atomicpoet

joined 1 year ago
MODERATOR OF
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fediversenews
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[Update] AtomicPoet has deleted the piefed.social communities where he was the sole moderator (!movies@piefed.social being the exception). Content is still available, details in the linked post in c/yepowertrippinbastards@lemmy.dbzer0.com
[–] atomicpoet@piefed.social -2 points 8 months ago (1 children)

I’ve never once heard “bro” used in a genuinely positive way. Not once.

At best it’s fake-jovial. At worst it’s a way to diminish, antagonize, or mask hostility.

Case in point: this very thread. People kept saying “bro” not out of warmth, but because they thought it would piss me off. That’s not camaraderie—that’s toxicity.

And no, “bro” is not the same as “mate.” “Mate” might be regional slang. “Bro” is gendered. Which means it’s exclusionary by default. It assumes something about the person you’re talking to that may not be true. That’s not inclusion. That’s presumption.

So unless someone is your literal brother, why keep it around? If a word carries a whole lot of negatives and almost no positives, why pretend it’s harmless? Better yet—why does your urge to use a toxic word override my goal of building an inclusive community? Would you defend other toxic words the same way—words with even sharper malice baked in?

And if you would, then maybe the problem isn’t me banning “bro.” Maybe the problem is what you’re really defending.

[Update] AtomicPoet has deleted the piefed.social communities where he was the sole moderator (!movies@piefed.social being the exception). Content is still available, details in the linked post in c/yepowertrippinbastards@lemmy.dbzer0.com
[–] atomicpoet@piefed.social -1 points 8 months ago (1 children)

You’re framing visibility as if it’s accountability.

But mods aren’t accountable to users—they’re accountable to admins. If a mod aligns with an admin, users can scream all they want, nothing changes. If a mod sides with the community but not the admin, the admin overrules both. That’s hierarchy, full stop.

Let’s be real. The whole conceit of YPTB is a farce. You’re not “holding mods accountable.” You’re doing populism dressed up as anarchism, aligning with admin tastes when it suits.

Out of all the possible people in the community, it just so happens that the true authorities—the ones setting the norms and nurturing the culture—are the same ones holding the keys to the entire server. And those are the very people wielding YPTB as a cudgel in the name of “accountability.” That’s not accountability. That’s a closed loop.

If lemmy.dbzer0.com were serious about anarchism, the admins would say: “No mods, no users, no hierarchy—everyone go operate their own nodes.” But they don’t. Instead, this community exists under the admin’s keys, which feeds an illusion.

And that “visibility” you’re pointing to? It’s not accountability—it’s branding. Admin branding. It only exists because lemmy.dbzer0.com allows it to exist, and only as long as the server remains federated. Flip that switch and your visibility, your supposed accountability, evaporates overnight.

NOSTR and content moderation in c/fediverse@lemmy.world
[–] atomicpoet@piefed.social 2 points 8 months ago

Got it. So it's less confusing to users who don't know what an FE or BE are, but it's more confusing for new admins who do.

"Instead of running Soapbox on Soapbox, I'll run Fedibird on Soapbox. Scratch that. I'll run vanilla Pleroma with Soapbox instead of Soapbox."

[Update] AtomicPoet has deleted the piefed.social communities where he was the sole moderator (!movies@piefed.social being the exception). Content is still available, details in the linked post in c/yepowertrippinbastards@lemmy.dbzer0.com
[–] atomicpoet@piefed.social 0 points 8 months ago (3 children)

Fair enough—I probably came in sharper than I needed to. I get that you’re not denying the power imbalance, just framing it differently.

We’re closer in view than it might have sounded. My aim wasn’t to dunk on you, just to stress that these structures aren’t neutral. If we’re both pointing in the same direction, then good—that’s where the real work begins.

NOSTR and content moderation in c/fediverse@lemmy.world
[–] atomicpoet@piefed.social 1 points 8 months ago (2 children)

Can you tell me a little bit more about how Soapbox FE and Soapbox BE differ? I'm out of the loop on that one.

[Update] AtomicPoet has deleted the piefed.social communities where he was the sole moderator (!movies@piefed.social being the exception). Content is still available, details in the linked post in c/yepowertrippinbastards@lemmy.dbzer0.com
[–] atomicpoet@piefed.social 0 points 8 months ago (5 children)

Space isn’t “just a space.” Space is what makes words accessible. A post that nobody can reach might as well not exist. Infrastructure isn’t neutral—it’s the condition that makes communication possible in the first place.

And admins don’t just have the power to end a space. They have the power to prevent speech from ever happening. They can de-platform, silence, or exclude before words are written. That’s not trivial. That’s systemic control over what gets created, not just what gets erased.

And sometimes communities really are families—both literal and ad hoc. People pour years of energy, conversation, and memory into them. When they get obliterated, it’s not “just a space” disappearing—it’s a shared history wiped out because one person with keys decided it was over.

What makes your comment even more striking is that it contradicts your earlier points. First you downplayed hierarchy by saying admins are just neutral facilitators, now you admit they hold systemic power but dismiss it as “no big deal.” Which one is it?

That’s the imbalance I’m pointing at. If we want real commons, that has to change. Otherwise we’re all just tenants, and the landlord can decide at any moment to bulldoze the building. Dismissing that as unimportant is exactly how these power structures stay invisible.

[Update] AtomicPoet has deleted the piefed.social communities where he was the sole moderator (!movies@piefed.social being the exception). Content is still available, details in the linked post in c/yepowertrippinbastards@lemmy.dbzer0.com
[–] atomicpoet@piefed.social -1 points 8 months ago (1 children)

I’m not arguing for extremes at all.

On one side you’ve got pure authoritarianism—admins as unchecked rulers. On the other side you’ve got utopian anarchy—peers moderating themselves with no hierarchy. I’m not in either camp.

What I’m pointing out is the middle: these platforms are hierarchical by design. That means admins do hold systemic power, but it also means admins have responsibility for how that power is exercised. My stance is simply to acknowledge that reality instead of pretending hierarchy doesn’t exist.

Selective federation is part of that. It’s not about isolation or domination—it’s about setting clear boundaries for what I’m willing to host and connect with, while still participating in the broader network. Users still have choices. They can join another server or start their own. That’s federation working as intended.

So this isn’t an extreme position. It’s the pragmatic one: take responsibility for the space you run, be upfront about the structure, and don’t pretend current software is something it isn’t.

NOSTR and content moderation in c/fediverse@lemmy.world
[–] atomicpoet@piefed.social 5 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (4 children)

Just want to point out that I use Mangane, which is a fork of Soapbox, on my Akkoma server---and it absolutely connects to Lemmy.

From what I understand, Soapbox is just a front-end. The backend is Pleroma/Akkoma.

And by the way, one of the great aspects of the *oma services is that the frontends can be swapped out.

[Update] AtomicPoet has deleted the piefed.social communities where he was the sole moderator (!movies@piefed.social being the exception). Content is still available, details in the linked post in c/yepowertrippinbastards@lemmy.dbzer0.com
[–] atomicpoet@piefed.social 0 points 8 months ago (7 children)

The feast metaphor doesn’t hold. If I pay for a banquet hall, the guests can mingle—but they don’t control the locks on the doors, the electricity, or whether the venue even stays open tomorrow. If I decide to shut the place down, the party ends whether they like it or not. That’s not neutral infrastructure. That’s systemic power.

I’m not saying the admin “owns” people’s words. Users own what they write. But whether that writing continues to exist, whether it stays visible, whether it can even be reached—those are all contingent on the admin. Content lives inside infrastructure, and whoever holds the keys controls the environment where it persists.

And people absolutely are confused about this. Look at lemm.ee: did the community want to vanish overnight? No—but the admin pulled the plug, and everything disappeared. The same happens on Reddit when admins close subreddits, or on Discord when a server gets nuked. People routinely find themselves blindsided because they mistake participation for ownership.

That’s the point I’m pressing: software that demands admins and mods creates hierarchy, no matter what ideals we wrap around it. If we want a true commons, the architecture has to change—there can’t be “users,” only peers, each running their own node. Until then, pretending otherwise is just comforting metaphor.

