La Règle du jeu (1939)

La Règle du jeu (1939)

aka The Rules of the Game

starring Marcel Dalio, Nora Gregor, Paulette Dubost

directed by Jean Renoir

110 minutes

in French with English subtitles

Robert (Marcel Dalio) and Christine de la Cheyniest (Nora Gregor) invite friends over for a weekend at their palatial home. The guest list includes former and current lovers of both spouses. The infidelity extends beyond the party guests to the servants including Lisette Schumacher (Paulette Dubost), Christine's chamber maid, who despite being married finds herself attracted to Marceau, a new addition to the staff. Ultimately the infidelity leads to tragedy as one of the guests is killed by Lisette's husband who thinks he witnesses Lisette being unfaithful with one of the guests.

Kraft Suspense Theatre 2.02

Operation Greif

starring Claude Akins, Robert Goulet

written by Jerome Ross

directed by Jack Smight

German commando units infiltrate the allied lines in 1944 during the Battle of the Bulge and sow confusion. Five American soldiers who barely know one another but are traveling together by chance start to suspect one another of being German. The paranoia rises to a point until one of them is caught in a lie.

He turns out not to be a German but one of the other soldiers does. The German spy murders a French teenager who catches on to his true identity and almost succeeds in his mission to blow up a US Army fire direction center.

Steven Universe 1.42

Weather Forecast

Connie is hanging out with Steven at his place when her mother calls. There is a snowstorm coming and she wants Connie to come home. Steven's father tries driving them home but they get stuck in the snow and have to walk the rest of the way.

Something weird happens and Steven finds himself stepping backwards in time more than once as he envisions different scenarios. In the end they leave earlier and don't have to trudge through the snow. Also, Steven discovers that Garnet shared her future vision power with him which explains why he he experienced so many different possible outcomes.

Thoughts

This was a decent episode. It wasn't bad but it didn't really excite me or feel like it expanded Steven's world.

Adventure Time 5.16

Puhoy

Finn is feeling down because he told the Flame Princes a joke and she didn't seem to get it. He tells Jake and BMO that he needs a moment. He burrows into a pillow fort that they built and winds up in a pillow world. He is unable to find his way back. The path that led him there has disappeared.

Finn slays a pillow dragon and marries a pillow princess. They have pillow children. Finn grows old and dies. As he is dying he finds himself transported back to the treehouse where he lives with Jake and BMO. Everything is just as it was when he climbed into the pillow fort.

Star Trek: Lower Decks 2.10

First First Contact

Captain Freeman finds out that she about to receive a promotion and a transfer to another ship. She tries to keep it a secret but Mariner overhears her talking about the transfer to Captain Sonya Gomez, of the USS Archimedes. Mariner tells first her lower decks friends and then Ransom, Shaxs, and Billups.

The senior officers don't waste any time in confronting Captain Freeman about the transfer. They are angry that she didn't tell them immediately. Mariner isn't exactly overjoyed either. The arguments over Captain Freeman's imminent departure are set aside when they see the Archimedes get badly damaged by the side effects of a unexpected solar flare. Rutherford, whose cybernetic implant is malfunctioning due to it running out of memory, comes up with a solution that involves jettisoning the outer hull.

Better Call Saul 6.13

Saul Gone

Gene runs but the police find him. He calls Bill Oakley, the attorney whom he regularly saw when he was working in Albuquerque. Oakley agrees to defend him. Saul gets a sweetheart deal despite the mountain of crimes with which they have charged him. Saul is riding high until he learns that Kim confessed to their role in discrediting Howard. Kim learns about what Jimmy has done and flies to Albuquerque for the the sentencing hearing.

Saul sees Kim in the courtroom and changes his testimony on the spot. He confesses to quite a bit and claims full responsibility in the matter of the smearing of Howard's good name. He was only going to serve eight years in a minimum security facility, according to the terms of the plea arrangement. His sentence is changed after his performance at the sentencing hearing and his sentence is increased to 86 years in a maximum security prison.

The Twilight Zone 1.14

Third from the Sun

starring Fritz Weaver, Edward Andrews, Joe Maross

written by Rod Serling, Richard Matheson

directed by Richard L. Bare

Scientist William Sturka (Fritz Weaver) and pilot Jerry Riden (Joe Maross) both work for the government. They learn that nuclear war is about to break out and make plans to escape with their families. They are under surveillance by Mr. Carling (Edward Andrews).

