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A few reviews . . (film or TV) — Page 8

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The City And The City - 2018 - 7/10

Inspired, tech-noir adaptation of China Miéville’s novel.
A murder is committed in Ul Qoma, the body is dumped in Besźel.
Very tricky situation this, as both cities occupy the same geographical space, though in different dimensions / realities / planes.
Inhabitants of Besźel are forbidden to view Ul Qoma, and vice versa.
Anyone caught “seeing” will be dealt with brutally. Both cities are police states, maintaining rocky order.
A Besźel inspector is assigned the murder case, and he must navigate around politicians, extremist groups, archaeologists, capitalists, and the secretive, ever-present Control agency, Breach.
This recalls divided cities such as Berlin or Jerusalem, as well as nebulous worlds of Kafka and PK Dick.
Challenging and intellectually superior to countless copper programs.

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Aquarela - 2018 - 6/10

Visual presentation of water. Icebound, sheets of rain, rising floodwaters.
Message film showing the influence of global warming on water.
The first 49 minutes reveal autos crashing through once solid ice short-cuts, and glaciers calving icebergs.
Followed by rain swept seas. Finally, submerged towns and residences.
Politicians are doubtless working round the clock to reverse potential catastrophe.
Waterworld came out in 1995, in case someone argues we never saw this coming.

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Faneditors, take note

Eden And After - 1970 - 7/10
AKA - L’éden et Après

Audacious, challenging, at times perplexing story will baffle many, put others to sleep.
For people who do not like foreign cinema, French films, this is a poster child for every element you hate.
There is next to no plot. College students chill in a museum construct cafe, attend classes, engage in sexual politics (meaning a load of nudity and talking).
At its core, this is a mystery. One coed owns a valuable painting from her uncle, a deceased artist.
They steal it, or try to steal it, transport her to Algeria, there is a doppelganger, murders, vague resolutions.
A flood of images, difficult ambiant score, this can be a hypnotic ride if you immerse yourself.
I quite enjoyed this - but - everyone else watching with me walked. Beware.

… stay with me …

N. a Pris les Dés… - 1971 - 5/10
AKA - N. Took The Dice

So … director Robbe-Grillet took his previous film, Eden And After, recut it, inserted outtakes and additional footage, then recombined it into … a … an almost incomprehensible muddle.
Nevertheless, for those who enjoy experimental cinema, there is quite a bit to appreciate.
This moves differently, and is like a fable being told by our narrator, “N”
It is more hallucinatory. Ofttimes, the doings in the desert mirror cafe sequences.
Concepts of doppelgangers and parallel realities
Unlike the previous version, there is no nudity.
I would recommend viewing this one after the earlier film.

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French Sex Murders - 1972 - 5/10
AKA - Casa d’appuntamento

Watchable Italian Giallo revolving around, surprise, a serial killer!
After an opening leap from the Eiffel Tower, flashbacks swirl.
The villain is especially despicable as he is swiping jewels from the church. Stealing from God!
Then, in a very wise move, he decides to hide in a sporting house packed with juicy hotties.

Five minutes later, he is on the run again. This time for murder!
He better flee quick because Humphrey Bogart is on his tail.

Bogie lookalike Roberto Sacchi plays the police inspector and is the main reason to watch this confused mess.
Oh, yes, Anita Ekberg is the brothel madam, and the professor’s assistant resembles Carl Sagan.
There is a decent amount of nudity, coupling, chases, stabbings, beheadings.
The pace percolates briskly. Even when flaws and plot gaps a mile wide, we could not nitpick them because another crazy scene crashed and we were lured back in.
One sorry movie that will appeal to - - you know who you are.

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Yakuza Goddess: Erotic Code Of Honor - 1973 - 6/10
AKA - Yakuza Kannon: Iro Jingi // やくざ観音 情女仁義

A monk rescues a young woman from a group of mob enforcers.
Soon afterward, they succumb to fevered passions and share fluids beside a raging waterfall.
She is the daughter of a Yakuza boss – and – as it turns out, half sister to the monk.
Shame, guilt, mortification? Nope. Instead, “Oh, that explains why we are attracted to each other!”
Their couplings rollick along, amidst chases and intergang shootouts.
The artistry in this pinku leaves a lot to be desired.
Any sequence with bush brushing is obscured by a big black square.

