3-Iron (2004)

3-Iron (2004)

starring Lee Seung-yun, Jae Hee

written and directed by Kim Ki-Duk

Tae-suk (Jae Hee) lives a solo existence. He breaks into homes when people are not there, fixes things, washes their laundry, and then disappears before they return.

Everything changes when he meets Sun-hwa (Lee Seung-yun) a physically abused wife who is still in one of the houses which Tae-suk visits. She leaves with him when her husband returns unexpectedly early from a business trip.

They travel around together for a while. They are eventually caught in one home when the owners return from vacation in the middle of the night. They flee but not long after that they find the dead body of a elderly man in one of the homes which they visit. Tae-suk gets accused of murder but is later exonerated of that crime when an autopsy reveals that the old man died of lung cancer. Sun-hwa is sent back to her husband.

Tae-suk and Sun-hwa are separated for a while but eventually they are reunited but in an unexpected way.

Thoughts

I don't know how to explain what Tae-suk goes through in the second half of the movie. He gets locked up. That part is fairly straight forward. What isn't is that he seems to teach himself how to be invisible.

The first half seemed a little different but really intrigued me. There are long periods in which there is no talking. There doesn't seem to be a romantic spark between Sun-hwa and Tae-suk at first. It is only towards the middle of the film that this changes.

I don't fully understand this movie but it was magical. The way it was shot, the music, and the pacing all contributed in positive ways to the experience.

Violent Cop (1989)

Violent Cop (1989)

starring Takeshi Kitano, Hakuryu

direced by Takeshi Kitano

Azuma (Takeshi Kitano) and Kikuchi, two police detectives, search for the killer of a drug dealer. Azuma has a violent streak. Kikuchi is a rookie and considerably meeker than Azuma.

Kiyohiro (Hakuryu), the killer, takes pleasure in his job. Azuma and Kikuchi arrest Kiyohiro at one point but he is released from police custody after Azuma beats him and almost shoots him during an interrogation. Azuma is forced to resign.

Kiyohiro is told by his boss to stay away from Azuma. Kiyohiro ignores this order.

The Phil Silvers Show 4.02

Bilko's Vampire

Bilko finds out that the reason Ritzik has been leaving poker games early is so that he can get home in time to watch Shock Theater on the television. Bilko tries to scare Ritzik into returning by convincing him that he (Ritzik) will turn into a vampire if he doesn't stop watching horror movies.

Thoughts

This episode was on the weak side. It felt like they wanted to work vampires into the episode and found a way to make it work except that it didn't really work very well. Is this the jump the shark moment for this show?

Star Trek 1.01

The Man Trap

The Enterprise visits a Planet M-113. The planet is abandoned with the exception of Dr. Robert Crater and his wife Nancy. Captain Kirk, Dr. McCoy, and Crewman Darnell beam down. Doctor McCoy is there to conduct a medical examination of the Craters. Darnell turns up dead before McCoy can complete his examination of Robert Crater or begin his examination of Nancy Crater.

Nancy thinks that Darnell died from ingesting a local plant but McCoy's autopsy says otherwise. Two more crewmen beam down to investigate and turn up dead. Nancy, or something disguised as Nancy is the culprit. The creature changes its appearance and gets aboard the Enterprise disguised as one of the dead crewmen whose body has yet to be found.

Justice League Action 1.34

The Cube Root

Dr. Stein teams up with Mr. Terrific, his old college roommate, after he is split from Ronnie Raymond by the Calculator, who also stole Mr. Terrific's T Spheres. They use Stein's invention, S Cubes, to locate and get close enough to the Calculator (who has weaponized the T Spheres) and stop the supervillain.

Thoughts

I like this one a lot. I love how personal it gets between Stein and Terrific. It is also the first time that Ronnie Raymond and Professor Stein have appeared in their human forms in this show.

The Petrified Forest (1936)

The Petrified Forest (1936)

starring Leslie Howard, Bette Davis, Humphrey Bogart

directed by Archie Mayo

82 minutes

Gabrielle Maple (Bette Davis) takes care of her family's roadside diner in Arizona while her father is away on business. Alan Squier (Leslie Howard), a hitchhiker, stops at the diner for a bite to eat. She falls for him but his broken heart won't let him reciprocate her feelings. Alan leaves but returns when he learns Duke Mantee (Humphrey Bogart), a killer, and his gang are headed for the diner.

A sandstorm forces many people, including Duke Mantee and his gang, Alan, and others to take shelter in the diner. The police are searching for Mantee and the tension rises as the sandstorm and the armed fugitives force the others to stay put.

