Friday the 13th: The Series -- Season 1 Episode 2 (The Poison Pen)

You’d think that using a cursed item to predict someone’s death would attract attention.  You’d be right, especially if a group of people were looking for such an item.  When Ryan and Micki inherited an antique shop, they found that many of the items sold through the shop were cursed, so they began looking to retrieve the items with the help of their uncle’s former business partner, Jack.

One such item is a quill pen that allows the user to ‘predict’ someone’s death by writing out the details of their demise.  When a brother at a monastery is able to predict several deaths in short order, Jack sends Micky and Ryan in, disguised as monks, so that they can find and retrieve the pen.

What they find is that two of the monks aren’t really monks, at all.  Brother Le Croix and Brother Currie have come to the monastery to hide after some shady dealings, only found that someone’s offered a lot of money for the property.  If they can kill the right people, Le Croix will be in a position to accept the offer and run off with the money.

This was a somewhat decent offering, considering how early it was in the series.  I do have a few questions, though.  First, it seems odd that Micki and Ryan are able to get into the Monastery so easily.  All Jack has to do is forge some papers saying that they’re from another monastery.  Granted, this is before the Internet, but you’d think it would be a little harder to get in.  If two people transferred into a retail store and the manager hadn’t heard anything about it, you can bet the district manager would get a call within a few minutes.

What I want to know is how Micki, a woman, able to pass herself off as a monk so easily?  Apparently, it doesn’t take much beyond a loose-fitting robe to fool monks.  All Ryan had to do was say that she’s taken a vow of silence.  In their defense, maybe the monks don’t get out much.  For that matter, why was it necessary for both Micki and Ryan to go?  Couldn’t Ryan have gone alone, especially considering that Jack was going to join them later?

In the end, they get the pen.  Jack states that the pen can only do evil things; apparently, no one has attempted to use the pen to win the lottery or heal the sick.  The only apparent use is killing people.  It seems kind of simple to not even mention an attempt being made to use the pen for other uses.  It would be so easy to simply say that the cursed items have a corrupting influence.

That’s really where these early episodes fail.  The stories could do well with a little more complexity.  There’s only the basic premise that Lewis Vendredi made a deal with the devil.  We don’t even know to what end.  Simply that there’s something about that deal that led to the items being cursed and subsequently sold to an unsuspecting populace.

Normally, I might say to watch the series if you can get it streaming.  If you do that, I wouldn’t recommend making plans past the first few episodes.  This is the kind of series you might catch while changing channels and maybe watch it until the end, just for a few laughs.  Consider that the original air date is October 5, 1987.

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The Twilight Zone (1959) -- Season 1 Episode 19 (The Purple Testament)

Sometimes, a character is given a gift to show that it can also be a curse.  What if a character was given something he knew to be a curse to begin with?  Lt. Fitzgerald is serving in World War II in the Philippines.  At the start of the episode, Fitzgerald is horrified that he can predict who in his company will die next.

The episode begins with him claiming to have foreseen four deaths.  Is he going crazy?  His superior officer, Capt. Phil Riker, consults the doctor, but there’s nothing that would indicate any mental problems.  Still, be sees an eerie light for a soldier in a bed; the soldier dies moments later.

When Riker says that he’ll go out on a mission, Fitzgerald begs him not to.  Fitzgerald has seen the light on Riker’s face, meaning Riker won’t be coming back; he doesn’t see the light on anyone else’s face.  When everyone comes back, there’s only one casualty.  The last death that Fitzgerald predicts is his own.  When he’s given orders to report back t headquarters, he doesn’t even resist.  He picks his stuff and leaves.

It’s not easy being Fitzgerald.  We do see the light on the faces of people destined to die, so we’re led to believe that he really does have this ability.  However, we don’t actually see many of the deaths.  The first four occur before the start of the episode.  Riker dies off screen, as does Fitzgerald.

It’s not explained how or why Fitzgerald can predict the deaths.  He simply can.  It’s possible that it was imagined, as he only really called two deaths that he could have prevented.  Maybe he just happened to be right twice.  Then again, would it matter?

It’s also not explained how long he’s had this ability.  He doesn’t explicitly state that the four men Fitzgerald told Riker about were his first four or how he knew that the light meant death.  It could have been an actual ability brought on by being surrounded by death.  He did call several deaths.

Either way, he really did need to get out of there.  Staying with that ability would have put an unfair burden on Fitzgerald, assuming he could actually do anything about it.  He doesn’t know how people will die.  It could be a bullet or a shaving accident.  He could have the condemned stay behind only to see them die another way.  It’s understandable that the episode didn’t go down this path.  The point is that war is hell.

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Friday the 13th: The Series -- Season 1 Episode 1 (The Inheritance)

It’s amazing the difference a few decades can make.  There are video games that came out 20 years ago that seemed state of the art when they came out.  To play them now, they look like something out of the stone ages.  The same goes for other media, like movies and television.  Certain shows seemed like high art back when they first aired, but don‘t really hold up to what came out more recently.  I don’t know if this is because we’ve become spoiled by better CGI and HD television or if there‘s some technical limitation in the storage medium.

I remember watching Friday the 13th: The Series years ago.  In terms of quality, it was nothing spectacular, even back then.  It was about three people having to retrieve cursed items.  Each week was a new item and some corresponding story.  It was somewhere between The Twilight Zone and Warehouse 13.  It’s not available streaming, but you can get it on DVD.  When I saw the fist-season set at the library, I decided to get the first disc.

The pilot episode deals with the basic setup of the show and gives us the first item to be retrieved.  The story starts with Lewis Vendredi at the antique store where most of the cursed items originate.  We see hoof marks appearing on the floor.  Lewis dies when the floor disappears, revealing a fiery passageway going down.

After several months of probate, the store and its contents are left to Ryan Dallion and Micki Foster, his nephew and niece.  Ryan takes a liking to the idea of running a business, but Micki has a life elsewhere.  She wants to sell and be done with it, so they start selling off the items.

Enter Jack Marshak, former business partner of Lewis.  Jack procured the items for Lewis, not really knowing what was going on.  After talking to Ryan and Micki, Jack realizes that Lewis had made a deal with the Devil.  Upon breaking that deal, the Devil came to collect.  Oh, and many of the items that have been sold through the store are probably cursed, including a murderous doll.  Jack, Micki and Ryan have to work together to at least get the doll back, if not the other items listed in a ledger.

