Media Notes: Roundup for March 2023

 

This is a somewhat random selection of the movies and series on DVD and/or online I watched during March 2023. As you will see, I did not do much movie watching in March. I was either reading more, which is a good thing, or I was binge watching shows, which are noted below.

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):

•  Death on the Nile (2022. Drama. Mystery. Crime). Plot description: "While on vacation on the Nile, Hercule Poirot must investigate the murder of a young heiress." This is Kenneth Branagh's adaptation of the Agatha Christie classic. Ever since I saw his Murder on the Orient Express (link to my review of that) I wanted to see this one. The film starts with a flashback of Poirot as a young soldier in World War I, the incident a way to show his intelligence and a bit of his character, and an origin story to what would become his epic mustache. However, this is a bit of a goof. Given the wounds shown in the film on his face during the war, the mustache could not grow naturally as epic as he has it in present time. From there, we get to the opening scene, London 1937. A very nice musical number. Naturally, Poirot in the club does what he often does, observe others. This scene also serves to introduce characters we will see in the Nile cruise later, six weeks later in the movie time from the London scene. Speaking of the music, one of the characters is a Blues singer, so the film gets a Blues/Jazz kind of soundtrack. It is nice, but it does not seem to quite fit the story the film adapts. I like the music, but does not feel quite right for the film. Having said that, the singer does get some nice lines now and again, besides the nice songs. On a trivia note, much of that Blues music is by Sister Rosetta Sharpe, a nice choice I would say. The rest of the instrumental soundtrack matches the scenery fairly well. One thing one can say about the film, and part of why I enjoyed it, is that it looks beautiful. It has great cinematography, great scenery, and good aesthetics. It is just good to watch. In terms of the story, it takes a lot of liberties with the original material such as combining characters from the novel to streamline the plot. Branagh portrays Poirot with a lot more pathos in this film, tormented by a past love, yet still brilliant overall as the detective. In this process Poirot loses some of the charm that Branagh had given him in his Murder on the Orient Express. Yet that also humanizes the character a bit. The very last scene adds a bit more of humanity, but may be a bit jarring for some Poirot fans (but do note the symbolism). The film keeps the essence of the original story including the solution to the case. There is plenty for Agatha Christie purists to complain about, and this may not be the most faithful adaptation. But it is a luscious and beautifully made film with some decent performances. As his previous film, this is more a film for modern audiences. I'd say this is a bit of Christie for this current generation. I liked it as an entertaining film, but not the best adaptation of Christie. 3.5 out of 5 stars. Via DVD from Lexington (KY) Public Library. 
• The VelociPastor (2018. Action. Adventure.Comedy). Plot description: "After losing his parents, a priest travels to China, where he inherits a mysterious ability that allows him to turn into a dinosaur. At first horrified by this new power, a hooker convinces him to use it to fight crime. And ninjas." The description already makes it sound ridiculous, but I said what the heck and took a chance. The film has a very cheap grindhouse feel to it, probably because it started out as a trailer for a fake grindhouse film; the concept became this film. It is also cheap because it clearly was done on a low budget, very low. The special effects are as cheap as can get. The acting is not that much better, at times overacted. One good thing is the soundtrack.The music is pretty good. Overall, this is not a serious movie, and you should not come in expecting it to be serious. It's silly, ridiculous, with some amusing moments here or there. The kind of fare you might have watched late at night on cable if you could not sleep. It's cheesy and bad, but if you like bad cheesy B-movies, you might still be amused with this one, ridiculous as it is. It was OK, so I'd say 1.5 out of 5 stars. Via TubiTv. Watched 3/17.
• Agatha Christie's Death on the Nile (1978. Crime. Drama. Mystery. Literary Adaptation). After watching the recent adaption by Branagh, I felt like watching the film with Peter Ustinov as Poirot again. I watched and reviewed this film back in July 2022. Watched 3/18. 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:

• Babylon 5 (1993-1998. Science Fiction.). As I mentioned last month, I have this series, along with the movies collection, on DVD already. However, Tubi recently got the television series, and I found myself watching it once more. I continue watching it here and there. By the end of this month, I was starting the third season. 
• As with other series, finding actors who did work elsewhere is fun. In season 2, episode 5, we get appearances from Dwight Schultz (The A-Team series, Star Trek: The Next Generation) and Anne Marie Johnson (In the Heat of the Night, the series). Schultz plays a traumatized war veteran with some mental health issues, a role he is often good at.
  
• Hell's Kitchen (2005-). Description: "Twelve aspiring restaurateurs compete before chef Gordon Ramsay." I commented on this  in January. This month I continue by finishing season 17, which I started last month, (out of the 20 Tubi has), and I finished the whole series this month. 
• Season 17 was the All Stars season. To be honest, aside from one or two of the contestants, most of them were not the most obnoxious they could have found. 
• Season 18, again because they need to fire things up, is a veterans versus newbies season. They brought in 8 black jacket losers (i.e. semi-finalists I guess) and put them against 8 new folks. So this is Veterans vs. Rookies. You'd think the veterans might have an edge, but not necessarily. By the way, this season featured two Puerto Rican contestants, first so far (or at least the first that they identified in the show). Also in this season, the ever popular lobster risotto, staple of previous seasons, is bid farewell. Seriously, Ramsay got it Scots pipes and everything for the farewell. I think part of why I keep watching the show is not so much the drama of the contestants. It's some of the small amusing details Ramsay and his writers come up with. Overall, the rookies vs. veterans worked well enough.
  
• After Season 18, we are back to 18 new competitors. Also, the competition moves to Las Vegas from Los Angeles. 
• Season 20 we get 18 new competitors, but the gimmick is they are all 23 and under, i.e. young guns. This is a contrast to previous seasons where they often have an "elder" or two, i.e. someone who may be middle aged at least (and apparently in the cooking world that is considered old). Having said that, the maturity level may have taken a bit of a dive this season (not to mention a chance to trash talk about older folks, which the contestants do right from the opening). The winner will get a head chef job in one of his restaurants in Las Vegas and become his protege (train further with him). In episode 2 of the season, Mike Tyson and his family are one of the guests for the dinner service.
  
• Iron Chef (1993-1999). I continue watching this full run via TubiTv. I continue from episode 21 of the 7th and last season, and I finished watching the last season and the series. Overall, for me, this is a good series, and I often find it relaxing to watch it. I will be rewatching it over time down the road.