Classic Film Review: When Witnesses Get It Wrong

~ Peter Kanelis ~ Leave a comment

The Wrong Man was a film released in 1956 where one could have high hopes since Alfred Hitchcock is the director, but it was a little too slow and plodding for my taste. Maxwell Anderson and Angus MacPhail are the screenwriters for this film which was apparently a true account of a man’s unjust arrest for a series of armed robberies. It is based on Anderson’s book entitled The True Story of Christopher Emmanuel Balestero.

Henry Fonda is in the lead role as the one they call Manny. Vera Miles plays his wife whose sanity begins to unravel as the story unfolds. Anthony Quayle, Harold J. Stone, and Esther Miniciotti are included in the cast.

Manny is a jazz club musician whose wife is needing some significant dental care. When he goes to borrow some money from his wife’s insurance policy, he is identified by the women working there as a man who had held them up twice before. The police start to question him and find that other various shopkeepers victimized by the thief seem to believe him to be the culprit. The investigation leads to Manny’s arrest and trial. In the meantime, his wife has sunk into an alarming depression that requires her to be committed. Manny has his plate full when he has to cope with his wife’s mental distress on top of his legal troubles.

I found this film to not be one of Hitchcock’s best, but it’s still not deserving of being ignored. Henry Fonda’s performance is quite compelling, and I still managed to find some sympathy for his plight. Miles is also a nice casting decision as well. Her mental collapse is quite convincing without feeling too over the top.

I think Hitchcock spent a little time on the process of Manny’s arrest. I suspect he was trying to ratchet up the tension, but it felt more like padding at times.

This is the only film that is apparently based on a true story, and Hitchcock reportedly did not deviate too much from what actually happened.

The film does have a bit of a Hitchcock feel even if it is quite different from most of his best-known works. I still consider him to be deserving of the reverence he receives in the realm of filmmaking, but this particular work does not quite showcase that talent as well I would like.

The film seems to bring about some mixed reactions from various professional critics and agree with much of the negative feedback, but I would still recommend seeing this one because the performances do make some of the problems less significant. It’s still a Hitchcock film, and this film is still a long way from being a dumopster fire.

Book Review: For Love Of Bonnie

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Quinn is a suspense novel written by long-time author Iris Johansen and is the second in a trilogy featuring Eve Duncan’s search for her long-missing daughter.

Joe Quinn has been stabbed critically and is in the hospital with an uncertain chance of survival. He is Eve’s long-time boyfriend who has been roped into the search for Bonnie which has lasted for years. Eve works as some kind of forensic sculptor while Joe is a former Nave SEAL and current federal investigator. The current suspect is Bonnie’s father, John Gallo, who also has some dangerous skills and a possible mental condition. There seems to be a conspiracy afoot as well preventing the truth from coming to full light.

The story reveals how Quinn and Eve first meant, which precipitated a long crusade against a variety of killers and psychopaths.

This turned out to be a bit more gruesome than I expected which I don’t necessarily mind, except the story does involve children victimized in the worst ways.

Johansen is a competent enough writer, which is not surprising because she has been around forever. I had some trouble with staying interested, probably due to me just reading this one at random, jumping right in the middle of a long running series.

A friend of Eve’s named Catherine Ling has caught up to John Gallo, initiating a weird mutual stalking scenario in a forest that lasts for a couple of weeks.

Johansen’s roots as a romance writer are still prevalent here. The banter and sexual tension between Catherine and Gallo don’t really come off as very plausible.

Quinn himself is kind of interesting, but only because he’s a little too perfect as a sensitive yet ruthless manhunter.

Johansen also adds some supernatural flavor to the story with the main characters having visions of Bonnie.

There’s a chance I will return to this trilogy and see how things turn out, but I doubt I will make it a priority. I am definitely not the target audience for this author or this book. Fortunately, Johansen isn’t so bad where I am forced to wonder how she has stayed in business for so long.

This one is another case where the book was not outright terrible, but it’s not all that riveting either.

I believe it’s time to return to more familiar literary territory in which game warden Joe Pickett can find that even the most experienced at survival can find themselves with Nowhere to Run by C.J. Box.

Doctor Who Audio Review: Another World Inside The Flat

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Snare is a Doctor Who audio drama from Big Finish Productions which reunites the dream team of Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper. Tim Foley is the writer with Henel Goldwyn directing once again. Camille Coduri returns as Jackie Tyler with Alex Austin and Hannah Brown rounding out the guest cast.