Better Call Saul 5.08

Bagman

Saul gets instructions from Lalo. He heads out into the desert near the US-Mexico border to pick up the money. He meets the cousins at the assigned spot. They drop off two duffle bags full of cash and leave without saying a word.

Saul throws the cash in his car heads back to Albuquerque. He doesn't get very far before he gets pulled over by armed men. They are getting ready to kill him when a sniper starts shooting at the armed men. All but one of the armed men are killed by the sniper.

Doctor Who (1963) 8.02.03

The Mind of Evil - Part Three

The Doctor, the Brigadier, and Fu Peng arrive just in time to save Senator Alcott. The Doctor finds a pin on Captain Chin Lee's jacket which picks up the signals broadcast by the device at Stangmoor Prison.

The takeover of Stangmoor by the prisoners continues.

The Doctor takes Captain Lee back to the Brigadier's office. He asks her some questions and gets enough information from her to guess that the Master is the one behind the recent events.

Jo helps the guards to regain control of the prison. 

The Master heads to Stangmoor after he learns that the Doctor has interfered with his plans to use Captain Lee to kill Senator Alcott. He is welcomed by the Governor who knows him as Emile Keller. The Master disrupts things at the prison and soon thereafter the prisoners are back in control of Stangmoor.

Interior Chinatown 1.06

Translator

Uncle Wong takes Willis to the docks. Willis gets a call from Lana on the way to the docks. He's afraid of saying too much but he gives her enough hints. She shows up with uniformed police officers and Uncle Wong is arrested. Willis feels like a mistake has been made and does what he can to correct the it.

Turner continues to feel like something is wrong. Turner and Green experience a couple glitches in the matrix. They try to interrogate Uncle Wong but he acts as if he can't speak English.

Lily continues to work her job as a budding real estate agent. Fatty continues to run the Golden Palace and goes as far as to give Carl a chance to wait on tables. He gives Carl a pep talk and makes him practice his waitering banter before letting him give it a try for real.

Neon Genesis Evangelion 1.20

Of the Shapes of Hearts and Humans

Shinji is still inside Unit 01. They don't know how to retrieve him. He isn't dead but the exact state he is in isn't clear. Unit 01 and the others are revealed not to be a giant robots but some sort of creatures that were found in Antarctica. They have been kept in check up until now.

Shinji spends a lot of time trying to make sense of his life up to that point. He imagines Katsuragi, Asuka, and Rei individually coming to him naked. Shinji is eventually retrieved from within Unit 01. It takes a little over a month to get him out.

The episode ends with a scene in which Katsuragi and Ryoji together in bed. They are talking but then it sounds like they are starting to have sex.

A Christmas Story (1983)

A Christmas Story (1983)

starring Melinda Dillon, Darren McGavin, Peter Billingsley

directed by Bob Clark

93 minutes

Christmas is coming and Ralphie wants a BB gun. It's all he is fixated on. Ralphie, his parents, his younger brother, and his classmates experiences many misadventures during the holiday season.

Thoughts

I was thoroughly underwhelmed by this film. I didn't find it to be funny. I don't really understand why this movie gets such a high rating. It is a series of vignettes. There is nothing that made me feel much of anything. The voiceover narration felt like overkill.

Justice League Action 1.33

Best Day Ever

Joker uses a mother box to break Lex Luthor out of prison. The Justice League does their best to capture the two villains. Joker's intentions are unclear. It isn't until Luthor uses the mother box to take them to his hideout that Joker's true motivations are revealed.

Thoughts

The superheroes who try to capture the pair of supervillains include Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Zatanna, Green Arrow, Cyborg, and Flash. Luthor steps in and and puts an end to Joker's plans after all the heroes have repeatedly failed to make any progress.

Justice League Action 1.32

Boo-ray for Bizarro

Wonder Woman finds herself on a miniature golf date with Bizarro in Paris. She leaves the date and rushes back to the Watchtower when she learns that Amazo (the android who can absorb superpowers) is there attempting to defeat five of her team members (Superman, Batman, Flash, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter). She doesn't have any more success than they do.

Bizarro rushes to help Wonder Woman. He stops along the way to get someone who he thinks can help, Space Cabbie. Bizarro's twisted world view is absorbed by Amazo and causes him to short circuit.

Thoughts

This was a fun episode but I wouldn't call it great, just mildly amusing.

Inuyasha 1.14

Kikyo's Stolen Ashes

Urasue, a demon, steals the ashes of Kikyo. Kaede and the other villagers try to stop her but she gets away. Kagome, Inuyasha, and Shippo agree to help Kaede try and recover the ashes of Kikyo. Kagome, while they are looking for Urasue, begins to suspect that Inuyasha was in love with Kikyo.

