Reviews

When I saw this in the theatre, I was 24, and recall that back then, I thought of it as a cynical "cash grab" - as we say now. Greedy Blake Edwards, et al, gleaning one last paycheck from the love most of us felt for the too-soon departed sweet genius named Peter Sellers. Fleecing the suckers.

But tonight, at age 66, I discovered something about time and distance: as I watched this movie, I believe for the first time since 1982 in some darkened theatre here in Honolulu, I now understand that for everyone involved, it -is- a tribute to Peter...a fond farewell, eloquently captured by David Niven when he says (at approx. The 1:36:50 mark): "Men like Clouseau never die. They're indestructible, and that's the way it should be." The woman interviewing him asks why. "Well, we need them. They help us preserve our sense of humor. And they're living proof that, however bad things get, if you persevere, you survive - and sometimes even win."

Now that's what I call a fitting tribute to the man, and the character he brought to life. Long live Inspector Clouseau!

Peace! MFF in Honolulu May 17, 2024.

One of the best, a truly sweet (I mean that in a totally Manly Way) episode...so start here if you're new to the GI Universe!

Oh, I need 432 more "required characters"? Why? Why make people blather on, when sometimes, a simple sentence or two is all that's needed? Who came up with this arbitrary rule, anyway? Does IMDb charge their advertisers based on Average Words Per Review? Or maybe they've been banned from their local library, and these reviews are all they have left to read besides cereal boxes and soup labels? Well, whatever the reason, I think it's a silly rule, and someone new needs to be in charge! Ok, I'm done...but seriously, check out this episode - you'll like it a lot! Peace! MFF/Hawaii/2-27-24.

This will probably not get "published" here on IMDB, because I don't want to be long-winded enough to use up another 480+ characters...I just wanted to say that if you're a fan of the late, great Bob Hoskins, then you'll enjoy watching him play a part-time private detective/pet shop owner, who I think is supposed to be a native Chicagoan. It's a perfect role for his oversized talent, and a part he certainly seemed to have a lot of fun playing.

This will probably not get "published" here on IMDB, because I don't want to be long-winded enough to use up another 480+ characters

Peace...

MFF/Hawaii 7-20-23.

...the director really letting him down by not taking him aside on Day One of this shoot, and telling him to CLOSE HIS FRIGGIN' MOUTH! I mean, come on...throughout the entire movie, the poor schmuck has his mouth agape in the same manner he did during the time he was temporarily infested with the alien (which "worked" then, to help portray the horror of the mind/body takeover he was experiencing), but after he was back to normal, and he kept making the same face, it got to be REALLY creepy! Every time he's running, or involved in any sort of physical exertion, there he is, looking like he's infested again! I really do feel sorry for the guy - he seemed competent enough as an actor, if a bit stiff, but as his later resume would seem to indicate, this performance did not do his career any favors, and in my opinion, you can hang that on the director. I really like this movie; whoever shot it (DP-wise) did a great job, but every time I watch it, I can't help but be sad that the director let this major flaw continue thru the whole darn film. But if you can get past that aspect, I think you'll agree this is a fun alternative version of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, and worth watching.

Peace! MFF/Honolulu 1-17-23.

This movie is an hour and 40 minutes long - although it seems like twice that - but nothing even remotely interesting happens until the 70.5 minute mark, so do yourself a favor and start watching there. I wish I had. This is the third night I've attempted to complete my first ever viewing of this movie, and hopefully the third time's the charm. If I ever did see this in the theatres back in 1980, it was mercifully exorcised from my memory banks, perhaps by my repeatedly banging my head against the wooden end of the armrest as I dozed off again and again. Trust me, this is a clear case of the End (of the movie) not justifying the Means, and despite my love for films that involve ancient Egypt and archeology, I wish I'd left this one undiscovered!

Not here in America, of course; like so many of "our" classic tv shows and movies, you'll have to go to Amazon. UK to buy this complete, 30 episode series set in blu-ray (only $28.00 US, S&H included!), and THEN, you'll need to have/get a multi-region blu-ray player (also conveniently available at Amazon, here in America, this time) to be able to watch them.

