The Hidden (4 Stars)

This is the last Weird Wednesday event in my cinema for this year. It's a cult film that deserves to be called weird.

Thomas Beck has been a homicide detective for 13 years. He thinks he's seen it all. Then he's confronted with a strange case. A formerly law abiding citizen suddenly turns into a crazed killer. He dies in hospital after a car chase, but the man lying next to him in hospital stands up and also becomes a killer. An FBI agent, Lloyd Gallagher, arrives to help him with the case. The two men don't get along, because Agent Gallagher is keeping secrets.

This is where the weird comes in. The killer is an alien being who jumps from body to body. Agent Gallagher has been pursuing him for years.

The film isn't perfect. It's given away in an early scene that we're dealing with an alien. It would have been better to keep this secret until later in the film. More suspense. More of an ah ha effect.

I've never considered Kyle McLachlan a good actor, but he's perfect for roles like these. He walks around with a smug grin which is infuriating for everyone around him. He'd probably annoy me as well.

Kraven the Hunter (4 Stars)

I've reached the point where I don't expect Marvel films to be good. Most of them are average quality at best. So I went to the cinema today expecting nothing, and I walked out pleasantly surprised at the high quality. "Kraven the Hunter" has received many negative reviews, but most of them were written before it was released. Were the critics given advance screenings? Or did they just assume it would be bad and wrote their reviews without seeing the film? I suspect the latter.

The theme of the film is identical to "Wicked", which I watched yesterday. Kraven is a villain in Marvel comics, who first appeared in "Amazing Spider-Man" in 1964. The film shows him as a good man with noble motives. The posters have the tagline, "Villains aren't born, they're made". We don't see him developing into a villain, so that's something we could expect in "Kraven Part Two", if it's ever made.

At the moment it seems unlikely that there will ever be a sequel. Sony has announced that it will no longer continue with its Spider-Man Shared Universe (SSU), a series of films featuring characters connected with Spider-Man. Most of them were box office failures, whether the reason was Marvel fatigue or simply poor quality. It's a shame that the decision was made to cancel the Kraven character even before the film was released. Aaron Taylor-Johnson puts on an outstanding performance, as always, and he deserves a second chance. Maybe he can appear in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), if they ever step back and stop making multiverse films.

Wicked (4 Stars)

This film bookends my life as a film fan. The very first film I saw was "The Wizard of Oz". I saw it in the cinema, but obviously not when it was first released. I wasn't born in 1939. I can't remember the exact year when I saw it, but I'm certain it was my first film, because my parents didn't own a television until I was six years old. Yes, I'm old enough to remember the dim, distant days when televisions weren't an item taken for granted. They were very expensive in my youth. My parents always rented a television, because they couldn't afford to buy one.

The correct name of this film is "Wicked Part One". That's what's written on the splash screen. The second part is due to be released next year. The two films serve as a prequel to "The Wizard of Oz".

I don't want to give too many spoilers for the film, but the main theme is that we're invited to have sympathy for the Wicked Witch of the West. She was an outcast all her life because of her skin colour; she was born green. In "Wicked Part One" we see that she uses her magical powers for good. So how did she turn bad? We'll have to wait for Part Two to find out.

I've always been a sucker for a musical. The music was uplifting, even though the lyrics were often shallow. I was happy to see that the cinema was almost full. That's the way cinemas should be.

Black Mask (4 Stars)

A Chinese super-hero film? Why not? China can do everything America can, and often better.

Tsui Chik was a participant in a Chinese supersoldier project. After intense training in martial arts, the subjects were treated to numb their nerve endings. They became unable to feel anything, including pain, making them the perfect soldiers. After one of them went crazy and killed a group of soldiers, the project was abandoned. It was decided to kill all of the team, but Tsui found out about it and encouraged everyone to flee.

Two years later, Tsui is living as a timid librarian in Hong Kong. He tries to forget his past. He's reminded when there are police reports of the deaths of hundreds of drug lords. The police have mixed opinions. They were doubtlessly people who deserved to die, but does it mean a new, more dangerous gang wants to take over? Tsui recognises a former member of the supersoldier team taking part in an attack, and the past catches up with him.

It turns out that the whole of his squadron is together as a team, calling themselves the 701's. Don't ask me why. Their goal is to make money. They've killed the Hong Kong drug lords to set themselves up as the exclusive suppliers of drugs from Colombia. They're also hacking into the Hong Kong police computers to find out the names of undercover police informants in the Colombian cartel. Hmmm. Would this information be stored in Hong Kong?

The 701's want Tsui to join them, but he has no interest in a life of crime. He puts on a black mask and a chauffeur's uniform to fight against them. He's deliberately modelling himself on Kato from the Green Hornet TV series.

