pmchai Reviews

The Sum of All Fears (2002)

good film but based on a flawed premise

[8/10 · 17 July 2021]

I suppose writing a review this long after the movie's release means few readers, but...It's based on a flawed premise. In 1973 an Israeli plane carrying a nuclear weapon is shot down in the northern Galilee (I'm pretty sure that's the location) and lies undiscovered for nearly 30 years. There is no way that Israel (or any other country to which such a thing might have happened) would have not moved heaven and earth to retrieve that bomb.

Since that bomb is the Maguffin of the film, one has to suspend disbelief regarding the triggering incident. That aside, it's a well done production. Affleck is an effective Ryan in this film (less so in the other film where he played the character), and tension runs high, especially in the last crucial moments.

Schmigadoon! (2021–2023)

A parody and yet not a parody

[17 July 2021]

The intelligence of this show is encased in the fact that it's unmistakably a musical with song and dance, and yet is also a parody of musicals. There may be a dark side that emerges only at the end of the first episode, but until that develops, it's a story filled with amusing ironies. Two of the songs in the first episode are clearly meant to resonate Rogers and Hammerstein musicals. The opening song is a riff on Oklahoma and another a riff on Carousel. But they are at one and the same time well-written and well-rehearsed numbers, and yet are funny because of their self-conscious acknowledgment that they are musicals. Hard to explain, perhaps, but you'll see what I mean when you watch. Parts are laugh out loud funny.

The Spy in White (1936)

James Mason goes to Turkey and foils a revolution

[7/10 · 8 October 2005]

I acquired this movie when I bought a DVD with eight or nine old mystery films. I figured, what the heck, right, nine old movies I'd never heard of for $6.00. How bad could it be.

And in fact, as something of a movie buff I appreciated these old films. This one was by far the best. Don't expect great acting or a scintillating plot. But James Mason and his supporting cast do not disappoint in delivering a bit of a swashbuckling type performance with a few twists and turns that are for the most part predictable but enjoyable nonetheless. I think the film maker intended Mason to look a bit like Errol Flynn. It's also interesting to see how in 1936 they presented Turkey, where most of the movie takes place.

It's a good Saturday afternoon watch.