Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019)

20191221:
The trailers started at 3:32 PM, but the seats next to me were still empty. Many seats in theater were still empty. Ada left during the Doolittle trailer to get food, and returned during the Free Guy trailer.

After the movie:
- wow so many great moments in the movie. some less.
- and that kiss was weird. perhaps not so expected.
- the saber transfer was cool but... what in the Force has been allowing them to do that?
- trying to recall some other moments...
- the little robot turning on and his little attitude
- what is Poe's secret!?
- Lando
- Luke (maybe he did too much though)
- so does force healing reduce life span or what?
- lightning out of Rey
- of course Palpatine reveal
- the ending return to Luke's home on Tatooine, which I thought was destroyed but I simply confused it with Alderaan.
- Leia's training with Luke
- the saber. where did the yellow saber come from? it seemed to me from the base of her staff [yes, it's from her staff]
- in the one chase scene she's steering the vehicle and seems to be doing the shooting. why wasn't chewie shooting? if he was it wasn't obvious.
- I really like the Kylo Ren Han Solo parallel scene
- Chewie cries so much at Leia's death
- final adoption of Skywalker name
- the one guy... I forget his name, he's not entirely likeable... his feud with Rey was borderline annoying
- Rey's levitation seems like flying
- weird that Luke and Leia knew about Palpatine but didn't tell Rey...
- Oh I asked Ada about Palpatine not stopping his lightning attack [20231123: that is, logically, if I were attacking, and then my attack is being deflected back at me, then I should stop]
- lol I just Googled "why didn't Palpatine" and the seventh completion was "stop using lightning" [20231123: overall, the popular type of answer indicates he lost control and, in losing control over such a chaotic type of attack (namely one belonging to the Dark Side), the result was him uncontrollably continuing the attack; another plausible category of answers suggests that once he started the attack, he simply couldn't stop it (deflected or not) until it resolved; finally a third category of answer is that he did stop, but Rey had either absorbed his lightning attack and/or generated her own lightning attack to defeat him][20231123: Pulling up the scene, it appears that they kind of work together but there's also something missing. There is a brief time where he is firing the lightning as it deflects, but it does eventually stop with lightning continuing to eminate from the light sabers. Unfortunately, there is no precedence for lightning to be absorbed into a light saber and shot out. It would have been better if Rey had absorb the attack through her hand like Yoda, and then fired it back.]

Trailers: Dolittle (2020). My Spy (2020). No Time to Die (2020). Bad Boys for Life (2020). Free Guy (2020). Top Gun: Maverick (2020). Tenet (2020). Onward (2020). Black Widow (2020). Mulan (2020).

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Released 20191216.
Watched theaters 20191221.

Dave Chappelle: Equanimity (2017)

20191205:
On my way home from LAX, I was driving and listening to music but then I decided to look for something on Netflix. Since I was driving, I decided to pick a comedy special - something I could listen to and not worry about visuals.

In any case, I listened to the first 46 minutes on the road and watched the rest later when I got home. Then I decided to watch the entire special for a second time.

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Instant Comments:
A: laughter at the punchline without a joke
A: This whole bit about growing up in Silver Springs is good [though not the final punchline]
A: Hmm. Wasn't really that funny (joke leading up to "Kick her in the pussy."); though maybe cause I wasn't watching and just listening

A: "Ma'am with all due respect, Chinese don't buy DVDs."
A: I'm not against him telling transgender jokes, but I didn't like his bit about "the hilarity of their situation."
A: "There's only two songs left."
A: Punchline to his son calling him.
A: Punchline to address.
A: His commentary on poor white voters in line at the voting polls.
A: "It felt like I was lucky enough to eat Halle Berry's pussy. And while doing so..."
A: "For what n***a so iPhones can cost $9000?"

B: "It would be catastrophic to my bottom line."
B: He deals with the heckler and vape pen well.
B: "I didn't know that shit either."
B: I like the follow-up. Especially "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi" and "John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt" ("Oh, his name is my name, too.")
B: Emmett Till (Wikipedia.org) [The Wikipedia article doesn't quite line up with what Chappelle said, but his overall message via his interpretation of the events is nonetheless interesting and worth listening to]
B: Elephant
A=20191205 2PM & 9PM, B=20191205 8PM & 9PM

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Watched first 46 minutes 201912052PM & remaining 14 minutes 20191205 8PM (Netflix, Instant)
Watched 20191205 9PM (Netflix, Instant)
Dave Chappelle: Equanimity (2017) Stan Lathan. 60 min

Relevant Links:
Dave Chappelle: Equanimity (IMDb.com)
Dave Chappelle: Equanimity & The Bird Revelation (RottenTomatoes.com)

Forest of Piano

I have so many notes that I'll be looking to copy and paste without any further edits.