[Update] AtomicPoet has deleted the piefed.social communities where he was the sole moderator (!movies@piefed.social being the exception). Content is still available, details in the linked post in c/yepowertrippinbastards@lemmy.dbzer0.com
[–] atomicpoet@piefed.social 2 points 8 months ago (3 children)

I get what you’re saying, and I even sympathize with it. I would love a true public square owned by the commons—something where people’s conversations aren’t at the mercy of whoever happens to run the machine.

But that’s not how Lemmy, Mastodon, Misskey, or any of the current platforms work. These systems are hierarchical by design. They require admins, they require mods, and everyone else becomes “users.” That’s not a public square, that’s tenancy.

Even donations don’t change that. If the admin holds the keys, they hold the power. Look at lemm.ee—did the community there want to be wiped out overnight? Of course not. But the admin pulled the plug, and that was the end of it. That’s the architecture working as designed.

If we really want a public square, then we have to stop talking about “users.” There should only be peers. And that means each person owning their own node, not donating their content to someone else’s server and hoping they’ll be benevolent forever.

That’s the uncomfortable truth: until the design itself changes, we don’t have commons. We have hierarchies dressed up in populist rhetoric, and every user is just one admin’s decision away from disappearing.

[Update] AtomicPoet has deleted the piefed.social communities where he was the sole moderator (!movies@piefed.social being the exception). Content is still available, details in the linked post in c/yepowertrippinbastards@lemmy.dbzer0.com
[–] atomicpoet@piefed.social 0 points 8 months ago (9 children)

The problem with your framing is that it treats software as neutral when it isn’t.

Social media software encodes structure into how communities are organized. If the software is hierarchical, the community will be hierarchical. There’s no way around that unless everyone literally operates their own nodes.

And that’s where the real vulnerability lies. If you don’t run your own server, you’re not sovereign. You’re donating your content to someone else’s machine and trusting that their standards, moderation, and moods won’t turn against you. Ideals won’t protect you if the design itself makes you dependent.

If you really care about a sense of ownership, then you should be running your own server. That’s what freedom of association actually means. It isn’t allegiance. Allegiance locks you in. Association multiplies your choices—pick a server that matches your values, or start your own. That’s the entire point of federation.

So let’s not pretend mass platforms or wide-open instances are some higher form of democracy. They aren’t. They’re just populism sitting on top of hierarchy. The lowest common denominator gets to shout “this is the people,” while the actual levers of control stay exactly where they’ve always been—with whoever holds the keys.

[Update] AtomicPoet has deleted the piefed.social communities where he was the sole moderator (!movies@piefed.social being the exception). Content is still available, details in the linked post in c/yepowertrippinbastards@lemmy.dbzer0.com
[–] atomicpoet@piefed.social 1 points 8 months ago (5 children)

Yeah, I get why the word “own” makes people uneasy. There’s a sincere belief that communities should belong to the commons—that no one should control the space, that it should be shared, stewarded, collective.

I sympathize with that. I really do.

But that’s not how the software works.

Lemmy isn’t structured like a commons. Neither is Mastodon. Neither is most federated software. These platforms still rely on admins, moderators, and users. There are hierarchies, permissions, access levels. Someone has root. Someone pays the bills. Someone can click “ban.”

If you’re building a community on someone else’s server, you are doing so inside their infrastructure. And under the law, they are the legal operator and data controller. That gives them full authority—technical and legal—over the domain, the storage, the moderation tools, and the continued existence of what you built.

So yes—everything you post on Reddit, Facebook, or Twitter lives behind walls. Even if you retain copyright, you’ve handed over a perpetual license to do whatever they want with it. They own the platform. They control the archive. You’re not publishing. You’re donating.

The Fediverse is better—but let’s not pretend it’s structurally different. If you build something inside someone else’s instance, they own the keys. If they kick you out, it’s gone. That’s not a glitch. That’s the model.

If you truly want a commons—a system with no admins, no mods, no hierarchy—you need to build software that works that way. But that’s not Lemmy. Not Mastodon. Not Misskey. Not PeerTube.

In this system, the only real recourse is to run your own server. That’s where your power begins. That’s where your autonomy lives.

And that’s why I say: I want to own my community.

Because if I don’t, someone else will. And I’ve seen what happens when they do.

0
Lockdown Notice: This community is temporarily closed (piefed.social)
 

Because of the behaviour I’ve seen in recent discussions, I’m placing !fediversenews@piefed.social on lockdown until further notice.

The problem isn’t disagreement or debate—that’s always welcome. The problem is brigading: people from outside the community piling in, not to engage in good faith, but to stir conflict and derail conversation. When that happens, it ceases to be discussion and turns into harassment.

This community was created to provide a space where people can follow Fediverse news, share perspectives, and talk about developments in a civil manner. I won’t let that be undermined by targeted disruption. For the time being, no new posts will be allowed. Once things cool down, I’ll review the situation and reopen the community.

Thank you to everyone who has contributed in good faith—you’re the reason this community exists.

-1
LIVE MOVIE FRIDAYS: Time of Death (2013)—starts tonight at 9PM PST / 4AM GMT (media.piefed.social)
submitted 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) by atomicpoet@piefed.social to c/movies@piefed.social
0 comments fedilink
 

WARNING SPOILERS

That’s right, tonight’s Live Movie Friday pick is Time of Death (2013)—a made-for-TV Canadian thriller from Incendo, starring Kathleen Robertson.

This one has all the hallmarks of a Friday night watch: a string of corporate murders happening at the exact same time—10:44PM — a determined FBI agent trying to crack the pattern, and a lot of melodramatic boardroom backstabbing. Think Law & Order: SVU if it had less grit and more “Montreal shot-for-TV lighting.”

We’re watching this one because of its bonkers premise. This is either going to be gripping or laugh-out-loud ridiculous. Could be good. Could be bad. We don’t know. But that’s the whole point—we’re running a live reaction thread and finding out together.

🕘 We’re watching LIVE tonight at 9PM PST / 4AM GMT

Join the chaos, bring your takes, and get ready for a disco-fueled descent into madness.

🧵 Live reactions will be happening right here in this thread.

Yes, here on !movies@piefed.social, so don’t miss out.

ℹ️ More info:

IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2759976/
Letterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/film/time-of-death/

📽️ Watch links:

YouTube (Free): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T16Agky3he4
Tubi (Free with ads): https://tubitv.com/movies/653727/time-of-death
Prime Video: https://www.primevideo.com/detail/0R5N2IQ8V21IOJD8LNN9BKJIXZ/

Let’s see if you can figure out the killer before 10:44PM strikes again.

Yeah! 😎

Time of Death is starting in five minutes!

And it goes without saying that I have not seen this movie yet. It might be great. It might be awful. But either way, I'm updating this thread live as I watch it.

All right. We're starting. We're starting off with a business man saying that one of the things you learn in business is you can't dwell on the past. Mistakes are inevitably going to be made. And we learn here that a gun is being pointed at him.

Oh, we got the perpetrator looking at his watch.

Now businessman is offering him $10M. At right as the watch goes off, he gets shot.

Fun little monologue here before the businessman meets his demise.

Now we cut to Kathleen Robertson, playing as Jordan Price, looking all fashionable in her overcoat and scarf with her blonde hair tied back. She's icy, cold, and efficient. And what's this? She's being assigned a new partner who just became a detective last week. She doesn't want to train the new guy. She's all about the business.

But resigned she wants to look at the body.

So she's asking about all the details. Finds out the very precise death of 10:44PM—known only because the victim called 911 at that time.

Jordan is a bit of a harass. Suffers no fools.

But now the dead man's son walks in to see the body. FBI agent Price interrogates him, checks if he might be the killer. Son swears he is not.

Now the detective asks for stuff to be done. But then the cop gets all bullying, says she looks more comfortable with numbers than dead bodies. But FBI agent Price ain't having an of it. Doubles down on what she wants done.

