Category: Watch

🎞️ Salt (2010) | Columbia Pictures Corporation

Watched Salt (2010) from Columbia Pictures Corporation
Directed by Phillip Noyce. With Angelina Jolie, Liev Schreiber, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Daniel Olbrychski. A CIA agent goes on the run after a defector accuses her of being a Russian spy.
Definitely very engaging. The tough part is that Salt is incredibly quiet and all of her life is very internal for the entire picture, so we’re left only to  try to puzzle out what she’s thinking and what her motivations might be. We’re simply left with a handful of flashbacks which are seen (generally) from her point of view. As a result the audience needs to suspend their disbelief several times and rely on a bunch of deus-ex-machina. Still not bad. I could be induced to watch this again just for the fun of the romp.

I definitely wasn’t surprised to see Noyce directing such a piece. Upper level journeyman action set piece all the way.

📺 "Blue Bloods" Handcuffs | CBS

Watched "Blue Bloods" Handcuffs from CBS
Directed by Heather Cappiello. With Donnie Wahlberg, Bridget Moynahan, Will Estes, Len Cariou. When a video surfaces of cops being harassed by a group of people at a housing complex, Frank orders a raid to round up anyone with an outstanding warrant, against Garrett's advice.

📺 "Blue Bloods" My Brothers Keeper | CBS

Watched "Blue Bloods" My Brothers Keeper from CBS
Directed by Douglas Aarniokoski. With Callum Adams, Caroline Basu, Becky Boggs, Leigh Ann Larkin. Danny goes against a direct order during a hostage negotiation; Nicky asks Erin for help when her friend is in jeopardy of losing his scholarship because of a crime he didn't commit; Frank helps a distraught officer who accidentally shot a girl.

📺 “House Hunters Renovation” Big Ideas, Bigger Problems | HGTV

Watched "House Hunters Renovation" Big Ideas, Bigger Problems from HGTV
A couple of new parents jump right into a remodel in the LA area.
Sometimes when dreck like this is on TV, I’m compelled to watch it somehow. The crappy houses they were looking at for $1M+ always kills me when the shows are set in the LA area.

This guy sure was chatty… He self-narrated the entire thing with so much drivel…

I find it odd that their repertoire isn’t all on imdb.com. Apparently many seasons of data missing there on this series.

📺 "The Big Bang Theory" The Donation Oscillation | CBS

Watched "The Big Bang Theory" The Donation Oscillation from CBS
Directed by Mark Cendrowski. With Johnny Galecki, Jim Parsons, Kaley Cuoco, Simon Helberg. Penny tries to throw a wrench into Leonard's plan to be a sperm donor for her ex-boyfriend; Wolowitz, Bernadette, Anu and Koothrappali turn Koothrappali's canceled bachelor party into a couple's trip aboard the "vomit comet."

📺 "The Big Bang Theory" The Meteorite Manifestation | CBS

Watched "The Big Bang Theory" The Meteorite Manifestation from CBS
Directed by Mark Cendrowski. With Johnny Galecki, Jim Parsons, Kaley Cuoco, Simon Helberg. Sheldon is thrilled to help Bernadette and Howard navigate bureaucracy concerning a neighbor's non-compliant balcony until he learns they too have ignored codes. Leonard is disappointed when his friends are uninterested in his new laser.

📺 Introduction to the New Testament History and Literature RLST 152 – Lecture 8: The Gospel of Thomas | Open Yale Courses

Watched Lecture 8: The Gospel of Thomas by Dale B. Martin from RLST 152: Introduction to the New Testament History and Literature

We have known of the existence of the Gospel of Thomas from ancient writers, but it was only after the discovery of the Nag Hammadi Codices that the actual text became available. The Gospel of Thomas is basically a collection of sayings, or logia, that sometimes seem similar, perhaps more primitive than sayings found in the canonical Gospels. Sometimes, however, the sayings seem better explained as reflecting a “Gnostic” understanding of the world. This involves a rejection of the material world and a desire for gnosis, a secret knowledge, in order to escape the world and return to the divine being.

The best part here is the background material on the gnostics and the general tenor of the movement which, once consumed, gives much more insight into the writings in the Gospel of Thomas. The idea of multiple types of Christianities is intriguing. Though we have a few today, they’re not as obviously different as earlier incarnations in the first several centuries in the common era.

I just heard a snippet of a radio show recently in which the interview guest would be talking about practicing multiple faiths simultaneously could be interesting and fruitful. Obviously this is not a new ideas…

📺 “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” Norah O’Donnell/John Dickerson/Gayle King/Bianna Golodryga/Spike Lee | CBS

Watched "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" Norah O'Donnell/John Dickerson/Gayle King/Bianna Golodryga/Spike Lee from CBS
With Stephen Colbert, Norah O'Donnell, John Dickerson, Gayle King. Journalists Norah O'Donnell, John Dickerson, Gayle King, and Bianna Golodryga (CBS This Morning (1992)); filmmaker Spike Lee;
The CBS Morning Show segment was nice, but far too short in this format to accomplish as much as I’d have liked to have seen.

The Spike Lee segment was intriguing for the breadth of topics covered and particularly because very little of it was focused on the film he’s promoting. I’d have rather seen a more in depth interview here.

📺 "Modern Family" Blasts from the Past | ABC

Watched "Modern Family" Blasts from the Past from ABC
Directed by Fred Savage. With Ed O'Neill, Sofía Vergara, Julie Bowen, Ty Burrell. Phil and Claire postpone their planned cycling tour through Italy when Dylan's hippy mother comes to meet them; Mitch's old issue of Playgirl magazine makes Cam jealous; Gloria and Manny investigate the legend of Jay's heroic great uncle.

📺 "Modern Family" Did the Chicken Cross the Road? | ABC

Watched "Modern Family" Did the Chicken Cross the Road? from ABC
Directed by Eric Dean Seaton. With Ed O'Neill, Sofía Vergara, Julie Bowen, Ty Burrell. Alex has an interview for a job and Luke helps her vanquish her fears. Phil believes that he was a Russian Spy in High School. Haley learns unexpected news while Cameron adopts a chicken. Jay and Gloria disagree over Joe's education.

📺 "Modern Family" On the Same Paige | ABC

Watched "Modern Family" On the Same Paige from ABC
Directed by Ryan Case. With Ed O'Neill, Sofía Vergara, Julie Bowen, Ty Burrell. Phil learns that his real estate class will be cancelled if any additional students drop it. So, he turns on his powers of charm and flattery to keep one particular student, Paige, from leaving while Luke asks her out by inviting her over to dinner. Meanwhile, Jay may unknowingly be flirting with the mother of Joe's classmate and tries to set boundaries

📺 “The Americans” Yousaf | Amazon Prime

Watched "The Americans" Yousaf from Amazon Prime
Directed by Stefan Schwartz. With Keri Russell, Matthew Rhys, Annet Mahendru, Susan Misner. A new mission with international stakes has Philip calling on Annelise for assistance just as an old foe returns to D.C. with a vendetta. Stan makes a discovery that could put the FBI hot on the trail of illegals.
Catching back up on where I left off to start to finish off the series after being away for several months…