IT
Greetings, ‘IT’ is a 1990 television miniseries adaptation of the extensive Stephen King novel of the same name from 1986. It was directed by Tommy Lee Wallace who had previously worked alongside John Carpenter on a few films such as ‘Dark Star’, ‘The Fog’ and ‘Halloween’. He had also directed ‘Halloween III: Season of the Witch’, an instalment in which the horror franchise attempted to move away from Michael Myers. Due to the two part ‘IT’ series being set across different time periods, there is a large cast of actors and actresses involved in the programme including Tim Curry in a campy but fun iteration of Pennywise the Clown. Other cast members include Richard Thomas, John Ritter, Annette O’Toole, Harry Anderson, Dennis Christopher, Tim Reid and Richard Mauser. The soundtrack was conducted by Richard Bellis who also composed music for numerous Disney theme parks and attractions such as those found in EPCOT.
The plot begins in May 1990 and is set in the town of Derry, Maine during the rumblings of a thunderstorm. A young girl by the name of Laurie is in her backyard while her mother is dashing back and forth between the house and garden, bringing her washing in before it rains. The mother calls her child into the house but unbeknownst to her, Laurie is mesmerised by a figure hiding behind drying out sheets hanging on the line. The imposing figure is a colourful clown who greets the child warmly. When Laurie doesn’t come inside as she was beckoned, the mother heads outside and is horrified to discover her child has been brutally murdered. The police later turn up to the scene of the crime and it also attracts the attention of an unnerved librarian called Mike. Fearing the return of a horrifying entity from his childhood, Mike gets in contact with his old school friends and warns them that Pennywise has returned to Derry as he always feared he would.
30 years earlier in the spring of 1960, a young child called George is playing outside in a heavy downpour with a paper boat made by his older brother Bill. The torrential rain causes the boat to quickly float downstream until it disappears down a storm drain. George is upset over the loss of his boat and quickly looks into the dark drain to see if there is any way he can retrieve it. As he gives up and is about to go home, he hears a voice call out his name. George turns his attention back to the sewer system and a brightly coloured clown has appeared, peering out of the drain. After an attempt to lure him in with balloons, Pennywise introduces himself to George as the boy was instructed not to speak to strangers by his parents. George agrees the two are no longer strangers after this and can therefore talk to each other. Pennywise holds up George’s paper boat and teases him to come closer. An elated George outstretches his hand which Pennywise suddenly seizes hold of and reveals a terrifying row of sharp teeth.
I had heard a lot of good things about this series before I sat down to watch it and the years of hype around it thankfully didn’t lead to disappointment as it easily could have. I’ve watched some other made for TV adaptations of King’s work around this period, such as ‘The Langoliers’, and ‘IT’ certainly holds up well after the many years that have passed since it first debuted. While both the child and fully grown actors gave great performances, Tim Curry is an obvious standout among them as he plays Pennywise with the perfect level of sinister comedy that further cemented him as a pop culture icon. The series wisely sidesteps the controversial elements of the novel with one moment in particular being skipped altogether. I do intend to read the novel at some point in the near future but I am a little daunted by the sheer length of it and have been told it rambles along.
Plot=8/10
Characters=7/10
Special Effects=7/10
Overall=8/10
Quote of the Day
Are you driving with your eyes open? Or are you, like, using "the force"?
Axel Foley
Beverly Hills Cop II
Educating Rita
Greetings, ‘Educating Rita’ is a 1983 comedy-drama film that was directed by Lewis Gilbert and is based off of Willy Russell’s play of the same name which debuted 3 years earlier. Gilbert is known for directing a number of films such as ‘Alfie’, ‘Sink the Bismark!’ and three James Bond movies including the outlandish ‘Moonraker.’ The playwright, Russell, is also known for writing ‘Shirley Valentine’, ‘Our Day Out’ and ‘Blood Brothers’. The picture stars Michael Caine, who had worked with Gilbert beforehand in ‘Alfie’, and Julie Walters as the two main leads with Michael Williams, Jeananne Crowley and Maureen Lipman in supporting roles. The music was composed by David Hentschel who has collaborated with numerous notable artists over previous decades including Elton John, George Harrison and Ringo Starr while also writing the score for a few films.
