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Psychic Killer (1975)
Not bad at first, but the ending ruined it for me
This movie had a somewhat interesting premise and started out promisingly but later went off the rails, unfortunately, and the ending really ruined it for me.
The lead is played by Jim Hutton (Arnold Masters) as a sympathetic guy who was badly wronged. He is falsely imprisoned for a murder he didn't commit, while he was caring for his aged mother. A scuzzy and greedy doctor refused to help due to inability to pay (the sleaze is also an unshady womanizer with chicks less than half his age, probably). A sleazy nurse who was supposed to look after his mother while he is in prison neglects to do so, leading directly to her death; she later essentially hastens the death of another aged patient, quite maliciously.
Masters himself is a likeable guy, soft-spoken and polite. He meets a dude in prison (played well by Stack Pierce, an actor with a great deal of presence) who has a strange pendant and means to somehow remotely murder; they strike an odd brief friendship; and the dude leaves Masters the pendant and books after he dies. Masters ends up being released after the real killer confesses. He learns how to use the technique to get much-deserved revenge.
The sci fi aspects are ludicrous, but whatever; that's not the real point of the movie.
While in prison, Masters had worked with a sympathetic psychiatrist (appealing and attractive Julie Adams, playing Dr. Laura Scott), who tried to help him.
The film goes out of its way to portray the people Masters kills as richly deserving of their fates. I found the movie pretty good up to this point.
Unfortunately for Masters, a loudmouth cop, Morgan, played by. Paul Burke, finds a connection between those oddly killed and Masters. No other cop finds his connection of any interest as there's just nothing to directly link Masters with any of the deaths.
Then, without a shred of evidence even remotely connecting Masters directly with any of the murders (one involved the nurse in a room with the doors and windows locked and absolutely no signs of entry by anyone else, with the death looking like a freak accident), Morgan improbably gets a series of invasive warrants, including a phone tap, as well as round-the-clock surveillance of Masters, whom he harasses repeatedly. Masters is invariably polite to jerk Morgan but gives nothing away. Dr. Scott appears later and objects to Morgan's methods at first. But then she inexplicably takes a shine to the loudmouth cop and sleeps with him. Masters, who had secretly been in love with Scott, is appalled. Yes, nice guys generally finish last. If they hadn't made Morgan such an ass, I might not have hated the ending so much.
The movie might have been salvaged with one slight change: the way it ends, Morgan finds Masters in a deep trance (the dude is using the technique), and appears on the surface to be dead. Even though the same thing had happened before (with a coroner nearly performing an autopsy before Masters awoke, badly embarrassing all the authorities), jerko Morgan quickly arranges to get the body cremated. Masters tries to take out Morgan before he dies but is too late.
As Masters had shown signs of starting to 'lose it' toward the end, I might have been okay with his death at this point if he had taken Morgan with him, as Dr. Scott was never going to be with Masters anyway, but unfortunately, he fails to do so in time, and smirking Morgan is left the victor. He essentially executed a live man (whom he knew was alive) with no evidence that would ever remotely stand up in any court.
Too bad; this might have been a decent little movie otherwise. As it was, I really hated it.
Get Smart: The Amazing Harry Hoo (1966)
Offensive and, worse, unfunny
I actually quite liked Episode 1.2, "Diplomat's Daughter," which introduced the Asian villain "the Claw," played by veteran bit part actor Leonard Strong. There, I thought the race issue was handled surprisingly well, with Max calling the villain "Craw" only because he was too dumb to know better.
This episode, however, by the same writers, was a very different story. It was bad enough that they had a Chinese character (Harry Hoo) played by a white actor, but that might not have bothered me overly much, as in 1965, I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt on the difficulty of finding a suitable Asian actor for the role.
But the really offensive part for me was putting the actor, Joey Forman, in offensive make-up and/or prosthetics to grossly exaggerate the faked Asian features and to talk in pigeon English. Yes, I am aware of the vague callback to the Charlie Chan character, but those features were in the 1930's and 1940's, not 1965-1966. And unlike the Chan character, 'Harry Hoo' was not a competent detective but was almost as dumb as Max.
I guess that's supposed to be the 'joke' but it's uncomfortably unfunny as the actor does so in his grossly caricaturized fashion, unlike Don Adams with his impeccable delivery. Like Max, he draws dumb and wrong conclusions and ends up helping out by pure dumb luck, as he just happens to be going to his Chinese laundromat (owned by the Claw as a front) to do his laundry.
I seriously doubt Mel Brooks or the writers had any malicious racist intent here, and at least the other characters treated 'Hoo' reasonably well, but that doesn't make this watchable to me. In contrast, when a rare black actor appeared on this series, they were never put in a stereotyped role like this.
But even aside from the offensive elements, the writing was just weak with flat, unfunny jokes, mostly milking the offensive Hoo character too much, with far too much screen time. As just an example, when 'Hoo' calls the Claw 'the Craw,' that's just unfunny, as he should obviously know better. Leonard Strong, whom I like, barely even appeared. I might have found this somewhat tolerable, at least, if it had been funny.
Gardner and Caruso have been hit or miss on scripts for me. Some have been good, some quite weak. This one was so bad as to be cringe inducing.
Supergirl: Ace Reporter (2017)
Pretty good episode, but why no more Lyra?
This episode felt mostly like an aside to the main storyline this season, which involves Kara's relationship with Mon-el and Rhea's ruthless desire to get her son back at any cost and by any means, no matter how violent or underhanded.
But it's still a pretty good episode, I thought. I was surprised that Lena's former love interest ended up being an innocent pawn and found it poignant that Lena had no choice but to kill him to stop the nanoswarm.
The main purpose of this episode was obviously to return Kara to her job as a reporter by proving herself to Snapper, which she did, very well. Good writing on that, which didn't feel contrived or artificial to me, but rather natural.
To me, this season was much better than the first, which I did like. Just not as much. Mon-el was a very welcome addition to the cast. As a comics reader, I know the character well from Legion of Super-Heroes. Here, his back story is radically altered from the comics, giving him a redemption arc from his former thoughtless and spoiled self to a responsible and decent individual, eventually a real hero like Kara.
I was inspired to write this review after re-watching this episode; had stalled in watching this series years ago around season 3 as I turned my interest to other series. Not so much because I didn't like the series; just got distracted. I liked Winn's alien girlfriend Lyra but see that that this was her last episode; it's kind of a shame as I liked that character and actress.
The Thing (1982)
Effective movie for what it was and reasonably enjoyable (includes spoiler theory of sequel idea)
Just saw this classic movie for the first time. This is my favorite John Carpenter movie to date, although I haven't seen all that many. I saw Halloween many years ago and was far less impressed than most others; I guess it must have been impressive when it was released, but I'm just not into slasher films where some masked weirdo randomly knifes people; personally find that rather boring (not to detract from those who did like it).
