SoberChef

16 hours ago, Greatoneshere said:

 

Yeah there are more films now than ever before - it just takes work finding the good stuff but especially indie, arthouse, and foreign films are crushing it. So many good movies on my lists that I'll never catch up or watch them all. 

 To be fair, that last bit of your point is painstakingly true. Even Edgar Wright, who's an avid physical media collector & has the means in which to expand his personal collection, attempted to watch a new movie a day and only got to about 350ish. Solid still for sure but oh wow, if even HE can't do such a feat, how can the rest of us lowly dogs ever stand a chance?

Also, Edgar needs to put out another movie ASAP!

On 12/30/2023 at 11:58 PM, CastlevaniaNut18 said:

Two episodes to go. Jax found out. Some phenomenal acting by Charlie Hunnam there. I felt that emotion. Juice’s confession, the blank look in his face, but the tears falling. 
 

Great stuff. 

What's wild is that whole scene was shot in a single take. That however, was the SECOND of such takes, as the first was essentially PERFECT from all who've spoken about it, just that the camera wasn't on!

Yet another true great who elevated every piece he happened to be in. I hate that 2023 had to take just one more from us.

Yeah I gotta scope out that Godzilla movie, it just broke a new record as THE highest grossing Japanese film of all time!

It was Chavo as Shiek in that opening in color match! 

I keep hearing nothing but the most positive things about 'Anatomy of a Fall' - nice to see it mentioned yet again.

Another I had forgotten to mention was 'Knock at the Cabin' - definitely one of M. Night's better offerings in the last decade.

18 minutes ago, Biggie said:

 

So is my cock. Would you eat that if they turned it into a sausage and threw it on a plate?

I mean you don't seem to be using it, so if it's properly smoked, cured, seasoned, and presented alongside some lovely accompaniments, may as well right?

Forgot to mention 'Dream Scenario', another I have yet to watch as well.

As for the GotG3 love, I have to agree, there was SO much heart & love in that flick.

That duck's color is exquisite. The neck of any animal has some of THE most tender meat @BiggieGoat for instance, TREMENDOUS!!! Duck is without a doubt, my favorite fowl.

On 12/28/2023 at 9:23 AM, AbsolutSurgen said:

Yes.  Most recently to a Mexican restaurant in downtown TO with a visiting chef.  Not cheap, but worth it on a special night.

Curious to know what the Chef served that night!

Finally end of the year & truly, we have had some insanely well made films invade our collective eyeballs & minds. So may as well talk about what you all came to love this year?

In no particular order, here's mine:

• Beau is Afraid: I truly haven't been able to stop thinking about Ari Aster's latest since seeing it back in April in theaters.
• The Iron Claw: Yet another in which, from the first time I saw the trailer, all the way to now as I write this, not a day has gone by I haven't lovingly & fondly thought of this film.
• Talk to Me: In a year, not quite as great as 2022, where some solid horror films arrived - it's this one that's automatically on my list...that being said however.
• When Evil Lurks: JFC this one sunk into my bones & soul. Forget the phenomenal practical FX and focus on that story - just totally wild! Love international film!!
• John Wick 4: I've had nearly the whole year to really think about this film & the franchise as a whole - earnestly, let John rest. A perfect send off for an original IP.

There are a number of films I have yet to get to which may affect this "top 5" list. Those would be "Dream Scenario", "The Holdovers", & "Poor Things".

7 hours ago, Greatoneshere said:

Physical media is quickly going by the way side, I think we all just need to learn to adapt. I've moved on from physical for a few years now, just don't see the point anymore when it can be prohibitively expensive and hard to get (or can't get at all). It's a shame, but it's the case.

While I very well may be biased in my opinion, it isn't too far a stretch to see that the rise of popularity for vinyl, and to a lesser degree, cassette & V/H/S for niche markets, collecting movies in a physical format won't ever be fully stopped as there will ALWAYS be a wanton need for such a product & there are many distributors catering to that market (which still rakes in billions annually.) Wal-Mart will continue to keep a footprint for these and I wouldn't be surprised to see Target and even to a lesser degree, Best Buy, going back on this "market strategy". Then again, that's just my opinion, I could be wrong.

A little slower paced but more focused on clearing things off the board and honing in towards the end run. It actually flew by and always leaves me wanting that next episode!!

Ep 5 drops today!

Jeff has a link w/ a discount code for Modern Shelving

These are tremendous looking, made out of aluminum, customizable with the site, and hold roughly up to 50 Blu's per row & segment (for his setup that is.)

Just wanted to share for everyone, as we've all been there having & needing to get new shelving for our physical media collections!

So I was watching Chris Stuckman's Top Films of the Year, and this popped up in his top 10. Totally flew under the radar for me but I got chills watching this trailer. It's available on Tubi right now.

From one klutz to another, I'm wicked sorry that happened in such a remarkable fashion. Hope you get it sorted first thing in the AM.

