Fringe S3E09 'Marionette'

IMDb sez: "Fringe Division seeks a man who has been harvesting
transplanted organs, leaving victims with nearly nullified decay rates.
Olivia faces the aftermath of Fauxlivia running her life."

The glyphs for this episode spell out: ADAPT

Dr. Walter Bishop: I understand how difficult it is to be candid with
people that you care about, uh, particularly when it concerns matters
that are intimate in nature.
Peter Bishop: [unacknowledged] Ready to go?
Dr. Walter Bishop: Yes, I am. And by intimate, I mean sexual.
Peter Bishop: [anticipated] Yeah, I got that.
Dr. Walter Bishop: I know this is an instance of a parent asking a child
to do as he says and not as he does.
Peter Bishop: [annoyed] How many ways can I tell you that I don't want
to have this conversation, Walter?
Dr. Walter Bishop: But you must have it.
Peter Bishop: [adversely] No, this conversation, the one that we're
having right now.

Dr. Walter Bishop: [enthusiastically] Feel that! Finally some stiffness. [Astrid sighs and rolls her eyes]

In the opening title sequence of this episode, a message briefly flashes
on the screen, which reads OBSERVERS ARE HERE.

Just for Arthur, another X-Files connection. The woman who played the
zombie ballerina would also appear in The X-Files in 2016.




Fringe S3E10 'The Firefly'

IMDb sez: "The Observer returns, taking an active role in righting an
old wrong (which includes - mundane for him - thwarting a bank robbery)."

Something I noticed is September executes a string of actions to
maneuver Our Heroes into a very specific situation. This is similar to
the S3E03 episode 'The Plateau' where someone in the Redverse is able to predict the outcomes of long strings of events and direct them with a
very small action.

The glyphs for this episode spell out: UNITES

Several strong references to the Back to the Future (1985), most notably
the presence of Christopher Lloyd (Doc). He receives a visit from his
son, as a result of time travel. This son died in 1985, the year the
film was released.

In this episode, Walter describes he got his glasses from his friend "Dr Jacoby...from Washington State." This is a sly reference to the TV show
Twin Peaks (1990). The character Dr. Jacoby wore a similar pair of
glasses and the setting for the show can be assumed to be set within
Washington State.

The song playing when Walter brings Peter soup at the end of the episode
is a version of "If I Only Had a Brain," from The Wizard of Oz.

Peter Bishop: Walter, are you all right?
Dr. Walter Bishop: If "all right" means despondent, yes.


What Did You Watch?


--
I've done good in this world. Now I'm tired and just want to be a cranky
dirty old man.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On May 29, 2025 at 1:30:41 AM PDT, "Ubiquitous" <weberm@polaris.net> wrote:

THE SUPERMAN PROBLEM:
https://youtu.be/qfFMQJZr_AA?si=1bB3FmBQEuLUHUPg

"That's really what Superman is about. It's about hope and it's about being inspiring and the joy that the character created. I don't think you need to live in the shadow of Donner's SUPERMAN. I don't think you need to live in the shadow of John Williams' score. But you do need to recognize that that movie captured, better than any that has followed, the heart of the character. The problem with (modern) Superman films is that they are constantly trying to create bigger and bigger and bigger obstacles for a character with infinite power. Donner understood that (problem) and all the best sequences in SUPERMAN that Superman's greatest obstacle is himself. (Followed potentially by Green Lantern.)

Facts. (Although if you're making a new Superman movie, you could do a lot worse than living a little in the shadow of John Williams.)

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On 5/29/25 7:52 AM, Dimensional Traveler wrote:

What Did You Watch?

After an unexpectedly long workday, I finally got to "John Wick 4". But
first:

soaps: GH - I think this was Wed's(?) ep. Everybody - Brook Lynn & Dante
(the episode before), Ned and Olivia - dumps on Lois, and it still
wasn't enough for me! - Lois is clearly the villain in this piece!!
Brook Lynn and Dante try to explain Gio's background to him, but are
unable to prevent him leaving the Q estate with dumb Emma. They are
really making Sasha hateable with this NuMichael storyline. As expected,
Mac tells Willow and Drew that he can't do anything legally about
Michael repossessing his kids; later, Willow goes to NuMichael to plead
with him (I'm sure he will shut her down in the next episode). And, in
the best bit, Nina is consoled by Maxie at the dive bar, and during the conversation she figures out that Michael is the father of Sasha's baby
- Nina then gets the bartender to basically confirm it, which should
give Willow a fighting chance in the custody hearing.

