What classics did you see last week, Jan 8 to Jan 14?

Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (2016).



Fantastic Four (2015).



Dumbo (2019).

First Viewings:

The Desperado (1954) 4/10

Arrow in the Dust (1954) 5/10

Beast (2022) 6/10

The Boston Strangler (1968) 5/10

Watcher (2022) 7/10

Misbehavior (2020) 4/10

Big Night (1996) 6/10)

Grand Central Murder (1942) 5/10

Ammonite (2020) 6/10

At Close Range (1986) 7/10

Repeat Viewings:

The Dark Avenger (1955) 5/10

Bad Day at Black Rock (1955) 8/10

The Safecracker / Ray Milland (1958). Director and star Ray Milland plays Colley Dawson, London’s most accomplished locksmith in the late 1930s. He can open any safe with ears so sensitive he can hear the tumblers turning. He is quite open about his talent; even the police will call him to help out when their own experts are stumped. He even still lives with his mother. But on weekends he lives a second life as a happy-go-lucky playboy with a different name and his own flat. He is also a master thief. Even so, he slips up and gets a long prison sentence. But when England is deep in the war years, his country comes calling. If he will undertake a dangerous mission into occupied Belgium and open a safe in a Nazi headquarters, he can be a free man. But can he take anything seriously? Not a bad little programmer. Milland directs adequately and is the best actor in the cast.




Star Trek: The Motion Picture / Robert Wise (1979). The unstoppable Star Trek juggernaut had not yet really begun. The Original Series ran for only 3 seasons (1968-1969). There was an animated series (dubbed “non-canon” by creator Gene Roddenberry) for two seasons (1973 to 1974). But there was still a dedicated fan base who were excited by the announcement of a theatrical picture. The movie has its virtues but on the whole turned out to be a bit of a disappointment. It is too long and more than a little pretentious and ponderous. Still, it is looked back on as an important development for the franchise, but it was another 3 years before “Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan” (1982) and movie success leading to 11 more theatrical features, including the recent reboot.
A mysterious space cloud of energy that eats everything in its wake is headed for Earth. The newly outfitted Enterprise has just three days to work out the kinks in the new design and stop the cloud. The former crew, Kirk, Chekov, Sulu, Uhura, Bones, Scotty, and, at the last minute, Spock take over from the younger crew causing resentment, especially from Commander Decker (Stephen Collins) who was supposed to be the captain of the Enterprise. What the find (at long last) inside the cloud is a satisfying ending but comes a little too late for exhausted movie goers.
    Trivia: There was to have been a new TV series called “Star Trek 2” or “Phase II.” The original cast (except Nimoy) were contracted, sets were built, and scripts written before Paramount bailed in favor of the Motion Picture because of lack of sponsor interest. The script that became The Motion Picture was a complete overhaul of the projected two hour TV movie titled “In Thy Image,” written to introduce the “Phase 2.”
    Son of trivia: Like the TOS before it, the Animated Series found new life in syndication allowing generations of kids in the 1980s and 1990s to find out what Star Trek was all about.




Ambulance / Michael Bay (2022).“Ambulance” is two hours of men yelling, tires squealing, automatic weapons firing, cars crashing, metal grinding and crunching, and a cut every two to four seconds. If that sounds good to you, go for it. There is plenty here. For me, it started as excitement but after an hour I was exhausted and impatient for a change of pace. I had to watch this over two evenings.
    Military veteran Will Sharp (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) is unemployed with a wife and infant. The baby needs an experimental operation but insurance turns him down because the procedure is, well, experimental. Will, an African-American, was taken in as a child by a white crime family in Los Angeles so he goes to his brother, Danny Sharp (Jake Gyllenhaal), who is still in the Life, to ask for a loan. Danny and four others are on their way to commit a major bank robbery but still need a driver. Danny promises Will several hundred thousand dollars and all he has to do is drive. Well, the heist goes south very fast, getting all except Will and Danny killed. They escape by hijacking an ambulance that has arrived at the scene. With the paramedic and a seriously wounded cop in the back, the chase begins which goes on until the end of the film.
There are a few consolations for anyone to whom this description sounds appalling. First is the performance of Abdul-Mateen who takes everything very seriously. There is some funny dialog from script writer Chris Fedak and there is Garret Dillahunt as a dog loving police captain. But what kept me going for the duration was my first time seeing Mexican actress Eiza González who plays Cam, the hostage paramedic. Her character is the action movie cliché of the Best Paramedic (or cop or doctor or secret agent) in Los Angeles But The Hardest To Get Along With. Yet her dynamic performance makes this old trope fresh. The opening rescue scene of Cam helping a young child impaled on a fence post after a car crash and closing the movie with her actions at the finish is the wisest choice the film makers made. Very cautiously recommended for Michael Bay action fans, mostly.






American Experience
“The Lie Detector: A Truly Unbelievable Story” Season 25, Episode 1 (January 3, 2023)

Star Trek: TOS
“The Gamesters of Triskelion” Season 2, Episode 16 (January 5, 1968)

Star Trek: The Next Generation
“The Vengeance Factor” Season 3, Episode 9 (November 18, 1989)
“The Defector” Season 3, Episode 10 (January 1, 1990)
“The Hunted” Season 3, Episode 11 (January 6, 1990)
“The High Ground” Season 3, Episode 12 (January 27, 1990)
“Yesterday's Enterprise” Season 3, Episode 15 (February 17, 1990)

Midsomer Murders
“Death Of A Stranger” Season 3, Episode 1 (December 31, 1999)
“Harvest Of Souls” Season 18, Episode 6 (February 14, 2013)

Misquoting Jesus (video podcast of 50-minute interviews with Bart Ehrmann)
“Bart and the Bible: What Made Bart Ehrman Change His View on Biblical Inerrancy?”
“Historical Paul: What Scholars Actually Know About Paul's Life, Beliefs, and Personality”

Endeavour
“Ride” Season 3, Episode 1 (January 3, 2016)

Annie Oakley (Vaguely remembered kids’ western from early childhood)
“Valley Of The Shadows” Season 1 (of 3), Episode 11 (March 20, 1954)

Only Angels Have Wings (1939) 9/10



They Drive By Night (1940) 8/10



The Maltese Falcon (1941) 9/10 repeat