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A few reviews . . (film or TV) — Page 90

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Spin A Dark Web - 1956 - 6/10
AKA - Soho Incident

“Are you a good boy? Can you do what you’re told?”
Not exactly to the first, but yes to the second.
Jim, from Canada, boxer and electrician, hunts for work in Soho.
And falls under the spell of Bella.

Her brother Rico bets on races, runs a small mob, tries to lay off the heavy stuff.
Bella is another matter, however.
Not a typical fatale, but she’s cold as stone, and manipulative.
And Jim is soon doing what she tells him to do.
This has a strong sense of place, Soho in the 1950’s.

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The Winter’s Tale - 1992 - 6/10
AKA - Conte d’hiver

Part of Eric Rohmer’s “four seasons” quartet.
Young couple enjoys idyllic summer romance.
End of vacation, she gives him her address with, “Visit me as soon as you are in my town!”
Next scene = 5 years later.
Female is now a single mother with daughter who is almost 5. Hmmm.
She has two different suitors, neither of whom she is much interested in (still carries the torch).
Turns out she gave “summer fling” the wrong address.
She insists that was accidental, and has been settling for Mr Right-Now.
French fans, you know if this interests you.

Of the four “season” films (I have viewed all, and own two), I would recommend Conte d’Automne as the first title for adults to investigate, with Conte de Printemps second.

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Dr. Terror’s House Of Horrors - 1965 - 6/10

The final man to enter the train compartment is Dr. Schreck, translated as Terror.
When his bag falls, tarot cards scatter out. Curious, the other passengers inquire.
And each is given a reading of their future.
Five chapter anthology is, predictably, hit or miss.
The best ones seem to be the odd numbered.
Werewolf curse, voodoo warning, vampire bride.
Always a pleasure watching Cushing and Lee.

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Vengeance Of The Phoenix Sisters - 1966 - 6/10
AKA - San Feng Zhen wu Lin // 三鳳震武林

Escaped convicts attack the compound, killing everyone, but specifically the man who had sent them to prison.
Wife, too. They searched for the children, but they had escaped.
Oh, well, they are just little girls.
Fifteen years on, those little girls are grown, and now seek revenge.

Compelling Taiwan swordplay actioner boasts stylish camerawork and an imaginative score.
The fight choreography, and there are numerous conflicts, pales next to Shaw Brothers.
On the other hand, the cinematography compensates.
Tight closeups, handheld work, chaotic battles. Ingenious and creative.
Recommended for wuxia fans who have seen ’em all, here’s a recent rediscovery.

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Vexed: S01 - 2010 - 7/10

Three episodes of acid comedy, satirizing cop shows.
Toby Stephens jaw-dropping as clueless, no-check-switch, politically incorrect police inspector.
Lucy Punch as his sharp-tongued partner, prone to violent outbursts.
Truly funny in a mean, cruel, black-humored manner.
For those who appreciated Touch Of Cloth, only more wicked.
yνῶθι σεαυτόν

I never viewed S02.
It aired two years later and supposedly replaced one character and toned down Stephens’ cringe producing behavior.
If true, too bad. Suits making creative decisions.

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Hansard - 2019 - 7/10

Theatre junkies, from boards to capital steps to bedrooms.
The bloom of love, faded, withered, their marriage one of sufferance.
For all that, the habits of love still wear like shackles.
Diana and Robin met and married in 1968.
Desire overcame political stances, but by 1988 (when this is set) Thatcherism is rising.
One partner is a party man, a guaranteed vote, for a side that coaxes fear for support.
The other partner is staunch Labour, yet apparently a limousine liberal.
Razor barbed play, one act, one set.

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Where’s Poppa? - 1970 - 6/10

To see a comedy this uncomfortable, one usually hunts down Brit fare.
Not so here.
Gordon is an attorney, middle aged, single, still caring for his mother.
Mom suffers dementia, the bat crazy nuts kind.
Not abusive or hateful, but grossly inappropriate, tushie.
Ruth Gordon gleefully revels in this role, and is the main reason to watch.
If you are dealing with aging, senile parents, this may be irresistible or repellent.
Not for the squeamish. γνῶθι σεαυτόν

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Rich Hall’s Presidential Grudge Match - 2016 - 7/10

Sick of politics already? Well, too bad.
Rich Hall is an American ex-pat living in Britain.
He hosts comedy specials, trying to explain the nuances of American life.
Such as, in this one, the glorious history of US presidential campaigns
This is a topic ripe for skewering, slashing and bludgeoning.
Thrill as he predicts who will win in 2016!
Mercilessly funny, unless your are still gloating or raging.

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Raw Deal - 1986 - 6/10

Mid-tier Schwarzenegger vehicle, made during the stokin’ ten year box-office run.
Here, an ex-colleague asks Arnold to infiltrate a Chicago mob.
Might as well as him to join a ballet troupe.
Anyway, he sidles in, and the formula unfolds.
Alpha male confrontation, scattered violence, bad music choices.
Sleek 80’s look, boasting a cast of strong villains (Robert Davi, Sam Wanamaker).
Not the best Schwarzenegger film, yet crackles more energy than most of his ensuing output.