John Wick 4 (Peacock) - The most ridiculous "John Wick" yet!! I don't
know if that's a good thing or a bad thing!!
I don't think this was in glorious 4k on Peacock (I'll have to
double-check when I get home).
Sidenote: The same visual artifacts I was occasionally seeing with
"Andor" were also popping up during this movie, especially during the
desert scene early in the movie. As "Andor" is Disney+ app, and this was Peacock, it had to mean that the issue was the 4k TV. Sure enough, the
problem went away when I switched from "Cinema Home" visual mode (and I
was seeing the same artifacts in "Standard" mode as well) to "Filmmaker"
visual mode. I have no idea how they've screwed up "Cinema Home" visual
mode so badly - I've got to think that this problem has been introduced
with a recent update from LG, as the 4k TV was definitely not doing this before.
Anyway, this was a fun, but ridiculous! ride.
SPOILERS
Will
Surely
Follow
I was disappointed that some previous characters, like the
"Adjudicator" from the previous film, didn't show up in this one.
I also was annoyed that so many hatchets were buried from "John Wick
3" - both Wick and the Bowery King should have wanted Winston dead, but
it's almost like the events of "3" didn't even happen on this front. (I
guess they felt like they couldn't throw Ian McShane overboard!)
And, on this same front - Did they just get insanely lucky in
killing off Charon in this flick, just before Lance Reddick died IRL? Or
did they change the film somehow after Reddick died?!
I was quite surprised when Shamier Anderson (of "Wynonna Earp", and
before that season #1 of "The Next Step"!!) popped up in this in a
pretty darn prominent role.
Meanwhile, they have Donnie Yen playing the Asian Daredevil (how do
they get away with this!?!) as John Wick's main "rival" (though, unlike
in "3", this time the rival is actually an old buddy, and not a deranged fanboy!!). Also popping up in this one was Hiroyuki Sanada (he's
everywhere these days), Japanese(?) pop star Rina Sawayama, and Clancy
Brown! (as "The Harbinger"!).
Whatever else you want to say, the "John Wick" films *look* great on screen, esp. "2" thru "4". This one has lots of great shots of backlit
thugs standing around palaces and opera houses and churches and the
like, for your visual eye candy!
Hey - are those napalm(?) shotgun shots(?) a real thing, or not?!
That was another killer filmed sequence in this film - looking down on
John Wick as he wields the napalm(?) shotgun(?!) and exterminates loads
of thugs!
In the ridiculous department, apparently John Wick (& co.!) have "inter-dimensional travel" among their various superpowers, what with
the way John Wick (& co.!) hopped all around the globe in mere
miliseconds in this flick!
I also am having a harder and harder time buying the "criminal
underworld world-building" they're doing in these films - this High
Table stuff and all it's accompanying pomp and circumstance is insane!!
The last several films (I think all the way back to "2") have definitely suffered from the lack of an appearance of even a single cop or Fed in
the proceedings.
I also didn't care for the obvious use of CGI (and/or greenscreen?)
in this film - especially the sequence in Paris with all of the cars was
most obviously CGI in large part.
I guess this film wraps up the "High Table" storyarc. (Indeed, the
end of this one implies John Wick is dead!) But apparently a "John Wick
5" is in the works - but it sounds like this film is going to be more
like a "Fugitive"/"Equalizer" type thing, without all the insane High
Table malarkey.


What did you watch?

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On Thu, 29 May 2025 13:50:35 -0700, "Ian J. Ball" <ijball@mac.invalid>
wrote:

On 5/29/25 7:52 AM, Dimensional Traveler wrote:

What Did You Watch?

