2024 November Disney+ Releases

Disney+ content disappoints again. Here are the this month's new releases.

Friday, November 1

• Music By John Williams - Premiere
• Ayla & The Mirrors - New Episodes

Saturday, November 2

• Endurance

Wednesday, November 6

• Kindergarten: The Musical (S1, 5 episodes)

Monday, November 11

• SuperKitties: Su-Purr Adventures (Shorts) (S1, 4 episodes)

Tuesday, November 12

• Dancing with the Stars (Season 33) - New Episode

Thursday, November 14

• The Stanford Prison Experiment: Unlocking the Truth (3 episodes)

Friday, November 15

• An Almost Christmas Story - Premiere

Monday, November 18

• Me & Mickey (Shorts) (S3, 4 episodes)

Tuesday, November 19

• Dancing with the Stars (Season 33) - New Episode

Wednesday, November 20

• Big City Greens (S4, 1 episode)

Friday, November 22

• Out of My Mind - Premiere

Monday, November 25

• Tsunami: Race Against Time (S1, 4 episodes)

Tuesday, November 26

• Dancing with the Stars (Season 33) - New Episode

Wednesday, November 27

• Disney Jr.’s Ariel (S1, 4 episodes)

Friday, November 29

• Descendants: The Rise of the Red (Sing-Along Version)
• Mary Poppins Special
• Miraculous World London: At the Edge of Time
• Oz the Great and Powerful
• Beatles '64 - Premiere

Saturday, November 30

• Broken Karaoke (Shorts) (S2, 5 episodes)
• Mickey and Minnie's Christmas Carols (Shorts) (S1, 5 episodes)

Source: disneyplus.com

2024 November Amazon Prime Video Releases

No sleep November to-do list pic.twitter.com/rQypDu0F9T

— Prime Video (@PrimeVideo) November 1, 2024

2024 November Netflix Releases

Netflix has lots of things that come and go every month. And its a bit of a struggle to keep up. Here are some highlights.





















Source: Netflix Tudum

2024 November Blockbuster Movie Guide

Here are the movies to look out for this month, US Edition.


Blitz (戰火尋親路)





Absolution





Here





100 Yards (門前寶地)

[POSTER]



Heretic (雲圖)





Weekend in Taipei (台北追緝令)





Elevation





Red One





Gladiator II (神鬼戰士II)





Moana 2 (海洋奇緣2)





Sources:
IMDB Coming Soon
Box Office Mojo
Wikipedia.org
Taiwan Yahoo!
WMoov Hong Kong

Peacock Streaming 2024

Here's my 2023 update for reference.

During 2023’s Black Friday, Peacock had a deal for 1 year at $19.99 with ads. At that price, I decided to get it. Peacock actually has a fair amount of stuff that comes out.

What I hate is the ads, it’s been up to 300 seconds sometimes. That’s 5 minutes of ads. And there’s more ads as you watch. Lame.

The interface on my FireTV 4K is pretty slow a lot of the times. Waiting for things to get selected or not so I don’t get on the wrong selection and have to wait to go back. It seems to get slower with each new update.

What was worth it is that the 2024 Summer Olympics was on it. That itself made the $19.99 worth it.

I have to really hold back from getting it again, even at $19.99. I must exercise self control.

The Ministry Of Ungentlemanly Warfare - 非紳士特攻隊

The Ministry Of Ungentlemanly Warfare (非紳士特攻隊) is an 2024 film. The movie stars Henry Cavill, Eiza González, and Alan Ritchson. The rest of the emsemble cast include Alex Pettyfer and Henry Golding, among a lot of many. The story was based on true events from de-classifed files from the Churchill days.

During WWII, the U boats of the nazi fleet are causing a lot of damage to british fleet and the US do not want to send they troops in to get destroyed. Churhill sends a group of misfits to take down the vessals that re-stock the u boats. But the tasks must be kept a secret. Henry Cavill plays Gus March-Phillips, a leader of misfits. Can they sink the u boat fleet?