[20210502]

---

20191204:
forest of piano. first episode, [one scene: kid not stupid. memory. genius.] as ajino walks through the forest ada says it's probably his and then he says it was his. (10:22 PM)
second episode. ajino is a good teacher. enter competition good one. ah thought amamiya would be super angry but ended up super positive. episode 3. haha Wendy. nooo we only get to see amamiya's performance in this episode. who will win? ada thinks amamiya in this comp. i think 66% kai and 33% this girl. hmm... because I guess as ada said it's such an early in the story that one would wonder how it proceeds if he wins. and yet everybody expects amamiya to win so it'd be weird if he won (11:18 PM)

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20191206:
fourth episode. i guess kai would win. Ada laughs as kai says toilet princess. ada figures he's disqualified, I would agree based on the other show we watched. he just wants to play the minute waltz. fifth episode. hehe competition god. she has to win something new what would have been overturned for... [okay]. sixth episode. hehe playing in public. unexpected outcome for kai. (20191207 12:07 AM)

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20191207:
piano of the forest. five years later. next episode. the girl. hopefully nothing bad comes from tracking him down. tendonitis. broken string and personal arrangement. episode 9. prelim for chopin competition. amamiya. ajino meets with rei, ada asks what she gives him, I say its the piano key. (11:31 PM)

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20191210:
episode 10. wei peng. similar to ajino's sound. adamski. episode 11. new character lech. episode 12 haha gust of wind. no break. identical song choice. minute waltz. fist. (10:44 PM)

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The second season begins. In the notes that follows, the episode numbers may be written offset by 12. For example S2E13 is to mean the thirteenth episode overall and the first episode of the second season, i.e., S2E01.

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20191215:
forest of piano. s2e13 not so interesting except adamski getting dropped but his old teacher came and supports him and realizes adamski's set. s2e14. wow, wei pangs background is intense. s2e15. so shuhei finds his piano but his father is focused on scores. then there's a question about scoring... poor adamski. I still dont understand the implications though. (8:55 PM)

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20191216:
forest of piano. s2e16 lech's backstory is short (emilia). kai to followup. first half of Kai's performance... dang that one judge so biased. s2e17 ajino's intentions are made known to the conductor - to set Kai free. s2e18. Shuhei doesnt believe Kai (Kai likes Shuhei's piano). the judge is reassuring Shuhei's father, I joke that Shuhei cut off his hands. Finally Shuhei and his father reconcile. (9:48 PM)

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20191217:
forest of piano. s2e19. appropriate ending (11:12 PM)

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20191218:
forest of piano. 20. before the intro i ask ada if he thinks the hand thing is serious, it hasn't been brought up yet. I figure it is but Ada says perhaps its just tendonitis. under arrest. haha this guy listening in. good thing nothing malice came of the c eavesdropping. 21. what a chance meeting between Wei Pang and Ajino. The question however is how will Kai fare... he has been meditating on the plains as if it'll be the secret key. amamiya thinks Wei Pang automatically beat Kai, Ada thinks so, I'm still rooting for Kai... we'll just have to see. 22. what a risky thing to play with new gloves (perhaps he's played with gloves before). hehe student of sosoke ajino and the piano of the forest. oh okay he's not playing with gloves. let it ride on the wind. 23. nice pressure by the one guy to make judging public. kai ichinose rearranged is best pianist in the world according to takako. (20191219 10:52 AM)

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20191221:
24. final episode of forest of piano. fitting end but anticlimatic perhaps. well the surprise with the hand doctor was interesting. Ada and I were wondering Ajino or Kai for a while and when the doctor said Kai wanted to win the competition first was when I knew it was for Ajino. (9:44 PM)

The Man Who Knew Too Little (1997)

20191130:
I was interested in watching various movies which were expiring today (i.e., today is the last day to watch them). Among the various movies, I started with Cloud with a Chance of Meatballs and then decided to choose between this movie and Masterminds. I decided to watch this one. After this movie I was going to watch Taxi Driver but then I decided that I needed to sleep instead.