Now FBI agent and her rookie detective are talking about the details. What's this? Some conflict? Some sexual tension?

Our intrepid partners are now interviewing the businessmen who worked with the murdered businessman—who we find out was a CEO. They're trying to find a motive.

Now they find out that the company doesn't want to look at something connected to the Department of Defence. She might not have clearance to look into that.

But FBI agent Price wants to know more, and she's being forthright about that.

They found out that one of the former employees sold a whole lot of stock before the CEO was murdered. That means motive.

So they interview that former employee. And they decide to do that right as he's getting a shave at a barbershop.

They find out that this employee wasn't so happy about DOD work.

Apparently, he couldn't be the murderer because he was seeing strippers that night.

So now that they find out the CEO's son didn't like the company's DOD work either. Which makes him a suspect yet again.

Well, my daughter wants to watch this move now... so I have to pause for a moment while I get her up to speed. Give me a sec...

So they interview the son and we found out that he's now going to run the company.

They find out he's going through with the DOD contract because if they don't, the company goes bankrupt.

Price and her partner (his name is Elliot Larken) prod him to find out more about the company's inner workings, trying to find out who might have motive to murder the CEO.

In the car, Price and Larkin start gabbing. They try to find out more about each other. Price is offended by the very notion of being social. But then she finds out that Larkin worked on a big case, so she's impressed enough with him to let him buy her a beer.

They're flirting and the bar, and both of them are trying to seize each other up—find out if they're single or might be into each other.

You know, Price isn't just cold, she's kind o mean. First she says girls would be into him. Then she says she's a woman, not a girl—so she's not into him.

God damn. These cops are having public sex in a car. Wouldn't it be shitty if they got arrested?

But they won't because the movie must go on.

Larkin asks if the sex is a one time thing. Dude, this movie is for middle-aged wine-swilling moms. Of course it's not a one time thing.

Larkin briefs his boss on the murder. Finds out he was assigned to this case because his boss hates the FBI. Okay...

So now they're talking about why the murderer looked at his watch.

And now they're supposing he did so because he worked on a team.

More flirting happens.

So they're briefing the boss on their theory—how the lack of evidence leads them to believe the killer was a professional. And this somehow allows them to conjure up a list of suspects.

Wait... what kind of voodoo is this?

Even the boss thinks this is nuts. Because it is.

Cue a scene where the son hugs his business colleagues, and they're asking how they're going to get out of this mess.

And now they're saying the FBI and cops are sniffing around. They'll check their phone calls and emails!

Oh, you think? A murder brought the attention of the police? That's just crazy talk!

This movie moves very fast.

They have suspicions on a suspect. So now they're doing surveillance.

Surveillance is just a chance for these two to flirt, poke and prod each other, get close in the car again.

So Larkin is like, "We should make out strictly to kill the time..."

And just as he says this, the CEO's sun falls from an office building onto the car in front of them. HE'S DEAD!

Serves them right for almost having sex during the surveillance.

Now that the CEO's son died, Larkin is feeling guilty for flirting during a stakeout.

Price reminds him that he was a suspect, they didn't even see him as a victim.

Now they're back to square one. And the boss tells Price it's hard enough to solve one murder, never mind two.

Larkin finds surveillance. Shows the murder as it happens. The time stamp says 10:44PM.

Ha! Boss has doubts about 10:44PM. He says the identical time stamps might be coincidence. Terrible cop!

But this puts a damper on strictly professional theory. They now think it's a serial killer.

They're working overtime, alone in the office, and now Larkin is offering Price the opportunity to sleep at his house.

More sex. These two keep trying to not do the deed. Yet they keep at it.

You know, this could get them fired.

Well, we find out that the boss sleeps upstairs to Larkin.

And he's Larkin's dad. WTF.

He could have heard them having sex. And even if he didn't hear, he knows. Talk about awkward.

So back to the case. But I feel like the murder mystery is going to be sidetracked by more bow-chicka-wow-wow.

But these poor partners. They try to focus. Trying to get into details.

Now Larkin asks Price is she wants to kiss him.

Back to the disgruntled employee, the one they interviewed at the barbershop. This time, they interview him at a strip joint. Why do they keep interviewing him at strange locales?

Well, he just lied about where he was during the time of murder. And what's more, he's doing some shady investment shit. So as they try to get him to cooperate, he makes a break for it—runs for it. They make a chase on foot.

Just as Larkin catches up to him, a car hits him and he dies. Talk about bad luck!

With the disgruntled employee dead, they wonder if he's the murderer. Probably not—because we know how these stories go.

Two employees are at the company are freaking out because they think the killer might come after them next. One of them implies he might be next.

And then the time of 10:44PM is mentioned. Does it mean anything?!

Well, well, well. Price arrives back at Larkins place. She could have gone home. But she just can't help getting her fill of some Larkin.

Oh, it's 10:44PM! Next executive at that company dies! Killer is still loose!

It's morning. Post-coitus. Price tries to establish sexual ground rules. Says that can keep boinking for as long as the investigation goes. But afterwards, they got to stop.

Wait, Price. You got it all wrong. You're supposed to date after the investigation not while it's going on.

Now they're at the scene of the next murder.

Somehow, I don't know how, they suspect the killer is an expert climber who climbed into the building. Wait. Wouldn't there be more surveillance footage of that?

The partners find out that all businessmen were all college friends. A fourth college friend was an aspect climber...

Could he be the perpetrator?!

They ask the last college buddy if he wants protection, and he says no because if he does, the company will go bankrupt.

Now they're at the college where all the businessmen went to.

They found out all college buddies when on an extended leave together. This offends the college president gets offended. He says when you donate as much as you do, which their families did, they can do whatever they want.

But Price finds it suspicious they took off an entire half semester. That's way too unreasonable.

They prod further. They weren't on a ski trip. There was a girl who died. And they're "ski trip" has something to do with that...

They find out the girl who died, it wasn't because of an accident.

So they interview the girl's foster mother to get more details.

They find out that she was raped. And now the college, the town—everyone—is keeping silent about it because the son's father was a big shot with money.

There was an investigation, but it was "forgotten".

Foster mother shares newspaper clippings of when the girl died. And they found out she wore a watch when it happened. The time: 10:44.

They visit where the girl died. Her name is Sharon, by the way. It was near a cliff with white rapids. They stare at the whole thing.

Larkin asks if Price is okay. She's getting all teary-eyed but is trying to fight it back.

So now they're discussing next moves.

Now they're interviewing the fourth college buddy, the one who doesn't work at the business (remember, he's an expert climber).

They warn him that he could be the target for murder.

He's shocked his other buddies are dead. But why would anyone come after him?!

He also says that the foster mother, they one they previously interviewed, is only in it for the money—can't be trusted.

So they ask more questions. Did he or any of his buddies have sex with Sharon? No, nobody did—but apparently Sharon liked to have sex. This just makes the cops even more suspicious about why all four took half the semester off. Price stares daggers at him.

We find out that Price doesn't want to investigate Sharon's murder. She doesn't see how it is related to her current case. She's hear to find out about something to do with the DOD.

Larkin says she's cold-hearted, no different from the cops who buried Sharon's case.

This irks her.

Pensive moment with Price by herself... a moment to tell us that she's not the hard ass she pretends to be.

Price is off the case. If the murders have nothing to do with the DOD, FBI doesn't want her to work on it.

But she's going to stick around as a courtesy.

So Larkin is now on his own. He apologizes for what he said the night previously.

And now they've decided to do some extracurricular investigating.

Well, what do we have here! They pop up by Sharon sister! And she's doing some rock climbing!

Could she be the murderer?!

She doesn't seem to know anything about the four college buddies. Doesn't care.

But Larkin notices she has a tattoo that shows she's an Army Ranger.

Just as Sharon's sister leaves, she thanks the cops for looking into her sister's case.

Even though Price is off the case, she wants to investigate the sister (her name is Megan). Just as they're discussing with the boss, Price receives a call from Megan.

Apparently, she saw her sister's murder! All four college buddies raped her sister—and she watched the whole thing! She did nothing to stop it! Didn't even cry out or try to distract them!