Anyway, I had a (spoiler) prediction of how the movie might end, toward the latter part, which turned out not be accurate, but it was not foreclosed by the actual ending and could be the basis for a sequel, so many years later.
One thing I noticed toward the latter part of the movie (and I'm not all that perceptive in movies generally, but it struck me at the time) is that Kurt Russell's character conspicuously failed to take the blood test. I suspected a possible ending-- he continues to plausibly act like he's not infected, but turns out at the very end to have been, and is the sole survivor, letting himself get frozen so he can re-surface when some unwitting person(s) later digs him up.
The actual ending doesn't resolve the issue, and either or both of the survivors could still be infected...
However, director's commentary shows no indication at all that there was any notion, to either Carpenter or Russell, that the character might be infected, but rather the intent was that there would be two survivors at the end, with the only minor ambiguity being whether they survived long enough to be rescued (which was unlikely).
Still, I thought it was an interesting idea (a rarity for me regarding movie ideas) that was not strictly foreclosed by the ending and could be the basis for a sequel, preferably by Carpenter himself, so many years later.
She-Ra: Princess of Power: Of Shadows and Skulls (1985)
Great Episode (but disagree about the villain heirarchy...)
This was a great episode, one of the best of the series, although my personal favorite is probably "Into the Dark Dimension." Here, Shadow Weaver has had enough of Hordak's abuse and decides to get revenge. She allies secretly with Skeletor, transporting him to Etheria to attack Hordak. She-Ra inevitably gets involved.
Some little bits I liked included the fact that Imp proves to be the only minion truly loyal to Hordak; and Bow and Madame Razz handily freeing She-Ra later. I also love the line by Skeletor; "confound that woman! She's worse than He-Man!" I much preferred this series to He-Man (which I also liked) as I thought the stories were more thoughtful and the scenario more complex, with the rebels always on the run (sort of).
Spoilers follow:
Shadow Weaver (SW) and Skeletor launch an ambush on Hordak, with SW causing an avalanche to fall on Hordak's transport vehicle, and Skeletor then blasting that vehicle. Skeletor think he's won but Hordak proves resilient, extricating himself from the wreckage and engaging Skeletor.
(Note: I disagree with the comment in James Eatock's otherwise generally good guide to the He-Man and She-Ra series, that Skeletor defeats Hordak in a "fair fight" here. Hardly. Hordak was already weakened by the sneak attack, which probably would have taken out Skeletor outright if it had happened to him. Instead, he continues the fight and is stunned when he is tricked into running into a wall, whereas he probably would have been fine if he hadn't already taken several major surprise hits before.
Further proof is the fact that, at the end of the episode, when Hordak confronts Skeletor, where the latter doesn't have an unfair edge, bone-face is now shaking in his boots.]
She-Ra falls for an ambush also when SW surprises her long enough for Skeletor to knock her out with sleep gas. (but in general She-Ra, like He-Man, always beats Skeletor handily). Skeletor predictably double-crosses SW and traps both her and Hordak.
Hordak is not quite so dumb here for once, being suspicious of Skeletor's comment that someone else betrayed him, but SW is saved when Hordak is distracted by the threat to Imp from his other minions.
I'm probably in the minority in that Hordak was my favorite villain from the two series, and I much preferred him to Skeletor. Skeletor is more sneaky and clever but also much more evil. The worst thing Hordak ever does is drop people down trap doors and imprison them. He shows rare signs of redeeming qualities occasionally (e.g. Into the Dark Dimension) unlike Skeletor.
Oddly, having watching both series in their entirety, I noticed that Skeletor is generally portrayed as being far more powerful when he appears in She-Ra. In He-Man, he seems impossibly out-matched by He-Man. An episode I particularly disliked was "Evil-Lyn's Plot," where Skeletor acquires a device that increases his power 100x, yet he is still easily beaten by He-Man in a straight-up fight. That episode practically made Skeletor into a bad joke, suggesting he was less than 100 times weaker than He-Man.
King Kong vs. Godzilla (1963)
The Japanese version is far better, and Kong didn't really 'win' due to the cheap electricity trick
I finished re-watching King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962, Japanese version), Criterion Collection Blu-Ray. This is still imo one of the better Showa Era (1954-1975) Godzilla movies, but I found it both annoying and stupid that Kong got stronger with electricity in this version, which makes no sense (he's an electric gorilla now, like an electric eel??) and was, as far as I know, never repeated in future Kong movies.
Godzilla gets the upper hand fairly easily over Kong multiple times, driving him off initially with his flame breath and in the climactic battle, overpowering him with his tail and scoring two clean knockouts of Kong; he's also on the verge of roasting Kong when the thunderstorm conveniently occurs and inexplicably strengthens Kong. I consider this to be a cheap gyp and a way to 'rig' the fight in favor of Kong on the basis of a ridiculous contrivance.
Found out online that the reason for this silly twist is that the original idea was for a King Kong vs. Frankenstein movie, with Frankie apparently being the one who gets stronger with electricity (which actually makes sense).
Nevertheless, I consider the fight a draw, regardless, as Godzilla was obviously not seriously injured, as he returned many times after this (whereas Kong was scarce to be seen again); for all the folks knew in the movie, Godzilla was pursuing Kong underwater.
I think the ending made it seem like Kong won just as the most convenient way to end the movie and stop the threat of Godzilla to Tokyo for the time being. But no explanation is given for Kong suddenly becoming benevolent, as he casually killed the folks on the train like they were inconsequential insects.
The Japanese version was much superior to the American one in many ways.
Most of the action segments are essentially identical, including the stupid electricity twist and the ending, with Kong surfacing and swimming home and Godzilla disappearing.
The biggest overall difference is that the American version (1963, a year after the 1962 Japanese version) adds extremely stupid broadcast segments by American actors and omits a large part of the story about the Japanese pharmaceutical exec's greed and desire to use Kong for promotion and about the relationships between the supporting characters, particularly Fumiko and her inventor boyfriend Kazuo. The Japanese version just made for a more coherent and better story overall. The Japanese version is 97 minutes and the American version is 91 minutes; even the stupid padding with American actors didn't make up for the lost parts of the story.
To me, the dialogue in the Japanese version is also just better written and less inane. More humorous, as well. Comparing the subtitles in the Criterion version with the synopsis in the Wikizilla article, the subtitles appear to be fairly accurate. (the Japanese language, subtitled version I had previously bought from the now-defunct sumogorilla site had stunningly inaccurate subtitles by comparison, which also made much less sense in retrospect; I now suspect they were written by someone who had little no real understanding of Japanese language and was often just guessing based on context.)
