Catchy banner ad for TV show on Discovery channel featuring Mike Tyson and … sharks!
The above banner ad made me click right away. I rarely click on banner ads, but Mike Tyson taking on a shark? Seriously?
No, it sounds more exaggerated than what’s really happening on the 61 minute show with the subtitle “Rumble On the Reef.”
Legendary boxer Mike Tyson is BACK, taking on a new challenge and he’s chosen the most unlikely training partner — sharks. Tyson will face his fears and square up with the ocean’s champions to learn how to TKO a shark all in the name of research. TYSON VS JAWS: RUMBLE ON THE REEF
Weekend #32 of 53 (8/7 – 8/9/2020) for 2020 Picks By Streaming Service
This week I’m most looking forward movie-wise to watching An American Pickle (FIRST LOOK) starring Seth Rogen on HBO Max. It is available for streaming on August 6, 2020.
For TV, I’m looking most forward to the new adult animated series: Star Trek: Lower Decks (FIRST LOOK) on CBS All Access. To get into that Star Trek mode, I’ve been watching The Orville on Hulu, which has a very Next Generation feel. Lower Decks is also available for streaming on August 6, 2020.
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*Title with asterisk – newly released Title is linked and has star rating – already watched, rated and reviewed Title bolded – on our schedule to watch/rewatch, rate and review (or in progress)
NOTE: If you’re coming to these posts weeks or months later, some and/or all of the picks listed below may no longer be on the streaming services indicated. Anything marked as “Original” typically doesn’t expire on the streaming services.
As pictured above, every first Tuesday in August is Night Out Day. A good day to spend with your significant other or a good friend, or just going out yourself for the night.
Obviously the pandemic makes going out places around the country this year more challenging. So if you can’t go out for real, consider a virtual night out. Perhaps put on the VR goggles on and/or rent a non-3D movie in a virtual theater (see: Independent Theaters Testing Virtual Screenings)
Yesterday I bought tickets to take Kara to the drive-in. An activity we haven’t done for at least 25 years … or so both of our tattered memories recall. It seemed like when the children were little, and they are all in the their mid to late 30s now, so that lines up time-wise. We can’t remember ever taking the kids to a drive-in movie, but it does seem like the kind of activity we would have chosen, especially because drive-ins tend to be more economical.
Check this out…
$5 for a car load!
$5 seems like a steal to see two movies on the giant screen. Given it’s two older movies, both of which are pretty good and are rewatches. Don’t have a review written for Fast & Furious, so will get that done. Men in Black ⭐️⭐️⭐️½ (1997) is one of my favorite Will Smith movies. Not the dramatic performance as Ali ⭐️⭐️⭐️½ but he’s good playing opposite Tommy Lee Jones.
Tommy Lee Jones. Man, that guy does the angry guy mode well. Facial expression, voice inflection, he really brings it.
List of drive-in theaters in/around our area. We’re going to one of them tonight! Night Out Tuesday!
When was the last time you went to the drive-in? Has it been more than 25 years like us? These will be the first movies we’ve watched outside our home since March. Almost five months! We’re ready.
Gates opened at 7pm. We got a front row park (seat). Waiting for dusk.
Weekend #31 of 53 (7/31 – 8/2/2020) for 2020 Picks By Streaming Service
The first of the month is huge for the various streaming services, as this is when a bunch of movie licenses move around.
It’s not uncommon to see dozens of movies added and removed from the leading services each month on this day. For movie lovers like us, this is like Christmas Day every month. Included in this week’s streaming picks are lists of movies cycled in on the first of the month by service.
There are plenty of sources out there covering every single movie title.
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*Title with asterisk – newly released Title is linked and has star rating – already watched, rated and reviewed Title bolded – on our schedule to watch/rewatch, rate and review (or in progress)
NOTE: If you’re coming to these posts weeks or months later, some and/or all of the picks listed below may no longer be on the streaming services indicated. Anything marked as “Original” typically doesn’t expire on the streaming services.
NETFLIX Movies
*Banana Split (2018)
*The Hater (2020)
*Seriously Single (2020)
*Killing Hasselhoff (2017)
If you missed rewatching (or watching for the first time — gasp!) the first three Jurassic Park movies have moved from Peacock to Netflix this month and are available as of August 1, 2020. Also, Mad Max (1979).
