Movies, Shows, etc
Confess, Fletch
There’s a reason it took over 30 years to make the next Fletch film. No matter who filled the title role, no matter how talented they were, they would be compared to Chevy Chase at the absolute apex of his comedic powers. After years of rumors and starts and stops and so many rumored actors as Fletch, it finally happened. And somehow I totally missed it? I had no memory of this coming out three years ago, so was surprised to see it when scrolling around. And it went about as I expected.
Jon Hamm is great, has all kinds of comedic chops. But he’s not Chevy, or at least he’s not 1984/5 Chevy. I laughed, but not nearly as hard as I would if I rewatched the original Fletch immediately after. I wondered if I would have reacted differently/more strongly if the name Fletch wasn’t involved, and it was just a comedy with no baggage. Maybe being 53 instead of 13 made a big difference in how I viewed it? I think it might still have been a little too subtle. I skimmed a few reviews after watching and the one criticism that stuck out to me was that this movie needed to be sillier and closer in tone to the original. I agree.
Anyway, this wasn’t a bad film at all. I enjoyed it. I laughed. I liked some of the repeating jokes (“Five stars!”). The cast was generally quite good (John Slattery and Jon Hamm together again!). There was a callback to the climax of the original film that was nice. I wanted it to be more, though.
Alas, as this movie didn’t do much business, the plan for another Hamm-led entry in the series has been scrapped. Maybe in another 30 years some other actor will take on the role, and by then we’ll be far enough removed from the original that it will work better.
B
American Psycho
One of my favorite movies of this era, a wicked satire on the Wall Street culture of the late Eighties. It forever changed how I think about Phil Collins/Genesis, Huey Lewis and the News, and Whitney Houston. Also wild to see Christian Bale strolling through the dark streets of New York in an overcoat when a few years later he would do a similar walk in Batman’s cape. Shame so many of the young people chose to meme the hell out of this movie without understanding what it was truly about.
A
Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol
I had never watched any of these other than the very first one. I think mostly because the series really got rolling in the years I thought Tom Cruise was a total nutter and I didn’t have a ton of interest in his work. Figured I would give them a shot, starting with this one, which is where the online reviews say the series got good. Agreed, this was pretty solid. Funny that Leá Seydoux was a villain here and a few years later James Bond’s lover. I didn’t get around to watching the rest before our Paramount + sub expired, but some of them are on Prime so I’ll get to them at some point.
B+
Airplane!
My first complete re-watch in who knows how long, after reading the oral history of the film. Still as funny as ever. So many subtle jokes in between all the big laughs.
A
30 Rock, season 2
The show really hit its stride this season, only to be shortened because of a writer’s strike. It’s interesting to read back on the history of the show, and how the critics were crazy about it while the ratings were never there. Even being a part of NBC’s comedy night. Somehow this was one of the least watched shows on TV. America is dumb.
A-
Tucci In Italy
Thank goodness someone gave Stanley Tucci some money to continue his culinary travels through his ancestral homeland. If you’ve ever been to Italy, this show will make you want to go back.
A
Shorts, YouTubes, etc
Will Ferrell Takes The Colbert Questionert
Not the locked-in, late night Ferrell of 10–15 years ago, but still fun.
Why did Communist Vietnam invade Communist Cambodia?
Because people are people?
Why Nobody Uses Boats Between the Hawaiian Islands
Interesting question which seems like a no-brainer to us mainlanders until you see there are some serious reasons why before you even get to the economics of it.
Meet Henry, the world’s oldest crocodile
I did some more reading about Henry after watching this. He’s sired around 10,000 offspring with six different partners. It’s good to be king.
Cheers | Every Time Norm Peterson Enters the Bar
RIP to George Wendt.
Jon Hamm Replies To Fans Online | Actually Me
Hi-larious!
The world’s oldest river has a big problem
As much as I enjoy Beau Miles’ usual bullshit, when he is serious his videos are very well done and quite moving.
Roberto Baggio | FIFA World Cup Goals
Hell yeah! I can still hear Bob Ley’s call of the goal against Bulgaria as he worked his way through the defense: “Roberto Baggio. Roberto Baggio! ROBERTO BAGGIO!!!!!”
The Loneliest Flight in The World
Stuff like this kind of freaks me out. We put A LOT of trust in our technology.
The Untold Story of Jordan’s Pre-Game Bar Adventure
Yikes!
Why wasn’t Portugal Conquered by Spain?
Added to my Portugal file in advance of next year.
Christian Bale Breaks Down His Most Iconic Characters | GQ
Legend.
Why Lawrence of Arabia Still Looks Like a Billion Bucks
A little too technical at times but still interesting.
The Patagonia You Don’t See
Gorgeous. But the title is kind of a lie, since he clearly took a cruise ship to these areas “you don’t see.” Dummy.
Inside the Arnett, OK tornado – May 18, 2025
This is wild, and apparently now a thing. I immediately found other videos where drones were flown into twisters.
Worst bomb: Eddie Murphy, Norm Macdonald, John Oliver, and Jerry Seinfeld
A lot of good moments in here.
Vaer Presents North Shore Lifeguards Association – A Story of Purpose and Protection
I’m fine with commercials that are this cool.
The Most Naughty Innuendos Of All Time | This Morning
Gino’s Most Iconic Moments Ever | This Morning
So apparently British morning TV is way better than ours. I might watch the Today Show again if it was like this. The sausage in the hole bit is amazing.
Incredible Hiking in the Canadian Rockies
Finding a Hidden Gem in the Middle of Nowhere
My standard comment that it sure would be cool to live like this.
How We Made the Best Adventure Travel Show on the Internet | Huckberry’s DIRT Origin Story
Cool inside baseball details.
Exploring NOMOS – finally!
Adding this to the long list of watches I will never be able to afford but can still lust after.
Caine’s Arcade
What a wonderful, heart-warming, soul-filling video. Obviously it is 13 years old, because nice things like this don’t happen anymore.
Car Content
The Zeekr 007 GT Is A Cool Electric Wagon I Wish We Got In The USA
The American auto industry will never go away. It’s too important in too many ways. And no matter who is president we will be more interested in protective tarrifs than incentivizing American companies via the same kinds of subsidies the Chinese used to build their industry. But its influence in the rest of the world is rapidly waning because of vehicles like this. GM and Ford are going to be niche manufacturers before we know it.
You could wait for the Rivian R3X or…
This was intriguing until I saw how little legroom there is in the backseat.
Everything I Love & Hate About Our New Rivian R1S After Driving It 1,000 Miles Home
Still #1 on my list for my next vehicle, but in addition to getting the R2 onto roads next year, Rivian really needs to solve their service problem if they want to become legit players.
Photography
The Magic of Spring in the Columbia River Gorge
Travel Photography in the Columbia River Gorge // Fuji X-T5
Photography Report: Key West, Florida with the Mamiya 7ii
TTArtisan AF 27mm f2.8 vs Fujifilm 27mm f2.8 WR
I Took My Leica M11-P to Italy for a Week
Shooting a New Film Stock on the Bronica SQ & Contax T2
It makes photography easier, instantly.
one camera. no plan. in London
From Lisbon to Nazare | Fuji X100VI Cinematic
The Fujifilm X half is Just Plain FUN!
Fujifilm Colors | Are You Getting the Most Out of Your Camera?
How to use the 50mm like the masters, and why?
Film Photography in the San Juan Islands