I Called In Sick Today

[mrfritz 927]

I started buying sunday ticket and redzone a couple years ago and it is totally worth it (it probably isn't, but I have few vices). A true game changer for the nfl. I like summer well enough but lawn care when it's 9 million degrees outside is a non-starter. I can't tell you how many times I've tried to take an interest in baseball but I can't make it happen. 

[SuitedAces21 2,741]

my brother lives by redzone but i've never watched it. i like to lock in on a game and see it through. but i like listening each sunday to jim nantz and tony romo.  then you have collinsworth on sunday night football, big fan of his too. 

[SuitedAces21 2,741]

 

just waiting for friday when a man can gamble again. 

[mrfritz 927]

Itsa Friday and fritzy has a cold, who gets sick in JULY. No bjj class tonight, I hate missing stuff, I always feel guilty about it. 

[SuitedAces21 2,741]

dont feel bad, we all get sick sometimes. nothing we can but rest up and get back it. summer colds are rough though, but they do happen. i remember one summer, maybe in 2015, i was on a work trip and got sick with a bad cold/flu.  it was so brutal to be a hotel room feeling that way and then have to fly home. just the worst.   

so if you're home in your own bed that is something. 

 

[mrfritz 927]

I hate being sick, I have shit to do.

I'm gonna live vicariously through you this weekend, go to the casino and let me know how it goes.  

[SuitedAces21 2,741]

i went last night and won at the astonishing rate of 1.1 bbs per hour. i won 20 bucks, but thats just the way it was. it was boring as hell, but any night in the green is a good night.

went with my dad to my grandfather's house this morning to go through some of his stuff. for my grandparent's 45th wedding anniversary my aunt had a drawing done of their house. it had been up on the wall since and it will be in my house now. i still dream sometimes of that house. it had the old brick fireplace in the living room like many houses of that era did. i can picture them in their chairs watching tv and smoking. it was a simpler and better time. 

we also found a rolex datejust that we didnt know he had. standard stainless steel model with the fluted bezel. i dont think i saw him wear a watch ever until he got the apple watch to monitor his heart, so i would assume this is from the 80s or 90s at the latest.  i'm gonna take this bad boy to a jeweler and have it cleaned and fitted. i might sell it to them though, its a 36mm and i just dont love a watch that small. but i feel a little bad about selling it so we'll see. 

but if they were willing to give me enough to get me half way to omega speedmaster we might have to ask for his blessing from above cause i really do want an that omega and i will get one someday, its only a matter of time. 

[mrfritz 927]

Man you know how to hit the nostalgia feeling. It's been many years since I've had grandparents, I do remember being not too far out of high school (maybe a year) and visiting my grandparents during xmas break and having an ashtray and a beer brought out to me, the good ole days indeed.

What is UP with Tony Romo? I'm taking it he is probably done at CBS? I get it driving drunk is serious and ffs hire a driver you make 20+ million per year, but seems a bit harsh. 

[SuitedAces21 2,741]

the video of tony didnt even seem that bad, from what i saw. he clearly wasn't shitfaced so it seems a little off he's getting suspended. but who knows what else is going on behind the scenes. 

lost again at the casino last night. a few coolers where i flopped and flush and had to fold the river jam to a bigger a flush.  and then i had AK and King high flop and the guy had aces. i should have folded to the shove on the turn, if we're being honest. it would have been really painful but there's not enough hands i'm beating based on how the action went to make that call, against this specific player type. gotta make that fold if you wanna be a good player. 

[mrfritz 927]

I think cbs wants out of that contract. 

We're on a bit of a bad run, this is where I struggle with poker it gets into my head a fcks with me. I'm just not cut out for it like some are. I don't know that I can get away from that shove on the turn, maybe, but I'm not the one at the casino sweating it. 

[SuitedAces21 2,741]

i'm just a novice, but had i taken more time i would have correctly reasoned that his possible hands at that point - if not a stone bluff with no board connection - are AA, KK, AK, and AQ of diamonds.  This player is not shoving QQ or JJ there, after i call the 160 on flop. 

And if that is the case, i am only beating AQ and have to fold. Now if it is a player capable of pushing things, you have to call, but that was not this player. at least not what i knew in that moment. 

its not even close to the worst call i've ever made, but a good poker pro would fold it because he isnt it making it 150 preflop with Ax diamonds and going insane. I would do that, but this guy isn't that type of player. i could tell by his breathing he had a big hand, but i just shrugged and called because i have top top. 

gotta be better than that. i dont even care about the money, i just want to be able to think through it in the moment and i didnt. i knew it immediately after i just didnt stop and and take the two minutes. but i will next time. 

