Ian Alexander Martin#STEnt finds its newest mission in the completion of Season 2.
In S2Ep25, Archer is kidnapped and T’Pol is infected with The Horn.
S2Ep26 sees Earth attacked by the Xindi.
S3Ep1 has Enterprise searching a mine for clues.
All: ★★★★☆
Thanks to @alexdecampi, we bring you this brief interlude in #STEnt viewing.
DAMN, is this ever GREAT! Noire, heist, nouvelle vague, and the most terrifying wallpaper ever! All together in one film! Watch‼️
Instant favourite!
★★★★★
Having seen the film “Dark Waters” starring @MarkRuffalo (watch that as well!), I was interested in knowing more about the legal battle with DuPont about PFOA/C8 contamination of water and land. This book is a GREAT READ‼️
★★★★★
#STEnt continues with strong episodes.
S3Ep02 reveals a pirates’ lair! Action!
S3Ep03 replaces crew with aliens! Scary!
S3Ep04 has Xindi intelligence closing in! Intrigue!
All: ★★★★☆
I now realize that the 3rd episode of ST:Ent is, shall we say, not highly regarded by some in the Trek Fandom. Heck, the director, LeVar Burton, is said to have told the producers he was “embarrassed” to have been the one who directed it. That’s as may be, and the science is of the most ‘hand-wavy’ variety, but I enjoyed it from an actor’s perspective. The cast had to find an entirely new character without losing their original one’s core. This isn’t easy, and the challenge could have been fun.
I certainly enjoyed watching it from that perspective. Some of the effects (the alien city in both of its states, alive and long-ruined) are less than stellar to the eye today, and the ending eschewing the opportunity to make entirely extinct a race of people is a bit heavy handed. As far as Star Trek goes, it’s not great, and isn’t even good SF in some ways. Still, there are FAR WORSE episodes of Star Trek out there than this one.
Three episodes of #STEnterprise which qualify as ‘building stories.’
S3Ep05 is ‘Amok Time’ mixed with ‘The Poseidon Adventure.’
S3Ep06 blends ‘Beauty & the Beast’ with ‘Doctor Who.’
S3Ep07 is about weapons v their makers.
All: ★★★☆☆
Two ‘filler’ episodes of #STEnt which aren’t part of the season’s story arc.
S3Ep08 is a time-line / history story with the wildest hand-waving ‘science’ I’ve ever seen.
S3Ep09 harkens back to #STtOS by being set in The Olde West.
Two Excellent #STEnt episodes! One okay one.
A complicated ‘what is life?’ for S3Ep10.
S3Ep11 is time-travel to 2002 Detroit to fight Xindi.
S3Ep12 demonstrates blind fanaticism being a fool’s errand.
Most: ★★★★☆
Three solid episodes of #STEnt.
The Andorians return in S3Ep13
All is not as it seems in S3Ep14.
A rescue mission in S3Ep15 has a sting in the tail.
All: ★★★★☆
Also, Episode 14 feels like the ship is on an Impossible Mission lasting 36 Hours.
Does anyone see what I did there?
I actually did it twice.
Anyone?
Viewed because of a mention on #STEnt. So very glad I’ve seen this. Incredible thriller about men driving dangerous cargo and the troubles they overcome doing so. Fantastic performances; riveting story.
★★★★★
#review #NeverEndingPandemic #film #VPL #CriterionCollection
Every single film involving a heist — even “Heist,” 2001 — exists because of this film. Although chunks of this exist because of Fritz Lang’s “M.”
Watch this and learn where it all began.
★★★★★
Solid, entertaining thriller in which NAZI forces (remember when they were the •bad• guys?) use psychological techniques to convince US Major to give up D-Day plans.
Great story, excellent acting from all involved.
Missable, but good!
★★★☆☆
Despite what the poster says, he really is a US Major.
Excellent neo-noire from the height of the late-’60s France. With more style than Paris Fashion Week, it’s a riveting picture. Me, I could have used more dialogue, but I totally understand why it’s minimal.
Highly recommended.
★★★★☆
Honestly one of the best comedies I’ve ever seen. How it took me so long to finally view it, I’ll never know. Genius story-telling and dialogue. Perfect performances from the Marx Brothers and especially Kitty Carlisle.
Mandatory viewing.
★★★★★
When I originally saw this, someone said “there was no one in there I can like!” Thinking to myself, “yeah, isn’t it great?” they did not agree. Everyone in the film was awful. Therefore, “that was an awful picture!”
I wonder where they are now…?
★★★★☆
#STEnt returns for an evening with a ‘bottle episode’ and a ‘moral quandary’ story.
S3Ep16 saves costs by using only the ship’s set and only five actors.
S3Ep17 deals with Enterprise saving b̴a̴b̴y̴ ̴H̴i̴t̴l̴e̴r̴ unborn Insectoid Xindi.
★★★★☆
#STEnt continues!
S3Ep18 has the crew stage an attack on the Earth killer weapon.
S3Ep19 sees Archer make a tough supply decision.
S3Ep20 sees a new alliance formed and mourning begin for Cmdr Tucker.
All three: ★★★★☆
#review #NeverEndingPandemic #TV #NetflixCanada
More episodes of #STEnt to complete S3!
S3Ep21 takes the ‘Grandfather Paradox,’ knocks it unconscious, strips it naked, ties it to the railroad, then drives a freight train over it.
S3Ep22 has Archer plead the case for humanity.
More #STEnt to end S3 and begin S4!
S3Ep23 + S3Ep24 have Enterprise fight with the Xindi against the Xindi to stop the weapon.
S4Ep01 + S4Ep02 pit Enterprise against NAZIs and aliens! Boffo results!
All: ★★★★★
More of the final season of #STEnt.
S4Ep03 has Enterprise deal with troubles back at home. ★★★★☆
S4Ep04 has fine premise with sun-par cinematography, acting, and writing. Disappointing start to 3-part story arc. ★★★☆☆
In 1960, Kurosawa was coming back strong after a number of less-successful pictures. With “Hidden Fortress” two years earlier, and “Yôjinbô” the year after this, “The Bad Sleep Well” is a scathing tale of how post-WWII Japan’s corporations, government, and the people who ran them, were working only for themselves and their friends. It’s here that Kurosawa may be at his most cynical; he’s certainly at his most socialistic.
★★★★☆
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Back to #STEnt S4Ep05 where the Augments are led by their ‘father’ to find their unborn siblings. ★★★☆☆
S4Ep06 has mutiny among the ranks, leading to failure. ★★★★☆
S4Ep07 sees an Earth Embassy on Vulcan destroyed by terrorists. Or is it…? ★★★★☆
Didn’t post this last evening owing to falling asleep watching, so went right to bed.
#STEnt S4Ep08 + S4Ep09 wrap-up a 3-parter quite well. The quality of story I’m — ironically — taking on faith due to not seeing the last 15 minutes or so. ★★★★☆
Two episodes of #STEnt this evening.
S4Ep10 doesn’t work for some reason. Maybe it needed a bigger question like “if you could pull anyone back from death?” ★★☆☆☆
S4Ep11 is a bit better, examining the results of non-involvement. ★★★☆☆
Two episodes of a 3-part #STEnt arc (it’s like all of Season 4 is 3-parters).
S4Ep12 + S4Ep13 are all about common causes, loss, and respect for everyone’s cultural formalities.
★★★★☆ for both.
#STEnt completes an arc and another as well.
S4Ep14 sees the end to a powerful weapon.
S4Ep16 + S4Ep17 covers curing a rapid pandemic for Klingons, and curing a misbehaving warp engine by turning it off and on again!
All ★★★★☆
ORION SLAVE GIRLS!! •THREE• OF THEM!!
Every single male of around my age, prior to Leia Organa, had a wild fantasy about green skinned babes. S4Ep17 of #STEnt honours that.
★★★☆☆ for wit and taking the plot beyond merely a sight gag.
Because by this point, #STEnt was cancelled but allowed to complete the season, I suspect they decided to have as much fun as they could. S4Ep18 + S4Ep18 reflect that (forgive me) with a two-part ‘mirror universe’ story.
★★★★★
A few months ago, I started thinking about Desmond Bagley’s “The Snow Tiger,” and started hunting my shelves, as well as my parents’. Having to buy a copy, along with “Night of Error”was an excellent result. Grand stories, both.
★★★★★
S4Ep20 + S4Ep21 of #STEnt are a two-part story about eugenists / xenophobes lead by a single-minded mad-man. Parallels to… oh, several points in history… are fairly clear.
★★★★☆ for both: they really zoomed past in a good way.
S4Ep22 of #STEnt is an odd experience, with a bit of a wrap-up of the show’s characters, but also a tie-in to #STTNG as well as Picard… sort of…? As I say: odd.
Still, closure is good. ★★★☆☆ for the episode.
The series in full: ★★★★☆ due to its solid writing and acting.
A bit like “Adaptation,” this deconstructionist meta action / comedy / thriller was last week’s 99¢ Apple rental, and just what I was in the mood for! “Tiffany Haddish plays a CIA agent” is probably the least weird thing in the film.
★★★★☆
Before “Iron Man” got the ball rolling for Marvel, people were all a-flutter about how “Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow” was morally wrong for creating sets out of thin air! How quaint they were.
Great style, thin story.
★★★☆☆
“The Blacklist” is something that I’m so happy is being made. It’s dark, political, topical, and frequently more morally uplifting than deserved.
S09Ep01 & 02 get the band back together, Ep03 gives them inertia.
Both: ★★★★☆
#TheBlacklist continues!
S09Ep04 involves a vigilante.
S09Ep05 has high tech PsyOps at its core.
S09Ep06 is about psychiatry and the criminal mind.
They all examine the question of “what is the right thing to do?”
All three: ★★★★☆
Two episodes of #TheBlacklist this evening.
S09Ep07 sees Agent Ressler get a shave and a haircut.
S09Ep08 has a pro tennis player killed by his physician. But… why?
