This is it. Peak Summer of Strange. Just so you understand what you are getting into, this movie is made entirely with realistic puppets, and it’s a tense, murdery film. The first time I saw the trailer I thought – “Is the guy wearing some kind of odd mask? What is this?” Then I realized the whole movie was puppets, hacked up puppets and body parts of puppets.
So what is it about? A down-on-his-luck guy going nowhere in life wakes up to find he has a bomb planted in his neck, and if he does not do exactly as he is told, he will be killed. Hilarity ensues!
Actually most reviewers mention that hilarity does not ensue. Nightmare fuel ensues. The good thing is that this film is highly recommended by everyone who posted a serious review about it. If you took out all the meh reviews and people who just gave a number, you’d be in the 8 out of 10 slot for this film. So there is hope for this trip into the uncanny valley!
Abruptio is the brainchild of Evan Marlowe, who both directed and wrote it. That is generally the best way to do things if you want it done right. He has directed around 30 videos, shorts and movies so this is not his first rodeo. Overall he did great with the cinematography, and I leave it to you to discuss the story!
So watch! Or don’t! Everything is voluntary. You can always talk about your garden or watch a game if this freaks you out. Remember that Thursdays are all yours – there are no rules! Next week, I will be showing this crazy flick I found called Lion Girl.
And after that? After that it is party time! It is the 4th anniversary of GlibFlicks! This has been going on since September of 2021. It’s going to be a great show! Stock up on your drinks, get out your festive fezzes and prepare to party on August 14th!
I don’t own a fez.
I do. A
recentlol not so recent favorite.Walter Becker and Donald Fagen do.
Can’t do YT. Which song?
The Fez
Fezes are lame for a lack of any mechanism for shading the eyes, or keeping precipitation off the head, or not looking silly. Basically it’s the starched even lamer cousin of the tuque with a tassel.
A Canadian tuque can keep you warm.
No they can’t – they’re so grossly uncomfortable that I end up ripping them off. They do nothing when not worn.
The Cro Magnon knew how clothes work.
And yet people still make such a poor design for headgear rather than something that works.
https://www.benhurshrine.org/editorial-without-words
Technically it’s the girl that’s lame not the hat.
Fez > beret.
Meatball Machine is on Tubi!!
And after that? After that it is party time! It is the 4th anniversary of GlibFlicks! This has been going on since September of 2021. It’s going to be a great show! Stock up on your drinks, get out your festive fezzes and prepare to party on August 14th!
Sadly, I’ll have to miss the anniversary. Sorry. It has been a great run. Thanks RJ!
Diving into tonight’s movie.
When I look at Tubi or IMDB I realize I would need ten lifetimes to see every horror movie.
Yes. Meatball Machine has been on Tubi already. People kinda know about it. So I have not posted it. This, on the other hand…
Isn’t that like a pork ramen soup? Sigh they all sound alike to me.
Well, true, I never heard of this.
I don’t think Meatball Machine too popular for Thursday night. Is anything too popular for tentacles and hot japanese chicks possessed with alien parasites?
I think that would be tonkatsu nabe? I’ll wait for Sensei to show up.
Tokusatsu is a very broad term, everything from Godzilla to The Ring.
Meatball Machine is to NJH what Black Sabbath is to 80’s metal, or if early Cronenberg was Japanese.
I just ordered chinese.
So no tits?
You’ll just be hungry in a few hours for tits again?
I cheated and looked ahead to next week’s assignment.
Lion Girl does not disappoint right from the opening. Even a naked asian dude with his junk hanging out. Ill assume his surname is Wang.
Tres, his rap name is Lil’ Wang.
It’s absolutely naked. Boobs and wangs a-flappin’.
cue looney toons character *boing* approach
There are naked puppet tits.
HOLD UP!
Now I gotta switch gears.
*confused dog stare*
Gerry Anderson is rolling over in his grave.
OMG Thunderbirds was on one of the old-people channels a couple years ago. Great stuff.
Space: 1999 has been a favorite for, what, forty-five years?
UFO was great.
When Pluto TV started, the only thing it had was puppetoons and old pro wrestling. Just non-stop. I left it on in the game room constantly in the hopes that Pluto would get some ad revenue and expand.
Arabic acid?
I’m going to watch this tonight with beer and nachos.