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Poly Styrene: I Am a Cliché - 2021 - 6/10

Flawed documentary of the X-Ray Spex frontman.
Poly (Marianne Elliott) Styrene’s story, what there is of it, may be of interest to fans.
Not particularly in-depth, this skips lightly over troubled areas.
Why? Because the main writer / director is Styrene’s daughter.
Who delivers the bulk of narration in a listless monotone, as if she is bored out of her mind.
Shown above, the daughter talks about herself almost as much as she talks about Mom.
The doc feels like a family obligation, doing a duty.
Wish someone else had taken a crack at this.

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Dead Quiet - 2016 - 4/10

My bad, my bad, my bad.
The “award winning” short hails from 2018, not 2016.
Here, Lt. Cross (donned in cargo pants and a t-shirt) drives his sedan into the outback.
After a squad goes missing, he attempts a solo recon – rescue.
Beware credits where written / directed / starring is one name.
Quite poor, and overlong at 11”.

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Wharf Angel - 1934 - 6/10

On the run from the coppers, he dashes into a saloon / brothel.
He is hidden, and spends the night with one of “the girls”.
Next day, he ships out for China, as stevedore.
He and shipmate Turk become fast friends and discuss the girl back home.
Not knowing, it’s the same girl.
Pre-Code boiler of drinking, fights, murder and sex.
Worthwhile if only to see Dorothy Dell, of whom Fate proved unkind.
The hard faced doll, masking the yearning soul.

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Death In A French Garden - 1985 - 6/10
AKA - Péril en la Demeure

Unemployed male catnip becomes guitar tutor to daughter of affluent parents.
The wife initiates an affair almost immediately.
In the cafe, his female neighbor talks suggestively of differences between the brunette bush and the blonde bush.
Also, in the cafe, the waitress leans forward (twice) to display swaying charms.
Did I mention his pupil was a rich daughter? Does she want him also? Ha, silly.
For all that, this is not a sex comedy.
Surveillance VHS tapes appear, suggesting blackmail.
Really, don’t people, even adulterers, bother with curtains?
Tone steadily darkens (reference title) as traps from various partners snap down.

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What We Do In The Shadows - 2014 - 7/10

Four older guys share a flat in Wellington.
They bicker about chores (dirty dishes a particular problem), have meetings, find activities.
For them, the day begins around 6:00 PM. Oh yeah, they are vampires.

Hilarious documentary follows the gents as they go clubbing, heckle werewolves, invite humans to dinner.
All are chatty - well - Petyr, 8000 years old, is more reserved.
Inventive, droll, good-natured. Reminded me of This Is Spinal Tap.
Though like Tap, tails a bit in the final twenty minutes.

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Callboys: S02 - 2019 - 7/10

Second, and final, season of the misadventures of the studs for hire.
You might think, or foolishly hope, after the painful conclusions of the first season, these guys might have wised up.
Or matured.
One is older and wiser, two others make the Three Stooges look like Rhodes scholars.
Wes is in rehab. Devon and Vleugels are incapable of sound judgment.
Even when they get lucky, gloriously lucky, Fortune turns terribly, horribly against them.
Slow to get going, but this finishes painfully funny.

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Victory Of The Faith - 1933 - 6/10
AKA - Der Sieg des Glaubens

By such spider threads, history survives.
The fifth Nuremberg Rally.
Leni Riefenstahl, approached late to film the event, had only a few days to organize.
Similar to Triumph Of The Will, this is very much a rough draft.
Opening and closing marches, boy drummers, speeches.
On the other hand, there are huge differences.
Such as the SA dominating the opening. Older faces, veterans of the World War I.
Seen also are Göring, Goebbels, Streicher, Speer, von Papen … and … Röhm.

Who would be assassinated within a year during the Night Of The Long Knives.
The editing and camerawork in the first half is masterful, but by the second half feels disorganized.
Laden with too many speeches, the pace slows.
Nevertheless, after Röhm’s murder and the dismantling of the SA, Hitler ordered all prints of this destroyed.
Riefenstahl had brought a copy to England in 1934, where it was lost, until discovered in 1980’s.

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French Quarter - 1978 - 5/10

Exploitation sleaze succumbs to artistic overreach.
Young girl, after burying pa, leaves the bayou and catches first bus to New Orleans. (Nice outdoor photography of late 70’s New Orleans.)
Being blonde, shapely, and wearing a granny dress that is see-through against the light, the only job position she is able to find is stripper in a cheap club.
This part held my interest, though as a dancer that girl is godawful.
All too soon, she wants out and goes to an apothecary shop, where she is promptly drugged for sex traffickers.
Then - outta nowhere - she wakes up in 1910, in a sporting house in Storyville.
Her role is the same, though, to be auctioned off as a genuine virgin.

