https://www.brotherhoodofdoom.com/doomFo...5#pid82894

It was 94 this afternoon. At least it was a dry heat, not that humidity that accompanied recent heat waves...I decided to duck out of the heat at the AMC Sunnyvale. I needed groceries so I could easily pop into Whole Foods after a flick.

TS5 was starting at 5pm, so I ordered a ticket online. Nearly empty theater, 1/2 off Tuesdays, plus I exercised my get off my lawn discount so it was a whopping $14. I didn't realize that this was the 3D experience, so that also included the spex. 

I caught up on work messages and ignored most of the (not 3D) trailers as they were aimed at pre-teens. The Pixar promo for Gatto caught my eye tho (see https://www.brotherhoodofdoom.com/doomFo...o#pid85474). There was a 3D teaser for a new Ice Age installment...meh.

I don't remember much about Toy Story 4, (I took my mom to see that one when we went to Bozeman for my daughter's wedding 7 years ago) but I thought they had wrapped up the character arcs. This one begins focusing on Jessie with her new kid. The toy gang is all here, except for Woody. (The backstory from the previous films is filled in - he's semiretired with Little Bo-peep and the Canadian Evel Kinevel rescuing toys)

Jessie's current kid has a sad because the neighbor twins won't play with her. They spend most of their time with their faces stuck in screens. Her parents get her a Lilypad - a kid-gadget like the other kids have in hopes that she'll find/make friends. That doesn't work out. 

Simultaneously, a shipping crate of high tech Buzz Lightyears washes up on a desert island. The Buzz's revive each other and try to get to Star Command. So the story goes back and forth between Jessie et al, and the Buzz hoard's progress. 

It's amazing that they can make such a good movie for a 5th installment. It was sweet, funny, not as heavy-handed as I thought it was going to be (I knew it was an anti-tech treatise which is ironic coming from a digital production house always at the forefront of tech)

I have to add that I've see a few Real 3D films (Coraline being the last I remember) and in this one, the effect did not detract at all. I forgot I was wearing the glasses. I wouldn't recommend it, but I wouldn't not recommend it. 

I laughed quite a few times. A worthy installment to the franchise. 

Recommended if you want a kid friendly CGI story that isn't infantile. 

--tg

A nostalgic throwback to the tournament to the death genre complete with a threadbare plot, bad writing, bad acting and a low budget. What makes this stand out is it’s the Martial Club - Brian & Andy Le, plus D.Y. Sao. I’ve met them all in passing. I’m focused on Brian because he’s the youngest standout in The Furious. He delivers the best performance here, as a villain like usual. He and Andy are brothers IRL but Andy & D.Y. play the rival brothers here. And like every tournament to the death flick, it’s just an excuse to have a lot of random fights. The choreo is ok. The 3 stars have youthful acrobatic skills and there’s several complex exchanges. The best is when the Le brothers face off. They know each other well and deliver a nice fight, very tight. There’s a lot of randomness because there’s a weapon option in these fights - a wheel is spun to determine who gets what like in Battle Royale. Weapons include a loaded pistol, barb wire wrapped baseball bat, shuriken, nunchucks, a fountain pen, a cigarette and a lighter, and more. 

Not D00M recommended unless you just watched Wicked for Good and needed an ultravi palette cleanser.

Hannah Waddingham plays Judith. Octavie Spencer plays Debbie. They are best friends. Debbie is busy positioning her husband to be the next Prime Minister of Great Britain. Judith is an assassin cut from the James Bond mold right down to the ski slope shoot out in the opening scenes. Judith loves them and leaves them. But she's gone wrong rogue and her bosses want to shape or get out of the game. Judith is also old which is another mark against her.

Of course, Debbie does not know what Judith does for a leaving until they cross paths during one of Judith's jobs and the whole mystery unravels.

It was about at this point that the Queen turned to me and said, "This is terrible writing" Yeah, I'm not as harsh but it is still pretty weak. The big problem for is Waddingham is not any way believable as the super assassin. She has plenty of fights to perform and you can immediately see she has a stunt double doing all the heavy lifting. The scenes are shot from far away with lots of objects in between camera and action to obscure what is going on.

And one thing that gives the game away, too, is that one of Judith's targets is a well known actor so there is no way he's going to die in the first episode of the show.

As usual, I will give this one more watch before consigning it to the dust bin.

The Hawk

Wil Ferrell plays golfer Lonnie "The Hawk" Hawkins, a man on the downward side of his career. He's a detestable man playing a third tier golf circuit in the hopes that if he gets three victories, he'll make it back to the PGA tour. The odds are long. He hasn't made the cut in a long time. Fortune Feimster plays his new caddy who of course knows nothing about golf. Ah, the humor. The Hawk does have a son on tour who is on the verge of being the next big thing. Naturally, they have no relationship because Hawkins is a terrible father. Molly Shannon plays his foul-mouthed soon to be ex-wife trying to see her drinks at a funeral. Lots of humor from her potty mouth. Or not.

