Path: ...!news.mixmin.net!eternal-september.org!feeder3.eternal-september.org!news.eternal-september.org!.POSTED!not-for-mail From: Arthur Lipscomb Newsgroups: rec.arts.tv Subject: Re: What Did You Watch? 2024-06-08 (Saturday) Date: Sun, 9 Jun 2024 13:47:31 -0700 Organization: A noiseless patient Spider Lines: 143 Message-ID: References: <1638195323.739629587.796457.anim8rfsk-cox.net@news.easynews.com> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8; format=flowed Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Injection-Date: Sun, 09 Jun 2024 22:47:32 +0200 (CEST) Injection-Info: dont-email.me; posting-host="ed8fe60e8e1fad94d2da40747568933d"; logging-data="3971455"; mail-complaints-to="abuse@eternal-september.org"; posting-account="U2FsdGVkX19T0OQDHVoOPHbZrLX+OfZgSK1l7SfaSRQ=" User-Agent: Mozilla Thunderbird Cancel-Lock: sha1:T4cBqHMbT847vZEgx0Fy9IrIjH8= In-Reply-To: Content-Language: en-US Bytes: 9279 On 6/9/2024 10:48 AM, Ian J. Ball wrote: > On 6/9/24 8:09 AM, Dimensional Traveler wrote: > >> What Did You Watch? > > Yesterday, lots of stuff: > > The Vigilante (Tubi) - This 2023 flick was an odd one - it couldn't > decide if it was a "message film" like a Lifetime flick or if it was a > low-budget actioner, and as a result it kind of didn't succeed at either > - it wasn't "action-y" enough IMO, but it was also way too violent to be > a Lifetime flick. >    German-American actress Jet Jandreau stars as a marine, initially > stationed in Afghanistan. (Stuff happens in the opening that is > unnecessary, except to establish that she has PTSD from the incident.) >    While there, her younger sister Aimee (Jamie Timmons, who obviously > is a dancer) gets pinched by human traffickers who want a "dancer" type. > (I had problems with this, as the traffickers didn't pinch her even > cuter friend who was driving - why wouldn't you take 2 for the price of > one?!) >    Of course, the Marine immediately comes home, and meets up with a > fellow retired Marine (Eric Pierce), who of course is conveniently some > kind of computer genius-type (as well as being handy with weapons on > ops!). They soon start investigating, and raiding human trafficking > "warehouses" (usually in residential neighborhoods) on their own to try > to find the sister. >    This wasn't deep, and it was too "message-y" for what it was > offering. But the fight scenes were actually well filmed (did they get > the "Arrow" stunt crew on this?!) and seemed realistic (if perhaps > choreographed a tad slower than they should have been...). >    I'm still wondering how the lead heroine went to jail at the end of > this, but her ex-marine partner apparently didn't!?! > Sounds like it's worth checking out. But why Tubi? > golf - I caught enough of Day 3 of the Memorial to see that Scottie > Scheffler was well ahead in another tourney this year, and lost interest. > > Blockers (Peacock) - In glorious 4k!! >    Wait! What?!! Why the heck are they showing this in 4k?!! (Maybe NBC > Universal is trying to upgrade their film library?!...) >    I had never managed to get to this raunchy 2018 comedy before. >    It stars Jon Cena (who always seems up for mayhem!), along with > Leslie Mann (amazing she is still around) and Ike Barinholtz (who > funnily enough I've never really run across much before as I didn't > watch "The Mindy Show") play over protective parents to three teen girls > (Geraldine Viswanathan, Kathryn Newton and Gideon Adlon, respectively). >    Inappropriate wackiness ensues when the three parents (actually, at > first it's just Cena and Mann, with Barinholtz trying to stop them) vow > to stop their daughters from losing their virginity on prom night. >    This was amusing enough, though I'm not necessarily a fan of raunchy > comedy - I did like the bits with Gary Cole and Gina Gershon as fellow > hot-to-trot parents. > > Maxton Hall (actual title: "Maxton Hall - Die Welt zwischen uns") > (Prime) - Ep. #1.1 In the original German! (And in HDR!) >    I am very confused by this - this is a German series, filmed in > German (stupid Prime made me go in to manually change the audio track to > its native German, but I put English subtitles on), but set in England > very clearly - IOW, this isn't German students at an English boarding > school! It's supposed to be *English students*, in England! who for some > reason