If you’re wondering what connection there is to the movies, there doesn’t appear to be any.  I remember reading that there were several people involved in both projects, but there’s no official connection.  There’s no mention of any characters or locations from the movies.  It’s not even mentioned where the shop is.

The episode doesn’t go into very many details at all.  We don’t know much about Vendredi’s pact except that it was for immortality.  We’re left to assume that Satan wanted to spread evil and mayhem through the items.  There doesn’t even seem to be any way of determining whether or not an item is cursed except through the ledger, which was just items sold to other people.

I don’t remember much about the series, so it’s entirely possible that such details were written into later episodes.  I’m kind of debating whether or not to start reviewing the series.  If this is going to be what a normal episode looks like, I may not last long.  Episodes will also be spread out, as I’ll probably be getting discs from the library.

This episode was somewhat gruesome.  I think that was par for the course; I remember a lot of episodes dealing with people dying in bizarre and gruesome ways.  If you’re at all squeamish, you’re probably not going to like the series.  Here, we get to see a doll kill or attempt to kill several people and yes, we do see blood.

Fans of more modern stuff will probably find the show kind of cheesy.  It was meant for TV, which limited what the writers could get away with.  I doubt hardcore fans of gore will make it past the second or third episode.  I’d imagine that most of the people that buy or rent the DVDs are like me.  It’s probably going to be someone that’s looking for a blast from the past or specifically likes the low-budget look.

IMDb apparently has the series listed as Friday’s Curse, showing Friday the 13th: The Series as the original title.  I’ve never seen Friday’s Curse as the title of the series.  I don’t know if there was some issue with the rights to the title or if Friday’s Curse was used in markets outside the United States.

I don’t really think I’d recommend paying money for this until you’ve seen a few episodes.  If you can get it for free, either streaming or from a library, it’s a good way to waste an hour or two.  Just don’t have high expectations.

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The Twilight Zone (1959) -- Season 1 Episode 18 (The Last Flight)

WARNING:  I’m going to give away the ending to the episode.  If you want to watch it before reading about it, I‘ll totally understand.


Lt. William Terrance Decker is not a particularly outstanding pilot.  Sure, he can operate a plane well enough, but he’s not the kind of guy that distinguishes himself with bravery.  When he lands on an air field, the only thing unusual about him is that he thinks that it’s 1917 when everyone else says that it’s 1959.

Decker is taken into custody by Maj. Gen. George Harper and Maj. Wilson.  Decker tells them of how he flew through a cloud while on a patrol mission.  It was a mission like any other.  Pilots were sent out in teams.  Decker and his partner split up.  Decker’s only hope was not to see any enemies.  His partner, on the other hand, would have loved the opportunity to fight.

Decker eventually reveals that he left his friend surrounded by seven enemy planes.  He admits that it was a cowardly act.  What confuses Decker is that the other pilot, Alexander Mackaye, is now an Air Vice Marshal and is planning on visiting the very base that Decker is on for an inspection.  Decker is certain that there’s no way Mackaye could have survived.  It would have required another pilot, but there were none that could have gotten to him.

This is when Decker realizes that he must have gone back.  He pleads his case to Wilson to no avail, so he forcibly escapes.  Decker eventually makes it back into the cloud and disappears.  Harper tells Wilson that it doesn’t look good for him.  That’s when Mackaye arrives.

Wilson asks Mackaye about Decker; Mackaye is able to confirm that Decker saved Mackaye’s life and that Decker was shot down.  Decker’s personal effects weren’t returned, which was unusual.  That was because Harper had confiscated them.  Mackaye is able to confirm that the Decker they had in custody was the Decker that had saved his life.

The episode is fairly simple.  It doesn’t really get into the physical mechanics of time travel.  We just know that Decker mysteriously skipped over 42 years.  Why?  Decker asks himself that very question.  His only answer is that it’s to give him the courage he never had.  He knows that history is depending on him.  It’s not just Mackaye’s life, but the life of several thousand people he saved during WWII.

The story isn’t too heavy handed with the time travel.  There is mention of what might happen if Decker doesn’t go back.  Still, there’s no talk of sending him back on a better plane or giving him winning sports scores.  No one tries to unfairly take advantage of the situation.  It’s strictly about one man having to do the right thing.

Interestingly, this appears to be the first episode not written by Rod Serling.  While Serling wrote many of the scripts, he got ideas from other sources.  Here, the script was written by Richard Matheson, of I Am Legend fame.  Matheson’s name is associate with a few Twilight Zone episodes in some form.  (IMDB has this episode as the first of 14 that Matheson wrote.  His short story also served as the basis for And When the Sky was Opened and Third from the Sun.)

I don’t recall seeing this episode in a lot of marathons.  (Come to think of it, I don‘t recall seeing a lot of Twilight Zone marathons lately.)  If you have it available streaming, I would recommend watching this episode.  It’s definitely up there in terms of quality and entertainment.

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The Commuter (2018)

Michael Macauley takes the same train to work every morning and takes the same train home.  He knows most of the regular passengers.  Then, one day he gets fired from his job selling insurance polices.  He’s a good employee, but apparently not good enough to support what they’re paying him.  He stops at a bar for a few drinks with a friend before catching his regular train home.

As if the shock of being fired wasn’t enough, his phone is stolen.  He’s then approached by a mysterious woman named Joanna.  She offers up a hypothetical question that turns out to be not so hypothetical.  Would he do one little thing if he got paid $100,000?

It turns out that $25,000 is on the train and there’s a promise of the other $75,000 if he can find a person with a bag.  She doesn’t tell him what the person or the bag look like.  All he knows is that the passenger goes by Prynne and is getting off at the last stop.  He has until then to find them.  Oh, and his wife’s wedding ring is in his pocket, should he get any ideas.

I’m not going to give away any details beyond that, but I will say that there weren’t too many surprises in the movie.  I’ve seen Non-Stop and I found this movie to be very similar.  Liam Neeson plays a character with a law-enforcement background forced into a situation where he has to help someone do something or someone dies.  To prove the point, people are killed.  (This is no surprise if you’ve seen the coming attractions.)  Just to prove that the movie isn’t entirely the same as Non-Stop, they throw in a minor similarity to Robocop.  (There’s a Detective Lieutenant Alex Murphy.  I don‘t know if this was intentional or not.)

