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Fast Break (1979)
It is light-weight but entertaining (but it could not be made today)
To be clear, this was a Columbia Pictures theatrical-release film, not something slapped together for a network on a Tuesday night. Nevertheless, with Gabe Kaplan as the star and with an upbeat "believe in yourself"-type of soundtrack, it FEELS like a TV movie - and that is OK. I saw if on the small screen in the '80s, probably on a weekend afternoon, sometime during my early teen years. And with the advent of video-sharing internet sites I have watched it a couple of times over the last few years.
Why claim it "could not be made today"? Because the characters express, in no uncertain terms, disapproval and disgust of homosexuality. If they had done so BUT completely changed at the end of the story, that obviously would not only be OK but laudatory. That is not what this movie is. It IS a straightforward "take a chance/beat the odds/happy montage" movie from the long-ago 1970s.
Hawaii Five-O: Computer Killer (1975)
If the writer of an episode quits before scripting the end...
I do not believe that actually happened as regards "Computer Killer"; it just seems like it did. Perhaps the writer(s) realized there was not enough time in a 60-minute program to properly resolve it, so the last ten minutes or so is what had to be presented as the resolution.
In essence, a hot-shot computer programmer makes a deal with the father of a murder defendant - the hot-shot will get the young man acquitted for a large sum of money. The hot-shot brilliantly and cold-bloodedly, using a "classified" computer code-book, frames another man. How did hot-shot acquire the book? Nobody knows. There are many, MANY loose ends throughout the episode.
Alright, never mind. The PROBLEM is McGarrett, despite having a mountain of physical evidence, all of a sudden decides none of it matters. Instead, since the phone company, jewelry stores, the police, airlines, and banks all use computers to do business...the REAL killer is a computer expert! It is no different than saying "Hey wait...the killer drove a car...therefore he's a mechanic at a Ford dealership on Waikiki Drive!" If you think that sounds ridiculous, you now know how I felt at the end of the episode.
Hitman's Run (1999)
Despite the shortcomings, it is Eric Roberts
Eric Roberts and director Mark L. Lester (of "Commando" fame) were apparently hired with a shoestring budget to make a movie that fans of either man would want to see. If that was the plan, it worked - at least in my case, twenty-four years after the movie was released.
Is it a good movie? It features every cliche in the action-movie genre. The bad guys tend to stand completely in the open firing automatic weapons. Eric Roberts does too but, being the star, he does not get hit. As soon as you have been introduced to the main characters, good and bad, you can guess how everyone will wind up at the end. But still...it is Eric Roberts.
Blame It on Rio (1984)
Critics did not like "Citizen Kane" either
No I am not favorably comparing "Blame It On Rio" with one of the greatest films ever made. I am stating a truism - films that audiences enjoy and films that critics berate are very often one-and-the-same.
If you have a sense of humor you will find plenty of laughs. There is a significant plot twist near the end which proves that all the characters have their own secrets. Generally speaking, Joseph Bologna has most of the best lines playing off Michael Caine as the straight man, even though Caine's character is the focus.
It has to be said that the critics - even in the 2020s - claim that it is so incredibly immoral that a 43-year man would have an affair with an 18-year-old girl. If you believe that argument makes sense - AND you know the kinds of degenerate trash Hollywood makes now - you really have not been paying attention.
Little House on the Prairie: The Collection (1976)
The best that TV can be
Who would have thought that Johnny Cash could believably play an essentially sympathetic scoundrel who, though intending to fleece a town of yokels, eventually "sees the light" and reforms? Talk about unbelievable!
That of course was intended as humor, because anyone even vaguely aware of who the late Johnny Cash was would know how completely perfect he is for the role of a redeemed outlaw.
Also in the cast is his wife June Carter Cash playing, naturally, his wife. The genius of the ep is that no one is a caricature - everyone has depth and is a "complete" person. Cash carries the episode just as perfectly as you would imagine.
