Saturday Evening Movie Thread

Saturday Evening Movie Thread - 1/24/2026

Wolfgang Petersen

Few directors have all-around strengths, the ability to see every aspect of a production from pre-production through sound mixing and determine what's best for the story, for the film as a whole. Most noteworthy directors tend to have groups of strengths, certain parts of the production where their attention and skill is most directly applied to their films. Wolfgang Petersen wasn't an all around strong director, but he did have one particular strength: the sequence.

The Sequence Director is actually really interesting because while scripts may end up having issues, the strength of the sequence done really well is its own thrill and joy. John Ford was actually a sequence director according to his own writers, not really understanding narrative form but understanding exactly how to put together a sequence for film. Wolfgang Petersen feels like a similar filmmaker, just without a strong studio system to back him up with a stable of quality writers.

Moving from German television to Hollywood and then getting hired from one job to the next in ever-increasingly large budgeted productions, Petersen proved that he was a man for the time. Taking simple concepts like a president needing to fight terrorists on Air Force One and delivering them with aggressive energy in clearly filmed sustained sequences, Petersen became one of the most powerful and sought-after directors in Hollywood for about a decade. I don't know if that's what he had dreamed of his career being, but he made the most of it while he was there.

German Television

Petersen began his directing career in the mid-60s directing for German television. Mostly television movies, he plugged away at these minimal budgets, finding collaborators along the way like Jörg-Michael Baldenius who was his main cinematographer in the period or, most famously, Jurgen Prochnow, the mainstay in front of the camera for many of these productions like the blackmail thriller Einer von uns beiden (One or the Other Of Us) or the gay drama Die Konsequenz. It was mostly solid work with minimal budgets to good result. The most important of this period may be one of his feature length episodes of the long-running German police procedural Tatort, the episode titled Reifezeugnis which starred Natassja Kinski in her first role.

Television is a hard medium to try and figure out artistic intent from anyone, especially in the 70s when productions were so cheap and quickly filmed, so I watched what I could find, noting my opinions on their qualities, and wondering when the real Petersen would peak out. Was it any of it? The somewhat comic adaptation of The Nixon Recession Caper, Four Against the Bank? The sort of French-like drama that was that episode of Tartort? The gay drama Die Konsequenz? Which one could be called...his?

And then he made the full leap to feature films (though...two of his earlier works were technically released in theaters) with Das Boot, the movie that made his presence known to Hollywood. It was originally released as a feature film, only later re-edited to a longer, multi-episode television edit, but the film's six Academy Award nominations (including for Best Director and Best Screenplay for Petersen as both director and writer) pulled him out of Germany. Well, sort of.

Early Hollywood

Petersen's first post-Das Boot job was The Neverending Story, the adaptation of the German fantasy novel that its own writer, Michael Ende, rejected after Petersen took the story in directions he felt were major deviations from the source material. What I find most notable about the film is the really impressive physical production. The sets are big. The costumes and creature effects are surprisingly detailed and believable. The miniature work is almost convincing. And Petersen made it in Munich. He wasn't ready to leave his fatherland just yet. A solid success at the box office, Petersen really should have been able to make what he wanted after that.

And yet, for reasons I can't quite explain, he took the salvage job of Enemy Mine. My confusion isn't about the quality of the movie but about the decision to take a disaster of a production that had already shot for a few weeks under original director Richard Loncraine, completely revamp the production including throwing out all footage and building huge sets in the same large tank set he had filmed the U-boats in Das Boot, and then spending another $25 million to finish it. The movie would have needed to have been a huge success to make up for those handicaps. It feels like the job for a hatchetman, not an up and coming director having just had his first Hollywood success, but he apparently just liked the script.

Well, the movie bombed, especially considering the sunk costs of its initial push at production which cost about $15 million on its own, and then Petersen didn't release another film for six years.

Biography

I tend to avoid biography when running through a director's work. I want the work to speak for itself, but I'm always interested in gaps in output. So, I tried to find out what Petersen was doing from the release of Enemy Mine in 1985 and the release of Shattered in 1991. I couldn't find much. I saw that he moved permanently to Los Angeles in 1986 and became an American citizen in 1987, but that's it. Surely he was trying to get some projects off the ground in this time, but what they were isn't readily available.

And then Shattered came out, and not only did Petersen direct it. He also wrote it. He also produced it.

I see that it's based on a novel, so surely this was just some flash in the pan novel from the time that quickly gathered interest, right? No, it's based on The Plastic Nightmare by Richard Neely which was published in 1971. Was...Shattered his passion project? Wash Shattered the movie he spent six years trying to gather together resources to make? Was it where he cashed in all of his goodwill in Hollywood? To make a middling adaptation of a ridiculous erotic thriller that lost money at the box office? If Shattered had been a financial success, would the rest of his career been erotic thrillers instead of action thrillers? Was Shattered the kind of movie Petersen wanted to make?

I'll never get the answer to that question because with the financial failure of Shattered, Petersen got the job that would define the direction of the rest of his career.

Action in the 90s

Since the 70s, Hollywood producer Jeff Apple had wanted to make a movie about Secret Service agents, especially with ties to the JFK assassination. He finally cracked the idea when he hired writer Jeff Maguire to write a draft and signed Clint Eastwood to play the central role. In contrast to Shattered, Petersen has neither a writing nor a producing credit on In the Line of Fire, but it was the first box office success Petersen had had in a decade.

If Shattered is the kind of movie Petersen wanted to make, what is In the Line of Fire? I think it really was just a director-for-hire job. A younger director with some obvious chops getting hired by a strong producer (Apple) with one of the major stars of the time (Eastwood) who were going to exert control over the production while Petersen managed the camera. And it was a rather large success, the kind of success where Hollywood looks at the director and says, "You will make more of this kind of movie again."

And that's what he did. From Outbreak to Air Force One to The Perfect Storm, he produced big budget action films with major movie stars (yeah...Dustin Hoffman could be qualified as one for a time, I guess) with lots of special effects and extended action sequences that he could deliver with a professionalism and style that never overwhelmed anything else. And he was hitting financial success after financial success after financial success.

Is there something of Petersen in these films? The military aspects of Outbreak, the confined, extended aspect of Air Force One, and the naval (if predominantly civilian) aspects of The Perfect Storm indicate, to me, an effort on his part (he was producer on all three) to find projects that appealed to him in terms of subject matter. Sure, the scripts could be uneven (Outbreak is like three movies in one that never gel and The Perfect Storm character storytelling is thin with caricature, but Air Force One is awesome), but they indicate to me that Petersen, at his height of power, was using the large scale blockbuster to tell stories that interested him while also finding room for the kind of action spectacle that he could deliver in sustained sequences for the masses and his studio employers.

The 2000s

The 2000s was when Petersen's career faltered. The Perfect Storm was a mild financial success considering its rather large costs, but critically it wasn't exactly loved. Still, critics don't mean much in Hollywood when money's still being made, so Petersen got the assignment to try and continue the sword and sandal epic revival started by Ridley Scott's Gladiator with his pseudo-adaptation of Homer's The Illiad, Troy. It seems like the general opinion on the film has risen decently since the film's release. Using the Wayback Machine, the film started with an IMDB rating in the high 6's and now has a rating of 7.2, a steady climb over more than 20 years. I remember reactions being more muted, especially its bloated nature, some stiff acting, and it being part of an overuse of CGI armies at the time that people were getting tired of.

Well, the film made money, but it was really expensive. Nearly costing $200 million, it only made a shade under $500 million. Combined with marketing costs which were at least $100 million and could have been as much as $200 million and the theatrical share of ticket prices, it's likely that Troy didn't make any profit for Warner Brothers at the box office. Combined with The Perfect Storm likely having a similar fate, Petersen seemed to be on thin ice.

And then the ice broke out from under him with Poseidon. A very expensive re-adaptation of the novel by Paul Gallico, it outright lost money (at least $60 million, and probably more) while meeting critical derision (I have a good time with it), and then there's another large gap.

Finishing Where He Began

As I said earlier, big gaps in a filmography interest me, and this second gap is bigger than the first. From 2006 to 2016, Petersen made nothing. There is a bit more information out there about what he was trying to get off the ground (notably an adaptation of Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game and a live-action adaptation of the anime Paprika) but nothing came to fruition. At some point, he seems to have given up on making another film in Hollywood and went back to Germany to make another adaptation of The Nixon Recession Caper, this time in more outright comedic fashion. It seems like almost no one outside of Germany has seen this film (I have, I thought it was pretty fun), but it was met with strong success in Germany while meeting no real distribution outside of Germany (European comedies rarely even try international distribution).

