Woof-o-meter :-
0-Die Bastard : 1-Crap : 2-Rubbish(watchable) : 3-OK : 3.5-Nice : 4-Good : 4.5-Very Good : 5-WOW
09.01.22 It's probably me just being pessimistic, but things don't look good for live comedy in Sydney.
Standup has been in decline. In the old days there was a lot of pubs doing live standup, now I don't think there is more than 3 if that.
Standup has been in decline. In the old days there was a lot of pubs doing live standup, now I don't think there is more than 3 if that.
Giant Dwarf closed. Even after the move GD wasn't the same, because most of the regular, ie, Project52, stuff moved away.
Roxbury Hotel closed. This was the hub before GD, but now most of the troupes doing shows there disappeared.
Most of the Project52 shows stopped or moved away from GD. They got married and don't have the time, and there is nothing as prolific to fill in the comedy gap.
These-days I practically only have the SCF and two Project52 shows left, ie, maybe 40 shows a year.
I live with very old people, so I'm kind-of stuck at home because bringing the virus home could kill them even though everyone is vaccinated.
This blog gets about 1 view every 3.5 days, so there is not much incentive to keep going.
Sorry to be a downer.
19.12.21 : Powerbomb Comedy at Staves Brewery : Staves Brewery
Don't try to ride-out a slight headache, ie, pop a pill and stop suffering, because by the time I got there I felt pretty bad and uncomfortable with the heat. That being said I don't think the first half was as good as last week, but thankfully the second half was better so I was able to tough it out. As a point of interest, we had guys from Melb who unfortunately did material we knew nothing about, ie, we didn't know why it was supposed to be funny, and that reminds me of when I saw Rose Matafeo, in that I also didn't laugh because I knew nothing about what she was referencing, and that kind-of tells you a bit about how comedy works, ie, it's dependant on the crowd knowing stuff. Crowd : 4 - Me : na
16.12.21 : Spider-Man: No Way Home - movie
Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi : With Spider-Man's identity now revealed, Peter asks Doctor Strange for help. When a spell goes wrong, dangerous foes from other worlds start to appear, forcing Peter to discover what it truly means to be Spider-Man.
Because it's confusing, the quick rundown is that all the old villains from different Spider-man universes are drawn into the current universe.
I couldn't get into the last one - I don't even remember it -, and this was even more removed because it relies on you remembering all the details in every Spider-man film ever made starting from Spider-Man (2002). The problem was that I barely remember any of the old films yet alone what actually happened in them, so I couldn't get involved, and in fact it was so bad I only remembered 2 of the 5 villains so I had no idea even what their superpowers were. Maybe you'll have better luck, ie, a better memory. 3
I couldn't get into the last one - I don't even remember it -, and this was even more removed because it relies on you remembering all the details in every Spider-man film ever made starting from Spider-Man (2002). The problem was that I barely remember any of the old films yet alone what actually happened in them, so I couldn't get involved, and in fact it was so bad I only remembered 2 of the 5 villains so I had no idea even what their superpowers were. Maybe you'll have better luck, ie, a better memory. 3
13.12.21 : Dear Evan Hansen - movie
Comedy, Musical : Film adaptation of the Tony and Grammy Award-winning musical about Evan Hansen, a high school senior with Social Anxiety disorder and his journey of self-discovery and acceptance following the suicide of a fellow classmate.
It's nice enough, but there are numerous reality disconnects. I was glad I researched it because I would've had trouble with the subject matter, ie, suicide, but I shouldn't have worried because making it a musical kills any seriousness it would usually have. I can see why they picked that actor, ie, he sings very well, but he kind-of looks too old for the part, ie, a disconnect - a wig covering his forehead would've made him look younger -, and every-time there is a dramatic point they break into song, and that disconnects again. By half way the disconnect fade, but by then you workout what's going to happen and it again detracts from the film. It's ok. 2.75
11.12.21 : Free to A Good Home : Comedy Store
It was way better live. I know this was a special one, with special guests Demi Lardner, Matt Okine and Tom Walker, but I've started listening to the podcasts and I'm hearing a lot of laughing, but I can't fathom WHY they are laughing, ie, it's not that funny. Maybe they're liquored - lol -. Like with all the current pods, everyone has agendas other than the classifieds, ie, snack report, what's happened recently, etc, so don't expect too much of them, but overall it was pretty good. Crowd : 4 - Me : 3.75
10.12.21 : Don't Look Up - movie
Comedy, Drama, Sci-Fi : Two low-level astronomers must go on a giant media tour to warn mankind of an approaching comet that will destroy planet Earth.
Definitely worth watching, because it's such a WTF weird/different type comedy. It does the ironic thing, but not subtle irony, more clandestine irony, and the main mechanism is that everyone is so self obsessed with their social popularity they do the opposite of what they say. As a sampler, the President needlessly sends a hero to his death just to gain points in the polls. I can't say I laughed that much, but if you were there you would've never heard that many WTF in a film. Good/interesting/different. 3.5
09.12.21 : Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City - movie
Action, Horror, Sci-Fi : Set in 1998, this origin story explores the secrets of the mysterious Spencer Mansion and the ill-fated Raccoon City.
It's pretty bad/boring. I love the original Alice-timeline movie series, because Alice is such a strong kick-ass hero with special skills, ie, someone to root for. This is some prequel with no central character, just a bunch of nobodies in another boring zombie movie. 1
08.12.21 : Dragon Friends Yulemas Special : Comedy Store
Last year's Yulemas special was so good I paid the $5.50 booking fee this year so I wouldn't miss out, but in the end it was probably the least entertaining(worse one), which isn't saying much because 5 of the 7 YS's have been pretty average, ie, it's the norm. Yulemas specials and one-shots are hit and miss, because there is never going to be enough time to do intricate or detailed long term scenarios, so it's just simple stuff forced forward. The other negative is Dungeon Dave doesn't do the DMing, and he's the only one who knows how to heighten the excitement and intricacy and push stuff along. The whole story was the Dragon Friends visiting different characters from the DF universe for Yulemas, ie, no story, with the hope of the cast riffing something in the interaction to make it funny. Well the crowd was pretty silent, meaning it wasn't that funny, and I was getting pretty sleepy/bored by the 45th min. The first half ended with Celebrity Head, ie, the cast had to guess the character name stuck the their head with yes no questions, and that kind-of woke me up a bit because I found it actually funny. The start of the second half was just as dull, and was thinking of leaving, but then it slowly got funny - I was so out-of-it at this stage it took a while to stop yawing and start concentrating -, so it kind-of ended with a laughing crowd. It reminds me of The Gribbits Detective Agency, ie, poorly planed and disjointed, but at least Yulemas has the excuse of being one single 2hr show. I don't think it was a very good one, but that's kind-of par for the course for this series. Crowd : 3.5 - Me : 2.75
04.12.21 : Powerbomb Comedy at Staves Brewery : Staves Brewery
Bec Charlwood (MC), Andrew Barnett, Suren Jayamanne, John Cruckshank, Tom Walker, Tom Cashman, Alex Jae, Elouise Eftos
It's a nice little room, ie, very cosy sold-out 50 crowd+comics, and it uses the fast 8 comics doing short sets, ie, it doesn't get boring even it they aren't great. It might be because I haven't been to one of these for 2 years, but it was very nice. Crowd : 4.25 - Me : 3.75
02.12.21 : Dune - movie
Action, Adventure, Drama : Feature adaptation of Frank Herbert's science fiction novel, about the son of a noble family entrusted with the protection of the most valuable asset and most vital element in the galaxy.
