Tag Archives: mystery

The Thursday Murder Club

Posted on by

Based on a book series of the same name, The Thursday Murder Club arrived on Netflix recently with a cast of some of the great older British actors around.

I have not read the book and, from what I have seen online, there have been some complaints that the film had to remove more than what it should have. That does not go toward my review. I am only concerned with the film that I saw and not my own expectations over what the film should have been.

According to IMDB, “Four irrepressible retirees spend their time solving cold case murders for fun, but their casual sleuthing takes a thrilling turn when they find themselves with a real whodunit on their hands.“

The cast was tremendous with Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Ben Kinsley and Celia Imrie leading the ensemble as the four lead characters of the Thursday Murder Club: Elizabeth, Ron, Ibrahim and Joyce respectfully. These four actors created a wonderful tone and feeling of friendship and comradery that helps stand out in the story.

Other cast members included Naomi Ackie, Daniel Mays, Jonathan Pryce, David Tennant, Tom Ellis, Richard E. Grant, Henry Lloyd-Hughes and Paul Freeman.

Directed by Chris Columbus, this movie was breezy, quick to watch and entertaining with these eccentric characters interacting together. I would definitely state that the story was not remarkably deep, but I did not solve it early either, which is a bonus considering I am pretty good at seeing answers to movie mysteries.

The film did have something to say about the elderly and the places that we send them when they require more than we can give them. The Thursday Murder Club did not go into great depth on this theme, but it is definitely there.

This was a fun movie that should do well on Netflix, whereas it would have struggled in the theater. This is a perfect film for streaming.

3.5 stars

The X-Files S9 E11

Posted on by

Spoilers

“Audrey Pauley”

This was a strange episode.

Monica gets involved in a car crash where a drunk driver hit her and she is taken t the hospital. There it appears that she is brain dead, though her body is still functioning. John refuses to accept the evidence before his eyes, despite the fact that everyone, including Scully, does not believe him. Monica is actually in a deserted hospital and she can only see a few other people there.

One of the people in the mysterious hospital was named Audrey and she was able to be in both the mysterious hospital and the real world. Turned out that she somehow created the mysterious hospital (along with a tiny dollhouse type of hospital) in her mind, I guess. The form this takes is not overly clear, nor how or why she was able to do this.

Another issue was the doctor, played by Jack Blessing, who was known as Mr. MacGillicuddy on Moonlighting, was poisoning patients and putting them into these brain dead situations to… I don’t know… help them die after that? MacGillicuddy’s motives were not explored too deeply. However, he did kill off a nurse who saw him give a shot that was not on the charts, and, eventually, Audrey. I don’t know why MacGillicuddy took such a dark turn after Moonlighting went off the air. Heck, if I remember Moonlighting, I think MacGillicuddy died in the last episode. Maybe he was in this mysterious hospital then.

I’m kidding of course. There is just so much unexplained, even for an X-Files episode, that I had some trouble buying it. It also does not help that Monica is one of my least favorite characters on the show. I was impressed with Robert Patrick’s performance. He brought some solid work grieving the woman that he loved.

Admittedly, the love Doggett felt for Monica seemed to be fast tracked here. I got some implication that they had feelings for one another, but nothing to this extent until this episode. Still, I can let that slide. I do have an issue with Doggett not telling Scully what he thought was happening. He said once that Scully would think he was crazy… but he should know by now that Scully always listened to crazy theories and never outright dismissed them. You would think that John would know that by now.

Overall, there were some interesting ideas here, and some solid to great performances. There are just too many things lacking in my opinion for this to be anything but a mid episode.

Battlestar Galactica S3 E9

Posted on by

Spoilers

“Unfinished Business”

The perfect example of a toxic relationship is explored as we do a deep dive into the strange relationship between Lee and Kara.

Both Lee and Kara are married to others, but neither seem to be able to keep from each other. However, it felt that the anger and violence overtook them as we saw flashbacks to detail specifics of their past and how they ended up where they were.

I have to say, there was a time once where I felt as if Lee and Kara was the rooting couple, the one that you wanted to see together. That is no longer as they both seem beset on a self-destructive path. Nothing symbolized that better than some brutal boxing.