NETFLIX available for streaming on August 1
A Knight’s Tale Acts of Violence The Addams Family (1991) An Education Being John Malkovich Death at a Funeral Dennis the Menace Elizabeth Harvest Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind Hardcore Henry Iron Man: Armored Adventures: Season 1-2 Jurassic Park The Lost World: Jurassic Park Jurassic Park III Mad Max (1979) Mr. Deeds My Perfect Landing: Season 1 Nagi-Asu: A Lull in the Sea: Season 1 The NeverEnding Story The NeverEnding Story 2: The Next Chapter The Next Step: Season 6 Nights in Rodanthe Ocean’s Thirteen Ocean’s Twelve Operation Ouch: Season 1 Operation Ouch: Special Remember Me Seabiscuit Super Monsters: The New Class — Netflix Family Toradora!: Season 1 Transformers Rescue Bots Academy: S2 The Ugly Truth What Keeps You Alive
NETFLIX TV
*The Umbrella Academy – Season 2
*Transformers: War for Cybertron Trilogy – Chapter 1 (5 episodes)
*Tread Documentary, True Crime
*Last Chance U – 5 parts Documentary, Sports
*The Speed Cubers Documentary, Puzzle, Game
I’m not a huge Transformers fan, but the Cybertron trilogy on Netflix makes me want to check it out. The trailer is below.
10,000 BC (2008) All the President’s Men (1976) Altered States (1980) Awkwafina is Nora from Queens (Season 1) Bad Influence (1990), HBO Barefoot in the Park (1967) Barkleys of Broadway (1949) Batman (1989) Batman & Robin (1997) Batman Begins (2005) Batman Forever (1995) Batman Returns (1992) The Bear (1989), HBO Bee Season (2005), HBO Before Sunrise (1995), (HBO) Before Sunset (2004), (HBO) Biloxi Blues (1988), HBO Blade Runner: The Final Cut (2007) Blue Crush (2002) HBO The Candidate (1972) Carefree (1938) The Change-Up (2011), HBO Chariots of Fire (1981) Contact (1997) The Dark Knight (2008) The Dishwasher (2020), HBO Driving Miss Daisy (1989) Elf (2003) The First Grader (2011), HBO The First Wives Club (1996) Flipper (1996) HBO Flying Down to Rio (1933) Flying Leathernecks (1951) Fool’s Gold (2008) Fracture (2007) The Fugitive (1993) The Gay Divorcee (1934) Get on Up (2014), HBO Go Tell It on the Mountain (2004), HBO Grace Unplugged (2013), HBO Hard to Kill (1990), HBO Harley Quinn: Seasons 1 & 2 [RECOMMENDED] Highlander: The Final Dimension (1995), HBO Highlander IV: Endgame (2000), HBO The Hindenburg (1975), HBO Hours (2013), HBO House of Wax (2005) House Party (1990) House Party 2 (1991) House Party: Tonight’s the Night (2013) How to Be a Player (1997), HBO Idiocracy (Extended Version) (2006), HBO Interview with the Vampire (1994) Jeremiah Johnson (1972) Jim Thorpe: All-American (1951) Kung Fu Panda (2008) Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011) Leprechaun (1993), HBO Leprechaun 2 (1994), HBO Leprechaun 3 (1995), HBO Leprechaun 4: In Space (1997), HBO Leprechaun: Origins (2014), HBO The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996) The Lost Boys: The Thirst (2020), HBO The Lost Boys: The Tribe (Unrated Version) (2020), HBO Love Field (1992), HBO Lovelace (2013), HBO Lying And Stealing (2019), HBO The Marine (Unrated Version) (2006), HBO Martha Marcy May Marlene (2011), HBO Marvin’s Room (1996), HBO Maverick (1994) Monkeybone (2001), HBO Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium (2007), HBO Murder at 1600 (1997) The Mustang (2019), HBO My Blue Heaven (1990) My Sister’s Keeper (2009) Nell (1994), HBO New Year’s Eve (2011), HBO Ocean’s Eleven (2001) On Dangerous Ground (1952) On Golden Pond (1981), HBO Phantom (2013), HBO Pi (1998), HBO Raise the Titanic (1980), HBO Roberta (1935) Romeo Must Die (2000) Savages (Unrated Version) (2012), HBO Say It Isn’t So (2001) (HBO) Serendipity (2001) Skyline (2010) (HBO) South Central (1992) Spy Game (2001) (HBO) Steven Universe Movie (2019) The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle (1939) Striptease (1996) Swing Time (1936) They Live by Night (1949) Things Never Said (2020) (HBO) Three Days of the Condor (1975) Time Bandits (1981) (HBO) Top Hat (1935) Two Minutes of Fame (2020) (HBO) Walk the Line (Extended Version) (2005), HBO Wedding Crashers (2005) Without Limits (1998) Yes Man (2008)