This movie was very Guy Richie hest-ish movie. Mission, team, get it done. I was entertained from the beginning and watched until the end. I caught this as part of my expiring Starz subscription.

John Wick: Chapter 4 - 捍衛任務4

John Wick: Chapter 4 (捍衛任務4) is an 2023 movie. The film stars Keanu Reeves. A portion of the emsemble cast include Donnie Yen, Rina Sawayama, Hiroyuki Sanada, and Ian McShane. This is the fourth and possibilby final installment of the John Wick movie series with Keanu Reeves. The Wick universe is being explored elsewhere.

John Wick seeks to clear his name and finds a way to make The Table hear him out. Along the way, bounties upon bounties have been put on him. John must make it to the final fight to clear his name. Along the way, Wick gets unexpected allies that help move him further to his goal. Will John Wick make it this time?

In all honestly, I contemplated watching this "final" chapter in the theathres. But live got in the way. When it came out on digital, paying $29.99 for it seemed pretty steep. But it was eventually released to Starz. However, it took me months of watching 5-10 minutes here and there to finish. At no point was I ever confused about what the storyline was. I knew what John Wick was doing. I was just a little bored of all the new ways John Wick took on the bounty hunters. Even the addition of the strongest man in the universe, Donnie Yen, helped. I was simply bored. I am glad they are making this the final chapter, time to move on.

Beyond that, John Wick 4 was great lore, great sets, great fights. If you are a fan of the Wick-verse, this is right up your ally. I caught this via Starz.

青春18x2 通往有你的旅程 - 18×2 Beyond Youthful Days

青春18x2 通往有你的旅程 (18×2 Beyond Youthful Days) is an 2024 film out of Taiwan and Japan. 18×2 Beyond Youthful Days is an joint production between a Taiwanese and Japanese film companies. The movie stars Greg Hsu and Kaya Kiyohara. Lots of famous folks from both Taiwan and Japan make cameo appearances. The movie had a limited release in Taiwan back in February.



Greg Hsu plays Jimmy, a recent high school graduate working at a Tainan karaoke bar for the summer before his college life starts. Ami is from Japan, back packing through Taiwan. After losing her wallet, she seeks employment at the karaoke bar to make enough to get back home. Jimmy takes an immediate liking to Ami. Will Jimmy and Ami make it?



This movie is a very typical artsy style film from Japan and Taiwan. Pretty slow in most of the movie so you can contemplate life with the leads. The movie seeks to be both style driven as well as story driven. But more importantly, I feel these movies promote that life is not a straight line, there will be struggles, and how do you move on from there.



This movie was very beautiful. It has some very good train ride scenery of both Taiwan and Japan. The storyline has some unique elements, but was a pretty straight forward "love" story.



I caught this via Netflix about a month ago and rewatched it again recently.

2024 October Disney+ Releases

Disney+ content disappoints again. Here are the this month's new releases.

Tuesday, October 1

• Incredible Dr. Pol The Grand Finale

Wednesday, October 2

• Mickey’s Spooky Stories (S1, 5 episodes)
• The Simpsons (Season 35, 18 episodes)
• Marvel Television's Agatha All Along - Episode 4 at 6pm PT

Thursday, October 3

• Witches: The Truth Behind the Trials (S1, 6 episodes)

Friday, October 4

• Shortstober with Big City Greens
• Marvel’s Spidey and his Amazing Friends (S3, 5 episodes)
• Spookiz: The Movie
• Ayla & The Mirrors - New Episodes

Saturday, October 5

• The Biggest Little Farm

Monday, October 7

• Bluey Minisodes - New Episodes
• Dancing with the Stars (Season 33) - Episode 3 live;

Tuesday, October 8

• Dancing with the Stars (Season 33) - Episode 4 live;

Wednesday, October 9

• Big City Greens (S4, 1 episode)
• Mickey Mouse Funhouse (S3, 6 episodes)
• ZOMBIES: The Re-Animated Series (S1, 5 episodes)
• Marvel Television's Agatha All Along - Episode 5 at 6pm PT