The Commuter is sort of a weak mystery story.  Michael is able to narrow down the field when he realizes that the stations are grouped in zones for purposes of fares.  Each ticket shows a zone, meaning he doesn’t have to wait for everyone else to get off.  He can eliminate most of the people early on.  (On this note, I’ll admit that I’ve only been on the Long Island Railroad once, but don’t people put the tickets on the seat in front of them?  Here, it shows the passengers with the tickets placed on their own seats.)

Michael makes several passes up and down the train, trying to discern who this Prynne is.  It’s somewhat difficult for him to interrogate the people directly, as tipping his hand might prove disastrous.  (This becomes less of a concern as the movie goes on.)  The movie didn’t quite pull this premise off.  It’s not that the movie failed at it outright.  It’s just that it wasn’t enough to carry the story.  The antagonist is mostly absent from the movie and deals with Michael through proxies and cell phones.  It makes for a very lopsided story.

Most people will probably be better off waiting for the movie to come out on DVD.  I would have done the same had I not had MoviePass.  With the price of a ticket covered, my only concern was making the movie on time.  The primary reason that the movie was entertaining at all is that Liam Neeson at least plays the role well.  It’s a convincing performance, at least.  If you’re a fan of his other movies, you’ll probably enjoy this one.  Whether you want to see it in the theater or at home is up to you.

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The Twilight Zone (1959) -- Season 1 Episode 17 (The Fever)

Franklin Gibbs isn’t too big on gambling.  He sees it as an immoral activity.  Still, he’s apparently not one to pass up an all-expenses-paid trip to Las Vegas.  Rather than try his luck a little, he seems to spend most of his time telling his wife, Flora, how horrible gambling is.  Why, look at all of these people just throwing their money away.

Flora is not as judgmental when it comes to the activity.  She puts a nickel in a slot, but Franklin admonishes her.  Since the nickel is already in the machine, she pulls the lever and loses.  It’s not until a passing drunk puts a dollar in a machine and puts Franklin’s hand on the slot machine that Franklin has a taste of excitement.  His turn at the machine wins several dollars, which he’s initially content to take his winnings back to his room and save it.

Later, Franklin decides that he can’t keep dirty money, so he goes back down to the floor to give it back to the casino.  The next thing we know, Franklin’s lost a significant amount of his own money.  One pull may give him a few dollars, but he gives it all back.  He’s become obsessed with winning the $10,000 jackpot.

When the machine breaks on his last dollar, he accuses the machine of denying him the jackpot.  It’s not a machine any more; it’s a force that’s taken all his money.  He’s driven to the point of hallucinating.  He sees the machine following him, prompting him to jump out a window.

The episode is unusual for me in that I don’t really see it as a twist ending.  It seems like the natural progression of a story, even if it is extreme.  Franklin will either learn his lesson or he won’t.  He could have walked away any time.  Flora even tried to warn him that the next spin probably wouldn’t have been the big winner.

The episode would seem to come off as a morality play.  There doesn’t seem to be much of a counterargument.  We don’t see people staying within a set budget or doing anything else.  In fact, the entire episode takes place in the hotel and casino; Franklin and Flora don’t seem to leave the building until Franklin jumps out the window.

I have to wonder if this is the view most people have of a gambler.  Is it meant to warn off everyone that wants to go to a casino or is it simply meant as a warning of what might happen if you don’t moderate your impulses?  Franklin comes across as a very unsympathetic protagonist.  He’s very rigid in his view on gambling and would not seem to be the friendliest of personalities.  He’s exactly the kind of guy who would lecture you on the evils of something.  (If not gambling, then drinking or pornography.)  When he finally did meet his end, my sympathy was more with Flora, who didn’t deserve any of this.

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The Twilight Zone (1959) -- Season 1 Episode 16 (The Hitch-Hiker)

An antagonist is generally defined as someone who stands in opposition to the protagonist.  You have someone who’s trying to accomplish something and someone that’s actively trying to thwart them.   Nan Adams definitely fit’s the profile of a protagonist.  She’s on vacation, driving from New York to Los Angeles.  It’s fairly simple, except that one of her tires blows out.  The mechanic tells her that it should have killed her.  She’s lucky that she got out of it so easily.

She seems to have drawn the attention of a hitchhiker.  Nan doesn’t know how, but he keeps getting ahead of her.  She’s driving, but he has no apparent means of going faster than her.  She doesn’t know why, but the Hitchhiker makes her increasingly afraid.  Every time she sees him, she feels more compelled to get away from him.

This is where the label of antagonist seems inappropriate, as he hasn’t done anything overtly threatening.  He hasn’t approached the car or yelled at her.  He‘s not a particularly intimidating person, yet she’s overcome with emotion at each encounter.  She can’t explain why.  It’s not until she calls her mother that everything becomes clear.

The episode is unusual in that the main character also narrates in addition to Rod Serling.  The may be because the episode was based on a radio play by Louise Fletcher.  It’s not at all distracting.  I just found it a little odd.  I don’t recall many other Twilight Zone episodes doing this.

I could see a writing class using this episode as an example of good writing.  As I said, the Hitchhiker doesn’t present as much of a threat.  Antagonists don’t necessarily have to be menacing to be effective.  In fact, the Hitchhiker doesn’t even say that much.

I’m curious how much has changed culturally over the last 50 years.  It’s understandable in today’s context to understand why a woman driving alone would be afraid of someone like the Hitchhiker.  However, she’s trusting enough to pick up a sailor who helped her out.  Certain things may have been lost on me.

I’d say that it’s generally safe for teenagers and above.  The only thing I’d consider is talking to them about talking to strangers.  As I said, Nan exhibits two extreme reactions to dealing with people she doesn’t know.  She trusts one person without question, yet fears another without much reason.  As for younger children, Nan does show a good deal of fear, which could be scary.  (IMDb shows a rating of TV-PG.)

If you have Netflix and they still have this streaming, I’d say watch it.  It’s definitely one of those episodes that will leave you wondering what really happened.


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The Twilight Zone (1959) -- Season 1 Episode 15 (I Shot an Arrow into the Air)

WARNING: I’m going to give away the ending to the episode.  If you haven’t seen it and want to be surprised, you might want to hold off on reading this review.


