THE MIDDLEMAN
Season 1 Episode 4
“The Manicoid Teleportation Conundrum”
Written by Tracey Stern
Directed by Jeremiah Chechik


So Ben, Wendy’s “sexually ambiguous doorknob of a boyfriend,” posts that video he took of his breakup with Wendy (the one he claimed was for a class project) on the Internet, and it’s gotten 750,000 hits in a single day.
And that’s just the start of it…
Then, while Wendy’s cyberspace humiliation rages, she’s in for a Pop Quiz Day, courtesy of the Middleman, while some curiously odd-looking rich people are disappearing, only to reappear on the exact spot of their disappearance, minus their heads…


On the heels of the previous episode’s luchador hijinx, this one isn’t quite the quantum improvement I was hoping for.
Yes, there’re some references to Tears For Fears and Italian zombie movies (in particular, Zombi 2; go, Lucio Fulci!), as well as some 24, but those don’t a good episode make.
And the Dr. Phil jab really isn’t all that funny either…


(Middleman images courtesy of abcfamily.go.com; Zombi 2 25th Anniversary Special Edition 2-Disc Set DVD cover art courtesy of amazon.com.)

AFTERTHOUGHTS (93)
ARGENTO AT THE EGYPTIAN

Argento fans down Hollywood way should be quite the happy bunch.
Kicking off tomorrow and on through till July 24, American Cinematheque runs Italian Grindhouse: Assault of the Deadly Celluloid, exclusively at the Egyptian Theater (6712 Hollywood Boulevard), where these classic Argento gems will be screening:



As part of Saturday’s (July 12) Giallo Triple Feature, 1971’s 4 mosche di velluto grigio (Four Flies on Grey Velvet) and Argento’s feature debut, L’uccello dalle piume di cristallo (The Bird with the Crystal Plumage), from 1970.
Note that 4 Mosche di velluto grigio is not currently available on DVD, so that one’s a rarity.
The third title of the Triple Feature is Alberto Negrin’s Enigma rosso (Red Rings of Fear), from 1978, also currently unavailable on DVD.


More classic Argento can be had on Thursday (July 17), when 1975’s Profondo rosso (Deep Red) screens as part of a Double Feature.
The other half of the bill: Massimo Dallamano’s Il dio chiamato Dorian (The Secret of Dorian Gray), from 1970, and also currently unavailable on DVD.


So, till Argento’s upcoming Giallo—starring Adrien Brody—hits the screens next year, these’ll have to do…
A full schedule can be found at AmericanCinematheque.com; also in the line-up, a clutch of spaghetti westerns, crime films, and some Tinto Brass rarities.

Parting shot: Reviews of Argento's Suspiria and Inferno can be found in the Archive.

(Images courtesy of impawards.com [Four Flies on Grey Velvet OS]; princeplanetmovies.blogspot.com [L’uccello dalle piume di cristallo OS]; cinefantastiqueonline.com [Deep Red OS]; and darioargento.it [Argento directing Brody on the set of Giallo].)