Joseph Baneth Allen's Blog, page 93
October 31, 2021
"Unidentified - Inside
Just finished watching "Unidentified - Inside America's UFO Investigation - Season One" released by History.
Yes, the United States Navy released videos and audio concerning recent encounters with unidentified aerial objects. And I was fully expecting a full episode devoted to these recently released videos showing UFOs on Ancient Aliens. I'm not sure that a full series devoted to showing the same footage over and over again inter-spliced with interviews with the naval aviators who experienced the sighting is needed. Yes, it's done in the form of a real-time documentary, but none of the six episodes really shed any new light on these curious, but not conclusive videos.
I'm not seeing the need for a second series.
Not recommended.
Two Stars for production values and the intense journalism they infuse in this series.
https://www.amazon.com/Unidntfd-Ameri...
Yes, the United States Navy released videos and audio concerning recent encounters with unidentified aerial objects. And I was fully expecting a full episode devoted to these recently released videos showing UFOs on Ancient Aliens. I'm not sure that a full series devoted to showing the same footage over and over again inter-spliced with interviews with the naval aviators who experienced the sighting is needed. Yes, it's done in the form of a real-time documentary, but none of the six episodes really shed any new light on these curious, but not conclusive videos.
I'm not seeing the need for a second series.
Not recommended.
Two Stars for production values and the intense journalism they infuse in this series.
https://www.amazon.com/Unidntfd-Ameri...
The Suicide Squad 2021
Just finished watching "The Suicide Squad" released by Warner Brothers.
One of the more interesting controversies regarding this "reboot" is that most people don't know how to classify it - a direct sequel or a "reboot." This version written and directed by "notorious" director James Gunn serves as a sequel reboot and serves to reintroduce the concept of the Suicide Squad to movie goers. Desperate to keep the involvement of the United States Government in a torture/weapons development program based on a extraterrestrial life form that has been hidden away on the island nation of Corto Maltese. Warden Waller who is in charge of the most high tech security prison in the United States for Super Villains offer Bloodsport, Peacemaker, King Shark, Rat Girl, Harley Quinn, and other murderous villains a chance to get ten years off of their mission if they "volunteer" for a recovery mission that goes off the rails.
Great fun, but it's not going to be for everyone. Starro is a great mega villain that is brought to life.
Highly Recommended!
Ten Stars!
https://www.amazon.com/Suicide-Squad-...
One of the more interesting controversies regarding this "reboot" is that most people don't know how to classify it - a direct sequel or a "reboot." This version written and directed by "notorious" director James Gunn serves as a sequel reboot and serves to reintroduce the concept of the Suicide Squad to movie goers. Desperate to keep the involvement of the United States Government in a torture/weapons development program based on a extraterrestrial life form that has been hidden away on the island nation of Corto Maltese. Warden Waller who is in charge of the most high tech security prison in the United States for Super Villains offer Bloodsport, Peacemaker, King Shark, Rat Girl, Harley Quinn, and other murderous villains a chance to get ten years off of their mission if they "volunteer" for a recovery mission that goes off the rails.
Great fun, but it's not going to be for everyone. Starro is a great mega villain that is brought to life.
Highly Recommended!
Ten Stars!
https://www.amazon.com/Suicide-Squad-...
Injustice
Just finished watching "Injustice" released by Warner Brothers.
In the original "Injustice" comic book series, Superman gives into primal rage when the Joker kidnaps Lois Lane and by employing the Scarecrow's fear gas, tricks Superman into believing his pregnant wife is Doomsday who he immediately takes into outer space, accidentally killing Lois and their unborn child. Unbeknownst to the Justice League at the time, the Joker placed an atomic bomb in Metropolis that detonated when Lois' heart stopped beating, entirely destroying the city and all the inhabitants.
Enraged, Joker kills Superman, who then decides it's time he used his powers to enforce justice, killing anyone and any superhero who stands in his way. What follows is a war that lasts for years.