The plot begins with Rita, a 26 year old hairdresser, who has become bored of her monotonous life as she lives and works in a dreary working class estate. As she goes through her life listening to the usual inane gossip of her clients and having the same boozy company in the same old pubs, Rita decides that she wants more from life. She wants to feel like she has accomplished something and become a ‘someone’, escaping the constraints of her blue-collar background. A main driver behind this decision is the heavy societal pressure to start having children that is coming from her husband, Danny, and her wider family. Rita, who is actually called Susan, is afraid that having a child will chain her to a life she is becoming disillusioned with. As such, Rita decides to go back to school and seeks out higher education.
Her decision leads her to literary professor Dr Frank Bryant whom she hopes to learn from under his scholarly tutelage. Much like Rita, Bryant has become dissatisfied with his life and he has taken to drinking to cope with his lack of meaning or purpose. While Rita is frustrated with the simple-mindedness of her often inebriated peers, Bryant has grown wearisome of the pompousness and inauthenticity of the academics he surrounds himself with. When the two first meet, Frank is immediately impressed by Rita’s hunger for knowledge and her common sense answers that bring a fresh new perspective to topics he has been teaching for years. Despite admitting that he is an atrocious teacher and trying to dissuade her of an academic life, Rita still wants to learn from Frank and the two grow closer together as they both reinvigorate the other.
‘Educating Rita’ is considered one of the best British films of all time and it is not hard to see why it has earned such an envious position. Its encaptivating from beginning to end and never seems to drag at any point in my own opinion. Both Michael and Julie give very memorable, charming performances as two people struggling to find satisfaction in their own lives but providing it to the other through their companionship. Rita’s transformation into an educated woman is interesting to watch as she develops a healthy self-confidence but slowly discovers her new social group is just as flawed as her old one. I’d be eager to watch the original play someday if given the opportunity as I would like to see how faithful the film is to the source material.
Plot=8/10
Characters=9/10
Special Effects=8/10
Overall=9/10
Quote of the Day
No, it's the truth! I swear it! Danny told me! He went up into one of the bedrooms, the door was open, and he saw this crazy woman in the bathtub! She tried to strangle him!
Wendy Torrance
The Shining
Archer
Greetings, ‘Archer’ is an animated comedy series that was created by Adam Reed and ran continuously from 2009 to 2023. Reed also previously created ‘Frisky Dingo’ and ‘Sealab 2021’ but I must confess to not knowing much about them. The show racked up 145 episodes in 14 seasons during those years and, after the decision to cancel its run was made, ‘Archer’ concluded its extensive storyline with a crowd pleasing 3 part finale. The series stars H. Jon Benjamin, best known as the voice behind the iconic Bob Beltcher of ‘Bob’s Burgers’, Aisha Taylor, Chris Parnell, Judy Greer, Lucky Yates, Amber Nash, the show’s creator Adam Reed and Jessica Walter of ‘Play Misty for Me’ renown. In the last season, the unusual decision was made to add Natalie Dew as another main cast member to the mix which felt a little jarring after being so used to the core line up for so long. Numerous guest stars have also appeared in the show as well such as Peter Serafinowicz, Timothy Olyphant, Bryan Cranston and Burt Reynolds. The music was provided by Australian musician JG Thirlwell.
The series follows the exploits of secret agent Sterling Archer, a quick-witted, womanizing alcoholic who works for the International Secret Intelligence Service. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the acronym of ISIS was dropped some years into the show’s run after the terrorist group of the same name began making headlines for their atrocities across the Middle East in 2014. The show begins with Archer being tortured but it is quickly revealed that it is only a training exercise after he mocks his fellow agent, a character called Crenshaw, into giving up his faux torture techniques. Malory, Archer’s stern boss and mother, is watching the training and is unimpressed by her son’s flippant behaviour. The next day Archer is called into Malory’s office where he is berated for misspending his work account on frivolous things and it is made clear that he will be fired from the agency unless he clears his accounts. Archer realises that if he can access the agency’s mainframe, he could alter his financial records and get himself out of trouble. He knows that two of his co-workers, named Cyril and Pam, are able to get into the system.