HBO Max TV
*I’ll Be Gone In The Dark – episode 6 – finale episode Crime, Golden State Killer – Original Miniseries
*Doom Patrol – Season 2 – episodes 8 (also available on DC Universe)
*Perry Mason – episode 7
Amazon Prime Video available for streaming on August 1
3:10 to Yuma (2007) Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994) Inception (2010) Margin Call (2011) My Bloody Valentine (1981) Rain Man (1988) Rustlers’ Rhapsody (1985) Safe (2012) Something’s Gotta Give (2003) Square Parts (2015) Spider-Man 3 (2007) Steel Magnolias (1989) The Holiday (2006) Top Gun (1986)
DC Universe TV
*Stargirl – Season 1, Episode 12: “Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E Part One”
Last week’s episode #10 was action-packed, fun and entertaining. Will be cool too see if they can follow up that episode.
Hulu available for streaming on August 1
71 (2015) 3:10 to Yuma (2007) A Good Woman (2006) A Perfect Murder (1998) Australia (2008) The Brothers McMullen (1995) Cats & Dogs (2001) Child’s Play (1988) City Slickers (1991) City Slickers 2: The Legend of Curly’s Gold (1994) Company Business (1991) Death At A Funeral (2010) Elena Undone (2010) Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994) Free Fall (2013) Gayby (2012) Hellraiser (1987) Hurricane Bianca (2016) Just Charlie (2017) The Last Stand (2013) Legend Of The Guardians: The Owls Of Ga’Hoole (2010) Margin Call (2011) Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003) My Best Friend’s Wedding (1997) My Bloody Valentine (1981) Pit Stop (2013) Rain Man (1988) Rustlers’ Rhapsody (1985) Safe (2012) The Saint (1997) Sleeping with the Enemy (1991) Sordid Lives (2000) Spare Parts (2015) Stanley & Iris (1990) Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982) Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984) Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989) Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991) Star Trek: Insurrection (1998) Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) Stuck On You (2003) Top Gun (1986) Ultraviolet (2006) Up in the Air (2009) Were The World Mine (2008)
tysonontriller.com to purchase the PPV fight scheduled 9/12/2020 @ 6pm PT (GMT-8)
By now you might have heard about an upcoming, admittedly unusual PPV (Pay Per View) sports event involving retired boxing sensation Mike Tyson.
Admittedly this is outside what we typically cover here — we’ve never before covered live PPV sporting events of any kind — but this might be of interest to some readers, despite costing almost as much as an annual subscription to some streaming services.
The price for the upcoming event on September 12 featuring Mike Tyson’s return to the ring in an 8-round exhibition fight is reportedly going to cost $49.99.
While pricey, the event is still cheaper than a number of the other major PPV boxing events in recent years. The February 2020 rematch between Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder cost $79.99, while the 2017 bout between Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor set fans back a whopping $99.99 in high definition.
The event is being streamed on Triller, which I never heard of until Tyson mentioned it in a promotional interview for the fight. Apparently Triller is a competitor of TikTok, which I also have never used. Anybody reading familiar with Triller?
According to another article linked in the next quote below, Triller paid $50 million for the exclusive streaming rights for this scheduled 3-hour PPV event.
Over the years we paid for and watched several Mike Tyson PPV fights and this one, assuming we can stream it on our TV (no cast to TV option will mean we’ll likely sit the sidelines, as I’m not dropping 50 bones to watch on the computer and we don’t have cable or satellite TV service), will be no exception.
$49.99 isn’t that far out of line for a three hour PPV event featuring a live boxing event. I’m not expecting the fight between Roy Jones Jr and Tyson to be as exciting as Tyson’s earlier boxing matches. What makes Tyson so compelling is how unpredictable he can be.
Let’s not forget Tyson bit a chunk out of Evander Holyfield’s ear. He bit him twice in the same round in that historic rematch.
Tyson bites Evander Holyfield’s ear — it was one of the most bizarre sports PPV event ever
My favorite line from former cornerman for Ali, boxing analyst and “The Fight Doctor” Ferdie Pachecko, “It’s like Dracula or something!”
Boxing fans are very familiar with Mike Tyson. Even non-fans recognize him for his various acting cameos and roles and how he dominated the news by a rape conviction and prison sentence or hanging out with tigers. The man is legendary.
Another reason I’m interested in this event is because Tyson is donating the money he received to charity. He’s not doing this for money for himself. He’s found some other inner calling to help others. I think this alone makes paying $49.99 to support the event worth it, even if others will see this as a freak show of sorts.
Who will win this fight? Tyson or Jones?
Tyson is the favorite on early betting lines so far. He probably will have a ton of ring rust being out 15 years, but nobody can deny his fierce punching power. If he catches Jones with an uppercut or his lethal left hook, it’s game over. I don’t care if he’s getting a senior discount at some restaurants, Jones isn’t likely to be able to absorb that blow.
Then again, Jones had been fighting professionally up until 2018. He can’t be counted out for his skill. He’s also three years younger at 51.
Respect Roy Jones Jr. take on this from sportsbible.com:
“I’m not going to try and go out there in the first round and take him out like I’m a fool. He’s still strong early, he’s still a strong lion.
But I’ve got a cheetah’s mentality which means I’ve got to get quick. If he don’t kill me quick his ass belongs to me then.”
I’ll make a formal prediction before the fight as the event draws nearer, likely after the PPV is available for purchase. It’s still almost a month away from this writing, so want to wait and see what else transpires leading up to the event.
However, if I had to make a decision right now, I’d say outside a knockout by Tyson in the first round, it will be a draw. Keep reading and you’ll see the rules for the fight, which portend the outcome likely leading to no decision.
I didn’t mention anything about the undercard. That will feature YouTuber, Jake Paul boxing former NBA guard Nate Robinson. Not sure how these two amateur fighters getting in the ring to settle a beef (???) leads us to two real boxers in a boxing match, but hey, it’s an undercard event and I wasn’t motivated by either person enough to research more into why they are even on this undercard (commenters feel free to fill me in below). I’d rather see something NBA-related with an NBA basketball player (perhaps a one on one pickup game or something?), but don’t know enough on this yet. It’s a freak curiosity, at least. The whole event is shaping up to be something that straddles the border between serious and farce.
George Foreman has publicly stated he’d like the event canceled because he doesn’t want to see Tyson or Jones get hurt. There is an element of danger in any boxing match, I mean these guys have lethal weapons as fists and they’re hitting each other in the head. Foreman’s heart is certainly in the right place, but dangerous stunts for entertainment are nothing new. Evel Knievel made risking your life a sport people will pay to see. Go watch his crazy Snake River Canyon in a rocket jump if you need any convincing that there are far more dangerous events for money.
They are wearing larger than normal gloves (12 ounce).
No scoring judges. So, if there isn’t a winner by knockout, it will be a draw.
If either fighter is cut, the fight will be stopped. Again, this suggests the outcome will be a draw.
I’m somewhat skeptical the event will go off as scheduled, but, again, if it’s available to stream and cast to our TV, I’ll be there. We have Roku and Chromecast. I just checked on Roku for a Triller channel and one doesn’t appear to exist.
I just looked over the Triller website and installed the app on my Samsung Note 10+ Android phone. Upon launching the Triller app and cycling through the menu and videos I didn’t see any obvious way to cast to TV, so I’m worried how this will be streamed to TV for those of us who don’t have cable or satellite. It’s a legitimate concern thanks to HBO Max, Peacock and Quibi having major launches without Amazon Fire Stick or Roku support.
No idea if this PPV event through Triller exclusively will be blocked for cast to TV but if it is somehow, that will be one of the stupidest moves ever. I mean, that would be like like Quibi-level idiocy.