After an unexpectedly long workday, I finally got to "John Wick 4". But >first:

soaps: GH - I think this was Wed's(?) ep. Everybody - Brook Lynn & Dante
(the episode before), Ned and Olivia - dumps on Lois, and it still
wasn't enough for me! - Lois is clearly the villain in this piece!!
Brook Lynn and Dante try to explain Gio's background to him, but are
unable to prevent him leaving the Q estate with dumb Emma. They are
really making Sasha hateable with this NuMichael storyline. As expected,
Mac tells Willow and Drew that he can't do anything legally about
Michael repossessing his kids; later, Willow goes to NuMichael to plead
with him (I'm sure he will shut her down in the next episode). And, in
the best bit, Nina is consoled by Maxie at the dive bar, and during the >conversation she figures out that Michael is the father of Sasha's baby
- Nina then gets the bartender to basically confirm it, which should
give Willow a fighting chance in the custody hearing.

John Wick 4 (Peacock) - The most ridiculous "John Wick" yet!! I don't
know if that's a good thing or a bad thing!!

It's a great thing.

I don't think this was in glorious 4k on Peacock (I'll have to
double-check when I get home).
Sidenote: The same visual artifacts I was occasionally seeing with
"Andor" were also popping up during this movie, especially during the
desert scene early in the movie. As "Andor" is Disney+ app, and this was >Peacock, it had to mean that the issue was the 4k TV. Sure enough, the >problem went away when I switched from "Cinema Home" visual mode (and I
was seeing the same artifacts in "Standard" mode as well) to "Filmmaker" >visual mode. I have no idea how they've screwed up "Cinema Home" visual
mode so badly - I've got to think that this problem has been introduced
with a recent update from LG, as the 4k TV was definitely not doing this >before.
Anyway, this was a fun, but ridiculous! ride.
SPOILERS
Will
Surely
Follow
I was disappointed that some previous characters, like the
"Adjudicator" from the previous film, didn't show up in this one.

I'm not sure what purpose she would have served in this movie.

I also was annoyed that so many hatchets were buried from "John Wick
3" - both Wick and the Bowery King should have wanted Winston dead, but
it's almost like the events of "3" didn't even happen on this front. (I
guess they felt like they couldn't throw Ian McShane overboard!)
And, on this same front - Did they just get insanely lucky in
killing off Charon in this flick, just before Lance Reddick died IRL? Or
did they change the film somehow after Reddick died?!
I was quite surprised when Shamier Anderson (of "Wynonna Earp", and
before that season #1 of "The Next Step"!!) popped up in this in a
pretty darn prominent role.
Meanwhile, they have Donnie Yen playing the Asian Daredevil (how do
they get away with this!?!) as John Wick's main "rival" (though, unlike
in "3", this time the rival is actually an old buddy, and not a deranged >fanboy!!). Also popping up in this one was Hiroyuki Sanada (he's
everywhere these days), Japanese(?) pop star Rina Sawayama, and Clancy
Brown! (as "The Harbinger"!).
Whatever else you want to say, the "John Wick" films *look* great on
screen, esp. "2" thru "4". This one has lots of great shots of backlit
thugs standing around palaces and opera houses and churches and the
like, for your visual eye candy!

They know how to deliver on the eye candy. Something you would think
more movies could do.

Hey - are those napalm(?) shotgun shots(?) a real thing, or not?!

Yes, they are a very real thing. Dragon's Breath shotgun shells.

real life
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNx1GgzYlSI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rd_V3dsNyA0

Wick verse
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkxVhFg81fs

Some amazing plotting for the movement and shots in that sequence.

That was another killer filmed sequence in this film - looking down on
John Wick as he wields the napalm(?) shotgun(?!) and exterminates loads
of thugs!
In the ridiculous department, apparently John Wick (& co.!) have
"inter-dimensional travel" among their various superpowers, what with
the way John Wick (& co.!) hopped all around the globe in mere
miliseconds in this flick!
I also am having a harder and harder time buying the "criminal
underworld world-building" they're doing in these films - this High
Table stuff and all it's accompanying pomp and circumstance is insane!!
The last several films (I think all the way back to "2") have definitely >suffered from the lack of an appearance of even a single cop or Fed in
the proceedings.

