Stranger Things : First Thoughts

Stranger Things : First Thoughts

I watched the first five episodes of this strange show on Netflix. I am enjoying what I am seeing so far. This show lives and breathes the 80s. (early 80s) It truly feels like my childhood given it is set in 1983. 83 still had some 70s elements and this show captures that. It is uncanny how much they captured the early 80s.

I just hope they don't dig themselves in a hole like the Lost writers did with the final season.

~Silent Hill-ish: Yes, this show is influenced by Silent Hill as well with its twisted world. I wonder if this could have been a Silent Hill series with some tweeking.

~Twin Peaks: Clearly someone on the show is a huge fan of Twin Peaks. It certainly has that self contained small town vibe of that earlier show. Stranger Things could very well fit into the Twin Peaks universe

~The John Carpenter sound : Again, someone is vibing off that snyth heavy score. It has that B-Movie sound that you would hear from those low budget horror movies. It sounds very 80s and that Carpenter music. Nice touch.

~John Hughes vibe: the older teens are model after Hughes' movies at the time. Somehow they mix the teen drama/comedy with 80s sci-fi extremely well. You even got the chubby girl that is friends with the cute but very smart female teen. The darker teenager boy that doesn't hang out with the cool kids. You even got the horny jock type.

Ghost Rider on Agents of Shield

Ghost Rider on Agents of Shield

Okay, AOS has gotten me back into watching the show. I lost interest in the program around the middle of the second season and watched it from time to time during the third season. I guess the show is doing okay because they're still on the air. However, adding Ghost Rider sort of shakes up things. 

 

The introduction of one of the Ghost Riders to the series has peaked my interest. I watched the first episode and loved the way they handled the character. I am not sure I am as interested in this part of the Marvel universe as the Netflix series of shows, but this is a nice start for those people that lost interest in Agents of Shield. I had forgotten that Marvel received the rights of the character back for their live action universe. (Like Daredevil and the Punisher)

This ghost rider is a newer version and I am glad they're not doing the Johnny Blaze version. (Robbie Reyes) From Wash Post ((Robbie Reyes showing up (played by Gabriel Luna) will hopefully change that. This is the most buzz that’s hovered over an episode of “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” in some time. Perhaps producers will see that and we’ll get more of these special super guest appearances. ))

Nic Cage ruined the Blaze version of the character with those horrible movies. That was smart move to go to a newer version and direction. I even like the actor playing him. (I heard the actor is a huge Ghost Rider fan.) Plus, I dig the flaming car more than the motorcycle. 

 It has paid off for ABC because a lot of people DVR-ed the show. I haven't seen buzz this high for AOS in a long time.

It is nice to see Marvel get the GR character back. Now, they need to get their Fantastic Four characters back from FOX. 

Random Things

Random Things

~That female Tulsa officer that shot and killed that black man with his hands up will be charged with manslaughter. I generally disagree with almost everything that Black Lives Matter stands for, but this is one of those incidents we both agree was wrong. Betty Shelby let her fear of a large black man get to her and she used a fatal technique. It hurts her case when the other officers were using taser guns. I am not sure why Terence Crutcher behaved in a such a strange manner and disregard orders. But, he clearly didn't deserve to die. Now, two lives are ruined due to bad judgments on both their parts. We as black people should know that we have different rules when we encounter cops than white people and we have to behave in a more calm and steady manner. Because, you will get incidents like this one.

~Apple Fanboys: Did you know that my brother is an Apple Fanboy. He drank the kool-aid (apple juice) and will only use Window-Based systems for work because it is required. I not really a huge fanboy, but I liked using the Apple computers at the U of L library. I am not sure why they removed the earphone jack from the iPhone 7. It makes no sense when part of their business is selling super expenisve headphones in the form of Beats by Dre. You paid for this company for about 3 Billion and you cut your own base you paid for. This is what you get when you close out your technology from outside innovation.

