See How They Run (4 Stars)

I said I'd do a mini-marathon of John Carpenter films, but I never said that it would be uninterrupted. Tonight I watched the film "See How they Run" in the cinema. Maybe I should say that without an article, i.e. I watched the film in Cinema, because the Stuttgart cinema is called Cinema. That's a very generic name.

The film takes place in 1953 and is wrapped around true events, featuring characters who lived at the time. It's the 100th performance of "The Mousetrap", a play written by Agatha Christie. That was a big deal for a play, but nobody realised just how long it would run. It ran non-stop from 1952 to 2020, and was only interrupted by the Corona pandemic. After a break of 14 months, it's now being performed again. There have been over 28,000 performances. I don't know what the exact number is, but if you visit the play a counter is displayed in the lobby.

At the 100th performance a film director is murdered who was campaigning to be allowed to direct "The Mousetrap" as a film. Everyone in the cast and crew are suspects. The case is handled by a drunken police inspector and an inexperienced young policewoman. The film is a comedy, frequently parodying "The Mousetrap" and whodunnits in general. One frequent theme is that whodunnits aren't worth watching because they're all the same.

I'll refrain from spoilers. If you want to know what happens, it's still in the cinemas. And it's still in Cinema.

Halloween [1978] (5 Stars)

This is the second film in my John Carpenter mini-marathon. I bet you guessed what it would be. Look at the date! There's a new Halloween film in the cinemas at the moment, but I haven't bothered with it. One of my friends, whose opinions on film I greatly admire, has written badly about it. I'll wait until I can see it on a streaming service. I'm in no rush. The original is best.

"Halloween" wasn't the first slasher film. Four years earlier (in 1974) a film was made called "Black Christmas", which most people call the first slasher film. Some people name even earlier films, such as "Thirteen Women" in 1932 or "Psycho" in 1960, but these are films that we can argue about. Women get killed in these films, but it isn't until later films that the standard tropes of slasher films were defined. One of the main rules of modern slasher films is that the killer can't die. Either he escapes every time, or he has almost supernatural powers that keep him alive.

"Halloween" is the slasher film that made slasher films popular, whether it was the first or not. For years it was copied, sometimes successfully, sometimes not. It spawned a long line of sequels which didn't live up to the original.

One thing that makes "Halloween" stand out is the music. It was necessitated by the small budget, but if more money had been invested it would have spoilt the film. John Carpenter plays the music himself, a one-finger piano theme. Its simplicity makes it brilliant.

Another thing that makes the film so good is Jamie Lee Curtis as the killer's final girl. She's the one that the killer, Michael Myers, is stalking. Everyone else is just collateral damage. We don't find out until the second film why he's interested in her out of all the teenage girls in America.

So what will the third film be? Wait and see. Tomorrow isn't too long to wait, is it?

Success Rate:  + 213.4

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Christine (4 Stars)

I've decided to watch a mini-marathon of John Carpenter's films, three films over the next three days. The first film on my list is "Christine". I admit it, the photo that I've put at the top of this post is clickbait. Christine Nguyen doesn't appear in the film, but whenever I hear the name Christine I think of her. She was born in Vietnam, but she's as American as grandma's apple pie. She even likes that funny game that the Americans call football.

The Christine in the film is a car, a 1957 Plymouth Fury. It came off a production line, but it was different to all the other cars; it was sentient. Those who own the car are subtly influenced by her and become obsessed with her.

In 1978 the awkward teenager Arnie Cunningham sees the car on sale and immediately decides to buy her. The owner tells him that the car's name is Christine, as if it's the most natural thing in the world for a car to have a name. I've had six cars in my life, and I've never given any of them names. Well, that's not quite true. I called my second car Puffing Bluey. That's because it was a large car, a Peugeot 505, with a relatively small engine. It couldn't drive faster than 50 mph uphill.

This is Christine. She looks good, but I prefer the other Christine.

Arnie's parents don't want him to park the car on their drive, so he keeps it – I mean her – in a garage where he has a part time, after-school job. He's often bullied by three other boys. One night they break into the garage and smash Christine. Surprisingly, she repairs herself in front of Arnie's eyes. At night she goes out, driverless, and hunts down the three boys. She kills them all.

Killing bullies is a borderline case. We might say murder is bad while thinking to ourselves that they deserved it. But Christine's murderous intentions don't stop there. She attempts to kill Arnie's girlfriend Leigh out of jealousy. Christine won't share Arnie with anyone else.

This doesn't seem to bother Arnie. A normal 17-year-old boy would want a girlfriend more than anything else, but the most important girl in Arnie's life is Christine. He's glad when Leigh dumps him. It gives him more time to spend with Christine.