Cops are smart enough to not get involved in anything that appears to
involve the High Table.

I also didn't care for the obvious use of CGI (and/or greenscreen?)
in this film - especially the sequence in Paris with all of the cars was
most obviously CGI in large part.
I guess this film wraps up the "High Table" storyarc. (Indeed, the
end of this one implies John Wick is dead!) But apparently a "John Wick
5" is in the works - but it sounds like this film is going to be more
like a "Fugitive"/"Equalizer" type thing, without all the insane High
Table malarkey.

Don't forget the other movie that is forthcoming in the Wick verse.

What did you watch?

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On 5/29/2025 1:50 PM, Ian J. Ball wrote:

On 5/29/25 7:52 AM, Dimensional Traveler wrote:

What Did You Watch?

After an unexpectedly long workday, I finally got to "John Wick 4". But first:

soaps: GH - I think this was Wed's(?) ep. Everybody - Brook Lynn & Dante
(the episode before), Ned and Olivia - dumps on Lois, and it still
wasn't enough for me! - Lois is clearly the villain in this piece!!
Brook Lynn and Dante try to explain Gio's background to him, but are
unable to prevent him leaving the Q estate with dumb Emma. They are
really making Sasha hateable with this NuMichael storyline. As expected,
Mac tells Willow and Drew that he can't do anything legally about
Michael repossessing his kids; later, Willow goes to NuMichael to plead
with him (I'm sure he will shut her down in the next episode). And, in
the best bit, Nina is consoled by Maxie at the dive bar, and during the conversation she figures out that Michael is the father of Sasha's baby
- Nina then gets the bartender to basically confirm it, which should
give Willow a fighting chance in the custody hearing.

John Wick 4 (Peacock) - The most ridiculous "John Wick" yet!! I don't
know if that's a good thing or a bad thing!!
   I don't think this was in glorious 4k on Peacock (I'll have to double-check when I get home).
   Sidenote: The same visual artifacts I was occasionally seeing with "Andor" were also popping up during this movie, especially during the
desert scene early in the movie. As "Andor" is Disney+ app, and this was Peacock, it had to mean that the issue was the 4k TV. Sure enough, the problem went away when I switched from "Cinema Home" visual mode (and I
was seeing the same artifacts in "Standard" mode as well) to "Filmmaker" visual mode. I have no idea how they've screwed up "Cinema Home" visual
mode so badly - I've got to think that this problem has been introduced
with a recent update from LG, as the 4k TV was definitely not doing this before.
   Anyway, this was a fun, but ridiculous! ride.
   SPOILERS
   Will
   Surely
   Follow
   I was disappointed that some previous characters, like the "Adjudicator" from the previous film, didn't show up in this one.
   I also was annoyed that so many hatchets were buried from "John Wick
3" - both Wick and the Bowery King should have wanted Winston dead, but
it's almost like the events of "3" didn't even happen on this front. (I
guess they felt like they couldn't throw Ian McShane overboard!)
   And, on this same front - Did they just get insanely lucky in
killing off Charon in this flick, just before Lance Reddick died IRL? Or
did they change the film somehow after Reddick died?!
   I was quite surprised when Shamier Anderson (of "Wynonna Earp", and before that season #1 of "The Next Step"!!) popped up in this in a
pretty darn prominent role.
   Meanwhile, they have Donnie Yen playing the Asian Daredevil (how do they get away with this!?!) as John Wick's main "rival" (though, unlike
in "3", this time the rival is actually an old buddy, and not a deranged fanboy!!). Also popping up in this one was Hiroyuki Sanada (he's
everywhere these days), Japanese(?) pop star Rina Sawayama, and Clancy
Brown! (as "The Harbinger"!).
   Whatever else you want to say, the "John Wick" films *look* great on screen, esp. "2" thru "4". This one has lots of great shots of backlit
thugs standing around palaces and opera houses and churches and the
like, for your visual eye candy!
   Hey - are those napalm(?) shotgun shots(?) a real thing, or not?!
That was another killer filmed sequence in this film - looking down on
John Wick as he wields the napalm(?) shotgun(?!) and exterminates loads
of thugs!
   In the ridiculous department, apparently John Wick (& co.!) have "inter-dimensional travel" among their various superpowers, what with
the way John Wick (& co.!) hopped all around the globe in mere
miliseconds in this flick!
   I also am having a harder and harder time buying the "criminal underworld world-building" they're doing in these films - this High
Table stuff and all it's accompanying pomp and circumstance is insane!!
The last several films (I think all the way back to "2") have definitely suffered from the lack of an appearance of even a single cop or Fed in
the proceedings.
   I also didn't care for the obvious use of CGI (and/or greenscreen?)
in this film - especially the sequence in Paris with all of the cars was
most obviously CGI in large part.
   I guess this film wraps up the "High Table" storyarc. (Indeed, the
end of this one implies John Wick is dead!) But apparently a "John Wick
5" is in the works - but it sounds like this film is going to be more
like a "Fugitive"/"Equalizer" type thing, without all the insane High
Table malarkey.

