Media Notes: Roundup for June 2021

 

This is a somewhat random selection of the movies and series on DVD and/or online I watched during June 2021.

Movies and films (links to IMDB.com for basic information unless noted otherwise). Some of these I watched via TubiTv.com or other online source. The DVDs come from the public library (unless noted otherwise). In addition, I will try to add other trivia notes, such as when a film is based on a book adding the information about the book (at least the WorldCat record if available):

• Ghost Ship (2002. Horror.) Plot description: "A salvage crew discovers a long-lost 1962 passenger ship floating lifeless in a remote region of the Bering Sea, and soon notices that its long-dead inhabitants may still be on board." Film is fairly slow and atmospheric, a bit more on the atmosphere. While there are some jump scares, film tries to concentrate on suspense and giving those small oh not so subtle hints something is not right. Of course, once gold is found on the ship, greed becomes a factor as it often does in these films where you really should probably leave that gold there and just get off the ship. Once the ghosts start appearing, almost 2/3 into the film, you get some of the backstory, but the pace remains seriously slow. Then in the last 20 minutes or so we get the full story of what happened, and will the salvage crew be able to escape the cursed boat? By the way, the suspense at the end is way dragged. Why is it when people can push the button and blow things up to end things they feel a need to drag it? The movie could have ended a bit sooner, and it would have worked. However, extend things a bit they did, and the movie does end with the one woman that is usually the last survivor in horror film. By the way, a nice little twist at the very end. Overall, this was mostly OK for a "haunted house" story on an old cruise ship, so I'd say 2 out of 5 stars. Via TubiTv. On a side, I vaguely remember watching this before, probably around the time it came out. Not very memorable then, still not memorable now. Watched 6/18.
  
• The Collector (2009. Horror. Thriller). Plot description: "Desperate to repay his debt to his ex-wife, an ex-con plots a heist at his new employer's country home, unaware that a second criminal has also targeted the property, and rigged it with a series of deadly traps." I took a chance on this mainly because the plot sounded intriguing to me. The suspense starts pretty much right away once the burglary starts, and Arkin, the ex-con, realizes he is not alone in the house. Worse than that? Whoever is in there has rigged traps all over to prevent escape, and now he has to try to get out before he becomes the next victim. The movie combines the horror of a cat and mouse game as Arkin tries to escape the serial killer and the traps in the house with the horror of films like Saw where you have elaborate traps. The Collector here is ruthless, violent, and sadistic, and he has no obvious motive beyond the hints we get along the way. Once Arkin breaks into the house, the horror and tension do not let up until the very end. This is a scary film that keeps the horror going, with some gore along the way, up to the end of the film. For fans of films like Saw, at least the early ones in that series, this may be a good option. For me, this was a good surprise how good and tense it was. Overall, a very good horror thriller, so I'd give it 4 out of 5 stars. Via TubiTv. Watched 6/18.
• The Mechanic (1972. Action. Crime. Thriller). Plot description: "An aging hitman befriends a young man who wants to be a professional killer. Eventually it becomes clear that someone has betrayed them." This is the classic 1972 film starring Charles Bronson. For me, this is one of those movies I've always wanted to watch, and I am finally doing it this month. Right off, like the music at the opening, sets up a brooding and bit ominous mood. It is an action film, but it builds up gradually, in part to establish Mr. Bishop's character (Bronson). Contrary to what the trailer conveys, this is not just a big action and explosions film. It builds up gradually. We established Mr. Bishop's character, and then we go along as he takes Steve McKenna (Vincent) under his wing as apprentice. The film does have some action, for instance that motorcycle chase, but a lot of the strength is in the suspense and intrigue as Mr. Bishop strives to keep in balance and to the work in his methodical and careful way. Then we discover a betrayal. . . or two. I'll say the ending was quite good in this one. On a side note, some very nice houses in this movie. Overall, pretty good film, and I can see how it is a classic from the suspense to the cinematography and settings. 4.5 out of 5 stars. Via TubiTv. Watched 6/26.
