The Signal Watch

something to look forward to!

Horror Watch: Friday the 13th Part VI - Jason Lives (1986) Watched:  03/13/2026Format:  PrimeViewing:  FirstDirector:  Tom McLoughlin JAL texted me at the end of the work day on Friday and said "You have to watch Friday the 13th Part VI.  It will make you miss Showplace 6".    I was more likely to go see Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome at Showplace 6 than a horror movie during the window he and I were hitting the family owned theater in North Austin, but I get it.  The place was there for us during a crucial period of movie-going.  It was the kind of theater that welcomed kids, did not ask if we were 17 before letting us into Rated-R movies, and always had Spree as an option for candy. As stated *last* Friday the 13th when we watched the first Friday the 13th movie, these movies were never part of my canon.  I've not really spent time with them.  But after watching two of them, I *do* have a pitch for a new one, which I'll share at the end.* I guess in the 4th movie, they killed Jason?  Like, fer reals?  Which - this is where I found out Jason wasn't previously a magical kill zombie?  You learn new things all the time.  It seems the fifth movie was about the Corey Feldman character, now played by someone else, becoming the killer?  And that went over like a lead balloon, so they re-cast the character *again*, ignored his murderous tendencies and made him the focal character for this installment as Jason is reborn from a lightning strike (it makes sense in the moment).   Anyway - rejuvenated and feeling fancy free, Jason spends the day killing everyone he can find in what feels like a highly populated recreational forest area.  I mean, he is just finding new victims hither and yon.   There's absolutely nothing *scary* in this movie - it's like watching an NES side-scroller play-through of Jason killing people.  But it does have good set pieces, the best of which is the Winnebago stuff.   But, man, does it look like everyone making this movie is having fun.  Even the prop department.  There's a "well, we tried" fake head that rolls out of a truck.  And someone was very good at a very particular blood splatter pattern we see performed like five times.   This is the stuff that drove moral crusaders nuts in the 1980's that teens knew was just a good time, and has subsequently been absorbed into the popular consciousness to such a degree *no one bothers to talk about horror movies as being a problem anymore*.   Is the movie good?  No.  Is it fun?  Yes.  It has no artistic aspirations, and wants to say nothing other than "this goon in a mask will murder you good", and sometimes that's all you need, I guess.  But we're past trying to scare anyone here, just get hoots and hollers from the audience as an assortment of folks are dispatched in a series of creative ways. It does make me wonder what Jason does during his downtime. *I think you could make a good Friday the 13th as a sort of Road Runner or Tom and Jerry cartoon, with Jason trying to get Natasha Lyonne as our Final Girl, and there's lots of 4th wall breaking https://signal-watch.com

Horror Watch: Friday the 13th Part VI - Jason Lives (1986) #film #moviereview #movies

G Watch: Mothra Vs. Godzilla (1964) Watched:  03/12/2026Format:  HBOmaxViewing:  UnknownDirector:  Ishiro Honda Ten years after the original stomping of Tokyo, Toho had produced only two more Godzilla movies, but in 1961 had introduced Mothra and all of the crazy mythology around our big, buggy friend.   Worth nothing, one of the two sequels to the original Godzilla was King Kong vs. Godzilla and I would guess Toho looked at the big ol' Mothra puppet they still owned, knew that two monsters were better than one, and said "heck - we don't need to license the ape anymore.  We have... a moth!"   I've seen this one a few times, but felt in the need for some old-school Showa-era action, and so put it on once more.  It's got a lot of things I dig.   * Godzilla * Mothra * the Faeries * Infant Island * a snappy wardrobe for our female lead * men with absolutely immaculate hair It's also very suspicious of both venture capitalists and scrupulous businessmen.  And, conniving public officials with an eye for the camera.  The more things change. When a giant egg shows up in a local bay, it's sold to an amusement park empresario who wants to make it the centerpiece of his newest park (he seems wholly unconcerned that eggs hatch, even four story eggs).  The Faeries arrive from Infant Island and recruit reporter Ichiro Sakai and his photographer sidekick Junko Nakanishi along with scientist Professor Miura to help them get the egg back from the evil businessmen. In a scene I think is pretty cool, Godzilla emerges from the sand of a reclaimed beach, and starts his stomping across Tokyo, seemingly looking for the egg.   Turns out Humanity needs the help of the people of Infant Island to convince Mothra to help out, but the island was just used for nuclear testing. While, yes, this is a movie that ends with a battle between Godzilla and two giant moth larvae, it still has some interesting themes - from the ripples of destruction sewn by naked greed to man's wastefulness and arrogance.  Mothra, who has seen her island nuked by humans, who then stole her agg/ children - is STILL willing to step in and save humanity while the spirit of reckoning in the form of Godzilla is here to wipe the slate clean. Also, you get treated to a very, very long version of the Mothra carol. https://signal-watch.com