But for me, having my M-R blu-ray player has turned out to be a good investment, since, as I said earlier, there are so many great American films and tv shows ONLY available from foreign countries, and these players play ALL Blu-ray discs and DVD's, no matter WHERE you find them.

Here's just a few examples of classic films and shows you can't currently buy on blu-ray (some are DVDs) here in the very county that created many of them, for pete's sake: The Time Tunnel, Colossus The Forbin Project, Grabbers, Mediterraneo, Zotz!, Hope and Glory, Invasion USA (ok, maybe not a true "classic" - but still hard to find!), Strange Days, Sherlock Holmes in New York, and literally hundreds of others!

So, that's how you can watch The Time Tunnel with a razor-sharp picture, here at home. Peace!

MFF/Honolulu 10-13-22.

Ok, I've read lots of the reviews here (both positive and negative), and here are my thoughts with about a half-hour left to go in my initial viewing of this film (which is another in the free offerings from Kanopy, the movie app available on your smart TV that is sponsored by your local Public Library at no cost to you if you have a library card): first, I understand the complaint several folks had about the opening credits, which show satellite images of an explosion purportedly in Turkey, yet the eye-in-the-sky shot clearly shows the explosion taking place somewhere else in the Middle East...causing some reviewers to lament the ignorance of the presumably American filmmakers for not knowing where Turkey is. I believe the truth on this point is either, A) yes, the filmmakers are inconsiderate morons, or (and more likely), B) what we're witnessing here is one of the occasionally unfortunate byproducts of modern filmmaking, where an SFX team was hired to provide satellite images of an explosion in the Middle East, without the producers of the film having yet decided exactly "where" that explosion was to have taken place - a not altogether uncommon situation in the production of films, regardless of their country of origin.

Next, some reviewers have claimed the film's main villain isn't very scary...well, he seems pretty darn scary to me, and I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree on this point.

Now, as to those who feel this movie is yet another nail in the coffin of men being the action heroes of movies, with women taking over the role they once held; okay, yes, the heroine in this film does play an important role (remember, I've yet to see the ending), but the background they've given her as a whip-smart CIA analyst is the primary skill set she has displayed so far, and if the movie ends with her beating the crap out of the main bad guy - whom I've already proclaimed to BE a really BAD guy, then maybe I'll swing the other way on this point. But those of you who used to read books (like me) before we let movies become pretty much our sole entertainment medium, may recall the classic by John Steinbeck called "The Grapes of Wrath", and will remember how control of the Joad family was eventually ceded to Ma Joad, as Pa had been so beat down by Life that she had no choice but to take over. So, I'm just saying this isn't a 2022 phenomenon, and besides that, lighten up a little, and admit that sometimes women will be smarter and even tougher (emotionally and yes, even physically) than men, and that we should consider ourselves, no matter our gender, as members of the same team, guys!

Okay, time to finish the movie, I just wanted to address those few points before I pass out (it's my day off tomorrow, and the gin has been flowing rather freely this evening!)

******

Alright, the end credits are rolling, and while our heroine did manage to "best" the Bad Guy, she did it with a gun, at close range, so I don't see anything so very unbelievable about that. And yes, the end of the film clearly sets us up for a sequel which promises to have her ferreting out the CIA rat who ordered the air strike responsible for the deaths of her husband and daughter, which I'd be happy to see someday!

So, all in all, a very exciting and fun watch, filled with heroic (and despicable) exploits by both men and women, and very well filmed (some reviews had led me to believe the movie would mostly take place in dark, shadowy corridors), so I'm giving this an easy 7 stars, and encourage anyone who likes action movies to give this one a try.... Peace! MFF/Honolulu 8-31-22.

My rating of 10 is for the entire series, not specifically for this last episode, just to be clear.

