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[Silverado]

Silverado. Not just a great western but a great film altogether.

It's only been four years. It's not uncommon for shows and films to languish for a decade or more.

Are we sure the Shat didn't switch universes again?

Jeez, JBC. Glad to hear you survived, but bloody hell. Great to have friends and family for support at these times. I think you've had your share of bad things for this decade and the next. At least I hope so.

Episode 3. Bland and directionless. They're edging into 'The Mayors' territory but rather poorly.

Unsurprisingly they've added a lot of extraneous material but they can't seem to decide how they want characters to be portrayed. In the first two episodes, the Emperor(s) are clearly meant to be hated but then we're supposed to feel sorry for them?

What's clearly missing is Asimov's firm belief that intelligence and careful planning will do more than threats and aggression.

I know it sounds like I want this series to fail but I'm quite the opposite. They could've added a lot of needless padding as long as they had kept the clear story Asimov gave us. I'm actually desperate for this series to be great but so far no luck.

Remember the first two seasons of Star Trek: The Next Generation? They were pretty dismal at points but by the third things really came together. This may be the problem with limited series like this. Eight or ten episodes a series is not enough to come to grips with the characters by the actors and the fans, especially for something as big as Foundation.

A longer series would give everyone a chance to breathe and relieve the pressure on the characters and the stories. I guess we'll have to wait and see.

The new Guinness doohickey works surprisingly well; https://nitrosurge.guinness.com/

Happiness now has a new standard; Kitchen table on a Saturday night, mood lighting, Heart 80's playing on Alexa, a bowl of honey salt nuts, a few glasses of Glendalough whiskey and 4 cans of Draught Nitro Surge Guinness.

Thank grud their age challenge is so secure. No one under 18 will ever figure out how to watch this. 

Asimov's Foundation is based on Gibbon's The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire and Apple is highlighting that with Game of Thrones style drama. This will undoubtedly appeal to a great many people but I was not a fan of GoT and never got through the first series. This may keep me from becoming a fan of this series which is unfortunate as Apple has clearly put a lot of effort into it.

[Greyhound]

Greyhound. Tom Hanks gives another great performance as the captain of a destroyer in the Battle of the Atlantic. It helps that it's based on the C.S. Forrester novel The Good Shepherd.

My first thought was 'What the fuck for?'

I'm no fan of the Chibnall run but RTD feels like a massive step backward. I'm not sure who I would put in charge at the moment but it wouldn't be Davies.

I've watched the first episode.

The good:
Cast is very good and it is well acted.
It is gorgeous to look at. Apple clearly expects everyone to have a 4K+ television.

The bad:
If you're expecting a faithful adaptation, forget it.
Very little of Asimov's story or style is included. Where Asimov got straight to the heart of the story this is ponderously slow-building. At some points it's downright boring.

The ugly:
I couldn't help but think of Game of Thrones while watching this. Not because of the story but rather there seems to be an underlying current of casual cruelty that feels completely out of place. It shows in the actions of the Emperor and by the inclusion of all too real acts of violence for the sake of modernising the story to capture the average viewer unfamiliar with the story, Asimov, or scifi.

If it was just the good and the bad I would say this could end up being very watchable in the end. However, the ugly, if it continues, may be too much for me to stomach and I'll end up abandoning this after the second or maybe third episode.

I love The Gauntlet. It should have been a Dirty Harry.

I watch The Dead Pool last weekend and Carrey is pretty cringey really. The whole film lets the Dirty Harry series down but at least Eastwood had enough sense to say that's it and move on. Mind you, The Dead Pool is still miles better than a lot of the rubbish put out today.

That's sad news. He's done a few memorable roles. RIP.

[The Iron Giant]

THE IRON GIANT is pretty much class from beginning to end.

The early days CGI works a treat but the true brilliance is surely in the compact storytelling. Barely a frame wasted... there's nothing in the seconfd half that isn't set up in the first half.

Plus the four key human characters all get a bit of time to breathe and bring the character of the Iron Giant out as much as the animation. Vin Diesel put more effort into his performance here than the last three FAST AND FURIOUS movies put together.

I defy anyone to watch The Iron Giant and not tear up. Easily in my top three animated films of all time.

[Dredd]

A film that's been mentioned a time or two here. Dredd.

Any good?

Good enough to warrant a sequel.