His final film completed, he lived for another 6 years and died in his home in Los Angeles in 2022. Did he try to get another project off the ground in his 70s? There's no indication that he did or didn't. I wouldn't have minded seeing one more from him, though.

Legacy

So...who was the real Petersen? I think the closest we'll ever get to the real Petersen, the artist he wanted to be in cinema, is going to be Shattered. Every indication is that it was his baby, the project that he shepherded, wrote himself, and produced for years before he got to set. If that had been a success, we would have gotten more lurid thrillers from him instead of action spectacles.

But it wasn't a success, and In the Line of Fire put him on his proper path: action director. And he was really good at it.
Movies of Today

Opening in Theaters:

We Bury the Dead

Movies I Saw This Fortnight:

Das Boot (Rating 4/4) Full Review "I'd be surprised if I felt Petersen came close to matching this again. I've seen enough of what's to come to feel assured that this is going to be his crowning achievement." [Personal Collection]

The Neverending Story (Rating 1.5/4) Full Review "And yet, everyone seems to love this film. Ugh, I don't. I've tried, but no. This movie is bad." [Prime]

Enemy Mine (Rating 2/4) Full Review "I just find the actual story to be dull as dishwater. Still, I got some pew-pews at the end." [Library]

Shattered (Rating 2/4) Full Review "So, the film is not terribly engaging, but Petersen makes the experience slick with solid direction, the actors are all committed and doing decent jobs, and I get a kick out of the ending." [Plex]

In the Line of Fire (Rating 3.5/4) Full Review "It's a fun ride, and everyone does their job well. It's a good time at the movies." [Personal Collection]

Air Force One (Rating 3.5/4) Full Review "It's not the top tier of 90s action filmmaking, but it's honestly near the top." [Personal Collection]

Troy (Rating 2/4) Full Review "It's a mixed bag, one I wish I liked more (I'm a sucker for the sword and sandal epic), but this response to Gladiator's success is a good signpost on the road to why the genre died out again." [Personal Collection]

Poseidon (Rating 2.5/4) Full Review "Petersen might not have been a visionary, but I think he had an idea of what he was doing." [Library]

Please also check out the rest of my YouTube videos from the last few weeks:

Wolfgang Petersen - The Definitive Ranking
John Carpenter - The Directors Series
John Carpenter - The Definitive Ranking
How to Talk about Movies - A Primer

Contact

Email any suggestions or questions to thejamesmadison.aos at symbol gmail dot com.
I've also archived all the old posts here, by request. I'll add new posts a week after they originally post at the HQ.
My next thread will be on 2/14 and it will discuss the directing career of Park Chan-wook.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison at 07:30 PM

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 Good evening everyone

Posted by: Skip at January 24, 2026 07:32 PM (Ia/+0)

2 Hello, film fans!

Posted by: NemoMeImpuneLacessit at January 24, 2026 07:32 PM (H6cKs)

3 1 Good evening everyone
Posted by: Skip at January 24, 2026 07:32 PM (Ia/+0)

=====

What's so evening about it?

Posted by: TJM's phone at January 24, 2026 07:32 PM (GBKbO)

4 Nooded.

Posted by: NemoMeImpuneLacessit at January 24, 2026 07:33 PM (H6cKs)

5 I loved The Neverending Story as a kid.

Never knew Das Boot was the same guy.

Posted by: mikeski at January 24, 2026 07:34 PM (VHUov)

6 Hi all

Posted by: LASue at January 24, 2026 07:36 PM (lCppi)

7 7:30 is evening time.

Anyway, watched 7 Samurai again last night, and found a major impossibility in it never dawned on me before.
Kyuzo gets shot with a matchlock in a pouring down rainstorm.
Still a favor top 10 war movie

Posted by: Skip at January 24, 2026 07:37 PM (Ia/+0)

8 I put Das Boot in my top 10 war movies as well.

I never tried a top ten of movies of all time. But since war movies are my favorites anyway good chance some wouldn't be replacedby other formats

Posted by: Skip at January 24, 2026 07:39 PM (Ia/+0)

9 LASue hope you're doing well

Posted by: Skip at January 24, 2026 07:39 PM (Ia/+0)

10 Wait, thats 3 in a row

Posted by: Skip at January 24, 2026 07:40 PM (Ia/+0)

11 I thought Shattered was fun, well worth a watch just for Bob Hoskins. Haven't seen Das Boot, Line of Fire, or Perfect Storm in who knows how long but they were all good ones. Never saw the others.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at January 24, 2026 07:40 PM (q3u5l)

12 Well greta scacchi what was the plot again

Posted by: Miguel cervantes at January 24, 2026 07:41 PM (bXbFr)

13 11 I thought Shattered was fun, well worth a watch just for Bob Hoskins. Haven't seen Das Boot, Line of Fire, or Perfect Storm in who knows how long but they were all good ones. Never saw the others.
Posted by: Just Some Guy at January 24, 2026 07:40 PM (q3u5l

====

I kind of love the big reveal at the end of Shattered. It's just...so stupid that I love it. Everything up to it, though, is kinda boring except Hoskins who is always worthy of a watch.

Posted by: TJM's phone at January 24, 2026 07:42 PM (GBKbO)

14 Petersen comes from a left wing background so enemy mine makes the terran mining syndicate the villains over the drac

Posted by: Miguel cervantes at January 24, 2026 07:45 PM (bXbFr)

15 When I saw his name I knew he directed Das Boot but was completely unaware of his later films. I think Perfect Storm is really good. It emersed me in a world I knew nothing about but by the end of the film I felt right at home. Plus I watch anything with Diane Lane because Diane Lane. Big crush since a Little Romance.

Posted by: Blutarski, Gradually then Suddenly at January 24, 2026 07:46 PM (cxFcK)

16 I dont know why you would remake poseidon specially sans a strong lead like hackman

Posted by: Miguel cervantes at January 24, 2026 07:47 PM (bXbFr)

17 What is a 'sequence' director?

I know what the word sequence means. I just don't know it in this context.

Posted by: Dr. Claw at January 24, 2026 07:47 PM (fd80v)

18 I saw Der Tiger a couple of weeks ago about the crew of a Tiger tank sent behind enemy lines to rescue a colonel. It was not the movie I thought it would be but was very reminiscent of Das Boot. One scene was very, very reminiscent of Das Boot. It was an OK movie.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Like Shakespeare Except More Betterer at January 24, 2026 07:49 PM (L/fGl)

19 "I kind of love the big reveal at the end of Shattered. It's just...so stupid that I love it. Everything up to it, though, is kinda boring except Hoskins who is always worthy of a watch."

I didn't find it boring (probably because of Hoskins). 'So stupid that I love it.' Yeah, kinda. You watch the picture and you're thinking, Did they really just do that? Really? Big reveal, and the suitably fiery finish, and you're still thinking, Did they really just do that? Really? Yeah, they did, and you sit there shaking your head, but even so you had a fairly good time watching the flick.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at January 24, 2026 07:49 PM (q3u5l)

20 Few directors have all-around strengths, the ability to see every aspect of a production from pre-production through sound mixing and determine what's best for the story, for the film as a whole.

This is true, and I believe the word you're looking for is 'auteur'.

Russ Meyer was the last true American auteur.

Posted by: Duncanthrax at January 24, 2026 07:50 PM (0sNs1)

21 Awesome essay TJM

I remember reactions being more muted, especially its bloated nature, some stiff acting, the 10 minute closeups of Brad Pitt, and it being part of an overuse of CGI armies at the time that people were getting tired of.

Posted by: San Franpsycho at January 24, 2026 07:52 PM (RIvkX)

22 ... which starred Natassja Kinski in her first role.

------------

There's a blast from the past.

There was a lot of buzz around Roman Polanksi's "Tess" back in '79 when we (she and I were both around 17 or 18 years old).

Posted by: ShainS -- 'The Warmth Of Collectivism' is Code for 'Hell On Earth' at January 24, 2026 07:54 PM (V+K+8)

23 The Neverending Story (Rating 1.5/4) Full Review "And yet, everyone seems to love this film. Ugh, I don't. I've tried, but no. This movie is bad." [Prime]

In fairness, how could it not be? I read the book in the last year. It was a dull chore.

Posted by: Artax! at January 24, 2026 07:54 PM (zMwmR)

24 I like the battle between Achilles and Hector in Troy.

Would that be an example of Peterson's sequence skills?

Posted by: davidt at January 24, 2026 07:55 PM (Q+gd/)

25
I just turned on Shattered and it seems a bit trite and cheesy for someone's passion project -- more like a guilty pleasure. But it's filmed in my neck of the woods, which is always fun. There's the PCH by cracky.

