Change Your Image
klatteross-15130
Ratings
Most Recently Rated
Reviews
Murdoch Mysteries: Sir. Sir? Sir!!! (2018)
Seemed familiar...
The plot of this episode seemed very familiar.
Oh,yea, now I remember:
It Came from Outer Space '1953
Invasion of the Body Snatchers '1956
The Day Mars Invaded Earth '1962
The Thing '1982
X-Files episdoe "Ice" '1993
The Faculty '1998
probably many more I can't think of right now
and now. Murdoch Mysteries episode "Sir. Sir? Sir!!!" '2019
I have to admit that I enjoyed All-of-the-Above
But the first six had the advantage of offering a resolution to the problem.
I wonder why Constable Crabtree was not affected.
I couldn't decide whether to award this episode a Ten or a One so I gave it a Six.
Crossfire (2022)
Half-hour story dragged out for three hours
This was on Britbox as a "Britbox Original." I don't know what the connection is between Britbox and BBC. I have enjoyed many wonderful programs from the BBC. This was my first "Britbox Original." Perhaps they had a much lower budget than the real BBC--only enough money for one and a half terrorists. There were so many scenes where nothing is happening; just actors displaying their hysterically terrified faces for long, long closeups. I don't find it frightening to look at frightened people. They say laughter is contagious; maybe terror is supposed to be contagious, too.
The hero of the story is an ex-policewoman. Yet she seems to be afraid of guns. If she had been working as a school crossing guard, I could feel more sympathy. But in dealing with the hotel security, she makes a point of being a former police officer; he naturally assumes she is firearms competent. Wrong. When she finds her boyfriend dead, she curls up in a ball and sobs. She "ports" her weapon by aiming at the floor, and sometimes she holds it dangling by the stock, as if she were carrying a dead chicken.
I rated it a 3. Generous perhaps, but I liked all the corridors and breezeways and staircases and balconies and so forth. I was thinking it would be a great location for a day of Paintball.
Eve of Destruction (1991)
Illogical
Why would a surveillance/reconnaissance robot be nuclear armed?
And why this outfit? It is supposedly programmed with the thoughts and feelings of its creator, who always dresses appropriately.
And where did it hide the atomic bomb? With the outfit it wears, I don't think it could conceal a Kotex.
The govt assassin is shot repeatedly by an Uzi and run over by a train, and is hardly even winded--perhaps it's his Survival School training.
The robot is completely impervious to bullets, yet loses an arm by accident and shows bullet wounds on its face.
I did not think Renee was very beautiful looking, but her English was amazingly good; I didn't realize she was a foreigner until I reviewed the cast on IMDB; that's the only reason I rated it so high as a 4.
The Crooked Web (1955)
Bad plot
I rated it 4 only because I like Mari Blanchard and Frank Lovejoy. The "plot" is so bad it deserves a 2. It is so disconnected and self-contradictory that it seems they just improvised a story as they went along. If I understood correctly, the Air Force comandeered a private estate, erected chain-link fence all around it, built a gatehouse, set up Restricted signage, staffed the estate with military guards...OVERNIGHT !
If I understood correctly, Frank Lovejoy could not be charged with a murder that he committed on German soil unless he was physically present in Germany. Nonsense. It was not clear if the action takes place before 1952 or after 1952. If before, a murder committed by an American airman upon another American airman would be U. S. military jurisdiction, not German police; if after, there could be a simple extradition. They say he couldn't be arrested because there was no evidence--but they had a ballistics test matching his rifle to the murder weapon. Seems like pretty good evidence to me. Richard Denning says he will enlist and assign himself to the new Top Secret Experimental Base that is going to be erected overnight. Why is there a recruiting station in Germany? Were there a lot of former wehrmacht trying to join the American Air force?
And this is definitely NOT Film Noir; it is more like a Saturday morning kids' serial.
Sister Boniface Mysteries (2022)
Anachronistic balderdash.
There are many examples of modern movies or TV shows that are set at some period in the past. The 20's, the 40's, and so forth. Almost all of them insist on cramming 21st century principles and prejudices down our throats. One episode of this series shows a city twinning (in U. S. a sister city) event; the German delegation includes a Luftwaffe GENERAL in full dress uniform, accompanied by heel-clicking lackeys, also in German army uniform. Utterly preposterous. Another episode features the nun lovingly encouraging a homosexual couple in their romance; I don't think nuns are supposed to do that even today, much less in the 50's. Who controls the past controls the future: who controls the present controls the past. If the plot and the acting were interesting, the program would be tolerable. They aren't and it isn't.
Strange Bargain (1949)
Lack of logic, lack of forensics, lack of common sense
The police tell Mr. Wilson that the gun that killed Mr. Jarvis was different from the gun that fired into the wall. Therefore Mr. Wilson should have figured out easily that Mr. Jarvis could not have committed suicide; he threw the wall gun into the ocean, and there was no second gun at the scene. Could only be murder.
Even in 1949, any coroner could tell the difference between a self-inflicted gunshot and a shot fired from 20 feet away. Could only be murder.
Mr. Wilson was a likely suspect for the murder...but he had the Jarvis note which might have cleared him of 1st degree homicide if things turned out badly for him; he should not have destroyed the note. Foolish.
Mr. Wilson committed obstruction of justice, conspiracy, evidence tampering, lying to the police. And attempted insurance fraud--not to mention discharge of a firearm within city limits; he should have been arested.
Resident Alien (2021)
Tears, not Fears
Can a lonely stranded Alien find love and companionship in a sleepy Colorado town? The title and promos might have discouraged some people from watching because they believed this would be a science-fiction show. But it isn't, not at all. It's really a heart-warming, tearful chuckle, sitcom in the best tradition of Father Knows Best, or Leave It To Beaver, or Lassie. So everyone please watch! (And keep the kleenex handy.)
Murder, She Wrote: It Runs in the Family (1987)
Who dunnit? Well, don't ask me.
What about the old viscount Rupert? They exhumed him, but didn't announce any results. Was he also poisoned? Was he even murdered? Who killed Richard Johnson? If it was the John Standing's wife, why does she walk back into the house--supported lovingly by her in-laws? The inspector doesn't arrest anyone except Johnny. Did Johnny commit a double murder? Or a single murder? Or do anything at all illegal? They lost me totally.
War of the Worlds (2019)
Walk of the Worthless
There is a large cast. But I did not find any character whom I admired, or even liked a little. Most of them are contemptible; some of them are downright loathsome.
The robot dogs are so slow and noisy that they are more comical than scary. The aliens start by using EMP to kill everyone not inclosed in metal nor deep underground. Then the survivors emerge. Yet the aliens do not use EMP to mop up, but rather employ the clanking canines which are easily killed by earthmen's firearms.
Every episode is padded and stretched with long, long closeups with no dialogue, or long, long scenes of people walking. Just walking, walking, apparently for no reason.
The scenery is good. David Martijn's score is excellent. But if they make a second season, I won't watch it.
Back Door to Heaven (1939)
A tale with a moral
But, Stephen Sondheim in "West Side Story" said it better:
Dear kindly Sergeant Krupke
Ya gotta understand
It's just our bringin' upke
That gets us outta hand
Our mothers all are junkies
Our fathers all are drunks
Golly Moses natcherly we're punks
Gee, Officer Krupke, we're very upset;
We never had the love that every
Child oughta get
We ain't no delinquents
We're misunderstood
Deep down inside us there is good!
My Daddy beats my Mommy
My Mommy clobbers me
My Grandpa is a Commie
My Grandma pushes tea
My sister wears a mustache
My brother wears a dress
Goodness Gracious, that's why I'm a mess!
Officer Krupke, he shouldn't be here
This boy don't need a couch, he needs
A useful career
Society's played him a terrible trick
And sociologically he's sick!
Bride of the Gorilla (1951)
Not Guilty, your honor.
There were a lot of famous people in this B movie--mostly either has-beens or not-yets. I enjoyed seeing Paul Maxey--The People's Choice was a favorite show of mine. My favorite cast member was Clio the Beagle.
I have one objection: Tom Conway tells Barbara Payton that Raymond Burr murdered Paul Cavanagh "Barney killed Klaas, and it was no accident--it was premeditated murder." Baloney. Does the doctor suppose that Barney conspired with the snake to be there waiting at the arranged time? Klaas struck Barney, and Barney hit him back--that's not even Battery, much less Murder One.
The Wrong Road (1937)
Blackie's fate
With a title like "The Wrong Road" I was expecting a moralizing fable with either a final death scene or a silly happy ending.
I wasn't greatly surprised, but I felt that, of the two, the wrong choice was made for the finale.
The most (though not the only) puzzling part for me was: what happened to Blackie? He strggles with Cromwell, then a shot is fired in the air. As a result of the wild shot in the air, Blackie sits down for a while to catch his breath. The policemen chat with Richard and Helen for a while, then one of them goes over to Blackie. Blackie is still sitting quietly on the ground; he extends his hands for handcuffing. A very weak ending.
Route 66: Welcome to Amity (1961)
So what's the big deal?
What is the TERRIBLE SECRET??? The whole town is unanimous in refusing to even discuss it. (Right away, credibility vanishes. I can imagine townspeople being mean, but I can't imagine any town where people are unwilling to gossip.) When the secret IS finally revealed, it turns out to be a colossal ho-hum. Maybe it would have generated life-long outrage in a 17th century New England village, but 1950's Ohio? No way. And how in the world does a person seeking revenge come up with the notion that moving the enemy's final resting place from a pauper's grave to a well-maintained plot with a headstone is a way to get revenge? One of the weaker episodes of this excellent series.
Night Train to Lisbon (2013)
slow, slower, and slowest
Boring, more boring, most boring.
Swiss schoolteacher abandons class and impulsively rushes off on a madcap journey. Unbelievable.
After reading a few lines of a vanity published book, ostensibly intelligent person becomes neurotically obsessed with unearthing the life story of the author of some platitudes. Unbelievable.
Many people liked this movie. Unbelievable.
The Outpost (2018)
Good time slot. Okay show.
I will be watching this every week. That's primarily because there's nothing else on Tuesday at 21:00. The lady warrior is awfully belligerent; but she is rather distinctive looking. The marshal villain reminds me of Jason Statham. There is a potential for many episodes (like Supernatural or X-Files); but I didn't like how they brought in Demons so soon...weren't the Plaguelings bad enough? By the way, what was the first S.F. movie to feature monsters with mini-monster things emerging from their mouths? Was that "Alien"?
The Squall (1929)
It was, after all, 1929
This is the best 1929 movie I've ever seen. Oh wait a minute...it's the only one. This movie has nothing that makes modern movies worthwhile--no breasts, no explosions, no zombies. But it has dialogue; for example: Tempted man: What is that infernal light shining in your eyes? Temptress: It's love! Did the dialogue come directly from the stage play? I like the way the movie has a lot of background music.