G Watch: Mothra Vs. Godzilla (1964) #film #moviereview #movies

When did your obsession with hot toxic women begin?

Pretty crazy how important the blockade of a trade route is right now

thank goodness this solved everything and DC never, ever rebooted again

AM radio talk shows

I saw those years apart, and 8 1/2 much later, but you're right!

yeah, I've seen a few others that were nowhere in that territory. I recall liking Stardust Memories a lot, but again - I've seen so few of his movies.

but I think Annie Hall is what everyone says it is. So.

I admit, I am very hot and cold on Allen and have seen only a rare few of his movies. Manhattan is the favorite of his fanbase, I think, and I will politely decline to participate in that fervor.

yeah. It's now popular to dismiss auteur theory, but it's a sliding scale. I think the original fascination was with the John Fords and Hustons who had a particular flavor and still worked at the studios. But you get a Woody Allen, and there's no mistaking who made this movie (usually).

Yeah! That's exactly why I'm watching all of his stuff. He made these absolute classics, and nobody talks about him. There's no "oh, this is a Robert Wise film" vibe to find, so I'm looking to see what projects he picked us as he went along and look for any commonalities.

It's on YouTube! I linked it at the top of the post

Western Wise Watch: Two Flags West (1950) Watched:  03/08/2026Format:  YouTube link hereViewing:  FirstDirector:  Robert Wise Interesting premise for a film, and, in my opinion - very well executed.   In 1864, Joseph Cotten is a captured Confederate infantry officer.  Cornel Wilde plays a wounded Union officer who won't be sent back to the front line, but which the Army of the Republic will send to the frontier.  Lincoln is offering Confederate prisoners an opportunity to join the Union Army and go protect the mail routes and interests on the US, freeing up the regular soldiers to fight in the war.  And, so Wilde recruits Cotten and his regiment, which Cotten does so he won't die or disease in a frigid Illinois prison. Arrived, we find the Fort is headed by a semi-crippled officer, Major Henry Kenniston (Jeff Chandler).  Kenniston's brother was killed during a major battle, widowing Linda Darnell.  Darnell plays a Californian/ Mexican (which she did in a couple of movies, it seems) and is the object of desire for Wilde, Chandler and maybe a bit for Cotten.  She is, after all, Linda Darnell.   Chandler's officer has a bit of a Kurtz/ Ahab vibe.  His leg is not what it was, and he has a mad-on for anyone who isn't a union soldier.  Also, he is maybe lightly holding his sister-in-law at the Fort despite her wish to get to California.  The "I hate everyone" bit is a bad fit for the arriving ex-Confederates.  And the Natives outside the Fort, with whom he is developing beef. This is a weirdly really good movie, and I'm shocked it's not found its way into the canon.  It doesn't often look like a John Ford movie, perhaps a bit more economical.  But it deals with the problem of reconciliation not just after but *during* a war.  Is anyone who they were when they left?  Is home what it was?  What comes after?  And do you hang onto that hate?  Do you have responsibilities bigger than the oaths of war? Cotten's Colonel character is a man of convictions, and those are often in conflict.  He urges his men to join the Union to get them out of the hell of prison camp life and give them a chance to get back to the fighting.  But he also can't leave anyone to ust die, and so is pushed and pulled as he finds himself looking back toward Texas but knowing he must safely escort some wagon trains.  But he also harbors plenty of anger toward the Union for what he knows Sherman has done to his home (some Civil War 101 knowledge will be helpful watching the movie).   The movie doesn't look away from the violence inflicted by and inflicted upon our outpost.  I genuinely was shocked at the violence in an attack on the Fort by an army of Kiowas.   Wise captures the attack by an overwhelming force in devastating terms - revenge for some of Kenniston's actions.  Again, it's *on theme* as we look at what war is and the devastation it brings.  I don't know if reviewers in 1950 saw the film in political terms it would be viewed with today.  It's another western with the cavalry, a beautiful woman in the wilderness, and angry natives.  But how those pieces are used has thematic resonance - and that's where I felt Wise's influence.  He can make a fairly standard-looking picture, and it will still have plenty of material to chew on - there's a sense of what we'd now call "social justice" baked into the questions the stories raise.   What it does not do - and very few movies from this era are willing to touch - is raise the actual stakes of the Civil War.   The roots of the war are often vaguely hinted at, slavery rarely discussed as a cause, and it's much more along the "a gentleman's disagreement about State's Rights" that your worst cousin will still insist upon bringing up at Thanksgiving.   The movie seems to begin with the existential threat of the natives being the reason the force is needed.  But as we move along, that simple picture is distorted - but managed in a way to satisfy the Hayes Code, while still making it clear, our guys aren't necessarily heroes out there.   Darnell's character's heritage is coded as "exotic white" and I suppose it's the casting of Darnell in the role that kept it from facing the rules about miscengination.   I did look it up, and, indeed a few thousand Confederate prisoners of war did serve in the Union army on the frontier (we all learn new things every day).   I'm not sure the movie is *great*, but I'd sure watch it again.  Pleasantly surprised by this one.https://signal-watch.com

