"If Reptilicus is hit, you'll never find all the pieces underwater. He'll regenerate, Mark!", 15 April 2017
Part of the frozen tail of an unknown creature is discovered and sent to a lab for study. By mistake, the tail is allowed to thaw and it begins to regenerate the rest of the creature. During a freak thunderstorm, the regeneration process is sped up and the creature, now called Reptilicus, escapes and wrecks havoc on Copenhagen. The military has its hands tied in dealing with the creature - if they blow it up, they risk creating a new Reptilicus for each of the many pieces.
I hadn't seen Reptilicus in at least 20 years, but thanks to the new MST3K, I rewatched it last night. What a fun/bad movie! The fun parts are watching a Danish take on the rampaging monster made famous by Godzilla. The scientists are appropriately serious and speak in a lot of sci-fi mumbo-jumbo. The women in the cast are just there with nothing much to do. And there seems to always be a clever reporter or two on hand. But the best of the cast is without a doubt General Mark Garyson. He's so over-the-top, it's very often laugh-out-loud funny. He spits lines like nails and chews scenery with the best of them. Whoever did the dubbing should have won award. Great stuff! The constant change in sweat patterns, jacket and helmet on/off, and his style of close talking are a real hoot.
Reptilicus is no Godzilla (or even Gorgo, for that matter) and is super-cheesy and cheap. The shots of the monster never really fit with the rest of the film. And that green slime is ridiculous looking. It was so obviously added in post production and has a definite cartoon look to it. Finally, the monster's neck looks so flimsy there is no way it could ever knock over a balsa structure, let alone a brick building.
Despite any weakness, the movie is still a fun watch. As a piece of entertainment, it works fairly well. Given the good and the bad, I call this one about average. A 5/10 from me.
5/10
"This job is more like rounding up sheep than grooming young ladies.", 15 April 2017
Phryne has taken the unenviable task of teaching her ward, Jane, and a group of similarly rowdy girls some lessons in etiquette for the quickly approaching annual Flower Parade. However, when one of her students turns up dead, lessons in manners hardly seem important. The coroner's report not only gives the cause of death, but provides a motive for murder as well. Phyrne is determined to see a killer brought to justice.
As with Away with the Fairies, this is a good episode, but not the best. The killer in Queen of the Flowers is a little too obvious once all the characters are introduced. While the blame is at first placed in the wrong direction, it becomes all too clear who the real killer is. I know I sound like I'm contradicting myself – one episode hides information and one episode makes information too available. It's a fine line to walk and some of the Miss Fisher episodes do it perfectly. Still, even knowing the killer's identity, it's fun to watch Phryne in action. Also, I don't know if I say this enough, but the show is just stunning to look at – costuming, lighting, sets, and everything else are amazing. Finally, the second storyline featuring Jane and her real mother was heartbreaking. I'm glad things turned out as they did. Overall, a 7/10 from me.
7/10
Kept me guessing, 15 April 2017
Phryne investigates the mysterious death of the editor of a women's magazine, Women's Choice. The editor also secretly acted as they magazine's advice communist. Could the woman's death have something to do with bad advice she dispensed? Or was there another motive behind the murder?
Not the best, but overall, Away with the Fairies is another strong episode. I suppose that what I liked best was the multiple suspects Phryne had to deal with and their stories that didn't always coincide with each other. The "who done it" kept me guessing (incorrectly) right up to the very end. I don't care for mystery stories that throw in a vital clue at the last minute where the reader or viewer would have had no way of knowing the information. It's a cheat. And Away with the Fairies is guilty of it and that keeps me from rating it higher. The end result, however, is very satisfying with Phyrne accusing the killer and various suspects arguing with each other. It's quite a scene.
I'm hoping that Away with the Fairies will be the end of Mr Lin Chung for quite a while. I never cared for his and Phryne's relationship and I hope he's gone for good. There's just something about the guy that rubs me the wrong way.
7/10