~Meeting a High School friend: I met a very close HS friend. Actually, we were very tight from middle school to graduation from HS. Like all high school relationships, we sort of grew apart and didn't keep in contact. Every few years, I'd bump into him. I bumped into him recently at a Kroger store. We talked about things and he seems to finally be in a job he deserves be in because he was always a super smart person with half his attention being into technology. Like me, we both reached milestones in our lives and still aren't married or have children. I find that amusing because most of my friends from HS are NOT married and just live single. However, all my old friends from work are all married and have kids. Very strange.

Bryan Cranston in Babylon 5

Bryan Cranston in Babylon 5

Yes, he is a total badass when it comes to acting today. And, he's been in some major franchises. He will be in the new Power Rangers movie as Zordon, but he also was on the old show back in the day too. I totally forgot he had a famous part on B5. He played a White Star captain that is given the order to sacrifice his ship in order to save lives.

It is a BIG sacrifice. And, it is a powerful scene helped by Cranston's performance.

Pokemon Go Streamer gets mugged live on stream

Pokemon Go Streamer gets mugged live on stream

WTF? Yes, that was extremely scary. What makes it worst is how calmly the mugger told him to take off his equiment. And, check out the reactions from the chat room members. We also see the mugger go through the phone and delete things before the stream goes dead.

You can hear the theft's gold chains as he runs away. I would love to slap the taste out of this guy. And, yes it looks like the robber has a camera on his head too. What the hell?

I've read stories about people getting robbed while playing Pokemon Go. That means people have to be more mindful of their surroundings. Maybe this guy was a bit naive...for 43 year old. Anyway, there was probably nothing he could have done being sucker punched like that .

Plus, his Twitch Stream was suspended. Why? From PC Mag, ((His Twitch account was locked for 24 hours due to a "terms of service violation," but has since been reinstated. ))

Yeah, what terms did he violate? Getting robbed? That's like stepping in dog poop after discovering your car is on fire.

I hope they catch the asshole that robbed him.

Cory Feldman and that performance

Cory Feldman and that performance

Holy crap, this might be the worst thing he's ever done. The Double Toasted guys showed me this mess of a performance and I couldn't believe it.

First, he is dressed like a cross between MJ and The Undertaker, but a shitter version. And, he looks like a White Walker in the face. What happened to this guy?

Second, why did he think this was going to go over well?: He has proven that his has no musical talent.

Third, what was the point of the band playing behind him? Did we hear them playing?

Fourth, stop with the MJ wet hair. You are not MJ. 

 And, just admit you hired these girls to have sex with them and not the help them out.

This whole Cory's Angels thing is just a bit and nothing more than a way to further his shitty career at any cost. Now, he's milking this incident for all it is worth. And, it is sad seeing him stoop this low given he was one of the “it” stars in the 80s. I remember he dressed up like Michael Jackson at Jackson's wake much to the chagrin of the guests.

I am usually a guy that supports people following their dreams. However, Cory just needs to stop.

Cory is that kid you hated in middle school that thought he was the shit because he his parents had money and gave him everything they wanted. No one had the balls to tell him that everyone hated him.

Point Break (2015)

Point Break (2015)

There is nothing good or compelling about this remake to a movie that hasn't aged that well either. However, the original is far more entertaining compare to this lame mess. Even with the new Ghostbusters, this is probably the most boring remake I've seen in a while. (Yes, that includes the new Robocop.) This remake makes the original movie way better.

This movie is both boring and stupid. It has the same plot beats from the original, but there is nothing to grab a hold to. In the original we got these wacky surfer dudes that robbed banks. They were bad guys that were just in it for the money in the end. Here, these bank robbers are more hipster Occupy Wall Street types that give away the money. We get scene upon scene of extreme sports moments that make you forget about the overall plot.

What about the actor Luke Bracey? He plays this version's Johnny Utah. He has a more in common with a piece cardboard than a human being. Yes, Keanu Reeves is better actor than this collection of inert "bag of mostly water". I guess he was only cast for his looks and nothing else. It is bad when Keanu is a better actor than this guy.

Then there is love interest. She is NO Lori Petty. Sorry, this movie can't even get an interesting woman to play the love interest. Again, a bland character with little to no impact on us.