It seems like space exploration was a popular theme for television back in the 1960s.  This was especially true of The Twilight Zone, which seems to have had its fair share of episodes about leaving Earth.  I Shot an Arrow into the Air is about eight men sent into outer space only to be lost very quickly.  (Ground control doesn’t know what happened to them, not that they have communications anyway.)

Four of the men survive the crash, although one dies quickly.  This leaves Col. Bob Donlin, Pierson and Corey to figure out what happened to the failed flight.  They assume that they’ve landed on an asteroid, although the atmosphere is breathable and the intensity of the sun is about what they’d find on Earth.

Either way, it’s hot and they don’t have much water.  Donlin, being the commanding officer, insists on maintaining order.  The big question, of course, is how to survive.  It took over four years to build the ship, so rescue might not come for at least that long, assuming anyone figures out where they are.  He sends Pierson and Corey out to have a look at the surrounding area, hoping to find something along the lines of shelter or food.

This episode, like many others, comes with a twist ending.  I’m conflicted about revealing it.  On the one hand, isn’t’ that why you watch the show?  Everyone wants to be surprised by the ending.  On the other hand, we’ve become a little more savvy about things like science.  It’s kind of hard not to question certain things.

That being said, you’ve been warned.  I’m going to divulge the ending:  They landed on Earth.  Corey kills the other two survivors for their water only to find out that he’s not too far from Reno.  It’s odd that several trained professionals sent into space would miss this rather obvious possibility.  For starters, they couldn’t have flown that far.  Space is vast.  The Apollo missions took several days to get to the moon.  I’m not sure where they thought this asteroid was.

Speaking of which, The Twilight Zone is either misuses the term asteroid or is  severely overestimating an asteroid’s gravity.  Anything that small shouldn’t have anything resembling strong gravity or an atmosphere, let alone mountains.  (I’ve noticed this in at least one other episode.)  An asteroid shouldn’t be that big.

My big issue was Corey.  He was kind of a jerk, constantly whining about not having water.  He even wants to refuse water to a dying man because the rest of them need it.  I’d normally say that it’s a fair point, but you don’t deny a dying man something like that.  How did Corey make it through training?  Don’t they do some sort of psychological evaluation or something?

It’s a good episode, but it’s not a great episode.  It’s one of those episodes I’ll watch if it comes on a marathon, but I don’t know that I’d pay rent it.  If you can watch it streaming on Netflix, go for it.

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Darkest Hour (2017)

When I saw the coming attraction for Darkest Hour, it said that Gary Oldman was playing Winston Churchill.  Wait.  You mean the same guy who played Zorg in The Fifth Element?  Yes.  The same guy who played Jean-Baptiste Emanuel Zorg is now playing Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill KG OM CH TD PCc DL FRS RA.  In case you’re wondering, there was use of makeup to make Gary Oldman look like Winston Churchill.

The movie takes place during the month of May, 1940.  It starts just a few days before he was offered the office of Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. His initial instinct was to fight Germany.  This was in opposition to others, like previous Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, who wanted to enter into peace negotiations.  Churchill realizes that they’re not in a strong position to negotiate, as they’re losing badly.

Part of the problem with historical dramas like this is that you know the outcome.  In the movie, Germany has yet to attack the British Isles, but the British Isles will be attacked.  After all, this is where we get Keep Calm and Carry On.  We also know that, despite Churchill’s doubts and insecurities, that he will get the United Kingdom through the war.  Thus, any threat of having him removed will fail.

The movie does have its entertainment value, though.  While Churchill is adamant in front of other people, the movie does show Churchill being uncertain of what to do in private.  He does consider peace talks, but finds his strength again after talking to several people on a train.  Even though Churchill had been a leader previously, it tales a while for him to find his strength.

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The Twilight Zone (1959) -- Season 1 Episode 14 (Third from the Sun)

 WARNING:  Im going to give away the ending of the episode.  If you haven't seen it yet, you've been warned.

I remember reading about the 2004 version of Battlestar Galactica and their decision to use things that we’d recognize.  This was particularly evident with clothing.  Someone wearing a nice suit probably means that he’s probably a lawyer.  If it looks like they’re wearing a uniform, they’re probably military.  I thought of this when I watched Third From the Sun.

The episode takes place on a planet that looks a lot like Earth.  They have factories with workers that go home to houses with wives and, possibly, children.  They play card games and have telephones.  In fact, two of the factory workers talk about all-out war being realized within the next 48 hours.  One of those men, Will Sturka, has a plan to steal a spaceship along with coworker Jerry Riden.  They’ll take their respective wives and Sturka’s daughter to a new planet, some 11,000,000 miles away, which happens to be called Earth.

It’s strange how some of the Twilight Zone episodes can seem somewhat dated whereas others, like this one, still seem relevant.  Consider that Hawaii just hat a threat of an inbound missile.  Such threats have always existed.  If you knew that a civilization-ending attack was coming, wouldn’t you want to get off the planet?

It may seem a little odd that the buildings look so familiar or that they have playing cards much as we do, but Most Twilight Zone episodes had less than 30 minutes to work with.  There’s not much time to waste on figuring out what’s what.  Those escaping go from factory to house to ship to Earth in short order.

This is why I’m a little hesitant to call out the fact that Earth is supposed to be so close to this other planet.  The distance from the Earth to the Sun is about 93,000,000 miles.  We don’t know that their mile is the same as ours, but we can assume that they’re similar insofar as this episode is concerned.  It seemed that The Twilight Zone wasn’t so good with astronomical distances.

When the wife serves chocolate cake and lemonade, it seems odd that they would have lemons and chocolate.  However, these details are minor.  What we call the refreshments is unimportant.  In all the major respects, the societies are similar.  So much so that we realize that the group of five people haven’t really escaped disaster.  At best, they’ve only delayed it.

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The Sixth Sense (1999)

Some movies have very limited replay value.  The problem with a twist ending is that it will probably put your movie into this category.  At most, you might get a second viewing just to see what you missed.  The more reliant the movie is on the ending, the less likely you are to watch it a third time.  Much of the value of The Sixth Sense is in not knowing how it ends.

It starts with Dr. Malcolm Crowe and his wife, Anna, at home after Malcolm receives an award from the city.  Malcolm is shot by an intruder who turns out to be a former patient named Vincent Grey.  Malcolm is a child psychologist who failed to help Vincent.