Price asks Megan to come to the station to make a statement. But no—Megan ain't interested.

She tells Price she's the murderer! And she's going to finish the job! She's got to do two more murderers.

The two remaining college buddies meet by a lake. They know they're next. They're feeling remorse for the rape. But the police have no evidence.

But they're getting really antsy because they're being picked off one by one.

One of them wonders if he can prevent being killed if he turns himself into the police. Other buddy gets angry because if he does that, he'll destroy his career. So he knifes him right by the lake of the shore.

Man, this guy's really stupid. Whacking his friend ain't going to prevent him from getting whacked.

Well, as they're investigating that death, Megan calls Price to tell her she did not kill the last college buddy. And for this reason, she has to work faster to kill the last guy.

So now the cops really, really got to protect him.

Price confronts the last guy standing. Tells him they know he and his buddies raped Sharon. And that Sharon's sister is coming for him.

They try to protect him. But he decides, no—his freedom is more important than living.

How did this guy succeed in business? Business requires at least some foresight.

The partners are eating together at a driveway. We find out that Price is working this case on her days off. I guess this is personal for him?

Megan is outside. She's picking off the college buddies guards one by one with a sniper rifle. The cops rush over because shots are heard.

The partners arrive. They see all the guards tranquilized the guards—which means the last guy is still alive. You see, it's not 10:44PM yet. And she has to kill him right at that precise time.

Now the hunt is for Megan. Price thinks she knows where she is.

We now see Megan move the last guy out of her SUV near the cliff where her sister's death happened. She's got a gun and a knife, orders him to walk right over to the cliff.

This fool asks what she's going to do to him. You idiot, you know.

Right as she's about to kill the last guy, Price shows up. But then Megan takes him hostage. Says if they take one step closer, she'll kill 'em.

Price does a whole spiel about how none of this will fix anything. Megan says it's all over. And just as she tries to make for the cliff with the college buddy, Price shoots her in the head.

Well, the last guy is still alive, at least.

Price is done. She's heading back to DC. Boss says he appreciates her work.

Does that mean her romance with Larkin is dead?

As she walks out of the department, there Larkin is with his puppy dog eyes. They get closer, do a little bit of flintiness. Price tells him she's thinking of leaving the bureau—and she wants to become a detective like Larkin.

Some more flirting. Now some kissing. Looks like these two lovebirds can't keep their hands off each other.

And the movie ends.

—-

Not a terrible film. Probably a good film if you’re a middle-aged mom looking for a little bit of sex and violence.

I enjoyed this. Production quality, of course, is TV level. But the idea is neat. The performances were fine.

There was some ridiculousness. A few moments things were over the top. But at least it entertained.

I say this is slightly above average.

—-

Final thought: I watched this with my 12-year-old daughter. She thought it was really fun. The movie offered her plenty of thrills.

I think I’ll do a separate review of this one in another thread.

55
BIG MILESTONE! We’ve just crossed 100 posts on !videogames@piefed.social. 🎉 (piefed.social)
submitted 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) by atomicpoet@piefed.social to c/newcommunities@lemmy.world
15 comments fedilink
 

After a week of building and curating !videogames@piefed.social, the community already has 58 subscribers—and it’s only getting started.

I’ve been thinking hard about the kind of place I want this to be. The vision comes down to three things:

  1. Real conversations about games
  2. Minimal memes
  3. Zero outrage culture

I want this community to be about joy—a space for people who actually play video games to share what excites them. Not a dumping ground for culture wars. Not another echo chamber for Gamergate-era nonsense.

Games are for everyone. And everyone should feel comfortable digging deep here. Talk about an obscure Japanese console. Explore weird European PCs. Or break down the craft behind how a game actually got made. That’s the stuff I want to see flourish.

Here’s to the next 100 posts—and beyond. Come join in:

https://piefed.social/c/videogames

22
This week's LIVE MOVIE FRIDAY will be: Time of Death (2013) (www.youtube.com)
 

This Friday at 9PM PST / 4AM GMT we’re diving into Time of Death (2013).

Announcing early so you can stock up on popcorn and bad beer.

Here’s the pitch: every murder happens at the exact same time—10:44PM. Sounds cool, right? Well… that’s where it gets dicey. This was made by a tiny Canadian studio on a shoestring budget, and opinions are all over the map. Some people swear it’s a hidden gem. Others say it’s one of the most boring “thrillers” ever broadcast on TV.

But that’s exactly why it’s perfect for LIVE MOVIE FRIDAYS. Odds are you’ve never seen it. Odds are it’ll be clunky. Odds are we’ll be yelling “what the hell was that?” at the screen at least once.

Oh, and yes—that’s Kathleen Robertson from Beverly Hills 90210 starring in a bargain-bin crime flick about synchronized murders.

Where to watch:

So—good, bad, or so bad it’s good—we’re doing this live.

See you Friday night.

33
LIVE MOVIE FRIDAYS: Disco Godfather (1979) (media.piefed.social)
submitted 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) by atomicpoet@piefed.social to c/movies@piefed.social
0 comments fedilink
 

WARNING SPOILERS

That’s right, tonight’s Live Movie Friday pick is Disco Godfather (1979), directed by none other than Rudy Ray Moore—the foul-mouthed legend behind Dolemite himself.

This movie is everything: part blaxploitation, part anti-drug PSA, and part fever dream filtered through a disco ball and karate kicks. Rudy Ray Moore plays a retired cop-turned-disco DJ (yes, really) who sets out to avenge his nephew’s angel dust overdose. If that doesn’t scream “watch me live with popcorn and disbelief,” I don’t know what does.

Why did I choose this one? Because it’s utterly unhinged, hilariously earnest, and 100% unforgettable. Also, because I needed a reminder that “Put your weight on it!” is still one of the greatest battle cries in cinema history.

🕘 We’re watching LIVE tonight at 9PM PST / 4AM GMT
Join the chaos, bring your takes, and get ready for a disco-fueled descent into madness.

🧵 Live reactions will be happening right here in this thread.
Yes, here on !movies@piefed.social, so don’t miss out.

ℹ️ More info:

📽️ Watch links:

Put your weight on it. See you at 9.

Here we go! Time for the movie that will put me in traction!

Really trippy opening credits but I wouldn't want to watch them while under the influence of PCP.

Not going to lie, this club scene at the beginning is lit. There's a tropical lounge thing going on with everyone in sick lounge wear. And the disco tunes are actually good.

Also, Rudy Ray Moore is slick. I'm completely buying him as the Disco Godfather because only the godfather would walk in with that baby outfit complete with choker and belt.

And you know what? Witnessing his rhymes at the DJ booth—no accident Rudy Ray Moore become so influential on hip hop. Because he's got the skills to pay the bills.

"Keep your weight on it! Keep your weight on it!"

In its own way, I feel this really does encapsulate disco in a way no other movies do—what drew so many people to this scene.

Bit of a lover's makeup session outside the club. Lots of shots of the French kissing at several angles.

Girl asks her lover what's up with him, and he says he's got a lot on his mind. Now she's lecturing him about smoking some stuff. Asks him what his uncle would think. He insists he knows what he's doing.

I think we have some... foreshadowing.

We move back to the club, and there's a freakout. Seems that angel dust did something messed up to Bucky, the fellow in the parking lot.

So now the Disco Godfather has to check things out.

Now Bucky's out of his mind. Disco Godfather is telling him to get a hold of himself. But now Bucky is hallucinating.

And right here, I got to say the shot sequence is quite creative. We're seeing Bucky's hallucinations, and they're freaky. Ghosts, and goblins, and a whole lot of wild things.

The ambulance is coming. They tied him up, and now Bucky is being taken away.

Sad day for the Disco Godfather.

I shouldn't be laughing because PCP is no joke, but these scene of people freaking out on angel dust is hilarious.

The doc is explaining to Disco Godfather about the dangers of PCP, and we learn one of the girls here roasted her baby in an oven.

Then we see a sequence of Bucky's hallucinations. He's imagining himself playing basketball, while being haunted by a witch.