Ray Winstone and Delroy Lindo look like they don't want to be in the movie. Winstone is playing Gary Busey's character but not even as manic, which made the original stand out.

The original movie was interested in the heist portions as much as the extreme beliefs of the robbers. This movie spends more time showing us "exciting" extreme sports scenes as the heist stuff is put on the back-burner. The movie spends too much time worrying up showing us "cool extreme" sports scenes than even telling a cool bank heist movie. I find that funny because even the first Fast and Furious movie was about to balance that out, while making the character at least interesting.

All the characters in this movie are bland and complete cardboard cutouts. I couldn't tell one from the other, yet the movie wants me to feel for everyone character that dies in the movie. They're all bland. They have no edge or crazy side to them other than doing extreme sports. These characters should only be extras in Mountain Dew commercials instead of being main characters in a freaking Point Break movie.

This is not a Point Break movie.

What is the point of the movie? It is one of the lamest movies I've ever seen.

The Fast and Furious is a better remake than this bland toast of a movie. If you're going to make it more about the extreme nature of these guys, then don't use the IP of Point Break in your otherwise sports movie. I can't see how the studio thought this could have been anything but a piece of shit. Unlike the original bad guys, it has no bite or crazy hippie stuff. The movie has a hard time trying to portray its villains as actually villain and just wants to be an extreme sports movie.

F' this movie.

Grade: F-

Issac Hayes and the Space Church

Issac Hayes and the Space Church

Yes, things got very bad between the South Park guys and Issac Hayes. I remember that Trey and Matt made statements that Hayes did not quit the show on his own. It should be noted that the Church is heavily connect to their stars. And, it seemed they were pushing around Issac in his final days.

His son revealed that someone in the church forced him to leave the show and that's pretty shitty.

From HitFix, (("Isaac Hayes did not quit South Park; someone quit South Park for him," said Hayes III of his father, who died in 2008. "What happened was that in January 2006 my dad had a stroke and lost the ability to speak. He really didn't have that much comprehension, and he had to relearn to play the piano and a lot of different things. He was in no position to resign under his own knowledge. At the time, everybody around my father was involved in Scientology — his assistants, the core group of people. So someone quit South Park on Isaac Hayes' behalf. We don't know who."
Read more at ))

I remember when Jason Lee asked Kevin Smith to remove a reference to Scatology in his Dogma script. Members really can't be associated with media that makes fun of their “religion”. I liked Hayes' music and VO work, but hated the fact he was associated with this kooky church. The show makes fun of every religion, but when they make fun of Scientology Issac had to leave. Really, Scientology?

BTW, the South Park RPG references the Trapped in the Closet episode with Tom Cruise still in the closet if you knock. 

Joker Trolling: Smilex

Joker Trolling: Smilex

I remember laughing my ass off when I saw this scene in the theater. And, anytime I hear Brand X, I think of “He's been using brand Xsssssssss.” There were supposed to be more scenes with the Joker trolling Gotham, but they were cut out.

I also love that he actually kidnapped two people and used one of them for his Smilex brand. 

Does this remind you of the Max Headroom hack that happened in real life?  It kind of does.  

Ghostbusters (2016) Part 2 of 3

The Main Cast

 For the most part, the four ladies are pretty good in their parts. However, a lot of their personality is rather bland. It feels like Feig and the writers didn't want to give his characters any personality at all. And, that was part of the charm of the original movie. Other than Wiig and McCarthy, there really isn't that much chemistry between the four ladies. (BTW, there is no Ron Jeremy cameo in this movie)

Kristen Wiig: She is more or less the lead character, but Wiig is a bit of a bland person. Wiig has little to no character development, and she is the lead of the movie to boot. However, there is a nice and creepy backstory with her dealing with a ghost during her childhood. This could have brought more character development to this bland character, but this is not brought up again. And, there is no connected to the overall ghost plot. Was there more to this character plot?