The Doctor and Rose Tyler have returned to the Powell Estate to take a brief rest from their recent adventures. A childhood friend of Rose’s has also returned after his father recently died. Kevin finds that his father had some otherworldly secrets tucked away, and the Doctor identifies a most unusual trap sprung by a hidden extraterrestrial vessel. Kevin’s father was known to have some mental issues, but something else seems to have been tormenting him. The Doctor finds that a brief rest is just not likely to be in the cards for him.

Foley delivers a good one here, and Eccleston and Piper slip into their best-known roles with ease. Coduri is also on her A game with her performance as well.’

The story does weave pretty easily between action and something a little more emotionally relatable. Foley offers a pretty compelling depiction of a complicated father-son relationship in a short time without compromising the main plot.

This episode is apparently kind of early in the Doctor and Rose’s relationship as well, and they are fresh off the heart-wrenching events of Father’s Day.

The Doctor is also at his most vulnerable due to the consequences of the Time War, and the decisions he had to make during that ordeal.

The episode has a sort of Jumanji vibe without directly stealing from it. There is no weird boardgame, but a strange wilderness seems to have merged with a flat.

Anyway, this episode gives a promising start to a new and unexpected range, and I have little reason to complain about more episodes featuring the pair that kicked off the television revival in 2005.

Doctor Who Audio Review: The Perils Of Progress

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Doctor Who: Lethal Progress is somewhat disappointingly average collection of audio dramas directed by Helen Goldwyn and released by Big Finish Productions. Tom Baker back in the role as the Fourth Doctor does help it not be a complete waste of time. Sadie Miller is alongside the Doctor as Darah Jane Smith, an iconic role first played by her mother, Elisabeth Sladen.

The guest cast includes Alexander Cobb, Sean Connelly, Orlando Gibbs, Dawn Murphy, and Nisha Nayar. The casting was fine, but none of the three episodes in this set really resonated all that thoroughly with me.

Baker and Miller in the lead roles do make this still a worthwhile listening experience even if the episodes themselves were somewhat bland.

Tim Foley starts off with Green and Pleasant Planet in which the Doctor and Sarah meet a British space expedition on a strange world which contains a peculiar model village. The lifeforms are even stranger and become more lethal.

There are some interesting ideas here, but Foley just doesn’t present them all that coherently sometimes.

The Continuum by John Dorney places the Doctor and Sarah on a space station that is about to go through hyperspace, but there is a dangerous presence aboard, and the whole endeavor turns even more chaotic.

This story is a little better, and Dorney is considered one of the more reliable writers for Big Finish Productions. I appreciate where he was trying to take this story and what likely influenced this episode. It helps to think of the film Event Horizon which had a similar setting. Anyway, it seems a little too confusing for an audio play at times. I can respect the ambitious idea though. Dorney will likely impress me with his next contribution.

Finally, Lizzie Hopley brings this collection to a close with The Audience. The Doctor and Sarah visit a planet in which artificial beings who want to have real feelings use theater as a means to experience something more than just stark programming. The problem is that the plays get a little too real, and Sarah may be forced to give up her life for the sake of an unwanted role.

It’s a little bit of an overused idea in science fiction, but Hopley is not too bad in presenting her take on the concept.

Baker and Miller continue to display a solid chemistry. Tom Baker’s age is starting to show a bit in his performance. He kind of goes a little over the top, although I still enjoy his participation very much.

This release was recorded during the COVID lockdowns in 2021, so that may explain some of the dip in quality here. The set is not terrible, but it just came across as more mediocre than I am used to.

Not every release is going to be the great, and I get that. Tom Baker can still hold court in his performances. Sadie Miller does well in resurrecting the part originated by her mother,

The postproduction work is still well done. The stories just didn’t hold my interest all that consistently, but that’s going to happen from time to time, even with a stellar track record like Big Finish’s.

Book Review: A Fatal Treatment

~ Peter Kanelis ~ Leave a comment

The Clinic is a reasonably engaging thriller by Cate Quinn about a luxury rehab center that is at the center of a puzzling death of a famous singer. The singer’s sister, Meg, goes into the isolated clinic to see how her sister could have died in what should have been one of the safest clinics in the world. The novel is structured as a first-person narrative that is split between two characters’ perspectives.