The next movie in the John Wick/Continental universe is 'From the World
of John Wick: Ballerina' coming out on June 6. Reeves is in it but I
believe it is set well before the events in Wick 4. A sixth movie
called 'From the World of John Wick: Caine' is also in development but I
don't think Reeves is in that. And yes Donnie Yen is returning as Caine
for that one.

--
I've done good in this world. Now I'm tired and just want to be a cranky
dirty old man.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On May 29, 2025 at 1:50:35 PM PDT, ""Ian J. Ball"" <ijball@mac.invalid>
wrote:

John Wick 4 (Peacock) - The most ridiculous "John Wick" yet!!
Whatever else you want to say, the "John Wick" films *look* great on screen, esp. "2" thru "4". This one has lots of great shots of backlit
thugs standing around palaces and opera houses and churches and the
like, for your visual eye candy!
Hey - are those napalm(?) shotgun shots(?) a real thing, or not?!
That was another killer filmed sequence in this film - looking down on
John Wick as he wields the napalm(?) shotgun(?!) and exterminates loads
of thugs!

I envision that the High Table has some kind of warehouse staging area set up somewhere. Inside are multiple teams, each made up of about a dozen armed
guys, who are sitting around playing cards, and drinking coffee, and watching THE VIEW, and when Wick wipes out the team currently in the field, a red light starts flashing and the next team jumps up and drives off to their doom.

Can you imagine the conversation over at the Ruthless Henchmen squad room?

ADJUDICATOR: I need a two-dozen of you over at the Continental. Now!

TEAM #5 LEADER: Sir... er, Ma'am... er, They, what happened to the half-dozen we sent out an hour ago?

ADJUDICATOR: Equipment malfunction. They'll be back soon.

TEAM #5 LEADER: And the half-dozen before that?

ADJUDICATOR: Lunch. Look, I don't need this kind of static. Shut up and follow orders!

TEAM #5 LEADER: Look, Mr./Ms./Them Adjudicator, I like these nice guns you
gave us and all, but Home Depot was steady work with nice regular hours. None of this midnight to whenever stuff. And I always made it home after my shift. I'll only go if I can take the chopper.

ADJUDICATOR: You're kidding me, right?

TEAM #5 LEADER: But we never get to use the chopper.

ADJUDICATOR: All right. Just get the hell over there quickly!

TEAM #5 LEADER: Okay, boss! (to rest of team) Air assault on the Continental, boys! We're goin' in hot!

A roomful of future corpses bursts into cheers and defiant yells.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

BTR1701 <atropos@mac.com> wrote:

On May 29, 2025 at 1:30:41 AM PDT, "Ubiquitous" <weberm@polaris.net> wrote:

THE SUPERMAN PROBLEM:
https://youtu.be/qfFMQJZr_AA?si=1bB3FmBQEuLUHUPg

"That's really what Superman is about. It's about hope and it's about being inspiring and the joy that the character created. I don't think you need to live in the shadow of Donner's SUPERMAN. I don't think you need to live in the
shadow of John Williams' score. But you do need to recognize that that movie captured, better than any that has followed, the heart of the character. The problem with (modern) Superman films is that they are constantly trying to create bigger and bigger and bigger obstacles for a character with infinite power. Donner understood that (problem) and all the best sequences in SUPERMAN
that Superman's greatest obstacle is himself. (Followed potentially by Green Lantern.)