Wallace Ritchie (Bill Murray)

The jokes and plot of the movie primarily depend on a forced misunderstanding between the characters. The movie skates on thin ice with respect to maintaining the viewer's suspension of disbelief. Actually, perhaps a more accurate assessment is that a typical spy movie might have one or two scenes which stretch the imagination, but this movie heavily relies on a series of crazy coincidences and unbelievable misunderstandings.

Overall, the movie had some good laughs and I didn't mind spending the time to watch it.

Lori (Joanne Whalley)

Netflix determined the movie for me as a 98% match. I decided to give the movie neither a thumbs up nor a thumbs down.

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20250603 Comment:
I just watched The Birds and afterwards I was looking to see what other Alfred Hitchcock movies were on Netflix. I saw a movie called The Man Who Knew Too Much and went to search if I had seen it. This movie had come up in the results and I see the two titles are only different by "Little" vs "Much." Surely, this being the title of a comedy movie, is a reference to the title of the other movie. Checking Wikipedia, I confirmed this. Note that The Man Who Knew Too Much is labeled as a "spy thriller film."

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Instant Comments:
Hahaha. "Is there a problem here?" Yikes.
25 minutes in and this movie is interesting. A bunch of lucky events for the protagonist.
"We got some smutty letters we're gonna blackmail some guy with."

Boris 'The Butcher' Blavasky (Alfred Molina)

Haha. "Oh God, what have I done, from three feet I missed you."
"We're both acting. In the Theater of Life after all."
American Superman.
"Are you an actor or a person?" "Neither I'm a policeman."
Where's the real person who he substituted for?

"Another one of these Old Spice guys."
Hahaha. 5 hits a week.

---

Watched 20191130 (Netflix, Instant) (Streaming until 20191130)
The Man Who Knew Too Little (1997) Jon Amiel. 94 min

Relevant Links:
The Man Who Knew Too Little (IMDb.com)
The Man Who Knew Too Little (RottenTomatoes.com)
The Man Who Knew Too Little (Wikipedia.org)

Philadelphia (1993)

20191130:
I was going to watch this because it's expiring on Netflix. But then I learned it was on Amazon Prime. And yet I continued watching it anyways for 21 minutes. I'm very curious how the movie will bring Denzel Washington and Tom Hanks together.

Andrew 'Andy' Beckett (Tom Hanks) and Joe Miller (Denzel Washington)

Netflix determined the movie for me as a 91% match.

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Instant Comments:
1a: I'm guessing his blood work isn't actually good.
1a: It's the actress who would go on to play Dr. Bailey in Grey's Anatomy [Chandra Wilson]
1a: Paused at 21 minutes.

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Watched first 20 minutes 20191130 (Netflix, Instant) (Streaming until 20191130)
Philadelphia (1993) Jonathan Demme. 125 min

Relevant Links:
Philadelphia (IMDb.com)
Philadelphia (RottenTomatoes.com)
Philadelphia (film) (Wikipedia.org)

Stranger than Fiction (2006)

20110115 Comment:
I enjoyed most of this movie. I might not have liked the ending as much as the rest of the movie. However, I might not have had a thorough understanding of the film from the first watching.

Harold Crick (Will Ferrell)

The scene that comes to mind when I think of the movie is when Will Ferrell sings and plays "Whole Wide World" by Wreckless Eric.

[20191127 Edit]

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Ana Pascal (Maggie Gyllenhaal)

20191127:
Watching the movie again today, I enjoyed it the entire way through. While I didn't remember the majority of the movie, I did remember the ending and so I was not surprised by it.

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Instant Comments:
2: Love all the numbers and pop-ups during the intro.

Karen Eiffel (Emma Thompson)

2: The actor in Arrested Development (Tony Hale).
2: Haha. "If I was I can assure you it was only as a representative of the United States Government."
2: Edna in The Incredibles looks like Linda Hunt.
2: Hahahahahaha. The number of ridiculous things he's ruled out.

2: Ah. He never mentioned that the voice is British.
2: What happens if an establishment doesn't keep records?
2: Comedy or Tragedy
2: "This may sound like gibberish to you, but I think I'm in a tragedy."

Professor Jules Hilbert (Dustin Hoffman)

2: Flours. I got a little teary-eyed.
2=20191127

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Released 20061110.
Watched 20061111 Theater. Century 20 Huntington Beach [STRANGER THAN FICTION] 6:00 PM. $8.25.

Penny Escher (Queen Latifah) and Karen Eiffel

Watched 20191127 (Amazon Prime Video)
Stranger than Fiction (2006) Marc Forster. 113 min.

