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MichaelFab
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Quincy M.E.: Never a Child (1979)
Weak attempt to show teenage runaways and the streets of Hollywood may have been effective back in 1979.
The old story of kids who run away from home and take a bus to LA is as cliché as it gets.
They show a bus station with strange characters. A young girl gets off a bus and walks around aimlessly, attracting the eyes of perverts and shady men. (It's young Melora Hardin from The Office.)
But the streets are fake studio sets, it's so pretentious it's not scary.
Good law enforcement would know how to track down pornographic filmmakers and where the films are produced. Back then they needed a small studio.
This could happen anywhere, in any city. The old stereotype that Hollywood is a bad, sleazy place, where you get off a bus and step into prostitution and drugs doesn't happen the way TV shows depict. This could be any city, big or small.
It appears she knows the man at the station and that it was pre-arranged for them to meet but they didn't explain that.
The other girl happens to be at the bus station, goes to a pay phone, calls the woman from public housing to report the man, then runs. Instead of going to the ticket counter or running into the city where there are police cars, she runs up a stairway to a roof where she is cornered and pushed off.
The only convincing part of this story is the conflict of city government refusing to fund public housing and shelter for transients because of policies and laws.
The Substance (2024)
Dark, surreal shocker begins unique and exciting, but story loses focus and later goes all over the place.
The Substance is unique, very intense surreal story of human transformation based in modern Los Angeles. It's like a cross between David Cronenberg and Michael Crichton, with the prosthetics of Alien. A very interesting and powerful story for the first half. Very well made, it has a lot going for it: set designs like Stanley Kubrick, Academy level performance by Demi Moore, sound, editing, quirky characters. It switches back and forth between the sleazy Hollywood show business world, and a hallucinatory tread out of the studios into dark passages.
Unfortunately, the second half takes a detour from the initial story idea and turns into a dark comedy. After the twin persona violates the terms of the plan and misuses the chemicals to make her starring appearance, she turns into an over-bloated hybrid of both characters. The rest focuses on her parasitic zombie attending a star-studded event, long blood-bath scenes drenching the entire studio and a silly, unsatisfying ending.
The Substance is a very well-made shocker, a definite see for sci fi-paranormal fans. But personally I'd have rather the ending follow the story's premise and have two personalities morph back into one, using the same theatrics, effects, and dark humor.
Columbo: The Most Crucial Game (1972)
The Most Contrived Columbo Episode
I'm a huge Columbo fan; seen every episode 4 or 5 times. This is by far the most contrived episode with deliberate and convenient story elements.
Most Columbo's have a relationship at the start that is broken. One person tries to expose or blackmail the other, giving a motive for murder.
From the first scene, Bob Culp has already decided to murder Stockwell and is very hostile. We don't know why, except he's a spoiled, lazy son of a sports team owner Culp works for. There is not much story development. Culp is so confrontational, he gives himself away.
Also implausible, Columbo goes to the murder scene but sits in his car listening to the game. He doesn't want to be there, he tells us, it's Sunday afternoon, he'd rather be home watching the game. So why is he there? Was he sent there, did he hear the radio call and go there?
All the cops there say it's an accident; the guy hit his head diving in the pool. For some inexplicable reason, Columbo thhinks the water on the patio does not match the water in the pool.
He touches the water on the patio, smells it, then does the same with the pool water. He suddenly decides it's a murder and orders all the cops to get a forensic team there. Come On.
Columbo is a brilliant case solver, but doesn't have superhuman powers. There's no way anyone could jump to that conclusion.
L. A. County has nearly 10 million people. If a detective arrived at the scene of every death and decided each one was a murder by their remarkable senses, that would be preposterous.
Tell Me a Story (2018)
Dull, Recycled Garbage. No Wonder It Was Cancelled. A Bad Soap Opera.
TV Producers seem to think a "thriller" is a bad soap opera where men are all evil psychopaths.
There is nothing remotely interesting or imaginative about this series. The men are all sick, sociopathic pigs, preying on innocent women.
There's the young country western singer, straight out of the series Nashville. She barely escapes an attempt on her life like a 70's NY mob hit, leaving her disfigured.
