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'Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga' (2024) directed by George Miller

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 It appears I am not a fan of prequels. This one is kind of a heartbreaker. 'Mad Max: Fury Road' was a reinvigorating foundational movie for the series and the Wasteland Warrior genre. The crazy vehicular stunts and sets and the world it returned us to after decades since the last adventure with Mel Gibson's Mad Max films from the 80s all came together and created a framework for a feminist morality play of sorts, which basically worked for me in that movie. And I understand the appeal of the Mad Max world and the impulse to flesh out Characters and the background of the world of that movie. And the Mad Max vehicles, who doesn't want more of that? They are very evocative elements, I get that. But just like star wars when fleshing out the backgrounds and spending time with the evocative background characters that were just there to dress up the story, and hint at the world it turns out if there is not as inspired or compelling a story the second time around its just bori

My Projector and Bedroom Movie setup

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 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

KobraStrike Monday 5 4 2020 Is this thing on?

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RIP Joey Nitro

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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

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

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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

'1917' directed by "Sam Mendes"

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'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

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

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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