Relevant Links:
Stranger than Fiction (IMDb.com)
Stranger than Fiction (2006 film) (Wikipedia.org)
Stranger than Fiction (RottenTomatoes.com)

Dave (Tony Hale)

Dante's Peak (1997)

20191126:
I don't know what to say about this movie. The special effects and disasters were cool, but the plot was weak. Perhaps part of the problem is that the movie attempted to maintain accuracy at some points of the film (e.g., concern about premature evacuation) and not others (e.g., acidic lake burning a hole through the boat*).

Harry Dalton (Pierce Brosnan)

Netflix determined the movie for me as a 95% match. I decided to give the movie neither a thumbs up nor a thumbs down.

*I read after watching the movie that if a lake were so acidic to do this, that the passengers would first die of the sulfur in the air.

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Instant Comments:
6 min mark. "Dante's Peak" is the name of the mountain. The scene suggests it's a dormant volcano with an unlikely chance of erupting. The protagonist says 10000 to 1.

Harry and Rachel Wando (Linda Hamilton)

Ouch. Burned in the hot spring.
With that kind of trauma they probably won't ever go in a hot spring ever again.
I don't understand why his boss sent him to investigate and then seems to be so reserved about evacuation. I feel like when it comes to natural disasters, it's better to err on the side of caution. [The critical reception section of the Wikipedia article for the movie has a reference which mentions the financial impact of a false alarm.]
What was the point of going off rope?

Paul Dreyfus (Charles Hallahan)

"I don't know how to tell you this. But I never really cared for your coffee."
So many cars with passenger seats. Why wouldn't they give the walkers a lift?
The molten lava burning through and pouring in was cool.
Why not look back? The debris? Perhaps duck and cover would be better advice? [Okay now he says "Get down!"]
Ouch. That bone. I'd probably faint.
Holy crap. Climatic save.

Harry and Ruth (Elizabeth Hoffman) run from the lava.

Movie magic? I feel like a lot of debris fell. It should have taken longer to rescue them.

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Watched 20191126 (Netflix, Instant) (Streaming until 20191130)
Dante's Peak (1997) Roger Donaldson. 108 min

Relevant Links:
Dante's Peak (IMDb.com)
Dante's Peak (RottenTomatoes.com)
Dante's Peak (Wikipedia.org)

Black Butler

20191124:
Today I watched the first episode. This show is dark and bordering on being a horror. It is oddly entertaining with some lighthearted moments, but a departure from the more comedic and/or action heavy shows which I typically enjoy.

On 20191124, Netflix determined the movie for me as a 93% match. I decided to give the movie a thumbs up|thumbs down|neither a thumbs up nor a thumbs down.

Kill la Kill

I have so many notes that I'll be looking to copy and paste without any further edits.

[20210502]

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20191124:
kill la kill. interesting opening with 1 star and 3 star. transfer student. first episode was interesting. a balance of action, sexiness, and story. (8:19 PM)

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20191128:
yesterday we watched another episode of kill la kill. the pervert dad was weird, especially considering he has a wife. tennis match. (8:02 PM)

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20191201:
kill la kill episode 3. why did she let her go. classic trope i guess, let the weak go until they grow strong and beat you... (9:25 PM)

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20191207:
continue kill la kill episode 4. lol they're bringing her uniform. with that being said she's still doing well without it. hahaha her friend still firing as the turret is lowered. how is the dog going to keep up? (i guess he doesnt have to go through the obstacles). "this women has no shame". lol whats the incentive to trap students and make them late; i suppose just to weed out the weak, but it seems the traps are so hard that no one makes it... (9:10 PM)
plus some of the traps seem like they dont test student's ability to fight, just plain tricks (the trap maker and the back to square one trap). haha ending "present". (9:14 PM)
oh btw i had thought of a reason why she would want ryuko to defeat her way up. she would not destroy her own personnel to gain power, but ryuko can gain fibers and then she can defeat ryuko to get ryuko's fibers plus those she gained... (9:23 PM)
s1e5. hmm who was the guy talking to. oh it was Aikuro her homeroom teacher (the one who's been helping her out with her kamui). (9:46 PM)

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20191208:
kill la kill. episode 6 starts with an explanation of previous episode. haha nipples. nudist beach! episode 7. aww.. moving up really changed things for the family (no more family dinner). (4:03 PM)
so the end of the episode 7 finishes with lady satsuki claiming to use matoi to cleanse the academy. That would be part of my previous prediction. (4:21 PM)

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20191216:
kill la kill episode 8. lol automotive airsoft club. hahaha building up and reaching climax. (1:48 PM)

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20191217:
kill la kill episode 9. how will she defeat all 4. hehe stuck inside, how would he have defeated her that way, strangling?. kind of greedy not to take rest. (6:02 PM)
above his bias against ryuko clothing. episode 10. smile no star. hehe forget the dumb sand. whoa (she flies). smile, she gets mad at ryuko and screams "you stinkin bitch!!!" (6:23 PM)
episode 11.* hmm it almost seemed like it was over... lol didnt see that coming. (9:34 PM)
*Actually still episode 10.

