Media Notes: Roundup for July 2021

 

 

This is a somewhat random selection of the movies and series on DVD and/or online I watched during July 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):

• The Haunted Casino (2007. Horror). Plot description: "After Matthew Dragna inherits a rundown old casino from his deceased uncle, Matthew, his loyal girlfriend JJ, and several other friends decide to check the place out. Alas, the casino turns out to be haunted by the lethal and angry ghosts of vicious Las Vegas mobster Roy "The Word" Donahue and his equally pernicious flunky Gil Wachetta." Full Moon Features was advertising on Twitter their film was available on Tubi this month. I got curious, so I decided to take a chance and watch it. The movie features Sid Haig portraying mobster Roy "The Word" Donahue. As in most cheesy horror movies, the cast of young people are folks we could not care less about including the one nerdy girl (possibly lesbian, or at least lesbian enough to titillate), the blonde bimbo, couple of jocks, including an impotent one, a pothead, and the main couple who to be honest I would not mind them dying sooner rather than later. Their acting is not that good, neither is their dialogue. 30 minutes into the film, and pretty much nothing happens other than cringe inducing bad acting and awkward moments between the young folks and one or two very small hints things may be off but barely enough to build any suspense. 40 minutes in, a 1/3 of the way (it is a 1 hour and 20 minutes film) and still nothing other than seriously bad acting. 50 minutes or so in, the ghosts start appearing, but still, nothing much of anything happening. Donahue reveals there may or not be a treasure in the casino, but why his interest is not totally clear. Is it revenge against Matthew's ancestor? A curse? Who knows? Naturally, when the girlfriend makes the one semi-reasonable statement they should leave, it may be too late. Typical. By the time the young folk finally start getting killed by the ghosts, it's pretty much 19 minutes or so remaining in the film. The casino girl ghost showing her true form was pretty good, but way too little to save this bad movie. The film degenerates into a series of bad casino games with the ghosts, because for some reason they want to gamble. The premise could have been good but again, the lousy execution and bad acting sink that idea too. I understand the director, at least according to other reviewers, Charles Band at one point could deliver a semi-decent film. Well, this is clearly his later circling the drain of his career stage. This film is slow, uneventful, and to be honest seriously painful to watch. It has no suspense; it just drags on and on. Sid Haig is wasted in this.  This is a way low even for Full Moon. I am giving it a 1 out of 5 stars, and that under protest. This is one to definitely skip. Via TubiTv. Watched 7/17.
• Punished (2011. Crime. Thriller. International film, Hong Kong film. Also known as Bou ying). Plot description: "When a tycoon's daughter is found dead of cocaine overdose after being rescued from abduction, he will stop at nothing to avenge her." To set the mood by the way, after the opening scene where the corpse is found, the opening credits show flashbacks of the man and his family, including his daughter as a little girl. A small detail that tugs at the heart strings. The girl Daisy hangs with the wrong crowd and does quite an amount of drugs, but despite that dad does try to get her cleaned up. He himself comes across as a pretty ruthless tycoon, remarried with younger wife, which gives the daughter a reason to resent him.  We slowly learn how her death comes about in scenes alternating between the past and the present. Once the daughter gets kidnapped, there is speculation she may have staged it to get money for her habit. However, it soon becomes clear it is a real kidnapping, and the father sends his bodyguard to start investigating. This is a thriller that builds up nice and easy, a detail at a time. By the way, this is not just a movie about revenge but also about fathers and how they relate to their children as they grow. Overall, a good revenge story and a good drama. If you expect some "actioneer", this is not it, but if you are interested in a good dramatic story of revenge and family and loyalty, then this is pretty good. By the way, the last revelation of betrayal from within at the end was quite good, and I admit a bit unexpected (to me at least). 4 out of 5 stars. Via TubiTv. Watched 7/17.