But there are also numerous subtler differences that are quite significant, at least to me, and much better done in the Japanese version:
In both versions, the 'United Nations' sub operated by Americans approaches the iceberg where Godzilla was entrapped some 7 years earlier by the Japanese Defense Forces in Godzilla Raids Again (1955), the previous movie, but the Americans apparently don't know that (but no reference at all is made to any prior Godzilla movies or even appearances in the American version). Radiation emitted from Godzilla is warming the local waters to a surprisingly high 18 degrees C (about 65 degrees F). (This thermal irregularity interferes with the sub's sonar and explains why they crash into an iceberg, as explained to me by a guy who used to be in the Navy)
The American version (at 14 min) has the Japanese scientist (Dr. Shigesawa) saying hardly anything of consequence to reporters except that Godzilla is approaching Japan and that use of the atom bomb is being considered as last resort.
In the Japanese version, which is in a different (and less confusing) order, Dr. Shigesawa, at 28-29 min, tells reporters that Godzilla is not dead as had been reported (apparently after Godzilla Raids Again) but was alive, hibernating in the frozen sea, and will likely return to Japan due to an innate 'homing instinct' that animals have; no mention is made of using a nuke.
At 25-27 min, in the American version, is an inane discussion by an American scientist ('Dr. Johnson') and a newscaster that Dr. Johnson thinks (based on pure speculation, though he doesn't admit that) that Godzilla is a cross between a T. Rex and a Stegosaurus and existed "between 97 and 125 million years ago." He and the newscaster act like Godzilla has never been known before (completely ignoring the 1955 American version of the original Japanese 1954 movie and the 1955 movie, Godzilla Raids Again (released in the U. S. in re-edited form, which I have thankfully not seen, as Gigantis the Fire Monster in 1958); the idiot 'scientist' says Godzilla has probably been in suspended animation, frozen, for many millions of years (with no attempt at all to explain how he miraculously survived the extinction event that annihilated all of the other dinosaurs).
At 40-41 min, in a particularly idiotic segment added in the American version, Dr. Johnson, the American 'scientist,' states, as if it were somehow established fact (but really based on nothing), that Godzilla has a brain the size of a marble while Kong's brain is "about ten times" the size of a normal gorilla's skull (this writing is beyond stupid; it's not like either of them were ever x-rayed or studied in captivity, and there would have been no other way to determine their brain sizes, as this was 1963, for f's sake).
(This segment was also inherently idiotic. Suuuure, a marble-sized brain could control a body that size. (no, and ganglia wouldn't cut it, though no mention is made of that whatsoever in the American version, with a brain that freakin' tiny); a whale, for example, has a brain many times the size of a human for the probable and simple reason to be able to regulate and control its much more massive body.)
Much more sensibly, no mention of any sort of the relative brain size of the monsters occurs in the Japanese version, nor idiotic speculation about Godzilla's origins; indeed, in the original movie and in Godzilla Raids Again, the thinking of Japanese scientists (probably correctly) is that Godzilla is a dinosaur that somehow survived all these years by unknown means, in some dormant state, who was awakened recently by atomic tests which also mutated him to monstrous size and power.
At 54 min, in the American version, idiot American 'scientist' says on the radio that the Godzilla-Kong battle 'may or may not have happened before, millions of years ago.' So now the clown is speculating Kong has lived millions of years as well. Uh huh. Somehow pre-dating most or all other mammalian life of any sort, let alone primates that came far, far later. Incredibly bad writing even for a 1960's monster movie.
At 62 min in the American idiot Dr. Johnson says Kong draws strength from electricity. He knows that, how, exactly? In the Japanese version, this is learned empirically when Kong contacts the electric wire trap set for Godzilla and absorbs the electricity, getting stronger.
In both versions, Kong proves at least as murderous as the big G when he casually kills everyone on a train except for Fumiko, to whom he takes a shine for no good reason (I guess to draw parallels to Fay Wray in the original movie).
I love the silly part (in both versions) where two Japanese guys play the drums to help put Kong to sleep and music from the natives at the island inexplicably occurs audibly in the background.
I like the fact (in both versions) that inventor Kazuo's super strong thread is used to airlift Kong. So that part of the story was important, after all. In the Japanese version, but omitted from the American version, Kazuo goes on a military ship to test the thread at sea, much earlier in the movie.
During the climactic fight, in the Japanese version, one Japanese guy in a helicopter says, "electricity makes Kong a hundred times stronger!" His pal asks, "Like Popeye's spinach?" and he nods in assent. The American version omits the reference to Popeye's spinach, unfortunately to me, as that silly line called attention to how inane it was that electricity empowered Kong in this version.
The Incredible Hulk: Brain Child (1979)
Brilliant Episode, Fittingly Enough
I first saw just the ending of "Brain Child" many years ago when fairly young; my family had been watching it (I walked in late) and said the character Joleen Collins (Robin Dearden) had an I.Q. of 200 (in fact, her I.Q. is never specified in the episode, though that's hardly important). As a supposedly 'gifted' kid myself (but nowhere even vaguely in sight of a 200 I.Q.), I was sorry I had missed most of the episode, as TV series with unusually smart characters was a rarity in those days.
Just recently, I finally saw the full episode on Dvd and was very impressed. I thought this was a remarkably sensitive and perceptive episode. The principal character, Joleen, is not a 'radiation accident' or 'genetically engineered' freak of some sort. She was just born with a remarkably gifted mind.
Her mother, an uneducated woman, couldn't relate to the quiet child who was seemingly only calmly rational and very emotionally subdued, and didn't think the child really needed her in any way, so she turned her over to a research institute where she could be properly educated.
But Joleen, naturally enough, feels abandoned and shunned, though even now she continues to express these feelings in intellectual terms. For example, she tells the scientists working with her that she wants to find her mother to 'learn more' about her past rather than out of emotional need.
Joleen is so naturally brilliant that at age 16 she is already learning advanced physics, is a talented pianist, speaks multiple languages, and is well-read in multiple fields including cultural anthropology and medicine. She designs an artificial intelligence named Max, perhaps her only real friend, and jokes with Max that she needs to find her 'Lancelot' to help her find her mother.
The Institute has tight security, as Joleen is seen as a valuable government asset, but she easily escapes and goes looking for her mother, last in Los Angeles. She runs into 'David' Banner (as a comics fan, never liked the name change from Bruce) who has car trouble. She offers to fix his car if he'll give her a ride to Los Angeles. David, who is no dummy himself, doesn't think anyone can fix the run down, hunk of junk car that he had been driving, so he agrees. When she fixes it easily, he balks at first in keeping his promise, but agrees when she produces a convincing-looking fake ID (generated by her computer pal Max), claiming she's 18 but just looks young.