The disguise is so effective that not even his fellow librarian Tracy can recognise him. That's nothing unusual. In DC comics, all that Clark Kent needed to do to disguise himself was take his glasses off. Tracy has a crush on Tsui, but she finds Black Mask annoying and arrogant.

Tsui's motivation isn't to become a superhero. It's a task that's thrust upon him. What he wants most is to reverse the operation performed on him and become able to feel again. He considers it a curse that he can never feel the touch of a woman or feel her kisses on his lips. He's right. That's a terrible curse. I would do anything to be able to taste Karen Mok's kisses. She's the actress who plays Tracy, and she also sings the film's theme song. In China it's common for actors to be singers as well. Even Jackie Chan sings the theme songs for his Chinese movies.

The film was released in 1996. In 1999 a censored version was released in American cinemas. Too much blood for American audiences. Finally, after 28 years, an uncensored version has been released in Britain and America. Is there really too much blood? I don't find it excessive.

The film suffers from one of the illnesses of American action films. The night-time scenes are often too dark. It's realistic, but unnecessary. It should always be easy to see who's fighting who.

Success Rate:  + 1.3

	Order from Amazon.com
	Order from Amazon.co.uk

King Richard (5 Stars)

Serena and Venus Williams are the best female tennis players of all time. It's obvious that a documentary or biopic about them will be made at some point. Probably both. But this film takes a different path. It tells the story of their father, Richard Williams. Was he a genius? A madman? Divinely inspired? Based on the film, he was a mixture of all three.

He was a prophet. When he saw Virginia Woolf playing on television he said that he would have two daughters who would become tennis champions. Does that sound mad? Venus Williams was born on 17th June 1980, and Serena Williams was born on 26th September 1981. Two girls, so the first part of the prophecy came true. Now for the hard work. When they were four he began to train them at a public tennis court. He was a hard teacher. Whatever the weather they had to play every evening, even in the rain. It wasn't just about sport. He insisted that they should get top grades in school.

Richard didn't have an easy life. He lived in Compton, California, in a small house with his wife and five daughters. Venus and Serena had to share a bedroom with their three older sisters. He was lucky that he only had girls, or the house wouldn't have fit. His faith as a Jehovah's Witness was important.

Richard knew that he couldn't do everything himself. The film begins when Venus is 11. He keeps ringing tennis coaches, getting on their nerves, telling them that he has two tennis prodigies who need help. That must have sounded mad to anyone who picked up the phone. One tennis prodigy, maybe, but two? Richard kept pushing. He found a coach, Paul Cohen, willing to train Venus for free. To make up for Serena being neglected, he filmed all the training sessions and sent the films for Serena to follow the instructions at home. Is it that easy? Only for a brilliant divinely inspired madman.

The film ends with 14-year-old Venus playing her first professional match against Arantxa Vicario, the world's number one seed. After leading in the first two sets, Venus eventually loses as a result of her poor nerves. Despite her loss, her performance on the court makes her a world star. And the rest can be left to a future biopic about Venus and her little sister Serena.

Success Rate:  - 1.3

	Order from Amazon.com
	Order from Amazon.co.uk
	Order from Amazon.de

Rome 1.05 - The Ram has touched the Wall

Pompey is staring wistfully at the sea, when he receives a message from Caesar offering a truce. Surprisingly, he immediately accepts the offer, but in his reply he says that he won't meet Caesar face to face. Apart from being a personal insult, in Roman law any official agreement required a shaking of hands.

The slaves that Vorenus bought have died of Black Blood Flux. From what I understand, it's an illness of the intestines that causes severe diarrhoea, leading to death by dehydration. The disease receives its name from the diarrhoea being mixed with blood. This leaves Vorenus almost broke. Only one slave, a young boy, has remained healthy. Vorenus takes him home and gives him to his wife Niobe. The boy is too young to work, so he'll be a playmate for his children.

Vorenus needs money, so he accepts a job as a bodyguard for the businessman Erastes Fulmen. In his first job he finds out that he's more of an enforcer. A debtor refuses to pay, so Erastes first orders Vorenus to break his arm, then to kill him. Vorenus has killed many men as a soldier, but he can't bear to do work like this. He quits the job and goes to Mark Anthony to ask to return to the army. He's given the position of an evocatus, a soldier above the centurions. He's also made a prefect, but I haven't been able to figure out what that is. He's also given a signing up bonus of 9000 sestertii, the equivalent of six years wages, which is enough for Vorenus and his family to live comfortably.

Pullo has grown attached to the unnamed slave girl he saw accompanying the grain cart with the treasury money. He wants to buy her, but he doesn't have enough money. That's strange, because Caesar gave him a reward of 10,000 sestertii in the last episode. Has he already lost it by gambling? Vorenus pays for him, and he takes the girl home to his wife. She's reluctant to accept another slave, but Vorenus insists that she'll be a good worker. Pullo is getting soft. He's always been a heartless womaniser, but he has feelings for the girl despite never having slept with her.

