Lovejoy “The Sting” #1.3 (1986) (TV)

“I need you, Lovejoy. Since my wife died, I need someone to hate.” 15 October 2019

Lovejoy agrees to help a woman retrieve a couple of small antique statues. But when Lovejoy’s nemesis, Gimbert, gets his hands on the figures, out of spite, he’s not about to turn them over.  Lovejoy concocts a con to get the statues from Gimbert.

The Sting is a perfect example of why I love Lovejoy.  First, there’s the unharmonious relationship between Gimbert and Lovejoy.  They feed off making the other miserable. When Gimbert says, “I need, you Lovejoy.  Since my wife died, I need someone to hate”, he means it. Second, Malcolm Tierney is so good at playing the vindictive Charlie Gimbert that it’s hard not to cheer for Lovejoy even when he’s doing things that skirt the law (or at least ethics).  It’s always a joy to watch Tierney’s face when Lovejoy gets the better of him. It’s a nice piece of underappreciated acting. Third, The Sting features one of those interesting cons that are always a pleasure to watch unfold. As a viewer, I’m usually lost when it comes to what Lovejoy is up to.  Fortunately, by the end of the episode, it all comes clear and we see just how brilliant the scheme really was. And fourth, all of the regular characters get a chance to shine and play a part in the plan. Tinker, Eric, and Lady Jane each have a role if they are to successfully put one over on Gimbert.  Really fun stuff.

I think I wrote a long time ago that, to me, Lovejoy was “comfortable” television.  And there’s no better example of that than The Sting. Grab a snack and get comfy on the couch - that’s the best way to enjoy Lovejoy.

8/10

Jonny Quest “The Sea Haunt” #1.26 (1965) (TV)

“Don’t worry, Bandit.  Nothing will happen to you that won’t happen to the rest of us.” 14 October 2019

The Quest team discover an abandoned freighter in the Java Sea.  The captain's log indicates the crew were attacked by some sort of creature from deep beneath the sea.  After the Quest's plane is destroyed by the same monster, the team will have to use their wits to survive.

The Sea Haunt is a solid final episode in the Jonny Quest series.  The creature animation is a bit weak by the standards of the series, but it does come across as a dangerous being.  The creature looks a bit like The Creature from the Black Lagoon - with a tail. The strength is comparable as the creature has no problems destroying a plane and trashing a ship. He represents a real threat to Jonny and Co.  The group uses whatever is at their disposal to ward off the creature until they can be rescued. That’s one of the things that always impressed me about the series - the groups resourcefulness and intelligence. Overall, good storytelling and a fun episode.  

A few random thoughts:

1. Those acetylene torches were more like flamethrowers.  I don’t think that’s the way they actually operate.

2. I love the way Dr Quest and Race discuss the creature and its undersea origin like it’s the most normal thing in the world.  

3. The Sea Haunt does feature some unfortunate racial stereotyping.  I’m glad Charlie was the one who saved the day.

7/10

Hell House LLC (2015)

Creepy, but it could have been better, 13 October 2019

Found footage horror movie set in an abandoned hotel that some enterprising young people hope to turn into an elaborate Halloween haunted house.  But on opening night, things go horribly wrong and 15 people end up dead. An investigative journalist sets out to uncover the truth of Hell House.  

When Hell House LLC works, it’s incredibly effective.  There are parts of the film that really creeped me out.  If there’s one thing I can’t stand, it’s clowns. So, when dead-looking clown mannequins start moving mysteriously in the night, it’s uber-creepy to me..  Throw in a basement with Satanic drawings on the wall and old bibles scattered on the floor and I’m ready to hide until it’s all over. The backstory of the hotel and the hotel itself are also pluses for the film.  You get a weird, spooky vibe from the building even before anyone sets foot inside it. Finally, I like the fact that Hell House LLC is really two found footage movies in one. I won’t spoil anything, but the twist at the end worked on me.  

But as my rating would indicate, all is not perfect with Hell House LLC.  I have two chief complaints. First, almost every character involved in the haunted house preparation is as annoying as sin.  The entire time I was watching, I just hoped Paul and Danny would be among the dead. Second, and more importantly, not a single character in the movie displayed an ounce of common sense.  You hear strange things in the night - what do you do? Walk around with a camera and a weak flashlight? Well that’s what these people do. Turn on the damn lights! The lights work - use them.  And after you’ve seen strange things that shouldn’t happen (like a dead-looking clown moving around), do you get out? Not if you’re these lunkheads. The first time I saw some of the happenings they see, I’d be on the first bus out of town.  But because the characters in this movie act without an iota of common sense, they’re like lambs led to slaughter.

Overall, a real mixed bag.  Hell House LLC is creepy enough, but the characters really hurt my enjoyment.  

5/10

The Bride and the Beast (1958)

Horribly predictable, 11 October 2019

Things take a weird turn for newlyweds Laura and Dan when Laura finds herself strangely mesmerized by - maybe even attracted to - a gorilla.  It seems that Dan keeps a gorilla in a cage in his basement like it’s the most normal thing in the world. Oh, and he forgot to mention his basement gorilla to Laura prior to the wedding.  Nice surprise! Through hypnosis, Laura learns she was a gorilla in a previous life. As the newlyweds head off to Africa for a honeymoon, it’s pretty easy to see where this thing is headed.  It’s that predictable.  

