Media Notes: Roundup for October 2021

               

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

It's October, Halloween season, so I am adding some horror films to go with the mood this month: 

• Valentine (2001. Horror. Thriller. Mystery). Basic plot description: "Five women are stalked by an unknown assailant while preparing for Valentine's Day." However, as often happens in horror films, the assailant is not as unknown as the women would have liked to think. To be honest, given how the story starts, it is difficult NOT to be sympathetic with the killer. Then, the ladies as adults are just not that sympathetic either (they clearly did not learn their lessons growing up). Denise Richards' libertine woman act does get irritating after a while. The others are not that much better. Thing about the movie is when it gets to the suspense and the killing scenes, those are pretty good. But the filler in between is just pretty slow and bad. The pace really picks up in the last act. One thing the film has for it is that suspense element where you are sure you know who the killer is yet you are not quite all the way sure. The ending was pretty good though somewhat predictable. Overall, the film is OK, but it could have been tighter and better. It has some good suspense and kills, but it is also cliched in some very irritating ways. So I'd give it 2 out of 5 stars. Via TubiTv. Watched 10/1.
• The film credits state the film is based on Tom Savage's novel Valentine. I read the book's description, and it does not match the film at all. According to IMDB, turns out that "the film is credited as being based on Tom Savage's novel, but producer Dylan Sellers optioned it solely for the title. 'Dylan saw the title, liked the title, and said 'I don't want to make that story I want to make something else.'" So in reality the book has nothing to do with the film other than the title. 
• Waxwork (1988. Horror. Comedy). Plot description: "Several friends are invited to a wax museum after hours, where they discover that the wax figures are alive — and ready for them to join the exhibit." Films starts presenting the usual cast of teen kids that are not going to be terribly memorable and mostly fit in some stereotypes like the promiscuous woman (obnoxiously so in this case), the virginal (or at least virtuous) woman, and some guys, including the one who is sort of a mama's boy. The group starts out with 6, but two flake out at the entrance and leave before the door is opened and the remaining ones are guided in by the butler. The exhibits look like normal horror museum fare, albeit very realistic. Until one of the guys crosses the red velvet rope, and he enters into the exhibits and their world. The movie is horror, but it is horror on the light and a bit cheesy side. The movie does have some humor elements to it, which is how it gets the "comedy" label. The plot is not that complex, but it has an interesting element in explaining what the Waxwork is exactly, a conduit to a greater evil, and it falls up to the two remaining kids to stop it. To be honest, this cheesy movie was a lot more entertaining than I expected. It is a bit more humor than horror but it works overall. Not the greatest film, but it is pretty good. This is a pretty good movie to watch during Halloween. It can be a bit like an anthology film as you get a bit of different stories from the exhibits but then builds up to a doom scenario that our teen heroes need to stop. Special effects were decent. The acting was OK for this kind of film. Once the pace picks up it gets better in terms of humor, some horror, and a bit of fun but silly at times action. I liked it, so willing to give it 3 out of 5 stars. Via TubiTv. Watched 10/8.
• American Nightmares (2018. Horror. Comedy. Also known as Tales from the Crib: American Nightmares and Mr. Malevolent). Plot description: "A malicious spirit becomes two Millennial men’s worst nightmare when he hacks into their computers, forcing them to watch horrific ends to evil deeds." Danny Trejo is Mr. Malevolent, the spirit that hacks into the men's computers and forces them to see the tales of horror. In addition to Danny Trejo, the movie does feature some pretty good actors including Clarence Williams III (in his final film role), Vivica A. Fox, Chris Kattan, and Nichelle Nichols plus some others you may have seen in other movies that make you go "oh yea, that is that guy in that one other movie." Part of the fun of watching this is recognizing some of the actors doing the small parts in the stories. Mr. Malevolent's story frame is basically the excuse so to speak to tell the stories. What the two hackers share in common is they use their skills to exploit and blackmail the innocent people they hack. The stories are the start of their own punishment. Overall, the movie stories have a bit of a Twilight Zone or Outer Limits feel to them. They are short with quite a punch or twist in the end. To be honest, it could have been interesting if Mr. Malevolent was given his own series and make this a weekly horror and supernatural anthology. The stories were good, and as I said, very good casting. I am giving this 4 out of 5 stars. This is one you can watch any time, but it makes very good fare for Halloween season. Via TubiTv. Watched 10/8. The stories featured: 
