The Itinerant Librarian: Media Notes: Roundup for May 2025

Sunday, June 01, 2025

Media Notes: Roundup for May 2025

Welcome to my somewhat random selection of the movies and series on DVD and/or online I watched during May 2025.

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).

After a slow month in April I managed to watch a few films in May.

The Rite (2011. Horror. Supernatural. Thriller). Plot description: "American seminary student Michael Kovak travels to Italy to take an exorcism course." Michael Knovak, the American, joins seminary to get out of his home and working as a mortician with his father, but he is also a strong skeptic. I admit that part of why I chose to watch this is that it features Anthony Hopkins as an old exorcist the American is sent to visit and learn from. In addition to Hopkins, other actors you may know working this film are Rutger Hauer (the American's dad, a mortician) and Toby Jones. The film opens with a brief statement, common to other horror films, that it is inspired by true events. Much like Michael in the film, we wonder if the possessions are real-- they seem real enough-- or psychological issues as Michael thinks, and is Father Lucas (Hopkins) the real deal, or something more. The movie builds up in a slow burn, some suspense, and then we get the terror twist at the end and we see the real horror. To be honest, we kind of see what will happen coming; the movie practically telegraphs it, but it still draws you in through suspense and some curiosity. Hopkins, as always, puts in a great performance as the apparently very eccentric exorcist priest. He is the highlight of the film, but O'Donoghue (Knovak) keeps up. Not a big deal of a film yet a decent film. If you enjoy your horror more on the suspense side with minimal to no gore, and you like supernatural stories and stories about exorcisms, you might like this one. Also if you enjoy a film with a good strong atmosphere, this may be for you. 3.5 out of 5 stars. Watched 5/3. Via TubiTv.

According to the credits, the film was "suggested by" Matt Baglio's nonfiction book The Rite: the Making of a Modern Exorcist. I am curious, but it is published by a PRH imprint, so subject to my publishers' boycott.

Winnie The Pooh: Blood and Honey (2023. B-movie. Horror. Slasher). Plot description: "After Christopher Robin abandons them for college, Pooh and Piglet embark on a bloody rampage as they search for a new source of food." This is one of those horror movies that gets made when some popular intellectual property gets out of copyright, in this case the original Winnie the Pooh. Given that, I am keeping the expectation pretty low, but I am curious enough to take a chance watching it. The story book style opening and exposition sets up the film, and it is quite macabre; it also sets the mood a bit for the rest of the film which is in live action. Film then starts five years later after Christopher Robin left for college. At that point, he returns with a new wife to show her the old woods, but much has changed since he left, and the nightmare goes from there. While the premise sounds well enough, in the end this is your basic a few bimbos (no relation nor connection to Christopher Robin, who is soon mostly forgotten after the film's opening until the end pretty much) go away to the woods for a weekend and there is a slasher in the wood, in this case Pooh and Piglet. Pooh pretty much looks like some backwoods hick with a bear head and dressed in overalls and flannel shirt. It's a pretty generic slasher look. Pace is pretty slow, the overall plot really thin and nonsensical, and the deaths are not all that. Plus you get the usual bad decisions by the victims. You get the idea, only done pretty cheaply. I mean, slashers for the most part are cheesy and bad in terms of acting, plot, so on, but this just drags in a generic slasher in the woods deal that is often pretty boring A pity. By the way, scene editing is pretty bad too. This could have had some potential to be a better B-movie, but nope. 1 out of 5 stars, and barely. One positive is the orchestral music they use for suspense, it is pretty good, but that is about it. You know about movies that are so bad can be good. This one is not one of those. It is just bad. Via TubiTv. Watched 5/3.
The Valachi Papers (1972. True Crime. Crime. Drama). Plot description: "Gangster Joe Valachi is a marked man in the same joint where mob boss Don Vito Genovese is imprisoned and he's forced to co-operate with the DA in exchange for protection." The film's Wikipedia entry discusses some of the controversy and critical reception of the film (it was poor at the time). Anyhow caught my eye in part because it has Charles Bronson in it, and I like Bronson, plus I tend to like or at least be curious about mobster films. In film, the interesting thing, if you can call it that, is the corruption inside the jail Genovese pretty much has it made and controls much of the jail. Valachi as a criminal is not sympathetic, but the corruption makes viewers wonder if Valachi is better than the rest. Anyhow, when Don Vito gives him the "kiss of death" Valachi knows he has to either testify or get killed in jail by Vito's goons. From there, taken to a military jail for protection, he tells his story to a federal agent, and we see his life through flashbacks. The federal agent he is talking to is kind of an asshole too. When Valachi says to the agent, "you guys are twice as crooked as we are," he is spot on. Overall, no one comes out well in the story. Movie overall has a bit of a slow pace at times, but it has interesting moments. Bronson does a good performance in it. I'd say the film overall was OK. It is not bad, but it is pretty flat, so giving it a 2.5 out of 5 stars. Via TubiTv.

A positive in the movie is the presence of Jill Ireland, as Genovese's wife. She does look very good. In real life, by now, she was married to Charles Bronson, and in fact they made quite a few movies together.
The film is based on Peter Maas' book of the same title, The Valachi Papers. (Find the book in a library via WorldCat. The book's Wikipedia entry gives a bit more information.) While I have not read the book at this time, I knew of Valachi from other Mafia books I've read.
On a trivia note, this film came out at same time as The Godfather. As we all know, The Godfather became a mega hit. This movie did well enough but nothing like the other one. Naturally, the other movie was fiction, and this one is based on a nonfiction book, though they do take some liberties in the film.
By the way, keep in mind this was before the Witness Protection Program existed as we know it today. Today, he probably would have been given immunity and made to disappear into the program.
On an odd note, I had forgotten/turns out I had seen this film back in September 2022. Clearly not that memorable, so good thing I kept notes back then. Anyhow, I realized when I was searching for something else on the blog and the entry came up. Go figure.

Ms. 45 (1981. Crime. Drama. Thriller). Plot description: "After being attacked and raped twice in one day, a timid, mute seamstress goes insane, takes to the streets of New York City after dark, and randomly shoots men with a .45 caliber pistol." Yea, I think the lady has more than enough reason to get her revenge. She gets raped when a random guy pulls her into an alley, and then gets home, finds another guy broke into the home, and he then rapes her. Talk about not being able to catch a break. Film opens with a soft piano music that increases in its tense tone, sets up the tone well. The obnoxious local New York men being obnoxious at the seamstresses after they get off shift just helps to set up things further; I mean, just makes them that less sympathetic when the shooting starts. Now, the shooting does not start right away. The film shows us Thana's trauma, and how it builds up over time. The fact the city is so unfriendly and hostile overall does not help. By the way, only reason Thana's nosy landlady does not get a bullet is probably because she is a woman because otherwise she is seriously irritating. The movie pacing can be a bit slow at times, but it has some good suspense and tension at key moments. We do stay with it wondering if she will get caught or not. The last 20 minutes or so is when things come to a boil, and as a closer we get a small humor touch with the landlady's dog. The film is good, but not great. Nowadays, watching the casual sexual harassment of women is kind of painful, but very reflective of the times. In terms of the rape and revenge genre, it falls in line with the formula, though it wavers a bit between making her a vigilante, which she is not, a victim seeking revenge, and an outright cold killer. Zoe Lund, as Thana, does provide a pretty solid performance, especially since she is silent in the film. She pretty much carries the film. Her expression often tells us what we need to know. As for guys, the message from the movie may be don't be jerks; you never know if she has a gun and is willing to use it. So willing to give it 2.5 out of 5 stars. Via TubiTv. Watched 5/10.

Film is listed in the Grindhouse Cinema Database. Film is part of that 1970s going into early 80s trend of revenge films such as Death Wish (1974; link to my film review).
Abel Ferrara is the director, known for other exploitation films including The Driller Killer, and later films like New Rose Hotel. Tubi has them at this time, so I will look to watch them too. Ferrara is still alive as of this post, and has done a variety of films (his Wikipedia entry for more information).
Zoe Lund had a short life, died at 37, but left a pretty solid legacy in films (her Wikipedia entry for information).
At the Halloween party scene, a man plays a trumpet, but the music sound is a saxophone, and there is no one playing a saxophone in sight. The film overall looks and sounds good for the time, but that detail is a glaring goof. The film's overall soundtrack, especially the music in suspense and tense scenes is pretty decent actually.

Full Metal Yakuza (a.k.a. as Full Metal gokudô. 1997. Thriller. Science Fiction. Crime. Dark Comedy, Japanese film). Plot description: "An inexperienced gangster is killed alongside his strong, respected boss and awakens to find a mad scientist has given him a new body made partly of his boss and partly of indestructible bionics." This is one of those films that went straight to video. Movie is in Japanese; English subtitles available. Hagane, who idolizes the Yakuza boss, is as weak and pathetic as can be. When the boss gets out of prison, he is betrayed and ends up killed along with Hagane. From there, the cybernetic plot takes off as he wakes up alive in what appears to be a lab. The scientist orients him, helps him out, but then Hagane sets out to get his revenge on those who killed his boss and him. It is a pretty silly plot, but the movie has some horror and science fiction elements combined with some bloody violence and some so-so special effects. This is the kind of movie to watch late at night with couple of beers and a pizza or two. It may not be director Takashi Miike's best, but it is still worth a watch if you like a bit of yakuza with your schlock. It was alright so willing to give it 3 out of 5 stars. Via TubiTv. Watched 5/10.

Takashi Miike's Wikipedia entry. Seems he has done a variety of films, even one or two I have seen such as Zebraman and Yakuza Apocalypse (I reviewed those two here) and Blade of the Immortal (my review). Miike's work can go from extremely good to extremely cheesy and in between, but I still am intrigued to look for more of his works.

I, Frankenstein (2014. Dark Fantasy. Action. Science Fiction). Plot description: "Frankenstein's creature finds himself caught in an all-out, centuries-old war between two immortal clans." Film was advertise as produced by the people who made Underworld, so I figured what the heck, I'll give it a go. The story here begins just about where the classic book Frankenstein ends, with a bit of liberty on that plot, but it gets this story going. 200 years later, the monster, named Adam by the Gargoyles, returns to civilization, where the Gargoyle Order (angels) want him at his side while the demons want him in order to experiment and try to replicate him to make an army. Adam would prefer to be left alone, but wars have a way of dragging people in, and he gets dragged into the conflict. Overall, this is a decent action fantasy film. Overall pace is pretty good; special effects are on par for the film. Not spectacular but entertaining. If you enjoy films like Van Helsing (the one with Hugh Jackman), for example, you might enjoy this one. The ending leaves it open for a sequel, but none ever came, probably since it did not do well in the box office at the time. I liked it enough so 3 out of 5 stars. Via TubiTv. Watched 5/11.
Bone Tomahawk (2015. Horror. Western. Drama). Plot description: "In the Old West, a small-town sheriff and his rag-tag posse set out to rescue several townspeople from a brutal cave-dwelling, cannibalistic Indian tribe." I've heard mixed reviews on this, but it does have Kurt Russel in it along with a few other horror staples like Sid Haig plus Michael Paré and Sean Young, so what the heck, here we go. Sadly, we do not see much if Haig after the film's opening. The film did win a few international awards for independent films, so that did sound encouraging to me too. The film in essence is an inbred cannibals horror movie set in the Old West. However, this is not a slasher or such, but rather it is a very low slow build up. We get a hint of the horror at the opening, then nothing major happens until the last 40 minutes of the movie. We spend most of the time with the four men on the trail traveling to go rescue the people kidnapped by the savages, and savage they are. Their journey does have some perils, but overall we are mostly focused on the characters. We see a bit of gore, but nothing too bad, and it is pretty brief. The highlight is the interaction of the four men as they travel. Good performances from the actors all around, but it is a bit of a slow film. Don't go expecting much action or horror throughout. The writing is pretty good too. At times the film feels a bit more like a character study than true horror. It is still pretty good but certainly not great. The story is an interesting idea, feels new, but the predominant slow pace really takes the momentum away, so I'd say 3 out of 5 stars. Via TubiTv. Watched 5/11.

The film's Wikipedia entry for more information. I am considering after this month linking to Wikipedia for films as much as available. The information is better than IMDB and free.
Side note: some reviewers pointed out that they could barely see Sean Young, and yea, she was barely in the film as Mrs. Porter, the town mayor's overbearing wife.

The Hurt Locker (2008. Drama. Thriller. War). Plot description: "During the Iraq War, a Sergeant recently assigned to an army bomb squad is put at odds with his squad mates due to his maverick way of handling his work." I had seen this before, but it turns out I had not reviewed it, so decided to take a look now so I could make a short review here. The film is a pretty solid drama, though it can have some slow moments. Jeremy Renner does a good performance as the bomb squad leader who often takes reckless risks and we learn has a very tormented soul. He bounces off well with Anthony Mackie, who plays Sgt. Sanborn, his second in command. The film does have some suspense and tension, but it also meanders a bit. Overall, good, but a bit of a mixed bag as well. I'd say 3.5 out of 5 stars. Via TubiTv. Watched 5/25.

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:

Master Chef (American series. 2010 to present. Reality. Cooking. Competition). Plot description: " MasterChef is an American competitive cooking reality television series that premiered on Fox on July 27, 2010.[1] Based on the British series of the same name and produced by Endemol Shine North America and One Potato Two Potato, the series features amateur and home chefs competing to win the title of 'MasterChef'." TubiTv has the series from the beginning in order, so I figured I'd take a chance and slowly binge through it. I've liked other Ramsay shows, so I am trying this one too. Tubi has up to season 13. Season 14 started back in May 2024, so I figure by time I watch the previous seasons it will be there to watch.

Started the month with Season 13 and finished it. This is the latest Tubi has at this time. Season 14 is the current one, which I am sure they will likely load up sometime next year. Anyhow, Season 13's theme or gimmick is "The United Tastes of America." To start, they do regional auditions in 4 regions: Northeast, Midwest, South, and West. So the competition now is not just for who gets the title, but which region. Season 13 has 20 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. Already watched The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (link) and The Return of Sherlock Holmes (link). Started and finished this month The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes.