Month: April 2023

  • Jumanji: The Next Level

    Jumanji: The Next Level

    2019, 2h 3m


    Genre: Adventure, Fantasy
    TMDB Rating: 69%

    Our Comments: 04-28-2023 at our place in Niagara with NS. Well executed and a very good laugh. Love the characters.Watched on Netflix. 3.5 star.

    TMDB: “As the gang return to Jumanji to rescue one of their own, they discover that nothing is as they expect. The players will have to brave parts unknown and unexplored in order to escape the world’s most dangerous game.”

    Enjoyment Rating: 3.5 star

    Clean Rating: Not rated

  • Ship, HELENA G

    Ship, HELENA G

    IMO: 9358383

    TYPE: bulk carrier

    TONS: 22790

    LENGTH: 200 m

    DATE: April 29, 2023

    LOCATION: Hamilton

    DESTINATION: via Montreal, Greenore, IE; then Burgas, Bulgaria

    RECENT PORTS: Tuzla, Turkey; Antalya, Turkey

    WHERE IS SHE NOW? June 14, 2023: Burgas, Bulgaria. Today: See map below…

    All ship photos on this site are strictly Ⓒ Copyright Paul Singer. All rights reserved.

  • The Andy Griffith Show (TV Comedy)

    The Andy Griffith Show (TV Comedy)

    1960 to 1968, 249 episodes

    Andy Griffith statues, copyright Paul Singer.

    Genre: TV, Comedy
    TMDB Rating: 8.4
    Clean Rating: 5
    Watched It On: iTunes and DVD

    Watching the entire series again, beginning April 27, 2023 following a visit to Mt. Airy. Visited Mt. Airy again Jan 2024 and thus we watched a couple of episodes that month in Venice, FL. An ongoing pleasure.

    My Comments: The series ran from October 3, 1960, to April 1, 1968. 249 half-hour episodes across eight seasons. 159 episodes in black & white and 90 in color. The producer of The Danny Thomas Show, Sheldon Leonard, and Danny, asked writer Arthur Stander (who’d contributed several of the “Danny Thomas” scripts) to create a pilot show for Griffith. The pilot was filmed and aired. This then gave birth to Andy’s own show. The show was filmed at Desilu Studios and other nearby locations in California.

    The fictitious town of Mayberry was based largely upon Griffith’s home town of Mt. Airy (Surry County), North Carolina, with some inspiration from nearby Pilot Mountain (also in Surry County), plus a good dose of imagination. A wonderful place to visit, Mt. Airy hosts The Andy Griffith Museum and many recreations of the show’s locations and some locations that really exist (such as Snappy Lunch diner). The diner is mentioned in episode 7, which aired November 14, 1960, – “Andy the Matchmaker”). You can read about the California studio set and actual town here.

    There’s something very near and dear to our hearts about Mayberry and its gentle, long-suffering, sheriff. Mayberry is where we all want to live. A place of community, normalcy, pleasantness, and bygone simplicity. This is an excellent TV series to enjoy, laugh along with, and relax with.

    Some of our own “Mayberry” moments below. Photos © Copyright Paul Singer.

    Note: Gallery photos by Paul Singer. Do not download or use without permission.

    Andy and Barney with a full jail

    Trivia: to come …

    I give The Andy Griffith show 4.5 stars for watching pleasure and a perfect Clean5 morality rating.

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  • Covert Affairs

    Covert Affairs

    2010, 45 min episodes


    Genre: TV, Action
    TMDB Rating: 69%

    My Comments: √ 04/27/2023, our place in Niagara with NS. Watched S1,E1. Very good TV show. Enjoyment rating: 4 star.

    TMDB: “A young CIA operative, Annie Walker, is mysteriously summoned to headquarters for duty as a field operative. While Annie believes she’s been promoted for her exceptional linguistic skills, there may be something or someone from her past that her CIA bosses are really after. Auggie Anderson is a CIA military intelligence agent who was blinded while on assignment and is Annie’s guide in this world of bureaucracy, excitement and intrigue.”

    More: Covert Affairs was filmed in Toronto. It stars Piper Perabo and Christopher Gorham. Premiered on Tuesday, July 13, 2010. Canceled on January 6, 2015 after five seasons.

