Bleach 55 / 3.14

The Strongest Shinigami! Ultimate Confrontation Between Teacher and Students

Renji and Rukia argue while he is getting them to safety. Ichigo and Byakuya fight. Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto (captain of First Division) takes on Shunsui Kyōraku (captain of Eighth Division) and Jūshirō Ukitake (captain of 13th Division). They take off running, Nanao Ise (lieutenant of 8th Division) goes with them.

Suì-Fēng (captain of Second Division) is about to discipline a junior Shinigami when Yoruichi Shihōin shows up and knocks them both of them off of a cliff after which Yoruichi and Sui-Feng get ready to fight.

Tales from the Crypt 2.07

The Sacrifice

starring Kim Delaney Kevin Kilber, Don Hood, Michael Ironside

written by Ross Thomas

directed by Richard Greenberg

James (Kevin Kilner) conspires with Gloria (Kim Delaney) to murder her husband Sebastian (Don Hood). James subsequently gets blackmailed by his boss Jerry (Michael Ironside) who saw James kill Sebastian. The pressure eventually gets to James and he kills himself.

Thoughts

This episode was very pedestrian. The twist in this tale was not satisfying in the least bit. The whole thing almost felt like a prelude to something better.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2009)

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2009)

starring Michael Nyqvist, Noomi Rapace

written by Rasmus Heisterberg. Nikolaj Arcel

directed by Niels Arden Oplev

152 minutes

in Swedish with English subtitles

Journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nyqvist) is hired by Henrik Vanger, head of the Vanger Group, to figure out what happened to his niece Harriet, who disappeared almost 40 years earlier. Henrik is convinced that one of his relatives murdered her. Mikael has a personal connection to the case in that Harriet was his babysitter when he was just a few years old.

Batman: Caped Crusader 2.08

Zero Hour

Rupert Thorne's car turns up at the bottom of a lake but there is no sign of Rupert Thorne or his son to be found.

Young Carrie Kelley steps out to solve crimes on her own in the costumed identity of Crime Smasher. She takes inspiration from Batman and the Gray Ghose. She runs into Batman while running down a lead on a truck that ran over her bicycle. He tells her to go home and then goes to investigate Sub Zero Ice House. He gets the drop on a couple of the guys he finds there but then someone, Mr. Zero, gets the drop on Batman.

Noir City DC 2026 - Week 2

Noir City DC 2026

Week 2

The theme of this year's edition of Noir City DC was Face the Music! musicians and noir. Twelve films were shown during the second week. I made it to 11 of them. The only one I skipped was Thunder Road (1958) which I saw in 2008. The first five movies I saw were introduced by Foster Hirsch. The rest were without introduction.

Friday

• Young Man with a Horn (1950)
• King Creole (1958)

Saturday

• Anatomy of a Murder (1959)
• The Man with the Golden Arm (1955)

Sunday

• Pete Kelly's Blues (1955)

Monday

• Yellow Canary (1963)
• Sweet Smell of Success (1957)

Tuesday

• Love Me or Leave Me (1955)

Wednesday

• Round Midnight (1986)
• The Long Goodbye (1973)

Thursday

• Odds Against Tomorrow (1959)

I'm not sure about the theme this year. There was some great music in these movies but I think I would prefer that they stick to film noir for the most part at Noir City DC. There were just too many movies that didn't really fit into the noir category even though some (but not all) of them were really good films.

By my count there were just three films in the second week of this year's edition of Noir City that I classify as film noir: King Creole (1958), The Long Goodbye (1973), and Odds Against Tomorrow (1959).

My favorites from the second week are Odds Against Tomorrow (1959), Anatomy of a Murder (1959), and Round Midnight (1986).

I bought a festival pass this year and saw 19 of the 23 movies shown in the theater. I would like to do something similar next year but I will have to wait and see what the lineup is in 2027 before deciding one way or another. 

Odds Against Tomorrow (1959)

Odds Against Tomorrow (1959)

starring Robert Ryan, Harry Belafonte, Ed Begley

written by Nelson Gidding, Abraham Polonsky

directed by Robert Wise

96 minutes

Former police officer David Birke (Ed Begley) hires Earl Slater (Robert Ryan) and Johnny Ingram (Harry Belafonte). to help him rob a bank in a small town. It takes some work to get the two men to sign on to do the job. Earl and Johnny do not get along with one another. Earl's racist attitude and manner of speaking has a lot to do with that. The heist happens but it does not go off without a hitch.  

A Man on the Inside 2.04

Spirit Week

Charles and Julie continue their investigation. Charles gets glitter-bombed several times during spirit week for not knowing the answer to the riddle. He eventually figures it out. He starts to wonder if Claire Chung, his research assistant, might be the culprit. Julie questions several professors trying to determine if they are the culprit or know who it is.

Thoughts

I checked IMDb and this is the second of two episodes of this show in which Claire appeared.

Emily appeared briefly in this episode but the rest of her family did not.

This was another fun episode. I'm halfway through the season now.