Atia hires Pullo as a tutor for her son Octavian. She wants him to teach Octavian manly arts, sich as fighting, skinning animals and copulating. But Octavian already considers Pullo a friend. Pullo asks Octavian for advice. He's seen Evander with Niobe, and he suspects that they're having an affair, but he can't prove it. What should he do? Octavian, in his great wisdom, says that Pullo can't speak to Vorenus about it unless he's absolutely certain. There's an easy way to find out: torture.

Pullo and Octavian sneak out at night and capture Evander. They take him down into the sewers below the city to ask him what he's been doing with Niobe. After having his thumbs cut off he confesses that he's had an affair with her for the last two years, because Niobe assumed her husband was dead. Then he confesses that the new-born baby is his son. Pullo kills him in rage and dumps his body in the water. He agrees with Octavian that Vorenus should never find out about it.

Atia hears about Caesar's affair with Servilia and decides to make it public. She tells her servant Timon to hire people to draw graffiti portraying the two around the city. Caesar sees the drawings when he's riding in a carriage with his wife Calpurnia. She's disgusted and threatens to divorce him. Caesar quickly goes to Servilia and breaks off the relationship, telling her it's for the good of the Republic. That's one way of putting it.

When Caesar receives Pompey's reply he considers the refusal to meet him face to face a rejection of his truce. He leads his army to Corfinium to confront Pompey, but he's already left. Caesar assumes he's sailed to Greece.

To me this seems like a filler episode. Very little of historical importance takes place. It's all about the personal lives of Vorenus, Pullo and Caesar himself.

	Order from Amazon.com
	Order from Amazon.co.uk
	Order from Amazon.de

Rome 1.04 - Stealing from Saturn

Caesar enters Rome and takes the city as his own. He offers a pardon to whoever has acted against him in the past.

Pompey is confident that Caesar's army will mutiny when they're not paid. In the last episode he took the gold from the treasury, which should leave Caesar broke. Pompey expects the gold to reach him in Corfinium, but it doesn't arrive. He finds out from the only survivor of the battle with the scouts that Vorenus was the leader, and it's suspected that he took the gold.

Caesar consults the augurs to find out if the God Jupiter supports his control of Rome. Birds are released, and the augurs have to interpret Jupiter's will by the direction they fly. To be certain that the augurs will be favourable, Caesar bribes the chief augur 250,000 sestertii. It's unclear how much this would be in today's money, but the augur's yearly salary was approximately 1,000 sesterii. And guess what? The next day the augur announces that the birds have shown that Jupiter favours Caesar.

Vorenus, now a civilian, opens a new business, trading slaves and commercial items from Gaul. If I understood correctly, he's also offering fire insurance. That's a big responsibility for a single man. He tries to gain favour with his wife Niobe, confessing that he hasn't treated her right. He holds a party to greet his new guests. One of the guests is Evander Pulchio, the father of Niobe's new born baby. Evander gets drunk and starts a brawl, in which he knocks over the bust of Janus. Vorenus considers this a bad omen.

Later in the evening Pompey's son Quintus arrives to demand the stolen gold back. Vorenus knows nothing about it, so Quintus threatens to kill Niobe. At this moment Pullo arrives, dressed like a king and throwing coins around. He jumps to Vorenus' defence, taking Quintus prisoner. They lead Quintus to Caesar, expecting him to be executed, but Caesar is merciful. He sends Quintus back to Pompey with the offer of a truce.

Mark Antony considers offering a truce a sign of weakness. Only Octavian is wise enough to understand Caesar's strategy. He expects Pompey to reject the truce, which will make the senators abandon him and go to Caesar to ask for mercy. Octavian is unusually intelligent for a 14-year-old.

After Quintus is sent away, Caesar has an epileptic fit. Epilepsy was known as morbus comitialis, and it was considered a sign that a person was disfavoured by Apollo. Caesar's slave Posca quickly leads Caesar away into a closet where he can't be seen. The only other witness, seemingly, was Octavian, who's sworn to secrecy. But one of Atia's servants also witnessed the incident.

It's not certain that Caesar really was epileptic. Modern scholars suspect that it was another illness.

On Vorenus' encouragement, Pullo brings the gold to Caesar, claiming that he's been keeping it for him. Caesar says he knows that Pullo is a thief, but he'll forgive him. He gives Pullo a reward of 10,000 sesterii. A lot of money.

