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scottflacy
Reviews
Bonanza: The Avenger (1960)
A classic
Bonanza always stood for good overcoming evil. I don't typically seek out violent films or even action films. But the bad guys on Bonanza are so malignantly evil and so deeply unlikable that I live for those scenes where the Cartwrights get justice in the end. There's nothing better than seeing a bad guy get what's coming.
This is the best of this breed of episode. And Vic Morrow shines as the mysterious stranger who shows up just in time to save Ben and Adam from certain death. The scene where Morrow walks slowly into the bar like he owns it (along with everyone around him) is a master class in physical drama.
Last Days of Chinatown (2017)
Deeply affecting
This is a sneaky little film that packs a huge wallop. Director Nicole McDonald deftly avoids oversentimentality as she chronicles the slow death of Detroit's historic Cass Corridor neighborhood. Her narration is stoic, hypnotic and deeply affecting. By the end of the 65-minute run time, I had grown to care deeply about a neighborhood that isn't mine, populated by people I've never met. Last Days of Chinatown is not just a eulogy. It's a meditation on wealth, urban renewal, and the innocent people who find themselves in the cross-hairs when a major American city attempts to remake itself.
Bonanza: Bank Run (1961)
I despise this episode
If you believe TV characters are sock puppets for a director's imagination, as Robert Altman clearly did, you'll love this episode. But if you're invested in the consistency between Bonanza episodes and believe Joe and Hoss are honorable guys and not raffish buffoons, you won't.
Glad that weren't many episodes like this one.