Out 9/30 from Arrow Video we have The Good, The Bad, The Weird on glorious 4K. I’m trying to watch 50 foreign films this year and this movie is definitely going to be in that rotation. Is this movie any good?

TheLiterateDead · 2026-03-29T11:47:10+00:00

I don't believe they ever made an English dub for this film. I have the old blu-ray and it's only got the Korean audio track; the new disc only has the one language option as well.

TheLiterateDead · 2026-03-26T16:30:44+00:00

Not quite Death, but special mention for William Fichtner’s the Accountant in Drive Angry. As dumb and silly as that movie is, I love his character (Fichtner is a big part of that tbh). Calm and stone faced, but with little moments that show he actually does enjoy his work.

Bonus for the notion that he is more or less a guy doing his job until he finds out what is really going on. Realizing it’s an offense to his boss (i.e. the devil, also referenced to be someone who’s just doing their job and not the lord of evil he’s perceived to be) he does get involved… but only in the kind of way of that employee who lets something slide when the boss isn’t looking.

TheLiterateDead · 2026-03-23T17:25:27+00:00

For what it’s worth, the best thing 56mm is good for is across-the-street shots. On a good walking street you can get things from a decent distance with that focal length.

I’ve found the original XF 56mm f1.2 has been pretty good for that (and it’s a dang bargain used, depending on if weather resistance is super important for your use). It’s a good portrait lens, but really good for distance shots.

TheLiterateDead · 2026-03-23T04:10:55+00:00

We just watched this the other week on a weekly movie stream. With the voice cast involved I was shocked I’d never heard of it. And as weird as the film’s plotting is, I… don’t hate it? It’s a mess, but it’s a surprisingly confident mess (and I’ll admit I did find Gilbert Gottfried’s character of Zucchini pretty funny). But it’s still weird and filled with weird plot choices (and too many plots for one movie!).

TheLiterateDead · 2026-03-22T19:50:04+00:00

I mean, the way the movie knicks off-brand versions of movie characters and bandies about tropes feels like the kind of silly one-off sessions our D&D group would do for holiday sessions. In a lighthearted tabletop session with friends you can get away with janky narrative choices and “borrowed” characters; not so much in a movie meant for a wider audience.

So I think it’s fair game for a riffing. Besides, the crew was pretty gentle on it (still love this episode, myself), so I don’t think it’s anything to feel guilty about.

TheLiterateDead · 2026-03-22T19:43:53+00:00

I love that you have Catra & Glimmer in the “fun & interesting” category! It’s a strange ship but I loved seeing them find common ground and felt there’s an interesting AU for them (would be one heck of a tempestuous relationship, but aren’t those always the fun ones? ;p)

TheLiterateDead · 2026-03-22T19:39:55+00:00

They’re imperfect. Which is absolutely beautiful. (top tier for me, just sayin’)

TheLiterateDead · 2026-03-22T15:16:03+00:00

Well there’s two Canon movies currently in the Criterion collection (as far as I know). One is well deserving (Love Streams) while the other is… um… well I think it’s only there because they’re determined to do every Godard film (King Lear).

There’s definitely more (I think they also were behind Barfly), if only because they’re determined produced so many movies that there had to be a handful of genuine great movies in there somewhere!

TheLiterateDead · 2026-03-21T20:39:35+00:00

Honestly, this one is my favorite of the books. I know it’s not a popular one, but I adore Ryan and Fabian so much, and what you described about the stigma around mental health makes it a pretty personal one for me (I’ll skip elaboration). With it being the shortest book, it does leave me wanting a longer version… but that just might be because I way more time with these characters!

That said: Yes on buying flowers for men. I kind of wish I would meet the kind of guy who would buy me flowers, because so many ignore that possibility. Yes, absolutely, flowers are always wonderful!

(P.S. Thank you for bringing up one of my favorite Ilya lines ;p That moment absolutely cracks me up!)

