The Itinerant Librarian: Media Notes: Roundup for November 2022

Friday, December 02, 2022

Media Notes: Roundup for November 2022

This is a somewhat random selection of the movies and series on DVD and/or online I watched during November 2022. November was a busy month for me at work, so finding time to watch films and television was a bit tight. At this point, I often do not feel like committing to a movie, even if it is a short one at about 90 minutes or so. I find watching old television series a bit more comforting at times.

By the way, next month is December, so I am hoping to watch a few holiday themed selections. Stay tuned to find out what I end up watching.

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):

Deadpool (2016. Action. Adventure. Comedy. Comic books adaptation). Plot description: "A wisecracking mercenary gets experimented on and becomes immortal but ugly, and sets out to track down the man who ruined his looks." This is a rewatch for me, but I had not reviewed it here on the blog before, so I decided to revisit it to review it. Right away, the opening credits set the tone for this fun action comics film with a bit of humor. The rest of the film is fast paced, and very little if any filler. The story just keeps going, along with Deadpool's fourth wall breaks, to the end. It's a fun movie with good amount of action and humor. This movie really proved that with effort Hollywood can make a good and fun comics film. If you are a fan of the comics, and you have not seen this yet, what are you waiting for? This is a film that did the source well. Well worth it. 5 out of 5 stars. Via TubiTv. Watched 11/4.
Deadpool 2 (2018. Action. Adventure. Comedy. Comic books adaptation). Plot description: "Foul-mouthed mutant mercenary Wade Wilson (a.k.a. Deadpool) assembles a team of fellow mutant rogues to protect a young boy with supernatural abilities from the brutal, time-traveling cyborg Cable." Since Tubi had it, I figured I'd watch it again. I did review this film back in December 2019. On a side note applicable to both films, I'd forgotten the soundtracks for the films are pretty good too, a lot of pop culture goodness. Overall, the film is pretty good. The humor is mostly there, tone can be a bit darker, but overall it is fun to watch. I will be looking out for the third installment when it comes out. This one overall was a good follow up, and I think casting Josh Brolin as Cable works. Another reason to watch it are some of the other cameos you may catch if you look closely. 4.5 out of 5 stars. Watched again 11/4.
Thankskilling (2008. Horror. Comedy. Thriller. Holidays). Plot description: "A homicidal turkey axes off college kids during Thanksgiving break." It sounds a bit ridiculous, but hey, it is Thanksgiving so why not try this film? Oh by the way, the killer turkey talks, and he is a smartass. Anyhow, films starts with a brief flashback to 1621, shortly after the first Thanksgiving, where the turkey kills a very attractive and topless female pilgrim. We then hop to the present time, and the college students heading out for Thanksgiving break. The students are mostly the typical low budget horror fare: jock, slut, frat boy, the nerd boy, and one other woman who is sort of the serious one. Meanwhile, the turkey has lain dormant on the ground all those years until a dog finds its burial spot. Turkey comes back to life, and mayhem soon ensues. The nerd tells the legend (because someone has to). Basically an old Native American man with witch powers, dishonored by a pilgrim, cast a curse on white men by necromancing a turkey. This killer turkey wakes up every 500 years or so to kill the first white people it encounters. Well, it's that time again. Overall, the acting is pretty awful, and we can't wait until the turkey starts killing college students. The parts with the turkey have some dark humor that can be ridiculous and amusing. There is just not enough killer turkey in the movie. The special effects are not great, but they add to the cheesy element of the movie. The deaths have some humor, but they are a bit over the top ridiculous. I am OK with that, but as I said, the acting otherwise is pretty bad even for amateurs. To be honest, this movie could have had potential for a silly holiday themed horror movie, but the script is nonsensical to a very bad degree. Had they made things a bit more coherent and put more effort, this could have been more amusing at least. As it is, it is passable at best. The turkey character was OK, but the rest was pretty bad. I think it may look better to some folks after a few drinks and turkey. 1.5 out of 5 stars. Watched 11/4. Via TubiTv.

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:

Agatha Christie's Poirot, Series 1 (1989. Mystery. Literary Adaptation). Found the series on YouTube this month, so enjoying the first season, which has 10 episodes, mostly short stories adapted to television in episodes that last about 50 minutes.

A small detail I find interesting is in episodes where Poirot is traveling, such as "Triangle in Rhodes" (episode 6). All these rich people traveling to exotic places I'd love to visit, and they spend most of the time bitching about the place because it is too exotic, or too rough, etc. Meanwhile, Poirot while on vacation just listens and observes. The politics of the time, if you pay attention are also interesting. Though a Greek island today, back then Fascist Italy was moving into Rhodes as well as on the rise overall.
Episode 10, the last of the first series, is a pretty neat locked room kind of mystery. It appears old Mr. Farley, an odious factory owner, committed suicide. He even dreamed about it, yet Poirot realizes it is murder in "The Dream."

Agatha Christie's Poirot, Series 2 (1990. Mystery. Literary Adaptation). As in the first series, the episodes are adaptations of short stories by Christie.

The exception is episode 1, Peril at End House, based on a full novel. The series adapts the novel in a two-part episode. Poirot is on vacation, and as it often happens, a mystery catches his eye. This time it is an accident-prone young woman living in a big old house that has seen better days. Poirot suspects the events are not accidents, but can he prevent a murder before it happens? Gradually Poirot finds there is more than just a murder attempt.