From Newsgroup: rec.arts.tv

Ubiquitous <weberm@polaris.net> wrote:

After an arduous workout, I watched:

Nothing.

What did you watch?

Multi day, ketchup on the way
--
The last thing I want to do is hurt you, but it is still on my list.
--- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: rec.arts.tv

On 8/28/2026 9:10 AM, anim8rfsk wrote:

Ubiquitous <weberm@polaris.net> wrote:

After an arduous workout, I watched:

Nothing.

What did you watch?

Multi day, ketchup on the way

This is a multiday catch up. Over the last week I watched:

Invaders From Mars (4K disc) 1953 movie about Invaders from Mars
Attacking Earth which leads to a War of the Worlds. This movie really
needs a commentary track.

Invaders From Mars (blu-ray) 1986 remake directed by Tobe Hooper about Invaders from Mars Attacking Earth which leads to a War of the Worlds.

War of the Worlds (4K disc) 1953 movie about Invaders from Mars
Attacking Earth which leads to a War of the Worlds. I watched with a commentary track by Joe Dante. What does Joe Dante have to do with the
1953 version of War of the Worlds? There's a clip from the movie in "Explorers." Good enough for me.

War of the Worlds (4K disc) 2005 remake directed by Steven Spielberg
about Invaders from Mars Attacking Earth which leads to a War of the
Worlds. This is a frustrating movie. I really wish Spielberg had gone
all out and more directly competed with Independence Day with this one.
I *wanted* to see massive battles with modern day military against the
Martian war machine but what I got instead was an annoying father (Tom
Cruise) taking his annoying kids cross country.

Mars Attacks (4K disc) 1996 movie directed by Tim Burton about Invaders
from Mars Attacking Earth which leads to a War of the Worlds. This
movie really needs a commentary track. Technically, I don't care much
for this movie. It has too much body horror. But I broke down and
decided to give the new 4K disc a shot and see if my opinion about it
may have changed since the last time I watched it. I have to admit the
new 4K sure does look nice.


Robinson Crusoe on Mars (blu-ray) 1964 movie about a man (Paul Mantee) stranded on Mars. At first he thinks he's doomed to die but he figures
out how to survive. This has a nice commentary track with the two leads talking about the making of the movie. Paul Mantee spoke a bit about
thinking the movie would be a huge hit, but it flopped and messed with
his career a bit.


The Martian (3D blu-ray) 2015 movie about a man (Matt Damon) stranded on
Mars. At first he thinks he's doomed to die but he figures out how to survive. And why is Matt Damon in so many movies? And why does he
always need to be rescued from somewhere? I could do a day of Matt
Damon needing to be rescued from somewhere movies starting with The
Odyssey and working up from there to the space age.


Doom (4K disc) 2005 movie about a group of space marines lead by "The
Rock" who are transported to Mars. At first they think they are doomed
to die thanks to the monsters trying to kill them, until they figure out
how to survive.


John Carter (3D blu-ray) 2012 movie about a man (Taylor Kitsch) who is transported to Mars. At first he thinks he's doomed to die thanks to
the monsters trying to kill him, until he figures out how to survive.
This is a great movie. It's a true shame it flopped at the box office.


The Last House (Netflix) New movie about a family that wakes up one
morning to find they and every house in their neighborhood is locked
inside due to a mysterious force. The force also prevents just breaking
a window or drilling a hole. The movie plays out what happens if a
family is trapped in a house with no way out. This is a world wide
phenomena so there is no rescue, and eventually they will run out of
food. I don't want to get to deep into what happens, but overall, I
liked the movie. But I was left with *many* questions about the
logistics of how this worked. The movie was told from the perspective
of the family, and they did not have internet or TV once the phenomenon started so we never saw what was happening in the outside world. We
just knew it was happening everywhere. Except the family went to sleep
and woke up not able to leave their house. What about everywhere else
in the world where it was day time? What about people in cars, the cars
were not locked. The overwhelming majority of people would probably
have actually not been locked in a house or hotel or whatever. And even people who were inside, if an open door or open window or even a chimney
(the chimney became a huge plot point later in the movie) were available
then they could still leave. The movie completely glossed over these
issues. It was an interesting concept movie, but I was left with so
many unanswered questions.


Train to Busan (4K disc) 2016 Korean movie directed by Yeon Sang-ho
about a man taking a train with his little daughter when a zombie
outbreak happens. The zombies are overrunning the cities along the
train's route. But even the train is not safe because zombies have
boarded the train too.