 

[Theraflu 1,047]

Here's my last month of movies, sent to one of two friends who partially gives a shit. The watching-with names are my kids, generally. You don't get my expansive Odyssey thoughts that are another thousands words. I think only 3 of these were streaming, the rest either in theater or blu rays/4ks. 

 

The Outlaw Josey Wales - 4.5* - Really good! I've been so pleasantly surprised at most of Clint's movies (8 in the last 18 months) Not much since the 90s, but they hit a sweet spot of Movies for me.

Catch Me if You Can - 4* - Runs a bit long and slogs a bit at points, but the first half is a cracker.

In a Lonely Place - 4.5* -One of my Criterion bookmarked picks for their sale, it's old Bogart being a real fun piece of shit Hollywood noir-style detective writer who may or may not be participating in some dastardly crimes. Had a blast.

The Princess Bride - 4.5* - Still a delight

Man in the Shadow - 3.5* - Orson Welles acting purchase from Kino Lorber where the lead actor is kind of a dud and the script isn't very polished, but it's only 80 minutes and is pretty woke for 1957.

Back to the Future - 4.5* - Also still a delight, and the kids had fun with it. Haven't gotten to the sequels yet, but they want to see them

Isle of Dogs - 4* - I've started this like four different times and never made it past 20 minutes, but I finally gave in and, with the familiarity of those abandoned watches, was able to settle in and appreciate the groove. 

A Man Escaped - 5* - The second Criterion bookmark, and while it's a very patient 101 minutes, it's insanely effective. Slow-moving prison break film of a French resistance fighter attempting to escape a Nazi prison. Bare bones, methodic, and you're never sure how it's going to end. Excellent, and a wonderful confirmation of Future Buying Strategies when I see random Criterion stuff strongly recommended. Also, the film transfer looks and sounds amazing, where this would have been tough to really appreciate on a mediocre TCM cable watch.

Minions & Monsters- 3* - By far my favorite of a franchise I find little joy in that has quickly become Edison's favorite cinematic universe. The references are numerous and amusing.

The Invite - 4.5* - Still sitting at #2 on my 2026 list. A great crowd helped this along, not sure how a rewatch will endear itself to me, but I'm still surprised at the positive feelings I came out with. Need the I Want Your Sex companion piece to put together the whole 2026 Wilde experience.

Metropolis - 4.5* - 148 minutes of silent sci-fi is a daunting task, but the craft is out of this world, the amount of extras and the work they're doing feels similar to the slave labor they're representing. A Frankenstein/A.I. gone wrong story that still kinda hits 99 years later. Genuinely wowed by so many aspects. Fritz!

Event Horizon - 3.5* - The first of the Sam Neill catchups post-death (with In The Mouth of Madness a few months ago inadvertently kicking things off). He's very in his Jurassic Park "explain complex sci-fi nonsense to the rubes" phase that he's so good at. Lots of nonsense that Sunshine would go on to replicate, quite explicitly, at times, in its final act, but it makes more sense here, as far as opening portals to hell where the Devil may or not be waiting for you, go.

The French Dispatch - 4.5* - Grows on me every time I see it. Rewatching the Wes's, the casting starts sticking out in positive ways, and there's joy in finding how the few new people each time start to fit in. Timmy and Jeffrey Wright are the new guys here, I think. Looking forward to my Phoenician Scheme to see how this theory fits with Cera, who I certainly loved the first time. We've already been over my Lea Seydoux, uh, enjoyment.

Hanna - 3* -  Watched with Jason, hadn't seen since it came out. Worked nicely as a still-young Saoirse follow-up to Atonement. Eric Bana's fight scenes, for someone who played the damn Hulk, are kinda embarrassing. Cate Blanchett is trying to do some accent work, sometimes, as a CIA lady, and I guess it's intentional, but it is WILDLY all over the place. The goofy stuff is kinda fun, but it's pretty uneven in the back half. Jason enjoyed it enough.

Oppenheimer - 4* - My lowest rating on my 5th time watching it. Also, my 4k disc skips in a couple places, to my enormous chagrin, which might affect the rating. The Emily Blunt and Florence Pugh scenes now provoke disgruntled laughter, which I don't think was ever part of the goal.