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20191218:
kill la kill. oh prev note for episode 11 is end of episode 10. i watched first part of episode 11 that day and finished it today. nui harime. go back to bring a naked money sweetie. huh mako spots the red thread as well.... just luck or what. (1:41 PM)

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20191219:
kill la kill episode 12. hahahaha the fourth guy is naked. but so if lady kiyurin didnt kill matois fathet what have her actions meant up to this point. ha mako "nooooooooo!" to interrupt and calm ryuko. (2:07 PM)

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20191222:
s1e13. kill la kill. huh so she spends the episode sulking and when she finally dons senketsu she doesnt commit to it. (1:50 PM)

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20191223:
s1e14 lol mako catches all the bills. s1e15. hmm, I feel as if the air raid attacking goes against the terms of rescinded attack... oh well. I suppose in the long run Ryuko will defeat Kiyurin but still. That's playing dirty. (8:35 PM)

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20191224:
s1e16. lol "recap episode". new intro. sexual overtones of bath. haha mako falling asleep until finally ryuko shouts i get it for an interesting end. (2:28 PM)
the end credits is filled with mako. s1e17. ha the brother sold his uniform and painted on one... i expected satsuki to help matoi but i didnt expect that moment for her to take action against her mother. (2:57 PM)
s1e18. without a head, can it be that easy? wtf haha she just rubbed her daughter's vagina "retirn junketsu". whoa, plot twist "you are my daughter" (so matoi and satsuki are sisters). (7:41 PM)
and dr matoi was satsukis dad. s1e19. huh 1 month later. she joined nudist beach. his robe slowly comes off. mankashoku mom stares at the teachers crouch. oh wow... what an intense ending "Im a life fiber monster!!!" poor senketsu. s1e20. lol naked sol. pretty cool to see the temporary switch in uniforms. obviously it wasnt matois intent to wear junketsu. s1e21. haha this is a job for mako. she slides down the dtr ramp. senketsu on mako. satsuki so smart with other scissor. lol mako got sucked in too? (20191225 8:57 PM)

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20191225:
above was earlier in day or maybe yesterday... hmm. s1e22 s1e23 s1e24 wow. (9:43 PM)
show Ada part of s1e18 and parts of s1e19. (10:07 PM)

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Overall Summary:
29191124: Ep 1: If Only I Had Thorns Like a Thistle...
20191127: Ep 2: So Sexy She Might Pass Out
20191201: Ep 3: Junketsu
20191207: Ep 4: Dawn of a Miserable Morning, Ep 5: Trigger
20191208: Ep 6: Don't Toy Me On a Whim, Ep 7: A Loser I Can't Hate
20191216: Ep 8: I'll Wipe My Own Tears
20191217: Ep 9: A Once in a Lifetime Chance, Ep 10: I Want to Know More About You
20191218: Ep 11: I'm Not Your Cute Woman
20191219: Ep 12: Spit Your Sadness Away
20191222: Ep 13: Crazy For You
20191223: Ep 14: Ride Like the Wind, Ep 15: Don't Stop Me Now
20191224: Ep 16: The Girl Can't Help It, Ep 17: Tell Me Why, Ep 18: Into the Night, Ep 19: Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head, Ep 20: Far from the Madding Crowd, Ep 21: Incomplete
20191225: Ep 22: Tell Me How You Feel, Ep 23: Imitation Gold, Ep 24: Past the Infinite Darkness

Loaded Weapon 1 (1993)

20191201:
This spoof of the Lethal Weapon series was reasonably entertaining.

Sgt. Wes Luger (Samuel L. Jackson)

Netflix determined the movie for me as a 99% match. I decided to give the movie neither a thumbs up nor a thumbs down.

