Media Notes: Roundup for November 2023

  

 

This is a somewhat random selection of the movies and series on DVD and/or online I watched during  November 2023.

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):

• Cobra (1986. Action. Crime. Thriller). Plot description: "A tough-on-crime street cop must protect the only surviving witness to a strange murderous cult with far-reaching plans." Sylvester Stallone is Cobra, the strong arm of the law, in this 1980s action crime film. It is one of the 80s Cannon films, and on a trivia note, George P. Cosmatos, who directed Tombstone, directed this one. I've seen it before, and while not great, it is pretty entertaining as Cannon films go. I watched it this time via Internet Archive, and they had it with Spanish subtitles. On a side note, if you are fluent in Spanish, you may smile amused at some of the small translation choices. Overall, an entertaining action film that has some over the top action sequences and car chases, but otherwise fairly average. Still, entertaining in an afternoon. Kind of movie comes up on cable, and you are likely to watch in part for Stallone and in part for the action. 3.5 out of 5 stars. Watched 11/25.
  
• The movie is very loosely based on the novel Fair Game by Paula Gosling. 
• Navy Seals (1990. Action. Adventure. Thriller). Plot description: "A battle-hardened SEAL Team set off on a mission to destroy a shipment of US-built Stinger missiles that have fallen into terrorist hands." Before Seal Team Six became a sensation for being the one who killed Osama Bin Laden, Michael Biehn was leading Charlie Sheen and the rest of his SEAL team to keep things safe. I remember watching this back in the day, not to far off when the original Top Gun movie was still popular. Decided to take a look now and see how it holds up. The film is a decent action movie. It does follow some of the formula of Top Gun that later got parodied in Hot Shots:  the daring gung ho operator who is reckless (Sheen), the serious leader (Biehn), and the one operator who just wants to make it through getting killed, and did we mention he is about to get married? So part of the script is somewhat formulaic, but still entertaining overall. It does have a very moving moment at the funeral when the fiancee asks about the flag. That scene really gets you. Overall, pretty good, and it features a part or two that is better if you do not think about it too much, so 3.5 out of 5 stars. Watched 11/25. Via TubiTv. 
• Death Spa (1988. Horror). Plot description: "Gruesome deaths begin to occur at a hip Los Angeles health club." It seems a woman died at the spa, the owner's wife, and now her spirit seeks revenge; this horror story goes for a supernatural element to the killings in the spa.The movie does have quite the 80s fitness scene vibe. His brother in law runs the computer at the spa, and he blames the owner. The main issue with the movie is the somewhat convoluted plot that is not always consistent. The acting is good enough for a B-film, though not by much. There are some good kills and a bit of gore to make a semi-decent horror movie, but the story and somewhat slow pacing just does not make for a good film, horror or otherwise. The premise is good, but it just drags at times. The ending picks up the pace, but by then, well, it's getting to the end. It does get ridiculous, a bit of fun, but not enough to save the film overall. The script overall is pretty bad. 1.5 out of 5 stars barely. Could have rated higher with a bit more coherence. I am not expecting an Oscar worthy script, but at least some basic work on the story. Via TubiTv. Watched 11/25.

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:

• Columbo (1968-2003. Crime. Drama. Mystery). The popular and often beloved series with Peter Falk in the title role. The series has 10 seasons; Tubi breaks it down as 16, but it is basically the 9 seasons plus the specials and tv movies that made for a 10th season. Since Tubi has the complete run, except for the pilot episodes (see the link; they had a different actor), I decided to watch. I remember watching this in and out in younger days. 
• Series starts with "Prescription for Murder." Plot description: "A highly successful psychiatrist and the beautiful patient he is in love with kill his wife and have it appear to be a robbery that resulted in murder...but Police Lieutenant Columbo has his doubts." It is an hour and 39 minutes film. I find interesting how they took the time to set up the murder, then we see it carried out, but with minimal violence seen, and then the plot goes from there. When the doctor and his lover are taking a flight, this is the late 1960s, so airport security is nothing like post-9/11. Columbo does not appear until 30 minutes into the episode. He is not quite settled into the character as we know it now; he carries the raincoat instead of wearing it for instance. He does not look as frumpy as he does later in the series. The doctor thinks he will be good to go, but between some small complications and Columbo, there is some good suspense as we wonder if he will get away with it or not. (I mean, it is Columbo, we know he won't but it is a good story). It is interesting watching Columbo work the case and figure things out, which is also part of his charm. 
• On a trivia note, Steven Spielberg, the now famous movie director, directed the episode "Murder by the Book." It is the first episode after the two sort of pilot episodes that came before.
  
• Poirot Set 6: The Movie Collection. I checked this volume from Lexington Public Library in part because I do like the series, but also because this particular volume has an adaptation of Hallowe'en Party, which is the story that Kenneth Branagh adapted for his A Haunting in Venice. This set also has two over films: Three Act Tragedy and The Clocks.
• Three Act Tragedy. Plot description: "Deadly Dinners Whet Poirot's Investigative Appetite. While visiting the Cornish coast, Hercule Poirot (David Suchet) attends a dinner at which one of the guests suddenly dies. An inquest finds no evidence of foul play. But Poirot’s host, renowned stage actor Sir Charles Cartwright, thinks otherwise, and another death at a later party with the same guests seems to confirm his suspicions. Together with Sir Charles and his vivacious friend Egg, Poirot applies 'la technique classique'—eliminating the suspects, one by one." This is interesting to watch because Poirot remains silent at times as Sir Charles and Egg speculate about the case and discuss clues. He just watches them as he himself is working the case in his mind. Once Poirot figures it out, the explanation is quite fascinating, and the crimes are for a very specific motive of passion.
  
• The Clocks. Plot description: "Poirot Identifies A Man Whose Time Ran Out. While trying to unmask a mole at Dover’s military base, Lt. Colin Race enlists Poirot to help him aid a pretty secretary apparently framed for murder. Called to a residence on a quiet street for a temporary typing job, she found only a man’s corpse lying on the floor. No one can identify the body, find a murder weapon, or explain the presence of four strange clocks—none of which belongs in the home, and all of which stopped at 4:13." The lieutenant is the son of an old friend of Poirot, a Col. Race (now retired), so there is the connection. The mole has stolen some important British maps and war plans; the country, at least the military, is anticipating another war (what would become World War II). So the question is how the dead man, the framed secretary, and the mole are connected, if at all? As Poirot points out at one point, the case may be getting complicated, but that means the solution will be very simple. It was not very simple, but part of it was very mundane involving fraud on one hand and espionage in the other.
  
• Hallowe'en Party. Plot description: "Poirot Looks For Ghosts From A Young Girl's Past. Wholesome fun at Woodleigh Common turns harrowing when a children’s Halloween party ends in the murder of 13-year-old Joyce Reynolds. Poirot is summoned by an old acquaintance, crime novelist Ariadne Oliver, to help in the investigation. He seizes on a clue: immediately before her death, Joyce had boasted of having witnessed a murder several years before, although she didn’t realize it was a murder at the time. Although everyone pooh-poohs her claim, Poirot knows that 'old sins cast long shadows.'” The death of a child is already a haunting proposition, and on Halloween, it makes quite a mystery with a scary touch. Old sins do cast long shadows as the death of Joyce is but part of a chain of other deaths all to conceal the old sins. Overall, this is a pretty good Halloween mystery.