Nah. Superman can clean Green Lantern’s clock without breaking a sweat. We’ve seen Gardner try to take the big red S on, and Superman overpowered
his ring with sheer willpower.

Now the Martian Manhunter, he’d be a problem.

Facts. (Although if you're making a new Superman movie, you could do a lot worse than living a little in the shadow of John Williams.)

--
The last thing I want to do is hurt you, but it is still on my list.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On 5/29/2025 3:05 PM, shawn wrote:

On Thu, 29 May 2025 13:50:35 -0700, "Ian J. Ball" <ijball@mac.invalid>
wrote:

On 5/29/25 7:52 AM, Dimensional Traveler wrote:

What Did You Watch?

After an unexpectedly long workday, I finally got to "John Wick 4". But
first:

soaps: GH - I think this was Wed's(?) ep. Everybody - Brook Lynn & Dante
(the episode before), Ned and Olivia - dumps on Lois, and it still
wasn't enough for me! - Lois is clearly the villain in this piece!!
Brook Lynn and Dante try to explain Gio's background to him, but are
unable to prevent him leaving the Q estate with dumb Emma. They are
really making Sasha hateable with this NuMichael storyline. As expected,
Mac tells Willow and Drew that he can't do anything legally about
Michael repossessing his kids; later, Willow goes to NuMichael to plead
with him (I'm sure he will shut her down in the next episode). And, in
the best bit, Nina is consoled by Maxie at the dive bar, and during the
conversation she figures out that Michael is the father of Sasha's baby
- Nina then gets the bartender to basically confirm it, which should
give Willow a fighting chance in the custody hearing.

John Wick 4 (Peacock) - The most ridiculous "John Wick" yet!! I don't
know if that's a good thing or a bad thing!!

It's a great thing.

+1

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On 5/29/25 3:05 PM, shawn wrote:

On Thu, 29 May 2025 13:50:35 -0700, "Ian J. Ball" <ijball@mac.invalid>
wrote:

On 5/29/25 7:52 AM, Dimensional Traveler wrote:

What Did You Watch?

After an unexpectedly long workday, I finally got to "John Wick 4":

John Wick 4 (Peacock) - The most ridiculous "John Wick" yet!! I don't
know if that's a good thing or a bad thing!!

It's a great thing.

I don't think this was in glorious 4k on Peacock (I'll have to
double-check when I get home).

Correcting myself - apparently, it was 4k, on the 4k TV. It doesn't show
up as 4k on Peacock on the iPad or the iPhone, but it does on the TV.

Sidenote: The same visual artifacts I was occasionally seeing with
"Andor" were also popping up during this movie, especially during the
desert scene early in the movie. As "Andor" is Disney+ app, and this was
Peacock, it had to mean that the issue was the 4k TV. Sure enough, the
problem went away when I switched from "Cinema Home" visual mode (and I
was seeing the same artifacts in "Standard" mode as well) to "Filmmaker"
visual mode. I have no idea how they've screwed up "Cinema Home" visual
mode so badly - I've got to think that this problem has been introduced
with a recent update from LG, as the 4k TV was definitely not doing this
before.
Anyway, this was a fun, but ridiculous! ride.
SPOILERS
Will
Surely
Follow
I was disappointed that some previous characters, like the
"Adjudicator" from the previous film, didn't show up in this one.

I'm not sure what purpose she would have served in this movie.

She was just a good villain - I would have liked to have seen her again.