David has to make a stop along the way to earn some money (as a laborer, working with migrant farm workers; Joleen is happy to work as well, as she has never experienced such a thing). David quickly realizes she's remarkably intelligent after she easily beats him in chess and exposes a local medicine woman as a fraud, exploiting the poor and ignorant laborers (the latter incident enrages the fake medicine woman, requiring Hulky's help; she witnesses his transformation but is not frightened by it.
David asks her what her story is. She tells him about herself to learn more about his 'condition' in exchange. She had likewise perceived that he is obviously educated yet does manual labor, seeming to be on the run from something. They quickly realize just how much they have in common as outsiders from most of society.
However, she doesn't want to lie to him any more and reveals that she's really only 16. David reluctantly realizes he has to turn Joleen over the police as she's a minor, so she can be returned to the Institute. But numerous twists follow...
I won't spoil the big denoument, but I will note that this episode had several outstanding elements:
1) Terrific performances all around, especially by Robin Dearden and Bill Bixby, but also good performances by the mother and even by such minor characters as the medicine woman, David's Latino farm worker friend, and the police and FBI, all portrayed realistically;
2) Joleen and Bruce's fast friendship, as she comes to see him as her 'Lancelot' and one of the few people who can understand her due to his own status as a freakish outsider;
3) Both Bruce and Joleen's strong humanism as they are obviously very kind and decent people who just happen to have very difficult lives. Even her mother is portrayed sympathetically; not as someone who hated or even disliked Joleen but rather as one who simply felt utterly irrelevant to Joleen's life, as she could not help her intellectual development and perceived Joleen as not needing her emotionally either, as Joleen always came across as strong and independent enough to be fine with the Institute and without her (and, in fact, Joleen is indeed strong and independent, but, like all children, does need her mother, though she has difficulty expressing that need);
4) Excellent writing, with even the segments of Joleen occasionally revealing flashes of her brilliance to be well-done, particularly for a 70's TV series. Unlike, for example, the laughably bad writing of William Shatner as a super-genius as a guest star on an episode of "Six Million Dollar Man" ('Burning Bright'), spouting nonsensically, the writing here is smart enough (by TV standards, anyway, though I'm not faulting TV series in general, as there is very little time to crank out those weekly episodes) that Joleen feels like an authentically brilliant young woman;
5) A very nicely done ending, which rang emotionally true to me and which I did not find even the slightest bit maudlin or cliche'd;
Overall, a fittingly brilliant episode (in my opinion, of course), apropos to the title character.
Basket Case (1982)
Remarkably effective low-budget horror film
SPOILER WARNING: This review reveals the ending.
Had seen this once as an early Vhs rental, probably in the late 1980's or early 1990's and barely remembered it. Just watched it again via purchased SWV Dvd, which is an excellent quality print.
For a low-budget movie, this was amazingly well-done. The acting was good and the story moved along at a crisp and economical pace. The special effects are understandably crude given the minimal budget this was made on, but still reasonably effective for what they were. Even the minor characters are sharply drawn and memorable. The lead three characters (Duane, Belial, and Duane's girlfriend Sharon, played by Terri Susan Smith) were all strong.
A tragic story that really could have ended only one way, I guess, although there was a plausible 'happy ending' scenario, if Duane had killed Belial so he could be with the girl. But their tie was too strong for that, and both of them were just too messed up. And I guess in a sense they did both 'deserve' to die for the terrible things they did, but they were still sympathetic characters nevertheless for the hell they had to go through, and at least Duane was trying to do 'the right thing' most of the time.
Looking forward to watching the various Dvd extras and also listening to director's commentary. Hennenlotter is definitely talented, but his creative output has been sparse. This was definitely worth the purchase price.
Yong chun da xiong (1976)
Not all that bad
I first saw this movie on late night TV many years ago. I only caught the ending, and thought it was very surreal and peculiar.
I recently saw the film again in its entirety, and it is far less bad than I expected or remembered. Sure, it is rife with inaccuracies (as are nearly all Bruce Lee biopics), but, surprisingly, it is significantly less inaccurate in my opinion than "Dragon, the Bruce Lee Story" (1993) with Jason Scott Lee and Lauren Holly. I enjoyed both films, but both were wildly inaccurate. But I felt this movie, surprisingly, was closer to the "spirit" of Lee's life than the much more recent American film. (I can go in great detail in comparing the relative inaccuracies of both films but I trust that is a topic of only minor interest here).
Bruce Lee was definitely a complex individual with many flaws, but also with a remarkable genius in his field-- martial arts. I've read many bios of Lee and have also met with, talked with, and even briefly trained with some of his students, first and second generation. My personal martial arts skills are very modest at best, but I do know quite a bit about Lee's life from personal research and reading.
This film does accurately portray Lee's distaste with negative Chinese stereotypes in American cinema. That element was touched upon in "Dragon" (1993) briefly but is explored much more here. The film also includes his probable affair with Betty Ting Pei, something which is never referred to in Dragon (presumably because it was based on his widow Linda's rather glowing and romanticized account of Bruce's life). It also touches on his overtraining and the outright hostility and opposition he faced in trying to become a genuine film star in worldwide (not just Hong Kong) cinema.
The fights herein are suitably ludicrous and unrealistic, but no less so than those in Dragon or in most martial arts movies, for that matter. Of course Lee never fought the world's heavyweight boxing champion in the ring or elsewhere, and it is doubtful he could survive that many hard hits. How he might have fared against Ali in a street fight is anyone's guess, but I would place the odds as fairly close, personally, although that would only be if he could avoid being hit (of course, in the ring, it would be no contest, and Lee would go down fast under the strict rules therein). I recommend Glover's book (mentioned below) for the reasons why. In fact, I encourage anyone interested in Lee to do their own research and draw their own conclusions, as there is a vast amount of good (and bad) information out there.
Is this a great film? Hardly. Is it terrible? I think not. If it inspires the viewer to learn more about the real details of Lee's life, it has served a useful purpose. At the very least, it does run close to the broad outlines of Lee's life, from Hong Kong to San Francisco to stardom. Lee's life has been documented in innumerable accounts, some of the best of which include, in my opinion, Robert Clouse's biography, "Bruce Lee: The Biography" and Jesse Glover's outstanding, if a bit hard to find, book, "Bruce Lee Between Wing Chun and Jeet Kune Do." (Glover was literally Lee's first friend in America and one of his earliest students). The latter in particular is a terrific read and highly recommended.