Posted by: Blonde Morticia at January 24, 2026 07:56 PM (HxSSW)

26 Does the YouTube algorithm count watching the embedded video here count as a view for your video, or do I need to go and watch it on the app?

Posted by: tankdemon at January 24, 2026 07:56 PM (szncw)

27 Battle of Algiers would be more appropriate for today.

Posted by: exodus 21:22-25 at January 24, 2026 07:57 PM (7xRMH)

28 24 I like the battle between Achilles and Hector in Troy.

Would that be an example of Peterson's sequence skills?
Posted by: davidt at January 24, 2026 07:55 PM (Q+gd/)

====

Yeah, a sustained series of images and sounds to convey a singular series of actions in a compressed cinematic time.

They tend to rely on montage (editing) to build tension and emotion.

How do you tie one major sequence to the next, though? That's a big question.

Posted by: TJM's phone at January 24, 2026 07:57 PM (GBKbO)

29 26 Does the YouTube algorithm count watching the embedded video here count as a view for your video, or do I need to go and watch it on the app?
Posted by: tankdemon at January 24, 2026 07:56 PM (szncw

===

Any view counts.

Thanks!

Posted by: TJM's phone at January 24, 2026 07:58 PM (GBKbO)

30 I didnt get that vibe from troy, its not as good as gladiator

They did the olde bafta trick from clash of the titans classic

Posted by: Miguel cervantes at January 24, 2026 07:58 PM (bXbFr)

31 A thought had while watching this on Wolfgang, is it that odd a director can't have 1 great movie and others just don't seem to stack up to it?
Seen many of his, they are ok as I like suspense movies but no others make any top 10 of my list.
No different than a music artists get a top 10 and never do it again

Posted by: Skip at January 24, 2026 07:59 PM (Ia/+0)

32 I had no idea he directed "The Neverending Story". Visually rich, but as one critic put it, it's a children's story made for adults. There's something kind of turgid about it, even though I enjoyed it at the time. I think "Labyrinth" did it a lot better.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at January 24, 2026 08:00 PM (kpS4V)

33 I am sure views as link counts in YouTube views.
Watching a Cafe video or one Pixy puts up I never seen shows up on my YouTube app

Posted by: Skip at January 24, 2026 08:01 PM (Ia/+0)

34 King kong vs godzilla on svengoolie

Posted by: Miguel cervantes at January 24, 2026 08:02 PM (bXbFr)

35 30 I didnt get that vibe from troy, its not as good as gladiator

They did the olde bafta trick from clash of the titans classic
Posted by: Miguel cervantes at January 24, 2026 07:58 PM (bXbFr)

===

My problem with Troy is that it turns The Illiad into the telling of the whole Trojan War, but The Illiad is about Achilles almost exclusively while the whole Trojan War is...not. It's big and about many things, but I'd you were to drill it down to one thing, its probably Menelaus vs. Paris over Helen. Maybe about Agamemnon fighting for his brother's honor.

Making the whole Trojan War effectively about Achilles makes the telling all sorts of weird.

Posted by: TJM's phone at January 24, 2026 08:02 PM (GBKbO)

36 Well hector caused the whole mess but orlando bloom cant really anchor a film

Posted by: Miguel cervantes at January 24, 2026 08:04 PM (bXbFr)

37 I saw "Shattered" at the time it came out don't remember too much about it.

Which is usually a bad sign.

I remember liking it up until the end and kind of being irritated it was such an eye-roller.

Did the climax have something to do with a lighthouse? Maybe I've got it confused with something else.

I liked the set pieces in "Troy". I didn't hate it but I didn't love it.

Posted by: naturalfake at January 24, 2026 08:04 PM (iJfKG)

38 In point of fact, helen went along, but am i going to diss diane kruger nope

Posted by: Miguel cervantes at January 24, 2026 08:05 PM (bXbFr)

39 I'll give "Enemy Mine" props for the drac makeup. Louis Gossett nearly messed up his eyesight from the contacts.

That's a whole 'nother topic -- actors who wrecked themselves for substandard movies. I'm thinking of Charlize Theron breaking her back for the wretched "Aeon Flux" live action flick.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at January 24, 2026 08:05 PM (kpS4V)

40 Skip at 31,

If he's lucky that one great picture is fairly late in his career. Otherwise, he finds himself in the position Isaac Asimov was in, with people telling him for the next few decades that the best thing he ever wrote was "Nightfall" which was a pretty early story for him.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at January 24, 2026 08:05 PM (q3u5l)

41 Making the whole Trojan War effectively about Achilles makes the telling all sorts of weird.
Posted by: TJM's phone at January 24, 2026 08:02 PM

So, in the parlance of modern professional wrestling, Achilles was a heel?

Posted by: Duncanthrax at January 24, 2026 08:06 PM (0sNs1)

42 Sorry, Troy still stinks. Though it looks like Nolan is going to try and outdo that movie in 'gack!' with his own take on Homer.

Posted by: Anna Puma at January 24, 2026 08:06 PM (2GVsD)

43 Haven't been to the theater because it's too damn cold out.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at January 24, 2026 08:07 PM (kpS4V)

44 Anna, I'm not at all jazzed to see it. Weird casting choices all around.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at January 24, 2026 08:08 PM (kpS4V)

45 Das Boot was great, I enjoyed never ending story, and Perfect Storm was impressive. Outside of those I just wasn’t into his films.

Posted by: Tom Servo at January 24, 2026 08:08 PM (IUuBi)

46 Eris,

TJM could create another movie post just on all the different takes there have been on retelling Homer's story.

Posted by: Anna Puma at January 24, 2026 08:10 PM (2GVsD)

47 Good essay, man.

Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards, Buy ammo at January 24, 2026 08:10 PM (xcxpd)

48 Robot Chicken, "The Neverending Party":

https://tinyurl.com/3tvnjejt

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at January 24, 2026 08:11 PM (kpS4V)

49 TJM could create another movie post just on all the different takes there have been on retelling Homer's story.
----

Yes he could!

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at January 24, 2026 08:11 PM (kpS4V)

50 Yeah casting weird costume choices et al sink that film even before it leaves port

Posted by: Miguel cervantes at January 24, 2026 08:12 PM (bXbFr)

51 Thx TJM.
Petersen is very underrated. Das Boot is awesome, with an interesting director's cut. In the Line of Fire and Air Force One are both very entertaining movies.
I liked Enemy Mine better than you though. Interaction between Quaid and Gossett was great

Posted by: Smell the Glove at January 24, 2026 08:12 PM (e4I2N)

52 I liked Troy considerably more than TJM or "the critics". The cast was fantastic; not only Brad Pitt but also others such as Brian Cox. The story was a fun take on the classic. A great popcorn movie overall.

Posted by: Anon Y. Mous at January 24, 2026 08:12 PM (syz1S)

53 I did not check out the German TV stuff, or the gay porn, and I haven't seen Poseidon yet.

Petersen was very, very competent though. In the Line of Fire is really good. But his masterpiece was Das Boot. I watched the director's cut, it was over 3 hours and I was riveted the entire time. Amazing film.

I wish he'd directed more, not sure why he couldn't get more projects made. Though if Shattered is his idea of an ideal project...ah...well....I love hot blondes and Tom Berenger but that was a mess of a movie. Maybe it's just as well. Better to have a small, solid filmography than a bunch of crap padding it out.

*glances at Otto Preminger*

Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards, Buy ammo at January 24, 2026 08:12 PM (xcxpd)

54 After all these years, one of the biggest problems with Troy to me is how they handle Thetis. In Homer's story she is doing everything she can to prevent Achilles from going to Troy but in the movie her dialog makes it seem she is encouraging Achilles to go and claim his glory.

Posted by: Anna Puma at January 24, 2026 08:17 PM (2GVsD)

55 52 I liked Troy considerably more than TJM or "the critics". The cast was fantastic; not only Brad Pitt but also others such as Brian Cox. The story was a fun take on the classic. A great popcorn movie overall.
Posted by: Anon Y. Mous at January 24, 2026 08:12 PM (syz1S)

I watched it twice now with English subtitles and with foreign language dubbed. It really worked well as a foreign film somehow.

Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards, Buy ammo at January 24, 2026 08:17 PM (xcxpd)

56 So how does Troy fare when dubbed into Serbian?

Posted by: Anna Puma at January 24, 2026 08:18 PM (2GVsD)

57 56 So how does Troy fare when dubbed into Serbian?
Posted by: Anna Puma at January 24, 2026 08:18 PM (2GVsD)

That I didn't try. It worked well in German though.

Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards, Buy ammo at January 24, 2026 08:20 PM (xcxpd)

58 I liked in the line. Air force one, even some of outbreak even though it was weighed down by a terrible script

Posted by: Miguel cervantes at January 24, 2026 08:21 PM (bXbFr)

59 In German?

Achilles chasing after Briseis while yelling "Ein leiber dick!"

Posted by: Anna Puma at January 24, 2026 08:23 PM (2GVsD)

60 I am sure ancient battle historians can pick Troy apart but its beyond my reading, Its fun to watch

Posted by: Skip at January 24, 2026 08:24 PM (Ia/+0)

61 59 In German?

Achilles chasing after Briseis while yelling "Ein leiber dick!"
Posted by: Anna Puma at January 24, 2026 08:23 PM (2GVsD)

It's just a "beautiful" language...

Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards, Buy ammo at January 24, 2026 08:25 PM (xcxpd)

62 Shattered - I liked it. I always enjoyed watching Hoskins and Berringar as actors. Never a let up with them, though source material may be lacking.

Das Boot - I liked

In The Line of Fire - Didn't know Wolfgang directed that. Solid fun movie.

Troy - Not sure I have ever watched it all the way through. seen bits and pieces of it over the years. Meh.

Posted by: Puddleglum at work at January 24, 2026 08:25 PM (xA5g+)

63 It would requird a limited series to do it justice

Posted by: Miguel cervantes at January 24, 2026 08:26 PM (bXbFr)

64 It's just a "beautiful" language...
Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards

On behalf of my ancestors, I apologize.

Posted by: half-German mikeski at January 24, 2026 08:26 PM (VHUov)

65
"Here, take The Sword of Troy."
"Thanks!"

Posted by: davidt at January 24, 2026 08:26 PM (Q+gd/)

66 Skeptical knight, "Sword of Troy? Did you get this from some watery tart?"

Posted by: Anna Puma at January 24, 2026 08:28 PM (2GVsD)

67 Aktually petersen did as much as he could with dworecks script

Air force one runs much better

Posted by: Miguel cervantes at January 24, 2026 08:29 PM (bXbFr)

68 60 I am sure ancient battle historians can pick Troy apart but its beyond my reading, Its fun to watch
Posted by: Skip at January 24, 2026 08:24 PM (Ia/+0)

====

It's not about sticking to sources or history, its about how the drama mismatched. Achilles has nothing to do with Helen. He never meets Menelaus, Paris or Helen, but that's the war.

So, the opening and ending have shockingly little to do with the middle section which focuses on Achilles.

That's weird to me and keeps me from getting into the film.

Posted by: TJM's phone at January 24, 2026 08:29 PM (GBKbO)

69 Good essay, man.
Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards, Buy ammo at January 24, 2026 08:10 PM (xcxpd)

====

Thanks!

Posted by: TJM's phone at January 24, 2026 08:29 PM (GBKbO)

70 "Noah's Ark" (192

99 min semi-talkie.

A shameless embellishment of Scripture, smooshed together with a WW1 victory celebration of the supposed end of all wars. The story jumps around a lot, but the general idea is that sin displeases God, and provokes His Wrath.

Wikipedia sez: "three extras drowned, one was so badly injured that his leg needed to be amputated, and a number suffered broken limbs and other serious injuries, ... Dolores Costello [easy on the eyes, slippery when wet, sez gp] caught a severe case of pneumonia. Thirty-five ambulances attended to the wounded." If it's any consolation to the victims, the results on film are certainly impressive.

Don't blink, or you'll miss Myrna Loy in her 'dancer' and 'slave girl' outfits. Recommended.

youtube.com/watch?v=2guv3X93n7E

Posted by: gp at January 24, 2026 08:30 PM (N8ZBc)

71 65
"Here, take The Sword of Troy."
"Thanks!"
Posted by: davidt at January 24, 2026 08:26 PM (Q+gd/)

===

"Here, Aenius, take the Sword of Troy."
-Paris who survives the battle and walks alongside Aenius anyway

Posted by: TJM's phone at January 24, 2026 08:31 PM (GBKbO)

72 If memory serves, the novella upon which 'Enemy Mine' is based ran in Analog magazine back in the early 80s. I remember reading it, and thought it was a wonderful story. Of course, Hollywood can screw anything up, and hiring a known loon like Loncraine to direct was chicken-fried death...

Posted by: Brewingfrog at January 24, 2026 08:31 PM (fFq6c)

73 "Phoenix" (199

Sordid movie about scuzzy people. That's often a winning formula, but this lacks flair.

"The Coward" (1915) Whoa, Frank Keenan could throw some scary intense stares! I gather that his first wife died of a stroke, as she watched him perform; I'm surprised she didn't spontaneously ignite. Recommended.

Posted by: gp at January 24, 2026 08:32 PM (N8ZBc)

74 Some people still doubt Homer's Troy ever existed. Schlieman didn't help things by treating the dig site like a layer cake and calling the bottom layer Homer's Troy.

I just have many issues with the rather liberal liberties that movie took with the source material. Like no Kassandra.

Posted by: Anna Puma at January 24, 2026 08:32 PM (2GVsD)

75 72 If memory serves, the novella upon which 'Enemy Mine' is based ran in Analog magazine back in the early 80s. I remember reading it, and thought it was a wonderful story. Of course, Hollywood can screw anything up, and hiring a known loon like Loncraine to direct was chicken-fried death...
Posted by: Brewingfrog at January 24, 2026 08:31 PM (fFq6c)

===

Funniest bit, the story is based on a movie.

Hell in the Pacific directed by John Boorman.

Posted by: TJM's phone at January 24, 2026 08:32 PM (GBKbO)

76 You know, I never sat through the Brad Pitt Loreal ad known as Troy, but wasn't Eric Bana in that? He disappeared abruptly it seems.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at January 24, 2026 08:34 PM (bss/y)

77 Hell in the Pacific may be my favorite war movie.

Posted by: davidt at January 24, 2026 08:34 PM (Q+gd/)

78 Eric Bana played Hector.

Posted by: Anna Puma at January 24, 2026 08:34 PM (2GVsD)

79 78 Eric Bana played Hector.
Posted by: Anna Puma at January 24, 2026 08:34 PM (2GVsD)

====

I believe you mean HECTOR!!!!!

Posted by: TJM's phone at January 24, 2026 08:35 PM (GBKbO)

80 Well if you insist!!!

Posted by: Anna Puma at January 24, 2026 08:35 PM (2GVsD)

81 Petersen has a solid B to B+ film career. IN THE LINE OF FIRE is probably the most celebrated while THE NEVERENDING STORY most beloved. ENEMY MINE has really cheesy effects but I liked it.

Netflix put the entire James Bond catalogue on its service. My son asked me which was best. I said GOLDFINGER is hands down number one and after that it's hard to say because many others are worthy in their own way but not standouts. I rewatched NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN and the MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN. Maybe they are in the top ten but not clear second positions.

Posted by: Lex at January 24, 2026 08:35 PM (y4H1r)

82 Neverending Story was good, and Ende was being a stuck up Euro for complaining about what was about as good an adaptation as the 1980s tech could allow.
Enemy Mine on the other hand was shite.

Posted by: gKWVE at January 24, 2026 08:36 PM (gKWVE)

83 1) Goldfinger
2) You Only Live Twice
3) Casino Royale (2006)
4) Dr No
5) From Russia With Love

Posted by: gp at January 24, 2026 08:37 PM (N8ZBc)

84 74 Some people still doubt Homer's Troy ever existed. Schlieman didn't help things by treating the dig site like a layer cake and calling the bottom layer Homer's Troy.

I just have many issues with the rather liberal liberties that movie took with the source material. Like no Kassandra.
Posted by: Anna Puma at January 24, 2026 08:32 PM (2GVsD)
The survivors told the story and somewhere along the years somebody exaggerated......or left some of the story out.

Posted by: Eromero at January 24, 2026 08:37 PM (LHPAg)

85 Neverending Story?

You mean never ending Limahl

Posted by: Anna Puma at January 24, 2026 08:37 PM (2GVsD)

86 Mickey Mouse!

Posted by: davidt at January 24, 2026 08:38 PM (Q+gd/)

87 Enemy Mine on the other hand was shite.
Posted by: gKWVE at January 24, 2026 08:36 PM (gKWVE)

Mom watched Alien Mine quite a bit when it was on cable. Kind of annoying.