We spend the rest of the show dealing with her self pity.
A woman engaged to a serial killer who senses something wrong. He attacks and abducts a girl in his basement, chains her to the bed.
Another lowlife hits on a woman written out of her father's estate. He shows up uninvited to her place. She tells him to leave, but after he gives her a necklace,
she invites him in and sleeps with him. Her mother and brothers threaten her because she suspects the secret of her father's death. It is beyond comprehension why she is attracted to him, the chemistry is phony and pretentious.
A shy, socially awkward nerd asks the singer's assistant out, gets her drunk, to get to the singer he's stalking, and nearly kills her.
Eka Darville is the only solid character, the singer's bodyguard, who himself is hiding a secret. He was a former cop mixed up in an Internal Affairs report. So what.
Great actress Garcelle Beauvais is used in this garbage for a shallow, worthless role.
Law & Order: Criminal Intent: Blind Spot (2006)
Excellent, complex story. Enhanced by Glover and Plimpton characters.
Almost 18 years later now, watching this for the third time, it all makes sense. I often complain if movies or programs are too obvious and reveal too much. But I also complain if they are ambiguous or complicated.
Criminal Intent's complex mysteries require a second viewing, when all of the details come together and then it is rewarding. The plot is always right there in the middle of all the entangled dialogue.
When I first saw this in 2006 I did not understand Goren's final conversation with Martha Plimpton, then the show ends. I probably have short attention-span. Watching it again, listening to every word they say, how it starts friendly but turns inquisitive and then into a subtle admission is brilliant writing and acting.
Rainbow Bridge (1972)
One of the worst Documentaries ever made, of a pointless, meaningless event.
For those of you curious what "Rainbow Bridge" was, I was too. After finally learning it was the most ill-conceived, disoriented festival, I advise you to use your time watching better documentaries of more significant events.
In the 80's I saw a Hendrix album "Rainbow Bridge-Original Motion Picture Soundtrack," at the record store and wonder why I had not heard of it. Before internet, it took years to find out the album was a scam. It did not contain any of his performances there. It has unreleased tracks for his Cry Of Love album. They were released in 1997 as First Rays of the New Rising Sun, but it's not a soundtrack.
In the 90's I spotted a VHS of Rainbow Bridge at a video store and eagerly brought it home, only to waste 2 hours and end years of wondering what it was. It is simply one of the worst documentaries ever made of a badly conceived, disorganized, incomprehensible waste of time, especially Jimi's.
My understanding is, in 1970 industry people Michael Jeffery & Chuck Wein talked Warner Bros. Into making a film combining the hippie-freedom-peace movement with the Hawaiian surfing culture, having Hendrix provide the music and perform at it.
They recruited Warhol actress Pat Hartley to walk around aimlessly, carelessly asking people their feelings of the world today before boarding a plane to Hawaii for the culmination of this unintelligible gathering.
Then you watch over 1 hour of stoned young people, wasted out of their minds, talking meaningless chatter they probably didn't remember the next day. Even a drunk Jimi Hendrix himself shows up in an attic, talking insensibly with some of these aspiring shamans.
The final and only redeeming part of this had musical guests Hendrix, Cox and Mitchell trio performing on stage. It is a short portion of edited song clips, sync'ed over the film. Apparently, the recording was so bad with noise, it was not used in the film.
Rainbow Bridge is one of the worst documentaries ever made. It was horribly filmed, with no direction or purpose, as was the entire half-baked idea.
On a positive note, Eddie Kramer and a staff of technicians, restored most of the audio and in Nov 2020 released Hendrix Live in Maui. The performance is great. As a Hendrix fan, I encourage you to instead enjoy this CD and First Rays of the New Rising Sun.
Music, Money, Madness... Jimi Hendrix in Maui (2020)
Boring look at the worst Documentary ever of a pointless, meaningless event.
For those of you curious what "Rainbow Bridge" was, I was too. After learning it was the most ill-conceived, incoherent project, I advise you to use your time watching better documentaries of more significant events.