I thought they would've jazzed it up, ie, added more action, because Dune (1984) was so long and dull that I don't even remember what is was about. Basically it's a long slow religion based political drama, set in space so the spaceships and worms add filler to distract you from the dull nature of it - I don't classify this as Sci-Fi. because there isn't any science in it -. This time I was able to pay attention, so now know the story, but I don't think I could handle the second movie. 2.5
25.11.21 : Venom: Let There Be Carnage - movie
Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi : Eddie Brock attempts to reignite his career by interviewing serial killer Cletus Kasady, who becomes the host of the symbiote Carnage and escapes prison after a failed execution.
The wise-cracking Venom is fun, and it's short so everything is packed close together, the only annoyance is that they gave away the story in the trailer. Not as good a the first, but it ok to watch, ie, not that memorable. 3.5
19.11.21 : Theatresports Unmasked : Factory Theatre
There were tickets when I left, but it sold-out when I got there.
11.11.21 : No Time to Die - movie
Action, Adventure, Thriller : James Bond has left active service. His peace is short-lived when Felix Leiter, an old friend from the CIA, turns up asking for help, leading Bond onto the trail of a mysterious villain armed with dangerous new technology.
It seems better then usual, which might be because there seems to be more action than usual, but it's that kind-of nondescript action that you forget instantly, ie, I only remember the cool Casino Royal and the boring sentimental death of M movie, all the rest I don't remember at all. Maybe good. 3.5
It seems better then usual, which might be because there seems to be more action than usual, but it's that kind-of nondescript action that you forget instantly, ie, I only remember the cool Casino Royal and the boring sentimental death of M movie, all the rest I don't remember at all. Maybe good. 3.5
10.11.21 : Dragon Friends Season 7 - Live D&D Comedy Show : Comedy Store
It was good, the place was packed, and they kept the Bum-centric character names to a minimum - they went stir-crazy in the last 6eps due to the 6mth lock-down and started giving every new character a rude toilet-humour name -. I can't say it's the worse season of DF, because there isn't a bad season of DF - unlike Gribbits -, lets just say it's less intricate. It started off intricate with a mysterious time-travelling problem, but the second half of the season was more basic/simplistic - probably lock-down related. Crowd : 4 - Me : 4
05.11.21 : Red Notice - movie
Action, Comedy, Crime : An Interpol agent tracks the world's most wanted art thief.
I don't know why people were complaining, because it's a fun movie. It's the "unlikely buddy story", but because there is more to the story than usual, and it's always travelling, it keeps you interested every minute, ie, no slow spots. Good. 3.75
I don't know why people were complaining, because it's a fun movie. It's the "unlikely buddy story", but because there is more to the story than usual, and it's always travelling, it keeps you interested every minute, ie, no slow spots. Good. 3.75
04.11.21 : Eternals - movie
Action, Adventure, Drama : It's different, but I wished it was more conventional.
The story is something different, ie, the Eternals existence is not that of heroes, but the long slow dull middle needed the usual mid point action filler to stop the movie losing energy. It's fine, just be aware there is a big slow bit - it might just be me because I lose focus easily -. 3.5
The story is something different, ie, the Eternals existence is not that of heroes, but the long slow dull middle needed the usual mid point action filler to stop the movie losing energy. It's fine, just be aware there is a big slow bit - it might just be me because I lose focus easily -. 3.5
03.11.21 : The Suicide Squad - movie
Action, Adventure, Comedy : Supervillains Harley Quinn, Bloodsport, Peacemaker and a collection of nutty cons at Belle Reve prison join the super-secret, super-shady Task Force X as they are dropped off at the remote, enemy-infused island of Corto Maltese.
When you watch 100 movies a year it get tedious when it's just repeats of the same story/scenarios, but this is different because they purposely mix-it-up to make things unexpected. Basically it's kind-of like Improv that starts with a regular scene and someone introduces a weird direction that is unexpected, eg, introduce a supposedly main character at the start and kill him 10min latter. The 1st half is good unexpected/weird out-come to situations, but the 2nd half is a bit weird/lame, ie, like the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man in Ghostbusters(1984). It's probably not the best of the franchise - maybe equal to the 2nd -, but it kept me interested. 3.5
When you watch 100 movies a year it get tedious when it's just repeats of the same story/scenarios, but this is different because they purposely mix-it-up to make things unexpected. Basically it's kind-of like Improv that starts with a regular scene and someone introduces a weird direction that is unexpected, eg, introduce a supposedly main character at the start and kill him 10min latter. The 1st half is good unexpected/weird out-come to situations, but the 2nd half is a bit weird/lame, ie, like the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man in Ghostbusters(1984). It's probably not the best of the franchise - maybe equal to the 2nd -, but it kept me interested. 3.5
01.11.21 : Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings - movie
Action, Adventure, Fantasy : Shang-Chi, the master of weaponry-based Kung Fu, is forced to confront his past after being drawn into the Ten Rings organisation.
It's like every aspect of the film aims for a minimum pass-mark rather than any sort of a decent grade, ie, like a cheap knockoff of something better. It didn't look good from the start with the average choreography in the fight scene, by half way I was yawing from boredom due to the usual slow fillers to make the minimum 2hr Asian film time limit, and by the time it got to the exciting CGI last third I had lost interest and was just waiting for it to end. The averageness made me lose all interest. 2.75
It's like every aspect of the film aims for a minimum pass-mark rather than any sort of a decent grade, ie, like a cheap knockoff of something better. It didn't look good from the start with the average choreography in the fight scene, by half way I was yawing from boredom due to the usual slow fillers to make the minimum 2hr Asian film time limit, and by the time it got to the exciting CGI last third I had lost interest and was just waiting for it to end. The averageness made me lose all interest. 2.75
26.10.21 : Lunchbox Science with Dr Karl Kruszelnicki : USyd online
I think I've seen too many of these, because there was a lot of repeats, ie, there is only one or two live shows per year, but online you can get the same show a number of times. It's good - see reviews below -, it's just that I seen most of it. NA.
08.10.21 : The Running Joke Digital Comedy Club : online
Daniel Muggleton(MC), Sam Taunton, Rohan Ganju, Sarah Gaul,
This is the 2nd last show, and even though it's not super funny it's still sad that it is ending, ie, it's better watching something that isn't great at home rather than going to the effort of going out and seeing something that isn't very good. Rohan was good, but he forgot to turn up the mic when it was his turn - everyone has to turn their mic down to 30% at the start -. Sarah is back again, but thankfully she had a good new song. A few points off because of the mic stuff, ie, couldn't hear the best part. 2.75
01.10.21 : The Running Joke Digital Comedy Club : online
Daniel Muggleton(MC), Pierre Novellie, Laura Davis, Cam Knight
With semi pro comics it looked good on paper, and it was better than last week, but overall it wasn't as good as I expected. The semi-pros are good on stage, but they seemed to under perform tonight, and it fact it was the unknown 1st comic(Pierre Novellie) that I found best. Better than last week, ie, ok. 3.5
24.09.21 : The Running Joke Digital Comedy Club : online
Daniel Muggleton(MC), Helen Bauer, Josh Glanc, Chris Ryan
The last comic was ok, but overall it wasn't one of the funny ones. Ok. 2.5
22.09.21 : The Gribbits Detective Agency S02E01 : Twitch online
It travels so slow - 1 hour to find out someone wife is missing -, it's like there is no story. This is not as bad as the 2nd season of Tomb of Annihilation, but this whole series of GDA has been a write-off, ie, disjointed, not much happening, not funny. I'll play solitaire to pass the time while listening to it, and break it into 2 parts because 1hr is all I can stand in one sitting. Dull 2
17.09.21 : The Running Joke Digital Comedy Club : online
Daniel Muggleton(MC), Michael Shafar, Pernille Haaland, Dan Rath
I don't know if I'm getting used to these online comedy shows, ie, less picky, or this one is just more organised, ie, more microphone adjustment reminders at the start and regulars that know the mic procedures, but it I found it rather good. 3.5
11.09.21 : Online Comedy Club : online
Simon Taylor(MC), Floyd Alexander-Hunt, Diana Nguyen, Tommy Dean
It was good, it's just that it's missing the laugh track. You can't win, one week the crowd was too loud and disruptive, the next week it lacks atmosphere because there isn't much audience laugh-track, and the problem is Zoom is not designed for performances. Zoom is made for conversations where people talk to each other at equal volumes, but for performances you need a mod with a global volume setting that can cut everyone else down to 10db. I tried to help by connecting a mic, and I made sure it wasn't too loud by turning the mic down(20%) and testing it in Zoom Test, but I got muted 1st oooh(my noise at a risky joke). I'll try the mic one more time at 10%, but if that gets muted I can't help any more. 3.5
05.09.21 : Online Comedy Club : online
Simon Taylor(MC), Kirsty Webeck, Suren Jayemanne, Sarah Gaul
Even though the sound was ok for this week, I think the bad sound from last week put people off because only 62 people turned up. Not super, but it's fun enough. 3.25
02.09.21 : More Power to You: Charging Ahead w/ Better Energy Storage & a Smarter Grid : Pacific Northwest National Laboratory online
They didn't send a Zoom link.