Melissa McCarthy : She is a bit restrained, but alright. She is clearly channeling some of her earlier roles. I did like that McCarthy is a true believer and into all the busting stuff. However, the Chinese food running joke is NOT funny. McCarthy is funny is everything she's in, but she feels a bit restrained in her part. I think she is at her best when she is let loose.

Leslie Jones: Jones isn't as annoying as they portrayed her in the trailer, but those scenes are still there. She is a female version of Ernie Hudson and not the stereotype that the trailer makes her out to be. I would have just made her a blue-collar woman looking for a job instead of a subway clerk leaving her job to be a GB. Being a subway clerk is a pretty good job in New York right? She gets lost in the mayhem by the third act. However, I like Jones.

Kate McKinnon : She is the Doc Brown of this series. I know most people are torn about Kate's portrayal. I like her character though because she isn't bland character. Plus, the writers aren't scared of making her creepy. She is a bit Doc Brown and a bit of Egon. She is the one that creates all the gadgets and it is believable that she would create them.

You also have great character actors peppered throughout the film too. Ed Begley Jr., Charles Dance , and Michael McDonald have small parts in the story. However, there are given little to nothing compelling to do in the movie. You can't have Dance in your movie and never pay off his character. I would have had Dance's character be forced to call the GB to bust a ghost. Have him eat crow and apologize to Wiig's character. (Dance was her boss)

This Edit

There are two big issues with this remake/reboot. The editing is really uneven and script is unfinished. Sometimes the scenes run a bit too long so everyone gets their improvisational jokes and other times the movie cuts away when something interesting is brought up. The Nostalgia Critic brought it up in his review. Let the movie breathe a bit.

Yes, the original had entire subplot cut from the film, but it still had character moments. Here, scenes will linger too long and other scenes will be cut short.

Where are the montages of the ladies busting ghosts? Let's see them kicking asses and taking names. Nope. We don't have to for that it seems.

There is also the very strange edit to the dance number. From the get-go, Feig wanted to have a huge dance number with the cops and the US army being possessed by the main villain. The main villain would have made all the people dance to a song. This was partly filmed, but quickly cut from the movie. He makes them pose and they just stand there in the final cut. What was the point? This scene cost Sony a lot of money and it isn't even in the movie except for the raw cut in the credits.

Is this scene really something that should be in a GB movie? I am not sure, and it probably is too goofy for even GB.

The script is lacking heart, humor and a proper bad ass villain...

Hugh Mungus Speaks

Hugh Mungus Speaks

Not since Trigglypuff has there been a better current meme.

I have to give major props to h3h3. I always got a kick out of memes that explode and take a liveof their own. Hugh seems like a pretty good guy overall. I got a kick out of him having to look up SJW too. He seems to be out of the loop, but he became kind of the memes for a couple of weeks.

Yes, it was a lame joke blown out of proportion, and that makes it funny. It should be noted that doing a search on Facebook on “Hugh Mungus” will give you some interesting results. The Internet attempted to get Hugh Mungus to be suggested to all FB people and there are a lot of Mungus profiles. I am too lazy to sign into FB to see if this is true.

If you want to get the other side of the story, and this was posted by the person that recorded it too, which was then deleted, check it out here.

I would have asked him about his Mr. Data haircut though.

The man even has his own entry in the Urban Dictionary. ((Comedy of dad joke caliber, and the kind of prank Bart Simpson would play. When person A asks person B's name, person B replies with "Hugh Mungus" (humongous). ))

However, I kind of have my own entry on UB too...well not really.

Trolling Scammers

Trolling Scammers

Because I have been healing up, I went down the rabbit hole of Tech Scammers and trolling on YouTube. If you remember, I received a phone call from someone from “Microsoft Security”. I knew they were a scammer.

1 They will ask to remotely take control of your computer via an outside connection: This is the worst thing you can do.

2 They will fake scan your system and pretend you have malware and viruses.

Here is the worst part. If you mention Scammer or "you are a scammer", these scammers are ordered to disable your computer remotely. They will either delete all your icons or put syskey on you machine. Or, they will delete your programs. So that is extremely low even for scammers. I heard an interview where a scammer admitted that they have to brick your computer if you.

