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Post by Mr. Atari on Dec 18, 2012 17:55:54 GMT -5
I heard he stole the idea from Buzz, the elevator boy.
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Post by Mr. Atari on Dec 17, 2012 2:48:32 GMT -5
He made me recast the last two and a half seasons of "Doctor Who" in my head. Speaking of Dr. Who dreams, I saw a note online (possibly apocryphal) that David Tennant had agreed to play Thranduil, but had to drop out due to the pregnancy of his wife (aka the Dr.'s daughter).
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Post by Mr. Atari on Dec 15, 2012 23:53:46 GMT -5
We all loved it, as well. I was warned that the first act took forever to get out of Hobbiton, but that was my favorite part. The dialogue and general goofing off during the unexpected party couldn't have gone on long enough for my taste.
I knew Martin Freeman would be my favorite part, and he was. I did little emotional fist pumps at all the fun lines from my childhood that showed up (including, but not limited to, "Curses and splashes!" and "Gandalf means me!"). So much was the Rankin-Bass version playing in my head that I was a bit saddened when other favorite lines didn't get mentioned (including, but not limited to, "Who are these miserable persons!?!" and "It knows the way in, but it does not know the way out, my precioussss.")
I didn't particularly enjoy the Radagast stuff, but I didn't hate it. I had heard him compared to Jar-Jar in his ridiculousness. For me, he was just eccentric and goofy and a bit extraneous. I also didn't especially mind the addition of Azog or of the changes to the plot he brought. But I did have a problem with the fakey CG of the Trolls, Goblin King, and Azog. I missed the human performance and realistic menace of Lurtz from the other trilogy. As much fun as the Goblin King's voice and general attitude was, the rest of the Goblin Town sequence was just too Xbox-ish for me. So much of it was (intentionally?) a reminder of the Moria sequence in Fellowship, but didn't have any of the weight or drama of that sequence. It just came off as cartoony and fakey.
I absolutely loved the moment where Bilbo spares Gollum, and I found the final scene reveal of the Lonely Mountain to be quite effective.
I don't think I like it more than the original trilogy, but I found it very satisfying and compelling. Now I have a big itch to see the next two.
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Post by Mr. Atari on Dec 14, 2012 23:43:21 GMT -5
The Ataris are going to see it tomorrow. In glorious 2-D, as God intended. (I hate, hate, HATE 3-D, and I imagine that the 48fps will further enrage me.)
But I'm itching to hear the opinions of fans of the book and of the previous film trilogy. And especially of fans of the Rankin-Bass cartoon version.
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Post by Mr. Atari on Dec 14, 2012 19:37:24 GMT -5
I just finished watching the Gamera box set, and the sketch at the end of Gamera vs. Zigra where they each sing the Gamera theme song in a different style...gahh...so, so awful. Joel's reggae version especially. Give me 10 Joey the Lemur sketches over that every time. I LOVED THAT SKETCH! My favorite "Gamera Song" sketch ever! The one that made me cringe was J&TB singing the tune in faux Japanese. The Michael Feinstein ones were kinda "meh" for the most part. I like "Joey The Lemur" it's so deranged but it's so darn CUTE and I love Joelie's goofy "Borscht Belt/Vegas comedian" voice! Gypsy's opera is funny, and the lyrics to Tom's beatnik rant are great. But Joel's reggae "singing" is horrible, and Crow never was able to sing in tempo. Seriously, though, I cringe for Joel during that segment.
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Post by Mr. Atari on Dec 13, 2012 19:13:43 GMT -5
Sherlock Series 1 While I didn't like the RDjr movies, have enjoyed the new series "Elementary" as a light time waster -- this BBC series came recommended so I checked it out... and it's amazing. The best of the updated Sherlock Holmes productions by far. Yes. Series 2 had even higher moments. Martin Freeman is unbelievable. This series puts the Downey movies to shame.
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Post by Mr. Atari on Dec 13, 2012 19:11:50 GMT -5
I like Drew Carey, but the "Whose Line..." stuff gets old pretty fast for me. Not that the guys aren't incredible at improv, but the format gets redundant and loses its shine for me.