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Instant Comments:
His monologue:

Nice weather? You think we're having... nice weather? I guess you didn't lose the only one that meant anything in your life. I guess you don't feel burned out by the human misery and despair perpetrated by the criminal vermin that infest every pore of this decaying city, forcing you to guzzle cheap wine and cheaper whiskey to dull the pain that shatters your heart, rips at your soul, and keeps your days forever gray. What flavor Icee you got today?

Miss Destiny Demeanor (Kathy Ireland)

Smile. All those inserts in the magazine.
Haha. The pile of inserts on the floor.
Smile. The ocean explodes.
Cameo by James Doohan.
Hahaha. "Worst of all he is gun happy." Colt raises his gun and asks, "Where do you get off saying that?"
Ha. "It means I'm pretentious."
Smile. Charlie Sheen. "You got anything smaller?" "Keep it." "Anything larger?" "Yeah."
Wait what? "We breastfed together."
This dog partner bit is working out.
Hahaha. Lost them.
One of the girls is Denise Richards.
Haha. Shows the real body.
Smile. "A little out of focus."

Sgt. Jack Colt (Emilio Estevez) "Where do you get off saying that?"

Becker is literally laundering money. He's a parody of Leo Getz (Joe Pesci) - though Getz doesn't show up in the Lethal Weapon series until Lethal Weapon 2.
Haha. "Sounds violent. I hate violence!"
Parody of Basic Instinct.
"Do you sleep in the nude?" "Only when I'm naked."
"Gratuitous beaver shot"
Hahahaha. Car bombs on the bikes.
Hahahahahaha. He walks baring his butt as a parody of the scene in Lethal Weapon.
Bruce Willis cameo.
Smile. All they did was smoke cigarettes.
Haha. References the red or blue scene.
"Did you see Hot Shots?"
Hahahahahaha. All the divers that surface (dead).
Heh. His name tag reads "Wes Luger at age 12"

References Hot Shots.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Smile. Mentions the microfilm and the other guy says it's too late in the film for plot points. That's totally how it works in films. MacGuffin.
They both say "Sequel." [A sequel was never made]

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Watched 20191201 (Netflix, Instant)
Loaded Weapon 1 (1993) Gene Quintano. 84 min
also known as National Lampoon's Loaded Weapon 1

Relevant Links:
Loaded Weapon 1 (IMDb.com)
Loaded Weapon 1 (RottenTomatoes.com)
Loaded Weapon 1 (Wikipedia.org)

Klaus (2019)

20191119, 20191121:
This movie was charming. I liked all the little ways the writers explained pieces of the legend of Santa Claus.

Jesper (Jason Schwartzman)

[20191128 Edit]

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As of 20191128, Netflix determined the movie for me as a 98% match. I decided to give the movie a thumbs up.

Klaus (J.K. Simmons)

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Instant Comments:
1a: [Watched first 47 minutes]

Alva (Rashida Jones), Margu (Neda Margrethe Labba), and Jesper

1a=20191119

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Mrs. Krum (Joan Cusack) and Mr. Ellingboe (Will Sasso)

Watched first half 20191119, second half 20191121 (Netflix, Instant)
Klaus (2019) Sergio Pablos. 96 min

Klaus rounds up some reindeer.

Relevant Links:
Klaus (IMDb.com)
Klaus (RottenTomatoes.com)
Klaus (film) (Wikipedia.org)

The Ridiculous 6 (2015)

20191118:
This film had some of the ridiculousness of You Don't Mess with the Zohan, but wasn't as cleanly executed. In particular, the jokes weren't consistently funny.

Tommy "White Knife" (Adam Sandler)

Unlike Zohan, the movie suffered from having a weak or poor premise.

Perhaps the main thing the movie had going for it was the number of recognizable actors.

Netflix determined the movie for me as a 91% match. I decided to give the movie neither a thumbs up nor a thumbs down.

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20230928 Comment:
I hovered over the movie icon in My List today and watched the little Netflix preview. In the clip, a man mentions that Sandler's character was raised by Indians and that sounded familiar. So that's when I searched my blog to discover that apparently I've already seen this movie.

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Instant Comments:
"Wanna see it again?" "Yes"

Smoking Fox (Julia Jones)

Lol. Just wasted his flour and carrot.
Hahaha. Hahaha. "Sometimes, the white man speaks the truth... Like 1 in 20, 25 times."
Secret message? "Among the pine trees."
Ramon (Rob Schneider)
Disgusting. (Donkey pooped)
Hahaha. Three nipples.
HAHAHA. His right eye is the working eye which is the one they want him to scoop out.