Presales for the event will, according to the first linked, quoted article above, not be available until August 26, so it seems even the promoters aren’t sure yet if this event can and will go off as scheduled. Almost a month from now before we can buy this PPV.
If it happens, will you be buying this PPV for $49.99?
I’ll admit it doesn’t seem like the best use of $50, especially in current times. Hey, it’s entertainment. Will this even be good entertainment, is another question. We’ve paid over $50 before to see a movie with our grandchildren and they didn’t even make it through half the movie.
But enough of what I’m thinking, what about you? Do you have any interest in events like this? Your answers in the comments — or not — will also help me understand if covering events like this are worthwhile here. We’re a site about movies and to a lesser extent TV, but this type of one-off entertainment could be shown in a theater if they were open, like a Fathom Event, so it seems very related to what we do here.
Will you pay $49.99 for this PPV event? Or wait for the news update the next day? What would you be willing to pay if it’s some other price than $49.99? I think the price is just about right for me. If it was much more than 50 bucks, I’d probably pass on it, too.
Weekend #30 of 53 (7/24 – 7/26/2020) for 2020 Picks By Streaming Service
If you plowed through everything Peacock had to offer last week (Lost Speedways was very good for those who like racing, BTW, I recommend that series), then several movies await this weekend across the streaming services.
I haven’t seen the first movie The Kissing Booth, but the sequel is coming straight to Netflix this weekend and the main lead stars are returning. I’m looking more forward to seeing Radioactive and Spotlight. The animated films: Animated Crackers and Dragons: Rescue Riders: Secrets of the Songwing might be worth a look, too.
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*Title with asterisk – newly released Title is linked and has star rating – already watched, rated and reviewed Title bolded – on our schedule to watch/rewatch, rate and review (or in progress)
NOTE: If you’re coming to these posts weeks or months later, some and/or all of the picks listed below may no longer be on the streaming services indicated. Anything marked as “Original” typically doesn’t expire on the streaming services.
Movies Coming Soon to theaters 2020 now includes sections for STREAMING PREMIERE and DELAYED/MOVED to help better organize and track movie release updates.
Readers, if you enjoy being surprised by posts then you can safely skip reading this post, as it contains dates of scheduled upcoming posts. There are a few surprises here and there however on certain dates and details that have intentionally been left out. After all, not everything fun and worthwhile can be scheduled.
For those curious to know what to expect in the future that’s new review-related to this blog and wondering what types of posts appear here, the frequency and schedule, this post provides details and specifics.
Of course other non-review posts are made in/around the posts that are actually planned below and there are also some reviews that aren’t listed as well like ongoing The Twilight Zone (1959-) reviews, which are planned to take place over many, many years at this blog, not days, weeks or months.
COMING SOON TO THEATERS – Additions, changes and modifications
The image at the top of this post shows the subsections on the 2020 Coming Soon to Theaters page and now includes the following subsections:
STREAMING PREMIERE – these are higher profile movies that either could, should or are simultaneous theater releases. It’s not intended to be a complete list of all new streaming movies. VOD/PVOD movie releases will also appear on this list. From top to bottom it is date sorted (beginning of the month at top, end of month at bottom)
DELAYED/MOVED – movies intended to be released to theaters but have moved to other months are now listed under this subcategory
Someday all these movie release date changes might have to be put in a database, but for now this seems like the simplest and cleanest way to portray this information. Again, it’s not every single movie being released, it seeks to capture the wide theater releases, some [LIMITED] releases and streaming premieres. Basically, we’re trying to keep our eyes on new films that have broad appeal or wide release, academy attention (including some indie films) and noteworthy streaming premieres. New films can and will slip through the cracks, but this should be a fairly detailed overview of the “biggest” and “best” new movies being released in theaters in the United States.
Unless otherwise noted, all movie release dates are for the United States only. Other country release dates are not being tracked.
New wide release movies planned for review compilation posts. These dates are subject to change based on the movies actually being released and/or our ability to watch the movies the weekend before. In some rare circumstances, reviews by others are compiled without our review, but won’t critique movies that haven’t been watched and reviewed.
