Thursday 28 November 2024




97/2408. Collision Course (1989)
Jay Leno's first leading role in a movie.... is bad. It's pretty clear that's not Jay's fault, or co-star Pat Morita's either. The script is worthless, the direction is weak, and this was clearly edited to appease television censors. I read afterwards that the production company that made it, De Laurentiis Entertainment Group (which also made Transformers: The Movie), declared bankruptcy during production, and it shows, especially in the third act "action." As a film, it's an interesting curiosity, but not great entertainment.
98/2409. A Sprinkle of Deceit: A Hannah Swensen Mystery (2024)
Hallmark's Hannah Swensen mysteries are still a favorite, and this one course corrects a bit from the last so that the large supporting cast doesn't come off quite as goofy (though still plenty unrealistically goofy). More, please.
99/2410. The Joe Louis Story (1953)
The absolutely true life story of Joe Louis! Well, about as "true life" as any 1950s sports biopic ever got, I suppose. The verisimilitude is helped a great deal by the inclusion of footage of Louis' actual fights. It also helps that the actor playing Louis is so bad at delivering lines that you figure he couldn't be making them up. (For about half the film, I was convinced he had to be related to Louis.)
100/2411. Le Professionnel (1981)
This is a great French action film in the same anti-authority vein as anything Eastwood or Bronson were making at about the same time. Highly recommended.
101/2412. Curious Caterer: Forbidden Fruit (2024)
Speaking of Hallmark Mysteries, this series very much feels as though it was created in desperation during the period that actress Alison Sweeney was unavailable to make more Hannah Swenson movies. Sadly, these are really too easy to solve because their mystery-construction formula is obvious. (Seriously, in this one I knew which one was the killer as soon as they introduced all the suspects even though the killer's random motivation wasn't pulled out of the ether until just before the last commercial break.) Still, I love these little puzzle boxes, even when they're easy.
More to come.
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