Abundant nudity in the brothel, voodoo dancers out in the woods, and a busy snake add some interest.
Nevertheless, the plot crawls into love territory and the narrative stumbles like a weekend drunk.
Piano player in the bordello is Jelly Roll Morton. The small boy playing the cornet, Satchmo Armstrong.
Oh yeah, the 1910 scenes are all fuzzy around the corners. Artsy.
Anyway, the vintage period goes on and on and on, diluting the vibrant sleaze of the 1970’s.
One gets the impression they were striving for Pretty Baby.
Cast includes Bruce Davison and Virginia Mayo, with music by Dick Hyman.

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Shepherd - 2021 - 5/10

Eric lays a rose on Rachel‘s casket as it lowers.
Next, he ferries across the sound to begin work as shepherd on a remote island.
Right away, I wonder about the voyage, the ferryman, the isolation.
Is Eric dead?
The film is too steeped in mood and atmosphere for its own good.
Eric is not remotely sympathetic. So much so, midway, I started hoping he would hang himself.
Common complaint: sound design overwhelms dialogue.

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The World Of Kanoka - 2014 - 7/10
AKA - Kawaki // 渇き。

After her daughter goes missing, she contacts her ex.
Ex-husband, ex-detective, ex-father. Repellent failure on every front.
He ought to take his meds, which don’t stop him from violent outbursts.
Or from raping his wife, beating up schoolgirls, fighting with police or yakuza.
Meanwhile, there is the absent daughter, whose life echoes that of Alice.
“… who fell into a hole so deep. that she kept falling …”
Volatile (understatement) Neo Noir drenched in sex, violence, gore, torture, fatality.
Seijun Suzuki on acid. Caveat emptor.

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Everest - 2015 - 7/10

Based on the 1996 summit expedition where eight lost their lives.
Film excels at revealing the preparation, support staff, and Wild Westish camps.
Also showing how crowded and competitive Everest tourism has become.
Affluent tourists, to be sure, yet many, many of them. Too many.
Tour guides know as many as possible must reach the top. Otherwise, future bookings will suffer.
Breathtaking photography, mostly in the Himalayas, though not 100%.
Interesting Making-Of doc reveals backdrops (eg: lift chairs).
Admirable, and a good companion to 2010‘s The Wildest Dream.

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Souvenir: Part II - 2021 - 6/10

Story continues immediately after events from the first film.
Grieving, emotionally numb, Julie finds solace in her parent’s home.
Gradually, however, she starts drifting back to film school.
There, she begins to resurrect her graduation effort.
The “creativity process” is the most compelling aspect of this movie
As with the first installment, I cannot decide if the main actor is talented or a vacuous sponge.
I am starting to blame the writer / director for a muddled script, choppily edited.

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Sherpa - 2015 - 7/10

Revealing documentary on the Everest pack mules, the sherpas.
Unstated, but clearly evident, is the disparity between the privileged and the impoverished.
A staggering amount of tourists now insist on “conquering” Everest.
Most carry nothing. Sherpas shoulder massive packs and set up ladders for them.
Tourists need WiFi, hot meals, and an ease unimaginable a generation earlier.
Of course, fees start at $100,000.
Good companion to 2015‘s Everest.
For those who have Everest on their bucket list, global warming is on the rise, as are climbing deaths.

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Not Waving, But Drowning - 2012 - 6/10

Almost tempted to bump an extra point for style and music alone.
Story of two friends heading off to New York, entering glamorous territory.
At the last minute, the father of one girl refuses to let her go.
Dual narratives from then on.
One girl struggles in New York, meeting dirt types, as well as better souls.
Left behind, the other girl finds work in an assisted living home for seniors.
Both try to stay in contact, but everyone knows how hard it is to stay connected with texts or phone.
Even as they miss each other, you realize they are on different currents, drifting apart.
After awhile*, this held my interest. The movie is very much female oriented, though, and the two I sat next to responded and related more strongly than I did.

*awhile = An unrelated short film precedes the movie.
Apologists are defending it, but it does not fit, is slow and stagnant.
It only runs 15 minutes. Fast forward if you start nodding off.

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Black Sands - 2021 - 6/10
AKA - Svörtu Sandar

Police thriller set in remote Iceland town.
The dead body, a survivor, and a young officer who has been charting a series of accidental deaths in the region.
The main protagonist is not that cop, but Anita, returning from Reykjavik.
Apparently she left because of her abusive mother, a chain smoking, passive-aggressive type.
Anita, like most TV crime solvers, is screwed up. She never even bothers to wear a uniform, she wears the same sweater day after day after day.
Episode after episode, more characters reveal their script-written weirdness.
Plot and pacing are pretty good. Characters and motivations, cliché city.

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Turtle Diary - 1985 - 7/10

Quiet story, marketed as a romantic comedy, though it does not fit into that category.
Two souls, not necessarily lonely yet they are alone, chat at the London aquarium.
They decide to kidnap two sea turtles, and release them into the sea.
This could easily succumb to farce, or become a strident “message” film.
It never does, however. Pinter adapted the script, and it is an understated gem.
Glenda Jackson and Ben Kingsley give lessons on how to use gestures and glances, instead of wordy dialogue.
Still not on DVD, streaming copies have poor video resolution.