• The Mechanik (2005. Action. Drama. Thriller. Also known as The Russian Specialist). Plot description: "A Russian special ops veteran living on the outside takes a job in Los Angeles that leads him back to the same men who killed his family."  Dolph Lundgren stars as the veteran. Turns out he also directed the film and wrote the story. In Russia, Nick Cherenko is a veteran of Afghanistan and a retired special forces (Spetnaz) operator. When a drug deal in his Russian village goes bad, his family is killed in a crossfire. He takes revenge on the killers, then escapes to Los Angeles and makes a living as auto mechanic, but soon he finds himself back in when he gets a chance to get the rest of the mobsters who killed his family after a widow hires him to bring back her daughter. He is reluctant but he goes. With help from a team also hired by the widow, he manages to rescue the daughter, but with the goons on their tail, their hope is to make it out of Russia to the Finnish border. There is a bit of action, but the film also has some pretty slow moments. So it goes back and forth between the action and the slow. It does have some nice scenery here and there as well. Overall, a fairly thin and somewhat predictable plot with some good moments. In the end, I'd say it was OK, so 2.5 out of 5 stars. Via TubiTv. Watched 6/26.
  

Television and other series (basic show information links via Wikipedia unless noted otherwise). Some of these come in DVD from the public library. Others may be via YouTube, which, as noted before, I keep finding all sorts of other old shows in it, often full episodes:

• C.O.P.S. (1988-1989. Animated series. Police. Action. Humor. Children and Young Adult).  See my comment on this in the May 2019 roundup. I've been watching this in and out. I start this month on episode 30 (out of 65) as I catch up on watching the series this month.  
• Midsomer Murders (1997 to present, still going. Mystery. Crime. Detective. British series). I commented on this series in the July 2020 roundup. Via TubiTv, which has up to Season 20. 
• Season 8, Episode 3: "Orchis Fatalis." Plot description: "Barnaby and Scott follow a trail of dead people involved in the collecting of rare orchids." Episode starts with a man and a woman walking in a Borneo jungle and finding the rare orchid. It is a very rare plant, which they pluck and then plan to smuggle into England in hopes of making a lot of money. Then we move to 12 months later from that event back in Midsomer County where there is an orchids competition. Soon we start to see the tension. Who knew orchid growers could get so competitive? Anyhow, soon we have someone murdered connected to the orchids and discover someone in the village is trafficking basically in rare orchids. Again, who knew? Soon others start dying, and all for a very fancy orchid. The case features a few turns, plenty of suspects all after that one orchid. 
• Season 8, Episode 4: "Bantling Boy." Plot description: "A four-member syndicate owns a racehorse that two of them are desperate to sell and two of them are determined to keep. When one of them is murdered, Barnaby is on the case." One of the co-owners is a total drunken asshole, so we all know right away who is getting murdered. Barnaby and Scott have to figure it if it was one of the remaining members of the syndicate, or someone else like the wife he would beat up. To complicate things, there seems to be some secret the members of the syndicate want to keep quiet. Soon other members start dying, and while there is an obvious suspect, the evidence is not there. So now the detectives need to hunker down to find who the real murderer is. 
• Season 8, Episode 5: "Second Sight." Plot description: "DCI Barnaby and Sgt. Scott investigate the death of John Ransom in the village of Midsomer Mere. He had just been ejected from a pub for fighting but the post mortem shows a series of burn marks on his skull indicating he may have been subject to electric shock." This is in a town where a lonely (Anglican) priest is trying to bring religion to a population that is mostly superstitious and/or pagan and many believe in things like second sight (ESP). Members of the Ransom family believe in ESP and do experiments seeking to validate it, including using a Faraday cage. So did John die from a pub fight, or from psychology experiments that may have included electric shocks? Or was it something else? Interesting in the episode there are enough little details that viewers may wonder if there really is ESP for some folks or some very serious insights and coincidences. Anyhow, the mystery builds up gradually as Barnaby and Scott get the connections together to find the real killer. 
• Season 8, Episode 6: "Hidden Depths." Plot description: "Troubled solicitor Nick Turner falls from the roof of his home, is this suicide disguised as murder?" We soon find Turner may have been embezzling from his own firm (or at least taking money from client accounts) while a rival lawyer and a washed up TV quiz show with secrets of their own may or not be involved in murder. Episode featured a quite original murder with a catapult. Soon the murder plot gets more complicated and Nick may not be as innocent as everyone thought. 