PS: Even though I asked for a link they never posted anything.
01.09.21 : Music of the stars with Dr Emily Brunsden : Open University Space Society online
I wake up at 4am to Zoom this, and the stupid service provider decides to do maintenance and cuts the internet.
PS: I found this talk from 1 year ago, and it's very interesting. Stars pulsate in waves like a musical instrument, ie, in a regular fashion - it's actually more like a wobbly jelly that continues for millions/billions of years -, and from that they can tell much more about the star's size, age, composition, etc.
Music of the stars with Dr Emily Brunsden
Music of the stars with Dr Emily Brunsden
28.08.21 : Online Comedy Club : online
Simon Taylor(MC), Chris Ryan, Daniel Muggleton, Bev Killick.
It's like herding cats when you have 220 people that don't know how to work a microphone. I've only watched 2 Zoom comedy home streams, and there seems to be a fundamental problem with them. You need an audience laugh track to get the live feel, but the problem is that you can't guarantee the quality, ie, Zoom is not made for a performance that is not controlled by a theatre sound tech. Zoom is fine when the stream is from a professional live venue with an audience, due to the sound tech, but when it's from home, people can talk over the comic and drown out the jokes. The quick solution is guarantee the comics are the loudest, ie, to turn their mics to max, but on this occasion all the comics mic volume was pretty low - I practically couldn't hear anything Bev Killick said -. It's ok, but it's 1 point off for me because of the sound. 2.5
27.08.21 : Astronomy Lecture - Search for Life Outside the Solar System : University of California online
Basically there is nearly no chance of finding intelligent life, but there is a chance that we might be able to see the chemicals from microbial life. I saw a doco recently on something similar that was better, and it was pretty much, if you have the right chemicals, in the right conditions, and enough time - the universe has plenty of time -, it can form basic life. It was pretty much stuff that I have heard a couple of times before. A repeat for me. 2.5
22.08.21 : Pub Trivia Served With A Side Of Science : National Science Week online
Didn't get many right, but it was fun. 3.5
22.08.21 : 7 Decades in 7 Days – Propelled by Science: The future of energy : NSW online
I got my times wrong and couldn't find it because no link was send, so I missed half of it. I think the first half was about reducing greenhouse gasses in mining and manufacturing, eg, smelting metals, and the second half was about nuclear reactors. From what I saw it was ok. 3.5
PS: I saw the first half and it was about reducing emissions when processing metals.
PS: I saw the first half and it was about reducing emissions when processing metals.
22.08.21 : Disordered Cosmos with Chanda Prescod-Weinstein : National Science Week online
It was mainly talking to the author about her book, rather than what is in the book. This was more about being a minority in science, reaction to the book, etc, ie, not hard/technical science. Basically I like technical stuff, but delivered in an easily digestible simple form. I quit halfway, because it wasn't really for me. 1
20.08.21 : Significant Figures - Newcastle : National Science Week online
Printable solar panels and printable saliva tests, eg, for diabetes testing. This was more my field, ie, mechanical engineering, so I found it good. 3.5
20.08.21 : Passing the test: How solar energy tech is helping to detect COVID : NSW online
Nanoparticles are used to separate the RNA and DNA from the junk in a COVID swab - the junk clogs the testing machine -, and the government wanted to ensure a supply of non-imported nanoparticles so they asked scientists if they can make it here. They asked one group that was making nanoparticles to embed in glass windows to turn them into solar panels, which they worked out and how to make them in large quantities. The nanoparticles are iron coated in glass which sticks to the RNA and DNA, and then they just get a magnet and pull them out of solution. 3.5
20.08.21 : Mid-Afternoon Masterclass: Vaccine development - then and now : NSW online
Pretty much as the title suggests. I didn't know there was so many different ways to make vaccines. The first ones used weak live viruses, then dead deactivated viruses, then sections of the virus's RNA, etc. 3.25
19.08.21 : Pandemics: Past, present, and future : National Science Week online
Don't watch it, because it's fricken depressing. The worse part is with the advent of cheap CRISPR DNA modification machines, a nut job with a $1500 can make a lethal virus that could wipe out everyone. It's was just basically a discussion with bad news after bad news, eg, children's hospitals over flowing with cases, etc. 1
19.08.21 : Significant Figures - Wollongong : National Science Week online
The mystery guest works on radiation protection for humans, eg, solar flare radiation protection for astronauts, checking machines accuracy in radiation therapy. 3.25
19.08.21 : National Science Quiz 2021 : National Science Week online
It was good, but I thought some of the questions were kind-of common knowledge, ie, most of the panel didn't know about liquefaction, yet I did. I guess it wasn't so much the questions, but the panels workings compared to the detailed explanation. Like they asked if you ride a bike does, A: the front wheel make more revolutions, B: the rear wheel make more revolutions, or, C: both the same. I went with, there is more weight on the rear wheel so it squashes and makes a smaller radius - tyres growing due to centripetal force is common in motor racing -, but the explanation was that you turn the handle bars more to keep balance, so it has to cover more distance as it's serpentining all over the place. They showed a guy ride a bike 1km and the front travelled 17m more, but they didn't show if the tyres had equal circumference - in oval racing they purposely use larger diameter tyres on the outside, and it's called stagger. Charlie Pickering made it fun, so it was still ok. 3.5
18.08.21 : Australia’s Next Volcanic Eruption with Volcanologist Heather Handley : National Science Week Sutherland Shire Libraries online
There are 1000's of volcanoes in Australia, and that's just on the East Coast. All the coloured dots in the pic below are volcanoes, with the red ones in QLD and VIC erupting around 5000 years ago, ie, around the time when the pyramids were being built. There are about 400 volcanoes in VIC(small pic lower left), that are still considered active and could blow anytime within the next 5000 years. One of the biggest volcanoes in the world is at Tweed Heads, and it erupted about 20 million years ago and kept going for 3 million years. The Tweed Heads one is so old it has been eroded flat with the ground, ie, like a flat cross section, and exposed the centre vertical tubes, etc. Super interesting. 4
17.08.21 : Significant Figures - Wagga Wagga : National Science Week online
The mystery guest was a Parasitologists(parasite scientist). I couldn't hear the scientist that well with my damaged ears - her room was echoey -, but the addition of a comic, ie, Skinny Brigsey, ie, Dane Simpson, made it more fun. I thought I would get bored with watching another, ie, the novelty of a first time is gone, but I kind-of liked this one better. 3.5
17.08.21 : Lunchbox Science with Professor David Alais : National Science Week online
The sub title is pretty explanatory, ie, Faces in clouds: why our brains see human faces everywhere. Not super technical so I pretty much knew most of it, but it was ok. 3
16.08.21 : Science Space brings you Ask Dr Karl : National Science Week(NSW) online
Dr Karl did a shorter version of his usual preliminary talk with some new stuff, but overall it was a repeat of yesterday. But the major part was the audience Q&A. 3.5
15.08.21 : Dr Karl - Great Moments In Science : NSW - Discover Parramatta online
Well that was a write-off, ie, the stream would run for 5sec, and then freeze for 5min. They should've gone with Youtube, because I've always had bandwidth problems with Vimeo. Hopefully we will get a vid latter.