Urasue tries to resurrect Kikyo in the hopes that she will be able to help her find a shard of the Shikon Jewel. Urasue is only partially successful. The body she creates resembles Kikyo but it is missing a soul. When Urasue sees Kagome she believes her to be the key to restoring Kikyo.

Justice League Action 1.31

Booster's Gold

Green Arrow runs into Booster Gold, in the Bermuda Triangle, on an island full of dinosaurs. Booster brought the dinosaurs from the past. He got an idea from an old movie he saw to create a theme park populated by dinosaurs. Things don't work out exactly as Booster hoped they would. Booster and Green Arrow spend most of their time running from the dinosaurs.

Thoughts

This was okay. I wouldn't call it good or great. It seemed like a half baked idea. The only other character in this episode was Batman and he was only in it very briefly at the beginning.

Bleach 1.07

Greetings from a Stuffed Lion

Ichigo fights with the mod soul inhabiting his physical form but then Ichigo gets called away by Rukia to deal with a Hollow. Ichigo runs into the mod soul once again when he tracks down the hollow. The mod soul was trying to protect a trio of middle schoolers but the Hollow was a little too much for him. Ichigo dispatches the Hollow and then has a talk with the mod soul.

Urahara and his employees show up. Urahara knocks the mod soul out of Ichigo. Ichigo takes it and puts it in the body of a stuffed lion. The stuffed lion comes to life. It is ready to fight Ichigo but then notices that it is much smaller and softer than Ichigo. 

The next day is the anniversary of the murder of Ichigo’s mother. He tells Rukia that he will need the day off. 

Justice League Action 1.30

Supernatural Adventures in Babysitting

Klarion the Witch Boy and Teekl, his cat, cause problems for Stargirl while she is babysitting. She calls Batman for help. Batman answers the call and brings Constantine with him when he learns what sort of a threat Stargirl has encountered.

Thoughts

Teekl has a humanoid form? This is the first time I can recall seeing that, not that Klarion and Teekl have been in a ton of episodes of DC animated shows that I have watched. 

Considering how reckless the kid whom Stargirl was babysitting was it’s a wonder that everything wasn’t destroyed during the fight. Also how is it that a spell can simply restore things that have been broken? Is it like a time travel thing because otherwise I’m not sure how you can restore the craftsmanship that went into creating many items.

This was a fun episode. It was good but not great.

Sholay (1975)

Sholay (1975)

starring Dharmendra, Amitabh Bachchan, Sanjeev Kumar, Amjad Khan, Hema Malini, Jaya Bhaduri

directed by Ramesh Sippy

191 minutes

in Hindi with English subtitles

Retired police officer inspector Thakur Baldev Singh (Sanjeev Kumar), hires Veeru (Dharmendra) and Jai (Amitabh Bachchan), two small-time thieves, to capture and bring to justice Gabbar Singh (Amjad Khan), the bandit responsible for killing most of his family and terrorizing Ramgarh, his home village. Veeru falls in love with Basanti (Hema Malini) a local woman who earns a living driving a taxi. Jai falls in love with Radha (Jaya Bhaduri), the widowed daughter-in-law of Inspector Thakur.

Justice League Action 1.29

Mxy’s Mix-Up

Batman, Superman, and Stargirl are defending the United Nations building from an attack by Gorilla Grodd and a few dozen of his gorilla warriors when Mr. Mxyptlk shows up. His first trick is to give all three heroes facial hair. His second trick is to cause the three heroes to swap bodies. Batman winds up in Stargirl’s body, Stargirl in Superman’s body, and Superman in Batman’s body. Hilarity ensues with only Batman (in Stargirl’s body) is anywhere near as effective as he was in his own body. 

Batman picks up on a suggestion that Stargirl makes and summons more heroes including Firestorm. Mr. Mxyptlk uses the same trick on Firestorm and the six other heroes that arrive with him. Dr. Stein, the other half of Firestorm’s personality, winds up in Mr. Mxyptlk’s head and tricks him into saying his name backwards.

Better Call Saul 5.07

JMM

Jimmy and Kim get married. They have a civil service at the courthouse. Huell is one of the witnesses. He has questions for Jimmy about why he's doing it.

Kim and Richard meet with Paige and Kevin. Kevin is disappointed. It seems uncertain whether he will want Kim or Schweikart & Coakley to continue to represent Mesa Verde. Kim decides to set things straight. She tells Kevin exactly how she feels about how things have gone down recently.