Bucky asks how he can play basketball without his arm, and they tell him he still has an arm.

Fairly over the top scene, but I'm entertained.

Doc now explaining to a woman what happened to her daughter after she took the PCP.

We are informed that PCP is a modern drug that is beyond the understanding of modern medicine.

You know, there really is no way to exaggerate PCP's horrors.

Now Disco Godfather is at the police station. We find out he's ex-cop Tucker Williams.

So now we know that Tucker is going to do some investigating himself—and he's back on the force as a reserve.

Now that he's on the case, we'll get to the bottom of it.

We're back at the disco, and we witness the moves of the Disco Squad. A journalist wants to talk to the Disco Godfather about this new hot phenomena of disco.

But instead of talking about disco, he wants to talk about angel dust—and how he's personally going to come down on the evildoers.

Phone ain't working, so Tucker wants to find out why.

Then he discovers some baddies are in the middle of messing with his phone. So we get some chop socks action with bad-but-hilarious kung fu.

Disco Godfather demands answers, but then he gets knocked on the back of his head—then the baddies run out of the club.

We're introduced to the head bad guy who seems to have something to do with the NBA.

After he's finished his press conference, he's being warned about Tucker—how he's a dangerous dude.

We're at the PCP processing facility. 1,000 gallons of PCP will be ready!

Head drug dealer guy is checking the merch.

Back to the club! We're being treated to the disco skate dancers! And now we get two trends of the 70s in one: disco and rollerskating.

And now the Disco Godfather makes his grand entrance! Gratuitous crotch shot time! Now more of the squad comes on the floor, and they're pretty fire. These are pretty damn good moves.

Now the Disco Godfather is at the DJ booth yelling out "Put your weight on it! Put your weight on it! Put your weight on it!"

That was awesome!

Disco Godfather talking about the disco business. And when everyone leaves, he lets his assistant know that he's about to attack the whack!

A bunch of Christians are now trying to do some faith healing on a woman who hasn't recovered from PCP. There doing an exorcism. And I don't know, if I were on PCP, I'd be freaked out even more.

PSA time: there's a big community meeting about PCP with a big crowd.

The organizer asks the crowd how many of them have done angel dust. Lots of hands come up. Wow! That's a lot of people.

You know, I don't think most people would voluntarily imbibe in that stuff.

Now we're getting together to wrestle that PCP to the ground! Attack the whack! We're going to rid the world of PCP!

Back to the PCP dealer. And he's insulted because Tucker Williams called him an asshole. He ain't going to put up with that! He's personally affronted by the very notion he is unsavoury!

All right! All right! All right!

Back to the disco–AND IT'S TIME TO PUT YOUR WEIGHT ON IT!

Some groovy tunes with some dancing shots, and of course the Disco Godfather himself coming on strong in his sequinned outfit.

Wait. The cops just showed up. The guns came out—hitmen are in the crowd. The dead bodies pile up. And the Disco Godfather survives.

Tucker's boss drives him around the city, tells him to cut it out—he has a good business going, so why stick out his neck?

Well, how could the Disco Godfather just sit idly by when his nephew is in trouble?

We're back in the hospital with the nephew, who has big regrets about the PCP and missing the basketball play-offs. He's angry. He's livid. He's pissed that he was bullied into smoking the angel dust.

Doc tells him to just chalk it up to an experience—it's in the past. But nephew has big regrets.

Doc leaves the room to encounter the Christians. They're still unable to get the girl to come out of her PCP stupor.

Disco Godfather walking around town in his fly pink suit with big pink flower on his lapel. He meets with his good friend, and Tucker lets him know about how angel dust is ravaging the community.

Side note: I should get a pinky ring.

We're at a house party, everyone's dancing—then Disco Godfather busts in with the kung fu. He's giving his notice. He identifies everyone—including the country's most notorious shoplifter!

Also, there's an African American dude doing yellow face. That was unexpected.

Tucker discovers a big huge pile of white powder at the party, blows it off the tray, then a whole punch of the party goers pile onto the floor to get them some.

Montage of Disco Godfather walking around town, looking for leads—accompanied by some funky music. He's everywhere. Getting the drop on some suckers. Slaps a few for good measure.

This movie loves its parties because we're at another one. And everyone here is dressed fresh. God damn, I wish I had just a little bit of this style.

And we encounter the PCP dealer schmoozing—and I finally find out his name. It's Stinger.

Then he's being warned again about Tucker, and how he's coming in close.

Another party. The police come busting in with Tucker Williams in tow. And they're searching for some PCP. Can't find it.

After they're done, cop tells him it's like old times.

Disco Godfather wakes up to a nightmare. His girl tries to ease him with some sex. But just as they get it on, he hears a knock on the door. He stops the sex to the protestations of his girl—and when he opens the door, there's a dead animal on his door.

Tucker's old friend is dead. And here he tells his police colleague that he suspects a leak because whenever they get a lead on the PCP, it's gone.

They catch a dealer who tells Tucker he'll be back on the street in no time.

Then they find a kid high on angel dust who gives him details about what happened to his nephew. And we find out that all of this is connected to the purchase of a new basketball team.

Big wild meltdown: "GET HIM OUT OF MY FACE!!!"

Tucker has a hunch about the leak. They're setting a trap on a colleague named Kilroy and he falls for it.

Kilroy's wife wakes up, goes to the bathroom, and she discovers his dead body in the bathroom.

Stinger finds out that Kilroy is dead. He doesn't know if Kilroy talked—so now he's going after Tucker.

Tucker wants a warrant but he can't get it on time.

A long haired white dude in a cowboy hat ambushes Tucker, takes him hostage, forces him into a car—tells him to drive.

They're being followed, and Tucker is told to call off his possé or else he will die.

Everyone's at the disco club and they're worried.

White cowboy tells Tucker he could have killed him, but he wants to get his nut off, so he whips him. Wow! Kinky!

But Tucker grabs the whip, and gives him the business—kills him.

Serves cowboy right for trying to get his nut off.

Nephew is now involved, asks his friend to take him to Stinger. He wants revenge.

Stinger knows things are closing in on him so he's burning all his business papers.

Some kung fu now right outside Stinger's door, and Tucker is taking on a whole gang on at once.

Dude in a tracksuit come by asks if he needs help. Tucker lets him know this is an angel dust factory. So now the track-suited guy unleashes his kung fu.

Now Tucker faces off against a giant moustachioed goon. Boss fight!

And we got the disco music on for good measure!

It really is terrible kung fu. But it's elite on the entertainment front.

Now the tracksuit guy takes on the rest of the goons as Tucker makes his way into the factory.

Inside the factory, we get full Enter the Dragon confrontations with scary dudes wh are a step above the guys outside. One of them is wearing a chainmail blouse. He can't really fight, so bashes his chest against Tucker.

Nephew enters the factory now.

Stinger hears an alarm, makes a big announcement on the intercom that they're being invaded.

Nunchuks com out! Full mayhem!

Wacka-chucka-wacka-chucka music.

And just as Tucker is about to be killed, the bad guy is told to "discipline" him.

Now we see a shot of the girl on PCP and the Christians circling around him.

Tucker is being gas masked with PCP. He's freaking out. Now he's under the influence of angel dust!

Some freaky shots full of hallucinations. Tucker is popping out of a coffin. Then he freaks out some more.

Cut now to the girl on PCP.

Tucker keeps telling himself he has to be in his mind.

And again, the faith healers.

Stinger is being confronted by his wife about the angel dust. He tells her, how do you think she got the big house and the cars?

All these hallucination sequences are really freaky. I'm so glad that I'm sobre right now.

Police show up and make some arrests.

Now Tucker hallucinates his mother, and there's even a little bit of animation going on. While high, he find Stinger, grabs his neck, check him out. Then Stinger morphs into the devil. Nephew comes by restrains him. And then the Disco Godfather freaks out at the prospect of being taken away.

Just like that. The movie is over. The end credits run.

This is actually a really good movie. Low budget, of course. The actors aren't always great. But the sheer entertainment is top shelf.

