Ozone Nightmare

Today on the 5: Over the weekend I decided to roll the dice on a newer horror film about a subject that doesn't have many entries. I landed on 2024's Monster Island, a World War II movie about enemies who end up on an island with an merman-like creature. It ended up being generally serviceable with a few notably positive elements. 

Today on the 5: The 2025 series Alien: Earth has concluded what will either be the first or only season to some pretty divisive reception. Lando and I have now finished the second half of episodes (including the finale) and we'll be diving deep into the details on Friday. Before that, I wanted to provide my spoiler free review of the series overall.

Today on the 5: I watched a YouTube video late last week that was deeply informative and provided me with fascinating new information that I likely would not have sought out on my own. Sounds great, right? It was, but the problem is the presenter used a particular way of speaking that would likely alienate a lot of viewers. I've been noticing this more and more, and I'm wondering why it's happening.

This week we're talking about Amazon's decline, Full Contact, The Timekeepers Of Eternity, and The Toxic Avenger. Show music by HeartBeatHero and OGRE. Support the show!

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Today on the 5: I came across a YouTube video detailing the entire "mythology" story of The X-Files and explaining why it's not nearly as complex or convoluted as some people think it is. It's a great video, but it reminded me that I was very happy with how the original seriues ended.

Today on the 5: For another one of our commentary films this week, Lando and I watched the recently released remake of The Toxic Avenger. We went into this movie with fairly low expectations since it's a remake of a Troma film, but we were both blown away by how good this movie is. From the filmmaking to the writing, this movie has it all!

Today on the 5: For one of our commentary films this week, Lando and I watched 1992's Full Contact. This movie is a Chow Yun-Fat vehicle that would probably be a lot more well known if not for another action film he starred in that same year that hit slightly harder. Even so, this is a fun film with some wildly unique characters and film techniques.

Tonight I'm joined again by professor and musician Doug Bielmeier for another Late Night Series Review! In this episode, we're continuing our analysis of the incredible 2020 limited series DEVS by Alex Garland. In the finale of the series, we're talking about parts 7 and 8!

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This week we're talking about Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, Battle Royal High School, No Retreat No Surrender 2, and Crying Blue Sky. Show music by HeartBeatHero and OGRE. Support the show!

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Today on thbre 5: Sony announced a remaster of classic PC game Deus Ex in their latest State Of Play event. I didn't pay much attention to it since I already have a wonderfully modded version of it on PC, but then I started seeing a lot of anger around it online. I looked into it, and while I don't think it;s as universally bas as others do, it did make a fatal mistake by getting what I would consider the most important part of the visuals completely wrong.

Today on the 5: The YouTube-centric creator community has been in turmoil over view counts dropping, with competing theories and incomplete explanations still bouncing all over. Threaded within the coverage on this are the increasing AI tools YouTube is encouraging creators to use. The more of these they add, the more I wonder why people using them to their max effect even make videos.

Today on the 5: For one of our commentary films this week, Lando and I watched a 1987 action film titled No Retreat No Surrender 2. The movie is a "sorta sequel" featuring a pair of incredible martial artists, one being Cynthia Rothrock. Those two elements resulted in this being a bit it of a complicated review for me.

Today on the 5: For one of our commentary films this week, Lando and I watched a 1983 folk horror film titled Crying Blue Sky (or Eyes Of Fire, but don't watch that version). We weren't sure what to expect from this movie, but it ended up being one that we enjoyed and will stick with us for a while.

This week we're talking about steroids, engines, electromagnetic shielding, The Purple Ball. and Farscape. Show music by HeartBeatHero and OGRE. Support the show!

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Today on the 5: I saw an article earlier over on Ars Technica that was warning people away from using AI tools like ChapGPT to pick stocks for them. I think these people are just afraid of technology, and I say people should do as much as they can with these tools!

Today on the 5: For one of our communal movie commentaries this week, the random movie wheel landed on 1987's Battle Royal High School. What we didn't know beforehand is this is an adaptation of a multi-volume manga of the same name trying to squeeze a lot of story into a OVA. It also has some delightfully bad dubbing, fantastic hand drawn animation and a story so far off the rails we honesatly never knew where it would go next!

Today on the 5: In the wake of the latest round of YouTube screwing over the creators who make it successful, a familiar yet utterly garbage justification came up again: the platform simply cannot handle moderation in any way but deeply flawed automation. It occurred to me that if this is true, it does not place Google's technical prowess in a particularly posiitive light.

Today on the 5: I came across a Soviet science fiction fantasy film from 1988 titled The Purple Ball, and I felt like it might be worth watching with Lando. It ended up being a very entertaining movie with some wild special effects and wildly imaginative storytelling. Best part, you can watch it for free right now! 

This week we're talking about The Shrouds, Steele Justice, Iron Angels 2 & 3, and Download: Devil Circuit. Show music by HeartBeatHero and OGRE. Support the show!

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Today on the 5: One of our selections for a comminual movie this week was one neither of us had every heard of 1992's Download: Devil Circuit. For a movie about an amazingly horny monk chasing after an exotic dancer while battling an evil corporation, it's both extremely funny and suprisingly restrained! 