Alien Nation was good.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at January 24, 2026 08:38 PM (bss/y)

88 I thought Outbreak was good.

Posted by: gKWVE at January 24, 2026 08:38 PM (gKWVE)

89 I stand corrected still doesnt anchor the film

Posted by: Miguel cervantes at January 24, 2026 08:39 PM (bXbFr)

90 84 74 Some people still doubt Homer's Troy ever existed. Schlieman didn't help things by treating the dig site like a layer cake and calling the bottom layer Homer's Troy.

I just have many issues with the rather liberal liberties that movie took with the source material. Like no Kassandra.
Posted by: Anna Puma at January 24, 2026 08:32 PM (2GVsD)
The survivors told the story and somewhere along the years somebody exaggerated......or left some of the story out.
Posted by: Eromero at January 24, 2026 08:37 PM (LHPAg)

====

It's also one small part of the Epic Cycle (only Homer's poems survive out of about 12, the rest are summarized in other sources). The only reason we know about the Trojan Horse is because its mentioned in passing in The Odyssey, the actual action described in a lost poem.

Posted by: TJM's phone at January 24, 2026 08:39 PM (GBKbO)

91 83 1) Goldfinger
2) You Only Live Twice
3) Casino Royale (2006)
4) Dr No
5) From Russia With Love
Posted by: gp at January 24, 2026 08:37 PM (N8ZBc)

Objection! Goldeneye should be 2 or 3 on that list!

Posted by: Aetius451AD at January 24, 2026 08:39 PM (bss/y)

92 You mean never ending Limahl
Posted by: Anna Puma

The video was hilarious, the black chick flirting with Limahl the whole time. Did she know he was... not playing for that team? I think she did and was teasing the crap out of him

Posted by: gKWVE at January 24, 2026 08:40 PM (gKWVE)

93 Battleground is my favorite war movie

Posted by: Skip at January 24, 2026 08:41 PM (Ia/+0)

94 "Objection! Goldeneye should be 2 or 3 on that list!"

I'm surprised. Usually movie ranking discussions tend to easy consensus.

Posted by: gp at January 24, 2026 08:41 PM (N8ZBc)

95 Wstching movie Troy probably best to know nothing of ancient stories

Posted by: Skip at January 24, 2026 08:42 PM (Ia/+0)

96 Think I'd have to go with
1) From Russia With Love
2) Goldfinger
3) Never Say Never Again
4) Tossup - The Timothy Daltons
5) Casino Royale (the Craig)
6) All the others

Re: ranking them in the first place, I'm reminded of the words of John T. Chance in Rio Bravo: "I'd hate to have to live on the difference."

Posted by: Just Some Guy at January 24, 2026 08:42 PM (q3u5l)

97 Goldfinger was awesome. The Man With the Golden Gun was fun. Evil Herve Villechaize. I liked On Her Majesty's Secret Service. George Lazenby was meh. But it was a good story and Dame Diana Rigg at her prime was lovely.

Posted by: BarelyScaryMary at January 24, 2026 08:42 PM (lpTXP)

98 Favorite war movie. That one is hard to narrow down. Gettysburg, Zulu, and The Longest Day are in my top 5. The other 2 I have to think about.

Posted by: Puddleglum at work at January 24, 2026 08:44 PM (xA5g+)

99 Seinf as schliemann was the first to dig up the ruins.

Posted by: Miguel cervantes at January 24, 2026 08:45 PM (bXbFr)

100 If memory serves, the novella upon which 'Enemy Mine' is based ran in Analog magazine back in the early 80s. I remember reading it, and thought it was a wonderful story. Of course, Hollywood can screw anything up, and hiring a known loon like Loncraine to direct was chicken-fried death...
Posted by: Brewingfrog

I saw Chicken-Fried Death open for Diablo Swing Orchestra at the State Theater in 2013.

https://youtu.be/m2mZVOd0jWY

Posted by: mikeski at January 24, 2026 08:45 PM (VHUov)

101 Great Escape was a good movie.

Posted by: BarelyScaryMary at January 24, 2026 08:45 PM (lpTXP)

102 Eric Bana in that? He disappeared abruptly it seems.
Posted by: Aetius451AD

I've seen him in a few series on Netflix. He could never really do a good Yank accent. Black Hawk Down proved that. But he was great as the Aussie psychopath Chopper.

Posted by: Blutarski, Gradually then Suddenly at January 24, 2026 08:45 PM (cxFcK)

103 Das Boot should have had scratch and sniff attached to the ticket. Imagine what a U-Boot smelled like after many months at sea. He did a fine job depicting what it was like. Kriegsmarine had the lowest survival rate of any branches. Several sunk one lie out here off the Outer Banks, along with many U-Boot targets. By 43-44, The Allies were getting very good at find and destroy. Long range patrol bombers and such. Hunters became hunted.

Posted by: By The Beautiful Sea at January 24, 2026 08:46 PM (oftw2)

104 103 Das Boot should have had scratch and sniff attached to the ticket

Ahoy!

Posted by: Bill Kristol at January 24, 2026 08:47 PM (gKWVE)

105 I have more appreciation for FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE as time goes by. Could be in second place.

I did like Dalton in THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS. He brought a ruggedness to Bond that Moore certainly didn't have and it was even a harder edge than Connery.

Posted by: Lex at January 24, 2026 08:47 PM (y4H1r)

106 "Zulu," "Das Boot" recommended.

Posted by: gp at January 24, 2026 08:47 PM (N8ZBc)

107 I always thought Timothy Dalton was a good Bond, but man he had some bad scripts to work with. A shame.

Posted by: Blutarski, Gradually then Suddenly at January 24, 2026 08:47 PM (cxFcK)

108 I think the last Eric Bana role I watched was when he had to play Nero in the JJ "Lens Flare' Abrams' idea of Star Trek.

Posted by: Anna Puma at January 24, 2026 08:47 PM (2GVsD)

109 memory serves, the novella upon which 'Enemy Mine' is based ran in Analog magazine back in the early 80s. I remember reading it, and thought it was a wonderful story. Of course, Hollywood can screw anything up, and hiring a known loon like Loncraine to direct was chicken-fried death...
Posted by: Brewingfrog at January 24, 2026 08:31 PM (fFq6c)

===

Funniest bit, the story is based on a movie.

Hell in the Pacific directed by John Boorman.
Posted by: TJM's phone

+++

Is that the one with two actors, one American, one Japanese, stranded on a small Palau island dueling each other?

Posted by: Itinerant Alley Butcher at January 24, 2026 08:48 PM (/lPRQ)

110 109 Hell in the Pacific directed by John Boorman.
Posted by: TJM's phone

+++

Is that the one with two actors, one American, one Japanese, stranded on a small Palau island dueling each other?
Posted by: Itinerant Alley Butcher at January 24, 2026 08:48 PM (/lPRQ)

===

Yup. Lee Marvin and Toshiro Mifune.

Posted by: TJM's phone at January 24, 2026 08:49 PM (GBKbO)

111 Timothy Dalton. He was dreamy in a Lion in Winter. A talented actor. His James Bond films weren't a reflection on his talent.

Posted by: BarelyScaryMary at January 24, 2026 08:50 PM (lpTXP)

112 The Lion in Winter, now that is a scrumptious movie about a truly dysfunctional family.

Posted by: Anna Puma at January 24, 2026 08:50 PM (2GVsD)

113 Imagine what a U-Boot smelled like after many months at sea.
Posted by: By The Beautiful Sea

There's a captured U Boat in a Chicago museum. Science and Technology I think. I toured it and immediately became claustrophobic.

There's also a good book called I think the Battle of the Atlantic all about the back and forth of the Allies and U Boats and convoys. We really never broke their back.

Posted by: Blutarski, Gradually then Suddenly at January 24, 2026 08:51 PM (cxFcK)

114 He was a pretty good villain in the last yellowstone effort

Posted by: Miguel cervantes at January 24, 2026 08:51 PM (bXbFr)

115 Dadgum, just finished tools I don't need (he's a liar), just need a bigger shop.
Well, up to the post, bbl.

Posted by: Braenyard - some Absent Friends are more equal than others _ at January 24, 2026 08:51 PM (v7yZo)

116 Lion in Winter is worth it just for John Barry's score.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at January 24, 2026 08:52 PM (q3u5l)

117 113
'There's also a good book called I think the Battle of the Atlantic all about the back and forth of the Allies and U Boats and convoys. We really never broke their back.'

Are you sure? We won the war.

Posted by: Dr. Claw at January 24, 2026 08:52 PM (fd80v)

118 It's not a movie, but I'm getting a kick out of "Mayor of Kingstown," which I started binge-watching this week. Taylor Sheridan can really crank em out, and this one has far less annoying crazy women than "Yellowstone" and "Landman" do, at least so far.

