Media Notes: Roundup for January 2025

 

  

 

Welcome to my somewhat random selection of the movies and series on DVD and/or online I watched during  January.

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). In terms of movies, I did not watch much, in part because I was binge watching the Sherlock Holmes series (see below) and in part because I was reading more, which for me is always a good thing.

• The Outfit (1993. Crime. Action. Thriller). Plot description: "A renegade FBI agent sparks an explosive mob war between gangster crime lords Legs Diamond and Dutch Schultz." Part of the reason I picked this up is it features Lance Henriksen (Dutch Schultz) and Billy Drago (Lucky Luciano), two actors I tend to like. The premise of the movie is pretty good, FBI agent infiltrating the mob in middle of a mob war. However, the movie is seriously slow. There are some action moments but overall the movie does move fairly slow. To be honest, we do not even see Henriksen and Drago that much, since the focus is mainly on the agent infiltrating Diamond's rackets. When you see the two actors, which is rarely, especially for Drago, they do well with what they got. Drago does feel miscast as Luciano. It's almost two hours long (about 1:54), and you feel that length. The movie looks good, but that is about it. The plot is so so, not even a few minor sex scenes can save the film. I like mobster movies, but this one is just not very good. I hear this is the only movie to have Henriksen and Drago together; it's a pity it had to be in this movie. This is one you can skip.  1.5 out 5 stars. Via TubiTv. Watched 1/11.
• Heat (1995. Crime. Action. Drama). Plot description: "A group of high-end professional thieves start to feel the heat from the LAPD when they unknowingly leave a verbal clue at their latest heist.." The highlights here are Robert DeNiro (Neil, the lead thief) and Al Pacino (the police lieutenant), but movie does start with a relatively good cast including Danny Trejo and Wes Studi. The movie is pretty good, but the almost three hours running time is a bit much. Some scenes feel a bit like filler. Some of the domestic scenes are a bit much, and a bit of cliche such as the usual cop's woman whining he is not home enough, yadda yadda. That extra material stretches this movie unnecessarily. Script needed to be a bit tighter. By the way, that scene in the diner between Pacino and DeNiro, while reminiscent of a James Bond movie where Bond may have a meal or such with the villain, just seems not quite right for the movie. Feels more like an excuse to get the two great actors together. It is a good movie. Performances are good overall. The main plot develops steadily, the other subplots are OK but could have been removed  to streamline the film. I wanted to like this movie more, but it feels like a chore watching it half the time. By the way, not terribly happy about that ending. I know they needed to do the final showdown kind of wild west cliche, but would have liked it better if one of them had not turned around. It was OK so 2 out of 5 stars. ViaTubiTv. Watched 1/11.
  

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:

• Sherlock Holmes (1984-1994 series). This is the popular run produced by Granada Television in the United Kingdom with Jeremy Brett in the title role. I started and finished watching The Return of Sherlock Holmes, the second series. In actors you have seen elsewhere, Marina Sirtis, who many may know from Star Trek: the Next Generation, appears briefly as Lucrezia in "The Six Napoleons" (Episode 7).  This series also includes 2 movie-length adaptations: "The Sign of Four" and "The Hound of the Baskervilles."
• The other series going forward are: The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes, and The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes. 
• Whose Line Is It Anyway? (1988-1999. British. Comedy. Improv). Plot description: "The programme's format was on a panel of four performers conducting a series of short-form improvisation games, creating comedic scenes per predetermined situations made by the host or from suggestions by the audience." I continue watching the original British series on Tubi.