Naturally, an animated movie based on this popular comic books series could not hope to capture all the key moments in the series where Superman brutally murders anyone who disagrees with him, and how he was eventually defeated by the Superman from Earth One.
The key missing story element is Harley Quinn's development from villain to hero - in this animated adaptation she just decides, "hey, now I'm a hero."
Don't look for extended story arcs that made the comic books series popular.
Not as great an animated movie as it could have been, which is a shame because DC is usually spot on with its animated adaptations.
Fans of the comic book series and the game are going to be disappointed.
Two-and-a-half Stars.
https://www.amazon.com/Injustice-Blu-...
In the original "Injustice" comic book series, Superman gives into primal rage when the Joker kidnaps Lois Lane and by employing the Scarecrow's fear gas, tricks Superman into believing his pregnant wife is Doomsday who he immediately takes into outer space, accidentally killing Lois and their unborn child. Unbeknownst to the Justice League at the time, the Joker placed an atomic bomb in Metropolis that detonated when Lois' heart stopped beating, entirely destroying the city and all the inhabitants.
Enraged, Joker kills Superman, who then decides it's time he used his powers to enforce justice, killing anyone and any superhero who stands in his way. What follows is a war that lasts for years.
Naturally, an animated movie based on this popular comic books series could not hope to capture all the key moments in the series where Superman brutally murders anyone who disagrees with him, and how he was eventually defeated by the Superman from Earth One.
The key missing story element is Harley Quinn's development from villain to hero - in this animated adaptation she just decides, "hey, now I'm a hero."
Don't look for extended story arcs that made the comic books series popular.
Not as great an animated movie as it could have been, which is a shame because DC is usually spot on with its animated adaptations.
Fans of the comic book series and the game are going to be disappointed.
Two-and-a-half Stars.
https://www.amazon.com/Injustice-Blu-...
October 17, 2021
Sublet
Just finished watching "Sublet" released by Kino Lorber.
"Sublet" is an interesting and absorbing character study of two men of different generations and cultures who slowly learn about each other and develop an intense friendship over the course of Michael's four-day visit to Tel-Aviv on assignment to write a travel article on the heals of a personal tragedy over the loss of an unborn child and begins to unravel the personal mystery of Tomer, an intense young film student from whom Michael is subletting from. Over the course of four days the two men make discoveries about the other and slowly become more than friends as the walls between they have put up around themselves breakdown.
Highly Recommended!
Five Stars!
https://www.amazon.com/Sublet-John-Be...
"Sublet" is an interesting and absorbing character study of two men of different generations and cultures who slowly learn about each other and develop an intense friendship over the course of Michael's four-day visit to Tel-Aviv on assignment to write a travel article on the heals of a personal tragedy over the loss of an unborn child and begins to unravel the personal mystery of Tomer, an intense young film student from whom Michael is subletting from. Over the course of four days the two men make discoveries about the other and slowly become more than friends as the walls between they have put up around themselves breakdown.
Highly Recommended!
Five Stars!
https://www.amazon.com/Sublet-John-Be...
Good Omens
Just stopped watching "Good Omens" released by the BBC.
I was really looking forward to watching "Good Omens" since I greatly enjoyed the original novel by Terry Prachett and Neil Gaiman and since Gaiman wrote the script for this mini-series.
I made it past the first episode and about a few minutes into the second episode when I hit the eject button on my blu-ray player and returned the disk to the package for eventual resale on eBay. Yes, it appears to be a faithful adaptation, but Gaiman's script borrows heavily from the stylings and format of "The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy" which made it annoying because it tries to be way to hip and clever by far, which ruined it for me. Gaiman should have had more faith in the original novel he co-wrote with the late Sir Terry Prachett.
Sadly Not Recommended
Zero Stars!
https://www.amazon.com/Good-Omens-NON...
I was really looking forward to watching "Good Omens" since I greatly enjoyed the original novel by Terry Prachett and Neil Gaiman and since Gaiman wrote the script for this mini-series.