Malcolm is meeting with Cole Sear.  Cole’s story is similar to Vincent’s, so if Malcolm can help Cole, it might serve as an act of redemption.  You see, Cole is ostensibly a normal kid.  Sure, he’s a little weird and doesn’t quite fit in.  It’s not unusual for a kid to be picked on.

He has a secret, though.  Yup.  If you were around 20 years ago, you might remember that the kid sees dead people.  It terrifies him, as well it should.  It’s not something that a young child should have to see.  He may see the deceased hanging from a noose or with an obvious wound.

Malcolm is intent on helping Cole, regardless of how strange it sounds.  When Cole is able to help a young girl, Cole is able to come to terms with his ability.  It also prompts him to give Malcolm some helpful advice.  They realize that they won’t see each other again, as the twist ending is coming soon.

I don’t want to give away that ending, as you don’t really see it coming.  This is one of those movies to watch on Netflix or to rent.  I don’t know that I’d recommend buying it unless you’re intent on having every Bruce Willis movie out there.

I don’t see this movie a lot on the cable channels.  I don’t know if it’s that I don’t go looking for it or if it’s that it’s faded into the background.  It’s a shame because it is a well-written movie.  I didn’t see the ending coming the first time around, although I probably should have.  This is what prompted me to watch it again when it became available on Netflix.  I wanted to see all of those moments that foreshadowed the big ending.

The movie was still entertaining.  There is a scary element to the movie.  It’s definitely not something for young children.  As I said, there are some violent elements to it.  It’s also hard to do a full-on review, as it’s also such a well-known movie.  It’s well-known enough that parodies have been done of it.  The line, “I see dead people” was a catchphrase for years after the movie was release.

Still, I don’t think I’ve seen the movie since it came out in 1999.  As good as it was, it wasn’t a movie that I felt an urge to see again.  It will probably be another 17 or 18 years before my next viewing.

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The Twilight Zone (1959) -- Season 1 Episode 13 (The Four of Us Are Dying)

Arch Hammer is a man of many faces.  I’m not even being figurative.  He can literally change his appearance if he concentrates hard enough.  Does he join the CIA?  Does he work as a private detective?  Nope.  Nothing so noble.  Instead, he seems to wander into town intent on sampling people’s lives.  Specifically, he samples the lives of the recently deceased.

For instance, he finds a gangster that was murdered and uses that information to extort some money from the dead man’s former coworkers.  He also impassionate a boxer named Andy Marshak, only to find out that Andy had walked away from his family.  As you might expect, the ability does raise a few eyebrows.  People seem to know, to varying degrees, that the dead person is dead.  Arch is usually able to walk away before anyone starts asking too many questions.

You might wonder why Arch doesn’t impersonate someone of note, like a celebrity or a politician.  It would be easy enough to rob a bank if you could impersonate an employee.  I suppose that would draw too much attention.  Arch seems intent to get enough money when necessary if it means that no one will be after him later on.  The one thing he doesn’t seem to count on is Andy Marshak’s father coming after him.

This episode seemed rather unusual, mostly because the lead character was played by several different actors.  I suppose this is to be expected in The Twilight Zone.  It was bound to happen.  The one thing I found most odd was the use of neon signs at the beginning and the end of the episode.  I’m not sure what effect they were going for with that.

I was also at a loss to find a clear message.  Maybe it’s that even if you lay low, your choices catch up with you.  Arch was bound to eventually find someone that would get him in trouble.  This was someone who could have found a better use for his ability.  Instead, he used it to go through life unnoticed.  Maybe thinking bigger would have been the right thing to do.

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The Post (2017)

The foundation of a democracy is a free press.  The government needs to be held accountable and the way to do this is to have an independent group reporting on not only current issues but on what the government is doing.  It’s understandable that a government would want to hold secrets, especially when it’s at war, but sometimes, those secrets need to be exposed.

Vietnam wasn’t some minor indiscretion.  American involvement was spread out over three presidential administrations.  There was all manner of documentation generated by the United States Government admitting that it may have made a mistake.

Enter Daniel Ellsberg, a former analyst who copies what would become known as The Pentagon Papers.  He passes them on to The New York Times.  When The Times is bared from publishing them, The Washington Post decides to pick up the torch.  When the lawyers are called in, they promptly express fear that the same thing might happen to The Post.  The decision is eventually made to run with the story.

The decision takes The Post to the Supreme Court right next to The Times.  Being that this is history, I don’t imagine that any of this is a surprise.  It should also come as no surprise that both newspapers are exonerated.  It was decided that both papers had done exactly what they were supposed to have done, which was to report the truth to the American people.

The decision ultimately rested on Kay Graham, who took over the paper when her husband died.  The movie has her in the middle of an IPO.  She’s worried about the exact asking price, as more money would mean a secure payroll for quality reporters.  The movie initially has her shown as somewhat weak, often unsure of herself.

I don’t imagine that this was an easy time for her. It’s bad enough having to plan for a major change to the paper, but to have to add an unexpected twist?  Publishing could mean arrests and, possibly, the end of The Washington Post.  She has to balance the business of the newspaper against the ethics of journalism.  The First Amendment is the first one for a reason.  That doesn’t matter, though, if there’s no one there to report the issues.

One thing I found a little odd was that the price of the stock was mentioned in dollars and cents.  Stock prices converted to decimal on April 9, 2001.  Before that, stock prices were listed in fractions of a dollar.  $42.50 would have been shown on a ticker as $42½.  It’s possible that people still said forty-two dollars and fifty cents, but it stuck out to me because I‘m old enough to remember it the old way.

The movie ends with the break-in at the Watergate Hotel, which ended Nixon’s presidency.  (At least he got to keep the dog.  Right?)   The release of the movie during the current presidential administration might be somewhat coincidental, but the message is still clear:  We need journalists to keep us informed.  The movie wasn’t preachy about it.  It wasn’t necessarily edge-of-your-seat material, either, but it was entertaining.  I would recommend seeing the movie.

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Justice League (2017)

Having several superheroes in the same movie can be problematic for several reasons.  First off, you have to write a story for all of them rather than a story for each of them.  Try to showcase them individually, and the story suffers.  The second problem tends to show up in superhero movies.  You might have a movie that might rely on several other movies for backstory.  One of the things keeping me from seeing some of the Marvel movies is that you have to have seen maybe 5 or  6 other movies, and not all of those movies are going to be available streaming.