For further information, I also suggest contacting Bruce's first generation American student, Jim DeMile, a powerful martial artist based in Seattle. I have never met DeMile but know him by reputation as a formidable fighter and very knowledgeable; or Dan Inosanto, his senior student in Los Angeles, who is still teaching as far as I know.
Doctor Who: The Steel Sky (1966)
Quite awful, unfortunately
I'm a recent addition to Doctor Who fandom, having just started watching the original series a few months ago. I've really enjoyed it so far, having quite liked the broad expansiveness of the series (which allows for so many different scenarios) and the (mostly) clever writing. Some of my favorites so far have included Story 2 ("The Daleks"), Story 6 ("The Aztecs"), Story 8 ("Reign of Terror"), and Story 12 ("Romans").
Unfortunately, I found "The Ark" to be a big letdown. I decided to write a review to express what may be a minority viewpoint, but which I think makes points worth considering.
MAJOR SPOILERS FOLLOW:
"The Ark" (Story 23, William Hartnell, 1966). I thought it started out tolerably with the first two episodes about the ark itself, the human race's attempt to relocate, the spreading of the illness, and the Doctor finding a cure; this part was a bit dull but was watchable, I thought.
But I kind of hated the second two parts with the Monoids taking over. I vehemently disagree with the Doctor's claim that the humans only got what they deserved-- after watching this one three times (once with production notes, once with commentary), the humans treated the Monoids rather well in the first two episodes. True, they were in a subservient role, but they weren't abused, their rights were respected, and the humans even later let them develop voice boxes. Further, they were a race alien to Earth, and perhaps should have been grateful that the humans even allowed them to accompany them. But then in the last two episodes they become brutal overlords who want to gratuitously wipe out the human race! The silly moralism of the Doctor and the Refusians at the end rang quite false to me. About the only part I liked in the last two episodes is the part where Monoid Four, the rebel, drops his gun rather than fire on the Doctor.
In fact, it occurred to me that the message of this story is kind of the opposite of what was probably intended-- basically, if you show compassion to a foreign, alien race (by letting them escape the destruction of Earth with you), they will later turn on you and try to destroy you even if you treated them reasonably well! The story might possibly have worked if the humans mistreated the Monoids in the beginning and really did kind of 'deserve' what they got later. The actual message is almost one promoting xenophobia! The humans would have been better off just leaving the Monoids behind in the first place! The commentary had the annoying aspect of Peter Purves and the director praising how great the story supposedly was. It had a few decent ideas, I suppose, but nearly all of those were gleefully lifted from H.G. Wells or other sources.
American Geisha (1985)
Terrific movie
I was fortunate enough to record this wonderful film on late-night TV to VHS around the time it originally aired and have seen it many times since then. I'm sorry this movie isn't better known and hasn't had a proper DVD release, because I would surely buy it. Fortunately, the film is available to watch on YouTube and is well worth checking out.
The film is based on the true story of an American PhD student studying Japanese geisha culture. She was the first, and I believe the only, foreigner ever allowed to actually become a geisha, and the insights she gained as a result were remarkable.
The film also carries the motif of searching for meaning in one's life. In the case of the lead character, she is looking for her spiritual family; and in a very real sense, she finds it.
I urge whoever holds the rights to give this fine film a proper DVD release with commentary and extras.
Arrested Development: Switch Hitter (2005)
Who plays young Lucille Bluth?
Another great episode, I thought. My favorite part probably occurs where General Anderson tells Lucille to "go downtown" with ironic results! Many other great bits here, including the Teamocil reference, the chicken dance, and Ann as the Wall.
But the main reason for this post is to inquire: who is the actress who played young Lucille Bluth (as a USO dancer) in the black and white photographs? I see that Ryan Pickett is listed as young Oscar Bluth (uncredited) but for the life of me, I could not find the identity of the actress anywhere. I also didn't know where else to post to ask about this. Thanks to anyone who can provide more information.
Gojira ni-sen mireniamu (1999)
Just bad and a real letdown for fans of the big G
Egad, this was horrible. Unfortunately, the version I watched had only the awful, awful English dub, which featured an insufferable brat kid who delights in calling a female reporter an "imbecile" and such memorable dialogue as, "why does Godzilla always protect us?" with the "moving" (sarcastic) response, "I guess there's a little Godzilla in all of us."
More significantly, the storyline was incoherent, dumb and (worst of all) just boring. Basically, Godzilla resurfaces around the same time as an alien ufo that had been underwater for something like 60 million years, for no good reason. The alien (there only seems to be one) decides to somehow use "Godzilla cells" or some such nonsense to adapt to Earth's environment and synthesize a (yep) giant monster body, presumably to use to ravage humanity. Human weapons prove absolutely ineffective. The main human characters are a pro-Godzilla ex-scientist (the one with the idiotic ending dialogue quoted above) and his former friend (who more sensibly wants to kill Godzilla, but that guy turns out to be a moron as well). The brat kid is the daughter of the first guy. Godzilla spends most of the film letting himself get shot by both human and alien weaponry while he just roars, stands there, and takes it-- what is this sh**? What happened to the awesome king of the monsters? Finally, much too late into the movie, Godzilla starts using his atomic breath, which is about his only effective weapon here.
Naturally Godzilla ends up saving the Earth from the alien. But there is an idiotic scene afterward where the anti-Godzilla dude just yells at Godzilla and stands there like an idiot while Godzilla swats and kills him! Pro-Godzilla dude yells at anti-Godzilla dude to take cover and tries to save him, but the dork just ignores him and lets himself be killed. What was he doing, trying to prove he was a tough guy? In the dumbest way possible?
I'm a pretty big Godzilla fan, but this is not a movie I'll ever care to watch again.
Man of Steel (2013)
Good production values but a terrible script
Man of Steel (2013): Had avoided this one due to negative buzz but finally rented it. I thought this was reasonably well-made in terms of production values, but just an awful, awful movie with a terrible, horribly flawed script, riddled with illogical and poorly thought-out elements. I read a lot of comics and wanted to like this movie-- but I just couldn't.
My other major complaint is that Superman is just not terribly admirable in this one. He's supposed to be the greatest hero in the world, but here, he just isn't terribly heroic most of the time. Not a great 'role model' in any sense of the word. So much so, that I don't at all recommend this movie for younger kids, particularly given the film's depressing and violent elements. For older viewers, particularly fans of the character, the 'dark' elements aren't the major problem; rather, the poor script is what ruins it.
Corny as it was, I much prefer the original Christopher Reeves version to this one. I'm all for a more modern take on Superman with better effects, just with a better written and better thought out script than this one (and with a more heroic Superman).