• "Mate." A woman who has an abusive ex gets a special offer to try out a new dating site on a free trial basis. She takes a chance, finds that perfect man, but there is a price to keep him, a price she is very willing to pay.
• "Prosecutor." A Texas attorney general very proud of his record for sending criminals to the death chamber decides to run for governor. Things look up for him, poll numbers up. Then we learn he sent an innocent man to the death chamber. Soon the prosecutor gets a twist of a punishment for his sin. 
• "White Flight." A very racist white cop gets a special package delivered in his neighborhood. Inside it's a device he hopes to use to get his family and him away from the mixed neighborhood and to a whites only paradise. The device works, but there is quite a turn of events when he and his family arrive in their whites' paradise (no, it is not that they become black. To be honest, the twist is even better so I won't spoil it).
• "The Samaritan." A patient with terminal cancer hires a woman for the night. Her pimp comes with her to make sure she gets paid, but also hoping to rob the guy. Our patient has a special request for the woman: that she wear makeup and dress of a clown. They agree on a prize, and she gets ready. Soon things take a very dark turn, and she needs the help of an unexpected Samaritan.
• "Hate Radio." Hugh Bluff is the hot right wing talk radio man at WSTD. He is as virulently misogynist as they come. He even praises serial killers for reminding women they need to be protected. However, soon, the roles turn on Hugh. 
• "The Healer." Bishop Love is a popular faith healer, and he is bringing his ministry to town. However, as often the case, the good Bishop is really a scammer, and if that was not bad enough, he exploits his employees too. The day before his big event, Bishop Love gets kidnapped by the father of a woman who believed Bishop could heal her disease but died. Now Bishop Love is going to have a reckoning and learn what faith healing really is. This is the story that features Clarence Thomas III, and even here in a B-movie, he puts in a solid performance. 
• "Thy Will Be Done." A woman leaves the hospital after speaking to her doctor the day before she is to have an operation. Headed home, she is kidnapped by two guys assisted by a woman who pretended her child was missing to get the patient's attention. Turns out the kidnappers are extremist pro-lifers, and the patient a rape victim who was prepping to have an abortion. They insist on forcing her to have the child, but she warns them what she has inside is not good. Turns out the wackaloon prolifers should have heeded the pregnant woman's warning. 
• Hood of Horror (2006. Horror. Comedy. Anthology). Plot description: "A hip hop horror anthology of three tales of terror told by the Hound of Hell that revolve around the residents of an inner-city neighborhood whose actions determine where they will go in the afterlife." Again, as in other anthology movies, part of the fun is identifying some of the more famous actors they got in it. This time some of the performers include Danny Trejo, Billie Dee Williams, Ernie Hudson, Aries Spears, Jason Alexander, Diamond Dallas Page, and of course, Snoop Dogg as the Hound of Hell (the host). To start, the opening animated sequence that presents the origins of HoH (Snoop's character) is actually pretty good, a nice way to set up the film. A bit of animation is also used during the transitions from one story to the next. HoH brings stories of horror from the hood, stories about folks seeking or needing redemption. Overall, the anthology is good, but it is not great. I'd say it's adequate. What the movie does have is that as a whole it looks pretty good, and it also has a pretty good soundtrack. This is pretty good for a late night on television during the Halloween season. If you like Tales from the Crypt, you might like this as it has a bit of a similar film, but with a hip hop sensibility. I'd say 3 out of 5 stars. Via TubiTv. Watched 10/9. Stories featured: 
• "Cross out." The story of Posie, a tough woman and graffiti artist stuck in a hood full of abusive gangbangers who cross out her art to assert their territory. She has had a tough life, lost her mother to bullets at an early age. But then a mysterious derelict (Danny Trejo) uses some dark magic and tattooing to empower her with the ability to give and take life. With her art and paintings, she can take lives. or give life. Will she make the right choice? Of the three stories, this one was the one I liked best. 
  