Train to Busan Presents: Peninsula (4K disc) 2020 Korean movie directed
by Yeon Sang-ho. This sequel to Train to Busan picks up a few years
after the zombie outbreak with South Korea now quarantined from the rest
of the world. A group of thieves decide to sneak into the country to
steal all the valuables left behind. But things don't go according to plan.


Colony (theatrical) Latest South Korean zombie movie directed by Yeon
Sang-ho. Let's just be up front, this one rips off just about every
zombie movie ever made. But it does so with loving care! This one has
the fast moving hive mind zombies from "World War Z" Smart Zombies from "Return of the Living Dead" and it's basically set in a mall, like "Dawn
of the Dead." But it adds several wrinkles and twists. The basic plot
has this psycho bio terrorist who wants to get even with the world by unleashing a zombie plague on mankind. He develops and unleashes this
virus at a corporate building (that also is basically a mall) that
causes the infected to become hive mind zombies. But as the movie
progresses, the hive mind gets smarter leading to a scene where
fheivibef uvqvat va n ybpxrq ebbz trg n xabpx ng gur qbbe naq gur crbcyr
ba gur bhgfvqr fnl gurl ner erfphref gurer gb rfpbeg gurz gb fnsrgl.
Jura gur fheivibef bcra gur qbbe, vg gheaf bhg gb or gur mbzovrf. Guvf
vf gur svefg gvzr va gur zbivr jura gur mbzovrf fcbxr. Fb hagvy gur
qbbe bcrarq sbe gur erirny, rira gur nhqvrapr va gur gurngre qvq abg
xabj vg jnf mbzovrf ba gur bhgfvqr bs gur qbbe.

Another let's call it twist, is gur cflpub jub eryrnfrq gur ivehf pna
pbageby gur mbzovr uvir zvaq. Bar ur frrf be xabjf gur mbzovrf frr naq
xabj naq ivpr irefn.

Overall, I would recommend checking this out if you are a fan of zombie movies. Although technically, they aren't "dead" so maybe it's more
like the 28 Days later rage virus, but for all intents and purposes they behave just like zombies.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQAXT17Jz18
--- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: rec.arts.tv

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

John Carter (3D blu-ray) 2012 movie about a man (Taylor Kitsch) who is >transported to Mars. At first he thinks he's doomed to die thanks to
the monsters trying to kill him, until he figures out how to survive.
This is a great movie. It's a true shame it flopped at the box office.

There is a reason no James Bond movie has been named for its hero. If
the hero is deiberately given a bland name, it doesn't make a good
title. The novel had a perfectly good title and should have been kept.

I saw this in theater and enjoyed it. Tim Riggins never drank!
--- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: rec.arts.tv

On Aug 28, 2026 at 9:44:44 AM PDT, "Arthur Lipscomb" <arthur@alum.calberkeley.org> wrote:

The Last House (Netflix) New movie about a family that wakes up one
morning to find they and every house in their neighborhood is locked
inside due to a mysterious force. The force also prevents just breaking
a window or drilling a hole. The movie plays out what happens if a
family is trapped in a house with no way out. This is a world wide phenomena so there is no rescue, and eventually they will run out of
food. I don't want to get to deep into what happens, but overall, I
liked the movie. But I was left with *many* questions about the
logistics of how this worked. The movie was told from the perspective
of the family, and they did not have internet or TV once the phenomenon started so we never saw what was happening in the outside world. We
just knew it was happening everywhere. Except the family went to sleep
and woke up not able to leave their house. What about everywhere else
in the world where it was day time? What about people in cars, the cars were not locked. The overwhelming majority of people would probably
have actually not been locked in a house or hotel or whatever. And even people who were inside, if an open door or open window or even a chimney (the chimney became a huge plot point later in the movie) were available then they could still leave. The movie completely glossed over these
issues. It was an interesting concept movie, but I was left with so
many unanswered questions.

I watched the Pitch Meeting about this movie:

WRITER GUY: And then the mysterious force just kinda disappears and they're free.

PRODUCER GUY: Why does that happen?

WRITER GUY: Because.

PRODUCER GUY: Well, okay then.


--- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: rec.arts.tv

Ubiquitous wrote in article <UBI20260827@dont-email.me>:

After an arduous workout, I watched:

Nothing.

What did you watch?