(WARNING: SPOILER-HEAVY commentary follows).
****
****
****
First of all, I thought the back story was fundamentally flawed. As finally explained at about the 45 minute mark, over its thousands of years of history, Krypton colonized many, many other worlds, then inexplicably imposed population controls and just neglected the external outposts (basically just letting them die off). WTF? Then they exhausted their own planetary (Kryptonian) resources leading to incredibly unwise use of Krypton's planetary core's energy, which accelerated the planet's destruction. Huh? Isn't the whole purpose of colonization to expand one's resources? Why not populate the other worlds and use their resources, and thereby avoid the whole problem in the first place? This was just stupid.
There really should have been a better excuse given for the cause of Krypton's impending destruction rather than this self-inflicted idiocy.
This illogical element wasn't just a throwaway idea; it was an important plot element, in that Clark only learns about his past when he accidentally activates an ancient Kryptonian colonizing craft that had landed on Earth some 20,000 years ago. This activation is also the very thing that alerts Zod to Earth's existence.
Also, if the Kryptonians knew their planet was on the verge of destruction, what was the point of sentencing Zod and the others to the Phantom Zone? Why not just imprison them on Krypton, where they would just die with everyone else? This idiocy is the only reason Zod's crew survives at all (while everyone else dies). Why not just put the entire freakin' population into suspended animation in the Zone, where they would survive Krypton's death and at least have a chance of survival?
And why did Zod even bring Lois aboard the craft with Supes? That just gave her the means to set him free, but made no sense-- what did they need Lois for?
Then this whole nonsense with the Codex. Why put all that genetic info in some stupid, single device like that? Why not make a million backups of it just in case? And what the heck was it even supposed to do? That was very unclear. Zod vaguely suggests that they would somehow use the Codex to kill everyone on Earth. Huh? How would that create new Kryptonians? Why did they even need the stupid Codex? Why not just create new life the old-fashioned way?
Then the whole bizarre situation with Clark never doing a good job keeping his identity secret. Come on, someone decades ago would have figured it out.
Superman not only is not terribly helpful most of the time (other than very occasionally saving lives), but he is also the very one who inadvertently brings Zod to the Earth in the first place. Earth would have been better off without his arrival.
And that silly ending with him adopting the Clark Kent identity AFTER everyone on the freaking planet pretty much knows exactly who he is.
Suffice it to say, this was just too lame, illogical, and poorly constructed of a story for me. Superman's killing of Zod was actually one of the less bothersome aspects of the story by the end. There wasn't much choice at that point, and he was still a planetary threat.
I will give it this much, the effects were reasonably good, but that was hardly enough to save the movie, for me. The constant barrage of CGI effects toward the latter part of the movie actually got tiresome after a while.
Furious 6 (2013)
Fun for a while, but the ending killed it for me
I thought this was a reasonably fun movie for the most part, despite the fact that the events in it were utterly ludicrous. The stunts were, for the most part, fairly enjoyable to watch, ridiculous as they were, and the acting and the characters weren't bad at all. I liked the fact that the 'good' guys, while crooks, at least had a code and acted like a family.
But what ruined it utterly for me was the totally gratuitous ending. After every other member of the 'good' side survives repeated and, quite frankly, impossible brushes with death, they just gratuitously kill off Gal Gadot's character??? Just utterly stupid. It probably wouldn't have bothered me so much if at least some of the other 'good' characters had died as well, but no-- just the hot foreign chick, who I guess was 'expendable' from the point of view of the filmmakers.
The sole reason I rented this (I had not seen the previous five installments) was to see Gal Gadot, who I had not previously seen in a film, because I was curious to see if she could pull off her upcoming Wonder Woman role. Here, she quickly sold me on her beauty, charm, wit, and physical talent, and I think she'll do fine as Wonder Woman. But why did they kill her character off??? In such a totally pointless way? Then, seconds later, Vin Diesel casually walks away from a flaming wreck of a plane-- uh, yeah, that makes sense.
I downgraded my ranking from what probably would have been a 5 or a 6 (for the fun factor, despite being ridiculously unrealistic) because of that lousy ending.
Edit: I have since read via internet that Gal Gadot's character kind of 'had' to be killed off to make this story consistent with a previous movie, "Tokyo Drift" (which is set after the events of this movie) where her boyfriend (Han, played by Sung Kang) had already died. As a result, I upgraded my rating from 3 to 5.
Star Trek: The Deadly Years (1967)
Uncomfortable
This episode was an uncomfortable one and spotlights the negative effects of aging, particularly senility. Basically, a landing party is exposed to some strange radiation that causes all of them (except Chekhov for some reason) to age at an immensely accelerated rate. Rather than do the sensible thing and go straight to a nearby Starbase with better scientific facilities, Kirk stubbornly refuses to leave, even though he and his two chief scientific officers in this area (Spock and McCoy) are rapidly losing their ability to function.
The part where the Commodore orders the Enterprise across the Neutral Zone, though, is just silly. The excuse that he has 'never commanded a starship before' hardly explains why he would act like a complete moron without an ounce of common sense. I know they had to create a situation to allow Kirk to dramatically regain control and save the ship, but the ruse used here was also rather silly and much too pat.
I agree with the other reviewer that this episode is uncomfortable because it makes the elderly seem like doddering buffoons. This seems grossly exaggerated for dramatic purposes-- even at age 60-72, I doubt Kirk would be that decrepit. But, exaggerated as it is, it does highlight the horrific fact that the debilitating effects of aging can't be avoided, by anyone. This reviewer first saw this episode several decades ago and found it mildly amusing, but it is less so now, even though he isn't anywhere near that age yet.
Star Trek: Friday's Child (1967)
Not a great episode
This episode featured yet another situation where the Enterprise crew is forced to negotiate with an unfamiliar and somewhat primitive culture in order to obtain a much-needed resource (in this case, a valuable mineral). Here, the major complication is that a wily Klingon has preceded the Enterprise crew and is favored by at least one faction. In their second major appearance (after "Errand of Mercy"), the Klingons are portrayed fairly unfavorably here-- both treacherous and cowardly. The Klingons of the first appearance were brutal, all right, but seemed to have at least a rudimentary sense of honor, which is completely lacking here.
Julie Newmar plays the young wife who takes an odd shine to McCoy after he slaps her. Sheesh, I guess the way to a woman's heart is to be a roughneck? I know this is supposed to be a culture that values physical toughness, but one would think that women would be exempt from casual brutality, even one as annoying as her. She has a fairly thankless role here as the bratty and aloof first wife and is mostly wasted, especially for those of us who thought she was a great "Catwoman".