Rudy Ray Moore sure understood how to make a fun movie. Recommended!

40
Barton Fink on LaserDisc (media.piefed.social)
submitted 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) by atomicpoet@piefed.social to c/movies@piefed.social
1 comments fedilink
 

Watched this last night on my Sony Trinitron CRT. Pitch black in my backyard. It was glorious.

Absolutely worth the $10 I spent on this.

27
REVIEW: The Curse of the Cat People (1944) – Disney Meets Hitchcock (media.piefed.social)
submitted 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) by atomicpoet@piefed.social to c/movies@piefed.social
0 comments fedilink
 

When I put on Curse of the Cat People, I expected a silly monster sequel. It isn’t that.

This is horror, but not the conventional kind. No monsters. No gore. No jump scares. What makes it frightening is what’s implied rather than what’s shown. The unease creeps in slowly, through mood and suggestion, until you realize you’re watching a nightmare play out in broad daylight.

The title is pure misdirection. There are no cat people. There isn’t a curse. RKO forced the connection to Cat People because it sold tickets. Same actors, different story.

What we get instead is the story of Amy Reed, a lonely child who slips into her imagination and befriends a ghost—Simone Simon returning as Irena. Whether Irena is real or imagined is never resolved, and that’s the knife edge the whole film balances on.

At first it feels harmless, almost whimsical—Amy chasing butterflies, leaving letters in a hollow tree (a detail lifted from Val Lewton’s own childhood). But then the tone shifts. The whimsy curdles. The fairy tale becomes sinister, and you see this fragile little girl surrounded by adults who don’t understand her, neighbors who resent her, and a ghost who may or may not be protecting her.

The film is filled with oddities. It’s set in Tarrytown, with nods to The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. The Reed family living room is decorated with Goya’s The Red Boy, a painting of a child flanked by cats. Sir Lancelot, a calypso singer, plays the family’s butler. Elizabeth Russell—who hissed her way through a cameo in Cat People—shows up again as a venomous neighbor. None of it feels like standard studio horror.

And then there’s Mrs. Farren: bitter, regal, half-mad, recounting the tale of the Headless Horseman like a curse she can’t stop repeating. She’s terrifying without any makeup or effects.

But the most haunting presence is Ann Carter as Amy. Today, you’d probably recognize traits of autism—her obsessions, her difficulty connecting with other kids. In the 1940s she was simply “odd.” That sense of otherness makes her peril feel even sharper, as though she’s marked out for tragedy.

Visually, the film is stunning. Black-and-white light makes every space shimmer like a dream. Angles and shadows tilt into wooziness. The camera itself becomes part of Amy’s imagination—half fairy tale, half hallucination.

And for all its strangeness, this was Robert Wise’s first directing credit. He was pulled from the editing room to rescue the project. You can already see the control that would define his later films.

Curse of the Cat People is horror, but not the kind RKO advertised. It’s quieter. Stranger. Built on loneliness, childhood fears, and the danger of slipping too far into fantasy. Creepy in 1944. Still creepy now.

33
REVIEW: Warriors of Virtue (1997) – Kung Fu Kangaroos and Wuxia Weirdness (media.piefed.social)
submitted 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) by atomicpoet@piefed.social to c/movies@piefed.social
5 comments fedilink
 

I love Warriors of Virtue. Is it a good movie? Not by any traditional sense. But it’s one of the strangest, most ambitious experiments the 90s ever produced.

Here’s the setup: four Chinese-American brothers who were practicing doctors decided they wanted to make a blockbuster. Their father—Joseph Law, a Hong Kong toy mogul—bankrolled the whole thing. They poured around $56 million (90s dollars) into a movie about kung-fu kangaroos. The animatronic suits weren’t Henson castoffs or recycled Tank Girl Rippers, but custom-built creations with advanced mouth mechanics to mimic human phonemes. Imagine pitching that in a Hollywood boardroom.

The ambition wasn’t just in the concept. This was the one serious attempt to smuggle wuxia into American multiplexes years before Crouching Tiger cracked the market. Wuxia—martial arts fantasy steeped in Taoist elements and cultivation arcs—was paired with kangaroo warriors embodying virtues like Benevolence and Righteousness. They shot it largely in Beijing with the China Film Co-Production Corporation, gave the reins to Ronny Yu (Freddy vs. Jason), hired Peter Pau (who would win an Oscar for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) as cinematographer, and brought in Don Davis (The Matrix) for the score. On paper, this should’ve been monumental.

But then there’s the execution. Angus Macfadyen plays Komodo, the villain, and delivers one of the most gloriously hammy performances of the decade. He doesn’t just chew scenery—he devours it like he’s starring in a Nic Cage tribute act. And yet, weirdly, it fits the film’s surreal tone. NFL Hall-of-Famer Warren Moon randomly shows up as a football coach. Michael J. Anderson from Twin Peaks plays a trickster named Mudlap. Even Doug Jones—yes, the future Shape of Water fish-man—was inside one of the kangaroo suits. Everything about this movie is just slightly off-kilter.

And maybe that’s why it bombed. American audiences weren’t primed for wuxia in 1997, and watching martial-arts kangaroos preach Taoist virtues probably felt more baffling than inspiring. It opened on over 2,000 screens, but pulled in just $6 million. The world just wasn’t ready.

But here’s the thing: this was meant for kids. I sat down and watched it with my daughter—and she loved it. For her, it wasn’t strange at all. It was magical: a fantasy world with heroes, monsters, and values she could latch onto. Watching through her eyes, I saw what the Laws were aiming for.

So no, Warriors of Virtue isn’t “good.” It’s too messy, too eccentric, too alien to mainstream 90s America. But it’s also one of the most unique cinematic swings of the decade—a movie that dared to blend wuxia philosophy, Hollywood spectacle, and kangaroo puppetry. And even though it collapsed at the box office, I’m glad someone tried. Because nothing else like it exists.

126
Lost in Space (1998) on VHS: Peak ’90s Cheese (media.piefed.social)
submitted 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) by atomicpoet@piefed.social to c/movies@piefed.social
26 comments fedilink
 

Today’s VHS pick is Lost in Space (1998)—one of those 90s Hollywood stabs at turning 60s TV shows into blockbuster spectacles.

The cast is stacked: Gary Oldman, William Hurt, Matt LeBlanc, Mimi Rogers, Heather Graham. For a movie this goofy, it’s still wild that they roped in so much star power.

Critics trashed it at release, but over time it’s carved out a cult following.

34
REVIEW: Things to Come (1936) – H.G. Wells’ Sermon on Progress (media.piefed.social)
submitted 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) by atomicpoet@piefed.social to c/movies@piefed.social
1 comments fedilink
 

What if I told you a movie about World War II was released three years before the war began? And that it was written by H.G. Wells himself?

That movie is Things to Come (1936), adapted from Wells’ The Shape of Things to Come. It had a huge budget, daring special effects, and an unusual experiment: the score by Arthur Bliss was written before filming, forcing the film to march to its music. The result is ambitious in scope but stiff in execution.

Wells fills the story with his obsession for technocracy. He believed scientists would guide humanity into utopia if given absolute authority. Yet history went the opposite way. World War II ended not with salvation through progress but with nuclear weapons, a discovery capable of ending civilization.

The production history is as strange as the film itself. Bauhaus artist László Moholy-Nagy created avant-garde sequences that were mostly cut. Ernest Thesiger was cast as Theotocopulos before Wells rejected him and reshot with Cedric Hardwicke. Even the sets were built at Denham Studios while the studio itself was unfinished. The futuristic city looks striking but sterile, like a world made for machines rather than people.

As drama, the film fails. Characters lecture more than they speak. The dialogue is so didactic I half-expected Richard Dawkins to appear with a guitar. The finale, where humanity blasts itself into space with a giant cannon, feels baffling. Arthur C. Clarke even pointed out how absurd it was, given Wells’ earlier stories of anti-gravity.