I used to see a Hendrix album "Rainbow Bridge-Original Motion Picture Soundtrack," and wondered what it was. Before internet, it took years to find out the album was a scam. It did not contain any performances from the event. It has unreleased tracks for his Cry Of Love album. They were released in 1997 as First Rays of the New Rising Sun, but it's not a soundtrack.
In the 90's I spotted a VHS of Rainbow Bridge at a video store and eagerly brought it home, only to waste 2 hours and end years of wondering. It is simply one of the worst documentaries ever made of a badly conceived, disorganized, incomprehensible waste of time, especially Jimi's.
My understanding is, in 1970 a few industry people Michael Jeffery & Chuck Wein talked Warner Bros. Into making a film combining the hippie-peace movement with the Hawaiian surfing culture, having Hendrix provide the music and perform at it.
They recruited Warhol actress Pat Hartley to walk around aimlessly, asking people their feelings of the world today before boarding a plane to Hawaii for the culmination of this unintelligible gathering.
Then you watch 90 minutes of stoned young people, wasted out of their minds, talking meaningless chatter they probably didn't remember the next day. Even a drunk Jimi Hendrix himself, shows up in an attic talking insensibly with several of these aspiring shamans.
The final and only redeeming part of this whole thing, had musical guests Hendrix, Cox and Mitchell trio performing on stage. It's a portion of edited song clips sync'ed over the film. Apparently, the recording had so much noise, it was not used in the film.
Rainbow Bridge is one of the worst documentaries ever made. It was horribly filmed, with no direction or purpose, as was the entire half-baked idea.
On a positive note, Eddie Kramer and a staff of technicians restored most of the audio and in Nov 2020 released Hendrix Live in Maui. The performance is great. I encourage you to instead enjoy this CD and First Rays of the New Rising Sun.
Dateline: Behind the Closet Door (2023)
Very Confused, Disconnected Episode. Missing Story Parts.
Looks like they had to edit this together quickly to make a deadline without any continuity or comprehensive story.
Andrea's son Kevin suddenly does a 180° turn and now believes Chris is guilty. The first hour he supported Chris being innocent. Why? Kevin even said "If Chris is involved then I don't understand the motive."
Is Chris guilty or so susceptible, he will confess to anything? He pauses during questioning, allows himself to be approached and constantly interrogated. He has no confidence or self-defense.
He should have hired a lawyer long ago when cops kept accusing him. Why does he give in and keep talking to strangers coming to his house instead of telling them to leave?
Why are the police so friendly to a serial killer? I realize they want information, but they are so nice to this brutal, sadistic pig, it's sickening. After they were so aggressive to Chris.
Josh Mankiewicz should have explained to viewers:
1. How vulnerable and weak Chris is so we understand his behavior.
2. What caused the stepson to change and suspect Chris.
Mankiewicz should have given us a hint or a clue of what happened. This episode is so convoluted and the story unsupported, even the juror was confused and that led to their verdict.
Law & Order: Second Chance (2023)
Disappointing Episode For Me, A Real Cop-Out
I'm not an lawyer, but they never investigated the defendant's background or psychosis. They never interviewed his friends, neighbors, teachers, etc., maybe to find find if he had anger or rage. They didn't require a psych evaluation.
So we get an empty episode where a rich kid vandalizes a man's business, bludgeons him to death and claims not guilty by reason of a "marijuana psychotic episode." - "The weed made me do it."
Ironic how Price, usually the emotionally obsessed lawyer hell-bent on conviction, just gives up on this case. He shows no empathy, turns against Samantha, has no desire to inquire into why the defendant committed murder.
But hey, it's just a TV show.
The Hillside Strangler (2021)
Episode 3 Ruins The Entire Series, Very Confused Production
This could easily have been 2 episodes or one 2-hour documentary.
Episode 1 and 2 were good, but episode 3 ruins the entire program (in my opinion.)
I'm not sure the logic or mindset of the producers, but episode 3 completely ruined the program by giving us a third hour of confused, jumbled, contradicting interview clips, one after another.
I've never seen a more disarranged collection of conflicting, contradicting clips of people going both ways on the truth and involvement of Bianchi's abetting cousin and accessory Angelo Buono.
