Reviews
Homicide: Life on the Street: Thrill of the Kill (1995)
Key Word for this Episode: DEPARTURE (*Spoiler Maybe*)
I loved this episode. It was clearly a departure from the format of the series.
During the run of this series I only caught snippets of it. It intrigued me so much that when I retired, I purchased the entire series in boxed sets from Ebay, and I couldn't be happier.
While this episode might not "stack up" to the gritty, urban "Homicide" format, it certainly does stand out on it's own due to it's storytelling style.
Tuning in to this episode, you follow the criminal rather than the friendly detectives, and with the ethereal music, we don't realize it's "Homicide--Life on the Street" until the theme starts.
I agree, the guest star's performance did, indeed, carry the show. (Directed by Tim Hunter.)
My only complaint was that Detectives Tim Bayliss and Frank Pembleton were identically dressed in plaid shirts and ball caps as truckers, whereas a better disguise for Frank would have been a dread lock or jerry-curl wig. But the gas attendant's salute to urban legend, and the surprise ending totally redeem the episode for any of it's faults.
I even own Season 7, but watch it far less than Seasons 1 - 6.
Insidious (2010)
A lot of great ideas and effects spoiled by a dumb ending.
The first time I watched this, the phone rang and I had to turn it off. I watched it again 2 months later, and was frightfully disappointed by the way the movie falls apart after the character of Elise Rainier is engineering the journey into the Further. I was so in love with this movie until it decided to play Halloween Costume Party with all it's demonic extras.
Seriously, this was a great premise for a movie: a little boy haunted by supernatural forces; fine actors, a great supporting cast, very homey set design and smart cinematography. Why did they have to ruin it with a "Boo" ending?
At least in Stanley Kubrick's "The Shining," (1980) it was evident at the end that Jack Torrance got swallowed up into the Overlook Hotel's ghost population. You don't even understand what happens in the ending of this film, unless you want to go to Wikipedia and rely on someone else's "Cribb note" observations.
Sadly, this is what most people do when they sit through a movie and end up asking, "What the heck happened?" Too bad we can't hire a professional editing team to re-cut the movie so it makes a little more sense.
We're No Angels (1955)
Poorest excuse for a movie I've ever tried to watch.
I wasn't alive back in 1955, but upon seeing this film at my birth, I might have re-entered the womb. I was hopelessly disappointed by this silly, asinine plot, which Humphrey Bogart seems to saunter through as if imitating a tipsy Frank Sinatra.
The characters' actions are not realistic: not even in my wildest imagination could I have believed that these 3 lummoxes were even on "Devil's Island." This movie can't even copy the antics of the Marx Brothers or the classic slapstick of "the Three Stooges," so why it tried, I'll never know. The trio of actors lopes and shuffles through each turn of events as if they were all on their day off. I saw no drama, suspense or comedy.
This dud of a movie should be erased from cinematic history. --A lifeless, boring, pale, pastel bore of a film. I give only one star to be shared by all the actors who got paid less than the three main principals.
Joe and Sons (1975)
What a great show!
This was a simple, yet funny show because it was both earthy and innocent at once. My favorite episodes were (1) Joe and Gus trying to hide what they thought was Bobby's marijuana plant, and Jerry Stiller trying to hide it by eating it; or (2) the one where Nick was wetting the bed. But the best moment on screen was when Aunt Josephine wanted them to tell that they loved her, and Joe couldn't say it. But when Nick lovingly said "I love you, Aunt Josephine!" She said "Thank you Nick--here's 5 dollars!" Joe piped right up and forced out, "I...love...you...Aunt Josephine." Maybe you had to be there. Too bad it only lasted a short time. (btw Jimmy Baio was Scott Baio of Happy Days' cousin, right?)
Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992)
"Gremlin" (which should be in trivia)
I may be way off base on this, but when the McAllisters' car pulls into that Miami Seafood Restaurant parking lot in the pouring rain, there appears to be one single vehicle there. It's a AMC Gremlin, one of the compact models from the 70's. I'll bet this was there as a tribute to Chris Columbus's first movie he directed, "Gremlins." Any comments? I was hoping for something new after the first Home Alone, which all my friends begged me to go see, and my reaction to it was "Uhhh, "The 3 Stooges" were funnier and I can watch them for free on TV." (I thought it would have been more realistic and still funny if the bandits were actually menacing.)
Altho I fully respect Macauley Culkin, this movie bored me to tears.
Dahmer (2002)
This movie started out stylish, but shifted too many gears.
Maybe I should reserve judgement, I haven't finished watching it, but there're only 24 minutes left, and I can't help commenting. This film started out very stylish, catching my eye on many facets of Jeffrey Dahmer's life as a human being, before he morphed into "an enemy of the people." But midway through his bar-hopping chapter, the movie shifts gears again and again, becoming a different kind of story-telling machine: one that seems to slow down the progress of the real life account of probably the most gruesome killer in the U.S. news. True, this movie satisfied my late-night curiosity about serial killers, but I can't recommend it, except for maybe that wintery night when you're snowed in.
Bad Ronald (1974)
For a TV movie, I was impressed with its concise storyline.
Saw it when I was about 12, and was enchanted since I was just like him, and although I loved the movie, I noticed the promo was a bit campy. I'm prejudiced because I found Scott Jacoby VERY attractive. You see, he falls for a really hot babe who rebuffs him, and he "accidentally" does her in when her head hits a rock, so it's not premeditated. Anyway, I thought 'How could this really sexy chick ditch this totally dreamy dude unless she was a ditz?' Then, it was cool how Ronald's Mom stuck up for him. After she dies, he has no choice but to remain hidden, and the dream world he gets lost in is his own "Atranda," which he creates with his colored markers, and eventually invites a new girl into. (It's like he haunts his OWN house.) Too bad society wins in the end. I identified with Ronald, and I delved deeper into my artwork whenever dream girls dissed me. I hope others find a similar outlet. Cheers!