Media Notes: Roundup for August 2024

 

  

 

This is a somewhat random selection of the movies and series on DVD and/or online I watched during  August 2024.

Movies and films (links to IMDB.com for basic information unless noted otherwise). Most of these I watched via TubiTv.com, but now and then I use 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). I did not watch a lot of movies this month, in part because I was binge watching a TV series or two, details below.

• Species (1995. Action. Horror. Science Fiction. Thriller). Plot description: "A group of scientists try to track down and trap a killer alien seductress before she successfully mates with a human." I remember watching this years back, probably once it came out on video. I remember liking it well enough back then, so when I saw Tubi had it I decided to revisit and take a chance. One thing I did not remember from then is the film does have a pretty good cast including Michael Madsen (the hunter), Ben Kingsley (the research lead, i.e. the guy who had the brilliant idea that caused the clusterfuck to come), Alfred Molina (an anthropologist), and Forest Whitaker (an empath. May sound a little silly, but the film runs with it, and Whitaker does a good job as he usually does). For me, Whitaker can always be a reason to watch something. Natasha Henstridge plays the alien. For me, the movie has a bit of a similar vibe to films like Eve of Destruction (which came out in 1991; I watched and reviewed it  in March of 2022) and Mimic. It is also one of those movies where you have scientists messing with stuff they should not be messing with because they can without thinking if they should, as the good doctor said in Jurassic Park. Given the hubris, this is one where you root for the alien, since for starters, they created it in a lab, from instructions they got from outer space, then when the experiment is not up to their liking they try to poison her. She escapes, mayhem ensues. As I said, we root for the alien here. Overall, this is a pretty good science fiction thriller that builds up to the end. Good blend of suspense with some action. The cast does well with their roles; Henstridge was definitely good casting as the seductive alien hybrid. The special effects were good enough for the film. By the way, if the alien effects feel familiar, they were made by H.R. Giger, who also did the effects for the Alien film series.  Naturally, in films like these, they leave an opening for a possible sequel. Turns out there are three more sequels to this one. Tubi has them, so I will keep going and see if the series holds up or suffers the fate of so many nice movies where the sequels just sink the concept. For now, this is pretty good, so 4 out of 5 stars. Watched 8/3.   
• According to the Wikipedia entry on the film, there was a novelization of the film by Yvonne Navarro. Turns out she did this one and Species II. If I manage to find the books, I will read and review them.
  
• Species II (1998. Science Fiction. Action. Horror. Thriller).  Plot description: "An astronaut gets infected with alien DNA during the first mission on Mars and runs amok on earth. Preston and Laura team up with a peaceful, genetically re-engineered Sil to track the monster down." And here we go with the first sequel in the series. Michael Madsen (Press) and Marg Helgenberger (Laura in the previous film, a biologist and Press's love interest) return along with Natasha Henstridge. This time she is a different alien (called SIL before, she is Eve now, a clone from the previous female alien), but she is still the hot seductive alien hybrid. Whatever the plot, bottom line is Sil wants to mate with the new alien, who comes with the infected astronaut, and our heroes have to stop it or try to stop it. The original and this one were released in theaters. The later two sequels went straight to video. As for this film, it is an OK science fiction thriller. Some of the plot elements make little sense, but they are clearly there to move the overall story along. The special effects are good enough, similar to last film, but they do ramp up the gore a bit. The ending, as before, leaves the possibility of a sequel, though note they did that the last film, and then went in a different direction with the whole infected in Mars plot. Overall, the film is OK. It is definitely not as good as the first one, the plot feels by the numbers at times, and then the last act seems a bit rushed. Film is not really a big deal. Feels like a step down after the first one. This is one that could have gone straight to video. It is not awful, but it is not that good either. As the kids might say, it was just meh.  I'd give it 2 out of 5 stars. Watched 8/11.
  
• Interesting small detail. The Mars spacecraft has a bunch of corporate logos, much like a NASCAR race car, indicating the mission has and/or needed sponsors. Among the sponsors are Pepsi and Reebok. 
• In addition, Peter Boyle has an uncredited role as Dr. Herman Cromwell. In addition, James Cromwell and George Dzundza appear, but their roles are fairly limited, and they are playing mostly to a type, namely a somewhat corrupt US Senator and an uncompromising colonel respectively.
  
• On another note, unlike SIL in the first film, who had some standards to mate with healthy human males, the male alien here apparently has none. He just keeps finding females, easy ones, and impregnating them and the infected women make offspring and die in the process. Soon, the guy has a whole brood going.
•  Evil Under the Sun (1982. Mystery. Crime. Drama. Literary adaptation). I watched this back in August of 2020 and commented on it then. I had seen it on DVD from the public library, but this month Tubi had it, and I could not resist seeing it again. As I mentioned before, part of the appeal of watching these movies, for me at least, is in seeing all the small details of the setting and the characters. I did not rate it last time, but I'd say this is a pretty good 3.5 out of 5 stars. The cast is solid, and the story is good, even if, as I understand it, takes some liberties with the source material. Best part is the end when the murderer thinks they are free, but in the end, no one should try to trick Poirot. However, this is not the best of the Ustinov films, but still pretty good. Watched 8/11. 

 

Television and other series (basic show information links via Wikipedia unless noted otherwise). These often come via Tubi or some other free online option. The ones in DVD usually come from the public library. A few may be via YouTube, which, as noted before, I keep finding all sorts of other old shows in it, often full episodes. I'd say the highlight this month was watching Live, see below for details.

 

• Gordon Ramsay's Food Stars (2023-. Food. Reality. Competition). Plot description: "Contestants compete in food and beverage industry challenges in the hopes of being named the next great culinary entrepreneur and winning a cash prize." Two seasons so far; this is fairly new, so I decided to what the heck, take a chance. Started with the first season. Each season has 10 episodes. Each episode is about 45 give or take (without network ads. Tubi does have ads, but relatively minimal).
  
• In the first season, he picks 15 competitors for the cash prize. They will be doing various business challenges, and each episode someone gets eliminated until you get to the last competitor standing. Aside from fact they may be doing more or other things besides cooking, format is fairly familiar if you've seen other Ramsay shows, like Next Level Chef for example or even Hell's Kitchen. Unlike other shows, where usually competitors when put in teams will come together, for the most part, here right away there are a few primadonnas making things difficult for teams. One or two competitors are a bit irritating to be honest. I know these shows need drama, or they feel they need it, but yea, irritation early on is not good. After a challenge, Gordon talks to the losing team, each member one on one. On the show, they then bounce between each competitor rather than do one interview at a time. It is dramatic, but can be a little jarring for the viewer. By the way, team sizes can vary from episode to episode depending on the challenge. First season takes place in California, in and around Los Angeles.
  
• On a curious side note, when turning on the closed caption, I also accidentally turned on the audio description. Suddenly I get some extra description including mentioning when there is a title on the screen. An interesting experience, and I am glad it is available. I know it is mainly for the visually challenged, but I feel anyone can benefit. It is not intrusive to the overall show. So for now, I left it on. I did notice that the text of the audio description does not appear on the closed caption; I think that could be helpful too. 
• In the second season, Ramsay brings in a second mentor who will compete with him, Lisa Vanderpump (yes, I had to look her up, so here is the Wikipedia entry in case you need it too). In this sense, the show becomes similar to Next Level Chef, where there are multiple teams of contestants, mentored by Ramsay or another celebrity chef and/or entrepreneur, and each mentor hopes their contestant wins it all. They each will take 7 contestants, based on pitches the contestants make to get on one team or another. First episode in the second season is the contestants pitching to be on one team or another. To be honest, some of those pitches are painful to watch. Once the teams are set at the end of the first episode, we get on to the rest of the season with the challenges as before to cut them down to the winner. This second season takes place in and around London, England. The grillings, when the losing team members are questioned, are now with the group versus one on one has Ramsay did in the first season. The full group grill does add to the drama. I think the one on one could be a bit more reflective. 
• Overall, the second season was interesting, some good fun. Not sure about the grilling segments here. Having them in groups may make drama, but often it leads to bickering versus in the first season talking to them one on one. On a side note, I tend to prefer watching shows like this in a binge rather than waiting a week at a time. If there is a third season I am likely to watch and see what they do different.
• Live (2018. Drama. Police Procedural. South Korean television series). Plot description: "A realistic, multifaceted glimpse into the inner workings of the Hongil patrol division and the everyday lives and struggles of its officers." At 18 episodes, it seemed to me a relatively short series, similar to other Asian police dramas I've seen, so I decided to give a chance. Episodes are about 1 hour and 15 minutes long.
  
• First episode sets things up, we get introduced to various characters, none of them a cop by the way. They are mostly various losers who are either underemployed, unemployed, or in one case working for a company that is really a pyramid scheme that falls apart. In another, a woman facing serious sexism in a job fair decides along with the others at various times to take their chances and try to become police officers after seeing recruitment ads through the city. They do have to take a civil servant exam, which suits the woman fine since it means she gets the job based on test score, not on some macho chauvinist's whim. So they pass, and on to the police academy and training. However, the academy is not going to be easy. Rest of the series follows them as they go on to become probationary police officers and do their jobs. 
• In episode 2, in very typical cop drama fashion, the one cop about to retire that day dies. The guy drowns trying to save someone. The overall scene is pretty moving. Also, interesting narrative detail as the opening scene of episode 1, which then turns into the flashback of how they become cops, gets back to that point in time in the middle of episode 2. 
• The woman soon finds out the cops can be just as big if not more sexist pigs than the civilian world as her and the others, probationary cops by now, find a very hostile hazing culture in the police unit they are assigned to. 
• Note the episodes tend to end in some kind of cliffhanger. Thus the series is really episodic; the episodes do not really stand on their own. 
• On trivia note, in episode 5, two of the cops, a female detective and her cop husband. She wants a divorce, and he keeps trying to hang on. At one point, he makes a reference to the film The War of the Roses. If you've seen that film, that sounded ominous. 
• Episode 13 is particularly moving due to two events. One is the wedding of the chief's only daughter. The other is the funeral of Det. Cho's mother, who has been in life support and finally they make the decision to release her to die in peace. 
• Overall, the series is very good. It is a bit heavy on romance at times, but the police procedural parts are good. Also, there is an undercurrent of corruption in the upper echelons of the police and the justice system that add to the drama. I personally find fascinating some significant cultural differences. In (South) Korea, cops operate with some serious restrictions to the point civilians often abuse them knowing the cop can't just respond. In the U.S., people abusing cops would be arrested to say the least. Those restrictions also add to the drama and tension. 
• In the end, series is pretty well written and acted, and I'd say worth a watch. The drama and tension does ramp up, and for a moment I thought the series would end in a cliffhanger, but it does get wrapped up in a good way. I really liked this series, and I would recommend it.
   
• Next Level Chef (2022-. Reality. Cooking competition). I commented on the show and its first season back in May 2022. I watched and commented on the second season back in June 2023. So Tubi once again brings the most recent season at the time shortly after it ended on regular broadcast. We are in season three now, and this season has 16 episodes. This time they start by making the competitors audition and cook in all three levels in the first round to then make it to one of the celebrity chefs' teams. First three episodes will be auditions as the group is culled, then the chefs will pick their competitors for teams. Start with 24, and they are losing 9 to get to 15 to then start the competition. They divided the 24 into 3 groups: social media chefs, home cooks, and professionals. So a bit of a different beginning, but rest of the competition is same format as before pretty much. Prize is still $250K for one and a year of mentorship from the celebrity chefs. By the way, the same celebrity chefs return with Ramsay.  I watched this on week that was ending July into August so making a note now. It was pretty good with a new twist or two to keep you interested. Something I like about this show better than other Ramsay shows, like Hell's Kitchen, is that he and the other mentors are not yelling at the competitors; they actually do some mentoring and coaching along the way.
  
• Women's Extreme Wrestling (2002-2008. Wrestling. Entertainment). I started watching this and commented on it last month. As I mentioned last month,  each episode seems to be its own event, and Tubi does not seem to have it all in sequential order, which means you may miss a plot detail here or there, but still entertaining now and then.