mszouave Reviews

Star Trek: The Enemy Within (1966) Season 1, Episode 5

No warm jackets?

[8/10 · 17 January 2024]

This is a pretty good episode, highlighted by Shatners deliciously sneering, sweaty, raging Captain Kirk. I also love the space dog. The concept of a person split in two is always interesting.

But I go crazy wondering why they don't use the Suttlecraft. The design of the Enterprise clearly shows a hanger deck with clamshell doors from the beginning. Maybe they were offloaded for some reason, perhaps overhaul at a Star base.

Even more baffling is why they don't transport down warm clothing, blankets and even a temporary shelter. That is something that always bugged me about Star Trek. Except for the first pilot episode, the crew always beams down with no equipment except Tricorder, Phaser and Communicator. And no warm jackets!

Maybe it's because it is filmed in Southern California - ha,ha.

Pulp Fiction (1994)

Repulsive film with some great lines

[5/10 · 22 July 2023]

Pulp Fiction is a movie with some absolutely great lines and at the same time utterly repulsive and barren. As with all Tarantino films, very well written, acted and filmed but with a soul of utter depravity and desolation. Watching the film makes me feel that the human race exists only to fulfill it most primitive urges. Life has no worth , no beauty. People kill and are killed with absolutely no feeling at all, except maybe for a laugh.

Yet at the same time, few movies have as many great lines, that I still quote , 30 years later. Royale with cheese, check out the brain on Brad, go medieval on his ass, Zed is dead baby - still float around in my consciousness.

Flyboys (2006)

The waste, the waste....

[3/10 · 16 April 2023]

This movie is a such a typical Hollywood abomination of history. The historical advisor for this film seemed to have elementary school kid's knowledge of WW1 air combat.

It looks like they spent a lot of money on this film. The planes are accurately rendered and reproduced. The uniforms and small details like the infantrymen rifles are correct. But the big details are totally botched. All the German fighters are Fokker Dr1 triplanes all of them except one are all red. At the time this movie takes place, the Dr1 was just coming into service and few existed. The most common German fighter at this time would have been the Albaross DIII. The only all red triplane was one of several triplanes flown by "the Red Baron". Most triplanes were painted green. The Nieuport 17 was obsolete by the time the triplane appeared in any numbers. It is baffling to me why they did this. The air combat scenes were obviously CGI- it would have been no extra trouble to get the planes right.

The air combat scenes got more ridiculous as the movie went on. Ww1 airplanes could NOT fly straight up (except the Fokker D VI, introduced late in the war), they just didn't have the power. In the film, most pilots were hit by machine gun bullets. While this did happen, most aircraft that were shot down in WW1 suffered engine hits or structural failure. The plane is big, the engine is pretty big, the pilot is small.

To continue, Zeppelins did NOT bomb Paris. Zeppelin did not bomb anything after 1914 on the Western Front or Enland during the day. And they relied on height for protection. And they certainly didn't have swarm of fighters escorting them.

There are numerous other gross errors in the film, but in the end, the worst thing about the movie is that it is BORING. Almost 2 and a half hours. I couldn't wait for it to be over.

What a waste.

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989)

Better than I thought

[6/10 · 17 March 2023]

Watching all the original movies from the Blu-ray boxed set. I have had a few surprises. I haven't seen Star trek 4 and 5 since their release in the late 80s. I remember Star Trek 5 as being a bit off and the terrible reviews it has received since then led me to dread watching this installment of the franchise. Turns out, I thought it wasn't that bad. Sure, some aspects of the plot are silly, but not near as much so as the previous film. It also was not boring like Star Trek 4. It also had some very funny moments - including a rare bit of slapstick when Scotty knocked himself out hitting a overhead bulkhead.

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)

Too Silly and boring

[5/10 · 6 March 2023]

Recently, I bought the Star Trek blu-ray set od the original movies (Star Trek the motion picture to Star Trek 6). I have owned the wrath of Kahn on virtually every medium, RCA video disc (remember that!), VHS and DVD. Best film of them all. Coming in at second is The Motion Picture which I saw in the theater when it was released in 1979- The special effects blew me away!! I have rewatched the 2 films countless times. As for the rest, I have not seen any of them since they were released in the theaters so many years ago. I just watched The Voyage Home. God, what a silly, boring movie! Back in 1986, I remember being slightly amused by the comedy aspect and thought the whole save the whales thing was kind of silly. Watching it again, much of which I did not remember, was a bore. Kirk seemed like he was sleepwalking. Absolutely no life in him. The rest of the crew did their best, but I just couldn't get past how stupid the whole story was. The only thing that I enjoyed at all was the old rattletrap Klingon bird of prey, cracking and groaning but getting the job done.

The film just wasn't Star Trek to me.

