Change Your Image
dorp-2
Reviews
Police Story: Little Boy Lost (1975)
Best. police Story Episode of all?
I loved Police Story when it aired and it sickens me that it is no longer in general circulation due to legal issues. It had great acting, rich, believable stories and showed the good and sometimes bad of police life in LA where I lived and worked for 30 years. Little Boy Lost was a powerful episode that has stayed with me since it aired due to its tragic story line and a powerful performance by the late Robert Forster, a gifted character actor. Everyone should watch this episode to understand the level of effort and heartbreak police officers often experience.
Pieces of Her (2022)
It could have been so much more
This 8 part series started out as a promising thriller, but dragged on into a hard to believe family oriented mystery with Patty Hearst/SLA overtones. The acting and casting were fine, but there were many holes in the plot and many unanswered questions about events that occurred over time. My wife and I were constantly screaming at either Toni Collette's character's actions or those of her 30 year old immature daughter. LOL. We wish it had been a more believable script with more empathetic characters.
Non uccidere (2015)
An entertaining Italian police procedural
My wife and I watched all 4 seasons (48 episodes) and we both thoroughly enjoyed the series which is usual as we often don't like the same shows. It had interesting murder plots in most all episodes mixed with an ongoing family related mystery theme that weaved through all four seasons. The cast and acting was decent and the Turin area scenery was scenic and interesting. While there was a lot of in-office romantic nonsense among the key players, as well as questionable procedural practices at times, the cast and plots kept things moving for us both. My wife liked the romantic stuff more than me and I enjoyed the many attractive Italian women who appeared throughout. The final episode was a bit of a disappointment to us both and we wondered what the writers and producers were thinking with a series wrap like that. Two thumbs up anyway.
Rocco Schiavone (2016)
Enjoyable and entertaining series
My wife and I loved the series. Like many series, it got better as it matured over its 3 seasons. It wasn't overly violent compared with many US cop shows and had humor throughout just like the somewhat similar Montalbano. The Aosta scenery was often beautiful and we enjoyed seeing the various locales used. Our main complaint was that Rocco smoked constantly.
Perry Mason (2020)
Disappointed in Series Structure and Film Style
To makeover esteemed lawyer Perry Mason a poor shamus is bad enough, but the darkly filmed (fake noir), predictable story line added to the mess. Q: How many broke, unshaven, drunkingly irresponsible private eyes has Hollywood already produced? A: Way too many. HBO should have taken its participation money and put it into another classy True Detective season. Those at least had original story lines, fine casting and a degree of story unpredictability. I'll stick to Raymond Burr and company for my Perry Mason fix thank you very much.
The Great Adventure: Rodger Young (1964)
Why do I remember this episode?
I was a senior in HS when the episode Rodger Young aired starring James MacArthur on the series The Great Adventure. I remember little about the entire TV series, but this episode about Medal of Honor recipient Young has stuck with me since then. In my humble opinion, today's TV producers would do well to produce quality factual shows about American history and heroes from all walks of life instead of all the violent, meaningless junk now being aired. America's youth could use the education.
Citizen Soldier (1956)
Interesting B&W WWII ETO series
I vaguely recall this brief series since I was about 10 or 11 when it aired. I was really into WWII stuff due to my veteran dad and uncles, and Revell model kits. I believe it was filmed in Germany using post-WWII era tanks (like the M-48 Patton) for both the US and Germans with applicable markings. (Kids into armor could spot obvious inconsistencies like that). I suspect the US Army cooperated with the filming by, perhaps, providing the tanks and some German-based US troops as extras. The series recreated various ETO battles in a small scale unit environment. I believe each story focused on one or more US Army heroes and medal recipients, generally draftees or National Guardsmen called to fight, thus the series title. I enjoyed watching it at that age and it was typical of low budget 1950s era B&W TV series of the time.
Perry Mason: The Case of the Cowardly Lion (1961)
Kona Kai on Shelter Is. Location Question
This 1961 episode included San Diego location shots of the zoo, a downtown street scene at Ash and Seventh (showing the Security Pacific National Bank building in the shot where my wife worked in the 70s). Perry and company were staying at the Kona Kai hotel or resort along the Bay. According to my research, the Kona Kai resort on Shelter Is. wasn't built until 1964 (and it recently underwent a major upgrade in 2017 or so). Does anyone know if there was a different Kona Kai hotel resort in 1961 when the episode was filmed. Was it were the existing one on Shelter Is. is now? Thanks.
No Country for Old Men (2007)
Very entertaining movie, but sometimes confusing.....
For example: When Tommy Lee Jones (TLJ) is talking to that old El Paso sheriff, the sheriff mentions how it was strange that Chigurh had returned to a sealed off crime scene where a hotel clerk had been killed and that Chigurh had then killed a retired Army Colonel. What was that in reference to? I know there was an earlier scene where a hotel clerk was killed, but there was nothing about a later visit to that hotel or the killing of someone else there, let alone a Colonel. Also, when TLJ then returns to the El Paso motel that night, it appears that Chigurh may be hiding behind the room door (TLJ thinks he is). I took it that the Coen's wanted to give that impression for dramatic purposes, but that he was actually standing outside the motel in the dark just watching TLJ make his entry so that he could escape unnoticed with the money (I think the book has him watching TLJ's character from his car). Finally, the El Paso motel a/c vent that presumably held the hidden money that Chigurh found was so damn small that it wouldn't have held much of the stash, let alone the case that Josh Brolin's character was hauling it around in. That shot of the tiny a/c vent really blew it in my view. Despite some flaws, the movie was excellent. I didn't even mind the unresolved ending since it is more likely the reality of such situations.