Top Ten Best 4th Movie in a Series

 1) Star Trek 4 The Voyage Home

2) Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol - kind of forgotten now but the first really good one

3) Mad Max Fury Road - the second will always be the best for me but this was outstanding

4) The Pink Panther Strikes Again - the 4th Sellers, it works because it's got a good idea

5) Rocky IV - pure junky Cold War fun

6) American Reunion - they didn't stuff it up, and did some different things

7) The Bourne Legacy - inadequate star but good film

8) Fast and Furious - oddly the fourth one kicked off the series

9) Mothra vs Godzilla

10) Friday the 13th part 4 The Final Chapter (honrable mention to Nightmare on Elm St 4)

Worst 4th entries

1) Terminator Salvation - who cares

2) Superman 4 - you could weep

3) Lethal Weapon 4 - tired, lazy

4)  Police Academy 4 Citizens on Patrol - though it does have Sharon Stone

5) Batman and Robin - not that bad but pretty bad

6) Jaws the Revenge

7) Men in Black International

8) Hunger Games Mockingjay - drag that sucker out!

9) Jurassic World

10) Depiscable Me 4

Boook review - "Donovan's Brain" by Curt Siodmak (1942)

 Siodmak's riff on Frankenstein - a doctor doing experiments in the desert comes caross a dying millionaire, saves his brain, the brain takes him over. So it's a battle for possession really and it works in novel format because we're hearing the guy's thoughts and Donovan's thoughts. Told in diary form.

It's a lot of fun, gripping to read.

Movie review - "McEnroe" (2022) ***1/2

 Documentary on the famous tennis player. Sympathetic though there's plenty of footage of him being a brat. I mean, he really swore - so did other players of the time. I love how he was the nerd and Vitas and Bjorg were so cool - they are really really cool even in flashback. Tatum O'Neal looks so pretty in the footage of her. He admits to many flaws. His wife and kids seem to really love him.

TV review - "The Bear Season 3" (2024) **1/2

 A reluctance to put its characters through the wringer, stars directing episodes, boring guest stars (John Cena sticks out like a sore thumb, Josh Harnett not much better), unresolved plot lines that are unresolved in uninteresting ways... it's the third season blues. Carmy used to have an obstacle to overcome, his family and the obstacles of a restaurant, now it's mostly him being a boor and causing trouble. Too many flashback eps, and episodes that repeat what we know. Also th final party... why are our regulars so heavily involved? I mean Carmy worked there but the cousin dude only for a short time... wouldn't Olivia Coleman celebrate at her own place?

Movie review - "Friday the 13th Part 4 The Final Chapter" (1984) ***

 It's great to see a few more familiar faces in the series: Crispin Glover as a camper and Corey Feldman as a 12 year old boy.

Joseph Zito, director, tried to make a good movie that hits the beats and this gives you what you need - old lore, new lore, some cool deaths, some deaths that are repeated, attractive cast taking their clothes off and getting killed, lack of logic. The hockey mask. Some hot twins. A character seeking revenge against Jason (such a logical character you wonder why they didn't use that earlier... I also love it how the character he's related to was just some random girl killed having sex and no one important i.e. the final girl from the first film or something). There's a stoner watching a stag film from the 1920s.

Feldman isn't in it much - his sister has a bigger part. But he's in the bonkers vlimax where he shaves his head and hacks into Jason. Having a 12 year old in it gives it more guts as does the fact his mother is killed.

This was a lot of fun.

Bruce Willis Top Ten Films

No TV so no Moonlighting.

 1) Die Hard (1988) - I'll get this over with

2) Pulp Fiction (1994)

3) Look Who's Talking (1989) - his voice did help

4) The Last Boy Scout (1991) - can't believe it wasn't a bigger hit

5) Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995) - the best of the sequels

6) Armageddon (1998) - craptacular fun

7) Sin City (2005) - kind of forgotten now but fun in its day

8) Looper (2012) - he would take these risks and they would pay off 

9) 12 Monkeys (1995)

10) Planet Terror (2005

I can't think of any other top Hollywood star who took as many risks.

Another one for fun, top ten Bruce fiascos

1) North

2) The Story of Us

3) The Bonfire of the Vanities

4) Hudson Hawk

5) Blly Bathgate

6) Color of Night

7) Four Rooms

8) Perfect Stranger

9)  Cop Out 

10) Breakfast of Champions

Even those are interesting. "Fiascos" is probably mean. They are, mostly, big swings - what an interesting star he was.