Jimmy represents Lalo in court. Lalo makes it clear that he doesn't want a plea and he wants out of jail. The judge doesn't grant bail.

Samurai Champloo 1.04

Hellhounds for Hire (Part 2)

Mugen and Jin fight but the fight ends when Nagatomi’s men close in and separate the two men. Mugen is enraged but unable to get to Jin before he and Kawara’s son, Sousuke, escape. Jin tries to counsel Sousuke, who is angry over his inability to rescue his sister, to cool down. Sousuke doesn’t listen to Jin and soon thereafter is captured by Nagatomi’s gang and held hostage.

Heitaro Kawara, leader of the Kawara gang, proposes that the gang war be resolved by a game of dice. Nagatomi agrees to Kawara’s proposal. Fuu escapes from the Nagatomi brothel and inadvertently winds up being the one to roll the dice. Kawara loses the game and commits suicide, which wasn't part of the agreed upon terms of the bet. Chaos ensues in the aftermath of Kawara’s death. Jin kills Nagatomi. Mugen kills Ishimatsu. 

Interior Chinatown 1.05

Chinatown Express

Willis and Lana decided that they need to break in to Uncle Wong's office at the Golden Palace. They try to grab his keys to the restaurant, first from Uncle Wong and then from Faty. They both have too much to drink and don't get the keys.

Turner starts to go through an existential crisis. Lana notices that something is wrong with him. Lana suggests that he try talking to Green about it but he doesn't. He has to defuse a bomb at police headquarters. The bomb doesn't explode but Turner didn't do anything to prevent it from exploding and he knows it.

Willis breaks into Uncle Wong's office. Faty sees him doing it but is too busy to do anything about it. Uncle Wong returns. Willis escapes through the trap door and into the maze of tunnels beneath Chinatown. Uncle Wong eventually catches up to him. He throws Willis in his van and tells him that he needs to be careful.

Bleach 1.06

Fight to the Death! Ichigo vs. Ichigo

Rukia goes to Kisuke Urahara’s magical shop. There she buys a number of things, one of which is a candy dispenser that is loaded with powerful pellets. She gives it to Ichigo and explains that the candies will allow his soul self to leave his body without her assistance. It also fills his physical body with a substitute soul. 

Ichigo gives the candy a try. It seems to work as Rukia said it would but something seems off to Ichigo. Before he can ask any more questions Rukia has them take off on a mission. Ichigo’s physical form wrecks havoc while he is gone. Ichigo comes back and finds the substitute soul hitting on Orihime and Tatsuki. Ichigo gets into a fight with his physical body but the substitute soul takes off before Ichigo can subdue him. 

Doctor Who (1963) 8.02.02

The Mind of Evil - Part Two

Jo comes in and finds the Doctor writhing in pain. The Doctor slowly recovers and explains what happened to him. Captain Yates arrives soon afterwards. He takes the Doctor to see the Brigadier. Jo stays at Stangmoor. The Doctor gives her instructions to make sure that the warden has the room with the device locked up.

Sergeant Benton follows Captain Chin Lee but loses her when he suddenly gets a throbbing headache. He reports back in to the Brigadier who is very disappointed. The Doctor arrives at the Brigadier’s office. He tries to tell the Brigadier about the problems at Stangmoor with the device. The Brigadier is more concerned about the World Peace Conference and the death of the Chinese general.

Waves (2024)

Waves (2024)

starring Vojtěch Vodochodský, Táňa Pauhofová, Stanislav Majer

directed by Jiří Mádl

131 minutes

in Czech with English subtitles

Tomáš Havlík (Vojtěch Vodochodský), takes a job as an engineer at a radio station in Prague in 1968.  Milan Weiner (Stanislav Majer) runs the section of the radio station for which Tomáš works. Tomáš and the others in that section go to great efforts to broadcast the truth despite pushback from the station's general manager and the national government of Czechoslovakia. They are really put to the test when Russia invades Czechoslovakia in the summer of 1968.

Neon Genesis Evangelion 1.19

A Man's Battle

Shinji decides that he's had enough of Nerv and being a pilot. His father allows him to leave the program. He has left Nerv HQ and is waiting for a train when an Angel attacks.

Shinji watches the fight between Asuka in Unit 02 and the Angel. Asuka is no match for the Angel. Nerv attempts to send Rei in Unit 01 but it rejects her. Nerv attempts to send Unit 01 with the dummy plug inserted but it rejects the dummy plug.

