• What Did You Watch? 2026-01-03 (Saturday)

    From Ubiquitous@weberm@polaris.net to rec.arts.tv on Sun Jan 4 04:30:41 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.tv

    The day mom died, I watched:

    THUNDARR THE BARBARIAN:
    "Mindok, the Mind Menace". An evil wizard and his minions seek a new
    body for him; they scheme to find Ice People and force them to build a
    new body.

    THUNDARR THE BARBARIAN:
    "Raiders of the Abyss". An evil wizard attacks a ship and plans to
    steal everyone's life force.

    What did you watch?
    --
    Democrats and the liberal media hate President Trump more than they
    love this country.

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  • From The True Melissa@thetruemelissa@gmail.com to rec.arts.tv on Sun Jan 4 10:25:21 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.tv

    Verily, in article <UBI20260103@dont-email.me>, did weberm@polaris.net
    deliver unto us this message:

    The day mom died, I watched:

    I'm sorry to hear about your mom. How are you doing?


    What did you watch?

    I watched reruns of The Critic, on Tubi. The show isn't very good, but
    it has a frustrating quality of *almost* being good. It'll set up some reasonable character situation, then do a corny, predictable joke which
    knocks me out of both the story and the comedy. If only the comedy were funnier, it might have run for years.

    In that it reminds me of Whoopie, Whoopie Goldberg's sitcom vehicle. It
    was interesting in many ways, but it just wasn't very funny, and that's
    a death knell for a comedy.
    --
    Trustworthy words are not pretty;
    Pretty words are not trustworthy.

    -Lao-Tzu spoke those pretty words.
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  • From Arthur Lipscomb@arthur@alum.calberkeley.org to rec.arts.tv on Sun Jan 4 12:30:14 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.tv

    On 1/4/2026 7:25 AM, The True Melissa wrote:
    Verily, in article <UBI20260103@dont-email.me>, did weberm@polaris.net deliver unto us this message:

    The day mom died, I watched:


    I'm sorry for your loss.

    I'm sorry to hear about your mom. How are you doing?


    What did you watch?

    I watched reruns of The Critic, on Tubi. The show isn't very good, but
    it has a frustrating quality of *almost* being good. It'll set up some reasonable character situation, then do a corny, predictable joke which knocks me out of both the story and the comedy. If only the comedy were funnier, it might have run for years.


    It was occasionally good. I liked the one with the Siskel and Ebert cameos.

    In that it reminds me of Whoopie, Whoopie Goldberg's sitcom vehicle. It
    was interesting in many ways, but it just wasn't very funny, and that's
    a death knell for a comedy.


    Oddly enough, I don't think a comedy has to be funny if you like the characters and situation. It just sort of becomes a drama.



    I watched

    Requiem for a Dream (4K disc) 2000 movie directed by Darren Aronofsky.
    The movie follows several characters played by Jared Leo, Ellen Burstyn, Marlon Wayans, and Jennifer Connelly as their lives slowly unravel due
    to drug abuse. In Burstyn's case she wasn't even aware she was addicted
    to anything. The movie holds up very well. Whenever I see lists of
    movies that people can't watch more than once I see this at the top of
    the list. But I've never had an issue with rewatching this movie. This
    was background noise with a director's commentary.


    The Fountain (blu-ray) 2006 movie written and directed by Darren
    Aronofsky. The movie follows Hugh Jackman and Raschel Weisz as they
    play multiple characters through multiple time periods. In all of the
    time periods Jackman is in love with Weisz. Ellen Burstyn is also in
    the movie. I've always really liked this movie. It's a shame it
    flopped at the box office. I just wish the movie had a new print. And
    a commentary track would have been nice too.


    Mother! (4K disc) 2017 movie written and directed by Darren Aronofsky.
    This is a very surreal movie, and the plot is hard to explain. But
    basically, Jennifer Lawrence and Javier Bardem play a married couple renovating a house. One day a man (Ed Harris) shows up claiming he
    thought their house was a board and breakfast. Over Lawrence's
    objections Bardem lets the man spend the night. Then the man's wife
    (Michelle Pfeiffer) shows up. And then their children show up. More
    and more people keep arriving with the situation spiraling completely
    out of control. This is one of those love it or hate it movies. This
    is another one that could really use a commentary.