Admiral Adama stepped into the ring as well, calling out Chief Tyrol, whom he was having troubles with too. This felt like an addition to the storyline, and we see some flashbacks that gave some understanding where this animosity came from.

This whole episode, while expertly written and acted, was extremely uncomfortable and difficult to watch. It truly made me not like either the character of Lee or Kara. It did make me think about Dave and Maddie from Moonlighting with their first time having sex, how violent it was and how angry they seemed. That is not the kind of relationship that I want to support.

Both Kara and Lee are damaged people with a selfish side to them, and they have or will hurt the people who love them and it will be difficult to watch. You can feel it.

Twin Peaks S2 E13

Posted on by

Spoilers

“Checkmate”

Once again, there are parts of this new arc of stories on Twin Peaks that are decent and have its share of mysterious moments, and there are parts of the new arc of stories on Twin Peaks that are just horrendous.

Let’s start off with the good:

  • The creepiness factor of the Windham Earle chess game is just top notch. He feels as if he is a worthy challenge for Cooper.
  • Dick and Andy in search of info on Little Nicky. More on this later though.
  • Major Briggs and everything surrounding him. Project Blue Book? Giant Owl? The performance of Don S. Davis as Major Briggs in this episode was exceptional.
  • Crazy Ben Horne is the best Ben Horne.
  • Nadine beating the hell out of Hank and making out with Mike? Funny!
  • The return of a live and in person Leo. The final shot of Leo with food all over his face was just frightening.
  • Agent Cooper really has respect for everyone. His response to David Duchovny out of the dress was amazing.

Not so good

  • James. Everything with James. Falling into bed with Mrs. Marsh really tells me that James is not, nor ever has been, in love with Donna. She deserves way better than James.
  • Dick and Andy are more like bumbling boobs in pursuit of Little Nicky. Did they get out of the adoption office? The show did not tell us. I guess they did since Andy was at the showdown with Renault.
  • David Duchovny in drag at the end is silly. He’s pulling up his dress, wouldn’t Renault notice the gun too?
  • Bobby and Audrey still feels forced. Trying to find someone for Audrey besides Cooper.
  • Josie. That’s all I got.
  • They really wrapped up the Renault drug storyline quickly.

The overall feel of Twin Peaks during this time is that it could have benefited from some editing and tightening up the scripts. There were some good ideas here, but they were too inconsistent, not developed enough.

Twin Peaks S2 E10

Posted on by

Spoilers

“Dispute Between Gentlemen”

With the case of who killed Laura Palmer solved, the show Twin Peaks started off on its newest mystery, “How do we keep Agent Cooper in Twin Peaks?”

Okay, maybe that is not quite right, but it is pretty close. Twin Peaks began its new group of stories for the second part of the second season with some background on Agent Cooper, a revenge plot from a Renault, another mysterious disappearance and the return of Josie.

Cooper is suspended for his part in the rescue of Audrey Horne, which is orchestrated by Jean Renault, via the FBI. This keeps him in Twin Peaks, for the immediate future.

I do love the brotherly relationship between Cooper and Sheriff Truman. Harry believes in Coop completely and their bromance just works on a positive note. And Harry 100% has Cooper’s back, even in the face of the FBI (and the Royal Mounties, apparently).

Just before Major Briggs disappears, he drops the first mention of The White Lodge. Even if the show becomes too disjointed or less taut in the rest of this season, I do enjoy the concept of the White Lodge.

Leo looks to be starting to get ready to stop being a wheelchair bound vegetable.

As the show tried to push Bobby Briggs and Audrey Horne together, Audrey had a goodbye scene with Agent Cooper that just showed how much chemistry this pair had and makes the decision for them to never get together all the more questionable.

Windham Earle is name-dropped once more. If I had not known, it would be painfully apparent that these moments of foreshadowing would lead to Windham Earle’s arrival eventually in Twin Peaks.

Those owls are still not what they appear.

Twin Peaks S1 E2, E3, E4, E5

Posted on by

Spoilers

“Traces to Nowhere”

“Zen, of the Skill to Catch a Killer”

“Rest in Peace”

“The One-Armed Man”

The Twin Peaks series was all about tone/mood. It established it constantly, from the story to the characters to the music/soundtrack. These episodes would expand the mystical elements of the area, and brought the idea of visions and dreams to the forefront. All this adds to the remote location of Twin Peaks and the environment around it.

