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Law & Order: Special Victims Unit: Vanity's Bonfire (2012)
Probably the worst SVU episode I ever saw
This episode was terrible.
It ended with the detectives lying to their captain because they decided not to prosecute a murder because they felt sorry for the murderer's mother. When a dying woman says in an emotional tone, "Let me protect my daughter," that apparently overrides the law and the need to get justice for a murder victim. The detectives should be prosecuted for this miscarriage of justice. Are we supposed to believe they are being nice and doing the right thing by ignoring what they know about a murder?
And secondly, the episode contained a heart rending scene of a baby being torn away from its adoptive parents. I presume that after the birth mother was killed, there would be no one else qualified to raise the child, and that it would go back to that couple. Yet there was no follow up at all on that plot point. So what happened to the child?
You can skip this episode. I sat through it so you wouldn't have to.
The House of Fear (1945)
A great mystery - One of the best of the Rathbone Holmes movies
This was one of the best of the Sherlock Holmes movies starring Basil Rathbone. I loved it because it kept me guessing the whole time, and even though I went over all the possibilities in my mind throughout the movie, I still did not imagine how it would turn out. And this is even though I'd seen the movie before, but that was long enough ago that I totally forgot how it ended. So the ending turned out to be a very delightful surprise.
Secondly, I found Holmes more human and likeable than I've ever seen him before. Several times he was asked what he thought the answer to some aspect of the mystery was, and he said, "I don't know." This was so much more refreshing than him always being a know-it-all looking down his nose at everyone. And then, his lovely little speech at the end honoring Dr. Watson and their friendship and collaboration made Holmes seem more human and likeable than he has been so far in any of the other movies.
Hawaii Five-O: Odd Man In (1971)
Very unrealistic - Ruined it for me
This episode was terrible. If you watch Hawaii Five-0 hoping for a gritty, semi-realistic cop show, then you get this semi-comedic farcical episode, well, you're going to be disappointed.
My biggest complaint is that the bad guy, Lewis Filer, had access to resources that made me keep asking myself, how does an escaped convict have access to so much stuff? Where did he get all those disguises and how did he get his hands on an ultrasonic weapon device? And why didn't the people in the elevator just pull the device down thus disconnecting and disabling it? How did he sneak into the building and get himself keys to operate the elevator, and where did he get the uniform?
And how did he know all the stuff he knew, like about the cocaine? I don't think that was really ever made clear. He was just sort of this omnipotent omniscient being.
It reminds me of how Batman always had his batgas, batshield, , bathook, batrope, and bat-geiger counter and whatever else he needed handy in his utility belt. And that ultrasonic weapon thing reminds me of one of the perilous traps that the Riddler or one of Batman's other enemies might rig up for the Dynamic Duo.
I understand that cop shows are always a bit outlandish, and don't reflect reality that well, even the ones that are intended to be realistic and gritty. But still, I expect Hawaii Five-O to be a little more reality-based than Batman.
Sherlock Holmes in Washington (1943)
A very delightful and watchable movie
This movie was really fun. The story and mystery were clear and easy to follow, yet it keeps you guessing the whole time. It was fast moving and never got dull.
Other great things: a great sense of humor. There were several laugh-out-loud lines. Some but not all of the humor came from Nigel Bruce's goofy portrayal of Watson. Sure, it would have been nice if Watson was made a little more serious in these movies, but not all his humor comes from him being a bumbler. Sometimes he is a sardonic and sarcastic observer of that which is happening around him.
Also, keep an eye out for a shot of Union Station in Washington, the old, since-demolished Pennsylvania Station in New York, and an aerial view of early 1940's Manhattan.
I can't help but wondering about when Senator Babcock says, "I knew a Grayson. He was murdered." Is this a Batman reference? Robin the Boy Wonder, Dick Grayson, was introduced in the comics in 1940, a couple of years before this movie came out, and like his mentor Batman, he became a crimefighter after his parents were murdered. Maybe Robin's father is the murdered Grayson that the senator knew? It is fun to think that the writer of this movie wanted to say that the comic book Batman and Rathbone's Sherlock Holmes occurred in the same universe.
The Batman (2022)
This movie was OK, but why so serious?
This movie was not too bad. I enjoyed it a lot more than I did the second and third of the three Nolan Batman movies. Even though it was three hours long, it was always suspenseful, kept me guessing, and never got boring.
The plot basically reads like a procedural drama on TV. Imagine a three-hour episode of "Law and Order" with one of the detectives dressed up in a bat suit, and you have this movie.
In a way, that's good, because one of Batman's monikers is "the Darknight Detective," so it's nice to see him actually functioning as a brilliant detective figuring difficult questions and puzzles, much like Adam West's Batman did in the Batcave with the help of his Batcomputer.
A couple of complaints: first, why so serious? You really can't throw in one joke or lighthearted moment the entire movie? The Adam West Batman perhaps took the humor a bit too far, but how about something in between the two? I certainly like the dark brooding atmosphere, because that is how Batman was originally conceived: a character who lives in the shadows and scares the bejeezus out of bad guys. But that doesn't mean we can't have a laugh here and there, or at least a smile.
But then if we're going back to the original conception of Batman in the comics, then we need to also eliminate the miraculous technology that Batman carried around with him. In one scene, Batman was trapped on the roof, so he starts pulling out some gliding equipment and flies off the roof. The original Batman got around town by swinging from building to building on his Batrope. I was really hoping that he would do that here, but instead he deployed his Bat-glider and flew away to safety. Very disappointing. No less absurd than the fact that Adam West's Batman always carried a "Batshield" in his utility belt. So far, no live-action Batman has really depicted Batman's swinging on a rope mode of transportation properly.