Friday, October 11

• Expedition Amazon
• Ayla & The Mirrors - New Episodes
• "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year" A New Short from The Simpsons - Premiere

Tuesday, October 15

• Pupstruction (S2, 13 episodes)

Wednesday, October 16

• Kiff (Halloween special)
• Me & Mickey (Shorts) (S3, 1 episode)
• Me & Winnie the Pooh (S2, 1 episode)
• Playdate with Winnie the Pooh (Shorts) (S2, 2 episodes)
• Marvel Television’s "Agatha All Along" - Episode 6 at 6pm PT

Thursday, October 17

• Seventeen Tour 'Follow' Again

Friday, October 18

• The Devil’s Climb
• Ayla & the Mirrors - New Episodes
• LEGO Marvel Avengers: Mission Demolition - Premiere

Saturday, October 19

• 2024 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame - Live at 7:00 p.m. EDT/6:00 p.m. CDT/5:00 p.m. MDT/4:00 p.m. PDT

Tuesday, October 22

• Dancing with the Stars (Season 33) - Episode 6 live;

Wednesday, October 23

• Primos (S1, 1 episode)
• SuperKitties (S2, 4 episodes
• Marvel Television’s "Agatha All Along" - Episode 7 at 6pm PT

Friday, October 25

• Ayla & the Mirrors - New Episodes
• Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band - Premiere

Tuesday, October 29

• Dancing with the Stars (Season 33) - Episode 7 live;

Wednesday, October 30

• Dino Ranch (S3, 10 episodes)
• Marvel Television’s "Agatha All Along" - Episode 8 & 9 at 6pm PT

Source: disneyplus.com

2024 October Amazon Prime Video Releases

Just in time for you to get cozy. pic.twitter.com/h6r5Dga4NS

— Prime Video (@PrimeVideo) October 1, 2024

2024 October Netflix Releases

Netflix has lots of things that come and go every month. And its a bit of a struggle to keep up. Here are some highlights.





















Source: Netflix Tudum

2024 October Blockbuster Movie Guide

Here are the movies to look out for this month, US Edition.


Joker: Folie à Deux (小丑:雙重瘋狂)





White Bird (白鳥)





We Live in Time (愛在他鄉)





High Forces (危機航綫)





Venom: The Last Dance (猛毒最終章:最後一舞)





From Embers





Bad Genius





Sources:
IMDB Coming Soon
Box Office Mojo
Wikipedia.org
Taiwan Yahoo!
WMoov Hong Kong

Starz Streaming 2024

During 2023's September and October, I kept seeing ads for Starz annual plan. Sometimes it was $60, sometimes $50, and less occasionally, $40. I guess I got mentally tricked as I saw the price go down from $60 to $40 that I decided to go for it.

Boy, did I make a bad decision. I have barely watched the $3.33 a month worth of stuff. I got it really for John Wick 4, but that is the only thing I have finished. That’s it. All the rest, I start and lose interest.

I also think the Starz content isn’t as geared towards my demographic. Very little Asian stuff. John Wick may have been the most.

When the renewal came up, I went to cancel and was given the option of another year at $39.99 versus the regular price of $69.99. I passed and cancelled. I still got a couple of weeks left, but after some time scrolling recently, I have watched nothing there.

HBO Max Streaming - 2024

During 2023 Black Friday, HBO ran a 2.99 with ads for 6 months special. I decide to get it.

I started a few anime series and watched a few movies. Maybe 3 out of the 6 months, I got more than $2.99 worth of watching it. There were months I didn't even check.

I also did not like ads. But during the subscription, they started these long ads in front of movies which helped movies cut down on ads. I noticed many other streamers do the same now.

I think they knew for the 6 month people, they would need to renew to finish the 2nd season of House of Dragons which started 1-2 weeks during all the 6 month people's end date. Renewal to watch to the end. Good stategy. I didn't go for it and cancelled. I didn't care much for the 1st episode and didn't draw me to in to keep the subscription.