Posted by: gp at January 24, 2026 08:52 PM (N8ZBc)

119 The Lion in Winter, now that is a scrumptious movie about a truly dysfunctional family.

Posted by: Anna Puma at January 24, 2026 08:50 PM (2GVsD)

it is one of my favorite Christmas movies. Such a brilliant cast.

Posted by: BarelyScaryMary at January 24, 2026 08:52 PM (lpTXP)

120 If there is a cob here, cleanup on the tech thread's last two comments.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Posted by: clarence at January 24, 2026 08:53 PM (jgwdN)

121 Oh the Allies broke the U-boats. Ultra, Huff-Duff, radar, long range bombers, and finally the hunter killer task groups like Guadalcanal did it.

It is hard for a submarine or submarines to hunt a convoy when to surface means almost certain death. And a submarine really needs to surface in order to get ahead of the convoy to ambush it while submerged.

Posted by: Anna Puma at January 24, 2026 08:54 PM (2GVsD)

122 Are you sure? We won the war.
Posted by: Dr. Claw

Allies would try an innovation that proved fruitful. Then some new technology would give the U Boats the edge. Back and forth. They bugged us until the end of the war, but point taken. They lost.

Posted by: Blutarski, Gradually then Suddenly at January 24, 2026 08:55 PM (cxFcK)

123 Don't know if anybody thought it was a great war movie, but I liked "Fury" a lot.

Posted by: gp at January 24, 2026 08:56 PM (N8ZBc)

124 A friend of mine saw "Air Force One" in the theater. He told me afterward "I didn't know that plane has a pod that the President can escape on."

I had to sadly inform him that sometimes films take liberties with things.

Posted by: Crusader at January 24, 2026 08:56 PM (Cjcf6)

125 Oh the Allies broke the U-boats. Ultra, Huff-Duff, radar, long range bombers, and finally the hunter killer task groups like Guadalcanal did it.

I think it was the Guadalcanal that captured the Chicago U Boat. It was light carrier if I remember.

Posted by: Blutarski, Gradually then Suddenly at January 24, 2026 08:57 PM (cxFcK)

126 I had to sadly inform him that sometimes films take liberties with things.
Posted by: Crusader

Like the notion that Harrison Ford can actually fly a plane properly?

Posted by: gKWVE at January 24, 2026 08:58 PM (gKWVE)

127 Sure, the Prez has an escape pod. I saw it in Escape from New York. Don't tell me the movie lied...

Posted by: Just Some Guy at January 24, 2026 08:58 PM (q3u5l)

128 That was a line in the debut episode of ncis

Posted by: Miguel cervantes at January 24, 2026 08:59 PM (bXbFr)

129 For a truly remarkable peek inside a Kriegsmarine U-boat, find a copy of U-Boat War Patrol - The Hidden Photographic Diary of U 564. Published in 2004 and written by Lawrence Patterson.

In the heady days of 1942, U-564 went on a war patrol with a photographer aboard.

Posted by: Anna Puma at January 24, 2026 08:59 PM (2GVsD)

130 "Sure, the Prez has an escape pod."

Even if not, they can get POTUS out using the "Executive Decision" (1996) extraction technique.

Posted by: gp at January 24, 2026 09:00 PM (N8ZBc)

131
Funniest bit, the story is based on a movie.

Hell in the Pacific directed by John Boorman.
Posted by: TJM's phone

I've never seen that one. Did the Jap disrespect Mickey Mouse?

Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr. at January 24, 2026 09:00 PM (pkeXY)

132 USS Guadalcanal did capture U-505. And it was the escort carrier's skipper, Admiral Gallery, who saved the U-boat from scrapping.

Posted by: Anna Puma at January 24, 2026 09:01 PM (2GVsD)

133 That could happen (sarc(

Posted by: Miguel cervantes at January 24, 2026 09:01 PM (bXbFr)

134 "Sure, the Prez has an escape pod."

Bane could yank him out of AF1, no sweat.

Posted by: gp at January 24, 2026 09:02 PM (N8ZBc)

135 Have read the British captured a UBoat first

Posted by: Skip at January 24, 2026 09:03 PM (Ia/+0)

136 I liked Troy a lot. I did want Paris to die early though. Was he that punchable in the Iliad ?

Posted by: Opinion fact at January 24, 2026 09:03 PM (KDPiq)

137 130,

Can they still use the Executive Decision extraction technique? Aren't they fresh out of Steven Seagals?

Posted by: Just Some Guy at January 24, 2026 09:03 PM (q3u5l)

138 Hell in the Pacific, free on YouTube...

https://tinyurl.com/3p36ya7h

Posted by: davidt at January 24, 2026 09:03 PM (Q+gd/)

139 USS Guadalcanal did capture U-505. And it was the escort carrier's skipper, Admiral Gallery, who saved the U-boat from scrapping.
Posted by: Anna Puma

During my tour, they pointed out where the Germans were trying to scuttle the boat, but were thwarted by the American boarding party. If you ever get to Chicago I highly recommend it. The U Boat was enourmous.

Posted by: Blutarski, Gradually then Suddenly at January 24, 2026 09:03 PM (cxFcK)

140 130 Seagal's still on call, but he won't fit thru the tube anymore.

Posted by: gp at January 24, 2026 09:04 PM (N8ZBc)

141 Have read the British captured a UBoat first

Was rechristened as HMS Graph

Posted by: Anna Puma at January 24, 2026 09:04 PM (2GVsD)

142 Das Boot was one of my father's favorite movies.

Also Paint Your Wagon so I never got a handle on what he liked.

Posted by: Opinion fact at January 24, 2026 09:06 PM (KDPiq)

143 Then Seagal can't even take the Oliver Platt part for the extraction op? That'll complicate things...

Posted by: Just Some Guy at January 24, 2026 09:07 PM (q3u5l)

144 For a U-boat, U-505 was the larger Type IXc version. Submarine would displace roughly 1,120 tons.

In comparison, a US Gato fleet submarine displaced 1,525 tons.

Posted by: Anna Puma at January 24, 2026 09:09 PM (2GVsD)

145 142 Also Paint Your Wagon so I never got a handle on what he liked.

Posted by: Opinion fact at January 24, 2026 09:06 PM (KDPiq)

====

My dad also loves Paint Your Wagon.

I do not understand.

Posted by: TJM's phone at January 24, 2026 09:09 PM (GBKbO)

146 The next time they decide to do a celebrity fight thingy, they should ask Steven Seagal if he'd fight Joe Rogan. I'd love to watch that.

Posted by: Crusader at January 24, 2026 09:09 PM (Cjcf6)

147 I just watched Death Hunt again with Lee Marvin and Charles Bronson. Holds up well.

Posted by: Opinion fact at January 24, 2026 09:10 PM (KDPiq)

148 And speaking of U Boats, one of my recent favorite films is Greyhound with Tom Hanks (I know, I know) as the skipper of an American destroyer on convoy duty in the North Atlantic. It's not just one of my favorite war films, it's one of the best films of any genre in the last 20 year. In my opinion. It's rewatchable. Based on the Good Shepherd.

Posted by: Blutarski, Gradually then Suddenly at January 24, 2026 09:10 PM (cxFcK)

149 I was never able to sit thru 5 minutes of Paint Your Wagon.

Posted by: Crusader at January 24, 2026 09:10 PM (Cjcf6)

150 I'll give "Greyhound" a thumbs up.

Posted by: gp at January 24, 2026 09:12 PM (N8ZBc)

151
Also Paint Your Wagon so I never got a handle on what he liked.
Posted by: Opinion fact
====
My dad also loves Paint Your Wagon.
I do not understand.
Posted by: TJM's phone
---------
What isn't to understand? Singing in the rain, unrequieted love, gold, religion. Chack out the trailer!!!!!
https://youtu.be/X5kq12xf1Uk?si=EwFpS0NK_A37MNwa

Posted by: BifBewalski- at January 24, 2026 09:12 PM (QVmho)

152 Air Force One had a young Gary Oldman as an evil Russian? Yum.

Posted by: BarelyScaryMary at January 24, 2026 09:12 PM (lpTXP)

153 You mean never ending Limahl

I always Limahl was a broad.

Posted by: Old Fart Who Knows The Mystery at January 24, 2026 09:13 PM (R/m4+)

154 I'm watching "Versus." I would be shocked if this wasn't an inspiration for the "Samurai Jack" cartoon, only much, much gorier.