This is a ridiculously camp story, but it works well. It's a guilty pleasure, not a masterpiece like "Dark Star" or "Assault on Precinct 13", but it's fun to watch. The film is based on a novel by Stephen King. It seems out of character for him. His stories are usually more believable. Maybe I should check out the novel. It's possible that it's less camp than the film.

Success Rate:  + 0.1

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WWF 1997.06.16 - Monday Night Raw

Location: Olympic Center, Lake Placid, New York

Commentators: Vince McMahon, Jim Ross

This event was broadcast live.

Vince McMahon and Jim Ross report that there was a fight in the locker room between Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart last week. It happened off air before last week's edition of Raw. I don't remember it being mentioned. Both men sustained injuries. Shawn will be out of action for four to six weeks. Bret will return within a few days, hopefully next week. As a result, the tag team title, currently held by Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels, has been vacated. There will be a tag team tournament of eight teams. The winning team will face Steve Austin and a partner of his choice to become the tag team champions.

Steve Austin comes to the ring and asks Vince McMahon to interview him. It can hardly be called an interview, because Steve doesn't allow Vince to speak. He complains that Vince is talking about him, making decisions about his future while he's sitting in the locker room. He says he doesn't need a partner to become tag team champion.

Mankind appears  on the Titantron and says that since last week he's felt a bond with Steve Austin. That's why he took over the fight against Brian Pillman. He asks to become Steve's partner. He says he has long hair and a nice ass, just like Shawn Michaels.

Ken Shamrock comes out and says that Steve Austin shouldn't have stunned him when he came out to help him last week. He demands a match against him. Ken wants to fight him immediately, but Steve says that he wants to beat up Brian Pillman first.

Match 1. British Bulldog & Owen Hart vs New Blackjacks

This is the first match of the tag team tournament. The Blackjacks sure have nasty moustaches. Someone should pull them off. It's a fast-paced match that the Blackjacks would have won if British Bulldog and Owen Hart hadn't cheated. British Bulldog pins Blackjack Bradshaw after he's been double teamed behind the referee's back.

Match 2. Hunter Hearst Helmsley vs Phineas Godwinn

Phineas Godwinn is the first in the ring. He's joined by Triple H, with Chyna standing outside the ring.

Triple H throws his jacket out of the ring, and a man picks it up. Chyna grabs the man and threatens him.

I have no idea who the man is, but he's no match for Chyna. He's scared stiff.

Now that the distraction's out of the way, Chyna can watch the match.

Chyna doesn't get involved in the ring, but she can do enough damage outside. When Triple H throws Phineas out, Chyna punches him, knocking him off his feet.

I spotted a sign in the audience saying "Chyna Spank Me". That's not something she'd do. Chyna doesn't spank men, she punches them in the face and the balls. She's not interested in consensual roleplay.

The match continues, and Phineas gains the advantage. While Triple H is lying on the apron, Chyna climbs up to distract the referee. Phineas approaches her. He must have been impressed by her punch. He likes it rough. He grabs her and kisses her, but she's disgusted and pushes him away. I don't think he's had a wash all month. Triple H attacks him from behind and pins him.

After the match, Henry Godwinn comes out and tells his brother off for being such a fool.

Match 3. Chris Candido vs Brian Christopher

Sunny comes to the ring as the guest ring announcer. She's a lot prettier than Howard Finkel. Paul Heyman is the guest commentator. Sunny announces the match as an interpromotional match. Brian Christopher works for the USWA (United States Wrestling Association), while Chris Candido works for the ECW. (Do I really have to tell you what that stands for?)

Paul Heyman drops a bombshell at the commentary table. He says that Brian Christopher is Jerry Lawler's son, although he's never acknowledged that Jerry is his father. After all, anybody would be ashamed to have Jerry Lawler as his father. Jerry has also never acknowledged that Brian is his son. There's another story that isn't mentioned. Chris Candido is Sunny's boyfriend, and he's been together with her since high school. Lucky man!

Jerry Lawler comes to the ring and attacks Paul Heyman because of his comments. Then he intervenes in the match, attacking Chris Candido, so Brian Christopher is disqualified. Rob Van Dam comes to the ring to attack Chris. Tommy Dreamer comes out to defend him. It's typical ECW chaos in the ring.

Tragically, both wrestlers suffered early deaths. Chris Candido died in 2005 at the age of 33 as a result of injuries sustained in the ring. Brian Christopher hanged himself in a police cell in 2018, aged 46, after being arrested for drunk driving.

