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Jewel Robbery (1932)
Haunting Musical Theme Throughout
I've just read all 46 reviews to to see if anyone mentions what I consider to be one of best features of the film - a percolating, romantic melody. No one does, so I will. At first I couldn't place it but as the theme was featured more prominently as the story progressed I finally recognized it: Auf Wiederseh'n, My Dear. This was a very popular song by Russ Columbo that came out in 1932 but he doesn't sing it in the movie soundtrack, we just hear the instrumental. (It may be that the song came out after the movie, I don't know the history.) Russ became the boyfriend of star Carole Lombard after she split from our boy William Powell. He was tragically killed by a friend in a freak shooting accident.
Boston Legal: The Bad Seed (2008)
THE BET
So far, this is my favorite episode (I am on a binge, checking out four per day). The writing here is outstanding. The performances, as always, great - yes, Captain Kirk once again can charm the pants off anyone (certainly, as an old girlfriend once told me, not just an aging pretty boy!); Judge Byron Fudd, played by Chuck McCann, is wonderful, not a cartoon caricature as judges have been sometimes played in this series; and Alan Shore is more than himself in summation while under very 'difficult' circumstances. So sorry this is the final season. I could watch this quality until the cows come home, just like I felt for Breaking Bad.
The Office: Mafia (2009)
WHO ARE THESE IDIOTS?
For those giving a rating of 1, or 2, or even 4 to this episode is totally unconscionable. Many people check out these critiques and skip those episodes with poor, or poorer, evaluations than for others. This episode maintains the wonderful quality of the series and is enjoyable at every level of writing and performance; ie., it is completely underserving of such low (bogus?) scores. Are these low raters just oddballs with the proverbial 'only taste is in their mouths'? Are they the nuts who routinely give scores at the bottom FOR EVERY EPISODE but reveal themselves when they believe they have found a weak sister fallen down and can now kick her in the head?
The Office: Did I Stutter? (2008)
Meh
Meh ... I think Andy got a good deal & Dwight will never be able to resell the Xterra. Been there, done that (but it was with a Yugo). What was most frustrating about this episode was leaving us hanging when Michael cleared the conference room except for Phyllis after she disrespected his summer Xmas concept. How he handled her is left up in the air resulting in yet another lost opportunity to instruct the audience because, after all, it could happen to any one of us, either as the doer or the doee. Come to think of it, I don't know why Stanley's retort to Michael 'Was I stuttering?' should be considered such a big deal. I have a slight problem there I often use that phrase.
Genius (2016)
Hey Jude you're too short.
Jude Law is a fine actor but this is like having Mickey Rooney play Abe Lincoln. Jude is 5'10" while Thomas Wolfe was 6'6", a bit taller if he had had good posture (afflicted with 'scholar's stoop'). My choice for this part in a new movie would be Michael Phelps because besides being close to Wolfe's physicality he would no doubt be able to handle the role swimmingly.
The Indian Doctor (2010)
If you like Doc Martin ...
The strength of the series lies mainly in the casting. Both of the two leads, Sanjeev Bhaskar as Dr. Prem Sharma and Ayesha Dharker as his wife Kamini, have wonderful charisma - you can't help but like and admire them. In the first series, Mark Williams was born to play the nauseating Richard Sharpe. (He plays him so well I wish a spin-off series could be created for this character everyone loves to hate.) The second series, that I have just finished, features Mark Heap as an intensely irritating vicar who has a 'Jesus is my penicillin' attitude during a small-pox outbreak in the village. My favorite, however, is Mali Harries who plays Megan Evans, the lady in the village who carries a torch for Prem so bright it could light the way from Piccadilly to Hadrian's Wall!
Unforgotten (2015)
This Series Is Prime Suspect Caliber
We have some complaints from fans of this series on the mannerisms of the star. Granted, she is often just shy of quietly gnawing on the chair leg from a dollhouse. Still, her intelligence, sensitivity and, most of all, wonderfully expressive face puts her in the same dame league with Dench & Mirren.
Endeavour: Canticle (2017)
FLIP-SIDE
The title of this episode, 'Canticle', if googled, defines it as 'a hymn or chant, typically with a biblical text, forming a regular part of a church service'. So it is about music & religion. We folks of a certain age remember a certain mindless joy when first encountering the tunes & irresistible charm of the Beatles. A father didn't mind his daughter posting 'the boys' on her bedroom wall. That is, until John naively declared the Beatles to be more popular than Jesus. There was an initial backlash in America, especially the South. But genius overrides all else. The Wildwood, however, represent the more dangerous, more dark, perhaps like the Stones. Still, the Wildwood have been incorporated with definite Beatlemania echos. No members of the Wildwood are acknowledged as being married, just as Cynthia Lennon had been forced into the shadows. Most strikingly, the Wildwood manager is the spitting image of Brian Epstein, obviously made so with hair style & Savile Row suit (the fellow is shoo-in casting for any major Hollywood production of the fab four). Despite the insipidness of the moral crusader & her daughter, fans can still enjoy this episode watching the regulars do their thing - the reason for the popularity of the series in the first place!
From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)
JUST WATCH THE FIRST SCENE
The opening scene will introduce you, if you were not aware before, to a couple of wonderfully talented actors - Michael Parks & John Hawkes. I can only recommend that, once you recognize that they are special, you check them out in some of their other performances. Talent like theirs was always appreciated by the industry - they never lacked for work!
The Cheat (1931)
Style Over Substance ...
Tallulah Bankhead made her impact on the stage, not the screen. A 'movie star' is usually the result of the fortunate soul discovered to have, besides wonderful photogenicity, a distinct look like no other, and this look sometimes complimented by an unusual manner of speech. Two out of three ain't bad; but, since the camera didn't love her, Tallulah didn't stay long in Hollywood. The camera emphasized the squareness of her head, her hooded eyes, the hardness of her mouth, images belying the many first-hand reports of her irresistible allure when young. For me the major treat in watching this movie is the over-the-top depiction of the lifestyles of the rich and famous - so prevalent in movies made in Lalaland during the Depression. For example, the villain's bachelor pad, where Frank Sinatra might blush in embarrassment, features a curio cabinet with dolls representing female conquests (there is still an empty shelf for the future) and ornate Oriental sliding doors which, when opened reveal an Oriental string quartet reaching to a crescendo.
A favorite quote from her: 'It's the good girls who keep diaries, the bad girls never have the time.'