PS : They put up the vid, and it's quite good. 4
You know how Big Tobacco did all the research into the health problems with tobacco and then covered it up, and the scientist that was struck off the registrar for fabricating the the figures in a scientific paper that linked vaccines and autism, well Big Oil did all the research in the 70's-80's and proved Global Warming, and then back flipped in the 90's and started spending $B on ads and politicians to to deny it. It doesn't really matter now because renewable's are ramping up exponentially, because it just plain more profitable.
Dr Karl’s ‘Great Moments in Science’ talk from Sun 15 August.
Dr Karl’s ‘Great Moments in Science’ talk from Sun 15 August.
14.08.21 : Significant Figures - Sydney : National Science Week(NSW) online
It's kind-of like a game show where 3 scientists try to workout the field of study of a mystery guest in 21 questions. After that the guest is revealed as studying fungus, ie, Rust fungus - I guessed fungus or algae - it progresses to semi technical questions from the scientist's field, eg, what does the acronym SNP mean in biology - single nucleotide polymorphism -. It wasn't as serious/technical as the SNP question implies because there was mucking around and having fun. Cool. 3.25
09.07.21 : Virtual Trivia with the Drag Kings : Giant Dwarf live-stream
I'm not going to know the answers because it's "Zussh" based, ie, style/fashion, but it was still ok. Also I wasn't able to see the questions, but that was probably my fault, ie, maybe you have to join the game or use the full Zoom app - I used the plain browser window link -. Crowd : na - Me : 3
30.07.21 : Because there is so many d!cks running around this outbreak will probably last till Xmas.
15.08.21 : Looks like I'm going to be right, ie, lasts till Xmas. It's easy to predict if you understand how reported cases work. Basically "reported" cases lag behind reality, so when you see a statistic, it's under estimated, eg, 10 cases get reported, but those 10 people were running around for 3-7 days before they were tested and reported, so in that time they passed it on to another 5 people, per day, each, ie, 150 people.
22.06.21 : Win The Week: Ep1 - 22th June - studio recording : ABC Ultimo
Andrew Denton, Nina Oyama, Craig Reucassel. Not super, but I don't mind watching it live. Overall I feel it has short-comings. Basically it just doesn't feel that tight/quickfire/intense - the edit might fix it -, and there doesn't seem to be enough questions, ie, the quick fire round has 5 questions, and the picture round has 2 pictures each. Basically it's hard to catch up in points when there isn't much on offer.
I guess that will be the last one I'm going to. I would go to all of them, because it's better than staying home, but it's such a PITA when they don't want to setup the manual COVID app, ie, you have to check-in 4 times. Cinemas and Clubs are very slick with manual COVID because they have a decent patronage that don't have smart phones, but places that only cater for young crowds are not very friendly for people who can't afford new phones, ie, basically it's not worth the cost when you make 1 phone call and 20 txt a year, and most venues account for a lack of them. 3
PS : The edit made the TV transmission very good, ie, fast paced. We did lose a lot of gags/mucking around because the 2hr recording was cut to 30min, so if you want to see the rude/non-PC stuff go to the recording.
PS : The edit made the TV transmission very good, ie, fast paced. We did lose a lot of gags/mucking around because the 2hr recording was cut to 30min, so if you want to see the rude/non-PC stuff go to the recording.
17.06.21 : Sydney Comedy Festival Showcase - ENCORE : Comedy Store
After the guy at the door was confused by manual COVID check-in, something cinemas and other venues have figured out, he said they were sold out. Century Venues is the worse for manual check-in, and I reckon he was too lazy to figure out manual COVID check-in so was not letting in people without QR phones. I was going to make this a regular thing like I used to do, but I guess I'll pocket the hundreds of $'s I was planing to spend here.
17.06.21 : Fast & Furious 9 - movie
Action, Adventure : Cipher enlists the help of Jakob, Dom's younger brother to take revenge on Dom and his team.
This movie is memorable, because it's even less memorable that all the other instantly forgettable movies in this franchise. No one remembers where the characters stories are up too in this franchise, yet the first 2/3 of it is filling in the details of past timelines that no one is interested in. The last 1/3 is mindless action, which was a massive improvement over the boring 2/3 that was sentimental emotional family feelings stuff. I don't even know why Vin is in this film, because they puts way more emphasis on all the side characters - they even added more in this film -, to the point that there was lucky to be 30min of Vin screen-time, ie, there was no lead actor in this movie. 1.5
This movie is memorable, because it's even less memorable that all the other instantly forgettable movies in this franchise. No one remembers where the characters stories are up too in this franchise, yet the first 2/3 of it is filling in the details of past timelines that no one is interested in. The last 1/3 is mindless action, which was a massive improvement over the boring 2/3 that was sentimental emotional family feelings stuff. I don't even know why Vin is in this film, because they puts way more emphasis on all the side characters - they even added more in this film -, to the point that there was lucky to be 30min of Vin screen-time, ie, there was no lead actor in this movie. 1.5
14.06.21 : Godzilla vs. Kong - movie
SciFi, Action : Kong and his protectors undertake a perilous journey to find his true home.
You can guess from the title it's not going to be a sane movie. Stupid but not totally lame, ie, insane premises, but without totally lame dialogue. Something is always happening so it's not boring, so if you leave your brain at the door it's decent. 2.5
11.06.21 : Hitman's Wife’s Bodyguard - movie
Action, Comedy : The bodyguard Michael Bryce continues his strained relationship with assassin Darius Kincaid as they try to save Darius's wife Sonia..
The comedy feels a bit try-hard/forced, but that could be because I have to wear earplugs and can't hear every gag - I need earplugs to stop the pain of loud noises -. It was ok, but for me it doesn't really jell and is a bit contrived, ie, the usual squeal problems. 2.75
10.06.21 : Becky Lucas’ Acknowledgements : Giant Dwarf Theatre
If Becky Lucas married a Taylor, she could call herself BLT. You would think 32 is too young to write a biography, but it's actually assembled life stories. The first 1 hour was about the book, ie, interesting/funny stories from here life, but the bonus 20 min was non related talking, ie, not as interesting. Nothing outstanding but ok to watch. Crowd : 3.5 - Me : 3.5
10.06.21 : Dream Horse - movie
Drama, Sport : Dream Alliance is an unlikely race horse bred by small-town Welsh bartender Jan Vokes. With no experience, Jan convinces her neighbours to chip in their meagre earnings to help raise Dream in the hopes he can compete with the racing elites.
