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I Sell the Dead (2008)
A decent rainy-day movie
A priest is having the main character review his life of body snatching by telling various, otherwise unconnected, stories about his life of crime. This reminded me a LOT of some of the Hammer films where a group of unconnected stories are told by different people who just happen to be thrown together. Although the production quality of this film was light years ahead of the old Hammer movies, the "unconnected" feeling of the stories was the same.
I actually watched this because I've been a Ron Perlman fan since "Quest for Fire", but Ron basically had just a walk on part (he's the priest). This was Dominic and Larry's film, and it looks like they had a lot of fun making it. Not exactly a riveting movie, but good for a lazy Saturday viewing if you have popcorn handy.
The Spanish Sword (1962)
What a waste of celluloid
I happen to like swash & buckle movies, the more trite, the better. I even like melodramas, complete with Snidely Whiplash and a dashing Hero. But this movie was too much, even for me. Cheaply made, the producer obviously cut corners everywhere: the writing is not just weak, it's watery. The direction is practically non-existent, the camera-work could have been done by a mannequin, and I've seen better acting in Community Theater. One of the Little Rascals plays would have been more interesting to watch.
I have to admit that I didn't make it all the way through the movie. Even though I have chronic insomnia, I fell asleep in the middle of the climatic fight scene. So I guess it was good for something, after all...
District 9 (2009)
Slow start but worth the slog
Last week I picked up this DVD because I never got around to catching this movie while it was at the theaters, and I'd read that it was worth watching. Plus, it was being pushed by Peter Jackson ("Lord of the Rings"), so I had high hopes for it. The trailers didn't give away much, but did sort of give you a clue what the story line was, so I had an idea what I was going to see when I popped the DVD into the player.
And I was wrong on all counts. The story was nothing like I thought it would be, and the beginning was a let-down. The movie started off very slow, and, except for the computer-generated aliens, looked like it was made by a couple of kids using their parent's home movie camcorder. I knew that it was a low budget flick, but the write-ups had said the director achieved great things on very little money. After ten minutes I was just about to turn it off, when a little voice inside said "Give it a chance." So I did.
After another five or ten minutes, I noticed that I was becoming interested in spite of myself. The next time I noticed anything, the final credits were rolling. No, I didn't fall asleep, I was simply that riveted to the TV screen. I'm not sure if I breathed during the last thirty minutes.
Now, first off, this is a very violent and gory movie, and definitely not for everyone. But the story it told has stayed with me. I keep thinking about it - not about the gore or the special effects, but about what the writer was trying to say. You see, the movie was filmed in South Africa by South Africans. And the story is all about how people in power tend to marginalize people that aren't. That covers not only apartheid, but so very much more.
The story is about how some aliens got stranded here when their giant spaceship broke down. They "landed" just outside Johannesburg, so the local authorities gave them a small plot of land (district 9) to stay on until they died out. Unfortunately, they multiplied instead. Inside this reservation, makeshift shanties sprang up (i.e., a slum), and enterprising humans figured out a way to make a buck off the situation. For example, they sell addictive substances (in this case, cat food) to the aliens, in exchange for alien gadgets that no one can figure out how to work. They also introduce prostitution, infanticide, and other lovely concepts. As the film opens, almost thirty years have passed, and the government has decided the alien problem is too visible where they are, and besides, it needs that land back. So they're going to forcibly move the aliens to another spot of land, far away from the city. Only not everyone wants to go.
BTW: The disgusting slum in the film was a real slum just outside Johannesburg. A slum left behind when the powers-that-be decided to forcibly move a large population of second-class citizens to a new location, far away from the city. Looks like some things never change...
Sherlock Holmes und das Halsband des Todes (1962)
To call this movie bad is an insult to bad things
First off, I am a big Holmes fan, and have been for over half a century. I grew up reading the canon, and I saw the TV series in the 50's as well as the more recent one with Mr. Brett. I've seen almost every Holmes movie ever made. My only regret is not having seen the stage production with William Gillette performed around the turn of the century (the 19th), although I have seen the silent movie made from the play in 1920.
Based on all that, I think I have a pretty good tolerance for the vastly differing styles that Sherlock Holmes can come in. I enjoyed the humorous takes that have been filmed ("Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother", "Without a Clue", and "The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes"). I even managed to watch "The Seven-per-cent Solution" twice. However, I was bored out of my skull by this movie. I actually had to get up and walk around to stay awake, just to be able to say I watched it all. Now I wished I hadn't.
