[SilverEars]

The Dissident - 10/10

(Currently on Amazon Prime)

More people should watch this one. It's not just about the murder of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi, but so much more than that.
It's worth watching if you care about freedom of speech, internet surveillance, privacy and government censorship.
Did you know what in some countries there are government run troll farms that try to counter government criticism?
Basically if you speak out there are ways to silence what you have to say to make you too scared to speak out.

What makes me angry is that the people who murdered Jamal have not been charged with any crimes at all.
There is evidence who did it and yet even the USA doesn't seem to want to sanction them or speak out against it much officially.
I guess my country would lose out of billions of dollars in investments inside the USA.

I'm also starting to now realize that in some countries where journalists are at risk of death a secure and encrypted internet seems so important.
I notice now that a lot of people in Europe (like Russia) use Telegram and similar services like TOR etc.
They could ban Twitter and Facebook through government firewalls, but I imagine with Telegram it's impossible or a lot harder.
It's crazy how some governments now want to try to ban such things like Encryption, VPNs etc.

BTW guess who hacked Jeff Bezos' phone? I thought there was no way it could have been true, but apparently it was. Crazy.
I guess it was through a software called Pegasus from a company called NSO. Someone had leaked a database of what countries had purchased the software. 180 journalists were also targeted using the software (!). There was even one who was targeted due to him investigating war crimes in Yemen.

Also, the director's previous documentary is also amazing and a must see. It's on Netflix and called "Icarus".
It starts out a little slow, but the last half is the best by far.

Yeah, Icarus was great. One of the greatest doc that I've seen. May check this one out.

Restless 2022 Netflix france




a remake of a Korean film, a hard day, this French English dub version starts out frenetically making one smirk in its sheer audacity. Not a bad flick but even in its tight format, a little tone adjustment might be needed. 3 and a half puffs out of 5.

I recommend the Korean version. I'm sure it's much much better than whatever abomination this film is.

 

[T400]

The Martha Mitchell Effect

A short, but interesting documentary about Mitchell and Watergate. Think much has changed in 50 years? Think again.

 

[dougms3]

The Man From Toronto (8/10)

Can't go wrong with Kevin Hart. Just a good old fun action comedy.

The Boys Season 3 (9/10)

First 2 seasons were pretty good but they have really amped it up this season. Its really holding nothing back, don't want to spoil it for anyone but its one of the goriest super hero adaptations.

 

[T400]

Chernobyl: The Lost Tapes
https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/22/entertainment/chernobyl-the-lost-tapes-review/index.html
Horrifying, but fascinating. The HBO miniseries is also worth watching.

 

[SilverEars]

The Man From Toronto (8/10)

Can't go wrong with Kevin Hart. Just a good old fun action comedy.

The Boys Season 3 (9/10)

First 2 seasons were pretty good but they have really amped it up this season. Its really holding nothing back, don't want to spoil it for anyone but its one of the goriest super hero adaptations.

I luv Kevin Hart. One of the funniest dudes out there, but quality of his movies are questionable. I like his standups, and his interviews are usually hilarious because he got so many funny personal stories.



Netflix as a brand doesn't have good reputation that I rarely see a Netflix original content. Squid Game was good, but what else is there?

The Boys Season 1 got my interest up. Seemed very original superhero show, but 2 wasn't as interesting as hoped. Never finished 2.

 

[Whazzzup]

Godzilla versus Kong 2021 apple movies.



yes yes yes, bring me back to childhood except with great cgi. 4 puffs out of 5.

 

[dougms3]

IMDB Link

The Dancing Boys of Afghanistan

Hard to give this documentary a rating. But I'd say it rates a 10 for awareness and info that every American should know.

Bacha Bazi - A custom in Afghanistan involving child sexual abuse by older men of young adolescent males or boys, called dancing boys, often involving sexual slavery and child prostitution.

In 2011, an Afghan mother in the Konduz province reported that her 12-year-old son had been chained to a bed and raped for two weeks by an Afghan Local Police (ALP) commander named Abdul Rahman. When confronted, Rahman laughed and confessed. He was subsequently severely beaten by two U.S. Special Forces soldiers and thrown off the base.

Apparently, this is a centuries old tradition that was, "One of the original factors mobilizing the rise of the Taliban was their opposition to the practice". The Taliban banned this practice with the penalty of death but ironically, usually only for the victim. When US soldiers in Afghanistan reported these occurrences, they were told not to interfere in the local culture.

The offenders were always men in important positions, such as businessman and police. There are even reports of Afghan security forces personnel (US trained Afghan Military) refusing posts that did not have a bacha bazi stationed at the post.

This was practiced by many of the Mujahideen "freedom fighters" that the US provided billions of dollars worth of aid to in the form of weapons and political support in the 80s to fight the Russian subjugation, an effort led largely by Congressman Charlie Wilson. 20 years later, the Mujahideen would save these weapons to fight the next foreign infidel that tried to invade, I'll give you a hint who that was, not Russia. Oh the irony...thanks Bush.

Absolutely sickening, I cannot believe I did know know about this.

 

[Whazzzup]

Extinction 2018 Netflix



my favorite part is the throaty sound effects of alien bombs going off. As cool as some of the effects and thrills, it’s like a tv pilot that didn’t make it. It wanted too… 3.5 puffs for the twist.

 

[Regan]

Watched Dr Strange finally. I don't have enough time for movies lately. That's why I haven't watched many popular ones. I've even recently contacted https://fox-nation.pissedconsumer.com/customer-service.html to cancel my subscription cause I don't use fox currently at all.