From the beginning of episode 3, they give us an hour of assembled, contradicting interviews
from Buono's attorneys, saying opposing things left and right. Buono's attorney says
"There's no evidence he was involved." Next, Bianchi's girlfriend describes Buono's home where he tortured and raped women, no doors on any rooms, including his bathrooms.
He's innocent. He's guilty. He's innocent. He's guilty. Innocent. Guilty. Every scene.
They give us Buono's defense lawyers saying he's innocent, followed by witnesses who testify Bianchi and Buono were in it together. Then annoying attorney turned Superior Court Judge Katherine Mader tells us there was no case supporting Buono's guilt. Next, clips of Bianchi's interrogation where he attests Buono planned most of the torture and killings.
The producers of Episode 3 seem as confused and disoriented as the killers themselves.
What is wrong with you people? Make up your mind.
Of course they should present both sides, but there should be a main theme to the program.
Not offense, defense, offense, defense, minute by minute like a soccer game.
But that's just my opinion.
Chicago P.D.: Let It Bleed (2022)
Once a Good Show, Now Desperate To Fill An Hour of TV.
A whole episode of their standard, procedural scenes to nab a small street dealer. There is good action, but at the end of the hour, what did they get?
They spend half the episode chasing a corner dealer "Enzo," hoping to make a deal with him and an obvious undercover cop. Even the dumbest petty criminal could tell it's a set-up. How many drug dealers look all buff, clean-cut and stand there the whole time not talking?
This Torres character is about as uninspired as a mannequin. It's like the casting agents went around to gyms to find a fit, clean-cut guy who can't act.
Q: If Enzio escaped, is hiding out in a house, knows he's being hunted, then why on earth would he start shooting out the window at a squad of cops?
A: To start another chase scene so they can take 5 minutes and go to a commercial break. A chase scene where a sluggish, overweight dealer is able to outrun a group of young, trained cops for 1 mile, then barricade himself again.
Then comes Hank Voight in shining armor, kicks the back door in and shoots him. Ending it off with his usual morale lecture to Hailey.
Ok, maybe they have to start with small criminals to work their way up to the bigger ones for the entire season. Until they reach the top drug lord for the season enders.
Quincy M.E.: On Dying High (1983)
A Young Kelly Preston and country great Roger Miller
Yet another silly TV take on the drug scene, at least the third time on this show Quincy. A series with so much knowledge of medicine and forensics but a dumb soap opera regarding the American culture.
The early seasons of Quincy had a real mystery style like Columbo (it was made by the same producers.) This episode was in the later, final seasons when it turned into a melodrama.
Whenever dealing with subjects like celebrities or drug abuse, the writers make characters absurd and ridiculous. They think "all musical artists and their fans are stupid addicts who promote drug use" so that's how they must act. Here again on Quincy you have the danger of drug use combined with imbecilic personalities.
Country singer Roger Miller and his band play for about 2 minutes then he spends the next ten telling his audience how cocaine and other drugs are a big part of his life and encouraging them. Which is probably true, but I doubt he spent half of his show telling everyone drug stories and acting like a dimwit.
Quincy and fiancee Emily are at the club to see Roger perform but are shocked everyone there is using drugs. Roger needs a "fix," so goes backstage with his manager to freebase. In her early appearance, Kelly Preston (using the surname Palzis) is Roger's adoring, idolizing fan who opens the door on him, causing an explosion that puts him in the hospital and ruins his singing career.
That scene happens so quickly, in just a few frames, that us viewers never know exactly what happened or why she keeps blaming herself.
Kelly plays the part of a stoned groupie well, but overplays it to the point of being ridiculous, staggering around like a buffoon, yet being an integral character. That was probably not her fault but likely the show's writer & producer insisting she act more silly & absurd, like a real music fan, right?
The F.B.I. Files: A Bitter End (2004)
Tragic, heart-rending finale to a capture leaves you mourning three innocent little girls.
Another story of bank robbers terrorizing people in three states. However this sad tale stands out from the others because this convict, locked in a hotel room with his family, surrounded by agents and distressed about returning to prison, panicked and decided to kill his family, then himself.