Archer plans to get his colleagues to help him clear his account but it is apparent he is disliked and they are unwilling to lend a hand after his previous boorish behaviour. After some attempts at half-assed apologies and a concocted story about hunting a mole in the workplace get him nowhere, Archer tries to break into the mainframe himself. This turns out to be a simple operation as he breaks into the office which has poor security mechanisms and the password to the mainframe is ‘guest’ which Archer guesses correctly. While fulfilling his scheme, Archer is surprised when his fellow agent Crenshaw pulls a gun on him and orders Archer to transfer $50,000 into his account. Crenshaw reveals himself to be a mole working for the Russians who believes that he was found out due to Archer’s fictitious mole hunt story being spread around the office. Crenshaw intends to flee the US and keep Archer as a hostage during his escape. Lana, another of Archer’s co-workers and former paramour, arrives and aims her gun at Crenshaw after a silent alarm had been triggered earlier.
The era ‘Archer’ is set in is difficult to pin down as there is a Cold War-esque feel to the show but it also references more modern events and phenomena. I believe this vagueness brings some charm to the programme and often works in its favour. The large cast of characters, such as the unhinged scientist Krieger and equally chaotic heiress Cheryl, are a big strength of ‘Archer’ as are the relationships they have with each other. The complicated ‘will they/won’t they’ relationship between Archer and Lana is certainly one of the more interesting aspects of the show. Understandably, the show loses steam towards the end of its run and a few of the routine jokes become tired but it tried some interesting concept during the ‘coma seasons’ which played about with numerous genres in self-contained seasons. ‘Archer’ has always been a reliable show for me throughout the years and I had some real fun with it, especially in the first half of its run, but I believe it reached its natural ending point when it was forced to wrap itself up.
Plot=8/10
Characters=9/10
Special Effects=8/10
Overall=8/10
Quote of the Day
A medium dry martini, lemon peel, shaken, not stirred.
James Bond
Dr. No
Cop Land
Greetings, ‘Cop Land’ is a crime film from 1997 that was written and directed by James Mangold. Mangold’s cinematic career was briefly discussed a few months ago on this blog as he later went on to direct the disappointing ‘Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny’ in which the titular hero is trotted out once more for a lacklustre adventure. For a movie I wasn’t familiar with until recently, I was surprised to learn how much of an all-star cast ‘Cop Land’ had. It boasts an impressive roster of talent including Sylvester Stallone, Robert De Niro, Ray Lolita and Harvey Keitel among its primary cast with actors like Michael Rapaport and Robert Patrick playing more supporting roles. The music was composed by Howard Shore who is known for his musical contributions to the ‘Lord of the Rings’ and ‘The Hobbit’ trilogies as well as collaborating on some of David Cronenberg’s movies including 1986’s ‘The Fly’.
The plot begins by introducing the fictional town of Garrison in New Jersey, a place that is a short distance from New York City and home to many serving police officers who patrol the American metropolis. The law states that NYPD officers are supposed to reside in the city itself but a number of cops, using a legal loophole, categorized themselves as ‘Auxiliary Transit Cops’ and were therefore able to reside in Garrison. The officers suggested that their reasoning behind this decision is so they don’t have to live in constant fear of gang reprisals but it also means they aren’t subject to NYPD’s Internal Affairs Division. Garrison is a peaceable place and is under the protection of one Sherriff Freddy Heflin. He is a man who wants more from his life than watching over a town in which nothing seems to happen but he had his aspirations of joining the NYPD dashed after he lost his hearing in one ear during a successful rescue attempt. When Freddy was a younger man, a woman had steered her car off a bridge and plunged herself into a river. The heroic Helfin had dived in after her and saved her life without any hesitation.
After a night of drinking in a seedy bar, off duty Officer Murray Babitch tries to drives himself home and runs over a glass bottle while starting off his journey. He is nearly involved in an accident when two African-American youths intentionally swerve their car aggressively at Babitch when he is attempting to cross the George Washington Bridge. The spooked cop hears a loud noise and believes he is being shot at by the aggressive driver. Babitch instinctively opens fire and kills the two delinquents in a state of panic. With their car brought to a halt, the trembling police officer checks it out and is distraught to find no weapon in the vehicle while he discovers his own wheel was blown out by a puncture. It isn’t long before the paramedics and NYPD show up to the massacre. A frightened Babitch informs his uncle Ray Donlan, a figure of authority in the police force, what happened. Donlan attempts to clear his nephew’s name by ordering one of his men, a dirty cop, to plant a used gun in the car. This act was caught by one of the paramedics and causes a fight between the medical team and the corrupt cops. During the commotion, an alarmed Ray shouts that the distressed Babitch had jumped off the bridge and he demands that a search party is sent out immediately.