Cars - 3.5* - I have generally strict logging/rating requirements, but eventually I have to give in and log the kids movies I've seen parts of a million times. This rating mostly reflects the kids love of it, but there's some decent heart and good one-liners and the punny car-related names continue to amuse me, ie: Bob Costas as the racing announcer Bob Cutlass. Cars 2 is a Bond-ish style caper led by Mater, and I just don't need Larry the Cable Guy that often. Cars 3 is just the first-movie, but with Lightning as the veteran racer, although the beginning of it has Lightning crashing and almost "dying," in a bit that was pretty harrowing in the theater, for a Cars movie. This has been, hopefully, your only Cars update for a while.

Boyz in the Hood - 4.5* - Part of the John Singleton Criterion trilogy of South Central LA goings on that Sean shouted on during the last physical media pod. I'd never seen it, and was pretty impressed by a 24-year old director getting all these performances from young actors and rappers. It's one of those that feels over the top, but you look back at the history of the area and the rap/gang battles, and it's pretty moving. Cuba isn't quite comfortable yet as the lead, but it doesn't pull many punches. Really good.

The Odyssey - 4* - Feel like we might've tackled this one.

The Racket - 3.5* - Random Mitchum noir I found on HBO Max. He's the straight-cop in a world of bought out policemen and elected officials, but he doesn't get an appearance until 20 or so minutes in. Everything non-Mitchum isn't great, and it even takes him some time to settle in, but he delivers the goods on the back half. A soft recommend for the Mitchum Men out there.

The Odyssey - 4.5* - This again!?!

Blue Heron - 3.5* -Much heralded by critics this year, it didn't fully click with me. An abrupt turn halfway through is mildly audacious, and took me...until after the movie to really get it. Pretty interesting slice of life without much apparent aim in the first half that reveals itself as we go on. Supposedly a great rumination on memories, how they're formed, how they manifest as we age, and how we reckon with them, but I didn't get most of that on first watch. Second time through could prove illuminating. 

Poetic Justice - 3.5* - #2 in the Singleton trilogy, with Tupac and Janet Jackson, who are excellent. The movie is wobblier than Boyz, the story outside of the budding romance is thin. Startling to realize my love for Janelle Monae is actually just her doing Janet Jackson in this. If Tupac hadn't been so committed to That Life, seems like he really could've had an enduring acting career, but he also wouldn't have been Tupac, so what can you do? Haven't watched the final movie in the set yet, but the influence of these on hip hop culture is immense.

Possession - 5* - First purchase from Australian company Umbrella, and more Sam Neill catchup. Hell of a god damn film. Gorgeously shot. Unnerving and personal and greatly exceeding simple horror tropes. A married couple with a son breaking down both individually and together. There's a LONG take of Isabelle Adjani being, well, possessed, in a subway, that's one the most intense solo performances I've seen, to the point where you pray that she only had to do it once. Color me impressed.

The Matrix - 4* - Watched with Jason. The rare case of something groundbreaking that I was there for, but time has still dulled it a bit. Jason seemed a little bored, I think, but it's certainly good homework. Maybe I've seen it too many times, even though the number isn't THAT high.

Asteroid City - 4.5* - The underlying, difficult-to-ascertain-at-first heart grows on me every time, from Schwarzman and his kids, with Tom Hanks as the disapproving-but-understanding grandfather really works. I'm still unpacking and discovering the meta play-inside-a-show of it all, but there's a lot there too. And the science fair aspect keeps the teens active and interesting and growing themselves. Kind of a masterpiece.

Syriana - 3.5* - EXTREMELY adult in the "boring and confusing CIA/government ops about oil" way that is incredibly hard to parse if you aren't an old person subjected to the never-ending ruin of current humanity because of oil. But since that's now my demographic, I found it still applicable and evil and disappointing in all the ways I think it was meant to be. Clooney doing very little of his usual shtick, much more a broken, out of touch agent with nothing to show for his service whose being scapegoated and discarded because, well, it's convenient. And also his fault. BUT HE WAS RIGHT!

Following - 3*  - Chris Nolan's first, bought in the waning days of the Criterion sale. Black and white with no-name actors, all the rumblings about his this has all of his future hallmarks is pretty spot on. It takes a while to get going for a 69 minute movie, but he shifts gears towards the back-half and pulls a lot of it together for a decently satisfying conclusion. Not bad at all.