I made it past the first episode and about a few minutes into the second episode when I hit the eject button on my blu-ray player and returned the disk to the package for eventual resale on eBay. Yes, it appears to be a faithful adaptation, but Gaiman's script borrows heavily from the stylings and format of "The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy" which made it annoying because it tries to be way to hip and clever by far, which ruined it for me. Gaiman should have had more faith in the original novel he co-wrote with the late Sir Terry Prachett.
Sadly Not Recommended
Zero Stars!
https://www.amazon.com/Good-Omens-NON...
October 1, 2021
Mortal Kombat
Just finished watching "Mortal Kombat" released by Warner Brothers.
Mom was an avid Mortal Kombat fan She enjoyed playing the original video game and enjoyed all the live action movies and even the short-lived television show. I think she would have enjoyed this latest reboot of the Mortal Kombat franchise. [And yes Zack, she always beat the game and giggled when she heard "fatality."]
The latest outing is another reboot of the franchise, where a failed MMA fighter learns that he is one of the champions of the Earth Realm who must defend humanity against the Outer Realm. This movie doesn't have the same sense of fun - yes, even a movie with violent action and death scenes should have a sense of fun - that the original "Mortal Kombat" movies have - yet it's a well done outing in the Mortal Kombat universe that sets up for a sequel that I don't think will be made; which is a shame because it would have been interesting.
Recommended.
Three-and-a-half stars.
https://www.amazon.com/Mortal-Kombat-...
Mom was an avid Mortal Kombat fan She enjoyed playing the original video game and enjoyed all the live action movies and even the short-lived television show. I think she would have enjoyed this latest reboot of the Mortal Kombat franchise. [And yes Zack, she always beat the game and giggled when she heard "fatality."]
The latest outing is another reboot of the franchise, where a failed MMA fighter learns that he is one of the champions of the Earth Realm who must defend humanity against the Outer Realm. This movie doesn't have the same sense of fun - yes, even a movie with violent action and death scenes should have a sense of fun - that the original "Mortal Kombat" movies have - yet it's a well done outing in the Mortal Kombat universe that sets up for a sequel that I don't think will be made; which is a shame because it would have been interesting.
Recommended.
Three-and-a-half stars.
https://www.amazon.com/Mortal-Kombat-...
ffokes
Just finished watching "ffolkes" released by Kino Lorber.
Based on the novel "Esther, Ruth, and Jennifer," screenwriter Jack Davies, who also wrote the original novel,
"ffolkes" centers around Rufus Excalibur ffolkes, the leader of an elite commando unit called into action to retake a North sea oil rig hijacked by terrorists. Typical Alistair McLean territory, but "ffolkes" take the genre and successfully turns it on its head. Our hero hates women, loves cats, drinks whiskey right out of the bottle, and does needle work. He's greatly disappointed to learn in the shower that the woman who saved his life is actually a woman. Roger Moore plays ffolkes to perfection and it's a shame that there weren't any more movies featuring this intriguing character.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
TEN STARS!
https://www.amazon.com/Ffolkes-aka-No...
Based on the novel "Esther, Ruth, and Jennifer," screenwriter Jack Davies, who also wrote the original novel,
"ffolkes" centers around Rufus Excalibur ffolkes, the leader of an elite commando unit called into action to retake a North sea oil rig hijacked by terrorists. Typical Alistair McLean territory, but "ffolkes" take the genre and successfully turns it on its head. Our hero hates women, loves cats, drinks whiskey right out of the bottle, and does needle work. He's greatly disappointed to learn in the shower that the woman who saved his life is actually a woman. Roger Moore plays ffolkes to perfection and it's a shame that there weren't any more movies featuring this intriguing character.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
TEN STARS!
https://www.amazon.com/Ffolkes-aka-No...
ffokes
Just finished watching "ffolkes" released by Kino Lorber.