Western Wise Watch: Two Flags West (1950) #film #moviereview #movies

Australian Neo-Noir Watch: The Dry (2020) Watched:  03/05/2026Format:  HuluViewing:  FirstDirector:  Robert Connolly A while back, for various reasons, Jamie and I both read the novel The Dry. It was a big seller in Australia, where it was written and takes place.  And made its way here where I think it's done well.   I asked for some downtime before I watched the inevitable movie adaptation so I could try to see it with fresh eyes, and hadn't honestly, thought about the book much since I read it.  It's fine!  Go read it.  But I think Jamie saw it starred Eric Bana and was happy to watch - and, anyhoo... here we are. In the way of movies adapting popular books - the movie is largely a straight adaptation of the book with some extraneous bits knocked off and some efficiencies found in storytelling.  But it really does capture the mood of the novel, and as Jamie and I agreed, it looks more or less exactly how I saw it in my mind's eye.  Bleak, oppressive - a murder mystery in sun-scorched rural Australia.   The plot is complex - a member of essentially Australia's FBI, Bana, is called back to the town where he was born and raised, but hasn't been back to since high school.  His best friend from back then has shot and killed his wife and son, leaving their baby daughter alive.  He then took his own life.   He starts looking into it, wondering if that's what actually happened.  Meanwhile, the death of a girl who he was very close with back in high school comes back to haunt him.   The movie (and book) basically treat the murder in the current timeline like a locked room mystery where everyone's a suspect.  Which is a legitimate choice as the town is remote.  And everyone kind of had opportunity, but motivation is oddly hard to come by.  Meanwhile, he girl's death keeps coming up as he was a suspect, and many in the small town haven't moved on. I think for readers of the book, this is a faithful adaptation that will make people generally happy.  I am unsure if the movie doesn't feel like it's hitting the same not over and over - a mood that's relentless and plods along with a police procedural that doesn't quite give you enough to make you care about the lead (which, honestly, was a problem with the book, too).   SPOILERS I felt particularly with the movie that they telegraphed the whodunnit, but took a while to get to motivation.  The red herrings of the novel feel like winding options for our hero to look into, but when the killer is introduced, he's the only twitchy character and *feels* like a character rather than someone seamlessly folded into the movie.   And even more than in the book, the movie's choice of killers is kind of a disappointment?  It's just a random murder for something unrelated to anything else.  It's just a bad thing that happened.  Which would be fine, but we spend so much time on suspects with potentially more interesting motivations (except for Jamie Sullivan, who they probably should have just cut from the movie) and who have a more personal stake in the history the movie loves showing us - it's just... odd? The death of Ellie feels a bit motivation-free.  The book sets it up much better, and here it's a statement of fact - here's what happened.  But it feels like it comes out of left field in the final scene, and with the crevice barely established here, unlike the book, it's just a deus ex machina.   And, it kind of makes everything feel oddly low-stakes.  I'm not quite sure in the movie what's Bana's motivation at any moment - things feel like they're happening because it was in the book, and when some of what's cut from the sprawling novel is removed, it loses some cohesion and drive. I've only seen Bana in a handful of things, but he sure seems to specialize in staring at things and feeling things as an undercurrent that he cannot express.  And that's fine.  The rest of the cast is largely very good - I particularly liked Keir O'Donnell as the rookie-ish policeman in town.   Look, the movie is very much in the "it's fine" category.  Reading the book, I could tell someone basically had it as a movie in their head, and that's fine.  A lot of modern books work much like film.  That people would be influenced by the beats and needs of popular cinema as it seeps into novels and Broadway shows is not a shock.  We see what more movies than we read books or go to plays.  That a popular book that feels vaguely like a cop procedural with drama on top is translated into same for the movies is not a surprise.   https://signal-watch.com