Most of the trolls on the videos are using Virtual Machines so the scammers can't do any real damage. But, they WILL destroy your computer because they are remotely connected. And, the fake professionalism with be dropped and they will cuss you out.

This really pisses me off. Check out these videos

Lyft driver vs. offended rider

Lyft driver vs. offended rider

All this over a bobble-head...Chose your right battle. You have to right to be offended, but you have to option to leave the car and get another car. You all both give each other one-stars and you will never have to see each other again. 

This has been everywhere, but I wanted to post it here because it is pretty funny and frightening. her voice is annoying, but she is clearly drunk. Why would she bother acting him when he's trying to get her home?However, the driver handled the situation rather well. Here's the thing, a taxi driver would have kicked you out with the quickness. This driver was extremely nice to her.

The drunk rider actually tried to get this guy fired for the incident. Lyft suspended him for a couple of days. She sent in the video and the video actually helped get the driver his job back. Lyft lifted the suspension, which wasn't what she wanted. She wanted to bury him due to her being offended, but Lyft saw through her bullshit and reascended the suspension.

From what I can tell, someone had this video and released it to a Vlogger in order to get back at her. I guess she pissed someone off. And, what is with using Gwaker as threat? I may be a standoff-ish guy but I don't treat people in the service industry this way.

Other than being an annoying person, she has an interesting background. She is the founder of the porn site God's Girls (NSFW!!!). While I am not into the blue hair, piercings or tattoos, it isn't a bad site all. And, trust me I should know. It is a poor man's Suicide Girls.

Once the internet witnessed this video, she disappeared from twitter. And, a troll took over her account making parody posts. (With Trump signs)

From the account, ((@dickyfeynman I will only give you this handle back if you buy a bobble head hula girl and take a selfie with it in front of a Trump sign. ))

Even for me, that's just mean. I'd much rather light myself on fire and take a selfie.

Ghostbusters: Answer the Call (2016) (Part 1 of 3)

Ghostbusters: Answer the Call (2016) (Part 1 of 3)

With all the shit talk between the various camps on this film, myself included, you would think something meaningful would come out of this movie. However, this cash-grab reboot by Sony is rather bland with a topping of an uneven and unfinished script. With all the poor creative decisions, I have to wonder if Sony was trolling us all. Even with a young/hip male cast, this movie would have failed too. (Point Break anyone?)

It says something that I found Ghostbusters II more entertaining than the reboot. This movie is just...well...lame. Or at least a lame duck. It won't destroy your childhood, but it won't stand out as interesting or funny either and that's a shame. With this cast, this could have been a great little romp in busting ghosts. (And, it could have taken the Force Awakens route and made it a sequel/relaunch by having it set in the same universe, but with a new group of characters.)

It comes across as just boring and unfocused. There is no way this movie tested well in its earlier stages.

So, where does most of this blame fall?

The Director (Feig Newton)

Paul Feig should have never touched this property. I honestly don't think he has the directing chops to pull off a effects heavy franchise such as this. Plus, there are behind the scenes stories of Feig being overwhelmed by the project. His disconnect from the movie actuall forced him to drop a major dance number.

Some have claimed he put in feminist ideas into the script because he hates men so much, but I feel there isn't much there. Feig should keep to making dirty action or character comedies. He's out of his element and it shows throughout the movie. He shut himself out from receiving input from the people that made the movies before this one. He could have even brought in some of the writers from the cartoon series or at least the VG.

He took the Mass Effect 3 approach to film-making for this movie. Shut yourself in a room and don't take suggestions. Really, nothing much changed from his pitch to Sony to the final product, which makes it a bit uneven and unfinished. Story points could have been fleshed out, but are simply forgotten. I blame Feig for this vapid mess.

And, keep in mind Feig already claimed he'd never do another project like this again. Yeah, stick to Bridesmaids II: Even Bride-ier. There is only one thing that I think he does lay in on thick and it has to do with the villain.

He's not interested in making an interesting story-line about ghost, but he is more into giving the cast a chance to riff off of each other. The old movie was a combination of both.

