Octopus

Murder is a trigger word. How about HurtHawk Monster?

Very fun match from a few years ago. Solar & Black Terry vs Negro Casas and Blue Panther.

Thanks @Matt D! I have seen the hour long Hennig match along with one Jumbo Tsuruta match. The rest is all new to me and I’ll leave a review here. Out of appreciation of the 3 matches here I’m aiming to do 3 more of the French Catch in that other thread. I saw there was another Andre Bollet match and now a Finlay one. The GWE looked fun and too bad I wasn’t around for that. My friends and I do long lists projects of movies and albums culminating over a long night of beer and wings! So I’ve been digging over there and learned a lot. Hopefully if they do it again down the road I could do some posting over there for that. For fun I’ve been doing my own on my phone notes.

As you can tell by the time, I couldn’t sleep so I was browsing around reddit. Chris Hero was doing an AMA and he gave dvdvr and Segunda Caida a shot out.

Bummed I wasn’t here during that. Do you still have your ballot? That would be cool to check out. ——— a few more winners A Separation Probably the best Iranian divorce thrillers I’ve ever seen. Asghar Farhadi is a wonderful filmmaker of edge of your seat, melodramatic tales of interpersonal conflict. She wants to leave with her daughter, he wants to stay taking care of his Alzheimer’s suffering father. Drama ensues. Aferim! Dark Comedy about the Romanian slave trade. I know that sounds insane, and it is.

OR Tank could at least get New Jack tickets to a 3 Count concert.

Dead man’s Letters (Kopushansky, 1986) Thanks to the Committee of Soviet Scientists for Peace Against Nuclear Threat. Woof. This is an intense watch. Post-Nuclear Armageddon, a man is writing letters to his “lost” son and taking care of his sick wife. Of course, this is a depressing watch, so watch carefully. Fun Fact: the director was the assistant director for Andre Tarkovsky’s Stalker. You can find this on YouTube with closed captioning subtitles. Edit: posted link. If it’s against a rule to post YouTube links to movies then I’ll edit it out.

HOLY MOTORS is phenomenal. I have that for sure in Top 25 also. Hard to Be a God One of my favorite theater experiences. I think it was in 2015 but it might have been playing in 2016. It was sold out at the Trylon Microcinema, in Minneapolis. I was sitting in a stiff folding chair in the far-front corner. After about 20 minutes of spitting and goop a good deal of people walked out. And there I was in need of a shower and in absolutely icky-sticky awe. I adored how tight everything felt. Going into it I naively was expected very wide shots of beautiful scenery. Little did I know it was going to be filled mainly with moving shots, scanning through very packed/ on top of each other rooms. One of my favorite visual experiences of the past few years. EMBRACE OF THE SERPENT is a film I wanted to see when it came out. Never got around to getting the Oscilloscope dvd. I’m aiming to see it for the project. Thanks for the reminder, @Control.

Dang it! Voted for Mike instead of Dick by accident. I suck.

I’m in agreement with some of you guys here. I like the Brodie gimmick but he needs to snap a little bit more with his angry moments. OR they are pre-taped, so have a good agent there to get them to do multiple takes. I get the concept of not wanting to give notes when your biggest selling point to talent is creative control over their character decisions but you honestly need to find a way to tighten things up. I like Murderhawk. I’ve seen little of his work in NJPW, but him throwing around Marlo was cool. Him + Jake the Snake is a killer combo. Jericho’s dogs are cute. I’m not appalled that they’re doing shows. I understand some of you not liking that and I totally respect your reasoning for it. It’s not exactly social distancing and if you look at that as distasteful, I hear you. I’m maybe naive enough to think they’re testing and working these situations safely. If I’m wrong, then God I’m sorry. Edit: team Popeyes here edit 2: OR Brodie could be more like De Niro and intimidate with angry calmness. Edit 3: I remember my first beer.