Justice League calls upon at least three prior movies:  Man of Steel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Wonder Woman.  I had seen Man of Steel and Wonder Woman, but not Batman v Superman.  I went into Justice League knowing this might be a problem, and it was, but not as much as I would have expected.

The movie starts with a threat by the name of Steppenwolf.  He had attacked Earth thousands of years ago, but was defeated through the efforts of several groups, including The Green Lantern Corps and the Atlanteans.  His power source is split up and hidden, but he’s back now and it will take another combined effort to defeat him.

Diana (Wonder Woman) and Bruce Wayne (Batman) team up to recruit other superheroes.  Wayne is able to make contact with Arthur Curry (Aquaman) and Barry Allen (The Flash).  Meanwhile, Diana tries to make contact with Victor Stone (Cyborg).  The Flash is eager to join the team whereas Aquaman and Cyborg need some convincing.  Those that have seen the movie poster may wonder what Superman’s logo is doing there.  Yes, he does play a part in the Justice League.  (And yes, this is where my confusion came from.)

Part of the problem with a movie like this is finding balance.  We’ve already seen the origin story for several of the superheroes with several more standalone movies coming over the next several years.  While I knew I missed out on some of that, it also sort of feels like I missed out on the origin stories for The Flash, Aquaman and Cyborg.  (Speaking of which, I didn’t get the impression that this movie shared continuity with the Flash TV series.)

It also seemed to have a good balance of action to story.  It’s tempting to focus on uniting the main characters and save the action for the last 20-30 minutes.  Here, we get a few scenes of Steppenwolf trying to get what he wants scattered throughout the movie.

The plot was fairly even and entertaining.  The only thing I took issue with was a key item being left unattended when several of the heroes were nearby.  Yes, they knew the importance.  You’d think someone would have kept an eye on it.  Those not familiar with the comics may be lost, especially if you haven’t seen the previous movies.  There are a few throwaway jokes that play to familiarity with the characters, such as Barry Allen needing to eat a lot.

Being a superhero movie, you know there’s a good chance the bad guy will be sent packing.  The movie even ends with the heroes talking of setting up a building with a desk to accommodate several more heroes.  And yes, you do get a post-credits scene hinting at a possible future storyline.  Although IMDb doesn’t have a year next to the second part’s listing,  I’d say that there’s a pretty good chance we’ll be seeing a coming attraction for DCEU movie in the near future.

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Molly's Game (2017)

Molly Bloom could have been a lot of things.  She could have been an Olympic contender, but an accident during trials prevented that.  She could have been a lawyer, but a year off school led to assisting with high-stakes poker.  Had it not been for an arrest, she might still be the best poker host that no one had ever heard of.  Alas, it apparently wasn’t meant to be.

Molly’s Game, as you might expect, is about poker games run by Molly Bloom.  When she takes a year off from law school, she lands a job that turns into assisting her boss with his games.  She picks it up well enough that when her boss tries to withhold her paycheck from the day job, she splits.  She takes his clients with her, allowing her to set up her own games.

You may be wondering if this is legal.  Molly asks the same question of a lawyer.  As long as she doesn’t take a cut of the pot, it’s just this side of legal.  Instead, she’s to rely on tips to build her bank account.  She even declares all of her income to the IRS.  She has a few setbacks, but is able to hold her own…for a while.

One of Molly’s dealers convinces her to start taking a rake.  It isn’t long before drugs and alcohol make their way into her life.  She even attracts the attention of the Russian mob.  (She denies knowingly being involved with them, although she does receive a visit from a rather large man who beats and robs her.)

There are several things that I hate seeing in a movie.  One is where the movie is told as a flashback.  Here, the movie starts with Molly’s arrest and subsequent search for a lawyer.  We have the story leading up to the arrest interspersed with her trying to defend herself and get money back that was seized by the government.

Another thing I’d consider cliché is the downward spiral.  It’s not as pronounced here as I’ve seen in other movies, but Molly Bloom is an ambitious woman.  She makes some bold decisions that cause her to make some bad decisions.  Those that have power not only want to hold on to it, but often want more.  Had she not started taking the rake, which is forbidden by law, she would probably have fewer problems.  Then again, we wouldn’t have a movie.  (I’m sure for every person like Molly, there are many others content to stay in the shadows.)

The whole aspect of changing names is to be expected.  Even with a story based on truth, I expect a certain amount of fictionalization.  Michael Cera plays Player X, who is supposed to be a composite of several other actors.   Naming a name like that could be problematic from a legal standpoint.  The movie also shows Molly Bloom refusing to do so for moral reasons, as all she has left is her integrity.

This is one of those movies I probably would have waited for on DVD or streaming had I not had MoviePass.  The movie wasn’t particularly exciting.  If you’re looking for an exciting gambling-related movie, there are others out there to be had.  The movie comes across more as a 140-minute cautionary tale.  Then again, there weren’t too many surprises.  I’d say this is a movie where you could easily judge your interest by the coming attractions.

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The Shape of Water (2017)

My mother and I were talking about Trading Places shortly after she had watched it.  She was wondering if the use of a derogatory term by one of the Duke Brothers was called for.  I felt it was, as they weren’t really meant to be sympathetic characters.  They were the antagonists and nothing else.

In The Shape of Water, Richard Strickland fills that role.  He’s a racist, misogynistic creep who happens to be in authority.  The movie is set in the 1960s and he seems to represent everything about that decade that humanity should have overcome by now.  This shows in his interactions with the other main characters.

When he first encounters Elisa and Zelda, two female janitors, he doesn’t seem to mind them watching him urinate.  This is after they complained that men can’t hit the broad side of a urinal.  (I guess aim doesn’t make you a good person.)  He also leaves his cattle prod in plain view, mentioning how dangerous it is.  (Compensate much?)  He also prefers to wash his hands before doing his business.  (Who even does that?)

It doesn’t take long for The Asset to arrive.  What the main characters call The Asset, IMDb has listed as Amphibian Man.  He was captured in South America and brought to Baltimore to be studied.  Amphibian Man is kept locked up with Elisa and Zelda going in to clean the room as needed.  When it becomes apparent that Amphibian Man will be killed, Elisa knows she has to free him no matter the risk.