Shinji watches Asuka get badly beaten and decides that he must return and pilot Unit 01. He returns, has another confrontation with his father and takes off in Unit 01. Shinji is filled with rage and expresses it in how he pilots Unit 01.

Unit 01 runs out of power in the middle of the fight. Shinji begs and pleads until miraculously Unit 01 comes back online. It does more than beat the Angel, it eats part of the Angel.

The Orville 2.05

All the World is Birthday Cake

The Orville is contacted by the people of Regor 2, a planet that has never been visited by aliens before. Captain Mercer leads a team of five to the planet's surface. Everything goes beautifully until Kelly mentions that her birthday is just a few days away and that Bortus' birthday is a few days after that. 

Kelly and Bortus are thrown in a prison camp with other people, all of whom were born under the sign of Giliac. Ed tries to negotiate for their release but the leader of Regor 2 refuses to budge on the matter. 

Inuyasha 1.13

The Mystery of the New Moon and the Black Haired Inuyasha

A boy asks Kagome out on a date. She says yes but soon after that she and Inuyasha go through the well and return to the feudal era. They meet a Nazuna, a teenage girl whose parents were killed by Spider Demons. Nazuna lives with a priest who seems to be friendly.

The new moon rises that night. Inuyasha turns human. His hair turns black and he loses all vestiges of his demonic ancestry. He explains to Kagome that this happens on a regular basis.

The Phil Silvers Show 4.01

Gold Fever

Bilko discovers a map to an old gold mine. The mine was located on the grounds of an abandoned US Army base in California. Bilko works some magic and gets the powers that be at the Pentagon to agree to reoccupy Fort Fremont and gets Colonel Hall to volunteer his unit at Fort Baxter to move to Fort Freemont in Grove City, CA.

Thoughts

There is one scene that took place in Colonel Hall's office at Fort Baxter but none of the WACs were present. I know that Sgt Hogan won't be back but I'm not so sure about the other WACs.

This episode is ostensibly about a serarch for gold but really is about explaining the move from Kansas to California. Its nice to see that they took the time to explain the move but other than that it was a kind of a lackluster episode.

The Hill (1965)

The Hill (1965)

starring Sean Connery, Harry Andrews, Ian Bannen

directed by Sidney Lumet

123 minutes 

Joe Roberts (Sean Connery), a former Sergeant Major who has been reduced in rank and sentenced to time in a British military prison in North Africa during World War 2, becomes one of the pet cases of Williams, one of the correctional officers at the prison. Roberts and four other prisoners are punished mercilessly until Stevens, one of the other four prisoners drops dead but life doesn’t get any better for Roberts and the other three prisoners as the death is ruled to be accidental.

Justice League Action 1.28

The Fatal Fare

Superman boards one of Darkseid's battle cruisers that is ready to jump through a Boom Tube to Earth. Superman interferes with the Boom Tube to the degree that it doesn't take them to Earth but he gets captured by DeSaad and Kanto.

Darkseid gets a ride from Space Cabbie to the fourth moon of Graxos IV. He tells Space Cabbie not to stick around but when Space Cabbie catches up to Darkseid, who forgot his receipt, his discovers that Darkseid, Kanto, and DeSaad are holding Superman prisoner in a cave.

Darkseid asks Space Cabbie to take Kanto back to Apokolips. Space Cabbie talks Kanto into making a stop on a swamp planet but tricks him by taking him to Earth instead. Swamp Thing, Wonder Woman, and Hawkman are waiting for them. Kanto is captured and then Space Cabbie takes them back to the fourth moon of Graxos IV to rescue Superman.

Better Call Saul 5.06

Wexler v. Goodman

This episode opens with a flashback to Kim's youth. Her mother comes to pick her up from school. Her mother is drunk and Kim can smell it. She refuses to get in the car. She opts to walk home instead. Her mother isn't happy about it.

Jimmy, in the present, with the help of his film making trio cooks up some commercials to make it look like Mesa Verde has been scamming its customers and worse. Kim doesn't want to proceed with the commercial. Jimmy agrees to shut it down.

Mike and Gus meets with Nacho. Nacho tells them about Lalo’s plans to bring down Gus's operations. Gus explains that Nacho needs to give Mike whatever help he needs. Nacho asks for help protecting his father. Mike says that they need to deal with Lalo first.

Jimmy hires a couple of his clients, sex workers, to embarrass Howard while he is having lunch in an upscale restaurant with Cliff Main of Davis & Main. 

Kim, Rich Schweikart, Paige, and Kevin meet with Saul to discuss a settlement. Kim thinks she knows what's coming. Saul pulls a fast one and shows Kevin the commercials. Kim, Paige, and Rich are all outraged. Kevin caves and agrees to Saul's terms.

