family really) with an extremely diverse group of people. And Joey and I became really good friends. Him being younger he was like a connection to younger people and I remember
Post a Comment
Read more

"The Outrage" (1964) directed by 'Martin Ritt'

Image
I found everything about the Academy Awards alienating and bizarre so I turned it off and fired up the TCM app and watched Paul Newman give an amazing performance in brownface with a very over the top Mexican accent, and that was the least of the problematic issues with 'The Outrage' the incredible remake of Akira Kurasawa's Rashomon directed by Martin Ritt in 1964. This movie is amazing. It uses a framing device of three tough men of the wild west played by Edward G Robinson as an amoral chancer, William Shatner as a disillusioned preacher and an old-time prospector played by Howard Da Silva. These three men with radically different views on life are telling the tale(s) while trying to stay warm in a derelict train station in the old west on a rainy night among the cactus plants. These were my favorite parts of the movie a young Shatner and an older Edward G Robinson going head to head, I mean come on! It's an old west version of Roshomon, which I first saw back i
Post a Comment
Read more

'1917' directed by "Sam Mendes"

Image
'1917' is a technical achievement in cinema. It's done in a way as to imply a one(or two) continuous take shot. Roger Deacons, the deservedly renowned cinematographer of the Coen brothers and famous for working alongside Denis Villeneuve, pushes his craft forward and is successful in so many ways, and hit or miss(mostly hit) director Sam Mendes delivers an obviously heartfelt and personal story that echoes Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan. In fact, it really feels inspired by the best parts of that film. The story told is so historically earnest, grounded, visceral and simple I don't know if I have the right to criticize this film at all except to say that I found the end result mysteriously alienating. Maybe it was the gimmick of it being a one-shot film because, in fact, that aspect of the film did nothing to enhance the emersion or connection I felt as an audience member in 2020 watching these soldiers endure their mission. I was taking myself out of the film
Post a Comment
Read more

"Good Time"(2017) directed by 'Benny Safdie and Josh Safdie'

Image
This movie came out a few years ago now, so I am a bit late to the party. But just as a notice to anyone paying any kind of attention I think focusing on more adult/slightly less current fare is going to be a trend on this blog. After the impracticality of trying to review the last Star Wars, it was just obvious that there is a disconnect between me and the movies(Product) I am seeing, and since movies come and go from theaters to streaming so fast. Even pros lose track of these films. I need to focus or refocus on the indie side, not just the crapola I am a sucker enough to feel compelled to pay to see in the theater. I enjoy writing these, but food critics don't often review McDonald's. Apparently, that slipped my mind. So, where to find the independent film content to talk about? I downloaded the IFC channel app, and there weren't any movies available, just lame improv comedy and mockumentaries from self-congratulatory ex-SNL alumni. Maybe it's fantastic TV content f
Post a Comment
Read more

"Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker" directed by J.J. Abrams

It's not good. It has very little to say, it tarnishes what came before. It makes very little sense. But at least Star Wars is over for now. So I guess its a relief.  It's not that there is nothing to like. I really liked Daisy Ridley and Adam Driver's performances and their character's relationship onscreen. And there are bits and pieces that are almost fun. But it isn't fun. It isn't smart, it isn't mythologically resonant. it's shit. Star Wars is for children and idiots now. I suppose it might be for people who need to be reassured that female heroes are just as powerful as male heroes(obviously). I honestly hope they enjoy these Star Wars films. This movie is product, not art. And that's just kind of sad. I think that you could tell the same story and with a few changes and if it were told better it might have worked. Once again its a Star Wars movie just feels like a first draft that fails at everything it pretends to set out to do and tr
Post a Comment
Read more