With Black Friday about 2+ months away, I will have to work on self control and not get sucked into these deals again.

2024-2025 NFL Predictions

McVay starts his eighth season as the Head Coach of my favorite team, the Los Angeles Rams. The previous season, I had high hopes for the team and they made the playoffs. Unfortunately, they fell to the Lions in the first round. This season, they will not get stopped by the Lions. I still believe the Rams will make and win the Super Bowl every year. This year is no different.

Without further ado, here are my predictions for the 2024-2025 NFL football season.

AFC EAST

1. New York Jets (Champions)
2. Buffalo Bills (Wildcard)
3. Miami Dolphins (Wildcard)
4. New England Patriots

AFC NORTH

1. Cincinnati Bengals (Champions)
2. Baltimore Ravens
3. Pittsburgh Steelers
4. Cleveland Browns

AFC SOUTH

1. Indianapolis Colts (Champions)
2. Houston Texans
3. Jacksonville Jaguars
4. Tennessee Titans

AFC WEST

1. Los Angeles Chargers (Champions)
2. Kansas City Chiefs (Wildcard)
3. Denver Broncos
4. Las Vegas Raiders

NFC EAST

1. Philadelphia Eagles (Champions)
2. Dallas Cowboys (Wildcard)
3. Washington Commanders
4. New York Giants

NFC NORTH

1. Green Bay Packers (Champions)
2. Detroit Lions (Wildcard)
3. Minnesota Vikings
4. Chicago Bears

NFC SOUTH

1. New Orleans Saints (Champions)
2. Atlanta Falcons
3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
4. Carolina Panthers

NFC WEST

1. Los Angeles Rams (Champions)
2. San Francisco 49ers (Wildcard)
3. Seattle Seahawks
4. Arizona Cardinals

AFC Conference Champs - New York Jets

NFC Conference Champs - Los Angeles Rams


Super Bowl LIX Champs - Los Angeles Rams

<< 2023-2024 NFL Predictions

2025-2026 NFL Predictions >>

2024 September Disney+ Releases

Disney+ content disappoints again. Here are the this month's new releases.

Wednesday, September 4

• Kindergarten: The Musical (S1, 10 episodes)

Thursday, September 5

• Are You Sure?! - Episode 6

Saturday, September 7

• Chibi Tiny Tales (S5, 6 episodes)

Sunday, September 8

• Big City Greens the Movie: Spacecation (Sing-Along Version) - Premiere

Wednesday, September 11

• Primos (S1, 9 episodes)

Thursday, September 12

• Are You Sure?! - Episode 7

Friday, September 13

• Me & Mickey (Shorts) (S3, 5 episodes)
• LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy - Premiere - All Episodes Streaming

Tuesday, September 17

• Dancing with the Stars (Season 33) - Premiere

Wednesday, September 18

• Hamster & Gretel (S2, 8 episodes)
• How Not to Draw (Shorts) (S3, 5 episodes)
• L-Pop (S2, 6 episodes)
• Marvel Television’s "Agatha All Along" - Two Episode Premiere

Thursday, September 19

• Are You Sure?! - Episode 8

Tuesday, September 24

• Dancing with the Stars (Season 33) - New Episode

Wednesday, September 25

• FLY
• Marvel Television’s "Agatha All Along" - Episode 3
• Disney Jr.’s Ariel - New Episodes

Friday, September 27

• Ayla & the Mirrors - Premiere - New Episodes

Source: disneyplus.com

2024 September Amazon Prime Video Releases

Cozy season selects have arrived pic.twitter.com/JNKnKPoYV9

— Prime Video (@PrimeVideo) September 1, 2024

2024 September Netflix Releases

Netflix has lots of things that come and go every month. And its a bit of a struggle to keep up. Here are some highlights.























Source: Netflix Tudum

2024 September Blockbuster Movie Guide

Here are the movies to look out for this month, US Edition.


Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (陰間大法師 Beetlejuice)





The Killer's Game





Speak No Evil (邪惡勿語)





How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies (金孫爆富攻略)





My Old Ass (我的老屁股)





Transformers One (變形金剛:源起)





Megalopolis (大都會)






Azrael





Sources:
IMDB Coming Soon
Box Office Mojo
Wikipedia.org
Taiwan Yahoo!
WMoov Hong Kong

Dìdi - 弟弟

Dìdi (弟弟) is 2024 film. The movie stars Izaac Wang. The supporting cast include Joan Chen, Shirley Chen, and Mahaela Park. The movie was the full movie directorial debut of Sean Wang. I caught it with my family at a local AMC.

Izaac Wang plays Chris Wang, whom his friends refer to as Wang Wang. In the last days of summer before he starts his high school life, we see a slice of life for a couple of weeks. Chris lives in Fremont with his Nie Nie, paternal grandmother, mother, and older sister Vivian. Vivian is starting UCSD a week before Chris starts high school. UCSD will take Vivian away from the family. Chris has friends from his junior high days that he hangs out with on a almost daily basis. Chris than is attracted to Madie at a party. Chris and Madie become friendly. However, Chris has a falling out with both his old buddies and Madie. Meeting some skaters at a strip mall, he gets in with them for a few days as their filmer. At home, things come and go with struggle. Chris struggles with communication with his family members. How will Chris navigate his life?

I initially did not want to watch a movie about a kid whom makes bad decisions. But my family was so I gave in and went along. It was 50/50 to my expectations, and the 50 that was not was the details. The trailer presents his bad decisions and the movie only expands on it. However, how he makes them and consequences were not to my expectations. Sean Wang may have been telling his bio here. But embellished for the movies.

What I appreciate about the movie is a all to common kids hearing Chinese at home but responding in English back. How much of the Chinese are they really understanding? How much communication is lost because of this. I also appreciated that this was a movie I felt very familiar with due to the family dynamics. What I appreciated the most was that this was not another discovering my Asian identity movie. It was just a movie about a kid living his life that happened to be Taiwanese and his household's adults spoke Mandarin. It was just about life, not about identity.

Update Sept 3rd:

Took our 弟弟 to watch Didi.

Congratulations to the whole team - @swangsean @IzaacWang @ShirleyLChen and the entire @didithemovie team for such a fun time at the movie theaters. My brothers and I talked all the way home about how we could relate to so many parts of the movie -… pic.twitter.com/TYX4zcbd0f

— Jeremy Lin (@JLin7) September 4, 2024

2023 United States Of America Box Office Report - Top 10 Grossing Films Of 2023 - Final

I think we're far enough away from 2023 for a final box office. Wonka made a move up the charts in January.

Here are the current top ten box office performers of 2023 for United States Of America.

* Still Showing

Rank
1		Barbie (Barbie芭比)* US - ~$636 Million Worldwide - ~$1.445 Million
2		The Super Mario Bros. Movie (超級瑪利歐兄弟電影版) US - ~$575 Million Worldwide - ~$1.362 Million
3		Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (蜘蛛人:穿越新宇宙) US - ~$381 Million Worldwide - ~$691 Million
4		Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (星際異攻隊3)* US - ~$359 Million Worldwide - ~$846 Million
5		Oppenheimer (元素方城市)* US - ~$329 Million Worldwide - ~$975 Million
6		The Little Mermaid (小美人魚) US - ~$298 Million Worldwide - ~$570 Million
7		Wonka (旺卡)* US - ~$218 Million Worldwide - ~$632 Million
8		Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (蟻人與黃蜂女:量子狂熱) US - ~$215 Million Worldwide - ~$476 Million
9		John Wick: Chapter 4 (捍衛任務4) US - ~$187 Million Worldwide - ~$440 Million
10		Sound Of Freedom (自由之聲)* US - ~$184 Million Worldwide - ~$250 Million
<< 2022		2024 >>

Source: Box Office Mojo - retrieved August 14, 2024