Isn’t it crazy how stumbling on a random article can have such an impact on your future taste like that?! For me it was killing time in a mall while my mom and brother were buying pots and pans. I was aimlessly walking through the dvd department of a Barnes & Nobles. I loved movies at this point and my favorites at the time were There Will Be Blood (which brought me to movies being an obsession, more than just a fun thing Jim Carey did) and probably Blue Velvet. Meandering through I notice a section called Criterion that had really cool covers. I awkwardly ask the guy back there for a pen and paper and he gives me a tiny note scrap and a small pencil, maybe the size of a finger tip to knuckle. I flipped each DVD over, read the back, and wrote down the ones that interested me. Bergman, Bunuel, Tarkovsky, Kurosawa, etc. It was like a whole new world opened up. After eating Chinese food I googled each of the titles I wrote down. The endless stream of Wikipedia clicks. There was so much I didn’t know and so much I wanted to discover. All because, like your reading of that article, I was in the right place for me to see something. Your gravitation towards “cool” individuals makes me like to think of you as a mix somewhere between the laidback yet raw-suaveness of a James Dean and the fly presence of Thelonious Monk. Can I sit at your lunch table? I've actually never seen a Preston Sturges film. That time period and style is a big gray area for me. Anything you’d be willing to recommend, I’d appreciate it.

Dewars is good. I’ll have that with meals. Thanks man! I’ve heard the names, any matchups you’d recommend? I’m gonna deep dive some of them. Rollerball Rocco is a badass name. Love me some Misawa and Kawada. Some all time greatest matches with them in it.

I was just listening to The Tree of Forgiveness the other day. Fuck.

CINEMA DERP by OctopusCinema - vol 1 Derp. My goal is to make a few posts of movies I either really enjoyed or ones I’m on the fence about. It will be brief thoughts and not large reviews. If I do reviews or later discuss plot points then I’ll of course put them in spoiler tags. I sometimes do not like the way trailers are cut. They can either have a complete opposite feeling of the film or give away too much of the story. So some of the links are brief scenes. Don’t worry, if it’s a scene it won’t be anything important to the plot and more a moment to feel the atmosphere of the film. Teasers or festival trailers tend to give away less of the plot, so I’m usually in favor of those. I say sometimes because you occasionally can get a very well cut trailer. A mix bellow. I love movies and I love making lists. I’m about to get my Derp on. Derp Begins Turin Horse (Tarr, 2011) (Skip to 1:26 if you want to skip intro text) My #1 of the decade. Any fan of slow cinema and great cinematography will love this. Bela Tarr’s last feature. Beautifully shot in only 30 long takes. I’ll let the clip speak for itself. A good way to describe this film is to think Jeanne Dielman meets 19th century Nihilist potato farmers in the Apocalypse. Carol (Haynes, 2015) I won’t go into the plot too much, so no need for spoilers. Rooney Mara and Cate Blanchett casually develop a relationship, in the 1950’s. Both performances are done with such subtlety. The acting blends together finely with phenomenal cinematography. Carol was shot on Super 16mm which gives the film it's extra grain. Capturing the warmth of a 50's Macy’s ad while still maintaining such an emotionally obtainable look to the characters. From the the toy store Mara's character works at to the delicate lighting on Blanchett's face, Carol was fabulously shot. Cemetery of Splendor (Weerasethakul, 2015) Apichatpong Weerasethakul has a few films I’ll probably nominate. Personally, his 2010 film Uncle Boonmee is higher ranked, but this movie has a special place in my heart. I went to it the day after hearing my mom had cancer (she’s thankfully in remission now, so don’t worry). I was in such a melancholic disbelief. Hung out with the family the whole day. This was playing at the Walker Art Center and I originally wasn’t going to go but it just struck me to see it. What a needed experience. Very meditative Thai film. Several soldiers are struck with a sleeping sickness where they just don’t wake up. They’re transferred to a temporary medical clinic that was a former school. A housewife volunteers to tend to a sleeping soldier with no family. Watching over him, cleaning him, reading to him, a bond is created between them. The rest of the film is just such a magical and touching experience. Faust (Sokurov, 2011) The story of Faust directed by Alexander Sokurov. What more can you want?!?! The beauty of the visuals often shift between a Rembrandt portraiture to a Goya painting of Saturn Devouring His Son. Dreamlike soft candlelit lighting battles occasionally with the semi-distorted images created by movement of anamorphic lenses, just adds to the unease of making a deal with Satan. A very pretty and disturbing film. Camille Claudel, 1915 (Dumont, 2013) This is a bubble film for me. But definitely worth the watch. Famous sculptor, named in the title, is confined to an insane asylum. It appears that she has been sent their for petty reasons and she has to simply wait to be freed by her soon to arrive brother. Hoping to eventually return to her art when she is no longer in confinement. The heart of the film is Camille Claudel, played by Juliette Binoche, spending time and with the other inmates, who are played by handicapped actors. Also the question of whether or not she deserves to be there. Sadness ensues. Derp Over

So do we post thoughts on movies and how to rank here or in the Pimp threads? Does posting there make me a pimp? I’ve been doing this wrong for years!

