shandy8 Reviews

Father Knows Best: Thanksgiving Day (1954) Season 1, Episode 8

Out of Character

[5/10 · 15 July 2021]

Kathy Anderson has won a prize for her Thanksgiving poem, and Jim is so proud. However, After hearing Betty recite the poem, Jim is disappointed that the poem is so childish, and he shares his opinion with Margaret, Betty and Bud. Kitten overhears his scathing remarks and is understandably upset. Things go from bad to worse when Kathy is asked to read the poem on a local television program.

This episode is really off. Jim's attitude about Kathy's poem is ridiculous; even if he truly considered his daughters verse doggerel, he would never say it out loud. This episode reminded me of the radio show, and it made me wonder if it was recycled from one of the old scripts from that program (the Anderson's on the radio show behaved quite differently than they do on the television version).

The one redeeming part of this episode is Jim's sweet thanksgiving prayer that closes the episode. If you are bingeing 'Father Knows Best', you can skip this one (unless you are curious to see Jim Anderson behaving like a selfish jerk).

Cats (2019)

Cute movie

[8/10 · 9 July 2021]

I was not a fan of Andrew Lloyd Webber's 'Cats' when it was such a huge success so many years ago, so I was not expecting much from this movie (especially after the scathing reviews it received upon its released); however, I was pleasantly surprised when I tuned in and watched this movie version on cable.

The first thing that grabbed me was the music. It had been thirty years since I had heard those songs (apart from the ubiquitous 'Memory'), and they are great. The music is just wonderful and it jogged my memory in a very nice way.

The costumes are a bit creepy at first, but, once I got over it, I liked the look of the whole production. Much like the show, the dancing cats inhabit a stylized London alley, but, unlike the show, some of the songs take place in locations that suit their individual stories.

If you are a cat lover, you are likely to see an old friend among this group of T. S. Elliott's 'Practical Cats'.

I think the failure of this movie is timing. If 'E. T' were to be released today, it would probably be greeted with the same pretentious cynicism that greeted this movie.

Star Trek: The Next Generation: Schisms (1992) Season 6, Episode 5

A Creepy Mystery

[8/10 · 13 March 2021]

'Schisms' starts off with a poetry reading from Data where he shares a charming verse about his cat that evokes eye-rolls and yawns from the erudite Enterprise crew, but then enters the realm of mystery when Riker and other crew members are having problems with sleep (reminiscent of 'Night Terrors'), questions begin to arise.

Some problems with Jordy's visor, Data's internal chronometer, a weird glowing plasma conduit in cargo bay 4 plus a lot of jargon about tetryon particles, and, most importantly, some similar complaints to Troi of odd reactions to ordinary objects, lead to a possibly sinister mystery.

An effective scene occurs in the holodeck (using a perspective of the room I had never seen) where some of the affected crew (Riker, Worf, Jordy and Kaminer) transform an ordinary conference table into a spooky-looking torture device. While it is odd how vague general commands to the computer result in some very specific additions to the table (aforementioned Kaminer asks for a double-jointed swing-arm a meter long, and a detailed electronic device appears). As a result, they conclude that they have all been there before.

Eventually, they gather enough clues (Will Riker's arm had been severed and reattached, for one) to realize that crew members are being kidnapped having horrible things done to their bodies!

This is a very good episode. My only real gripe is the conclusion. When the episode reached resolution, I was disappointed by the whole experience. I understand budgetary limitations, but I believe some clever editing and lighting and a maybe a completely different approach to the scene would have been more satisfying. Nevertheless, this is a solid episode that would definitely fall into the 'creepy' category.

The Tower (2012)

Exciting well-paced thriller

[8/10 · 14 December 2018]

'The Tower' delivers exactly what it promises. If you are looking for an old fashioned disaster flick with plenty of peril, you will thoroughly enjoy 'The Tower'.

Our Mr. Sun (1956 TV Movie)

Nostalgic and Charming

[9/10 · 14 November 2005]

Having enjoyed this film and other science-oriented films made by Capra in Elementary school, I was delighted to see how well "Mr. Sun" holds up. Other than a brief clip featured in the movie "Gremlins", I hadn't seen or thought of these films in thirty-five years.

Apart from the obvious nostalgic emotions one associates with fond memories of childhood, this film also present scientific information about the sun in an entertaining and comprehensive way with Eddie Albert and the voice of Sterling Holloway to add charm to an already charming documentary. I would rank this film of Frank Capra with the best of Walt Disney's True Life Adventures of the same period.