I also was annoyed that so many hatchets were buried from "John Wick
3" - both Wick and the Bowery King should have wanted Winston dead, but
it's almost like the events of "3" didn't even happen on this front. (I
guess they felt like they couldn't throw Ian McShane overboard!)
And, on this same front - Did they just get insanely lucky in
killing off Charon in this flick, just before Lance Reddick died IRL? Or
did they change the film somehow after Reddick died?!
I was quite surprised when Shamier Anderson (of "Wynonna Earp", and
before that season #1 of "The Next Step"!!) popped up in this in a
pretty darn prominent role.
Meanwhile, they have Donnie Yen playing the Asian Daredevil (how do
they get away with this!?!) as John Wick's main "rival" (though, unlike
in "3", this time the rival is actually an old buddy, and not a deranged
fanboy!!). Also popping up in this one was Hiroyuki Sanada (he's
everywhere these days), Japanese(?) pop star Rina Sawayama, and Clancy
Brown! (as "The Harbinger"!).
Whatever else you want to say, the "John Wick" films *look* great on
screen, esp. "2" thru "4". This one has lots of great shots of backlit
thugs standing around palaces and opera houses and churches and the
like, for your visual eye candy!

They know how to deliver on the eye candy. Something you would think
more movies could do.

Hey - are those napalm(?) shotgun shots(?) a real thing, or not?!

Yes, they are a very real thing. Dragon's Breath shotgun shells.

real life
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNx1GgzYlSI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rd_V3dsNyA0

Wick verse
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkxVhFg81fs

Some amazing plotting for the movement and shots in that sequence.

OK, if they're magnesium, then they wouldn't work as portrayed in the
movie (IMO). In the movie, they really seemed more like "napalm shotgun shells".

That was another killer filmed sequence in this film - looking down on
John Wick as he wields the napalm(?) shotgun(?!) and exterminates loads
of thugs!
In the ridiculous department, apparently John Wick (& co.!) have
"inter-dimensional travel" among their various superpowers, what with
the way John Wick (& co.!) hopped all around the globe in mere
miliseconds in this flick!
I also am having a harder and harder time buying the "criminal
underworld world-building" they're doing in these films - this High
Table stuff and all it's accompanying pomp and circumstance is insane!!
The last several films (I think all the way back to "2") have definitely
suffered from the lack of an appearance of even a single cop or Fed in
the proceedings.

Cops are smart enough to not get involved in anything that appears to
involve the High Table.

It just blows any remaining believability out of the water with these films!

I also didn't care for the obvious use of CGI (and/or greenscreen?)
in this film - especially the sequence in Paris with all of the cars was
most obviously CGI in large part.
I guess this film wraps up the "High Table" storyarc. (Indeed, the
end of this one implies John Wick is dead!) But apparently a "John Wick
5" is in the works - but it sounds like this film is going to be more
like a "Fugitive"/"Equalizer" type thing, without all the insane High
Table malarkey.

Don't forget the other movie that is forthcoming in the Wick verse.

Yeah - but when will "Ballerina" get past Starz?! Probably 2 years after
its release!

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On 5/30/2025 12:15 PM, Ian J. Ball wrote:

On 5/29/25 3:05 PM, shawn wrote:

On Thu, 29 May 2025 13:50:35 -0700, "Ian J. Ball" <ijball@mac.invalid>
wrote:

On 5/29/25 7:52 AM, Dimensional Traveler wrote:

What Did You Watch?

After an unexpectedly long workday, I finally got to "John Wick 4":

John Wick 4 (Peacock) - The most ridiculous "John Wick" yet!! I don't
know if that's a good thing or a bad thing!!

It's a great thing.

    I don't think this was in glorious 4k on Peacock (I'll have to
double-check when I get home).

Correcting myself - apparently, it was 4k, on the 4k TV. It doesn't show
up as 4k on Peacock on the iPad or the iPhone, but it does on the TV.

    Sidenote: The same visual artifacts I was occasionally seeing with >>> "Andor" were also popping up during this movie, especially during the
desert scene early in the movie. As "Andor" is Disney+ app, and this was >>> Peacock, it had to mean that the issue was the 4k TV. Sure enough, the
problem went away when I switched from "Cinema Home" visual mode (and I
was seeing the same artifacts in "Standard" mode as well) to "Filmmaker" >>> visual mode. I have no idea how they've screwed up "Cinema Home" visual
mode so badly - I've got to think that this problem has been introduced
with a recent update from LG, as the 4k TV was definitely not doing this >>> before.
    Anyway, this was a fun, but ridiculous! ride.
    SPOILERS
    Will
    Surely
    Follow
    I was disappointed that some previous characters, like the
"Adjudicator" from the previous film, didn't show up in this one.