• "The Scumlord." A bratty Texan stands to inherit his father's fortune, on the condition he stay one year in the ghetto building he owned that his army veteran buddies, all black, now live in. If the boy can make it, he gets the fortune. If not, then veterans get it. Needless to say the boy is nothing like his dad and is a racist to boot.  Let's be honest, we will be rooting for the vets here. Ernie Hudson is one of the veterans. This was the more comedic of the three. Not a great tale, but still amusing in the end. The weakest story of the three.
• "Rapsody Askew." A young man, desperate, prays in church hoping for a break. He seems to get it and goes on to become a successful rap artist with a friend. Until success gets to his head, and soon a reckoning comes when his past catches up, plus the friend who gets killed, and he has not kept the promises he made in church. The tale was good but not great. 
• The House (2016. Horror. Thriller. Norwegian film. Original title: Huset). Plot description: "Two German soldiers have taken a Norwegian soldier as prisoner, on one of the coldest Scandinavian winter nights, during WW2. They are thankful when they find a lonely house out in the wilderness, but the house is not that cozy after all." The film starts with a small tense moment, then the two soldiers get a move with the prisoner. Soon the officer notices his compass does not work, and they seem lost. Then they find the house. They search it, seems empty with hints whoever was there before left recently for food on the stove was still hot. House appears empty but soon small hints and details start to happen, there are some runes on a wall or door here or there. The soldiers hear noises, but nothing specific. Suspense builds gradually, and the film makes very good use of the dark atmosphere of the supposedly empty house with lots of shadows and low lights. Is something really happening, or is it their tired minds playing tricks on them? Soon they realize there is something very wrong with the house. We the audience get small hints from the past about the house, but the characters never learn of that past. Soon they are trapped in the house that will not let them go. As I said, the film is atmospheric, more suspense than outright horror. The pacing is a bit slow, but gradually we learn the terrible truth. It's an alright haunted house story with one or two interesting details that make you wonder. I'd say it was OK so 2 out of 5 stars. Via TubTv. Watched 10/15.
• Scream (1996. Horror. Mystery). The 1990s classic that at the time took the horror films world by storm. Plot description: "A year after the murder of her mother, a teenage girl is terrorized by a new killer, who targets the girl and her friends by using horror films as part of a deadly game." The opening scene itself is a classic, so much so it has been spoofed and parodied over time, but it still remains a very good opener for this slasher film. Another fun element are the uncredited cameos including Henry Winkler as the school principal, Wes Craven as a janitor, and Linda Blair as an obnoxious reporter who appears briefly. I also find fascinating the houses these teens (well, they play teens, but these actors are well into their 20s) live in, aside from rich houses, have a lot of glass doors and windows, making it easy for killers to just rush in. Back home, that would never fly given how many houses have bars on windows and such. The movie does have a decent basic plot about a killer going after a girl who lost her mom to a killer, but that is mostly the frame for the film makers to play with various horror movie stereotypes and tropes such as the incompetent cops, the kids partying when they are not supposed to, and obnoxious reporters with no scruples. The film works but at times it can get a little ridiculous, especially nowadays that the novelty factor has passed. It does have a good kill or two, and it has some thrills when it is not too busy being referential. There is also a small bit of humor here or there. The last twist was pretty good. I do not think the film overall has aged well, but it remains entertaining for a Halloween season evening if nothing else. I'd say about 3.5 out of 5 stars. Via DVD from Berea branch, Madison County (KY) Public Library. Watched 10/23.