Today on the 5: Via an accident of me picking the wrong movie Lando watched Steele Justice, a Martin Kove Vietnam revenge action film from 1987. It ended up being a happy accident as we got a farily entertaining movie with a few noticeable flaws that left us wondering why Kove didn't have a higher profile career.

Today on the 5: While I was sick with COVID I decided to watch David Cronenberg's latest film, 2024's The Shrouds. The movie has seen a very mixed response, which is typical for Cronenberg. What sets this movie apart is how clear a way of working through his wife's death this film is, and that gives it a weight far different than any of his other work.

Today on the 5: For many years I avoided reading work by Hunter S. Thompson because I got the sense that the mythology of the man eclipsed the reality of his life. After seeing a video about his work that made a good argument as to why that might be a mistake, I tried reading a few of his books.

This week we're talking about the NRA defending trans gun rights, Matt Snedecor, Alien: Earth, and Beyond The Door III. Show music by HeartBeatHero and OGRE. Support the show!

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Today on the 5: Don't panic from the title! I just need to take a short break from 5s because my voice is shot thanks to COVID.

Today on the 5: Lando and I have watched the first 4 episodes of 2025's Alien: Earth series. We were both skeptical that it would be much beyond another forgettable IP product, but that cynicism disappeared pretty quickly. This review covers the first half of the 8 episode season, and while there's no guarantee things won't go south this is a boldly original take on a nearly 50 year old franchise.

Today on the 5: In the past I've talked about my absolutely amazing Oakley Juliet X-Metal sunglesses, which are now well over 20 years old. While the frame itself is in remarkably great shape, the lenses are finally losing their original coatings. As Oakey no longer supplies spare parts or servicing for them, I tried out Revant lenses. After an ordering error on my part, Revant delivered some of the best customer service I'd had in quite a while. I felt like I needed to spotlight that since most of the time all you hear are complaints about companies. 

This week we're talking about The Long Earth, Wallender, Alien: Earth, N[eon], At Midnight I'll Take Your Soul and Witch From Nepal. Show music by HeartBeatHero and OGRE. Support the show!

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Today on the 5: The latest spin of the movie wheel landed on Witch From Nepal, an early Chow Yun-Fat vehicle that is loaded with magic, mysticism, and some questionable morality. While the movie has some good moments and is generally enjoyable, it has the bad luck of following the far superior The Boxer's Omen in our viewing history. 

Today on the 5: This week Lando and I watched a pair of shgortr films fore one ofd ourc eommntary videos. We followed 1988's Dragon's Heaven with something much more dreamy and atmospheric, 2002's N[eon]. A short movie from illustrator Dave McKean, this one leaves a lot for you decide on once it ends.

Today on the 5: This week Lando and I did something a little different. Instead of a commentary on one film, we did one on a pair of short films! First up, 1988's Dragon's Heaven, a wonderful animated film that blends giant mechs with Mœbius in a story that gets straight to the point.

Tonight I'm joined again by professor and musician Doug Bielmeier for another Late Night Series Review! In this episode, we're continuing our analysis of the incredible 2020 limited series DEVS by Alex Garland. In this video, we're talking about parts 5 and 6!

YouTube Censored Version

Join our Patreon to watch the uncut version!

Show music by OGRE. Support the show!

This week we're talking about Jhostynxon Garcia, Superman, The Clones, Mystere, and Dead Or Alive Final. Show music by HeartBeatHero and OGRE. Support the show!

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Today on the 5: In the last few days there has been a lot of attention news and discussion over an "experiment" YouTube has been running on their Shorts segment of the platform. When this alteration to user videos started getting a lot of response, an explanation was issued. I think it might have made things worse.

Today on the 5: While talking to Lando about my experience watching Superman (2025), he questioned whether I have an inherent bias against things that are popular. I thought about that for a while, and in the end I don't think it's simple popularity that makes me wary.

Today on the 5: I've been looking forward to watching the newest iteration of Superman from James Gunn, 2025's Superman. After the depressing and fundamentally flawed version of the character that Zack Snyder delivered, the concept of a hopeful superhero was exactly what I needed. It's a shame I couldn't make it more than 30 minutes into the movie.  

Today on the 5: For one of our communal movie selections this week, Lando and I watched 1973's The Clones. The film has a lot of elements and themes that are highly tied to the time it was made, but it also functions in a way that keeps you interested despite the flaws. 

This week we're talking about Wednesday, Death Stranding 2, Ex Machina, Class Of 1999, Iron Angels, and Demons. Show music by HeartBeatHero and OGRE. Support the show!

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Today on the 5: Recently one of the former execs for Playstation made some comments about video game pricing that got some predictably angry responses. Read the article yourself, but the general opinion of this person was that prices have been too low for too long because of how expensive games are to make. Let's examine that argument shall we?

Today on the 5: If you've heard me talk about Gradius before, you probably knew I was punching the "Buy" button for Gradius Origins hard enough to break my controller. I've been playing the games since the collection released, and if you've been considering picking this title up, you should!