Yes, dear friends, it is an honest statement of fact: Murder She Wrote was the victim of demographics - the show's audience was not attracting enough viewers in the advertising sweet spot of those in the 20 to 35-year old age bracket (ie, "demographic" group), who are thought to be the target audience most willing to spend, spend, spend on the advertiser's products, and so, it went the way of other dinosaurs, and just...disappeared. Ah, well, c'est la vie. The happy news is we'll always have twelve wonderful year's worth of episodes to keep us company on Sunday evenings, and for that, we can be truly grateful. Peace! MFF/Honolulu 8-22-22.

This 1979 little remembered movie is non-stop silly fun (with Kirk Douglas as a would-be Old West villain who only excels at channeling Wile E. Coyote) and shame on whoever owns the rights to it for still never releasing it on blu ray and as a digital download! There's currently a pretty blurry copy available to watch in YouTube, but watching it under those conditions is kind of like eating a steak-flavored sponge...it really leaves you longing for the real thing (i.e., a sharp picture). Well, we can only hope that "the someone" responsible for the unavailability of this gem someday dies off, so their money-grubbing heirs can do themselves and us a favor, and give this minor classic the HD or even (fingers crossed) 4K digital release it deserves!

Peace! MFF/Honolulu 8-21-22.

I don't know if we blame Covid, or what, but I just want to go on record as saying that this movie deserved a better box office fate than it got, by a country mile. I want to formally thank Roland Emmerich, America's Favorite Imported Director, for yet one more thrilling adventure, which as always, was fused with heart and humor. How anyone with a functioning brain could rate this truly wonderful film anything less than eight stars is beyond me, and only reinforces my theory that the populace as a whole is clearly on a downward spiral, mentality-wise, proving it won't be much longer before we all face the consequences of a dumbed-down society where the rabble rules, and anyone with an IQ higher than a turnip is put in a Chinese style reeducation camp for reprogramming. But in the meantime, I urge those of you with an ounce of gray matter remaining to give this movie a try, and see for yourself that the majority opinion is a clear indicator that you should definitely be headed in the opposite direction. Peace! MFF/Honolulu 8-18-22.

You know how sometimes you find yourself really getting into a piece of music (let's say, some Classical piece), where it's soothingly melodic and you're thinking "this is so beautiful"...and then, out of nowhere, it just explodes into a big noisy section that totally doesn't fit with the earlier parts, and it rips you out of your reverie, leaving you thinking "why'd they ruin such a beautiful thing?"

We'll, that's how I feel about Brave New Jersey. I was thinking as I watched the opening twenty minutes or so "this is just what I needed tonight": a nice quiet character study, woven around the 1938 Orson Welles' Mercury Theatre Halloween eve radio broadcast of H. G. Well's "War of the Worlds", one of the most famous "fake news" examples of the 20th century.

But the abrupt changes of tone that several of the key characters underwent throughout the course of the film jarred me out of the nostalgic bubble the earlier dialogue had created, and left me once again thinking "why'd they do that?"

I'm still glad I finally got around to seeing it; there are some fine performances by some actors who deserved a better script, and "the look" of the film was really quite beautiful overall, but those tonal shifts will ruin a good story every time - and unfortunately, this was one of those times.

In closing, if you've never yet had the true joy of listening to the original radio broadcast that reportedly really did manage to scare the daylights out of a great many people (remember, this was a time when radio was the main news and information source in the country, the looming war in Europe had everyone on edge, and the effects of the Great Depression were still very much evident), there are still available today excellent, clear as a bell copies to listen to all over the internet, and I'd urge you to find one, turn out the lights, and imagine yourself back in that time...you may just want to go hide somewhere, too!

Peace! MFF/Honolulu 8-14-22.

