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Reviews
Cold Comes the Night (2013)
A cool thriller but not without implausible elements
A good little thriller that doesn't outstay its welcome. That may be because the film is quite short (87 minutes). But that includes rather lengthy end-credits so when the narrative ends, the viewer might have thought there was more to come. I was kind of hoping for some sort of shock ending like Topo had worn a bullet-proof vest or the other cop tried to get in on the act ....something. The character of Topo is interesting, a ruthless killer but with a major weakness: bad vision. This doesn't seem to hinder his ability to escape unscathed from a car that contains 3 armed men, a tad implausible to say the least and then he is killed off too soon. Another implausible thing in the movie: a cop goes from (as perceived by the viewer) supportive friend (who may be more judging by his wife's hostility towards Chloe when she encounters her) to slightly crooked (skimming off the top) to totally whacked out psycho killer in the time that has elapsed in the movie which although not done in real time happens over two or three days.
Never the Twain: Thicker Than Water (1986)
A recycled plot line but it still works
Writer Vince Powell used the same plot-line in an episode of 'Mind Your Language'. The comedy is derived from the fact that a character who was left on an orphanage doorstep as a baby is shocked that his biological parents are not as well-bred as he is. Aside from the audience being asked to swallow a huge coincidence that he would be left on the same doorstep on the exact same night, the big 'twist' (that the baby left by the two 'parents' is the other gender) can only be kept under wraps (pardon the pun) by referring to the left baby as 'it' or 'your baby','my baby' etc so it sounds unnatural and somewhat telegraphed (even though I already knew the outcome from having seen it done in 'Mind Your Language'). Naturally, if they had said 'her' then the story is over.
In the 'Mind Your Language' episode, there is a cool scene where the character imagines what he would be like if he had grown up with the people who he believes are his biological parents. It might have been funny to see Donald Sinden ham it up in a similar scene but that wasn't done here.
The episode is notable for casting 2 actors from 2 different ITV sitcoms that were very popular in the early 70s: Doris Hare from 'On The Buses' and David Barry from 'Please, Sir'. Also of note is that the actor who Donald Sinden's character thought was his father was in reality only about 7 years older than him. One last noteworthy thing is that there is less animosity than usual between the two main characters.
Home to Roost: Leaving (1990)
Matthew finally leaves for college
*** CONTAINS SPOILER *** This episode makes use of a plot-device often seen in sitcoms – assuming a character is male when they are actually female (or vice versa). Unfortunately, it is rather telegraphed as by not referring to said character as 'she' in dialogue, it comes across as clumsy phrasing and so the 'big twist' when it comes is fairly easy to have seen coming. And naturally it is an attractive female and so Matthew wants to stay in less than desirable accommodation. There is then a rather contrived ending whereby a younger version (called Frank) of Matthew turns up at Henry's house. It is interesting to note that in this final episode, Reece Dinsdale was in his early thirties and still playing a teenager (although his age is only implied).
Final Jeopardy (1985)
Not totally bad but could have been better
The problem with this sort of movie is that you watch it and find yourself saying or thinking either what you would have done if you were in that situation or what the protagonists ought to have done. It is hard to just switch off and accept that the characters would really do what they are doing or that the events would unfold in the way that they do if they are implausible.
But, of course, when a possible way out of danger takes place only halfway through the movie, you know it is going to fail. The movie raised these questions for me: 1. Would everything really just grind to a halt like that as early as 7:00pm? 2. Would people really be that unhelpful in that part of town? 3. Would the streets really be so deserted? 4. Surely, sooner or later they would have stumbled upon a hotel/motel? 5. If someone offered to pay you to drive them somewhere that was a short distance away and they looked reasonably sane, wouldn't you at least try to negotiate? It reminded me of 'The Warriors', where the streets are made to seem more menacing by the use of camera angles and music. The street-gang seems hellbent on getting the couple for little more reason than taking a shine to the wife ... but was this enough motivation? They are all set to kill the husband when he had done nothing to provoke it. Only at the end are the police shown to be helpful. It was like in that part of town, you are only safe in daylight. But there is only 1 street-gang roaming these 'mean streets' and they are suitably toned down to TV movie level ... no guns, no foul language.
The Marty character seems a bit too unhinged too early ... he beats himself up because he went to the wrong bar for a business meeting and seems insecure that he is trying to make it in business on his own. It seems a little signposted that he is going to snap later. He ends up smashing store windows as if to be saying 'If this doesn't bring the police, then nothing will' and naturally it doesn't. The two main characters ask 'Why can't we just get out of this?' and you might share that frustration too. To rely on public payphones seems ludicrous today but one has to remember the movie was made and set in 1985 but I was cringing during the scene where Marty tries to get the police to come to his aid by saying he is near a building called 'Mill something Building' and the cop says 'You are near a mill?'. And the number of the payphone has numbers scratched out so that can't help either and the police can't trace the call very quickly. And then the police ring Marty back on the payphone (we assume it is the police) so they know which payphone he used but still don't send a squad car and the gang-member hears the phone ring. This is all supposed to add suspense and danger but is annoying.