Swift

Never watched it back in the day, just catching glimpses of here and there. Always struck me as a cosy Sunday evening type show which isn't necessarily a bad thing (That wouldn't have appealed to me as a teenager, but does now). I read one of the books a couple years ago and Lovejoy struck me as a more rogueish, misogynistic type character than I would've expected.

Actually for me, I was a getting a bit tired of Gyllenhaal by the end. Not the character, but just her performance. Favourite side characters? For me, gangsters Rudy and Tommy, and Harvey, the cinephile who has settled for a life as a pornographer.

Quick rundown of stuff I've read since last time I posted... It's a Funny Old Life by Jimmy Greaves - Somewhat of a memoir by footballer turned TV personality, but specifically focusing on the TV years. I picked this up for a $1 thinking I'd get some interesting backstage stories about 80s/90s TV, but it's mostly just a collection of random thoughts he has about TV of the era. Very much "old man shouting at cloud" stuff (didn't care for Julian Clary and bemoans the fact that kids can watch him on TV) Junk. Dubliners by James Joyce - A re-read, and a much better experience this time around some 20 years later. Chatterton by Peter Ackroyd - I really enjoy Ackroyd's psychogeographical approach, but he doesn't always stick the landing. That's the case here unfortunately. Our modern day (well, 1980s) protagonist buys a painting of 18th Century artist Thomas Chatterton and slowly becomes obsessed with it and the idea that maybe Chatterton didn't actually kill himself. The book jumps back and forth from the 80s to Chatterton's final days to the painting being created in the 19th Century, and I loved that stuff, but the mystery kinda peters out by the end. The Mugger by Ed McBain - Just recently got into McBain and enjoy his police procedurals. I love these slim, quick read books for when you're not sure what to read next and have a bunch of McBain of my shelves for that purpose. Red Lights on the Prairies by James H. Gray - Interesting book about prostitution in the prairie provinces during the early settler era. A bit dry though. The Young Detectives by R.J. McGregor - I read a lot of Enid Blyton as a kid, and I was feeling nostalgic recently for that 'kids investigating a mystery by the seaside during the summer holidays' vibe. This had all of those ingredients, including the ubiquitous smuggler's cove and secret tunnels stuff but it was mostly dull. Written for children obviously, and I probably would've loved it as a kid. Maigret meets a milord by Georges Simenon (published under a bunch of different titles over the years) - Like McBain, Simenon churned out a huge amount of 150 page novels, sometimes 3 or 4 a year. I've always wanted to read them and recently found a bunch of Penguins for cheap. This was my first of his and was unfortunately a letdown. Goodreads reviews are mixed on this one, so maybe it's not indicative of the rest of his work. Currently reading Leo Damrosch's biography of Swift. I live for this stuff.

Bumping a bit of an older thread, but I just made my way through it recently, finishing up yesterday. Excellent show that doesn't seem to get talked about a whole lot. A surprisingly sentimental ending too with a character revisiting NY in 2019 and bumping into all of the ghosts in a cleaned up, gentrified Times Square. Loved it. Anyway, Black Frankie for those who might have missed it... Bobby asks him in the final episode what he's going to do next. Frankie mentions a cousin Nathan in the Lexington Terrace projects in Baltimore who needs some help with things. That seemed like a way too specific reference and sure enough it refers to the real life Nathan Barksdale, the basis for Avon Barksdale in The Wire. Of course, Bobby mentions he's gonna go try get his union job back (a sly nod to Frank Sobotka presumably)

I can't for the life of me recall where I read this recently, and it might be bullshit, but apparently the first half of this split season takes place in the BCS timeline, and the second half takes place in the Gene timeline. Again, very well could be BS.

That and recliner seats. Don't know how we ever lived without them.