Carling keeps them on their toes but late one night they break into the base where they work. They, along with their wives and Sturka's teenage daughter, steal a spaceship and head for another planet where humans also live. A planet that is the third from the sun around which it orbits. A planet that is more similar to their own than they realize.

Doctor Who (1963) 8.05.05

The Daemons - Part Five

The Master laughs at Jo's protestations and orders his followers to prepare her to be sacrificed. Sergeant Osgood finally gets his act together and the Brigadier has him use the device he built using the Doctor's instructions. It allows them to get through the heat barrier that surrounds the village but it blows up not long after they have passed through the barrier.

Bok threatens the Doctor and the others outside the church. The Brigadier and his men distract Bok while the Doctor runs into the caverns below the church. The Doctor confronts the Master and Azal. He gets the Master's followers to release Jo. Azal offers to convey his power on the Doctor whom he considers to be more worthy than the Master. The Doctor refuses the offer which leads Azal to try and destroy him. Jo offers herself up for destruction in the Doctor's place. Azal is confused and self-destructs, taking the church and the caverns with him but not until after the Doctor, the Master, Jo, and the Master's followers have hightailed it out of there.

Tout en haut du monde (2015)

Tout en haut du monde (2015)

aka Long Way North

starring Christa Théret, Féodor Atkine, Thomas Sagols

directed by Rémi Chayé

81 minutes

in French with English subtitles

Fifteen year old Sacha (Christa Théret) takes desperate measures when no one will help her try to find Oloukine (Féodor Atkine), her grandfather the explorer who disappeared searching for the North Pole. She leaves home and takes trains north from St. Petersburg to a town on the coast of the Artic Ocean. There she buys passage on the Norge, whose captain hopes to claim the reward for finding the Daval, Oloukine's ship.

Four Star Playhouse 1.09

The Man on the Train

starring David Niven

directed by Robert Florey

William Langford (David Niven) takes the train to see family. He shares a compartment on the train with John Dwerrihouse, who tells him about a business deal that he is about to close for the railroad company. Langford mentions the encounter to a few friends when gets to where he is going. Everyone is astounded to hear about the encounter because Dwerrihouse disappeared months ago with a large sum of money.

Langford insists that he met Dwerrihouse on the train. Jeff Pender, a friend of Langford's looks into the matter with Langford but no one who is on the train recalls seeing Dwerrihouse.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 2.10

Sanctuary

A group of people come through the wormhole in a badly damaged ship. Commander Sisko orders them beamed off their ship and aboard the space station. They are Skrreeans. The universal translator has some trouble with their language. Sisko and Major Kira learn, once the translator issue has been resolved, that the four people they rescued are just the tip of the iceberg. There are another three million Skrreeans hoping to come through the wormhole and get away from something known as the Dominion.

Deep Space Nine helps more Skrreeans make their way through the wormhole. Haneek, the leader of the first small group to come through the wormhole educates Sisko and Kira about their ways. The Skrreeans are farmers. Their society is run by women. They are looking for a new home, a planet that they call Kentanna.

The Good Place 1.02

Flying

Chidi agrees to help Eleanor learn to be a good person. She does something that makes him reconsider his decision but before the episode is over she convinces him (once again) to help her by doing a good deed. The episode ends with Eleanor receiving an anonymous message that reads "You Don't Belong Here".

Thoughts

This episode is peppered with a few flashbacks to Eleanor's life before she died.

The title of the episode is a reference to the activity that almost everyone take part in. Eleanor is one of those people who doesn't get to participate because she is too busy helping Chidi and several other volunteers pick up trash.

This episode was as funny as the first one. It made me laugh several times. I'm eager to see where this goes next.

The Makanai: Cooking for the Maiko House 1.05

Choice

Yoshino told everyone she was divorced but then her husband comes looking for her. It turns out that she returned to the Maiko House while her husband was away on business. She found living with her mother-in-law unbearable.

Momoko puzzles over whether to stay in Kyoto or follow a man to Tokyo. Some of the Maiko remark on how Kiyo and Sumire seem like an old couple. Sumire learn that she is no longer to be an apprentice but become a Maiko.

