Houdini

No doubt, this two-part mini series is entertaining.

However, one would have expected something airing on the History Channel to stay a little closer to the truth. Houdini a spy? Pah-lease. For the details of what was constructed out of thin air you may consult Wild About Harry.

The series could also have done with a little more structure. Linear is always nice when it comes to a biography, That way one could also limit the voice overs. Not a fan of voice overs, even in the sexy voice of Adrien Brody.

My biggest issue was probably with the music. The score was made up of mostly heavy metal/industrial type music. I kid you not. This, cool though it may be, seemed really out of place for a story set in the early twentieth century.

The acting, from all involved, was very good. Adrien Brody is brilliant as ever, as was the woman playing his wife Bess (Kristen Connolly, who looked awfully familiar to me, but I cannot place her. Looking at her filmography doesn't help. Cabin in the Woods couldn't possibly have left that much of an impression and I have seen next to nothing else she was in.), and the (invented) assistant Jim was lovable in all his childish adoration of The Great Houdini (he also looked oddly familiar, but that is probably because he reminds me Flea, but what I probably know him from is 8 Mile).

Anyway, if it is entertainment you are looking for, look no further.

If you want to know more about Harry Houdini, go here.

6/10

Muder in the Heartland

The story of Charles Starkweather, who went on a two-months killing spree with his under age girlfriend Caril Ann Fugate in December 1957 and January 1958 has been told in several versions, sometimes depicting the actual story and other times merely using the story as inspiration.

This 1993 TV mini series probably stays the closest to the real story. The first part covers the 11 murders committed by Starkweather, who later claimed that Fugate was a willing participant, changing his initial story that she had nothing to do with the murders. Fugate always maintained her innocence, claiming she had been held hostage by Starkweather, who threatened to kill her family (her mother, stepfather and half-sister were among the first victim, Fugate denied knowing they were already dead).

Part two deals with the aftermath - the police investigation, the extradition of Starkweather to be tried in Nebraska rather than Wyoming (both states had the death penalty but he said to prefer the Nebraskan electric chair to Wyoming's gas chamber), the extent of Fugate's involvement in the crimes.

Tim Roth plays Charles Starkweather in his usual brilliant manner and Fairuza Balk is actually surprisingly good in this, as well (she usually plays weirdos rather than the precocious young girl).

Pretty decent TV adaption.

7/10

The Lost World

This BBC mini series is based on the novel by Arthur Conan Doyle. A group of would be adventurers sets out to find a plateau in Amazon, where Professor Challenger believes to find dinosaurs.

The first travel to a missionary base, run by Reverend Theo Kerr, where the hire a group of natives to carry their belongings and join them on their trip. The Reverend's niece, Agnes, sets off together with the team of explorers. The natives soon get spooked off. As soon as they disappear, Reverend Kerr joins the group, but for rather sinister reasons. As soon as they reach the plateau he blocks what they believe is their only way back down.

The professor and his team do find dinosaurs. First they encounter the friendly, plant eating ones but soon after they are faced with the more deadly variety. But the dangers of the region do not stop there. They are attacked by a group of ape men and in in the middle of their conundrum they are joined by some natives that live on the plateau.

The explorers then stay with the natives and together they face the daily perils of life among wild creatures until one day, Professor Summerlee manages to mix an explosive together, blasting a way through a blocked off tunnel.

They triumphantly return to England, but at the very last moment, in the middle of an event celebrating their discoveries, they change their minds about exposing the people and creatures living on the plateau to the so-called civilized world. They declare the stories and rumors of the dinosaur encounters a hoax.

I don't know how close this is to the actual text, but it was thoroughly entertaining and well cast.

7/10