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A few reviews . . (film or TV) — Page 55

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Fleming - 2014 - 6/10

Potentially memorable 4-part series falters due to indifferent writing, wobbly storylines.
Dominic Cooper, usually a prune type, good as aimless Ian Fleming, the family disappointment.
Episodes linger over dalliances with eager young females, and his growing influence in Naval Intelligence.
Characters were based on actual people, relationships fairly honest, and most of the history accurate.
Fleming, being an embellished account, one should mistrust the “actiony” bits, however.
Fair warning - Last 20“ of the final episode are a plodding shamble.
Nice hints of Bond: plot turns, music cues, even players (eg: aide Monday makes an ideal Moneypenny), maintain interest, though the overall series is rather a crusty bore.

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My Love, Don’t Cross That River - 2013 - 5/10
AKA - 님아, 그 강을 건너지 마오

An aged couple go about their day to day routines.
They have already been married 70 years. He is 95, she 90.
We never learn how he worked when younger, their struggles.
They have six living children, six others died at an early age. One during the war (WWII? Korea?)
One suspects the husband suffers mild dementia, that is not dwelt on.
They horse around, giggle. Perhaps hamming in front of the camera, or prompted by the director.
A lot of people loved this documentary. I don’t care for treacle.

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Spy City: S01 - 2020 - 7/10

Anyone who enjoyed Dominic Cooper in Fleming (2014) will revel in this.
Berlin, 1961, MI6 agent Fielding Scott is sent to still-partitioned Berlin to root out a traitor.
The CIA, KGB, MI6, Stasi, French snoop and circle warily around each other.
Informants, betrayers, and onlookers meddle, get in the way, or turn face.
Fielding, disliked by pretty much all parties, is the fox in the henhouse, ruffling everyone’s feathers.
Series gives an accurate nod to history, for in 1961 the Soviets would tire of East Germans fleeing West.
Characters are sharply drawn and recognizable, though loyalties are cloaked.
Exceptional espionage series builds tension throughout until the breaking point.

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Fly-By-Night - 1942 - 5/10

Brisk Paramount programmer.
Doctor picks up, rather is hijacked by escaped mental patient.
The patient is dispatched soon enough, but not before sharing vital intelligence with the doctor.
At that point, however, the doc is wanted by police, G-men, and bad guys in dark suits.
Our hero does what most men would do, he kidnaps a pretty female to help him.
B-mystery moves quickly, and Nancy Kelly and director Siodmak would go on to better things.
There are easily 100 better “couple on the lam” flicks out there.
If you seen 'em all, though, this is OK late night nonsense.

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Snaked Fear - 2011 - 3/10

Box art looked awful, I grabbed it anyway. Stooge.
Film opens with a drug or gangsta betrayal at copter crash site.
Fake fire and fake smoke were tipoffs to production values.
Main plot follows blonde and daughter as they veer off the paved road into Arizona desert.
She runs over a snake, which causes dozens of snakes to start hunting her.
An old desert man tells her, “Snakes will come for a 100 miles.”
Echoey sound mix. Either the boom was too distant or the automatic gain picked up wind.
Everyone sounded like they were inside a steel drum. Much of the whiny dialogue is inaudible.
Snake POV shots were low on ground, through a purple or violet piece of plastic.
Movie budget matches my IQ for watching this spuge.

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Redhook - 2011 - 5/10
AKA - The Teeth Of The Stars

An joint mission between MI5 and Miskatonic U goes tits up.
A survivor tracks down Professor Redhook, trying to learn what happened, and what is happening.
The story, catastrophe if you will, is retold in flashback and clipped scenes.
Not quite as HPL as the creators would have you think, this resembles an X-Files pitch.
At 10 minutes (including credits) there is simply insufficient time to develop a narrative.
Too bad, for there are some OK ideas in this.