When you understand how David Lynch initially had intended to not solve the mystery and let the case fade into the background among the eccentric characters of Twin Peaks, some of these oddball scenes make more sense. Nadine and her silent curtain runners, the appearance of Hank from prison, Lucy and Andy, and the relationship between Big Ed and Norma, none of which had anything to do with the Palmer case.

Knowing the truth behind the Laura case, it was fun watching Leland. The metaphor of him cutting his hand with Laura’s picture where Leland literally had blood on his hands felt like it was obvious that he was the killer. Yet, it made perfect sense in the context of the episode.

The arrival of Maddy Ferguson, the cousin of Laura Palmer, still played by Sheryl Lee, shook up the story.

Cooper’s dream is iconic in the world of Twin Peaks. The dancing midget, the Laura doppelganger, Killer Bob, Mike the one-armed man, all found inside the red room. This scene is vital to the remainder of the entire series.

The Renault brothers and One-Eyed Jacks story comes to the front of the story with a slight connection to the Laura Palmer case.

Leo Johnson is a horrendous person. He’s one of those characters that I want to pay. The scene where he beats Shelly is truly horrible even if we never saw anything graphic.

The Laura Palmer funeral was so much wonderful chaos that is was shocking. Not only for Bobby Briggs’s behavior but seeing Leland fall on the coffin top was just amazing. Having Sarah Palmer say to Leland not to “ruin this too” in retrospect was quite the comment.

I intended on watching one episode this afternoon which exploded into four. It is just such a compelling and intelligent show. It was certainly far ahead of its time as the TV landscape of the 1990s was nothing like this. Without Twin Peaks, I am not sure you get series like The X-Files, LOST, Picket Fences or anything else that dealt with something weird or mysterious.

Twin Peaks S1 E1

Posted on by

Spoilers

“Pilot”

It was just a matter of time before I started in on the Twin Peaks re-watch. Today turned out to be the day!

I loved Twin Peaks. I would even consider myself a Peaks Freak. When I was in college, I went to a fan event at the Iowa City Memorial Union when it returned to ABC. Deputy Andy was there. Ironically, Killer Bob was supposed to be there too, but he was sick with the flu. I was obsessed with the show.

David Lynch was the creative force of the show. Lynch wrote it with Mark Frost. The first season was a short one with only 8 episodes. It became such a massive hit for the network, providing such a series people could talk about over the ‘water-cooler.’

Lynch has said before that he did not want to reveal the killer of Laura Palmer and let the show develop into a show about the town with the eccentric characters and their relationships taking the front. I can’t imagine setting up a series with this major murder mystery and planning on not solving it.

This episode does a fantastic job setting up this mystery. Having Pete Martell find Laura’s body “wrapped in plastic” as he says on the phone to the sheriff, is genius. Pete is a likable guy who you get an idea about with the few seconds we see him on screen. And that line delivery is iconic.

The pilot becomes special when Agent Dale Cooper shows up driving his car, speaking to Diane on a tape recorder, and raving about the beautiful trees (Douglas furs, by the way). Cooper is one of the most original characters that we have seen on television maybe ever. Kyle MacLachlan becomes this character and he is so good in this role. There is a reason why Cooper is as beloved as he was.

We get the beginning of one of the best bromances on TV. Cooper and Sheriff Harry S. Truman are the perfect team up. You can see the friendship forming. Truman starts out doubting Coop a bit, but you see the groundwork being laid.

I remember being a Donna Hayward fan when I watched the show in the 90s, but I found her fairly whiny here. I was much more of a fan of Audrey Horne this time than I was then.

The number of weird characters inhabiting the town including Dr. Jacoby, Log Lady, Nadine, Andy & Lucy, among others. Cooper’s line when he met Jacoby for the first time, “He’s a psychiatrist?” was hilarious.

This is one of the best pilots of all time. It absolutely grabs your attention, does an amazing job setting up the mystery and the setting. I love this show so much and I am excited about doing this re-watch.

I love donuts too.