If you don't mine simple, it's quite a nice little film. 3.5
09.06.21 : Dragon Friends Season 7 - Live D&D Comedy Show : Comedy Store
I don't know if it's me unable to concentrate anymore, ie, getting old, or whether the show is less intricate. Basically it feels like cheap gags instead of convoluted happenings that make you use your brain. I've noticed a thing where humans remember the intense moments, and when it's not as intense it feels like less, ie, a disappointment. But then if you watch it a second time, you now like it because you now know the laugh level, ie, what to expect. Like one season of Cats Does Countdown seemed very disappointing, but I watched it again latter and it was quite good, and wondered why I thought it was bad. Just as another human trait that influences your decisions. Some one did an experiment with the movie The Crying Game(1992), that has a very mixed reaction because of the ending, ie, the woman was a man. So they got 2 crowds and told one audience the twist, and the other they didn't. About 90% of the crowd that wasn't told the ending hated it, but the ones that were told the ending, about 80% liked the movie. Currently I find this season of DF7 ok, it's just that it doesn't feel as good as other seasons. Crowd : 3.5 - Me : 3.5
08.06.21 : Win The Week: Pilot 2 - 8th June - studio recording : ABC Ultimo
It's hard to tell if a show will be popular from the studio recording, but I would change things, ie, jazz it up. From the recordings I thought Randling was mild but should be ok on TV, but after watching 4 of them on TV I realised it was a turd - no one knew any answers so every answer was just a blind sh!t-house guess, ie, an audience can't participate if they can't guess answers. I think the trend for comedy quiz shows thesedays is to have the questions secondary to the comics mucking around, and tonight we had Dragon Friends Michael Hing, and Ben Jenkins going to the Jordan McClellan school of making sh!t happen, ie, they used every opportunity to make things exciting/funny, so that part was fun. Hard Quiz has hooks, ie, a host that roasts everyone and the word HARD being emphasised, but this one seems to rely on the 3 team captains being amusing. I think 6 comics battling/mucking-around, a sassy Philge type host, and longer speed round, and it would be more dynamic. But then again it might just be me, because when you see a lot of comedy only heightened dynamics stand out, ie, you need a harder hit each time - lol -. 3
08.06.21 : Those Who Wish Me Dead - movie
Drama, Thriller : A teenage murder witness finds himself pursued by twin assassins in the Montana wilderness with a survival expert tasked with protecting him.
The trailer made it look one dimension, ie, boy with a secret running from killers, but it was a bit better than I thought. The killers are a bit brutal, so it's not fun in that respect, ie, it's kind-of serious. 3.25
04.06.21 : Breaking News in Yuba County - movie
Comedy, Drama : A woman takes advantage of her growing celebrity status when the police and the public think her dead husband is just missing.
It's not that lol funny at the start, but it's light-hearted and gets more amusing as the story gets more convoluted. A bit fun. 3.25
02.06.21 : Finding You - movie
Romance, Drama : Violinist Finley Sinclair travels to an Irish coastal village to begin her semester studying abroad when she encounters Beckett Rush, a handsome actor who's filming another instalment of his medieval movie franchise.
It's probably not possible to make a romance that is not predictable, but this one gave it a good go with all the mysterious side stories. A likeable nice/sweet romance that is not too serious, ie, light drama. 3.5
28.05.21 : Locked Down - movie
Comedy, Crime, Romance : I couple that separated, and forced to live together because of lock-down, attempts to steal a diamond.
Sometimes it's nice, but mainly it's long-winded. Basically it's too slow to be fun or funny, ie, 2hrs was too long. 2.25
26.05.21 : A Likely Story - Famous Last Words : Giant Dwarf live-stream
That was one huge steaming turd. They offered a live-stream, which was good because I've had the flu for 2 weeks and I can still support the show, but then they cut the feed without an explanation so you only got half a show. It's not a great show to start with, even though I tend to support it due to loyalty to the old Giant Dwarf, but this is going to be the last A Likely Story for me. 0
09.05.21 : Ahmed Zubb - Good Morning Kebab : Factory Theatre
The premise is a shambolic mock pilot recording of a morning show for Netflix. There is a Floor Manager(straight-man) constantly trying to keep the recording on track, but the whole cast is loose units playing totally amateurish characters. It started really good, ie, 4.5 gags, and tapered to 3.5 for the rest. I don't know if it was on purpose or a gag, but it ended with them clearing the stage for the next show, and that meant the audience didn't know what response to give. Basically I don't know what their response level was. I did hear someone on the way out say it was very good, if that helps. Good. Crowd : ? - Me : 3.75
08.05.21 : Sam Taunton – Rooster : Factory Theatre
I was going to skip Sam, but then I thought the night would end too early so I got a ticket. The first third was only ok because it was repeats that I have seen a lot of times. The second third was good because it was all new to me. The last third I had heard before, but only once, so it was goodish. Crowd : 3.75 - Me : 3.5
08.05.21 : Harley Breen : Factory Theatre
I thought it would've been funnier. Harley is what I term young semi-pro, ie, always good for a laugh, but I just didn't laugh that much. The show is not a 3, but because I was disappointed I gave it a 3. The crowds 3.75 is probably closer to what the normal person would experience. Crowd : 3.75 - Me : 3
07.05.21 : Sian Smyth - Grub : Factory Theatre
That was not what I was expecting. I saw a quick vid and it looked funny, but during the show I didn't laugh once. To be fair people were laughing, but I found the material, ie, being disadvantaged and then emotionally abused, raped, and nearly killed by a boyfriend, too harrowing to be funny no matter how flippant and sarcastic it was delivered. I guess we can only support Sian by being there, because it seems that the retelling of events is somehow cathartic. Crowd : 3.75 - Me : na.
07.05.21 : Lewis Garnham - The Worst Train I've Ever Built : Enmore Theatre
I found it funny, and so did the audience. He kind-of reminds me of the newish comics that are good, but we don't realise it until we see average comics because our level is 5 star Hughey, ie, underrated. Basically you won't be disappointing seeing this as it's just plain good fun. Crowd : 4 - Me : 3.75
07.05.21 : Alice Fraser - Chronos : Enmore Theatre
Last time I couldn't concentrate because I was pissed-off that I got there late and missed that start, so I thought I better go again and see what it was about. I't nice, but it feels more like a logical conversation with someone than a show. Basically if feels like the constant logical counter-point conversations in my head, when I used to have a brain - lol -. It's not like the other shows that seem to be a bit tragic/sad, but more nice and less confronting. Crowd : 3.75 - Me : 3.75
06.05.21 : Anti Experts Guide to Everything : Enmore Theatre
A sarcastic/ironic look at all the crackpots and BSers of the past year, ie, Scott Morrison, Pete Evans, GOOP, stupid Bunnings mask woman, COVID conspiracy theories, Swisse vitamins etc. It's what I always say, "God favours the intelligent, because they're not stupid enough to believe in God", ie, BS - lol -. The GOOP bee sting face treatment that resulted in a woman's death was especially tragic, ie, they made out it was safe, but we all know some people are allergic and can die so it's not a good idea. Not riotously funny, but still pretty good. Crowd : 3.75 - Me : 3.75
05.05.21 : Eric Hutton - CA$H MONEY : Factory Theatre
I've seen a lot of comics at armature standup nights, ie, unknowns, and only a few were impressive right from the start, eg, Rhys Nicholson, Jonas Holt and Eric Hutton. I can't say he was at his peek - he also said he was a bit out of practice -, but it was still good. Crowd : 4 - Me : 3.75
05.05.21 : Paul McDermott - Plus One : Factory Theatre
I don't think Paul is a natural comic, but because he's the hardest worker in the biz he forces it to be funny. Which it was. I remember when he was doing Good News Week TV recordings, he was always trying to amuse the audience between different scene setups so they didn't get bored - Mikey Robins is naturally funny, but he didn't give as much off-time banter as Paul -. I'm not that crazy for the songs - I like direct message comedy songs, ie AoA, not word heavy ones like Paul writes -, but they are nice enough - his voice makes anything sound good -. His straight talking comedy was super funny, and is what I liked the most. On a side note I think he should lose the beard, because tonight he was clean-shaven and still has that young, good-looking, baby face. If he just did talking comedy it would probably be a 4 from me, but it was still super good. Crowd : 4.25 - Me : 3.75
05.05.21 : Carlo Ritchie - A Bit of This, A Bit of That : Factory Theatre
Bi-sexual, Titanic, with an "Inception" like standup routine - lol -. This is the third time I've seen this routine, and thought it wouldn't be that funny because of knowing the routine, but it was delivered with such precision and timing it was just as funny as the first time. Crowd : 3.75 - Me : 3.75
02.05.21 : Fiona O'Loughlin - The Unreliable Witness : Factory Theatre
The blurb said the show was about Fiona when she lost here way, ie, the serious sad depressing time period, and straight away I thought of the recent TV special she made showing a dark and horrible Fiona, ie, not funny or fun. Assuming the worse I had to convince myself to go, and to my surprise it was the same fun funny Fiona. There weren't many bits of the dark times. and even when there was they were light-heated, but the main part of the show was supplementary stories to her usual stuff, ie, new stuff she remember from the same time period. There were a couple of repeats, but it was probably only 10%. Fiona is fighting fit and pretty much as good as before. Crowd : 4 - Me : 4
01.05.21 : Brodi Snook - Handful : Factory Theatre
She's an old head on young shoulders, ie, quite mature. She is kind-of like the young semi-pros, in that the gag writing is well thought out and intelligent. The show gets very serious/tragic at the end, ie, murder of young innocent women - I still struggle with the rape and murder of that young Melb comic -, and she tries to bring it back to funny, but you can't avoid it affecting you. Crowd : 4.25 - Me : 3.75
01.05.21 : The Game is Afoot: An Improvised Sherlock Holmes Mystery : Factory Theatre
That was "Fire!". The whole cast was pros and veterans so it was a 4 even before it started, and because it's real world based - I don't like abstract based Improv like Ross Nobel -, it's funnier because you have a common knowledge reference. Crowd : 4 - Me : 4.25
30.04.21 : Christina Van Look - A Look Back : Factory Theatre
A walk down memory lane looking at CVL's life history, punctuated by historical events at the time, ie, from the Brady Bunch to 9/11. It's been so long since seeing CVL that I can't remember if this is the same show as last time, but I do remember the gags from her standup routine. It's a nice little show with nice little laughs, and it's probably more appreciated by older people because of all the historical things - superfluous or serious -, because it's things we remember. Probably a touch higher than 3.5, because it's delightful/nice. Crowd : 3.75 - Me : 3.5
30.04.21 : Wrath of Man - movie
Action, Thriller : The plot follows H, a cold and mysterious character working at a cash truck company responsible for moving hundreds of millions of dollars around Los Angeles each week.
You have to pay attention to the timeline because it jumps to different time periods, so as to keep the mystery by revealing the details slowly. It's cool, it's tough, it's fairly intelligent - it has the usual questionable character decisions -, so it was pretty good. 3.75
29.04.21 : Rebecca De Unamuno - An Evening with Rebecca De Unamuno : Enmore Theatre
Sometimes it's good, sometimes it's mild. This was mild, and I think it's because the audience was fairly old, ie, not as interesting. 2/3 of the show is talking with the audience and improvising stuff, and it was nice enough, just not super funny. The last third was interesting because Bek told us more of what she did. She did tells us of her time doing voice-overs on Happy Feet in another show, but this time she told the full story of working with Robin Williams. She also told us of her time managing a TAB gambling shop, and that was also interesting. Mild but ok/interesting. Crowd : 3.5 - Me : 3.25
29.04.21 : Cameron James: It's good to be here, it's good to be anywhere : Enmore Theatre
I forgot that I just saw Cam a couple of weeks back at Ben Lee's show - lol -. At Ben's show he did a tight 15min, and it was "fire". This was roughly the same material but stretched out to 1hr, so it wasn't as strong. It was funny, just not as blistering without the machine gun delivery. Crowd : 3.75 - Me : 3.5
29.04.21 : Sami Shah - Cuck : Enmore Theatre
From the energetic delivery you would expect it to be very funny, but there just wan't that many real jokes. It kind-of felt more like statements/stories, than things that are genuinely funny. It's not bad, just more amusing than funny. It was still interesting, so it's ok to watch. Crowd : 3.25 - Me : 3.25
29.04.21 : Mortal Kombat - movie
Action, Adventure, Fantasy : MMA fighter Cole Young seeks out Earth's greatest champions in order to stand against the enemies of Outworld in a high stakes battle for the universe.
This is going to sound stupid, but it was good, ie, not technically good, good fun good. Things got even better when a wise-cracking Josh Lawson turned up - he must have wrote his wise-cracks because they were quite funny, ie, not lame. There are bits that are amateurish, ie, dialogue near the end, but it was fun enough that it didn't matter. 3.5
28.04.21 : Dragon Friends & Friends play Werewolf Live : Comedy Store
9 loose units and a host play the Werewolf game - like Among Us but without the tasks -. From the first time I saw this I figured they needed some music to cover up sounds and enough distance between players so no one knew who was moving, which is how they found some of the critical players, but it's not really about the game, more mucking around for the audiences amusement. Which it was. The first game was funny, but in the second it got extra funny when Daddy Dave got pushed from host to player, ie, he was named town pervert - lol -. What was ironic was that everyone cited with Dave's accusations and killed that player, but the problem was Dave was wrong every time and he solely removed every villager without a single werewolf loss. Crowd : 4 - Me : 4
25.04.21 : Bec Melrose - Absolute Goose : Enmore Theatre
Bec Melrose - Ibis was a very cute little show, but this one is on another level. Basically it was very funny straight standup routine about feral "knuckles" doing crazy things. It's kind-of like those Youtube vids where they roast stupid people, just a lot more funny. Good. Crowd 3.75 - Me : 3.75
24.04.21 : Bonnie Tangey - Yuck - Fresh - : Enmore Theatre
It's not big laughs, but more a nice/charming sweet little amusing show. Crowd 3.5 - Me : 3.5
24.04.21 : Simon Taylor - Is A Super Funny Boy : Enmore Theatre
His TV special was super good, but this one is not up to that level. It's the usual Millennial's problems thing, but it did have a not too conventional meeting of his wife's gun toting parents from the Deep South. It's a bit higher than 3.5, but not quite a 3.75. Crowd 3.5 - Me : 3.5
23.04.21 : Jake Howie - Sparkle : Factory Theatre
Not the strongest comic, unless you like that singing and dancing type comedy, ie, over dramatised gay comedy, but the first half was ok because it was movies, etc, ie, everyday stuff. The second half was lots of marriage/relationship/ex lover stuff, and it's not that interesting for me, ie, it has more importance to the story teller than someone from the outside. Crowd 3.25 - Me : 3
23.04.21 : Carl Donnelly(UK) - The King of Wishful Thinking : Factory Theatre
At $37 it was a "hard NO", but I looked a vid and he seemed like an old-time comic that would be genuinely funny. He's not an old-time comic, but more a young/old time comic, ie, genuinely funny, just with modern subjects. It was mainly about the differences between the UK and Australia during a pandemic, and his Australian wife. Basically it's all that non serious stuff that is very funny. It was pretty much laughs all the way, so I liked it a lot. Very Good. Crowd 3.75 - Me : 4
22.04.21 : Michael Hing - Kill-Hing in the Name Of : Factory Theatre
I got a bit of a shock when I bought a ticket at the box office, because $35 seemed a bit high for the Hingster - lol -. It started the same as the Project52 days, ie, venting of the grievances - lol -, then it progressed to his new life as a JJJ drivetime host. I wasn't expecting many laughs because I didn't really like the last show, but the show was rather good and I did laugh. The death threat part wasn't nice - I would politely tell person that I have to report him to Insta and he will get banned due to contravening their rules, because death threats are not acceptable in any form, ie, Leokimvideo did that on Youtube when someone threatened his kids, and the other guy begged for forgiveness to not be banned. Leo told him what he did was not acceptable and reported him anyway -. I would've also got the cops # and reported him for not being professional, ie, he assumed a prejudiced that Hing said something to provoke him. ie, a cop must never have an opinion and must only state the facts. Crowd : 3.75 - Me : 3.75
22.04.21 : Steen Raskopoulos - Business. Never. Stops : Factory Theatre
Skits, songs, mime, improv. You have to pay attention because it's one of those shows were there are what seems like random unrelated stuff, but if you work it out you'll notice them all come together and link at the end. It's a bit like that Theatresports game were 3 people have to tell stories that join at the end. The show is ok, it's just that I didn't laugh, ie, it's not bad, just that it's not high laughs. Crowd : 3.75 - Me : 3
21.04.21 : A Flying Photon : Giant Dwarf Theatre
It's a science comedy show, and the science part is decent enough, but the comedy was so basic all it did for me was slow the show down. I find science shows/lectures more interesting when it's new science, this is more or less known science. Known science can be ok if there is a lot of info, but this was rather sparse and slow. Basically if there was a lot of science info delivered fast it would be more impressive. If you're not expecting much or don't know about EM waves it's ok, but for me it was a bit mild. Crowd : 3.25 - Me : 3
20.04.21 : Voyagers - movie
Adventure, Sci-Fi, Thriller : A crew of astronauts on a multi-generational mission descend into paranoia and madness, not knowing what is real or not.