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The Split - 1968 - 6/10

Tough guy, Jim Brown, assembles a crew for a hefty cash withdrawal.
Football playoffs. Tickets, cash only. Smooth as silk, friend.
Heist film has its points. Strong cast, led by Brown playing McClain (AKA - Parker).
He has interesting, ofttimes amusing, methods in selecting his team.
The heist, once underway, is almost clockwork in its precision.
Of course, as the title bears out, there is a split involved, where the plot twists in weird directions.
Decent caper flick, though the action scenes are sorry, not even up to TV level.
(Bullitt, in comparison, was also released in '68.)
Jim Brown, leading a team of white gangsters, is still startling, and sadly, still unusual.

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Open Grave - 2013 - 6/10

Excellent thriller, with one of those “must-not-disclose” plots.
I will just jot the opening five minutes.
Man wakes up deep down in a pit.
Climbs out, goes to a house filled with five others.
No one knows why they are there. Or who they are. Or what they are supposed to do.
From there, film sets off into several rabbit holes.
Viewer only gets clues as the characters discover them.
Definitely worth a look.

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Shinobi no Mono 4: Siege - 1964 - 6/10
AKA - Shinobi no Mono Kirigakure Saizō // 忍びの者 霧隠才蔵

The narrative picks up 14 years after the last storyline.
New characters are introduced with actors from the previous trilogy (Raizô Ichikawa, Tomisaburô Wakayama).
(This has confused some viewers. This is perhaps not a series to binge through.)
Anyway, the Shogun has conquered all of Japan save for one holdout fortress.
Ninjas slither for both sides. For coin, for honor. Assassinations and intelligence gathering.
A romance is squeezed in with a fallen noblewoman, and all stops are pulled out for an explosive finish.

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The Bookshop - 2017 - 6/10

Any movie with bookshop in the title could go two ways. Feelgood or 451°.
A widower buys a long empty house in small village in order to establish a bookstore.
Circa 1959, a time when society still read, either for enjoyment or self improvement.
Problem is, she is ignorant of the village dynamics, that someone else had coveted the house for years, though never acted on their ambitions.
For readers, the interior of the bookshop, often any bookshop, is a magical world of possibilities.
The shop interior, as well as one character’s delight in new books, new authors, are high points in this film.
The narrative is lethargic, however, and a sense of inevitably pervades.
True to life, smiling village folk mask indifference and resentment toward outsiders.
Also, the two prime “villains” are little more than cartoon facades.
Limited enjoyment. Those expecting You’ve Got Mail (a film I loathed), might do well to bypass.

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Unfinished Song - 2012 - 5/10

Sappy, feel-good, old people movie.
Buncha old coots and fossils meets Glee.
Sound awful, Bob?
Terence Stamp plays angry curmudgeon married to Vanessa Redgrave.
Will his character thaw? Warm, or even sing?
Songs were either frivolous, or cynically chosen to yank heartstrings.
One of the films that begs the question, “Are we dead yet?”

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On The Wave - 2013 - 7/10
AKA - На Bолне

One of the better, and more unusual, documentaries on surfing.
Typically with surf docs, the photography is spectacular.
The focus here is not on the masters of the extreme, the professional big wave riders.
These are ordinary people. Balinese, French, Spanish, German, and Russians, a lot of Russians.
All discuss the attraction of the sport, the mysticism they feel when navigating the ocean on a small board.
A few venture into hyperbole, but most have a sense of joy and communion with Nature.
Bookended with footage of professional Kelly Slater, probably for the 2018 USA release of this doc.

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Suffragettes - 2018 - 7/10

Historian Lucy Worsley follows the path from suffragist to suffragette to modern “equality.”
A fifty year trail of escalating confrontation, imprisonment, torture, terrorism.
The media of the day, newspapers, is utilized by both camps, government sycophants and rowdy womenfolk.

Peaceful protest, campaigning, petition and public sympathy go for naught.
And yet, when blood is the argument, politicians notice. Ever was it so.
Worsley’s mannerisms and make-up are toned down in this.
Actors voice diary entries and speeches in the increasingly deadly struggle.
Modern protesters could learn a thing or two from an earlier version of the gentle sex.