Barney Miller: The Desk (1979)
Best show of the series
This is my favorite episode of the series because of outstanding performances by Jeff Corey and Don Calfa. Although both actors have worked steadily in television and movies throughout their careers, I had never paid a lot of attention to them until I saw "The Desk". After seeing this show, I made it a point to watch for either actor in everything I viewed. The acting is that strong.
Don Calfa had previously played a re-occurring criminal character on the show. In this episode, a judge had ordered him lobotomized to cure his social dysfunction. Unfortunately, although the operation left him a barely-functioning idiot, he still tried to commit crimes. Jeff's performance as a brain-dead, ex-master criminal is worth watching all by itself. It reminds me of some of Tim Conway's best stuff.
Jeff Corey plays an Amish farmer who comes to town to buy equipment and gets mugged. He had to walk around until he found a police station, since he couldn't use a phone or a taxi. Then, after filing a report, he has to wait at the station until he can find a way to get word "home" so that someone could come get him. This gives his character the opportunity to interact with the regular cast. Jeff's characters often get to give a good rant, and this episode is no exception. At the end, Jeff takes the Don Calfa character home with him, after giving a very succinct critique of our society that is a thing of beauty to watch.
Kung Fu: The Cenotaph: Part I (1974)
This two-parter is my favorite episode
Caine is befriended by a crazy mountain man named McBurney. McBurney is haunted by a lady from his past, and Caine is haunted by the ghost of his first love. The episode becomes a journey-story that ends when they symbolically bury their ghosts. By this point in the series, Caine has been feeling like he's lost his way. At one point he tells McBurney that he's searching for the Tao. McBurney laughs and tells Caine that he's heading in the wrong direction - Taos is in New Mexico! In an excellent bit of acting, Stefan Gierasch plays two roles: the Scottish giant McBurney & the much smaller Chinese warlord Kai Tong, who Caine, as a young monk fresh out of the temple, fights for the love of a woman. The story centers around the idea of forgiving yourself and learning when to let go of the past.
Cube 2: Hypercube (2002)
Cube 2 is just Cube with better graphics
First off: I actually enjoyed this movie. Not as much as "Cube", but I do like it. It probably helps that I saw "Cube 2" before I saw "Cube", but I occasionally re-watch "Cube 2" on cable if nothing else is on. But I do have a problem: "Cube 2" and "Cube" are the same movie. The only difference is the ending, and that is slight. Even the characters are the same (cop, mental patient, mathematician, someone who worked on the project, etc) - they just have different names.
I'm always surprised that so few people notice when a script is reused. For example, if you've seen "Evil Dead" and "Evil Dead 2", it's pretty obvious that "2" is just the first script redone with a bigger budget. Same thing here. "Cube" was done on a small budget and caught on, so they decided to redo it by spending more money. Too bad they didn't spend it on a new script.
Personally, I'm in total agreement with the folks that have stated there shouldn't have been a sequel. "Cube" just didn't need it.
Danger Mouse (1981)
Kids may laugh, but adults will roar
This is, in my humble opinion, the best cartoon series I've ever watched - and I've watched a lot of cartoons. My favorites used to be the classic, late forties and early fifties Warner Brother cartoons, but the first time I saw Danger Mouse, I knew that I'd found a new favorite. As a Bond movie fanatic, I wasn't offended that a cartoon was spoofing the genre. (The fact that it spoofs the James Bond series is not a spoiler, since that's obvious from the cover. The fact that, if anything, it's better than some of the Bond movies shouldn't come as a surprise, either.)
I loved the theme song, the premise, the characters, the "pow/zowie" graphics, in short, everything about this series. In fact, when I moved to an area that didn't show it, I had a friend tape it for me and mail me the cartoons. I have literally worn out my VHS tapes of the original broadcasts, so you can imagine how happy I am that it's finally available commercially. In my eyes, this is not only a "must see" - this is a "must have."
Pinky and the Brain (1995)
Great fun for adults - less so for children
One of the great things about classic Warner Brother's cartoons is that they work on many levels. Children, adolescents, and adults will all find things that are very funny. Unfortunately, the same can't be said of "Pinky and the Brain." While I love the series, it just doesn't have the same multi-level impact. I get the feeling that it's trying to be humorous, which is not the same thing as funny, and it makes a lot of adult references so that you can feel "in" on the jokes, but all it offers children is bathroom humor and slapstick. Don't get me wrong - I love both, but there could have been more. This series just tries too hard.