My obsession with old ensemble movies with killer casts continues… This melancholy gem captured the depth of a host of unique female characters across half a dozen intermingled story lines. Cameron Diaz and Calista Flockhart brought their A games, as Holly Hunter always does.
9.0 The Mandalorian
I have plenty of shade to throw at The Mandalorian. Specifically, at my old pal Jon Favreau for being such an obsessed douchebag carnivore. But you will not find, anywhere in present or past, anything, that has ever LOOKED so good! The background scenery has been optimized with an Unreal screen ring, and the foreground is inside the ring, lit to perfection. Nothing ever before has delivered such beautiful pixels … just … so satisfying to see…
9.0 Black Monday seasons 1-2
The blackest of 80s comedy, drenched in every terrible glorious cultural reference from bad hair to bad movies to bad music, with a stock market theme full of back stabbers and pedal-to-the-medal ribald punchlines. Like a mashup of Billions, Arrested Development, Veep, Wolf of Wall Street and In Living Color. Silly crazy rude fun.
Spy Games Season 1 contest
Dan and I have the Covid Blues so we are scraping for any reality races on which we can bet. Any show where each episode has a winner and a loser. Here’s our next train wreck! Call your bookie, slap down those bets!
New improved rules, now with more action!
- Pick the player you think will win, pick the two players you think will be chosen to defend themselves, and pick the player you think will be actually eliminated.
- For winners, start with 10 points. If your winner is eliminated, you lose a point, and you have to pick another. If your winner wins, you score a point, and they remain your pick.
- For losers, start with 0 points. Score a point for each defender you got right. If your loser is eliminated, you score a point, and get to pick another.
- Contest winner is the one with the most points after the final episode!
- Also, we are playing with DAN’S BASTARDIZATION OF THE PICK RULES: you can change any pick you want in between episodes. WHAT? LAME, Mike does not approve… but he’s very accommodating, so here we go…
| STILL BREATHING | ||
 Chelsey Mori Raffle |  Brock Thompson Clone |  Christina Randall Cheek |
| FUCKING OUT | ||
 Iran |  Shots |  Emo |
 Buff |  Plank |  In-And-Out |
 Loser |
RESULTS
| Winner | (the rest) | Defender + Loser | |
| Ep01 | | | |
| Ep02 | | | |
| Ep03 | | | |
| Ep04 | | | |
| Ep05 | | | |
| Ep06 | N/A | | |
| Ep07 | N/A | | |
| Ep08 |
WIN PICKS
| Ep01 | Ep02 | Ep03 | Ep04 | Ep05 | Ep06 | Ep07 | Ep08 | |
| Dan | | | | | | | | |
| Mike | | | | | | | | |
| Winner | | | | | | N/A | N/A |
DEFENDER PICKS
| Ep01 | Ep02 | Ep03 | Ep04 | Ep05 | Ep06 | Ep07 | Ep08 | |
| Dan | | | | | | | | N/A |
| Mike | | | | | | | | N/A |
| Defenders | | | | | | | | N/A |
LOSE PICKS
| Ep01 | Ep02 | Ep03 | Ep04 | Ep05 | Ep06 | Ep07 | Ep08 | |
| Dan | | | | | | | | N/A |
| Mike | | | | | | | | N/A |
| Loser | | | | | | | | N/A |
SCORE
|  | Ep01 | Ep02 | Ep03 | Ep04 | Ep05 | Ep06 | Ep07 | Ep08 |
| Dan | 14 PERFECT! | 14 | 13 | 17 PERFECT! | 19 | 18 | 19 |  |
| Mike | 12 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 14 |  |
The Future (thank you Elon)
- Global fleet of autonomous-driving taxis (no more parking lots, traffic, pollution, car payments, crashes… you won’t grok this for a while, but Now You Know was there to warn you…)
- Global near-instantaneous internet (Starlink internet-via-vacuum is 40% faster than fiber; again, you’ve been warned…); this alone will be lucrative enough to fund all Elon’s plans
- Utopian Mars with a self-governed, self-sustaining, and industrious population, nonstop direct (rocket) flights, and fast-as-light communications network
- Coming much sooner than you think to a planet near you…
Does anyone even care any more?
9.0 The Informer
Two of my favorites bring it home. Common and Ana de Armas are in it, too.
Amazing Race 32 contest
Yes it’s still going strong! Dan pointed out that season 32 was coming up, and we are all in on another round of betting! How old is Phil now, anyway? He looks exactly the same.
- Pick the team you think will win, and pick the team you think will be eliminated next.
- For winners, start with 11 points. If your winning team is eliminated, you lose a point, and you have to pick another.
- For losers, start with 0 points. If your losing team is eliminated, you score a point, and get to pick another.
- Contest winner is the one with the most points after the final episode!
Winner gets a prize! TBD, ha. Also:
If Dan wins, Mike hauls his shit to the dumpster.
If Mike wins, he gets a TOP SHELF VO from Danno.
RESULTS
| Ep01 |           |  |
| Ep02 | | |
| Ep03 |  | |
| Ep04 | | N/A |
| Ep05 | | |
| Ep06 | | N/A |
| Ep07 | | |
| Ep08 | ||
| Ep09 | ||
| Ep10 |
WIN PICKS
| Ep01 | Ep02 | Ep03 | Ep04 | Ep05 | Ep06 | Ep07 | Ep08 | Ep09 | Ep10 | |
| Dan | – | | | | | | | | ||
| Mike | – | | | | | | | | ||
| Larry | – | – | | | | | | | ||
| Jane | – | – | | | | | | | ||
| Winner | | | | | | | |
LOSE PICKS
| Ep01 | Ep02 | Ep03 | Ep04 | Ep05 | Ep06 | Ep07 | Ep08 | Ep09 | Ep10 | |
| Dan | – | | | | | | | | ||
| Mike | – | | | | | | | | ||
| Larry | – | – | | | | | | | ||
| Jane | – | – | | | | | | | ||
| Loser | | | | N/A | | N/A | |
SCORE
| Ep01 | Ep02 | Ep03 | Ep04 | Ep05 | Ep06 | Ep07 | Ep08 | Ep09 | Ep10 | |
| Dan | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | |||
| Mike | 11 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | |||
| Larry | – | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | |||
| Jane | – | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 12 |
Never heed the forecast
I almost bailed on a bike ride to get Indian takeout on the other side of town, because the forecast was for rain. They oversell it! I’m so glad I went, the ride was gorgeous, the food delicious, and I continued to blast away at my DVT. :-)
9.0 Pride and Prejudice (2005)
Rosamund Pike, Keira Knightley and Carey Mulligan in the same frame, acting side by side? Yes please. Not to mention Judy Dench at her most wicked best, world-class Donald Sutherland, Talulah Riley of Westwood fame, and Tom Hollander, the quintessentially damaged supporting actor. Great cast executing a classic story.