Match 4. Goldust vs Jim Neidhart

It's an even match until British Bulldog enters the arena. He threatens Marlena outside the ring. Goldust comes out to protect his wife, and he's double teamed by Jim Neidhart and Bulldog. Goldust nevertheless manages to pin Jim. Then he leaves the arena, clutching his stomach in pain.

Match 5. Steve Austin vs Brian Pillman

This is the match that should have taken place last week, if the Hart Foundation hadn't attacked Steve Austin on the way to the ring. To stop it happening again, the members of the Hart Foundation are handcuffed to the ring posts.

Steve Austin has several chances to win the match, but he doesn't take them. Whenever Brian Pillman is incapacitated, he uses the opportunity to attack the helpless members of the Hart Foundation outside the ring.

When the referee tries to stop Steve, Steve stuns him. That should have been a disqualification, but the match is allowed to continue. The match continues as an uncontrolled brawl, and Brian Pillman hits Steve with brass knuckles. Owen Hart takes the key from the unconscious referee, so that he can free himself and the other members of the Hart Foundation. When they enter the ring Brian Pillman is disqualified, but the fight doesn't end there. All four members of the Hart Foundation attack Steve. Mankind and Goldust come out to assist him, followed by Ken Shamrock, who chases the Hart Foundation away. When Steve stands up, he attacks Ken. The Legion of Doom come out and separate Steve and Ken.

Goldust grabs the microphone and tells them to stop fighting, because that's what the Hart Foundation wants. He suggests that the team for the ten-man tag team match at the next PPV should be the Legion of Doom, Ken Shamrock, Steve Austin and himself. Steve agrees to this, but for one night only. He says that when the match is over they won't be friends and drink beer together, he'll stun all of them.

Match 6. Tommy Rogers vs Bobby Fulton

Now it's Sable's turn to be the guest ring announcer. Howard Finkel should retire. Tommy Rogers (in red) and Brian Fulton are both veteran wrestlers who've been wrestling since 1980 and 1977 respectively, but they're new in the WWF. The WWF is famous for its big wrestlers, but they want to start a light heavyweight division with smaller wrestlers. New wrestlers will be hired over the coming months in preparation for crowning the WWF's first light heavyweight champion.

It's a fast-paced match, as is to be expected from lighter wrestlers. Tommy Rogers wins by a pinfall.

Sable waves to her fans. Her boyfriend Marc Mero comes to escort her out of the arena. He doesn't like the way she parades herself in the ring.

Match 7. Headbangers vs Jerry Lawler & Rob Van Dam

This is the second quarter-final match of the tag team tournament. Paul Heyman and Tommy Dreamer are sitting in the audience looking on menacingly. Jim Ross evidently doesn't like the way the Headbangers look. He says that he wouldn't want them hanging around his daughters. Vince McMahon defends them and says they're nice boys when you get to know them. That's a golden rule: don't judge people by their appearance.

The match degenerates into a brawl with a lot of cheating by Jerry Lawler and the Headbangers. Only Rob Van Dam fights fairly. The Sandman (another ECW wrestler) enters the ring and attacks Jerry Lawler, allowing Mosh to pin him. The Headbangers advance to the semi-finals. Outside the ring, Tommy Dreamer and Sandman attack Rob Van Dam.

Match 8. Faarooq & Kama Mustafa vs Ahmed Johnson & Undertaker

Before the match Ahmed Johnson says that he has respect for the Undertaker, but no respect at all for Paul Bearer. He tells the Undertaker that if he continues to listen to Paul Bearer they'll have problems with one another. 

Faarooq claims to have found two new members for the Nation of Domination, but he only introduces Kama Mustafa. Kama has wrestled for the WWF using different names since 1991, but this is his return to the WWF after a year's absence.

While the Undertaker is fighting in the ring, Ahmed Johnson attacks Paul Bearer outside the ring. The Undertaker wants a tag, but Ahmed isn't there, so Kama pins him. After the match Ahmed picks the Undertaker up and slams him. It's revealed that Ahmed Johnson is the other new member of the Nation of Domination.

This is the new Nation, from left to right Kama Mustafa, Ahmed Johnson, Faarooq and D-Lo Brown. What a revolting development!

Masha and the Bear 1.5.3 - Home Improvement

This episode was first broadcast on 22nd March 2012.

Don't be fooled by the peaceful introduction. This is a wonderful slapstick episode, hilarious from beginning to end.

Bear receives a package from his best friend, Tiger.

It's a portrait of the two friends together.

Bear looks for a place to hang the picture.

Masha knows best.

X marks the spot.

Masha helps knock the nail in.

That wasn't a good idea. Within a few minutes the house is wrecked.

Bear carries out all his furniture with a little "help" from Masha.