The Twilight Zone: Stopover in a Quiet Town (1964) Season 5, Episode 30

Terrifying to think about their fate

[8/10 · 28 February 2023]

While far from one of the best TZ episodes, this one has as terrifying a ending as any in the series. The thought of the couples fate at the hand of a giant alien brat is truly chilling if you stop to think about it. These poor people, no matter how unlikable they seem to some, have a bleak future ahead of them. The kid will quickly get tired of her new "pets" and will kill one of them by squashing them or pulling them apart , while the other watches and awaits their turn. Even before that happens they know there is no escape from the torment of being a mere plaything for their giant " owner". Truly horrible to contemplate.

The Twilight Zone: Printer's Devil (1963) Season 4, Episode 9

There is a 4th main character

[9/10 · 11 February 2023]

"The Printers devil" is one of my favorite hour long episodes of TZ. The another variation on the "selling your soul to the devil" story, this one is made delightful by Burgess Meredith's devil. I think this is my favorite of his 4 characters he did on TZ.. Some of the others were better stories , but the delight of seeing him play the linotype machine with the crooked cigar in his mouth was a delight. By the way, I think the linotype machine was the 4th main character in the episode. Loved seeing one of those old mechanical marvels in action, they are truly incredible machines. After seeing this episode for the first time, I spent many hour researching both the history and the function of these machines of the pre computer era.

The Twilight Zone: The Shelter (1961) Season 3, Episode 3

The most unsettling episode of TZ

[10/10 · 27 January 2023]

"the Shelter" is by far the most unsettling and frightening episode of all Twilight Zones. What makes it so is that there is no paranormal elements to the story. It is absolutely grounded in reality. That's what makes it better than " the Monsters are due on Maple st". The panicked neighbors show their true colors when nuclear war is threatened, trying to get into the Doctors bomb shelter in his basement. Most reviewers give the Doctor a pass for his behavior in the shelter but I think even he is does not act in the best way. He basically tells them to go away and die. And his wife makes the very important argument that maybe surviving the initial nuclear attack may not be worth it - it will just prolong their suffering. That has always been the folly of nuclear bomb shelters. You may survive for a couple of weeks or months in your shelter but eventually you have to come out to a world utterly destroyed and covered in lethal fallout.

The Doctors thin veneer of civilization is stripped off just the same as his neighbors. He wants to survive at all costs too. Even if it means listening to his friends die right outside his shelter door.

Finally, as an aside, I wonder if the fact that the shelter door was so flimsy that a pipe could bash it open was an intentional part of the story. Was the writer suggesting that the shelter was so poorly built no one would have survived?

Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)

Can't understand all the negativity

[8/10 · 6 December 2022]

Finally watched Solo after 4 years. Never saw it in a theater. Got the DVD for Christmas 3 years ago, but had avoided watching it all this time because of all the horrible reviews. The movie was fun and entertaining. That's what a Star Wars film is supposed to be. I am an original Star Wars fan. I saw the first movie ( I refuse to call it a New Hope- it is Star Wars, the first and the best) in 1977 when I was 10 years old. I've seen the ups and downs (mostly downs) since then. It seems like the Star Wars "stories" have been the most successful at making enjoyable movies - Rouge One has been my favorite film of the series since the original trilogy, way better than the horrendous episodes 7,8 and 9.

Still can't understand all the bad reviews for this one.

Star Trek: The Way to Eden (1969) Season 3, Episode 20

Not as bad as everyone says

[6/10 · 12 September 2022]

This is far down on my list of Star Trek episodes, but I think it gets too much scorn. Actually , I think it is one of the funnier episodes of the Original series. I especially get a kick out of Charles Napier's Adam. I'm not sure if the episode was supposed to be funny, but it is. There are certainly much worse episodes- bleak and nonsensical episodes like "the Empath" or " the Paradise syndrome". If you don't take it too seriously, it is a moderately fun episode. It is also interesting as a social commentary on the times the show was being made.

It surprises me that this is the lowest rated episode of Star Trek TOS. Granted it is silly, but at least it has some laughs. The worst episodes are just boring.

The Simpsons: Hello Gutter, Hello Fadder (1999) Season 11, Episode 6

Victory at Sea

[6/10 · 17 August 2022]

Not one of the best episodes (even for the 11th season) but it had its moments. I really got a kick when they played the theme from Victory at Sea when Maggie rescues Homer. Love the Victory at Sea soundtrack.

Just got the Simpsons 11th season on DVD. Haven't seen these episodes since they premiered in 1999. I have noticed a definite drop in quality from the 10th season ( which has the funniest Simpsons of all time- Homer vs New York).

I stopped watching the Simpsons in 2003 when my first child was born, and didn't have the time to watch anything. By then the show just didn't have it's impact any more. Seasons 1-10 were definitely it's greatest!

Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003)

Groan factor - 0!