Based on the novel "Esther, Ruth, and Jennifer," screenwriter Jack Davies, who also wrote the original novel,
"ffolkes" centers around Rufus Excalibur ffolkes, the leader of an elite commando unit called into action to retake a North sea oil rig hijacked by terrorists. Typical Alistair McLean territory, but "ffolkes" take the genre and successfully turns it on its head. Our hero hates women, loves cats, drinks whiskey right out of the bottle, and does needle work. He's greatly disappointed to learn in the shower that the woman who saved his life is actually a woman. Roger Moore plays ffolkes to perfection and it's a shame that there weren't any more movies featuring this intriguing character.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
TEN STARS!
https://www.amazon.com/Ffolkes-aka-No...
Based on the novel "Esther, Ruth, and Jennifer," screenwriter Jack Davies, who also wrote the original novel,
"ffolkes" centers around Rufus Excalibur ffolkes, the leader of an elite commando unit called into action to retake a North sea oil rig hijacked by terrorists. Typical Alistair McLean territory, but "ffolkes" take the genre and successfully turns it on its head. Our hero hates women, loves cats, drinks whiskey right out of the bottle, and does needle work. He's greatly disappointed to learn in the shower that the woman who saved his life is actually a woman. Roger Moore plays ffolkes to perfection and it's a shame that there weren't any more movies featuring this intriguing character.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
TEN STARS!
https://www.amazon.com/Ffolkes-aka-No...
The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch
Just finished watching "The Secret Of Skinwalker Ranch - Season 1" released by the History Channel.
For those who came in late, I do not have cable, nor do I subscribe to a streaming service, so if I'm interested in watching something, I will buy it when it's released on DVD, or when I'm sent a copy to review. I'm not a Luddite, but when the Internet is down, having a movie and/or show that you payed for on stored somewhere on a cloud isn't going to do you much good, nor will it do you much good when the change the terms of service.
Flush with tremendous success of the long running "Curse of Oak Island" series, the History Channel is attempting to make lightning strike twice with ratings gold and viola - it tested the waters with a pseudo-science exploratory documentary about a team of scientists trying to uncover who or what is behind the mysterious events that has been happening for decades at the Skinwalker Ranch - UFO sightings, high radiation spikes, cattle mutilations, paranormal activity, ect....
Sufficient to say, the eight-episode first season was enough of a success to garner it a second season where the scientists led by Travis Taylor go wormhole hunting.
My take on at least the mysterious radiation - the ranch is slightly over 10,000 feet above sea level, so yes, exposure to radiation from natural sources where the atmosphere is thinner is going to happen.
There are some rather curious emissions from the first season. The team has the ability to track every type of aircraft that flies over the ranch through the transmitters/responders each aircraft is supposed to have and have turned on. So when an unmarked helicopter slowly flew over the team's headquarters and was filming them, one of them raced inside to see if they could get a reading on the helicopter, no surprise that he didn't, but they didn't show any footage of him checking the real-time flight data. And there were some rather odd editing shifts that suggest perhaps when the power on an object died, it was the mysterious forces of the ranch at work. There was also a rather disturbing scene that showed the aftermath of a wild predator attack on two alpacas that were brought to the ranch as bio-indicators. How the History Channel didn't end up with animal abuse charges over this particular episode is beyond me.
The "scientific research" done in an attempt to solve the mystery of Skinwalker Ranch is haphazard at best.
Recommended only is you like quasi-scientific pseudo-documentaries.
Two Stars.
https://www.amazon.com/Secret-Skinwal...
For those who came in late, I do not have cable, nor do I subscribe to a streaming service, so if I'm interested in watching something, I will buy it when it's released on DVD, or when I'm sent a copy to review. I'm not a Luddite, but when the Internet is down, having a movie and/or show that you payed for on stored somewhere on a cloud isn't going to do you much good, nor will it do you much good when the change the terms of service.
Flush with tremendous success of the long running "Curse of Oak Island" series, the History Channel is attempting to make lightning strike twice with ratings gold and viola - it tested the waters with a pseudo-science exploratory documentary about a team of scientists trying to uncover who or what is behind the mysterious events that has been happening for decades at the Skinwalker Ranch - UFO sightings, high radiation spikes, cattle mutilations, paranormal activity, ect....
