A few reviews . . (film or TV) — Page 43

The Man With The Glass Eye - 1969 - 6/10
AKA - Der Mann mit dem Glasauge

After the show ends, a chorus line girl is chauffeured to posh hotel for business hijinks.
Before sordid naughtiness climaxes, an assassin in trenchcoat kills the john with a hurled knife.
Scotland Yard swings into action and begins hunting for the female –
– who is poisoned the next day backstage at the variety theater!
Peppy, late-in-the-cycle, Krimi features a vivid, late 60’s look, as well as a campy late 60’s plotline.
“Based” on Edgar Wallace writings (much as the later Bond films were “based” on Ian Fleming novels).
Racketeers elude the police, while the assassin eludes all.
Noisy, rattling diversion, but essentially a guilty pleasure for Krimi fans.
Alert! - Despite Scotland Yard, English names, this is a German language production.

Compartiment Tueurs - 1965 - 7/10
AKA - The Sleeping Car Murder

Tight French thriller. The locked room mystery, or here, murder in the train compartment.
Sleeper car. Six berths, one mysterious death. Strangulation.
The victim seems to have been innocent, and no one seems to have noticed.
Passengers scatter to their lives, police remain baffled.
Until those uninvolved passengers begin to meet the Reaper.
Film starts at a decent pace (ie; 1965), though momentum builds and by the finale is breakneck.
Script adroitly keeps viewers guessing throughout.

Punk In London - 1977 - 7/10

On the scene documentary showcasing the early movement at its rawest.
Mixed performances by the Killjoys, X-Ray Spex, Adverts, Clash, Chelsea, Jam, and others I could not recognize.
Top venues and hangouts, the Marquee, Roxy, Rough Trade, mentioned.
Big problem with this is groups were not identified, the audio ranged from OK to murky, and this was a German production.
Aside from interviews, all narration was in German.
Still, the energy was electric, on fire performances.
Arguably Punk at its creative, freewheeling peak, before the money, the deals, and the compromises.
Terrific doc for many, will leave others baffled.

Blind Love - 2004 - 6/10
AKA - Waisetsu sutêji: Nando mo Tsukkonde // わいせつステージ　何度もつっこんで

Blind girl is attracted to a short statured ventriloquist.
Only thing, she mistakes the taller, younger apprentice for the original.
The apprentice, a ne’er do well, exploits her handicap.
Written differently, this could be farce. This is a wistful, poignant tale, however.
Lonely people, beaten souls, individuals who have no place in modern Japan.
Be warned, this is a pinku eiga (sexual rompings abound), many participants are not fitness buffs.

Exam - 2009 - 6/10

Eight job candidates are seated in a featureless room.
Simple rules are given. Such as, if you leave the room, you are disqualified. If you speak with the guard, you are disqualified. Then they are given 80 minutes to solve an enigmatic question.
After a few elections, the remaining realize there are rules, yet outside the rules, anything goes.
Treachery, deception, violence. Personalities unleash. Mind games yield to mob rules.
Taut little suspenser, though feels a wee bit stagebound.

Tea With The Dames - 2018 - 6/10

Entertaining, enjoyable eavesdrop on four grand dames of British theatre.
For West End goers, the comments are delicious and rare clips make this a must see.
This is feel-good material, however, meaning uncomfortable topics often result in silences.
Therein is the, not problem, but lack of substance with this documentary.
Despite the wine and laughter, one can sense their guardedness.
Also, I cannot help but wonder if questions were given ahead of time and spontaneous answers were prepared.
Don’t want to sound churlish, because this is gregarious history, and the sharp exchanges are frequently laugh out loud funny.