Mike surreptitiosly passes information along to the police implicating that Lalo is the one who killed the guy at the money transfer business that Werner Ziegler used. He gives them enough information to track him down, which they do.

Kim comes home to Jimmy very angry about what happened. She no longer feels like she can trust him. She wants to break up with him but at the last minute she suggests that the only way they can stay together is if they get married.

Thoughts

I wasn't sure who the girl was in the opening scene. It wasn't until about ten minutes after I watched the scene that it occurred to me that it was Kim, even though her mother calls her by name.

What's next for Lalo? It looks like the police have him. My guess is that somehow he will wiggle his way out of jail. I doubt that he will exit the story this quickly. Who will take the blame for his apprehension by the police? Nacho?

Will Jimmy and Kim really get married? Even if they do I can't see it lasting.

What's next for Mike? What about Nacho?

This was a really good episode.  It makes me hungry for more.

Samurai Champloo 1.03

Hellhounds for Hire (Part 1)

Mugen and Jin run away from Foo. They run in opposite directions but wind up in the same town. Two gangs are in the midst of a turf war. The Kawara gang have been there for decades and the Nagatomi gang are fairly recent arrivals. Mugen hooks up with the Nagatomi gang. Jin hooks up with the Kawara gang. Foo gets tricked out of the last of her money and then gets captured and locked up in a brothel that belongs to the Nagatomi gang.

The three are reunited at the end of the episode when Jin and the son of Heitaro the Buddha, the leader of the Kawara gang, try to rescue his sister who has also been captured and thrown in the brothel. Jin and Mugen are ready to cross swords when the episode ends. 

Interior Chinatown 1.04

Kung Fu Guy

Willis spends a lot of time reviewing video tape of his brother. His brother was Kung Fu Guy, the Chinatown specialist and martial arts expert that the cops called on for help. Lana joins Willis for part of the dive into his brothers past.

Fatty becomes a celebrity of sorts in the restaurant. Lots of White patrons come to the restaurant to eat. He is rude to them and they love it. The restaurant owner sees what's happening. Fatty is ready to throw in the towel but the owner convinces him to stick it out.

Willis' mother goes to a party thrown by another real estate agent. She takes her estranged husband with her. He tells a funny story that she doesn't love but that grabs everyone's attention at the party.

Willis stays late, after Lana leaves. He discoers incriminating evidence that his brother was involved with the Painted Faces gang. Willis freaks out, imagines how bad things could get and decides to delete all that evidence.

The episode ends with Willis finding a secret passage into the owner's office in Golden Palace. 

Christmas Holiday (1944)

Christmas Holiday (1944)

starring Deanna Durbin, Gene Kelly

directed by Robert Siodmak

93 minutes

On Christmas Eve, Charlie, a serviceman who has just learned that his fiance has married another man before he could get home on leave to marry her, meets Abigail (Deanna Durbin), whose husband Robert (Gene Kelly) is in prison for murder. Abigail feels as if she didn't do enough to help guide Robert away from the path that he chose to take.

Abigail's been suffering internally for the two-and-a-half years since Robert was locked up. She changed her name and been working as a nightclub singer. She unburdens herself by telling Charlie her story but then Robert returns, after breaking out of prison. He is convinced that she is to blame and is looking for payback.

Bleach 1.05

Beat the Invisible Enemy!

Rukia and Chad team up and fight the Hollow. Chad can't see the Hollow and Rukia can't harm the Hollow. Together they fight the Hollow until Ichigo finally shows up.

Ichigo is more than the Hollow can manage, once he has separated from his physical form from his Shinigami form. Ichigo performs Konsō on Yuichi the spirit trapped in the parakeet, once the Hollow has been dealt with, thus allowing the boy to move on to the Soul Society where he will be reunited with his mother.

Thoughts

The first half of this episode is almost entirely Rukia and Chad versus the Hollow. Ichigo shows up at the midway point and it is mostly his show from there on out.

Neon Genesis Evangelion 1.18

Life and Death Decisions

Preparations are made for the announcement of the identity of the pilot of Unit 03. None of other pilots seem to know who it will be.

Some tests are run on Unit 03 but something goes wrong. Unit 03 takes off without authorization. It seems that the pilot isn’t able to control Unit 03 and that it may be controlled by an Angel. 

The other three unit’s are sent out to deal with Unit 03. They are given orders to take it out. Shinji asks about the pilot of Unit 03 and is told not to worry about it. Shinji refuses to fight. A switch is flipped back at Nerv HQ and the his unit is remotely controlled from there.

