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philip2029
Reviews
Doctor Who: The Mind of Evil: Episode One (1971)
A Disappointment Given What This Story Could Have Easily Been
A disappointment, put politely. And a story so stacked with factors favouring it to become an all-time classic as well: really excellent leads, a proven top writer and a plot that could have been one to (metaphorically) die for.
Mind of Evil was for years an early Pertwee story I'd heard a few things about and wanted to have a good look at; the concept of the Keller machine and the ethics of tampering with the brains of criminals was obviously such good turf for Dr Who to delve into.
But it flops - not least because the plot is continually sidetracked into irrelevant avenues mainly soon abandoned but not before having destroyed the main flow of the action.
Most critically, there's almost no development of the nature or mission or even dilemmas encountered by the alien is that has decided to live in the machine that plays god with the criminal's minds, nor even why an innocent is immune to its spells.
Pity the writer Don Houghton, who either (given other work, surely unlikely) blithely turned in duff goods this time or foolishly opting to compromise on how the story was produced while keeping his writing credit. His work on Inferno will always stand - perhaps he should have packed up and abandoned Who there and then.
Star Trek: Spock's Brain (1968)
A Child Could Do It!
Taking this episode's side in all fairness there are legions of original series Star Trek stories way worse than this, for some reason there's been a kind of social media pile-in on poor Spock's Brain and it doesn't deserve all of it!
This is an episode from the wonders of the starry cosmos for little children. And viewed as such no harm in being so, and it has a lot - actually quite thoughtful on science and exploration, as indeed on whether a body can exist separately from a mind, and on declining, pampered civilisations clinging to former sophistication - going for it.
Perhaps the actors had just been told about some more cuts in the Star Trek Season Three budget, I will admit that....
But plot-wise and ideas-wise, wallops possibly a good third of all TOS Star Treks out of the ballpark.
Irrational Man (2015)
The Fall
Very disappointing. A promising first half of a movie with a 10-15 minute sophomore-standard rush job ending, as opposed to the full crescendo it could easily have had. In fair measure this is, in effect, Woody Allen falling into artistic oblivion in a professional elevator shaft.
Irrational Man, like its lead character, is a waste of time, a mess. A waste of time because it will already have taken up hours of the spare leisure of tens of thousands.
Put simply, it has prominence and distribution purely because of Allen's previously earned eminence.
Assisted by that, it may temporarily impress for transforming a standardised Allen character (Abe Lucas (Joaquin Phoenix) philosophy lecturer, depressive, would-be-lecherous, seize-the-day prankster) into a murdering, genuine monster, but the satisfaction in that is short-lived.
At 75 minutes - providing you are unaware of when the show is due to end - you might be reasonable in awaiting Allen's delivery of well observed comeuppance for an arrogant man in a position of responsibility.
But Allen - also in a position of fair authority - fluffs it, writing both main character and movie out in seconds. Abe, ludicrously, topples to his death.
Earlier all appeared promising. Emma Stone plays female lead Jill Pollard well, the ever-rich seam of idiotic academics is well mined; many characters are silly, self-absorbed, impulsive, eternal.
Having conjoined with a fellow staff member, Abe leads on his student. He is bright, useless, no good to anyone. He is every foolish woman's new BF trap.
He commits his murder, bumping off a judge on the basis of stray chat, and emerges emotionally renewed.
Then, fairly inevitably (a better script would see him get away with it and advance to fresh homicides) the net tightens. Abe faces justice, and it might be rewarding to watch but now (and I'm guessing) Allen and possibly the entire production team have gone off-shift. So Abe dies, very swiftly.
Was Allen as bored of Irrational Man as the irrational man had been bored of life?
This is barely worth 2/10. Other reviewers are far more generous, but I cannot see why. In old age Woody Allen is, at best, a tease.