	Order from Amazon.com
	Order from Amazon.co.uk
	Order from Amazon.de

Rome 1.03 - An Owl in a Thornbush

The second episode ended on a cliff-hanger with Caesar entering Italy with an army, an act of treason under Roman law. The Senate asks Pompey to defend Rome. There are four legions in Rome, but Pompey says that they won't be enough to stop Caesar, because they're made up of inexperienced recruits. He needs more soldiers, but they're camped three days away. He suggests retreating to Corfinium, south of Rome, letting Caesar take Rome before returning and taking the city back. Pompey leaves on horseback, letting senators like Cato walk. Before leaving, Pompey encourages all true Romans to leave with him. Many stay behind to protect their property.

Pompey tells his men to remove Rome's gold reserves so that Caesar can't use the money. The treasure is to be brought to Corfinium, hidden in a grain cart. Before leaving Rome there's a mutiny. Those loyal to Pompey are killed, and the grain cart heads north.

Atia, Caesar's niece, remains in Rome. Many traders come to her and ask for protection. She demands high sums for her services. In the absence of the consuls and senators, she acts as a de facto Queen of Rome. She holds a party, but it's interrupted by a mob of Pompey's supporters trying to break in.

Caesar sends a scouting party lead by Vorenus and Pullo, despite Vorenus' hesitance to do the task. He's divided between his duty to Caesar as a soldier and his duty to Rome. He considers himself a traitor for breaking the law by entering Rome as a soldier. Pullo has no such scruples. He follows Caesar and does whatever he says. The scouts are told not to attack anyone unless they meet resistance.

On the way the scouts encounter the grain cart. Vorenus asks why soldiers are escorting a grain cart, and a fight breaks out. The scouts easily slay the soldiers. Pullo wants to examine the grain cart to see what's so special about it, but Vorenus orders him to follow Caesar's instructions and continue to Rome.

Vorenus and his men find Rome deserted. They'd expected resistance from Pompey. Vorenus nails a proclamation from Caesar to the door of the Senate, and then he returns home to take off his uniform. He's served Caesar loyally, but now that he's done this one last duty he's left the army. Pullo is no longer under his command, so he returns to the grain cart. He finds the chests of gold. Not knowing who it belongs to, he takes the gold for himself.

I have no idea what the significance of this episode's title is. Was there an owl in the episode? If so, I must have blinked and missed it.

	Order from Amazon.com
	Order from Amazon.co.uk
	Order from Amazon.de

Gladiator 2 (4 Stars)

Comparing "Gladiator 2" with "Gladiator", it has more action and less heart.

That's really all I need to say about the film. There are many small things that annoy me, but I can't write about them without giving away spoilers. "Gladiator 2" isn't a bad film, but it's a pale shadow of "Gladiator". I'm sure it'll be a big box office success, which could tempt the studios to make a third film. Please don't. Two is enough.

Blade (3 Stars)

"There's only one Blade. There's only ever going to be one Blade".

After seeing Blade's re-appearance in "Deadpool & Wolverine", I thought it would be good to return to the original Blade films. I admit that I could hardly remember them, which is always a bad sign. I checked my old posts and saw that I'd given the first film a low rating and the two sequels a high rating. So I watched "Blade" today, hoping I'd change my mind about it.

I didn't. The film has a cheap B-Movie feeling to it. There's a lot of action, but the characters aren't particularly interesting. Even Blade himself is someone I can't relate to. He's cold and heartless. To be fair, that's how he's portrayed in the comics, but it doesn't make him interesting as a character.

There's a certain poignancy to the mother-son relationship. Blade has spent all his life searching for the vampire who killed his mother. Now he finds out that she's still alive, and she's a servant of the vampire who turned her. Blade has to fight his mother to the death. This is something that could have been handled better by a more talented director.

The film's special effects are embarrassingly bad. Was it deliberate?

"Blade" was made in 1998. It can be considered a link between the poor quality direct-to-video Marvel films of the 1980's and the well produced films that began with "X-Men" in 2000. Next I'll have to watch the other two films and see if they really are better.

Success Rate:  + 0.9

	Order from Amazon.com
	Order from Amazon.co.uk
	Order from Amazon.de

Rome 1.02 - How Titus Pullo brought down the Republic

One thing to remember about the series "Rome" is that the events are sometimes more stretched out than they appear. The second episode follows seamlessly from the first, but the historical events in the episode actually take place two years later.

The Roman Senate distrusts Julius Caesar. He's a consul, a political position which makes him immune from prosecution, but consulship usually only lasts one year. By special dispensation the consulship of Caesar and Pompey has been extended to five years, but this is due to expire within a month. The senator Cato wants to charge Caesar with waging an illegal war in Gaul. In my limited understanding of the Republic's constitution, the consuls commanded the army, but the Senate had to allow the army's use in any conflict.

Caesar knows that Pompey supports the Senate, so he sends bribes to make the people of Rome vote for his friend Mark Antony as tribune. In the Roman Republic, the tribune was a person who supported the rights of the common people. Among other things, the tribune had the right of vetoing any motion made by the Senate. This was necessary, because the Senate was made up almost entirely of patricians, i.e. noblemen.

Lucius Vorenus and Titus Pullo return to Rome. It's the first time Lucius has seen his wife for eight years, so he's shocked to see his wife Niobe with a small baby on her arm. Niobe tells him it's his grandson, the son of his 14-year-old daughter, but we later find out that Niobe is lying.

Octavian invites Lucius and Titus into his mother's house, calling them his friends. Atia is unwilling to accept commoners into her home, but Octavian insists. The two men are completely different. Lucius knows how to behave in the company of nobility, only speaking when he's spoken to. Titus is uncouth and gives his opinion on how Caesar should take care of Rome. Atia is refreshed, because his words are what she thinks but is too discreet to say aloud.

Lucius and Titus have returned from Gaul as wealthy men. A soldier's wages were low, but they could keep the spoils of war, anything they stole from their enemies. As a higher ranking officer, Lucius has collected more spoils. He tells Niobe that he has treasure worth 10,000 denarii. A denarius was the usual daily earning of a skilled labourer. Lucius invests his money by buying slaves. Titus goes into a gambling den and loses all his money. When he's about to leave he sees that one of the other men has been cheating and kills him. A brawl breaks out, and Titus staggers into Lucius' house to wait for a doctor.

In recent years we've grown used to the magnificent arenas in "Gladiator" and similar films. This is what the arenas in Rome really looked like. The gladiators weren't highly trained fighters. They were usually men who had been sentenced to death. Anyone who defeated his opponents was allowed to carry on living.

Pompey and Cicero meet in the arena to discuss politics, in particular how they should deal with Caesar. Pompey loves the fighting, whereas Cicero looks on critically.

There's a motion in the Senate to declare Caesar an enemy of Rome. Cato and Cicero belong to opposing factions, and when they both support the motion their factions follow them, so the motion is carried almost unanimously. Mark Antony wants to veto the motion, but a fight breaks out in the Senate before he can speak. He has to delay his veto until the Senate convenes again the following day.

Now we come to a recurring theme in the series. Lucius and Titus may just be commoners, but their actions determine the history of Rome. The history books tell us that Mark Antony was ambushed on the way to the Senate by a mob made up of Pompey's supporters. The episode doesn't contradict the historical accounts, but details are added. Mark Antony walks to the Senate, flanked by Lucius and Titus, followed by a retinue of men loyal to Caesar. Pompey's followers stand peacefully as they pass, until a friend of the man that Titus killed sees him. The man attacks Titus, but everyone assumes he's trying to attack Mark Antony, so a large battle ensues, and Mark Antony never reaches the Senate.

When Caesar hears of it, he claims that Rome has fallen into disorder. He says that Pompey himself has arranged for a tribune to be assaulted, so he needs to put things right. He takes his army into Italy. This in itself is a crime. No army is allowed to enter Italy, whether or not it's heading towards Rome. As soon as Caesar crosses the River Rubicon, the border between Italy and Gaul, the Roman Civil War has begun.

	Order from Amazon.com
	Order from Amazon.co.uk
	Order from Amazon.de

Rome 1.01 - The Stolen Eagle

"Rome" was a television series that was originally broadcast from 2005 to 2007. If you read about it online, some sites say it was American (made by HBO), whereas others say it was English (made by BBC). The truth is that the BBC conceived the series and wanted to make it, but they didn't have enough money, so HBO invested in it. In other words, the BBC had creative control, while HBO handled the finances.

At the time it was the most expensive series that had ever been made. Since then it's been surpassed by "Game of Thrones". I mean it was the most expensive series measured by the cost per episode. The most expensive series measured by the total cost is Germany's "Tatort", which has cost over 2.5 billion dollars since it began in 1970. So far 1281 episodes of "Tatort" have been broadcast at the rate of 30 episodes a year. Each episode costs between two million and fourteen Euros.

I intend to write a short review of each episode. By doing this I'm taking a risk. My blog is in a mess. My long term readers must be aware that I've abandoned four projects without completion, so isn't it foolish to start a fifth?

The projects are:

1. Smallville (60 posts from August 2022 to January 2024)

2. Masha and the Bear (33 posts from August 2022 to December 2023)

3. WWF (28 posts from February 2022 to January 2024)

4. Marvel Bronze Age (88 posts from November 2022 to April 2023)

I like to blame the problems on the 10-week visit of my daughter from June to August this year, but if you look at the dates you can see that my projects were abandoned earlier. Now I have to decide: should I just forget about the projects or revive them? I'll order them by priority.

WWF is my top priority, and I'll restart the posts as soon as possible.

Smallville comes in second place. I'll fit the posts in when I have time.

Masha and the Bear comes in third place. I'll also try to make time.