This is the movie that Bright could have been.  Instead of using the fantasy element as just another aspect of the movie, we have the fantasy element worked subtly into the plot.  A creature is brought in for study and is treated like crap.  I would normally complain about the character being called The Asset, but that’s exactly what I’d expect.  If you’re going to a vivisection, you don’t want to get too attached to the organism in question.

Strickland is a results-oriented guy.  That’s why he was brought in on the project.  However, many of the characters are minorities.  Elisa is mute.  Zelda is African-American.  Elisa’s neighbor is gay.  There’s even a Soviet spy mixed in.  These are not people that were welcomed with open arms in 1960s America, which breeds a certain level of empathy for Amphibian Man.  How we treat others, especially those not like us, says a lot about who we are.  This is where Strickland comes across as pure antagonist.

It’s worth noting that the movie doesn’t hold any punches when it comes to minorities.  A couple is turned away from a restaurant because people of color simply didn’t sit at the counter.  Strickland talks down to Zelda and Elisa with open hostility.  He’s also not afraid to torture Amphibian Man (and others) to get what he wants.  (For parents thinking of bringing their children to the movie, these aren’t the only issues.  There is sexuality and language.  I would say that 18+ should be safe.  13-17 is maybe a judgment call.  12 and other should probably wait.)

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Bright (2017)

I’m old enough to remember a time before the Internet became popular.  People were making a big deal over a fourth broadcast network and cable, if you had it in your house, probably got 30 or 40 channels.  If you made a TV show and wanted to get it on a TV set, there was some degree of competition.  This isn’t to say that all shows were popular, but there was a good chance that your show might not make it.

Now, with 200+ cable channels, five broadcast networks, Hulu, Netflix and all other manner of options, it’s a little easier for TV shows and, by extension, movies to get made.  Netflix has had a few hits with Stranger Things and Okja.  There were bound to be a few bad movies.

Enter Bright.

Bright is set on Earth, but it’s an Earth where humans live alongside the fantasy races that everyone knows and loves.  Daryl Ward, is a human police officer working with an orc partner named Nick Jakoby.  The movie starts with Ward returning to work after recovering from a gunshot wound.  He blames Jakoby, who was busy getting a burrito.  Jakoby chased the suspect, but ultimately lost him.  Jakoby’s side of the story is suspect, but he’s still on the force.

The name of the movie comes from a group of people that can handle magic wands.  Those that aren’t Brights will die if they touch a wand.  The action begins when Ward and Jakoby find a wand and an elf to go with it.  When backup arrives, it becomes clear to Ward that the other officers don’t want Jakoby walking away from this.  Internal affairs is looking for an excuse to fire him, but a bullet would be quicker and easier.  It’s up to the two officers to find a way out of this.

My problem is that I wasn’t sure where the movie was going, and I mean this in a figurative and literal way.  Jakoby and Ward are being chased while carrying an item that acts as a beacon for its owner.  They can’t give it back and they just can’t leave it, so how are they going to get out of their predicament?

Then, there’s the underdeveloped story.  Science fiction and fantasy are often used as a way to deal with topics that you can’t deal with directly.  The movie tries to deal with racism by having orcs and elves.  This isn’t to say that there aren’t Hispanic gangs in this movie, too.  It’s just that they operate alongside an orc gang, as well.   Oh, and none of the police officers like Jakoby specifically because he’s orc.  Ward defends him, to an extent, but Ward doesn’t want him as a partner.

It kind of comes off as the pilot to a TV series.  I don’t know if Netflix is using this as a backdoor pilot for a series or if they’re looking to make other movies.  Either way, the movie could have used some more depth.  If a show is well-written, you can get the message without it being preachy.  You might not even realize what the message was until later.  If you look at Zootopia, it is somewhat obvious, but the movie tended to focus more on the story and developing the characters.

We learn very little about the various races.  We know that the races don’t get along.  Elves are seen as having money and power and a strong fashion sense.  Orcs are seen as being more athletic, although they tend to be football linebackers rather than basketball players.  (Only humans, orcs and elves are featured, although dwarves are namedropped.)  This isn’t a complex movie that hides is message under a parable.  This is a “Oh, this happened to a friend” stories.  Nobody’s kidding anyone.

This was the real travesty of the movie.  A little more time writing it and maybe filling in some details would have been nice.  I get that exposition might slow down the story, but lack of exposition weakens it.  I also don’t think that it helps the LAPD that all of the human officers are portrayed as racist to varying degrees.  (Early in the movie, Ward states that fairy lives don’t matter.)  All of the groups come off as being one-dimensional.  Some of the characters are more complex, but that’s not saying much.  Both Jakoby and Ward seem to respect each other a little more towards the end, but not by much.

I can’t say that I hate the movie, but I can’t say that I love it, either.  The makeup and effects were good at making the world seem real with maybe one or two exceptions.  However, I don’t think that the fantasy element really added much.  Sometimes, I’ll look at an element and wonder how necessary it was to the plot.  You could have removed the fantasy element without much effect on the overall plot.  I don’t even think there are many lines that would have to be rewritten, other than swapping out group names.

I may have to reserve final judgment.  I will be waiting to see if anything comes along in terms of a sequel.  If the sequel does well, Bright may have been worth it.  As it stands, I’m inclined to file it under miss rather than hit.

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Strange Gift Ideas for 2017

I decided that it might be a good idea to come up with one of those lists of wacky gift ideas since it’s getting close to Christmas.  My primary criterion here is that it be something that I wouldn’t actually expect someone to buy.  I’m just putting it out there, in case you might actually have use for it.

Pound-O-Dice

The perfect example of this is dice by the pound.  Yes, this is actually available.  I’m not sure who would buy this.  Even when I played D&D briefly, I don’t recall anyone needing this many dice.  It does seem excessive.  They do get customer reviews, an a lot of them, so I guess people are buying them.

It looks like this kind of product available from multiple sellers, so you can shop around.  I’d take a good look at the fine print, though.  The example I’m showing here doesn’t seem to make any specific claims about distribution, but I have seen some that will guarantee a certain variety.  You may be guaranteed so many different colors.  Another promises multiples of  d4, d6, d8, d10, d12 and d20.  Be sure to read the fine print on these if you do decide to buy one.