I went into this movie with no real expectations of what it would entail but when the credits began to roll I knew that I had definitely enjoyed it. Stallone gives a very down to earth performance that is among his best works and the rest of the seasoned cast are very memorable. The movie is a far cry from the dumb over the top action flick that I half-thought it would be but that style of genre appeared to be in decline during the late 1990s when ‘Cop Land’ was made. It’s a gritty story in which the plot slowly unravels and it takes its time in building up to a satisfying showdown that feels very plausible. I’m not entirely sure why this film has been largely forgotten as time moved on or why it never developed more of a following than it has but if you are in the mood for an underappreciated crime picture then this might just be the one for you.
Plot=8/10
Characters=7/10
Special Effects=8/10
Overall=8/10
Quote of the Day
A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice Chianti. You fly back to school now, little Starling. Fly, fly, fly. Fly, fly, fly.
Dr. Hannibal Lecter
The Silence of the Lambs
Carol & the End of the World
Greetings, ‘Carol & the End of the World’ is a 2023 animated miniseries consisting of 10 episodes which was created by Dan Guterman for Netflix as part of their Original line up. Guterman doesn’t seem to have much in the way of a previous filmography before coming up with this series but he had worked in some capacity or other on several noteworthy shows including Dan Harmon programmes such as ‘Community’ and ‘Rick and Morty’ as well as Shion Takeuchi’s ‘Inside Job’. Among the voice talent for the series is comedienne and actress Martha Kelly as the titular Carol, Kimberly Hébert Gregory, Mel Rodriguez, Michael Chernus and Sean Giambrone. The music was conducted by Joe Wong who had composed scores for other Netflix Originals such as the surreal comedy-drama series ‘Russian Doll’ and the quirky animated podcast ‘The Midnight Gospel’.
The plot begins with the revelation, as can be gleamed by the title, that the world is coming to an end. A planet called Keppler is hurtling towards Earth and the catastrophic impact will wipe out humanity in the same manner the dinosaurs had met their sudden end. It is apparent nothing can be done to avoid this fate and with only a few months left until the impact causes its extinction, the human race has devoted itself to the principal of ‘Carpe Diem’. They have abandoned the notions of the everyday mundane routines that had been expected of them like work or household chores, embracing all manner of hedonistic acts and adrenaline-filled adventure seeking instead. As everyone seemingly does this without any qualms, the timid and socially awkward Carol struggles to adapt to her new reality. Carol, a 42 year old former middle-school secretary, attempts to hold on to her past life by consistently writing to her bank who brush her off by telling her all of her debts have been cancelled and advise her to enjoy the rest of her days. With another thread to the old world severed, she routinely visits an abandoned Applebees by herself as it had once brought her contentment when the world was still structured.
Her sad choices concern her elderly parents who have since become nudists and entered a three person relationship with their carer with whom they are going to travel the world via a cruise. Carol lies to ease their concerns by suggesting she has taken up surfing which relieves and assures them that she will be okay. She does attempt to join in the revelry of the chaotic masses by going to wild parties but finds herself more isolated when attempting to participate. One morning a dejected Carol spots a woman smartly dressed in office attire boarding a train. With her interest piqued, Carol stealthily follows the woman who leads her towards a supposedly abandoned building. Carol is shocked to find upon entering that there is a full floor of office space being manned by busy clerical workers. As she tries to find out what is happening, her questions are ignored while Carol is quickly brought to a room where she is photographed and handed a work pass. A confused Carol is brought to a work station and is instructed on what duties to fulfil. Finding solace in the admin work that she had been missing, she happily works away at her new found job.
I really enjoyed this show which I found to be very unique and narratively experimental in certain episodes. The short duration of the series means it doesn’t overstay its welcome and it is brought to a satisfying conclusion by the time the last episode comes around, making the audience resonate with the characters before long. The cast did a great job in bringing their characters to life and Martha Kelly in particular is very well suited to the role with her monotone voice capturing Carol’s personality perfectly. I don’t believe a second instalment is being planned for this show and, if there were such designs, I think it would most likely undercut the bittersweet finale it went out on. This one definitely gets a recommendation from me if you are looking for a bit of escapism and a refreshing take on the apocalyptic genre.