As of today (8-6-22), this movie is available in Amazon Prime in what they call "UHD" (roughly equivalent to "4K", though they're often mistakenly considered to be synonymous); however, for some bizarre reason known only to the geniuses Jeff Bezos has appointed to run Amazon while he concentrates on conquering space, they have as of late labeled many poor-quality film offerings as "UHD", despite them being of varying degrees of inferiority to the generally accepted base definition of SD...why, I can't say. But forgetting that egregious mislabeling for the moment, if you want to see this film in the best overall picture quality that I could find, go to YouTube, where they currently offer three different sources for viewing this, the best of which, after I tested them all, is the one offered by Cult Cinema Classics....the sound's slightly muddled, but after awhile you don't notice that so much, and the picture, while still slightly subpar to a standard SD grade, is clearly superior to the "UHD" (ha!) offered by Prime, as well as the other two sources available on YouTube. Now that we have all of that settled, I think anyone at all interested in UFO's or conspiracy/cover-up stories should check this out...the cast is fairly impressive, considering this is clearly a made-for-TV film, and for that reason alone, it's worth a watch! And while the words are never spoken here, this was probably one of Chris Carter's many inspirations for his eventual catch phrase: "Trust No One".... MFF/Hawaii 8-6-22.

...before they're allowed to post reviews, because (as in this case), the aggregate votes for Last Seen Alive are totally out of sync with the true merits of the film in question.

LSA is the "smallest" (in terms of scope, co-star power, and budget) movie GB has starred in for quite awhile, but that in no way translates to the size of its entertainment value, as it is truly engrossing from start to finish, and while it contains elements reminiscent of The Vanishing with Kiefer Sutherland, and Breakdown with Kurt Russell, it is in no way a remake of those films.

Instead, it is a realistic portrayal of what any of us guys would do (or hope we would do) if placed in the same circumstances, and for that reason, I'm convinced that the negative reviews here are from guys who can't imagine themselves taking the actions and risks that our protagonist takes, and so rather than cheer him on, they denigrate themselves vicariously by badmouthing the film. Kind of sad, actually.

Well, I can't say more without getting into "spoiler" territory, so if you like suspenseful movies with characters you can root for, I urge you to think for yourself, and give this film a watch...which is, by the way, currently available to see for free in the Kanopy app, to everyone who signs up through their local Public Library!

Peace! MFF/Honolulu 7-31-22.

They obviously believe in the "quantity vs. Quality" business theory, and seem quite content to continue pumping out these mediocre entries in the Marvel, Star Wars, and Pixar brands, until their formerly dedicated audiences finally cry "enough!", and just...walk away, shaking their collective heads at how sad it was, the day The Mouse bought the rights to these storied franchises. My only remaining hope is that they'll pump the breaks and not try to oversaturate us with the two best remaining storylines - those being the wonderfully heart-filled Ant Man and Spider-Man series, which are the only ones (so far) they haven't managed to ruin. MFF/Honolulu 7-23-22.

How do you bring to a close a story that has been with us for most of our lives? Chapter by chapter, we've gotten to know these characters well enough to call them friends, and now that the end has come, what could be more fitting than to bring them all together for one last adventure, one that will answer the questions raised in prior episodes, give us hope that the future can embrace the past, and prove that what we're becoming is better than what we've been?

The answer, dear viewer, is here on the screen before us, and it is a glorious ending to one of cinema's finest storylines, and a truly worthy coda to this uniquely human journey. Well done, everyone! And thank you to all of the artists and craftsmen who have made this possible, and to the father of it all, Michael Crichton. He would have been proud of you all...

Mike Ferguson Honolulu 7-16-22.

...and I don't care what the haters say! They're just upset that the hero was a female American soldier (and with a Spanish accent, OMG!!), the American President was also a female (no discernible accent, so she's only HALF bad), and the secondary hero was an American soldier of Hindu lineage (hope I said that right; sorry if not); and to make matters worse for those already inclined to pan this film as Woke Propaganda, the chief villain was a 100% white American traitor/sociopath, his main subordinate was a stereotype of a redneck moron, and his Russian confederates with their own (presumably nuclear) submarine were apparently too incompetent to sink the Interceptor rig themselves...all in all, a really depressing movie if you can't handle diversity for 138 minutes, or if the substory (our hero's bringing down of a revered Army general some months back, who she proved was a cowardly sexual predator), made you consider her to be un-American, because in the military, women should just shut up and take it, right? (Wrong!)

