The Last Movie You Watched

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

The Flash (2023). Come on. They are exaggerating with these superpowers. If they wanted to make a guy who can run super fast, it would be more interesting if he ran like 100 miles per hour or 150, but no. This is not even running; it is teleportation. Plus, if he runs even faster, he can travel through time like a time machine.

If they had limited Flash's speed that much, comic book nerds would have burnt the studio to the ground. It's not the fault of the film, it's canon that the Flash does run at lightspeed (and can even surpass it on occasion), can teleport, and travel through time.

What you're asking is like saying the Hulk would be more interesting if he could only lift 500 kilos.

Boru

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

Moneyball (2011) https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/prem...ntent-510k

I have been playing stratomatic baseball since high school. I learned then that getting on base and preventing on base are the keys to baseball success. Fielding, batting average, slugging, running, all are secondary attributes. Moneyball is based on a book by Michael Lewis that outed the Bill James statistical revolution. It focuses on the lowly Oakland Athletics under General Manager Billy Bean. Oakland's player budget is among the lowest in the big leagues. The players have to pay for soft drinks in the clubhouse. During a visit with the Cleveland Indians' Mark Shapiro, Bean notices that Shapiro listened to a pudgy Yale economist when it came to player evaluation. Bean hires the kid away and implements statistical analysis in Oakland, much to the dismay of the old guard baseball men who evaluate "tools" rather than results. Brad Pitt plays Bean and seems to be eating something in every scene. The bits of family drama don't really fit in this romantic baseball tale.

The actors portraying MLB players did a fine job. It's not easy to duplicate the throwing motions, swings, and subtleties of the athletes. The film also shows the business of baseball. There's a scene where Peter (Jonah Hill) has to practice firing Billy. Peter's attempt is ham fisted. "These are professional ballplayers. Give it to them straight. Pete, we gotta let you go. This is the number of our traveling secretary and he'll make sure you're taken care of. Just like that. Would you rather a bullet to the head or 5 to the chest?"

I use this example with my managers to illustrate how to dismiss someone. "Pete, we're separating you from the company today. Laura from HR has some important information for you." And that's it.

It's a baseball movie, so not for everyone, but it's charming and well acted.

My baseball movie is The Field of Dreams.  Though it really isn't about baseball when you get down to it.  It was filmed right outside of my hometown so there is always some nostalgia for me.

My son played baseball from about the age of 7 thru high school and was pretty good till he blew out both knees playing football.  It was sitting in those stands where I learned the more subtle aspects of the game.  Before the second knee injury, my son was an at will base runner and he was damn good at stealing bases, as well as hitting fast balls that were a bit low and near the outside.  I learned about the open stance as that was his preferred.  Those were fun days.

(bold mine)

Mine is The Natural. I sometimes find it odd that I enjoy baseball movies much more than I enjoy actual baseball.

Boru

[Gwaithmir]

[Nanny]

The Game (1997) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Game_(1997_film)

Falling Down was the better Michael Douglas thriller. The end.

I took a week off of work recently and watched the entire 3 Body Problem series. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3_Body_Pro...TV_series)

It's not without faults but it's an entertaining sci fi trip about friendship. I could do without the annoying Augie character and the solution to a weight issue with a space probe is addressed poorly. The characters are well developed and although often repetitive their inner struggles are clear. Some hardish science and some wild nonsense but a fun ride. Benedict Wong steals just about every scene he's in!

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

Support Your Local Sheriff

A ‘don’t have to think about it’ comedy western with James Garner at his charismatic best.

Boru

[Angrboda]

[Jackalope]

Encanto (2021)

[Gwaithmir]

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

The Great Escape (1963). An enjoyable - if somewhat fanciful - account of the mass escape of POWs from Stalag Luft lll in 1944.

Boru

[Fake Messiah]

Companion (2025)

A horror film about a group of young people in a house in the woods who get into trouble when their robot pal deviates from her original programming.

The scariest thing about this movie is that writers don't know how to write about human beings anymore so they have to be robots. I mean, they could have all been human characters, but the writer/director would have had no idea how to write it if they did not have the mobile phone component instead of, I do not know, complicated psychological traits.