• Season 8, Episode 7: "Sauce for the Goose." Plot description: "When a corporate giant tries to acquire a small but respected relish factory owned and run by a dysfunctional family, a naked body is found in the warehouse." The "kids" who own the factory along with their mom, widow of the founder, are basically wastrels, except for one of them, who are now finding the family fortune is mostly gone, other than the factory and its assets, and want to sell the factory to get money out and keep on their wastrel ways. The one son wants to keep it in the family. Mom by now is starting to get senile, so the other children would like nothing better than to get her committed so they can sell. This is the context when the murder happens.  Turns out the naked body worked for the company wanting to buy the factory. Was he spying? Something else? Soon the plot thickens and old family secrets will emerge along with old hatreds. As often the case, the mystery is not as straightforward as it seems. By the way, that was one messed up family. It was a miracle that factory did not fall apart and go into bankruptcy.
  Season 8, Episode 8: "Midsomer Rhapsody." Plot description: "A retired music teacher is found battered to death." This is the last episode of season 8. The deceased may have had some papers, musical score, of some value connected to a famous composer who passed some time ago. The manuscript propels the investigation but the mystery remains who killed the musician. A lot of the mystery has to do with the manuscript, whether the composer did compose it by herself or had help, and affairs of the past. To be honest, this may not be one of the better episodes as it is a bit convoluted and for a while does not seem to go too far. It hinges on whether the manuscript is a fake, and the implications for the dead composer's estate, which still gets a lot of royalties from her music. Other fakes soon appear, which makes you wonder to be honest how authentic or not her life was. Then there is that shady drunken contractor. Some of this plot feels more complicated than it has to be. Even when Barnaby and Scott figure it out and explain it, it still is seriously convoluted. As I said, this is not one of the better episodes. 
• Season 9, Episode 1: "The House in the Woods." Plot description: A couple of house hunters are found dead after exploring a potential home that has a haunted reputation. "DCI Barnaby starts the investigation with the help of PC Ben Jones and they come across the world of estate agents, identical twins, ghosts, piano wire, and more before another body turns up." It starts with apparently a haunted house story and a very shady real estate agent, who is supposed to be selling said house but is not really making the effort. The owner of the property, a widower long retired living in London wants it sold quick for what he can get, and there is also a conservationist group interested in the old house. And now a murder. Barnaby and PC Jones have to figure out why the two seemingly innocent house hunters got killed there. What is clear is that there is a lot of interest in the old house, and that the realtor is indeed shady, running a scheme or two. The plot gets more complex, but finding out why the two house hunters were killed takes a good while in the episode to find out. In the end we learn it is a case of one twin framing the other for a crime as well as hoping to sell the house, which is not his. Took a while for things to fall into place, but interesting once they did. On a quick note, starting in Season 9, PC Ben Jones will become Barnaby's assistant (Barnaby mentions at beginning of this episode that DS Scott had called in sick; however, the character never returns, and it is not really addressed, which allows PC Jones to take the spot). 
• Season 9, Episode 2: "Dead Letters." Plot description: "Villagers of Midsomer Barton are all set to celebrate Oak Apple Week, especially as the carnival queen event is set to return after an eight year absence. Yet the body of the mother of a deceased, one-time carnival queen, found in a stream, looks set to spoil things, as Barnaby and Jones find themselves digging up the past." A group of children find the first corpse, and things take off from there. PC Jones, now DC Jones, is a local of Midsomer, so a nice contrast to DC Scott who was an outsider. Also Jones does have a certain gentle quality that works well in dealing with people. As for the case, soon another corpse appears, and it may be connected to a murder from years past. By the way, the head of the carnival committee is the kind of obnoxious bossy old lady who is insensitive (wants the feast to go on no matter how many corpses), and the kind of character you hope gets killed next. Thing is beneath the happy carnival there is a lot of dysfunction including a philandering doctor and a library employee who likes girls a bit more young than he probably should. In the end, this was a tale of obsession and grief that never healed. 