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 34 (out of 65) as I catch up on watching the series this month. Watched up to episode 38.
• Hotel Hell (2012-2016. Reality television. United States. Hotels). In a nutshell, what Ramsay did with Kitchen Nightmares, but for hotels. Show ran three seasons with 22 episodes, and TubiTv brought in the whole package, so I figured why not. As he says in the promo, he is "staying in America's worst hotels so you don't have to." By the way, the opening graphic makes it look like this may be a bit more of a horror movie than a reality show, which I found a bit amusing. 
• First episode in the TubiTV lineup (actually it is the third or fourth originally aired) was the Cambridge Hotel. The owner was a hard headed man, but the warm highlight was Scooter, a prep cook who was attending culinary school hoping to become a pastry chef and own his own bakery. Ramsay took a liking to the young man, offered to help with his education, so I hope it worked out well. The young man certainly deserves it. 
• As I said at the beginning, this is basically Kitchen Nightmares for hotels. The formula is about the same overall. If you liked the previous series, you might like this one as well. 
• LEGO DC Comics: Batman Be-leaguered (2014. TV Short film. Superheroes. Comics. LEGO. Animation). Plot description: "Superman wants Batman to join his new superhero team, but Batman prides himself on being a self-sufficient loner." And then the other superheroes begin to disappear, and Batman has to help out. This is a cute short film where the amusement lies in the banter between the other heroes and Batman. Turns out Bat-Mite is behind the disappearances, and it is up to Batman to stop him. Overall it is a cute movie with superheroes and LEGOs with some light humor along the way. It is a short at about 22 minutes, so it moves quickly. I did enjoy it and liked it. 3 out of 5 stars. Via TubiTV. Watched. 7/24.
• 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 10, Episode 3: "Kings Crystal." Plot description: "Following the death of Alan King while on a business trip to China, the family company, King's Crystal, is in financial trouble. As plans to shut the Midsomer Magna factory are being put into action, Alan's wife Hilary and brother Charles are married in the village church - much to the dismay of Alan's son Ian. In addition to strife between members of the family, the factory workers are outraged at the loss of their jobs. So when company accountant Peter Baxter is found murdered, Barnaby and Jones suspect a disgruntled employee is to blame." On the surface, it seems very possible a disgruntled employee could have done it, but we soon find the King family has all sorts of internal grudges as well plus some family members are Masons. DS Jones was a Mason at one point, so he brings those insights to the case. There is a connection to the Masons, or at least someone wants to make it look that way, and this is a case they keep the mystery going almost to the end. As a subplot, Cully is rehearsing some Shakespeare plays for a local theater reopening, and when you view the case, well, the parallels to Shakespeare, especially Hamlet, are there.In the end, yes it was within the family, and it was greed. 
• Season 10, Episode 4: "The Axeman Cometh." Plot description: "The music lovers of Midsomer County are delighted when a host of bands arrives for the Midsomer Rocks festival. Barnaby himself is particularly looking forward to seeing recently re-formed rock band, Hired Gun, perform on stage, but he soon gets close to the band for rather unfortunate reasons." When the band's lead singer is killed, are the other band members a target too? Barnaby acting all fan boy about the band is somewhat amusing compared to his usual serious self but keep in mind times do change. Turns out the band leader allegedly invested his earnings while the rest basically dissipated theirs (although it seems the band leader was also ripping the others of royalties and he has been taking money from a trust too). However, there is one other band member, presumed dead, who the leader also ripped off, and he may now be back for revenge. However, as often the case, there  was a murderer mostly unexpected until the end. A dysfunctional band and a revenge plot certainly kept Barnaby and Jones busy on this one. Jones was slightly ahead on this seeing it more objectively. 
• Season 10, Episode 5: "Death and Dust." Plot description: "The suspicious death of popular young GP Dr Alan Delaney brings Barnaby and Jones to Midsomer Market to investigate. The detectives are baffled as to a motive for murder - until they consider that the newly engaged Dr James Kirkwood may have been the intended victim." Quite an amusing opening on this episode. Not many are pleased that the bride is marrying the oh so good doctor, so our detectives have plenty of suspects from her children to a farmer who had a crush on her to others. This one took a while but turns out motive was a different business than it initially appeared. Plus a Welsh man with a grudge against doctors. As Barnaby often does, he figures it out as he recalls bits and pieces of conversations that may seem casual and ordinary but yield lot of detail. On a side note, Simon Dixon, from the previous episode, the now former band manager, reappears dating Cully. 
• Season 10, Episode 6: "Picture of Innocence." Plot description: "In the build-up to Luxton Deeping's annual photographic exhibition, a battle rages between the traditional and digital photographers of the pretty village. The dispute seems harmless enough - until Lionel Bell is found murdered in a nearby woodland, strangled with the cord of his light meter." Who knew photographers could be so ruthless. To complicate things, someone is trying to frame Barnaby for the murder, and his replacement on the case is not exactly competent, so Barnaby has to work harder to clear his name as well as solve the case. By the way, to make the feud obvious, the traditional photographers are all old timers who in stereotypical fashion hate all modern photography and things like the Internet, and the digital guys are basically obnoxious bullying young assholes in leather jackets who are a pain in the ass. They could not have made it any more obvious. Turns out after a lot of back and forth, with Barnaby trying to solve the case while the other detective just fumbles about, that the guy I said looked like a serial killer in the making actually was the culprit. What a surprise, and all for an obsessive jealousy for a particular woman. 
• Season 10, Episode 7: "They Seek Him Here." Plot description: "The residents of Midsomer Magna are thrilled when a production crew arrives at the local manor house to film a version of The Scarlet Pimpernel. But the crew members aren't the only visitors to the area - Jones has spotted notorious criminal George Ince nearby. But when the director, Nick Cheney, is found dead - his head severed by a prop guillotine - Barnaby must discover who would have wanted the victim dead." Soon, as often happens, there are various motives and leads, lies and secrets that the detectives need to unravel. Small interesting detail is the woman reading or at least looking over some Tarot cards at the start of the episode. And of course, since it is a murder mystery, dramatic music happens, and she draws the Death card as the last card on her spread. By the way, she is using a basic Marseilles style Tarot deck, nothing fancy (and I guess something the writers did not have to fuss asking for permission to use). Meanwhile, the film production is full of drama and prima donna preening as you can get. Cheney the director is quite the asshole with plenty of people wanting him dead, you know, typical victim in this show. To complicate matters, it seems Ince is there to run some kind of insurance scam in the local manor house with the owners. In the end though, it was a blend of unrequited love and revenge for this case. 
• Season 10, Episode 8: "Death in a Chocolate Box." Plot description: "Barnaby is called to solve the mystery of an ex-colleague who was brutally murdered." This is the last episode for the 10th season. The ex-colleague had to resign from the police over a scandal in the local jail, along with a few other cops. Soon it seems that the ex-colleague is not the only target. Someone is after all the cops involved in the scandal. In this episode, whether intentional or not, we got a hint early on who the real killer was, so it became a matter of seeing Barnaby put all the pieces together leading to a trail of murders and jealousy. By the way, in this episode, Cully and Simon announce their marriage engagement.
  