Thoughts

There wasn't much in the way of cooking in this episode. I enjoyed it but I'm just past the halfway point and it feels in some ways like things are moving extremely fast for Sumire and Kiyo. Has Momoko come to a decision? I'm not sure.

The Phil Silvers Show 4.31

Bilko's Casino

Bilko finds an exception to the law prohibiting gambling in California. He tries to exploit it but finds out that someone else is going to exploit him if he does. He comes up with a scheme to turn the tables on them and abandons his plan to open a casino.

Thoughts

This episode was okay but the ending did not satisfy me. Bilko turns the tables on the crooks and then abandons his plans. I don't get it.

Notes

Al Lewis played one of the guys trying to strongarm Bilko in this episode. This is the second of three episodes of this show in which he appeared. The first was 4.18 Bilko's Credit Card. I've also seen him recently in The Night Strangler (1973). He is best known to me for playing the part of Grandpa on The Munsters.

Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989)

Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989)

starring Woody Allen, Martin Landau, Mia Farrow, Alan Alda

written and directed by Woody Allen

104 minutes

Judah Rosenthal (Martin Landau) is petrified because Dolores Paley, with whom he has been having an affair for the past couple years, insists that he end things with his wife. She threatens to tell Judah's wife if he doesn't. Judah tries reasoning with Delores but she insists on getting her way. Judah turns to his brother Jack, who has mob connections, for advice. Jack suggests that he could have Delores killed. Judah refuses to contemplate such a course of action but he later changes his mind.

Clifford Stern (Woody Allen) has fallen out of love with his wife and into it with Halley Reed (Mia Farrow). He meets her while they are collaborating on a documentary that they are making about Lester (Alan Alda), Cliff's brother-in-law. Lester is a successful producer of sitcoms. Cliff is an unsuccessful director of documentaries. Cliff desperately wants Halley and bristles when he sees Lester hitting on her. He allows his feelings to guide his directorial decisions.

Adventure Time 5.15

A Glitch is a Glitch

Ice King unleashes a computer virus that threatens to destroy everyone and everything in the Candy Kingdom except himself and Princess Bubblegum. He does it because she said she would only date him if he was the last person left alive. Finn and Jake go on a quest to find the cure to the virus. It takes them to some very weird places.

Thoughts

This episode is not animated in the traditional style for this show. It has a very pixelated look but not a uniform pixelated look. That's the best way that I can think of to describe it.

At one point Princess Bubblegum starts kissing her own hand, repeatedly. 

Steven Universe 1.41

Horror Club

Steven, Lars, and Sadie hang out with Ronaldo who is having a scary movie party. They start by watching Evil Bear 2 but the power goes out in the middle of the movie. They try to figure out what has happened to the power only to discover that the house is haunted, by a gem that was stuck in the walls of the house.

Thoughts

Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl are not in this episode. 

This story reveals that Lars and Ronaldo used to be friends when they were much younger but they had a falling out.

This episode didn't do much for me. I guess it expanded the backstory of this series a little bit but not enough to satisfy me.

Star Trek: Lower Decks 2.09

wej Duj

The crew of the Cerritos are given some time off while traveling through a quiet sector of space. Mariner, Rutherford, and Tendi spend time with members of the bridge crew. Boimler struggles to find someone from the bridge crew with whom to hang.

Lower decks crew members from a Klingon ship and a Vulcan ship get a moment in the spot light. All three ships come together before the end of the episode.

Thoughts

The title of this episode is Klingon for Three Ships.

Better Call Saul 6.12

Waterworks

Breaking Bad time - Saul gives Kim what she wants and signs the paperwork to end their marriage. She refuses to take her portion of the Sandpiper settlement.

Gene time - Kim flies from where she lives in Florida to New Mexico, meets with Cheryl (Howard's widow) and gives her a copy of a sworn statement that she provided to the District Attorney's office. Cheryl has questions for her. Kim answers them to the best of her ability.