• Season 9, Episode 3: "Vixens Run." Plot description: "Wealthy, eccentric and obese aristocrat Freddy Butler drops dead, shortly after gathering all three of his wives at Haddington Hall to make an announcement." But was it natural causes? Soon Barnaby and Jones have to investigate the family and find a plot of secrets, illegitimate children, and more. Butler is on his third wife, and it seems at least he is civil to the previous two, who are there for the gathering as well. Initially the pathologist declares it a natural death, but for some reason Barnaby, unlike most other cops, figures it sounds too good to be true, and since this is a murder mystery show, of course it is. By the way, in this episode we get the usual b.s. of a library employee helpfully giving a cop, without a warrant by the way, information on a patron's records. Another small convenient device cop show and movies use even though it does not work that way in real life (at least not in the U.S.). Then things get serious when Butler's will gets stolen, and his brother gets killed by arson in his home. Now we get a serious mystery besides a bunch of dysfunctional minor nobles. By the way, you can tell this was before DNA testing was common. A lot of the paternity issues in the episode could have been settled easier with some DNA testing; we've come a long way. In the end, this episode had a touch of arrogant aristocracy brought down by a bit of hubris and just plain assholery, and in a classic mystery way, Barnaby gets to explain it all at the end, which does not happen often in the series. Decent episode overall. 
• Season 9, Episode 4: "Down Among the Dead Men Free." Plot description: "Martin Barrett, a local council clerk living in Midsomer Worthy, is murdered during the night by shotgun, prompting Barnaby and Jones to find a motive for his murder. When they discover that Barrett was an expert blackmailer, his victims become prime suspects for his death. . .".  This is one of those cases with plenty of suspects, and they all have very compelling reasons to want Barrett dead. As often the case, the suspect was someone that did not seem to be the one, and yet had plenty of motive as well. 
• Season 9, Episode 5: "Four Funerals and a Wedding." Plot description: "In the village of Broughton, a ninety-year-old battle of the sexes has often occurred, with men trying to oppose an event that the women have managed to successfully hold without interruption, until it culminates with casualties on both sides...". Two people are killed, and the detectives need to find the connections and unravel an old secret. The event is one of those things based on some historical event that probably should have been forgotten or let go by now, but no one wants to let it go, and thus we get two murders. What started as a sort of semi-friendly rivalry has turned into a serious feud between men and women in the village, a sort of cold war. Seems ridiculous to me to be honest, and the women do not come across as sympathetic given their actions such as spying, breaking and entering, and overall manipulations. 
• Season 9, Episode 6: "Country Matters." Plot description: "Villagers in Elverton-cum-Latterly are up in arms and divided, over the building of a supermarket. Things soon come to a head when independent environmental supervisor, Frank Hopkirk, is found stabbed to death at a Jubb's Timber Yard, the site of the new supermarket, by a pair of children." The thing about the victim is he also had a few kinks, as in fetish play, with one or two women in the village. So was he killed due to him investigating the supermarket's site or was he killed because of his kinks? Soon turns out a couple of those kinkster women have secret cameras, possibly for blackmail? Meanwhile, the supermarket company seems a bit too willing to buy land that would need environmental cleaning, and also willing to do the cleaning. Not to mention Hopkirk was consulting both the company and the local city council. This episode took quite a bit of time building up the possible theories. A lot of the amusement in the episode is watching Barnaby and Jones trying to keep straight faces as they learn of some of the villagers' kinks. By the way, the lady in the horse riding school is as stereotypical a kinkster as they come (the whole Mistress with a whip in a horsing outfit routine). Even the local reverend vicar, a woman who is a bit hip, gets her freak on a bit in this village (an affair with a married man). A lot of people in this village cheat on their spouses, some a bit more consensual, others the stereotypical bored wives cheating, but overall a lot of them are getting their freak on, but still, where is the connection to the murder? This episode seems to have dragged the plot a bit too long, in part to highlight the more salacious elements. In the end, it was a case of local greed to prevent the supervisor from releasing the land report. That there was also a land scam was a bonus. Episode was a bit of a convoluted way to get to the crime resolution. 
• Season 9, Episode 7: "Death in Chorus." Plot description: "Barnaby and DC Ben Jones (Jason Hughes) find themselves attempting to unravel the deaths of a choir tenor, and later a bird watcher, before more murders occur. The case is complicated by a rivalry between the Midsomer Worthy and Aston Wherry choirs, due to compete in an upcoming competition, and suspicions that an art scam is to be conducted, and soon Barnaby and Jones become concerned about a local woman, who they fear may become a victim herself. Particularly when it becomes clear the bird watcher had been photographing suspicious activity of late." As a highlight, Peter Capaldi makes an appearance as a choir director very obsessed with winning the Four Choirs Competition, though not as obsessed as his rival director of another choir. Also turns out DC Jones has a lyric tenor voice, and they do need to replace the dead guy. All this leads us then to the art scam, which is the real reason for the case. It was a nice interesting twist at the end there. A pretty good episode. 