Sufficient to say, the eight-episode first season was enough of a success to garner it a second season where the scientists led by Travis Taylor go wormhole hunting.
My take on at least the mysterious radiation - the ranch is slightly over 10,000 feet above sea level, so yes, exposure to radiation from natural sources where the atmosphere is thinner is going to happen.
There are some rather curious emissions from the first season. The team has the ability to track every type of aircraft that flies over the ranch through the transmitters/responders each aircraft is supposed to have and have turned on. So when an unmarked helicopter slowly flew over the team's headquarters and was filming them, one of them raced inside to see if they could get a reading on the helicopter, no surprise that he didn't, but they didn't show any footage of him checking the real-time flight data. And there were some rather odd editing shifts that suggest perhaps when the power on an object died, it was the mysterious forces of the ranch at work. There was also a rather disturbing scene that showed the aftermath of a wild predator attack on two alpacas that were brought to the ranch as bio-indicators. How the History Channel didn't end up with animal abuse charges over this particular episode is beyond me.
The "scientific research" done in an attempt to solve the mystery of Skinwalker Ranch is haphazard at best.
Recommended only is you like quasi-scientific pseudo-documentaries.
Two Stars.
https://www.amazon.com/Secret-Skinwal...
Downtime
Just finished watching "Downtime" released by One Media.
"Downtime" was written and filmed during an interesting period in the history of Doctor Who. The "Classic" Doctor Who series had been off the air for several years and the attempted spin off "K-9 and Friends," while enjoyable, simply didn't click, So with Doctor Who in limbo, one of the series directors, Christopher Barry filmed "Downtime" - a sequel to the classic Doctor Who episode "The Web of Fear" that features classic Doctor Who companions Sarah Jane Smith, the Brigadier, and Victoria Waterfield without their Time Lord friend - though Sarah Jane and the Brigadier do make references to him as they try to unravel separately and together the mystery behind a mysterious organization headed by Victoria Waterfield.
"Downtime" is surprisingly a very good movie that captures how these three particular companions have moved on with their lives after their time with the Doctor has ended. Sarah does not mention K-9, so this episode probably is intended to take place shortly before the events in "K-9 and Friends." Kate, the Brigadier's daughter also is introduced and she plays a key role in defeating the Great Intelligence. And mild spoiler alert - Victoria Waterfield is a companion, who as a woman over a hundred years out of her time, turns out to be an agent for the Great Intelligence.
A surprising good outing in the Doctor Who Universe.
Strongly Recommended.
Five Stars!
https://www.amazon.com/Downtime-Nicho...
"Downtime" was written and filmed during an interesting period in the history of Doctor Who. The "Classic" Doctor Who series had been off the air for several years and the attempted spin off "K-9 and Friends," while enjoyable, simply didn't click, So with Doctor Who in limbo, one of the series directors, Christopher Barry filmed "Downtime" - a sequel to the classic Doctor Who episode "The Web of Fear" that features classic Doctor Who companions Sarah Jane Smith, the Brigadier, and Victoria Waterfield without their Time Lord friend - though Sarah Jane and the Brigadier do make references to him as they try to unravel separately and together the mystery behind a mysterious organization headed by Victoria Waterfield.
"Downtime" is surprisingly a very good movie that captures how these three particular companions have moved on with their lives after their time with the Doctor has ended. Sarah does not mention K-9, so this episode probably is intended to take place shortly before the events in "K-9 and Friends." Kate, the Brigadier's daughter also is introduced and she plays a key role in defeating the Great Intelligence. And mild spoiler alert - Victoria Waterfield is a companion, who as a woman over a hundred years out of her time, turns out to be an agent for the Great Intelligence.
A surprising good outing in the Doctor Who Universe.
Strongly Recommended.
Five Stars!
https://www.amazon.com/Downtime-Nicho...