I really enjoyed his sitcom, but thanks to music rights issues, I can't find reruns or streaming episodes anywhere.
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Post by Mr. Atari on Dec 13, 2012 19:09:30 GMT -5
I just finished watching the Gamera box set, and the sketch at the end of Gamera vs. Zigra where they each sing the Gamera theme song in a different style...gahh...so, so awful. Joel's reggae version especially. Give me 10 Joey the Lemur sketches over that every time.
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Post by Mr. Atari on Dec 11, 2012 19:37:55 GMT -5
Not really a riff, but the other day I had a snippet of a melody stuck in my head. All day. It was this weird, haunting, tremolo guitar riff that I couldn't place and it was driving me crazy. Everywhere I went, I'd hear it in my head and I'd think, "That's weird. And haunting. Where in Hec Ramsey is it from?"
Then it hit me.
"Teen-age Strangler".
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Post by Mr. Atari on Dec 6, 2012 1:14:43 GMT -5
I'm a bit shocked to see how many people haven't seen these episodes (or only saw them once). Especially Danger!! Death Ray, which I consider the best of the spy movie eps and a top 10 necessity.
The Magic Sword is also a favorite, and The Mole People is John Agar and Hugh Beaumont bashing at its finest.
But I'm most excited for Alien From L.A. It's my least favorite episode of the bunch, but it's the worst fan-copy resolution in my entire collection. I can't wait to get a pristine digital version (even with tape hits).
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Post by Mr. Atari on Nov 29, 2012 18:42:23 GMT -5
I have Netflix, and I would get rid of it, but Amazon doesn't have DVD rentals, and also I don't know, but is Amazon's Library better or the same as Netflix's? I'm not sure it's better, but it is different. Amazon has more TV series, which I like. They don't have the mail DVD rental option, but they do have a ton of streaming rental options for things not included in the Prime catalog. For example, if you're looking for a movie that isn't available for streaming with either service, Netflix might have it as a DVD mailer, but Amazon will almost definitely have it as an instant streaming rental for $2.99. I vastly prefer that option to a mailed DVD, and have found that library to be superior.
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Post by Mr. Atari on Nov 27, 2012 22:38:12 GMT -5
I have both, and I use Netflix 90% of the time. Mainly because it has easy to use icons on all of my devices. The kids watch on the Wii and the iPad. I watch on my laptop and Apple TV.
However, the shipping and discounts that come with Amazon Prime totally rock, and as CBG noted, the search function for Netflix does indeed blow. Lately, I've been finding more stuff unavailable on Netflix, but very available on Amazon. Not just MST, but other shows I'm interested in, like Fringe and The West Wing.
We tried Hulu Plus, but it didn't have much more than Netflix, and it annoyingly still has commercials. The whole business model of "you have to pay for special access but we're still going to load the content with commercials" just bugged me.
For now, we're keeping Netflix because of the kids and the general ease of use. But I'm gradually shifting to Amazon Prime for my series watching needs.
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Post by Mr. Atari on Nov 27, 2012 15:38:04 GMT -5
Love me some Peter Wolf. He was the lead singer of the J. Geils Band, then had some fun solo stuff. His 1987 album, "Come As You Are" is a lot of fun.
Not to be confused with the Peter Wolf who played keyboards with Frank Zappa and went on to co-write and produce great '80s cheese for Starship, Heart, Wang Chung, Go West, The Escape Club, and El Debarge.
And that's your esoteric '80s trivia for the day.
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Post by Mr. Atari on Nov 24, 2012 1:13:51 GMT -5
I have to say that I don't mind the Irish going to the National Championship game. My dislike of the team is due to the overexposure and upscale bowl bids unfit for a perennial 5-7 team. An actual winning season justifies the hype. For once. In the last 2 decades.
It's too bad that Ohio State is the best team in the nation this year.
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Post by Mr. Atari on Nov 22, 2012 2:26:28 GMT -5
Leonard likes this post.
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