Saturday TV/Films

Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow is an Academy Award winning 1960s Sophia Loren film in which the leads play different roles in three stories. The first is amusing and overall well done (including in portraying a poor town in Italy) but found the other two somewhat lacking. The second is very talky and the leads not appalling. The final with the famous stripping scene is okay, but also found it overly talky and the finale is let's say interrupted. Talk about false advertising!  Overall, though I can see nominating either lead, the picture as a whole isn't really "best picture." 

Night of the Lepus is clearly to be put to a different standard, but it fails that as well.  This time we are dealing with a cheesy animals go wild film from the early 1970s (oh look! it's Bones from Star Trek as a somewhat long-haired college president).  "Lepus" as in rabbits.  The set-up is fair enough, including Janet Leigh looking a bit dumpy as a mom/assistant to a researcher who should keep better watch on her daughter.  The big rabbits look cheap, but that's part of the fun. The problem is that by about an hour in, there isn't much more to do.  And, various people look a tad bored. Perhaps, if it was like twenty minutes shorter.*

Rory Calhoun would later continue his bad film efforts by being in two Angel films in the 1980s, the first one at least again a disappointing effort even on a fun bad film level (star teen pupil by day, prostitute who apparently never really has sex at night; saw parts on YouTube, got bored). I watched parts of this film during the Svengoolie film partially since the one on was a rerun.  If they had the rights, this would be a good film for that old monster movie block though when I suggested this on Twitter, the host tweeted back that they didn't get it since "the rabbit died."

I checked the re-airing of the Good Witch episode though probably would have had a better time than watching the Mets game.  Well, it would have been less depressing.  Realize it is only the beginning of the season, but we already have injuries (though a couple youngsters had very good outings early on) and the closer is out for a 1/2 year (not just a few weeks because of injuries) because he failed a steroids test.  Lost a half year salary, but he assures us (though he accepts the punishment) he simply doesn't know what happened.  Oh, and he won't be qualified for the playoffs. Oh no!

Good Witch, after a somewhat promising start -- again, low bar, here as a pleasant Hallmark Channel experience -- has been something of a disappointment as a series.  There is not enough "witchy" stuff and plot generally -- it is generally boring though I like the overall set-up and leads enough that give it a lot of rope. Plus, again, you don't expect much, so not too much is needed to enjoy it for what it is.  This is true about various things and it is a shame when even lower expectations (to cite an old MADtv bit) are not met.  The lead's 1990s soft porn guest appearance was on the other night though.  Naughty naughty.

Two quick comments. Got bored of iZombie though can see some people finding it a pleasant enough time waster.  Also, disappointed in the new style of the second season of I Didn't Do It.  It was an at times rather amusing and fun show; now it is a basically boring teen show without its former flavor.  Let's see how Veep (now somewhat misnamed) does tonight.

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* It is allegedly based on a great sounding book in which the messed up rabbits actually are only a subplot. The charm of these films often are how cheesy they are, but this has the case of the borings.

Still, there are highlights, like when our hero tries to flag down a car by waving a shotgun in the air (the father in the car sensibly sticks to a no hitchhikers policy, especially those with guns) and then tosses it away after the failed attempt.  Might want to have that with killer rabbits around.  There is also the time when a policeman warns people at a drive-in:

"There is a herd of giant killer bunnies coming this way, and we need your help!"

This being the early 1970s and all, this doesn't faze them any more than when the sheriff heard about the killer rabbits or apparently when the National Guard is called in -- "hey should we like check if this guy is for real? nah!"  A scene involving two leads going into mine armed with a not very good flashlight and shotgun also had "you are too stupid, you deserve to die" written all over it.  Still, got to say, got pretty boring.