It's all very tiresome. Ferell plays this character often and I have yet to find him funny. I'm guessing there is a redemption arc on his horizon as he makes his way to the PGA. Maybe there will be a valuable lesson learned.

Chances are slim that I will be watching more than the first two episodes I have already watched.

(06-26-2025, 11:50 AM)Drunk Monk Wrote: Ghost Killer



I coulda put this in Martial Arts Trailers but I thought I'd give the ruskybots something to ponder...

Tara said this is her current bar study escape show. It’s a period kung fu rom-com about an orphaned gal and her little sick sister. Fan Chengyu is a pig butcher who discovers a mysterious man buried for dead in the snow. She nurses him but he’s badly injured, a refugee and a hunk. She’s just trying to survive but there’s intrigue. I’m 2 eps deep and saw the first kung fu right, which was satisfactory.

Will watch more.

We were invited to a wedding reception for the daughter of one of Christina's oldest clients (and a friend). Christina was doing hair for one of the brides as well. She wanted to spend the night, and had always wanted to stay at the Claremont. I didn't want to spend that kind of money, but held my tongue since she first mentioned it about 30 years ago.

I had time to kill while she did hair, so I walked down Claremont to Dark Carnival, a bookstore that specializes in SF, fantasy and horror. That's probably 75% of the store. A few crossover titles that other store might put in the general fiction section are interspersed as well. This place is amazing and I heartily recommend it to all DOOMers! Way better than Borderlands in SF. It's almost all new except some vintage mass market, but some titles are marked down, possibly remainders. There are a lot of UK imports as well, and some of those were very nice. Lots of authors and titles I'd never seen before. I bought three books and spent all my cash but wanted many more. Oddly, when I went to pay, the shopkeeper sent me two doors down to the Comic shop to get rung up. And there's a coffee shop almost next door.

Reception was at Pizzaiolo on Telegraph, and I recommend it as well. Excellent pizza and all the food was delicious, notably the arancini. The wedding cake was also delicious. We were seated next to an SJSU alum (math) who told me that Stevie Nicks also went to SJSU, which I didn't know.

IMO the hotel was a bit of a letdown. The room was nice, but clearly fairly recently remodeled (bldg is from 1916) and had no charm. I've only stayed in a couple of fancy hotels but the St. Francis in SF had more charm.

In the morning we walked down to a nearby bakery called Fournee which was excellent. I had a croissant with gruyere and manchego, but was torn because I also wanted the date roll. Everything looked fantastic, and people were lined up before they opened.

Quote:Anthony Hopkins releases first album at 88
ROB BESCHIZZA  3:31 PM FRI  JUL 10, 2026 



Image: Decca
Anthony Hopkins, famed for his Oscar-winning performance as serial killer Hannibal Lecter among many other movie and television roles, has his first album coming out at 88 years of age. A lifelong composer, but busy with other work ("Music was my first desire," he says) Hopkins took 60 years to complete Life is a Dream. The first single, Bracken Road, draws on memories of his childhood in Margam in south Wales; it was composed in 1963.



The Hollywood Reporter has more.

Quote:"Signing with Decca is the honor of a lifetime," continued Hopkins. "It has been a true privilege to collaborate with the distinguished Philharmonia Orchestra and the virtuoso soloists, cellist Gregorio Nieto and classical pianist Sergio Tiempo. My deepest gratitude and respect go to Maestro Gustavo Dudamel, whose artistry is an integral part of this musical journey. With the graceful precision of his baton, he transformed each note with profound and indelible meaning, creating a pictorial landscape that invites the listener to feel and imagine something uniquely personal."

Decca's press release follows below. The album's out on August 21.

Quote:Sir Anthony Hopkins is one of the most celebrated actors of our time, with a career spanning more than six decades across film, television, and theater. Beyond his achievements as an actor, Hopkins has long nurtured a deep passion for music and composition.

Hopkins shares his most personal musical project to date, entitled Life Is A Dream. Performed by Grammy Award-winning conductor Gustavo Dudamel and the Philharmonia Orchestra, the album presents new recordings of original works inspired by Hopkins' family, Wales and a lifetime of experience.

"Music was my first desire, my first wish," says Hopkins. "I've been composing music all my life. Some of these pieces have lived with me for decades and I still find myself returning to them."

The new recording project features works written across different periods of Hopkins' life, revealing a composer whose music shares the same emotional depth and storytelling that define his screen career. Here is an intimate musical memoir shaped by loved-ones, imagination, and heritage. Several pieces draw directly on his Welsh upbringing and the landscapes of his boyhood, while others reflect important people and experiences that have accompanied him over the years.

Always loved his work, especially with our current administration.

(11-24-2025, 12:12 AM)Drunk Monk Wrote: