Blood Beast from Outer Space (1965)

- Night Caller from Outer Space
A talky, but enjoyable little B&W sci-fi thriller, 6 December 2008

A strange orb is found in the outskirts of London. The orb is soon determined to be a matter transference device sent to Earth from one of Jupiter's moons. It seems this alien civilization is bent on sending one of their own to Earth, but for what purpose? When a string of 20+ young women goes missing, the orbs monstrous purpose becomes much clearer.

Night Caller from Outer Space is a rather talky, but enjoyable little B&W sci-fi thriller. Highlights for me include the mystery elements of the story from the first ¾ of the film's runtime, seeing John Saxon in such a decidedly British production, the unknown creature lurking in the shadows, and some outstanding cinematography (in fact, the film looks far better than it has any right to given it's obviously modest budget). The biggest weakness, unfortunately, comes in the final moments of the movie. The ending of Night Caller from Outer Space is such a let-down and non-event that it really takes away from everything that came before. As the movie ended, I sat in amazement and said to myself, "That's it? You've got to be kidding." It's a very lame payoff. Night Caller from Outer Space deserved better than that. Finally, Night Caller from Outer Space includes some really cool period shots of London at night from the mid-60s. I always get a kick out of that sort of thing.

6/10

Poirot "Mrs. McGinty's Dead" #11.1 (2008) (TV)

"But I am afraid, Madame, that your female intuition; it has taken the day off.", 6 April 2011

James Bentley has been arrested, charged, tried, found guilty, and sentenced to hang for the bludgeoning death of Mrs. McGinty, a charwoman from whom James rented rooms. Almost immediately, however, the Superintendent in charge of the case starts to have doubts. He contacts his old friend, Hercule Poirot, to look into the matter. Poirot discovers that a crime committed long ago may have played a part in Mrs. McGinty's death. Has someone from the past come forward to commit murder? A couple of old photographs may hold the key.

It's hardly surprising I enjoyed this version of Mrs. McGinty's Dead so much. I've always enjoyed the book and I almost equally enjoyed this dramatization. It makes for a solid mystery plot. While it may not be entirely faithful to Agatha Christie's work, enough of the good stuff is still here. And really, what Christie adaptation could ever hope to be 100% faithful? The writing, the attention to detail, the cinematography, the lighting - all are what I've come to expect from the better episodes of the Poirot series. I've run out of superlatives to use when describing David Suchet. He's about as perfect for the role of Poirot as anyone could hope to be. Some of the other actors, including Zoe Wanamaker as the apple-eating Adrian Oliver and Mary Stockley as the uber-secretive Eve Carpenter also made significant impressions. Other than the botched and confusing handling of the pair of murderous backstories, Mrs. McGinty's Dead is about as good as I've seen in the entire series.

8/10