I've been avoiding this one for awhile, but it got so many good reviews I thought I should give it a shot.

It's every thing you think it will be. Kind of the Top Gun:Maverick on the race track. Pitt plays the aging racer brought back to Formula 1 to help a rookie driver be all that he can be. It's got that Bull Durham vibe, too, as the Rookie isn't all that keen to learn what the old pro can teach him. There are bumps in the road. Literally. Naturally, Brad has a deeper side, looking for that mystic perfect race he chases. Javier Bardem plays it pretty straight as the Team Owner who needs one win on the circuit to keep control of the team. But the way his drivers are fighting it will never happen. But guess what? Sorry, no spoilers. It's a well done formulaic picture with lots of glitz but nothing super special.

And as an aside, how does the sport of F1 make any money? I see these huge teams in these futuristic buildings paying for these very expensive cars and I don't see where the revenue comes from. Is it all TV revenue? Is it something else. Is it like Football where the Americans don't get how popular the sport is around the world? Inquiring minds want to know.

The 1st is slow. Teenage drama. A girl is being bullied by some other girls. The bullied file’s dad is widower, a quiet banker. But in e2, it’s revealed that the bullying girl is the daughter of a major gangster and the widower is a retired double agent, a traitor in the north. By e3, where I’m at now, everyone’s after him. Other underground agents are reactivated. The north sends an assassin. And the daughter is kidnapped. It’s up to agent Kim to walk the road of vengeance.

Once this gets going, it’s fun. There’s something about Kim’s professional set of special skills that makes for a good watch as villains underestimate him. The fight choreo is basic, one action, one shot, and plenty of firefights (even tho no one owns guns in s. Korea). I’m a sucker for father/daughter tales which makes this satisfying.

There are a few more eps available, the. Fresh ones roll out every week.

I’m down. Not quiteD00M recommended because I’m not sure where this is all going… I may endorse it later

(03-11-2026, 11:17 PM)Drunk Monk Wrote: Per Aspera Ad Astra

(05-17-2026, 11:41 PM)Drunk Monk Wrote: Blast

We don’t have a 4th of July thread here? How unpatriotic.

Odd way to spend the 4th. 
It’s at the Marriott on Great America parkway near the stadium called Levi’s again, so there’s a big fifa standee. 
So many nerds. No cosplay hawtties (yet). A few bad cross dressers.

Already interviews the light saber group & a knife maker. Waiting for the martial arts dude - a swordplay recreationist, the type the maestro & I disdain.

Came a little too early because my parking will cost a lot if I stay past 4 hours. Might leave & comeback.

(06-17-2026, 07:42 AM)Drunk Monk Wrote: Hunt the Wicked



It's all about Miao Xie now...

I've never seen it, just clips from various musical numbers. I've searched on various streaming platforms, but none had it, except as a rental. It never occurred to me to check YouTube. 



This seems to be the film in its entirety, except that the musical parts are cut a bit...I would have guess that this was to avoid YouTube's copyright bots, but songs are mostly intact, long enough that Inwould guess they would still trigger copyright take-downs, and annoying enough to make the music bits less enjoyable.

I knew that the Bonzo Dog band played Death Cab for Cutie in this (giving a later band its name), but I did not know that the suitor of Ringo's aunt was named Buster Bloodvessel (singer for Bad Manners). I'd never seen the Blue Jay Way bit...that had some cool ideas.

I know the whole thing was a mishmash. Paul said let's go film stuff and capture what happens and unfortunately nothing did. Editing this into something cohesive must have been a bear. 

I can now check that off my list. 

--tg
PS: the walrus was NOT Paul.

I won 2 tix from FB: https://www.brotherhoodofdoom.com/doomFo...7#pid84917

I like the guild. It's intimate, but fancy...we got there early enough that we could grab a spot right by the stage. Ran in to a couple people I knew and chatted...people watched a bit. 

Right about 8pm, Monkey came out. It was their 30 anniversary. They were tight and lots of fun. Great vocal harmonies, rudimentary choreography, dynamics. Good stuff. Mosh pit started about the 3rd or 4th song in, but didn't last. About that time, an Ed Bagley Jr look-alike in a sharp suit came down to the dance floor, stood right next to me and stated doing the best/most amazing ska dancing. Fully committed. The guy was awesome. He danced for 2 or 3 songs straight, then left. Later, I figured out that he was the DJ that was camped out in the balcony before and between sets. Monkey played for about 30-40min. 

Let's Go Bowling came on after a short intermission. It's their 40th anniversary. They are a bigger band, adding keyboards, second guitar, and trombone. They seemed to have a bigger fan base present. They were ok, but less energy than Monkey, and they had a really long set, almost 2 hours. They covered Shame & Scandal by Madness which was pretty good. They have a great bass player. He sounded great and was just in the groove all night. He was a very large man, bald, in all black, sitting on a stool in the back, next to the drummer, but almost off stage. Occasionally, a stage light would land on him from above and it struck me that he looked like Marlon Brando from Apocalypse Now.  

Fun, unexpected night out. There aren't any sad ska songs. 

--tg

This was fine. Completely what I expected. A very pleasant way to spend two hours. Good voice cast. Mystery was so-so. Lots of good visual puns littered throughout.

No sword fights. Recommended if you are looking for a cozy mystery.