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The Last Tree - 2019 - 6/10

Femi lives in the countryside with his foster mother.
He has friends, does well in school, is accepted and liked.
His mother arrives, however, asserts her custody rights, and drives him to her London council flat.
Household chores and duties are assigned. Non compliance earns physical punishment.
Essentially a character study of Femi, an arc from innocent child to gang leader’s lieutenant.
Narrative is less than fluid, viewers will have to pay attention, fill in gaps, make assumptions.

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Babylon Berlin - 2017 - 8/10

Exceptional series set in Weimar Berlin.
A train, streaking from the Soviet Union, is hijacked into Germany amidst bloodshed and conspiracy.
Police, city and state, chase thin trails into nightclubs, embassies, bordellos, pornography studios.
Cops vs the Red Front, Soviet spies vs Whites, gangsters and embezzlers.
Berlin in the late 20’s, early 30’s was an anything goes place and this series captures that.

Knowledge of the Weimar era is not essential, but would certainly help.
Production values are excellent, this is a gritty, well designed thriller.
Several of the set pieces, nightclub sequences in particular, are spectacular.
S01 builds, S02 follows immediately and is the payoff.

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Babylon Berlin: S03 - 2020 - 6/10

When will I ever learn? After one or two seasons, inspiration and creative fire for most shows ebb away.
So too here, the third installment of a series which dazzled over the course of two back-to-back seasons.
Where the narrative once took bold leaps within a dynamic Weimar Berlin, now the plot inches incrementally.
The threads seem smaller. Murders on a film set. (The troubled film, “Dämonen der Leidenschaft,” may remind decadent buffs of Sebastian Droste’s work in “Tragödie der Macht”.)
Gereon’s personal problems, Charlotte’s family and career problems, Greta’s incarceration.
The minutes creep doggedly by. Bits of an arc advance here, piece of action there.
The Hollywood writing room crutch of “milking” a series, of dragging the pace in order to stretch an eight episode series into twelve, is sadly and shamefully evident.
Babylon Berlin becomes another dull soap opera (thanks, Netflix), which is regrettable because this had been, for me, a thrilling show.

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Die Muse Des Mörders - 2018 - 6/10
AKA - The Murderer’s Muse

Blue smoke curls from the crushed cigarette, drifting away like memories best forgotten.
The glass of wine Is now lukewarm, sour, like the restless audience that came to see a has-been.
Madeleine, the matriarch of crime fiction, has outlived her era.
Her books sell poorly. Younger generations want flashier, if lesser, writers.

Out of the blue, an unknown killer leaves a victim, and stages the scene from an episode in her book.
Even better for her comatose career, he / she proves to be a serial killer, copying from more of her novels!
Murder, ain’t that a kick?
Decent mystery / thriller is predictable, but has sharp dialogue.

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Don Wilson Of The Navy - 1942 - 6/10

Twelve part serial does double duty as recruiting tool.
Don and his sidekick Red fight a band of saboteurs, kidnappers, and all around traitors.
Led by the ever dastardly Scorpion who seems to have acquired Emperor Ming’s video communicator.
Underground bases, secret submarines, car chases, loads of fisticuffs.
Don and Red wear their Navy whites throughout and those seldom stain or get dirty.
Most of the cliffs are cheats, and, dastardly as Scorpion is, there is no reason for his activities.

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The Devil’s Honey - 1986 - 5/10
AKA - Il Miele del Diavolo

Cecilia is in love with saxophonist Gaetano.
Though he is domineering and demanding, his instrument purrs her fancy.
Then an accident, surgical errors, and Cecilia is left lonely.
Where most would be steeped with regret, she is aflame with vengeance.

I’m unsure how to categorize this Fulci flick.
It is so over the top with sexual misbehavior, layers of domination, trashiness.
Nudity throughout. A saxophone solo is unforgettable, as is bright red nail polish.
Let’s not forget collars and leashes!
Although steeped in sleaze, a series of flashbacks add depth to Cecilia’s character.