Australian Neo-Noir Watch: The Dry (2020) #film #moviereview #movies

falling victim to one of the classic blunders

You are a good person, and I salute you. Seriously. Best advice if you're going to do this.

I agree that getting people in the door is a great idea. I think everyone who remembers the 90's and that market sees the YouTubers and shrugs. Time is a flat circle.

But I dunno. How's your NFT collection doing? Bringing in the big bucks?

trying to flip a comic and finding out you're trying to sell it to the same people who also bought up all the copies which led to a lack of interest as no one could read it and subsequent cancellation of the book, leading to the devaluation is the least exciting possible thing about comics.

holy sh*t! You are correct! I totally missed that!

Hallmark Watch: The Stars Between Us (2026) Watched:  03/03/2026Format:  HallmarkViewing:  FirstDirector:  Michael Robison I didn't used to post on Hallmark movies I put on as time-fillers, but I'm trying to be accurate.  I kind of watched this while looking up other things. Why we watched this boiled down to neither of us being in the mood for anything challenging as we dealt with other things, and I'd already stated that I am watching basketball Wednesday night, so as this was highly ranked at Ye Olde Hallmark, this is what we landed on. It stars Sarah Drew, who is a big name on TV in shows I don't watch (Grey's Anatomy, for example), and Matt Long who I know from Mad Men a few years back.  But those are just the folks on the poster.  This movie has a B-romance plot featuring Donna Benedicto (who is in a million things) and Noah Paul.   The basic gist of the film is that seven years prior, Kim (Drew) met Malcolm (Long) briefly at an Eclipse party.  He was there as an astronomer, and she was there for vague reasons with a fiance.  They met and had an instant connection as they talked for what seemed to be about ten minutes before she ran off to her late-arriving fiance.   Seven years later, Kim is working at a TV station in the news department, divorced, living with her mom and has a kid in tow when she lands an on-camera assignment to cover the eclipse.  This will make or break her career. Weirdly, despite marriage and the passage of seven years, she's still thinking about a guy she talked to once in a field.  He is, of course, unbeknownst to her, heading back to that field to do more of same.  He's also now faculty somewhere working on publishing his book, I guess so he can get on tenure track.  He's aware a former faculty he worked with is at the eclipse, too, and he hopes to get the guy's support for publishing his book.  I don't want to write about the movie.  It was dumb.  It didn't know at all how academic publishing works even though that was a major plot point, and is highly-knowable if you use Google.  And the ending was, I am sure, clever on paper, but made me want to bounce tennis balls off the foreheads of the characters.   It is not often I end a movie bellowing "booooo!" at the screen, but here I did.  Five thumbs down.  It is a movie about the Moon literally getting between us and a star.  The title is dumb AF. Also, Donna Benedicto is in lots of these in supporting roles.  She should be a lead.  She's better than half of Hallmark's current roster of swappable stars and has a personality. https://signal-watch.com

Hallmark Watch: The Stars Between Us (2026) #film #moviereview #movies

Texas has Shipley which is not the same. We had more Dunkins when i was a kid but they kind of pulled out

Fun fact: i got drunk over Christmas and found out they still publish the Saturday Evening Post. Apparently i subscribed.