I'm officially abandoning my Marvel Bronze Age reviews. I should have stopped at the end of the Steve Engelhart and Jim Starlin stories in March 2023. I even feel tempted to remove the following 21 Daredevil posts.

There's another problem looming on the horizon. My Google storage space is running out. For most people it's only a matter of taking too many photos, which can easily be remedied. I have the problem that every image I upload to my blog counts against my storage space. So far I'm using 10.1 GB. That's the sum of my pictures in the last 14 years. So I'll reach the 15 GB limit in the next six to seven years? Probably sooner, and I shouldn't wait until the last moment. Maybe I should stop posting in this blog and start a new blog with a new Google account. I'll have to decide in the next couple of years.

But for now I want to start reviewing "Rome". It's something I've wanted to do for a long time. It's a relatively small project, with only 22 episodes. I intend to do it quickly, within three months. Let's see if I can keep to that goal.

Roman history has fascinated me ever since I was at school. When I learnt Latin, I also had to learn about Roman history, from the founding of Rome (753 BC) to the fall of the Roman Empire (476 AD). Actually we didn't get up to 476 AD, we stopped at Nero's death in 68 AD and just did a brief overview of the following years. The series "Rome" deals with the years 52 BC to 30 BC. It was originally planned to make five seasons, but the series was cancelled after the second season because it was costing too much money. I wonder how far they would have got.

The series takes great pains to be historically accurate, while adding enough extra details to make it more interesting than a history lesson. The main characters are all taken from history, but the story is told through the eyes of two Roman soldiers, Titus Pullo and Lucius Vorenus, shown at the top of this post. Lucius is a centurion, and Titus is a soldier under his command. They're different ranks, so they're initially in a formal relationship with one another, but when they're discharged from the army they become friends. They're actually two soldiers who were named briefly in one of Caesar's books, but everything that they do in the series is fictional. They're two common men caught up in the whirlwind of history

52 BC was the last year of Julius Caesar's war against Gaul. The episode's opening battle shows the final subjugation of Gaul after the Romans had slaughtered over a million people. Rome has been a republic for the last 400 years, with a senate chosen by the people in a primitive form of democracy. The constitution of the republic included two magistrates, usually called consuls, who presided over the senate. I need to read up on this, I've forgotten a lot since I was at school. In 52 BC there were two consuls, Gnaeus Pompey and Julius Caesar. Pompey remained in Rome while Caesar was away at war. That's where the first episode begins.

Caesar and Pompey are friends, but they mistrust one another. Their friendship has been sealed by Caesar giving his only daughter to Pompey as a wife. She dies in childbirth, so Caesar writes to his niece Atia to ask her to find a replacement wife out of his family. Atia chooses her daughter Octavia. The only problem is that Octavia is already married, so she has to get divorced the following day.

A horse trader called Timon has a magnificent white horse that he intends to sell to Pompey. After having sex with Atia he gives it to her instead. Men are like that. She tells her 11-year-old son Octavian to ride the horse to Gaul to give it to Caesar as a gift. On the way there's an ambush. Most of the men in the party are killed, but Octavian is taken prisoner.

The eagle standard of Caesar is stolen. Mark Antony orders Lucius to find it. Lucius tortures many Gallic tribesmen until one of them tells him that the Blue Spaniard tribe stole it. Lucius takes Titus with him to search for the eagle. They see the gang holding Romans as prisoners and they free Octavian. A man recognisable as a slave of Pompey is in the gang, carrying the eagle standard. It's not clear to me whether the thieves really were Blue Spaniards or Pompey's men in disguise. (Please reply in the comment box if you have an opinion).

Pompey betrays Caesar by spurning Octavia and marrying an older woman. Caesar is angered by the various actions of Pompey and threatens to take his army to Rome.

Today is the first time I've watched this episode since 2006. I was so excited this evening that I watched it twice before beginning to write about it.

	Order from Amazon.com
	Order from Amazon.co.uk
	Order from Amazon.de

Riefenstahl (4 Stars)

Today the cinema was full of people waiting to watch "Gladiator 2", but I preferred to see the new documentary about "Leni Riefenstahl". who lived from 22nd August 1902 to 8th September 2003. That was a long life, but her film career was short. Her final film was released in 1954, although its filming was completed in 1944. The confusion after the end of World War Two delayed the film's completion and release.

Leni began her career as an actress in 1925, but she turned to directing ain 1932. She's generally considered to be one of the greatest directors of the early 20th Century, despite the controversial nature of her films. She's best known for her documentary film "Triumph of the Will" (about the 1934 Nazi Party Congress) and her two-part documentary about the 1936 Olympic Games. All three films are considered to be Nazi propaganda films. When asked whether she wanted to create political propaganda she insisted that she was only interested in art. Adolf Hitler commissioned her to make the films, and her intention was to make the films as beautiful as possible.

