What are you watching?

[Big Frank]

Noah Wyle also played Tom Mason on all 52 episodes of Falling Skies, 2011–2015 (7.1/10*s). Survivors of an alien attack on earth gather together to fight for their lives and fight back. It also stared Will Patton, Moon Bloodgood, and Ryan Robbins, whose name you probably don't recognize, but I've seen a few shows he was in. And Doug Jones played an alien called Cochise.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1462059/

[Big Frank]

I think it was Tuesday I watched a movie called The Fuzz (1976), 6.2/10 *s. IMDb says it was a series with 5 22 minute episodes, but I saw it shown as a 1 hour, 27 minute movie on Prime Video. I don't know where the extra 17 minutes came from. That would be about 6 22 minute episodes minus 5 minutes of the credits showing over and over. In a world where puppets and humans co-exist, a string of violent, drug-related crimes are sending shockwaves through the neighbourhood. What the citizens of P-Town need is a hero - what they have is Officer Herbie.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3123004/

The next day, I thought since I watched 1 goofy puppet murder, cop movie, I may as well make it 2. So I watched The Happytime Murders (2018), 5.5/10 *s. When the puppet cast of a '90s children's TV show begin to get murdered one by one, a disgraced LAPD detective-turned-private eye puppet takes on the case. I've been aware of this movie for several years but never had much reason to watch it. And I'm not a fan of Melissa McCarthy. I'm sure she must have played a part in a movie where she didn't suck, but don't ask me what it would have been. Even though it's rated lower, I thought it was a better movie, overall.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1308728/

Then, since I was on a roll with the puppet theme, I looked up a list of puppet movies. Most of them were Muppet movies, a few of which I've seen, and Full Moon movies like the Puppet Master series, of which I've seen plenty, and Gerry Anderson Supermarionation movies from the '60s. Then I saw something completely different that I never heard of before, Let My Puppets Come (1976), 5.1/10 *s. It's a soft-core porno with puppets. The three chief executives of Creative Concepts Systems & Procedures Brothers Unlimited Inc. of New York are in hot water as their latest venture has been a huge failure, and their Mafia investor, "Mr. Big", wants his $500,000 within 24 hours, or else. So Jimmy, a courier who over hears their plight, suggests they make a porno movie as an easy way of getting back the lost money. So I watched it on the 3rd day and that's enough of these stupid puppets.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074788/

[alfsauve]

There wasn't much else on, they were pushing South Pacific (1958) musical, so the Miss Kitty and I thought why not.  We'd seen it before.  I've produced it on stage once.  The story is about prejudice mixed with the charm of the South Pacific.  Reportedly, Rogers and Hammerstein based the idea on Michener's Tales of the South Pacific.  If you know the book you know Michener painted the islands as anything but charming.  Not a great PR piece for tourism.  Anyway.  Great cast.

BUT

First thing I noticed was the cinemaphotography left a lot to be desired.   The shots of the islands didn't appear bright and sparkly, but dull and very unattractive.  The rather pathetic attempt at putting an amber hue on the love scenes with fuzzy edges was crude,and detracted from the acting.  Plus the editor just cut it on and off rather than a gradual fading which was rather annoying.  Continuity was almost non-existent.  Actor leaves his hat behind in one scene only to magically have it in his hand in the next.

Really disappointed.  You'd think they'd have done some AI, or at least digital, magic to clean this movie up.