Reviews

Apparently the writers of this episode didn't know the difference between amphetamines and psychedelic drugs and take every opportunity to demonstrate their ignorance.

First, toss in every 60s drug hysteria reference you can think of - LSD addled kids jumping off cliffs, a Timothy Leary clone, "guided trips" and the obligatory psychedelic distortion and lights.

Second, toss in the father of a dead tripper looking to avenge her death.

This is probably the weakest episode in the classic Hawaii Five-O's first season, given the utter ineptitude of the writers and the really bad emoting on the part of the nubile young trippers.

Balderdash was an exceptionally egregious example of the worst gameshows ever. It literally torpedoed the career of comic Elayne Boosler - I mean has she done anything notable since? If so, I haven't seen it. At the time, she was still popular and was frequently seen on the late night and afternoon talk shows. After "Balderdash" she just disappeared.

The so-called celebrities on the show were, for the most part D-listers at best and some were never heard from either before or after their appearances. The alleged comedy was stultifying and the prizes unbelievably chintzy.

Whoever green lighted this show was probably forcibly escorted from the premises after the first episode aired!

Tis a tale, Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing.

The CW's Tom Swift is all about style but woefully short in the script and acting departments.

A case of blatant cultural appropriation of an iconic White character who has been around over a century, it fails to convey the true essence of the Swift character.

Here is an Argentine noir film (English subtitles) that is a take-off of Fritz Lang's masterpiece "M" with Peter Lorre, though not a scene-by-scene remake like the US version with David Wayne. Well worth viewing when you have an hour and a half to kill.

Excellent, expressive cinematography, good acting and the pacing of the film is perfect.

Highly recommend.

This is a pretty good gangster film and sticks more or less to the facts about the Chicago gangster milieu of the era. One thing that always bugs me about Capone related films is that the actors are too old. Big Al was only in his 20s when he assumed control of the Southside mob after Johnny Torrio "retired". The acting is pretty good except for the absurd miscasting of George Segal as a gangster. Frankly, I'd be more intimidated by Peewee Herman. Look for several of Roger Corman's stock players in bit roles, including none other than Jack Nicholson! Despite its minor flaws, this is an enjoyable film for those who like gangster movies.

I really wanted to like this film seeing as I've read just about every book about Capone and the Chicago Outfit ever written. Unfortunately I was severely disappointed. The film is loaded with historical inaccuracies, such as calling Northside gang leader Dean O'Banion "Dion", using modern currency instead of the old style large bills and numerous other anachronisms. The script was apparently written by a high school student and the acting is uniformly bad. If you aren't familiar with the 1920s Chicago gangster milieu, you'll probably be confused about just what's going on in this picture. All in all, my advice is to not waste your time watching this. Some old "Untouchables" episodes are far more entertaining and more historically accurate.

Charlie Chan At The Opera is one of the better Warner Oland Chan films. I've always preferred Oland's interpretation of the character over Sidney Toler's, which is not meant to diminish Toler's Chan in any way, it's just a personal preference.

Anyhoo, we've got an escaped lunatic (Karloff) looking to avenge his attempted murder in an opera house fire several years before. Both his attempted murderers are, where else, at another opera house along with Charlie, number one son (Keye Luke), various assorted suspects, and the police who unfortunately include an incredibly racist sergeant (William Demarest). Demarest constantly makes racist insults to Charlie, who of course brushes them off with his usual Oriental courtesy. Frankly, the film would be far more enjoyable had Demarest's useless character never appeared at all, since he serves no observable purpose other than to very loudly bray his ignorance and bigotry.

Demarest aside, this is a fun ride with Charlie at the helm and the film moves briskly along with a couple of murders, numerous red herrings, and pithy Chinese proverbs right up to the surprising conclusion. Without Demarest I would give this film a higher rating, perhaps eight or maybe even nine stars but Demarest ruins each and every scene in which he appears.

Where to start on this misbegotten excuse for a western. Maybe with Sterling Hayden who couldn't even manage to take a few guitar lesson before taking the role of Mr. Guitar. Not to mention his stiff as a board "acting" - dreadful, simply dreadful. Then let us proceed to Ms. Crawford, a fading star who chews up scenery whole and is absurdly miscast as the terror of tiny town. Mercedes McCambridge takes turns with Ms. Crawford in chewing up the scenery. And did I mention the Dancin' Kid - oy vey iz mir - the absurdity of his name is only surpassed by the ineptitude of the actor portraying him. Nick Ray is beloved by certain individuals who love the "message" movies. Personally I wouldn't have hired him to do a dog food commercial. Other name actors, who should have known better, are in there pitching but with the inane script, they really couldn't do much. If Ed Wood had a budget and made a western, it would be Johnny Guitar.

I'll preface this by saying I couldn't stand Lucille Ball. She couldn't act, she couldn't dance, she couldn't sing, so naturally her monumental ego lead her to perform in this wretched vanity production. Angela Lansbury, who I saw in the Broadway production years ago, got shafted out of the job by a jealous Lucy, as did Madeline Kahn. I could never understand why people found Lucy funny. Her ridiculous mugging was always like "I'm Lucy, see me acting like an idiot, isn't it funny! Laugh at me!" The Rosalind Russell version is so vastly superior to this horrible dreck that it must have been embarrassing to the rest of the cast.

"A Dispatch From Reuter's" is best viewed by fans of the inimitable Edward G. Robinson, who turns in one of his usual excellent performances as Julius Reuter. The thin plot and sappy romance are best forgotten however. The usual supporting cast of Warner's does a credible job considering the deficiencies of the script. The notable exception is the always repulsive and completely untalented Eddie Albert, featured here as Reuter's assistant, Max Wagner, an apparent moron who is even dumber and more hapless than Gilligan from "Gilligan's Island". He manages to completely ruin every scene he's in. One would have to wonder why a smart guy like Reuter would hire such a complete boob.

"Anatomy of the Psycho" has a great title and a good plot device in having an executed killer's teenage punk brother go nuts and seek revenge on the judge, prosecutor and witnesses but that's about it.

Ronnie Burns got top billing but not too much to do, the real star is Darrell Howe, the aforementioned teenage punk.

Anyhoo, the pacing of this relatively short film is glacial, making it seem much longer. The acting is wooden and amateurish but even Lawrence Olivier would have had a tough time with the dialogue, the inanity of which is the only humor in this film, albeit unintentional. The interior sets are extraordinarily cheap & shoddy. The film borrows some of the music from Ed Wood's shlock masterpiece, "Plan 9 From Outer Space".

Generally I like the old juvenile delinquent from the fifties and early sixties but this film just bored me to tears.

This is a very bad movie. Not bad like an Ed Wood epic but just plain bad and tedious. Terrible acting by all concerned, snail-like pacing, heavy handed intrusive musical score and a ridiculous script. I find it hard to believe that contemporary audiences sat through four hours of this dreadful bilge. Christianity would not exist today were Jesus the boring lox portrayed here.

I suppose there have been worse movies than this but I can't think of one. Imbecilic plot, terrible acting and Hugh Grant - that's all that need be said about this dreck, another Ken Russell train wreck. Amanda Donohoe is sexy, which is the only reason I gave this 2 stars instead of one.

I wanted, really wanted, to like this movie. Unfortunately there's mostly low grade melodrama performed by mediocre actors. The kaiju battles were OK but all took place at night for some reason. All-in-all an overlong snoozefest.

I just binge watched both seasons of Mrs. Maisel.

Frankly, I was not impressed, especially by Season 2, in which the show went completely off the tracks.

The Mrs. Maisel stand up comedy is, well, not funny, rarely bringing a smile to my face.

Are we to believe 50's audiences would enjoy this woman's constant self-pitying whining and kvetching?

Since the entire premise of the show is what a fantastic talent Mrs. M is (as her Greek chorus of sycophants never tire of telling us), this is a serious problem.

I also have a problem with the rapid rise of Mrs. M in the stand up world and her amazing ability to meet celebrities of the era, it's way too contrived.

But the main problem is that the Mrs. Maisel character isn't likeable - she's a spoiled, self-centered, self-pitying Jewish American princess with an overinflated sense of entitlement. She treats her children like accessories, dumping them off at her parents while she pursues her questionable comedy career.

EDIT: Season 3 wasn't bad and Season 4 left me wanting to see more Midge.

Just finished watching "Gold Diggers of 1933". This is arguably one of the best, if not the best, of the Busby Berkeley musicals. Great cast too, although I still have to wonder who ever thought that Ruby Keeler could act. Great subplot involving stuffed-shirts Warren William and Guy Kibbee and gold diggers Joan Blondell and Aline MacMahon. This is a fun film with great songs including the knockout version of "We're In The Money" sung in pig latin by Ginger Rogers in the very beginning of the film.

I'll watch any western with Randolph Scott and they run the gamut from great to not so hot. In the latter we have "Riding Shotgun", an illogical, muddled tale of Randy being mistaken as in cahoots with the gang that shot up the stage coach and plans to rob the town. The plot, such as it is, is often only moved forward with Randy proving a voiceover Greek chorus. Randy was in there pitching but is done in with bad dialog and little support from the rest of the cast.

It's unfortunate that this film gets compared to the original Fritz Lang masterpiece as it is an excellent film in its own right. David Wayne turns in a great performance as the child killer. The location shots in Los Angeles are excellent, especially in the oft used Bradbury Building. Well worth viewing.

This film defines the Fred & Ginger genre and is a delight from beginning to the (almost) end.

First off, there's terrific songs by Irving Berlin, except for the Picolino, which ends the movie, rather letting down the audience.

But there's Fred & Ginger dancing on air to make one forget all about any shortcomings of the thin plot and the Picolino.

Add veteran character actors like Edward Everett Horton and Eric Blore for comedy relief and this all adds up to the best of the Fred & Ginger oeuvre.

Directed by Ishirō Honda, this film has a silly plot about the Kelok people from outer space controlling the kaiju in their quest to conquer Earth.

Plot and other deficiencies aside, what this film really offers is lots of really great kaiju battle scenes.

I enjoy watching guys in monster costumes destroy cleverly constructed but obvious miniature cities and this film has it in spades.

Admittedly, despite Honda's directing, this is a film best suited to die-hard kaiju fans such as myself.