It's ok, but it more politics in space than actual SciFi, ie, a power hungry megalomaniac/psychopath perpetuates lies that cons the majority into following his agenda for power. I guess it's kind-of Lord of the Flies in space. 3.5
15.04.21 : The Courier - movie
Thriller, Historical Drama : Cold War spy Greville Wynne and his Russian source try to put an end to the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Interesting good. 3.75
14.04.21 : Dragon Friends Season 7 - Live D&D Comedy Show : Comedy Store
For me this has been the least interesting season so far. The first half was better because there was more story, but the second half was stuck in one place and got dull. I think this ep was better than the last, but it still wasn't anything exceptional. Basically it's vaguer than usual, not as clever, intricate, compelling, or funny. To be fair seasons usually start slow, and seeing comedy all the time makes you less tolerant, ie, laughs have to come fast, so it could just be me. The crowd doesn't seem to mind, but you can hear less laughs compared to the good eps. Crowd : 3.75 - Me : 3.25
14.04.21 : Ascendant - movie
Fantasy, Mystery, Sci-Fi : A young environmentalist wakes, trapped, kidnapped in the elevator of a super high-rise building at the mercy of her tormentors.
It could be because I couldn't hear, so couldn't follow the story, but I just couldn't get into it. Even with that, I don't think it was done that well anyway. I was thinking it was like The Maze Runner(2014), ie, looked dumb from the outside but was super intriguing, but in reality not much happened. Most good mysteries have something new happen to fill the slow bits, but this one didn't have much. Made me yawn in places. 2
14.04.21 : Nobody - movie
Action, Crime, Thriller : A bystander who intervenes to help a woman being harassed by a group of men becomes the target of a vengeful drug lord.
Way better than the trailer suggested. Cool, fun, good. 3.5
11.04.21 : Citris Plus - Eight Equals Dee : Giant Dwarf Theatre
I watched their YT introduction video and it looked comedic so I bought a ticket, but then I looked at more stuff and it wasn't. What it was was 4 girls singing and dancing J-pop songs mimicking the original song's videos while the crowd moshes in the pit. There was one girl speaking in a forced high pitched voice, which I assume is mimicking the original artist, so I guess it was comedic if you knew the reference. Basically if you like J-pop and dancing, just get some stick lights and buy a ticket. It's not what I would go for, but it did look good with all the dancing and waving and coloured lights from the crowd in the moshpit. Crowd : 3.75 - Me : 3.
07.04.21 : Weirder Together : Giant Dwarf Theatre
Ben Lee gave me a fairy bread - lol -. I'm not a Ben Lee fan - I don't find pop substantial -, but since he is trying comedy I thought it might be interesting - at worse being a seat filler sustains the venue -. There were musicians singing songs, and some trying a bit of comedy with the songs - they were ok but not outstanding, ie, not pro comics -. There was also the pro comic Cameron James - he was so good that the music crowd - not renowned for laughing - found him very funny. For me I had to split at half way to meet someone, but the songs/artists I didn't know, I kind-of tuned out. On the other hand, the pros musicians, ie, Ben Lee and Josh Pike, I found rather good. Since I'm not into music anymore it was only Cameron that stood out, but the rest was ok too. Cameron 4, but overall Crowd : 3.75 - Me : 3.5
24.03.21 : A Likely Story - Drawing the Line : Giant Dwarf Theatre
Host Concetta Caristo
Brendan Hancock (Two Queers Walk into a Bar) : A one night stand in Tasmania becomes a phone/txt relationship, but on the way back to TAS a selfie makes the guy change his mind and ghost him.
Jacinta Gregory (Two Queers Walk into a Bar) : having a sexual kink for a cartoon character at 11 years old.
Harry Jun (SBS Voices, Comedy Store) - Being fat bullied at swimming training.
Emma Ryan (A Likely Story) : Emma proposing before the man.
Challito Browne (ABC’s Frayed) : Falling off his skateboard to avoid an accident he is shunned by society, only to find out latter he had rolled in dog sh!t.
Crowd : 3.75 - Me : 3
21.03.21 : Cosmic Sin - movie
Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi : Seven rogue soldiers launch a preemptive strike against a newly discovered alien civilisation in the hopes of ending an interstellar war before it starts.
I'm surprised Rotten Tomatoes gave this 8%, because it should've been lower - lol -. There is not one aspect of this film that is NOT badly done, ie story, dialogue, acting, action. If Bruce Willis did some actually acting he might have made this interesting, but he did so little you could've cut him from the film and it would've made any difference. This is what I term a "nothing" film, ie, adds absolutely no value. It wasn't that annoying, but it was boring. 1.5
16.03.21 : Giggle Pig Comedy : Giant Dwarf Theatre
That was a 2 hour drive for nothing. I got caught in so much traffic I missed the start time lockout by ½ an hour, so I drove home. na
16.03.21 : Then Came You - movie
Comedy, Romance : A lonely widow plans a trip around the world with her husband's ashes, to visit the places they loved in the movies. The first stop on the journey changes her life forever.
It's nice enough, but it's not perfect. Basically there are small things that looked contrived/set-up, and some disjointed sketches pasted in, but most people won't notice. It's ok - maybe a touch slow -, but the older set will probably like it. 2.75
10.03.21 : Dragon Friends Season 7 - Live D&D Comedy Show : Comedy Store
It's pretty much the usual start to a season, ie, mild-ish. There was one big laugh at the start of the 2nd half - it was a short lateral riff about a lizard -, but the rest was only chuckles - you can tell the good eps because the audience laughs a lot, but if you listen to this podcast it will only have mild laughing -. You can't tell if a season is going to be good until you've heard the whole thing - I initially didn't like the Australian out-back season but it ended up being the best -, so we'll have to see what happens. That being said, I've noticed with Dragon Friends and Beef Babes this year there is more mucking-around and less story, and to me it feels less funny. BB always has less laughs because it doesn't have the audience generated laugh track to spur the performers on, but overall it feels like there is less substance this year. Basically story adds more complexity/substance and is a good filler for when it's not funny, so the lack of story this year feels like something is missing.
I was a bit worried about the extra cost of logistics with the venue change - an extra $14 for transaction fee and parking, ie, a $43 night -, but there is free parking nearby and tickets at the door don't have a transaction fee - thankfully my yearly DF bill will only be around $308 -.