Anyway, current sexual politics, racism, White Fear, and basic misogyny aside, I believe anyone with an open mind and an IQ higher than their waistline measurement will find this an action packed, exciting, and suspenseful film that NetFlix should be proud to air...and if you can't like it for any of the aforementioned reasons, try this: think of this movie starring (instead of the impressively bad-ass Elsa Pataky) in-their-prime versions of Bruce Willis, Steven Seagal, and the like, and see if you can -honestly- say you wouldn't have liked this movie then. Your answer might just make you start to ask yourself some soul-searching questions that will be good for you! Peace! MFF/Hawaii 6-16-22.

As of May 24th, 2022, Into the Sun is available in YouTube in 720p/HD (and maybe 1080p/HD; it's hard to be sure - but in either case, a big improvement to the 480p/SD max resolution previously available for digital purchase), and without commercials, if you're a Premium member. YouTube Premium has created a really impressive movie library that play without commercials, that along with Amazon Prime, will give any movie lover more than enough quality fare to keep them happy, and allow them to stop buying movies, and put that cash to better use!

...it helps us begin to understand, as outsiders, the dichotomy of being a police officer in an impersonal, major metropolitan city.

On the one hand, these are men and women who choose this job because fundamentally, they want to help people; the vast majority, at least - of course some small percentage no doubt sign on with less noble intentions, but given the relatively low pay and increasing climate of hostility they contend with, self aggrandizement can't be the primary motivation.

So, we have people with basically good intentions who are then forced to deal (often, though not exclusively) with the underbelly of society - people who for the moment, or habitually, are by their very nature destroyers of optimism and hope - which takes its toll day by day, year by year, and yet we expect them to somehow rise above it all, and remain unsullied, in body, mind, and spirit.

"Joe", our protagonist and almost only on-camera character in the film, is clearly presented as a drowning man, dealing with personal and professional problems (demoted some months ago from a street cop to now working the LAPD's 911 overnight call center, and separated from his wife and child), and as we meet him, now mere hours before he is to defend himself in court for what we're only led to guess is a very serious and potentially career-ending crime.

And yet, while dealing with that tremendous internal pressure, his primary drive is to try to save a woman caller, apparently kidnapped at knifepoint by her husband, and her two very young children, left on their own at home.

Is Joe a flawed man? Unquestionably; the end of the film makes that very clear. But it also tells us that his redemption is tied directly to his initial, and still instinctual desire to be of service to those in need. Ultimately, it leads him to decide to tell the truth about what he did, and thereby begin a return to the higher road he once consistently walked.

I'm a doctor, and so I don't say this lightly: Anyone who doesn't like this movie has a stone for a heart, and pudding for brains. And for someone to reject such a heart-filled, wonderful tale simply because they feel some of the actor's Irish accents aren't good enough or because "no movie can hope to capture the true spirit of Ireland and its people" (blah blah blah) is just petty. Please, if you have any fondness for Irish love stories or romantic comedies in general, don't pass this one up...

(originally posted in 2003) I've been eagerly awaiting word that this was to be released on DVD...(and as of 2021, it's available also in Blu-ray and digitally)...what a cast! John Candy, Jimmy Belushi, Cybill Shepherd, Sean Young, Richard Lewis, George Hamilton (his best comedy role), the great Giancarlo Giannini, even a humorous turn by the director, Eugene Levy (Candy's buddy from SCTV) as a casino cage manager! This one harkens back to the screwball comedies of the forties, and is a real joy. It's a comedic crime caper that unfolds in romantic Rome and exciting Monte Carlo, with loveable characters scrambling to avoid suspicion and arrest by the suitably weighted (yet hilarious) Giannini as "Inspector Bonnard"...and who'd have thought Richard Lewis would hold his own as Sean Young's love interest? As a feuding American couple, Shepherd & Belushi are priceless, as they rediscover their love, by discovering they have larceny in their hearts; and in the end, we finally learn who the real culprits are in one of those "gather all the suspects together in one room and reveal the murderer" scenes (always fun!)...so that's great news for those of us who love this film...and for those of you who will now have the joy of discovering it. Peace! MFF/Hawaii 9-10-21.