All movies seen in theaters have spoiler-free video reviews created just after leaving the movie theater at our MovieReviewsByUs YouTube channel
All movie review compilations and critiques — these contain spoilers — appear at MovieReviewsByUs.com usually the week following US release, but sometimes delayed longer. Typically, these review compilations will appear Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday. There is no schedule for these posts, but you can follow along with the Coming Soon 2020 or Monthly Coming Soon to Theater lists to see which movies will be watched and reviewed.
The goal is to watch and review all wide release movies released in theaters. Not all VOD and streaming release movies are watched and reviewed.
WEDNESDAY – Coming To Theaters This Weekend Posts
Our coming to theaters weekend list will return as soon as theaters reopen. These detail the wide release movies that are being released in theaters the coming weekend.
THURSDAY – What to Watch on Streaming Channels This Weekend
A recap of MovieReviewsByUs selected titles, mostly new titles, but some older movies available across a selection of the various streaming services including, but not limited to: Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, HBO Max, Peacock, Hulu, Shudder, DC Universe, AppleTV+
FRIDAY – FIRST LOOK Fridays
Preview posts of all wide release movies in theaters, some VOD, some movies and TV series on streaming channels.
These posts are not planned in advance, but try to post at least some movies coming to theaters within the next 45-90 days.
SATURDAY Morning Cartoon (Spoiler-Free) Reviews
Currently the following cartoons are have been or being scheduled to have reviews posted on Saturdays:
Scooby-Doo Where Are You (1969) Star Trek: The Animated Series (1973)
Every Saturday morning a new review for a classic cartoon series is scheduled to be reviewed. Here’s the schedule of reviews for what’s already happened and the rest of 2020:
July 18: Scooby-Doo, Where Are You: S1:E3 – “Hassle In The Castle”
July 25: Scooby-Doo, Where Are You: S1:E4 – “Mine Your Own Business”
Aug 01: Scooby-Doo, Where Are You: S1:E5 – “Decoy for a Dognapper”
Aug 08: Scooby-Doo, Where Are You: S1:E6 – “What The Hex Going On?”
Aug 15: Scooby-Doo, Where Are You: S1:E7 – “Never Ape an Ape Man”
Aug 22: Scooby-Doo, Where Are You: S1:E8 – “Foul Play In Funland”
Aug 29: Scooby-Doo, Where Are You: S1:E9 – “The Backstage Rage”
Sep 05: Scooby-Doo, Where Are You: S1:E10 – “Bedlam in the Big Top”
Sep 12: Scooby-Doo, Where Are You: S1:E11 – “A Gaggle of Galloping Ghosts”
Sep 19: Scooby-Doo, Where Are You: S1:E12 – “Scooby-Doo and a Mummy, Too”
Sep 26: Scooby-Doo, Where Are You: S1:E13 – “Which Witch is Which?”
Oct 03: Scooby-Doo, Where Are You: S1:E14 – “Go Away Ghost Ship”
Oct 10: Scooby-Doo, Where Are You: S1:E15 – “Spooky Space Kook”
Oct 17: Scooby-Doo, Where Are You: S1:E16 – “A Night of Fright Is No Delight”
Oct 24: Scooby-Doo, Where Are You: S1:E17 – “That Snow Ghost” (season 1 finale episode)
Oct 31 – Halloween cartoon surprise cartoon review
Nov 07 – Star Trek: The Animated Series: S1:E1 – “Beyond The Farthest Star”
Nov 14 – Star Trek: The Animated Series: S1:E2 – “Yesteryear”
Nov 21 – Star Trek: The Animated Series: S1;E3 – “One Of Our Planets Is Failing”
Nov 28 – Star Trek: The Animated Series: S1:E4 – “The Lorelei Signal”
Dec 05 – Star Trek: The Animated Series: S1:E5 – “More Tribbles, More Troubles”
Dec 12 – Star Trek: The Animated Series: S1:E6 – “The Survivor”
Dec 19 – Star Trek: The Animated Series: S1:E7 – “The Infinite Vulcan”
Dec 26 – Star Trek: The Animated Series: S1:E8 – “The Magicks of Megas Tu”
SUNDAY / MONDAY
The following new Stargirl Season 1 TV Show episodes are reviewed (spoiler-free) and posted either Sunday night (PT / GMT-8) or Monday, the date below is Monday, but again some will be posted early on Sunday night, which just depends on whether or not I watch the episode on Sunday or Monday (sometimes I fall asleep before it airs):
Weekend #29 of 53 (7/17 – 7/19/2020) for 2020 Picks By Streaming Service
Movie-wise, this is a pretty quiet weekend for new releases, unless we’re talking about Peacock, which has opened up a library of movies — some certified classics (like Psycho) — to the world at large.