Technically, there are moments worth praising. The costumes remain sharp. Some effects staff later became legends, including Wally Veevers who worked on 2001: A Space Odyssey. Yet the sound mix is dreadful. Dialogue is so muffled I needed subtitles just to follow it.

Watching Things to Come is like debating with Wells himself. The film preaches, scolds, and dreams far beyond what history allowed. But its ambition and scale remain undeniable. It stands as both a monument to Wells’ hubris and a milestone in early science fiction cinema.

24
REVIEW: The West and the Ruthless (2017) (media.piefed.social)
submitted 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) by atomicpoet@piefed.social to c/movies@piefed.social
0 comments fedilink
 

The dead giveaway that The West and the Ruthless is bad is the title. It’s nonsense. What does it even mean? And what does it communicate, other than “we think the word ‘ruthless’ sounds cool”?

This thing isn’t really a story so much as a jumble sale of Leone/Tarantino archetypes. You’ve got outlaws, a plantation owner named Winchester (yes, seriously), his wife Scarlet, their “last remaining slave” Mary, a pair of brothel owners, a half-Cherokee girl, and a pregnant woman—all crammed into a nonlinear, “Tarantino-ish” timeline that’s supposed to converge in a shootout. That’s literally the plot description on IMDB.

The problem? You need acting chops to pull that off. Instead, you get line readings so wooden they could qualify as reclaimed barn siding. There’s a scene where a shot pregnant woman goes into labor, and she delivers it with all the urgency of someone reading off a jar of marinara sauce.

There are “What the hell am I watching?” moments—though not in the good way. Like when the designated bad girl meets her dad in a brothel, immediately grabs a random man, and has noisy sex specifically so Dad can hear. She’s not a prostitute. She just… needed an orgasm with maximum parental awareness. I’m sure the writers thought this made her edgy. Mostly it makes you wonder why her father had to be part of the soundscape.

It’s also obvious this was cast for looks. A lot of men-appreciators will find eye candy here, but these guys are too pretty—like they’d refuse to settle west of the Mississippi without an acai bowl bar. And if you’re going to cast a handsome man, at least don’t make him irredeemable. Outside of the old runaway slave, every male character is a jerk, even the so-called “pimp with a heart of gold.”

The female runaway slave? She gets nothing but misery. Chained up and dumped roadside like trash. Harassed in the brothel. Barely written. Mostly she just stands around looking sad until she finally gets… a bath.

Husband-and-wife team Nick and Lexie Trivundza wrote and directed this thing. It’s their debut feature, shot at Old Tucson, the historic western backlot—which sounds impressive until you realize they somehow turned the Tombstone set into a charisma vacuum. I’d bet Lexie’s sensibilities guided most of it, because the whole movie feels pitched for a female gaze—and there’s nothing wrong with that. But my God, these are the most boring, personality-free himbos ever to put on cowboy hats.

And then there’s the box art. Right there on the DVD: “An Instant Indie Western Classic.” Which is bold talk for a movie with zero critic reviews on Rotten Tomatoes and festival laurels no one outside Arizona has heard of. When your marketing line sounds like something you wrote about yourself after a few glasses of wine, maybe it’s time to rework the pitch.

If this is an “instant classic,” then so is the chicken salad I forgot in the fridge two weeks ago—both are overstuffed, smell weird, and you’ll regret going near them.

38
LIVE MOVIE FRIDAYS: End of the World (1977) (media.piefed.social)
submitted 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) by atomicpoet@piefed.social to c/movies@piefed.social
2 comments fedilink
 

One of the reasons I made this community was to watch B movies. Not in a hipster, “oh, so bad it’s good” way—no. I mean the ones that genuinely lack taste but accidentally hit something primal in your brain. Roger Corman understood that. Little Shop of Horrors. Death Race 2000. Chopping Mall. Garbage and genius at the same time.

But forget Corman for a minute. We’re starting LIVE MOVIE FRIDAYS with something I’ve never seen: End of the World (1977). IMDb gives it a 3.2. Which means it’s either a crime against cinema… or exactly what we’re looking for.

The plot:

After seeing a man die in a strange accident, Father Pergado visits a retreat where he meets his alien duplicate who plans to conquer Earth.

Yes. Christopher Lee—actual Christopher Lee—plays both the priest and his alien double. He likely took the role for the paycheque. The man went from Dracula to “space priest with RadioShack gadgets” without blinking. And the gadgets? They look like the production designer robbed a CB radio swap meet.

Sue Lyon—Lolita herself—is in this too. By this point in her career, the Kubrick days were long gone. This was one of her final roles before quitting the business entirely. And honestly… based on audience reception, you’d probably quit too.

From what I’ve read, the movie spends more time on stilted conversations than the actual apocalypse. The alien tech, at least as seen from the trailer? Cardboard and flashing lights. And yet—that’s exactly why it’s perfect. This is end-of-the-world cinema as filtered through a church basement rummage sale.

So here’s the deal: I’m watching it live. I’ll be commenting as it unspools. If you’re smart, you’ll watch with me. If you’re not, you’ll still hear about it—because I have a feeling this one’s going to make Plan 9 look like 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Watch it with me:

Whoo! End of the world! First scene has a chef playing pinball and listening to jazz. Christopher Lee walks in, and damn, he's really wooden. He's playing a priest who needs to make a phone call, and he's the most inarticulate priest I've ever witnessed. But right when he reaches for the phone, explosions happen. The chef does, and Christopher Lee, in an almost shrugging way, gives him last rites. Kind of exciting in the way putting your finger in a light socket is.

So Christopher Lee, as priest, makes his way back to church. Then he meets Christopher Lee, who greets him, and welcomes him back to church. Now we see the opening credits. Wouldn't it be amazing if the movie ended here?

Next scene has computers that resemble Commodore PETs. Lots of flashing lights and doo-hickeys that do nothing. There's a reel-to-reel tape machine in the background—and I want one. Scientist dude is smoking a cigarette with a red rotary phone in front of him. Also a picture of a blonde babe. I wonder if we'll see her. This lone guy says there's "patterns from outer space". Oh, my patterns. But he can't tell his superior more because he just has a feeling. Side note: I like how computer scientists wear long white jackets like they're doctors.

Say whatever you want about this movie. It's got a killer soundtrack. Lots of sweet jazz with great keyboard licks and a slick downbeat.

Scientist guy comes home. And his place is slick. So much woodgrain and brick. I want woodgrain and brick to make a comeback. Scientist guy first with his blonde wife, who's wearing what looks like a fancy nightgown. Wait guys. Scientist guy wants to have sex. So some kissy kiss stuff, but damn—no bow chicka-wow-wow for us.

And suddenly, there's a jump cut to scientist guy working on knock-off Commodore PETs and wife serving him coffee. While chomping on cookies, wife asks him, "What's so important". Scientist says this is the first time he's been able to detect a coded message from space. Asks his wife if she understands, and she says she doesn't. Wait. How can you not understand that? Seems pretty clear to me. Now a message gets blasted on his computer over and over again, "LARGE EARTH DISRUPTION"—at least five times. Wife asks what that means. Scientist says, "I don't know"—this is the first time he's received messages from space. Wife nags him to go to a banquet and leave his computer.

Now in the car coming back to the banquet. This wife is so easy to please. She's proud of him for... existing? Scientist shuts him off to receive a shocking newscast over the radio! There's a disaster in China! But it's not clear what's happening! Does this have anything to do with "LARGE EARTH DISRUPTION"? Wife is skeptical. Do we have a mystery on our hands?

Scene cuts to scientist in a manufacturing facility. Why there? I don't know. But he's talking to an old bald dude who I assume is his boss—boss giving him some stern motivation. Something about politics. Russia! And there's a rocket in the background! I guess scientist guy has to leave for Washington for... reasons.

Scientist guy doesn't want to do his boring job. He wants to do something about messages from space. But I don't know, his job looks pretty need in that he gets to play with throbbing green crystals while dressed as Darth Vader.

We're back in the computer lab. And it is noisy—so noisy, I wouldn't be able to get anything done. Not in the hot fan type of noise, just the decorative computer doohickey way. Now there's a message on his computer—seemingly from space—about Zaire.