Hot Saturday - 3* - Maybe a generous rating for this pre-code film, mostly for Cary Grant's first leading role, where he's a little rough around the acting edges and looks like a young man who hasn't grown into himself yet, despite the handsomeness and charm he's always possessed. The pre-code elements are all about Nancy Carroll (pretty good!) being rumored to be sleeping with Cary, with a banger ending where she says to her fiance who dumped her: "It wasn't true yesterday, but today it is" as they ride off into the sunset. 

Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore - 5* - Loved it. Ellen Burstyn giving a performance that's close to Gena Rowlands' in Woman Under the Influence, unstable not so much because of mental instability, but as a result of life as a woman. I'd suggest you borrow it from whatever very smart person added it to the library collection. Every man is a piece of shit on some level (highly unrealistic, for sure!) , but I really liked Kris Kristofferson and what he does. You should watch it.

X2 - 4* - Watched with the kids after they watched the first movie, as some MCU prep for mutants joining the universe. I'm probably closer to a 3.5*, but found it hard to ignore how effectively (if somewhat obviously) it handles how the world sees "others" and all the other stuff you've heard about what the X-Men meant to a generation or two of young outcasts. 

Yojimbo - 4.5* - Part of Eastwood's catalog is just remaking Kurosawa films, so I'd watched Fistful of Dollars last year, which was sued for being a remake without permission. Maybe doesn't hit all of the highs, but it's remarkably funny, and subtitled Japanese from the early 60s can be a tough task in making me laugh, but it succeeded easily. There's also a giant thug for one of the clans, reminiscent of Andre the Giant in size-relation, especially for an Asian production, and it's hard to take your eyes off him when he shows up, even though he doesn't get a ton to do. I found it a little more cynical than I think is intended, once everyone and everything starts getting destroyed as a result of Toshiro Mifune's tactics, but that might just be me being a softie.

Speed -4* - As fun as it needs to be. I don't really like Sandra Bullock very much in it, even if she and Keanu have a good rapport. Weak dialogue delivered mediocrely. Doesn't really detract from the main thrust of the movie. I thought everything they make Jeff Daniels go through was pretty amusing.

Spider-Man: No Way Home - 4* - Hard to believe this still works as well as it does, considering how much nonsense is involved. Dafoe and Molina are so good - I think that's the obvious lack of most MCU movies over the last six years or whatever. They're mostly just evil totems looking to do whatever, where the Raimi guys were really looking to **** shit up and really decimate Spidey. And then being able to connect the three Spider-men in multiple ways to make it heartfelt - a damn good effort. Ned is kind of a weak point, and there's a LOT of CGI nonsense, but killing off Marisa Tomei takes some balls, even if they shoehorn her into one scene (repeated/extended in different ways) in the new one. 

Stop Making Sense - 5* - Just the best.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day - 3.5* - Jason gives it an 8, Darren only a 6, as it gets more emotional and young man-ish than an 8 year-old cares about. I had a pretty good time. It's too long with all the Jean Grey stuff, but it isn't necessarily bad. Just feels like a lot to work in. 

Pulse - 4* - The other part of my Umbrella order, with the slip cover calling it one of the scariest movies of whatever time period. It is certainly extremely haunting and unnerving from the jump. Characters get....well, maybe killed, maybe not, but removed for sure, with alarming regularity, and the general thesis of the internet increasing isolation is pretty much spot on for 25 years ago, so it all does tie together. Another that might improve on a rewatch when I'm not trying to figure out who, if anyone, the main character(s) are, and just appreciate the purpose of the whole production. I didn't find it SCARY scary, more off-putting with lots of unease, especially in the first half, but some of it died down as the mystery grew to maybe too much of an impact of the movie's world that it doesn't quite make any sense. Pretty great ending. This Kurosawa finds tons of wonderful ways to shoot enclosed spaces with dark corners and doors where it feels like anything can come out of them. I think his new movie is a Samurai-noir that might be extremely up my alley. With that (The Samurai and the Prisoner) and Hamiguchi's new flick All of a Sudden (that Grierson had atop his Cannes list, and my #1 of 2023 Evil Does Not Exist) I'm hoping for some newly loved Japanese cinema later in the year. 