Plot=9/10
Characters=8/10
Special Effects=7/10
Overall=9/10
Quote of the Day
All right, you primitive screw-heads, listen up! See this? This... is my 'BOOMSTICK!' It's a twelve-gauge, double-barreled Remington. S-Mart's top of the line. You can find this in the sporting goods department. That's right, this sweet baby was made in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Retails for about $109.95. It's got a walnut stock, cobalt-blue steel, and a hair trigger. That's right... shop smart: shop S-Mart... YA GOT THAT?!
Ash Williams
Army of Darkness
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
Greetings, ‘Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny’ is a 2023 movie directed by James Mangold and serves as the fifth film in the franchise that started back in 1981. Mangold is known for directing ‘Walk the Line’, ‘3:10 to Yuma’, ‘Knight and Day’ as well as the well-received ‘Logan’. ‘Dial of Destiny’ is the first entry in the series that wasn’t directed by Steven Spielberg or had creative input from George Lucas and the lack of their cinematic touch is pretty self-evident early on. Harrison Ford returns as the iconic globetrotting adventurer and is accompanied by new comers Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Antonio Banderas, Mads Mikkelson, Toby Jones and Ethann Isidore who is fairly new to the industry. Some of the old cast reprise their previous roles including Karen Allen as Marion Ravenwood and John Rhys-Davies as Sallah. Celebrated conductor John Williams, best known for his world renowned collaborations with Spielberg and Lucas, provided the score once more for this latest Indiana Jones film and provides stellar work as per usual.
The plot begins in the French Alps in 1944 with Nazi forces being pushed back and hurriedly evacuating the territory as it comes under Allied bombardment. Indiana is being held captive by the Nazis in a castle after his cover has been blown during an attempt to retrieve the Lance of Longinus, the spear that pierced Jesus’s side during his crucifixion, from the Germans. His friend Basil Shaw, a British archaeologist, was also part of the recovery efforts before being captured and taken on board a Berlin-bound train. Indiana isn’t treated as mercifully as he is sentenced to death by hanging but before he is strung up, astrophysicist Jürgen Voller informs his superior officer that the spear is a fake. Voller assures his boss that he has something more impressive in his possession. He boasts of half a dial made by the ancient mathematician Archimedes that, once fitted with its other part, is believed to reveal fissures in the space-time continuum that allows for the possibility of time travel. Voller boards the train with the dial as Indiana is being hung. Indy tries to distract the soldiers by mocking Hitler as he clandestinely cuts through the ropes that bind his hands with a shard of glass.
One of the Nazis kicks the stool out from under Indiana in a rage but Indy is quickly saved by a bomb that crashes through the roof and incinerates the soldiers. He is thrown around the room by the impact but narrowly manages to escape his death by removing the noose just in time. Still dressed as a Nazi, Jones makes his way to the train after a danger filled chase and manages to climb on to the moving carriage. He manages to sneak around in his disguise until he encounters Voller and the kidnapped Shaw. Indiana quickly knocks out Voller and takes the dial for himself while the train is soon attacked by Allied planes. With Shaw in tow, they escape the train packed with German soldiers who are now fully aware of his presence by fighting them off and leaping into a river below. The film then skips forward to 1969. A white haired Indiana, who has long since retired from adventuring and is on the cusp of retiring from his academic career, is about to find himself caught up in another perilous mission.
While I enjoyed the opening scenes which felt like the fun action movies that preceded it, it was unfortunately all downhill from there with Phoebe’s character of Helena being a considerable source of irritation. Her inclusion made me long for the return of Shia LaBeouf’s Mutt Williams who was unceremoniously killed off screen in the Vietnam War according to the latest movie. There is also a poor stand in, meant to invoke the sidekick role that had previously belonged to Short Round, called Teddy who has none of the charm of Ke Huy Quan’s character. While it isn’t as egregious as the rumours suggesting Indiana Jones would literally be erased from existence and replaced by Helena, it’s still an unnecessary movie that damages the brand. It is farcical this picture exists when it was clearly joked in ‘Crystal Skull’, 15 years ago when this blog first started, that the ageing Indiana was not at the top of his game back then. As such, this is one instalment that you can miss.
Plot=5/10
Characters=5/10
Special Effects=6/10
Overall=5/10
Quote of the Day
Army or not, you must realize, you are doomed.
General Grievous
Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