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Black Sea - 2014 - 6/10

Pay attention to those opening credits - that’s the back story.
Submarine skipper (Jude Law) is laid off.
Actually, the mega maritime salvage organization no longer needs subs.
Then he gets approached for a shady job.
Deep in the Black Sea, a sunken Nazi sub filled with gold.
All he has to do is assemble a crew, half Russian, half West, and retrieve the loot using a derelict Soviet sub.
Communication problems, augmented by greed, transform the crew into factions.
As with all sub flicks, claustrophobic, damp, and gloomy dark.
Decent twists midway, then again late.
Sturdy male cast led by Mr Law, no longer the slick pretty boy, who delivers another gritty performance.

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Inside The SS - 2017 - 5/10

Indifferent account of the SS, pushed by a droning narrator, the script peppered with ongoing judgments.
Perhaps just as well, because this is primarily interviews with ex SS servicemen.
The elite, the cream. While a few are remorseful, most remain unrepentant.
Proud of their service, justified in their actions, many still attend SS conventions.
Afterward, I wondered how strong was their indoctrination. Is racial hatred simply in our DNA?
Or, as a species, are humans flat out not so great as we think we are?
The color work of this is quite good.

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Relic - 2020 - 6/10

When the 80 year old mother does not answer the door, the sheriff phones her daughter.
Daughter Kay and her daughter, Sam, drive to the lonely country home and discover Gram is missing.
The community searches the woods in vain, and the two females began cleaning the home.
And then Gram returns, in and out of cognizance. One minute, razor sharp, the next a mind fog.

There is something wrong, however, very wrong.
The older woman insists “something” got into the house, though clearly she suffers dementia.
Very much a psychological horror / closet horror, with three characters. The three female generation.
Along with the riddle of the house, with develops throughout the film.
Female viewers may value this more than males.
May also intrigue the Aickman - Ligotti contingent.

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The Little American - 1917 - 6/10

Stateside, circa 1913, Abigail toys with two suitors. A dashing Frenchman and a handsome German.
Before she has to choose, both return to their native lands as the Great War begins.
No sooner is the Von Schlieffen Plan implemented, than Abigail inherits a chateau in rural France!
She sets sail on the Lusitania - oops! - yet miraculously survives and reaches her chateau …
Just as a German division seizes it for a command headquarters.
Women are raped, villagers shot, looting is widespread.
Propaganda film, well directed by Cecil B DeMille, moves briskly and piles on the excesses.
I don’t know whether intentional or not, but the German top officers reminded me of Von Hindenburg and Ludendorff.
For folks who think Mary Pickford only played little girls, check this one.
(Every copy I have ever watched suffers poor video resolution.)

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Son Of A Gun - 2014 - 6/10

Testosterone overload + logic implosion = beach read.
Ewan McGregor plays hardened lifer in max security lockup.
He befriends a shy new arrival, probably because the kid is only in for six months.
Then before you can imagine escape - gold heist - betrayal . . .
Entertaining actioner so long as you don’t think too much.
Story is really from the “kid’s" point of view, but he lacks the charisma to carry this off, especially compared with all the studs.
Alicia Vikander has dark role as crime lord’s less-than-thrilled paid companion.

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Wolf Creek 2 - 2013 - 5/10

Sequel to the fun grinder that was Wolf Creek.
This opens with lonely encounter with law enforcement grafters, then succumbs to rehashing earlier themes.
From there, repetitive, unimaginative story lines, whining characters.
Mick Taylor remains a grinning, malevolent force of nature, however.
Still, the template of trailer trash meets dead teenagers feels like cold leftovers.
Lazy efforts all around from the creative team: Writers - director - money men.

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Tidelanders - 2018 - 6/10

Sultry, humid flipside to the Wolf Creek series.
The latter was relentless heat, dusty wastes and instinctive behavior,
This is set on the Australian coast, where fishermen subsidize work as middlemen drug shippers.
No idea who they ship to, yet their suppliers, well now, they can breathe underwater.
Yep. Mer – No, that word is never used.
Intriguing concept, updated for modern times, with a few back stories and mysteries.
For most of the episodes, this stays fresh (although I had trouble with the main lead)
Near the end, the script shows evidence of being contrived with explanations and errant turns.
After the final episode, I cannot see a S02, Viewers who disdain endless soap operas might appreciate.

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Wolf Creek: S01 - 2016 - 6/10

Vacationing Yanks frolic in the Australian outback.
When a hungry crocodile snaps after junior, they are saved by the sharp shooting, Mick Taylor.
Later, after dinner, Mr Taylor unfurls his true colors, and his sadistic treatment of turistas.
All but one. The daughter, albeit badly wounded, escapes.
When she recovers, she seeks revenge.