 

[tdockweiler]

180° South - 5/10

Possibly one of the worst documentaries i've seen about long term world travel and mountain climbing.
One of the first movies since Fight Club that caused me physical pain. Yes, really.
What made this 10x worse is the extremely excessive use of terrible songs in the film.
I swear that they couldn't go 5 minutes without one coming up. Felt like I was watching a music video.
I'm all for conservation and saving the planet, but this movie wanted to beat me over the head with it's views.
Felt like that was half of the movie and I probably sound heartless, but there is a better way to do this.
Unrelated note: The worst documentary i've ever seen is Spaceship Earth. Good luck finishing that one without falling asleep.

Arctic Son: Fulfilling the Dream - 8/10

A couple travel to the middle of nowhere in Alaska by canoe and live off the land there all alone in the 90s.
Most likely they were hundreds of miles away from any city.
One would need a lot of skill to be able to pull this off. I'd probably freeze to death on my first night.
They took enough food for 30 days I think but eventually had to hunt and fish.
This is mostly likely a very low budget documentary, but I really enjoyed it.
Apparently there is 2 sequels.
Note: Free on Prime.

The Walking Dead: Season 4 - 10/10

This is my third favorite season behind 6 and 2. Love the Hershel episode.
Strangely this one is a Netflix exclusive unless you buy it. All the rest are on AMC+
BTW this also has one of the saddest deaths too. I'm still shocked by it every time I see it (I always look away).

The Walking Dead: Season 5 - 8/10

This season has the most episodes of any that I completely skip.
The hospital episode is just kind of pointless and doesn't do much to advance the story-line.
Plus it also contains one of my least favorite episodes called "What's Happening and What's Going on" (I skip it).
The first half of the season is a complete slog, but when they get to Alexandria it gets really really good.
I don't know why, but Rick getting decked by Michonne is one of my most satisfying moments in the show
I actually don't enjoy watching this season that much.
The episodes where they're all alone on the road with ZERO food is one of the most depressing episodes ever for me.
It's really important to the story though. This season just focuses too much on character deaths.
Killing off 3 important characters within 4 episodes is a bit too much!
Season 6 is one of my favorites by far, but I then feel like this series is not worth continuing until Season 9.
BTW the first episode of this is one where I felt that the violence had gone a little too far (the trough scene).
LOL I did a personal boycott of the show for nearly 2 years due to Season 7 episode 1. Yes, it bothered me that much.
Negan is the worst thing to ever happen to the Walking Dead series. Crazy how someone so demented became such a fan favorite and a series regular.

BTW Loving Season 11!! They should never cancel this show but they are..

 

[dougms3]

Who recommended "The Old Man" ?

This show is great. Jeff Bridges is such a great actor.

Although the story is more than a little out there but still entertaining nonetheless.

 

[SilverEars]

Season 3 is released! I'll binge once all the episodes are released.

 

[tdockweiler]

Ted K - 6/10

This is a recent release starring Sharlto Copley from District 9 (one of the best sci-fi movies ever made).
This one is about the Unabomber, but mostly focuses on his time living in a 10x12 foot shack and planning his attacks.
There's no scenes with FBI agents trying to hunt him down etc.
The movie is pretty low-key and it's fairly slow. By the end my reaction was like "That's it?!".
The mini-series is a must see IMO. Watch that instead.

Silk Road (2021) - 8/10

I really enjoyed this from start to finish. It's about how they caught the guy that ran The Silk Road.
That was a store online that sold illegal drugs over TOR using Bitcoin.
What really surprised me is that most of what was in the movie was true as far as I know. Even looked it up afterwards. Couldn't believe it.
I thought his life sentence was a bit harsh until I read his old chat logs posted on Wired magazine's website.
Supposedly he tried to get people killed, but who knows what to believe.

The Walking Dead: Season 6 - 10/10

I'm now thinking that after a dozen of more viewings of seasons 1-6, this is now my #1 favorite. Finally passing Season 2!
This season is so fast paced and each episode usually leaves you hanging and wanting to know what happens next.
As you may know, Rick and his group are now behind walls in a community called "Alexandria".
They now need to live like normal people, but this is a mistake and they can't get comfortable and put down their guard.
The people that are in charge of the place are pretty much clueless about how bad things are outside the walls.
They don't even train their people to use guns and have armed guards at all times.
This is the apocalypse remember, with zombies and bad people everywhere that want to take what they have.
Plus this has one of the best TV show episodes ever made, it's "No Way Out".
I think this is my pick for the #1 best episode.

Unrelated note...anyone like Handmaid's Tale?
My god, it's so depressing and never let's up. Makes the Walking Dead world look like fun.
I only just now finished Season 1 episode 3 and I'm not impressed.
Yes, it creates a pretty scary depiction of the future, but I just don't think the series is that good (so far).
I don't even know if it's worth sticking with.
I've read Season 2 is even harder to watch and even gory.
I don't feel like inflicting pain on myself when I watch TV.
I guess i'm abnormal, but The Walking Dead is NOT like that. Not even close!
It's a survival show and you feel like there is still hope for their future to be better.

 

[Whazzzup]

Black summer season 2 net flix



I had forgotten I watched season 1 so popped on season 2. Well my brothers from another mother, this is one binge worthy, slide into eacother, multiple arc, zombie fest of the highest order. The zombies are fast, relentless, and hard to kill. This makes them primarily avoidable, no samurai sword zombie kills in this one. humans can’t be trusted, everyones on the verge of becoming a zombie. Have fun 4.5 puffs out of 5

 

[T400]

Dark Winds on AMC is terrific!