Meg works at a casino as an undercover card player who is there to expose cheaters and other illegal activities. She also has a drug addiction that actually does need treatment, but she wants to enter the rehab facility to find out what happened to her sister. She has a friend who is an ex-cop who can help her get in, but he is trying to get her to actually take advantage of the treatment options. Meg gets to know the other patients who are mainly celebrities and becomes convinced that her sister was killed by one of them. She starts to get written warnings that are seemingly signed by her sister. Meg’s search for her sister’s killer is of course hampered by her own addiction, but it also seems that her cover is not quite as secure as she hoped.

Cara is the manager of the facility and starts to suspect that there is something more sinister going on than just good-hearted doctors wanting to help the rich and famous fight their various addictions and compulsions. Her own search for the truth concerning the history of the owner, Dr. Lutz, leads her down her own dangerous path that could also lead to life cut abruptly short.

This particular structure of storytelling seems to be getting more trendy among today’s female thriller novelists. It’s not that hard to follow once the reader gets used to shifting perspectives like that.

The plot is kind of standard, although Med admittedly has an interesting job. I am a bit of a sucker for the isolated manors being the scene of some deadly shenanigans. It does usually work, and Quinn does make good use of it here as well.

Some of the twists are a bit outlandish, but that’s a common complaint from me when reading these types of thrillers. Quinn apparently has struggled with addiction herself which does give this tale some authenticity.

It’s a reasonably entertaining and interesting ride, but there weren’t too many characters I liked. Quinn does like to show off a bit when it comes to her familiarity with clinical jargon. I recognized some of the terms and theories regarding addiction and trauma due to previous profession.

Anyway, Quinn is fine as a writer, but there wasn’t much that really stood out. It just felt like a standard thriller in a remote facility with shifty characters. I will likely try another of her novels, but I doubt it will be anytime soon.

The endless literary exploration will continue with a novel by Iris Johansen entitled Quinn,

Film Review: Spider-Man Swings Through Each New Day

~ Peter Kanelis ~ Leave a comment

Spider-Man: Brand New Day may have helped breathe some new life into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Destin Daniel Cretton is the director of this latest installment of the Spider-Man film franchise, which was written by Chris McKenna and Erik Sommars.

Tom Holland has made a welcome return to the role. Zendaya and Jacob Batalon return as MJ Watson and Ned Leeds. Jon Bernthal joins this one as Frank Castle AKA known as the Punisher. Sadie Sink and Tramell Tillman are the latest addition to the Marvel franchise. Florence Pugh reprises her role as the new Black Widow. Mark Ruffalo is of course back as Bruce Banner, who does indeed make an impressive transformation into the Incredible Hulk.

Peter Parker’s friends and whole world have forgotten him after a spell was cast by Dr. Strange in the previous Spider-Man film. He has gone on a constant campaign of crime-fighting four years with an empathetic detective as his only ally. A new enemy has emerged, and this one can take over people psychically. He faces another old enemy in the shape of the Scorpion. Peter also finds that his body seems to be mutating further as a result of the radioactive spider’s DNA being mixed with his. Spider-Man is on the verge of becoming more powerful, but he is not sure he will be able to handle the responsibility and keep himself from his darker impulses.

Holland has once again proven that his casting as Peter Parker is an excellent choice. He brings the right amount of humor and depth to the role. Zendeya and Batalon are also great scene partners as well.

Marvel films are known for crossovers, but the addition of some of the other characters such as the Hulk and the Punisher in this one are actually handled quite well. Many times, these additions can feel a little tacked on and unnecessary, however the writers made it work. I must confess it was great to see the Hulk once again return to his more savage persona.

The film has some unexpected layers as secrets are uncovered.

Now, this film does deviate a bit from established lore from the comic books; however, the writing here is solid enough for me to not get too distracted by that.

The visual effects are quite compelling. The fight scenes were executed well.

There were a few times where Spider-Man’s quips and antics were a little too cartoonish, but that wasn’t enough to rob me of any enjoyment of the experience.

Marvel films have been rather spotty of late, but this one delivered the goods. Hopefully, Holland has a bit more gas in the tank when it comes to this character. I also hope that the producers don’t get too weird in future installments.