11 hours ago, CitizenVectron said:

That's great that you've found an online support group for your wife on Facebook. Have you considered finding one yourself, as a caregiver? My own situation is different, but with my wife's MS I've definitely found that speaking to others in a similar situation can help shoulder some of the burden.

Appreciate that. Yeah...probably not taking as good care of myself as I SHOULD, but I'm cognizant of the fact that I need to at times & when & where I can, I have reached out to friends, colleagues, even a few in the threads I've posted in the support groups. That's the thing being a caregiver, you just put yourself so far to the back of the bus in lieu of doing anything & everything for that person you love and or are in charge of caring for. It's a delicate balance that more often than not is a losing battle which sucks. 

7 hours ago, Kal-El814 said:

 

Prager U content should be a bannable offense.

 

First of all, as it pertains to Maher... let's not forget this is a guy who needed to be told he shouldn't call himself a, "house n-word." So from jump, the dude is a fucking goober.

 

Secondly and aside from that though, his example of how progressivism has changes is... emoji? A pregnant man emoji? That's the shrapnel he's worried about catching in his imagined cultural war? Eat my ass. Trans men exist. Yes, ha ha ha, pregnant men, very funny and / or impossible depending on what grievance you'd like to hang out to dry, but it doesn't make it any less true. This isn't the WORST kind of boomerism when it comes from people of Maher's ilk, but it's one of the most common. Why? Because it's easy, it's fucking lazy. He gets to get out there and say that back in HIS day the struggle was REAL. The stuff people complained about ACTUALLY mattered. Again, eat my ass. There's always going to be something. ALWAYS. You can ALWAYS point to a marginalized group, a recent cultural victory of theirs, stamp your feet, pout, and say, WHEN'S IT GOING TO BE ENOUGH, and there will ALWAYS be SOMEONE who agrees with you. Roll back the clock and it's, "women got the right to vote, now they want the same job opportunities as men?" Roll it back more and it's, "god these negroes got their freedom now they want to exist in the same social spaces as white people?" Yes, you boob, you haven't changed. THAT'S THE FUCKING PROBLEM. They give away this game every fucking time, with their false concern that gay marriage was going to lead to people marrying their blender, or their performative hand wringing that acknowledging the existence of trans people is going to cause the collapse of society for reasons they cannot articulate.

 

As it pertains to the Prager U content, it fucking blows. It's a confession masquerading as a concern. As it ever was and ever shall be. "Progressives have ranked orders of acceptable minorities." No dog, that's you. "You wouldn't want the government to compel behavior, would you." Bro that's the only reason the government fucking exists to begin with, what the actual fuck are you talking about. "You wouldn't force someone to go against their cherished beliefs to provide service to people." Actually yes I fucking would? The gay wedding cake is always used as an example because reasonable minds may disagree about queer marriage pastry but that falls apart in an instant when you apply that to someone objecting to interracial marriage, or providing healthcare to someone of a different religion, or serving food to someone of a different ethnic background, etc. No doubt someone's deeply held, cherished belief would compel them to not rent to, serve food to, provide medical care to, etc., people from certain cultures. Again, my ass, nom nom nom nom nom. So sorry, hiding your xenophobia behind a bulwark of faith shouldn't count for shit.

 

The whole premise is fucking stupid. Nothing here is encapsulated perfectly aside from people in possession of privilege electing to wield it as a shield or cudgel as it suits them, divorced from context and reason, given the veneer of respectability. It's always a giant fucking red flag when ostensibly serious and concerned white people either quote or channel MLK's "content of their character" perspective, because for them it inevitably means, "we're all going to agree to ignore the advantages of generational wealth, the cost of generational trauma, ongoing structural / institutional inequality, etc., which costs my white ass nothing, keeps you in your place, and allows me to point to exceptions and lament that those are not the rule."

 

It's garbage and it always has been. And yeah, if we could snap our fingers today and have trans people accepted and accommodated... it WOULD be some other group coming up asking when it's going to be their turn. There's no endgame when it comes to this, there's only the notion that some people accept that there's always going to be another nut worth cracking, and some people who draw a line in the sand and say, "I was down with rights for women, black people, and gay people, but an emoji of a pregnant man? OH THEY'VE GONE TOO FAR THIS TIME." And those people should be called out for their fucking nonsense.

To be fair, all I did was share a YouTube video, literally the first I found after entering "Bill Maher the left has changed". Whatever the fuck Prager U is or happens to be or is whatever the fuck you seem to have an issue with it, all not my problem as I had legit no idea who or what that even is. As for your response, thank you for coming through just like I knew someone would in this thread.

Nope still on HBO for 25 years now.

As an avid food culture fan who seemingly can never get enough of those Eater videos, just was wondering if any of you have happened to have been lucky enough to attend a spot in which their menu is presented in such a fashion? See below for an exquisite experience!

The longest I've ever waited at any restaurant was nearly 3 hours for, quite honestly, THE BEST bowl of Ramen I've ever experienced, so totally worth the wait.

Meanwhile, World's End PPV is stacking up to be a hell of a show. Mox v. Kingston alone is worth the buy IMO.

This encapsulates it perfectly.