Probably the most interesting part of the episode was Scotty's cat and mouse game with a Klingon ship that uses a diversionary tactic that works once, but not twice on the clever engineer. Scotty was the real hero of this episode, staring down the Klingon ship and coming to Kirk's rescue. Chekhov had the funniest line here. Unfortunately, the bulk of the episode is rather dull, consisting mainly of the landing party's rather fumbling attempts to negotiate with a hostile and mostly unfamiliar culture.
Star Trek: Metamorphosis (1967)
Ode to loneliness
This was a nice, quiet episode that lacks some of the excitement and fanfare common to most episodes (for example, there are no real 'action scenes', such as the obligatory fight scene with Captain Kirk), but worked pretty well, at least for me.
This episode is mostly about the human need for contact and companionship. My favorite line is by the Companion, toward the end: "So this is loneliness. Oh, what a bitter thing. How could you stand it?" But fortunately Zefram Cochran learns to open his mind and accept the Companion for who she is, as well as to appreciate the depth of her sacrifice for him.
As a young kid, I found this episode somewhat maudlin, but I appreciate it much more now. Like "This Side of Paradise" (first season episode with Jill Ireland), a more apt term to describe this episode is "bittersweet". Both the Companion and Cochran gain, and lose, at the end: they gain the possibility for deeper companionship; but now both will age and die. Cochran, who has already lived a full life (before being healed and de-aged by the Companion), is willing to accept a quiet life instead of exploring the galaxy, to honor the Companion's sacrifice.
Star Trek: Journey to Babel (1967)
Provides helpful background for Spock
This was a pretty good episode, I thought. Spock's mysterious Vulcan and human parents are finally revealed, and some details of Spock's difficult childhood are revealed (although I suspect many fans immediately noticed that the actor playing Sarek, Mark Lenard, had recently played a Romulan in the episode "Balance of Terror"; even as a kid, I noticed this). Spock and his father Sarek are estranged here, and remain somewhat estranged for the rest of their lives, as revealed in Star Trek TNG ("Reunion" two part episode). Spock's overwhelming sense of duty to Starfleet doesn't seem all that misplaced here, in that the ship does very nearly come to destruction from alien attack, and Spock had figured out a key element of the alien technology that might have been helpful.
Fortunately, Kirk manages to pull things through on his own (as he always does), albeit with a rather corny 'playing dead' maneuver that would never work in reality (why didn't the alien ship just blast the Enterprise from a safe distance?) My only major complaint is the portrayal of Spock's mother, Amanda. She comes across as the stereotypical flighty emotional human female. Indeed, it is difficult to see why Sarek married her-- unless he simply had the hots for her (during a convenient Pon Farr event, perhaps, when he happened to meet her?) Amanda is blatantly inconsistent here-- she says she 'can't risk both Spock and Sarek', yet later insists that Spock undergo the dangerous experimental procedure in order to save Sarek's life and even slaps Spock when he initially declines.
Star Trek: I, Mudd (1967)
Mildly amusing
This was one of the only episodes that referenced another episode-- the first season episode "Mudd's Women" which also features the character Harry Mudd. The premise is that slightly charming rogue Harry Mudd has escaped his prior captivity and now has nominal control over powerful androids, created by some advanced race, which basically act like 'benevolent dictators'-- attending to human needs, but not allowing the humans to leave their presence. The Enterprise crew are their most recent captives, and Kirk's dilemma is figuring out a way to escape the androids.
There were some decent comedic moments here, but I agree with one of the other reviewers that this episode uses, once again, the tired old shtick of "using illogic against a computer", which really wouldn't work. Basically, the crew start acting illogically, which somehow causes the androids to lose functioning because they "can't handle" the illogic-- which is really just the inappropriate anthropomorphic ascribing of 'emotional stability/sanity' to androids. This is comparably silly to thinking that typing nonsense commands to a computer would somehow destroy the computer. It wouldn't; the computer just wouldn't "respond" at all.
The episode really doesn't amount to much. A mildly amusing diversion at best.
Star Trek: Catspaw (1967)
Interesting change of pace
While this episode did have some silly elements, I thought it worked reasonably well overall as an interesting change of pace for the series.
The Enterprise crew encounter a mysterious and very alien race with the ability to read into the 'racial unconscious' of the human brain. The aliens tap into very basic, primal fears, relating to the supernatural.
Kirk, Spock and McCoy quickly realize that the aliens have potent powers of illusion and telepathy but limited firsthand knowledge of human culture or technology, which gives them the edge they need to prevail. I thought the portrayal of the true forms of the aliens, at the end, was among the most interesting in "Star Trek"-- very different from the typical human-like and humanoid form.
This was one of the rare episodes in which the initial landing party did not consist of Kirk, Spock, and McCoy, but rather Scotty, Sulu, and several others. As a result, when Kirk, Spock and McCoy beam down, the officer left in charge is the Assistant Chief Engineer DeSalle, in what I believe was his only appearance. In other episodes, Scotty and Sulu had been shown as next in the chain of command after Kirk and Spock. I thought maybe Uhura would be placed in command, but alas it was not to be.
Star Trek: The Doomsday Machine (1967)
Passable only
In this episode, the Enterprise encounters a 'doomsday' machine created by some unknown advanced alien race. The massive machine is capable of destroying entire solar systems, and starships are little more than annoying gnats to it.
The Enterprise comes across the shattered remains of another Federation vessel (the Constellation) that attempted to battle the machine. The sole survivor of that vessel is the badly traumatized Commodore Decker, who briefly commandeers the Enterprise in a misguided and suicidal attempt to destroy the machine, which seems totally impervious to phaser attack.
My favorite part of the episode occurred when Kirk ordered Spock to relieve Decker of command. Curiously, even though Decker outranked Kirk, Spock still obeyed. Kirk, as usual, wasn't taking any sh** when it came to the safety of his own ship, even from a superior officer.
This was a moderately amusing episode, but the resolution was a little too easy in my opinion (blowing up the machine from the inside with a single starship). My main question was, why didn't the machine just obliterate the ship before it could even get close, when it obviously had the power to fire enormous blasts of destructive energy? Also, the 'doomsday machine' hardly seems like that dangerous a threat if a single starship can routinely incapacitate it.
For some strange reason, Uhura was replaced here by a completely different communications officer, who got a moderately important speaking role here. No appearance by Chekov. The most important player was probably Scotty, who managed to get the damaged Constellation moving.
Star Trek: The Apple (1967)
Pretty weak
After a fairly strong start for the second season ("Amok Time", "Who Mourns for Adonais", and "Mirror Mirror"), this clunker came along. Mostly a silly retread of previous story ideas.