Could the FBI have handled the situation differently and perhaps saved the lives of three little girls and their young mother? Could they have instead waited until the suspect left his motel room and apprehended him outside, where he would not have hurt his family? I hope they have since reviewed the case and changed some of their their tactics.
Of course, it's easy for a viewer like me to watch a program and make comments years later in hindsight, but it makes you wonder.
Hannah (2017)
This is a real art film - lonely, desolate, subdued, yet unresolved.
A very subtle, evocative independent film, with an existential atmosphere recalling Ingmar Bergman's works.
It's a quiet, serene picture of beautifully composed scenes, creating an ambience of seclusion and isolation. We experience the lonely life of a woman who has been rejected by everyone in her life, except her only outlet, a theater group she is involved with.
Some, inexperienced with artistic films, may not appreciate its somber nature. And it's definitely not for those expecting a complete narrative. The film is one big question mark of what happened to her, left up to the viewer's interpretation.
Hannah is a homage to Charlotte Rampling, who should have received more nominations for this performance, and who I hope will receive an achievement award for her career.
Chicago Med: Born This Way (2018)
Missing one actor - Who played Mr. Thomas
Cast is missing one credit - the patient "Mr. Thomas."
If you know the actor, please update the credits.
He is a well-known actor, I was trying to look it up, but it's missing.
He's the older male patient who is suicidal because he confesses something.
Chicago P.D. (2014)
This Show Is Going Downhill Very Fast
Chicago PD started out as a gritty police drama like Homicide and Southland. But now two weeks in a row a few very badly-written, mindless scenes have ruined each episode and have me unsure if I will continue watching.
S5.E13 "Chasing Monsters" beautiful Sofía Lama plays a DEA agent who helps to take down a Salvadorian drug lord who killed her son. After sleeping with Dawson, she breaks protocol again by getting in a car with the gang leader. In a showdown, she has her gun at his head, surrounded by Police. She shoots the man, then for no plausible reason points her gun at the cops, getting killed by Dawson. I tried to figure out why on earth they did that, there was no point. Were they attempting to make it a tragedy, a cop sleeps with another, then has to kill her the next day?
Tonight in S5.E14 "Anthem", in a very lopsided move, Dawson (Jon Seda) blows his cover in a bar full of convicts to protect the daughter of an officer, but put himself at the barrels of several guns. The way it played out, an idiot move like that would have gotten him and the girl killed.
She did get shot, but survived. Then the cops shot all the bad guys dead, and all the cops walk away unharmed. It's the most formulaic TV cop show procedure since Dragnet 60 years ago.
This may sound harsh but sometimes I wonder if NBC writers and programming department have some mental or drug problem why they make such bonehead, ill-conceived decisions. Especially the programming dept for moving air-dates around and cancelling shows because they can't make up their minds about their schedule.
Last Flag Flying (2017)
Average Melodrama About Reunited Veterans Enjoyable For Cranston and Fishburne's Performances Over Carell's
Average soapy melodrama of three Veterans reuniting 30 years later is lifted by "Rick" Linklater and Darryl Ponicsan's writing and great performances by Bryan Cranston as a bar owner and Laurence Fishburne as a minister, more than main character Steve Carell.
Three former Vietnam servicemen meet 30 years later in 2003 when one of their sons is killed serving in Iraq. The three travel to Arlington and Delaware to see the body, destined for Boston. Carell's son, he is told, "died with honor serving his country."
As he mourns, his two friends learn what really happened from the soldier's best friend, a young marine escorting the body. He didn't die in battle. He was shot at a public market by a local when they went to buy soft drinks during their mission moving supplies for Iraqi schools.
After he demands to see his deceased son, he is so emotionally affected that the three decide to bring the body back home themselves, rather than let the military hold a funeral and burial.
This provides some mediocre humor in a few scenes with devious Cranston being the wild card, taking over the transportation, buying his friends their first cell phones and the three being chased by Homeland Security.
The story inspires us with the camaraderie of these three marines who survived to reminisce of their other close friend who did not. It shows the secrets of war and how our fallen heroes may have died through different circumstances than their families were told.