Bear does the painting.

Masha "helps" as well. She means well.

The animals help with the wallpapering.

The wallpaper looks chaotic.

But it doesn't look too bad when the furniture is back. That's a good place for the portrait that started all the trouble. Bear should have put it on the mantlepiece in the first place.

Bear and his friends sit down to watch television after a hard day's work.

But there's an electrical fault. Boom!

Masha is overjoyed that they can start decorating again.

The End.

VFB Stuttgart Season 2022 Match 12

VfB Stuttgart – Augsburg

Date: 29th October 2022, 3:30 pm

Result: 2 – 1

This was a well deserved win for VfB Stuttgart, affectionately called "unsere Jungs" ("our boys"). Augsburg scored the first goal after four minutes, enough to demoralise Stuttgart, but the game was turned around with an equaliser in the 15th minute. From then on, Stuttgart had the initiative and was clearly the better team. Throughout the second half Stuttgart had chance after chance, but the ball just wouldn't go into the net. The winning goal was finally scored in the 92nd minute.

This is a good result, but it's not enough in itself. Stuttgart is still in the relegation zone, nicknamed the premiere league's cellar. The next match against Mönchengladbach on Friday has to be won to get the team out of danger.

I'm going to be on holiday all November, so I shan't be able to watch VfB Stuttgart's matches. I'll restrict myself to my mini-posts about their matches for the rest of the year. If Stuttgart has pulled itself out of the cellar by January, I'll go back to writing full match reports.

1.	Bayern München	25
2.	Union Berlin	23
3.	Dortmund	22
4.	SC Freiburg	21
5.	Eintracht Frankfurt	20
6.	RB Leipzig	19
7.	Werder Bremen	18
8.	Mainz	18
9.	Hoffenheim	17
10.	Mönchengladbach	16
11.	Köln	16
12.	Wolfsburg	14
13.	Augsburg	14
14.	Hertha BSC	11
15.	VfB Stuttgart	11
16.	Leverkusen	9
17.	VfL Bochum	7
18.	Schalke 04	6

General: My thoughts on film piracy

People who regularly read my blog know that I'm against film piracy. I don't download films from the Internet, and I don't share the films in my my possession with others, even though I'm equipped with all the software I need to make copies. But I make exceptions. The six films pictured above (there are two discs in the Legally Blonde collection) are films that I would gladly share with others.

Why? It's my way of making a protest. All six Blu-rays are locked to region A. For those not acquainted with Blu-ray regions:

Region A: The American continents.

Region B: Europe, Africa, Middle East and Australia.

Region C: Russia, China and Central Asia.

The following map should make it clear.

Any Blu-ray that is locked to a particular region can't be played outside of its geographical area. The main reason is that films are released to the cinemas at different times in different countries, so if (for example) a film comes to British cinemas six months later than in America, it's not possible to watch the film on an American Blu-ray disc in England before the film is in the cinema. The region lock is intended to protect the film industry. The argument against this is that the big films, the blockbusters, are always released simultaneously in all countries, at most a week or two apart. With smaller films the problem could be solved by delaying the Blu-ray release until the film has been shown everywhere.

Region codes are sometimes used as a form of censorship. Countries like Russia and China censor films with homosexual content, so they don't want foreign Blu-rays to be imported that include the censored scenes.

A third reason is for price protection. Blu-ray discs are more expensive in some countries than in others, so a country with high prices wants to protect its local film industry from cheap imports from abroad.

The biggest problem is that some films are only released in one country, so if they're region locked people in different countries can't watch them. An example is "Adaptation", shown in the picture above. It was released on Blu-ray in America, but in Europe it's only been released on DVD. Another possible problem is that a Blu-ray might be released in different countries, but after a while it's out of print in one of the countries. An example is the Legally Blonde Collection, which was released on Blu-ray in America and Germany, but is now only available in America.

Not all films are region locked. In the case of DVDs, region locks are common, but the large majority of Blu-rays aren't locked. The six films pictured above are the only ones in my possession that are locked to Region A. It's possible that I have (many) discs that are locked to Region B, but I wouldn't notice it because my Blu-ray player plays Region B Blu-rays.

Many Blu-ray players are multi-region players, able to play discs of any region. Multi-region players are usually more expensive than standard Blu-ray players that only play one region. Attempts have been made to prevent multi-region players working correctly, but so far they've been unsuccessful. In some countries the sale of multi-region players is prohibited.