    Enjoyment Rating: 4 star

    Clean Rating: 3.5

  • Spider-man 2 – W2

    Second watching. Main post is here.


    Genre: Action, Science Fiction

    My Comments: √ 04/26/2023, our place in Niagara with NS. Very good story line, has feeling. 3.5 star.. The three of us wanted to watch through the entire Spiderman series while NS is in town. We only got to the first two this Spring of 2023. This is a beautifully crafted superhero film. I again conclude: it is so much better than its predecessor. Enjoyment rating: 4 star. Original review here.

    Clean Rating: 4

  • Three Amigos!

    Three Amigos!

    1986, 1h 43m


    Genre: Comedy
    TMDB Rating: 63%

    My Comments: √ 04/25/2023, our place in Niagara with NS. About our 15th time; you expect the gags by now but still a very funny movie. 4 star.

    TMBB: “A trio of unemployed silent film actors are mistaken for real heroes by a small Mexican village in search of someone to stop a malevolent bandit.”

    Enjoyment Rating: 4 star

    Clean Rating: 4

  • Alias

    Alias

    2001, 45 min episodes


    Genre: TV, Action
    TMDB Rating: 67%

    My Comments: 04/17-22/2023, in Venice with NS. Watched S1, Episodes 1 to 3 on Amazon Prime. We liked them, they hold up. 4 star.

    Sydney Bristow, an agent who has been tricked to believe she is working for the U.S. government, is actually working for a criminal organization named the Alliance of Twelve. Upon learning this, Sydney becomes a double agent for the real CIA.

    Enjoyment Rating: 4 star

    Clean Rating: 3.5

  • Here Comes The Boom (W2)

    Here Comes The Boom (W2)

    2012, 1h 45m


    Genre: Comedy
    TMDB Rating: 62%

    Originally reviewed here in 2020

    My Comments: 04/10/2023 at our place in Niagara with NS. Watched on Netflix. Heartwarming and inspirational, endearing cast. Kevin James has said that he wanted to create an inspirational movie and even to portray someone who has Christ-like qualities. His faith in God is evident in how he co-wrote and produced this film. “I am involved in my faith,” he told Catholic News Service after the launch of the film. “You have a platform and you don’t want to do anything that doesn’t glorify God in every way,” James told them. He went on to say, “I was born and raised Catholic and absolutely love my faith and learn more and more about it all the time. It’s nice to have that going into whatever you do, whatever part of life you take upon yourself.”

    MovieGuide.org: “HERE COMES THE BOOM has a Christian worldview where the characters read scripture, pray and sacrifice themselves for others. Kevin James’ character has a complete transformation once he sacrifices himself to save the music department… It does have fighting due to the story line, so some caution is advised.

    My assessment: Excellent movie. 4 1/2 star enjoyment rating.

    TMDB: “A high school biology teacher moonlights as a mixed-martial arts fighter in an effort to raise money to save the school’s music program.”

    Kevin James Interview

    Enjoyment Rating: 4.5 star

    Clean Rating: 3.5 (Dove approved for 12+)

    Clean details… Dove goes into the details very well here.

  • Hop

    Hop

    2011, 2h 14m


    Genre: Animation, Comedy
    TMDB Rating: 57%

    My Comments: √ 04/09/2023, our place in Niagara with NS. Great wit and humor for adults as well as kids. 3.5 star.

    TMBB: “E.B., the Easter Bunny’s teenage son, heads to Hollywood, determined to become a drummer in a rock ‘n’ roll band. In L.A., he’s taken in by Fred after the out-of-work slacker hits E.B. with his car.” 3.5 star.

    Enjoyment Rating: 3.5 star

    Clean Rating: 4.5

  • Amsterdam

    Amsterdam

    2022, 2h 14m


    Genre: Mystery
    TMDB Rating: 61%

    My Comments: 04-08-2023 at our place (rented on Amazon) in Niagara with NS. Quite abstract, but we stuck with it. The story is a message for us today. Excellent acting and characters. Bale is amazing. 3.5 star.

    TMBB: “In the 1930s, three friends—a doctor, a nurse, and an attorney—witness a murder, become suspects themselves and uncover one of the most outrageous plots in American history.”

    Enjoyment Rating: 3.5 star

    Clean Rating: Unrated