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It Happened On July 20th - 1955 - 6/10
AKA - Jackboot Mutiny // Es Geschah am 20 Juli

“That’s alright. I’ll hold onto my briefcase.”
Dispassionate, restrained retelling of the failed Hitler assassination by Count von Stauffenberg.
Planning, background of Stauffenberg, war status, all dispensed with.
The attempt is made, followed by the aftermath.

During which time, hours slip by. The plotters wait indecisively, bicker amongst themselves, stall.
The opportunity dwindles like sand through the hourglass.
Late film by G.W. Pabst. History buffs may appreciate more, as movie types might desire stronger emotions.

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The Bukowski Tapes - 1987 - 7/10

Accurate rating if If you are a hardcore Bukowski fan.
If you are going Buko – who? - however, then drop score to a 5.
Long series of interviews by director Barbet Schroder done around the time he filmed Barfly, ostensibly of and about the skid row poet of Los Angeles.
Bukowski rambles at length on varying topics: inferior peers, smog, alcohol versus marijuana, the horses, crazy women, his gradual fame, the meaningless of life, ugly people, shallow people, futility. At times insightful, other times nonsense, drunkard warbling.
Favorite bit was watching him drive about the old neighborhood in an open convertible, pointing out landmarks, telling stories.
Most infamous bit was him getting physically violent with girlfriend (later wife), Linda, and cameras turning off.

One of my regrets was never having trekked to Bukowski’s East Los Angeles home while I lived in LA during the late 70’s.
I certainly went to other writers, and I prowled east Hollywood Boulevard a couple times a month.
Too busy chasing leg and getting high. Stupid stoner.

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Sweetheart - 1992 - 6/10
AKA - Toutes Peines Confondues (All penalties combined)

A pair of cheap punks terrorize and murder two elderly people.
In a dark twist of fate, the son of the victims is a self-described hoodlum.
That is merely the tip, however, as the location shifts, and Interpol sends a French inspector to investigate the well dressed criminals.
What follows are sexual entrees, surveillance, bribery, blackmail, and mind games.
Low key thriller, saturated with quiet details. Often, this becomes a cerebral cat and mouse drama.

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Toter Mann - 2001 - 6/10
AKA - Something To Remind Me

Attorney aids an attractive female at the pools edge.
Later, he observes her at the posh cafe with another female.
Then he happens to see her walking in the park, and he follows.
Coincidence? Crossing paths with another, several times?
For an older man, and a lawyer, his guard to serendipity seems low.
Slow burn thriller, focus gradually turns to Nina Foss, who apparently works off a checklist.
Movie quite good at displaying clues and foreshadowing, often without explanation.
Thereby forcing viewers to work out motivations and outcomes themselves.
Until things turn nasty.

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The Devil’s Rock - 2011 - 6/10

World War II, just before D-Day, two New Zealand commandos kayak to Forau, in the Channel Islands, to sabotage Nazi gun emplacements.
They hear female wailing and whimpering, and drop the mission to investigate.
After tiptoeing through endless corridors, they encounter blood splattered walls, gory entrails, slain German soldiers.
Naturally, they proceed. After all, a damsel needs rescuing.
Pocket thriller that, despite low budget, looks fine. Decent acting, as well.
Film is of two halves, however.
First part, clues lead to mystery, anxiety approaches dread.
Second part is stagey. Seriously, it feels like an off-Broadway or outer London play. Too much dialogue.
Brainy rather than gut piercing. Still, a nice little flick, especially for indie buffs.