Still (hesitantly) on board with this. I did think episode 3 was deathly dull and kinda zoned out, but I actually enjoyed this week's episode. I'm a sucker for archaeological dig stuff in movies so enjoyed that stuff, and I'm intrigued by where the final 10 minutes is taking us. The Steven character is grating on me now though. I initially enjoyed him, maybe reveling in Oscar Isaac doing an actually convincing London accent with appropriate phrases thrown in ("oh my days") but yeah, the character is a bit tiresome now.

Back row has always been my preference, but I did have to sit in the middle row recently and it actually wasn't so bad. One of the advantages was that I was the furthest forward so didn't have to see random idiots taking out their phones during the movie. I've been taking advantage of matinee shows lately since theatres fully opened and so there's usually only 10-15 people at most, and like you I don't really want anyone engaging with me, so it was annoying when I went to watch the Wes Anderson movie a few months ago. I was the only person in the theatre, sitting back row in the centre, when another guy comes in and sits in the row in front of me, about two seats to the right. It felt so awkward. Like seriously dude, we're both gonna sit alone in a theatre but far too close to each other for a comedic movie, letting out little chuckles for the next two hours? Thankfully after about 10 minutes of this, some other people started filing in and it then wasn't so bad. Almost as bad as the mythic urinal guys.

I don't really care for either guy, but that joyfulness is awesome.

Is there an equivalent NJPW legend still going for Sting to face off against?

This Letterboxd account surely belongs to someone here - https://letterboxd.com/vincemale/film/porky-the-wrestler/

DP

That one's probably her choice. Alba is the Scots Gaelic word for Scotland.

Apropos of nothing at all, but I didn't realise until today that they're named The Baddies Section because it's TBS.

Just because I watched The Hit last night, followed by watching him being interviewed on Parkinson, Terrence Stamp would be a great fit.

Everything Everywhere All At Once is getting rave reviews on Letterboxd, almost overwhelmingly 5 star reviews, but unfortunately it just didn't appeal to me all that much. Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan both give excellent performances, it's very fun visually (some great costumes and set design) and I liked the overall story of wondering what other paths you may have taken in life and where they would have led you, but it's all let down in my opinion by relentlessly juvenile humour - all annoyed me. I suspect most people here will love it though, and it is a wild and crazy ride, but it just wasn't for me. I'll watch it again when it's available for streaming because I didn't hate it. I want to experience the love people are feeling for it.

That Shafir match was odd. I've never seen her before. Is she always so slow moving? I'm thinking the Cargill match could be a bit of a trainwreck unfortunately.

Your point still stands but cagematch shows him having 27 matches in ROH.

I'd probably hang out on a couple of Aussie shows - Neighbours (for all the fine high school girls) or Pugwall (hanging out in a teen rock band with a very cute lead singer) I'd be a teenager too, just so it's not weird.

Yep, as someone who knows nothing at all about this character or his world, I'm finding the show decently entertaining so far.

Still debating on whether to pick up an album and a couple boxes for the World Cup. Collected as a kid obviously, and then got back into it for the past few World Cups with my son, but he's moved on from that kind of stuff now. On one hand, it's a lot of nostalgic fun for me. On the other, it's a big waste of money. No interest in digital albums. EDIT: Hmm, are people collecting football stickers now as rookie cards? Just had a quick look on ebay and there's an Erling Haaland sticker going for $150 with multiple bids - https://www.ebay.ca/itm/175226436684?hash=item28cc4f3c4c:g:C08AAOSw30liScl6 I never considered that to be a thing with football stickers. Always thought they were pretty much worthless.

I thought this was perfectly fine when I watched it last year, even quite good at times, right up until [the major turning point re: Smith's character] and I thought "well, that's a bit OTT", and then all of the twisty stuff happened and I hated the fucking movie. And yet... the movie has stuck in my head since then as a fun, cheap thriller type and I've actually been tempted to sit down with my wife to watch it just to see her reactions to it.

That Hardys match was sloppy as fuck, and I say that as someone who likes having the Hardys around.

Only the Kidman shot is legit, though not in relation at all to the Rock/Smith moment. The rest of those people weren't even there last night.