I’d better not fall asleep into my ñachos.
I don’t think you will.
He’ll fall asleep in his beer.
To clarify, it’s about being old and tired, not the choice of movie.
*curses work*
*presses play*
Another film that took only three letters to reach in Search. Must be popular.
Last week’s was much more painful to locate.
Uhh.. wow. This is dark.
Just a tad
break in 2s
Yikes, thanks Tubi.
You might need the occasional break.
I tapped out.
I’m not squeamish or anything I just didn’t see any reason to continue. Blech.
Did you get to where the aliens come in and take over the world?
Nope. Just head-game blood-spray.
@rhy from ded thred re where to put your money.
High-yield (and I use the words “high” and “yield” loosely) savings accounts are the most liquid place to put it. Transfers back to you may take a couple of days, is all. I use SmartyPig (a Sallie Mae bank). I tried to open up an account for my mom, but I fucked it up and I finally said screw that and went to Capitol Federal, which has a branch here in my little burg. Had a higher interest rate than SmartyPig anyway.
She put most of her house money into the CD, which I wouldn’t have done since the CD was only a little more than the savings account, but at almost a quarter million dollars, it’s probably not an insignificant difference.
It’s just, at her age, the liquidity is important.
Thanks, I think 🙂
I’m letting my 401K geniuses do all the work for me.
I recently switched to https://www.fidelity.com/spend-save/fidelity-cash-management-account/overview for near-term-ish cash.
I’ve been quite pleased. Works just like a regular checking account, they just automatically sweep your money in and out of the fund as needed.
What Slumbrew does probably pays half a % higher because it’s a money market fund vs. an FDIC insured account and that’s basically what banks are investing in but keep half a % as their cut.
Sorry R.J. I don’t do well with horror. Need to take a pass on this week’s offering.
I like horror but this is like puppet snuff.
I think you got to the part where you probably could bot do it with real people.
I can’t parse that 🙂 but meh. I rarely walk out of a movie but sheesh.
It does go sci fi. Mutant alien babies are bred to take over the world.
See that sounds like fun.
The movie I was watching was not fun.
Next week is just boobs, wangs and kung fu. This was the next to the last movie in Summer of Strange.
I’m all in.
Huh.
That ending I probably should have seen coming.
Just now I deleted all 500+ films in my queue, and I am starting over.
Feels good!
I’ll fill in for Teds’s’s since you said you’re starting over.
Why Tres? Why?
OK- ya’all are in for a treat next week, and that movie paired well with the spicy beef scallop I ordered.
Better than doll tits for sure.
lol I hate to triple corpse-fuck a thread but I didn’t get a chance to comment/bitch about this earlier.
I am torn on Switch 2 for a couple reasons.
(1) I am pushing 60 years old and I fucking suck at gitting gud anymore. I have sunk 30 to 40 hours into the latest Zelda and I am no closer to progressing the story than I was a year ago because I can’t fucking beat a boss and Nintendo offers nothing in the way of accessibility crutches. I don’t have access to a twelve-year-old with infinite patience so I’m fucked.
(2) I am still annoyed as fuck that I have to pay extra to play games I already paid for. I want to play some of the easier and to me more enjoyable Zelda games like Wind Waker and Twilight Princess but no.
(3) I just bought the Switch 1 less than a year ago so I can wait to upgrade 🙂
Wind Waker is in not way shape or form easier. That awful control scheme drove me away even when I managed to beat the boss whose most difficult element was the controls I had to use.
Agreed. I would love to play it with a conventional control scheme.
I dunno. I got a lot farther in that one either because the game is easier or because I had more tolerance for repetitive death back then than I do now. I freely admit I have almost no tolerance for dying over and over again any more.
Same situation with Metroid. I love the first Metroid Prime, got pretty far into it etc. but the recent Metroid Dread just kicks my fucking ass so I hate it. So I’m both looking forward to and dreading the long-awaited next one in the series.
I did not beat Dread. I think I couldn’t beat the final boss and just watched the ending online.
Lately I play Balatro, which I can play on anything.
Prior, I played Mario Party and Animal Crossing. New, realistic Zelda drives me nuts.
If I end up with a Switch 2, it will probably be a year or two. I was actually seriously contemplating a Steam deck first.
Jaguar/Land Rover CEO steps down.
https://humanevents.com/2025/07/31/jaguar-land-rover-ceo-to-step-down-amid-woke-rebrand-ev-plan-fallout
Good.
?
Oh… saw that somewhere. “Free to play” is a blazing red-flag of stay-the-fuck-away to me. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Me, I’m awaiting a “must-play” this year. It’s actually been a couple years. But nothing recently has been knocking my socks off.
Balatro is a poker game with jokers that have various score boosting abilities. It’s quite good. I paid for it on Steam and Nintendo.
“Free to play” == grindy, ad-filled microtransaction laden ‘game’ designed to be as frustrating as legally allowed unless you spend gratuitous amounts of cash to overcome the limitations placed on people who are not willing to get a third mortgage to finance their gatcha habits.
I never saw a free to play Balatro. It always has a pay version.
Is a 90%+ drop in sales really a reason to step down?
+1 Balatro is pretty good
My app store says “Get” which to me means “free to play”.
Admittedly I did no further research than that.
I enjoyed Tainted Grail, other than that I have mostly just been replaying old games
I have wondered about getting too old to game as well. I just hit 40, and lose way more Mario kart Grand Prixs to my son (or computer) than I win.
On the other hand, brings a tear to my eye that with only being allowed to play for a year and only 2 hours a week he’s gained enough skills to beat his old man 🥲
I’ve definately moved towards turn-based games more.
Growl I just bought Baldur’s Gate III and it took me somewhat more than two hours to realize I hate it.
I should have trusted my instincts but admittedly I’ve been looking for something “new” to please me and… it’s not happening.
Nah, 40 is still youngster.
OK, it’s not peak gamer like your average 12-year-old but you’ve still got a few years in you.
“ Nah, 40 is still youngster.”
Yea. I just didn’t think I would notice a difference in ability yet 😝
That’s why I stopped playing Red Dead Redemption.
I couldn’t get any better.
I’ve never been that good at games, just like to play for fun.
I’ve dabbled in game making and yeah, it dawned on me that most of it centers around pissing you off.
A lot of what turns me off about gaming in my dotage is the fact that I’m not having fun anymore. So I’m drawn to games that are more “fun” than “challenging” which is not always easy to tell but one bright sign is that even Steam realizes this is an issue and they have started to highlight “accessible” features that might help gimps like me, such as options to make combat easier.
If my brain has to remember too many mechanics, or if there are extra button combos, or if it’s anything timing/reflex-based, I’m not going to engage with it.
You want a perfectly timed block or parry to trigger something – never gonna happen.
Give me a time limit – I’m screwed.
I’m only going to engage with your game 20-100 hours ever. My brain isn’t going to retain any of that.
I bought a new X box to play oblivion remastered.
It does not disappoint.
Uncivil. In hear you on the combos and time limits. I couldn’t do combos as a kid in the late 90s.
I have to look at the buttons to remember what they are. The new X box controled removed the colors of the buttons. Evil trick.
I’m 48 in a month.
Yep, anything time-based is my kryptonite now and I especially get pissed at games which are mostly deliberative but throw in time-based stuff just to piss you off.
Oh yeah. I’ve bought a couple games I didn’t know were time based and shelved them immediately.
In my adult life I have only paid new price for one game.
Oblivion. I hate downloads.
Give me physical media. It’s mine once I pay for it and it can’t be taken away. Heck. I think games should all be on cartridges. Sell them as a USB stick.
I’m cheap. I play backgammon against the computer.
lol The Nanny just made a joke about queens and chess which you could not possibly make today.
I miss the nineties.
Peak civilization.
You’re… not wrong.
I miss Hastings.
Walmart open till 11:30
Running into my buddies at the video rental store and impromptu nights out.
Heck, in my town people were still crushing the loop until about 2001.
The internet was a thing.
Social media and streaming were not.
Dumb me I bought text books on Amazon instead of amazon stock.
Sept 10 2001 was the highwater mark.
Murray Head did it a decade earlier.
#Triggerd Pupaphobia is a real disability.
Seals and Marty Croft hardest hit.
The Saturday team who tries to sell phones to every passer-by should be active today. Their lead girl, who attracts all of the attention for obvious visual reasons, is worth the short detour to absorb her radiating talent.
Kick ass, or enjoy the sultry Sat in the radiating comfort of your own home. (Pick and choose! (Why not both?))
Be well folk.
I hate to break this to you, EfE, but it’s only Friday.
Good morning!
Morning.
Good morning, U! How are you today?
I woke up around the time of my alarm, so that’s an improvement.
You?
Pretty uncomfortable, as one might expect at this stage of the preparation for this particular medical examination. 😖
In a few hours, it’ll all be over.
So, when should I check in again?
🤷♀️
As soon as I get home, I’m pretty sure I’m going to want to sleep, though I got a few hours dozing on the sofa.
I’ll just pester you at some random time then. If you’re asleep, feel free to not answer.
Relevant
*calendar gaze intensifies*
I’M ON BREAK! … and Friday is the weekend, which encompasses Saturday, so I’m*technically* correct, which is the best sort.
(50-50 she’ll be here. Will attempt a flirt -phone# chat if so. )
I also got paid yesterday. So there. Uh. Enjoy your Friday! If you’re working, I’ll likely be finished before you. So there. And I’m off at 2 with the Cubs taking on a laboring Baltimore at 2:20.
So THERE THERE! AHa! *Unkicked pebble sighs with temporary reprieve*
Happy Friday, to all you Glibnation citizens.
🫡☀️🍳
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34mk2F4iff4
🎶🎶
https://www.inquirer.com/business/weed/delaware-recreational-weed-stores-open-locations-prices-laws-20250801.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBrmNznUyi0
🤷🏼♀️💨
Darwin Award candidate, except that he was saved
CWAA.
Fucking hippies.
STEVE SMITH NOT EVEN WANT HIPPIE
“A man hiking without shoes, food or water in the Shawangunk State”
What, the wildlife didn’t bring you food and clothing while wistful music played? Life ain’t a Disney movie my guy.
Yeah, there are some places in the Catskills I’d like to go, but I worry about how many dumb tourists they attract crowding them. Like Kaaterskill Falls:
https://nypost.com/2025/06/25/us-news/elderly-tourist-falls-to-death-while-hiking-new-york-state-park/
Constantly saving the stupid people is why we’re getting Idiocracy.
The largest free music festival in the US started again last night.
https://www.musikfest.org/
I’m disappointed because I first read that as “musketfest” and then realized I’d misread 🙁
Maybe check Valley Forge or Gettysburg.
Ha! I strongly approve.
Musketfest. Would attend.
I’ve fired restored muskets, but the civil war cannon takes the prize. (Recreation, but live 6/8lb shells, IIRC.)
Will there be monkey howls, beatings with lookers-on randomly darting into the melee to land a blow then running away? For the life of me I cant tell the difference between much of human and monkey behavior.
I am gonna stay home. I already did laundry, vacuum and mop, preparing to air-fry some potato pancakes and later I will cut the grass. Afterward I will hold the couch down. There will be no beatings, no monkey howling or screeching. There will be no police involved.
Now that you have all the work done, I’m available to help. I’m good at couch holding down, had a lot of practice with my first matrimonial go round
https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/bethlehem-man-charged-in-2022-shooting-at-musikfest/3749362/
One little shooting and suddenly you get a bad rep…
I’m with you. You couldn’t get me to a music festival at gunpoint. Mobs are for avoiding not joining.
Mornin’, reprobates!
Good morning, ‘patzie!
suh’ fam
yo whats goody
It’s August. School starts in just over a week. I will have quiet in the house again.
Yeah- Tres Ver 2.0 graduated so my schedule is oddly empty.
“Smoking Gun: Newly Declassified Documents Blow Russia Hoax Investigation Wide Open”
https://www.lifezette.com/2025/07/smoking-gun-newly-declassified-documents-blow-russia-hoax-investigation-wide-open-watch/?utm_source=revolver
I swear to god, the righties flagellating themselves with pleasure to this news in anticipation of the imminent arrests of Clinton, Brennan, and Clapper proves they’re just as stupid as the lefties. Ain’t a damn thing gonna happen to them: it’s all a show.
Amen.
Wait. They’re not in jail already? One drink over the line gets one free room and board for a one nighter at the local people’s motel.
That said, I do enjoy seeing the lies unmasked.
Yes, and it may even open some eyes.
In a moral world, the people who peddled these lies would be pariahs. But we have a Beltway Class that actively uses them to set the public policy discussion.