[SuitedAces21 2,741]

37 minutes ago, Theraflu said:

Here's my last month of movies, sent to one of two friends who partially gives a shit. The watching-with names are my kids, generally. You don't get my expansive Odyssey thoughts that are another thousands words. I think only 3 of these were streaming, the rest either in theater or blu rays/4ks. 

 

Speed -4* - As fun as it needs to be. I don't really like Sandra Bullock very much in it

 

 

im gonna rewatch oppenheimer very soon and i think its gonna be moving up my all time list after i do. 

your comments on spiderman are interesting because with all the odyssey stuff out there i have seen a lot of clips of tom holland lately and he has grown on me tremendously after seeing his real life personality. i hadnt seen any of the spider man movies since the first one but i'm going to go back and watch them now.  i've seen some clips of him and damon doing interviews and they really seem like they could be father and son, so i'm turned around on him in the oddyssey sigh unseen now. 

i also just listened to the rewatchables on catch me if you can and all i could really remember not liking about the movie was tom hanks accent, which they hammered on the pod. leo is incredible as always, and walken was the man in that one. simmons went insane criticizing amy adams when she is fantastic in her limited time. great movie. 

[mrfritz 927]

That is a list and a half. I’ll have to peruse through it, I don’t think I’ve seen a decent chunk of these.

I do enjoy Eastwood movies very much probably even more so as I’m getting older.

[mrfritz 927]

Wsop final table I’m watching this right now.

[SuitedAces21 2,741]

i dont like at all that they take a 3 week break for the final table. the series was slowing and juiced and i was into it and then they just hit pause. 

dont like thera slide on his sandy bullock slander. just completely unacceptable from him. 

i found this movie the other night, PALM SPRINGS, starring andy samberg where he is stuck in a time loop. i really enjoyed it. was schocked how much i enjoyed it. 

[mrfritz 927]

It looks like it has 95 percent on rotten tomatoes, welll then I'll have to check it out.

She was ok in speed< i agree her delivery wasn't good though.  

 

[SuitedAces21 2,741]

et tu, fritzy?

1994 sandy bullock will always be my little wildcat behind the wheel. 

PALM SPRINGS is on hulu. and what is very strange, fritzy, considering it is a time loop movie is that when i went to watch it on hulu it said that i had already watched it and there was 5 minutes remaining. i only knew about the movie because i saw a clip on instagram just a few minutes earlier that caught my attention.  i may not be smart or remember some things but if i have ever seen a movie i will remember that i've seen it even if i dont remember the finer plot points or ending. 

and i had never seen this movie, but it had been viewed on my hulu account and no one else uses that account. very odd thing indeed. 

[mrfritz 927]

You prob fell asleep and it autoplayed? I've had that happen a few times, but I usually remember.  It is FRIDAY, no idea what I'm doing this weekend. I watched some of the HOF game last night, very decent for the pre-season. 

[SuitedAces21 2,741]

i never fall asleep while watching tv or randomly. i'm telling you its something strange and beyond rational explanation. its supernatural. to have it showing as played and i had no memory of the movie even existing prior a minute before that. glitch in the matrix most likely. 

are you back to grappling? you should challenge jonah hill to a tussle. 

i'll be at the casino, fvck else am i going to do. 

[mrfritz 927]

That is odd, odd that it happened and odd that you never fall asleep while watching tv. I do this almost nightly in the living room then trudge upstairs to bed. 

I am yes! Every other middle-aged guy that train starts acting like that after a while, they start winning, get a few subs and think they can take on the world. I refuse to go down this road. 

I'm watching "Something Very Bad is Going to Happen". Netflix slop, it's OK SO FAR.

[mrfritz 927]

This is an 8 part series, I'm never gonna make it. 

[SuitedAces21 2,741]

i looked that up and it said it was a horror miniseries, and it sounded a lot like a movie i started some months back where the family tries to kill the bride on the wedding night. adam brody was in it so i gave it a shot but i didnt make it through the whole thing. 

i did watch another movie he is in, the kid detective, the other night. it wasn't great but i made it through the whole thing. they need to pump out the third season of the show he's in with kristen bell, i enjoyed that one. 

[mrfritz 927]

I forgot about it and gave up, this happens a lot. Did you go to the casino this weekend? 

[SuitedAces21 2,741]

i surely did. both friday and saturday. won 530 total across the two nights, just playing snug and agressive when in.  i had to leave early friday night though because my legs were hurting from the sciatica. but some good stretching and rest saturday had me feeling alright.