Uranium Ore

What do you get for the guy who wants to be on every government watch list?  Uranium ore, of course.  This appears to be low-grade, meaning you don’t need a license.  One of the suggested uses is testing Geiger counters, sold separately.  Still, I don’t think this is something most people would want around their houses.  I don’t think I would.  At the very least, the customer reviews will be good for a laugh.

C & A Scientific - Premiere 51010 Real Bat Skeleton

In case you’re wondering, yes, I totally lifted this one off another list.  I never said how I came across these ideas.  Also, this brand has several other species, such as cat and rat.  I’m not sure if they have a rhyming thing going on or not.  All I can say is that most of the people I know probably wouldn’t display this in their homes.  A few might, but not many.

ThinkGeek Easy-Open Canned Unicorn Meat: Excellent Source of Sparkles, Magic in Every Bite, 5.5 Ounce - Stuffed Plush Toy

You may have seen this one on Facebook.  It’s relatively popular, at least as far as this list goes.  I was actually intrigued by this gift until I realized that it’s a stuffed toy.  It’s basically former unicorn plush toys that were shredded and put in a can.  Of all the gifts here, I think this is the most likely to get an order.

Flux Bluetooth LED Smart Light Bulb

In mo far-from-exhaustive search for strange ideas, I came across an LED bulb that can change colors simply by using an app.  This is probably the one idea here that I might actually by for myself.  I do have to admit that the novelty would probably wear of pretty quickly.

This looks like the kind of thing that’s scaleable.  The manufacturer makes other similar products, so you could decorate a room with these lights.  I’m not sure who the intended audience is.  Most people I’ve met usually go with white lights.  And by most, I mean all.

I’ve never really been in a situation where changing the color of the lighting was called for on a regular basis.  In fact, I’ve only had one situation where I even wanted that feature.  It might be fun as a joke, but it would wear off pretty quickly.

Thumbs Up! Glow in The Dark Toilet Paper

The last item I’m including here is glow-in-the-dark toilet paper.  I’m not sure how safe it is to actually use.  Admittedly, it is a novelty item.  In fact, one of the suggested uses is for a glow-in-the-dark mummy outfit.  This is one of those items that might have some use, except that most bathrooms I’ve been in have working lights.  Outside of a power outage, I’m not sure when I would really need this, except to give it out as a gag gift.

The Twilight Zone (1959) -- Season 1 Episode 12 (What You Need)

As The Rolling Stones said, you can’t always get what you want.  Sometimes, fate gives you want you need.  If you’re lucky enough to meet a street vendor named Mr. Pedott, he may have just the item you need to get you out of a tight spot.  For instance, he gives an ex-baseball player a bus ticket to Scranton, Pennsylvania.  Moments later, the baseball player gets a call to go to Scranton.  If only he had a way to get there…

It isn’t long before Fred Renard picks up on Pedott’s skill.  Whereas Pedott is happy to give people what they need, Renard has no problem taking what he wants.  This means using strong-arm to get items out of Pedott.  At first, it’s a pair of scissors that he can use to cut off a scarf.  The second item is a pen that can predict the winner of a horse race.  The third time is it for Renard, though, as Pedott gives him a pair of slippery shoes.

Not much is said about Pedott’s gift.  He claims that he can see a probable future and give assistance based on that.  It’s not specified exactly how Pedott gets his information or how much he’s given.  It’s also not clear where the items come from.  Is the case magical or is Pedott smart enough to have items that would be of great use to a great number of people?  The bus ticket seems rather specific, but a pair of scissors has a great many potential uses.  Also, why would a street vendor have a pair of shoes?

It’s an interesting episode in that the two men are opposites.  Renard is ambitious to the point of it being his undoing.  Pedott is a nice person who you would think might be taken advantage of.  Renard certainly thought so.  However, there’s nothing about Pedott’s ability that precludes him from using it for his own benefit.  It’s just that he’s usually happy to help other people.  Perhaps we could take a lesson from Mr. Pedott.


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The Twilight Zone (1959) -- Season 1 Episode 11 (And When the Sky Was Opened)

I remember seeing And When the Sky Was Opened as a kid.  There was something unsettling about the plot.  It was a solid, understandable story.  Three pilots return from a mission in space, except now there are two.  Then, there’s one.  Finally, the last one disappears from existence.  There was just something that never really sat well with me.  I couldn’t articulate it until now.

The story begins with Lieutenant Colonel Clegg Forbes visiting Major William Gart in the hospital.  Forbes is already most of the way to a nervous breakdown.  Forbes asks Gart if he remembers Colonel Ed Harrington.  You might ask who Harrington is.  Gart certainly does.  Harrington was the first person from the space flight to disappear.

Forbes is the only person that can remember him.  People that have known him for years suddenly have no memory of him.  Mr. and Mrs. Harrington claimed not to have a son moments before Ed disappeared.  Even the newspaper shows only Gart and Forbes having returned from space.  Forbes recalls his version of events since the crash to Gart.  It isn’t until Forbes runs from the room that Gart realizes it was all true.  Forbes disappears.  Shortly thereafter, so do Gart and the plane.  It’s as if none of them ever existed.

Here’s what I couldn’t ask as a kid:  Why?  It’s never explained why the three men had to be erased from history.  It’s implied that they may have come into contact with something, but they blacked out.  If they can’t remember, there’s no real threat.  If something did happen and covering it up is that important, why not just erase the ship?  It seems a bit harsh to erase three men from history, as well.

If they are being erased, that would imply a conscious effort.  There’s no real speculation as to who or what that might be.  We don’t see a ship in orbit.  There’s no post-credit scene of two aliens talking to each other.  The episode ends with an empty bedroom where a test pilot should have been.

The episode seems designed more to instill fear than to impart some great moral.  This might have made more sense if the episode had aired on or near Halloween, but it first aired on December 11, 1959.  Despite having first seen it decades ago, there’s no I-get-it moment.  I’ve seen movies and TV episodes where some new piece of information puts the plot into perspective.

The only thing I can think of here is that there’s some historical context that I’m missing.  Perhaps there’s something about the late 50s that I’m not understanding.  In 1959, we hadn’t been to the moon yet.  This could simply be a way of playing on the fear of eventually leaving Earth.

This episode isn’t going to make my top-ten list.  It is enjoyable.  I might consider it for the top 30 or so.  It just leaves too many unanswered questions.  It would be interesting to see what Rod Serling would have done with more time.  As it is, it’s a somewhat lacking episode.


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