Such as their own friend killed in Vietnam while the other three were being irresponsible and not protecting each other. They visit his mother who thinks her son died saving them. As they sit on her couch they hide the truth. Should they reveal that her son's death may have been partly their fault or let her continue to believe what the government told her 30 years ago?
Forensic Files: Muffled Cries (2007)
Anybody understand Funk's meaningless "Jet Ski" remark?
Forensic Files is an excellent program, just like Dateline, 48 Hours. But sometimes there is a story that just gets under your skin, rubs you the wrong way. Like what possesses a creep like Jason Funk to suddenly for no reason, kill this young insurance adjuster who came to his house. And take away the daughter of 2 nice people. Some sudden, random, mental sickness, or psychotic rage?
Anyway, here's what I don't get. Funk told police he was not as his house when the murder happened. He said he was on a jet-ski on the river. Later he was convicted of murder.
But when interviewed for this program, at about 22 minutes in, right before the commercial break, Funk says:
"If I would have been home that day instead of out on my jet ski, who's to say I couldn't have prevented this whole thing from happening?"
Is he just talking nuts, and why did the producers use that senseless comment on their show? It only confuses the viewer.
He WAS home that day, NOT on his jet ski. And what did he mean "who's to say I couldn't have prevented this whole thing from happening?" What does that mean. He killed her! Why would experienced TV show producers include a senseless statement like that. Maybe to try to show the audience what a lunatic he is?
Those Who Kill (2014)
Mediocre Crime Drama With No Psychological Thrills or Twists
Sophomoric crime drama has no real psychological terror like True Detective or The Killing. Instead, it's a bland, mainstream procedural with sadistic male killers torturing women without an interesting plot behind it, like Criminal Minds.
I always liked Chloë Sevigny as a supporting actress. She has been in some great films and done a great job. But (just my opinion) I don't feel she is strong enough as the lead star of this show, with no suspenseful story lines & lightweight supporting actors. Like James Morrison as the obligatory Chief of Detectives who always disagrees and yells at her for no reason.
Making the DVD set even worse is the manufacturer did not put a chapter mark after the opening credits. So at the opening music/credits, you can't skip ahead to where the show begins. If you do, you'll jump ahead 12-15 minutes and miss the first act. Also, you can't skip over the "recap" or it will jump 15 min. in. Proving the DVD production is as mediocre as the show itself.
Criminal Minds (2005)
Pretentious, Unoriginal, Sadistic Formula
I officially stop watching this stupid show tonight after seeing the premise: beating people over the head, tying them to a car bumper & dragging their bodies on the road. I started watching this show 5 years ago because I like Joe Mantegna, but he's only in it for the paycheck. The early seasons had intriguing stories and chemistry among the cast. Now every single episode is about a sick, sadistic man (usually) who abducts people and cuts their body parts off, or tortures people to death because the writers can't think of anything else. In one episode, a killer gouges victims eyes out. Another, he cuts their ears off. Another, he cuts people's internal organs out.
The "team" look like a bunch of GQ models, simultaneously spouting out their textbook knowledge of Criminal Science, but not actually conversing or listening to each other. They all talk at the same time, and even finish each others's sentences. They act so intelligent, like they have Masters degrees in Criminal Justice & Forensic Science, but they don't get a speck of dirt on their designer clothes. It's so phony, it's ridiculous. I love dark, violent thrillers, but challenging, original stories that we care about, and characters who have conversations, not all talking together as if they know everything. I'm glad everyone else likes the show, but I can't take this same old formulaic, conceited nonsense anymore.
Crash! (1976)
Absurd, Tasteless Movie, Watchable For Car Chases, Unwatchable for Opening Scene
Of all the bad 1970's B-movies, this film has the most absurd & disturbing opening scene. It's such an unpleasant scene, I changed channels the first time it was on. Several months later, they ran it again, so I reluctantly watched the entire movie.
