The Acolyte

The Acolyte Season 1 (Leslye Headland, 2024)

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Season 1 Rating: DSQ=4, SP=2 / Worst of the Worst

Scale A=3, Scale B=0, Scale C=1, Scale D=1, Scale E=1

Science Fiction, Action, Adventure

Oh how very, very sad. This was such a disappointing show. What I thought would be an interesting pre-Empire story with stimulating characters, settings, and themes, turned out to be an enormous FLOP. The Acolyte gives us the not-so-good Star Wars over-used troupes and gimmicks with little else. The acting is poor and the script is even worse. How did it get approved? None of the character motivations and decisions made make sense, to me, which just doesn't work. And overall, the show paints the Jedi in a pretty dark light. I get it, we are meant to question the so-called heroes, meant to see that everyone has dark and light in them...I guess? But we only one story from multiple angles. No other stories and no real depth. Honestly, the only characters I liked were killed. The main characters are annoying and confusing. Who wants to watch that? I gave the show a chance by continuing to watch, but each episode got worse. Sigh. Not worth it.

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Superman

Superman (Richard Donner, 1978)

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Rating: Q=6, P=6 / Average OJ

Scale 1=3, Scale 2=3, Scale 3=3, Scale 4=3

Superhero, Action, Adventure, Comics

I've seen so many action and superhero films in the last eight years, but surprisingly I hadn't watched one of the first. Superman is fun and enjoyable, a somehow nostalgic film (even though I hadn't seen it before) that has aged but only a little. I liked the structure of the film--begin on Krypton (with Marlon Brando!), show his childhood on Earth, move on to his adult life with a mission, etc. There isn't anything special about this plot--it is straightforward but that is comforting and works. There are some silly, zany moments and fun effects. A good, old-standard comic book movie. 

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SPECIAL: Columbo, all seasons

Columbo (Richard Levinson; William Link, 1968-2003)

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Detective, Mystery, Neo-Noir

I adore mystery shows, and I had watched a few episodes of "Columbo" long ago and didn't really get into, for whatever reason. But just this year we started watching and...couldn't stop. Each episode is at least good, if not great. Peter Falk is iconic and so much fun to watch. There is something so reassuring about knowing how the crime was committed and then slowly watching the criminal's "scheme" fall apart. I loved so many episodes but picked a few favorites below.

Season Ratings and Favorite Episodes:

Season 1: "Short Fuse"

Rating: Q=7, P=8 / Obsession

Scale 1=3, Scale 2=4, Scale 3=4, Scale 4=4

Season 2: "The Most Dangerous Match"

Rating: Q=7, P=8 / Obsession

Scale 1=3, Scale 2=4, Scale 3=4, Scale 4=4

Season 3: "Double Exposure"

Rating: Q=7, P=8 / Obsession

Scale 1=3, Scale 2=4, Scale 3=4, Scale 4=4

Season 4: "Playback"

Rating: Q=7, P=7 / Obsession

Scale 1=3, Scale 2=4, Scale 3=4, Scale 4=3

Season 5: "Now You See Him..."

Rating: Q=7, P=8 / Obsession

Scale 1=3, Scale 2=4, Scale 3=4, Scale 4=4

Season 6: "Fade In To Murder"

Rating: Q=7, P=7 / Obsession

Scale 1=3, Scale 2=4, Scale 3=4, Scale 4=3

Season 7: "Try and Catch Me"

Rating: Q=7, P=7 / Obsession

Scale 1=3, Scale 2=4, Scale 3=4, Scale 4=3

Season 8: "Sex and the Married Detective"

Rating: Q=7, P=8 / Obsession

Scale 1=3, Scale 2=4, Scale 3=4, Scale 4=4

Season 9: "Columbo Cries Wolf"

Rating: Q=7, P=8 / Obsession

Scale 1=3, Scale 2=4, Scale 3=4, Scale 4=4

Season 10: "Undercover"

Rating: Q=7, P=8 / Obsession

Scale 1=3, Scale 2=4, Scale 3=4, Scale 4=4

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SPECIAL: The Marx Brothers, Paramount Films

For Christmas I received the best gift ever: a collection of the Marx Brothers' first five films with Paramount pictures: The Cocoanuts, Animal Crackers, Monkey Business, Horse Feathers, and Duck Soup. Of course, I was thrilled. I started watching them nearly right away. I had seen all the films before, but some had been a while. And now I could watch them whenever I wanted.

The Marx Brothers hold a very special place in my heart and in the world of cinema, too. I would watch the movies when they happened to be on or when my dad was watching, but it was never really planned. Sometimes when I was home sick from school I would try to find one as watching the zany antics nearly always made me feel better. But my love affair didn't really start until I was in college and actually started paying more attention to classic films, through film classes and just voraciously watching everything.

No other performers created a bridge between the world of vaudeville and the silver screen like the Marx Brothers did. Some of the earliest films are like watching their stage shows, which is amazing to think about--we have a window into the world of vaudeville through these films. A window into a wholly different culture and time, now almost 100 years ago. Wow.

My favorite of the first five films is Horse Feathers. I love it because of the music, especially, but also because of the fantastic lines and gags. Monkey Business is my second favorite, it is nostalgic for me and has some brilliant scenes. The others are all equally great, too, just for different reasons. I can't get enough of them and am so glad I have them in my collection now.

The Cocoanuts

Rating: Q=6, P=6 / Average OJ

Scale 1=3, Scale 2=3, Scale 3=3, Scale 4=3

Animal Crackers

Rating: Q=6, P=6 / Average OJ

Scale 1=3, Scale 2=3, Scale 3=3, Scale 4=3

Monkey Business

Rating: Q=7, P=7 / Obsession

Scale 1=3, Scale 2=4, Scale 3=3, Scale 4=4

Horse Feathers

Rating: Q=7, P=8 / Obsession

Scale 1=3, Scale 2=4, Scale 3=4, Scale 4=4

Duck Soup

Rating: Q=7, P=7 / Obsession

Scale 1=3, Scale 2=4, Scale 3=3, Scale 4=4

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