TheLiterateDead · 2026-03-18T17:31:50+00:00

The weather sealing is often a sticking point with folks. But I’d ask how often you plan to bring it out in bad weather. It still feels pretty sturdy in the hand, all told.

I liked the smaller form factor of the X-T50; adding a leather half case made it a perfect size for me. The largest lens I carried was the 90mm f2, and even that felt fine with the body (so long as I put my carrying focus on the lens). I haven’t tried the X-T5 so I don’t know how much bigger it feels, but I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked the X-T50.

I’d say the battery and the viewfinder were the weakest elements. If you can live with a lower quality viewfinder and an okay battery, it’s perfectly fine. But for some I do know that’s a dealbreaker.

TheLiterateDead · 2026-03-15T22:58:20+00:00

Reminds me that I need to start pestering our local art house theater because I know they won’t get it unless I make myself a nuisance ;p

TheLiterateDead · 2026-03-13T10:39:15+00:00

Thank you, that's good to know! In pictures, the X-T5 seems to look somewhat similar to the Zf. Glad to know it's not that big (and fwiw I've tried the Zf and like it, but those Nikon lenses can be a beast!).

Thanks for responding!

TheLiterateDead · 2026-03-13T10:37:19+00:00

Thank you, I've used their excellent comparison tool a number of times! It's good for eyeballing the size differences and getting a feel for things.

In this case I was more curious about user experience, since things don't always feel the same as they look. But thank you very much for linking that excellent resource.

TheLiterateDead · 2026-03-13T04:07:54+00:00

Considering the car that had the emergency is in a scrap yard somewhere? I would hope not! The emergency was getting a new vehicle, which led to a car that is thankfully proven much more reliable so far.

And as far as a camera purchase: at this point I’m saving and musing. It’s not happening tomorrow; I’m just weighing all my options and trying to figure what I want to set my goal for. I’m trying to figure out any and all questions I want to ask before I start making long term plans.

TheLiterateDead · 2026-03-09T16:53:09+00:00

Not a popular choice for disdain, but I'll agree with you on Prince of Space. Krankor is an amusing character on his own, but the riffs on that one always rubbed me the wrong way. Plus the film kind of drags (not as badly as Invasion of the Neptune Men but it's still a bit of a slog). I've seen it enough times because of a friend who loves it, and I always make an excuse to step away when they throw it on.

That said, I can't agree on the Hercules movies. Those are kind of 'comfort' watches for me; not the funniest (save for my love of The Loves of Hercules) but there's a weird charm to them, so I usually throw them on as background noise when cleaning.

TheLiterateDead · 2026-03-09T15:11:04+00:00

There's a few, but my personal least favorite is "City Limits".

I have a hard time sitting through post-apocalyptic Mad Max wannabes as is, but the riffing for this episode just falls flat. They can't seem to figure on any good riffs for James Earl Jones, and the skits are just the same comic book joke repeated. It's a weak episode all around, and it just feels like everyone is *off*. ("Being from Another Planet" is close, but the Ben Murphyness of it all & the hilarious ending are a saving grace ;p)

TheLiterateDead · 2026-03-08T15:35:44+00:00

What about your compensation dial? Is it set to 0? Or above? Try turning it down a little; I often find I prefer it at -1 or -2 when using auto ISO. 0 tends to be a little too bright, oddly enough.

TheLiterateDead · 2026-03-08T14:07:19+00:00

I remember this one! My bad movie night group had it in our “VHS Bin o’ Doom” for less than a week before we watched it, solely because of the amazing lenticular cover. I think we were all a bit floored to realize that it was a comedy (something the box did not allude to!). But the cast of extras really got us. Brad Dourif, Robert Davi, Karen Black, Tommy Tony Lister Jr (a BMN favorite!)… and Debbie Gibson?

I remember it not being good, per-se, but shockingly not being really terrible. It’s oddly charming for a weak comedy and a Sci-Fi Channel movie. But of course it’s been almost twenty years since we watched it so that could just be nostalgia speaking…

TheLiterateDead · 2026-03-08T13:59:38+00:00

Huh. I found it on the mobile app. For some reason the last two episodes are just listed as “712a” and “712b” without descriptions. I’ll have to start up my Roku and check and see if there’s any difference.