It opens with a couple on a road trip. You barely see a black sports car approaching from behind. Suddenly their van inexplicably just plunges off the road, and in an eerie slow-motion sequence, goes down a hill and crashes into the embankment, where it explodes into a massive fireball. It is such a distasteful and unsettling scene, it's impossible to sit through the rest of this trashy movie with the bad taste that scene left you with.
The rest is average B-grade trash, only worthy for some stupid action car scenes, and for Jose Ferrer, who makes it halfway watchable. The director filmed some good car chases and stunts. But he has no heart or soul presenting the rest of the story. The remainder of the movie plays with the same distasteful, unpleasant style as the opening scene, which regurgitates in your stomach. It's too bad because the story could have been intriguing or original, but comes off as nasty.
Jose Ferrer is an angry, bitter paraplegic who blames his wife (and her occult antiques) for the crash that left him paralyzed. It was that unknown car that caused the accident. She was not hurt, but he was left in a wheelchair. She deals in antique jewelry and acquires an ancient voodoo token. When she holds it in her hand, an unmanned black sports car speeds through the mountainsides by itself, running other cars off the road, causing crashes, and then speeding away with no driver.
While she's driving her convertible with the roof down, Ferrer send his trained dobermans to jump in and attack her, hoping she'll crash and die. Instead she survives in a coma, then recovers with amnesia and a lot of plastic surgery.
Since she has amnesia, he calls her to arrange an antiques sale. When she arrives, she doesn't remember the house, or the sauna (steam room) inside. There is one brief, frightening moment from Ferrer. As he shows her the house, he changes the subject from antiques to asking her if she remembers it. Then they get to the sauna, and an evil look comes over his face. He runs his wheelchair into her, pushing her inside, then locks her in and turns up the heat to melt her plastic surgery face, with some creepy 70's synthesizer sounds playing. Meanwhile her doctor suddenly realizes it was her husband who caused her accident and races against time to save her.
2 Broke Girls (2011)
Needs new musical parts between scenes
Bringing back the Odd Couple/Laverne & Shirley style show.
Decent sitcom is well-made & acted, but no different than every other CBS' half-hour show. This is really a showcase for Kat Dennings and Beth Behrs. They carry the entire show themselves. Denning is especially funny and shows a lot more comedic star power than her previous smaller roles.
What they should do is get more music. The exact same musical lick between every scene gets old. Hire an L.A. rock band and record several new rock licks for season two. Can't be that difficult as each musical part is only about 3 seconds. It would add some variety to the show.
Jennifer on My Mind (1971)
Curiously watchable but ultimately pointless, and by the end, absurd.
There's a paradox in some bad 70's drug movies that, in the end, what seemed fun turned out to be just a bad trip.
Antonioni failed with Zabriskie Point, which began with political conviction but turned into a pointless odyssey. The star of that movie was so identical to his character, he left Hollywood, joined a cult, robbed a bank and died in prison a few years after the film.
Then there was Richard Sarafian's 1971 film "Vanishing Point" with Barry Newman. Hell-bent on an unforgiving anti-establishment theme until the final confrontation where Kowalski, outnumbered and blockaded, refuses to surrender and pulls a Thelma and Louise, as to say "I'm going down and taking everybody with me."
Jennifer On My Mind could be described as an "enjoyable flop." The most disappointing thing is its potential, how it lures you in to the 1971 scene but goes nowhere.
It's an attractive film, well shot in some nice European and Long Island locations, with a hauntingly beautiful theme and a couple very good actors. Intelligent, interesting actors who, unfortunately have to walk through this journey with nothing to do in their life and nothing to tell us except they have all this money and are just going waste their lives.
With rival films like Easy Rider and The Panic In Needle Park, the characters knew they were in deep trouble, but they were helpless and desperate. They reached a point of no return, so we watched sadly, knowing it would end.
Jennifer On My Mind has a happy feeling. It could have been a romantic comedy. It doesn't have a sad or depressing vibe to it. Jennifer & Marcus are smart, upscale kids who could easily be in a graduate program at NYU. They smoke a little pot, but in the context of traveling the world and talking like civilized, educated adults, that's not even an issue. They are not street addicts in the slums, they are sophisticated, classy people.