The Outer Limits (1963) 1.13

Tourist Attraction

starring Janet Blair, Henry Silva, Ralph Meeker

directed by Laslo Benedek

John Dexter (Ralph Meeker) leads an expedition in San Blas with the help of marine biologist Tim Evans. Lynn Arthur (Janet Blair), Dexter's secretary is also along for the ride. In the depths of Lake Aripan they find a large fish. Dexter kills it and brings it back with them. He has it put on ice. He wants to transport it back to the United States but General Mercurio (Henry Silva) the ruler of San Blas steps in and declares the creature a national treasure.

Doctor Who (1963) 8.05.04

The Daemons - Part Four

The Master talks to Azal and begs to be made ruler of the Earth. Azal considers it but doesn't decide one way or the other.

Jo wakes up in bed and climbs out a window, with some help from a conveniently placed ladder, and goes looking for the Doctor. Mike Yates also goes looking for the Doctor. They both wind up in the basement of the church.

The Doctor gives Sgt Osgood instructions for breaking through the barrier surrounding the village. The Doctor returns to the village (while Osgood gets to work) where he is beset by murderous Morris dancers. They are working on orders from the Master and are ready to kill him until Miss Hawthorne and Sgt Benton step in and convince them that the Doctor is a great wizard.

The episode ends with Jo watching in horror in the basement of the church as the Master once again summons Azal.

Suspense 1.01

Goodbye, New York

starring Meg Mundy

directed by Robert Stevens

Mary tries to talk Ray, her husband, who has had no luck in finding a job, into not giving up. He goes out and kills a loan shark and comes home with $500.

Mary Gardener (Meg Mundy) and her husband Ray attempt to get out of town without being noticed. Ray killed a loan shark. They use the money he got off the loan shark to first buy a new suit for Ray and then buy train tickets out of town.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 2.09

Second Sight

Sisko meets Fenna, a mysterious woman, on the fourth anniversary of the death of his wife at the Battle of Wolf 359. Fenna disappears on more than one occasion before he can learn very much about her. The third time she disappears it is right before his eyes.

Dax and Chief O'Brian help Professor Gideon Seyetik, a visiting scientist, prepare to reignite Epsilon 119, a dead star. Sisko gets a bit of a shock when he meets Nidell, Seyetik's wife, and she looks just like Fenna. Sisko confronts Nidell but she doesn't recognize him.

Sisko and Dax accompany Seyetik and Nidell aboard the Prometheus, the ship that takes them to Epsilon 119. Fenna appears aboard the Prometheus after Nidell falls into a coma. Gideon recognizes her. He saw her once before, a few years prior. Dax believes that she is the unconscious manifestation of Nidell's mental energies.

The Good Place 1.01

Everything Is Fine

Eleanor wakes up in The Good Place. She discovers that she is dead and she's there because she was extremely good during her life on Earth. She has a soul mate in The Good Place. His name is Chidi. Once they are alone she confesses to him that she doesn't know what she's doing there because when she was alive she wasn't a good person. She made a living selling fake medicine to poor, old people.

Chidi doesn't want to believe her at first. The next morning everything seems to have gone haywire in the neighborhood where they live. Chidi is convinced that it must be because Eleanor is there. Michael, who designed the neighborhood, doesn't understand what's going on.

Eleanor suggests that maybe Chidi, who used to be a professor of ethics, could teach her to be a good person.

Alfred Hitchcock Presents 1.16

You Got to Have Luck

starring John Cassavetes, Marisa Pavan

directed by Robert Stevens

Escaped convict Sam Cobbett (John Cassavetes), forces Mary Schaffner (Marisa Pavan) to help him while her husband is in town buying groceries. He is so concerned over his own safety that he doesn't pick up on the fact that she is deaf but able to read lips. His luck runs out after he has her answer the phone when her mother calls.

Star Trek: Lower Decks 2.08

I, Excretus

The Cerritos is visited by Shari yn Yem, an official from Starfleet who is there to test the crew through individual holopod drills. The lower decks and bridge crew are forced to change places. They are all fairly confident that they can manage but with one exception they all fail miserably. Boimler is the exception bur he keeps repeating the same test, one in which he faces off against the Borg by himself. His score keeps incrementally increasing but he isn't satisfied and keeps going over and over.

Shari reveals that they have all failed miserably. She is just waiting for Boimler to finish his testing but his success won't change anything. Captain Freeman and her crew scare the tester by heading straight for a Crystalline Entity and when that doesn't scare the tester enough they next head for a temporal black hole.