[10/10 · 5 August 2022]

One of the ways I judge a movie is what I call the "groan factor". The groan factor is the number of times I groan at historical inaccuracies, cliches, rediculous plot or lines or annoying characters. This movie has 0 groans. Intelligent, interesting and very accurate and exciting. I am a student of history - especially naval history, and this film is just about perfect. The only other film with this level of authenticity is Das Boot. Yes, I know that the French never used a U. S. built super frigate, ( which is the only major inaccuracy in the film) but that can be forgiven as the French did build some very powerful and strong frigates during the Napoleonic Wars. British Frigates of the period were significantly outgunned and smaller during this time.

I am very disappointed that they never did a sequel.

Especially considering how many crappy movies get multiple ones these days.

1917 (2019)

"All quiet on the Western Front" it ain't.

[5/10 · 26 June 2022]

I didn't get to see "1917" in the theater when it was released, bit did DVR it on DirectTV. I'm glad I did. The much lauded "single take tracking shot" started to give me a headache after about 20 minutes. If I had been in a theater, I probably would have been nauseous too. I didn't find it to be compelling filmmaking, just annoying. Too much of anything is never good. This technique was great in "Paths of Glory" , but the whole film wasn't shot that way.

As someone who has read stacks of books on WW1, I also had major problems with it's accuracy. It's depiction of the Germans was particularly bad. The German pilot stabbing the main character after they had rescued him from his burning plane was totally unbelievable. Aircrew in WW1 ( and any war for that matter) were terrified of burning to death in their aircraft. I think any pilot that had been saved from that fate would not kill his rescuers, even if they were the enemy. Plus, why would he do it? He was badly injured and faced with 2 fully armed soldiers. He would surely be killed. This is just one of several scenes that show the enemy as mindless killing machines. Any good war movie has at least one scene that humanizes the enemy. Also, they are incredibly bad shots, like missing Schofield as he slowly crosses the bridge.

Another thing the film gets wrong- aside from the goofs mentioned by other reviewers - is that in 1917, the Germans were really being strangled by the Allies economic blockade. They would not have left anything in the trenches they couldn't carry off. And the mountains of empty brass artillery casings would have been recovered for reuse.

The depiction of the British soldiers and officers was well done. Uniforms and equipment were spot on as well as the relationship between officers and enlisted men. I especially liked the performance of Mark Strong. He depicted one of the rare understanding officers in the British army.

The movie is another one of these "Visual" films that depend upon cinematography gimmicks to impress the audience rather than using story to drive the film.

The Simpsons: Girly Edition (1998) Season 9, Episode 21

"Pray for Mojo"

[8/10 · 6 June 2022]

Pretty good episode. The part with the helper monkey Mojo was definitely the funniest part of the story. Any episode expanding on Kent Brockman is also hilarious.

Favorite line- "where in the hell is my grilled cheese!".

Growing up, there was a local news anchor that looked just like Kent Brockman. Saw him on TV every night when my parents watched the news.

From the Earth to the Moon (1998)

Good for TV, but not great

[7/10 · 2 April 2022]

This is a very well done TV miniseries but I found it a bit disappointing overall. I like the way they look at each Apollo mission from different angles- The best was "Spider", about the development of the lunar module. But I found a lot of the acting a bit wooden.

And another problem is that most of the actors look nothing like the real people. I am a very serious student of the Space Race, so I know who all of these people are. Add to the fact that several actors in this series played different people in Apollo 13 increases the confusion. They guy who played Frank Borman was Pete Conrad in Apollo 13. He actually looks like Borman so he was one of the few that looked like their character.

Also, why did they almost completely skip Apollo 10?

Seinfeld: The Gymnast (1994) Season 6, Episode 6

Great Mr. Pitt episode

[8/10 · 20 December 2021]

A decent episode made great by Mr. Pitt (especially doing his unintentional Hitler impression) and probably my favorite line in all of Seinfeld- "What the Hell, I'll just eat some Trash!)

Seinfeld: The Bris (1993) Season 5, Episode 5

I thought the Charles Levine was hilarious!

[8/10 · 12 December 2021]

A mediocre episode that was saved by Charles Levine ( as the unhappy and unhinged mohel) . This guy got more laughs in one minute than the rest of the episode put together. I didn't think the character was insulting or anti-Semitic. Yes, he was over the top, but that's what made him funny.

Fail Safe (1964)

The better Film

[10/10 · 11 November 2021]

Fail Safe will forever be compared to Dr. Strangelove as the quintessential "nuclear war" film. In my opinion (not shared by the majority) Fail Safe is the better Film overall.

Totally gripping, it is at its best when it is just 2 people in a Spartan room with a telephone.

Also, of the two, Fail Safe has the happier ending! Millions of people die, 2 great cities are destroyed but the world survives.

That does not imply that Strangelove is not a great film. It is. Probably the best black comedy ever made with great comedic performances by Peter Sellers. But the overall punch of Fail Safe is greater in the end.

One must watch Fail Safe first. I think that is what hurt the film when it was released in '64.

I was born in 1967, so I grew up in the 2nd half of the Cold War. I remember the anxiety every day of wondering if that would be the day when by intention or accident, the world would end. I saw Fail Safe on TV in the '80s long before Dr. Strangelove. It really had a big impact.

Chernobyl (2019)

Good ,but many inaccuracies

[7/10 · 9 November 2021]

Well done miniseries with great acting performances and accurate costuming and period detail of 1986 Soviet Union, but containing many inaccuracies and sensational events that just didn't happen. The "Bridge of Death" scene with dozens of people, including children on the railroad bridge watching the fire just didn't happen. All those people- especially the children- would have been asleep in their beds when the accident happened. It was 2:00 in the morning! The series also makes it seem that it was a very long time unti the town of Pripyet was evacuated. It was evacuated the day after the explorer. The show also doesn't really show the herosim of the helicopter pilots that dumped sand and boron on the exposed reactor or the hundreds of thousands of soldiers that were the bio robots that cleaned off the roof of reactor 3. It showed the first group and the last group.

The part with the soldiers shooting the dogs was accurate but was so hard to watch. Don't watch this miniseries if you suffer from depression!

The narrative style and lack of dialog made it hard to follow sometimes and I have studied the history of this event fairly extensively.

The Twilight Zone: The Bewitchin' Pool (1964) Season 5, Episode 36

Good only for a laugh

[3/10 · 4 November 2021]

Definitely one of the worst TZ episodes. There weren't too many that I would consider bad but this one is near the bottom of the barrel. Horrendous dubbing job makes the awful dialog even worse. The dialog is so bad that it is actually funny (unintentionally). But all I can hear is Rocky the flying squirrel coming out of the Scout's mouth. All the corn pone dialog is delivered as if being read off a cue card. Only the fact that I get a laugh out of this one keeps it from getting one star.

A sad end to one of the greatest TV shows of all time.

The Twilight Zone: Number 12 Looks Just Like You (1964) Season 5, Episode 17

Creepy episode but I thought....

[9/10 · 24 October 2021]

One of the better TZ episodes. Super creepy. But I had a thought. If everybody looked the same, wouldn't individual personalities rise to the top? It's like when people wear uniforms- you can't hide behind your fancy clothes, you have to use your personality to relate to other people. People would be judged beautiful or ugly based on their personalities not their looks.

Also, another thing I have noticed is that Serling really doesn't like psychiatrists! "Sigmund Friend" is clearly the most malevolent character in the show.

The Twilight Zone: The Long Morrow (1964) Season 5, Episode 15

TZs saddest episode

[8/10 · 24 October 2021]

Very sad and touching episode. Variation on the Gift of the Magi, can still tear you up at the end. Mariette Heartly is absolutely beautiful inside and out. If it had been me, I would have stayed home!

The Twilight Zone: The Incredible World of Horace Ford (1963) Season 4, Episode 15

Annoying!

[1/10 · 17 October 2021]

This is certainly the hardest episode of TZ to get though. The story would have been better as a half hour episode with a different actor as Horace Ford. Pat Hingle is not one of my favorite character actors and in this he is so annoying it is hard to stand. Acting like a bratty 5 year old is not the way to portray a man coming apart, if that is what was actually supposed to be happening. The episode is so poorly written that it is hard to tell. Hingle's Horace Ford is so obnoxious, it is hard to believe that he has a job, friends and a wife that puts up with that behavior. It is not at all apparent that he just started acting that way. It seems like he was always that way just not as preoccupied as he was at the time.

It all adds up to a very long hour.

Firefox (1982)

Your papers are not in order....

[7/10 · 10 October 2021]

The most memorable line from the film.

I saw this movie in the theater in 1982. I thought it was a bit silly and very slow moving but overall a decent if not great, film.

Actually like it better now, when compared to the total crap that passes for feature films today. Great supporting cast- anything with Freddie Jones, Kenneth Colley, and Ronald Lacey is a gem. Klaus Lowitsch was great as General Vladmirov. This is the only other film besides Cross of Iron I have seen him in.

I liked that Clint Eastwood played a flawed and vulnerable man, very much against type at the time.

The Twilight Zone: I Sing the Body Electric (1962) Season 3, Episode 35

Sappy

[2/10 · 3 October 2021]

This has to be my least favorite episode of TZ.

It is hard to believe that Ray Bradbury wrote this schmaltzy, sappy episode. I guess if anyone but Bradbury wrote this it never would have been made.

I like just about every episode of TZ, even the ones that are not highly rated, but this one was a stinker.