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Reviews
The Outer Limits: The Hundred Days of the Dragon (1963)
Did JFK watch this while sitting in the Oval Office?
I wonder if JFK and the First Lady sat and watched this second episode of the Outer Limits. It was broadcast only two months before the assassination in Dallas. The 'Manchurian' candidate (Welby) looks more like LBJ than the current President. Sidney Blackmer squints his eyes now and then, but the truth came out in 'Rosemary's Baby' - Blackmer is married to Ruth Gordon, and they're not Communists, but satanists! I wonder if Oliver Stone saw this episode, and gradually became obsessed with JFK.
21 Days (1940)
Terrible sound, even worse subtitles, but worth watching for Olivier/Leigh fans
Another reviewer complains about the poor sound. I've just watched it on TalkingPics - there were subtitles on my TV, but they were wrong at a crucial point. According to the subtitles, the Scottish landlady exclaims, 'That murderer has escaped the hangman. He's back on the way to jail.' I looked up the film on Wikipedia, and discovered that the so-called murderer had in fact had a heart attack on the way back to jail. I returned to the film, and turned the volume up as far as it could go, and realised that the landlady had actually said 'He's died on the way back to jail.'
Laurence Olivier should have done the decent thing, and gone to the police straight away. Then he would have been convicted of manslaughter. He should have ignored his brother, who seemed to think that Olivier's appearance in court would put his advancement to a judgeship in a bad light. Stupid.
Strange Holiday (1945)
'We can't trust any of our politicians'
I watched this a few days after Trump's 'patriotic' friends attempted to stop Congress confirming last year's presidential elections. Five people lost their lives. In this film, Claude Rains dreams that fascists have carried out their secret 'Plan' to abolish the Constitution and seize power. At one point, we hear the disgruntled people agreeing with the fascist slogans that 'we can't trust any of our politicians,' that 'this is no democracy any more,' and 'what we need is a strong man and some discipline.' Some of us haven't learned much since 1945.
The Sister (2020)
Confusion and no reality, and a central character who barely exists
What do Nathan and his wife do for a living? They seem to live in a million-pound house, but Nathan sits around worrying, while his wife deals with 'contracts.' When they first meet, Holly is an estate agent although she says that's not her real vocation. Nathan is something to do with a radio station, although he also mumbles something about being a car dealer to Holly. When they're married, we occasionally see Nathan working in a flashy-looking office of some sort. Holly's parents live in a sumptuous detached house with gardens running down to the Thames (?) What have they done to achieve this wealth? As for Nathan, he has no family and no siblings. His parents don't exist, and we know nothing about his background.
When Nathan is questioned by the police, how do they know he was at the party? Did they simply question every person who showed up on CCTV? Ditto Bob. Why did they question him? Why does the WPC deliberately tell Nathan that he is not a suspect, because the sister turns up the flat of her ex-boyfriend (who?) after Nathan & Bob appear to have buried her corpse? If the police really think Nathan is not a suspect, why does the WPC restart her investigations a few years later?
Is it 'just a coincidence' that our WPC happens to be a friend of Holly's family?
The whole thing (the 'final' episode is tonight) makes no sense, has no reality. It's set in a world where no one really exists. Maybe it will all be 'explained' tonight, but somehow I doubt it.
The Fan (1981)
They should have called Columbo for this one...
No one has pointed out the obvious mistake in the script. Douglas goes into a gay bar and picks up a young man, leaves the bar, and then murders him. He then proceeds to set alight the body. While this is happening, he writes a fake suicide note, signed 'Douglas.' Then we see the investigating officer wandering around in Douglas's apartment, obviously assuming that Douglas has indeed committed suicide - case closed.
How can it be? By the time the cops arrived, the body would have been as good as unrecognisable. If they had had a good view of the corpse's face, they would only have thought, 'Well, it's a man - it must be Douglas.' How did the police discover his full name and - equally amazing - find out his address. The only way of identifying the corpse would have been by dentistry or by finding credit cards etc. In the burnt clothes. And if they had done so, they would have discovered that the man was not called Douglas. And if he just happened to have been called Douglas, the teeth would have proven that he wasn't Douglas the murderer.
They should have called Columbo instead.
True Story (2015)
A good enough film, but full of holes
1. Why did Longo suddenly decide to call himself 'Mike Finkel'? Unexplained.
2. How did Longo manage to produce a great pile of notes in prison, which turned out to look exactly like those Finkel produced in Africa? Unexplained.
3. In Longo's written life story, he says he was brought up as a Jehovah's Witness, and draws pictures of the JWs gathered beneath a crucifix at a meeting. JWs do not believe in the 'crucifixion' of Jesus, but in his death on a 'torture stake.' They never display a cross at a meeting.
4. There is no explanation for the murders Longo committed. No portrayal of his life or background.
I don't trust Longo or Mike Finkel. I suppose I ought to read the book on which it is based, but I don't know if I've got the time. A fine film, but nevertheless one that is flat and about nothing much.
The Visit (2015)
Mental illness as a comedy or a horror film?
I've watched this film twice now, and have come to the same conclusion. It's professionally made and well-acted, but what makes me deeply uneasy is that we don't seem to have changed much with our portrayal of the 'mental patient' as a dangerous and violent 'horror' figure. The fact that they are here 'seniors' makes it even more uncomfortable. Anyone who has ever dealt with schizophrenia or dementia in the family, friends, or professionally will be disappointed. The film ends with the real grandparents dead and forgotten, the 'crazy' old couple taken back to another 'psychiatric hospital,' and the police arriving with Mom like the US Cavalry. We don't need to think about why the couple are 'schizophrenic' or 'demented' - they've been 'caught' and therefore forgotten about. The director might think about this when he makes his next film - but don't expect miracles. The ever-present threat of the mentally ill to kill us all one day is shown, defeated, and neutralised - hence some of the reviewers saw this film as a 'comedy.' It's comedy without laughs.