What are you watching???

[Gary Mitchell]

Every no and again I get an itch to watch some movie I've not seen in a long time. and I don't mean some big, grand, memorable movie that people think or talk about all of the time. I mean the forgotten little movies. The ones that are just sort of okay, the ones that don't really get made anymore.

The type of movies that dominated the early 90's. The little movies that were usually written and directed by a man, decent and cheap enough a studio was willing to throw $20 million dollars at and release in theaters on some slow weekend in October. The type of movie you cast Jim Belushi to star in.

But really, a movie that has a great cast. Jim Belushi I think is underrated and is (probably justifiably so) too much in the shadow of his brother but this move also had in it Rene Russo, Linda Hamilton, John Lovitz and Michael Fucking Caine! Now tell me that isn't a cast to excited about!

At least in 1990.

The movie is Mr. Destiny. It's the type of movie that pretty much plays out and feels out like a script that was the final hand-in in a Community College screen writing class, it's a pretty paint-by-the-numbers script and a trope that's done all of the time in movie most famously by It's A Wonderful Life.

Larry Burrows is an everyday office schlub, and today is his 35th birthday. He's reminded of his birthday 20 years prior when he was in a high school baseball championship game. The school hadn't been in the championships, let alone won one, in years so the whole town and then some are at the stadium. It's the bottom of the 9th, home team is down by 1 run, two outs, runner at third. Larry is the final at bat, and there's a full count so the next pitch either gets them a tie, a win, or sends everyone home disappointed. (Or it fouls-off and he gets another shot, or he walks and the next batter gets a chance to be a hero, but you get the gist of the drama.)

As Larry explains it he was ready for the pitcher's next shot as he'd been throwing fasts all night since it's the only pitch he knows (though the catcher signals for a curve, but whatever) but something "weird" happens as the ball is enroute and Larry swings late, misses the ball. Strike 3. Everyone is disappointed. He's sulking in the locker-room when he greeted by a classmate he works for the stadium who offers him a consoling ear and and handkerchief, they end up getting married which is where we are today.

Larry's an everyday office drone working for a promotion with an ordinary home life, but he's easily walked on by those around him, in particular the contractor for his house who's yet to put in a driveway or a front lawn and in order to get started on that he insists on a check.

A day at work where Larry's is called on by his co-worker wife (Linda Hamilton) and father (both blue-collars in the warehouse) to look into the strange things going on centered around a union strike and in doing so he's caught breaking into his manager's office and gets fired.

Car breaks down on the way home, his wife had apparently forgotten his birthday and has to work late so he goes into a local bar to down his sorrows as he waits for the tow truck. The empty bar is tended by "Mike" (Michael Caine) who offers Larry a special drink he calls The Spilled Milk the "one drink there's no use crying over" as Larry takes a sip Mike asks Larry is he really thinks his life really would have been better had hit the ball.

Flash back 20-years, Larry siwngs and drives the ball right into the scoreboard. Two runs are driven in, home team wins.

Larry leaves the bar to find his car now gone, ends walking home to find it now finished and a strange man inside insisting it's HIS house, a check of Larry's license reveals he lives in a rich part of town, Mike shows up in a cab to explain things and take Larry to his new home. Mike is something of a guardian angel and his altered Larry's past to give him the life he seemed to want.

Winning the game made him a hero in the town, he ended up marrying the high school Prom Queen who's the daughter of the man who owns the business Larry works for, meaning Larry is now the Chief Executive of company and wealthy, married to boss's daughter (Rene Russo) and has two kids. He initially thinks this is all a prank or something, but as things progress he begins to realize it's his reality.

But as he goes through things he begins to miss aspects of his old life (namely is wife and best friend (John Lovitz)) and learns that "this" Larry is much colder and hated by his employees (the guy Larry knew who was CEO was sort of okay-ish guy who wasn't in on the conspiracy going on in the company while Larry apparently is.) Larry begins to pursue a connection with his "former" wife (whose life is also seemingly better, she works in the offices instead of the factory and seemingly in a better home) who hates him.

Larry eventually manages to trigger a string of events that gets him kicked out of the mansion by his wife, fired by the boss, and though he's reconnected with his best friend and "former wife" he's fleeing from the cops who think he's killed the owner of the company, he gets back to the empty bar, recreates, the drink and finds himself back at the beginning of the movie, Mike insisting Larry's always been there.