Ratatouille (2007)

Ratatouille (2007)

starring Patton Oswalt, Ian Holm, Lou Romano

directed by Brad Bird

111 minutes

Remy (Patton Oswalt) a rat with a refined sense of taste and smell longs to be a cook. He gets the idea from a chef he has seen on television, Gusteau. Remy, by chance, makes his way from the French countryside to Paris where he finds Gousteau's restaurant which since his death has been run by Skinner (Ian Holm), Gusteau's former sou chef.

Remy helps Alfredo Linguini (Lou Romano), the latest addition to the kitchen staff at Gusteau's restaurant, become the newest culinary star.

The Makanai: Cooking for the Maiko House 1.04

Wish

Everyone in the house gets obsessed with a lucky charm that Momoko gives to Sumire. Sumire's father comes to visit, partly out of concern for his daughter's well being.

Thoughts

The parts of the episode dealing with the visit of Sumire's father were a bit tense. The parts dealing with the charm didn't pull me in quite as much. He wasn't rude. He seemed genuinely concerned but I think mostly that it was just that he wasn't ready for his daughter to grow up and leave home.

Steven Universe 1.40

On the Run

Amethyst and Steven go on the Run, just like the No Home Boys, the main characters from a series of books that Steven has been reading. Amethyst takes Steven to see the Prime Kindergarten, the place where she was born. Pearl catches up to them. She is angry at Amethyst for brining Steven to the Prime Kindergarten. Amethyst and Pearl fight but Steven intercedes and gets them to stop. They all go home together in the end.

Thoughts

The title of this episode is also the title of one of the No Home Boys novels.

Adventure Time 5.14

Simon & Marcy

Marceline tells Finn and Jake a story about her and Simon (aka the Ice King) from (996 years earlier) when she was just 7 years old and he was 47. The Ice King was just Simon back then. He had the crown but he didn't wear it except in extreme emergencies because it warped his mind.

Thoughts

Simon entertains Marcy at one point by pretending to put on a TV show. His presentation begins with him singing the theme song to Cheers.

This was an excellent episode. It was kind of awesome to see how well Simon and Marcy got along and how he looked out for her. This episode was nominated for an emmy.

The Orville 3.01

Electric Sheep

The Orville gets some upgrades but some of the crew, in particular Charly Burke (the newest member of the bridge crew) and Marcus Finn, continue to blame Isaac for helping the Kaylon to wreck havoc on Earth and the fleet of ships that worked to defend it. Isaac decides that it would be better if he was no longer around and fries his circuits.

Repairs to the Orville finish and the ship departs Earth. Lieutenant Commander LaMarr comes up with a possible way to bring Isaac back. He needs some help from Charly but she refuses to help.

Better Call Saul 6.11

Breaking Bad

Gene calls a pay phone, from another payphone. Francesca picks up. He wants know what's been going on. She wants her money first. He tells her where to find it. They talk after she retrieves the money. The Feds got most of his money. Kim called, looking for Jimmy, wanting to know if he was still alive. Francesca says she didn't tell her anything.

Gene gets the band back together, the three man team he got up and running in the previous episode. He starts a new scheme. This time around they drug single men and steal their identities and passwords to their bank accounts. Everything goes well until Buddy, develops a conscience over bilking a guy with cancer. Gene shows him the door and then goes to finish the job himself.

Doctor Who (1963) 8.05.03

The Daemons - Part Three

The Doctor scares off Bok, the gargoyle, with a piece of iron. It seems to believe that it has magical powers even though it doesn't. The Master is very disappointed.

The Doctor and Jo return to the village. The Doctor explains to Jo, Miss Hawthorne, Sgt Benton, and Captain Yeats about the forces that the Master is trying to call forth. It isn't the Devil or occult magic, as Miss Hawthorne seems to believe, but aliens who arrived on Earth 100,000 years ago.

The Master calls a meeting of the leading villagers. He explains to them that he needs their help. He promises to reward them if they will do his bidding. The Squire, one of the village elders decides he's had enough. The Master punishes his insolence by calling forth Bok who vaporizes the Squire.