Shinji watches in horror as Unit 01 stops Unit 03, practically destroying it. Somehow the pilot, Tohji, survives.

The Orville 2.04

Nothing Left on Earth Excepting Fishes

Captain Mercer is in a relationship with Lieutenant Janel Tyler. They decide to go public with it. Ed first tells Gordon and then Kelly, both of whom are happy for him. Ed and Janel go on a vacation together. They take off in a shuttle for a distant world while the Orville continues on a supply mission.

Gordon decides that he wants to apply for training make him eligible for command in the future. He doesn't prove to be very good at it but it does seem to improve his confidence.

Ed and Janel are attacked by Krill warships and taken prisoner. Janel turns out to be a Krill named Teleya, disguised as a human, whom Ed met in episode 1.06 (Krill). She was a teacher then but now she is a warrior. The Krill warship that they are aboard is attacked by the Chak'tal, a race that is in a dispute with the Krill.

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes 1.02

The Dancing Men

Hilton Cubitt comes to Sherlock Holmes in need of help. Elsie, his wife, is wracked with anxiety. The source of her distress seems to be a drawing of dancing men. The men are stick figures that are arranged in a horizontal line. Holmes concludes that the drawing must be code.

Mr. Cubitt is also concerned about a letter that Elsie received from Chicago. She burned the letter without even opening the envelope.

Holmes deciphers the code. Holmes anticipates trouble and heads to the home of Mr. and Mrs. Cubitt. He is dead and she has been shot. She is suffering from a head wound. 

Holmes examines the evidence and determines that there must have been a third person present. He writes out a note in code and sends it to a nearby inn. A man comes to the Cubitt household in response to the note which he thought was written by Elsie.

Misericordia (2024)

Miséricorde (2024)

or Misericordia

starring Félix Kysyl

directed by Alain Guiraudie

102 minutes

in French with English subtitles

Jérémie (Félix Kysyl) returns to the small town bakery where he used to work. The baker died recently and Martine, the baker’s wife, would like Jérémie to take over the business. Vincent, the baker’s son, who is about the same age as Jérémie, accuses Jérémie of trying to sleep with his mother. Jérémie tries to shrug off Vincent’s accusations but words lead to fists and before he knows it Jérémie has killed Vincent.

Jérémie buries Vincent body in the woods where they fought. Annie, Vincent’s wife reports him as missing. Jérémie was the last one to have seen Vincent alive and everyone from the local priest to the local police have questions for him. 

Justice League Action 1.27

Time Out

Batman, Wonder Woman, and Booster Gold have just defeated H.I.V.E. when a temporal abnormality freezes Wonder Woman and everything else expect Batman and Booster Gold. They flee to Vanishing Point, Booster's secret headquarters where they regroup and attempt to deal with the problem. Batman comes to a greater understanding of who Booster is and what he does but in the end doesn't remember that after Booster fixes everything.

Thoughts

This was a so-so episode up to the moment when Batman realizes that he has been wrong about Booster Gold. It got even better when Batman's memory gets wiped of his new found knowledge.

This was really good, probably one of my favorites so far.

Better Call Saul 5.05

Dedicado a Max

Mike wakes up south of the border. He tries leaving but he is still in bad shape. He resigns himself to staying. His phone is dead and there is no phone that he can use to call the United States. The doctor who takes care of him says it will probably be a week or more before he can leave.

Jimmy puts on the full court press for Acker, the man who refuses to leave. He finds all sorts of gimmicks to delay the police from forcing Acker out. Kevin doesn't like it but he refuses to back down. He knows that Kim's boyfriend, Jimmy, is the one behind it all. Kim offers to step down but Kevin says no. Rich Schweikart meets with Kevin but nothing will sway Kevin.

Inuyasha 1.12

The Soul Piper and the Mischievous Little Soul

Kagome encounters the spirit of Mayu, a dead girl, in the modern era. Mayu died in a fire that almost killed her younger brother. He has been in a coma ever since. Mayu bears a grudge against her mother and tries to kill her brother, more than once.

Kagome tries to talk some sense into Mayu but the girl won't listen. Inuyasha warns Kagome that Mayu is in danger of being dragged down to Hell by a spirit known as the Soul Piper. Kagome renews her efforts to get through to Mayu but it isn't until after the Soul Piper tries to drag Mayu away that she listens.

Interior Chinatown 1.03

Tech Guy

Willis ingratiates himself to some of the background characters at the police station by bringing them Chinese food every day. He digs through the evidence room, While they eat, looking for more information about his brother, whom he learns was also known as Kung Fu Guy. Lana seems to think that a group or gang called the Painted Faces has something to do with his brother's disappearance but Willis doesn't know anything about them.