Crowd : 3.5 - Me : 3.5
04.03.21 : Chaos Walking - movie
Adventure, Sci-Fi : A dystopian world where there are no women and all living creatures can hear each other's thoughts in a stream of images, words, and sounds called Noise.
It the usual dystopian world nut-jobs hunting down a stranger, ie, kinda slow kinda depressing. Not fun 2.75
26.02.21 : Boss Level - movie
Action, Mystery, Sci-Fi : A retired special forces officer is trapped in a never ending time loop on the day of his death.
It doesn't seem possible to make a bad "stuck in a time loop" film, because this one is also good. It's not as funny as Groundhog Day(1993), but it is funnier than Edge of Tomorrow(2014). Either way it was fun. 3.75
24.02.21 : A Likely Story : Giant Dwarf Theatre
It was nice on Zoom so I thought it would be better being there, but it ended up being too much effort for such a small reward. When a show is mild the convenience of not having to drive for 1hr, wait around at the start, then wait for intermission, and drive 1hr back, makes you more accepting of light laughs because you haven't got as much invested in it. Basically you expect more when you've gone to so much effort.
Host Concetta Caristo
Kevin Jin - Nerd trying to find a girlfriend.
Jacqui Bramwell - 26, and finding out a one night stand is 19 years old.
Phil Spencer - Rhyming poem
Janek Gonsalkorale - Him and a girl go to Ibiza to lose their nerdyness, only for the girl to have sex when he is in the same tent.
Lauren Bonner - Getting robed and hiding horrible but expensive bed sheets from the police due to embarrassment.
Crowd : 3 - Me : 3
19.02.21 : Love, Weddings & Other Disasters - movie
Comedy, Romance : It is a multi-story romantic comedy about the people who work on weddings to create the perfect day for a loving couple - while their own relationships are outlandish, odd, crazy and far from perfect.
I thought it was going to be old people being dull but nice, but it was mainly young people and fun. Maybe simple, and maybe a bit contrived, but still very nice to watch. 3.5
17.02.21 : Long Story Short - movie
Comedy, Romance : Teddy , who wakes up the morning after his wedding to discover that every few minutes he's jumping forward to the next year of his life.
In Groundhog Day(1993) the same day repeats, in this it jumps forward a year. It didn't start nice, but when you figure out why it's happening it gets nice. Not funny/fun like Groundhog Day(1993), more like the end of Click (2006) when the guy realises life has passed him by. It's intended to be light-hearted, and it kind-of is, but it's more real life than funny. 3.5
16.02.21 : Giggle Pig Comedy : Giant Dwarf Theatre
Host : Rowan Thambar, Michelle Azevedo, Sam Campbell, Fiona Cox, Dan Rath, Concetta Caristo
It was half a crowd, but it was still nice. Crowd : 3 - Me : 3.5
16.02.21 : Detective Chinatown 3 - movie
Action, Adventure, Comedy : A murder in a closed room has the detectives batting it out to find the perpetrator.
DC2 was funnier but more disjointed - they added a lot of weirdly linked slap-stick skits -, where as this was more logical but harder to follow because there wasn't enough time to read the subtitles - the subtitles are only up for as long as it takes to say the line in Chinese, but the translation is a lot longer so you miss a lot of it -. It's ok 3
12.02.21 : Synchronic - movie
Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi : Two New Orleans paramedics' lives are ripped apart after they encounter a series of horrific deaths linked to a designer drug with bizarre, otherworldly effects.
It has a dark, moody, trippy feel, with SciFi concepts that are explained - unlike Tenet -. If this movie had a big budget it would've been a seriously big film, but even as it is it's still very good/interesting. 4
10.02.21 : A Rational Fear: 100th Episode : GD live-stream
My heart wasn't in it. I had 2 shows cancelled so I transferred to this because there was nothing else, but then a better show came along on the same day and I was thinking about skipping this one for that one - this is what I should've done -. I black-ban the news because I find it distressing, like the way the white far right spread their BS to profit themselves and not the people. Ironically all their BS is losing because everything they campaign against is slowly taking over, ie, renewable's, electric cars, climate change, etc, because it's profitable and is what the majority want anyway. I also had trouble hearing parts, even with the volume turned up. NA
05.02.21 : The Marksman - movie
Action, Thriller : A rancher on the Arizona border becomes the unlikely defender of a young Mexican boy desperately fleeing the cartel assassins who've pursued him into the U.S.
Slow moving and using the well worn-out "Running from the Cartel" story. Basically it's a $14 time-filler than anything interesting. 2.5
04.02.21 : Pixie - movie
Comedy, Crime, Thriller : Pixie masterminds a heist but must flee across Ireland from gangsters with two unlikely lads.
One reviewer said it was Tarantino-esq, but it's not, it's stylised violence, ie, not boring Tarantino gross sadistic violence. It starts off kind-of cool and stylish, ie, fun/interesting, but half way it got a bit dull. It picks up again at the end, so it becomes interesting again. It's ok. 3.25
29.01.21 : Occupation: Rainfall - movie
Action, SciFi : Two years into an intergalactic invasion of earth, survivors in Sydney Australia fight back in a desperate ground war.
It's an Australian version of a big SciFi action movie. It's nearly all action except for a small comedy section at the end, which is weird because this meant to be a serious(Australian serious) type file. Even though it wasn't the greatest story the action covered it up, but when it said it was chapter 1 at the end I reflected back that it was more action time filler than story, ie, it might not have enough story for another. Quite decent. 3.5
22.01.21 : Wonder Woman 1984 - movie
Action, Adventure, Fantasy : Diana must contend with a man, whose desire for extreme wealth sends the world down a path of destruction.
I remember the other films being better, because this is kind-of corny-ish, ie, like a big budget version of the old TV show. I didn't hate it, it's just that I would've preferred something more interesting. Ok 3
21.01.21 : Dragon Rider - movie
Animation, Adventure, Family : A young silver dragon teams up with a mountain spirit and an orphaned boy on a journey through the Himalayas in search for the Rim of Heaven.
I usually don't do animation - it's usually too simplistic for adults -, but I thought this was a How to Train Your Dragon franchise because the characters on the poster looked similar. It's probably a decent story, but either I was disappointed it wasn't HtTYD, or it just wasn't magical like HtTYD, because for the first half I was yawning a lot. In the second half I got used to it and it was interesting enough that it was ok. Not too dumb, ie, simplistic, for adults. 2.75
20.01.21 : The Buddy Games - movie
Comedy : A group of friends reunite to play The Buddy Games.
With d!ck jokes and guys roasting each other you would think it would be fun, but there just wasn't anything to laugh at. I didn't hate it, more that I was disappointed that there was nothing to do with only 3 laughs in 90 min. 2
20.01.21 : Promising Young Woman - movie
Crime, Drama, Thriller : A young woman traumatised by a tragic event in her past seeks out vengeance against those who crossed her path.
I did a 5 sec search and it said comedy, so I didn't think twice. Well it wasn't a comedy, but more a sad movie due to it depicting the way vulnerable women are taken advantage of. It's not a killing revenge movie, but a clever psychological revenge movie. Not what I would go for, but it was actually quite interesting/good. 3.5
20.01.21 : Monster Hunter - movie
Action, Adventure, Fantasy : When Lt. Artemis and her loyal soldiers are transported to a new world, they engage in a desperate battle for survival against enormous enemies with incredible powers. Feature film based on the video game by Capcom.
I didn't know this was a video game, so it seemed a bit weird going from normal to crazy fantasy dungeons and dragons and monsters. It starts slow-ish because the situation seams hopeless, but by a 1/3 it gets quite ok. 3.5