Ramon (Rob Schneider), Herm (Jorge Garcia), Lil Pete (Taylor Lautner), Tommy, Chico (Terry Crews), and Danny (Luke Wilson)

I wonder how many of them, if any, actually removed their left eye.
Oh, one of the gang members is Nick Swardson (who I knew first from Reno 911)
HAHA. The follow-up twist. "This is so much better than the cantaloupe."
HAHAHA. Haha. From the testicles to the beard to the donkey's anus to the mouth (to prevent infection).
"Lip balm?"
"If Frank Stockburn is your father, raise your hand."
Ha. Terry Crews "reveals" he is part black.

Frank Stockburn (Nick Nolte)

Hahahaha. "My mother is Swedish."
"His ridiculous sons."
Smile. The headless body shooting bullets.
Hehe. "He's still smiling."
Smile. Haha. "Texas Stubbies."
"Now, Doc, you know which way them there Ridiculous 6 rode off to?"
Hahahaha. Him swinging on the noose.

HAHA! Tommy roles in as a tumbleweed.
David Spade brings up Home Alone.
If it all works out they get the 50 grand back from the Left-Eye gang and his father's hidden 50 grand for a total of 150 grand.
Lol. So my hunch was right. No one scooped their eyes out.

---

Watched 20191118 (Netflix, Instant)
The Ridiculous 6 (2015) Frank Coraci. 119 min

Relevant Links:
The Ridiculous 6 (IMDb.com)
The Ridiculous 6 (RottenTomatoes.com)
The Ridiculous 6 (Wikipedia.org)

Dark Phoenix (2019)

Instant Comments:
X-Women
Huh Raven can't really be dead...
Hmm... the antagonists didn't get enough backstory
Nighttime action is too hard to follow, American action moves too fast, bad like Transformers; to be fair, my phone is small, but the film does move fast
I guess they just can't get Jean Grey right
1=20191114

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Watched 20191114
Dark Phoenix* (2019)
*X-Men: Dark Phoenix

Relevant Links:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_Phoenix_(film)

Superman Returns (2006)

20110122 Comment:
I remember liking this movie a lot. I recall even putting it close to Batman Begins (2005). With that being said, I like Superman Returns less than Batman Begins and I like Batman Begins less than The Dark Knight (2008). Though when Iron Man (2008) came out, I feel like I enjoyed that more than Superman Returns; I'd place Iron Man right between Superman Returns and Batman Begins.*

Superman (Brandon Routh)

Critics on the other hand have differing opinions. This is reasonable, as I imagine the more movies one watches, a particular movie has to have substantially more substance to stand out from the rest.

In any case, the movie has left a positive impression on my mind, and one day I'll watch the movie again and see if my opinions of it have changed.

*Note: opinions are subject to change and may differ from one post to the next.

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Lex Luthor (Kevin Spacey)

20191024:
Watching this movie again today, I was not impressed. The movie somehow lacks qualities which make a superhero movie enjoyable. I would also say that the Marvel Cinematic Universe has really raised the bar on what constitutes a good superhero movie.

As of 20191020, Netflix determined the movie for me as a 98% match. I decided to give the movie neither a thumbs up nor a thumbs down.

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Instant Comments:
3a: Wow. These opening credits are a throwback.
3a: How does Superman jump so high without damaging anything?
3a: Hehe. Lex backs up.
3a: How does she bounce around the plane and live?

3a: "tragedy, sex, and Superman"
3a: I don't find this Lois Lane as appealing as other Lois Lane's; her personality seems too serious and she's not so attractive
3a: What a creeper.
3a: I feel like one of Superman's abilities would be to tell when people are lying via their heat signatures and more carefully reading their facial expressions.
3a: Hehe. Against his eye.
3a: Pause at 1 hour mark.
3b: "In the sky chief. No look it's..."

Lois Lane (Kate Bosworth), Richard White (James Marsden), and Jason White (Tristan Lake Leabu)

3b: "Chief, I've done Superman."
3b: Smile. They almost connected the likeness of Clark and Superman.
3b: Wait. Where does Superman keep his boots?
3b: Even though Clark was able to return before her, he couldn't have been settled in the amount of time it took Lois to return from the roof...
3b: Observes the mild effect of Kryptonite on the boy. "Who is that boy's father?"
3b: Probably the password is "Superman"
3b: It might be new land, but I don't see how Luthor could lay claim on it.