Lana works on a couple cases with Green and Turner. Green continues to make bad jokes and give Lana a hard time. Lana keeps trying and eventually Green starts to come around and stop treating her like trouble.

Bleach 1.04

Cursed Parakeet

Chad gets a talking parakeet from a friend who warns him that is cursed. Chad doesn’t care. He is very tall for a 15-year-old and possesses what seems to be superhuman strength.

Chad, despite being nearly invulnerable, gets hit by a car and is brought in to the Kurosaki clinic by Karin and Yuzu. Ichigo and Rukia immediately sense that there is something sinister at work.

Chad disappears from the clinic. Ichigo and Rukia go looking for him. Ichigo uses an ability that Shinigami possess to figure out where they can find Chad and the parakeet. They spot Chad but he takes off running with the bird.

Ichigo and Rukia split up after they run into Karin. She explains the the parakeet is possessed by the soul of a boy whose mother was killed before his eyes. Ichigo takes Karin home while Rukia follows Chad.

Rukia is attacked by a Hollow before she catches up to Chad and the parakeet. She tries to use Soul Reaper spells on the Hollow but she is still too weak for the spells to have any great effect on the evil spirit.

Doctor Who (1963) 8.02.01

The Mind of Evil - Episode One

The Doctor and Jo visit Stangmoor Prison. There they observe George Barnham, a prisoner, put through a process that is supposed to clear his mind of all evil impulses. He is hooked up to a device called a Keller machine. Something goes wrong during the procedure and Barnham, screams.

The Doctor, Jo, and the other observers file out of the room. One man stays behind. Not long after that he is found dead with marks from rats all over his face and neck. Professor Kettering, who was operating the machine, doesn't understand. Dr. Summers, who works in the prison, examines the man but doesn't understand how it happened.

Samurai Champloo 1.02

Redeye Reprisal

The judge's son from the previous episode, who lost an arm fighting with Mugen, returns. He brings with him a large, ogre-like man who has killed a lot of people. The judge's son sets traps for Mugen, Jin, and Fuu.

Fuu passes out and has to be carried. Jin and Mugen drop her off in an abandoned shack. 

Mugen gets lured away from the others by a woman who invites him to spend the night with her. She poison's him and then explains that only the judge's son has the antidote.

Jin goes to soak in a spring and meets an assassin whom the judge's son hired. The two men fight. The assassin is impressed by Jin's skill with a sword.

Neon Genesis Evangelion 1.17

The Fourth to be Qualified

The council wants to question Shinji about the most recent encounter with an Angel but Katsuragi denies their request. They interrogate her in his place. An accident happens in the United States. Preparations are made for the arrival/addition of a new pilot. 

Thoughts

Not a whole lot seemed to happen in this episode. Things happened but I'm not sure how it all adds up or how it is moving the plot forwards. Maybe there will be another battle with an Angel in the next episode. 

The Orville 2.03

Home

The Orville takes Alara back to Xelaya, her home planet because she needs to reacclimate to its strong gravity. She stays with her parents and her older sister who are happy to see her. Alara doesn't like the way they treat her. She has to ride around in a wheelchair, because she hasn't reacclimated to Xelaya's gravity.

The family goes to their vacation home which is on a deserted island. They aren't there for long before a couple whom they have never met before shows up. Cambis and Floratta Borrin. They seem nice at first but things get ugly after Cambis reveals that Alara's father is to blame for their son's death by suicide.

Alara recovers from her weakened state sufficiently that she is able to defend her sister and her parents from the intruders. Alara is given a chance to return to the Orville but decides instead to stay on Xelaya with her parents.

Port of Shadows (1938)

Le quai des brumes (1938)

or Port of Shadows

starring Jean Gabin, Michel Simon, Michèle Morgan, Pierre Brasseur

directed by Marcel Carné

in French with English subtitles

Jean (Jean Gabin), a deserter, arrives in Le Havre looking for transport away from France. He meets Nelly (Michèle Morgan) at a small run down establishment. Jean gets on the bad side of Lucien, a local wannabe tough guy, when he stands up for Nelly when Lucien tries forcing himself on her.

Jean and Nelly's budding romance encounters another roadblock in the form of Zabel (Michel Simon), her lecherous godfather. Jean books passage for himself on a ship headed to Venezuela but before the ship leaves the body of Maurice, Nelly's ex-boyfriend surfaces in the harbor. Jean immediately becomes a suspect.