Non-horror and other films I watched in October: 

• Bloodshot (2020. Action. Science Fiction. Comic book adaptation). Plot description: "Ray Garrison, an elite soldier who was killed in battle, is brought back to life by an advanced technology that gives him the ability of super human strength and fast healing. With his new abilities, he goes after the man who killed his wife, or at least, who he believes killed his wife. He soon comes to learn that not everything he learns can be trusted. The true question is: Can he even trust himself?" Vin Diesel is Ray Garrison, a.k.a. Bloodshot. I admit I had low expectations of this, but the movie turned out better than I expected. Pretty good combination of science fiction, suspense and intrigue, and action. It does have a pretty fast pace, and it keeps you entertained throughout. Not perfect, but I would say this is pretty good. The concept of a resurrected super soldier/hero is not new, which we have seen in films like Universal Soldier and Robocop. Still, the story here works well, and the action is good and swift. The special effects look very good. Vin Diesel does the kind of character he does similar here to Riddick and XXX. The story also has some interesting layers. The end sets up for a sequel; I think it would be nice if they did make a sequel. I am willing to give this 4 out 5 stars. Via DVD from Berea branch, Madison County (KY) Public Library. Watched 10/23.
• This is an adaption of the Bloodshot comic series from Valiant Comics. Like other comic books, this series has been renumbered and rebooted a few times. I read the first volume of the 2019 series (link to review). The movie does take some liberties from the comics, as these movies often do, but I think it gets the essence of the character well enough.
• Roadrunner: a Film About Anthony Bourdain (2021. Documentary). Plot description: "A documentary about Anthony Bourdain and his career as a chef, writer and host, revered and renowned for his authentic approach to food, culture and travel." Not many celebrities if any move me, but Bourdain moved me, and when he died I knew I would miss him. I found it so sad that he took his own life given how much he gave the world (in a way, not unlike Robin Williams, another person who gave so much to the world). So I was glad to be able to pick this up. The film takes us from his start and when he hit it big after publishing his memoir Kitchen Confidential. From there, we see glimpses of his life and work leading up to his last show for CNN, Parts Unknown, then the last year of his life. Much of the story is told by Bourdain, via archival footage, and then we get to hear from those who knew him best: friends, colleagues, his work team, family members. It is a very well made film, that at times feels a bit like watching one of his shows. Yet it is also very moving and powerful. What emerges is the picture of a complex man. He could be kind and charming yet also a harsh taskmaster for those he worked with. He was clearly a genius, but he was also a restless soul and a drug addict (he got sober from the hard drugs, but struggled with his addictive nature the rest of his life). Way I see it, and not that I am an expert, he had a bit of what some back home would have called a gypsy spirit ("espiritu gitano," i.e. a wandering soul that can never rest or stay put in one place). To be honest, that small detail reminded me a bit of people close to me with a similar affliction. The film is definitely worth watching, and it is a good last tribute to the man and his work. 4.5 out of 5 stars. Via DVD from Berea branch of Madison County (KY) Public Library. Watched 10/30.
• I have read Kitchen Confidential (link to my review).
• His show A Cook's Tour is based on his book of the same title. TubiTv has the series, so I may give it a look, and when I do, I will make a note here. I may also read the book. 

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 41 (out of 65) as I continue catching 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 12, Episode 1: "The Dogleg Murders." Plot description: "No one could suspect that a prestigious golf club would be the setting for murder, but when one of the major members is found dead, bludgeoned to death in a thicket next to the 13th hole, Barnaby and Jones try to determine what made him leave the fairway." The club, full of snobbish rich assholes, has a conflict with the local town folks, who are only allowed to play a few hours a week at most. To be honest, the club members are the kind of guys you'd love to see get murdered sooner rather than later, and it turns out they got a variety of criminal schemes going too behind their scenes. When the first murder, Mr. Kingslake, who is as big a rich asshole as they come, gets killed, you may cheer for the murderer. Then another rich club member gets murdered as we learn that all sorts of hijinks take place in the club from illegal betting (between members of course) and the club's steward has her own schemes going to use her sons to scam club members not to mention loan sharking. A lovely group of people if there ever was one. Still, episode does move fairly slow as the detectives try to figure out the motives and who exactly is doing the killings. As often happens in this series, in the end, a lot boiled down to an old secret. 
• Ramsay's Boiling Point (1999. Documentary series. Reality. Cookery). Plot description: "Before the fame, watch as Gordon Ramsay resigns from one restaurant, and starts his own!" The series chronicles Ramsay opening his first own restaurant that would eventually become his flagship and earn him his three Michelin Stars. This is where the legend starts. The mini-series is five episodes of 30 minutes each. First episode starts tense right away as on opening night, the air conditioning goes down. Soon, the kitchen is an inferno for the workers, and shortly after the dining room starts warming up. Despite that, Ramsay and his team keep on working. The second episode is where he kicks out a restaurant critic and celebrity Joan Collins (he later makes a reference to this incident in his later show F-Word). Overall, the series is quick paced, and it is interesting to see people close to Gordon talk about him, like his mentor Chef Marco as well as seeing Gordon in some calm moments, a contrast to him in the kitchen. Overall, the show was good, and it was a quick binge watch. Interesting look at Ramsay in his early days. On a small side note, this is one of the shows on TubiTv that lacks close captioning (I tend to like having CC when watching things). Watched 10/16.