Now let's get back to the question of piracy. In my opinion, any disc that's locked to a specific region is broken. If you can't play it in your Blu-ray player, wherever you live, the disc is defective. In my opinion, that justifies the creation of functioning copies. I'm willing to make region-free copies of any of the films shown above for my friends. Just give me enough money to cover my costs. I do that with a good conscience. If a company deliberately makes a defective disc, the company should be punished by piracy. My offer doesn't apply to "Seven", which has recently been released on Blu-ray in Germany, 18 months after the American release.

For the sake of completeness, this is the map of DVD region codes. What amuses me is that for Blu-rays Africa is in the same region as Europe, whereas for DVDs Africa is in the same region as Russia.

Smallville 1.16 - Stray

Click here to watch the podcast.

In this episode Clark comes into contact with a young boy who has powers that aren't connected to the meteor rocks. Ryan James has the ability to read minds. He can't delve deep into a person's mind, but he can read what's on the surface. It's easy enough to exploit this. If he discusses something with a person, the information he wants to know comes to the top of his thoughts.

Ryan's mother is dead. His step-father and his step-father's girlfriend are using his abilities to support their life of crime. In the opening scene Ryan visits a pawn shop and reads the safe's combination from the shop owner's mind. Ryan has a line he won't cross. He's willing to assist in thefts, but when his step-father shoots the owner he runs away. He's hit by a car, and the driver is Martha Kent. That's a lucky coincidence. In hospital Ryan pretends to have amnesia, because he doesn't want to be sent back to his step-father. Clark's parents offer to look after Ryan until he can be given a foster home.

Clark and Ryan get on well. Ryan is the younger brother that Clark has never had. Ryan's powers soon become apparent, because he makes no attempt to disguise what he's found out. He tells Clark that Chloe loves him. He says that Lana also has a secret, but Clark stops him before he reveals it. He knows that Lex's father has asked him to return to Metropolis.

That's another subplot in this episode. Lionel Luthor asks Lex to return to Metropolis to become his personal advisor, effectively the second most important man in Luthorcorp. At the end of the episode Lex refuses, because he thinks it's Lionel's way to control him.

Ryan's step-father captures Lex and uses Ryan to get the password to Lex's trust fund account. Ryan lies about the password, though it's not clear why. He has no reason for protecting Lex's money. Possibly it's because he thinks his step-father will kill his girlfriend when he finally steals a large amount of money.

At the end of the episode Ryan warns Clark about trusting Lex. He says that Lex has a lot of darkness in his thoughts. As we see in the following episodes, Clark doesn't heed Ryan's warning.

Interestingly, Tom Welling has completely forgotten making this episode. In most cases, rewatching old episodes reminded him of his experiences, but not this time. The episode was completely new to him. He had a beautiful relationship with Ryan in the episode, and he found it moving, but he can't remember filming the scenes.

Greg Beeman appears as a guest in this podcast. He directed many Smallville episodes, though not "Stray", and he's been frequently mentioned as a director that Tom and Michael liked working with. Later in the series Greg became the showrunner, i.e. the series' main executive producer. He's been the showrunner of ten series, but "Smallville" was the first, and it's the series he remembers most fondly. He remembers struggling to make the show with an insufficient budget, especially in the first season. The scripts written by Al Gough and Miles Millar had too many action scenes for the money available.

Curiously, Michael Rosenbaum says he has a special memory of Greg Beeman that he'll only tell Tom Welling in private, not in the podcast. Now I'm curious!

There are new Talkville T-shirts. I wonder if they'll be available for a reasonable price in Germany. Or in England. I'm visiting England next month, and it's more likely they'll be on sale there.

The episode has magnificent acting throughout. It's always a pleasure to see John Glover's guest appearances as Lionel Luthor. He was the most experienced actor in the cast. Tom Welling and Michael  Rosenbaum both looked up to him, especially Michael as the one who shared the most scenes with him.

Despite being only 19 when "Smallville" began, Allison Mack was already an experienced actress after years of roles as a child actress.

John Schneider and Annette O'Toole always deliver excellent performances as Clark Kent's parents. In theory they're only background characters, but they give a strong emotional framework to the series. They're sound, loving parents, the sort of parents that every child would like to have.

Tom Welling says he was the least experienced actor in the series, which made it awkward for him to be the main character. As the series progressed he gradually became more skilled.

The Talon is showing silent films? That's surprising. I thought the theatre had been dismantled. Or maybe the films are just being projected onto a wall over the café tables.

Shouldn't that be spelt "Open Mic"? I'd rather remain in the shower. My singing isn't good enough to be presented on stage. Here's a little piece of trivia that I've never told anyone. I don't sing in the bath, but I do sing in the shower, and I've sung the same song in the shower for the last 45 years: "Sea Song" from Robert Wyatt's album "Rock Bottom".

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