Yay! I tend to miss out on these polls and see them after the fact. So this will be a good project for me between bashing my head against a wall and drinking. Im the type of nerd that has fun making lists. I have an on going Top 200 All Time List that I’ve been working on. With my friends I do each year, but the bit is I’m never ready to say I’m finished. Still perfecting 2010. Like @Chaos and @Control I have a pretty set top 5. Anything could happen if I find a new winner though.

Nervously stepping out of my usual posting spots. Big movie fan. With all this free time I’ll have I’m aiming to chop away at my watchlist. I used the search function and didn’t see a thread for it, so I apologize if this has been addressed, anyone here want to post their Letterboxd name. I’m DavidTheOctopus and have fun seeing fellow cinema nerds’ tastes and preferred filmmakers. One of my favorite jobs was running the dvd department at a Barnes and Nobles, talking Criterions and sharing recommendations. I made a few good friendships of customers from that, that still talk movies with. Last year I messaged my friends asking who their 3 Film People are. That could be fun here. It can be anyone in Cinema from a director, producer, actor, favorite sound mixer, etc. Only three, that defines you. Fun way to see an individuals preferred taste and narrowing down what they enjoy. edit: hopefully this is the right thread to ramble in.

Good idea! BLINDSPOTS: - Joshi. I watched Jaguar Yokota vs Lioness Asuka. My first full Joshi match and it mesmerizing me. Any recommendations would be appreciated. - British Wrestling past or present. I’ve seen random things here and there but very ignorant to the vast content out there. - FMW. I’ve only seen Onita vs Funk and I looooved it. - 90’s Heavyweight New Japan. @Curt McGirt has been kind enough to send me Hashimoto goodies. That’s the extent of my knowledge of that period Japan, outside of All Japan. - Never seen a Puerto Rico match. INTERESTS: - A month or so ago I’ve been on a El Satanico and Negro Casas binge. - Love me some NOAH championship run Kenta Kobashi - Terry Funk puts a smile on me - I like legendary wrestlers have good matches as old men. - Laphroig or Balvenie Doublewood for scotch. Tito’s Vodka, but I’ve been going with Skaalven recently. Hendricks Gin, but Churchill is cheap and dry and I don’t want to spend the money right now. Disaronno is good for a mix. My dad would keep Evan Williams Whiskey next to the garbage under the sink, so I have a soft spot for it.