    Children of Men (blu-ray) 2006 movie written and directed by Alfonso
    Cuar||n. The movie is set in a dystopian future where women can no
    longer get pregnant and Britain has become a fascist police state that persecutes immigrants. Clive Owen stars as a man who is recruited by
    his ex (Julianne Moore) to help a group of resistance fighters transport
    the first woman to get pregnant in 18 years, to safety. The movie holds
    up very well.
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  • From BTR1701@atropos@mac.com to rec.arts.tv on Sun Jan 4 21:49:26 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.tv

    On Jan 4, 2026 at 12:30:14 PM PST, "Arthur Lipscomb" <arthur@alum.calberkeley.org> wrote:

    On 1/4/2026 7:25 AM, The True Melissa wrote:
    Verily, in article <UBI20260103@dont-email.me>, did weberm@polaris.net
    deliver unto us this message:

    The day mom died, I watched:


    I'm sorry for your loss.

    I'm sorry to hear about your mom. How are you doing?


    What did you watch?

    I watched reruns of The Critic, on Tubi. The show isn't very good, but
    it has a frustrating quality of *almost* being good. It'll set up some
    reasonable character situation, then do a corny, predictable joke which
    knocks me out of both the story and the comedy. If only the comedy were
    funnier, it might have run for years.


    It was occasionally good. I liked the one with the Siskel and Ebert cameos.

    In that it reminds me of Whoopie, Whoopie Goldberg's sitcom vehicle. It
    was interesting in many ways, but it just wasn't very funny, and that's
    a death knell for a comedy.


    Oddly enough, I don't think a comedy has to be funny if you like the characters and situation. It just sort of becomes a drama.

    I watched

    Children of Men (blu-ray) 2006 movie written and directed by Alfonso Cuar||n. The movie is set in a dystopian future where women can no
    longer get pregnant and Britain has become a fascist police state that persecutes immigrants.

    As opposed to importing them by the millions over the clear wishes of an overwhelming number of their people the way Britain actually does.


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  • From Ian J. Ball@ijball@mac.invalid to rec.arts.tv on Sun Jan 4 16:34:19 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.tv

    On 1/4/26 1:30 AM, Ubiquitous wrote:

    What did you watch?

    football - Both the Carolina Panthers and the 49ers choked in important
    games they should have/had to win. :/ (The Panthers got lucky in
    today's results. The 49ers not so much...)

    Strange Brew (I think was free on Prime in Dec. but we had to rent it
    off Prime last night so I guess it was not longer free in January...) -
    1983 classic "Canadian content" comedy starring Rick Moranis and Dave
    Thomas. Originating as a series of sketches on the famous SCTV sketch
    comedy show in 1980, Moranis and Thomas got a movie out of it in 1983
    (ob. "Return of the Jedi" reference included!).
    The movie has to be seen to be believed. Its "plot" really can't be described (it does involve a beer brewery, 'natch!) but is amusing in
    its outrageousness, and for the novelty of being not just filmed but
    *set* in Toronto! I also liked the number of Canadian character actors
    that popped up in it.

    What did you watch?


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  • From Adam H. Kerman@ahk@chinet.com to rec.arts.tv on Mon Jan 5 00:36:53 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.tv

    Arthur Lipscomb <arthur@alum.calberkeley.org> wrote:

    The Fountain (blu-ray) 2006 movie written and directed by Darren
    Aronofsky. The movie follows Hugh Jackman and Raschel Weisz as they
    play multiple characters through multiple time periods. In all of the
    time periods Jackman is in love with Weisz. Ellen Burstyn is also in
    the movie. I've always really liked this movie. It's a shame it
    flopped at the box office. I just wish the movie had a new print. And
    a commentary track would have been nice too.