Posted by: BeckoningChasm at January 24, 2026 09:13 PM (CHHv1)

155
I was watching "Under the Silver Lake" again last night on Netflix.

I don't want to oversell the movie, but I really enjoy it. It's a modern film noir as written by Thomas Pynchon and David Lynch with Kafka peeking in to say "Howdy!".

The story involves a young guy bumming around LA that becomes interested in a hawt girl who suddenly disappears and in trying to find her falls into a dark world of conspiracy.

The writer director is the same guy who did "It Follows".

Check it out.

Posted by: naturalfake at January 24, 2026 09:13 PM (iJfKG)

156 Don't know how many of the Horde buy Amazon Prime video streamers, but at the moment Twilight (1998, with Paul Newman, Gene Hackman, Susan Sarandon, Stockard Channing, & James Garner -- NOT the sparkly vampire flick) is on sale for 4.99 or rent for two bucks.

It's a nice quiet private eye flick from Robert Benton & Richard Russo. The cast is terrific, with James Garner effortlessly stealing every scene he's in. Worth a look if you haven't already seen it.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at January 24, 2026 09:13 PM (q3u5l)

157 155
I was watching "Under the Silver Lake" again last night on Netflix.

I don't want to oversell the movie, but I really enjoy it. It's a modern film noir as written by Thomas Pynchon and David Lynch with Kafka peeking in to say "Howdy!".

The story involves a young guy bumming around LA that becomes interested in a hawt girl who suddenly disappears and in trying to find her falls into a dark world of conspiracy.

The writer director is the same guy who did "It Follows".

Check it out.
Posted by: naturalfake at January 24, 2026 09:13 PM (iJfKG)

====

I also enjoy it!

Haven't seen it in forever, but it's quite fascinating.

Posted by: TJM's phone at January 24, 2026 09:15 PM (GBKbO)

158 Via GP:

The parents of Alex Jeffrey Pretti, the 37-year-old shot by federal agents in Minneapolis on Saturday, had urged him to “not do anything stupid” while protesting.

Posted by: Crusader at January 24, 2026 09:16 PM (Cjcf6)

159 Yet to see Greyhound, and not because of Tom Hanks

Posted by: Skip at January 24, 2026 09:16 PM (Ia/+0)

160 Limahl was Kajagoogoo. Lame and gay.

Posted by: BarelyScaryMary at January 24, 2026 09:17 PM (lpTXP)

161 Watched To Live and Die in LA last night. Doesn't hold up IMO. I found out the blonde chick in that movie died of early onset Alzheimer's in her 50's.

Posted by: Opinion fact at January 24, 2026 09:19 PM (KDPiq)

162 I always Limahl was a broad.
Posted by: Old Fart Who Knows The Mystery

He was if you wanted him to be.

Posted by: gKWVE at January 24, 2026 09:19 PM (gKWVE)

163 Jonathan Turley
@JonathanTurley
...Walz just said "quit referring to these people as law enforcement."

Posted by: Crusader at January 24, 2026 09:21 PM (Cjcf6)

164 Bassists I respect say that the bassist for Kajagoogoo was brilliant, but I have not bothered to check.

Posted by: gp at January 24, 2026 09:22 PM (N8ZBc)

165 No snow here yet, would be a hoot if this storm was a bust
Have a good night everyone

Posted by: Skip at January 24, 2026 09:24 PM (Ia/+0)

166 That hissing sound is coming from outside again, it’s ice drifting down.

Posted by: Tom Servo at January 24, 2026 09:25 PM (IUuBi)

167 Kajagogoo was connected to Duran Duran. Duran went all in on anti-ICE. They can all get fucked with a sideways pineapple.

Posted by: BarelyScaryMary at January 24, 2026 09:26 PM (lpTXP)

168 ****The Perfect Storm was a mild financial success considering ...
--

The audience, before entering the theater, knew how it would end.
They could have named it, Titanic II. And O My Gosh, keep the girls away from Clooney.

Posted by: Braenyard - some Absent Friends are more equal than others _ at January 24, 2026 09:27 PM (v7yZo)

169 Kajagogoo was connected to Duran Duran. Duran went all in on anti-ICE. They can all get fucked with a sideways pineapple.
---

Meanwhile THEIR country is being given away to Islamaniacs.

Posted by: Crusader at January 24, 2026 09:27 PM (Cjcf6)

170 Believe the decision to not scuttle the U-boat, but tow it back to the US, went all the way up to Adm. King. Reason? Date. June 4, 1944. Concern that if Germany knew intact U-boat (along with Enigma materials) had been captured intact, they might change code settings, which would be inconvenient. Possibility other U-boat might see U-505 under tow.

Also recall 2 (3?) sailors who rushed aboard and disarmed scuttling charges (forget all details) were awarded Navy Cross for this action.

Posted by: rhomboid at January 24, 2026 09:27 PM (U/Byj)

171 112 The Lion in Winter, now that is a scrumptious movie about a truly dysfunctional family.
Posted by: Anna Puma
---

Hot damn !

Posted by: Braenyard - some Absent Friends are more equal than others _ at January 24, 2026 09:28 PM (v7yZo)

172 I've come to the conclusion that if the late great Bill Paxton is in a movie, it's likely to be pretty good.

Posted by: MichiCanuck at January 24, 2026 09:28 PM (jqHAs)

173 Do you think anyone has ever elbowed Chuck and said "Hey...you do understand you're the King, right?"

Posted by: Crusader at January 24, 2026 09:30 PM (Cjcf6)

174 My dad also loves Paint Your Wagon.

I do not understand.
Posted by: TJM's phone at January 24, 2026 09:09 PM (GBKbO)

I saw paint your wagon on TV when I was 11 years old. I thought it was hilarious.
I saw it again a year or two ago. I tried hard to remember why I had thought it was so funny. It wasn’t anymore.

Posted by: Tom Servo at January 24, 2026 09:30 PM (IUuBi)

175 if the late great Bill Paxton is in a movie, it's likely to be pretty good.
Posted by: MichiCanuck

How about a greasy pork sandwich served in a dirty ashtray.

Posted by: what big brothers are for at January 24, 2026 09:32 PM (gKWVE)

176 That hissing sound is coming from outside again, it’s ice drifting down.

Posted by: Tom Servo at January 24, 2026 09:25 PM (IUuBi)

Obvious fun
https://tinyurl.com/yz8pc5xs

Posted by: BarelyScaryMary at January 24, 2026 09:33 PM (lpTXP)

177 I thought Paxton was terrific in A Simple Plan.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at January 24, 2026 09:34 PM (q3u5l)

178 "I thought Paxton was terrific in A Simple Plan."

Fine cast and story. Recommended.

Posted by: gp at January 24, 2026 09:35 PM (N8ZBc)

179 I realized the two actors that I like most of their movies is Keanu Reeves and Matthew McConaughey.. Not the best actors in the world but they pick great scripts imo.

Posted by: Opinion fact at January 24, 2026 09:36 PM (KDPiq)

180 Were supposed to get catastrophic freezing rain here a few hours ago. So far nothing.

Posted by: garet at January 24, 2026 09:37 PM (JyPkU)

181 16 I dont know why you would remake poseidon specially sans a strong lead like hackman
Posted by: Miguel cervantes
---

or Shelley Winters

Posted by: Braenyard - some Absent Friends are more equal than others _ at January 24, 2026 09:38 PM (v7yZo)

182 Lion in Winter is a Christmas movie.
Seriously!

The entire plot is that it’s just one family spending a Christmas at home together.

The kicker is that every person in it was a real person, and almost all of them individually changed our history in very significant ways.

In a roundabout way, that family is why England has a Parliament, and why we have a Congress.

Posted by: Tom Servo at January 24, 2026 09:38 PM (IUuBi)

183 Bill Paxton. It would not have been Weird Science without him.

Posted by: BarelyScaryMary at January 24, 2026 09:38 PM (lpTXP)

184 Bill Paxton. It would not have been Weird Science without him.

Weird Science is very, very under rated.

Posted by: Crusader at January 24, 2026 09:40 PM (Cjcf6)

185 >> Were supposed to get catastrophic freezing rain here a few hours ago. So far nothing.

Keep your fingers crossed.

Posted by: publius, Rascally Mr. Miley (w6EFb) at January 24, 2026 09:40 PM (w6EFb)

186
Tinto Brass

Posted by: Braenyard - some Absent Friends are more equal than others _ at January 24, 2026 09:41 PM (v7yZo)

187 Its completely stupid that any car company would advertise, much less offer, hands-free driving in the year 2026.

Posted by: Crusader at January 24, 2026 09:42 PM (Cjcf6)

188 I've come to the conclusion that if the late great Bill Paxton is in a movie, it's likely to be pretty good.
Posted by: MichiCanuck at January 24, 2026 09:28

He was a good actor, sad he died during heart surgery. I think the family sued later, anyone know more?