Beyond being predictable, The Bride and the Beast meanders it’s way through about an hour of runtime with little to advance the main plot.  Instead, the movie gets sidetracked into a story about tigers loose in Africa (don’t ask). By the time we get back to the gorillas, I’d almost completely forgotten what the movie was supposed to be about.  And when it’s not dealing with the silly tiger plot thread, the runtime is filled with some wonderfully dull padding. Wandering through the jungle, stock footage of animals, and watching Dan rub his face - that’s part of the excitement of The Bride and the Beast.  

In short, The Bride and the Beast is a mess of a film.  It wasn't much of a surprise to discover that the schizophrenic plot was at least partially written by Ed Wood.  It’s that incompetent.  

2/10

El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie (2019)

Aaron Paul is incredible,, 11 October 2019

I’m not going to go into any real plot details so as not to spoil the ending of Breaking Bad.  Instead, I’ll just say that El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie (or just El Camino for the rest of this) tells Jesse Pinkman’s story immediately following the events in the series finale.  

The thing I absolutely loved about El Camino was seeing Aaron Paul play Jesse Pinkman one more time.  I thought he was good in the series - as good as Bryan Cranston - but here, he takes his acting up a notch.  Watching him play the beaten and frightened Jesse, it’s truly amazing. I could almost feel the pain Jesse was going through.  Paul doesn’t even speak much for a big hunk of the first part of the movie, but he’s still able to express his feelings quite clearly.  It’s really an acting masterclass from Paul.

The plot is okay.  It’s a very slow moving film with just a couple of action set-pieces to break up the drama.  But while it may be slow, it ever feels like a long movie. It’s about the fastest 2+ hours I’ve spent watching a movie recently.  When the action does come, it’s expertly handled just as you’d expect from Vince Gilligan. And the ending is perfect. Gilligan fittingly wraps up Jesse’s story as neat and tidy as you could hope. 

My main complaint is that El Camino never really feels like the big movie I was hoping for.  Not that that’s a bad thing, but I expected more. Breaking Bad told a larger than life story with outlandish characters, incredible dialogue, over-the-top violence, and amazing plot twists.  El Camino, in comparison, is much more laid back and doesn’t feature a lot of the elements that I loved in the show.  

The other thing that bothered me about El Camino was all the fan service.  Other than Jesse, all of the other characters / actors have little more than cameos.  It was nice to see some of them again, but a lot of them don’t do much. 

6/10

Missile X: The Neutron Bomb Incident (1979)

- Missile X - Geheimauftrag Neutronenbombe
Not very good, but it can be quite hilarious, 8 October 2019

A US secret agent and his Soviet counterpart are hot on the trail of a madman with a stolen nuclear missile.  The meet-up in Iran and decide to work together to save the world.  

This is yet another case where I readily admit the movie in question isn’t very good.  To me, however, there is some (some - not a lot - just some) entertainment to be had in Missile X: The Neutron Bomb Incident (we’ll shorten that to Missile X for the rest of this).  Granted, much of the enjoyment I derived from Missile X wasn’t what the filmmakers were going for, but this film is quite often unintentionally hilarious. I’ll limit this to three examples.  First, there’s Peter Graves as the Bond-like hero, Alex Franklin. It’s near impossible to take him seriously. He’s far too old for the role. And watching him put the moves on some young woman is just plain hysterical.  Next, Missile X features some of the worst (and funniest) fight choreography I’ve seen. There’s a hotel casino fight that had me laughing out loud. Or the shoot-out between the good guys and the bad guys where they're no more than 10 feet apart, yet no one gets hit.  Third, there’s the ridiculous music accompanying almost every scene. It has 70s feel to it that is totally out of place in Missile X. It’s hard not to giggle when even the most mundane events, like getting in a taxi, are backed by a loud, funky organ riff.  

I suppose that one of the most interesting aspects of Missile X are shots of pre-Revolution Iran.  Other than the Iran bits and laugh or two, there’s not much here to recommend.  

4/10

The House on Sorority Row (1983)

“You’re the last one of your friends alive.  You’re the bait.” , 7 October 2019

A group of sorority sisters decide to play a prank on their vindictive house mother, but things go horribly wrong and the woman is killed. With a party about to begin, the girls decide to hide the body in an abandoned pool until they can decide what to do.  When their friends go missing and the woman’s body disappears, the girls are convinced she’s come back to seek revenge. Meanwhile, the whitest party ever put on film carries on like nothing’s going on.

 I’ve always found The House on Sorority Row to be a lot of fun with some creepy moments and a few nice death scenes.  As with a lot of films of this type, the best parts only happen once the final girl is running for her life - and here, she has to do it will half-drugged out of her mind.  And that finale always gives me the creeps. The first time I saw this movie, when the killer makes his presence known near the end, I about jumped out of my seat.  It really worked on me. If you can get past some of the acting and a murky plot point or two, The House on Sorority Row can be a very effective, little, low-budget 80s horror movie.

Reading reviews around the internet tonight, I’m a little shocked to see how much hate The House on Sorority Row gets. I can’t tell you how many times I read that it’s cliched or unoriginal.  While I agree that it does borrow from some of the slashers that came before, a lot of what you’ll see here has been copied endlessly since the film’s release. The prank gone wrong, the college / sorority house setting, the exposition-filled flashback - they weren’t the standard slasher movie tropes then that they are now.  When I saw this in the theater in 1983, it was as fresh and innovative as any of the boatload of other slashers being pumped out.  

7/10