    I dearly love Rachel Weisz and will watch any movie she's in, but I have
    never had a clue what was going on in this.

    Watch The Constant Gardener. She's excellent and her nude scene is quite memorable.

    She's in this movie as she'd been boinking the director for 9 years. He
    did her no favors.

    She's memorable for Dream House (2011), a truly awful thriller, because
    she kept her co-star Daniel Craig after production wrapped and married
    him.

    Children of Men (blu-ray) 2006 movie written and directed by Alfonso
    Cuaran. The movie is set in a dystopian future where women can no
    longer get pregnant and Britain has become a fascist police state that >persecutes immigrants. Clive Owen stars as a man who is recruited by
    his ex (Julianne Moore) to help a group of resistance fighters transport
    the first woman to get pregnant in 18 years, to safety. The movie holds
    up very well.

    This is a very good movie.
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Ubiquitous@weberm@polaris.net to rec.arts.tv on Sun Jan 4 20:40:49 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.tv

    thetruemelissa@gmail.com wrote:
    Verily, in article <UBI20260103@dont-email.me>, did weberm@polaris.net >deliver unto us this message:

    The day mom died, I watched:

    I'm sorry to hear about your mom. How are you doing?

    Thanks. I am having some difficulty, but when I saw her at Christmas
    at Memory Care, she looked like a corpse, so it's a bit of a relief
    to see she's no longer suffering from her Alzheimers.

    What did you watch?

    I watched reruns of The Critic, on Tubi. The show isn't very good, but
    it has a frustrating quality of *almost* being good. It'll set up some >reasonable character situation, then do a corny, predictable joke which >knocks me out of both the story and the comedy. If only the comedy were >funnier, it might have run for years.

    I remember liking that show when it first aired. Wasn't someone from
    The Simpsons involved with it?
    --
    Democrats and the liberal media hate President Trump more than they
    love this country.

    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Arthur Lipscomb@arthur@alum.calberkeley.org to rec.arts.tv on Sun Jan 4 17:54:05 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.tv

    On 1/4/2026 4:36 PM, Adam H. Kerman wrote:
    Arthur Lipscomb <arthur@alum.calberkeley.org> wrote:

    The Fountain (blu-ray) 2006 movie written and directed by Darren
    Aronofsky. The movie follows Hugh Jackman and Raschel Weisz as they
    play multiple characters through multiple time periods. In all of the
    time periods Jackman is in love with Weisz. Ellen Burstyn is also in
    the movie. I've always really liked this movie. It's a shame it
    flopped at the box office. I just wish the movie had a new print. And
    a commentary track would have been nice too.

    I dearly love Rachel Weisz and will watch any movie she's in, but I have never had a clue what was going on in this.


    I foolishly wasn't paying attention because I went into it thinking to
    myself I've seen it before and I know what happens, so I don't need to
    pay attention, then 20 minutes in I was lost.

    But here's my off the top of my head take on what was going on. They
    were souls constantly being reincarnated. I don't know, I said this is
    off the top of my head! Anyway, in the conquistador time period he's searching for the tree of life. In the present the cure he is searching
    from is derived from that tree. And in the future (deep breath!) the
    tree represents, um, their eternal love or something.

    It's the same tree in all three time periods. Yeah, that's what I'm
    going to go with.

    I said the movie needed a commentary track didn't I?

    Anyway, you don't need to know what's going on to enjoy it, just enjoy it.


    Watch The Constant Gardener. She's excellent and her nude scene is quite memorable.

    She's in this movie as she'd been boinking the director for 9 years. He
    did her no favors.

    She's memorable for Dream House (2011), a truly awful thriller, because
    she kept her co-star Daniel Craig after production wrapped and married
    him.



    I definitely recognize the name of the first movie, but I'm not sure if
    I've ever watched either of them.