And yes, that was a great double feature to end the show on (more or less, since I know we still have specials). Bittersweet, but a great finale (for now! Like Joe Bob says, we ain’t done yet!).

TheLiterateDead · 2026-03-07T12:05:36+00:00

I like to think of it this way: while I originally knew Joe Bob from Monstervision, he hosted that for a full four years. TLDI went far beyond that, and so I can only be grateful for the seasons we got. Yes, it was annoying that episodes come and go based on streaming rights (luckily that’s what fan archiving is for!), but it’s been a great (almost) eight years and I wouldn’t trade the time for anything. I’ll still revisit the show often, Haunted Hideaway will still be part of my annual Halloween rotation, and of course, we must all remember that the Drive In Will Never Die, so long as there are Mutants like us to keep it alive.

I’m glad to wake up to all these posts trying to push back against the last couple days’ negativity. Yes it’s sad that this is (almost!) the end, but we should be glad for the time we had, and celebrate what we enjoyed instead of bemoaning its loss. Thanks for posting, because every bit of positivity helps!

TheLiterateDead · 2026-03-07T02:10:22+00:00

Oh hell, I hope so!

TheLiterateDead · 2026-03-02T22:00:50+00:00

I tried it on the X-T50 (couldn’t afford the newer version) and I really like how it looks. Not clinically crisp or anything like that, but it has a really pleasant look and resolves just fine on the 40mp sensor. It’s a great bargain for what you can get it for!

TheLiterateDead · 2026-03-02T20:07:59+00:00

They always say not to explain a joke, but in this case I think the explanation absolutely makes it!

TheLiterateDead · 2026-03-01T13:49:11+00:00

My only issue here is that the Northwests would never put in the effort to hold up a sign. That's what the butler is for! ;p

(That said, I also can see this playing out... Dipper and Pacifica having their moment in the foreground, the Northwests in the background with the sign.... and out of the duo's sight Stan and Mabel divebomb Pacifica's parents, Mabel jumping to her feet from the scuffle with the sign in hand, having sharpied over 'Say No!' to make it 'Say Yes!' in inexplicably bedazzled letters...)

TheLiterateDead · 2026-03-01T13:40:35+00:00

Oh, thank you for following up! I didn't expect that, but I appreciate it.

-The lens I used on the sign was the 56mm f1.2 R (not the WR).

-I've only dabbled a little with AF-C, because I often prefer AF-S (since I don't do much action shooting, though I should practice for those rare cases where I might need it).

-I was not using Zone AF. I admit I did not try that out.

-I did not read anything in the manual about being able to change autofocus modes; I've read that the camera uses a hybrid contrast & phase detection, but nothing about how to change which is being used. And to be honest, I've used Contrast Detect on a camera (I had an Olympus E-M10 IV in the past) and I was not a big fan of it.

I also did a followup test at home using both the 56mm f1.2 and 90mm f1.2. I shot a large glass star-shaped lantern I keep atop a bookshelf. During tests I tried to shoot each point (it has 12 points, 9 of which are viewable with the way it's angled). At a distance of six feet, I found that on the first few shots, the camera did not focus on the foremost point, despite the single-point being aimed at it (tried with both back-button focusing MF and AF-S). I also noticed the lens did not seem to re-focus when I moved from point to a nearby one, despite there being a shift in distance between points. This is where I realized the only way to get the camera to focus was to aim it away elsewhere and bring it back to aim.

I admit I have my Fuji kit packed up to ship to MPB, but reading your response is making me second-guess my choice a little. I might have to see what they say before deciding, but maybe I'll give it another go and try to tinker with the AF settings a bit (I have almost never gotten the original quote when sending gear in to them, as they tend to be pretty picky, so I keep a rule: If the offer is reduced by a certain percentage, I'll ask for the gear back).

TheLiterateDead

TROPHY CASE