Doctor Who Audio Review: A Kraken, The Master, And A Ravenous Sea

~ Peter Kanelis ~ Leave a comment

The Companion Chronicles: The Legacy of Time provides a pair of Doctor Who audio dramas featuring the First and Second Doctors as related by some atypical companions for these incarnations. This set is a spinoff of the celebratory boxset The Legacy of Time which was commemorating Big Finish Productions being able to produce Doctor Who content for twenty years. Nicholas Briggs has returned to the director’s chair, which will certainly almost guarantee more than one thing to enjoy.

Stephen Noonan returns to the mic as his version of the First Doctor doing a fairly decent impression of the late William Hartnell. Michael Troughton takes on the role originated by his father, Patrick, as the Second Doctor. There is even another Doctor who appears, but I will avoid spoiling that one.

The first episode is written by Barbara Hambly and is entitled The Kraken of Hagwell. The cast includes Jon Culshaw narrating this tale as the stalwart Brigadier Lethrbridge-Stewart. He also takes on the role of the Master, who was initially portrayed by the late Roger Delgado. Genevieve Gaunt is also lending her vocal talents.

A village has been decimated by a sea monster, and the Brigadier encounters an earlier version of the Doctor than the ones he has known before. The Master is also on the scene to try to harness this creature for his own malevolent purposes. The Doctor has been misplaced from his time stream and is not sure how he seems to have slipped into his own future working with UNIT.

Hambly has a long history in the science fiction and mystery genres, and it’s kind of a coup that Big Finish was able to get a submission from her.

I found her contribution to be pretty good, but I wouldn’t call it a stand-out. The performances are fine. Noonan has gotten better in his impression of Hartnell. Culshaw’s talent and enthusiasm really holds the thing together.

I liked it well enough, but I doubt I will consider all that memorable.

Long-time contributor Simon Guerrier serves up a decent enough tale with the Second Doctor, as portrayed by Michael Troughton, who is channeling his father. The Heartless Sea has the Doctor team up with Naomi Cross and Harry Sullivan, played by Eleanor Crooks and Christopher Naylor. Naylor is playing a role that originally was played by the late Ian Marter.

Harry and Naomi arrive at Warehouse 9 in order to investigate some apparent haunting when they encounter the Doctor who has suddenly appeared it out of nowhere. The Doctor is in his second incarnation. When they enter the warehouse, they find there is some giant invisible spirit and a portal that takes them to an alien sea that is alive and hungry.

This story is told from Naomi’s perspective, and Crooks does deliver a compelling performance. The story has some imagery that is a little difficult top picture in the imagination at times, but one of the advantages of audio dramas is that the imagination can often provide a better visual than cinema.

Troughton’s impression of his father has gotten a bit better, but I prefer Frazer Hines’ performance as the Second Doctor. Still, Troughton hits the mark close enough so that I can still enjoy a good Second Doctor story.

Overall, the episodes didn’t quite hit the level of anything spectacular, but the concept of these earlier Doctors meeting companions and trusted friends from their future is charming. It’s not something that needs to be repeated too much, but I can appreciate the intent to freshen things up a bit while still indulging the fans. I am just glad that Big Finish has chosen to represent the earlier eras of the series and found a way to do that while honoring the legacies of Hartnell and Patrick Troughton.

There are a couple of good twists that link this set with the initial The Legacy of Time release, and the performances and post-production efforts help lift this a bit above a mediocre listening experience.

It’s a fun diversion, and I will probably find some more enjoyment once I go through it again sometime in the not too distant future.

Film Review: Nothing Like A Nice Hike At Gunpoint

~ Peter Kanelis ~ Leave a comment

The Long Walk is a dystopian thriller film that was adapted from an early Stephen King novel. Since I have not read the novel, I am uncertain as to its faithfulness to the source material, but it’s a pretty good movie. The screenplay was written by J.T. Mollner with Francis Lawrence as director.

The film’s cast includes Cooper Hoffman, David Jonsson, Ben Wang, Judy Greer, and Mark Hamill.

This film takes place in some alternate history where the United States has gone through some kind of civil war in the twentieth century. There is now an annual event called “The Long Walk” in which young men from every state gather to participate in a long walk for as long as they can in order to win a large cash prize and any wish granted they desire. It’s a Stephen King story, so there is a rather gruesome catch. The lads are escorted by the military, and if they fall below walking 3 miles per hour, they are executed after three warnings. Along the way, there is a mixture of some competitiveness and camaraderie. Of course, the other catch is that there can only be one left still standing in order to reap the rewards.

