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Kavanagh QC: Bearing Witness (1998)
Zero Understanding of Psychological Reality...
Sorry, QC Kavanagh, but you (and the scriptwriters) really flubbed this one. Whoever wrote this episode certainly doesn't understand how the psyche works.
A mother's twisted point of view rooted in a fanatical, extremist, anti-life ideology born of human intellectual error, but wrongly attributed to God, leads to the death of her 13 year old son as he is so completely psychologically bonded with her that he has no mind of his own and refuses a blood transfusion to save his life in order to validate that twisted religious dogma. The writers thus end up making Kavanagh a zealous advocate for those with a death wish. I was appalled by the script's misguided message.
The father of the boy was the only one who spoke the truth: the mother (his ex-wife) and her religious cult twisted the young boy's mind. However, the scriptwriters clearly want the viewer to view the father, instead of the mother and Kavanah (her advocate), as a nut case. The import of this story is justification of unconscious suicide on the part of a 13 year old boy due to a psychological bonding issue with his mother and her twisted, anti-life fanaticism AND gives this mother a pass for, in effect, causing the death of her son (even if it is unconsciously done). Not guilty? WRONG. Guilty of psychological unconsciousness. Appalling.
Bramwell (1995)
From A+ to F- thanks to Season 4
It's hard to believe that a top flight production such as Bramwell in its first three seasons could become such a horror show in Season 4. Xylophone music? "Dark Shadows" lighting? Really?
All of the people we came to love in seasons 1-3 are gone: Dr. Robert Bramwell, Alice, Kate, the LOVABLE Dr. Marsham (not the nasty man who masquerades as Dr. Marsham in season 4), and Sidney. And perhaps most importantly, the writing quality is utterly lame in season 4. It's as if the writers had amnesia and forgot about the entirety of the character development of seasons 1-3!" Conclusion: Hard pass for Season 4.
So although I LOVED seasons 1-3, I can only give the whole series a "6 star" rating because of the poor quality of season 4.
The Power of the Dog (2021)
Dog Day Afternoon watching The Power of the Dog!
Dog Day Afternoon at least had passion and characters with whom you wish to sympathize. As a viewer, you care about those people and the reason why they went so far as to pull off a bank heist.
In The Power of the Dog, there aren't really any sympathetic characters, except the Native Americans looking for hides to tan.
A dog of a film, sorry to say.
Law & Order: Public Service Homicide (2006)
Repetition Compulsion
If I had $1 for every time that the name "Carl Mullaly" was mentioned in this episode, I'd be a millionaire! The scriptwriter needs a refresher course on screenwriting.
Law & Order: Criminal Intent: Blink (2003)
Goren, the ultimate psychoanalyst
Without giving away the ending, I'll say that this is my favourite Law & Order: Criminal Intent episode due to Goren's spectacular psychoanalytical roping in of the prime suspect, a psychopathological man completely lacking in the fear response and clearly narcissistic as well. It reminds me of the main character in the Grimm's fairy tale "The Story of a Boy Who Went Forth to Learn Fear."
Goren is always spectacular, but this particular episode really makes clear how brilliant a detective (and psychoanalyst!) he is. Having trained for 2 years in psychoanalytic theory in Switzerland at the C. G. Jung Institut, I can honestly say that this episode is the crowning glory of Law & Order: CI's psychologically-oriented storytelling. When Goren "goes in for the kill" at the end, he hits all of the marks of a good psychoanalyst who clearly sees the destruction, and yes, evil (otherwise defind as "unconsciousness") created by neurotic complexes in the psyche of Ken Harris.
I was rapt watching Goren close in on Harris and his masterful last words must rate as THE quote of all time on Law & Order: CI. Not to be missed for anyone interested in psychopathology and its devastatingly destructive effects.
The Landline Detective (2020)
Japanese-American Sherlock Holmes (with a landline phone!)
I enjoyed this film much more than I expected even though the voices on the phone were obviously not those of trained actors. The main character James Furuta (Dann Seki) was marvelous and held my attention the entire time, no small feat.
As a Japanophile who lived many years in Japan, and hopes to return to live there permanently, I loved that the story focused on the interconnectedness of the Japanese-American community, which reminded me of life in Japan. And I loved the usage of old photos of Japanese-Americans appearing intermittently on the screen as the story progressed, representing some of the characters from the murder mystery rooted in past events, but would have preferred them in sharp focus before the film's end to make the characters come to life in the present.
Entertaining and something different than the usual murder mystery fare and all without vulgarity or bloody, violent scenes.
Les gardiennes (2017)
No "je ne sais quoi"
I found this movie so frustrating that I stopped and started watching it several times out of boredom. Finally, I made it to the end, and was relieved that the torture had ended.
This film is comprised of many long pans on faces, a love letter to French peasantry, and has little to no character development. There is also little plot development, action or even something resembling an in-depth storyline until the latter part of the film.
No "je ne sais quoi" pour moi.