Thanks @The Man Known as Dan. I apologize for being late with my review. Crazy week and needed some time. Takeshi Morishima vs Bryan Danielson My match of 07. It’s been a long time since revisited, so I’m very happy this is my pick. Takeshi Morishima is probably the greatest wrestler I’ve seen live (or at least top 3) and Bryan Danielson has become my favorite all time and arguably in top 5 of my off the top GOAT list. What a match up. What a crowd. I miss seeing these pumped up intimate crowds you’d see at these ROH shows. The roar that’s let out when they say Danielson’s name. Dude was an absolute stud. Match starts out, good guy Danielson extends his hand. Honor is in the name of the company, you gotta so respect. Not when you’re a tough guy monster. Not when you’re the mad man Morishima. Big match feel as the bell rings. The classic beginning of circling each other. At this point in time Bryan is looked at as the best Matt wrestler in the world. But how is he going to lock up with big guy here? He starts with targeted strikes to the leg. The announcers do a great job with the real sports feel of proper explanation of the motivations. After a few kicks, Takeshi locks up and pushes him into the corner, but Danielson slips out and kicks his leg again. Stand off. Takeshi gets close enough for a Greco-Roman knuckle-lock and gets Danielson hurting, follows up with a series of clubs to the head and back. Danielson kicks again. This will be the heart of the match; Beast-like Power vs strategic viscousness. After the story is established with a few back and forth moments, we enter the Morishima control segment. With the right seller, Takeshi Morishima swinging his fist around, stomping someone in the corner, and bully shoves around the corner is so fun to watch. Danielson ‘s face as he’s Irish Whipped to the corner shows so much anguish. Selling isn’t just in how your body reacts to moves but how every part of you expresses what’s happening. Danielson not giving up at one point on his back still tries to kick away at Morishima’s legs, to no avail. Takeshi Morishima manhandles him. Now there’s a moment here I need clarity on. They’re on the outside and a running Morishima kicks Bryan in the head. They hype up Danielson grabbing his eye. Was his retina detached or was that a separate memory I have? Or a different eye injury? Either way, Danielson lifts Takeshi over the guardrail and uses that as a moment to jump from the top ropes and shoulder tackle him in the crowd. Again, grabbing his eye afterwards. Now we enter a Danielson control segment. Very few people can use a chairshot to the leg and still look like a face. Control segment looks over when fiery strikes is reversed into a huge Morishima lariat. However a Backdrop driver is revered and we’re entering back and forth swings. Danielson repeatedly goes after the leg, while Morishima has a Target with the eye. But Danielson’s gameplan all along starts to look successful with a leg lock. Morishima eventually powers out. Suplex City. Danielson’s early leg work proves too much and Morishima eventually falls. Bryan Danielson takes advantage and is now targeting the head of the monster. Reminds me of how in video games you’d have to shoot at a certain body part to shoot to open up where you’d actually hurt his hit points. After a German suplex, Danielson goes through all his ROH greatest hits. Elbows to the forehead, Cattle Mutilation, and the classic head stomp that would later damage the almighty Bork Lesnar! Match ends with a backdrop superplex reversed with Morishima’s big Bobby Hill body landing on Bryan’s head. Back Drop Driver ends it all. The monster wins. My favorite match of the year. A few random thoughts: - One thing I always read is that Takeshi Morishima is a charisma-less blob. I don’t see that. He’s a stoic bully. People see someone acting like a bully and they think of smugness and unearned cockiness of a meaty-meaty man. He’s not like that. Morishima’s confident and cerebral. He’s just gonna hurt you because that’s what he does. When he’s pained he’s pained. When he’s exhausted he’s exhausted. - I also hear this as a David vs Goliath mast has. Very fitting, but to be fun I’ll label it as something different. David vs Goliath implies a small no-way he can win challenger taking on a larger conquerer. This isn’t a young David, but King David. Bryan Danielson is the legend to the ROH faithful. Toppling him would legitimize the Champion-beast. I look at the match almost like a Batman vs Bane. ———— edit: @Matt D, I’m excited to get my Bockwinkel on! Hey @supremebve, I’m gonna do some research and hit you up with a match tonight.

Welp, I typed a nice thing but accidentally deleted it. So gonna try and re type this and find the links. ——— Hey @gordi, I was researching a bit of comedy wrestling for you and stumbled across Les Kellett. Trying to find his matches, in the back of my head I knew his name sounded familiar. Of course, after watching on to see if I should send you it I realized why the name came to me so easily. You were already recommended him. D’oh! So I figure I’ll do what @Matt D did for you and give you three links to choose from. We should call it the Gordi Special. 1. Les Kellett vs Leon Arris Good solid family friendly fun. 2. Brock Lesnar vs Ric Flair Not exactly a comedy match, but whenever old man Flair takes on an athletic larger opponent, I smile. Especially when they’re willing to look silly and bump for him. Good. Solid. Family. Friendly. Fun. 3. Vader & Son vs The Matthews Brothers w/ Mr Feeney Because you mentioned Vader. GOOD. SOLID. FAMILY. FRIENDLY. FUN.

The world may be ending but I just had a swell night hanging out with my wife watching Netflix. She’s in bed now and I have YouTube on my tv watching Age of Empires 2 videos and on my 3rd glass of Laphroig. I have wings in the oven. I’ve been in my head for the past few days and out of work, but tonight I’m tipsy and happy with life. Had a headache all day but went away a few hours ago. Appreciate you guys on here that I’ve joked with and talked with recently. I have no wrestling friends outside of a kind indulgence of small talk. Sometimes the little things in life we don’t realize means quite a bit to people without realizing. I’m going to pour my next scotch and add disaronno. Not sure if this post goes here. I’m just happy.

@Matt D, whether you draw me or not would you be able to recommend me a few Nick Bockwinkel matches? If I recall you were the main Bockwinkel guy. I’ve seen his matches with Henning and Jumbo. I’d love to deep dive him.

Watching the Dark Side of the Ring was tough. All the Eddie parts put me in a Black Tiger mood. Here is him vs Jushin Liger.

I am pro Kevin Nash style top on Brodie Lee, in terms of form and shape. The design however was where the issue lies. Maybe white lining around the logo or a different shade of purple would do it justice. I like the idea of a lot of visible chest. Give it a week or two and they’ll pretty it up.

Planet’s Champion! You’re the Forum Champion! Happy belated birthday, @The Natural!