He didn't help matters either when he attacked the very people that could have helped make this movie a hit. However, the movie isn't as political as people think.

Ghost-busters Cartoon (The Other One)

Ghost-busters Cartoon (The Other One)

I remember watching this intro and being totally confused by this show.

The Real Ghostbusters and this Ghostbusters series came out at the same time. That's the reason the movie-based cartoon show called it "The Real".

From Wiki, ((The success of Columbia's (unrelated) film spurred Filmation to resurrect their own property, producing an animated series based on the characters from the earlier TV show. This animated series ran from September 8 to December 5, 1986 in daytime syndication and produced 65 episodes. ))

Yes, Filmantion owned the rights to the super corny Ghost Busters show from the mid-70s. These characters from the cartoon show are the sons from the 70s show.  Filmation cashed in on the success of the movie because they actually owned the rights to the name, but I guess putting "The Real" in front of your own cartoon series negates that.  Ghost Busters only lasted one season (over 60 episodes) and The Real GB had 7 seasons and a spin off series.  

Growing up, I hated this cartoon series and loved The Real Ghostbusters. I didn't understand the whole legal story behind this show and the movie rights.

From Wiki, ((When Columbia Pictures started producing the film Ghostbusters in 1984, it neglected the fact that Filmation had already produced a live-action comedy series with that same name in 1975. Columbia agreed to license the name from Filmation for $500,000 plus 1% of the profits (of which there were ostensibly none). Since Columbia did not want to license Filmation the rights to the movie Ghostbusters when they were looking to produce an animated series, Filmation produced an animated version of their live-action TV show. Columbia proceeded to name their cartoon show The Real Ghostbusters to directly distinguish it from the Filmation show ))

It should be noted that this show was created by the same shitty animation studio that made the Star Trek and He-Man cartoon shows.  BTW, He-Man doesn't hold up.  

Here's some more info on this really bad show.

Star Trek TNG: Comic Relief

Star Trek TNG: Comic Relief

I loved this skit and forgot about it. This was a clip shown on a comic relief special. It is basically the crew of TNG filming a skit for their friend and cast member Whoopi Goldberg (Whoo-Pay). I love that they mentioned the resemblance between Guinan and Whoopi. I also like the joke about the polyester in the shirt. I also love that polyester has been banned in the 24 Century for being unstable. 

BTW, T-Shirts were in style at least 60 years ago in Kirk's time. Kirk wore that Climb a Rock shirt in STV.

BTW, this was filmed at some time between mid-sixth season or in the 7th season. Troi has a Starfleet uniform and the observation lounge no longer has the ships on display (there is a whole BTS reason for this I won't get into.)

Anyway, this was a cute little video. 

Rapping about North Korea (not cool)

Rapping about North Korea (not cool)

Yeah, this is real. And, it is cringe-worthy too.

This guy (Louis Cole) visited North Korea and posted the vlogs over the weeks and then edited it into a music video. Making this "unity" song in the face of the terrible things NK has done to its own people seems a bit...naive. I am guessing he needed the approval of the government to make this pro-NK music video.

However, there is something else that pisses me off about this video.

From mashable.com, ((“I’m trying to focus on positive things in the country and combat the purely negative image we see in the Media," he wrote in his description for the series. ))

I watched most of his North Korean vlogs he seems a bit misguided. Everything he witnessed was staged for his viewing. It is kind of sickening to see this is clearly propaganda and he doesn't know it because he's a rapping skater dude bro. And, this is what I have a problem with this whole thing.

BTW, you have to watch the Church clip given that religion is forbidon in NK except for the father of NK and the government.

You just need to watch the Vice series on North Korea just to understand what this guy witnessed.

He even did a clarification video a few days back and I am still mad at him for being so naive. You can hand flowers and hug a serial killer and hope that he changes. You can make changes, but not with a government that denies everything terrible it does to its people. When talking about NK you have to mention the labor camps.

It just seems naive to never adress any of the known issues with NK in vlogs post visit. If I knew I couldn't speak freely, I probably wouldn't have gone.