...well, not the movie itself, but the fact that for some mysterious reason (most likely tied to our current national PC-mania) you are presently unable to purchase this action/comedy classic as a digital download...and the lesson is this: if you are given the opportunity to buy a legitimate (i.e. "legal") digital copy of a film you love...TAKE IT! In my case, I jumped on this when it became available on VUDU quite a few years ago, and am I ever glad I did. I don't recall how long it was for sale, but I do know it's been many years since it was, and sadly (for its countless thousands of other fans) it's starting to look like it may not ever be available again. Other positive reviews here will tell you why this movie is undeniably one of the most exciting and funny films you will ever see, so my point here is just to warn you that if there are any "PC-challenged" movies you love still available to buy (whether digitally or on disc - although digital is best, IMHO, since discs can be lost, stolen or become glitchy over time), then better get 'em while they're hot, because the PC Police may not yet be banning or burning books, but as the unavailability of this movie proves, their influence is still growing, and one of _your_ favorites may just be next on their target list! Peace...

I'm a fairly intelligent guy. For example, I know that regardless of what nutritionists say, kale is a weed, and so I avoid it. I also know that some movies require the viewer to think quite hard while watching, in order to understand what's going on, and to follow the story. "Looper" is one example that springs to mind; others too, like "Predestination", "Ex Machina", and "Dark City" fit the bill.

And then there's "2001: A Space Odyssey", a film that is simultaneously so beautiful and mind-bending that upon its release in 1968, Bayer aspirin sales tripled overnight.

And now, to this Pantheon of Puzzlement we can add "Tenet", whose director, Christopher Nolan, has a long history of making movies that you can never truly fully understand, like Inception, Momento, and Interstellar - which isn't to say they're not good or even great movies - only that they require viewers to become comfortable with the reality that in whole or in part, they are beyond comprehension.

But with Tenet, Chris has raised the bar, kicked out all the stops, and created something entirely unique...a film that is at once amazing visually, maddening to listen to, and impossible to understand the key element of, which is time manipulation.

It's really gorgeous to look at, but the dialogue is so often muddled that I just about wore out the button on my tv remote called "closed captioning on replay" - but on the bright side, it did make me feel like I was one of the characters in the movie, since I kept going back and forth in time to hear what was being said!

As for the script's attempts to let us poor viewers even begin to comprehend the whole time travel element, I'm afraid the film is a pretty complete bust. Now I know it's common these days for bright fellows like Mr. Nolan to put out films that amateur reviewers like myself say are wonderful precisely because they ARE incomprehensible, and laud the fact that they are so deep and complex that it is only upon the tenth or twelfth viewing that one can hope to grasp their meaning, but I think that's frankly a load of rubbish. Sure, repeated watching of most any film will reveal things we missed the first time, but that should be because of our human habit of letting our minds wander - not because the presentation is unclear. I don't want a degree in Tenetology - I just want a story I can understand.

Here's what probably happened: Nolan spent so many months/years in the writing, pre-production, filming, and editing of this film that he "knew it" inside and out...but in assuming that we would or could share in his level of understanding, he was wrong. But hey, it was a bold attempt, and for that, I congratulate him. Peace! Mike Ferguson/Hawaii 5-4-21.

Advance Notice for the Haters: please read this ENTIRE review, as it contains medical advice that just might save your life!

Honestly, this movie has it all: heart, adventure, action, terrific special effects, and imho, anyone (any card-carrying red-blooded U. S. male, at least) who gives this testosterone-fueled flick a low rating should see their proctologist ASAP, before that stick causes an infection! The Beach Boys said it first, and it's still true: this movie is fun, fun, fun!