It's a good little movie with some good performances. I mean, it's hard to go wrong with Michael Caine and, yeah, I'm going to say it: Jim Belushi. He can make an ordinary movie feel slightly better than ordinary with his "everyman" look, ways and performance.

it's just an entertaining little romp. Yeah the trope is done better in other movies and it's done in a lot of movies. (Another similar premise comes in the Nicholas Cage movie "The Family Man" though it's pretty much the exact opposite set of events as this movie.) but here the cast just makes it this tired road work well.

It's a pretty good movie. I just watched it again a couple of weeks ago. "Why is it every time you have a mouth full of freeze-dried {coffee), the boss walks in on you?".

 

[John Clark]

Picard and Death in Paradise for tonight

 

[Q2UnME]

Finished watching season 2 of Sex Education on Netflix last night. Was good drama, but the comedy elements just feel flat for me. I think season 1 was funnier.

Anyway, Picard tonight, followed by some Supernatural (perhaps) and possibly The Good Place wrapping it up. Busy night of TV ahead of me.

 

[bigdaddy]

Watched the first episode of Picard. It was fine, not like the death of Trek. But slow, really outdate and kind of pointless.

 

[John Clark]

The finale of The Good Place.

 

[Kira Nerys]

Just watched Picard

 

[Kilana2]

I'm currently watching Picard, second episode....

 

[auntiehill]

Just saw "1917" at a matinee .

I thought it was very well done -- incredible cinematography. For the first 40+ minutes, it appears to be one, long continuous shot. In fact, the only time there's a obvious edit/ cut away is when the main character passes out. It really adds to pace, the panicked scramble of the soldier racing to save 1,600 men from certain death.

And to know it was all based on a true story...geez.

The end is a bit abrupt but it is "bookended" rather nicely. I really enjoyed it. It's gripping, very tense, and even got me a bit teary-eyed.

 

[kirk55555]

I started watching the Netflix She-Ra show recently, and six episodes in I'm liking it. I have no connection to the old He-Man or She-Ra cartoons (they were both long cancelled by the time I was born, I didn't even see reruns on TV as a kid), so I just take it as its own thing, and I like it. The main characters are all good, the show in general is pretty charming and even got a few chuckles from me, and the design of the show is really good. sometimes the animation can be stiff in action scenes, but a lot of the character stuff is really well animated.

I just hope this show doesn't pull a Netflix Voltron and have a very good first season then immediately fall off a cliff quality wise in the second season.

 

[bigdaddy]

I just hope this show doesn't pull a Netflix Voltron and have a very good first season then immediately fall off a cliff quality wise in the second season.

Don't worry, it's Netflix, they no longer give second seasons.

 

[kirk55555]

Don't worry, it's Netflix, they no longer give second seasons.

I mean, She-Ra is already on season 4 (although the seasons are pretty short, with these four seasons adding up to 39 episodes total so far), and its being predicted to end at season 5 (which would seem to fit with the plans the showrunner has had since pitching/starting work on the show), so

 

[bigdaddy]

I mean, She-Ra is already on season 4 (although the seasons are pretty short, with these four seasons adding up to 39 episodes total so far), and its being predicted to end at season 5 (which would seem to fit with the plans the showrunner has had since pitching/starting work on the show), so

Well that's good. Even The Crown is ending a year early, supposedly the creator changed his mind but I don't believe it.

I'm watching Grown-ish which I question if the creators know how to do basic math or ever took sex ed.

 

[Push The Button]

1917 at the Showcase Cinemas in Warwick, Rhode Island.

This film deserves every award that it has been nominated for, period.

 

[John Clark]

1917 at the Showcase Cinemas in Warwick, Rhode Island.

This film deserves every award that it has been nominated for, period.

Agreed.

Earlier, I was watching Avenue 5 (Second episode) but now it's a bit of Doctor Who. (More specifically, Trial of a Timelord/Mysterious Planet).

 

[auntiehill]

Epix is free on Comcast right now, so I stumbled across "Perpetual Grace, LTD." This is awesome, in a Fargo-like way.

 

[John Clark]

Breaking Dad later, but before that, a couple of Doctor Who Christmas episodes on Blu

 

[Greg Cox]

Last night: LEGENDS OF TOMORROW.

 

[KennyB]

Epix is free on Comcast right now, so I stumbled across "Perpetual Grace, LTD." This is awesome, in a Fargo-like way.

You should try Pennyworth!

 

[auntiehill]

You should try Pennyworth!

I might, if I can squeeze it in before time is up. I caught one totally at random and it was better than I had expected it to be.

 

[Zenogias]

Just finished Season 1 of The Boys.. Pretty late to the party, but glad I made it.. What a refreshing take on the genre.