Interesting note: He was my BIL's 2nd cousin. Stopped by to visit his grt aunt, Dave's grandma, on his way to CA. This was when Dave met him, it was Casper Mt, WY.

Posted by: Farmer, with his own historic take at January 24, 2026 09:44 PM (55Qr6)

189 Keep your fingers crossed.
Posted by: publius, Rascally Mr. Miley (w6EFb) at January 24, 2026 09:40 PM (w6EFb)

Yeah, I'm hoping this is another one of those panic deals that will end in a whimper.

Posted by: garet at January 24, 2026 09:45 PM (JyPkU)

190
I dont know why you would remake poseidon specially sans a strong lead like hackman
Posted by: Miguel cervantes
---

or Shelley Winters

Posted by: Braenyard - some Absent Friends are more equal than others

There's got to be a movie after.

Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr. at January 24, 2026 09:47 PM (pkeXY)

191 Speaking of Paxton, some channel on Roku is running Tombstone and it's just getting started.

Some actors seem to get better with age. Paul Newman, Robert Redford and I'd add Brad Pitt and Kurt Russel.

Posted by: Blutarski, Gradually then Suddenly at January 24, 2026 09:47 PM (cxFcK)

192 Were supposed to get catastrophic freezing rain here a few hours ago. So far nothing.

Keep your fingers crossed.

Posted by: publius, Rascally Mr. Miley (w6EFb) at January 24, 2026 09:40 PM

Fingers crossed. My elderly parents are in upstate SC. They've promised not to go out....

Posted by: BarelyScaryMary at January 24, 2026 09:48 PM (lpTXP)

193 Edge Of Tomorrow
Tip Of The Knife
Crack Of My

Posted by: gKWVE at January 24, 2026 09:48 PM (gKWVE)

194 I’m resigned to the bitter cold, but if we don’t get much more precip this won’t be too bad.

I heard a forecast that Baton Rouge could get 12 inches of snow, apparently when this cold air hits a bunch of gulf moisture.

Posted by: Tom Servo at January 24, 2026 09:48 PM (IUuBi)

195 Bill Paxton. It would not have been Weird Science without him.

Weird Science is very, very under rated.

And Kelly LeBrock at her very hottest!

Posted by: NCDave at January 24, 2026 09:49 PM (mAiNO)

196 There's got to be a movie after.
Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr. at January 24, 2026 09:47 PM (pkeXY)

I don’t know if you should be congratulated or slapped.

Posted by: Tom Servo at January 24, 2026 09:50 PM (IUuBi)

197 On an X post Kari Lake just called John Kasich a "pussy".

That is all.

Posted by: Blutarski, Gradually then Suddenly at January 24, 2026 09:51 PM (cxFcK)

198 "Some actors seem to get better with age. Paul Newman, Robert Redford and I'd add Brad Pitt and Kurt Russel."

Russell is doing his best work ever the past ten years. Pitt will always be good.

Posted by: gp at January 24, 2026 09:51 PM (N8ZBc)

199 Congrats to Russell and Goldie Hawn on a long and apparently happy marriage.

Posted by: gp at January 24, 2026 09:53 PM (N8ZBc)

200 I never thought Brad Pitt was hot, but he's a good actor. He's like Tom Cruise, who is also not hot, but makes enjoyable films.

Posted by: BarelyScaryMary at January 24, 2026 09:55 PM (lpTXP)

201 >> My elderly parents are in upstate SC. They've promised not to go out....

Good. And I pray they are set for heating and water needs if the power goes out for a few days?

Posted by: publius, Rascally Mr. Miley (w6EFb) at January 24, 2026 09:55 PM (w6EFb)

202 Apparently Kurt Russell was the unofficial Director of Tombstone--he took over when the hired director wasn't really making any headway with the project.

Posted by: Crusader at January 24, 2026 09:56 PM (Cjcf6)

203
Thank you for the movie thread, TJM.

Posted by: BifBewalski- at January 24, 2026 09:57 PM (QVmho)

204 Fookin Rooskies will show the full movie. EueToob will tell you it's the full movie. They lie.

Posted by: Braenyard - some Absent Friends are more equal than others _ at January 24, 2026 09:57 PM (v7yZo)

205 Tombstone features a fat Billy Bob Thornton.

Posted by: Blutarski, Gradually then Suddenly at January 24, 2026 09:57 PM (cxFcK)

206 203 Concur!

Posted by: gp at January 24, 2026 09:58 PM (N8ZBc)

207
So far, the "future radar" thingy a local station does (WYFF) and Wundermap (this is a short term model in the sense of an extrapolation of current conditions) has the nasty stuff getting here just in the next 10 minute frame or so, but so far the real thing doesn't show up. Radar is clean overhead.

The cold air damming is preceding as forecast, getting a bit breezy and temps steadily dropping, currently 28F here. Surface air is still dry, dew point 17F.

Posted by: publius, Rascally Mr. Miley (w6EFb) at January 24, 2026 09:58 PM (w6EFb)

208 Dana Delaney.

Posted by: davidt at January 24, 2026 09:58 PM (Q+gd/)

209
*Proceeding* not preceding.... sheesh.

Posted by: publius, Rascally Mr. Miley (w6EFb) at January 24, 2026 09:59 PM (w6EFb)

210 Tombstone features a fat Billy Bob Thornton.
----

Every time I watch that I'm mildly surprised he took that role.

Posted by: Crusader at January 24, 2026 09:59 PM (Cjcf6)

211 Actors getting better with age --

I mentioned the Robert Benton/Richard Russo flick Twilight. The private eye story from 1998 isn't as intricately plotted as some other movies or novels, but the cast of late-career heavy hitters carries it nicely. Newman, Hackman, Sarandon, and Garner are a lot of fun to watch in this one. Stockard Channing, Liev Schreiber, and Reese Witherspoon don't do too badly either. YMMV.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at January 24, 2026 10:00 PM (q3u5l)

212 And outta here.

Thanks for the thread,TJM.
Have a good one, gang.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at January 24, 2026 10:01 PM (q3u5l)

213 Bill Paxton was real good in True Lies.

Posted by: DJ Jazzy Mel at January 24, 2026 10:02 PM (ZTJjv)

214 Good. And I pray they are set for heating and water needs if the power goes out for a few days?

Posted by: publius, Rascally Mr. Miley (w6EFb) at January 24, 2026 09:55 PM (w6EFb)

They have plenty of emergency food. I have checked their stash. They have a fireplace and firewood. If worse comes to worse, they have plenty of community help. The local VFD would be there ASAP because they love my folks.
live in TX not so close, but know they are covered in help til i could get there .

Posted by: BarelyScaryMary at January 24, 2026 10:05 PM (lpTXP)

215 Nood ont

Posted by: From about That Time at January 24, 2026 10:06 PM (sl73Y)

216 I liked In the Line of Fire because Eastwood (and Malkovich) but also because the company I work for provided some material for the special effects, and it briefly shows up on screen!

Posted by: NCDave at January 24, 2026 10:09 PM (mAiNO)

217 memory serves, the novella upon which 'Enemy Mine' is based ran in Analog magazine back in the early 80s. I remember reading it, and thought it was a wonderful story. Of course, Hollywood can screw anything up, and hiring a known loon like Loncraine to direct was chicken-fried death...
Posted by: Brewingfrog at January 24, 2026 08:31 PM (fFq6c)

Enemy Mine was first a novella in Asimov's magazine, and then a full novel by Barry Longyear, who also wrote the Circus World series, and a Prometheus award novel. He died last year

Supposedly the studio suits reviewing the project asked "where is the mine in the story" and wouldn't let go of the idea, so they had one scene in a mine.
The movie is just a section of the novella, the rest of it has to do with the human's return to Earth and not fitting in there.

Posted by: Kindltot at January 24, 2026 10:16 PM (rbvCR)

218 There is a movie out now, probably not out for long, called "Two Sleepy People". It's pretty good, consider going to catch it in theaters if you're looking for a movie to watch at a theater.

Posted by: Eric in Atlanta at January 24, 2026 10:16 PM (taLvw)

219 "Bombshell" actresses that didn't do it for me.

Julia Roberts
Geena Davis
Andie McDowell

Posted by: garet at January 24, 2026 10:17 PM (JyPkU)

Processing 0.04, elapsed 0.0404 seconds.
14 queries taking 0.0116 seconds, 227 records returned.
Page size 128 kb.
Powered by Minx 0.8 beta.