Altes Geld - 2015 - 8/10
AKA - Old Money

Gleeful, diabolical entertainment here!
A delicious Udo Kier plays the wealthy patriarch, dying of liver disease. He makes a proposal.
Whoever delivers a healthy organ will inherit the family “business.”
Relatives, advisors, employees, wolves in suits, sharks in gowns, rip into each other.
Treachery, incest, kidnapping, backstabbing, more incest, murder, blackmail, torture.
Moreover, despite my comments about German comedy, this is laugh out loud funny.
Mean spirited, midnight humor aimed for cynical adults. Eight parts, Austria.
γνῶθι σεαυτόν

Pride & Prejudice: Having A Ball - 2013 - 7/10

Irresistible documentary for hardcore Janeites and casual Austen fans alike.
This focuses on that key element of the Regency world for the young, the ball.
Dance steps were actually fiendishly complicated, and physically demanding.
Status could be seen in choice of candles, desserts served, as well as clothes.
Speaking of clothes, female knickers were crotchless. Male clothing was very form fitting, to display . . . mmm . . . simply to display.
Casually mentioned was how increasingly modern, and wrong-headed, modern adaptations of P&P have become.
If you have reread Austen numerous times, if you have multiple film versions of P&P, S&S, as well as Emma, Mansfield Park, and Persuasion, not to mention Lost In Austen (w/ Downtown intact), then this documentary is for you.
γνῶθι σεαυτόν. If you are a Janeite, rate this much higher.

Break Of Day - 1980 - 6/10
AKA - La Naissance du Jour

Summer 1927. Writer Colette is at her St Tropez beach cottage, with one servant, one dog, two cats, and a slow parade of visitors.
She is working on “Break Of Day,” recalling her mother through their correspondence, analyzing her own life, studying friends, dissecting their motives, mimicking overheard phrases, writing drafts, tearing them up.
Organizing the myriad influences, some useful for her novel, others shelved for later.
The color scheme is vibrant, in contrast with the story, which is internal in nature.
Movies about creative sorts (painters, sculptors, writers) are invariably dull because of the incremental nature of creating. Most juice things up with dramatics or substance abuse.
La Naissance du Jour does not fall prey to those tropes, and is the better for it, though it is languid.

Colette - 2018 - 6/10

Keira Knightley, acceptable for once, in a costume drama.
Though unlikely to win awards or acclaim, Knightley plugs along and does not appear lost in a sea of finery.
Story follows Colette’s early years (long pigtale notwithstanding, there is no way the actor resembles a 14 year old).
Husband Willy enlists young bride into his writing stable. Her creation, “Claudine” proves a runaway bestseller.
Willy takes credit, society suspects the truth, Colette finds solace in affairs.
I imagine outraged audiences decry such exploitation. I wonder how they feel inside the museum, admiring large installations by the modern “artist” who maintain a crew – a factory – to do the actual creating.
Movie covers a lot of territory, has a glossy surface, and feels shallow.
Decent companion to 1972 French film, La Naissance du Jour, which shows the writer’s later years.

Apocalypse: World War I - 2014 - 6/10
AKA - Apocalypse la 1ère Guerre Mondiale

Five part French documentary, colorized throughout.
Certainly not as essential as other WWI docs, this should appeal to wars buffs, despite some caveats.
There are no talking heads or historians. Old film and newsreels predominate.
Sound effects have been added (explosions, gunfire, marching feet, etc …) and those serve to enhance.
As mentioned, this is colorized - heavily. So much so that the sharpness and contrast suffers,
Images are noticeably flattened or blurry.
Original narration was in French. The English dubbed speaker has a snooze inducing monotone.
More carnage and brutality in this documentary. Starvation in Berlin, atrocities in Armenia.
Surprisingly, a lengthy reveal of prostitution and military brothels.

Let It Rain - 2008 - 4/10
AKA - Parlez-Moi de la Pluie

French pap.
Wayward trio attempts to film pretentious documentary, focusing on the female’s political ambitions.
The two males can barely find a lens cap, let alone the start button.
Orbiting around are needy siblings, insecure types, who bore viewers into slumberland
Attractive looking film. A fine cast is sadly wasted in a story plodding nowhere.

Love Education - 2006 - 5/10
AKA - 禁室培慾之愛的俘虜

Swinging Hong Kong photographer is catnip to the ladies.
“Take my picture, please!” “Ooh, I love nudity, yes, please touch me!”
Then one evening, he spies a moody female, dark eyed Yumi, drinking in a smoky bar.
What’s the phrase? One moment of passion, a lifetime of regret.