To be fair to Leni, in the Olympic Games films she gave extensive coverage of Jesse Owens, the black American who won four gold medals.

When she was arrested to be denazified after the Second World War, it was decided that she was innocent. The examiners judged that she was an innocent person who was never a Nazi, neither in her ideology nor by being a party member. In later years this was repeatedly put in doubt. Evidence piled up that contradicted her claims that she knew nothing about the persecution of Jews. This is the main subject of the second half of the documentary. When interviewed, she always became angry when she was accused of knowing everything. For instance, while filming in Poland she looked on while soldiers shot 20 Jews to get them out of the background of a street scene. She denies this.

Talent and morals. Can you separate the two? She was an exceptional filmmaker, despite her close friendship with both Hitler and Goebbels. I watched "Triumph of the Will" on videotape many years ago. I've only seen short excerpts of the Olympic Games documentaries. I've never seen the films in which she appeared as an actress. I'd like to watch them all. Where can I find them? Very few films are available on disc, and only for high prices. Two of the films in which she acted can be bought for streaming on Amazon. "Triumph of the Will" can't be bought anywhere. It's too sensitive to be sold in Germany. The censors are stupid. I'm not a Nazi, far from it, but I want to judge the film as a work of art.

Deadpool & Wolverine (5 Stars)

Disney Wednesday #25

I was surprised to find out that "Deadpool & Wolverine" is already streaming on Disney Plus. I would have known if I'd occasionally logged in. As my readers know, I'm not much of a streaming fan. That doesn't mean I'm against streaming in principle. I have friends who boycott the streaming services. I wouldn't go that far. I need Netflix and the others to watch films that haven't been released on disc yet; or worse still, films like "Veneciafrenia" that will never be released on disc. Streaming services are also useful for me to watch films out of curiosity that I'm not sure I like.

I'm getting off topic. Concerning "Deadpool & Wolverine", I'm surprised that it's gone to streaming so soon. It's less than three months since it left the cinemas. Usually that's the sign that a film had performed badly at the box office, but that's hardly the case with "Deadpool & Wolverine". It's the second highest grossing film of the year so far, second only to "Inside Out 2".

It's a good film, though not up to the quality of the first two films. On the other hand, it's hilarious. There are non-stop in-jokes about the politics of the film studios behind the scenes. Not secret politics, of course. All Marvel fans have been reading what's going on with one company being bought by another.

I shan't write any more for now. I'll wait until I buy the film on Blu-ray, although I suspect that it'll only be a brief plot summary. The film isn't about the plot, it's about the jokes.

Success Rate:  + 4.7

	Order from Amazon.com
	Order from Amazon.co.uk
	Order from Amazon.de

Gladiator (5 Stars)

My son Benjamin told me that he intends to go to see "Gladiator 2" on Monday, so he suggested that we rewatch "Gladiator" today. That was a good suggestion. It's one of my favourite films, included in my top 100 film list. Admittedly, it's in the bottom half of the list, but every film in my top 100 is a work of genius. There are even brilliant films that aren't quite in the top 100 because there isn't enough room for them. I actually have a top 200 list on my computer, but the bottom 100 are unordered. They're just a list of a hundred films that I don't want to forget because they're almost good enough to be in the top 100. Sometimes I change my mind and push a film into the top 100, but it's always with a heavy heart, because it means that another film has to be omitted.

"Gladiator 2" has been in the cinemas for ten days, but I still haven't gone to see it. I'll probably get round to it soon, but I admit that I have a certain aversion. The thought of making a sequel to an excellent film that's perfect in itself puts me off. There's no Russell Crowe, there's no Joaquin Phoenix. That's obvious, because both their characters died in the first film, but do you see what I mean? It's just an unrelated film which also takes place in an arena. If the film had been given a completely different name, it wouldn't have bothered me. Calling it "Gladiator 2" suggests that the film is something it isn't.

I've avoided reading reviews of "Gladiator 2" because I'll go and see it eventually. The only feedback I've received is the opinion of my friends who've seen it. They're unanimous. They all say, "It's good, but not as good as the original". That's what I expected. I'm sure it's a good film, though not good enough to enter my top 100. I just have to criticise my friends for calling "Gladiator" the original film. It's not the original of anything. It was a standalone film.

Success Rate:  + 2.5

	Order from Amazon.com
	Order from Amazon.co.uk
	Order from Amazon.de

Elvira's Haunted Hills (3½ Stars)

In Germany this film has been released as part of a box set, entitled "Elvira Part 1 and 2". They don't get it. The two stories have no relation to one another, and technically it's not even the same character. The first film shows Elvira playing herself in the current day, i.e. 1988. The second film shows a character called Elvira and her adventures in the year 1851. Or do you think I'm being too picky?