I watched another The Patient -- still good. I also watched
another Scream Queens, and I'm enjoying that the more of the two
right now. A serial killer still stalks the campus, multiple
people are dead, at least three students are known to own
chainsaws for absurd reasons, and nobody has even suggested
closing the school.
--
The meek shall inherit, we're told,
But I'm not so easily sold.
For supposing they should,
It would do them no good --
They'd lose it at once to the bold.
--- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: rec.arts.tv

On Aug 28, 2026 at 11:29:31 AM PDT, "The True Melissa" <thetruemelissa@gmail.comNOSPAM> wrote:

Ubiquitous wrote in article <UBI20260827@dont-email.me>:

After an arduous workout, I watched:

Nothing.

What did you watch?

I watched another The Patient -- still good. I also watched
another Scream Queens, and I'm enjoying that the more of the two
right now. A serial killer still stalks the campus, multiple
people are dead, at least three students are known to own
chainsaws for absurd reasons, and nobody has even suggested
closing the school.

One thing that always bugs me about horror shows and movies that go out of their way to make cell phones, computers, and social media into a major plot point is that at some point if I was in the characters' shoes and realized
that every time my phone dinged or pinged or rang, really bad shit happened, I'd turn the damn thing off and throw it in a drawer. And if even one of the kids actually did that, it would really fuck with the killer's plans because the killer has designed his plans so heavily around this tech that without it, his entire scheme would all fall apart.

Imagine the Ghostface killer in SCREAM constantly being sent to voicemail
every time he called to taunt his next victim...


--- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: rec.arts.tv

anim8rfsk@cox.net wrote:

Ubiquitous <weberm@polaris.net> wrote:

After an arduous workout, I watched:

Nothing.

What did you watch?

Multi day, ketchup on the way

I relish it.
--
Democrats and the liberal media hate President Trump more than they
love this country.

--- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: rec.arts.tv

BTR1701 wrote in article <116t08r$2o80l$1@dont-email.me>:

Imagine the Ghostface killer in SCREAM constantly being sent to voicemail every time he called to taunt his next victim...

That legit sounds like something that might happen on Scream
Queens.
--
The meek shall inherit, we're told,
But I'm not so easily sold.
For supposing they should,
It would do them no good --
They'd lose it at once to the bold.
--- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: rec.arts.tv

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

On 8/28/2026 9:10 AM, anim8rfsk wrote:

Ubiquitous <weberm@polaris.net> wrote:

After an arduous workout, I watched:

Nothing.

What did you watch?

Multi day, ketchup on the way

Mars Attacks (4K disc) 1996 movie directed by Tim Burton about Invaders
from Mars Attacking Earth which leads to a War of the Worlds. This
movie really needs a commentary track. Technically, I don't care much
for this movie. It has too much body horror. But I broke down and
decided to give the new 4K disc a shot and see if my opinion about it
may have changed since the last time I watched it. I have to admit the
new 4K sure does look nice.

Fun fact. The reason the sets are practical, and the Martians are CGI is
that they actually built the whole thing for stop motion and then realized there was no way to animate the Martian faces inside their helmets.

Fun fact, number two. They asked one of the producers why they wrote an original script and he said there was no story on the trading cards. They
had never looked at the backside of the cards and seen that there was a complete storyline.

Fun fact, number three. Despite Tim Burton saying I was to never watch one
of his films again, I cheated and watched this one. Boy Howdy did I regret
it

Robinson Crusoe on Mars (blu-ray) 1964 movie about a man (Paul Mantee) stranded on Mars. At first he thinks he's doomed to die but he figures
out how to survive. This has a nice commentary track with the two leads talking about the making of the movie. Paul Mantee spoke a bit about thinking the movie would be a huge hit, but it flopped and messed with
his career a bit.

One of my first special edition, laser discs. I was amazed and pleased that they singled this out for the deluxe treatment.

I can’t believe you didn’t pair this with ENEMY MINE. They are the same damn movie!
--
The last thing I want to do is hurt you, but it is still on my list.
--- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: rec.arts.tv

On 8/31/2026 5:39 PM, anim8rfsk wrote:

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

On 8/28/2026 9:10 AM, anim8rfsk wrote:

Ubiquitous <weberm@polaris.net> wrote:

After an arduous workout, I watched:

Nothing.

What did you watch?