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Murder Is Easy - 1982 - 6/10

Middling Agatha Christie mystery of serial killer among the gentry.
American computer expert (probability expert) meets elderly woman on train.
She confides there have been several killings in her hamlet, another is imminent, then before she can reach Scotland Yard, she is killed! What are the odds?
Naturally, the Yank decides to play detective.
Stodgy, old-fashioned, resembling Murder, She Wrote, right down to the yellow credits.
The older players are better in this (the romantic leads have NO chemistry), and this provides a nice glimpse at Olivia de Havilland in one of her final roles.
Plot later re-fashioned into a Miss Marple story, but it is not canon proper.

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The Game - 1997 - 5/10

Younger, less successful brother (Sean Penn) decides to give alpha-bro (Michael Douglas) a birthday to remember.
A dizzying labyrinth of murder, conspiracy, pursuit, treachery.
Was unimpressed by this when it originally screened.
Rewatched this critical darling and I still don’t buy the premise, no matter how polished looking, how breathless the pace.
Douglas’ character, as shown early on, would never have gotten into the situation in the first place.
One example: Would he have spent several hours in the application process? No way in hell.
The running without analyzing?
And “the game” itself?
The sheer organized structure of it defies logic. Preposterous.
Though had Douglas’ character been different, less pinpoint organized, the premise might have seemed more plausible.

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Fatma - 2021 - 7/10

Fatma has become a nuisance, repeatedly asking his friends and associates, where is my husband?
“You’re so curious, go ask the local loan shark.”
She goes, the crook turns violent. And Fatma kills him.
Police arrive, and Fatma walks away unnoticed. Invisible. After all, she’s only the cleaning lady.

Brilliant six episode series of the forgotten soul, the menial worker, who, when pushed, is lethal.
Beauty dish Burcu Biricik is terrific in this, underplaying her role, acting with her hands and those eyes.
Her eyes dart and shift nervously, taking in situations at a glance, before acting.

The plotting is concise, with coarse villains and haunting backstories.
Delicious, hard edged series with a number of surprising deaths.

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Class Of ‘92 - 2013 - 6/10

You probably had to be there.
Documentary of the young players who graduated from the junior team, then propelled Manchester United into the football juggernaut of the 90’s.
90% interviews (back slapping, feel-good sort), with stray news footage of Cool Britannia.
Soundtrack features well known Manchester groups - Stone Roses, Inspiral Carpets, Oasis.
Culminates in the ‘99 European Cup.
Many of my British friends will rate this much higher.

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Delicious: S01 - 2016 - 6/10

I think … I was expecting more food.
Four part series of philandering chef, female dalliances, cash flow difficulties.
Indeed, most of the cooking in this seems related to accounts payable.
The chef has been playing hide the sausage, yet he has caught himself in several snares.
Ploys to evade, avoid, explain, edge him deeper into quicksand.
There could be a way out. Well, it’s never wise to let the little head run the game.
Seems aimed at women wise to dodgy male behavior.
Season 02 – same ole, same ole.

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AM1200 - 2008 - 5/10

A corporation riddled with corruption, hemmed in by investigators.
Good time for one of the traders to make off with several high value securities.
He hits the road, and drives and drives. Destination unknown.
Until he reaches a crossroad. Right or left?
He decides, and the roadway soon degrades to a one lane dirt track.
Does he turn around? Long after I quit yelling, “Turn around, fool!” he spies the radio tower for AM 1200 KBAL.
Then I’m going, “KBAL! Dude, that’s cabal, get outta there!”
The first part of this short is great. Intriguing narrative, exceptional cinematography and editing.
Once at station KBAL, everything fizzles, as if the writer / director ran out of ideas.

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Skirt Day - 2008 - 5/10
AKA - La Journée de la Jupe

Manipulative French drama of overwrought teacher in schoolroom Hell.
Students mouth off, bully, grope, text, heckle, anything but learn.
No expulsions, probations, or accountability.
During a scuffle a gun falls from a bag, which the teacher seizes to force feeds her class “lessons.”
Despite outside reporters and SWAT team, the film feels stagey. Like a one set play with monologues.
Male students loom large and menacing, and there seems to be an anti-Islamic undercurrent.