It’s a pretty good movie in spite of most of it taking place on a very long stretch of road. It’s a tough movie to watch because of the ruthlessness depicted at times. Complicated and shifting relationships are king of a staple in a Stephen King story.

Those who have read the book may disagree, and I can sympathize since I also usually prefer the written version in most adaptations like this.

The performances were all quite solid, although Hamill does kind of come off as a little cheesy at times as this blustering Major. I will say that he has had worse performances, so he does not really ruin the film.

It’s a somewhat extraordinary plot in some ways. Honestly, it seems like a pointless endeavor concocted by the government, but it does a provide an interesting vehicle for the banter between the characters.

There are some moments that pull on the heartstrings, and I was actually saddened at some of the deaths. There are some pretty compelling twists as well.

This may not be the best of Stephen King adaptation, but it should hold up as at least being interesting and worthy of atj least one viewing.

Audiobook Review: Poison In The Ink

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The Skin Collector is a thriller written by the prolific and popular Jeffery Deaver and features the quadriplegic criminalist, Lincoln Rhyme. The audiobook is read by Edoardo Ballerini.

This time, Rhyme and his partner, Amelia Sachs, have a couple of investigations going. While Rhyme is somewhat morose over the death of a very worthy and dangerous adversary, another killer is on the loose. This particular unsub likes to tattoo his victims with a good dose of poison mixed into the ink. There seems to be a connection to another killer known as the Bone Collector, the case that brought Rhyme and Sachs together. As Rhyme and his team dig a little deeper, there seems to be a more complicated motive than just some depraved lunatic getting his kicks. In fact, a more lethal conspiracy seems to be in the making, and Rhyme and Sachs find that this killer may have infiltrated their haven and targeting those clostest to them.

Ballerini does a decent job presenting this story, but it’s not a plot that I found all that memorable. There were too many callbacks to previous cases. I confess that I have not read many books in this series, so I was a little handicapped when it came to recalling or understanding everything that led to this particular novel.

Deaver seems to be a little overly fond of providing somewhat outlandish monikers to his killers. Rhyme starts off this one reflecting over his mental duels with someone known as the Watchmaker, who had recently been reported deceased.

Anyway, Rhyme is just brilliant and curmudgeonly enough to stay interesting overall. Deavber had some pretty good and macabre twists. He is another writer where I can understand why he is such a following, but I doubt that I will be a consistent fan. I may not return to his works in a hurry, but I will likely find my way back to his catalog eventually.

Film Review: Another Wish Gone Wrong

~ Peter Kanelis ~ Leave a comment

Obsession is a pretty compelling horror film written and directed by Curry Barker about a lonely young man in love with a pretty friend. When he makes a wish for some returned affection, he of course gets much more than he bargained for. Michael Johnston, Inde Navarette, Cooper Tomlinson, Megan Lawless, and Andy Richter are included in this cast.

A guy known as Bear is in love with Nikki, who just sees him as a good friend. He gets his hand on a novelty toy called a One Wish Willow. He makes a wish that Nikki returns his love, not realizing that the damn thing actually works. Nikki suddenly starts acting more desperate in expressing her newfound affection. Nikki becomes more erratic and unhinged while in the grip of this strange curse, and Bea’s options of undoing his wish are quickly dwindling away leaving only one way out of this increasingly terrifying predicament.

This is simply one of the best horror films I have seen in a while. Navarette’s performance is riveting and as creepy as intended. The plot idea is certainly a bit overused, but Barker makes good use of it. He chose the right cast to bring this vision to the screen.

There are a few drawbacks. I am not that much of a prude when it comes to profanity, but much of what was exhibited in this film did come off as rather lazy and gratuitous. There are also a couple of scenes that seem too bizarre and gruesome even for this film.

. Overall, the film is still pretty good and manages to show some creativity. The performances are still solid, especially Inde Navarette’s.

Anyway, this film will likely be rightfully considered one of the better releases of 2026, and horror fans should find some enjoyment out of this without too much reservation. It did encourage me to keep an eye out for Curry Barker’s next project.