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From: Arthur Lipscomb <arthur@alum.calberkeley.org>
Newsgroups: rec.arts.tv
Subject: Re: What Did You Watch? 2024-05-31 (Friday)
Date: Sat, 1 Jun 2024 12:32:40 -0700
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On 6/1/2024 10:21 AM, Ian J. Ball wrote:
snip
> 
>> What did you watch?
> 
> Yesterday, I was finally 100% done for the year. I had a couple of 
> errands to run in the afternoon, but once I was done with that, it was 
> movie time!
> 
> The Squad (Tubi!) - This is all Anim's fault!!  :p
>     Actually, in Anim''s defense, I've been wanting to see this 2023 
> (seemingly filmed in 2022, in Oklahoma City!!) direct-to-video flick for 
> a while, because it co-stars Lifetime's Meghan Carrasquillo) - long 
> before he mentioned it yesterday.
>     It's just his mentioning it made me realize that this flick had 
> finally come to Tubi.
>     Result: This flick is a mess.
>     The good news? It's actually filmed pretty well - it doesn't look 
> like a cheapo Asylum or Hybrid flick - if you don't mind it being one of 
> those "gritty"-looking films with heavy use of (grainy) filters.
>     But this one reminds me of one of the late-era Bruce Willis flicks - 
> about the only good thing you can say about those is most of them are 
> "filmed well" and look decent on screen.
>     The problem with "The Squad" is, 1) there is no one to "root" for, 
> and 2) the storyline is an over-complicated mess.
>     The Squad is made up of three "hot" young twentysomethings (Anim is 
> also right - none of them are actually fully "hot" for various reasons, 
> so we have to settle for "partly or somewhat hot"), who also happen to 
> be drug dealers. So, right there, we have a problem, because there is no 
> way the audience is going to "root" for these bitches to succeed at 
> being drug dealers.
>     Indeed, their primary function seems to be to go around killing 
> rival drug dealers while wearing bikinis.
>     They are run by older woman named Alpha (Jennifer Ferguson) who 
> saved all 3 from foster care. Their crimes are covered up by a cleaner 
> (Wil Wilson). And some other people (Julia Avila, Hannah Hunt - Hunt, 
> here as a blonde, is arguably the only truly "hot" chyck in this flick) 
> seems to help The Squad, or partner up with them along the way.
>     Anyway, the plot is too convoluted to go into detail - basically, 
> The Squad's antics are encroaching on the local dealers' turf, so they 
> want The Squad eliminated, with the Squad wanting to do the same to them.
>     See? No one to root for.
>     The ending is even more convoluted, and sets up a sequel, set in 
> Miami, except it's now been 2 years, and that sequel is no closer to 
> being filmed.
>     We likely dodged a bullet here - it turns out, a movie needs more 
> plot than "3 "hot" drug-dealing girls in bikinis shooting people"(!?!).
> 
> Next up: "Spare Parts" from 2020!!  :)
> 
> Dune: Part Two (Max) - With my tier of Max, this was not in 4k, but it 
> actually doesn't matter because this flick looks so good, being in 
> actual "4k" likely wouldn't have made it look any better.
>     This is more convoluted, and I think also longer, and thus not as 
> enjoyable as "Part 1". Though I guess things actually happen (at the 
> end) of this one.
>     I also gather this one departs more from the books more (IIRC, the 
> Emperor is not actually a character in the original Dune novel).

I did not know that.


>     But this one introduces some new character/actors (Austin Butler, 
> Florence Pugh, and an uncredited cameo from Anya Taylor-Joy), so it's 
> got some freshness, at least.
>     Overall, I did enjoy this one, and it does *look great*. But it's 
> also a bit of a slog, and does suffer from a "who do you root for?" 
> problem (though not a "who do you root against?" problem!).
> 
> And thus ushers in my "weekend of movies"! I plan to do little else this 
> weekend but watch movies and/or streaming series, and maybe some golf.
> 


This is a 2-day catch up.  I watched:


Star Trek: Discovery (Paramount+) - "Life, Itself" - Series finale. 
Apparently this was not filmed as a finale but once they knew the series 
was cancelled they went back and added scenes to conclude the series. 
It very much fills like that too.  The ways things played out they 
wrapped up the season's events and it looked like the show should be 
over but it kept going for another 20 minutes of wrap up.  I guess it 
was OK.  At least they wrapped everything up.  Although I have no idea 
what happened to Moll.  Her character was front and center the whole 
season and this episode, then suddenly she was just forgotten.  I did 
like that they finally (sort of) revealed who David Conenberg's 
character really is.


Evil  (Paramount+) - "How to Train a Dog" 9 Season 4, episode 2.  The 
team looks into a robot dog that may or may not have been hacked.  And 
some other stuff happened.


The Sixth Sense (blu-ray) 1999 movie written and directed by M. Night 
Shyamalan starring Haley Joel Osment as a young boy who can see dead 
people.  The problem is the dead people don't always know they are dead 
and like to hang around Osment rather he wants them to or not.  Bruce 
Willis also stars as a child psychologist who shows up one day and hangs 
around Osment rather he wants him to or not.  The movie holds up great.