Basically, the Enterprise crew are exploring a planet which seems idyllic, but turns out to have deadly plants and explosive rocks (for no good reason; why are there deadly dangers in paradise??), as well as a simple native race that worship a sophisticated machine they don't understand and deify as an entity called "Valla". Valla's story is never really explained; it inexplicably provides for the natives' needs while needing periodic 'feeding' for some strange reason. Valla basically serves as a plot device to temporarily disable the Enterprise and place the ship and crew in mortal danger (yet again). Valla's oddest shtick is its ability to control the weather and direct deadly lightning bolts at ground targets. Kirk's dilemma is to take out Valla and free both his ship and the natives from their seemingly benevolent dictator.
Not much different here than in "Return of the Archons", which had a very similar theme. Slightly better resolution than in that episode, though, where Kirk lamely used "superior human logic" to "trick" the machine into destroying itself. Here, the machine puts up a better fight but goes down to the Enterprise's focused attack.
Some mildly amusing silliness here about the natives' ignorance about physical love, inspired by Chekov's cute girlfriend, played by Celeste Yarnall.
This episode does have some minor significance, as I believe it is the first episode in which the Prime Directive is mentioned (though I think it's referred to as something like 'code of noninterference'), which I don't remember being mentioned in "Return of the Archons".
Star Trek: Mirror, Mirror (1967)
A personal favorite
This episode is probably my personal favorite of the original series. It wasn't perfect, but it came pretty close, which is a remarkable achievement considering the severe budgetary and time limitations involved in putting together a regular weekly series. Excellent acting, scripting, and pacing, with nary a dull moment.
The premise is that Kirk, McCoy, Scotty and Uhura somehow get transposed with their "evil" counterparts from a parallel universe in which the Federation is a brutal, conquering force, somewhat similar to the Klingons. Kirk and company have to figure out how to get home; meanwhile, Kirk tries to leave some positive mark on this alternate universe before he leaves...
Some really nice touches in this episode. Subtle differences in the two ships and in the two crews. Kirk and company conveniently beaming up in the correct uniforms for that universe really didn't make sense, but was an understandable part of the writing to facilitate their covert infiltration of the new ship. The tough, bearded Spock may have been the most interesting incarnation portrayed by Nimoy on the series.
Shatner was also in superb form here, and even Nichelle Nichols got a chance to shine, for once. Barbara Luna did a fine job as the sultry siren with a heart of gold.
What makes this episode so great, to me, is that Kirk not only manages to effect the inevitable escape-- but he also leaves a lasting positive effect on the parallel universe, through potent rhetoric and oratory to the one honorable man, Spock. The implication is that the Marlena character will become the consort of bearded Spock as the new Captain ("you're the Captain's woman until he tells you otherwise"; also, she shares the secret of the Tantalus Field). Considering her earlier expressed admiration for Spock, this actually works out okay for both of them.
I found it a bit too convenient, though, that the "good" Spock was so easily able to confine the evil versions of Kirk and company. I would think there would be serious chain of command problems involved, even if Spock had strong evidence for some sort of transposition. But given the limitations of the format, it was an acceptable solution to avoid complicating the plot even further. As it was, this was a superbly ambitious episode that crammed quite a bit of story into a short space. The clever bridge scene with the alternate Marlena made for a fine ending.
Star Trek: The Changeling (1967)
Inspiration for Star Trek: The Motion Picture, which was better
As others have noted, this episode was the inspiration for Star Trek: The Motion Picture, involving the powerful Vejur entity. But the movie had a much more satisfying resolution, and was sort of an "improved" version of this episode.
Basically, the Enterprise encounters an immensely powerful space probe that originated on Earth (Nomad), was subsequently altered by contact with a much more powerful alien probe, and now seeks to "sterilize" all "imperfections", which include "biological units". In other words, it threatens to wipe out all biological life, and it has the power to do it. The only thing that saves the Enterprise, at first, is that the machine mistakenly thinks Kirk is its creator, solely because of damage to its databanks and the similarity of Kirk's name to that of the true creator, "Roykirk", from centuries ago on Earth, and the machine somewhat inexplicably chooses to obey instructions from its perceived creator.
The episode did have some impressive dramatic moments, like the demonstrations of Nomad's power-- able to fire warp 15 energy bolts supposedly containing the power of 90 photon torpedos (which really should have obliterated the Enterprise with one shot, rather than taking five!); able to increase engine efficiency of the Enterprise to reach at least warp 11; able to absorb a direct hit with a photon torpedo, with no damage whatsoever; able to restore a recently killed crewman (Scotty).
The immense power of the being, and the fact that it is inevitably going to discover that Kirk is an "imperfect biological entity" and wipe out all humankind, creates an interesting enough dilemma for the crew to solve, but the resolution was really pretty silly. Kirk basically "outwits" the "perfect" and almost inconceivably sophisticated Nomad by pointing out that Nomad erred in concluding he was its creator; therefore, Nomad must 'sterilize' itself.
This sort of pat and convenient ending was hardly a plausible one, for many reasons. First, it was hardly believable that Nomad would have made the initial mistake that Kirk was its creator. Even if it had the name "James Kirk" in its damaged databanks for some reason instead of the correct name "Roykirk", it seems doubtful that a computer that advanced would have just assumed, without more information, that this was the same man who was its creator. More importantly, wouldn't it have long ago realized that it was created by the "inferior" biological units anyway? So even meeting its creator should hardly have impressed it; unless it had some residual programming that 'required' that it obey its creator-- in which case it shouldn't have mattered if it knew whether Kirk was biological or not! (and Kirk could have just ordered it to destroy itself, while it was under the illusion that Kirk was its creator). Finally, even if Nomad didn't already know that Kirk was a "mere biological unit", it was so advanced and powerful that it should have detected that fact right away upon encountering him without needing Kirk to "slip up" later and spill the beans.
There really could be no 'happy' resolution here, in that Nomad had nothing left but an odd cold malevolence: the mission to 'sterilize' all imperfection, including all biological life. The silly ending in which Kirk "out-logics" the supreme computer was basically a necessary "cop out" to get out of an impossible situation.
In The Motion Picture, the result is much more satisfying. There, Vejur is not as malevolent as Nomad, but instead seeks to seek out and acquire all knowledge in the universe, a pretty lofty goal. Vejur is portrayed as a 'child' that yearns to know its 'roots', to learn how it was created, which leads it to trace its origins to Earth's systems and seek out its creator there. When the truth is revealed to it, the creature embraces this fact and merges with the descendants of its creator (in that case, Decker and Ilja). Certainly a much more satisfactory resolution.