Turns out she is possessive to the nth degree. From blindfolds to handcuffs to steel manacles.
She encourages obedience. Yumi’s helpers include fire rods, kitchen knives, garden tools.
“Those last pictures of me are no good. Make me look beautiful, or else!”
Oh, yeah, she drains that wick of his daily – if you catch my drift.
Glossy, Cat 3 sopping with blood, flashing plenty of hot skin.

The Whistleblower - 2010 - 6/10

Recently divorced mother (Rachel Weisz), loses custody of daughter, and promises to relocate across the country to be near her.
To earn a lot of money, as quick as possible, she hires on with contract firm as UN peacekeeper in Bosnia.
She stumbles into the world of sex trafficking and slavery, and gradually discovers the scope and coverup. Part and parcel of the latter are the procurers and chief clientele.
Unpleasant film, with beatings and torture, based, sadly, on true events.
The actual contractor was Texas based, DynCorp.

Studio 54 - 2018 - 7/10

Surprisingly entertaining documentary of the influential, of polarizing, New York nightclub.
Story proceeds chronologically, with perhaps faithful recollections by survivors.
Best friends Rubell and Schrager acquire a discarded CBS studio, renovate, issue invites.
Within months, the club was a must, as rich, famous and celebrities alike partied inside to extravagant sets.

Lined queued and admittance for the rabble incited a torrent of dark passions.
The doc mentions this resentment and envy, as well as the anti Disco sentiment at the time.
Producers either underplay the hatred of the time (for disco, for gays, for blacks, for liberated females), or they flat out simply never comprehended expressions outside the Manhattan glitterati.
No shirking from the downfall, however, and narrators seem honest - and likeable.
One aspect I truly appreciated was the unbreakable bond between Rubell and Schrager.

The Flesh And Blood Show - 1972 - 5/10

Too early to fall into the Slasher genre, this is the timeless concept of knocking off characters one by one.
Cat And The Canary (1927) and And The There Were None (1945) are examples.
Assorted actors answer the audition call at a long shuttered Brighten playhouse.
Soon enough, they realize something is amiss.
Almost a decent thriller this. The location is underutilized, however, and the characters are sketches.
As with the earlier The Big Switch (1968) producers load up the skin to spark lulls.

This is a better film than that one. Acting, photography, script invention.
As with the earlier film, the tempo drags, though flashback and whodunit angle were slick.

Weekend - 2011 - 6/10

Two gents meet at a noisy club, leave together, spin a fling.
Talking predominates, sharing childhoods, experiences, no different from straight couples.
One suffers commitment anxiety, the other wants to explore the possibility of “what if.”
Per title, this occurs during a long weekend.
Hopeful reviewers have dropped the love word, assuming a blissful relationship can be formed in a weekend.
Casual viewers, some sex scenes might put you off.

The Favourite - 2018 - 6/10

Glossy drama of the power behind the throne.
In this case, Lady Marlborough behind Queen Anne.
First half drips style. Indeed, this may remind seasoned viewers of Orlando or Plunkett & Macleane.
Staccato paced, acid drenched dialogue, blast furnace humor, make this irresistible arthouse.
Unfortunately, the second half is an utter reversal.
The narrative plods, colors are leached out, and proceedings are glum and serious.
Yes, the director is making a point - and following history - but the enjoyment swoons off the cliff.

Berlin Syndrome - 2017 - 5/10

Wide-eyed Australian turista arrives in Berlin.
Instead of seeing sights, she makes easy friends and chats.
Talks a bit too much, to be blunt, which tailspins into her ordeal.
Lazy script, based on a predictable novel, of a truly ignorant soul.
Has this girl never viewed Horror flicks or stalker films?
Has she never dated? Learned to deflect probing questions?
How about, letting people know where she is?
Later on, how come she waits until late in the afternoon?
I could go on and on. Producers may well assume their audience is gullible, too.