Both: ★★★★☆
S09Ep09 of #TheBlacklist is an obligatory ‘Black People Working as Part of Systemically Racist Injustice’ episode — which is 100% accurate — but doesn’t touch on the subtlety of the issue.
S10Ep10 is about intra-agency non-communications.
Both: ★★★☆☆
Four episodes of #TheBlacklist.
S09Ep11 reveals Spec Agt Park’s interregnum wet-work.
S09Ep12 examines a ‘Black Market Stock Exchange.’
S09Ep13 looks at obsessive love.
S09Ep14 is about caring, unfit mothers.
All: ★★★★☆
Here are my issues with the episodes:
Ep11: the marriage of Sp Agt Park cannot possibly survive this, unless the husband is fully briefed.
Ep12: the notion of an ‘Underworld Financial Investment / Futures Market’ is insane.
Ep13: not only is technology not at this level, the guy who is a former Tech Bro not knowing about a LoJack-like system is preposterous.
Ep14: this mental problem is probably to some extent real, and that’s really disturbing. (not a problem, it’s a plus)
Recommended to me by someone who really enjoys Edward G Robinson’s work, this picture tells us what matters most in life is simple: love, family, and little else. Period.
A damned shame about the Italian-American stereotypes, however; including a bust of Mussolini in the bank president’s office. Leaping lizards!
All in all, a fine evening’s entertainment.
★★★☆☆
Return to #TheBlacklist.
S09Ep15: Harold reveals a secret altogether too late.
S09Ep16: Aram gets a job he never asked for (and does really well), while the Task Force pull a heist.
S09Ep17: Aram learns just what his programme is capable of.
#TheBlacklist S09Ep18 is centred around an addict and the search for someone from the past. ★★★☆☆
S09Ep19 has a growing conspiracy while Aram goes on a little trip. ★★★★☆
Conclusion of #TheBlacklist season.
S09Ep20 follows the money.
S09Ep21 is where the money leads to.
S09ep22 is the result of that investigation.
All three: ★★★★☆
The dialogue is clunky, some of the performances are too far over the top, and the action is occasionally predictable, but WOW does this picture REALLY COOK!
The thing it misses is Los Angeles with a hard-G.
★★★★★
#review #NeverEndingPandemic #film #CriterionCollection #IOwnThis
If you still wanted a reason to watch this, consider the following:
«The Kefauver Commission, a federal unit dedicated to investigating corrupting influences in the 1950s, singled this out as 1955's number one menace to American youth.»
BEST. REASON. EVER!
A picture about simple people working and living simple lives, and trying to do the right thing as often as possible. Sometimes, other people want to make that challenging. Those people are a problem.
Highly recommended.
★★★★☆
A very dark tale of losers who cannot win for losing in a very loss-filled situation.
Parallels of your humble reviewer’s life are present.
Highly recommended.
★★★★☆
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#SlashBack is billed as “Attack the Block” meets “The Thing,” and that’s a great way to get people interested! The French title is better, though: “Horreur boréale” reflects the setting, the plot, and sounds way cooler!
★★★★★
To be honest, I would have liked a bigger ‘final battle’ sequence, maybe involving more people and possibly some BFG-esque weaponry, but that probably would have trebled the budget. Still, a damned good picture! Excellent writing and cinematography.
Highly recommended.
Thinking I hadn’t seen this yet, I bought it on sale via Apple Movies for, I think, $10. A worthy ending to the run of James Bond films, with many inside references.
I would have preferred “007 will return” as a closing.
★★★★★
Also, quite the surprise to learn that the guy who plays Benoit Blanc in the ‘Knives Out’ films has •also• been in other films! I wonder if it’s because of @rianjohnson’s casting him in those films that this fellow is getting the gigs now! Talk about a lucky break! Wow!
I was previously unaware of the systemic cluster-fuck that existed in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts regarding drug testing lab techs, the AG’s office, and non-disclosure of exculpatory evidence to defendants. Wow!
★★★★☆
A mayoral race in Wisconsin becomes a battleground for the two US political parties’ dominance. But don’t worry; it’s all for a good cause! Someone’s… we’re not sure whose…
All entirely legally permissible.
Alas.
★★★★☆
And, if you should doubt just how factually plausible this film’s premise and action are, please read this quote from the former head of the US Federal Election Commission, Trevor Potter: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9076562/quotes?item=qt5700159
An incredibly well-made noire from a story by Hemingway. There are some incredible character actors in this, all doing phenomenal work. Do not walk, run to see this.
Highly recommended.
★★★★★
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An interesting interpretation of the previous version which adapted a short story for its first scene. Great performances, but FAR TOO BRIGHTLY LIT THROUGHOUT, owing to it being intended for television.
★★★☆☆
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Despite the problematic nature of the lead actor, this film is an incredible tapestry of an experience. It’s a picture one comes away from asking ‘what just happened?’ and feeling elated.
★★★★★
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Like “The Killers,” this stars Lancaster and is directed by Siodmak. Possibly the original ‘armoured truck heist’ picture. Includes butler to The Bat Man, as well as funicular railway. Lacks Los Angeles with ‘hard g.’
★★★★☆