The Twilight Zone 1.13

The Four of Us Are Dying

starring Harry Townes, Phillip Pine, Ross Martin, Don Gordon

directed by John Brahm

Arch Hammer (Harry Townes), a man who can change his appearance at will attempts to use his superpower to his advantage but it gets him into trouble, lots of trouble; the kind of trouble that gets him killed!

Arch starts off by impersonating a dead man, musician Johnny Foster (Ross Martin). He uses Johnny's appearance to seduce Maggie, a lounge singer. Next, he makes himself look like gangster Virge Sterig (Phillip Pine) and strongarms a mob boss out of some money. The mob boss's henchmen come after him so he changes his appearance once again. This time he makes himself look like Andy Marshak (Don Gordon).

Bleach 41 / 2.21

Reunion, Ichigo and Rukia

Ichigo wakes up and finds Yoruichi sitting near him. Yoruichi tells Ichigo to rest but Ichigo doesn't. He freaks out when Yoruichi transforms into her human form and is revealed to be a naked woman. He takes a magic rod she shows him, against her protestations, and uses it to fly to the Senzaikyū.

Ichigo doesn't arrive until after Ganju has attempted to deal with Sixth Squad Captain Byakuya Kuchiki. Captain Kuchiki knows that Ganju is hopelessly outclassed. He goes easy on Ganju until he learns that his opponent is of the Shiba Clan. He then unleashes the full power of his Zanpakutō. which disperses the blade into a thousand pieces that fly at Ganju and cut him up. Ganju collapses, unconscious or dead.

Four Star Playhouse 1.08

Knockout

starring Broderick Crawford

directed and co-written by Blake Edwards

Boxing manager Mike Dundee (Broderick Crawford) takes a chance on Bobby Gregory, a very raw talent. Julio, Dundee's trainer, gets Gregory into shape. Gregory does well as a professional boxer but he gets thrown a curveball on the night before his first big fight when he learns that the champion he will be fighting has been paid to throw the fight by a gangster named Bulloti who has waged $200K on the match.

Thoughts

This is a decent episode. It ended a little too abruptly to fully satisfy me but I enjoyed it more than most of the previous episodes of this show.

Aontas (2025)

Aontas (2025)

starring Carrie Crowley, Brid Brennan

directed by Damian McCann

92 minutes

in Irish with English subtitles

Mairéad (Carrie Crowley), Cáit (Brid Brennan), and Sheila hold up a local credit union in a small Irish town. Dara and Colly, owners of the recently closed local quarry, are in the credit union at the time of the time of the stickup. There is more to the actions and identities of the robbers and the customers present than meets the eye.

The Phil Silvers Show 4.30

Doberman, Missing Heir

Bilko convinces Lord and Lady Rockford that Private Duane Doberman is their long lost missing son. Doberman is opposed to the idea at first but once he gets accepted by Lord and Lady Rockford he starts to like it and gives Bilko the cold shoulder. Bilko introduces Doberman to Dixie, a burlesque dancer, in the hopes of being able to sponge off of Doberman by proxy once Doberman and Dixie get married. Everything falls apart when the real long lost son of of Lord and Lady Rockford turns up.

Thoughts

Corporals Henshaw and Barbella are in this episode but Colonel Hall is not.

Adventure Time 5.13

The Great Bird Man

Finn and Jake go looking for the Great Bird Man. He finds them after they collapse while trekking through the desert. It turns out that he is someone that they have met before. He was previously known as Xergiok the Goblin King. He lost his eyes since he last encountered Finn and Jake and changed his life. He went to live with large birds that live in the mountains.

Finn and Jake can see that Xergiok's missing eyes are in his beard. They debate whether to tell him or not but eventually they do. Xergiok puts his eyes back in and turns evil again. Ultimately he decides to remove his eyes. He wanders off into a reservoir where he meets a mermaid.

Steven Universe 1.39

Future Vision

Steven learns that Garnet can see possible future outcomes of his actions. At first he thinks its cool but then he gets freaked out after he learns how fatal some of the future outcomes could be. Steven gets paralyzed by indecision until he finally comes to terms with reality and the role he plays he determining his own future.

Thoughts

This was an okay episode. It felt a bit like an afterschool special. I guess that another possible ending could be one where Steven got distracted and completely forgot about he worries over the future. I guess that this ending is better than that one but at the same time I didn't find it to be terribly rewarding.