Peacock is what I’m going to be spending at least some time watching several of their Peacock Originals. Have already watched a couple of the originals. Leading my interest as of this writing is Dale Earnhardt Jr. visiting a bunch of old racetracks (Lost Speedways). I’m always fascinated with how nature grows up through man-made structures. Even 10 years without upkeep can make something look ancient.
KEY *Title with asterisk – newly released Title is linked and has star rating – already watched, rated and reviewed Title bolded – on our schedule to watch/rewatch, rate and review (or in progress)
NOTE: If you’re coming to these posts weeks or months later, some and/or all of the picks listed below may no longer be on the streaming services indicated. Anything marked as “Original” typically doesn’t expire on the streaming services.
PEACOCK Movies
*Psych 2: Lassie Come Home
PEACOCK TV
*Brave New World – 9 episodes Adaptation of Auldous Huxley Novel
*The Capture – Season 1 – 6 episodes Thriller
*Intelligence – Season 1 – 6 episodes Comedy
*Lost Speedways – 8 episodes
NETFLIX Movies
*Fatal Affair (2020)
*MILF (2020)
NETFLIX TV
*Cursed – Season 1 (July 17) Fantasy
*The Last Dance – Limited Series ESPN Sports, NBA, Docuseries
We’ve had it through Flex (a little streaming box for Xfinity customers that offers access to various streaming channels including Peacock) for 90 days as Xfinity Internet customers, but they did release some new content that wasn’t previously available today.
I’ve watched it less than every other streaming channel we have, including Roku’s free channel. It has really rotated out movie licenses since the launch — in a big way. They had Jurassic Park, then it was gone, now it’s back. This shouldn’t be that surprising, as licenses rotate in and out, but their library seems to have been under frequent changes since the “soft” launch, if you will, I guess as they are trying to settle in on what the magical launch library of movies and TV shows should be.
Alas, there are TV shows I wish they had decided to offer (Las Vegas for one). They do have a pretty decent selection, especially if you’re an Alfred Hitchcock and Abbott & Costello fan. Many Hitchcock movies are available to watch.
I’m not going to do a side-by-side comparison in this post, but will highlight the Peacock Originals they are promoting along with trailers, if/when they are available.
What’s up with the “TV” branding?
Did the marketing people think we wouldn’t be able to figure out Peacock by itself was a TV streaming service? Maybe they are right.
In the beginning I was a bit confused with the whole “TV” part. In fact, I started out calling it Peacock TV rather than just Peacock. Maybe that name confusion is solely mine, but noticed today when I sought out the Google Play store app, it is branded as Peacock TV.
The official website is PeacockTV.com too. Who owns peacock.com? Well, NBC does, because it instantly redirects to PeacockTV.com. I don’t get why they didn’t just use Peacock.com? This is a minor quip on my part, but from a technology standpoint, this type of branding can be confusing. Luckily, they own both domains so whichever you type into your browser you’re going to end up at the right place.
They didn’t have the app available on the Google Play store until this morning. Since some have reported issues finding the app (just search for “peacock” and it will come up as the top result), here is a link to the app in the Google Play store: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.peacocktv.peacockandroid
Peacock Originals at Launch
There are some Peacock Original TV shows, one movie (Psych 2: Lassie Come Home) and one documentary at launch for those with the premium ($4.99/month) or the almost ad-free plan ($9.99). I believe Xfinity customers receive the $4.99/month plan as a free add-on. We’re not paying anything additional, and I see all these originals, but I’ve read that if you use the free service the originals aren’t available. If you are using the app and know differently, please let me know in the comments.
Peacock originals available at July 15, 2020 launch available to premium subscribers
Psych 2: Lassie Come Home – 1h, 28m – Comedy
The only Peacock original movie available. A sequel to a comedy made for TV movie and TV series. Didn’t see the first Psych: The Movie (this is available on Peacock, as well as the TV series all 8 seasons), so know nothing about this other than the trailer. I will give it a watch and see how it goes. I didn’t find anything in the trailer to be that funny, but comedy movie trailers don’t always work out. Maybe I’ll watch the first movie first, then perhaps a little bit of the TV series and then the sequel. Lots to dig into here for others like me who haven’t seen any of this. Any fans of this show reading? Tell me what you like about this show in the comments (no spoilers, please).