Multi day, ketchup on the way

Mars Attacks (4K disc) 1996 movie directed by Tim Burton about Invaders
from Mars Attacking Earth which leads to a War of the Worlds. This
movie really needs a commentary track. Technically, I don't care much
for this movie. It has too much body horror. But I broke down and
decided to give the new 4K disc a shot and see if my opinion about it
may have changed since the last time I watched it. I have to admit the
new 4K sure does look nice.

Fun fact. The reason the sets are practical, and the Martians are CGI is
that they actually built the whole thing for stop motion and then realized there was no way to animate the Martian faces inside their helmets.

Ridiculous. Do the Martians stop motion then when you cut to their faces animate those separately.

And really why would the helmet matter anyway. Stop motion is shot one
frame at a time. Whether there is a helmet or not, you still have to
take one picture, adjust the Martian's face then take the picture again.
The helmet doesn't really change that. All you have to do is raise
and lower it between adjustments.

Fun fact, number two. They asked one of the producers why they wrote an original script and he said there was no story on the trading cards. They
had never looked at the backside of the cards and seen that there was a complete storyline.

Good grief!
It couldn't have been worse than the story we got. They couldn't decide
if they wanted to make a comedy or a serious film, so they tried to mix
it with both and neither worked all that well.

Fun fact, number three. Despite Tim Burton saying I was to never watch one
of his films again, I cheated and watched this one. Boy Howdy did I regret
it

Robinson Crusoe on Mars (blu-ray) 1964 movie about a man (Paul Mantee)
stranded on Mars. At first he thinks he's doomed to die but he figures
out how to survive. This has a nice commentary track with the two leads
talking about the making of the movie. Paul Mantee spoke a bit about
thinking the movie would be a huge hit, but it flopped and messed with
his career a bit.

One of my first special edition, laser discs. I was amazed and pleased that they singled this out for the deluxe treatment.

I can’t believe you didn’t pair this with ENEMY MINE. They are the same damn movie!

I'm not sure if I've ever paired them before. But now that you mention
it, they could pair well.
--- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: rec.arts.tv

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

On 8/31/2026 5:39 PM, anim8rfsk wrote:

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

On 8/28/2026 9:10 AM, anim8rfsk wrote:

Ubiquitous <weberm@polaris.net> wrote:

After an arduous workout, I watched:

Nothing.

What did you watch?

Multi day, ketchup on the way

Mars Attacks (4K disc) 1996 movie directed by Tim Burton about Invaders
from Mars Attacking Earth which leads to a War of the Worlds. This
movie really needs a commentary track. Technically, I don't care much
for this movie. It has too much body horror. But I broke down and
decided to give the new 4K disc a shot and see if my opinion about it
may have changed since the last time I watched it. I have to admit the
new 4K sure does look nice.

Fun fact. The reason the sets are practical, and the Martians are CGI is
that they actually built the whole thing for stop motion and then realized >> there was no way to animate the Martian faces inside their helmets.

Ridiculous. Do the Martians stop motion then when you cut to their faces animate those separately.

And really why would the helmet matter anyway. Stop motion is shot one frame at a time. Whether there is a helmet or not, you still have to
take one picture, adjust the Martian's face then take the picture again.
The helmet doesn't really change that. All you have to do is raise
and lower it between adjustments.

No matter how careful you are, the reflections would flicker

Fun fact, number two. They asked one of the producers why they wrote an
original script and he said there was no story on the trading cards. They
had never looked at the backside of the cards and seen that there was a
complete storyline.

Good grief!
It couldn't have been worse than the story we got. They couldn't decide
if they wanted to make a comedy or a serious film, so they tried to mix
it with both and neither worked all that well.

Fun fact, number three. Despite Tim Burton saying I was to never watch one >> of his films again, I cheated and watched this one. Boy Howdy did I regret >> it

Robinson Crusoe on Mars (blu-ray) 1964 movie about a man (Paul Mantee)
stranded on Mars. At first he thinks he's doomed to die but he figures
out how to survive. This has a nice commentary track with the two leads >>> talking about the making of the movie. Paul Mantee spoke a bit about
thinking the movie would be a huge hit, but it flopped and messed with
his career a bit.

One of my first special edition, laser discs. I was amazed and pleased that >> they singled this out for the deluxe treatment.

I can’t believe you didn’t pair this with ENEMY MINE. They are the same >> damn movie!

I'm not sure if I've ever paired them before. But now that you mention
it, they could pair well.

--
The last thing I want to do is hurt you, but it is still on my list.
--- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2