Cairo Time - 2009 - 7/10

Ravishing looking film for adults of a certain age, who realize Life’s opportunities are beginning to close around them.
For most, this begins around age 40.
Magazine publisher (Clarkson) flies to Cairo to meet with husband, who is delayed in Gaza because of “situations.”
One gets the impression she has become adrift, children gone, husband away on UN business. Detached ennui.
She relaxes, explores the area, connects with her husband’s ex colleague, succumbs to the charm of the city.
Beautiful views of the Nile, White Desert, pyramids, mosques, the medina, as well as the seedier side.
Lyrical film, recommended to the arthouse crowd, anyone with patience for adult themes.

London Town - 2016 - 6/10

80’s coming of age story in Thatcher England.
15 year old Shay watches over his young sister, Alice, while Dad works two jobs.
Mom, pursuing her own dreams, sends him mix-tapes and writes about glamorous London.
Shay meets the more worldly Vivian and she opens him to the popular culture.
Fairytale elements surface at times. Encounters with fame, unlikely plot turns.
Clash singer Joe Strummer glides in and about the boy’s life as a benevolent wise man and mentor.
Warm hearted, hopeful fantasy, with very minor edginess.

Overlord - 2018 - 6/10

Three movies here.
The first, a World War II mission to knock out a radio tower prior to D-Day.
Second, within that tower the Germans are engaged in experimentation. Such as?
Third, over the top fights n explosions by “super-heroes.”
Solid production values, questionable casting (explained satisfactorily in the narrative), and good concepts.
Detour into Shock Waves territory needs a better backstory, better execution, and less predictability.
Starts well, ends up hackneyed. Abrams continues his transition into Emmerich.

Angel - 2007 - 6/10

Cracker factory tour.
Director François Ozon’s previous English movie, The Swimming Pool, was a razor honed drama about a cynical mystery writer in the vein of PD James or Ruth Rendell.
Angel swings about and follows an Edwardian scribbler of melodramatic, romantic kitsch (based on Victorian powerhouse author, Marie Corelli, now forgotten).
Romola Garai portrays the narcissistic, delusional, borderline insane writer, Angel Deverell.
Garai commits 100% to this role and is wonderful. You detest her, laugh at her misconceptions, and feel sorry for her. Her literary success proves there has always been an audience for junk, though the herd will, eventually, shift toward different junque.
For travel sequences, Ozon uses obviously fake rear projection, to show Angel’s addled perceptions. The house where she lives, Paradise, is spectacular.
Charlotte Rampling, Sam Neill, and Michael Fassbender, top a strong cast.
I enjoyed this a lot, but others around me held a lower opinion, annoyed by the satire and florid production values. All roundly disliked Angel.
Bad movie fans, rate this much higher.

The Big Switch - 1968 - 4/10

Swinger John Carter enters a hectic period.
He swipes another guy’s smoldering blonde at the disco, drives her to her pad.
There, she gets iced and he gets framed.
Goes home, where thugs drink his booze, play strip poker, and slap him around.
At work, he’s fired. Lone job prospect is with a conniving gangster.
Despite enough material for five cheap paperbacks, this movie is slower than a tortoise finding love.
Producers must have realized this because every seven minutes there is nudity.

Strippers, go-go girls, pinup models, working girls, female wrestlers, dopeheads.
Just when you start to nod off, girls disrobe and bounce the rack.
The plot is crap. The music - dude - the composer uses a thinly disguised Bond theme!
Not only that, in the last twenty minutes an Aston Martin appears.
Wanted to like this trashy sleaze, but it’s too pokey.

Le Corbeau - 1943 - 7/10
AKA - The Raven

Inhabitants of French village start receiving poison pen letters.
Stylized calligraphy signed by le Corbeau.
Malicious gossip, innuendo, facts mixed with falsehoods.
Some shrug it off, others laugh, some worry, most try to guess the culprit.
Venomous movie is packed with jaded, angry, spiteful souls.
Excels at casting suspicion on almost everyone.
From the date, I imagine this was shot during the Occupation. You wouldn’t know, the standards are high.