    Children of Men (blu-ray) 2006 movie written and directed by Alfonso
    Cuaran. The movie is set in a dystopian future where women can no
    longer get pregnant and Britain has become a fascist police state that
    persecutes immigrants. Clive Owen stars as a man who is recruited by
    his ex (Julianne Moore) to help a group of resistance fighters transport
    the first woman to get pregnant in 18 years, to safety. The movie holds
    up very well.

    This is a very good movie.

    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From The True Melissa@thetruemelissa@gmail.com to rec.arts.tv on Mon Jan 5 06:18:09 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.tv

    Verily, in article <6umdnV3Quq05i8b0nZ2dnZfqn_qdnZ2d@giganews.com>, did weberm@polaris.net deliver unto us this message:

    thetruemelissa@gmail.com wrote:
    I watched reruns of The Critic, on Tubi. The show isn't very good,
    but
    it has a frustrating quality of *almost* being good. It'll set up some >reasonable character situation, then do a corny, predictable joke which >knocks me out of both the story and the comedy. If only the comedy were >funnier, it might have run for years.

    I remember liking that show when it first aired. Wasn't someone from
    The Simpsons involved with it?

    Yes, and there was a crossover episode.
    --
    Trustworthy words are not pretty;
    Pretty words are not trustworthy.

    -Lao-Tzu spoke those pretty words.
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Dimensional Traveler@dtravel@sonic.net to rec.arts.tv on Mon Jan 5 07:27:26 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.tv

    On 1/4/2026 5:54 PM, Arthur Lipscomb wrote:
    On 1/4/2026 4:36 PM, Adam H. Kerman wrote:
    Arthur Lipscomb <arthur@alum.calberkeley.org> wrote:

    The Fountain (blu-ray) 2006 movie written and directed by Darren
    Aronofsky.-a The movie follows Hugh Jackman and Raschel Weisz as they
    play multiple characters through multiple time periods.-a In all of the
    time periods Jackman is in love with Weisz.-a Ellen Burstyn is also in
    the movie.-a I've always really liked this movie.-a It's a shame it
    flopped at the box office.-a I just wish the movie had a new print.-a And >>> a commentary track would have been nice too.

    I dearly love Rachel Weisz and will watch any movie she's in, but I have
    never had a clue what was going on in this.


    I foolishly wasn't paying attention because I went into it thinking to myself I've seen it before and I know what happens, so I don't need to
    pay attention, then 20 minutes in I was lost.

    But here's my off the top of my head take on what was going on.-a They
    were souls constantly being reincarnated.-a I don't know, I said this is
    off the top of my head!-a Anyway, in the conquistador time period he's searching for the tree of life.-a In the present the cure he is searching from is derived from that tree.-a And in the future (deep breath!) the
    tree represents, um, their eternal love or something.

    It's the same tree in all three time periods.-a Yeah, that's what I'm
    going to go with.

    I said the movie needed a commentary track didn't I?

    Anyway, you don't need to know what's going on to enjoy it, just enjoy it.

    I watched 'The Fountain' and did try to pay attention and I was lost 20 minutes into it as well. Its not a movie telling a coherent story, its something like an abstract video about impossible love or something.
    --
    I've done good in this world. Now I'm tired and just want to be a cranky
    dirty old man.
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  • From Arthur Lipscomb@arthur@alum.calberkeley.org to rec.arts.tv on Mon Jan 5 08:35:19 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.tv

    On 1/5/2026 3:18 AM, The True Melissa wrote:
    Verily, in article <6umdnV3Quq05i8b0nZ2dnZfqn_qdnZ2d@giganews.com>, did weberm@polaris.net deliver unto us this message:

    thetruemelissa@gmail.com wrote:
    I watched reruns of The Critic, on Tubi. The show isn't very good,
    but
    it has a frustrating quality of *almost* being good. It'll set up some
    reasonable character situation, then do a corny, predictable joke which
    knocks me out of both the story and the comedy. If only the comedy were
    funnier, it might have run for years.

    I remember liking that show when it first aired. Wasn't someone from
    The Simpsons involved with it?

    Yes, and there was a crossover episode.



    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvE1_5-7t00


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