“Why does a radio station have a sheriff?”

broderic on September 30, 2023

A Haunting in Venice is an Agatha Christie mystery story as filmed by Kenneth Branagh as part of his Poirot Cinematic Universe. It is a Scooby Doo film. Yes, you heard that right. It had a supernatural twist behind it but the motivations was really human. I was expecting the culprit to have said that they would’ve gotten away with it except for those damn, meddling kids.

The story is about the death of girl in Venice. She threw herself into the canals. It was rumored that her death was caused mainly by the curse surrounding the family’s history and the ghosts in their villa. Now, that is a good setup for a mystery.

Except, it was all quite easy to see where it was going. If you’ve watched enough movies, you know really quickly who was the culprit. I don’t think I am spoiling it if I say that it wasn’t ghosts that did it. The ghosts weren’t spooky enough, and typically the scariest thing in this were the humans. So, if you read the books or know your films, there wasn’t quite a mystery there. And since it was really humans, the fright wasn’t there either.

3 of 5 stars.

“Beautiful day out there. Perfect cane weather.”

broderic on September 26, 2023

1975 Topps Brooks Robinson baseball card

Wasn’t just a few posts ago where I reminisced about “Thanks Brooks Day” and my favorite Orioles? It’s with sadness I post about the passing of Brooks Robinson, my favorite Oriole. Like I said, we’re connected just because of “Thanks Brooks Day” back in 1977 which we attended, and it was like my birthday present. It’s just this little bit of connection upon which he became my favorite player. And I had not really seen him play considering he retired just as I became cognizant of sports.

RIP Brooksie. Let’s go, O’s!

“Lisa Miller-Johnson walking through the woods. Is there a snowflake? Wet.”

broderic on September 24, 2023

I find the Conjuring Universe to be a favorite. I hate scary movies, but I love getting scared. I love goosebumps, and I love being creeped out at night. The Conjuring Universe is a fine source for these scares. The first Conjuring was pretty good. Everything else not so, but it still is full of scares. And now it has some gore.

The Nun II continues the story from the the first one. It follows Sister Irene and her new sidekick, Sister Debra as they try to stop the demon, Valek’s rampage across the French countryside. At first, the film starts out as horror, but with Sister Irene and Sister Debra it became a mystery. They must pick up the demon’s trail from Romania into France as it leaves a bloody trail of bodies looking for a holy relic.

I really didn’t see any of the scares as I hid behind closed eyes. So I missed most of the deaths. Yet, I still loved it. It took me two nights to not be worried about what lurks in the dark in my room. Thanks, Nun!

3 of 5 stars.

“Everybody’s gone bitchcakes around here today.”

broderic on September 24, 2023

Link of the Day [9.24.23]

You know I’ve been doing News Radio Quote Month for the longest time and I didn’t realize that Phil Hartman was born in this month of September. Well, I need to rectify that.

In honor of the genius and a cast member of News Radio, here are some of Phil Harman’s greatest Saturday Night Live hits. Wait, SNL? Well, it’s something to enjoy and it is News Radio adjacent.

https://www.cracked.com/article_39552_the-75-greatest-phil-hartman-snl-sketches-according-to-his-castmates-and-writers.html

“Jimmy James: Live at Budokan”

broderic on September 17, 2023

Well here we go. Orioles bouncing back Saturday night and throttle the Tampa Bay Rays to creep into first place in the AL East. Then today. Today they come back and win in extra innings extending said lead in the AL East. They are a fun bunch.

I have yet to watch a game all year.

My nephew says he’s getting tickets to the post season. With these wins, the Orioles made it to the post season. If they can eek out the pennant, it will be something amazing. We’ve got about two weeks left of the season to find out.

Let’s go, O’s!

“No I’m afraid it was. It was witnessed and notarized by an official notary public.”

broderic on September 16, 2023

Link of the Day [9.16.23]

Adam Jones was my favorite Oriole maybe even of all time. But really it was Brooks Robinson. You see, Robinson retired in 1977 and we went to his appreciation day on September 17. Right around my birthday. Still he’s a favorite, and Adam Jones, too.

Jonesy was there for the last good Orioles team. He was definitely the heart and soul of the team. He represented Baltimore really well. He’s the best at that. Definitely, the best.

#StayHungry

https://www.mlb.com/orioles/news/adam-jones-officially-retires-as-a-baltimore-oriole

“I don’t think what Bill made you sign was legally binding.”

broderic on September 8, 2023

RIP Jimmy Buffet. He did not sing the Pina Colada song. That guy in the video did, and as you can tell, he’s no Jimmy Buffet. He’s like your high school science teacher! Anyhow, when Buffet died, I immediately thought of this song, because it is a running joke that he did not sing this song.

I don’t want to make fun of Buffet’s death. I enjoyed his laid back attitude more than his music. I am sure we will miss his leisurely pace in this frantic world. It’s 5 o’clock somewhere. Let’s get some margarita’s.

Haunted Mansion

broderic on August 31, 2023

The Haunted Mansion is my favorite Disney ride. Will its movie adaptation, Haunted Mansion, be any good? Well, my friend, it isn’t bad. It is somewhat good in its own way. It definitely is a fun, summer flick worthy of an afternoon out of the hot summer sun. I liked it. I wish we had more movies like this — mid-level films out to entertain us. Popcorn Movies!

With Hollywood being broken and only wanting to produce blockbuster films, the mid-level movies suffer. They get bloated or get more pressure to make money. Haunted Mansion isn’t any indie flick, but it shouldn’t have to have been an blockbuster. I know we needed more CG and more spectacle but Haunted Mansion could’ve worked without it. I guess it’s higher cost meant that it had to make more money, but then it didn’t. It should have.

3 of 5 stars.