Clark Kent (Brandon Routh)

3b: I don't understand how the land growth occurs. Does it only occur from some source? Why doesn't more land grow from the pieces that break off?
3a=20191020, 3b=20191023

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Released 20060628.
Watched 20060706 Theater. Century 20 Huntington Beach [SUPERMAN RETURN] 5:45 PM $7.25
Watched once more on DVD.
Watched first two-fifths 20191020, remaining fifths 20191023 (Netflix, Instant)
Superman Returns (2006) Bryan Singer. 154 min

Relevant Links:
Superman Returns (IMDb.com)
Superman Returns (Wikipedia.org)
Superman Returns (RottenTomatoes.com)

Bright (2017)

20191019:
For the most part I liked the movie. However, I think there were some primary weaknesses.

Daryl Ward (Will Smith)

First, the movie might have overdid the topic of racism. Throughout the film, Officer Ward (Will Smith) belittles his orc partner Officer Jakoby (Joel Edgerton). Sure, I get it: African-Americans (the most likely real-life counterpart to orcs in the movie) are constantly being treated in a similar manner by white people (the most likely real-life counterpart to humans in the movie). But I get it because I'm aware of it and for those aware of it, keeping the same dialogue and tone throughout the entire movie is annoying. I didn't choose to watch this movie for a lesson about racial problems in America.* That's what documentaries like 13th are for. Furthermore, I think works of fiction with subtle messages have more impact and carry more artistic merit than works that just place their themes right on the surface.

Second, while the movie often had good exposition and methods of story-telling, it also didn't develop the characters enough - by which I mean any character other than Ward and Jakoby. Alternatively, I think at minimum the movie could have spent a little more time concerning the film's two major groups: Shield of Light and the Inferni.

Nick Jakoby (Joel Edgerton)

Third, the film more or less wraps up the main story, but doesn't wrap up enough loose ends and feels incomplete. It feels like it needs a sequel (Netflix ordered a sequel in December 2017). With that being said, I feel as if the story could have easily lent itself to a 10-episode mini-series, or even two seasons with 10 episodes each. The first season would more or less be the equivalent to this movie while the second season would deal with continued effort to stop the return of the Dark Lord.

With all that being said, the majority of action in the film felt realistic. It felt like it all could have happened.

In the end, I don't think this movie is worth recommending unless it has a sequel which develops the story in a compelling way.

Leilah (Noomi Rapace)

Netflix determined the movie for me as a 98% match. I decided to give the movie neither a thumbs up nor a thumbs down.

*This is phrased on the Wikipedia as follows: "Bright received criticism for its [...] excessive focus on social commentary."

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Instant Comments:
Joe Rogan
"Fairy lives don't matter today."

Ward and Jakoby

The trailer jumbles various dialogue around.
Huh. (The guy they apprehended spoke Orkish to Jakoby)
"You talk about my family again... I'll split your fucking head open."
Shield of Light.
Good method of exposition. In any case, that's pretty crazy. The only way to know if you're a Bright is if you hold a wand and don't explode.
The fact that Jakoby has a heightened sense of smell... I feel like that should be a reason to have more orcs on the force.

Serafin (Alex Meraz), Leilah, and Tien (Veronica Ngo)

I had to rewatch this scene. Apparently their pressuring him to agree to stealing the wand.
Maybe he recorded it all on the recorder he was given.
Intense scene with him turning around and shooting all four cops.
In the scene after the one elf spots someone in the window, there's a view of the city. In the air is a dragon.
I don't understand why this elf is so out of it. Why doesn't she behave like a regular person.
Poison asks for the wand in the bar. I say just throw it to him like a grenade.

Jakoby, Ward's daughter Sophia (Scarlet Spencer), and Ward

Holy crap, Tikka's leap.
Ugh. They killed everybody in that bar so quickly but have trouble killing Ward.
Oh. I didn't get it at first. Fiona. (reference to Shrek)
"I am a great orc."
I think the father shooting Jakoby after the son said Jakoby saved his life is a dick move.
Hehe. "... Illuminati shit." "Their Inferni. They destroyed the Illumanti..."

Inferni (Left to Right): Tien, Leilah, Tikka (Lucy Fry), Serafin, and Larika (Nadia Gray)

Hahaha. "Swipe left."

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Watched 20191019 (Netflix, Instant)
Bright (2017) David Ayer. 117 min

Relevant Links:
Bright (IMDb.com)
Bright (RottenTomatoes.com)
Bright (film) (Wikipedia.org)