There is no sign of drug addiction from them or their families. The movie just throws that in because that was the scene at the time. Marcus goes to a drug dealer to buy some hash for Jennifer's birthday. It's funny a scene with the dealer pulling an entire pharmacy out of his refrigerator.
Another hysterical scene follows, as Marcus, stumbling wasted through New York escapes a couple thugs following him, into a taxi driven by a very young up & coming Robert De Niro. In his 40+ year career, I've never seen De Niro as funny as in this brief 10-minute scene. He takes Marcus to Jennifer's house, where she is being entertained by two musicians. As Marcus approaches, they give her a shot of heroin. Are we supposed to presume and believe in the short time they separated, she became a junkie? There was no plot to suggest that.
She comes to visit him one day and it appears to be a happy reunion. But out of nowhere she begins screaming & freaking out. When he goes to check, she is cooking some heroin, then walks on top the wall of the deck, outside his high-rise apartment. This leads him to throw her in his car & take off. And in a final bizarre scene, some crazy motorists on the interstate decide to terrorize him & run him off the road. The movie literally crashes & burns.
I can imagine the Steppenwolf song "Snowblind Friend" playing in the background. The epitome of the drug generation, that song is a tale of an old friend who got in with a bad crowd, became an addict & slowly demised. It would have been a perfect addition.
Jennifer was played by a beautiful, smart, sexy actress named Tippy Walker, who had a short career, and quit acting after this film. Why? Turn on, tune in, and drop out, I guess.
The Pledge (2001)
People Who Don't Like This Movie May Not Understand the Influence Behind It
For most people, this may be just an average movie. But they might not understand the inspiration behind it.
I saw Sean Penn's first directorial The Indian Runner in 1991 and initially thought it was a slow, dull, lagging soap-opera. Back then I didn't know much about the art of film. Other movie watchers may not like this film The Pledge for similar reasons.
Then I watched an interview w/Sean Penn and he said his big influence was John Cassavetes, who had recently passed away. So I went back & watched some of Cassavetes' films again. His films were social dramas between friends, usually in New York, struggling with their own inner conflicts. After that, when I watch Sean Penn's first four films (as filmmaker) I can totally see Cassavetes all over his films, especially in this one. Never has his inspiration been so strong than in the way Nicholson struggles with his demons in this picture.
The scenes where Nicholson realizes what a mistake he made towards the end, and of him drinking himself to death, looking up in the sky, talking to himself in the closing (and opening) are priceless. I see Cassavetes' struggle of the human soul in those scenes, just like in the films he made, and in some of the characters he played. It really affects the way you see this film.
Never Let Me Go (2010)
Nice Looking Film Doesn't Know What It's About
Beautifully made with a suitable cast, this film is lost within its themes, The story needs more development. The title evokes a romantic thought, but it is, however, a dystopian society in the English countryside, reminiscent of "Children of Men." Three childhood friends in a love triangle will grow up to face their fate in a world controlled by science.
Sally Hawkins, the only sign of humanity in their world, brushes the surface of explanation in her short appearance. She foretells her young students that soon their childhood will end and they will begin a life of donating their organs. So is this science fiction, a romantic drama, or are the characters just victims of medical science? If you're smarter than me, you figured out that they were lab experiments to begin with.
Carey Mulligan, who lost her adolescent love, is the only friend not tested on because she volunteered to work in this practice. She narrates the film adequately, but on camera all she does is pout and look gloomy, and that becomes annoying.
Andrew Garfield is the most interesting character, Tommy. Nervous and worried of his own mortality, he uses what energy he has left painting, hoping that his talent will "defer" experimentation and extend his life. Garfield is good when he underplays his role, like in Red Riding 1974.
Kiera Knightly, in a subdued performance, is the girlfriend who stole Andrew from Carey. Initially possessive towards Carey about him, she later becomes fragile after being used for medicine and reconciles to her.
Charlotte Rampling is nice to see, as the modest school headmaster, but her character is ineffective. I expected her to be sinister and evil.
Adam Kimmel's cinematography is exceptional. But what's missing is sympathy, fear and emotional loss because we don't understand what the film is supposed to be.