I haven’t gotten as far through my movie collection as I wanted.  I blame friends for that – one who bought me a new tv for my birthday, a fancy tv that will get netflix and disney+ and amazon prime and etc – and another who lets me watch her HBO Max and Disney+.  There’s so much stuff to watch!!

But this summer my main viewing goal is to work on cleaning off my dvr.  I’m thinking about ditching cable considering that a) I don’t watch a lot of network tv when it airs and instead b) watch the shows when they’re on a streaming service . . . not to mention that c) my cable bill keeps going up and is now separate from my internet company. 

I have a lot stored up on my dvr – in the 91% range.  A few things I can delete and watch the season on a service.  But I also have a stash of recorded movies, shows, and specials.  Whenever there was a free preview weekend for HBO or Showtime, I’d record a bunch of things, movies I was interested in seeing but not so badly that I would buy the film.  Well, and movies that I would buy but just haven’t gotten to yet.  And a few that I just haven’t seen in years.

So, thoughts on a random assortment . . .

Get Smart – I recall the tv show vaguely.  I like this movie – I think it’s fun. Steve is so good, and Dwayne is always entertaining.  Sure, some of it is cheesy and silly, but that’s the brand.  I do get irritated by little things – like why on earth would he try to use that dart gun to cut the ties on his hands? How does that make sense??  I guess this is why I never became a film editor – I’d be the annoying one who wanted perpetual reshoots and rewrites to make things make sense.     

Drive Angry – Wow.  I mean, just – wow.  Let’s be clear, I like a *lot* of bad movies, and I was, in fact, mildly entertained.  But geez, so bad.  The acting, the plot, the effects – it was all over the top ridiculous.  Which was odd, considering the quality of some of the casting. And I know I’ve never been a waitress in a small diner in a small town, but that brunette was awfully interested in Nic awfully quick.  He was not looking that great, but she didn’t care.  Really? Have some standards, dear.  Milton’s drinking from the skull was particularly terrible.  And the violence – reminds me a bit of The Expendables in the level of gore.  William Fichtner was the best part; I’d watch a series about the Accountant. 

Ghostbusters: Answer the Call – The “this is ruining my childhood!” people need to just shut up.  A, the original film is not ruined; it still exists and people can still watch it and enjoy it. B, if you don’t like this one, fine – don’t watch it.  I grew up with the original – and it came out at a time when I was very into the paranormal (like “just done a school project on the praranormal” level of into), so I feel very nostalgic about it.  Plus the cast – Bill, Harold, Dan, Ernie, Sigourney, Rick . . . perfection.  However, this one had some good points.  I liked Kate McKinnon’s character.  The plot was uneven to me, and the main leads (Kristen & Melissa) were a bit less engaging.  Chris was unexpectedly funny.  It was not as good as the original (as is the case with most sequels / remakes), but it didn’t deserve a lot of the scorn heaped upon it.

Jason Bourne – See above re: sequels declining in quality.  Matt must have worked out like hell, but . . . Hmm.  Trying to put my finger on.  Maybe that they’re still trying to work the “this was the truth about your past” angle.  Feels like that’s been covered.  And we all like Bourne enough to go with him on an adventure.  I guess they felt like it needed to be personal for him to get off his retired ass and participate, but the plots just keep getting more convoluted. 

Invincible – I usually like sports movies better than watching actual sports.  I know that this movie took plenty of liberties with the facts, but it was fun.  The scene of the tryouts made me laugh because I kept imaging myself as the equivalent of the guy in the green cape – when I went to audition for Cabaret.  “I’m in the best shape of my life” when he’s clearly not.  At least I knew that I was not near my old dancing shape.  (Though arguably, I did a better job in the show than the guy did at tryouts.)  And the note his wife left him – how he kept it around for fuel.  I think many of us have been there, even if the negative thoughts become more of an albatross instead of motivation.  I don’t really know Philly, but I’m wondering if that’s really how people there say “eagles” (I don’t think I can capture the exact intonation in writing, but it’s distinctive).  Which also makes me wonder about regional accents and how I don’t have a very pronounced one due to lots of moving (or do I only *think* it’s not there? Hmm.) – but I love trying on new speech patterns.  I wish I was more of a mimic (the speech kind, not the D&D monster kind) – and wow did this turn into rambling!

I started with some of the lighter ones, but a number of these stored films are of the “serious” nature.  “Good” films that I do want to see but which have a heavy tone – so not the usual option for a relaxing evening.  I mean, I’m assuming that The Revenant isn’t a laugh riot, but I could be wrong.  So wish me luck for some depressing evenings in the future.