I'm not sure what purpose she would have served in this movie.

She was just a good villain - I would have liked to have seen her again.

The thing I don't get is at the moment she decides to order everyone
killed, what stops them from just putting a bullet in her for good
measure. She was ridiculously cocky and sure no one would lay a finger
on her, and she was right.

    I also was annoyed that so many hatchets were buried from "John Wick >>> 3" - both Wick and the Bowery King should have wanted Winston dead, but
it's almost like the events of "3" didn't even happen on this front. (I
guess they felt like they couldn't throw Ian McShane overboard!)

That never made sense to me either. It felt like at the end of 3 they
were hedging their bets and being a little vague as to where McShane's
loyalty really lied, then in this one it's never mentioned.

    And, on this same front - Did they just get insanely lucky in
killing off Charon in this flick, just before Lance Reddick died IRL? Or >>> did they change the film somehow after Reddick died?!

I think it was just a coincidence.

    I was quite surprised when Shamier Anderson (of "Wynonna Earp", and >>> before that season #1 of "The Next Step"!!) popped up in this in a
pretty darn prominent role.
    Meanwhile, they have Donnie Yen playing the Asian Daredevil (how do >>> they get away with this!?!) as John Wick's main "rival" (though, unlike
in "3", this time the rival is actually an old buddy, and not a deranged >>> fanboy!!). Also popping up in this one was Hiroyuki Sanada (he's
everywhere these days), Japanese(?) pop star Rina Sawayama, and Clancy
Brown! (as "The Harbinger"!).
    Whatever else you want to say, the "John Wick" films *look* great on >>> screen, esp. "2" thru "4". This one has lots of great shots of backlit
thugs standing around palaces and opera houses and churches and the
like, for your visual eye candy!

They know how to deliver on the eye candy. Something you would think
more movies could do.

    Hey - are those napalm(?) shotgun shots(?) a real thing, or not?!

Yes, they are a very real thing. Dragon's Breath shotgun shells.

real life
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNx1GgzYlSI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rd_V3dsNyA0

Wick verse
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkxVhFg81fs

Some amazing plotting for the movement and shots in that sequence.

Someone should have won an academy award or two for that sequence!

OK, if they're magnesium, then they wouldn't work as portrayed in the
movie (IMO). In the movie, they really seemed more like "napalm shotgun shells".

That was another killer filmed sequence in this film - looking down on
John Wick as he wields the napalm(?) shotgun(?!) and exterminates loads
of thugs!
    In the ridiculous department, apparently John Wick (& co.!) have
"inter-dimensional travel" among their various superpowers, what with
the way John Wick (& co.!) hopped all around the globe in mere
miliseconds in this flick!
    I also am having a harder and harder time buying the "criminal
underworld world-building" they're doing in these films - this High
Table stuff and all it's accompanying pomp and circumstance is insane!!
The last several films (I think all the way back to "2") have definitely >>> suffered from the lack of an appearance of even a single cop or Fed in
the proceedings.

Cops are smart enough to not get involved in anything that appears to
involve the High Table.

It just blows any remaining believability out of the water with these
films!

    I also didn't care for the obvious use of CGI (and/or greenscreen?) >>> in this film - especially the sequence in Paris with all of the cars was >>> most obviously CGI in large part.
    I guess this film wraps up the "High Table" storyarc. (Indeed, the >>> end of this one implies John Wick is dead!) But apparently a "John Wick
5" is in the works - but it sounds like this film is going to be more
like a "Fugitive"/"Equalizer" type thing, without all the insane High
Table malarkey.

Don't forget the other movie that is forthcoming in the Wick verse.

Yeah - but when will "Ballerina" get past Starz?! Probably 2 years after
its release!

I already have my tickets for next week. I'll let you know how it is
worth seeing now or if you should wait 2 years or see it streaming.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)