Ken's Blog

"The Chalet" is a six episode 2017 French murder mystery set in the French Alps produced by Netflix. The dialog is in French with English subtitles. The premise is a group of childhood friends reunite in a remote village for a wedding. A landslide destroys the only road in and out, trapping everyone there. Soon people start being killed in a manner that reminded me slightly of the famous Agatha Christie mystery "And Then There Were None." But the story here flips back and forth between events in the present (2017) and 20 years earlier in 1997. As the story unfolds the reasons for the killings slowly emerges. A reclusive genius mathematician living in the village who apparently won the Fields Medal also plays a part. I thought the series was very well acted and the scenery is beautiful. The suspense builds from episode to episode as more people fall victim and the story from the past builds. You can read more about it here:  https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8168678/

"The Invasion" is a 2007 science fiction film starring Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig, based on the 1955 novel by Jack Finney titled "Invasion of the Body Snatchers". This film is actually the fourth movie based on the novel, other versions appearing in 1956, 1978 and 1993. The basic premise is an alien microbe infects humans and takes over their consciousness while they sleep, resulting in a person without feeling or emotions. Though many critics disliked this version of the story, I enjoyed it for the fast pace, nail biting action sequences, quality of the two lead actors, and more modern scientific interpretation (DNA wasn't known in 1955). To me the most significant aspect of the story is the loss of identity and the fact people you deal with may not in fact be the people you think they are. This theme is similar to two of my favorite films "The Thing" (the 1982 and 2011 versions; not the version from the 1950's which deviates completely from...