The Elvira shown in "Elvira's Haunted Hills" isn't a television star, obviously. She's a stage cabaret star, performing song and dance for the masses. She's just put on a show in Transylvania, and her carriage breaks down when she's on her way to Paris. She's offered a lift, but the driver tells her she has to stay overnight in his castle because of a coming storm. One night can't hurt, can it?

Elvira becomes involved in the intrigues at the castle. It's the tenth anniversary of the death of the Lord's first wife. In the portraits she looks identical to Elvira. There's a suspicious family doctor who lives in the house. The handsome stable boy sneaks into the castle every night to read books.

And everyone is fascinated with Elvira's big breasts. Isn't that obvious?

In my first review, written way back in 2013, I rated the film higher. Watching the two films back to back, it's obviously inferior.

Elvira might be a sexy character, but it's all good, clean fun. We never see her nude. This is the closest the film gets. She's in a bubble bath playing with toy ships. I thought people like to play with rubber ducks. Not me though. My parents didn't have a bathroom equipped with rubber ducks, so I had to play with whatever I could find.

	Order from Amazon.com
	Order from Amazon.co.uk
	Order from Amazon.de

Elvira Mistress of the Dark (5 Stars)

Wow! This was one of the first films I bought after buying my first DVD player in 2003, and yet I haven't watched it for at least 15 years. I'd forgotten how good it is. What's wrong with me? It's trashy, it's campy, it's brilliant. 

In the film Elvira plays herself. Her real name is Cassandra Peterson, but as soon as she puts on her black wig she becomes Elvira. She first appeared on television in 1981 as the host of "Movie Macabre", a series of so-called bad movies. After each commercial break she appeared to comment on the film so far, usually in a derogatory manner. Whether or not the films really were bad, "Movie Macabre" always had big ratings. I can think of two reasons.

That's how the film begins. Elvira is in the studio showing a cheap science fiction film. She quits her job after being groped by the head of the television channel. Then she finds out that she's been named in the Will of her great aunt Morgana. She drives to Fallwell, Massachusetts (population 1313) for the reading of the will. She's been left a house, a dog and a book.

The house is old, but it has style. I'd like to live there.

The dog is cute, if you like poodles with mohawks.

The book is written in a foreign language. Elvira thinks it's a cookbook, but it's actually a book of magical spells. Elvira's Uncle Vinnie is determined to get his hands on the book. When she refuses to sell it to him, he attempts to steal it. Vinnie is already a master of the dark arts, while Elvira is only just learning her powers. A mighty battle ensues.

The film is delightfully cheesy. Elvira's dialogue consists of a stream of one-liners. I can't imagine anyone not liking it.

Success Rate:  - 1.4

	Order from Amazon.com
	Order from Amazon.co.uk
	Order from Amazon.de

Super Ninja Doll (5 Stars)

Forget the MCU. It had its day. Now we need superhero films like "Super Ninja Doll".

It was made way back in 2007 as the 16th film in the Medina Collection. I can verify that the lead actress, Christine Nguyen, hasn't aged a day since then. As she wrote on Facebook in 2020, "I'm Asian. I'll always be a schoolgirl".

And here she is, sitting at school reading a copy of "Super Ninja Doll". What she doesn't realise is that the comic isn't fantasy. They're adventures that really take place in an alternate reality. The comic jargon is "another dimension". The ruler of this dimension is the evil Tantella. She wants to conquer the Earth by kidnapping the Earth's top scientists and draining their intelligence.

This is Tantella's henchman Gorath, played by the magnificent Evan Stone. Did you know he's appeared in over 1300 movies in his 25 year career? He's been busy.

In the film Gorath becomes stronger by having sex. Before going into action he needs sex to charge himself. I find that weird. With me it's the opposite. After having sex I'm worn out, definitely not in a fit state to conquer the Earth.

The first person that Gorath meets on Earth is Mike Gaglio, Christine's school teacher. I love this screenshot. There's no dialogue, the scene speaks for itself. Mike is an incredible actor, perfect in whatever role he plays.

Here he is telling off Christine for reading comics in class.

He sits down behind his desk before continuing the conversation. Wise thinking.

He confiscates her comic, but Christine has another one. And then kapow! Super Ninja Doll sucks Christine into the comic and asks her for help against the forces of evil. Christine receives a mystical artefact. Whenever she holds it in the air she transforms into Super Ninja Doll.

Christine transforms from this...

into this. I preferred her as a schoolgirl, but she needs her super powers.

This is the second film on the Blu-ray with "Tarzeena". The B film? I'm just going by their order. This is definitely the better of the two films. I'd go as far to say as it's one of the best films in the Medina collection. I like it more every time I watch it. I'm also happy to say that the film's remastering is very good. Every scene looks perfect, especially the facial close ups. This is a must buy for anyone who likes super heroes, science fiction or schoolgirls.