Vega$: Consortium (1980)
Quintessential Vega$
This episode has all the elements of why someone would watch "Vega$" - murder(s), corrupt businessmen, Dan Tanna pleading to "keep this out of the papers" because he needs "x" amount of time to find out what is going on, several lectures from Lt. Nelson, and of course lots and lots of cheesecake. If you are a fan of beautiful braless women, particularly and notably Phyllis Davis, this is the one.
As a bonus, Robert Urich's adopted one-year-old son Ryan has a cameo - a non-speaking cameo of course, because Ryan was a baby - at the end, wearing an adorably identical outfit to the one Urich himself was wearing in the final scene.
Ed (1996)
Beyond terrible, but...
As you may, in fact should, know before you decide to subjugate yourself to this movie, the idea is that a minor-league pitcher (Matt LeBlanc) is compelled to room with an unusual teammate - the team's third baseman, a large chimpanzee. Does that sound plausible? If you say "yes", perhaps this movie is for you.
As the title to the review suggests, the movie is truly awful if the point of watching it is to be entertained. Yet I did not give it the lowest rating possible for two reasons - Jack Warden plays his role as straight as he possibly can, and there is an innocent boy-meets-girl (though the "girl" is a single mom) subplot. Much like Al Pacino could not save "Jack and Jill", Jack Warden cannot save "Ed".
The Song of Bernadette (1943)
Excellent In Every Way
This is one of a VERY few films which everyone in a family, from Gramps to grade-schoolers, can enjoy, and which is not animated, stupidly saccharine, or filled with anthropomorphic animals. The film was made for adults, but no sane parent would object to having their children watch it.
Jennifer Jones (Best Actress) and Alfred Newman (Music Score) justly won Oscars for their work in this film. There are, however, memorable performances by cast members from "top to bottom". Charles Bickford is a stern but benevolent Father Peyramale, Gladys Cooper is a gruff and tormented Sister Marie, and Vincent Price is naturally the smug atheist Vital Dutour. Bernadette's father, Francois, is played by Roman Bonhen, who mixes a comical world-weary self-pity with a sacrificial devotion to his daughter when she is attacked for her claims of seeing a "beautiful lady".
King of the Hill: The Accidental Terrorist (2008)
Entertaining, but absurd retconning of the characters
We the viewers, to enjoy this episode, must believe that Hank Hill has never known that people commonly haggle over car prices. We must also believe that Peggy, who was once scammed out of $1,000 by the promoter of an online IQ test, DOES know about car pricing and can bargain with a salesman better than Hank. If you believe those premises make no sense, you are absolutely correct. If we ignore those absurdities it is a comical episode, and Hank, at the end, gets "back into character" as the man we know he is. The episode would've been one of the best if only Hank's and Peggy's actions had been completely reversed - as they would have been in the KOTH universe.
Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (2007)
The two-hour Director's Cut is the funniest movie ever made
The theatrical version (which is shown intermittently on pay-movie channels) is very good, very enjoyable. But the two-hour cut is the best laugh-out-loud movie ever made.
King of the Hill: Witches of East Arlen (2003)
One of the best of KOTH
Like many of the best eps this one pokes fun, without being ugly, at a sub-set of U. S. culture that is ripe for joke-making. Bobby carries the ep wonderfully, showing that in the right setting most any character can be the focal point. Hank, as usual, is full of common sense, and John Redcorn has a small but pivotal appearance. * 9 stars *
Sex Magic: Manifesting Maya (2010)
You will keep watching, regardless of your opinion of its subject
Reviewers often make claims - whether the film is pure fiction or more-or-less fact - that do not answer the question a potential viewer would ask: will I be interested? You WILL be interested, even if you're a little repelled by the people. Baba Dez may be a con man or he may be sincere, but the filmmakers do not moralize or comment; they present Baba and all the rest in the spirit of "Here they are - make of them what you will". Baba's pain at losing Maya certainly appears authentic, even though he uses the very same behaviors that drove her away to attempt to win her back. Confusing? Certainly it is, but this documentary is fully entertaining.