Spot Reviews 10/09/26
Oct 09 2026
Mayday (2026) [+] Apple TV action/buddy movie set in 1987. On an SR-71 recon mission (the two or three minutes screen time of the Blackbird flying is really cool, don't know how realistic but it makes it look more like a rocket than a plane) over Russia Navy pilot Troy "Assassin" Kelly (Ryan Reynolds) is shot down but is fortunately rescued by Americophile Nikolai Ustinov (Kenneth Branagh -- totally didn't recognize it was Branagh and his character is the action/fighting guy though the fight scenes are slow enough he could have done a lot of the filming). Ustinov is former KGB but now disillusioned about the Soviet Union and he wants to help Kelly and hope he can defect to the USA.
A bunch of travel montages and fight scenes with humor. Most of the humor is Ryan Reynolds being a smart-talking character, also each of the main character's of the other's country. They are chased by rogue KGB assistant director Alexander Volkov (Marcin Dorociński) with his KGB troops.
Better movie than I expected. Fairly good action and humor with male bonding.
Under Parallel Skies (2024) [-] Philippine romantic drama movie set in Hong Kong. Parin (Metawin Opas-iamkajorn), a Thai young man from a rich family, meets Iris (Janella Salvador), a Filipino hotel desk employee at the hotel he's staying at. They start with a couple of bad encounters but she must be friendly to guests so he uses that to enlist her help in looking for his mother. Meanwhile they're kind of falling in love -- two people from different cultures and both living in a third culture. And then there's a sad ending for I'm not sure what story reason. I didn't think the chemistry worked either.
Pyrite Heart (2014) [/] A short visual novel with choices from Winged Cloud. You are the arrogant Princess Ahri attending high school for a week as a bet to prove you are better than the commoners. You have two love choices: either high school class president Ryuu or your faithful servant and childhood companion Kenta (also there undercover to protect you). There are only a few choices and I played about an hour through both endings. Nice art and a bit of a heartfelt rated G story. $5 on Steam though I'm not sure it's worth that much.
Macaroni Grill - Butternut Tortellaci [/] Pretty tasty. Stuffed pasta with butternut squash cubes and prosciutto (some kind of meat) sprinkled on top. For $24.50 not a lot of food. I guess even with bread and coffee ($3.50) that leaves room for Cheesecake ($8).
A bunch of travel montages and fight scenes with humor. Most of the humor is Ryan Reynolds being a smart-talking character, also each of the main character's of the other's country. They are chased by rogue KGB assistant director Alexander Volkov (Marcin Dorociński) with his KGB troops.
Better movie than I expected. Fairly good action and humor with male bonding.
Under Parallel Skies (2024) [-] Philippine romantic drama movie set in Hong Kong. Parin (Metawin Opas-iamkajorn), a Thai young man from a rich family, meets Iris (Janella Salvador), a Filipino hotel desk employee at the hotel he's staying at. They start with a couple of bad encounters but she must be friendly to guests so he uses that to enlist her help in looking for his mother. Meanwhile they're kind of falling in love -- two people from different cultures and both living in a third culture. And then there's a sad ending for I'm not sure what story reason. I didn't think the chemistry worked either.
Pyrite Heart (2014) [/] A short visual novel with choices from Winged Cloud. You are the arrogant Princess Ahri attending high school for a week as a bet to prove you are better than the commoners. You have two love choices: either high school class president Ryuu or your faithful servant and childhood companion Kenta (also there undercover to protect you). There are only a few choices and I played about an hour through both endings. Nice art and a bit of a heartfelt rated G story. $5 on Steam though I'm not sure it's worth that much.
Macaroni Grill - Butternut Tortellaci [/] Pretty tasty. Stuffed pasta with butternut squash cubes and prosciutto (some kind of meat) sprinkled on top. For $24.50 not a lot of food. I guess even with bread and coffee ($3.50) that leaves room for Cheesecake ($8).