• Season 11, Episode 1: "Blood Wedding." Plot description: "As the Barnabys prepare for Cully's wedding, Lord Fitzroy and Beth Porteous are married in the pretty village of Bledlow. At the lavish reception at Bledlow Hall that follows, however, tragedy strikes - maid of honour Marina Fellowes is found murdered in one of the rooms by some of the guests." Because this is a murder mystery show, and wedding or not, you need to have a killing or two. Episode starts with a flashback in 1971, so something to keep in mind for the present day. Naturally, the Fitzroy's being an old noble family they are being dicks, not wanting to cooperate with the police, and of course, as Barnaby tells Jones, in an old big house there are a lot of places to hide old skeletons. It is clear the family does not want those dredged up. More people start dying, and the pain in the ass nobles, uncooperative, condescending, and to be honest obnoxious, seem to have financial dealings they wish to keep hidden no matter what. Meanwhile, Cully's wedding makes for tension at home as typical nerves and tensions between groom and bride arise. In the end, as for the old family, indeed there were bad financial decisions, an affair, and murder that in the end Barnaby and Jones solve. It was satisfying to see them arrest those assholes. Oh, by the way, there is a guest appearance by now Detective Inspector Troy just in time to attend Cully and Simon's wedding, and yes, he is still a bad driver. 
• Season 11, Episode 2: "Shot at Dawn." Plot description: "It's a good day for the Hicks family, as the name of Tommy Hicks - who was executed during World War I for "cowardice and desertion" - is added to the list on Midsomer Parva's war memorial. . . . But the evening after a battle re-enactment in the village, Henry [Hammond] is murdered - and Barnaby must delve into the history of the two families to find the killer, discovering a web of fraud, lies, and hidden truths." Meanwhile, as a subplot, the Barnaby household has a seriously leaky roof after bad roof work, which was performed by Dave Hick's company, who is also the mayor of the town. So needless to say Barnaby hates his guts. As for the main story, the feud over 90 years between Hicks and Hammond families has reached ridiculous levels. The mayor is a bigger asshole, who to be honest after first meeting him you hope he also gets killed; he is also involved in some shady dealings. As for the historic re-enactors, well, they are kind of incompetent too. They really laid it thick with unlikeable people in this episode. By the way, when the deceased Henry is laying in wake, if you watch closely, a couple of times you can see the guy (the actor) breathing. Whoops. To add to the excitement, someone tries to kill Lionel Hicks, son of Tommy, with a bomb. Revenge for Henry's death? It did add a bit of excitement to a somewhat ho-hum episode. Also, for some reason, Barnaby is putting the puzzle together but decides to remain more vague than usual, even to Jones (and thus the audience). He really milked the drama at the end for all it was worth. That is the common cliché in these mysteries, the detective explains it at the end, but this was a bit overdone, and in the end the motive was classic revenge. As I said, not one of the better episodes in the series.