In Deep With Ryan Lochte – 1 h 3m – Documentary
Covers swimmer Ryan Lochte’s scandal at the 2016 Rio Olympics and his goal to get back to the Olympics.
Dreams Live On: Countdown To Tokyo – 57m
Since the 2020 Tokyo Olympics were postponed thanks to You Know What, this documentary covers the athletes waiting for their chance to win the gold. The Olympics live coverage was set to coincide originally with the launch of Peacock so this delay impacts the live programming side of the streaming service. Not so much for me, because I haven’t been that interested in the Olympics for years. I do follow some of the Olympics sports, but it’s pretty far afield from what we cover at this website.
Kamone – 23m – Documentary
Blink and this short documentary will pass, but it was interesting (yes, already watched it). Crescent City, California and Rikuzentakata involving an earthquake and the ocean that separates two towns by the ocean. Footage of a 30-foot high tsunami bearing in on a helpless city killing 18,000 people. 1 tree out of 70,000 survived which is a miracle in and of itself and a boat turns up two years later an ocean away. Interesting little documentary.
Brave New World – 9 episodes – available to binge all episodes. It will be one of my Thursday picks. It’s based on the Aldous Huxley novel of the same name. Episode run times are from 40-56 min.
The Capture – Season 1 – 6 episodes – available to binge all episodes. A thriller with episode run times from 56 minutes to an hour in length. This looks pretty good, I’m going to check it out.
Intelligence – Season 1 – 6 episodes. Binge all episodes. Run time per episode is 21-22 minutes. David Schwimmer (Ross from Friends) stars.
Lost Speedways – Season 1- All 8 episodes available to binge. Episodes average 24-28 minutes. Dale Earnhardt Jr. visits historic race courses abandoned and/or no longer in service. An interesting idea and probably make for a good set backdrops for a movie.
There are multiple children shows listed as Peacock Originals including: Curious George (multiple seasons), Where’s Waldo? and Cleopatra in Space (1 season). Probably Waldo interests me the most there.
Have you checked out Peacock yet?
Looking over the app it’s getting rating bombed as of this writing. See the picture at the top. Seems like it has some technical issues. I guess the only reason I might want to use the app would be to include as another Chromecast option, but I prefer using the Flex box. I’m not sure what login to use either (my Xfinity account login?).
Ultimately, I hope they sort this out with Roku and show up there, because I find a bit unwieldy have three different streaming boxes, more if you count the PS4 and Xbox. Change TV inputs just to watch Peacock? I need one of those devices you can talk to that auto switches all of this with my voice (so I can say, “I want to watch Yellowstone on Peacock” and the input is switched and Yellowstone is auto-loaded).
What do you think of Peacock? Are any of the Peacock Originals drawing your interest?
Weekend #28 of 53 (7/10 – 7/12/2020) for 2020 Picks By Streaming Service
AppleTV+ subscribers — or those who want to be — will find the new Tom Hanks movie, Greyhound available to watch on July 10
Netflix – The Old Guard stars Charlize Theron.
HBO Max – Close Enough, an adult animated TV series debuts.
KEY *Title with asterisk – newly released Title is linked and has star rating – already watched, rated and reviewed Title bolded – on our schedule to watch/rewatch, rate and review (or in progress)
NOTE: If you’re coming to these posts weeks or months later, some and/or all of the picks listed below may no longer be on the streaming services indicated. Anything marked as “Original” typically doesn’t expire on the streaming service.
APPLE TV+ Movies
*Greyhound
NETFLIX Movies
*The Old Guard – Charlize Theron
*The Claudia Kishi Club – Documenatary
NETFLIX TV
*The Twelve – Season 1 (10 episodes) Legal, drama
*Japan Sinks – Season 1, Episode 1 Anime
*The Protector – Season 4 (final season)
*Down To Earth With Zac Efron Original
*The Epic Tales of Captain Underpants in Space Family