• Season 9, Episode 8: "Last Years Model." Plot description: "Barnaby begins to doubt the evidence in a woman's murder trial." The episode starts with Barnaby arresting the woman. This is the last episode of the 9th season. From there, we go 10 months later to the trial, and we now get one of those episodes that start close to the end and go back and forth in time to see the past. Soon small doubts start to form in Barnaby's mind as events are reviewed. Soon Barnaby starts to uncover people with other motives to kill the woman, including the cheating husband of the woman and a scam against an old lady to rob her of her valuable home and antiques in it. The problem remains the woman did lie to police on different times, but why? In the end, Barnaby does get the evidence, including a confession, to absolve the woman and get the real killer at the last minute. It is all very dramatic. Episode is somewhat predictable, i.e. you knew all along Barnaby would crack the case, but it still had some good drama. By the way, at the end of this episode, we get news DC Jones is now Detective Sergeant Jones; he got promoted. 
• Season 10, Episode 1: "Dance With The Dead." Plot description: "A disused airfield near Morton Fendle is the location for a romantic evening between young Simon Bright and his girlfriend Laura Sharp - absolutely nothing could ruin their date. The next morning, when Frances Kirby is out for her morning jog, she notices the vintage car they were in up at the airfield, containing Simon Bright's dead body, with Laura nowhere to be seen." A suicide? A murder? That is what our detectives need to find out as the 10th season begins. A common element is a dance class in one of the local villages. To complicate things, there is an old lady who seems to suffer from dementia or other issue who apparently has her mind stuck in World War II and an obnoxious man who used to be an air crash inspector who is now a drunkard and hitting on women not his wife. The episode does go deep into the small village life, largely focused around an old World War II field. We get no clues until very late in the episode of just what exactly may have happened to Simon and Laura. And then, about an hour in, when you think much else is not going to happen, that obnoxious guy gets killed. Oh, and then there is that one creepy town photographer, a pensioner, who seems to enjoy his work a bit much, but may also be the only clue to the first murder, or at least Laura's disappearance. What we do get is small hints that Laura may not have been so innocent, not just the local tease but apparently fairly able to manipulate people (of both genders turns out). In the end, it seems that was what did her in, and it was a person that initially seemed the least likely or suspicious, which is about right for a murder mystery. They did keep things close to the vest until practically the end here. In the end, it was a sort of classic jealousy motive. 
• Season 10, Episode 2: "The Animal Within." Plot description: "When Faith Alexander arrives in Midsomer County to meet her long-lost uncle Rex Masters, she gets a shock - Rex's staff had been told that she was dead. Things become even more complex when Rex's body is found in a nearby river, bearing wounds that suggest he was murdered." But what is the motive? Money, passion, or something else? By the way, I've been watching this show now for a while, and it always cracks me up that the villages are oh so safe people leave their keys near the door, like under a plant pot or such, and that others know about it so they can let themselves in anytime they damn feel like it. Given all the murders in Midsomer County, you'd think they'd have nipped that habit by now. And by the way, the way the gardener gets all pissed on meeting the allegedly dead Faith is a bit over the top. By the way, when the gardener spreads the word around, suddenly everyone in town is amazed the woman is alive and wondering what the fuck Rex was up to with that lie. Got me curious too as the episode started. Things get more bizarre once the guy is found dead and suddenly there is a later version of his will than the one his lawyer had on file, with a new beneficiary, namely the housekeeper who brings this new will in. Then another employee comes in with a letter to be opened in event of Rex's death. So suddenly suspects and motives pile up fast. Soon more revelations about Rex keep surfacing, bit at a time, but still, who killed him? The episode features plenty of suspects and motives, and it keeps spinning them until close to the end. In the end, turns out it boiled down some racy photos that one man would have preferred never surfaced. An interesting little mystery this one where a carefree past comes to haunt the present. Still, there was a good happy ending for some.