Back to bed with the hot wife. She, still impressed with her husband, clearly wants to be ravished. He doesn't want to do it because... aliens. Now she complains that he's not romantic enough, so sulks in a corner.

Something something about disaster in Zaire. Oh, are those mysterious messages in space predicting natural disasters?

Sidenote: how does this guy know it's aliens and not, you know, someone pulling a prank on him?

This poor wife thinks the world of her husband, and he always acts so dismissive of her—won't even give her a plow because he's too busy being concerned about aliens and computer text.

Husband and wife are at a nunnery. Why? I don't know. But nun tells wife that she prays to St. Catherine to give her the best rose garden—and somehow it works.

By the way, there's no Christopher Lee yet.

But it's dark, and the husband and wife are doing some "investigating" in... what looks like a zoo. Wife is just incredulous. I don't blame her—husband is a walking, talking Dunning-Kruger effect. Look, you're not smart just because you use a computer. You'd think we'd all learn that lesson by now, but no. Wife looks incredibly bored, but there's ominous music playing.

Oh no! She's suddenly stuck in a zoo cage—calling for her husband! "HELP!" she keeps yelling, and husband appears out of nowhere and calms her down. Serves you right for trespassing in a zoo. And by the way, I still don't know why they're there.

More ominous music plays, with some off kilter piano to let us know it's very serious now. So they investigate something I can't really see, but it's dark and there's lots of shadows while walking down the stairs. Uh oh, guys with guns told them to come down, and they're being searched. Old guy who looks like Colonel Sanders asks for an explanation of why they're there. Yeah, why are they there? Turns out Colonel Sanders is actually a military guy. Wife says she doesn't know what's going on—neither do I, ma'am.

Colonel Sanders explains everything he's doing with his communications, talks about countries and what they'll do with satellites. Asks our scientist why he's snooping around. He says, "Wish I could tell you, but I can't."

And for whatever reason, Colonel Sanders just rides with it. Yeah, no big deal. That non-answer is perfectly acceptable.

Hey guys, scientist and wife just had sex so they're walking around in their hotel room in white towels.

Wife asks if wants to go back to the nun convent. Yeah, totally a thing to say after you just had sex.

Okay, why are they at the nunnery again? Was the wife just super jealous of the rose bushes?

And here we find out that Father Pergado is in charge of the convent—and he always welcomes strangers.

Ohhh, is this where we finally see Christopher Lee? Yes! And he's smiling like a vampire, surrounded by his gang of nuns.

Father Pergado reasonably asks why these people would ever just show up at a convent. And wildly—the scientist says, "Curiosity". Wife clarifies it's not religious curiosity. Scientist says there's weird radio waves coming out of his convent. Is it aliens?!

Priest brushes it off, says it's all boring.

So scientist wants to use his doohickey mobile device to check things out, while a nun watches over him—please, no monkey business.

You can tell the wife thinks this is all very dumb. And it is. But okay, there's an itch that needs scratching.

Got to say, though, these numbs have great taste in interior decor. Love the lace curtains paired with the spindly candles and woodgrain. Also, religious icons pair well with organs.

But I just got to ask, why would the Roman Catholic Church leave one man alone in a house full of 10 nuns? They might be old but, come on.

Scientist goes back to work. Boss yells at him to do his job. Just as things go back to normal, he looks on his computer and sees that the aliens are talking about him. GASP!

These aliens aren't very smart of OpSec, are they?

Later, husband tell wife that the aliens are onto them... so they have to go it alone.

Okay, but why is this man forcing his hot wife to go along with his shenanigans? Wouldn't she rather do something she likes for a change?

Now the couple are skulking around the convent. Suddenly, they are attacked by old nuns! The horror!

But I won't lie. One man's horror is another man's happy weekend.

So they're put in the convent basement and it's revealed... the nuns have their own kicks computers with a rotating Earth globe! There's fancy lights! Killer RGB! Does the Catholic Church train their clergy in the art of h4X0ring?

No, that can't be it. It has to be aliens! No one has any business operating a LAN in the basement.

Christopher Lee says a prayer. Ominous music plays as nuns look him over... which means evil is about to happen!

So he, too, walks into the basement. He meets the other Christopher lee. He walks under a triangle, gets lit up by the RGB. Nuns look over like, "Yeah, whatever"—but this freaks out the wife.

Something something about exhausting all possibilities and how the Catholic clergy now need the scientist and wife.

Christopher Lee apologizes to the scientist.

"For what you just did?!"

I don't know—what did he just do?

Something about time-velocity and interstellar travel, which forced them to murder clergy and nuns.

Tuns out, the priest and nuns are aliens who just want to go home.

Now there's talk about crystals, and devices, and science mumbo jumbo. And scientist has to help them... or else they will murder his wife.

See? Wife should have never tagged along.

Wife tells husband that she's afraid because she'll be murdered. Okay, I'd be afraid too.

So now they're talking about escape. They give this the old college try. They're running towards their car.

But they've been spotted by Christopher Lee!

For some reason, their car is super far from the convent. So far, they have to run along some train tracks. Which only results in them arriving again to the convent.

What does this mean? The clergy-aliens are controlling their every move!

This prompts them to go back onto a road where they flag down a car. They try to get in—but just before the car explodes, killing the driver. Yeah, serves him right for being a Good Samaritan!

Resigned, they go back to the convent where Christopher Lee invites them back inside.

Morning. The aliens are serving breakfast. Bacon and eggs. And, like the good hosts they are, include coffee and orange juice.

Christopher Lee says he hope they slept well.

Outraged scientist asks why they're so desperate—why he'd kill—to get back to their planet.

Christopher Lee reasonably says his planet has it figured out: no war, famine, or anything bad. It's a paradise. And to be fair, maybe I would kill to get back to an awesome pleasure planet.

But never mind. Scientist has to get a crystal. Wife stays in the convent where she's under the nun's protection. They do a big sloppy kiss before departing.

Husband busts into his science facility while under cover of night. He's got to get that crystal, I guess. He's not very stealth, but there's no security guards—at least it seems. Wait. There is one, and he's too busy reading a book. So scientist chloroforms the poor sap.

Wait a minute. Why's he breaking and entering into his own place of work. Wouldn't it just be easier to walk in there during the day and leave with the crystal? Maybe I'm asking too many questions.

But whatever, he grabs it. And another security guard finds the other unconscious security guard. Sets the alarm, and discovers scientist is the culprit. Gives scientist a look like, "Why are you foolishly breaking and entering when you can just walk in?"

So the security guards chase after the scientist. They shoot. One of them says, "Don't shoot! It's the professor!"—but too late, the shooting results in an explosion killing them.

Scientist delivers the crystal. He demands his wife back. Christopher Lee says the agreement has expired—too bad for him.

Back in the convent basement. We're now told that there are too many diseases on Earth—and these diseases are contaminating other planets. Wait. Do these aliens realize there are light years of distance between our planet and their's, and that viruses are terrible space travellers. No matter, the Earth must be destroyed.

So the aliens leave by walking under a triangle, and now natural disasters must commence.

Lots of earthquakes, typhoons, and explosions. Serves scientist for bringing his wife along on his stupid busy bodying. How's that? Your curiosity resulted in the death of the world.

Christopher Lee leaves. But before he does, he tells scientist that he would be an excellent citizen of his world. What's left unsaid is—too bad, you're stuck on shitty Earth with all its volcanoes and crumbling dams.

Now we see a whole lot of destruction. Wife asks if this is really happening. Oh, it's happening. But now they're following the aliens under the pyramid contraption.

Well, that's it. The Earth just exploded. And when it did, it let loose a lot of confetti.

Eerie mystical music plays.

That's literally the end of the movie.

Credit to the movie for delivering what it promised in the title. But it's also a big letdown. And also I can't help but feel that yeah, I was right. The scientist is literally the walking Dunning-Kruger effect.

Terrible movie. Groan-inducing. But if this is how the world ends, at least it's the stupidest way everything ends.

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