are talking in German!! >    (And it's even weirder - the YA novel this series is based on is > written by a German author, but I guess she set the book in England?!?) >    Anyway, this YA series shares the same problem that plenty of > Hallmark romance flicks do - while the lead girl, Ruby (Harriet > Herbig-Matten) is plucky and generally likeable (though Herbig-Matten is > one of those young women who is so skinny that she has almost > nonexistent calves!), the "handsome rich boy" (Damian Hardung) is so > thoroughly unlikable and contemptible that I am have a lot of trouble > understanding why should be rooting for these two to get together, > potential hott sexx!1! be damned! >    Anyway, for "reasons", these two immediately get to hating each > other, once "handsome rich boy" is forced to notice the under-the-radar > bookish "smart (but poorer!) girl". By the end of the first episode, for > more "reasons", they are forced to work together by the school's > headmaster. (See where this is going?!) >    This series is only 6 episodes (though it has already been renewed > for season #2), so I will probably make my way through this... >    Sidenote: The best looking person in this cast is "handsome rich > boy's" beautiful redheaded, but scandalous! sister (she's having an > affair with a teacher), played by Sonja Weißer - import her to America, > STAT!!  ;p > > The Girl Locked Upstairs: The Tanya Kach Story (Lifetime) - This was > about as I expected - depressing through and through (though, at the > same time, underdeveloped). >    Jordyn Ashley Olson (likely best known from 2018's "Dragged Across > Concrete") plays Tanya Kach, a 14-year-old high school freshman living > in a foster home (we never get the reasons for why her mother is legally > prevented from seeing her daughter), who is picked on by everyone in the > high school. Her only friend is the school's security guard (Robert > Baker), who of course is a creepy predator. >    Soon enough, the security guard convinces the girl to run away from > the foster home, once rejected (again) by her mother (though, again, > it's for "legal reasons") and come live with him. Obviously, school is > out of the question at this point too. The issue is that the dude lives > with his elderly parents, and so keeps Tanya locked in his upstairs > bedroom. >    Where she is basically held captive for years and years. Eventually, > once she's past 18, the guard starts letting her outside on short > errands, where she eventually gets enough courage to turn on the > bastard. At the end, we get a flashforward 12 years, but all of the > details of the intervening years are left out. IOW, this film really > didn't cover some of the important details enough. > > Clickbait: Unfollowed (Tubi) - Written and directed by Katherine Barrell > and Melanie Scrofano!! (who also appear!). >    Filmed in Cape Town!! (Wait! - Why wasn't this filmed in > Can-a-der?!!) It also seems like the "talent" in this one is South > African as well. And that's why it was filmed in South Africa. ;-) >    Tubi categorizes this one, released just on Friday, as "horror", but > it's more accurately "dark comedy horror". >    Six "influencers" - it's actually 7, as one influencer "team" is a > 10-year-old boy and his predatory mother (Jessica Stanley) - are invited > to a mansion for a competition to improve their social media presence. >    But, as you might expect, this competition is deadly for the losers! > (Once place the film falls down is with special effects - the first > death is especially poorly EFX'ed...) >    Will anyone get out alive?! Are any of these influencers worth > saving?!! And who is doing all of this?!!! >    This was amusing in parts. But there are some plot holes - I never > really got/bought the villains' motivations for doing all of this. And > were their Squid Game-esque henchmen supposed to be real people, or > robots?! >    Also, you never actually see Barrell's face in this movie, as she's > wearing a hideous mask (it's supposed to be cosmetic surgery... well, > sort of!). >    Bottom line: This was OK, maybe made slightly more enjoyable for > knowing that Barrell and Scrofano wrote and directed it. > > But it's on Tubi! I have enough trouble remembering to watch shows on streaming channels I actually like. They might as well put it on USA or TBS.