Twisted series follows Eve as she begins an almost futile search.
Hunting a monster in the desolate wastes filled murderers, liars, predators.
As well as Taylor, a master of game playing and patience.
A few stray coincidences can test belief, but the series superbly evokes the heat and raw landscape.

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Kill Me Three Times - 2014 - 6/10

Black comedy of a contract hit, a pair of eloping lovers, theft, insurance fraud.
Mildly complicated, with flashbacks and multiple narratives, but all characters are identifiable and fleshed out.
Difficult - in a funny way - to keep track of who is cheating on who.
Simon Pegg plays a professional hitman with a sardonic sense of humor.
Western Australia provides stunning backdrop.
Style over substance, but nails every one of its marks.

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Day Of Resurrection - 1980 - 4/10
AKA - Virus

You visit granddad at the nursing home. He could be better, or far, far worse.
In the lobby, strapped to wheelchairs, sit glass eyed residents, brains riddled with Alzheimer’s, and doped with sedatives to keep them docile. All have the IQ of a carrot.
Any of those human vegetables could have edited a better version of this Japan doomsday film than did the Hollywood turnips.

Pentagon bioweapons develop a virus that can exterminate life.
Not to fear, it is safely locked away in –– Wait! Now East German operatives have a vial and are flying to Moscow to – Oh no! They’ve hit an air pocket! Look out! There’s a mountain! Ka-boom!!! And the dying starts.
Headliners expire first (Glenn Ford, Sonny Chiba, Robert Vaughn, Ken Ogata, Henry Silva).
Leaving George Kennedy and his band of 800 survivors in Antarctica as the final humans.
800 men, 8 women. The latter are informed they will need to be generous, in a new, “sharing” world.
Despite explosions here and there, this movie is mind numbingly boring.
The full length, original Japanese version is allegedly superior. I wouldn’t know, nor will I ever.

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Hope Gap - 2019 - 6/10

Study of a marriage coming apart.
Grace has provoked Edward for years already.
Trying to get her reserved husband to show signs of life.
Yes, he is tired. Tired of living with her.
Opposites attract, especially when we are young.
Yet over time, such polar attractions often reverse. We have witnessed, we have been miserable participants.
Beautiful location filming, fine acting, though several sequences display stage roots.

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Dirty God - 2019 - 7/10

Jade is a victim / survivor of an acid attack.
The NHS repairs the facial damage, but they do not, nor seemingly will not, restore her beauty.
Jade is poor, young (I’d guess 18), lives with her mom in a council estate, or crashes on a friend’s couch.
She also has a daughter, though she is an indifferent mother, at best.
More than anything, Jade desperately wants a reset button to restore her life before the disfigurement.
The film reads like a book of bad decisions.
Many of those she makes because she is young and inexperienced.
Her choices, moreover, are narrow, restricted, confined by limitations of education, wealth, class.
While this evokes Ken Loach, a trickle of redemption weeps in and out, offering the sliver of hope.

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Ready Or Not - 2019 - 6/10

Family traditions are often the worst, especially those of the in-laws, particularly “new” in-laws.
Poor but pure Grace marries Alex, filthy rich, member of a family of uncountable wealth.
Nightfall after every wedding, there is a game, played by all.
Almost always inconsequential. Harmless. On rare occasions, though …
Grace draws the dire hand. She runs for her life, the family draw traditional weapons.
Old premise is reworked as foul mouthed, savage comedy.

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Murder Is My Beat - 1955 - 5/10

My mistake. I mistook Barbara Payton for Beverly Michaels and grabbed this from my stash.
Pretty bad film from the get-go. Note police captain in awful black n white checked sportcoat. Ugh.
Dead man found in fireplace, face and hands burned beyond recognition.
Blame falls on girlfriend - clubgirl - hooker at cheap bar.
Cop traces her to mountain cabin (chance to see snow for no reason).
Atrocious dialogue, like the writer attempted wiseguy Noir and ended up with junior high mimicry.
Acting uniformly bad. Photography ranges from static to overused stock. No pace.
There must have been ten minutes of trains roaring past. Plus, a couple minutes tour inside a ceramics factory!
Blows, man. Payton’s final film. From this point on, her story was ugly.

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