Another beef: Batman never really did that much to solve the situation. He was just along for the ride, and at one point, Catwoman even had to save his Bat-bacon. If a thing is called "Batman" I want our hero to be the one that solves the crime and saves the day. That didn't really happen here. The movie could have just as well been called "Law and Order: Gotham City."
8 stars because it kept me interested, but a couple of lost stars for the points mentioned above.
Hawaii Five-O: To Hell with Babe Ruth (1969)
One of the worst episodes so far
What were they thinking? Who thought it was a good idea to have Mark Lenard play a Japanese guy? There was not a single moment where it was believable that he was Japanese, and the episode pretty much lost all enjoyability after that. He would probably do better playing, say, a Vulcan or something instead of a Japanese person. You really seriously couldn't find anyone more appropriate to play that role?
Cannon: Stakeout (1972)
One of the best episodes
This might be the best episode of Cannon that there is. It had:
A really evil, rich and powerful intractable bad guy; a tense situation that seemed like it would be impossible to get out of; gunfights; a car chase; and a Bonnie and Clyde love story between two bad people. In addition to that, Cannon sings, plays the piano, flies a glider, and recites poetry. This episodes never gets slow and keeps you on the edge of your seat the whole time. If you want to introduce someone to Cannon for the first time, this is as good an episode as any.
Hawaii Five-O: Not That Much Different (1969)
Many problems with this episode
This episode was one of the worst of the first season.
First of all, it felt like some kind of Jack Webb show. It was full of lectures about how important cops are and how crucial their work is. Really, if I wanted to hear copaganda lectures I would just watch Dragnet, which has a different lecture each episode.
Secondly, and here's the spoiler part, the bad guy, it turns out, shot the victim from across the street while the victim was standing in a crowd of people. And he didn't just shoot randomly into the crowd, he was actually aiming for the person he shot. So he must have been using some kind of sniper rifle right? No, he shot the guy he was aiming at who was standing in a crowd of people from across the street with a .38 caliber revolver. This guy is one master marksman. Then, at the end, he gets into a gunfight with McGarrett on the cliffs over looking the ocean. He shoots at McGarrett a few times with that same .38 Special revolver, but he just can't seem to hit him. What happened to the guy who was able to hit his ex-friend from across the street?
And thirdly, the five-0 crew wasn't really even in this episode much. The whole thing focused on the group of peacenik kids and their internecine squabbles, and McGarrett and Danno and everyone didn't really do much. I don't think they actually solved anything. It was all the kids' doing. They did the most at the end when McGarrett captured the bad guy, who, it turns out, is a very philosophical and erudite guy who likes to quote Greek tragedies and what not.
Cannon: Call Unicorn (1971)
Different than all other Cannons
This is quite an intriguing and unusual episode of Cannon, as it doesn't start in the usual way, with a crime then Cannon being called in to solve it. When we see Cannon for the first time, he's already on the job and we are later given the information bit by bit how he came to be involved.
Besides the usual action sequences, here with a big rig speeding down mountain roads, and fistfights, there are some cute and funny things. At one point Cannon goes to a diner and orders two hamburgers. And he got just that: two hamburgers, no fries. How does he know they don't come with fries? He probably didn't check the menu on his phone. Also, if it were me, I would order just one hamburger and add fries, but Cannon has a habit of having sandwiches without sides. He often makes giant gourmet submarine sandwiches but never eats potato chips with them.
Another funny thing was how Cannon was sleeping on the couch at his fake wife's house, but then when her sister came over to stay, she got the couch and he had to sleep on a couple chairs in the bedroom. They couldn't tell the sister they're not really married, so he had to sleep in the bedroom. And of course they couldn't sleep in the bed together, because they're not really married.
Another fun fact: the building where the diner is where Cannon had two hamburgers, it's still there in Ventura, as can be see on Google Maps. The "Caravan Coffee Shop" sign is even still there as of this writing, but it doesn't look like the building is used as a restaurant any more.
Really a delightful episode of Cannon, with Cannon stopping the bad guys once again.
Cannon: Where's Jennifer? (1974)
A very intriguing episode
I loved this episode. Maybe I'm super gullible, but I actually didn't notice that the two women in the episode were the same person. I prefer it that way. It allowed me to get swept away in the story, then be surprised by the big reveal at the end. During the episode I found myself thinking, "Wow those two ladies sure look alike, but I guess that makes sense. They're sisters, after all." And I also wondered why there was only one female guest star announced at the beginning when the two sisters seemed to have equal screen time.
A really interesting and mysterious episode, with lots of creepy shots and camera angles. I believe the idea of split personalities was becoming a well-known thing around the time this episode was made, so they capitalized on it.
Holmes & Watson (2018)
Not nearly as bad as people are saying
Yes, this movie isn't that great. But it's only an hour and a half, and there are a few laughs and some funny jokes.
I saw Howard the Duck in the 80's, and a movie called "Coffee and Cigarettes" in the early 2000's, and those are way way ahead of H&W in the "worst movie ever made" sweepstakes.
The worst thing about this movie is Will Farrell. He is so unbelievably unfunny that he pretty much ruins anything he's in. But if you ignore his lack of talent, you'll find the rest of the movie is rather funny. I laughed a number of times.